#I also heavily disagree that she killed him because he wouldn't take her back to the Wall and she was frustrated with him

[fromtheseventhhell]

I can tell I'm Arya-pilled to the max because I'll see other Arya stans talking about the questionable morality of her executing Daeron and I'm just like "That was so Lady of Winterfell-coded"

[lady-of-the-english]

Tommy and Grace and Marriage Part 3

To echo back to ideas I started in part 1, Tommy at his core is a romantic with Grace, with a healthy view of what their relationship should be like. Tommy desires a true partnership with Grace - he promises her he'll help her with everything as she'll help him (it's one of the only health sentiments we've heard from him that I can remember).

He is willing and able to strip himself bare, physically and emotionally, with Grace. And with that, she is his strength. It takes strength and courage to put yourself out there, to trust another person, to be open and honest with them about your feelings and your dreams of the future together. Tommy knows and understands this: he is extremely picky in deciding when and with whom he shares the true depth of himself.

In 2x01, Polly, Ada, and Lizzie all prod Tommy for that openness and vulnerability to no avail. He chooses stoicism, maintaining his mask of emotionless as much as he can - like when discussing business at one of his oldest friends and brother-in-law's Freddy's funeral.

In the same episode, Campbell, as an antagonist, identifies Grace as Tommy's weakness. However, we are meant to disagree as Campbell is intentionally used as Tommy's foil to consider the ethics of both their careers and in their romantic connection to Grace.

The first of the trio to explicitly mention marriage and that potential future for Grace and Tommy is Campbell in his own failed proposal - a proposal that heavily centers around Tommy.

In 1x05, Tommy realizes that the guns have "become a burden" and agrees to sell them to the IRA in a trap, collaborating with Campbell.

In realizing that the IRA are planning to kill him once they get the location of the guns, and thus possibly before the "sixth chime" to midnight, which is the police's signal, Tommy turns to Grace - partly because "barmaids don't count" when told to be alone, but also because Tommy genuinely trusts her with his life.

We see Tommy's fear explicitly. He comes into the Garrison panting, shaking a little. Grace immediately understands that there is going to be "trouble" just seeing him. He's willing and able to show his true feelings with Grace. He trusts her to both help him handle this situation and to not think less of him demonstrating these unmasculine feelings (as Moss will deride Tommy for being ladylike due to his discomfort with the dead bodies in his bar at the end of the scene).

We see Tommy's frustration and fear that he needs to pull Grace into this side of the business. He tells her that when the IRA men get there, "they plan to kill me. It's your job to stop that happening." And he minimizes what she has to do: "You don't shoot. You just point," reassuring her that neither will have to kill anyone as the "police want them alive" and will be in soon to deal with the situation fully - a statement that surprises Grace. If the police are to help him, she assumes that she would be informed, and thus, her own disquiet truly develops.

Grace doesn't object at all to the idea of protecting him, only a bit in disbelief that "you could have given me more warning" to which Tommy reveals his full frustration and fear that "he just got the message himself" and thus wouldn't involve her in a danger situation unless he absolutely had to.

He sends her off to hide until the signal with his voice rasing and getting faster in his panic as he repeats to Grace, "All right, go. Go on. Go!"

Grace, hidden but peaking around the door, watching and listening for Tommy's signal, can hear clearly their threats as they they condensingly ask Tommy, "Did you think was let you live? Make your peace, Mr. Shelby," to which Grace comes out guns blazing.

I think her motivation is three-fold: since we met Grace, her primary goal has been to ensure these guns don't fall into the IRAs' hands. Even when Campbell points out at the beginning of the season that there are other players of concern, such as the Peaky Blinder, she maintains her focus on the IRA in her fear, hatred, and grief over her father's death. So, the mission itself, as an agent of the crown intertwined with revenge, greatly motivates her.

But, I think her feelings for Tommy are just as inspiring. If her grief of her father dying at the hands of this organization is still haunting to this degree, I imagine it must have been terrifying to hear another person she cares about possibly being taken from her in the same way. Feelings of revenge tend to be wrapped up in guilt of not being able to save that person. If she couldn't save her father, she'd make sure they couldn't do this to anyone else again - especially her again, which is a position I don't think she ever imagined being in.

Grace shoots multiple times, planning to kill both men so that Tommy would never be in real danger for a moment. Instead, her revenge helps pull him into the danger she so hoped to avoid. As Tommy begins to fight back, she's trying to get in there to shoot again, but she is knocked down and stays down until Tommy kills the second IRA man by bashing his face in.

Tommy immediately goes to Grace, and while she initially flinches from the violence, she let's him come to her, help her off the floor. She leans into Tommy's gentle caress of her face as Tommy tries to reassure himself that she is okay. Grace doesn't try to get away when he holds her head and asks her, "why did you shoot, Grace?". She replies in shock and disbelief, "I didn't know I had it in me like that."

Tommy, is likewise full of regret, afraid that he has driven her off as "now you've seen me."

But Grace's fear and criticism is only for herself as she responds, "and now you've seen me. I'm sorry." Instead of moving away from him, she draws closer, hugging him. Tommy is initially in disbelief, thinking he'd driven her off forever and surprised that she's the one sorry (I just can't imagine Tommy's been on the receiving end of many - any - apologies). But, he quickly unfreezes and sinks into her comforting embrace as he closes his eyes to bask in her presence and love.

This is Grace's breaking point as she tells Campbell the following morning. When Moss and the other cops come into the Garrison, they aren't sorry for purposefully going back on their deal with Tommy, that the IRA men are dead, and that Grace and Tommy could have died. Tommy, with tears in his eyes, holding himself up by leaning against the bar, respectfully state that "they fought well. They were brave men." Moss, gets in Tommy's face and and degrades him that they look like he was "killed by a wild fucking animal" and asks, "who cares?" about the bodies that he states were never never. As they leave, Grace looks at Tommy, whose eyes are closed, trying to stop the tears, and she can see fully who the real "bad" men are.

After walking her safely home, Tommy reiterates Grace's apology, telling her, "I'm sorry." We don't see Tommy often providing apologies either, but he is willing to give Grace what she offers him - everything.

In truly seeing both Tommy and the police force, Grace meets with Campbell to offer up the guns and her resignation. Previous scenes had shown Grace's discomfort with Campbell's degrading rhetoric about Tommy, but she typically ignored it and didn't argue back.

But now everything is different. At the meeting with Campbell, he strokes the same cheek Tommy caressed the night before, but this time, Grace flinches away.

Campbell offers a non-apology placing the blame on Tommy for the danger she was in: "I had no idea that he would involve you in this ugly business. If I had, I never would have let this happen," showing only his concern for her life in the situation. Grace looks away disgusted and argues back for truly the first time: "he trusts me. I told you that. You didn't believe me," showing the sharp contrast between Tommy and Campbell.

When he challenges her that Moss reported that they were "embracing," she scoffs is disbelief: "Is that your primary concern?". He tries to justify that his "concern" is for "her welfare," but Grace shakes her head no and takes full responsibility, telling him, "it was me who killed them" - both of them, as Tommy only finishes what she started and thus, she covers for him, not willing for him to face the consequences of her actions.

Campbell tries to blame that on Tommy's influence too, but Grace won't let him and makes clear that "something inside me changed" through seeing both Tommy and the police force clearly. She asserts that she and the police were the real "beasts" last night, not Tommy.

Grace claims that she no longer feels the need to "avenge" her father as she understands that it almost costs her Tommy's life. She asserts that the "hatred that I brought here with me is gone" in contrast to the depth of hatred Campbell feels. She reminds him that the mission was always about the guns, not The Peaky Blinders, and with that, negotiates a deal with him. She demands that "I want your word that Thomas Shelby will not be harmed if the guns are recovered. Your word as a gentleman." This great act of betrayal is in service of Tommy's life as both possessing the guns and trying to sell the guns have proven to have the same deadly consequences for him.

Campbell doesn't immediately agree as it is not something he wants to give; we've seen from the beginning how petty and personal he makes the "mission." He is incredulous that she has "sympathy" and "sentiment" for Tommy and tells her she's "too good-hearted for this work." He deems Tommy her weaknesses, just as he'll deem Grace Tommy's.

Realizing that he'll only agree if there is something in it for him, Grace capitulates on their own history: "So, for my sake, will you spare him?," finally getting his "word."

When she meets him at the grave the following morning, Campbell hugs Grace, which she doesn't reciprocate, and proposes the moment she resigned, ready and in wait to strike with a ring in his hand the second she's no longer his "subordinate." Campbell tells Grace what she once thought but no longer believes: "I'm a good man, and my admiration of you has turned to love." Seeing her shocked and disbelieving face, he tells Grace, " I don't ask for love in return. Just recognition that we are liked minds with shared values."

It is a proposal that is in complete odds with Tommy's declarations. Campbell formalities juxtaposed with Tommy's giddiness and boyish teasing in the following scenes. While both consider how they are the same with "liked minds," Campbell's viewpoint is based on the old version of Grace, who hasn't witnessed the police threaten women and children and provide empty promises, Tommy is confident in his assertion that they've "found each other" because Grace has told him so explicitly that he's truly "seen her" as she's seen him, and neither wants to look away.

Grace understands whose reactions to fear when giving bad news - who the real threat to her life is. Grace slowly and hesitantly goes to grap Campbell's hand (as the first and last time she voluntarily touches him) and formally addresses him as "Mr. Campbell," while trying to let a violent man down gently by lying and telling him, "you deserve better."

It's a lie he easily sees through, showing Grace his true colors once again. He immediately gets aggressive, stepping towards Grace, screaming in her face, "Is it the beast that dug this grave? Is it him between us?". This is in sharp contrast to the gangster that she actually betrayed, but who never showed her any anger or made any threats. Tommy wishes her well and his continued love when parting at the end of the season, while Cambpell tries to murder her.

Campbell's bullet wound from Grace is a physical reminder of Grace for Campbell, Tommy, and the audience. While she is not there, no one has forgotten her, and every visual and auditory cue of Campbell's cane echos her presence in these men's thoughts.

In 2x01, Churchill challenges Campbell's choice in using Tommy in spite of their history. Campbell assures him that this is why he is the best choice as to apply pressure, you need to know a man's weakness and I "know his weaknesses intimately" - a direct reference to Grace as he once spied on Tommy and Grace dancing in her apartment intimiately. Thus, the audience is reminded that Campbell's intertwining his personal petty grievances with his work have helped Tommy before. In 1x05, Campbell calls off the police raid when he learns that Tommy's gone off with Grace. Moss questions the choice, too, as it's not the smart, logical choice, and thus one that helped save his life. He chooses his pride over the job then.

While Campbell's goal is to use Tommy and then dispose of him once and for all, because of his resentment over Grace choosing Tommy, Campbell will save Tommy's life once again as they interrupt Sabini's attack on him at the end of the episode. And with that, we see once again that Grace isn't Tommy's weakness. When Campbell comes to the hospital to threaten and blackmail him, Tommy is the first person to mention Grace's name. While Tommy is senestive about Grace, he can and will bring her up when he wants to. And he calls on her memory to help him through this situation. Just as Campbell assumes that she is Tommy's weakness, Tommy knows that she is Campbell.

Tommy assumes correctly that Campbell is just as hung up over Grace as he is. He can't imagine someone being able to get over her, as he sure hasn't, and he uses the memory of her to disrupt Campbell's own control and strategy over the situation. With a pointed causualness, Tommy provides details of Grace's life, letting us know that he has kept tabs on her, wanting to stay connected to her even as they are ocean's apart. He relates that she's in New York and knows even more specifically that she's living in a "place call Poughkeepsie" and most importantly that she's "married now." In knowing how much that devastates him, he assumes that it will have a similar impact on Campbell.

Just as Tommy hasn't moved on, Campbell similarly shares Grace's personal details attacking Tommy's insecurities, letting him know he also knows that she's married, "to a banker. He's rich. I'm sure she's very happy," as he pokes at what Tommy wanted to provide Grace himself - economic security, but most of all, happiness.

While Campbell's information could come from Grace's family and abuse of his position, Tommy's obviously comes from Grace herself as we are told by Lizzie that a letter from "Poughkeepsie" arrived for him at his new offices in Digbeth. Both of them have ensured that they other has their new addresses keeping in touch. Obviously, the letter that season 1 ends on and season 2 opens with is not the last contact they've had in the last two years. We can see how much Tommy hasn't moved on; even though she's married now, he is still keeping communication open between them.

Campbell's remark is one that hurts, and thus, Tommy pivots to the physical discomfort Grace imparted - which visually symbolizes her presence for the rest of the reason.

Tommy says, "I imagine being shot by a woman hurts the same as being shot by a man. Just a bit more shameful." He emphasizes how while Grace has left them both, she only wanted to leave one of them behind and that the person she truly hurt purposefully isn't Tommy. In the end, she picked Tommy over everything else: her job, her family's expectations and status, her grief and plots of revenge, and her previous convictions about law, honor, and moralty.

Tommy declares that "every time you lean on that stick, I bet you see her face," as Tommy himself does. He is so sure that her memory haunts Campbell, willing to "bet" when he is someone who typically fixes bets in his favor. Tommy sees and remembers Grace everywhere. So, in his view, why would Campbell be any different.

Therefore, we see the door of the future Tommy imagined for them still open. Even if she's married, Grace is still the person he longs for every day; even him burning her letters isn't enough to truly burn the bridge between them - but more on that next time.

[true-blue-sonic]

Hot take: I prefer Silver's chemistry with Amy than with Blaze. I think the idea with Blaze is that she's Silver's braincell, sort of like a Red Oni Blue Oni situation? But in '06, I liked how Silver and Amy meshed. Silver was deadset on his mission, but Amy managed to distract him with his enthusiasm. Amy is boundless energy, while Silver is focused energy. Silver was ready to kill for the good of mankind, but Amy made him reconsider with her unshaking faith to Sonic - surely, if she trusts him that much, he cannot be evil, right? Also I really love that scene of Silver marveling at the beauty of the desert, which I think fits with Amy's optimism.

I guess this is my way to say that I wish they interacted more and silver wasn't joined at blaze's hip lol

Strongly agree | Agree | Neutral | Disagree | Strongly disagree

That's an interesting take! ^-^ Here I must readily admit that I do really enjoy Silvaze and I like seeing Silver and Blaze interact, so though I understand why people feel they're paired up too much, I don't mind it myself. But especially the English dub of '06 appears to awkwardly show Silver as being heavily dependent on Blaze: in the Japanese version he doesn't seem to say "I wouldn't know what to do without you!" in his finale, for example. And Blaze doesn't call him "pretty insecure"; iirc she used a term that states he just brashly rushes into something without thinking, which fits WAY better with Silver's personality. When he ends up in the past for the first time, he's kinda awkwardly running around calling for Blaze... for two seconds, and then he's off on his mission first and foremost. Not much insecurity there XD So the concept that Silver needs Blaze or she is The Holder Of The Braincell (which, based on what I've heard about '06 complaints, isn't present much in the game anyway lol) isn't conveyed so strongly: at most, her encouragement that something must be done to save the future is what gets him out of his rut and back to action. I think that shows better what Silver needs Blaze for: the difficult decisions, things that clash with his black-and-white worldview, and to temper his brashness. Not so much because he cannot carry himself on his own and needs to be handheld, haha.

Here I find it interesting that Amy is almost like a foil to the situation between Silver and Blaze, in a way. Blaze firmly encourages Silver to keep going, but it is also clear that Silver is the one making the final decision to do so. Whatever Silver decides, Blaze follows. Contrary to that, Amy comes literally bursting in, yoinks Silver entirely off-balance both literally and figuratively, and then forces him into something he does not agree to while giving him zero room to protest. But indeed, I think Silver got inspired by the beauty of the world and perhaps also Amy's enthusiasm, and thus decided he wanted to help her too (because he's a sweetheart <3). I think that they go well together, but generally, I'd really liked to have seen more of them together. They don't team up for long: after Silver tries to kill Amy for the first time and they have their fallout, they just don't interact anymore. Plus, in the final story they don't talk to each other at all either. But what we did see is nicely as you described, indeed! Amy is The Heart of the group, so it makes sense that she could shake up Silver's resolve and show him there's more to this discussion that only the world. (Unrelated but I looooooove how that loops right back to Silver's finale, where he is now the one choosing Blaze over the world, just like Amy with Sonic. Hmmm it's so good I adore how Silver's story culminates in him learning also he has someone he finds more important than the world.) So overall, I like the chemistry between Silver and Blaze because I don't entirely see it as presented in the English version, but I'm intrigued by what Amy and Silver have going on as well. Their interactions are limited, but I like what we've been given! ^-^

[eldritchtouched]

Why Malenia went to Caelid

So, there's several theories floating around online and I have thoughts about them.

Theory 1: She was in Caelid to retrieve Miquella after he was taken.

So, people like this theory for two reasons. First is that, if the opening is any indication, Mohg took Miquella after the Shattering, but before Malenia went to Caelid. I'm not disagreeing with this order, actually. Malenia and Radahn clashing and it ending in a stalemate cemented that it was a stalemate. Second is that the Mohgwyn Dynasty grounds are directly below Caelid.

However, I don't think this theory holds water at all for other reasons.

It is heavily implied that it's been a very long time between the stalemate and the player encountering Malenia in the Haligtree. And, of the various Tarnished in-game, our Tarnished and Roderika are very new compared to the rest, like how Rogier and Boggart mention not seeing grace in a long time, or how Gideon acts in relation to our character.

Malenia's dialogue and her armor description both mention waiting for Miquella at the Haligtree. If she was truly trying to get Miquella back while in Caelid, then surely she wouldn't just sit there and expect him to come back on his own? It doesn't really compute with the idea that she felt the need to march an army across the whole damn continent to originally get him back. Especially since that also would necessarily imply she knows where Miquella is already, relatively speaking.

There's also how Caelid is geographically the furthest location away from the Haligtree in terms of travel time on foot. It's a LOT of effort to go down there.

It's also insanely weird if Malenia were on a march to get Miquella back... but not any of the Haligtree followers, who are so loyal they will literally blow themselves up for him.

Theory 2: She was collecting Great Runes for Miquella.

The theory goes that, because she essentially seemed to abdicate in favor of pushing for Miquella to rule instead, that she would be doing so to gather strength for him so that he could take over as ruling god.

However, I also don't think this holds water given Godrick's whole thing. Godrick himself has a Great Rune and, at some point, she ended up fighting him. He begged for mercy, and she granted it, but he became obsessed with grafting as a means of getting power.

She also, importantly, didn't seize his rune. We can fight Godrick and claim it for ourselves. And, of the various Great Runes, his is actually a solid one. If you were to apply the attribute system used by our character to Miquella, all his physical stats except resistances would probably be hot garbage because of his curse, so having it would probably be very useful!

Theory 3: She was trying to get Radahn to stop holding back the stars/fate/etc.

I think this one holds the most weight. Radahn did a lot of study in Sellia, and at some point, he discovered something that caused him to force a stasis of the stars. A pausing of fate.

Meanwhile, Miquella was trying to do some kind of magic involving an eclipse and the restoration of Godwyn's soul. You find this information in Castle Sol. And that the ritual failed because the eclipse didn't happen. Which makes sense- if the celestial bodies are all frozen, that would include the ability for an eclipse to happen.

I think it's most logical that Malenia went south for this reason. It would also explain why she would fight until she physically couldn't anymore. If Radahn succumbed to the Scarlet Rot, it is entirely logical that he should lose his grasp on the stars because of how Scarlet Rot tends to work. Unfortunately, he maintains his grasp on the movement of celestial bodies until he is properly killed at the Festival.

[well-shit-im-a-morosexual-now]

I don't have much to say about the rest of the S3 lessons, but I do have things to say about S4 of Obey Me.

Personally, I think that S4 should focus primarily on the angels (Simeon, Luke, Michael, Raphael, etc.), feature the side characters (Solomon, Barbatos, Diavolo), possibly introduce Solomon's first apprentice and maybe in Hard Mode you can check up on the brothers (you should know who the HOL brothers are).

I have a few reasons for this (in no real order :):

Reading the lesson summaries that you (and others) have provided, it seems like Mike and Raph- along with the Celestial Realm- will be important this season. So, wouldn't be a waste not to show them off?

The side characters need development. This is a perfect opportunity for some.

Simeon and Luke were standing for a longer period than the brothers, so it would make sense for them to show up again.

Simeon was talking to some angel (probably Raphael) at the end of S3. The game should obviously expand on that.

*Diavolo runs a hotel chain in the Human World, so it would make sense to see him again. And because Barbatos follows right behind him...

Solomon's first apprentice needs to be explored. What happened between them?

*The brothers should take a back seat in this season, since they're always there. No offense to them, but I need a break.

New character interactions is would be fun. To me, the best character interaction would be between Dia & Mike. Would they hate each other because of Lucifer? Would they get along? These are the questions that keep me up at night.

It could show off/expand upon the Celestial Realm, a chance for more lore and theories.

It could finally give insight into Simeon's past- which is always a good thing. (Same for everyone else.)

Now that the list is out of the way, here are some miscellaneous things that I couldn't fit on the list (also an clarification for 5 & 7. They explanations will also have an asterix at the beginning of them:):

*I don't expect Diavolo and Barbatos to show up that often, but I think that they should appear in at least 1-2 chapters.

*I also don't mind the brothers showing up, but I am worried that if they appear prominently, they might over take the season.

I kinda want the Lillith plotline/point to come back. I definitely wish it was executed better, but I do want to see the reaction from the angels (Mike and Raph basically).

I hope Solomon's apprentice was a girl. There's just too many guys here, we need a little diversity.

I would hate it if they didn't give us character designs for Michael and Raphael, though I would find it funny.

Well, I think I'm done for now. Do you agree, disagree? Do you like the color coding, should I keep doing it? Basically, I just want your thoughts on this.

Goodbye for now,

Lesson 42 Anon

Hii!!! I basically agree with everything you just said but I'll go into more detail on it with your points:

- I do 100% believe S4 should be a new character/angel focused season. I think I said so in the lesson 60 summary too that it'd make sense and be interesting to meet the angels and get their side of the story without the brothers' interference (the angels give me HEAVY morally grey characters who think they're wholly in the right vibes and I love it) + there's still a lot of Simeon and Solomon backstory to explore!

- The way S3 ended and how much of it was anyway about the angels I definitely think S4 will expand on it and introduce them

- And I think it'll possibly start right after S3 ends? I mean Raphael's here now and Solomon wants to start properly training MC so why not. And there's no other reason to leave Simeon and Luke behind than to start it up with them in the centre

- ALSO!!! ANDISJSHSKS "RAPH" given what they've showed of him he seems like the type of person to take HEAVY offense to that

- S3 did end with Raphael. Simeon called him by name.

- As much as I do want to see more Diavolo and find out more about his and more importantly Barbatos' backstories I don't think they'll turn up much? Or at least not until the last few lessons cause he left saying he had important personal issues to take care of back in the devildom

- I genuinely thought they would be shown in S3 after Solomon mentioned them and yeah damn I wanna know more about them. Also I just saw the Solomon UR+ animation card from months ago today - I definitely want to know whose grave he was leaving flowers at

- As much as I want an angel focused season the amount of withdrawal I'd go through without the brothers is insane. I'm heavily invested in them but at least for now their arcs are at a place that can be paused - they all got together to help Beel, a lot of Satan & Lucifer's + Belphie & Diavolo's issues have been resolved. I do want to know more about Lucifer's fear though and how he met the rest of the brothers (since they already told us Beel's story)

- With what they've said I kinda see Michael & Raphael being parallels to Diavolo & Lucifer, respectively. The somewhat childish boss and the long suffering right hand. I can see Diavolo wanting to like Michael purely because he wants to make proper peace with the Celestial Realm but also being somewhat internally pissed with him given how protective Diavolo is of the brothers and I can see Michael being sweet and friendly in return despite the fact that given everything Michael has said about demons, even in current times, he would probably be looking down on Diavolo for being 'wicked' and 'evil'. Basically I imagine them having the same kinda passive-aggressively polite relationship that Diavolo and Simeon had in S2 but somehow even less friendly

- Yes!!! Like I said the Celestial Realm gives heavy morally grey vibes and I want that to be explored more. I also need Luke's realisation that the Celestial Realm isn't always right to continue

- I have SO many Lilith HCs and I desperately need them to talk about her more. Like I understand why she's a sore topic and that Lucifer never even told them about her room in the HoL depite the fact that they've probably lived there for thousands of years and she does get brought up a bit in Belphie's fear but I need more. I also want them to explore why Belphie was so insistent with blaming the humans for Lilith's death when it was the angels that killed her, I gave my theories behind it in one of the summaries but I really need more solid answers

- I've always wanted more girls (or any girls really) and the way I was disappointed that we never got to see Lilith (I mean I understand that some players would HC her to look like their MC even though she died thousands of years before MC and they probably wouldn't share a resemblance but still) but I never considered Solomon's apprentice was a girl and I dunno why.. OKAY BUT CONSIDER GIRLS AS NEW LIS!!!!!

- I definitely think they would, it would make no sense if they didn't after how much they were hyped up and I might actually scream if they don't get designs. That being said I have very clear ideas of them in my head and I'm gonna hate having to part with them

DO NOT GET RID OF THE COLOUR CODING! IT'S PART OF YOUR IDENTITY NOW! OWN IT!

[babieyangyang10]

violent ends (chapter 10)

(chapter 10)

series masterlist

genre: hunger games!au

pairings: huang renjun x oc, na jaemin x oc

warnings: language, mentions of injuries, mentions of sex, fighting, and death (so sorry for this one)

previous | next

Jaemin's POV

"Athena, run!" I yell, before my feet start moving. Flames rip at my skin as I pass more and more trees.

However, I don't get far, before I'm colliding with something hard. I grunt falling down to the ground.

"Jisung!" That something was Mark Lee. We stare at each other with wide eyes.

"Hyung, I don't think that's Jisung." Chenle trails off. I crawl backwards, trident no where to be found.

"Athena, get-" I turn around for help, to be met with just trees behind me, "Wait, where'd she go?"

"Who?"

I explain, still breathing heavily, "Lee Athena, she was right behind me. I guess we must have gotten separated."

"We're looking for a kid named Jisung. Blond hair. Kinda skinny. This tall." Chenle gestures his height above his head.

"I haven't seen him," I realize that not only do I not have Athena, but I also don't have any weapons or supplies, "Oh fuck, what am I going to do now?”

"Well, they should be close by. Maybe we could look together!" Chenle suggests.

"Chenle, he's dangerous." Mark spits at the younger boy.

"Yeah, with no weapons or even anything on him. Real dangerous," Chenle rolls his eyes, "Besides, even if he wanted to kill us, he would've tried by now."

I hate to say it, but I am desperate. I literally have nothing. If I disagree with Chenle, Mark Lee will definitely kill me right here.

I began pleading with him. "Listen, I need to find her," I pause, "she's just really important to me. I'll even help you find the kid."

A look of pity appears on Mark's face. "Fine, but we're splitting up and Chenle," He looks to the boy, "you're going to be the one who stays with him. Always keep your weapon ready. Meet me back at camp at sunset."

"Thank you, Mark." I breath out, truly grateful.

“I’m going to be looking in the direction of our camp to see if they��re in that area. The two of you will check around here.” He heads off towards the direction of the Lake.

Meanwhile, Chenle and I begin in the opposite direction. We decided to try to retrace our steps and try to find tracks where we last saw them.

As time passes, I feel my chest sink more and more. How could I be so stupid to lose her like that? Although, I haven’t heard any cannons. That’s good, right?

“So, what’s the deal with you two? Is it really real?” Chenle asks about the girl on my mind.

I hum, “I think so. I meant what I said.” It was the truth, even if the cameras are on me now.

“Ooh, love at first sight!” He teases in a high-pitched voice.

Laughing, I respond with, “So, how did the three of you decide to team up?”

“Mark was the one who asked us. Jisung and I were really surprised,” He furrowed his brows, “Like, why would this strong guy want to team up with us, the smallest tributes? I guess it was because we’re all in the lower districts and grew up very similar.”

Before I can respond, I hear the sound of laughing. “Careers!” I point, “Let’s hide in that tree.”

Grabbing on to a high branch, I pull myself up first. Chenle goes to do the same, but the branch snaps, causing him to fall to the ground.

“Look!” The Careers have spotted us.

Leaning down, I hold out my hand. I pull him up only just before they stop at the trunk of the tree.

“Haechan, go get them.” Lee Jeno barks at the man.

Haechan tries to climb the tree, but only falls down. Since the branch snapped, there’s no way he’ll be able to grab on to anything.

“I can’t. There’s no way!” He yells, frustrated. I can hear Chenle snickering from beside me.

However, no one laughs at Huang Renjun’s next harsh words, “Use your bow then.”

Chenle turns to me with fear in his eyes. Looking above, there’s no where else for us to climb. The two of us can’t take the three of them with just Chenle’s knife.

The District 1 tribute reaches back into his pouch on his back to load his bow. We wait in silence, until his hand comes out empty, “I forgot it at the Cornocopia.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Jeno looks furious, “Go get them, before I slit your neck open while your family watches on tv.”

Haechan, looking close to tears, begins towards the Cornocopia. Meanwhile, Jeno suddenly makes an observation, “Hey lover boy, where’s your girlfriend?”

Striking a nerve in me, I spit, “That’s none of your business.” I notice that it was starting to get dark. Mark should be waiting for us at the camp.

“Did she finally decide to ditch you?” I look down to see Renjun, looking intensely up at me.

“No.” I deny. Seeing that Chenle is rummaging around the tree, I try to distract the two of them.

“Why, are you missing her too much?” I direct it towards Renjun. Jeno, intrigued by my comment, turns to observe his ally’s reaction.

“Nope. Why would make you say that?” He pretends to be unaffected. Although, for a second, I swore I could see a hint of anger in his eyes.

“Oh, come on,” I narrow my eyes, “Don’t tell me you’ve never had a soft spot for Lee Athena. You grew up together didn’t you? Always competed with the other in school.”

“Really?” Jeno says, taking in my words.

“Yep, she told me all about it.” I laugh dryly to myself.

Renjun just pauses, he looks up at me with dark eyes before simply asking, “Did she tell you what happened the night before the first day of the games as well?”

Before anyone else can speak, a cannon goes off in the distance.

Athena’s POV

"I need to find Mark and Chenle. Could you help me back to our camp?" Jisung suggests after we finish eating the crackers from my bag.

That was easier said than done. Judging by both our conditions, we wouldn't make it far. Not to mention, how do I know I wouldn't be killed on sight by Mark Lee if I returned him?

Before I can answer, however, I hear the sound of beeping. From the sky, a little crate is falling from a parachute. A sponsor!

I catch it in my hands, quickly opening it. I first spot a piece of paper. The writing says, “heal up, hero.—T.”

Taeyong.

“Thank you for the sponsorship.” I gratefully say to the camera, before pulling out the jar inside. It contains a gooey substance, which I’m presuming is for our burns.

“Okay, Jisung. This might sting a little.” I warn, before crouching down. I apply the cream over his leg. His doe-eyes open wide, while he whimpers softly in pain.

Quickly, I notice the burnt skin on my hand where the cream had touch was now completely healed. I applied more to my other hand. Now, I can actually hold a weapon again. I also put in on my leg, feeling the pain ease away.

I feel as good as new. However, while Jisung’s skin is looking extremely better on his wound, he still is unable to walk. Because of this, I add another layer of cream for now.

“Okay, so your base is across the lake, take a left at the tree stump, then go straight?” I ask, while he eagerly nods.

“Well, I’m going to bring them back to you, since you can’t come to them. I’ll leave you with a knife. I wonder if there’s a way you could warn me of danger?” I ask myself.

“Well, back in eleven, we have this little signal.” He whistles a four-note melody, which causes mockingjays to sing it back to him.

“How about every now and then you whistle to check in on me? If you don’t hear it back from the mockingjays, then somethings gone wrong.” Jisung explains.

Once giving him a spare knife, I grab my things and begin following the stream upwards. Like we agreed, I would whistle and listen as the mockingjays would echo. Whenever I would hear it return, I couldn’t help but let out a little smile.

The stream eventually leads me to the lake, where I cross. I follow the directions Jisung gave me until I am met with a small shack of sticks.

“Athena?”

I throw my knife, which lands just centimeters away from Mark Lee’s head.

“Woah, I come in peace!” He holds up his weapon-less hands.

Breathing heavily, I apologize, “Sorry, but Jisung told me to find you. He’s injured. I left him by a pond, come follow me.”

Before we went, I whistled once more to Jisung. I waited and was met with the sound of silence. Even after trying again, there was still nothing.

“Something’s wrong!” I cried.

We began running, the water from the lake and stream, soaking us. However, all we cared about was Jisung. As I neared the pond, I could hear the sounds of excessive splashing.

Turning the corner, I am met with the sight of Haechan holding a struggling Jisung under the water. Hands flailing, he is trying to free himself, while Haechan is killing him slowly.

There was no hesitation. No guilt.

When the knife went flying from my hand, straight into Haechan’s left eye.

[average-gay-walrus]

hello im hear to yell my dumb stranger things theories, who might die in volume 2 edition!

So everyone's pointed out how the line "if I only could make a deal with god and get him swap out places" is very emphasized at the end of the trailer, giving the implication that someone will sacrifice themselves for someone else

And to be honest I think that will happen, no doubt about it, but then I started thinking, who?

honestly it could be any characters. They all care for each other and any would sacrifice themselves in a heartbeat

But that's not a theory so I thought some more and remembered that the song is heavily connected to Max and Lucas.

Lucas has already almost lost Max once and I wouldn't be surprised if she was in danger again he saves her.

But then that brings up a problem, killing off one of two main black characters(if you count Erica as a main character which she kinda has been in the past two seasons)

But it could work vice versa, Max saving Lucas. We know she wrote letters to everyone in dear Billy when she thought she was gonna die. They played a major part in that episode, but other then Billy's we never got to know what the others said.

So Max could sacrifice herself for Lucas and when they get back we learn what the letters said, most likely Lucas's

But then there's also a possibility it's about Mike and will, because we all know once will goes to Hawkins with his tender, emotional music Vecnas gonna get his ass.

but there's also a possibility it's not even a romantic relationship, it could be a sibling relationships or a friendship. We all know Steve would sacrifice himself in a heartbeat for any of them.

There is also the possibility of robin dying from her line in the trailer but I'm not so sure she will? Like they're all kinda on the chopping block here

But the reason I'm not so sure is that one, robins never been the most optimistic person? So of course she's not gonna imagine the best possible outcome. And also if they kill her that means they've killed their only canon gay character.

Then there is eddie. I don't want him to die but he is a newer character so him dieing is a bit more likely. The only thing is that 1, they kinda made him part of the main cast and 2, from the promo images and the trailer we can kinda see him taking charge, and 3 since they're making it seem very likely Eddie's gonna die even tho the deaths in stranger things are more sudden, deaths you don't really expect, I feel like the Eddie thing is trying to throw us off

Or I could be completely wrong and my blorbos gonna die

I want Jason to die so badly. Kill him. Show him no mercy.(also can we talk about Lucas beating him up in the trailer! That's my boy!)

also i have like, a gut feeling that Nancy's gonna die. I have no evidence, just a feeling.

Anyway, those are my stupid thoughts! let me know if you agree, disagree, or add on!

tumblrs not letting me add tags so reblogs are very appreciated! And if you add tags even better!