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questionablecuttlefish · 3 months ago

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One of the most popular topics that people likes to bring up in shipwars “against” lightcannon is that we mischaracterize (did I write it correctly?) Lux to fit in our delusions. For example: she didn't kill Sylas and she despises killers and her ideals and morality is the most important thing to her, oh, also that she's good

So you as a Lightcannon writer and someone who is very familiar with her lore and character, could you give me your perspective about this?

Ah yes, that one.

Here's my answer in pictures:

But more seriously. 😆

I think that's a gross oversimplification of Lux's character, and it's generally an argument made by people who don't know who Lux is beyond the most superficial impression.

It's a product of a mindset that can't separate modern ideals of 'morality' - what would be moral to you and me, from our culture and our moment - from a character raised in a very, very different culture and a very different world.

A good example is the opening scenes of A Game of Thrones, we witness the horrible slaughter of a group of Night's Watch by the Others. The lone, desperate survivor escapes, and in the very next scene, we see that he's been captured by the Lord of a castle, who is about to execute him for the crime of desertion by beheading with a sword. This man makes his sons watch as he decapitates this poor, innocent bastard who, to us, has done no wrong and just survived a terrifying experience. He makes sure his seven year old, Bran, witnesses him cut a man's head off with a sword.

Meet Eddard Stark, probably the most forthright, honorable, and morally upstanding character in the series.

Look, Lux is a 'good' character. She's smart, compassionate, forthright, and principled. She almost always takes the diplomatic option first and uses violence primarily in self-defense.

On the other hand, she's a Crownguard. She is the daughter of the highest ranking noble household next to the King himself. Her Aunt is the High Marshall of the entire Demacian military. Her Uncle is(was,heh) the head of the Mageseekers, so the mage hunting secret police. Her brother is the Might of Demacia, Sword Captain of the Dauntless Vanguard.

What I'm saying here is that Lux is a military brat. She has been born and raised into the values of a highly militaristic, feudal warrior culture at the very highest level of that society. She's been trained in warrior arts - riding, swordfighting, archery, and military tactics and strategy - since she could walk and form words.

In her old lore? She was literally a traumatized, brainwashed child soldier taken from her family and trained to fight for Demacia.

In her new/current lore? She's still a trained spy who has succeeded at several covert missions within Noxus.

We've seen her fight monsters and Mageseekers in the M.S game, she didn't hesitate to shoot Sylas with a crossbow and stab him with a dagger until his mages dragged her off him in the comic, as above.

She also witnessed her brother behead a man in the For Demacia story; she was trying to intervene because she had sussed that there was something else going on, and therefore his death would have been unnecessary and unjust, not necessarily out of protest at the death penalty itself.

It's worth noting - as the Mageseeker confirms - that Lux stayed out of the mage rebellion not out of 'naive pacifism' as she's sometimes accused of, but because: 1. She couldn't forgive Sylas for his betrayal.

2. A desire to protect the noncombatant refugees in her care.

3. She's still loyal to Demacia and her family and refused to fight her own kin.

4. because she knew if she stayed neutral, she could leverage her Crownguard privilege and name with King Jarvan to negotiate protection for mages after the conflict.

Which, y'know, she did.

All of these are products of who she is a character, a Demacian, a Crownguard, and a canny political operator. None of these are blind pacifism, this is the kind of soft power "Fox" move Mel Medarda would recognize and approve of.

So no, Luxanna Crownguard isn't going to be put off by Jinx's violence.

Violence is inherently part of her world, too. Demacia is a 'medieval' feudal regime that is almost perpetually at war with its neighbours and, in some ways a harsher, more brutal place than Piltover and Zaun, particularly its notions of 'justice'.

Piltover is only about 50% likely to have public executions as entertainment/morality lesson, Demacia absolutely 100% does and we've seen two of them in canon, is what I'm saying.

I think Lux would understand that Jinx committed terrible deeds, yes, as part of a civil conflict that Lux herself would be coming at with only an outsider's understanding.

Lux knows exactly how it feels to have best intentions blow up in your face, to be backed into a corner and forced to take some pretty extreme actions to survive.

I don't think, after her actions and choices triggered the Mage Uprising and cost untold lives across Demacia, Lux would consider her own hands clean enough to judge someone like Jinx. Sure, Lux didn't mean to give Sylas her power to commit second hand mass murder, but Powder didn't mean to kill her family either.

And it's also worth noting the part of Sylas' actions that Lux doesn't forgive - especially in the Mageseeker dialogue - is specifically the personal betrayal of her trust, outing her as a mage, and ruining her life.

She understands his cause. She won't join it, because that would mean siding with someone who wants to kill her family, but again, Lux's reasons for choosing not to fight are much more complex and personal than 'she hates violence'.

She's able to compromise enough to accept Sylas' help when her city comes under siege, because while Lux is a 'good guy', she's also a pragmatist first.

I think Lux would see a lot of Sylas in Jinx. I think she would see a lot of herself, as well, particularly once she learned about Jinx's past, about Silco (basically Jinx's Sylas figure, no?) and about everything she's been through.

I don't think Lux would judge her for that.

I feel that Lux would try to be the voice of reason, the hand holding hers to ground her, maybe even the olive branch to help her try to repair some of her burned bridges (this is certainly what she tries to do in Ill-Omen's) and that could cause interesting conflict in their developing relationship.

But I think Lux would understand. Jinx may be more volatile and spiteful and personal in her use of violence, but she's shaped by experiences not far from Lux's own.

And by Season Two? Yeah, no, Season Two Jinx is well and truly on her hero arc. Post-Season Two Jinx? Especially if she's trying to put violence aside and heal?

Post season two Jinx, who's grieving losing her father, her sister, her child? That Jinx would absolutely attract Lux's compassion even more than before.

I've written so many words to answer it, but to me, it's such a non-argument to begin with. You have to not even look at Lux past "blonde nice girl" to think it.

#lightcannon #jinx #lux #luxanna #luxanna crownguard #lux crownguard #lux lol #lore #arcane

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liedownquisition · 2 days ago

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I've been working on my Lazarus Pit meta and it's partly what spawned my previous post but I've got a worse bit for you:

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #144-145 (The full 4-issue arc, The Demon Laughs, ran June-Sept 2001)

Now, I'm not going to say the writing in this was particularly good for Talia. She very clearly expressed disapproval for bringing Joker along for this whole venture and I'm pretty sure she was hoping he'd be killed for his insolence from the start, but her tendency to betray Ra's was tossed in the trash with a "And you will not betray me this time. Do you understand, Talia?" "I understand and obey, Father." as if those words would genuinely stop her from doing anything, EXCLUSIVELY so they can force this whole situation where Bruce needs to resurrect Joker in the Pit (That he even has to actively assemble the ingredients and prepare himself!!!)

And, for me, there's two things that make the whole situation worse (Well, three, but I'm trying really hard not to acknowledge the... sigh, "Pit Sanity" even if I'm going to make reluctant mention of it in the Lazarus post). First of all, this from #143:

EDIT: I'm pretty sure she's referring to Joker: Devil's Advocate, where the Joker gets sentenced to the death penalty for a crime he (for once) didn’t do, here. That one, this one, and Joker: Last Laugh are all written by Chuck Dixon, who seems to have a hard-on obsession with forcing Bruce to save Joker for one reason or another. Last Laugh was even published (or started, at least) only three months after this one came out.

And, horrifically, this at the end of the plot:

How many times have you saved Joker's life, Bruce? I said "resurrected him more than once" because of this incident & the one where he resuscitated him after Dick killed him, but how many more times did he save the bastard? (Bruce does go on to implictly threaten that Ra's was probably going to try and kill Joker for HIS betrayal, and that Ra's has already demonstrated being perfectly capable of smoothly faking things so that they can get him out for whatever he wants, but lol. That's nowhere equivalent to the fact that you actively gave him back his life!!! the narrative necessity/justificationstill pisses me off regardless.)

Anyways, this is one of those storylines that like, in retrospect... If we're trying to reconcile the timeline a little, I'm pretty sure this would fall at some point after finding Jason in Gotham. This is pre-Hush (Dec 2002-Nov 2003), so bringing Jason back wasn't even a twinkle in Winick's mind, but if you try to fit it all in context...

Can you imagine, for her? Not only is this her "Beloved's" mortal enemy, this is the murderer of the child you took into your care. That at some point you started to care for. Now, comic timelines are a little finicky and while some things are explicitly before or after other arcs a lot of it you just kind of have to guess when things cover some stuff retroactively... but what if this was, say, right after putting Jason in the Pit?

Ra's has a reputation for forcing Talia to "prove" her loyalty to him by forcing her to go along with whatever plans or giving her cruel missions as punishment for any perceived betrayals. If there's that situation hanging over their heads and perhaps even an implicit threat about the whole situation about what he'd be doing if he wasn't working on this particular scheme...

Can you imagine, you shot this fucker eight times, center mass. And if Batman could review the damage and determine there was only one way to save him, so could Talia. She would know how thoroughly she'd done her job... and what Batman had to have done in turn. His son's murderer.

Can you imagine, later, when she's talking to Jason and he's clearly unhappy about Joker being alive? She doesn't try to justify it with the fact that she (almost) killed Joker once. What does it matter that it happened when he's still alive? It didn't last for any length of time and it didn't meaningfully change anything. It's no comfort for the boy who doesn't understand why his father didn't love him "enough" to never let it happen again.

Alternatively, if it was pre-Pit, there probably isn't that threat the same way, although there could be one of "We are doing this, and I am turning a blind eye to your past betrayals and your little pet project that isn't getting better." Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if knowing Bruce had used it on Joker wasn't some measure of a thought when she put Jason in one too. If Bruce can use it to give the murderer's life back, she can use it to give life back to the victim.

Of course, I wouldn't bet on any of this being intended when UtH/Lost Days was written, but the implications of all this if you try to put it into some kind of cohesive perspective...

#Mashing Meta Bones with Axel #Jason Todd #Batman #Bruce Wayne #Talia al Ghul #anti batman #anti bruce wayne #<- once again not really but this post is kind of negative about him?#Talia betrays Ra's all the time and it seems really stupid that she'd go along with this one given how upset she clearly is about it.#Also as an aside you could also apply the idea of Damian being something that Ra's is holding over Talia's head to force her compliance her #There's a lot of stories I wonder about in retrospect given Damian's existence and how he'd have to implicitly BE somewhere in the League #During the time they were going down Or just somewhere... like Babel and Bane and DatM and Lexcorp.#oh also that other person helping to throw Joker in the pit is Alfred lol.#dc

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1000sunnygo · 11 months ago

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About Monet...

Her case always stood out to me like a sore thumb because it was the FIRST time a woman in One Piece died onscreen, in real-time. She was not worse than Luffy's other enemies (or allies), she's not a death-penalty-deserving irredeemable and hateable scumbag like Orochi (or Vergo). Even Ceaser is now roaming free. Monet is similar to Baby 5 in many ways, but unlucky as hell. Being a character from a manga where the author tends to give almost everyone a second chance with life, she got none.

Oda said in SBS that Monet and Sugar were rescued from a terrible living condition. The sisters weren't from a poverty-stricken background like Baby 5, at least not initially. In the doodle Oda drew of Monet's childhood self, she had neat clothes and a pair of glasses, and looked like a nerd with her book about birds.

Remember a certain nerd who "seemed" to have a decent childhood in those childhood doodles, holding a dissected frog? It's possible that Monet's life crashed down in a similar manner, maybe at an older age, or maybe her experience with exploitation and betrayal pre-rescue went on for a longer duration. She was 17 when Doffy found her.

Monet is the only character who bluntly tried to flirt with Law. It was a split second thing but what Monet was to Law was not what Law was to Monet. Keep in mind that during the entirety of Punk Hazard, Monet was practically at Law's mercy. There was a gaping hole in her chest the entire time. She seemed - probably the most carefree one has ever seemed with their heart gone, courtesy of Law. It's not like she had no fear of death, Zoro could paralyze her with it. I think it never for once crossed her mind that Law might take advantage of her biggest vulnerability. Similar to how she betted Zoro wouldn't kill a woman, Monet probably held some sort of belief about Law. Ironically she wasn't wrong about Zoro (who indeed went easy on her), but his lesson to her about a cornered tiger became relevant in a roundabout way. She was wrong to assume her surgeon's sympathy.

Unlike Law who had a clear plan on how to retrieve his own heart from Ceaser, Monet seemed to have none on how to get hers from Law. Maybe Monet underwent the surgery for the ease of becoming a spy, but pretty sure that she just wanted to be a bird and utility thoughts came second. Of course, she had to keep Doflamingo informed about Law's activities, who was blissfully unaware of the latter's revenge plan...

Judging from her weakness to men praising her, maybe she had her own quest for love and Doffy, a women-lover who considered Law to be his reflection, expected things to naturally roll out between Law and Monet and subsequently bait Law to spill his true intentions? We all know in spite of harboring a detailed plan about each other for 13 years, Law and Doffy knew jack about what the other person was truly like.

I can't definitively say that Monet had a thing for Law, maybe it was something she subconsciously considered. But pretty sure that if there's someone who had a good chance of releasing her from Doflamingo's control, it was Law. True that she was a spy and her loyalty ran deep. But the children who were rescued by Doffy in harsh condition were all yearning for love. We've seen two cases where a Donquixote family member loosened their ties to Doffy when they found someone else who promised true and unconditional care. It's possible that with Monet it would've been the same.

Unfortunately, Law had no obligation to 'rescue' her - an enemy, and Oda had no obligation to keep Law clean of this unusually cruel and unremorsed action because Law is not a Straw hat. A man who was poisoned as a child being merciful to a person directly involved in poisoning children wouldn't have come off as a great writing anyway. Leave it to the mushroom hat doctor to have terrible onscreen chemistry with women.

#btw it's a very speculative post and not a proper analysis #it seemed strange that sugar was completely unaffected by her death #maybe they weren't as close anymore #sis was truly alone smh 😔#one piece meta #one piece #harpy monet #punk hazard #one piece sugar #one piece monet #trafalgar law #trafalgar d. water law #donquixote doflamingo #dressrosa #roronoa zoro

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the-wayward-arc · 2 months ago

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Every chapter/legion has their dark secrets so here are the Remnant Knights

The Remnant Knights unleashed sorcery altered Grimm upon the wider galaxy during the heresy. These strains, altered by Sorcery, could survive off Remnant due to the link between Salem and Remnant being cut off at the cost of them being uncontrollable and far more aggressive

It's a shame upon the Remnant Knights and one they can't truly rectify due to the fact that the Traitors got their hands on Many of the strains and use them for battle, spreading the Grimm more. Fabius Bile chief among them, creating more strains that are far more Lethal.

It's a dark secret as the official reason that Grimm are found elsewhere is because of the Traitors took them off world before their betrayal as a means to help eradicate them but used them for war against Humanity on a galactic scale instead.

There is no death penalty perse on Remnant. When someone is convicted of a heinous crime they are judged not to be of worthy of the life and thus, to the public are executed but in truth are handed to the chapters to turn into servitors.

The Remant Knights have a list of chapters they deemed "unworthy" of being Space Marines examples being Marines Malevolent, Minotaurs, the Carcharadons, Flesh Tearers, Death Spectres and many others. Said list is accessed by all Remnant Knight successor chapters and are tasked with assassinating as many of these space marines as possible during battles.

Currently 2 chapters have been wiped out, records say they were wiped out in the black crusades, in truth they were wiped by the successor chapters, a secret that will ensure never knows the light of day.

The Remnant Knights have developed a type of chemical agent that targets the unique biology of Space Marines, it's kept deep in their fortress monastery on Remnant, to be used should they be invaded by either the Imperium, chaos or worst, themselves should turn against their people.

A successor chapter did turn to chaos, they fell to Khorne and the Remnant Knights themselves put them to the sword. It's a secret they ensure is never known.

Even though they were ordered long ago to stop the production of the Atlesians Knights and Paladins, Jaune had them secretly continued to bolster the defenses of Remnant. The Knights and Palandins are standard issue in each fleet of the chapters that only a chapter master can activate should they need to.

Remnant's Final shield protocol is much like Imperial Fist's Last Wall protocal except all chapters will abandoned the Imperium to form the Legion once more to defend their homeworld. It's a contigency only two people can activate, The Remnant Knights chapter master Arael or Jaune himself. If Jaune were to activate it, a special kind of symbol activates as well to let the successors know it's their father calling them home.

#rwby #jaune arc #warhammer 40k #lost primarch au #jaune is a lost primarch au #warhammer 30k #snippet #remnant knights

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ynbabe · 1 year ago

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Fake texts au- pt.12 bffs with the rookies+ Monaco for one, please!

Literally love the way anyone older than them has to be the babysitter 😭😭😭

| Masterlist |

The week you spent with Oscar and Logan was perfect in every way possible. You woke up with perhaps the worst backache you'd ever had, almost unable to breathe because Logan had shited his entire weight on you... well, that part wasn't perfect but the dinner you had afterwards made up for every ache and pain.

Oscar's mum made every favourite dish of yours and Logans, leaving a very jealous Oscar but at the end of the day, the three of you fell into the same routine you did as kids.

Sleeping late, Waking up even later and eating junk till you couldn't eat anymore (much to the dismay of their trainers) the only different thing is that all three of you couldn't bunk on the same bed. So you took turns, as suggested by Oscar's mother because your first idea was to fight for a spot on the bed.

But sadly, the week had ended and you had to leave, you hugged Logan and Oscar goodbye and made your way to Monaco, where you'd spend the rest of the summer vacation with Arthur.

He'd invited you not wanting to be alone while his brothers had their girlfriends and the last time he'd invited one of his friends from Prema, his mom had pulled him aside and given him the 'you know you can tell me anything, right, son?' he'd simply told her that he was just a friend, and anyways she should have been having the conversation with Charles anyway, with whatever he had going with Max, or with Carlos or Pierre.

You were a little nervous to go, never having been around his family before. You'd met Charles before and had become pretty good friends with him and Max but his mom? His Eldest brother? That was a whole other story.

He picked you up at the airport, drove you to the house, you offered to uber as you weren't allowed to drive in Monaco anymore (its a long story) when you walked in you hadn't realised everyone would be over and were currently on Arthur's back trying to get your phone back for the boy, which he had stolen when he saw the picture of you and Logan, oscar had sent you.

You looked around the room to find Charles, his girlfriend, his eldest brother, and their mother, staring at the two of you with wide eyes.

You jumped off your friends' back, snatching your phone in the process, "Um, hi, I'm Y/n, nice to meet you all!" You smiled hugging Charles and shaking hands with everyone else, trying to ignore your entrance.

"I'll go get the bags, yeah," he muttered as he left, his eldest brother following him.

"Maman, C'est une amie d'Arthur, celle dont je t'ai parlé," (Mom, She's one of Arthur's friends, the one I told you about), Charles said something to his mother in French, you tried to decipher with whatever Arthur had taught you over the years but they spoke too fast.

"Celui qui l'a emmené faire la fête?" (The one who took him to party?) She replied, her voice displaying disappointment, making the girl awkwardly standing next to the door frown at Charles for translation.

"Maman..." Charles began but his mother shushed him, making him look down.

Suddenly, the older woman's face and body language changed, doing a total 180, "Y/n, I've heard a lot about you, from Arthur and Charles!" She said with a smile, making the girl slightly jump in surprise, "Come on, sit, the boys will get your bags," she invited the youngest woman to sit and nodded at Charles to help get the bags, he wanted to protest but was nudged in the ribs by Alexandra, making him walk out in betrayal.

"Uh, hi guys," she said awkwardly feeling a little out of place. She felt like she was in front of a jury assessing her every move to give her life in prison and by the look on the mother's face, they were leaning in favour of the death penalty.

"Hi, Y/n," Alexandra began, quickly leaning forward as soon as her boyfriend left the house, " I've seen you around the paddock before, but mostly in Mclaren and Williams," She began, "I thought you were dating Oscar, right? Or Logan?" She asked making the girl cringe, she couldn't imagine dating one of her friends.

"Um, no, we're just friends, all four of us," she explained, this is so weird.

"And what about the hyper little British one?" Pascale asked making you laugh,

"Lando? I'm going to save his name like that from now on!" You smiled, "No, no, not at all, I think he's a little too invested in Carlos to even think about dating," you joked hoping to change the conversation, Alexandra smiled but Pascale remained unchanged.

"I've noticed, he's a sweet boy," she nodded, "Are you dating my son?" She asked, not sugarcoating anymore, making you choke on your spit, Alexandra quickly rushed to your side, patting your back.

"Thank you," you took the glass of water she offered, "I'm not dating Arthur!" You yelled as soon as you finished drinking the water, making his mother look at you suspiciously at first then nod.

"Thank you for being truthful Y/n," She began, "My kids are everything to me and they only have me to protect them. Lorenzo and Charles are old enough to understand just how cruel life can be, but Arthur's still naive," she explained slowly. It seemed like Alex had heard the same lecture too.

"Maman! Tell Charlie to stop kicking me!" Arthurs's voice rang as the trio stepped inside, proving her point.

"Maman, please, both of them won't shut up!" Lorenzo complained at his brother's antics, in true older sibling fashion.

"Only because you are stupid," Both Arthur and Charles replied at the same time making the eldest groan and place your bag down, to swat the others. Charles had your duffle and Arthur held your haversack, currently using it as a weapon to hit his brothers.

"Boys!" Their mother called out, making them all stop and pick up your bags, and carry them to some room in the house. Alexandra smiled at their antics and Pascale just shook her head.

"Sweetheart, come on, let's have some dinner, I'm sure the flight has you hungry and tired," She practically dragged you to the dinner table. You sat next to Arthur, Alex and Charles in front of you and Lorenzo and Pascle and either head of the table.

After the strange test of sorts, everything was normal, you joked along with the others, and the brothers often fought making you and Alex look at each other and laugh. You were getting along with her the most, being quite close in age and humour. However, as the night continued the jet lag became more and more of a problem.

Arthur was the first to notice your head falling as you sat, "Maman, We are going to turn in," you both began to get up but Lorenzo spoke up, making you stop.

" Où penses-tu aller?" (Where do you think you're going?) The older man asked.

"Ma chambre ?" (My room?) Arthur answered.

"Non, elle couche avec Alexandra, tu restes avec Charlie," (No, she's sleeping with Alexandra, you're staying with Charlie) He replied making both brothers angry.

They started talking over each other, yelling and shouting, you definitely made out more than one curse word. You looked over at Alex silently asking if she knew what was happening, but she just shrugged.

"You're so annoying, Lorenzo, Je jure devant Dieu que j'aurai une chambre d'hôtel !" (I swear to God I will get a hotel room!) He screamed making everyone quiet down.

"Don't yell at me, it was maman's idea," he looked at his brothers a little guiltily, making everyone look towards the eldest woman on the table.

"It's okay, Charlie, reste avec ta petite amie, Arthur soit avec ton ami." (Charlie, stay with your girlfriend, Arthur be with your friend.) Everyone seemed to be okay with the decision, though you didn't know what the decision was.

Arthur patted your shoulder, making you get up and follow him to his room. As soon as you walked in you kicked your shoes off, falling face-first on the soft king-sized bed. He followed suit, dropping himself on the opposite end of the bed, and turning his head to face you.

"I don't think your brother and mum like me very much, Princie," You spoke in a soft voice, too tired to even sit up.

"Nah, they are just over-protective," he answered, his voice nothing but a whisper.

Slowly your eyes drifted shut, letting yourself succumb to sleep.

"Bonne nuit, chérie."

Taglist: @dark-night-sky-99 @cashtons-wife @i-wish-this-was-me @thehufflepuffavenger1 @eugene-emt-roe @fangirl-dot-com @landosgirlxoxo @aquangxl @sachaa-ff @tyna-19 @assholeinatrenchcoat

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chairofchaos · 7 months ago

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Betrayal

@lady-of-tearshed poked the bear. So… have fun everybody!

This is dark! Violent. Graphic. Heavy on the ANGST!!! Wrote this on mobile in about ten minutes because I’m not back at my laptop yet, so forgive me the formatting. It just couldn’t wait 😇

@erisweekofficial for Day 3: BETRAYAL.

Eris and Azriel begin a courtship during the war against Hybern

Azriel recognizes the mating bond but says nothing

Eris doesn’t realize Azriel is his mate, and considers the attachment casual at best. Can’t get too attached when you’re constantly days from being killed by your own father, you know?

They frequently meet— but, out of sight, out of everyone else’s mind

Always a different court. With all the troops passing through and refugees from Spring, it is easier than ever to go unnoticed

Beron becomes suspicious at his son’s frequent movements when his guard repeatedly reports not being able to locate him

Beron gives him a chance to explain to save his own skin rather than disgracing the court

Eris turns in Azriel, claiming he has been spying on the spymaster and Azriel is a traitor working with Hybern, using his shadows to keep the King of Hybern up to speed on troops and their movements

No one trusts Rhysand to be objective in his daemati assessment, and no one else is willing to expose themselves as a daemati to intervene

Because no one can corroborate, Azriel is issued a death penalty, to be carried out in his camp of origin two weeks later

Eris is devastated, but the damage is done. There is nothing he can do, though he tries

Sends his trusted soldiers to try to retrieve him and get him out; even attempts to sneak into Night and find him, but no one knows where he is

Eris feels horrible, but he still doesn’t realize that Azriel is his mate

He is on the battlefield when Azriel is killed and is so distracted by the fracturing of his heart and soul that he doesn’t see his brother raising his sword to attack him in a desperate attempt to gain power

Eris dies on the battlefield, Azriel’s name on his tongue and tears streaming down his face. Those who saw it said his tears boiled as they fell, the last whispers of his power burning his anguish into his face

And nobody lived happily ever after.

The. End.

Tag list: @ninthcircleofprythian @c-starstuff-man0 @unanswered-stars @lilah-asteria @dusk-muse

#and to think I was going to be so nice today #Happy Eris Week!#don’t tell me Eris at some points wouldn’t do anything to save his own skin #especially if he thought Azriel could save himself #erisweek2024 #eris vanserra #azriel shadowsinger #azris supremacy #azris #azris blurb #acotar blurb #fictionalchaos #azris headcanon #acotar headcanons

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underrated-d20-event · 4 months ago

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Prompt list for underrated d20 month in February!

taglist: @whomst-the-hell

List typed out below cut

Reminder that you do not need to use both prompts. You could if you want to, but you are free to only use one or the other. For example for Day 1 you could make content for Pirates of Leviathan, or you could use the Fear prompt and make content for another season like The Seven

Rules and context:

Please tag this account with any content you make for this event so I can reblog it, and if you can tag it is #underratedd20month

If you are new here, what is this event?: This event is made to celebrate and create Art, fanfic, edits, cosplay, ect for underrated d20 seasons/characters. This can include seasons/charcaters that never got a lot of attention, or it could be seasons/ chararcters that got a lot of attention while airing but the fandom died out after the season ended.

What is considered underrated?: Underrated is subjective but the definition I am using is, if it is hard to find recent content for it, then it is underrated

As a general rule, I do not consider IH PCs underrated. I also do not consider the Misfits and Magic PCs to be underrated (However this one is subjective to change based on how popular mismag is in February)

However, content about underrated NPCs from those seasons is completely okay.

I am considering Misfits and Magic season 2 to be the cut off for this event. As in, I know dungeons and Drag queens season 2 is going to come out soon, however as it will still technically be airing by the time this Event starts, content for it will not be vaild for this event (season 1 exclusive content may be allowed, this depends on what season 2 is like and what the community around it is like at the time)

Is anyone has any questions feel free to send me a message and I'll happily answer :3

List typed out:

Day1: Pirates of Leviathan/Fear

Day2: Mice and Murder/flowers

Day3: Tiny heist/Betrayal

Day4: Coffin Run/playlist

Day5: Shriek week/ penalty

Day6: The seven/ No one to blame but....

Day7: Mentopolis/ Hope

Day8: escape from the bloopkeep/ A broken item of personal use

Day9: Myrtle(PoL)/ discovery

Day10: Fettuccine Alfredi/ Mirror

Day 11: Rapunzel(neverafter)/ Found Family

Day 12: Easter (unsleeping city)/Hoilday

Day 13: Swifty/ Study

Day14: Constance Brockhollow(M&M)/ Duel

Day15: Burrow's end/ secret

Day16: Theodore(ACOFAF)/ injury

Day17: Madam Loathing(Mentopolis)/guilt

Day 18:Collin Provolone/ poison

Day 19:nsbu/ AU

Day 20: Barbarella(PoL)/ The view

Day21: Lemli Irving/Doomed

Day 22: Bud Cubby/ sunk

Day 23:General Rococoa/ riches

Day 24: ACOFAF/ History

Day 25:Sugarplum Fairy/ death

Day 26:Cheese (PoL)/ Rain

Day27: Karna Solara/ Hurt/comfort

Day 28: Ana and Amelia(TUC)/ leader

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thatnonameuser · 6 months ago

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If a darling cheat on their yandere since their seen as naive, do people think they’ve been deceived and kill the yandere number two or do they kill darling?

If a darling cheats on their yandere (how even you managed to do that is a mystery in itself), the darling isn't punished by the government.

Yanderes are the people who keep darlings in line so everyone will see this like the darling acting out or them having some mental problems that their yandere needs to take care of.

If a darling is caught in an affair, the community sees as the darling feeling neglected by their yanderes romantically or they are trying to get back at them for something or other.

Yanderes aren't punished for a darling acting out unless that darling does multiple crimes consistently or does something horrible like murder. Killing a yandere is the only crime that gives out the death penalty to darlings, as their the person that looks after you.

Darlings might be punished by their yanderes if the yanderes see the affair as an act of betrayal. If they live in a Darling friendly country, the yandere has to get approval to give them an extra harsh punishment. Every where else, they'll give it to you straight away.

Remember, killing Darlings is seen as the worst crime imaginable, so it's only used as a punishment in the worst of circumstances.

#yandere #i love asks #ask #yandereverse au

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rorja · 4 months ago

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Hiiiii! We've been absent for a while (rja the only one keeping this blog alive) because we are working on a very long fanfic. It's a rewritten jjk plot to fill all the plot holes (but also adding new stories..) from Gojo and Geto's high school to their adult days. There will be two readers, and ofc to avoid confusion they will have names so.. yeah. They're the so hated ocs that we fanfic writers are afraid to put out. This story has been in our drafts since november of the last year and after so many "let's keep going", "let's rewrite everything" and "okay enough I need a break" we thought it's been time that we need to be brave. So we wanted to share with you the two ocs and a teaser of the first chapter will come out in a few days. ⸻YURIKO IORI

First year along with Nanami, Haibara and Marja. She's from the Iori clan and is Utahime's cousin. Her mother had been involved in a scandal about binding vows with curses that brought the elders to condamn her to the death penalty. Yaga, and old friend, pleaded them to spare her daughter and to give her custody to him, promising to take care of her and assuring she would not take the same path as her mother. Yaga took care of her, to the point he sees her as his own daughter.

Personality:

After so many years of being criticized because of her mother, she's a natural introvert that hides a lot her feelings. She's an open book only to Yaga and her friend Marja… and later also Gojo: her aloof attitude firstly irritated him, then appealed him and then it will be the fake walls he knew so well she liked to put up to avoid confrontation and dealing with her problems by herself. When teased, she has the ability to think of very mean clapbacks in few seconds and that is the main object of Geto and Gojo's fun towards her. But in reality, she is very kind and loving to her friends, often taking the role of the one taking care of others however only Shoko sees her as a little cat that hisses but instead wants cuddles (and wants to be spoiled). She's very smart, being one of the best first year student along with Nanami, her only weakness being math. Like Utahime, she loves music and plays the guitar alone in her dorm room and can be always heard humming songs.

Relationships:

Marja's best friend. Her friendship with Nanami was born thanks to their time spent studying together. Haibara admires her ability to be so organized and smart, often preaching she's born a natural leader which frustrates her because she never received compliments like that. (He's find her also scary when she's angry).

Her relationship with Gojo at first is only based on bickering, due to his arrogant personality that teases her to get a reaction and attention that he wants so badly but doesn't understand why. After the star plasma vessel arc, they get even more awkward. Even if both of them focus more on mission to avoid the school ground and process what they had been through, Gojo will manifest his dislike and worry of her career by calling her weak or diminishing her achievements causing many fights and long period of silence between the two. Everything will change after Geto's betrayal, Gojo's pain will finally show his true colors that will make friends that spend the nights together talking and reflecting about everything to the point of finally admitting their feelings for each other.

Fun facts:

She's an october libra as she was born October 16th. Though she's not fond of astronomy, she likes to indulge Marja.

Yuriko would often be caught by Yaga trying to help both Marja and Haibara cheating midst their exams, throwing at them paper balls with the correct answers (which are useless because she has a terrible chicken writing)

Marja is responsible for her most used nickname: Riko-chan. Then later used by the whole group as an inside joke to make fun of her.

She is the only one that knows how to manipulate (fully on the term!) Marja.

Yuriko is a bit of a perfectionist; something that is very well-known among the group, making her get along well Nanami. Indeed, he was the first one she befriended at school and the two of them would be often spotted on campus studying together. ⸻MARJA SATOU

First year along with Haibara, Nanami and Yuriko. She comes from the Satou clan and is the only heir, though she's not that well accepted in the family because her father is a foreigner, making her only half japanese. Regardless, she does not get along with her father, often scared of him to a fault because of the insane pressure due to her unusual cused tcursed technique and his tight connection with an italian cult. Her past is the reason behind the binding vow limiting her own technique.

Personality:

Marja is a very energetic girl, but her energy is mainly focused on having fun with her friends or pulling Yaga's last strings of patience. The group first hang together because of her: indeed, it all started when Marja and Shoko got paired up in the morgue and they started to work together. On her part, Marja is an ambivert girl that at first glance could pass up for an introvert, but it's when she gains confidence that her real personality takes an unexpected turn and it gets revealed her playful, laid-back and lazy true persona. Naturally this side comes out mostly with Yuriko. She shares some personality traits with Haibara, which is the main reason they get along so well to be called by the others 'twins'. Marja is quick to adapt to every situation she's in, without as much as to blink. It comes natural to her. But underneath her carefree personality, she hides a more mature side which is not often on display, not even with her best friend Yuriko and that is something that finds its root in her troubling past. Marja doesn't seem to take her job as jujutsu sorcerer seriously, but her words often tend to contradicts what she really feels or thinks. Her complexity lies in the fact that her morals are not defined nor she has firm beliefs, which is something that she carries from her childhood and could end up clouding her judgment.

Relationships:

Yuriko's best friend. She loves hanging out with Haibara, often preaching they are platonic soulmates or twin siblings in another life. Marja also gets really along with Shoko, as the two of them would spend most of their time closed inside the morgue either to tend to their researches or learning bits of medicine with the same professor. The only person Marja doesn't get along with is Gojo Satoru, for their personalities would often clash and crash. Nonetheless, their bickering could be considered as that of a siblings relationship, as none of the two gets taken seriously by the group.

Her relationship with Geto begins one-sided, for Marja develops a crush on the boy the months that followed the school's start. Their relationship begin very subtly but steadily, and somewhere along the road Suguru starts to feel the same way about the girl. Back in high school, Geto is seen to care for and spoil the girl a lot, even in something small as sharing their meal. Even so, Marja tends to be a bit clueless to Suguru's own way of showing his affection, believing that the boy treats her the same way as the other members of the group. After the blood vessel incident, both of them start to drift apart but after Geto's defection things only seem to worsen: on the very night Suguru massacred a whole village, he ended up hurting Marja as well which is something he would feel guilty about his whole life. On the days that followed his betrayl, it becomes painfully aware to everyone how much Suguru loved Marja, as he kept some polaroids of her between his poetry books. They of course don't see each other for a long time, and even though they share the same feelings, they will never have the chance to confess to each other.

Fun facts:

she absolutely despises Gojo Satoru and when she noticed that Yuriko had crush for the very same guy, she almost killed herself. For this very reason Marja is responsible for most of Satoru's nicknames: from snowflake to mess of limbs. She gets very creative when it comes to badmouth the guy.

She was born on June 27th, making of her a cancer. She likes to indulge in western astronomy and likes to make it everyone's problem (mostly Yuriko, who is always the victim no.1 of Marja's interests!)

She uses a family's heirloom that controls the wind to fight, for her cursed technique is quite useless in combat.

Marja is known to have a weird interest for the human's brain, whether it is in dissecting bodies together with Shoko in the lab or having a small figure of a brain on her desk.

Yuriko is responsible for her most used nickname: Ricchan. Then later used by the whole group as an inside joke to make fun of her.

If you have any kind of questions, please ask us because we want to talk (yap!!) about this project so badly and a post isn't enough!

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mayapapaya33 · 3 months ago

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Damn, Vordo (And I assume Ethedok) have been trapped in Predathos' stomach being slowly digested for millennia or even eons? And Bells Hells wanted to risk condemning the rest of the Gods to this fate? Cuz reasons? What the fuck guys?!

(Not to mention this does count as attempted Genocide, the Gods are a species, they (were) ?Born? ?Created? ?Always Existed? ?Sprung into being? like this, so it is a bit discriminatory to be like; No! Bad! Kill them all! Just putting that out there...)

Yes, they are more powerful than mortals. Someone is always going to be more powerful than you, it's unfair, that's life. With all the Gods gone, someone will still be more powerful than you. OR you'll be more powerful than them. Something WILL fill the power vacuum and to pretend it won't is foolish. (Everything will be sunshine and roses comparatively until the eldritch abominations from the astral plane or wherever find Exandria and decide to make a new home with all the tasty snacks on it now that BH has (potentially) driven away the planet's most powerful defenders). And let's be real, the power structure set up Exandria has (had?) going with the Divine Gate and divine and arcane magic is about as good as it's ever going to get with a species and power difference that vast imho.

This hatred of the Gods I've seen both in the campaign and from some fans is the exact same sort of hatred Lex Luther has for Superman if we're being real. He hates Superman because he's stronger and faster and could do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted and almost no one could stop him. And I get that feeling, it's understandable. No one likes feeling small or powerless. But Superman doesn't WANT to do any of that, and it's not his fault he has superpowers.

The light of our yellow sun grants Superman's powers, like the collision with Reality granted the God's domains of power to them. And the only times there is terrible damage and trauma and strife is when Luthor picks a fight and then there are city blocks leveled. Meanwhile Superman is like, hey, would you please chill, I really don't want to be a dictator or anything I swear, I just want to rescue kittens from trees and stop bank robbers and prevent the occasional alien invasion. The only difference as far as I can tell, is that Superman is the main character of his story, and The Exandrian Pantheon aren't the main characters of this one.

And before anyone says anything, Yes, the Calamity was the Gods fighting each other, but I just want to remind everyone once again, that mortals are the ones that kicked that event off in style. The Betrayer Gods were in jail, they were dealt with. Vespin Chloras and The Ring of Brass majorly fucked the world over. (The Ring of Brass also helped save the world, but they helped almost destroy it first so it kind of evens out a bit I guess lol. Is that how that math works? That doesn't feel right.)

As for everyone chanting that the Primes should have just killed the Betrayers... for starters, are you also this pro death penalty in real life? I highly doubt it just based on CR's core demographics lmfao. And second, they already explained that there were some threats in the universe that required the combined might of all of them to face. And I am NOT convinced that they only meant Predathos. That is one hell of a gamble to assume that! (Not to mention they're family and the sole survivors of a terrible cataclysm and refugees in a strange land and they love/hate each other).

Long spiel short, yikes! BH might be the bad guys. Uh Oh!

(I know they were talking about controlling it, but like, how? And to do what? Chase the Gods away? And for how long? Forever? Seems like a somewhat ill-conceived plan lol).

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jbk405 · 3 months ago

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I think Sunry's murder trial in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is the best example of "moral complexity" in the game, because I honestly don't know the "right" outcome.

For the immediate trial question of "Did Sunry murder Elassa?", the answer is simple: Sunry is guilty. He committed the crime, and in the course of your investigation you can find evidence to prove it and get him to confess in private.

However, despite Sunry's actual guilt, the Sith have still planted evidence and bribed witnesses in an attempt to manipulate the court case. They plan to use the trial to get the Selkath government to side against the Republic. Politics are supposed to stay out of legal proceedings, but it is impossible to deny that this trial will have an immediate effect on the war currently raging across the galaxy.

Elassa, the victim, was a Sith spy who had seduced Sunry with the intent of obtaining secret Republic information. She may have even been planning to kill him that same night. You could hypothetically argue that Sunry killing her was a legitimate part of the war or espionage, and not criminal murder. However in the course of questioning Sunry he admits that he didn't act on orders from the Republic and instead it was out of personal rage and betrayal when he learned that she was using him as an intelligence asset and was not attracted to him like he thought she was.

So, do you allow Sunry to be convicted for the crime he committed, knowing that it may cost thousands of Republic soldiers their lives if the Selkath restrict kolto exports as a result?

Do you get him acquitted to stymie the Sith plot, but allow Elassa's murder to go unpunished?

There isn't a simple answer here and I applaud the game for setting it up this way.

Normally I play the technicality game: I present all of my evidence about the Sith's manipulation of witnesses and evidence and highlight their lack of valid proof of Sunry's guilt, but I don't advance any of Sunry's justifications for his actions or accuse the Sith of killing Elassa themselves. I also do not present my own evidence of Sunry's guilt. I speak only the truth itself, but not the whole truth.

The outcome for my tactics is that Sunry is convicted, but the death penalty as waived and the Republic does not face any censure from the Selkath. However the Sith also do not face any censure. I think this is the closest we get to "justice" in this situation.

#Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #KOtOR #Sunry Murder Trial #Sunry #Star Wars #Knights of the Old Republic #Video games

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vintageneptune92 · 3 months ago

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Burn The Shadow- 3

This chapter took me forever. I’m sure there are mistakes. I’ve written, edited, re-written. I’d love some feed back, comments, shares, etc.

I will make a master page for the series when I get a chance. I hope you guys enjoy!

Let me know if you have any requests! I write primarily for Supernatural, Marvel and now SVU. I also dabble in TVD.

Gia made her way to where she was meeting Amaro in the park. She had gladly taken her available bereavement days. Like the rest of the squad, she usually pushed back at being told to take time off. This was different. She knew she wasn't going to be up to working after she said goodbye to Gabe. It drummed up too much turmoil inside of her. Any victim she worked with deserved her at 100%. She felt the vice around her heart tightening. She didn't know if that feeling would ever go away. She knew she had to find a way to move on, but she had no idea how.

She remembered the look of pure betrayal in Gabe's eyes when she testified. Not that her brain would ever allow her to forget. Her mother told her not testifying was not an option and the prosecutor didn't have any problem with her being forced by her mother. The prosecution didn't actually need her to take the stand. They had plenty to convict, but they wanted the death penalty to send a message. Her mother? The honorable Giulia Monroe had wanted to make sure Gabe knew he was no longer her son and she used her daughter to drive that point home. Gia still hadn't forgiven her mother for that. She doubted that she ever would. In the five years she wasn't allowed to see him or speak to him, Gabe had come to terms with what he had done. He tried to absolve Gia of the guilt she felt, but it had never quite gone away.

She had always worried that the other person involved would continue to rape, torture and murder. It was a fear that she could never shake. Her therapist told her she had to believe that Gabe's death sentence scared his friend straight. There had been no other attacks or kidnappings that were similar. Her therapist had to shut down Gia's idea that the other boy had moved and was continuing to victimize. She couldn't live in a world of "what if". Every once in a while she still found herself there.

She saw Nick before he saw her. She paused for a moment watching him texting on his phone. The tightness of his jaw led her to believe he was talking to Maria. He had been through so much in the past year, some of it his own doing, but Gia knew he was a good man who just wasn't perfect. He must have felt her eyes on him because he looked up. She gave him a small wave and he met her half way.

"Listen Gee, I'm sorry I called Barba. You just wouldn't let anyone go and I just didn't think- oof." She must have knocked the wind out of him when she hugged him. She had surprised him and after a few moments he hugged her back, holding the back of her head with his hand. When she pulled away he gripped her on each side of her upper arms and studied her face. "Gee, please don't take this the wrong way, but you look terrible." She waved him off.

Truth was, she DID look terrible. Her eyes were still puffy from the copious amount of tears she had shed. The dark circles were prominent again. She had fallen asleep on the couch and woke up screaming. Rafael had still been there. After that, he refused to go home at all. He had gone into her room and brought out her pillows and some blankets for her to stay on the couch and had camped out in her chair, promising to wake her up if she was having another nightmare. He had to wake up two more times. She didn't think he had slept at all. It was so crazy to her that not that long ago she saw him as an antagonist. She had blearily dragged herself off the couch after a few hours of consecutive sleep. She had to convince Barba to leave, promising him that she would be okay and needed some time alone.

"I'm okay, Guapo." He smiled at the nickname. From her it wasn't condescending.

"So you're not mad at me?"

"No, I'm not. You were right, I had no business going alone." They walked over to one of the benches to sit down.

"So Barba? He took care of you?"

"He did. I never would have expected him to be that way." Normally, Nick would have teased her. He saw how she and Barba were. They definitely flirted in their own nerdy way. He knew there wasn't anything going on between them, but he liked teasing her. Now definitely wasn't the time.

"So my intuition on this being personal and not professional was right?" She nodded her head.

"It's not something I talk about. And when you and I got into the fight over Barba and Muños, it was easier to stay mad at you and keep you at arms length. I had every intention of going alone. I had no intention of telling Barba either. When I got there, I didn't have the strength to push him away. He didn't ask a single question, even though I could tell he was dying to. He just wouldn't leave me on my own. I had to unburden myself. I felt like my insides were on fire."

"I get it Gia. It's hard for anyone to open up about their past. I just wanted to make sure you had someone there in case you needed to. I knew if you wouldn't let me be there for you, you might let him. Gia, you're my friend. Right now, I'm pretty sure you're my best friend. I just wanted to make sure you were taken care of." Gia was quiet for a few moments, letting what Amaro said sink in.

"It's been all really long time since I trusted anyone enough to talk about it. Ali was the first person I told that wasn't somehow involved. Yesterday made me realize that I've isolated myself for so long. I've been alone for so long. I can't...I can't do that anymore."

"Gia, you don't have to tell me." He didn't want her to feel guilty for talking to Barba and not him.

"No, I want to." She took a deep breath and held it for a moment. "He was my brother." Nick could feel the color drain from his face.

"What?" The word came out as a whisper. Gia reached into her bag and pulled out a thumb drive.

"It's everything on the case. I know you're going to DC, I thought you could use some reading material. This way is a little easier for me." Nick squeezed her hand.

"I'm here for you, for whatever you need." Gia had supported Nick through his problems with Maria, their separation and the entire mess with Carissa. She never once wavered in her belief in him. Then, he found out about Gil. She supported him through that too.

"I know Guapo. When do you leave?" She needed to change the subject. He took a deep breath and the sighed.

"Soon. I just have some things to finish up at the precinct and then I'm going to stop and see Gil."

"How is it going with Gil?"

"Good. We're getting to know each other. He's a great kid."

"How is Zara? I miss seeing her." Nick had a sad smile on his face.

"She's great. She keeps asking when me and her mom are getting back together. I don't know what to say to her. I hate not seeing her every day."

"You tell her it has nothing to do with her. Tell her that you and Maria love her so much and that will never change. She's too young to understand what you guys are dealing with. All you can do is keep reassuring her it isn't her fault and how much you love her."

"We do. She's just so young and I hate that she hasn't really gotten the chance to know her big brother." Nick ran his hand down the front of his face.

"You're a great dad, Nick. I know things are hard now, but they will get better. You just have to give it time." She leaned her shoulder into his.

"Thanks for saying that. Are you going to be okay this weekend?"

"I'll be okay." They sat in silence for a moment.

"Does anyone else on the squad know?"

"Just Cragen."

"You didn't tell Liv?" Amaro raised both of his eyebrows.

"No, you were the first one I wanted to tell." He couldn't hide his surprise "Nick, I have Ali who I consider to be one of my best friends, but so are you."

"You should tell Liv. She knows complicated families. She's your mentor and I know she cares about you a lot. She's always looking out for you and she always has your back." Gia wiped a tear that threatened to spill.

"I know, and I will."

"You call me if you need to this weekend." She seemed up beat, but Amaro could see something brewing behind her eyes. They stood up.

"I will be okay. You enjoy your time with your daughter. I'll see you when you get back Guapo." He gave her another quick hug and watched her walk off in the opposite direction.

Gia decided to take the long way home. The crisp air was biting at her cheeks, but it felt good. It felt good to feel something than the utter emptiness that was swirling around inside of her. It was a hole she had no idea how to fill. She had held it together pretty well with Nick. She wanted him to know, but she couldn't go through what she had the night before.

She had always felt so incredibly alone when it came to Gabe. This was the one thing that Grayson couldn't stand by her side through. She understood; it just didn't make it feel any better. As a kid, she used to think that her father could do anything. He was her hero. Gia was the opitome of a daddy's girl. Grayson and their mother were close in a way Gia had never experienced. There wasn't the tension between Grayson and their father the way their was between Gia and their mother. As an adult she still thought her dad could do anything, but there were two exceptions. The first was standing up to her mother. The second was watching his son die. Looking back, Gabe must have felt like such an outsider. She didn't want him to feel that way on the day he died. The two most important men in her life didn't have the stomach to be there for her when it was all said and done. She didn't know how she would have gotten through it without Barba. She didn't want to think about the state she would be in if he hadn't held her up. Somehow, he was the right one to be there. Nick couldn't have held back his questions the way Rafael had. She also knew Nick was right about Liv, she should tell her. If she wanted their trust, she had to give hers.

She stopped at her favorite coffee shop on her way back. It made her smile for just a moment when she thought about Barba showing up with it at her apartment. She was approaching her building when she saw a familiar figure in front of the building.

"Grayson?" He turned when he heard her voice.

"Hey Geeg." His tone was solem, appropriate considering the circumstances.

"Want are you doing here?" He was the last person she was expecting to see. It was Friday morning, he should be at his office. He always went in early so he could be home early on Friday to spend the weekend with her niece and sister-in-law.

"I'm checking on you. You didn't answer my calls." She felt like his eyes were penetrating her thoughts.

"I wasn't in the mood to talk."

"You're mad at me." It was a statement, not a question. She let out the air she didn't realize she was holding. "Look, I'm sorry. I wish, I wish I could be like you."

"What do you mean Gray?"

"Gigi, you see the good where no one else can. You're forgiving and empathetic. Even after everything we've been through, you still have hope. You were brave, are brave. I'm a coward. I wish that I could have been brave like you, so you didn't have to be there alone." Gia blinked back tears. "I'm sorry. I am so sorry. I wish I could have seen beyond myself to be there for you."

"I'm not mad at you. You don't owe me an apology. I understand. I never expected you to be there. Do I wish you or Dad could have? Of course. But I would never hold it against you." Her voice cracked. "I just don't want you to hate me for not hating him."

"I could never hate you. Especially not because of your humanity. Gigi, there is nothing in this world that could make me hate you." He pulled her in and hugged her tightly. They stayed like that for a moment. It unnerved her to see Grayson wipe a tear from his face when he pulled away. He never cried.

"If it makes you feel better, I wasn't alone." Grayson furrowed his brow. Gianna never talked about their brother to anyone.

"Who did you ask to go with you?"

"I didn't exactly ask him. He just showed up when he was told I might need some support." Grayson raised his eyebrows. His sister was full of surprises.

"He? I didn't know you were seeing someone." Gia shook her head.

"I'm- I'm not. He's a friend."

"Well I'm glad you have a friend you can trust."

"He's a good friend. I think you'd like him." Grayson smiled. He was just happy to see a change in her.

"It's okay Gia, to not be so guarded."

"It's not that easy Grayson. You know that. But I'm trying. My squad is tight. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I have people I can let in." She could see the tension in Grayson's shoulders release.

"I'm really happy to hear that. I have my wife and daughter. You deserve to have happiness like that." He held her by her shoulders. He was able to move on. It was different for Gianna. She felt some responsibility for what happened.

"Do you want to come up?" She didn't want to get into that conversation. She definitely didn't want to get into the subject of their mother.

"I wish I could. I have to get to the office. Call Sienna, let her know what night you're free. We want to have you over for dinner. Annie misses you."

"I will. Tell her I miss her too." Grayson kissed her on the forehead.

"You call me if you need anything, okay?" Gia nodded. She watched her brother get smaller as he walked away. It felt like it had been the two of them against the world for so long. His comment about hope stuck with her. She had to hang onto hope. The hope that one day she wouldn't feel so damn sad.

-———————————————————-

Gia knocked on Olivia's door. She figeted with the hem of her sweatshirt. She was about to turn to leave when the door opened. She had thought she would be okay alone. Instead she felt like her insides were trying to claw their way out of her body.

"Gia." Liv was surprised to see her, happy, but surprised.

"In this a bad time?" Olivia quickly saw the distress on her face.

"No, not at all. Come in." Liv stepped aside and Gia stepped into the apartment.

"This is a really nice place, Liv."

"Thank you. Gia are you okay?" Olivia had a better look at her. Her cheeks were red, but it was from the chilly air. Otherwise, she looked paler than usual. Olivia could tell by the lack of color in her lips. Her hands were trembling. Olivia had never seen her so casual before. She was wearing black leggings and a cropped grey hoodie that was over a white ribbed tank top and a pair of pink sneakers. When Olivia placed her hand on her arm, she felt how cold she was."Did you walk here? You're freezing." She ushered her over to the couch and wrapped a blanket around her.

"I, I didn't plan on walking here. Ali was supposed to be home but she got pulled into emergency surgery. I couldn't stand to be alone in our apartment. I was going to go for a short walk to clear my head, but I just kept walking and realized I was here."

"Well, I'm glad you felt comfortable coming here. Gia tell me what's going on. You can trust me." Cragen had mentioned to Olivia that Gia was going through something. While he wouldn't break Gia's confidence, he had asked Liv to keep an eye on her when she got back to work.

"I know." Gia nodded. She knew subconsciously that Amaro's words had led her here. Olivia gave her a few moments. She could tell she was trying to find the words. "Cassidy isn't here?"

"No, he won't be home for a while." The turmoil on Gia's face was heartbreaking. She couldn't even imagine what was going to come out of her mouth.

"Okay...okay..." It took Gia a few moments and then the whole story she shared with Barba came tumbling out of her mouth. Olivia didn't dare interrupt her for fear that she would stop talking.

"Oh Gia." Liv hugged her. She was mostly shocked at the lack of empathy her mother seemed to display. To make a child testify against her own brother in a trial that garnered him the death penalty was inconceivable to Olivia.

"I, I thought I was okay. But revisiting this triggered my memory. I knew I blocked out a lot. I just didn't realize how much. I can usually compartmentalize things. It's almost like there is a door in my mind and I can close things behind it." Gina's pointing to the middle of her forehead. "I had to learn how to do it. It took years. But now it's like the floodgates are open. All I can see is what was done to Amy. That crime scene. My father tried to shield me from it, but I saw enough. And I've read the case file a million times. Trying to find that last puzzle piece. The other kid that was with Gabe. With everything we've seen, that kind of violence? It wasn't a one time thing. I keep going over everything in my brain; I cannot piece together who it is. Maybe if I had seen the untouched crime scenes and not just the pictures CSU took of each scene." She was spiraling.

"Gia, listen to me, please you were only thirteen. Finding that other boy was not and is not your responsibility." Liv didn't know how Gia kept all of this so close to the vest.

"I know, I...I know. Rational me knows that. But there is this other part of me that cannot accept that. They had to have missed something. Something that I wouldn't have. All I have been able to think about today is what he has done since then. I can't turn it off." She was standing now and pacing. "I tried. I tried so hard to get Gabe to tell me. Maybe I didn't try hard enough."

"Your brother and what he did, it is not on you. Regardless of what he was capable of doing, HE was the one that protected someone with that capacity for violence. That makes him equally as guilty. Gia, I don't think he wanted to tell because he wanted to go out that way. If he was executed, he would have had to live with what he'd done for the rest of his life.

"I can't tell you the amount of times that I've told myself that... that Grayson has told me that. I just don't know how to turn this off again."

"I think maybe you're looking at this wrong." Gia raised her eyebrows, but didn't say anything, so Liv continued. "Gia, as hard as it is, your brother's death is the closure to all of this. You can't change anything that happened and that was never your responsibility. You have carried this with you since you were 13 years old. I think your mind is stirring all of this up because you don't know who you are without it. Grieve your brother, but let him go Gia. His sins are not yours." Gia wiped away a tear.

"You're right. If I'm being honest, I think I just feel guilty for being able to move on." She sat back down and buried her face in her hands.

"Listen to me-" Liv put her hand on Gia's back. "You deserve to be happy and to move past this. Your brother would not you to punish yourself for his crimes." Liv paused for a moment before tentatively asking, "Gia, do you see anyone?" Gia looked confused for a moment.

"A therapist? I did. She left the area and I've been trying to find someone that I click with. It's hard with our schedule to test them out. I need someone that can understand all of this" she waved her hands around her head. "I have anxiety medication, but I don't want to take it because of work."

"If you are not on duty and are taking it as prescribed, you aren't doing anything wrong. It's a fine line to walk with them, but during something like this? Use what tools you have. I'll talk to my therapist. He might have some suggestions. He might even be willing to see you while helping you find someone."

Gia was quiet for a moment "I would really appreciate that. Sometimes, it's so hard to quiet all the noise. People think that having a photographic memory is this huge blessing. It does give me an advantage but sometimes I would give anything to not have to work so hard for a moment of peace."

"Does anyone else on the squad know?"

"Cragen does, but that's obvious. I told Nick today. Barba knows."

"Barba?" Olivia was genuinely surprised. She knew that they were finally getting along. She just didn't know they were getting along that well.

"Yeah. He and I actually have gotten kind of close." Gia paused for a moment to think about how to explain their friendship.

"He snuck up on me." Gia laughed for a moment. "He...he gets me, without needing any explanation. It's the first time in a really long time someone has. Nick thinks it's because we're both nerds. But part of it is that he doesn't just see me as a tool to win cases like other prosecutors have. They tended to forget that I'm a person. Barba? He sees me as an asset. He challenges me in a way that no one has before. It was always hard growing up because I was so much younger than my peers, but I was more mature. We also have the same snarky gallows humor, which helps." She chewed her bottom lip for a moment.

"Nick saw part of the execution notice on my desk. He tried to ask me about it, but I shut him down. He wasn't sure if it was personal or from a previous case, regardless, he didn't think it was a good idea for me to go alone. I wasn't ready to talk about it. And you know Nick, no way would he come and not ask questions. Then he and I got into that fight over the Muños case and I shut him out. He knew Barba and I have become friends, so he called him. Regardless of how angry we were at each, Nick knew I would need someone and made sure someone was there to take care of me. Barba was waiting for me when I got there. I was a mess already and I couldn't turn Rafael away. He promised not to ask a single question. He didn't even flinch when they read Gabe's name. It made me really trust him and I don't do that easily. He really took care of me yesterday. It was definitely unexpected." It was a lot to take in. Liv didn't expect her to completely open up.

"You know, I had a feeling you and Barba would eventually hit it off. He's a lot more than he pretends to be. I'm glad that he and Nick have your back. No one should have to go through that alone"

"God Liv, I'm sorry for just showing up here and trauma dumping on you. You've been through so much, you don't need this." Gia sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"Gia, don't apologize." Liv leaned towards Gia. "Our squad...it's different. The cases we work, the things we see, we have to trust each other. You know everything I went through with Lewis. My door is always open for you. Thank you for trusting me."

"I've always known i could trust you. I think I have always carried some level of shame."

"This is why you wanted SVU and why Cragen wanted you here. He knew you would fight for victims."

"Yes. I think part of me sees it as redemption. I couldn't save Lizzie and I couldn't save Amy, but I can save as many victims as I can."

"Why the PhD?" Liv watched as Gia stared past her for a few moments.

"It's the why. I need to know why someone would do the things we see. Causation isn't an excuse, but understanding helps me." Liv nodded, she understood completely.

"Do you want to order something to eat and keep talking?"

"Yeah Liv, I would like that." The panic Gia felt when she had showed up at Liv's door had started to dissipate.

-———————————————————-

Barba stopped walking for a moment when he spotted Gia. He had wanted to give her some space, but he needed to lay eyes on her after how he had left her. When his mother had cancelled breakfast, he told her he didn't want to waste the reservation.

She was sitting on a park bench, her leg crossed, supporting a sketch book that she was furiously drawing in. Her hair in her signature perfectly messy bun and that damn loose curl at her right temple. Her normal hard exterior at work was softened. Those perfect curls were just slightly less perfect. She normally wore darker makeup. She was smart, it made her look older, more intimidating. Leggings with over the knee black leather boots, she had a thick v-neck royal blue sweater. He could see a little bit of white under her sweater. The fall weather had her cheeks pink. She looked lighter, emotionally. He continued walking towards her. He noticed a tattoo on her right wrist that he had never noticed before.

"Exactly how many tattoos do you have detective?" He watched her jump. She always did when she was engrossed in something. She smiled.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She said with a raise of her eyebrows. If he didn't know any better, he'd think she was flirting.

"You cover it up?"

"With makeup.I don't want to share every part of me with suspects and victims."

"Makes sense. Share it with me?" She gave him a nod. He sat down next to her and took her hand and flipped it over to see the full tattoo. It looked like a blue half moon filled with watercolored ocean waves. Underneath that were the words "I have the ocean's soul. I want everything and nothing in harmony. I am chaos." He had a feeling that she could bring chaos into his life. He ran his thumb over it, waiting for her explanation.

"The ocean is my favorite place to be. I spent summers in Cape Cod with my grandparents. It's so peaceful, but also vast and dangerous. If I close my eyes sometimes, I can feel the salty breeze. I'm also a Pisces, so it tracks." He smirked after his eyebrows shot up.

"You believe in astrology?" She shrugged.

"I never used to. But everything I've read really lines up, with me anyway. I hyper fixate sometimes."

"When's your Birthday?"

"March 4th."

"In like a lion, also tracks." She laughed.

"May I?" He nodded to her sketch book. She hesitated for a moment and shook her head no.

"It's too personal. It's like a diary. My therapist growing up had me sketch things to help get them out of my head. But you can see what I'm working on here." She opened the book and there was a portrait of a beautiful little girl. "She's my niece Annie. She's 4. Well her name is Anna. They named her after me. But she's my Annie. This is for my sister-in-law for her birthday. Eventually it'll be a painting."

"Wow...you are very talented." She looked at him and smiled. She was full of surprises.

"Thank you, that...that means a lot." She moved to put her sketch book in her bag. Rafael stood and put out his hand.

"We're going to be late for our reservation." Gia tentatively took his hand and stood up.

"Should I be insulted that I'm your second choice." She had linked her arm in his as they walked.

"I would think of it more as you were my first choice after my mother."

"Well I'm honored then." They walked in silence for a moment.

"How are you? What did you do the last few days." He finally asked. They stopped walking and he stood in front of her. She was normally at least 4 inches taller with her normal heeled boots that brought her eye level. He hadn't realized how short she was. Everything she did with her appearance for work was designed to make her larger in one way or another. He studied her face as she contemplated her response.

"Honestly? I am okay." His face must have read skepticism. "No, I really am. I, uh, had a rough night Friday night. It was bad. Ali got stuck in surgery and it left me to stew in my thoughts and emotions. My anxiety was through the roof. I honestly felt like my insides were lava. I was uncomfortable in my own skin. I went out to get some fresh air and found myself a Liv's. She said some things that really made an impact. We talked about a lot of things. We are a lot of Chinese food too. Cassidy was working late, so I stayed with her and he drove me home when he was done with his shift. It had to be like midnight. Then? I cried, I mean ugly cried. I was relieved Ali was home and already asleep, no one needed to see that. I finally took the anti-anxiety medication my doctor gave me and I slept...for 12 hours." She laughed a little. "Ali thought I was dead. She's never seen me sleep like that. We spent the rest of the afternoon together talking. El Guapo called me from DC and I got to chat with Zara. She's so happy and upbeat. It was good for me. I spent the evening hanging out with Ali and some of her friends. They went out, I stayed home. Liv checked in and then I took my anxiety meds again and got a full nights sleep. Nightmare free. I can't take the medication when I'm on duty or on call, so I know I won't be nightmare free forever. But Liv really got through to me. She said things I've heard before, but it hit differently coming from her."

"That Olivia Benson is a wise one."

"That she is. But it's because of you." He didn't understand. "What you did for me the other night? I don't think anyone has ever been there for me like that. With no questions asked and nothing needed in return. You put a crack in the wall I have had around myself for a very long time. Telling you gave me the courage to tell Amaro. Well, sort of. I gave him an electronic copy of all of the files to read on his way down to DC. He and I are close, but I'm not ready for him to see me like I was with you. I don't need to be someone he needs to save. You gave me the courage to tell Liv and let her dig a little deeper. There aren't words to express my gratitude to you." Rafael was speachless for a moment, and that never happened.

"I, I don't know what to say to that." He had unconsciously twirled her loose curl around his forefinger. She wanted to make a joke about him never not having something to say, but it didn't seem to fit in that moment. "I am honored that you trusted me like that." He let the ringlet fall from his finger and tucked it behind her ear. "You deserve to feel safe and supported. I'm in your corner." There were a multitude of things she wanted to say but couldn't bring herself to say them.

"C'mon Abogado. We're going to be late and I'm starving." They were back to walking arm in arm.

"Should I feel offended that Amaro gets to be called Guapo and I'm relegated to Abogado?" Gia let out an audible laugh. Rafael knew right then and there that he would now be chasing to hear that sound again.

"It is not so much a compliment and more of an accusation. He absolutely loves it when I call him Meñudo." She was laughing again.

"You should do that more often." He finally said.

"I'm pretty sure I bully Amaro on a regular basis."

"Well, keep that up, but I meant laughing. You should laugh more. And I don't mean that in the menacing 'you should smile more' line women hear." He quickly added in the qualification. Before she could respond they were walking up to the restaurant. She felt something stir inside of her when he put his hand on the small of her back to lead her into the restaurant.

"I have to tell you, you're a lot less intimidating like this." She gave him a questioning look. "The hair, makeup, leather, heeled boots? They make you a little terrifying- especially when you're angry. Without all of that, you kind of remind me of a pixie. What's the angry one that crosses her arm and stomps her foot?"

"Are you comparing me to Tinkerbell after telling me I wear too much makeup?" Her eyes narrowed as she took a sip of her mimosa. He grinned.

"Campañita, I did not tell you that you wear too much makeup. It's just a different look." she rolled her jaw. "Yeah that's going to stick."

"I hate you." She pointed her fork at him.

"I don't think you have ever or could ever hate me."

"Eres engreído."

"Por eso te gusto cariño." Her blush was gratifying.

"You know, probably." They both laughed.

"Also- I did admit to being terrified of you. You're small, but you're mighty." She laughed again. It felt good to laugh like this.

"This has been a lot of fun. Plus mimosas and breakfast are my favorite."

"I am more than happy to take you to breakfast anytime."

After breakfast, they were walking through Central Park. Gia's face hurt from laughing. "I'm going to have to demand you show me pictures of you playing Little League."

"I'm thrilled my pain is so amusing to you." He deadpanned. "Well jokes on you, I'm not giving you the gift I got you.

"I'm pretty sure the mental images of you trying to be athletic are a gift that keeps on giving."

"You're lucky I like you." He stopped walking and reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and handed her a small box. She gave him a questioning look at then took it and lifted the lid off.

Inside was a white gold necklace with a Lotus Flower pendant with a black stone in the center.

"The stone is azabache, it's the Cuban protection stone. You said the dream catcher didn't help the nightmares. I thought maybe this would help. The Lotus flower is you. Strength, hope, preservation and resilience. Rising from a dark place." She blinked rapidly and a single tear slipped out of her eye. "I didn't mean to make you cry"

"Raf- this is the nicest thing anyone has ever gotten me. Thank you." Her voice cracked when she said his name. She had never felt so seen before. He reached up and wiped the tear off of her cheek. Her using a nickname for him made him feel something he knew he had no business feeling. He took the necklace from the box and quickly fastened it around her neck. She felt her mouth go dry. The smell of the sandalwood in his cologne was intoxicating, she wanted to pull him back in when he stepped back."

"C'mon, let's get you home, it's freezing." He put his arm around her shoulder and they walked towards her apartment.

#law and order svu imagine #rafael barba #rafael barba imagine #rafael barba x detective #rafael barba x oc #svu #Burn The Shadow

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