#Failure to protect

[bonefall]

wait, two children? leopardpelt had a sibling??

Yeah! Carpwhisker isn't SUPER important, but she is here now.

[ID: An anxious looking, brown, spotted cat with a white belly and green eyes.]

She is a kit save because I needed her genetics around for the RiverClan Family Tree, she is the mother of Duskfur, Voletooth, and an apprentice who dies during TNP, Splashpaw.

But most importantly, she was added because I'm telling a very different story with Leopardfur. I am very frustrated by how canon decided that a large motivating part of her villain arc is... being spoiled by her dad for being an only child with a dead mom.

So there's been some real big changes to Leopard's family.

Brightsky isn't dead. She left to become a kittypet, but gave half of her litter to Mudfur.

Brightsky and Mudfur used to be very united in their criticism of Clan culture, and the path it was taking. Brightsky decided that there was no fixing it, and it was better to get away from it completely.

She begged Mudfur to come too... but he couldn't. He couldn't leave his life and legacy behind. But he asked to keep his children-- no one knows what happens to kittypet kittens when they become too old.

She wanted at least two of them to have a peaceful life. Water and Oat stayed with her. Leopard and Carp went home.

Carp was probably sent back, in particular, because she has a family resemblance to her famous ancestor Volestar. Successor of Darkstar, creator of the Queen's Rights.

And on that note, only Hailstar was told the truth about Brightsky. Him and Mudfur agreed that the official story would always be that Brightsky had died trying to escape kittypets, but that Mudfur had been able to save his kittens.

If Mudfur had known what would happen to Leopardkit, if he could glimpse into the monster that she would become, he would have left both of them there, in that warm nest beside their mother.

Carpwhisker is not an ambitious person, and honestly a bit of a coward. She's easily walked over and on the quiet side, not the sort of person who will jump to the defense of a friend, even if she wants to. She used to like Aftergatherings, but stopped when Leopardfur told her it made her look disloyal.

She helps out in the nursery, and is one of the reliable members of the Construction Patrol. Her political profile leans heavily towards Fire Alone, but she was not trusted to be a TigerClan rebel because it was known she was rather meek.

What DID she do during TigerClan? Well, actually, it was HER idea to create a mud facade so the Bonehill wouldn't be solid bone, and reduce their workload by a lot!! And then Tigerstar decided it was his idea. ah.

[radchalice]

If anyone is familiar with the Ruby Franke child abuse case, I’ve been wondering why her husband hasn’t been charged with failure to protect. Women who are actually physically abused get charged with it often, and even receive harsher sentences that the man who was abusing her and the children. So Ruby Franke’s husband was “kicked out” and just left the kids there, knowing what was going on. Don’t tell me he was powerless and could do nothing.

My Amber Heard/Johnny Depp opinion as an actual lawyer is that on the exceedingly rare occasion that a prima facie case can be made for a woman's guilt of a violent crime the media always take it and run with it, while at the same time ignoring the far worse violent crimes men commit every day. Often this results in overly harsh punishments for the female defendant and, in a disturbingly high number of cases, straight up sentencing an actually innocent woman. I don't know if Amber Heard 'did it' and I have very little faith in the legal system to get to the bottom of it. But I'm fairly sure that, regardless of what is uncovered and who was at fault, Johnny Depp will be fine.

[itspileofgoodthings]

one of the things that continues to strike me on reread is how much the character of Darcy, and Austen through him, finds Mr. Bennet dead. And how much Elizabeth, in growing and changing and discarding her past blindness, has to move past her way of seeing her father and thus of seeing reality, because the two are connected! Darcy’s letter exposes her father’s flaws to Elizabeth in a way she’d never been able to see before. Most especially the way his laziness and neglect of his own gifts have hurt his family and that ultimately he doesn’t. care. Not enough to change. It literally says that she comes home from Hunsford and tries to laugh at her sisters’ and mother’s folly (the way she used to; the way her father has taught her to by example for her whole life) and she can’t anymore! It sticks in her throat. She is grieved by the failures that she sees in him, all the more so because she IS his favorite and she loves him! And the thing about Mr. Bennet is he never changes. The Lydia/wickham situation exposes to him sharply his own conduct and the consequences and he feels it! Because he is neither stupid nor unfeeling. But he, like everyone, has free will. And he chooses not to change when the opportunity presents itself. He even jokes about how quickly his feeling bad will pass and how soon everything will go back to normal, to his laziness and his selfishness. He is set in his ways and he serves as a contrast to Elizabeth’s personal journey because he embodies a version of a person she could have become and was in danger of becoming if her only goal at all times was to laugh at and judge people from the sidelines.

[blizardstar]

Me when Ashton Greymoore is denied honorable and meaningful self-sacrifice, and now must face the reality that they MUST keep living after it’s All Over

[the-one-with-spider-brainrot]

uh oh spaghettio looks like watching their brothers execution wasn’t enough

[dykedvonte]

Curly not immediately punishing Jimmy for assaulting Anya is something I don’t think a lot of people are viewing in the complex context for Curly as the superior to both of them and closest confidante they had.

Like I am in no way saying he didn’t under react or fail Anya by not being harsh or direct with Jimmy but it really is the case that he really couldn’t. Imagine being stuck in such a confined space with very little areas to genuinely hold someone if they commit a crime. It’s not like this was an event that occurred before they departed or that they have easy communication with The Pony Express to ask for how to proceed when something like this arises. Not to mention, Jimmy’s relative power in relation to Anya as the co-pilot and second in command, he has the knowledge and access to do something to her had Curly directly punished him in this setting.

They were also Curly’s friends. It’s not just the case of him mediating something between his subordinates but people he is personally invested in don’t want to see spiral further in Anya’s case while also not wanting believe his friend go that bad in Jimmy’s actions. They were both suicidal and Curly putting Jimmy’s stability first is both out of bias but also the fact he’s aware at some level Jimmy is a danger to himself and others if not constantly placated. Combined with the fact he was in denial or just not piecing together what Anya said it’s hard to say what he buying time for and what he had treat as urgent. This isn’t even saying he doesn’t care about Anya but he’s not going jump to the worst conclusions about his friends even if part of him acknowledges the evidence saying so. It’s a complicated thing but he’s still human and needed to process it on top of trying to keep a ship that already took on a lot of water from further sinking, metaphorically.

I just personally think that while Curly failed Anya, it was a scenario where there wasn’t much he could do to the best thing by her safely and like Jimmy, we are underestimating what a good leader would do in a very fragile and tense situation like he was in. By the time he may have been ready and had a plan, things were much too late.

[piracytheorist]

Yor worrying that her disappearing because of her job would mean she betrayed the Forgers vs Yor realizing that the risk is worth protecting them.

Grey colours, the Forgers as she first met them having their backs at her with empty, disappointed faces, vs bright, warm colours, the Forgers as she now knows them facing her directly and smiling at her.

She starts the story feeling like an outcast, fearing that no-one, not even her brother, will accept her as she is. That people will turn their back on her, and her life will continue being colourless and lonely.

Then her life fills with colour, with people who will face her head-on and accept her. She develops into confidence that the Forgers care for her and is reminded that even if she ever has to leave because of her job, the knowledge that she protects innocent people...

and that this work of hers will be acknowledged...

... is enough to give her the strength to carry on.

[scribz-ag24]

Grovyle's got some emotional baggage to work through.

[mysteriouspersonrambles]

You know the most fucked up thing about ch. 120 is that it reinforces Teru’s character. It reinforces the fact that he is an exorcist first, brother second. He struck with precision, even though he called his brother’s name he still struck. I wonder if he knew what he was doing or if it was all muscle memory at that point. If all he saw at first was a supernatural attacking a person and not his brother. Did he know in his heart that his brother was gone or did he hold out hope that he could break the possession. Do you think he’ll lay awake at night think more about what lies at the bottom of the well, or that he didn’t hesitate to strike his brother the one he gave up so much for.

[borgialucrezia]

hot take but juan would never have allowed lucrezia to be maritally raped in front of others while he watched. given how impulsive and reckless he is especially when any man outside his family is near his mother or sister (let alone when a man demands public humiliation of his sister), he might even kill the king of naples the moment he utters lucrezia's name with zero regard for "the good of the family." despite his concern for status and his obsession with meeting expectations to gain his father's approval, he would never tolerate such a violation of his sister's honor. because the situation isn’t just a petty insult to lucrezia but it's also a deeply personal insult to him. juan prioritizes personal honor and would react violently and immediately to any perceived slight against his family, disregarding political consequences (including his father's wishes.)

and then there's cesare, who is more tender and caring toward lucrezia than juan ever was. but he prefers careful planning over recklessness. as much as he desired to cut out the king of naples' heart, he ultimately prioritized his ambition to remain in his father's good graces hoping to gain control of the papal army even at the cost of his sister's public humiliation. he suppressed his feelings, stood by his father and allowed lucrezia to be humiliated while witnessing it as a form of self punishment while silently grappling with guilt for not standing up for her. lucrezia felt betrayed by the person she trusted most because she believed that cesare owed her the rage and protectiveness she desperately desired against the man who had made her feel violated. yet he left the situation unresolved and traveled to france to get married without taking action even though he could have avenged her by plotting the king of naples' death. instead, lucrezia took matters into her own hands by giving micheletto her approval to act.

and no this post isn't about who loved and cared for lucrezia more (since both brothers failed her in different ways). instead it's about how juan has always been an unstable fuck up who's destined to fall short of the family's expectations. his impulsiveness in situations where the family faces personal harm or humiliation could ruin everything for rodrigo. unlike cesare who aligns with their father's expectations and ambitions, juan lacks strategy and consistent awareness of their surroundings. it's why cesare is essentially their father's ideal protégé because he embodies everything their father ever desired in a son.

in juan's case, his actions have always been driven by a desire for his family's acknowledgment and love but he always uses flawed methods to protect them. methods rooted in his fixation on their honor rather than in fulfilling the family's ideals. this is why almost every attempt he makes has a tragic outcome and why he doesn't conform to their father's expectations and ambitions in the same way cesare does.

[rozecrest]

the readers group guide at the end of the wicked years finishing with this question is so . can you lay the hell off her

[bread-wizards]

Love Laudna wanting Orym to be the one to cut her down if need be because she feels he can make hard choices, and Travis like "uh hello? What about Chetney? You want to put Orym through that anguish? I am right here" like damn, he right tho

[citrusai]

i think it's crazy some people jumped to the romantic conclusion of the love between mythal & solas when it seems the devotion was different than that where the evanuris called him a "dog" in a derogatory sense understanding that she used his loyalty as a shield for herself and didn't waste time to cast aside his doubts & fears about the evanuris to cement herself as a god.

i also think it's crazy to not acknowledge the parallel that the loyalty he feels for lavellan is born out of love and understanding and not duty, it is born out of choice. he does not owe her or the inquisition anything. he just met these damn people. and regardless of how his friendship / companionship with mythal started, by the time the evanuris rose it was deteriorating and she cared not for his opinions past her own blind ambition. i think there's a parallel that mythal also could not see solas for who he was, which was not a weapon for her to wield, but a person who was deeply caring and empathetic to his people. whereas lavellan saw him as an equal, and as a friend she could lean on. hence him saying lavellan saw more than most when talking about his character & beliefs.

which also by the end i think is why mythal gave the last of her power to him for atone for her own mistakes in not heeding his warnings, a final olive branch to an old friend. that and she knows her next body is ab to send his ex gf on his ass so she gets a laugh in the end either way.

[ask-cloverfield]

Wonder if part of the reason he was so awed by this body, was like because when the kid he fumbled saving gave him a physical form, the kid directly based it off what he saw as an ideal hero.

Rution probably needed that

[danmeichael]

shen jiu keeps walking into situations where the dm says "are you sure about that?" and replying "yes" and then juuuuuust scraping past the dc of the interaction.

[writer-room]

Hey. The Finders have no idea that Bonzle was captured. Fritz and Spitz are still waiting, playing video games in the Monastery, for Cole to bring their sister out of hiding now that the blood moon is over. Geo is still sitting by the window, watching and waiting for a dragon on the horizon to return his kid safe and sound. Cole took a very unsure Bonzle, assured them all everything would be okay, and they'd be back soon. He promised he'd find a way to protect her.

Don't think about how they'll smile when Cole finally trudges back, happy to know he's okay. Especially don't think about the Finders stopping, looking out over the group, and how Cole can't look them in the eyes when they turn to him and ask; where's Bonzle?