Tumgik
#native brotherhood
if-you-fan-a-fire · 1 year
Photo
Tumblr media
[The origin of the Belle Park totem pole in Kingston, Ontario, at least in part. Queen Elizabeth was visiting for the Kingston tercentenary, and this totem pole was one of a number made at that time by Indigenous inmates at Collin's Bay Penitentiary and Joyceville Institution, two medium security federal prisons in Kingston. 
Who the carvers were, the inception of the project, whose idea was it, how it fits into the broader activities of the Native Brotherhood at Joyceville, all of that is still a little hazy to me - but the hard work of local researchers has resulted in a stupendous resource available here online: https://belleparkproject.com/the-place/totem-pole. It answers a lot of my questions and features the words of many of the carvers - a useful corrective to the Whig's slant here.
The Advance - the inmate newspaper at Joyceville - has a notice in June indicating OECA Channel 19 interviewed the totem pole carvers on May 18, for broadcast July 1 & 2 in Toronto. The Advance praises the tercentenary project as a "significant symbol of the role Native People have played in the evolvement of the Canadian people." Haven't read earlier issues yet to get a better feel. 
In terms of outside newspaper coverage, there is this dramatic image from April 17 crediting MP Flora MacDonald for getting the wood shipping from BC. Which is all about how great the local Conservative MP is, not the carvers.
Tumblr media
In terms of the broader context, Seth Adema's article “Native Brotherhoods and Decolonization in Ontario's Federal Prisons' is pretty crucial, and available for free online if you search. The totem pole is still on the Belle Park golf course, which has become during the pandemic a tent encampment for Kingston’s growing unhoused population. The city keeps trying to evict them all - presumably to re-open the golf course - while local solidarity activists try and stop it.  Belle Island, where the park is partly located, is a site with great significance to the local First Nations, but was of course a garbage dump at one point because this is Canada...]
/// Captions for top images: "Chips are flying," Kingston Whig-Standard. June 8, 1973. Page 4. ---- Indian inmates at Joyceville Institution are busy these days in an effort to finish a giant totem pole before the Queen's visit on June 27. When finished, the carved pole will be given to the city and placed at the new municipal golf course where the Queen and Prince Philip will be staying in their private railway car. 
(Photo by William O'Neill)
"To overlook the municipal golf course," Kingston Whig-Standard. June 8, 1973. Page 4. ---- When completed and presented to Kingston, the totem pole on the left will be set up by the parks and recreation department on the spot marked with an X in the above picture. The Chalet willhouse the dressing rooms and office building for the city's new municipal golf course, built over at former dump site.
(Photo by Bill Baird)
Captions for middle image: "Putting some art into it," Kingston Whig-Standard. April 17, 1973. Page 1. === Turning a four-ton 40-foot log into a work of art in a monumental task. However working on the adage that a journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step Flora MacDonald MP for Kingston and the Islands helps Indian inmates at Joyceville Institution with their first cut. The Indians as a Tercentenary project have agreed to carve a totem pole for Kingston. The giant log was shipped by CNR to the institution from British Columbia free of charge, through the efforts of Miss MacDonald and CNR president MacMillan.
8 notes · View notes
secular-jew · 5 months
Text
Native Americans, who like Jews are indigenous (Jews are indigenous to Judea, as Native Americans are to their native lands in north and south America) show support in California, near UCLA.
81 notes · View notes
aworldofyou · 1 year
Text
Studying of the Irish suffering for both Wanahton because his wife is Irish ( hello @paddyfuck ) and their home would absolutely be ridiculed for it along with he himself being a Sioux man, and then for Molly O’Shea, looks a lot like:
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
12 notes · View notes
harmoonix · 4 months
Text
🪼⨍ꫀׁׅܻ᥎꫶ׁׅꫀׁׅܻꭈׁׅ ժׁׅ݊ꭈׁׅꫀׁׅܻɑׁׅ֮ ꩇׁׅ🪼
🕊 By Harmoonix 🕊
Tumblr media Tumblr media
~ my heart goes la di da ~
───────────────────────────────────────
🪼 - Scorpio Risings/Scorpio Mars/Scoprio Sun are more possessive than the rest of Scoprio placements in my opinion,Scoprio Moon or Scoprio Venus will act more obsessed than posseisve
🪼 - Taurus Placements can focus on lot of finances and wealth, some things with gaining and getting from others (money)
🪼 - Where Neptune sits in your chart can indicate where you get addicted:
In the 7H, to your relationships
In your 10H, to your status, public image
In the 1H, becoming addicted to your appearance/the way you look
In the 2H, becoming addicted to money and finances
In the 3rd H, becoming addicted to communicating more, expressing yourself, addicted to creativity
In the 12H, becoming addicted to isolating yourself, hiding yourself from the world
🪼 - Mars in Virgo/6H or at 6° or 18° their charm is insane. Their body can stand out to these natives, beautiful mind and body is the definition for them
🪼 - Mars in Pisces and Sagittarius natives have irresistible charms since Jupiter rules both of these signs, the person is very liked with Mars in this position
🪼 - 12H Sun can have lots of Neptunian energy, therefore the Sun will act in "shadow", not seen so easy by others
🪼 - Lilith h12 in the 4H/9H and 12H have deep ancestral wounds, it can be generational pain as well
Tumblr media
🪼- When you have Neptune/Venus or Sun/Jupiter in the 2H, you can become addicted to buying things that light up your mood and make you happy instead of simply buying them because you want them
🪼- Taurus/Libra or Pisces Risings/Moons are like a piece of art, ready to be set up in a museum
🪼- Capricorns can be night owls. If you don't know, the meaning of night owl is when a person is more productive at night instead of being productive during the day
🪼- When you have Neptune in the 1H/Neptune aspecting the ascendant, you can have doubts about yourself, like you can think youre not beautiful or that youre not liked because soemtimes Neptune makes illuions and fake scenarios about things that may actually not be real. You are very beautiful and sometimes you cannot see it
🪼- Uranus in the 7H can bring an awkward situation when you'll meet with your partner/spouse
🪼- Lilith in the 4H/10H can actually indicate being judged by the family or feeling like the black sheep. Especially from the father side of the family (Mother side can be too)
Tumblr media
🪼 - Mars in the 8H i think is one of the most sensual houses to have Mars in. Everything is so sexual right there
🪼 - Taurus/Venus in the 3rd house gives you a very harmonious relationship with your siblings (in case you have)
🪼 - Lilith in Aquarius is the place where Lilith doesn't want to be like others and it can sound corny but she is just feeling different than the rest of the world
🪼 - Venus in Capricorn may actually need a lot patience in their relationship, you're waiting but for a reaosn, to find something better
🪼 - Sun in the 9H can be the person to change their spiritual or belief system a lot in their lives, they wanna try and experience different things
🪼 - Asteroid Ishtar (7088) is said to be equivalent to Asteroid Aphrodite so aspecting the ASC/MC can indicate surrounding yourself with beauty
Tumblr media
🪼 - Having the ruler/lord of the 6H in the 12H can indicate that the pets you have in this life time can be family members from a past life
🪼 - Pluto aspecting the Asc/Sun or Moon gives you the "detective" aura, you can find yourself being interested in crime series or crime novels
🪼 - Cancer Guys especially Cancer Sun/Rising Guys can be momma boys,so when you date them make sure their momma won't come between u 2
🪼 - Venus in Cancer/Venus in the 4H are the best placements to have if you want to raise a family or an entire generation
🪼 - Asteroid Bless [92891] and what you were blessed with:
In the 3rd - with great siblings/brotherhood comfort
In the 10H - with a good career or job/public image
In the 11H - blessed with finding the community you belong to
In the 2H - finances/money/security
In the 9H - with a great background/ancestral background/with a good learning skill
In the 1H - blessed with your appearance/the way you look
🪼 - Asteroid Aura 1488 aspecting Sun gives the aura of a young soul, someone very kind and light hearted
🪼 - Aura 1488 aspecting Mars gives the aura of an ambitious/brave/bold person, influential aura
Tumblr media
🪼- Aura 1488 aspecting Jupiter gives the aura of a four-leaf clover, very wise, spiritual, intuitive is giving shaman/wizard vibes
🪼 - The rising you have in your D9 chart (vedic astrology) is the energy you'll embody a lot in this life, for example I have Cancer Rising in my D9 chart and I have to focus on things that make me more comfortable and secure just like a Cancer 👁👄👁
🪼 - Virgo + Aquarius combo in your chart can tell about a very intelligent native, clear mind, good personality and charming
🪼 - Gemini + Leo combo in your chart can tell about a person who is always thinking at others more than anything, caring, generous, and social/popular
🪼 - Jupiter in your 4H/9H can indicate leaving your home country and flying to another maybe for a better life or whatever reasons, it indicates some moving when you were a kid
🪼 - Taurus Saturn/Saturn in the 2H are rarely talked about, I think Saturn here wants to teach the native to spend their money carefully on things so they can be 100% fulfilled of their purchases
Tumblr media
🪼 - Saturn in the 6th/12th Saturn at 6° 18°,12°,24° degrees, this is a very healing placement, but one tool to use to heal yourself is literally the sleep, trustttttt me, if you feel sad try to sleep, if you had a bad day try to sleep it will make you feel much better! The sleep can actually heal you.
🪼 - Saturn in Gemini/Saturn in the 3rd house will give you "freedom of speech", your voice is very powerful and you can help people with it
🪼 - Pluto/Lilith in the 11th house can talk about being different from your group of friends, you can have something not everyone will accept in their friend group
🪼 - When you have Jupiter harshly aspecting your Sun you can often think of bad luck happening to you
Tumblr media
🪼 - When you have Saturn in Sagittarius or in the 9H school can sometimes drain you the most, especially some teachers as well
🪼 - Mars in the 9H can actually tell of tense situations with teachers and in school generally (Mars in Sag and Mars in 9° and 21° can as well)
🪼 - Chiron in the 1st/2nd houses can not always the best relation with their bodies, is a slow journey but with good results, if you want that of course
🪼 - Venus in the 10th/Capricorn can sometimes put work before relationships, especially after a breakup omg, they gonna focus much more on work than ever
Tumblr media Tumblr media
🦋 Connecting Yourselves to the source 🦋
2K notes · View notes
edgarallenrich28 · 2 months
Text
Astrology Observations pt. 2 🌈💌🐦‍⬛
- Mars in the 6th house will start deep cleaning and organizing everything when they are mad or in conflict! They also tend to over medicate themselves when they are sick.
- Moon square Mars natal will cause a person to be very harsh toward women either physically, emotionally or both. These people (depending on other astrological influences to moon) can fall into fits of rage or even borderline abuse toward women if underdeveloped. They may also have periods of extreme anger toward their mother. If the native is a woman, she may have many conflicts with women or view them as competition.
- Mercury in Pisces love to talk and debate about politics or subjects pertaining to the human collective. They become very passionate about their positions.
- Saturn in Virgo pours so much of their efforts into caring for others and filling their needs, they may forget about their own needs. They forget to tend to their daily routines, which includes taking their medication on time or even eating proper meals. They feel guilt when they take anything for themselves.
- Virgo moons are hypochondriacs and germaphobes who hate taking risks. They fear getting injured or sick, or even dying. They prefer doing things and being in places that are familiar to them and that keeps them on routine (think of the giraffe from Madagascar)
- Taurus placements, especially moon and Venus usually have great relationships with guys. Taurus is representative of brotherhood/comradory. A woman may be naturally “one of the boys” or fit in very well in male spaces. Men with this probably have a large network of friends who he considers “brothers”
- Saturn in Taurus people may have insecurities about their physical appearance. Even if they’re very beautiful, they may not want you to look at them if they don’t feel attractive that day, even causing them to cancel plans. They may slack on self care rituals or refrain from spending money on luxury items for themselves. It would be helpful for these types to splurge once in a while on a good skin care product or quality fabrics.
- Venus in the 3rd house probably has very beautiful younger siblings & really care for them. One of the things others notice about them is their love for their younger sibling ❤️
- Venus in Scorpio are the epitome of “till death do us part” when they fall in love. They’re very selective, but when they do find someone they are extremely loyal, and willing to sacrifice themselves to the extreme for the person they love. However if the relationship turns sour, they will make sure you regret ever being born
735 notes · View notes
prettyinpwn · 1 month
Text
Stan Pines: A Masterclass in Character Writing and Symbolism AKA Stan is Godly, Literally (GF Writing Analysis Pt. 5)
If you're interested in reading a similar writing analysis on Ford Pines, please visit this page.
I've wanted to write a post on Stan for a long time, because I'm going to make a bold claim: he is THE best written character in Gravity Falls. I literally have never been able to find a flaw with his writing, and the reason? Not only does he have the markers of quality I mentioned in my post about Ford's writing (a want, need, character arc, realistic flaws), but...
I would also argue he is THE main protagonist and hero of Gravity Falls if I had to pin it down to just one, and his character arc matches the external conflict, that being Bill Cipher and the theme of growing up vs. staying in childhood and ego vs. selflessness, in ways that are just - and I'm not exaggerating - poetic. And the best part is, he had a lot more time and attention in the spotlight in the show than Ford, so everything I mentioned in the other post that was good about Ford's writing, ramp that up x100 for Stan.
His character also touches on multiple other fantastic themes: breaking generational trauma, healing broken familial relationships that seem unfixable, redemption, the misunderstanding of the family "fuckup" (although Stan is not that in the least, but that's part of his character arc), positive masculinity, true brotherhood, self-love, self-identity, and probably a million others I'm missing and will find out even just as I write this.
As for the godly part, well... you'll just have to read to the end. And no, I'm not kidding or exaggerating, either.
Okay, okay, gushing aside, let's get to the analysis. I'm not sure this will be as neatly structured as Ford's was, but there are just so many damn good things about Stan's writing that it's hard to stick to just one point. Let us begin.
Stan's Backstory: I Am Not Ford and That's Bad + Protecting/Providing for Family > Everything Else
So as I discussed in my post about Ford linked above, much of Stan's childhood revolved around Ford. His entire existence as a child was summed up by one question: how do I compare to Ford? This is especially emphasized in how their father, Filbrick, treated them. One of the end credits ciphers in the show reads as follows:
"A STUBBORN TOUGH NEW JERSEY NATIVE, FILBRICK WASN’T TOO CREATIVE, HAVING TWINS WAS NOT HIS PLAN, SO HE JUST SHRUGGED AND NAMED BOTH STAN."
Haha, very funny. But OUCH. Imagine knowing that your whole name is your name, was because your father only expected one son and was too lazy to come up with anything else. So literally, Stan doesn't even have his own name - his own identity - technically. Stan also was apparently the second twin born, so came in "second" even from birth, and being Ford's (either identical or very similar fraternal) twin, well... it's hard for someone to untie their identity from their brother's with those factors surrounding them as a kid.
There are many other factors that illustrate my point (Ford got Filbrick's name as his middle name, the way Filbrick literally put Stan on the lawn for sale as a kid for failing a test, etc). All in all, Ford receives their father's love, Stan does not, although we could argue that this isn't that great for Ford, not really, as I did in my post on his writing. Because it's a love that comes with a, "I'd also like to use you." attached (just like Bill, gee).
All in all, it's very obvious from all these context clues that Ford was the beloved one, and Stan was the unexpected one, from birth to the end of Gravity Falls, where he uses that to his advantage - albeit in a different context - to defeat Bill Cipher.
Worse yet, Stan happened to have a twin that was extremely smart and talented in a way that was easily noticed. Ford is a Golden Child, as I described in his own writing analysis post, and siblings of the golden child like Stan? Well... the other sibling(s) are often the Scapegoat. As the source in the last sentence states, the Scapegoat is "often blamed for family mistakes, discarded, neglected, and has been gaslighted into believing it was their fault. The scapegoated child is usually assigned at a young age and often carries this role through to adulthood and never loses the unfortunate title.". This can highly affect the Scapegoat's self-esteem, even into adulthood.
This page also covers the Golden Child vs. Scapegoat dynamic. Pay attention to these quotes from this source:
"You are the one the parent will come after when things are going wrong."
"You are subjected to their emotional and verbal abuse the most."
"You may even feel like you need to fix your broken family."
Also, take into account these panels from the comic, Lost Legends, released after Gravity Falls ended:
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Yikes. A child doesn't say these things unless a parent has taught them that everything they do is wrong and they are lesser than their sibling. This kid's noticed how Filbrick looks with pride at Ford, but not him. And here's the thing: the item Stan stole in this comic that made Filbrick mad? Stan did it to clean it to make his father proud. Sound familiar? In the events of Gravity Falls, Stan works on the portal for thirty years and gets Ford back, and he gets... yelled at for it. Stan always has good intentions. Although, Ford has a point in the above comic panel: Stan does take shortcuts that get him into trouble. He did almost get jailed by the US government and end the universe to save Ford.
But this is a consistent theme with Stan's character throughout the show. Even WE as the audience first see Stan the way his family did - a conniving scoundrel and money-grubbing criminal - but through the events of the show, just as Stan's family starts to realize it, even when Stan does things that seem bad, like stealing radioactive waste, working on a portal described as a potential cause of the end of the world, has a ton of different identities, etc... we find out Stan had good intentions all along.
Even Stan's greediness? That need for money? That also stemmed from the same good intentions, because how ELSE was he going to afford Ford's mortgage to keep the Shack in order to keep working on bringing him home? It was also likely something ingrained into him from when he was kicked out. Because Filbrick told him, basically, until you make us the money that Ford losing his chance at West Coast Tech cost us, GTFO. Literally. :'(
So Stan... really IS not what he seems. He seems like a fuckup, a criminal, a liar, and a greedy conman. But really... he's a family defender, protector, and supporter. Want to have your mind blown? Intentional or not, let's look at the very first scene we see Stan in in the series:
Tumblr media
"Oh look, I'm a monster!"
Tumblr media
"Just kidding, I'm not. I'm someone else under what looks like a monster."
Yes. Stan's whole character arc is foreshadowed in like... three seconds in the first episode. The very first time we see him. Not just his arc, but also his role as someone that seems deceptively evil but is actually good. And not just the arc that Ford and Dipper take from distrusting Stan to finally understanding his good intentions, but also the realization WE as viewers have about Stan as we follow the story. Additionally - which we'll get into later - it's symbolic of Stan's internal character arc he takes across the series of realizing he himself isn't the monster that his father planted in his mind as a child, but a good person worthy of love.
All of that... in a few seconds of animation. If that wasn't intentional, then DAMN did the writing gods smile on the Gravity Falls team the day they planned this scene. Back to the point about who Stan really is: the family "fuckup" (not really, but we'll get to that later), and a family defender and protector. This is the true core of Stan's character throughout the whole series. Not only was he Ford's defender as a child, protecting him from bullies, but you know those scenes the fandom universally agrees on were Stan at his most badass? Ahem...
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
"Everything I've worked for, everything I care about, it's all for this family!"
Tumblr media
"Turn around and look at me, you one-eyed demon! You're a real wise-guy, but you made one fatal mistake: you messed with my family."
Yeah. Look at what Stan is doing in EVERY single one of these scenes: protecting his family. And as bad as Filbrick was, just like I explained in the post I made about Ford's writing... Filbrick also passed down some things to Stan that make him the hero he is. And it's also stuff that Stan passes down to Dipper:
Tumblr media
Yeah, it kinda sucked for Dipper at the time. Was it a perfect way of teaching a child to be tough? Er, no, although another mark of a well-written character is that they can make mistakes and have flaws; Stan's not perfect. And the fandom has criticized the way Stan passed down this lesson to Dipper, because it can be considered very similar to the way Filbrick passed it down to Stan. But look what it did: when the world fights and threatens his family, just like Stan, Dipper fights back. With punches, too:
Tumblr media Tumblr media
So... to summarize this first part: Stan was taught from childhood "I'm not Ford, and that's bad. I am a monster unworthy of love that always messes up.", and his role is a family protector, which started with how he protected Ford from bullies as a child. This is the core of his self-identity. So let's get into the writing techniques that make a well-written character that I discussed in Ford's writing analysis post...
Stan's Core Want vs. Need
I'll quote my explanation of want vs. need from my own post on Ford I made about a year ago:
"When I took writing classes in college (and over years of writing in general and drooling over writing advice podcasts and blogs), I found that the best method for me, personally, when it comes to crafting characters is to focus on two major things:
1. Their want.
2. Their need.
On the surface, these look like the same things, but in character writing, they can be vastly different. For example, say that you have a character that greatly desires fame and recognition. They want these things.
But what’s the real reason behind it? Is it because they had a parent that was famous and want to live up to their example? Is it because they want to be adored by people? Is it because they were told they’d never amount to anything by someone and want to prove them wrong?
This real reason behind it all is the core need. Yes, they want fame and recognition, but they need it because, say, they have low self-esteem and need copious amounts of outside validation to boost it.
Tied to this need is usually a backstory reason (sometimes called their wound). Say your hypothetical character was bullied a lot as a child. Or abused by a parent. Etc. Whatever the wound was, it caused a big, painful hole in their heart that they try to fill and fix with their want.
So they go on a journey. The want is often the external journey. The need is often the core journey / character arc. Our example character seeks fame and recognition on an external journey, but deep inside, they realize they need something else, which is to understand that their past trauma/wound doesn’t define them, and fame and recognition will not be the balm they expect it will be. Often, they realize they had what they needed all along. They grow past their flaws associated with their seeking this want through understanding and instead pursuing the need."
I'll summarize Stan's character writing using these concepts right here, like I did for Ford in his analysis post:
“I want to be Ford because I want to be loved like he is, and I want to protect those I care about and do the right thing. But what I need is to realize is that who I am - not Ford, but Stan - was good enough all along, proven by how I've always protected those I care about, and I never NEEDED to be Ford in the first place. This stems from a wound from my childhood where I was a scapegoat child treated like a fuckup who never did anything right and could never measure up to Ford, and was conditioned to think that being like Ford was a ticket to earn familial love. I had what I needed all along: myself, because I am good enough and worthy of love, despite what my father taught me."
Stan's Arc: I Am Not Ford... and That's Okay
AKA Stan's arc is basically: learning to love yourself and be yourself, even when you were conditioned to think you have no value. Don't believe me? Guess what Stan does for thirty years: pretends to be Ford. And he literally does it by pretending to have died. He "kills" Stanley Pines AKA himself in a staged car crash to become Stanford Pines.
And guess how he defeats Bill? By pretending to be Ford. His greatest weakness is actually his strength, and then he flips it: he reveals to Bill that he's not Ford, he's actually Stan. And THAT'S when the antagonist of Gravity Falls is truly defeated - an antagonist that represents stasis, lack of change, and with The Book of Bill's context, an antagonist that never freed himself from his own past - is when Stan learns to accept himself and admit who he really is and learns to let the past go. And it's telling that this is what he says when he does it:
Tumblr media
"Heh. Guess I was good for something after all." AKA: "Yeah, fuck what Pa said about me."
There it is. The moment of Stan realizing his father was wrong, and he was wrong for thinking himself a fuckup all those years. And this is the expression he pulls at this moment of realization; at the peak of his character arc, all while burning in flames like a phoenix reborn. It sounds corny when I put it that way, but LITERALLY, all the fire symbolism feels like it wasn't foreshadowing Stan's death, but his rebirth as himself after pretending to be Ford all those years. He's not burning who he is, he's burning away who he thought - who he was told - he was. Funny that it takes place in the mind, huh?
Tumblr media
This is the face of a man who is at peace and finally loves himself for the first time in his life. That ain't just his mind burning. That's him punching his demon that's haunted him and his brother their whole lives, protecting his family as always, and, symbolically, punching a demon that represents the show's overall antagonist of the shackles of staying stuck in the past, forgiveness, and the value of moving on. He literally punches the antagonist - staying stuck in the past - to pieces and THAT'S when he wins.
Also, can we talk about how Bill and Filbrick share color schemes, and Filbrick even has a brick-like pattern in his suit (also, I mean... come on, he's got 'brick' in his name)? I'll let you make your own conclusion about what that means for Stan's character arc:
Tumblr media Tumblr media
It's also telling that Bill Cipher's backstory is that he burned his home dimension and loved ones - including his family - to ashes. The Axolotl - Gravity Falls' equivalent of basically God, from what I can tell - says himself about Bill in one of the books released outside of the show:
"Saw his own dimension burn. Misses home and can't return. Says he's happy. He's a liar. Blame the arson for the fire."
Bill misses home. He wants the past and to hold onto his family, just like Stan and Mabel do. Isn't it funny how whenever Bill shows up... time stops?
Tumblr media Tumblr media
And look what Bill says in Weirdmageddon: "This party never stops! Time is dead and meaning has no meaning!"
Time stopped. He just wants fun. He's almost like a child that never grew up. And... look at what it was that Stan wrecked in A Tale of Two Stans as a teenager:
Tumblr media
A perpetual motion machine. That thing that's not supposed to stop, just like time. Stan 'breaking' time by wanting to hold Ford in the past, with him, instead of leaving him to go to college while Stan was stuck in the past/Glass Shard Beach? That's what broke their brotherhood.
But what makes Stan a hero, and Bill a villain, is that he lets go of the past and his childhood. Bill never does. And he's defeated when Stan lets go of the past, something Bill never did. Why? Because he has family to make facing the future easier. He has familial and self love. Bill doesn't, because he killed his own. (Sorry, got off track again, but Stan's arc and story ties so deeply to the other characters' and the main themes that it's hard not to take some detours, because it illustrates just how well-written Stan is. Gravity Falls' story IS his story.).
Wanna know something cute? Wanna know how Stan realized he had worth during that scene after he defeats Bill? Why I'm betting the show runners showed Stan clutching to a picture of Dipper and Mabel as this happens? I'll give you one guess why Dipper and Mabel are so important to Stan, and why he clutches to their photo even as his mind is burning apart in the finale:
They're the first family members since Ford (whose love he'd lost) who loved Stan for who he was, not for who they thought he should have been. Mabel trusting Stan in Not What He Seems is basically the first damn time Stan's heard in thirty plus years from a family member that, "Hey, I trust you have good intentions and aren't just a lying fuckup. You're not a monster. You're not what you seem.".
Also, he's protecting his family. That always makes him happy, too, of course.
Ego Death and the "Stan is Godly" Part
Yep, we're taking this analysis post train all the way to "damn this is deep and PrettyinPwn is likely crazy for noticing it" station. The only reason I'm tacking this part on is that I saw a Q&A with Hirsch recently that sparked my attention. He was on his The Book of Bill tour, and someone asked if there was anyone more powerful than Bill in Gravity Falls lore. Of course, Hirsch said the Axolotl, but what he said about what Bill vs. the Axolotl stands for caught my eye:
The video in question. The question and answer starts around 21:22. The quote I want to point out is, though, is what we learn about these two beings:
Hirsch: "Bill's weaknesses in terms of his overconfidence, his ego, and his lack of ability to focus on one thing at a time are things that a being that has no ego, thinks on a long scale, and does have empathy is actually stronger than him because of those things."
So when we boil the conflict of Bill vs. the Axolotl down to simple terms - what makes evil vs. good in the Gravity Falls universe - is this: ego and selfishness vs. no ego and empathy.
Guess which characters wrestle with these themes? The correct answer is: ALL of them. But especially Stan and Ford. This is really what their conflict is about at the core. They both struggled with ego and selfishness, and that's when - in the story - they lose most. But they win when they choose selflessness and empathy. When they... drum roll, please... partake in ego death.
Well, let's describe an ego death. First, we must define what an ego is (source for all of the following quotes):
Ego: "The ego is a sense of self that you develop at a young age." and, "-relates to your feelings about your own importance and abilities.".
*cough "I'm the family fuckup and poor man's version of Ford because that's what people taught me to believe in my youth." cough*
And an ego death "-is the (often instantaneous) realization that you are not truly the things you've identified with, and the "ego" or sense of self you've created in your mind is a fabrication. In some instances, it can offer a profound feeling of peace and connectedness with all that is, as the walls of separation the ego creates come crumbling down."
*cough "I'm not Ford's poor copy, I'm not a fuckup, I have worth, and I realize this in my literal mind as I pull this expression-
Tumblr media
-of total peace as the walls of my mind literally BURN around me" cough*
And, "When one comes through on the other side having released all the things they've identified with, with only their true spirit left, Kaiser says, they begin to live from a place of pure love."
*cough "I'll hold a picture of the ones I love and realize self-love as my mind burns around me because this is who I really am: a man who protects and loves my family and my family loves me" cough*
Cheeky asides, well... aside, are you seeing what I'm getting at, folks? Look, I can't prove that Hirsch and crew intended all this, but in my opinion: you wanna know why there are so many gags of Stan or versions of him melting or burning in the show? Why fire is such an important symbol surrounding him? Why there are so many times he's killed his own identity and became a "new" man again and again and again, be it as a young grifter, or as a drifter who became his brother to bring him back again, or as an old man who "killed" his own mind to save the world and his memories returned?
Because it's ego death. The rebirth of true self from a lie you were living. That's literally what Stan's arc is a metaphor for. Even better, he reaches his character arc's zenith when he does this:
Tumblr media
That's not an old man punching a stupid little bastard. That's an old man punching what threatens his family, punching his own past, punching his own demons, punching his brother's demon, punching his prior identity, and - given that we know that Bill is a symbol of ego now - punching the personification of literal ego and letting it burn. There are, let's count, seven symbolic meanings in that punch at the very least. Maybe eight if you count that the rightside-up triangle is the alchemical symbol for fire, and by Stan beating it, it's symbolism of his defeating the fire that's eating his memories AKA why he gets his memories back. I could find more, probably.
And yes, the chubby old conman we love so much - and is the opposite of spiritual both in action and in Hirsch's words (he's said Stan is an atheist as an adult) literally has a character arc where he attains spiritual enlightenment that aligns with the god of the Gravity Falls universe - the Axolotl, who has no ego as Hirsch said - hidden under many layers of symbolism. I don't know if Hirsch and the writing crew planned this with Stan, but holy damn... this is what I meant when I said that Stan is the best written character in Gravity Falls, even if this part was unintentional. There are just so many layers of meaning here.
And the best part? Stan was this hero all along. Everything we cheer him on for - be it punching zombies to protect his niblings or spending three decades of his life trying to get his brother back - is when he's being selfless and empathetic. We love Stan as a character because he has a big heart. He's a good person because, as we described above, he is - through beating ego in a universe where its god represents a lack of ego - godly.
No, fangirls, put the sexy Hunkle art down. I mean literally spiritually godly in the Gravity Falls universe, at least in the way good and evil is portrayed in the themes and worldbuilding. No, I'm not exaggerating, either. Let's return to that quote about the Axolotl's powers and why he's stronger than Bill:
"-that a being that has no ego, thinks on a long scale, and does have empathy is actually stronger than him (Bill) because of those things."
Well... guess what Stan does? He loses his ego so hard he regularly kills his own identity multiple times in his life and goes through a symbolic ego death, he thinks on a long scale (thirty years long), and is empathetic and selfless to the point of sacrifice. And the Axolotl in real life lore? Xolotl, the god of Aztec myth? Guess what he's a god of (source):
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Why I highlighted "vulture"? Honestly, this is just a neat little thing I wanted to point out, and was a part of a massive theory I was writing about Stan and Bill that sadly never came to fruition (although I may return to it someday), but here's a hint: what was Stan and Ford's school mascot in New Jersey?
Tumblr media Tumblr media
I'll let you take away from all the above what you will. Let's just say: there are a LOT of similarities between Stan and the Axolotl and its real life god counterpart, Xolotl. Does that that mean he's literally the Axolotl when I say he's godly in the Gravity Falls setting? Maybe not.
Here's one last odd something that caught my eye. This is also a leftover from that theory I mentioned above, but I'll just... leave this here, because I don't think anyone else has ever pointed it out before and it expands on what I've been talking about:
Tumblr media
Stan in the opening. The first time we see this guy, technically. He's sitting in his favorite chair. And as we all know, he turns to look at something. But just where the hell does he turn to look?
Tumblr media
Half of you are like, "Well, what? What's he looking at?". There's a blue glow to his right, and you know what that blue glow is? The tank, which happens to have...
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Could be a coincidence, maybe unintentional, but it's... kind of odd, not gonna lie. To have a character that embodies the traits of the setting's god look over at the setting's god the first time viewers see him. Just... a bit strange... and Xolotl was also a shapeshifter god, and given that Stan goes through so many identities in his life... and axolotls are able to regenerate limbs and so are a symbol of healing and rebirth like Stan - whose whole story is about healing and having multiple "rebirths" - is...
Anyways, I've gotten far off track mentioning things from that theory just for fun that I never posted. I may still post it, so I won't spoil all of it or list any more of the very odd coincidences between Stan and the Axolotl, but all you need to know from this post is that Stan shares a lot of similarities with his setting's god in symbolism, and embodies the power of the Axolotl AKA godliness in the Gravity Falls universe: no ego, selflessness, and knowing how to play a long game, because those are exactly the traits he uses to defeat Bill, as well as the traits that help him resolve his character arc wound.
So... now what?
I'm not really sure what to put here, to be honest. This post was a lot more meandering than Ford's was, but that's because there are so many different aspects of Stan's writing that are amazing, especially in symbolism. I hope it was coherent and made sense. A part of me was considering leaving out the ego death and Axolotl parts, but I thought it interesting enough to keep in. Let me know your thoughts!
224 notes · View notes
apple-----pie · 2 months
Text
Tumblr media
I think Amalia is one of the most tragic characters in my au. Life in the wasteland turned out to be very hard for her when she left the sadida kingdom. All the comforts of life in a quiet kingdom were replaced by a struggle for survival and the realities of a hard life. The turning point in her life happened after she was bitten by a poisonous rose. She was in a coma for some time, and then suffered from paralysis. Her left leg was permanently injured, slightly rotted due to the magical poison, which is why she limps. The brotherhood was forced to earn money for her treatment, which was very expensive After this event, Amalia thought deeply about her moral principles and life. She was never particularly useful (on the contrary, she was always more of a hindrance, because she could not use magic and did not know how to shoot a gun). At that moment, Amalia realized that if there was a medic in their squad, then perhaps she would not have suffered so badly from the poison. Nusika (I hope that's how her name is spelled?) offered to become her assistant and teach her medicine It was a tough moral decision for Amalia, but thanks to her, the brotherhood is still alive. Despite this, it will cause her huge psychological problems in the future ---------- Oh yeah, sorry for the mistakes in the text if there are any!! English is not my native language 🤕
105 notes · View notes
icedtoastt · 1 year
Text
Nine People Tag
Thanks @kamileonik, @flock-from-the-void and @flowerxar for the tags!! :DD ok here we go
Last song: the Croatian EDM song my taxi driver is currently playing..! Apart from that, Between to Worlds by Mili from Limbus Company :D
Last Movie: wait.. what WAS it? The last one I remember is guardians of the galaxy 3 but I definitely watched another
Currently Watching: shows? I’m currently watching Fullmetal alchemist brotherhood and demon slayer!
Currently Reading: currently reading Bungou stray dogs untold origins, The Myth of Sisyphus and Crime and Punishment!
Currently Craving: some water. Hm. I should probably get some give me a second�� ok done. Stay hydrated kids!!
Last thing you researched for writing purposes: animal symbolism! Uh.. apparently in native american cultures an owl’s call foretells death and is a bad omen! So now that’s something I know!
Tags: here are all the lovely people I’ll be tagging, if you don’t want to do it then it’s fine: @some-random-dunce, @vivid-badsquad, @comfortstars, @kingarubin, @obsyddiansays, @galaxitic, @breadistasty, @another-white-hole and um I’m running out so just @sootings
478 notes · View notes
oumaheroes · 9 months
Note
My soul cries out for Scotland and England being siblings; I love those two and their stormy sense of brotherhood. I may or may not be biased cos my favourite period is medieval, which is ripe for England and Scotland conflict and shenanigans.
Congratulations on 1000 followers! You deserve it!
Tumblr media
Thank you so much, Ballad!! And to you too Nonny, that's a high compliment indeed <3
I got a few requests for UK bros and England and Scotland as a pair, so there will be more than just this. I hope this quick little story fits the bill in the meantime!
----------
Currency
Alba nodded in satisfaction as he tilted the horse's face slightly to the side, its rubbery lips soft and warm against his bare palm.
'Teeth seem fine.'
'Let me see.'
Alba bent to hold Albion up to the animal, settling his weight against his hip.
'Careful.' He warned as his brother reached out for the horse's nose, 'Slowly. Or she'll bite.'
'I know.' Albion said sharply, but paused his hands in mid air before lowering them carefully down on the short fur, 'I'm not stupid.'
'Sure.'
'So what do you think.' The horse's owner, a traveller from Gaul unusual this far up north, peered at them with lowered brows. His accent was thick, more used to the Brythonic dialects of the south than the midland ones now quick on Alba's tongue. 'You take her? She's strong; good for distance.'
'She seems healthy.' Alba agreed, 'Perfect for the winter.'
'That what you need her for?'
Alba didn't reply.
The stranger raised his hands, conceding, 'Well, she is yours if you want. She can't have more foal so she no good to me, and no war mount either.' He patted his other horse on its thick neck, the creature a good few hands taller than the smaller female they were discussing. They were tied together with a long rope, the smaller horse further tethered to a loaded wooden wagon.
Alba ignored this comment too. 'What do you want for her?' He asked, switching to what he hoped was the man's native tongue, a language from Northern Gaul he had picked up from some sailors a few years ago. It was useful to know the closest ones from the mainland and he was rewarded for his rusty troubles with a wry smile.
‘125 denarii’, The Gaul said smoothly, ‘Or equivalent, if you have other currency.’
'Coins?' Alba shifted Albion's weight, his brother slipping from his grip in his attempt to lean closer to the horse, too interested in stroking her to pay any attention to the conversation. 'What about in trade?'
'I trade in coin for horses.'
'We don't use coin here.' (1)
'Then you don't trade with me.'
Alba silently cursed. They did not need a horse, not in the way they needed food or shelter, but it would certainly be useful. Winter was tightening its grip on the land and a horse would make tracking across snow and icy terrain between clans much easier. Alba and Ériu could cross the distances fine enough, but their brothers were too young to make as many long treks without either numerous breaks in between or long stops in settlements. Summer, with its days of generous light and warm weather, made the amount of travelling Alba wanted to do easier, but as soon as the days grew short it became more and more difficult to move safely at any decent speed. Mama always had them more settled at this time of year, but even Albion could feel a new restlessness in the air that hadn't been there in her time.
A mare would help.
Alba placed Albion down and felt discreetly for the pouch of assorted coins against his leg. 'Why do you want coin?'
The Gaul shrugged, 'Much of the mainland uses coin. It's common.'
'Not here.'
'Here is not the main land.'
'Why for horses?'
The man spread an arm in an arc over his wagon, the thick waterproof cover high over whatever was piled underneath, 'Everything else, I'll trade for in these parts. But horses are worth their weight in gold, here as much as anywhere else. The value is not tradeable.'
Albion tugged at Alba's trousers, 'Let me back up.'
'We have quality things to trade.' Sticking to the stranger's language, Alba kept the Gaul's gaze. Albion tugged at him again and Alba gripped the shoulder of his cloak to hold him still, fingers digging down firm. 'Cloth, dyed. Jewellery, skins, meat-'
'I only trade horses in coin.'
The man spoke politely enough but Alba could hear the note of finality in his words.
'Adair-'
'Shh!' Alba pushed Albion away towards the horse, noting that she was still patient and calm despite the child by her feet. 'Go away.'
From his inner pocket, he lifted out the pouch which held their meagre collection of coins. They were all different: various sizes and colours, with different pictures on their sides. They found them along their travels by the sides of worn and well walked roads, usually in the south around port settlements and trade points. Albion and Ériu had a keen eye for them in the mud and grass and they had amassed a fair few.Alba selected the biggest one and held it out.
The man blinked at him.
'For the horse.' Alba said.
The man laughed loudly. Alba felt his cheeks flush and brought his hand back down, feeling wrong-footed. 'What?'
'You are serious?' The man shook his head and grinned, 'One coin?'
Alba frowned. 'You said you wanted coin. One horse, one coin.'
'By the Gods.' The man ran a hand through his hair and laughed again, 'If I didn't know you were serious, boy, I'd beat you for the cheek of it. One horse, one coin; my my.'
He huffed in amusement and gestured for the pouch, 'Show me those.'
He took the collection and tipped the contents into Alba's palm, moving the coins around with a thick index finger. 'You see the different faces and sizes? They all have different worth.'
Alba stared at them.
'They're not like pots, or furs, where the value is unique to what you’re trading.' The man continued, flipping over one of the coins, 'If one if shiny or newer, it doesn't change value. So long as it is the same weight. And the different sized coins represent different value, as well as what they’re made of.'
‘But some are gold.’
The man patted Alba hard on the shoulder, 'You need to learn money, boy, if you want to do proper trade.'
Alba forced his face to stay expressionless, 'Is it enough. For the mare.'
'No.'
Alba scoffed and tipped the money back into the pouch. 'Then this has been a waste of both our time.'
The Gaul sucked at his top lip behind his moustache and jerked his head over Alba's shoulder, 'They all yours?'
Ériu and Cymru were further away behind them on the muddy track, kicking a small rock back and forth between them. Ériu caught the rock between Crymu's feet and kicked it free with a shout of victory, dashing away to gain a clear advantage.
'Yes.' Alba said, watching them.
‘Parents? Clan?’
‘No.’
The man nodded. 'That's a lot of you. You’re all young to be alone as you are.'
Alba didn't reply.
‘Tell you what.’ Before Alba could react, too quick even to register exactly what happened, the man hunkered down and gripped a hand around Albion’s upper arm. He tugged him closer, hard enough so that Albion tripped over his feet, ‘I’ll take this one as payment. We’ll do it your way and make it a trade.’
He cupped a hand around Albion’s head to stare into his eyes, critical and cool as if assessing an animal, ‘He seems strong enough to grow into something worthwhile.’
‘Get off him!’ Alba’s voice cracked, surprise rendering him younger, and stepped forwards, one hand going to the dagger by his side.
The man put up a hand, eyes still on Albion, ‘Calm down. I’m only looking.’
‘He’s not for sale.’
‘You want to trade rather than pay? This is at least a fair exchange.’
Albion, the shock of being tugged about by a stranger finally having worn off, twisted sharply and bit down hard on the man’s wrist. The Gaul reacted in kind and stood with a yelp, sending Albion flying back with a wet thud into the muddy ground.
‘Vermin!’ He kicked out at Albion where he lay sprawled, catching him in the stomach.
Over Albion’s cry of pain, Alba heard Ériu shout something from behind him, then the sound of running.
The man returned his attention to Alba and cradled his wrist, his eyes flashing, ‘It was a true offer, made in kind faith. He would have had a better life with me and you’d know it, if you weren’t so damn foolish. Food, shelter; not this.’ He gestured to Alba’s worn clothes, travel stained and haphazardly repaired.
‘We don’t want the kindness, sir.’
‘Then by your own death be it.’ The Gaul shook out his hand and swung himself up onto his horse. Clicking his tongue, he kicked at its flank and moved them off without a look back.
Alba lunged forwards and quickly dragged Albion out of the way of the wheels before they could clip him, hoisting him into his arms.
‘You’re alright.’ He told him, more to make it true than anything else, ‘It wasn’t that bad.’
‘What happened?’ Ériu came panting beside him, looking from Alba to Albion and then at the retreating caravan, ‘Did he-‘
‘Leave it.’
Ériu reached for his dagger as Cymru came breathless and horrified by his side, ‘Who does he thi-‘
‘Leave it.’ Alba, grabbed his arm. ‘It’s not worth it.’
He felt Albion press his face into his shoulder, arms tight about his neck, and swallowed back something hot and bitter, ‘He’s not one of ours.’
Ériu’s expression soured into disgust, ‘I don’t think that should change anything.’
‘Doesn’t matter what you think.’ Alba turned away so that Ériu couldn’t see the shame and anger on his face, ‘It fucking does.’
--------------------
‘Adair.’
Alba opened his eyes and stared at the dark ceiling of their makeshift shelter. The campfire Ériu was guarding outside made the shadows jump, the outlines of the branches supporting the skins above their heads jumping and lengthening into nothingness.
‘Ad-‘
‘What, Arthur.’ Alba turned his head to find Albion, wide-eyed and watchful between him and Cymru.
‘What that man said earlier-‘
Alba turned away. ‘Go to sleep.’
‘Is that how people see us now?’
Albion’s voice was quiet, smaller beyond trying not to wake Cymru fast asleep on his back. Alba rolled back to face him, ‘See us like what.’
Albion shrugged, a small movement under heavy furs, ‘Alone.’
More than simply alone, Alba knew he meant. ‘Alone’ as something bad, something less than. Something to be pitied. He cracked the knuckles of one hand with his thumb under the covers as he thought of what to say, ‘We are alone.’
‘Mama was alone.’ Albion said quietly, ‘She used to say so, before we were here. But-’
‘Mama was grown.’
‘She wasn’t always.’
‘Before then, there were more. Mama was the last one of her family before we came along.’
‘It wasn’t a bad thing then, though. For her to be alone.’
‘Were you born?’ Alba raised an eyebrow even though Albion likely couldn’t see it, ‘How do you know.’
Albion stayed silent. Alba thought of his belly, the purple bruises they had found bloomed into his pale skin from the boot that caught him earlier, and reached for his brother to gently pull him closer, ‘We are alone. That’s our fate now. Believing it to be good or bad won’t change it. It just is.’
‘I suppose.’
‘Nothing wrong with being alone, anyway.’ Alba tucked Albion’s head under his chin, his hair cool from the chilly air, and closed his eyes, ‘We’re alright on our own.’
‘We need to get better at it.’
‘I’ll take your advice when you can stay awake through a watch.’
‘...That was one time.’
‘The only time we let you try.’
Albion huffed and shifted closer. ‘I don’t want to go on watch anyway.’
‘Then I don’t want your advice.’
Albion fell silent, and Alba listened through Cymru’s snores as his breathing slowed and deepened. Every experience had something to learn, Mama had always said, and the day’s teaching was a valuable one, as hard as it was to take. The world beyond their lands was unknown, and something they’d need to learn to read and understand if they wanted to work with it successfully.
The next day, Alba spread the illegible coins of foreign kings onto the ground and began to learn.
--------
AN:
(1) Celts and trade. Celtic peoples used a bartering system of trading goods, rather than using money. Coins were used to store or show wealth but were also just as often used in jewellery. Celtic nations on the European mainland did eventually start minting their own currencies, followed by the British Celts much later, but it was a system quite late to take compared to their contemporaries
You can read more about it here, though as always please do your own research!
185 notes · View notes
teecupangel · 1 year
Note
Do we have a Phonenix yet in the menagire? We need one.
Phoenix!Desmond, probably looking like a normal bird for the most part, and stays with Sef when they go after the mongols (Altair probably thinks he's getting too old he looked a bit ratty lately) and takes the hit when Swami tries to kill him.
Idk whether to have this crack or angest with them thinking Desmond died, had a chick, and was apparently a female bird the entire time.
Okay, so I was checking the Phoenix wiki page for any information if it would be possible that Altaïr would know what a phoenix is and there’s this part written by Herodotus (yes, Kassandra’s Herodotos)
[The Egyptians] have also another sacred bird called the phoenix which I myself have never seen, except in pictures. Indeed it is a great rarity, even in Egypt, only coming there (according to the accounts of the people of Heliopolis) once in five hundred years, when the old phoenix dies. Its size and appearance, if it is like the pictures, are as follow: The plumage is partly red, partly golden, while the general make and size are almost exactly that of the eagle. They tell a story of what this bird does, which does not seem to me to be credible: that he comes all the way from Arabia, and brings the parent bird, all plastered over with myrrh, to the temple of the Sun, and there buries the body.
… which may be a reference to Bennu, the Egyptian deity connected to the sun, creation, and rebirth.
So Altaïr would meet him during his travels with Maria and he just stays. They assume he’s an exotic bird (or eagle), maybe a native to one of the places Altaïr and Maria visited.
Altaïr never told them that the bird flew into his room one night and began to chirp at him as if trying to tell him something. He also tried to tap the Apple but all it did was glow a bit.
The bird had been quite annoyed by it and began to hit it with his talons so quickly the Apple had a taptaptaptaptap sound rapidly before Altaïr could take the Apple.
After that, the bird just decided to sit on Altaïr’s shoulder when he left his room the following morning and Maria assumed he had bought the bird yesterday when they went their separate ways.
Her guess sounded so much better than the truth which was Altaïr spent the entire day yesterday holed up in his room, writing letters to be sent back to Masyaf as part of his deal with Malik in exchange for letting him go on this trip (which was to send letters detailing the geopolitical situations of the places he travels to with suggestion on what the Brotherhood should do in those parts… if they could do anything).
So nobody ever questioned the mentor’s newly acquired bird (except Malik but Malik had been more focused on the ex-Templar that Altaïr brought to Masyaf and married).
Then Darim and Sef were born and the bird (named Desmond because Altaïr thought of the name first when Maria asked what the bird’s name was) usually stayed with the children, letting out loud screeching cries whenever one of the two children were doing something they shouldn’t do.
When they got older, Darim and Sef learned the word ‘bribe’ and how Desmond can be easily bribed to look the other way in favor of delicious food.
Desmond stayed in Masyaf though, regardless if Altaïr or any of his sons left for a mission or to travel to a bureau. At some point, the bird had become a symbol of Brotherhood with its gold and red plumage.
So when Altaïr left with Maria and Darim to take down Genghis Khan, it was only natural for Desmond to stay with Sef in Masyaf.
Altaïr had been a bit conflicted though as Desmond’s feathers had grown quite… dull and he was moving slower than usual.
Maria and Malik both told them that Desmond was growing old and maybe it was time but the Ibn-La'Ahad boys refused to believe that.
Darim also believed that they might find medicine in one of the camps of the Mongols as they have been to many lands.
So when Desmond flew to protect Sef and got stabbed on the chest by Swami, Swami screamed as Desmond became shrouded in flames.
Swami burned as well and Sef could only watch in horror as white hot flames consumed the both of them.
Swami was left as a corpse charred beyond recognition.
While Desmond…
Only ashes remained…
And from those ashes…
Sef heard a small chirp.
As a little chick with red and gold plumage poked his head out of the ashes, shaking the ash from his small body.
Sef could only stare as he asked, “Desmond?”
And the bird gave him an enthusiastic chirp while jumping.
213 notes · View notes
martinderi · 6 months
Text
NSFW alphabet 616-wanda maximoff
Tumblr media
tw: 18+ material
a/n: it's the first time i've written something like this, and in a non-native language. so I apologize if I made any mistakes
A – aftercare
• wanda will definitely kiss her partner on the cheek, whisper some words of gratitude, and then go to the bathroom to help put him/her in order.
B – body part
• she likes her wrists and hips. especially when there are bruises on her soft thighs from the way they are squeezed, or hickeys are left.
• she definitely likes strong, toned arms and your chest, and she also likes your neck. to touch her lips and leave gentle kisses there.
D – dirty secret
• wanda will probably always consider quick sex with carol danvers to be her main dirty secret.
E – experience
• quite experienced. although the image of a fugitive, which changed first to a member of the brotherhood, and later to an avenger, does not seem to contribute much to this. nevertheless, wanda was often in a relationship, maybe not the healthiest, but giving her an experience. she understands perfectly well what she wants and how.
G – goofy?
• she is quite focused and sometimes too worried for fear of causing any pain. although she can always make a funny comment in order to defuse the situation, but she is still not a master at this.
I – intimacy
• wanda is a romantic and that's a fact. she will always strive for everything to be the most romantic and have some kind of meaning. often these are rose petals, various flowers, aromatic candles and fruits.
J – jack off
• mastering is one of her rescues when she started working with the avengers. it was the easiest way to relieve stress and get rid of the endless stream of thoughts in my head about the possibility of missing and ruining everything.
K – kinks
• hickeys/bites.
• kink on the force.
• kink on the uniform.
• kink on the scars.
• kink for praise.
L – location
• definitely shower sex; anywhere in her apartment. but she will never agree to semi-public sex, because the avengers are kind of celebrities and their every move is being watched, and selling someone a picture of one of the heroes of earth having sex will be very expensive. therefore, maximoff has a strict taboo on this.
M – motivation
• it largely depends on her mood.
N – no
no knives, ropes, guns or beatings.
She also won't touch you without permission. her own experience, where she was almost raped, as well as harassment from fraternity members, could not but affect her.
somnophilia.
O – oral
• she's service bottom basically. • although sometimes she can dominate, but at these moments she will always ask if she is doing everything right.
P – pace
slow and sensual. long foreplay as a way to show your love.
Q – quickie
• fast sex is to some extent her salvation, although she will still choose to have long sex where people spend a lot of time with each other. long foreplay, constant touching, lazy sex and light kisses all over the body.
R – risk
• no risk if it gives annoying individuals a chance to catch her having sex. The list of annoying characters includes: paporati, Pietro, the exemplary father...
S – stamina
• she is an avenger who has gone through many long training sessions and missions. wanda is hardy, but she is more likely to have enough for 1-2 orgasms.
T – toys
• she has some things, but she hardly uses them. more often, she will use her magic instead of toys. It doesn't cost her anything to create something or change her physiology, but she's not a fan of that, to be honest.
U – unfair
• the witch loves to tease, even adores. She likes to make inappropriate comments that should make you blush. she can deliberately enter your mind, creating an image there of how she lies under you. she likes to snuggle up to you, whisper something in your ear and slide her hands over your body, knowing how it affects you, and then wanda will pull away and return to what she was doing before with an impudent smile.
V – volume
• it can be both loud and surprisingly quiet. in many ways, it all depends on the situation. if everything happens at her house, then she will not hold back, but if we are talking about the avengers mansion, where her brother will run to her at any moment because of loud noises, wanda will behave quietly. but at some point, her moans may be replaced by words in serbian or her native romani dialect. maximoff likes to cheer and guide a person if she is from below.
W – wild card
• she's just damn good at working with her mouth and fingers. and sometimes wanda is just a monster who will pin his beloved to the wall and fuck her so that her knees will tremble.
X – x-ray
• toned, athletic body with soft hips.
Y – yearing
• it's not that big. for the most part, she ignores her desire, preferring them to work, of which, as an avenger, she has a lot.
Z – zzz
• as soon as she gets her partner in order, the witch will switch off almost immediately. most likely, lying directly on the body of her lover.
82 notes · View notes
rabbidbunwy · 8 days
Text
Yuji,Megumi and Nobara as a big siblings headcannon ദ്ദി ≽^⎚˕⎚^≼
Tags:fluff,brotherhood,sibling stuff,comfort?
i'm no english native so sorry for some mistakes
please reblog 🔁 and like❤️
@muzansslxt @candy69gurl @kiwicopia @ponderingmoonlight @satorkive
Tumblr media Tumblr media
YUJI
Yuji would be the type to dote on his younger sibling, ensuring they were always well cared for. When his younger sibling would cry, he would be there to comfort them, offering hugs and words of reassurance. He would also be playful, often making them laugh with silly jokes and antics, which would sometimes even include pranking.
He'd also be strict about enforcing rules and boundaries. While he wouldn't hesitate to discipline his brother or sister, he would still offer love and understanding, making sure they understand why certain things are not okay.
Yuji would also be protective of his younger sibling, looking out for them in any situation. He'd even teach his younger sibling self-defense techniques to help them stay safe, and remind them of various safety practices like never going off with strangers.
He'd also love to see them grow and learn new things. Yuji would actively encourage and support his younger sibling in their pursuit of hobbies, talents, and interests. He'd often listen intently when they'd excitedly share about their progress or achievements.
Yuji would be there to help his younger sibling with homework and studies, ensuring they were on the right track. He'd offer advice and assist with assignments they struggled to understand, as well as help them prepare for exams or other significant academic events.
He'd also be a good role model, showing them various life lessons through his own actions and words. Yuji would make sure to impart important values such as honesty, integrity, patience, and tolerance in his younger sibling.
Yuji would first try to address the tantrum calmly, asking you what's wrong and attempting to talk it out. He'd explain patiently why the tantrum isn't productive and offer you alternative ways to express your feelings.
If you continued to have a tantrum, Yuji would become more firm, clearly letting you know that this behavior is not acceptable. He'd set clear boundaries and communicate consequences if the tantrum continued. But even then, he would always make sure you understand that he still loves and cares for you deeply.
When you're sick, Yuji would immediately become concerned and attentive. He'd make sure you're comfortable and provided for.
He'd check on you regularly, making sure you have food, water, and medicine if needed. He'd even sit bedside to keep you company and offer words of comfort and humor to lift your spirits.
Yuji would also make sure to do chores around the house, handling any tasks that might otherwise fall on you, so you can focus on your recovery.
MEGUMI
As a big brother, Megumi is highly protective of his younger siblings. He would ensure their safety and well being at all costs. He is a firm but gentle authority figure, setting rules and boundaries for the younger siblings. He also provides guidance and support them in their schoolwork and other activities.
Megumi would teach them basic skills like how to defend themselves and handle basic domestic chores. Due to his reserved personality, he may struggle with expressing affection directly, but would show his care and concern in more subtle ways like watching out for them and cooking a meal for them.
Megumi knows the value of responsibility, so he also encourages his younger siblings to become more independent and responsible in their own ways. He is a stern and serious figure, but he secretly loves and cares about his younger siblings greatly. He would make every effort to keep them away from any trouble and make sure they are well cared for, even if his expression is usually stoic and neutral.
When his younger sibling have a tantrum, Megumi will generally remain calm and composed on the outside. He might give them a stern look at first but would not scold them directly. He would then try to assess the cause of the tantrum and see if there is any way he can help to diffuse the situation. If necessary he will try to use logic and reason to explain the situation to the younger sibling and find a resolution. If the tantrum persist, he might take away something they like or give them a little timeout but will also make sure they understand why that was necessary.
When his younger sibling is sick, Megumi is extremely attentive. He will try to determine the severity of their illness and consult a medical professional if necessary. He will make sure the younger siblings are resting, eating well and taking their medicine if needed. Megumi will also try to make them comfortable by providing them with blankets, pillows or other items to soothe them. He would also try to keep them entertained with activities or stories to help make the time of being sick go by. He will also check on their temperature, energy and mood regularly throughout the day.
Megumi will also try to take care of his younger siblings by doing things like cooking for them or cleaning, so that they can focus on resting and recovering. He will also tell his younger siblings stories or play games with them to keep their minds off the illness and make the recovery process more bearable. He will also comfort them if they feel scared or sad and reassure them that they will get better soon.
NOBARA
Nobara would be very protective and caring. She would always be looking out for her younger siblings, making sure they stay safe and have everything they need, whether it be emotional or practical support. She would definitely be strict with them at times, but would also have a soft spot for them and would never let anything bad happen to them. She would also be the type to spoil them with gifts and treats, even though she might not want to admit it. In general, she would be a very nurturing and loving big sister.
If her siblings had a bad day at school, Nobara would be the first one there to comfort them and listen to their problems. She would also be eager to help them with their homework or study for tests, and would always encourage them to do their best and believe in themselves. If her siblings had a disagreement with other kids, Nobara would definitely take their side and defend them, even if they were in the wrong. She would never stand for anyone bullying or harming her younger siblings, and would do everything in her power to make sure they felt loved and protected.
Nobara would also like to take her siblings on adventures and trips, whether it be to explore nearby parks or cities, or go on trips to the beach or mountains. She would enjoy doing fun and exciting activities with them, and would always prioritize their happiness and enjoyment. Additionally, she would go out of her way to spend quality time with them and make sure they know how much they mean to her. She would be proud of them and their accomplishments, and would be there to celebrate every milestone and success in their lives.
When their younger siblings have a tantrum, Nobara would try to handle the situation calmly and rationally. She would first try to understand the cause of the outburst and then try to soothe them by speaking in a calm and gentle manner. If the tantrum is caused by something small or unimportant, Nobara would try to distract her little siblings from the issue and redirect their attention to something more positive or enjoyable. However, if the tantrum is caused by something more serious, she would try to reason with them and help them to express their feelings in a safe and productive way.
When her siblings are sick, Nobara would go into full-on caregiver mode. She would fuss over them constantly, making sure they have plenty of fluids and taking care of any fever or other symptoms. If they needed medicine, she would quickly get them what they needed and make sure they took it properly and at the right times. She would also try to make them feel better by bringing them their favorite foods and drinks, and would watch movies and play games with them to keep their spirits up.
34 notes · View notes
ya-world-challenge · 2 years
Text
18 Afrofantasy Worlds to Read after you watch Wakanda Forever
Tumblr media Tumblr media
So I see you guys love these lists and, hey, I’m not going to complain, I love looking at these sets of beautiful cover art. This theme is... Afro Fantasy Worlds! ♥♥ From alt-Cairo to alt-Johannesburg and many magical worlds in between, I’ve chosen 18 books full of African magic.
Add your favorites in the comments, too! I only ended up with two male MCs... that’s sadly a shortcoming in YA fantasy in general, although not every book here is YA.
Support my blog and read at the same time when you buy from the linked titles below, which go to Bookshop.org (where you support small bookshops, too!) Or get a free trial at Scribd for ebooks & audiobooks.
Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray Fate binds two Black teenagers from different social classes together  as they strike a dangerous alliance to enter a magical jungle and hunt down the ancient creature menacing their home--and discover much more than they bargained for.
Daughters of Nri by Reni K. Amayo A gruesome war results in the old gods' departure from earth. The only remnants of their existence lie in two girls. Twins, separated at birth. Goddesses who grow up believing that they are human. Their epic journey of self-discovery as they embark on a path back to one another.
Everfair by Nisi Shawl A steampunk alternate-history novel set in the Belgian Congo. What if the African natives developed steam power ahead of their colonial oppressors? This land, named Everfair, is set aside as a safe haven, an imaginary Utopia for native populations of the Congo as well as escaped slaves returning from America and other places where African natives were being mistreated.
The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi A fantasy trilogy with its roots in the mythology of Africa and Arabia, three women band together against a cruel empire where castes are divided by the color of one's blood.
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark A young magical detective in 1912 Cairo must investigate the murders of a secret brotherhood dedicated to one of the most famous men in history, al-Jahiz, when the murderer claims to be al-Jahiz himself returned to condemn the modern age for its social oppressions
Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko Tarisai was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as The Lady. The Lady sends her to compete to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince's Council of 11. If she's picked, she'll be joined with the other Council members through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood. That closeness is irresistible to Tarisai, who has always wanted to belong somewhere. But The Lady has other ideas, including a magical wish that Tarisai is compelled to obey: Kill the Crown Prince once she gains his trust.
Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron Heir to two lines of powerful witchdoctors, Arrah yearns for magic of her own. Under the disapproving eye of her mother, the Kingdom's most powerful priestess and seer, she fears she may never be good enough. But when the Kingdom's children begin to disappear, Arrah is desperate enough to turn to a forbidden, dangerous ritual.
Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa Danso is a clever scholar on the cusp of achieving greatness--except he doesn't want it. Instead, he prefers to chase forbidden stories about what lies outside the city walls. But when Danso stumbles across a warrior wielding magic that shouldn't exist, he's put on a collision course with Bassa's darkest secrets. Drawn into the city's hidden history, he sets out on a journey beyond its borders.
The Theft of Sunlight by Intisar Khanani Children have been disappearing from across Menaiya for longer than Amraeya ni Ansarim can remember. When her friend's sister is snatched, Rae knows she can't look away any longer. She finds unexpected support from a foreign princess and a street thief with secrets of his own.
Blood Scion by Deborah Falayei They wanted me to be a monster. I will be the worst monster they ever created. Fifteen-year-old Sloane can incinerate an enemy at will--she is a Scion, a descendant of the ancient Orisha gods. When she is forcibly conscripted into the Lucis army, Sloane sees a new opportunity: to overcome the bloody challenges of Lucis training, and destroy them from within.
Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen Simi prayed to the gods, once. Now she serves them as Mami Wata--a mermaid--collecting the souls of those who die at sea and blessing their journeys back home. But when a living boy is thrown overboard, Simi goes against an ancient decree and does the unthinkable--she saves his life. And punishment awaits those who dare to defy the gods.
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna On the day of the blood ceremony of her village, Deka's blood runs gold, the color of impurity-and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death. Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki-near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire's greatest threat.
Zoo City by Lauren Beukes Set in a world where murderers and other criminals acquire magical animals that are mystically bonded to them. Zinzi has a Sloth on her back, a dirty 419 scam habit, and a talent for finding lost things. When a little old lady turns up dead and the cops confiscate her last paycheck, Zinzi's forced to take on her least favorite kind of job -- missing persons.
Noor by Nnedi Okorafor In a near-future Nigeria. Anwuli Okwudili prefers to be called AO, Artificial Organism. Instead of viewing her strange body the way the world views it, as freakish, unnatural, even the work of the devil, AO embraces all that she is: A woman with a ton of major and necessary body augmentations. And then one day she goes to her local market and everything goes wrong.
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy Sixteen-year-old Eva is a princess, born with the magick of marrow and blood--a dark and terrible magick that hasn't been seen for generations in the vibrant but fractured country of Myre. Its last known practitioner was Queen Raina, who toppled the native khimaer royalty and massacred thousands, including her own sister, eight generations ago. Eva must now face her older sister, Isa, in a battle to the death if she hopes to ascend to the Ivory Throne.
Changa’s Safari by Milton Davis In the 15th century on the African Continent a young prince flees his homeland of Kongo, vowing to seek revenge for the murder of his father and the enslavement of his family and his people. He triumphs over the slavery and the fighting pits of Mogadishu to become a legendary fighter and respected merchant.
Waking Fire by Jean Louise Naira Khoum has only known life in Lagusa, a quiet village at the desert’s end. But to the rest of the world, Lagusa is a myth, its location shrouded in secrecy. While war rages to the north led by power-hungry Sothpike and his army of undead monsters called Dambi, Naira’s people live in peace. Until the impossible happens—Lagusa is attacked by a Mistress sent to do Sothpike’s bidding with a hoard of Dambi under her control.
Bonus: Daughters of Oduma by Moses Ose Utomi An elite female fighter must reenter the competition to protect her found family of younger sisters in this scintillating young adult fantasy inspired by West African culture.
579 notes · View notes
isa-belle1367 · 6 months
Note
What do you think would happen if Connor, Altair and Ezio all travelled in time to before Desmond died? Can you list some headcanons on how they would all interact with one another and how they would react to modern day stuff?
Omg I'm so sorry this took so long to respond to. I have notifications for Tumblr off, so sorry but I will absolutely do this. 😈
Desmond's brain due to the bleeding effect, defaults to "This isn't real, so it doesn't matter what I say." so he is extremely honest and unhinged around them.
Connor would HATE fast food, like with a burning passion. He would think its gross, oversalted, etc.
they would all be protective of Desmond. Like he needs to go on a field mission and all of them are just like. "You're doing WHAT?" "No, you're not going." "Desmond. You. Are. Not. Doing. That."
Ezio would be so scared at how expensive everything is.
They would bond over their trauma and talk about gruesome topics like they are nothing. "Yeah, so I watched my father get hanged." "Omg no way, I watch my father get murdered by templars." "My dad was a templar, so I had to kill him."
Connor hates all technology, thinks its loud and annoying. Ezio's fine with it, but doesn't use it often, probably has a flip phone. Altair would love technology, mostly bombs, he def loves how far bombs have advanced. Desmond has yelled at him for blowing up the kitchen multiple times.
Altair would teach them the best way to keep their blades in top condition.
Altair and Ezio would basically adopt Connor and make him super unhinged. "Manners? Throw that shit away. Now, have you heard of arson?"
Desmond would mention that Altair didn't know how to swim to Ezio, and Ezio would immediately start pulling water-based pranks on Altair. Bucket of water in the doorway, shoving him in the pool etc. Altair is extremely confused.
Desmond makes broke boy spaghetti and Ezio has an aneurism.
They would all hate bill but for different reasons. Altair hates him because Bill reminds him of Al Mualim. Ezio hates him because no mentor should hit their student, he thinks he is a disgrace to the brotherhood. Connor hates him because he just gets bad vibes from him.
When they discovered air conditioning, they nearly died.
Altair nearly died of heat stroke due to humidity.
Altair would be good at using technology, because he spent his life studying Isu tech.
One time they all went on a mission together and they spent the entire time trying not to laugh. Nothing was accomplished.
All of them absolutely despise the animus. They will smash it to bits given the chance.
They all teach each other their native languages so they can talk shit and not be discovered. Desmond finds this amusing.
Ezio is scared to look at price tags.
They all have silent footsteps and don't realize until they have snuck up on like 5 people and its only noon.
Altair has a coffee addiction. He also has the diet of a pre-med student. red bull mixed with espresso, hopes and prayers, and a small thing of stale fries.
37 notes · View notes
dr-futbol-blog · 3 months
Text
The Brotherhood, Pt. 3
So, they start excavating for the stone tablets split into two teams. McKay is with the two native women, the other three form the other group. Now, normally, they would not have split up like this. We always see the team somehow configuring around McKay to protect him because all the others know how to fight and shoot a gun and McKay does not. Much later (The Lost Boys, S02E10), Sheppard tells Ford that McKay is in his team to open doors and hack computers, which Ford doesn't believe for one second--but it is true that McKay's skill-set is different from that of the others. So ordinarily, either Sheppard himself or Ford would have accompanied McKay.
Tumblr media
Here, this is the only possible way to split them up. If he had sent Teyla to accompany the two native women, it would have seemed strange and kind of sexist. If either himself or Ford would have accompanied McKay with one of the native women, this woman would likely have felt unsafe being out there alone with two strange men. Having himself or Ford accompany the two women, one of whom is clearly acting as a chaperone, also would have defeated the purpose since they are trying to maintain good relations with them and McKay clearly had the best rapport with Allina. And McKay is the least threatening, least traditionally masculine, of the men so sending him out with the two women is the safest option. So they could only be split up like this. And Sheppard is allowing for this because, as far as they know, there isn't anything dangerous for them to run into, just digging up some dirt. He doesn't know that Kolya is out there thinking about taking him by force.
And again, Sheppard being a "huge eye-rolling bitch" about it is not because he's worried anything is going to happen between McKay and this woman, while they're out there or ever. He knows it isn't. As long as McKay is safe, he has no problem letting him take two beautiful women out into the wilderness alone with him because he knows nothing at all is going to happen there. He's not insecure about people finding him attractive, they both probably think that McKay is a Kinsey 6 all the way up until The Last Man (S04E19), and he could have split up the teams any which way he wanted to. This is what made the most sense to him. We see it later, but his upset has much more to do with how she gets to behave in public in relation to him and how they are able to be perceived by others--about what she gets to have and he doesn't. McKay's... lumber is not one of those things.
Tumblr media
On his quest to find the stones McKay isn't really paying attention to the women, and is even letting them carry all the heavy equipment. If he gave a single solitary fudge about her, he would have offered to carry some of it. This is a pretty obvious tell for the fact that he is just trying to be on his best behaviour and nothing more.
It is interesting that Allina's companion and chaperone, Sanir, claims not to trust them (and it's interesting that she voices her suspicion as she puts down her heavy load, clearly unhappy about having to carry it all with no help from McKay). Of course she turns out to be a Genii spy later, and often people reveal a lot about themselves by what they claim to dislike about others, but it's still significant that this woman, with his intuition, was suspicious of them and, seemingly, was suspicious especially of McKay as he's the only one present when they have this discussion. Yes, she thinks they are here to lay claim to the Potentia, which should be obvious to all parties. But she had also caught on to the fact that there was something off about the way McKay and Sheppard were behaving. Disingenuous. As a beautiful woman, she probably knows how men are supposed to look at her, how they usually behave and here, neither man has given her a single moment of attention. They have barely noticed her existence. So, it's interesting that she gets a vibe from them.
Tumblr media
Make note of how McKay is not checking out her assets in spite of having ample opportunity, and not because he's being such a gentleman. Because it doesn't even occur to him.
We get some interesting transitions from Sheppard to McKay and from McKay to Sheppard. For one, they show us again that the two of them are working as one. Them doing things in unison, working as a unit, is nothing new. Seeing them do things in perfect synchrony is pretty usual.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
But this also visually overlays them. Being closer than ever before was mentioned in the text, closeness was referred to several times. In this way, we get to see them closer than they have ever been before. Even though they are physically in different places, at different grids of the map, here they are on top of each other, inside one another, sweating and panting in physical exertion together. We see Sheppard jerk the handle of a tool with both hands, McKay gulping down from a canteen to quench his thirst. It's all pretty suggestive.
Also note that Sheppard finds the first tablet. Like during The Storm (S01E09), when McKay needs something to get done, Sheppard will get it done in record time. He calls himself naturally lazy but he's really putting his back into this, taking this whole thing very seriously in spite of it being very far from his line of work. He knows how important this is. But McKay is not far behind:
Tumblr media
Now, where McKay has been showing no interest toward Allina or the other woman, the same cannot be said for her. Whether it's because she thinks he represents the Ancestors, the fulfillment of her life's purpose, or she just finds him so charming, she has a very obvious crush on McKay. There is nothing subtle about her beaviour, and yet he doesn't notice it. He is paying her so little attention that all of this just flies right past him. In fact, as she tries to brush her fingers over his, he instinctively draws his thumb back from her.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
He's also weirded out by the smile she gives him. Yes, you can interpret it as McKay just not knowing about to behave around women because it's so unusual for him to be on the receiving end of interest from beautiful women, only. He's not a gentleman, it's not because he's such a gentleman that he doesn't try to check them out or try to flirt with them. We've seen him hit on women in a very crass manner when he's been performing heterosexuality. And even then, women have found him charming. Even Samantha Carter, while irritated, did find him strangely appealing.
I have no doubt that he could have had any number of women--and we see extremely beautiful women attracted to him on the show more than once--it's just that, he's not interested. He will only pursue a woman if it will lead to public failure. When they first met Teyla, Beckett watched her wistfully and lamented that he never finds friends like that. McKay just told him that he needs to get out more, seeming to think nothing at all about her looks. Nothing at all. He will only flirt with a woman if there's something he can gain from it, and otherwise, no matter how beautiful the woman and how obviously they're throwing themselves at him, he remains oblivious to their advances. We see this several times over the seasons.
So no, it's not just that he's not used to receiving attention from women. It just doesn't mean anything to him.
Tumblr media
Speaking of which, they have finished with the excavation and have gathered to the monastery for the night. The scene is framed with shots of Sheppard which lets us know that Sheppard is listening in on the Allina's conversation with McKay. In fact, we see Sheppard glance at them here, before he seats himself. Following the cold open, we started the episode with a shot of Sheppard's eyes follow McKay coming in the room with Allina. The look on his face indicated that he missed McKay. And at the very least, however you read the show, Sheppard does enjoy McKay's company.
Even though the show has had to find increasingly more creative ways of keeping them apart, Sheppard does seek out McKay's company and isn't just around him because he begrudgingly tolerates his presence but because he genuinely likes spending time with the man. This much is true. But it is interesting that we start the episode with McKay apparently having spent the day in the presence of this woman and not with Sheppard putting him in a foul mood, and here once more, McKay has spent the day with this woman and not with Sheppard.
And, as they continue spending time with one another, we are shown that Sheppard is watching them. She is really trying to turn up the heat:
Allina: It's a layout… of the Sudarian villages. The walls of this monastery have protected it for ten thousand years.McKay: It's beautiful. Allina: It is… And yet, my eye is drawn elsewhere.McKay: Hmm? How so?
Tumblr media Tumblr media
He is honestly confused. With Sheppard, he has somewhat learned to interpret his figurative use of words but with anyone else, he still understands things very literally. He tries to follow her gaze to find out where her eye is drawn to and why. Also, as he said "It's beautiful," he didn't look at her and, and more, had the tone of someone commenting on a finger painting.
Tumblr media
But while we're on the topic of eyes being drawn somewhere other than where they are supposed to be looking at, if there's anything in this whole goddamn galaxy Sheppard's eyes is drawn to more than McKay, he has not found it yet. Like, the entire episode begins with Sheppard's eyes following McKay around this same room in which she mentions this. His eyes were drawn to the same elsewhere as hers.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
She presses on:
Allina: I'd like to restore it one day, but I'm afraid of damaging it. Perhaps you could help me, Doctor. McKay: Really, you need to start calling me Rodney. Allina: Very well. ...I don't bore you, do I? McKay: No. No, no. It's not you. I just don't think I've ever been so tired.
First of all, why are you so tired? Didn't you guys just sleep a whole ass night on Atlantis? Why was Sheppard so ginger in the morning, and both of you in a much better mood?
Second, he doesn't respond to her suggestion because a) he doesn't realize that she's coming on to him and offering him the chance of spending more time with her and b) he's not into the restoration of ancient murals business so suggesting this to him is ridiculous, how is he even supposed to respond? He changes the topic. Because restoring ancient paintings is kind of boring to him. He even tells her that his "kind of science is the good kind of science, the kind you can do sitting in a chair or even laying on a couch." The stuff that he has been doing here, with her, is generally not interesting to him. He's just in it to find the ZPM and that is of interest to him. Also, sitting on a chair or laying on a couch is a call-back to McKay and Sheppard sleeping together in the previous episode so we are asked to connect his tiredness here to them sleeping together. Also, the good kind of science isn't the only thing you can do sitting in a chair or even laying on a couch.
Tumblr media
Third, we are meant to parallel this with the scene with Chaya and Sheppard, where he prefers that she call him John. Like it's an invitation to closer acquaintance. In both cases, they very much needed to secure the co-operation of these women. Only, with Sheppard it seemed to be more that he didn't want her calling him Major. And similarly, with McKay, it's probably strange for a Physicist to hear himself referred to as a Doctor because while he has several doctorates, that's not really who he is. Beckett is a Doctor but unless he's presenting at a conference, who cares? So he's not so much saying 'Please, call me Rodney' as he is saying 'Please stop calling me Doctor, it's weirding me out'. He does not even look at her when he says this. It's almost dismissive. He's so tired that he is having trouble keeping the best behaviour gear on. In fact, he doesn't look at her for most of this conversation, even closing his eyes when he's turning his face toward her. We've seen Sheppard do this when he was making a conscious effort to avoid looking at McKay. But here, he's not making an effort, it's just an instinctive disinclination to look at her when she's trying to get emotionally too close to him.
But still, the names and how they are used aren't insignificant. They held back letting us hear McKay call Sheppard John for several seasons, so it had a lot meaning (although I will wager that the first time we heard him call him John was not the first time he said it to John or that Sheppard heard him say it; it's just that we are consistently shown in small ways that there is a part of their relationship that we don't get to see). The way he says it in the episode, though impassioned, is like it's no big deal. Like it's business as usual that he calls him that (and it happens over private intercom, so it tracks that he would).
We also never got to hear McKay tell Sheppard to call him Rodney. In Suspicion (S01E04), he says to Sheppard: "Oh, really? I thought you said, 'Rodney, you don't have to do this'," which either implies him giving Sheppard permission to call him by his given name right then and there or that, once more, him giving Sheppard permission to call him Rodney had happened before this time where we weren't present to witness it (like we never got to see where Sheppard, presumably, asked him to join his team in the first place).
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Also, never mind how tired McKay is, yawning while talking to a woman is just bad manners. And usually, when one is attracted to someone, you don't actually feel tired when you are near them because their physical presence puts your nervous system into overdrive. There's an actual chemical that is released in people that are falling in love that makes them not feel hunger or tiredness, and often people lose sleep during this time. She certainly is not having this effect on him (whereas we have seen McKay lose his appetite ever since Underground, where we first met the Genii, and recently lose a whole night's worth of sleep over Sheppard). He does seem tired, and she tells him not to let her keep him from sleep. He takes off without even bidding her good night.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
And then.
Continued in Pt. 5
14 notes · View notes
profeyandere · 2 years
Text
𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐍. ─── ☾ 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓
Tumblr media
ʟɪɴᴋꜱ ↪ ᴍᴀꜱᴛᴇʀʟɪꜱᴛ ↪ ᴘɪʀᴀᴛᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴀʀɪʙʙᴇᴀɴ ᴍᴀꜱᴛᴇʀʟɪꜱᴛ ↪ ᴡᴀᴛᴛᴘᴀᴅ
ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏꜱ ↪ ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ: 2.7ᴋ ↪ ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: ᴊᴀᴍᴇꜱ ɴᴏʀʀɪɴɢᴛᴏɴ x ꜰᴇᴍ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ↪ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ: ᴀɴɢꜱᴛ, ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴜɴʀᴇǫᴜɪᴛᴇᴅ ʟᴏᴠᴇ
English is not my native language, so I apologize for any mistake and if you can help me improve it, I will greatly appreciate it. I hope you enjoy it :D
Tumblr media
The dull sound of metal striking the strong, rickety wood of the Dutchman made Norrington, still gawking at Elizabeth's falling form into the sea as the whisper of the shot slowly dissipated in the air, turned the other way to find himself with the strong back that belonged to you, being able to easily see how most of your muscles were flexing to maintain your defensive posture and thus keep him safe from the sudden attack it couldn't have been stopped by one of David Jones's sailors. The ex-commodore was stunned because, although he did not remember having seen you in Elizabeth's crew, he swore to have distinguished the strong flash of your eyes among the shadows of the ship that now belonged to his former love.
You, thanks to your espionage and concealment skills, had been able to sneak onto Sao Feng's pirate ship, watching and listening from the shadows for anything that was of special interest to you, barely being able to make out anything he was saying to Elizabeth, but discovering how he made her captain of the ship that had been under his command for decades and made her the owner of one of the eight coins necessary for the Brotherhood. As part of that select group, you couldn't help but be confused for a brief moment, but you saw in Swann a pirate like any of you could be.
Returning to the subject of how you had been able to reach the Flying Dutchman, all you had to say was that you appreciated the speed with which you moved and the innate balance that had allowed you to cross the long ropes that linked both ships without making a small threat of fall
"What are you doing here?" James asked with some fear. In his voice, you could feel that state of nervousness that the situation in which you were involved had caused him.
"Save your life," you answered, snorting and taking all the air you could to regain the strength that you were gradually exerting to win the fight in which you had gotten involved with the sailor.
You felt the sweat trickling down your forehead, encrusting your brows to prevent the drops from falling into your eyes, while your calloused hands gripped the handle of your short sword, which, being more than a decade old, had been the only weapon you had. It had truly given you the confidence to take on some of the most feared pirates in the Caribbean and the stormiest seas in the world. The adrenaline had been the icing on your little cake because, although you had started to run like a rag through the thick ropes between the two ships, you had not realized how serious the situation was until you had seen the father of Will Turner, already eaten away by the curse of the octopus man, trying to attack the man who, from an early age, had made your heart beat a thousand per hour; James could be many things, he had even disappointed you greatly when he had given the heart of David Jones to the disgusting aristocrat who had martyred pirate minds so much, but the one who backed down and thought better about his actions to try to amend his mistakes, was what truly he impressed you and made you act on his behalf.
The fact that you had come between him and death had been a mere matter of luck and the work of your badly wounded heart.
The simple fact of remembering the brief kiss that he and Elizabeth had shared made you draw more strength from yourself to be able to separate the sailor from you, being able to free your sword from the prison that had been the enormous wooden stake, causing the pirate took a couple of steps back and there was a small space between you. A sigh left your lips, but you quickly felt the lack of air present when you saw yourself surrounded by several pirates belonging to Jones's crew.
"Back to back, James," you ordered seriously and in a lower tone than usual, feeling a soft weight on your back after a few seconds. "I can't believe I am going to die like this."
"I still don't understand how you got here," the admiral muttered as he exchanged glances with the monsters who were the Dutchman's crew. "At what point did you think it was a good idea to follow Elizabeth or cross that stretch of sea to come here? You have condemned yourself to certain death."
But, what James was not aware of, was that Jones always left a survivor.
"It seemed like a good idea to me the moment I found out she'd been captured," you explained. "She might have been already dead but, knowing that you were in a certain way in charge of the Dutchman, I knew that you would protect her and avoid such a cruel fate."
Norrington couldn't help but frown at your words for, while they were sweet because of the obvious feeling he harboured for Miss Swann, they had come out of your mouth as if you had tasted the most disgusting morsel in the whole world and, it was not to be least, because the love triangle that had formed between the three had been so notorious that even Jack Sparrow had joked with you about it and Elizabeth had not tried anything more than to guide James towards you to see if he could see your sweet and friendly interior. You had tried, and you had not won the battle to win James's heart and, like a good loser, you had accepted defeat at the hands of the blonde.
"And was it worth it?" Norrington questioned. "She made it out alive and now we're stuck against a rock and a hard place."
"It was completely worth it, Commodore," you stated with a certain mockery, smiling slyly and leaning slightly forward to prepare yourself for the attack. "You're still alive, so it's been worth something to get here."
James wanted to correct the title with which you had mentioned him, but it was the sudden presence of the captain of the pirate ship that made both of you completely stunned. There wasn't much surprise on the admiral's part, but you couldn't help but smile at Jones as soon as you saw him appear due to the nerves you felt, well, with the surprise and how intimidated you were to finally meet that legendary pirate, you face was distorted until making a grimace of happiness that was too strange for those present; for a moment they had thought that he could have given you some type of cerebral infarction and for that reason, you had shown yourself that way.
"You're smiling?" Norrington questioned in surprise. "Have you lost your mind?"
"Don't blame me," you answered, still smiling, "it's because of my nerves."
"Your reaction is fascinating to me," the captain commented, moving closer to you until his huge body covered in marine elements was inches from yours. "Can someone explain to me why neither of them is dead?"
"Her," Bill stated, raising his barnacle-strewn hand to point at you, causing you to suddenly shrug to take the blame that he hadn't done his job properly. "She has crossed through the ropes and prevented me from following your orders, our Captain."
David Jones's face resolutely showed a look of confusion, perhaps fused with irritation, and he didn't hesitate long before meeting your gaze with his, trying to search deep within you for the reason why you would commit such a heroic act when one pirate would have let another die; if you had been like him, perhaps you would have helped Elizabeth to have someone on your side, but he did not understand why you had prevented the death of Norrington, one of the main enemies of the pirates.
The half-animal man bent down to be at your height and to be able to make eye contact with your flashing eyes that, illuminated by nerves and anger, did not match the bright smile you showed him, in which your teeth were the main character. Perhaps, he did not fully understand why you acted, but it was not until you unconsciously moved your right hand towards the admiral so that he would remain still in his position that he understood the desires that had led you to act that way.
"Love, huh?" Jones spoke, confusing his entire crew and causing your smile to begin to diminish until your lips were completely united forming a straight line and thus a serious grimace was shown on your face.
James, at that moment, felt upset because, despite having heard the captain's words, he did not understand their meaning. He didn't know what he meant by what he said and it wasn't until he noticed how his body slowly relaxed little by little that the pieces of the huge puzzle that had been forming in his mind didn't fit together.
The two of you had known each other since before he travelled to Port Royal with Governor Swann and his young daughter, you had found him interesting and had too much fun bothering him, so you quickly saw yourself as number one on his list of pirates to capture. Your slippery skills had gotten you off the gallows more times than he cared to remember, and you had always taken something of his with you that, while not of much use, caused him a great deal of irritation. Of course, once he became a commodore and was involved in the adventures of Jack Sparrow, he had much more contact with you when he was forced to work with pirates to rescue his beloved Elizabeth, which greatly increased your teasing and affection for him. to this day.
In a second he managed to understand that your taunts, your little plundering in England and Port Royal, together with your inconsiderate taunts towards him and the British army, were nothing more than a way to get his attention and be with him. That had been one of your ways of making him understand that you loved him. Your kindness when he was part of the crew of the Black Pearl, how you had gone to the trouble to feed him properly and detox from the rum, as well as taking care of his hygiene when no one else had seemed interested in it even if it stank the whole ship, made him see that all that was what you could offer him if at some point you declared yourself. It had been a pity not to have made sure of it beforehand because, as much as it hurt him to tell you now, it was too late for it and not precisely because death was an inch away from both of them.
But because his heart already belonged to another woman.
"Are you so surprised to meet a pirate in love?" you asked defensively, frowning and gripping the sword handle tightly. "I seem to remember that you had the same feeling for a woman that caused you to tear out your heart."
"I'm not going to deny the obvious, my dear," he said mockingly, straightening up so he could look at the admiral. "But he didn't expect it to be a sentiment that could be evoked towards a Royal Navy Admiral, much less if he works for the East India Company."
"It's not a matter of choosing the person," you murmured, sighing. "I wish we could choose who to fall in love with to avoid suffering, don't you think, captain?"
The tone with which you had addressed him, spitting out his title as if it were disgusting, ended up irritating him.
"Are your feelings unrequited?" He questioned, shifting his gaze to the man who was behind you and who seemed so shocked that he seemed to have suffered some kind of shock that had prevented even the movement of his eyes, causing the simple look they directed was enough for Jones. "He doesn't love you, and that's why you've come to my ship, to take his place in my crew."
"I perfectly remember that your crew member's decision was not that," you mentioned. You always leave a survivor, don't you? Asked. "Let him go and I'll take his place."
Suddenly, a strong hand on your shoulder made you take a couple of steps back until you were next to Norrington, who with his eyes seemed to ask for one last moment before the final decision was made. Your eyes met and, although it was obvious that you did not need words to communicate, it was obvious the discussion wanted to start with your sudden courage.
"Are you crazy?" He asked seriously, gently squeezing your shoulder. "You can not do that."
"Why not James?" You questioned back, surprising him by the sudden use of his name for the first time. "I have nothing to hold on to in this life and you still have so much to live for."
"What life am I going to have now?" he questioned. "I will never be forgiven for all the crimes I have committed, and while a pardon will not absolve me of them, at least you could continue your life calmly as if nothing had happened."
"If you die, don't hesitate to think that he would fight against everyone present to avenge you," you indicated, sighing one last time before surreptitiously placing your real eight in the pocket of his vest. "I love you and seeing you die would be my downfall, respect at least my last wish."
"James!"
Elizabeth's deafening scream made the name turn around, panicking at the thought that something bad was happening to him, and it was then that you decided to push him overboard so that he would have a chance to escape so that he could speak for you in that great meeting in which the pirate lords would be the protagonists and thus ensure that the pirates could live in peace and harmony after joining forces and defeating Lord Beckett.
James, who fell from a considerable height, plunged into the water once he had been pushed into it, emerging from the turbulent waters to find himself in the worst scene he could imagine in his entire life. Before he would have tried by all means to kill you, put a rope around your neck and end the suffering that pirates like you caused in the population, but now he felt a huge wave of nausea when he watched your body being mercilessly impaled with your sword; the only thing that the admiral could hear in the background was the scream of Elizabeth who, terrified by the scene that was happening before her, had not been able to do anything but scream your name with sadness and anger.
Norrington watched as the huge figure of Jones seemed to approach the edge of his great ship and, unceremoniously lifting your body to the outside of the ship, drew your sword, causing you to fall into the sea like a rag doll, just as he had done it a couple of seconds ago. Fortunately, or unfortunately, you had fallen relatively close to him, so he quickly submerged himself in the water in search of your body to be able to rescue it and to be able to heal the wounds that the bloodthirsty pirate had caused you, who was surely laughing at his cowardly feat.
You found yourself semi-conscious and, although you tried to move your arms and legs in search of propelling your body towards the surface to look for air, you found that they did not respond because of the great loss of blood that you were suffering at times. You did not make sure of the huge wound that was in your belly, somehow the seawater managed to mitigate the pain you felt, and it wasn't until you spotted a dark figure trying to approach you that you finally remembered the reason you were sinking into the sea.
Your beloved James Norrington would live, perhaps not a dream life, but one full of love and adventure that would not have any element sad enough to destroy his good person of him.
A slight spasm ran through your body and you stopped thinking about the moment you felt a strong burning in your belly, although that stinging was unbearable, you knew that it would never compare to the pain of your broken heart.
176 notes · View notes