#Marius will pay for his crimes

[novacane0808]

Just finished the Vampire Lestat and I wanted to draw this psycho 🤭

[nalyra-dreaming]

Omg I just realized the duality of Loustat over Louis killing Lestat.

Louis feels guilty for killing Lestat, and when he says “he had it coming” to Armand Dreamstat, aka his own thoughts, says “that’s debatable”. Like, should I have killed him? The guilt in Louis is so much.

Meanwhile Lestat, if they go by the book, is like “no yeah I totally deserved that, I was an ass”

Mhhhh. Forgive me nonny, but... That is not why he says that.

I know a lot of people dig that up to say he "deserved" it, but his behavior is actually not the point. In the books, there never was this level of abuse, and they ramped it up for the show, to make the "killing" of him seem justified beyond doubt - doubt that Louis has.

Because that is Louis, as you also point out.

So why would Louis feel guilty, feel doubt?

Because the kill (in the books at least, and I have a feeling we will get a lot more context next season, after all Lestat's written down last words do not match with what the tale gave us!) was not about his behavior. It was not about abuse.

It was about the crime of turning Claudia. Trapping her in her too young body, eternally condemning her.

Lestat reflects on that, quite clearly, in his book:

It was the crime that was to be my undoing: the creation with Louis and for Louis of Claudia, a stunningly beautiful vampire child. Her body wasn't six years old when I took her, and though she would have died if I hadn't done it (just as Louis would have died if I hadn't taken him also), this was a challenge to the gods for which Claudia and I would both pay.

and

I wanted to see what would happen, I mean, with a beautiful little girl like that! Oh, Lestat, you deserve everything that ever happened to you. You'd better not die. You might actually go to hell. But why was it that for purely selfish reasons, I didn't listen to some of the advice given me? Why didn't I learn from any of them-Gabrielle, Armand, Marius? But then, I never have listened to anyone, really. Somehow or other, I never can. And I cannot say even now that I regret Claudia, that I wish I had never seen her, nor held her, nor whispered secrets to her, nor heard her laughter echoing through the shadowy gaslighted rooms of that all too human town house in which we moved amid the lacquered furniture and the darkening oil paintings and the brass flowerpots as living beings should. Claudia was my dark child, my love, evil of my evil. Claudia broke my heart. And on a warm sultry night in the spring of the year 1860, she rose up to settle the score. She enticed me, she trapped me, and she plunged a knife over and over again into my drugged and poisoned body, until almost every drop of the vampiric blood gushed out of me before my wounds had the precious few seconds in which to heal. I don't blame her. It was the sort of thing I might have done myself. And those delirious moments will never be forgotten by me, never consigned to some unexplored compartment of the mind. It was her cunning and her will that laid me low as surely as the blade that slashed my throat and divided my heart. I will think on those moments every night for as long as I go on, and of the chasm that opened under me, the plunge into mortal death that was nearly mine. Claudia gave me that.

So, yes, Louis feels canonically guilty for "killing" Lestat - both show and book.

And yes, Lestat never blamed Claudia for trying.

But it's not about abuse, about having been "an ass". It's about recognizing that what he did to her, no matter the reasons, was unforgivable - a crime.

And, in the book - as in the show, at the trial - he accepts the blame for that, the responsibility.

[actualbird]

yknow, i really love the SR cards where the main plot is basically just NXX Boy Goes And Does A Thing, And He SUCKS AT IT!!!

vyn has SR Mercury In Retrograde where he does a fantastic job being absolute ass at household plumbing. marius has SR Overtone where he gets an A++++++ for being the last guy you wanna lend your guitar to, because hes really bad at playing the dang guitar. and at first i didn't know what artem's card was that followed this pattern but sam @samsspambox blessedly informed me that it's SR Thin Veil, the paywalled SR i dont have yet. and in that card story artem fucking SUCKS at PUPPETS

(sidenote: i generally weep at paywalled top-up cards but the concept of basically having to pay for artem's cringe is So Very funny to me)

but now here is where the injustice becomes apparent.....vyn, marius, and artem each have an SR Epic Fail: The Card Story

BUT WHERE IS LUKE'S?????????

to avoid any misunderstandings, here are the traits of what, to me, makes up an "SR Epic Fail":

one Main Thing is the thing our beloved nxx boy will suck at and what and it's also generally Main Focus of the whole card story (which then later leads to a sweeter core message about vulnerability and love and being okay with not being perfect etc)

our boy has to suck In The Moment. not in a flashback, not in a referenced past anecdote, no no. i want to have to tap through the entire excruciating scene/s of him failing at whatever hes doing

the story format has to be in a contained card story and not a recurring-but-brief theme in a personal story

with this criteria in place, it is IMMEDIATELY apparent that luke is the only one without an SR Epic Fail. the closest story instances would be the following:

SSR Through The Heavens (the skateboard card) since he fails at being a normal not-hypervigilant human being and also the NSB makes fun of him with memes, but this doesnt count because it wasn't the Main Focus of the story, there was a whole lot of other stuff going on and the Main Focus was the skateboarding which he did awesome at

some past anecdotes and flashbacks in SR How I Remember You (the luke blindfold card) about how luke sucks at drawing and sucks at charades, but this doesnt count because the drawing was just referenced in a few sentences and the charades fail was a brief flashback. it's also not the Main Focus of the story as well

his general inability/difficulty with cooking that is a recurring theme across his personal stories doesnt count because it's not a card, and thus isnt eligible

this is terrible. this is horrid. i love luke and i want a card thats all about him messing up at a minor activity. i want a full SR Luke Fucks Up At Cooking where the focus is what it says on the tin

i can even see the story so clearly in my mind's eye. it'd be so easy. maybe luke tries to make gingerbread man cookies but accidentally ends up with a gingerbread massacre.

luke mentions hes gonna bake and mc is excited about it because it seems he put a lot of thought and research and prep into it, maybe it actually starts with a scene of them shopping for ingredients together, and theyre both looking forward to luke's baking! but when it actually happens hes like "oh sorry a case came up, dont come over to my place anymore!!" which is sus

mc comes over anyway the next day to pick up some stuff she forgot and luke is there acting awfully nervous and his whole BUILDING smells of burnt gingerbread but there are no gingerbread treats to be found. luke keeps evading until mc finds The Massacre in a plastic container box haphazardly shoved into one of the kitchen cupboards

and it's an absolute baked-goods crime scene in there. none of the gingerbread men look like they were ever even men or homonids of any kind to begin with, it instead looks like all the dough just came together in the oven to create an amorphous Blob with the odd "limb" sticking out here and there. what luke has created is a gingerbread abomination.

mc stares at the gingebread abyss, and it stares back.

upon further investigation, mc even finds slight burn marks around the oven's door too and luke has his face in his hands, his shame is IMMENSE, just about as immense as the aroma of gingerbread treats everywhere. he was hiding it because he was worried that he got her so hyped up for the whole thing that it'd be SUCH a disappointment to her that he fucked it up!

and mc is like "hey no it's okay, as long as it tastes good, it doesnt matter how bad it looks!" and then she breaks off a piece from the gingerbread monstrosity and eats faster than luke can warn her "NO NO DONT DO IT---"

it tastes like shit

anyway they go out to get desserts from cafe instead and mc reassures luke that she obviously still loves him even if he created a baked treats atrocity and broke the genevabread convention. she tells him that if hes having trouble or if he fails, his instinct shouldnt be to hide it all and avoid her but to let her know and so she can help out, because she wants to be there for the wins and for the losses, for the good days and the bad. luke then goes all blushy grateful happy and they kiss and love is real.

the end. the post-story text conversation can go something along the lines of

luke: okay so i figured out why my gingerbread men went nuclear

mc: oh? why?

luke: i....misread "tsp" as "tbsp".........every time

mc: HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAA

luke:

[dwreader]

lou crime novelist au?

omg

louis is divorced from his no-good deadbeat husband who's behind on child support so he NEEDS to write a hit in order to pay claudia's school tuition

his publisher daniel shows him a story in the paper about the grusome murder of an old reclusive billionaire marius de romanus and louis decides to write a novel based on the case

he gets an invite from the late billionaire's adopted son armand to his private island for "research" purposes

as they spend more time together it becomes clear armand committed the murder and louis has the power to solve the case by publishing his novel

of course he decides not to, ditches the whole book thing and marries armand. claudia gets into harvard.

[dolphin1812]

Marius is self-aware enough to realize that there's a very big gap between the poverty he's lived and what the Jondrettes are experiencing, and he's kind enough to wish he were doing more. He even thinks of the word misérable:

"They appeared very corrupt and very depraved, no doubt, very vile, very odious even; but those who fall without becoming degraded are rare; besides, there is a point where the unfortunate and the infamous unite and are confounded in a single word, a fatal word, the miserable; whose fault is this? And then should not the charity be all the more profound, in proportion as the fall is great?"

(And in French for the actual word: "Sans doute ils paraissaient bien dépravés, bien corrompus, bien avilis, bien odieux même, mais ils sont rares, ceux qui sont tombés sans être dégradés; d'ailleurs il y a un point où les infortunés et les infâmes se mêlent et se confondent dans un seul mot, mot fatal, les misérables; de qui est-ce la faute? Et puis, est-ce que ce n'est pas quand la chute est plus profonde que la charité doit être plus grande?")

While his empathy is commendable, it's also flawed. First, Hugo himself points out that Marius is feeling disproportionately guilty for "not doing more." The impulse to help others is a good one, but he's not the cause of their poverty. That's a societal issue, not an interpersonal one. The problem with his error isn't just that it makes him feel horrible about himself, but that it places responsibility on him (and other "good" individuals) to "help" the misérables through charity. And charity isn't without value! His charity in paying for rent once made a big difference to the Jondrette family, and the eldest Jondrette daughter was thrilled by his kindness in the last chapter in giving money for meals. But that's the limit of charity: it can be a short-term fix (missing rent once, needing a meal once), but it can't solve the broader problem of continual, crushing poverty. Just as Valjean/Madeleine couldn't address every problem in Montreuil-sur-Mer by being a benevolent mayor, Marius too is incapable of ending poverty just by being a good person.

Moreover, his "pity" and moralizing about the Jondrettes isn't entirely fair. It's true that poverty can force people into crime, as it did Valjean and likely did the Jondrettes. However, Marius' pity doesn't allow for lots of nuance or agency. There's a difference, for instance, between the actions M Jondrette and his daughters can take to alleviate their poverty because of their genders and ages, with Mlle Jondrette having considerably less power than her father. It's not that poverty hasn't forced their decisions, but assuming they're trapped by the "ignorance of poverty" (rather than being confronted with limited options, all of which are probably bad) is condescending, too. Considering the nuances doesn't provide clear-cut answers, either, but a bit more respect for the Jondrettes could allow for solidarity with them instead of simply pity.

[cirrem]

Read "Les Miserables" for my "intro to humanities" class and it was really good so I'm going to dump about it here. it was an abridged version, so i may have missed some things. I may be incomprehensible towards the end. SUPER MAJOR SPOILERS

also trigger warnings for death, suicide, and christianity if you care about that.

first off, Jean Valjean is one of my new favorite characters in fiction. he's screwed up but in a way that makes him a better person.

The romance between Marius and Cosette was my least favorite part of the book. it dragged on, but then you look back and they only had 2 conversations before getting married but it talked about the romance for soooooooo long. I'm not Victor Hugo, but I would have definitally trimmed that down and introduced a multi-month time skip between the resolution of the barricade and the marriage.

Eponine is really stupid, and her death was completely avoidable. First: there are plenty of fish in the sea, you could have moved on so many different times. Second: don't bring the man your in love with to a death trap so you can die together, especially if he doesn't love you, and especially if you tragically sacrifice your life to save his and he ends up not dying.

If you don't like religious discussions I suggest stop reading here because I'm going to talk about the religious themes and the suicide and I know some people on tumblr will get upset if I don't preface it

Javert is a coward. He owes Jean Valjean his life, he knows that Jean is not a bad person, and he pays the debt, letting him run free. What makes him a coward is how after this impulsive decision, where he let him free only to settle his debt, he decides "if my worldview is wrong instead of changing and growing I should just kill myself" and does so.

I know he's supposed to be like "the overabusive law system" or whatever, but killing yourself because the guy who is being sent to jail for life, (because of the heinous crimes of: escaping jail, not telling people he was in jail, and stealing 1 loaf of bread to feed his sisters children) may not actually be an irredeemably horrible monster incapable of change, growth, or being someone who you shouldn't send to jail is incredibly dumb.

Now heres where religion comes in: I think Victor Hugo is intentionally contrasting the laws of man with the laws of God (in the bible, new testament). (Specifically, the beatitudes and life/teachings of Christ. For those unaware, I can give a very oversimplified summery: Be kind and merciful to others, even if they suck or you dont like them or they hate you or you hate them. (if you want to at this point bring up modern or historical actions of those claiming to follow or speak for christ when that contradict this, please move on. I am aware that people call themselves christians without following his words))

to summerize my thoughts: javert represents the "laws of man" which are fallible, and not actually just. Specifically, there is 1) only punishment for the wicked, no blessings to the righteous 2) no allowance for change as a person in judgement, once wicked always wicked. Compare this to every time a religious person does something in the book: the bishop takes mercy on valjean, and sends him away with more gifts, valjean becomes religeous, forgives javert for suspecting him, saves the life of someone who hates him, later, valjean sacrifices his life, revealing himself to secretly be a convict to save a stranger from lifetime slavery, a nun lies to protect valjean (the narrative states she never had before, she did something at cost of her own standards to save his life), valjean finds and saves cosette from the theadears and they take refuge in a nunnery, and get in only because of the man whose life he saved earlier. Finally, Valjean has the chance to kill Javert, in the revolution (Javert is tied up, and Valjean has a gun) but valjean sets him free. The book is really emphasizing the importance of mercy, even when it comes at a cost to yourself, and it would be easier to punish those you dislike. Every time someone is merciful, it turns out fine, even benificial in the long run. (and specifically the mercy as outlined by christ, as everyone that acts mercifully is explicitly religious, and it follows what he taught pretty closely imo).

Gods law of mercy, allowing and helping people to change for the better, even if they don't deserve it, is constantly shown to be superior to and more benificial to society than the harshness of man's legal system, which treats a criminal as always a criminal, and never gives to those in need.

Except, hear me out: this isn't about legal systems at all, this is about how we treat ourselves and those we care about.

We need to have mercy, both on others around us, and on ourselves. Valjean revealed the worst of his past to marius, but he wasn't that person anymore. Marius had to learn that Valjean saved his life from Thernadair! What! He is wastes away and DIES because of his shame of who he was, and his insistence that he is still as guilty as he was then. He had mercy, even for those that would chase him down, toss him into chains, and force him to work until his death, but he had none for himself, and he suffered for it. However, because of how he was kind, he was able to save and touch many lives, and drastically improved the lives of those around him.

Compare this to Javert, who rather than be kind to anyone, or himself, threw himself into the sea, never improved anyones life, and would have been killed if Valjean didn't offer to kill him (then not kill him). I know who I'll rather be, and I think thats kind of the point of the book.

anyways, if I have to write an essay on this book I think I'll be fine.

valjean and the bishop are both incredibly based characters. Eponine was more interesting than Marius and Cosette combined.

[knownoshamc]

For my marius haters

Not what you want, but what you think it will happen.

[wiverly]

I just finished watching “Les Misérables: Shōjo Cosette” and I didn't expect it but it's literally a fanfiction. I love it, 10/10. 👌🏻

Spoilers below.

Gavroche is saved and is adopted by Jean Valjean and Toussaint together with two other adorable street children and a giant dog.

Marius is a badass who carries on the wishes of Les Amis de l'ABC by becoming a lawyer who helps the poor and needy. Besides, he never repudiates his father-in-law.

Cosette, on the other hand, carries on her father's will to do good to others and is also a very tough one who takes to the streets during the revolt to go and look for Jean and Marius, saving Gavroche's life.

At the wedding of Cosette and Marius there are all the people they have met during their lives who have helped or have helped them and it is wonderful to see how much good everyone has done.

JAVERT DOES NOT KILL HIMSELF BUT IN FACT, he decides to redeem himself and dedicate his life to perpetrating a more charitable justice considering Jean the angel who saved him and who gave him a second chance. Furthermore, when Thénardier shows up at the family home to harm them, he intervenes to arrest him, with the help of Marius, and reveals the truth about the good man that Jean is. He also shows up at his funeral. I cry.

Thénardier finally pays for his crimes and is arrested in a scene that is fantastic. Azelma doesn't go away with him but with her mother, who is alive, and they decide to change their lives and no longer be criminals, reopening the inn.

Furthermore, even if Jean unfortunately dies there, the citizens of Montreuil-sur-Mer still consider him their mayor and await his return, and the city does not fall into ruin thanks to Alain and Sister Simplice.

Alain. Only Alain, because just saying his name is enough.

Ah, Fantine's ghost watches over them the whole time.

[cliozaur]

“I have come to sleep with you,” I think it’s one of the best lines in the Brick!

The initial impulse while reading this chapter might be frustration with Marius. His seemingly aimless musings, which Hugo attributes to excessive daydreaming and lack of work, could certainly agitate the reader. However, before passing judgment, consider them as indicative of deep depression. In addition to his past traumas, the incident at the Gorbeau house was a jarring experience for him. He believes he has lost his beloved forever, can no longer even call her "Ursula," is unable to work, has lost his source of income, and his clothes are deteriorating. According to Hugo, all Marius can do is daydream. Hugo then delves into contemplations on the perils of excessive daydreaming, and he acknowledges that it can lead to tragic outcomes: “By dint of going outdoors to think, the day comes when one goes out to throw one’s self in the water” (why does it always involve drowning in suicide? Was it the only way Parisians killed themselves in Hugo’s time?) But I suspect that Hugo mistakenly takes depression for “excessive dreaming.” At this point Marius is not explicitly suicidal but just wait for it. The way Hugo explains Escousse’s and Lebras’ suicides as stemming from an excess of “reverie” also, in my opinion, underscores his misunderstanding of the situation.

However, what truly and consistently vexes me, though, is Marius' unwavering determination to pay the debt to Thénardier. Even after witnessing the despicable acts committed by this man in the Gorbeau house, this itch appears to become even stronger. To the extent that Marius has broken his personal taboo against borrowing from his friends (actually, should be singular, his friend Courfeyrac). I can partly comprehend why Hugo chose to portray abominable Thénardier as invincible and unsinkable, yet this doesn't prevent me from becoming upset and irritated with individuals who have the potential to be harmed by him and yet still inadvertently empower him by providing him money (not only Marius, but also Jean Valjean).

And of course, I should say something about Javert as he was mentioned in this chapter. It’s rather amusing that he has forgotten Marius’ name and was unable to trace him when he needed him! Javert, who is usually so sharp and almost intimately knows his Pattron-Minette and their associates, forgets the name of a lawyer who came to the police station to report a crime. This only reinforces the notion that Javert is solely interested in individuals when they are involved in criminal or potentially criminal activities. He must have been disappointed in Marius, whom he initially commended for his courage, but whom he suspected had faltered at the last moment.

[theblackphoenixwritings]

ᴅᴀʏ 𝟷𝟸 - ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛs: ᴛᴏᴍᴏʀʀᴏᴡ

ᴍᴀʀɪᴜs/ᴀᴍᴀᴅᴇᴏ & ᴍᴀʀɪᴜs/ᴅᴀɴɪᴇʟ ᴀᴜ/ᴡᴇsᴛᴇʀɴ - ᴘᴀʀᴛ 𝟽

The day was ending again, and Marius was again beginning to feel the tension building. If Daniel was not mistaken and these creatures were somehow connected to Mr. Carson, then the damn priest, who preached discord and destruction by hiding behind a God who asked his worshippers to fight for him, was also entangled in all this. And his town, Cripple Creek was in immense danger. All these thoughts and the coming night almost suffocated Marius with worry. Daniel and Amadeo were sitting together near one of the sentry fires. They seemed to be engaged in exchanging vitriolic banter and seeing which of the two remained breathless first. It wasn't such a bad way to bond. Marius, in his life as a lawman, had seen men punch each other over a woman, and wear each other down, and learn the value of respect and friendship in what he thought was a mean way. He had seen men punch each other in drunken saloons for exchanging conflicting opinions, and then join in fighting the poor Christian on duty who had tried to stop them.

He had seen men teasing each other, until, they had seen a reflection of themselves in the man in front of them. And Marius, he thought, that was as good a way as any for those two to find their way to friendship. He watched them for quite some time, as illuminated by the iridescent heat of the fire, they exchanged gesticulating insults, Marius, could not help but smile when he realized that both of them had run out of ideas and looking at each other, had crossed their arms over their chests, observing each other and then looking away.

" It seems that their war is over, but they have yet to sign peace agreements, it would seem."

Teskhamen, had approached Marius and was observing the two at his side. The night seemed calm and the noises of the village were familiar and pleasant.

" Tell me Teskhamen, have you seen these creatures?" asked Marius as he continued to watch his boys.

"No, not in person, only through the account of my scouts, I guess Daniel told you that he was the one who stopped them before they engaged those creatures in combat." continued Teskhamen.

"No, we had other things to talk about, but Daniel told me that he's pretty sure that Mr. Carson is in cahoots with these creatures, how and why, I can't really say."

"Is there any other reason than greed that drives a man like Mr.Carson?" asked Teskhamen, who had a deep feeling of hatred toward Carson, to him he owed the death of one of his closest friends, Marius' father." Your father's death weighs on my conscience more than anything else, a good and righteous man who left in this world an intelligent and good-hearted boy who became a righteous and big-hearted man like his father." concluded Teskhamen.

"My father paid with his life for his ideals. He was a man of culture, curious and thirsty for knowledge, a man who did not put up barriers but tried to erase them.If at first his interest in your tribe was purely scientific, later it became purely one of respect and friendship. Neither Carson nor dear Santo, ever forgave him for welcoming you on his land, and allowing you to stay.I know because I was there and I forget neither Santo's cross shining in the sun, nor Carson's evil smile as he hanged my father." Marius, he was forced to stop and sigh, Teskhamen rested one of his large but slender hands on his shoulder," No one believed a little boy, and at ten years old what could I do against the two most powerful men in town? There was nothing I could do then, I spent years trying to make them pay for their crime and fighting them in their unhealthy ideas. I would not have imagined that they could go so far, but neither did I imagine that such creatures existed." Marius turned to look at Teskhamen's calm and peaceful profile," Your father was convinced that this land was rich enough for everyone.Everyone had a place here for him, he always repeated how there was wealth for everyone, enough wealth for everyone, but he could not understand the danger of greed and how heand his ideas inspiring the people of Cripple Creek, was harmful to those who made greed their very life."

Teskhamen mirrored himself in Marius' blue eyes; they were not the color of his father's, but they had the brilliance and strong calm determination.

"Daniel stopped my scouts, as I told you, they listened to him because they know how dear he is to you, they followed the creatures, and lost them in the vicinity of the beginning of Mr. Carson's lands. Your Daniel seems convinced that things are connected. I think he is right. And I think we need to figure out what they are plotting." said Teskhamen.

" Let's go to Daniel and Amadeo, Amadeo, too, unfortunately knows about the creatures." said Marius.

"Yes he told me about it while I was fixing his wounds."

"He was in pretty bad shape, I tried to keep his wounds clean, but without bandages and with rationed water, I couldn't do much." blamed Marius.

"You've done enough by the looks of it, the boy is alive, yes battered, but the body will heal despite the scars and disfigurements, the soul...well this I think is more the field he has entrusted to you." said Teskhamen with a smile, Marius seemed puzzled and embarrassed at the same time. Soft laughter and lively voices accompanied their path to the fire where Daniel and Amadeo where resting. Daniel noticing Marius, smiled sweetly at him, Amadeo on the other hand got up and threw himself into his arms, looking happy, as Marius could not tell, after all he had seen and suffered and how much he had struggled. Yet there he was clinging to his waist, his face resting on her chest. Teskhamne sat next to Daniel, while Marius checked Amadeo's bandages, who repeated that he was fine and that there was no need.

They all remained together sitting by the fire, Teskhamen quietly smoking, Daniel leaning against Marius's shoulder staring at the horizon, Marius sitting next to Daniel staring at the immense dark sky full of stars, and Amadeo had dozed off tightly to Marius, who had covered him with his own duster.

" What shall we do?" it was Daniel's practical and intelligent tone that pulled everyone from their thoughts.

"First, tomorrow, we will go back to the city, I have left Thorne alone to handle everything,and I have been missing too long. After that we will contact Zenobia, Avicus and Mael, for them to come to Cripple Creek. We need some help. And then we'll go pay a nice courtesy visit to Mr. Carson, and see what he has to say." concluded Marius.

[captainjonnydville]

This is more for the mod then Jonny

But its really funny to me that Marius is basically having an existential crisis and Jonny is just being tortured by two random anon

OOC:

Yeah he’s paying dearly for his crimes lmao. get wrecked loser

[josephinekhawaja]

Captain Marvel 2 got me leaning even more into being Yonvers trash, sorry not sorry --

I am not sure I would classify Carol Danvers as a War Criminal like everybody else, as 100% the Supreme Intelligence needed to go, and is not like she continued to personally scorch the earth from there. But there has definitely been a lot of grey up for consideration in this sequel, and so much of the consequence of her actions, however valid were her feelings to do what she did. And I just find myself really needing her and Yon-Rogg to have a conversation. After all that has happened since 1995, so much that has gone down in space. (Also THANK YOU to the Skrull emperor for that needed line "We have nowhere to go" after an entire Secret Invasion season of Zero Accountability for Nick Fury and Carol Danvers in not finding a permanent settlement for the Skrulls as promised. At least Carol to her credit showed remorse on her face for it. Is a start.)

Like for damn sure Yon-Rogg needs to redeem himself -- have him paying his dues somewhere like Aquaman's brother Orm Marius for all I care -- but at least open the door for those dues to actually count towards something. Evidently this film wants me to ship Carol Danvers with Prince Yan, but nah. The personality difference is too jarring. I much prefer the gradual humanisation of Carol in her friendship (familyship) with Monica and Kamala than whatever switch gets flipped on Aladna. (And on that note, Aladna culture was the most annoying thing in for me a not-so-annoying film, so unlike with Tarnax, I was actually happy to see it get sucked into a wormhole🌀🌀.) If anything, I want Yan to kneel to Dar-Benn😼😽. She could use that sunshine more💔. And I think a lot of my perspective right now is I cannot actually see the villainess of the film, Dar-Benn, as a villain. She has probably been one of the more sympathetic antagonists we have had in the MCU in a minute (and she looked so damn pretty in her speech to Hala -- Imma simp). And through her I feel myself softening towards the Kree more than expected. Whatever the crimes of the empire, they are now a devastated people. And my previous scepticism at mention of "peace talks" in the Secret Invasion has dissipated. I could seriously believe after everything they would be now desperate for relief. And that bleeds its way into my long-sailing ship. Feed me to a pregnant Goose if you like, but still for me it is Yon-Rogg x Carol Danvers. Bring Jude Law back for Captain Marvel 3 (The Marvels 2) please.

[sofipitch]

Can I say how much I hated HATED the freaking “lEStAt oNlY kILleD eViLOeRs” retconning bullshit AR pulled in TVL??? I get that there has to be some retconning to make it work and some of it is well done but that in particular is ridiculous and I will never accept it as canon. I really enjoyed TVL until the paragraph where Lestat is quickly going thru the events in the first book and shits on Louis’ whole account of events it is so condescending. “I can’t blame him for misunderstanding me I guess and I forgive his mistakes and the outright lies he told about me cuz I love him. How could he know I only ever killed bad people tehe he was a mess it’s really not his fault” (still overall like the book)… I know it’s the Louis girl in me and Louis isn’t perfect by any means but nah what we aren’t gonna do is invalidate everything he said and every experience he had just because you became obsessed with Lestat and started hating Louis.

I agree 100% and I am also a Louis truther. Usually what Louis lies about in IWTV is his feelings, as well as simply leaving certain scenes that might be too personal out (only part of what Lestat said that I believe, they were happy and it was unfair of Louis to hand wave that time). I tend to believe what he says goes in terms of what happened, so I believe that if Lestat actually stuck to the principle of "eating the evildoer" he would have told Louis. Like Louis struggles with eating humans and Lestat is so visibly concerned and upset there's no way that if that's what he did he wouldn't tell and give that option to Louis. Like even if Louis can't read minds why couldn't Lestat pick out the evildoers and bring it to him?

Also there are just discrepancies in Lestat saying he only ate evildoers, the children Claudia brings Lestat full of laudanum are CHILDREN, I'm sorry I don't believe children/babies are a tabla rusa but I also don't believe they are capable of being evil. And there is really no other way for that scene to make sense, an adult passed out from drinking maybe but it just isn't the same in terms of "she brought him a child to feed on as revenge bc of what he did to her in making her". Lestat also is described as killing TONS of slaves when they burn down the plantation, simply bc they found out that Louis and Lestat are, you know, blood sucking murderers

I also just hate the whole evildoer thing in the first place. Lestat actually comes up with the idea on his own before he meets Marius but decides a lot of ppl might do evil or commit crime do to circumstance, namely poverty. Instead of deciding to eat the rich Lestat just decides evil is hard to define and abandons the idea. But when Marius tells him to do just what he rejected he goes "Aye aye boss 🫡" It was a dumb way for AR to write her way out of that philosophical quandary

AR also uses the whole evildoer thing to promote her own weird views, namely super anti drug (AR was DARE paying you off for this?) campaign, which can get a little, well racist. QOTD specifically mentions Armand going to Latin America to find drug dealers and steal their money, which it's not like drug lords aren't an issue but how is it that they came to mind first and not the American elite rich who own companies like Walmart? I also don't believe in the death penalty and yes these are serial killer books but AR really tries to sell you the idea that they are good and moral for killing "bad" ppl, and in PL mention having a dungeon stocked full of prisoners as food 💀 It's fun as a horror concept but I REALLY get the feeling through reading that AR thinks this is good and not extremely fucked up for these wealthy pharmaceutical company owning vampire (I'm describing one guy but they all get their wealth inhumanely, landlording mostly, which AR seems to think is an honest living) to just get to decide what crimes are deserving of death

[clwhowrites]

"Where is my child!?" Marius demanded.

"I left her with Quinn, he's been taking good care of her." Saline answered.

"You left her with him?"

"Yes! I was in no position to raise a little girl! I couldn't eve take care of a stray cat! He has taken good care of her. Where the hell were you? You couldn't even stop by, write a letter, give one penny to help the child you made!"

He stepped back, "I'll- I'll deal with you later!" He turned, ran out of her cottage, to the Nether Woods and the manor of the Dark Lord Nelgoth.

Marius and two other men, an Elvin paladin Agnar Oakborn and a Dwaven Barbarian Ametrine, burst into the abode of the Dark Lord. Skeleton warriors rose form the floor, Marius blasted the skeletons with bolts of fire and ice, Ametrine smashed the smashed the bone with his mighty hammer, and Agnar slashed at the skeletons with his holy sword of light.

“Stop!” A voices yelled from the second floor, “Who invades my home and why are you attacking my skeletons?” Demanded the necromancer Quinn Nelgoth.

“Sorry boss, they took us by surprise.” one of the skeletons said.

“It is fine, I will get you all back together.” The Dark Lord said to the skeletons. “What are you doing in my home!?” The Necromancer demanded.

“We have come to rescue the kidnapped child!” Agnar yelled.

“’Kidneapped child’?” He looked at the group and finely recognized their wizard. “By the dark gods!” Quinn exclaimed, walked down the steps to the first floor. “I did not kidnap her, I adopted her!” The necromancer pointed at Marius, “After he left her at his opiate addicted sister! He hasn’t even written a letter or sent one coin to help out with raising her, did he even tell you that?”

“No,” Ametrine answered, “in fact we didn’t even know he had a kid until told us you kidnapped her.”

“Well- well I am here now I will stop you from teaching her any evils!” Marius said.

“I am not our father!” The necromancer yelled.

“’Our father’?” The Paladin asked, looking at Marius.

“I took responsibility! unlike you. I changed her diapers, I held when she cried, I taught her how to walk, how to talk, how to read. I go to partied and meeting with people I hate so she can have friends her age. I sit in a little seat, at a little table with all her stuffed animals and play tea party with her.” He showed them his finger nails, painted pink, “she painted these, not I!”

Agnar sheathed his sword, “he sounds like a good father.”

“He really is.” one of the broken skeletons said.

“A good master too,” another skeleton said, “He keeps us clean, mends our breaks, and pays us well.”

“We get full unhealth insurance with dental.” Yet another skeleton said.

“’Dental’? The Heroes Guild doesn’t even give that.” Ametrine commented.

“While you were gallivanting around the lands doing what ever it is you do.”

“Fighting evil!” Marius uninterrupted.

“’Fighting evil’,” Quinn said with air quotes, “I was raising the baby you were the sperm donor to. Do you even know her name?”

“”Of course! Um- Ss- Sam-” pause, “antha.”

“Sydney.”

“You changed her name?”

“No! That was the name you gave her!”

Quinn looked at the Paladin. “What is your oath Paladin.”

The Paladin unsheathed his sword, held it in the air. “To battle evil so the innocent may not suffer!”

“Isn’t it evil to to abandon one’s child to a drug addict-” Quinn looked at Marius, “who is now four years sober, with no help from you!” back at Agnar “-a drug addicted woman and never even write or send anything to help raise the child?”

Agnar looked at Marius, lowering his arm, “Yes, that would be evil.”

“Very evil.” Ametrine added.

“Wouldn’t it also be evil to barge in on the homw of the one who has been raising that child as his own, threatening him and accusing him of crimes?”

The Paladin pointed is sword at Marius. “Indeed.”

They heard a door open from the second story, an 8-year-old girl in unicorn pajamas carrying a unicorn plush came out. “Daddy, why is everybody yelling?”

The Paladin and the Barbarian hid their weapons behind their backs.

Quinn looked up. “I’m sorry Baby, it’s just a misunderstanding. Go back to bed and I’ll be up there to tuck you in and read you a story.”

Marius opened his mouth to speak, Agnar covered it with his hand.

“Alright.” Sydney went back through the door.

Quinn looked at the party, “Leave! You people have cause enough trouble. It will take all night to put my employees back together.”

“We are very sorry, bill us for the damages and the time, we’re staying in the Inn in River Bend.” Ametrine said. The Elf and Dwarf took Marius out of the Dark Lords home.

A week later Sydney got a letter from her “uncle” Marius with over 30 silver he earned from his new job as a waiter at the tavern in River Bend. It was either that or the Paladin fulfill his oath.

Your brother left his newborn child with you so that he could go “find himself,” whatever that meant. Lacking the resources and unable to care for a child, you had no choice but to give them up for adoption. Years later, your brother finally returns and asks where his child is.

[sirmariusrenathyr]

*She happily lays down in his lap* Thanks again the flower crown is very beautiful -Ayla

You're welcome. I think that you mean a lot to Lethica so you mean a lot here too. If you see anybody down here and they treat you badly, then they will pay for their crimes. They legally have to listen to every order you command unless it's like... Murdering me or something.

*Marius shrugs*

I don't think you would but just in case someone charms you to try murdering me.

[o0anapher0o]

Thesis statement about David: He’s not worse than anyone else in the VC, but he is a worse character.

(Disclaimer: I still haven’t read all the books so everything is based on David in qotd, totbt, tva and what I heard about him on tumblr).

From what I’ve seen people’s opinion of David seem to vary between ‘I hate him, he’s the absolute worst’ and ‘he’s just boring and pointless’ and while I’m aware a lot of hatred for him comes from Anne’s original intention to replace Louis with him, I think a lot of it, especially from people who weren’t in the fandom back then, is actually because he is such a dull character.

David isn’t objectively the worst vampire in the chronicles. He is neither the only one who can rightfully be accused of grooming and paedophilia (that list is disturbingly long), nor is he actively psychotic (as some of the most popular characters are). Most other characters, however, have ever growing mountains of trauma and/or clinical depression that can be used to excuse/explain their horrible deeds and generally shitty behaviour, which afaik David doesn’t have. And he also doesn’t have any redeeming qualities that endear him to the reader. Most of the other major characters are at the very least entertaining, or interesting, or to a degree relatable.

Armand and Claudia are terrible abusive little murder gremlins with no conscience, but they are both incredibly tragic and also have enough sass to make them likeable. Lestat is as full of himself, op’d and privileged as David, but he is fun to watch because he is an idiot who keeps re-traumatizing himself most of the time by making decisions so stupid even he isn’t surprised when they blow up in his face. Milage on book!Louis relatability varies but a lot of people (including Jacob Anderson) do feel kinship with him. He was born of Anne’s darkest hour and as much as that made her despise him later it makes him the most real and grounded character in the chronicles. Akasha is literally a genocidal megalomaniac, but she has a fascinating back story and raises a bunch of philosophical questions. She is interesting. Even Marius is less egregious than David imo, because he’s such a pathetic looser, who is simply too far up his own arse to realise it (he’s only kept afloat by the fact that most other characters don’t realise it either).

David has next to no entertainment value, is only relatable if you’re an old, white, male academic and on top of that he doesn’t ever really fail (okay, the thing with the body thief could be considered a failure, but he literally failed himself into an upgraded body and didn’t even have to pay for it with added severe trauma or a life lesson learnt like Lestat usually does). No wonder nobody likes him, there is nothing more aggravating than a person who loves telling everyone how great they are, who also continuously succeed.

And that’s really David’s failing as a character, and why his terrible traits stand out so much more. There is simply no counterbalance, nothing to make the reader care. You can’t relate to him, you can’t root for him, you can’t laugh at him, you can’t even pity him. David commits the most grievous crime a fictional character can: He is not interesting enough to be engaging but annoying enough to be enraging.