#also ignore adams ear(s) I’ve fixed them since

[deklo]

🤨

[knightofbalance-13]

Boss Battle: VS. Dudeblade

http://dudeblade.tumblr.com/post/160307778687/in-response-to-everything-you-said-here-i-decided

Okay Dudeblade, you want a battle? I’ll give you a battle.

A Boss Battle of sorts.

In response to everything you said here, I decided to take a page out of your book, and deconstruct everything that you wrote. Because, you know, it’s not like you did the same to me on multiple occasions.

So you’ve learned how to debate: Glad it took you several months to do so. Now you’re facing a veteran debater with a shit ton more experience at this than you do. Come back in about ten years.

Oh, and just so that you know that I’m calling you out personally, I’m using your full username. Knight-of-Balance-13.

This is dudeblade, from the rwde tag. And I, I am just a man, trying to enjoy the show that we all love

Then why have you not posted a single good thing about the show in over a year and even then you have gone back on some of your stances about teh show since then and haven’t gone back on any of your negative posts. And you have attacked the writers and numerous characters on the show multiple times. Your actions speak louder than words.

Now isn’t this just a lovely piece of work? It looks like that there was a whole lot of thought put into this one. I wonder what would happen, if I were to look at every single detail, and deconstruct it. To just, distort it and force my opinions here. Like how you do with most of mine.

And right away we have a problem: the way he structures his critique. He puts up a slab of text on screen and puts up a slab below it, a mistake I made for so long. You can go sentence by sentence and dismantle it that way, thus giving you more breathing room and a quicker pace to it.

On to the content itself, I haven’t outright shown malice towards a post and when I do I usually label it as a “potshot”. as I have done so before in the past. While it is true that I have been hostile towards posts, it has never gotten to the point of sadism as you are implying with both your tone and language. SO right off the bat you are presenting yourself as more hostile than I am 90% of the time and this is on the very first post of your very first rebuttal. Not a good sign.

Also: You say deconstruction which implies a professional tone (which is what I usually do) but then you’re lanuage shows you are going to be anything but. Seriously man, if you are trying to attack me, be outright with it. It just makes you look more honest in the end.

For starters, you also can’t be objective if you love the show as well. It’s a two-way street. This is something that is called a catch-22, a situation where there is no reasonable solution to the problem at hand, or where the primary solution, also contradicts the parameters. You want to know why people are so harsh? - It’s because the writers have no intent on listening. How would you feel if every time you tried to offer advice, it was ignored, and the person(s) you were giving it to kept making the same mistakes over and over again? - I’m pretty sure you’d be upset.

However in one of your posts and in numerous reblogs you have stated that just because you are critical of RWBY doesn’t mean you can’t be critical of it so your own words contradict what you say here for no other apparent reason that that argument now applies to me then.

And I have said in the past that you can be critical of something and still like it, it’s your INTENT that judges what is criticism. If your intent is to harm the creators then that isn’t criticism, it’s just hate. As I said in the quote you posted. Your tone and wording have shown that they are closer to hate than criticism (some going as fair to label themselves as hate) and thus what criticism you might have had fails on death ears because you are using the tone, wording and intent of a hater.

Not to mention the fact that you are the one who put the parameters there in the first place: the only evidence people have of Miles rejecting criticism is a meme from Rooster’s Twitter so it can’t be confirmed that was Miles and a link to a guy trying to shut up criticism and Miles calling him out so that’s actually a contradiction. You believe this is grounds for personal attacks despite the fact that the grounds for harsh criticism alone isn’t even met here. This shows you just want to hate.

How about this: Instead of going after the symptoms, you go after the cause. Reducing a fever isn’t going to magically cure the flu. But getting medicine will help cure the flu. I use this analogy, because it’s the best one that there is. But if you want to talk about blowing up information, you should take a look in the mirror. Because you seem to blow up every time someone wants Yang to express what happened.

... Those two definitions of blowing up don’t collorlate. One implies exaggeration but the other implies excessive amount of emotion. While one does cause the other, you didn’t link them. Might want to edit that.

And the only thing of proof you have to prove that is a piece of sarcasm and if that’s being treated as proof then I can point out that you told the writer’s that they were fired from breathing and thus telling them they should die. No matter what way you go with this Dudeblade, you lose.

And in a way, I am trying to cure the cause: the cause being that people are trying to pass off hate as criticism and I am here to criticize and have the actually criticize or shut up and let other people do it. So I still fit your bill.

You always claim that Yang expressing herself undermines the trauma Tai went through. When exactly did Tai get his arm cut off in a terrorist attack when he tried to save his partner? When was Tai’s goals of becoming a huntsman demolished because a terrorist group attacked the school? When did Tai lose his mother at a young age? - The answer is “Nobody knows.” (At least for that last one. The other two have the straightforward answer of “never.”) So far, I have only seen you undermine what Yang has gone through to make Tai’s life look worse in comparison. - Hypocrite, much?

So we’re doing this huh? Okay then: When did Yang ever lose a lover? When did Yang ever lose nearly lose a child? When did her child jump off into the great unknown with only a note? When did Yang have to protect Taiyang from Grimm while she’s depressed? When did Yang ever reach out to Taiyang but he pushed her away? That’s 5 questions that answer never to your two and each one can be answer as “Twice” at the very leats so that actually 10 -2. And that’s not even going into how Taiyang basically has a worse version of the other traumatic events and we don’t even know his backstory. So how about you sit doiwn and take a note from teh White Trailer, something I have been trying to get across showing how ridiculous it is to deem a person’s sorrow by using another (Everyone is entitled to their own sorrow.)

Also, note how he calls Adam a terrorist. This is going to boomerang on him later.

This is possibly the only part where I can at least, partially agree with you. There is a degree of arrogance from both sides. While it’s spread out in the rwde category; the anti-rwde, has it much bigger, but in fewer people. Both sides are to blame for this, and it’s not fair of you to put the blame solely on the rwde tag.

considering the fact that we haven’t suicide baited people, told people to go die, called people pedophiles, called people abusers, slander people, warp facts, sexism, racism and so much more, if we seem arrogant to you that’s probably an intense disdain for RWDE.

Also,”Abject failure”? That guy, (rerwby) is doing their best to fix some plot holes that were left from the writers neglecting to think ahead. Like how when (in canon) Jaune claimed to be from a family of hunters, it made very little sense that he hadn’t unlocked his aura. But in the re-write, he says that “those huntsman genes must have skipped me.” - Something that makes infinitely more sense from a story-telling perspective. Not to mention that I don’t think that word means what you think it means. I read it to day, and found it enjoyable. I’ve read worse stories, and the Re:RWBY story is not the absolute worst story ever. It’s doing its best to address plot holes, and made references to LGBT+ Representation in under three chapters, when the actual show hasn’t made a reference in over FOUR VOLUMES. Though, I’m willing to bet that you think he shoehorned that it for “moar views.” No, B1umenkranz actually made a positive reference to the LGBT+ community. Contrast actual canon, which has promised representation over and over again, but has yet to reveal who is part of the community at best, and is completely baiting at worst.

Yes because that kind of product’s first and fore most priority is that they need to be entertaining. And between the numerous failed attempts at visual humor, interjected dialouge, switched around lines and lack of description, it is a chore to sit through a single reading of Re:RWBY whereas I would gladly sit through Volume 1 of RWBY again.

Also, a lot of what you say here doesn’t work. The huntsman genes don’t work because genetics wasn’t Jaune’s problem, it was training. It created a plot hole as to why Weiss would think a nest is a temple, why Jaune tried getting into Beacon if something he could not control ect. And just because you have LGBT in it doesn’t eman it’s good: Mod Regalia a bisexual talked about this before (https://team-crtq.tumblr.com/post/160160464449/rwby-and-ships) and these exact problems show up: Yang and Blake have tacked on Chemistry when they have a netural at best relationship and Ruby’s sexual observation of Blake makes no sense considering she is stated to be uninterested at sex right now. Combine this with awkward dialogue, OOC moments out of the ass, unnecessary dialouge changes that ruin the jokes, a lack of detail, more plotholes, tacked on LGBT mentions and inconsistent narrative style and you have an inferior product.

Please refer to these three posts on why people are upset about the lack of LGBT+ representation. Now get off your high-horse. Damn, and here I thought that someone in the crtq tag would call you out on that one.

I match and raise your tag with several LGBT members who are just as sick of this as I am: @phoenix-theurge @tumblezwei @ula-star @mageknight14 @rainbowloliofjustice @takashi0. You, as a straight person, cannot claim to speak for these people who are closer to the subject and disagree with you.

Both sides are using Monty’s name in vain. Not just rwde. You have people who are claiming that “The writers are shitting on Monty’s dream” and then you have guys who basically say “You are hating on Monty’s legacy.” - Both are petty, and even I have a major beef with it. But don’t act as if Monty’s death makes his show safe from criticism. If that were true, then people would go apeshit whenever someone criticized a Disney movie. - Point is, is that both sides are guilty of doing this, and considering you got mad and upset that someone made a rwde meme post on the anniversary of Monty’s death, you aren’t free from blame on this part either.

In the main RWBY tag where every RWBY fan can see it, which is what I did. You also only have one example for me and two examples against you: It seems more like I’m an isolated incident than anything so that point does not stand.

Re:RWBY is structured like a book. They aren’t structuring it like a show. Books are different than shows, movies, games, etc. Do you really think that the Harry Potter films follow the books to the exact letter? - I don’t think so. So, maybe you should stop bitching, and start looking onto details. re:Rwby made their points clear, and you claim that they’re arrogant? - They only said that he thought his ideas were better. Gee, for a person who claims that the rwde tag takes things out of context, you sure seem to do that a lot. Plus, if you read his tags, you’ll see that he was very polite compared to your “Everything is wrong, and you should feel bad for writing this wrong” attitude that you seemed to project through your comment.

And RWBy itself is structured as a book and that is why I judge it so: It’s lack of detail and terrible story structure makes it a chore to sit through because the gags in RWBY use both visual and vocal aspects and both are botched by the writer who claims to be a better writer than Miles. He outright said that he could do a better job than Miles and failed to do so and so by your standards of attacking Miles over Soul Eater and LOK, I am still right. In fact, considering Miles never said he was better and Re;RWBY did, I would be more right by your standards than you all are. And then he blocked me and continues to mock me, so what?

Again, refer to the posts that I linked to earlier about baiting. I’m not going through the effort of re-linking them again. But I have a new one right here.

Said by a guy who has a noted hatred of Miles. By your own logic, all that does is discredit you.

Just because Yang was in a rut, doesn’t mean that it wasn’t ablest. Tai made it clear that Yang wasn’t worth his time unless she had two arms, and that is pretty much ablest. Also, if what you said was true about lines and screentime, then that meant that Penny was there for Ruby’s development. Pyrrha was there for Jaune, and Adam was there just to make Blake the definitive “good guy.“ Another reason why people are critical of Jaune is because he was the first character to get a two-parter arc to himself. It wasn’t Ruby and Weiss (who had their problems resolved by the end of the episode) it was Jaune. And considering that no other character that one of the writers voice has gotten the same treatment, it leads to the conspiracy theories that Miles gives more development to Jaune because of his ego. Also, to quote Mr. Enter, “Just because you bring one character down, doesn’t mean the other character is brought back up.” It doesn’t work like that. Making Jaune look weak in comparison to Ruby doesn’t automatically make Ruby a better character, it just makes Jaune look weak.

- In fact, Ruby’s character remains static. But here’s another thing: If Jaune really is there to make Ruby look good, then why is he the strategist? - If this were the case, as you so claim, then Jaune’s strategies would have been thrown out for Ruby’s much better worded, and thought-out tactics. In addition, he’s the ONLY one mourning Pyrrha. Pyrrha is apparently non-existent for the other characters. Pyrrha was put in a Schrodinger’s Cat situation when it came to the reason for her abrupt death. She was either killed to further everyone’s character, or she was killed to further Jaune’s character and his alone. Since no character brings her up aside from Jaune (and Qrow that one time), it comes off as if Pyrrha was killed solely for Jaune

The rut thing was about depression, not the disabled thing. Right off the bat, you’re moving the goalposts. And even so, I have shown that disabled people DO think it was a good portrayal as seen in the Meta folder on the awesome tag of RWBY’s Tv Tropes page. And even then, you have shown an intense and irrational hatred for Taiyang so you’re not allowed to talk. Just as well, you aren’t allowed to talk about Jaune because you have shown personal bias against him so that doesn’t work either. In fact, you’re biased against most male characters as you have admitted before so in reality, most of this is pointless.

And yeah, some characters are like that. Adam isn’t because he’s more used to show what happens when you fight an opponent long enough: you start acting like them. But Penny and Pyrrha? Yeah, that’s true. That’s also not a bad thing: Most mentor characters are this way and Pyrrha actually got an arc outside of Jaune. Hell, the most well known character from Gurren Lagann is Kamina, a mentor character with no purpose or menaingful character traits that aren’t “Make Simon Better.” And Gurren Lagann is one of the highest regarded anime of all time as well as a stated influence on RWBY so my comparison has some weight.

And that only works if Ruby herself is weak, she’s not. Ruy has very strong characterization in that she is an innocent, naive but determined and altrustic girl with a love of weapons and zero social skllls. And contrary to what you say, her character has developed. She has gone from denying that bad things happen in the world to accepting that they happen but still struggling to amke things better because its the bright thing to do. And this coincides with Jaune’s character as a foil to Ruby: he’s the tactician to her stradgest, she inspires people through actions while he does so through words,  she’s talent but naive whereas Jaune doesn’t have talent but is aware, Jaune gets more cynical while Ruby becomes more optimistic.

PS: I guess actions don’t speak at all huh? Ruby being sad at the mention of Pyrrha holds no weight to you huh? Good to know you have such a narrow view of things. No, you just put things in a damned if they do, damned if they don’t situation.

The only time I have ever heard of the opposite of Queerbaiting (Which Blizzard Entertainment invented, and was called Straightbaiting), was Tracer from Overwatch. Proof: https://ravenclaw-rebel3390.tumblr.com/post/155915548399/i-guess-overwatch-invented-straight-baiting

Okay and i be you rolled your ewyes at that. Now imagine how the five people I mentioned feel.

RWBY was marketed as a show about strong female protagonists. People didn’t sign on to watch Jaune (and only Jaune) cry about Pyrrha. I, myself am a fan of Ren. Jaune has had many lines over the course of the series, whereas characters like Ren, Sun, and Neptune have had very little. Also, Penny hardly had any screentime, and she was supposed to be one of Ruby’s close friends.

Once again, glad to know you have such a narrow view of things that Ruby being emotionally sad doesn’t work unless she says it.

And Jaune is the Deturagonist, so what? that’s like complaining that Gohan got too many lines in Dragon Ball Z.

Also: man Pain AKA a man can’t feel emotion over a woman. Nice to see such hypocrisy.

Right. Pyrrha totally deserves that label. After all, it’s not like she asked Jaune out multiple times, regularly ignored is rejections, and only backed off when she found out that he liked someone else and that affection was reciprocated… Oh wait, that happened… But it was Jaune doing it. Also, you were the one who undermined Yang’s trauma by claiming that she doesn’t know what it feels like to have people close to you abandon/die on her, when that’s been most of her life. Tai had absolutely ZERO joking tone when he said his insensitive comment, and you never seem to bring up the fact that Port and Oobleck were shocked by his comment. Why would they be shocked if this is supposed to be normal? It doesn’t seem logical to me.

Because you have a bias against male characters, we’ve been over this. You have outright stated it before and shown it numerous times. BGuit I’ll humor you:

Pyrrha also made advances at Jaune, just not directly. Nurmous Times as well. She ignored his attention to Weiss or ignored his lack of attention and only abcked off when Jaune was stated to like Weiss outright. So yeah, she does get that label if Jaune does. It’s called equality, something you seem foreign to.

Zero joking tone huh? Then I guess Church never joked once in the entirety of Red Vs. Blue because the tones were EXACTKY the same. Glad to see you’re blinder to sarcasm than an aspie.

And I guess if someone were to see the Reds And Blue or Rooster Teeth themselves,m they despise each other right? Or oif yous aw @ula-star‘s family you’d say that they are abusive too huih? Glad to see the world only works one way. (sarcasm)

Adam is an asshole. But Y’know what? - Weiss was the one who called “Controversial Faunus Labor” a “morally grey area.” Also, Adam is a minority, broken by the discrimination that he has faced. I don’t approve of his actions, not by a long shot. But the White Fang seem to be emulating the rwde tag (or maybe vice-versa), in which that side was sick and tired of being ignored when they were being peaceful, so they resort to brutal tactics. Weiss is also a racist heiress who somehow got over her racism overnight. From a storytelling standpoint, Adam deserves more sympathy than Cinder at this point. Unless both of them get an expanded backstory, they have both done some pretty terrible things, but Adam was forced to work for Cinder because she had power, and he didn’t. People tend to root for the underdog, especially if that underdog has been discriminated against. Adam’s story is more relatable to people because he’s a person who was sick and tired of peaceful protest being ineffective.

Let’s go through this, shall we?

1. Adam is also racist and to a degree that overshadows Weiss and Cardin (Name one time they6 demanded genocide. I can with Adam.)

2. Mind linking to that?

3. You comparing the rwde tag to the White Fang and called their leader a terorist shows that you pretty much know you’re trying to use fear to control people and thus cannot be listen to. Thanks for the confirmation.

4. And that’;s why Weiss was still weary around Sun because she wasn’t being racist to him. Also, she got over her racism, Adam hasn’t.

5. And no one forced Adam to try and blow up the train in the Black Trailer, abuse Blake, chop Yang’s arm off or call for genoicde either. Man, this is like a textbook example of Draco In Leather Pants. And weiss’ is a form of Ron The Death Eater as well: Big surprise.

Jaune has taken the protagonist role. He’s the only one mourning Pyrrha, and as that line chart stated, had Ruby not had that speech at the end, she would have had less lines than Jaune. Not to mention that we (the audience) already knew why Ruby was doing this. By having her do that speech, she’s simply stating the obvious. No audience member asked “Why is Ruby doing this?” - Because we already know. Ruby hardly did anything. It was primarily Jaune.

If Jaune is the protagonist, why did he immediately default to giving up his angst and sorrow to Ruby the minute she shows sorrow? Why would the entire Volume be using him to prop Ruby up? Why would the emotional scenes with him either use Ruby as the start and finish?

And the part about the lines thing doesn’t work because, again, 75% of Jaune’s lines go to Ruby because they were used to develop here.

And if she is staing the obvious there then you missed the obvious point about her development, the theme of the Volume and the emotional wrap up,.Also shows that no matter what, Ruby will always be secondary in your eyes to Jaune even when she isn’t/. Nice to see you again Sexism.

- Jaune gets hit. Jaune gets an upgrade. Jaune is telling the team what to do. Jaune is sick of losing people (which would have carried more weight if Ren were the one to have said it). Jaune is sad that Pyrrha died (Again, he’s the only one to be actively mourning her). Jaune catches Tyrian’s eye. Jaune calls out Qrow. Jaune saves Qrow. Jaune shows off his weapon’s new mode.

So is Ruby, so is Ruby and Jaune’s upgrade only made him get bitchslapped. Jaune can’t do anything else. Audienbce surrogate. Ruby is also saidf and he immediately stops being sad about Pyrrha to allow her to be. Tyrian immediately dismisses that and focuses on Ruby. In character for him, out of character for Ruby. So did Ruby.

And Ruby also had the focus of Salem and Cinder, 75% of Jaune’s lines where made to build her up, She is the fcous of the plotline and not Jaune, 2 out of the three scenes Jaune is notable in is centered around Runby, Ruby gets the final words, Rubty is the fcous of Yang’s plotline as well, Ruby does far better in combat that Jaune, Ruby is the reason WHY Qrow is there, Ruby is the reason WHY Qrow gets injured, Qrow is Ruby’s uncle and Jaune has no family in the story, Ruby is the butt of one joke whereas Jaune is the butt of three in the first episode alone. Yeah, doesn’t work/

Ruby showed off a neat aspect of her semblance in the first episode of the volume, and then it was never seen again. Ren comes across his ruined village, and we get only one flashback to it. Nora hardly does anything other than provide some relief, and acts as a means to keep Ren calm, and Qrow only gives us exposition. Then there’s the fact that Ruby only used her semblance in the finale fight a total of one time, whereas if that Grimm was as threatening as it was hyped up to be, then she should have been using it to tie the thing’s arms around a tree or something. - But nope, gotta have that ancient Grimm get killed by four newbies when other, more experienced fighters all fell to it. This just makes any hunter that’s not part of the main cast look pathetic in comparison.

Except for the numerous times she files into the air.

Ren and Nora got foreshadowing in Episode 2, 5, 6, and 9.

And semblances use up Aura therefore if she did one hit would break her aura as it did with Ren, The Nucklevee has more control over the arms than Ruby and all Jaune’s weapon did was get him bitchslapped.

Also: Name one Hunstamn in Ren’s village or any that fought the Nucklevee before the heroes. ot Ren’s dad, weapon isn’t correct. Not Xion, The bandoits took care of them and other Grimm weakened them down/ No? Can’t? Then I guess you have no argumnet.

Misuse in animation is a sin of itself. It’s a sad day when Monty (God rest his soul) forgets that Rapiers aren’t used in that fashion. It’s a poor decision that needs to end, and if RW/BY can’t be the trend setter and be the first time it gets used correctly, then why should it be exempt? - The lead animator was someone who studied fencing, this shouldn’t have been a thing in the first place. RWB/Y shouldn’t be a trend follower, it should be a trend setter.

Most of the Raiper usage cited in RWBy was from The White Trailer, Volume 1 and Volume 2. AKA when Monty was the animator. And even then, many trend setters WERE trend followers, they just diverged. NGE was a normal Mecha show for 16 episodes and yet it set the ENTIRETY of the deconstructions in anime after 1995. You fail using yet ANOTHER inspiration to RWBY.

The mention of trains is only mentioned in the exposition-filled bore-fest that is World of Remanent. If people need exposition about that from a filler spot that disrupts the action and flow of the show, then why shouldn’t they repeat what happened? - After all, they did it with the Schnee Heir twist. They revealed that Jacques wasn’t a real Schnee in the WoR, and then, in the following episode, they repeat it. Despite the fact that the twist was ruined by the WoR, they still thought it to be a good enough of a twist to repeat in the story proper. If they can do that, why can’t they repeat the train thing?

“Borefest”

“Likes on WOR are the sma eif jnot higher than normal RWBY”

Yeah, those don’t work.

Because it’s a part of the show? Okay then, whenever exposition happens in a show, you MUST skip over it because all it is is an inclusive version of WOR. What’s that? You won’t? Then no bitching about WOR.

- Also, Yang got used to the prosthetic in only a few weeks. Even FMA makes it a point to mention that their character getting used to their prosthetic in under a year is unusual. And if you mean to tell me that Remanent has the technology to make a prosthetic that can be gotten used to in under a few weeks, then why are they so stupid to make it so that you need four active towers to allow for cross-continental communication? - It simply doesn’t make sense. - Also, most PTSD victims take YEARS to recover (if they do at all). Yang getting better overnight (Putting on the prosthetic, and being able to use it like it was her original arm overnight) is insensitive to actual PTSD victims who lost a limb in a war, terrorist attack, or a freak accident.

And she had six months beforehand. That also means you wnat Yang to be out of the show for a year: Good to know.

Okay then: Do you want me o watch Legend of Korra and go through ever single plot hole in that show? Because considering last Airbender had quite a few, I’m sure I’ll be able to match you blow for blow. If not Korra then..basically any show ever? Or will you keep your standards.the same watching RWBY as you do everyone else and Not be a nitpicky asshole?

I believe that this is what you would call “a critique.” After all, I provided solid evidence as to why your reasoning is flawed, much like how you constantly did to me. And if this upsets you, then perhaps you could do us all a favor and keep it to yourself. And how about you don’t go whining to the rest of crtq that someone was being mean to you?

No, because you shown numerous times t5hroughout this study taht you have quite a few biases that you refuse to put aside as well as t5he fact that you amde it clear that you were attacking me rather critique, summerized by how you expect me to hold up to a standard that you yourself have rejected numerous times and didn’t follow once in this section. Meanwhile, I have.

And I wouldn’t do that to the crtq tag, I have higher standards than that. Nope, i’ll just my comrades talk you down while as Mod Quartz I will say nothing, thus giving you no ammo against me as a critic there.

I’d sure as hell appreciate it.

I’ll even be nice and not post this under the usual anti-knight tags (Though if someone else reblogs this, and adds those tags, I refuse to take responsibility for the actions of another).

Then why is Rwde a tag then? That is an anti-knight tag since so many people in the rwde tag dislike me, you7 are still singling me out for ridicule. And no, rwde doesn’t apply here as you are, in your won words, criticizing me. Meaning no RWBY and thus no rwde. Too bad about that huh?

And since you held me responsible for MSD even  after we said we didn’t approve of him: Nope.

Now how about you quit with the weak punches and actually do some damage.

Or

Is that all you got?

[tankcupcakes]

Thunder Road - Part Seven

Summary: Takes place directly at the end of 5x13, The Song Remains the Same – in which Team Free Will is stuck in 1978.

Characters: This is a third person story that will follow Dean, though there is plenty of Sam as well, Castiel, OFC

Warnings: Language and marijuana use for the whole story

Word Count: 3,500

A/N: I took some creative liberties with time travel here, so just roll with me. This is also chock-full of references to music in the 60’s and 70’s – there will be a companion Spotify playlist when the story is complete. No beta, but was brainstormed with and read over by my dear @chelsea072498 I don’t own any the gifs I will be using and I don’t know where they originated, by would be happy to credit if anyone knows who made them.

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Eight Master List

January, 2010 Sioux Falls, South Dakota

“No, not John Lennon!” Eve cried emphatically.

“‘Fraid so, dear,” Bobby said, shaking his head. “George too.”

“Ugh, 2010 is terrible,” she replied with a chuckle.

Bobby had taken to Eve quickly - perhaps because they grew up in the same time and he could relate to her. Eve had always joked that something about her southern accent made people like her, but Dean had noticed this to be true. She had a low voice too, pleasant to the ears. Like her own kind of magic. Dean had found himself daydreaming about this as they all were gathered in the living room - he sat quietly by himself on the couch, staring into space. Bobby and Eve were speaking about things that had happened since 1980 - something that she had not asked about in the past. She had said she didn't want the burden of being a prophet, knowing what would happen before it did. How ironic, that she now knew her own death date. 

Sam and Cas spoke on the other side of the room in hushed voices, presumably about the impending apocalypse, something that Dean knew he should be listening to, but found himself unable to focus on currently. Dean's thoughts rolled around his head in turmoil. He had been agonizing over the situation for hours and had come up empty so far. He'd allowed his mind to wander then, trying to focus on the positive things about being home. One of those things sat in front of him, talking animatedly to Eve from his wheelchair. He had certainly missed Bobby. The fact that he was getting on so well with Eve was wonderful and not surprising, but it felt like the final twist of a knife. Dean had always hoped to have someone like her, someone who understood him, someone his family loved. This sinking feeling that she would soon be gone was one he couldn't shake. As he watched her now, he could tell that Eve was wearing her brave face. She smiled at whatever story Bobby was telling her, and Dean noticed her fingers pulling loose threads from her jacket. One of her legs was crossed over the other, one ankle bouncing up and down. These were both of her nervous tics. She knew too. She knew that she would die - she knew when, where, and how and it made him sick. How could he let her go back to that? Deep within him, he knew there would be no "letting" her do anything - she would do what she chose to and that would be the end of it. It was a quality that he loved about her, even now. He could tell she wanted to excuse herself, to be alone to process everything, but was too polite to do so. Moving for the first time in over an hour, Dean pushed himself off of the couch. He took a few steps over to stand behind Eve, gripping both of her shoulders lightly. She leaned back to look up at him with a crooked smile, covering one of his hands with her own. "Hey Bobby, sorry to interrupt - can I borrow Eve for a minute?" "Sure thing - time for me to refresh my drink anyway," Bobby replied, shaking his empty beer bottle. Dean led the way through the front door, Eve giving a small sigh as they stepped outside. "Doing alright?" he asked. "Perfect timing," she said with a slight laugh. "You know me so well." A ghost of a smile appeared on his face only for a moment. "I know." She stared back at him, reaching up to squeeze his arm but saying nothing for the moment. She lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply. "I really like Bobby. I can tell he had a hand with you - a lot of the same mannerisms." She smiled as she thought on it more. "He's always been like a father to me," he said softly. He scuffed the ground with one boot and watched her silently for a moment before clearing his throat. "Would you like to be alone?" "I don't know," she answered honestly with a shrug. She gazed at the ground. "Yes and no. I have a lot rattling around in my head, but... " she paused and looked over at him, her eyes brimming with tears. "But, I know I don't have much time left with you." "Oh, Evie..." He wanted to say so much more than this, but the words caught in his throat and nothing else came. Instead, he took a step toward her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. A sob that she had been holding in escaped her, something she had been trying to prevent all day. "It's okay," he whispered, knowing that it wasn't. "I love you, Eve. It's okay."

=

After Eve had composed herself she seemed to be feeling a little better, and the two of them made their way back inside.

They bullshitted with Bobby for a few more hours before he went off to bed - bringing out a stack of blankets for them, he made a comment about them being adults, so they could figure out their own sleeping arrangements.

Cas and Sam had remained deep in conversation for most of the evening, Sam breaking off and looking exhausted long after Bobby had gone to bed.

“Where's Eve?” he asked and Dean shrugged.

“She might have gone up to the spare room, I haven't seen her for about thirty minutes. I think she wants to be alone.”

“Can't say I blame her,” Sam replied. He stared at Dean for a moment, clearly wanting to say something comforting to him, but settled for a clap on the shoulder. “I'm gonna shower and try to get some sleep.”

Dean nodded, but said nothing as Sam disappeared up the stairs.

Cas sat alone in the living room now, occupying a large armchair and gestured for Dean to sit in the empty one next to him.

Surprised he was able to put it off this long, Dean obliged and took a seat. After several moments of silence, he cocked his head at Cas.

“What happened to you in ‘78, anyway?” Dean asked, leaning forward in his chair. “One minute, you're there, the next - poof.”

Cas shook his head, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “I’m still uncertain. Everything went dark and then I was here.” He cleared his throat, his hands clasped in front of him as he sat with his elbows on his knees - a very human stance. “Listen, Dean, I know you probably don't want to talk about Evelyn, but we have to.”

Dean nodded slowly, squeezing his temples with one hand. He glanced around to make sure the room was empty before he spoke. “I've been thinking about it and - isn’t this kind of a good thing? Without Adam, both of their game pieces are off the board." "But, you're not. You're not off the board, you're right here," Cas said pointedly. "We can only hide for so long, I think you know that." Dean stared at him carefully, trying to come up with anything for an argument. "Isn't this a guarantee that Michael will have a vessel? Isn't that what we were trying to prevent?" "Yes, but we need the heat taken off of you - if they take Adam, they have what they want, leaving us time to find and kill the devil." "If Michael has a vessel, what's to stop Lucifer from starting this now?" "Lucifer will wait for Sam." "So, basically you're asking Eve to sacrifice her life to buy us time?" Dean asked incredulously, watching Castiel with disbelief. "Don't put words in my mouth. You know it's not that simple, Dean," Cas replied roughly. "And I'm not asking her to do anything, I'm asking you to fix the mess you made. You did this." He scoffed, shaking his head. He knew that Cas was right, but the matter-of-fact tone he was using pissed Dean off. "So, I have to convince her that this is right?" "It is right, it's history. And I don't think you'll have to convince her. You know her better than I do, what do you think she'll decide?" Choosing to ignore the question, Dean crossed his arms. "Just because something is history doesn't make it right." "Maybe not, but this time, it is." "I refuse to believe that," Dean spat, looking at the ground now. "Believe what you want. You changed the past, so you can fix it or deal with the consequences. But, you're kidding yourself if you think your voice is the only one that matters here," Cas said, and Dean looked up at him again. "Evelyn will make this decision herself and you know it. Regardless of your opinion on it." He wanted to throw the beer bottle in his hand at Cas' head, but he knew full well that he was right about this. "I'm gonna get some air," Dean said, standing suddenly. "I will go and see if there's anything else that can be done about this - but, please don't get your hopes up." Dean didn't answer him, only nodded as he walked out the back door. He took a deep breath of cold air once he was outside, and with a frustrated cry he hurled the bottle across the yard. It shattered against the hood of a broken down Ford, but it didn't make him feel any better. Muttering to himself, he turned around and froze when he saw Eve had been sitting just outside the door and had watched this. "You okay?" she asked tentatively, knowing the answer. He thought about lying, telling her he was fine. "No," he answered honestly, shaking his head. "I'm not." "Me either," she replied softly, offering him a half smile that tore at his heart. He walked over and took a seat on the ground next to her. "I don't know if we can fix this. And I’m, just - I’m so sorry for all of it." She shook her head. "Please, stop apologizing - it's better that I know, now I can take care of everything I need to back home before I... " she stopped and swallowed, unable to say the words. "There may be something we can do, Cas is out trying to find out right now." She considered this, nodding. She was fiddling with something in her hands. "Whatcha got?" Dean asked, gesturing. She showed him the little iPod and chuckled. "Sam gave it to me, he thought listening to some music might help me feel better."

“Did it?" "A little," she said with a shrug. "This thing is amazing, though - how do they fit all the songs in here?" Dean smiled and shook his head. "I'm not sure I fully understand it myself. Technology is crazy." "I know, I saw your phones, Sam's computer... I bet things are very different." "We'll go out tomorrow and see it, okay?" Dean suggested gently, taking one of her hands. "Sure," she said, nodding. She was quiet for a moment before clearing her throat. "So, how long are we gonna pretend that I'm staying here?" Dean opened his mouth and closed it again, shaking his head. He didn't know what to say, so instead he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder.

He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “For a little while longer," he finally replied.

= Cas was back early the next morning and the expression on his face made it clear that he didn't bring good news with him. Sam, Eve, and even Bobby were still asleep, leading the two of them outside to have their conversation in hushed voices. “I just can't see any way around it,” Cas said, the regret clear on his face. “We’ve got no other options.”

Hesitantly, Dean nodded. He had expected this, had prepared for it, but still found himself rebelling against it. “How much time do we have?”

Cas gave him a look that made it clear he was trying not to lose his temper and he shrugged. “None, Dean.”

“None?”

“We were out of time when you and Sam went back to 1979. Now? There is even less time and even more to deal with.”

“Quit dancing around the answer and just tell me,” Dean replied sharply. “When do we have to send her back?”

“Now, Dean! She has no time left - we have no time.”

Dean crossed his arms and stared back at Cas defiantly. “I need a couple days.”

“Unbelievable - did you hear what I just said?” Dean said nothing as he continued to stand his ground and Cas shook his head. "Do you not understand that we're on a clock here?" "No, I get that, believe me - I'm just asking for a little leeway." "Doesn't it seem a little trivial in the light of everything that's happening?" "Trivial?" Dean repeated, eyes narrowing. He scoffed. "Yeah, I suppose it would seem trivial to you - Castiel, angel of the Lord. But, for the mortal peasants like me," he spat these words and Cas knew that he had struck a nerve, "it's pretty goddamn important." "Dean -" "I'm asking for two days - that's it. Today and tomorrow. You can't give that to her? To me?" Castiel was studying him carefully, but as he began to reply, Dean cut him off. "If anything but 'okay' is about to come out of your mouth, just save it. And you know what, if you can't give me two fucking days with this woman, then you don't get to pretend like I mean shit to you anymore, you got that?" Cas watched him with a piercing gaze, considering his words before heaving a sigh. "Alright, Dean. You have two days, but on that third day-" "I will let her go. And I won't argue with you, but I will be damned if I don't show her a good time before we send her back." Cas nodded. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry that it has to be this way, Dean." "Yeah," he replied, chewing on the inside of his lip, "Me too." After Cas had left, Dean returned inside to find Sam in the kitchen making coffee.

“Mornin’,” Dean said, closing the door behind him.

“Hey,” Sam replied, looking over at him as he pressed the brew button. “What's the word? I thought I heard Cas.”

“Yeah, you did,” Dean said as he leaned against the counter. “In a nutshell, we're out of time. There's nothing else.”

Sam’s eyebrows were furrowed as he nodded, casting his gaze down. “It's what we expected.”

“Doesn't make it suck any less,” he replied.

“No, it doesn't,” Sam said quietly.

“How many days were you able to stall for?” Eve’s voice came from the entryway to the living room, and both brothers turned to the sound. “Sorry, I wasn't trying to listen, I just smelled the coffee,” she said, gesturing to the pot.

“Two,” Dean replied, giving her a half smile. “Today and tomorrow.” She nodded and he added, “Good morning.”

“You too,” she said, stepping further inside the kitchen. Sam handed her and Dean full mugs before picking one up for himself.

“You guys have anything fun planned for today?” Sam asked.

“I might have some good stuff on the agenda,” Dean replied, smirking as he shrugged. “Plus, she's easily impressed.”

“That's true,” she confirmed with a nod. “I’m also really excited to see what everything is like, so he won't have to try very hard anyway.”

Sam laughed and shook his head. “Sounds ideal for Dean,” he said with a grin.

Dean gave him an unimpressed look in return.

=

After they all had coffee and breakfast, Dean made his way outside and saw Eve laying on the hood of one of the burned-out cars, staring at the sky.

He smiled to himself and hopped up next to her.

"I want to make a deal with you," he said, prompting a tilt of the head from Eve as she sat up to listen. "We've got the two days - it's not long, but it's the best I could do. You and I are gonna go do and see whatever you like today and tomorrow - but, I don't want to talk about you leaving, okay? Not one mention of it until that third day, and then we can have the conversations we don't want to have and deal with all of this. I know we'll be thinking about it. But, I want these two days to be about you and I. Can you do that?" "I can," she answered, nodding. “Can you?”

“I -” he hesitated, giving her a knowing look as he sighed, “I hope so.” A loud snap! caught their attention and they turned to see Sam standing near them with an old Polaroid camera, laughing as he gestured to it. "Look what I found!" he said, grinning. He snapped another. "That's not still what you use for photos, is it?" Eve asked, looking from Sam back to Dean with a laugh. "Nah, most people just use their phone." "You what?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "Show her, Sam," Dean said with a chuckle. Eve stood and stepped over to Sam quickly, eager to see the new technology. He showed her the camera lense on the back of the phone before turning it over and opening the camera application. He pushed the button to take a picture. "See? These new phones are like phones, computers, and cameras combined." "Get out of here," she muttered as he handed it to her. She aimed the camera at him and pressed the button several times, her face lighting up when the photos appeared on the screen. Her smiled slowly dropped and she chewed on her bottom lip. "I wish I could take these pictures with me." She reached briefly for Sam's hand, squeezing his fingers in hers before letting go. Eve handed him back his phone and he nodded solemnly in response before smiling and holding the Polaroid up, pointing it at himself. "Here," he said, turning Eve by her shoulder to look at it too. "Say cheese!" She laughed as Sam took the picture and as it printed out, he handed it to her. "Take this one too," he said softly, slipping one he had just taken of her and Dean in her hand as well. "Thanks, Sam," she whispered, looking down at them. She slid them in her coat pocket and stood on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck in a hug. "For everything." He did the same, sharing a sorrowful glance with Dean, who broke eye contact to look at the ground a moment later. When she stepped back, Sam was trying to keep his emotions in check as he cleared his throat. "Well, I just wanted to - you know, say goodbye before you guys left. I wasn't sure if I would see you again or..." he trailed off, and Dean gazed at the rocks on the ground again, swallowing the lump in his throat. Eve nodded. "Good luck - I know you guys can do this." Sam shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his breath hitching in his throat as he suddenly embraced Eve again. "I'm so sorry this is happening." "I could say the same to you," she replied with a sad laugh. "I mean it, you guys can save the world, I know you can." "I hope you're right," he said, pulling back with a sigh. He looked over at Dean, who was watching them with a miserable expression. "Have a great time, you two. I'll see you in a few days, Dean." Dean nodded, but found he was unable to offer Sam the halfhearted smile he wanted to. "Thanks, Sammy." As Sam walked away, Dean heaved himself off of the car and clapped his hands together once. "Alright, lady - you and me are outta here." "Oh, yeah?" Eve asked with a laugh. "Whisking me off from the greatest junkyard this side of the Mississippi?" "You better watch what you say about this junkyard - it's Bobby's pride and joy." She feigned surprise, holding a hand to her chest. "Why, I'm sure I don't know what you mean," she said in an even more exaggerated southern accent. Dean snorted and shook his head, gesturing to the Impala. "Get in, you." She smirked and followed him over to the car, circling it before walking to the passenger side. "So, this is the old girl I heard so much about?" "Sure is - this one's my pride and joy," he replied as they both slid inside. "We're not going far - just the other side of the city."

=

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