#also they’d vilify me if I did and if anyone tried to defend me it would be turned into a whole ass war by them and their followers | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

finalgirlbrainrot · 4 years ago

Note

I have two unpopular opinions 1) if roles were reversed and Dean was the one drinking blood, Dean stans would have excused the shit out of it and even liked it. 2) if none of Dean's trauma was addressed and ignored (like most of Sam's trauma is) Dean stans would fucking riot.

(sorry in advance, I ranted A Lot)

2) I'm gonna start with this one. YESYESYES I mean dean stans are already constantly unironically whining that dean's traumas never get acknowledged (EVEN THO IT'S LITERALLY NOT TRUE, HIS TRAUMAS ALREADY GET ACKNOWLEDGED MORE THAN ENOUGH. EVERY TIME HE STUBS HIS TOE. EVERYONE IS CODDLING HIM AND ASKING HIM HOW HE'S DOING. HALF THE SHOW IS LITERALLY DEAN MANPAINING ABOUT HIS TRAUMAS - but apparently that's not enough for them, so I can't imagine the uproar if it was actually true). meanwhile sam's traumas either get ignored or they get treated like a fucking joke? well I guess it's just another tuesday

I've also seen a lot of dean stans moaning about sam "forcing dean to talk about his traumas", because apparently sam actually acknowledging dean's traumas and encouraging him to open up about them and being always supportive af because he actually cares is unacceptable (and I'm willing to bet that if he didn't acknowledge them, they'd still complain because sam literally can't win no matter what he does)

but dean ignoring and never acknowledging sam's traumas (not even when he's directly responsible for said trauma) or making them all about himself (mystery spot, hallucifer, soullessness, gadreel possession) or vilifying and victim blaming him (being force-fed demon blood, soullessness, gadreel possession) or using said traumas to justify his actions (hallucifer) or making cruel, disgusting and unnecessary jokes about them ("you had a girl inside you for a whole week" [meg possession] "you know how wrong that sounds, right?" "you've like an episode of teen mom" [gadreel possession - let's talk about how these two in particular are a thousand times more disgusting than the rest since he's actually joking about a violation he's directly responsible for] "smores foot" [bmol torture] "crybaby pie" [cole torture] "you saw the [devil's] john [or butt]?" [the cage] dick of death jokes right, left and center) is perfectly acceptable behaviour

1) again YESYESYESYES. I mean, this isn't even a hypothesis, we already have an extremely similar storyline for dean - the moc - and everyone made excuses for him and glorified him, even tho he was worse than demon blood sam in every possible way

actually I wrote a rant on reddit a couple of days ago about the awful double standards between demon blood sam and moc/demon dean. I'm gonna paste it here because I'm Bitter Af

comparing demon blood sam and moc/demon demon is ironically and hysterically bitter because, logically, no matter how you spin it, s4 sam is much more understandable and easy to sympathize with - both in intentions and actions - and should have the moral high ground, while s9-10 dean was flat out awful and damaging. yet both the show and the fandom crucify sam and treat dean as some poor victim or a great martyred hero who made some great noble sacrifice and I just... don't get it. so let's break it down:

> reason for drinking blood / getting the moc

- sam: exorcising demons without harming the host, thus saving people (which apparently isn't that relevant to dean) and killing lilith, first because she sent his brother to hell and then to stop the apocalypse and because she was an actual threat

- dean: because he couldn't face the consequences of his actions after the gadreel mess and decided he wanted to kill abaddon, who, at that point, wasn't even their problem (she only became a real problem in 9x17, when they learned about the soul harvesting, so unless dean has some sort of prophetic knowledge, he had no reason to take the moc in 9x11) and was a real threat to no-one but crowley

> trusting / working with a demon

- sam: I've already said this before, but ruby was a master manipulator and went to extraordinary lengths to gain sam's trust and even managed to fool every single demon (aside from lilith obviously). as far as both brothers knew, she's done nothing but help them, saved their lives multiple times and helped them save others, fixed the colt for them, was there for sam after dean died, is basically hunted by other demons for helping them, has risked her life for them several times and even got tortured for them and was helping sam to go after the demon who was trying to start the apocalypse. sam had absolutely no valid reason not to trust her. I'd really like someone to look me in the eyes and tell me that, if anyone did everything I mentioned above, you wouldn't trust them

- dean: trusted a demon who they knew is extremely untrustworthy and self-serving and only does what's in his best interest and has screwed them over one way or another every time they worked together and has hurt people they're close to

> level of manipulation involved

- sam: as I already said, ruby was a master manipulator and spent two years carefully manipulating sam to get him to do what she wanted. not the mention everything azazel did to get him there, lilith pushing his buttons at every turn to get him to kill her and the manipulation from heaven as well, who were lying to the boys at every turn

- dean: while crowley was manipulating him, the level of manipulation isn't remotely comparable to the one sam went through is s4. crowley saying “let’s kill abaddon” and pretending to be afraid of cain is not comparable to a plan that’s been set on motion since the beginning of time and crowley wasn't the only one involved in dean getting the mark. cain was involved as well and he wasn't manipulating him (unlike sam, who was being manipulated by everyone involved). on the contrary, he was completely honest with dean and even offered to tell him more about the mark and DEAN REFUSED (like can you imagine how many problems would've been avoided if dean sat on his ass for one minute and listened to cain's warning???)

> actions

- sam: in s4 sam was trying to use something that was forced on him when he was six months old, and that he hated about himself, to do good because he felt like he had to and was literally SAVING PEOPLE and trying to stop the apocalypse, I literally still don't get why he's vilified for it????? in s4 sam killed a total of one (1) person: the possessed nurse and while that was obviously bad, 1) he was clearly upset about it and 2) I still haven't seen one (1) valid reason for why she's any different from the demons dean drained and killed in swan song or from any of the other possession victims they killed with the demon knife or the angel blade

- dean: meanwhile dean was going around murdering people left and right (also another example of fandom double standards: everyone defends moc!dean and demon!dean because "he only killed bad people" - which isn't even true, but let's say he was - and yet, I seem to remember a certain kitsune named amy pond, who was ALSO killing bad people (and not for the lolz of it, but to save her son) and dean killed her and the fandom defended him back then as well. is killing bad people okay only if dean does it?), tried to kill sam, beat cas bloody

> keeping secrets

- sam: keeping his powers and the demon blood a secret was his god given right, since it affected no-one but sam himself and the demons he was exorcising. not to mention, he had pretty good reasons for not telling dean, considering his bigotry, black and white views and judgmental attitude. and yet, he was, and still is, vilified by both the show and the fandom for keeping secrets and dean even punched him for not telling him about his abilities (something in particular about this point that absolutely drives me up the wall: in 4x04 sam accidentally revealed that he knew about what azazel did to him and dean got mad at him for not telling him about it, even tho dean himself found out about it and didn't tell sam and no-one - not the show, not the fandom and not even sam and dean themselves - notices the hypocrisy. they're literally saying that it's okay for DEAN to keeps something about SAM a secret from SAM, but not okay for SAM to keep something about HIMSELF a secret from DEAN. if you don't think that's super fucked up, then I don't know what to tell you)

- dean: no-one says anything about dean keeping the effects of the mark a secret, even tho, unlike s4 sam, lying about the mark directly affected other people and put everyone around him in danger, including sam

> general treatment

- sam: everyone treated sam like a monster in s4, dean straight up called him a monster, told him he'd hunt him if he didn't know him, forced him into a torture-detox that almost killed him, tried to control him and refused to see his point. at the end of s4 sam apologized to dean. in s5 dean repeatedly told him that he doesn't trust him. sam was blamed for everything that happened in s4 and his mistake kept getting brought up even seasons later

- dean: everyone and their mom was coddling him and helping to get rid of the mark. everyone considered the mark to be the problem, not dean himself. sam was unconditionally supportive. dean never once apologized to sam for any of the awful things he said/did to him while he had the mark. sam never once blamed dean for anything that happened in s9-10 and instead placed the blame on crowley and none of the things dean did ever got brought up again

> at the end of each arc

- sam: paid for his mistake by sacrificing himself and jumped into the cage and saved the world and got tortured by the devil himself for centuries

- dean: paid for his mistake by having his mother brought back to life

send me unpopular opinions

#redredwine92 #sORRY FOR THE MEGA RANT YFGEUFYUGY

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bestillmyslashyheart · 5 years ago

Text

hit the road

on Ao3

It didn’t quite set in until they hit the coast. The miles of ocean unfolding before and around them, the sand between his toes, and the crushing realization that Rosa Ortecho was alive all hit Alex at once.

The days immediately following Rosa’s resurrection, and Max Evans’ coinciding demise, were a mess. Liz, as much as she tried, couldn’t process it all. She flip flopped between heartbroken over Max’s death, frantic with determination to bring him back like he’d brought Rosa back, overjoyed that she had her sister back, and confused to hell as to what that meant for them. As much as she’d had trouble coming to terms with Rosa’s death, the fact was that she’d had ten years of being an only child. She made it two days, two whole days of trying to be strong and trying to be her big sister’s older sister, before she locked herself in Maria’s spare room and drank herself stupid.

For her part, Maria wasn’t doing much better. She’d arrived at the caves with Michael and seen Rosa before anyone could think to hide her. With the reality of Rosa’s resurrection came the truth about everything else. Maria was strong, she compartmentalized and made sure she was there for Liz for whatever she needed. When Liz couldn’t go home and lie to Arturo about Rosa, she offered up her spare room and went and collected everything she needed from home. She asked enough questions to get the answers she needed about Rosa and Max and the night at the UFO opening but she didn’t push and she didn’t pry. But the realization that Michael (and Max but he was dead and she couldn’t be mad at him) had known for ten years the truth of what happened to Rosa and let her life and her family be vilified because of a lie they created coupled with the reality of Rosa being alive and Liz falling to pieces meant that she spent more than her fair share of time clutching a bottle.

Isobel and Michael were a mess. Alex had never really had the time or perspective to consider the relationship between the three of them before but Max’s absence left a clear gaping hole in them. As much as Michael professed not to get along with Max, to hate him sometimes even, Alex didn’t recognize Michael without his brother. And there was no mistaking that’s what they were. Isobel and Max may have been raised as twins but the three of them were a family, a unit if it were. Take one of them away and the other two fall apart.

For the most part, Kyle was fine. He’s blurted out the truth of Rosa’s parentage in an incredibly awkward moment and freaked her out but otherwise, he was dealing.

Rosa was not.

Alex tried to give her space, considering she looked overwhelmed by literally everything every time he saw her, but he couldn’t just ignore her. She might have been Liz’s older sister but she was the missing piece of their group. She was his and Maria’s older sister, too. When he’d joined the Air Force after graduation, yes it had been mostly because of his father and his family and what happened with Michael, but it was also because Rosa was dead and her ghost haunted Roswell too much for him to stay. He wasn’t sure how Maria had handled it all of these years but Alex couldn’t. It was the third day that he stopped by Max’s house and saw it. That look. He’d seen it in her eyes his senior year as graduation neared. He’d seen it in Liz’s the last time he’d seen her before their ten year reunion. He’d seen it in the mirror every time he saw Michael Guerin.

She was going to run.

Alex didn’t waste any time. He gave her a hug as he left and broke several traffic laws on his way home. When he pulled up outside, he didn’t bother bother taking the keys out of the ignition or even turning the car off. He’d had a bag packed since the day he moved in. It had all of the essentials and he wasted precious seconds by adding a few more changes of clothes and his leather jacket. He was back in the car and pulling away less than two minutes after he’d pulled up. Even so, Rosa was gone when he got back to Max’s house.

He searched the place just to be sure. The only sign Rosa had ever even been here was the pile of dishes in the sink and a note to Liz on the counter.

Alex cursed as he slid back into his car. He had no idea where she’d gone but he figured the bus station was a safe bet, considering her license was ten years out of date and she didn’t actually have a car, not even Max’s. Alex never thought he’d be grateful to Isobel for parking Max’s car at her house but he knew if Rosa had had his keys, Alex never would have caught up to Rosa.

He was almost to the edge of town when he saw a woman walking along the side of the road, an overstuffed backpack weighing her down. Alex ignored the other cars on the road and slowed to a crawl next to her. “Get in,” he called through the open window.

Rosa just looked at him sadly and shook her head. “I can’t.” She kept walking.

A horn honked loudly behind him but Alex ignored it. It was a two way street, they could go around him. He sped up just a little and angled the car off to the right and cut Rosa off. There wasn’t much of a shoulder so traffic was still blocked but it gave the other cars a modicum of space to slip around him. Alex unhooked his seatbelt and hurried out of the car and planted himself in front of Rosa.

“Alex-” she started.

“Where do you wanna go?” Alex cut her off. “Want to go west? California? Or north? Or east? I wouldn’t recommend south right now because coming back over the border would be a mess but pick any other direction and we’ll go.”

Rosa eyed him. “Why?”

“Because I know what it’s like to run,” Alex answered simply.

She scoffed. “Alex Manes? Running away from his problems?” She shook her head. “That’s not you.”

He smiled sadly, mourning briefly for the teenager she remembered. “Where are we going?”

Rosa looked at the car then back at him. “I can’t stay, Alex,” she warned. “And I don’t know if I can come back.”

“I know.” He raised an arm and pointed at the car. “So where to?”

She still didn’t look like she quite believed him but eventually she smiled. “I want to see the ocean.”

“California it is.”

---

From: Guerin

What was your excuse this time?

Alex tore his gaze away from the waves and stared at his phone. It hadn’t even been a full day since they’d left. He hadn’t expected anyone to notice their absence yet and he would’ve bet good money that Michael wouldn’t be the first. The last few days had been strained between them and Alex wasn’t sure why or how to fix it. He wasn’t sure if it was Caulfield or Max or Maria or some combination of all three of them. He wasn’t even sure if the problem wasn’t just him and Michael.

He’d be lying if he said he only left because of Rosa. Sometime in the last decade, Alex had become a runner, the urge to just get up and leave constantly under his skin. He wasn’t sure if he needed a specific reason any more or if he just waited until the world handed him an excuse. He looked back down at his phone, rereading Michael’s message. He’d never thought about Michael’s word choice before but suddenly it seemed important. Like Michael understood what Alex had never been able to admit.

Without putting too much thought into it, Alex snapped a picture of the early morning sun glinting off of the waves, Rosa’s smile bright as she turned back to look at him, her feet kicking up the shallow water on the beach. He sent it to Michael without adding a message.

Rosa ran awkwardly up the beach and sprinkled some water on him. “Taking pictures of me? Perv,” she teased as she flopped onto the bench next to him. “That whole fake leg is really a bummer on the beach.” Alex tensed as he did whenever anyone mentioned his leg but Rosa’s lackadaisical way of going about it made him relax almost immediately.

“You could always carry me down to the water,” he nudged her shoulder. “Think you’re strong enough?”

Rosa scoffed. “For your fat ass? As if.” But she nudged him back and shook off the last bits of water on her hand into his face. “I’ll just bring the water to you.” Alex wiped his face off with a playful glare. “That Liz?” She nodded at his phone. Alex followed her gaze to see a new message from Michael. He turned the screen off and tucked it away without opening it.

“Not Liz?” Rosa sat up, a grin spreading across her face.

Alex pointedly stared out at the ocean. “Not Liz.”

Rosa barked out a laugh before sobering. “I’m not the only one running, am I?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know if you’re running?” Rosa raised an eyebrow. “How’s that working for you?”

Alex ignored the question and stood up. “Breakfast?”

“I’ll get it out of you Manes,” she warned but hopped up anyway. “You’re buying. Y’know on account of me being dead and having no money.” She teased, the smile not reaching anywhere close to her eyes.

“So what I’m hearing,” Alex unlocked the car and tossed Rosa a towel to wipe off her feet. “Is that you want to get a job.”

Rosa looked up from wiping her feet long enough to glare at him. “Who’s gonna hire a dead girl?”

“I can fix that.” Rosa got in and Alex turned the ignition. “Make you a new identity. You could pick a new name.”

“And what’s wrong with Rosa Ortecho?” She didn’t quite huff.

“Absolutely nothing,” Alex replied seriously. “I can find you a new social security number and you can be Liz’s cousin with the same name or we can come up with some other story.”

Rosa sighed and thumped her head back against the seat. “Can we just eat?”

Alex let it go. “Yeah. Find somewhere that looks like shit. Probably has the best food.”

An hour later they flopped onto the end of a surprisingly empty pier, their stomachs full to bursting. “That was a mistake,” Alex groaned.

“A delicious mistake,” Rosa amended. “I can’t believe he didn’t warn us the special was meant for two people. He just let us order two of them.”

“He didn’t make us eat all of it,” Alex defended.

“He should have spit in it or something so we wouldn’t,” Rosa whined.

“You would’ve eaten it anyway.”

Rosa paused. “Yeah fine maybe,” she confessed and Alex laughed brightly. He’d missed her.

They lay in silence for a while before the sun grew too hot for them to lay about. “We should figure out where we’re going,” Alex announced. He didn’t move, though.

“What’s wrong with where we are?” Rosa asked even as she rolled over onto her stomach.

Alex looked at her. “Where do you want to go?”

Rosa pushed up onto her knees and looked around. “I don’t know. What’s there to do in San Diego?”

Alex sat up on his elbows. “The zoo?” He tried to shrug. Rosa looked at him and shrugged in return.

“Let’s go to the zoo.”

---

Alex’s phone rang just as they left the Reptile House, Liz’s name flashing on the screen. “Rosa?” He called as she skipped ahead of him. Rosa turned back immediately. “What exactly did you tell Liz?”

Rosa walked back towards him slowly, his phone sending Liz to voicemail. “I left her a note. Told her I couldn’t stay. That I love her but I couldn’t be in Roswell.”

“That’s it?” Alex asked in mild disbelief. “You died, Rosa. I know it’s hard for you but Liz lost you once already and-”

“Alex,” Rosa cut him off with a glare. “I get it. I died and put my family through hell. But my being back was putting Liz through hell again and I couldn’t stay there and make it worse for her. Every time she looked at me she saw Max’s dead body.”

Alex shook his head. “No, Rosa, she didn’t. She’s just trying to-” his phone started ringing again, somehow more insistently this time.

Rosa nodded at where he clutched it tight. “Answer that. Tell her I’m okay but I’m not coming back. And don’t tell her where we are. Please, Alex. She’ll come after me and I need some space. She needs it too.”

Alex disagreed but he didn’t want to argue. He answered the phone before the last ring could cut off and watched as Rosa walked away from him. She didn’t go too far, though, stopping just far enough away that she probably wouldn’t be able to hear him.

“Alex?” Liz’s frantic voice calls before he can say anything. “Do you know where Rosa is? I can’t find her.”

Alex wasn’t sure if he should be pleased or disappointed that Michael hadn’t told her that Alex was with her. “She’s fine,” he promised.

Liz let out an audible exhale. “Where is she?”

“She’s fine,” he repeated.

There was a pause. “Alex,” Liz’s voice turned hard. “Where is my sister?”

“Liz-”

“Where the hell is she?”

“We’re not in Roswell.”

“What? You’re with her? Why? Where are you?” Liz’s voice, calm a moment ago, was frantic again.

“Liz,” Alex replied softly.

“Don’t,” Liz barked. “Don’t take that tone with me, Alex. I just got my sister back. Tell me where she is.”

“She asked me not to,” Alex told her apologetically.

“Alex-”

“Liz, listen to me,” he stopped and waited but Liz didn’t say anything. “I- I was talking to her and I saw that look in her eyes and I knew she was going to run so I offered to drive. I didn’t want you to lose her again so I thought if I went with her you’d at least know she was okay and she might come back.”

“Alex-”

“She’s fine, I promise,” Alex continued over her. “But she needs some time and some space to process the fact that she blinked and missed ten years. And she thinks you need the same to process the fact that your sister isn’t dead anymore.” He paused. “She’s not wrong, Liz. I can’t imagine what you’re going through with her and with Max. Maybe it’s not a bad thing that you two take some time apart to figure out this new reality we’ve got. I’ll keep her safe, I promise.”

Liz didn’t say anything at first, the only sounds between them her shuddering breaths as she held back tears. “She’s my sister, Alex.”

“I know.”

“I’m gonna call you every day. You’re going to be so sick of me,” she warned and he let himself smile.

“Can’t wait.”

Liz didn’t say anything for long enough that Alex had to check that she hadn’t hung up. “Take care of her, okay? Or I swear I will kick your ass.”

“I promise.”

“And let her take care of you.” Alex opened his mouth to object but Liz kept talking. “She’s your big sister, too.” She hung up without letting him reply.

Alex stared at his phone. “She okay?” Rosa asked. Alex looked up in surprise. He hadn’t heard her come back over. “Is she mad?”

Alex shook his head. “She’s worried. And a little scared, maybe. But she’s not mad.”

Rosa looked away before squaring her shoulders and plastering a smile on her face. “Let’s go see the gorillas.”

Later, Rosa will steal his phone and snap a picture of an eagle trying to eat Alex’s hair as he holds it aloft on his arm. (Even later, he’ll send it to Michael.)

Later, they’ll go back to the beach and he’ll take a picture of Rosa with her eyes closed and the sunset reflecting on her face and he’ll send it to Liz. (She’ll send back a ’thank you’)

Now, he lets her drag him from enclosure to enclosure and pays for her food and her ice cream and a stupid stuffed animal all without comment.

---

In San Francisco, Alex finally texts Michael back.

To: Guerin

Why’d you kiss Maria?

They’ve been gone just over a week. He still hasn’t talked to Rosa about why he left but he left a nightclub with the taste of another guy’s lips on his and a limp dick and he’s drunk enough to ask. It’s late and he’s not really expecting a response until morning, if at all, but his phone buzzes less than a minute later.

From: Guerin

Seemed like a good idea at the time

Alex didn’t know what to do with that. He stared at the message until a new one appeared.

From: Guerin

A lot happened that day and my head was a mess and I wanted something to make it better

So Alex made it worse. On one of the worst days of Michael’s life, Alex would’ve only made it worse.

He turned his phone off before Michael could send another text.

It took him half an hour to find Rosa but eventually he collapsed next to her on the edge of the beach. She’d taken to spending all of her free time there. Didn’t matter what city they were in or where they were staying, Alex could always find her with her toes in the sand.

“Have a good night?” She teased. She’d gone with him to the club but was turned away when they checked her ID. He’d tried to leave with her but she’d talked him into staying and having some fun for once. (Her words, not his) Alex didn’t answer as he closed his eyes. “Hey,” her voice softened. “What’s wrong?”

“Love sucks,” he confessed and it was like the dam broke. “I’ve been in love with this guy since high school but we’re always on different pages and we can’t communicate for shit and I thought I was ready for more, ready to try it for real and I told him. I told him and then he kissed someone else.” Rosa carded her fingers in his hair and didn’t say anything. “I, uh, I asked him why and he said he’d had a shitty day and he just wanted something to make it better. Apparently I would’ve just made his day worse. Because that’s what I do.”

Rosa hummed lightly when he stopped. “I thought I was in love with this girl,” she confessed quietly. “And then she killed me. Or I thought she did.” Alex’s eyes snapped open but she wasn’t looking at him. “I woke up or whatever and she didn’t remember anything about us. It was like we never happened and I don’t know what’s real anymore.”

“My dad and my brother rigged up a facility full of aliens to explode and I had to talk him into leaving his mother behind inside.” Alex kept his voice soft. There was no one around but he couldn’t help but be cautious.

“My sister’s boyfriend killed himself to bring me back to life,” Rosa returned. “And I feel guilty but also angry?” Her hand never stopped moving through his hair. “It’s been ten years. I don’t recognize the world anymore.”

Alex didn’t know what to say so he stayed quiet. They sat and listened to the waves for a long time. “He loved her,” he finally said. “Be angry. Be fucking furious. But don’t feel guilty. Max knew what he was doing and he knew why he was doing it.”

“Who’d Guerin kiss?”

Alex sighed. “Maria.” Rosa’s hand finally stopped as she stared down at him.

“Did she know?” Alex nodded. “Have you talked to her?” He shook his head. “Jesus. What happened to you guys?”

Alex smiled sadly. “You died.” Rosa looked away. “You died and Liz and I both ran and Maria stayed. We kept in touch but it wasn’t the same.”

“Nothing’s the same.”

---

From: Guerin

It didn’t

From: Guerin

It just made everything worse

From: Guerin

I should’ve come back. You wanted to talk and I wish we had

From: Guerin

But then Max died

From: Guerin

I never look away Alex

From: Guerin

But you always leave anyway

Alex stared at the phone with groggy eyes. He’d forgotten to turn his phone back on last night.

“What’s wrong?” Rosa asked from the other side of the room. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.” She paused. “Other than me, I mean.” Alex spared a glare at her for the tired joke before his eyes were drawn back to his phone.

The first four messages were sent right after the one Alex had seen last night. The last two were sent hours later. Alex stared at them and tried to imagine Michael thinking about them and deliberating over sending them. He couldn’t.

“Alex?” Rosa was next to his bed now. “What is it?”

Alex shook his head. “Love sucks.”

She laughed. “What’s he got to say now?”

“He said kissing her didn’t help,” he replied, still not processing it.

Rosa raised an eyebrow. “That’s good?”

“I have no idea.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Well. I say ignore it for now. We’ve gotta check out in like half an hour.” Alex glanced at the clock and cursed. Thankfully, Rosa had already packed up their stuff so Alex only had to worry about taking a shower and making sure he was sand free before getting dressed. They were on the road before their check out time passed, the map firmly in Rosa’s hand.

“Where we off to next?”

“Yosemite?”

“Done.”

---

By the end of week two, Alex had a brand new identity set up for Rosa. She’d kept her name, kept Arturo’s even. Rosalita Ortecho was the youngest daughter of Arturo Ortecho and an unnamed mother. She grew up in foster care until she reached the age of 18 and went searching for her dad. It’s an unfortunate coincidence that she shares such a similar name to her older half-sister that she never got to meet.

By week three Alex bought a new cell phone and forced it into her hand. Rosa was quickly becoming obsessed with the wonders of the modern internet age and he was sick of her stealing his phone at every opportunity. Plus, it was high time the Ortecho sisters communicated with each other and not through him.

Week four saw Alex pulling up to CU Boulder. Rosa had asked about Liz’s life in the past ten years and all Alex could really tell her was where she’d gone to school so Rosa insisted on a detour. They bought a shirt at the gift shop that said CU Boulder Family and she made Alex take a picture of her in it in front of the school sign. She sent it to Liz from her new phone and Alex made himself scarce when Liz called her immediately after.

He hadn’t talked to Michael since San Francisco.

The pictures he kept sending didn’t count.

The pictures Michael sent back didn’t count either.

On the one month anniversary of leaving Roswell, he called Maria.

“Hey,” she greeted. She sounded reserved, almost timid, and just like that Alex was over it.

“Hey stranger,” he greeted warmly. “What’s new?” It was how they’d started every conversation while Alex was stationed elsewhere and it cut through the tension like it was nothing.

They chatted for a few minutes, Maria filling him in all of the mundane things that had happened lately. Alex in turn shared a few stories from his and Rosa’s travels.

“I’m sorry,” Maria said when the conversation lulled for a beat. “I wanted to be selfish for once. I should have talked to you but, honestly, I didn’t want to.” No one could ever accuse Maria of beating around the bush. She had a tendency to be brutally honest when needed. Alex wasn’t sure it was needed just now but he appreciated the lack of pussy footing around the issue. “And I should have talked to you after instead of avoiding you.”

“Thank you,” Alex told her.

“Nothing’s happened since that kiss,” she told him.

“No need to hold back on my account,” Alex said weakly.

He heard the sad smile in her voice when she replied. “Yeah I do. You love him too much for me to try anything with him. It was stupid of me to think I could be that selfish. And besides, he loves you too much. I deserve better than being his second choice.”

“He doesn’t-”

“Yes, he does,” Maria cut him off gently. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two because he won’t talk about it with me but he does love you. You should talk to him.”

“I don’t want to,” he protested. He ignored how close it was to a whine.

Maria laughed softly. “Alex. Running away isn’t going to solve your problems. Eventually, you’ll have to come home and they’ll still be here.” Alex didn’t say anything. “You are coming back right?”

“Eventually,” Alex allowed. It was all either he or Rosa could agree to at this point. He looked up as Rosa collapsed into the seat opposite him, her phone landing loudly on the table in front of her. “I’ll talk to you later?”

“Definitely,” Maria promised. “...tell Rosa I said hi.”

Alex agreed and hung up before tossing his phone next to Rosa’s. “Maria says hi.”

Rosa arched an eyebrow. “You two good?”

“Yeah. Takes more than a guy to come between us.”

“Damn straight,” she nodded once.

“How’s Liz?” He asked as the waiter dropped off his food and took Rosa’s order.

She waited until he was gone before answering. “Did you know a person can sound old?” She mused. “My little sister sounds older than me. She sounds…” she shook her head. “It’s like she’s Liz but not at the same time. She’s not my Liz.” Her hands twisted the napkin until it started to shred. “I can accept that music sucks nowadays, that the president is a racist cheetoh, that my phone is basically a computer. But I can’t wrap my head around the idea that my little sister is an adult. She’s older than me and she’s- she’s a grown up,” Rosa laughed mirthlessly. “It’s easier to accept that you’re a vet and you lost a leg in the Middle East than it is to accept that she was okay without me.” The last part came out so quiet Alex wasn’t sure he’d heard her.

“She wasn’t,” Alex remarked idly. “I mean she was but she wasn’t.”

Rosa stared at him. “That made total sense, thank you for that.” The waiter came back and she leaned out of his way as he set down her plate.

Alex smiled. “You’re right, she’s not your Liz. She’s a Liz without an older sister. And she’s okay, she got her degrees, she found something she loves, and she’s okay. But she’s also not because she’s a Liz without you.”

Rosa fiddled with her straw and stared at the table. “I don’t know what to do with that,” she confessed.

“Who says you have to do anything?” Alex leaned forward. “Rosa, no one can tell you what to do or how to act. No one has any clue what the hell you’re going through. What you and Liz are going through. You’re both just going to have to figure it out as you go. I’m sure that’s terrifying but at least you can’t screw it up, right? Because there isn’t a right answer here.”

“You sure? Because I think I’m still gonna manage to screw it up. That’s kinda what I do.” Her lips twisted sardonically.

“No, it’s not,” Alex refuted. “You’re not a screw up, Rosa. You never have been.”

She laughed. “I’d heard that people romanticize the past or whatever but in what world were you living in where I wasn’t a screw up?”

“The one where you were the first person I came out to because I knew I was safe with you,” Alex smiled. “Maybe you made mistakes. But you were- you are a kid. You’re supposed to make mistakes.” He shook his head. “Doesn’t mean you are one.” Rosa still looked like she didn’t believe him but she didn’t argue anymore. “Besides, whatever mistakes you did make, you’re a damn good older sister. You always put Liz first, made sure she was okay.”

“I was running away,” Rosa reminded him with a scoff.

“Sometimes you’ve run,” Alex shrugged. “Sometimes the best thing you can do for someone else is make the right choice for yourself. If you’d stayed in Roswell just for Liz, do you think you would’ve regretted it? Then or now?” Rosa nodded without hesitation. “Then staying would’ve only made you resent her. So leaving was the right choice.”

Rosa thought about that and they made it halfway through their food before she spoke again. “Is that your excuse?”

Alex looked at her in surprise. “What?”

“Is that what you tell yourself? That leaving is best for both of you? Because if you stayed you’d resent him?”

“I-” he blinked. “I don’t know.”

She nodded like he’d just confessed something important. “Yeah.”

“Yeah?”

Rosa hummed. “Where we going next?”

---

They made it to the Atlantic. It took them another month and a few unfortunate detours north wherein they were quickly reminded that they grew up in a desert and winter was not for them but they got there. Rosa wriggled her toes in the sand as the waves washed over them.

She looked up at Alex as he took a picture. “It’s warm.”

“It’s February,” Alex furrowed his brow. They had the beach to themselves and he’d parked his butt on the edge of a pier.

“I know. And yet it’s warm.” She rolled her eyes. “I mean it’s freezing but it’s warmer than the Pacific.” She looked around. “I wonder how warm it would be if we went further south.” They’d hit Virginia Beach because it was the easiest for them to get to but they were only about halfway down the coast.

“You wanna go south?” Alex sighed.

Rosa grinned and nodded.

They went south.

---

“We literally cannot go any further south,” Alex laughed when Rosa suggested it again. They both looked up at the buoy proudly proclaiming this spot to be the southernmost point of the US. He took a selfie of them with it and sent it to Michael. They still hadn’t actually spoken but he refused to stop sending pictures until Michael asked him to. It felt like a lifeline. Like if he stopped, then they stopped. And he wasn’t willing to do that.

“Come on,” Rosa tugged his arm. “The beach is calling my name.”

“The beach is always calling your name!” He laughed. She shot him a wicked grin over her shoulder and skipped off ahead of him.

---

Somehow they found themselves in New York. Alex blamed Rosa. Rosa blamed Alex.

---

Boston was 100% on Alex.

---

“It’s literally a ball of twine,” Rosa gawked.

“It does appear that way, yeah,” Alex agreed. They both tilted their heads to the side as if it would be more interesting from a different angle. It wasn’t.

---

In Austin, Alex finally called Michael. It had been almost four months since they left and it was almost three o’clock in the morning but he’d walked away from a really hot guy with just enough alcohol in him that he didn’t care.

“You pick now to call?” Michael’s grumpy voice answered. “Was three p.m too hard?”

“I can’t get it up with anyone else,” Alex complained. “He was really fucking hot and he knew how to use his tongue and yet nothing.” He thumped his head against the wall. “He had curly hair and all I could see was you.”

“...I don’t know what you want me to say here,” Michael admitted.

“Why didn’t you come back?”

Michael sighed and Alex heard the sheets rustling as he moved around. “Because I was a mess and I wasn’t thinking straight. It’s not an excuse and it’s not an apology. It’s just what it is. If I could go back would I do it differently? Probably.” He paused. “Why’d you leave?”

“Because Rosa was,” Alex answered. “And I didn’t want to let her go by herself.”

Michael hummed. “That the only reason?”

Alex sighed. “You kissed my best friend,” he accused softly.

“Yeah,” Michael agreed. “I did. That’s all I did, by the way.”

“I know,” Alex assured him. “She told me.”

“Yeah, she mentioned she’d talked to you.” There was an accusation in his voice. Alex ignored it.

“What do you want from me?” Alex had to ask. “What do you want from us?” Michael didn’t answer right away. “Do you even know?”

“Do you?”

Alex hung up.

---

“Isobel called me,” Rosa announced as they drove through the endless corn fields of Kansas.

“Oh?”

“She said she remembered some things from back then but she didn’t know what it all meant.”

Alex waited.

“Why do I have to tell her?”

“You don’t.”

Rosa looked at him. “But she doesn’t know. She doesn’t know who we were to each other.”

“And that sucks for her, really it does. But that doesn’t mean you have to make yourself uncomfortable to remind her. I know she’s a painful subject and I can’t imagine trying to talk to her about her would be any less painful.”

She looked out the window. “It’s not.”

“If you want to talk to her, then do it,” Alex advised. “But don’t do it if it’s going to hurt you. Remember it’s okay to pick yourself first.”

They made it to Nebraska before either of them said another word.

---

“How’s Guerin?” Rosa asked in Nashville.

“How’s Isobel?”

Rosa shrugged. “Wouldn’t know. I’m putting me first,” she smiled around her straw. “Guerin?”

Alex let out a heavy sigh. “We don’t know what we want.”

“When’s the last time you talked to him?”

“Talked? Austin.”

“Texted?” Alex’s phone buzzed then, Michael’s name flashing on the screen as if summoned, and Rosa laughed. “So?”

Alex shrugged and turned the phone face down. “It’s a work in progress.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Good? Or…?”

“I don’t know,” Alex sighed. “And that’s the problem.”

“But you love him.” She didn’t phrase it as a question because by this point she knew better.

“And yet we don’t seem to be good for each other.”

“Says who?”

Alex stared at her. “The past ten years.”

Rosa pulled the straw out of her shake and sucked a chunk of ice cream out the other end. “Sounds like you’ve never actually tried before. So how do you know if you’re good for each other or not?”

Alex didn’t have an answer for her.

---

They went to Vegas for Rosalita’s 21st birthday. The less said about that weekend, the better. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas and all that jazz.

(except for the three drunken phone calls to Michael, the unintelligible message on Isobel’s machine, the 27 texts in a group chat with Liz and Maria, and the four videos sent to Kyle - those unfortunately did not stay in Vegas)

---

Rosa drove them back to California so she could learn how to surf. Alex found a bar that reminded him of the Wild Pony with an open mic night and a guitar for him to use.

They stayed there for two months.

---

It was almost eight months after they’d left when their phones went off almost simultaneously in the middle of the night.

Five minutes later they sat in silence, the dark room suddenly oppressive.

“They’re going to wake Max up,” Alex broke the silence.

“She wants me to meet him,” Rosa admitted quietly. She waited half a beat before she was up and out the door. Alex let her go. Sometime in the last few months, Rosa had taken to literally running her stress off. Alex wasn’t sure if three a.m. was a good time to go running by herself but they were in a small coastal town in Maine and he wasn’t too worried.

Instead of following her, he shifted on his bed until he was sitting up against the headboard and he waited.

He didn’t wait long. Maybe ten minutes after Kyle and Liz called them, his phone rang again.

“Kyle and Liz already called,” he answered.

“You asked me what I want,” Michael replied. “I want you. I want you here and I want you with me when I get my brother back because I want my family here and together and I can’t have that if you’re on the other side of the country.”

He said it like it was that simple.

Maybe it was.

“Okay.”

They both hung up after that, no need for any more words. Not when they’d see each other soon.

When Rosa came back half an hour later, sweaty and panting, she took one look at him and nodded in resignation. “We’re going back.”

“I’m going back,” Alex corrected. “You have to decide what’s best for you.”

She flopped onto her bed. “What if I don’t know what that is?”

Alex considered his next words. “Well. You’ve tried running. How about you go home and see about staying?”

She rolled over to look at him. “The entire town of Roswell thinks I’m dead,” she reminded him. “My dad still thinks I’m dead.”

Alex turned to face her, his legs hanging over the edge of the bed. “We just tell them your cover story. They might not buy it but I think they’ll accept it in the face of literally any other explanation. And I think it’s time your dad knew, don’t you?”

“I don’t know, Alex.”

“You don’t have to come with me,” he reminded her. “I can leave you the car and catch a plane back. You can keep traveling.”

She shook her head and stood up. “I’m going to take a shower and then I’m going back to sleep.” Alex let her go.

He managed a few hours of sleep before getting up and taking his own shower and packing his things. In the fifteen minutes he spent running out for breakfast, Rosa got up and packed everything else.

“What?” He stared at the room when he got back, greasy take out in hand. Everything was packed and ready to go. For both of them.

Rosa took the food from him without meeting his eyes. “I miss my sister.”

---

It took them two days to get back. Truthfully it probably should’ve taken them three, maybe even four, but they only stopped for food, gas, and a few hours of sleep when neither one of them could keep their eyes open anymore.

They rolled into Roswell at almost midnight the following night and Alex dropped Rosa off at the Crashdown with a smile and a (gentle) shove out of the car. He waited just long enough to see Liz come downstairs with a bat only to drop it in shock. The two of them collided in a hug so fast Alex honestly wasn’t sure he could say who moved first.

He left them to their reunion and turned towards the scrapyard. There was a fire dying down when he pulled up and a light on in the Airstream. The door swung open as Alex turned the car off and got out. The headlights stayed on just long enough for him to almost close the distance between them before Michael got a good look at him.

“Alex?” Michael breathed.

“Hey,” Alex replied softly, twisting the keys in his hands. Michael hadn’t exactly asked for him to come by when he got back into town but Alex had assumed…

Michael was wrapping his arms around him before Alex registered that he’d left the doorway. He pressed his face into Alex’s neck and held him tight. Alex tensed in surprise before returning the hug in kind. “How was Bar Harbor?” Michael mumbled into his shirt.

“Bah Habah,” Alex corrected with a small grin. Michael pulled back just far enough to raise an eyebrow. Alex shrugged. “It’s how they say it. It was nice.” He smiled. “Good to be home, though.”

“Yeah? Didn’t think you missed Roswell all that much,” Michael questioned.

“I didn’t,” Alex shook his head. “But I got back into town an hour ago and I wasn’t home until just now.”

Michael grinned. “Wow.” He laughed and shook his head. “That was so cheesy.”

Alex blushed and started to pull back. Michael didn’t let him go far before he was pulling back in. He cupped the back of Alex’s head and kissed him gently. “I missed you.”

“Missed you too,” Alex confessed before kissing him again.

---

They woke Max up two days later. The first thing he did was ask for Rosa.

The first thing she did was slap him upside the head. “Don’t ever die on my sister again.”

He laughed breathlessly. “I won’t if you won’t.”

Alex was a little afraid Liz’s face was going to break with how wide she was smiling.

---

Three months later Rosa left again. This time, Alex stayed and Liz went with her. They had a going away party and Arturo gave both of his girls hugs before waving them off. Alex had been right when he’d said the people in Roswell wouldn’t believe Rosa’s new life story but they’d accept it over the truth. No one really questioned how or why Arturo suddenly had a new younger daughter named Rosa who looked exactly like the old Rosa. They didn’t want the answer if they did.

As they drove away, Michael tightened his grip on Alex’s waist. “You want to join them?” He’d already asked Alex that no less than eight times since Rosa announced she was ready to hit the road again.

“No,” Alex answered anyway. “Besides, next time I leave, you’re coming with me.”

---

(Rosa and Liz were gone for almost four months. Max was a mopey mess the entire time but the two came back with a stronger bond than ever and the absolute certainty that Rosa and Vegas are a bad combination. They all had the messages to prove it.)

---

(Alex left a year after they got back. He took Michael with him. They didn’t come back for almost two years. Thank god for Airstreams.)

#very long so if the read more doesnt work i'm deleting it #malex fic #roswell fic #rnm #my fic

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throwingideasatthewall · 4 years ago

Text

The Clone Wars Senate Murders

(Season 2 Episode 15)

Ack .... So are we going to address the guy that got killed? . . Oh This is a new one . . . Oh No . . . The Bab ies - Will Only Pro Long

Oh good

[I was worried I was going to have to pull out The old “Amidala kills children,” Thing,]

Any way, That’s Good I like babies not getting hurt, [Cute things in general]

Oof That’s Not-

[pretty sure that’s the point]

Whelp

Well I have teased Amidala pretty unmercifully, Regarding That Episode, I do still give her a bit of slack (Age appropriate) Because she still has a chance to un-feck the situation [In the story]

Least we know it isn’t her getting poison ed this time,

Oh, never mind,

That actually did apparently help (slightly) (in the unaccountable) (Slightly less toxicity in air)

Smooth

Hold Up Wait, Wasn’t Ready (Sus Pect- Ing- Animation That smooth,

I think that was Sa- tine - Good ref (erence) Picking up right where he left off

C-3PO

Nice

Whelp

-Windows -

Okay, Minor Issue?

Oh it’s a whole bunch of them

That’s nice-

Senator Stonk

“what will the public think if I don’t want to make child soldiers,?”

-Boomer

(Probably)

“But he wants to know how very sorry he is,”

Haha

That is the correct tone

“Sorry-”

Sorry doesn’t get you anything

It’s an attempt to control the narr- ative

And nothing else

(If you screw up just fix the problem don’t keep dragging the tox,”

Votes

That’s nice

This is a very non-toxic healthy tea

(I know he’s kind of assuming authority here

But they seem to be pretty close friends-

Who are covered under the friend- ship rules

“ A.k.a. not doing it to a random stranger who doesn’t like it,”

Good rule

Oh God It’s

THAT

fucker..

With the line about convincing other people of good?

I-

Nope-

Note; this isn’t an official X

It’s just a show my venomous hatred of this guy..

And the episode he Spawned from

Which was the first one to earn a strike from me...

For normalizing abuse...

With that in mind I give this episode the benefit of the doubt...

Even with that concerning opening line

So I will acknowledge I am slightly doubtful

[not quite putting on the SWAT gear, maybe just a bat]

With that- in mind- let’s continue...

... .

Mistakes ...

Em- That at least counts as one tox

Bring up the previous things you did wrong does not fix it

It’s guilt tripping

And an attempt to get the other party to validate your toxicity

Dude’s Towing..

Just after a joke about how sorry doesn’t do anything

I hope the writers can see the irony in that

(Utilize It)

Peace - Dick

Hey-

[Repeat generations/friends can be friends with older members, just Weird,] - Any ,Way-

Aight

Ni’ gh t’

Ah- did they skip over to it or they going?

“exciting isn’t quite the word I would use,”

Toxic, authority assuming, enabling,

Authority assume is not ok regardless of what generation you are

[Dude’s going to be a Traitor, Isn’t he?

They focused on him

Might be actually a good bit of tension if he didn’t (Former Separatist)

Terri-fying

Yeah surrounded by a bunch of toxic boomers who will feel free. To be as doubting distrustful. negative and overall unhelpful

As you allow

And they feel like pushing the boundary...

Mind

Or- gana

Dick move

It’s her personal opinion - and it ain’t tox?

People can have dislikes

Not like she called you an Overinvolved boomer — or held you to any accountability (Yet) ...

Who order-

[This is getting really tox

and I don’t trust the writers ✖️ Just putting it over there in case I need it .....

You

.. [Grooming isn’t cool

Self deprecation isn’t either]

Aight

Also there’s a process you need to go to to speak?

Money doesn’t matter -

Killing - and hatred but the pacifistic bitch vilified

*Spoken in complement

She kicked ASS last episode

*sorry for the vulgarity I’m excited . . Also, so is this Padme’s episode.

Cause Neat.

Good

But are votes casted by clapping?

(I’m not sure)

Okay

Whelp

That’s either a bad guy or damn good red herring

I’m intrigued

Also, whatever happened to Clovis?

Like, he still a senator?

He get kicked?

Uhm

Dude,

False appreciation

Also yeah what was with that dude earlier?

[Uncle what’s his name apologize to him for Padme’s comment despite Uncle what’s his name being the one who made it, implying dude took a serious issue with it,]

Also, Oo, is this working of the previous quote about the line between friends and foes being blurred.

[I like consistency]

So it has to be one of those guys,

The ones in the room with her,

I’m putting a guess on Senator-

The one uncle what’s- his-name apologized to

That guy

[Or it could be that guy that]

No actually he’s probably abstain ed for that reason

Sorry I’m getting ahead - But it does say “Murder,”

And I am curious . Really going over - Also why is that guy bowing?

[Tran-slation?]

Right . obvious villain .

Also light bullshit..

There’s no- way guy could’ve made it over there

The thing is still in session

We saw him less than a minute ago

And she just came in directly

[He’d be halfway down the hallway]

For likely scope

Yeah, this dude is totally a Red Herring - He’s way too over the top ... I’m putting my bets On that human Senator Guy . CHILD SOLDIERS ARE BAD! [sorry I just felt the need to say that,]

Okay, Uncle-what’s his name-

Other person

That guy-

Drink -ing!

Nice

Vi-ctory

Oh, this looks like a problem

Child groomers In- corporate-

Off

Second Red herring!

(It’s that guy and I’m sticking with it)

Private

Yeah, like how did he even get into the room without a key card?

I know Amidala’s a senator and by that, A public servant, But you figure if they’re bringing out the alcohol, they’d shut the door

-Declare off hours

-For the celeb ration-

Separatist Con Spiracy-

She has a point-

You did a hundred percent enable his behavior

(No argument there)

Pro- separatist

Ah, uncle back stabber there would contradict you

Not sure if you’re the same species

But, you do know about his bullshit,

Don’t assume accountability free snarking Territory (They’re all enablers so I’m not even going to bother with the math, About who screwed up more, All the elders here are held to the same standard, About,

Uncle Backstabber a little more

*Since I know what he did,

Account

From the most bastard, of the group,

Who’s the next Red herring?

It’s that dude I swear Soon

Yeah child soldiering is a bitch

As is enabling

But she has no idea what’s going to happen being the past.

Dick, whelp,

Poor Frita (I think)

He’s going he’s going to get roped into this too isn’t he?

“ We you must be doing something right,”

Nah, enabling abusers never a good idea

But then again there’s no rules for dealing with trauma individuals because they aren’t supposed to be any

How long that takes and what it entails

Is down to who ever is asserting accountability (Excluding the actual accountability, cutting Them off)

That’s unnegotiable

(And it can’t involve death)

Too. harsh-

No you haven’t-

Well, yeah

But that’s accessory at best ... Ono you’ve done a wonderful job

No he hasn’t

Don’t coddle the abuser

He’s screwed up pretty consistently

Pretty sure it’s more than five

And was leading to let the future get hecked ...

Very Likely

He wasn’t hurt

The other lady spent a lot more time defending

She should get the ‘don’t listen to them’

If anything just ‘reflect the bitch’ (Neutral) Aight

Too Late!

Can someone stop playing the sad music?

This isn’t sad

And you can’t make me sympathize for the abuser

(I- don’t trust this writer)

That Dude sus

Aight

Faker-

He’s dying you dumb ass

(Having a heart attack probably

All the stress of denial)

Whelp

Call!

Please

Whelp

-Oh wait bitch is dead?

Uhm.

DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD the WICKED WITCH IS DEAD!

(I know that seems really harsh- But dude- deserved it

And I never have to deal with that character anymore!

So,

Al- right the funeral;

Um,

DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD the WICKED WITCH IS DEAD!

(I’m sorry I really hated that character-)

* In reality the loss of life is a very serious thing and I don’t mean to make light of it

But no one is required to feel sad about their abusers- Nor toxic individuals Nor anyone else Yes the loss of life is a serious thing But it should not And could not control a person’s life

I’ve always played accountability over death Or death penalty ...

“...was is a flawed man,”

He tried to sell someone into slavery...

The fact that Amidala was an adult and could get out of the situation Doesn’t forgive how terrible that situation was.

Un-healthy And Wrong

“Own mistakes”

And he tried to guilt trip everyone into giving him validation

Specifically Amidala

Every occasion

[Also flawed Some one breaking the code once or twice, (Under five) Is flawed,

This dude tox,

He should’ve been sentenced to accountability along time ago

For trying to make the world a generally terrible place for someone

Multiple times-

That’s not okay

[and he clearly didn’t learn his lesson]

[Note; whether a person “learned their lesson” or not, Is irrelevant

[They already knew the rules before]

But he never compromised his principles-

HaHAha,

What?

That’s because dude didn’t have any principles

He broke them long before,

Also why the frick does Master Yoda care?

Dude was a politic,

The Fuck,

He engaging this propaganda?

Why?

Why does he care about any of this.

Why does ANY one

[Satine, alright, hermen got murdered and she might be looking for evidence on who-done-it That’s fair

Oh says it’s an everyone event

That makes sense

Guessing the Jedi are required to come or else the branded as that asshole

Fair

Eyes

Aight

What- ever-

Why the guard?

Like cultural customs

Aren’t honor guards for veterans (And possibly extremely high positions, Like Chancellor?

As technical commander of the army?

Like, Explain?

That guy-

Sus

Very Sus-

Pas- sed

I’d say to find his killer

But yeah I can’t really blame anyone for not caring that much about that dude

Specifically Amidala

(Though accountability law..

Frita is honestly my favorite character

I don’t know why.

Possibly his relation to the chancellor and how he still a good natured guy,

Aight

Yeah he was a dick,

Hope those aren’t memories [also totally the Kamooin B- Right?

[Like I’m totally still after Dude, ]

But she’s the only one that touched the bottle]

That we saw?

Dude did suggest it

Still heavily sussing him . No Face . Also is that his wife?

(Don’t think it was ever established)

I-

Mentor

How old is this person?

I’m gonna assume adult

So.

He toxically asserted authority over me.

Or wrong choice of words and they meant like “best friend”

Cause that’s kind of tox,

Me?

- -

This is getting Hella tox

You’re a person

Yeah you might miss him and that’s totally fine

But-

You’re still a person completely able to self determine.

‘ take his place,’

Oh no

Shit

Just what she needs overinvolvement

Right

Not threatening at all

Oh Red . We never see them enter . Right . Well this turned from a private party to a Conference

I thought he was just calling to offer condolences.

Questions.

Oh, Did you not tell the loud ones what happened to their loved one?

(Like normally I’m all for no one should witness anyone else’s death Or that news be public

But this is assumed authority. And that stuff is pretty normal

Regardless of how terrible. Senator Fa

This guy seems like a drip

[Guessing that’s the reason why Amidala is going to end up taking charge,]

Because the Chancellor hired a sham detector Whelp

Dick way to put it

True, the protocol for murder isn’t cutting and clear

Dragging random people into it, isn’t

You see it you’re immediately accountable,

(Only by view of the body, Not by word of mouth)

Because this kind of approach is super in-effective,

Whelp Great

Also there were thousands of senators in that building that could screw up the thing

Only five

(I’ll give the murder mystery It’s Dues, And let it continue, But (im-probabilit- ies is not a good thing)

Might Want To Avoid

(Also if that’s the qualification; I’m sussing Amidala, Dude was a dick to her)

THOUGH I’M STILL- SUSS -ING DUDE IN Blue? dude with the beard

That one.

Build-ing <—- He Sus

Him

—-

Ha!

Here

Hey that was almost emotion, Nice

(also, dang how frequent are murders?

Him

<—-

He Sus

He didn’t take a seat like everyone else

[Also, it was purple Dude wearing purple that’s who I’m talking about]

Also are you going to introduce him as the detective ?

‘cause you’re kind of screwing with these people

Not telling them what’s going on

Answering in vague Snark

Him. ...

For no reason

Considering he was an uncountable toxic frick who allowed it lots of people to get hurt-

I’m mad,

A ight

Right..

And

Okay, He’s got a point

Immediate accountability is the case murder for good reason

Surprised they didn’t start this right after the murder

When it happened

Dude- [i’m not going to criticize the spatial awareness]

Him

<—-

Right there

Murder

A good point since they really haven’t explained anything?

Okay, Right

Or anyone stealthy

Though yeah I guess politicians

[just don’t like the generalization]

Someone good With he rbs..

Okay.

Neat.

Insult.

Poor. Frita

He didn’t deserve this,

(Well yeah he’s an enabler,)

But He’s the least toxic..

[Also poor Frita, Always getting sucked into these mysteries

He’s the shaggy of this damn group

[Likes food and hanging out with people, Gets dragged into bullshit,

Rip

Insulting the whole damn room ..... This character is obnoxious

But in a fun way

The narr -atives- clearly having fun

Ono yeah he was an open dick

[Seriously they’re treating him like-]

No it couldn’t possibly be because he was an ex separatist,

Open book Case,

Con-troversial

Politicians arguing over basic human decency

And common sense

‘Do we really.. Ok that’s enough politic jokes

The movie started it so I had to finish it.

Now on with.

Dude drunk

Dick

“ I’m totally-”

Um, this is delicious corruption

How long until Amidala figures what’s going on?

Whelp

He just left?

He really is a quack

Did you find him on fakedetectives.com?

Palpatine?

Crud

Okay,

That guy,

Target

Good

Aight

Also it’s that guy Authority ass- umer sus,

No No,

Good plan

Ono

Good plan

Evil.

Aight

Good

In-vestigation

Yes- Good

Let’s Do It ...

It’s that guy

Him

He -a dick

Also not to claim authority over him

Not, not to be cu- rious- -

No-pe

Authority figures don’t

He was an ass

Also yeah just put all the possible suspects in the room - That Guy

Uhm

Ty-pho

Agana!

That fricker

Onu looked at him before his death - He came back last to the party-

He was the first to suggest opening the drinks - Also the thing with the detective and him just trying to get over as quickly as possible

He sus,

Aight,

Right, - Don’t - get stabbed

Um-

Aight

Wha-

Ha, such a red herring-

Okay-

Oh, Red herring Co-nference

Didn’t notice the snake lady (Kamoin) Empty Chair - Also they know each other?

Good, evil for them,

Fair

Aight

Also yeah the boomers here didn’t do it - More likely someone from the Present Gen.. .

Theory

That Guy..

Guy’s like damn

Like just give her your time and your place and your alibi.

Whelp, Aight

So I’m pretty sure if I had paid attention to the bottles, That wouldn’t have matched up ...

Yeah he was a separatist

DAMN

Like I saw the hand on the dock But I thought it was an assassin or team up

But

DAMN

I feel verified

Until it played music victory music Over the arrest of a distressed and less toxic person

*While painting the toxic person as a saint

Which I cannot condone

As such;

it earns my most regretful strike;

Official;

For attempting to excuse a toxic person’s actions

* I want to emphasize that this is not ok, a person does not get off for un- accountable actions, simply by apologizing, never mind the fact - that it is an attempt to guilt-trip Invalidate And Gas- light The Recipient, But also should not apply to someone that has repeatedly attempt to Gaslight, guilt trip and sell a person into slavery; (Crossing more than five accounts)

[never mind the selectivi ty of what it is applied “Ano” getting away With slavery, be -cause he Was “So- rry,” gun held to (-near) his Back While Lolo doesn’t just mummer sorry)

That once you commit harm against another person.. it can not be taken back, the victim owes you no sympathy, no right to their emotions, and certainly, no un accountability- Forgive Ness- From what you have done.

You must live with what you have commit

Regard Less

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tinkdw · 7 years ago

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Heeeeey Tiiiiiink, *sidles up (somewhat creepily)* We know that Sam & Dean knew that Mary was a bamf before having them but Mary didnt know that they knew right? So when she came back why didnt she even try to keep up the mumsy facade? She just went straight to hunter!Mary. It wouldve been lovely (& sad) if she'd kept the long hair for a bit longer & tried to be squishy but she didnt bother. Is this a meta decision or was it cut for time or something else? Thanks, as always, you rock. 😄

Hi! FYI my answer to this got a bit shouty, but I’m not shouting at you anon, I just have big feels about Mary’s story and some people’s reaction to it :) So…

I mean… why would anyone keep up a squishy facade when it’s not who they really are?

I kind of feel like this ask answers itself, like, surely this is OBVIOUSLY A BAD THING?!!! Pretending to be someone you’re not?! It’s already shown through Dean that this is a terrible thing to do!

Mary’s story in season 12 is a mirror for Sam, Cas and Dean’s past “protect you” bad ways of dealing with things as well as making her her own character, she is a massive mirror and exposition for the characters we care about (TFW) and how their “protect you at all cost even through lying to you” actions never work out in the end. It’s to make us see that this isn’t what we want, we don’t want toxic codependency and “dying for you” tropes, we want working together, being open and honest! THAT is what works in the end in 12x22. It’s to make us see this and feel this on an emotional level so that it makes us happy when it finally happens in 12x22 and hopefully much more moving forwards for the characters we ultimately really care about, for TFW.

Season 12 was a freaking funhouse of mirrors and it was epic!

It’s also… just totally unfair for her own character to assume that she has to put who she really is below being squishy for her sons? Sons who are grown up big hunter men and seem to her to have it relatively together.

Because importantly they DON’T show her that they’re struggling too, she doesn't KNOW, by the time Dean calls her to say he’s spun out over Cas she’s already been brainwashed, it’s too late!

That is again another part of the story for Dean, to show him that perhaps if he had been more open and honest earlier she may have stayed and helped him? If they hadn't all gone off to their own rooms on their own in that really sad last scene of 12x02, perhaps if they’d been open and talked, if generally Dean and Mary were both open and honest they could have helped each other and Sam would have helped them too?! A lack of honesty out of wishing to protect / not facing your own issues leading to problems. I mean this isn't new :) BUT it’s now leading somewhere big in the way it was framed and boy did it by 12x22.

Anyway, meanwhile she is really struggling, coping with coming back from Heaven and a place where she was happy with her two babies into a harsh world where the first day she comes back she ends up killing someone, meeting her son as a grown ass adult, his Angel boyfriend, her other son being kidnapped. She is really really struggling and, true to Winchester fashion, she bottles it up, isn't honest and tries to Keep Calm and Carry On, tries to protect her boys and look after them from afar. It’s not RIGHT but she’s SUFFERING TRAGIC LOSS AND IS A MESS!

Perhaps it’s because I’m a 30 year old woman trying for my first child but yeah, this idea that Mary just has to put on a squishy facade and be a perfect mother for any amount of time, cutting the crusts off the PB&Js and not her own character with her own issues that are CLEARLY SHOWN FROM THE OFF is really worrisome to me. She doesn’t just serve the narrative as Sam and Dean’s mom, they made her her own character with her own issues and I LOVE that. It’s kinda the whole point of season 12 too, that it’s Mary and Cas who hold the narrative in man ways, are mirrors of each other, struggling, depressed, trying to protect them and pulling a Winchester to do it. Showing that when Sam and Dean did it for each other it was bad then too!

I feel like I’m often defending Mary but…. really?! I just see her in this totally awful position, step away from seeing everything through Sam and Dean’s eyes (which is SO absolutely necessary to make sense of this season re: Cas’ actions too, so it’s clearly what we are supposed to do) and its blatant that her story is absolutely TRAGIC.

To just say she didn’t both is like…. I don’t even know how to respond without being upset by it to be honest. I abhor this idea that everyone in the show has to revolve around making Sam and Dean’s lives better regardless of their own huge tragic struggles (Mary’s issues with returning to this apparently awful life in comparison to what she had in Heaven, just compare it with Buffy after she got back from Heave and her season long struggle, it’s so much the same but we just see it more from Buffy’s side as she’s the main character but the concept is clearly supposed to be the same! and then there’s also Cas who is struggling with extreme suicidal depression in season 12 and I get so upset by people who are upset with how he apparently “treats” Dean in season 12 and how this makes Dean kinda sad and worried, boohoo, like JEEZ YOU try being depressed and a total mess and see how you cope!!!)(Not you anon! Just you in general).

So yeah, whilst it might have been fluffy as a squishy nice idea for Mary to be sweet and lovely and motherly to the boys, it’s just not her story in season 12. Also it just doesn’t fit the way that Dean had to figure out his shit either.

Her story is one of coping with the tragic loss of her perfect false paradise, trying to do the best she can for her boys, pulling a classic Winchester and lying to them, hiding what she’s doing because she’s trying to protect them (and if I hear anyone say that this is bad and makes them dislike her then well I don’t know what to say cos this is what Dean has been doing for 12 years and we don’t hate HIM now do we?! The point is to show us that what Dean in particular but all of TFW have done like this in the past is bad but it doesn’t make them bad people :p).

So yeah, the narrative is that of course we are supposed to struggle with what Mary has done and totally see that it’s bad (and SO IMPORTANTLY see that it is/was bad when Sam and Dean and Cas do it too!) but NOT to totally vilify her (not that thats what you’re doing anon, I just see other people do it and it just… confuses me so much. It’s missing the point so hard).

Mary’s story is to show us that the “protect them” way of doing things is wrong, the “working together” way of doing things is what works, that’s why it works in 12x22.

She also serves to further Dean’s story through his being so upset with her that he finally turns around and says “I DESERVE MORE” and lo and behold he becomes so emancipated over the season that we get him literally blowing down his facade / walls in 12x22 in the same episode that he faces her and is HONEST with her about how he feels.

I’m sure that we will see much more Mary being a better mother to the boys next season, fulfilling more of the standard “mother” role, but that just wasn’t her story in season 12.

I also kinda love it cos she was SUCH a standard mother figure in her “kill the mom” trope in the pilot that for her to come back and be totally the OPPOSITE of the “classic sweet mom” trope was fantastic!!!!! Kudos!!!!!

Let Mary be her own character and for the boys to learn who she really is, not just as their mom but as a person, in order for them all to get to loving each other for WHO they are and not WHAT they are… I want them to love her not just for being their mom and making them cookies and being sweet but for who her badass hunting character is, how she might have a great sense of humour or loyalty or… whatever, not JUST the fact that she’s their mom you know?!!

I hope so anyway :D

#mary winchester #season fanfic 12 #season who we are 13 #i dunno how this got so long but heres all my feelings on mary anyway :p #Anonymous

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allaboutsarahxo · 5 years ago

Text

Some thoughts on recent events

I’m sure most people will find the events of yesterday sad, terribly tragic or whatever word you want to use. It seems the only thing anyone can agree on currently is that it’s awful Caroline Flack felt there was no other way out. But I wanted to address some things more coherently than I was able to in shock yesterday, because I feel there are important points to be raised (besides the obvious) that I haven’t seen on the internet yet.

I find most celebrity deaths sad. But last night and earlier today, I cried for Caroline Flack and her family/friends. I don’t think I even cried when Alan Rickman died and I adored him. It took me by surprise for a while, because while I knew I liked her (and I was glad she won Strictly), I hadn’t realised I liked her that much. But then lying in bed last night, struggling to sleep for all the thoughts whirring in my head, I realised what it was that had made me so much more inescapably sad about it all. In 2013, I experienced trolling for the first time. I’m not even sure if it was called trolling back then, it feels like a lifetime ago thankfully. I’d been bullied before of course, quite badly in fact in my first year of school (which was only discovered when I came home with my back black and blue from repeated events and as I bent forward my shirt accidentally revealed what was happening). But the beauty, if you will, of that bullying was that when I went home it was over. The bully lived nowhere near me as far as I know and I had a very happy home life, not perfect, but happy. However, over the 13 years between these incidents, the internet had blown up. I’d joined Twitter just over a year earlier and was at college, very happy with my A levels, my friends and my relatively new boyfriend. Someone at the college decided they’d taken a dislike to me. To this day I don’t know why. But they saw fit to take photos of me without my knowledge or consent, critiquing every little thing about me, from my laugh and smile, my dress sense to how I interacted with my boyfriend. Alright PDA’s aren’t everyone’s thing and looking back I cringe, but did I deserve a whole group of people I didn’t know spreading vicious comments about me? No. It wasn’t until someone I’d known years saw it about on Twitter and showed me that I knew what was going on. Thankfully I had a fierce friend at college who was willing to defend me to the death. We reported it to the principle together and they had a word and stopped it happening. But here’s the kicker. This all kicked off over the half term holidays. I had to wait two weeks for it to get sorted out. Thankfully I threw myself into my homework, kept to myself and tried to divert attention from me in any way, and it worked. But at the time, my mum was furious saying that had I been a more fragile person, I might never have been able to come back to college because so easily it could have all got too much. At the time I thought she was being overdramatic, but back then my mental health was pretty good and I’d never known what it was like to be so low. I’ve since learned that’s a very real reality for so many people, celeb or civilian. Imagine seeing hundreds or thousands more tweets slagging you off than I saw. Easy to see how that’s too much. It hurt me sure, but never once was I suicidal, I could still see how much I had to live for. Had it carried on relentlessly, things may have been different. I never thought I’d say it about that experience, but I was lucky.

Now imagine you’re not just seeing it on Twitter. You’re seeing it on every media platform. From when you check your phone in a morning, to when you nip out to buy milk and you’re plastered all over the front page. It’s on TV when you want to just flick through channels, no down time from it, no let up.

The other thing I wanted to address is that people don’t feel any sympathy for Caroline because of the trial due to start next month. They’re using the mere allegation as a fact and asserting that she was, categorically, a domestic abuser. Truth be told, I don’t know what I feel about that, I still don’t know if I believe she was abusing him or not, there’s things on both sides that don’t add up or you could argue for/against and talk yourself round in circles for hours. But that’s not the point. Sadly, the pressure got too much before Caroline could prove her innocence or the CPS could prove guilt. But the reason I bring this up isn’t to debate guilt or innocence. The point I’m making is we’re seeing this time and time again now. It’s so difficult because nobody wants to be on the wrong side of it and look back on history thinking ‘why did I believe him/her when they were guilty?’ Nobody wants to make life harder for victims by not believing them. I certainly don’t want to see victims suffer at all, let alone any more than they already have. But also, as Paul Bettany tweeted a year or so ago trial by Twitter is dangerous. Anybody can say anything on Twitter now, without any proof required and ruin somebody’s life. How many tweets were there boycotting Johnny Depp and actively encouraging others to ruin his life in one way or another? Thousands. Probably millions. Far more than I could be bothered to scroll through. Fast forward a little bit and audio is leaked where Amber Heard admits to abusing Depp. Rather than the other way around. How many tweets did I see apologising for believing her without proof and vilifying him? I saw 3. Especially if you’re already in a dark or vulnerable place, seeing all those tweets with death threats etc and people absolutely convinced you’re a horrible person/criminal, again I can see how suicide seems like the only way out. It seems like we’ve forgotten how to question things/people/behaviours/stand up for right or wrong without just slinging mud, insults and threats. I’ve known people be falsely accused for various things before and it’s always so damaging, beyond people’s belief. But again, as social media has developed, it all just seems to be getting worse and yet more inescapable.

Traditional print media/online journalism I’m not even going to touch. Because so much of what has been said already I agree with/have reposted. I’m sad to say, I doubt it will change much. Especially since they’ve already been at it photographing Caroline’s ex-fiancee in his first moments of grief.

And just in case anyone is upset by anything I’ve written here, I’m human. These were the jumbled up thoughts in my head that I thought I’d try to make sense of/shed some light on and give my opinion. It’s just that opinions. You don’t have to agree with them or even read them. But my intention is never to upset/offend/anger. Honestly, generally I always aim to please people, always have. If I’ve made a mistake in what I’ve said, feel free to correct or educate me. All I ask is you do it nicely. I’ve always quoted this but it seems more appropriate now than ever - “In a world that has decided that it’s going to lose it’s mind, be more kind my friends, try to be more kind.” (Frank Turner)

Night all x

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recentanimenews · 5 years ago

Text

Shield Hero Fans Cheer for Naofumi's Justice

It's that time you've been waiting for, y'all! If you haven't watched this week's episode of The Rising of the Shield Hero, please shield your eyes from these spoilers!

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

This week's episode starts with the BEST TEAM (let's not forget that!), the Shield Hero team all rounded up. But all of this seems quite hazy... Is this a dream? Is this a vision of what's to come in the future? What exactly is going on here?

Before we get any sort of answer, we're brought back to reality. Oh yeah, that's right, during the fight against the Pope, that nifty Blood Sacrifice skill Naofumi used kiiinda ended up roughing him up quite a bit, huh? After receiving top care from the royal family and having slept for 3 days, it also seems he's gotta take it easy for a whole month before he's in top shape again. Geez, that's some nasty damage! Thankfully, thanks to Fitoria (who DID warn him to not use the skill, but Naofumi was all like "Did y'all hear sumn...?), Raphtalia, Filo and Melty weren't affected by the curse.

Our FIERCE QUEEN appears to greet Naofumi and assure that her saving him is what was obvious to do, after all, he's one of the four Cardinal Heroes who defends the world from the Waves of Catastrophe. But...wait a minute. Something isn't quite right here. If it that was the case, why was Naofumi so hated from the get-go? It just looks like anyone who would be summoned as the Shield Hero would be vilified no matter what! There's gotta be an explanation for this mess...

It turns out that while the Queen was away taking part in an international forum to best strategize on how to fight the upcoming Waves, the plan to summon all four Cardinal Heroes in Melromarc had been set in motion by everyone's favorite King and Princess! The forum had decided that the major nations would EACH summon ONE hero to fight the Waves together in unity... so it's understandable that they'd be fuming about Melromarc getting all four heroes. The Queen was busy this whole time essenitally trying to put out fires and keep things amicably between the nations; she's had it rough this whole time!

Alright, but what's the deal with the harsh treatment towards the Shield Hero? The King apparently hated the previous Shield Hero, so that hatred carried over to whoever would become the next Shield Hero. The Three Heroes Church saw a valuable opportunity and hurried to take advantage of the King. Meanwhile, being so obsessed with power, Malty even joined in to try and snatch the seat to power as quickly as she could! Yikes, this is quite the conondrum here... Things sure would have been different if Naofumi was summoned in another country!

Finally, some good food

This doesn't mean that Naofumi is leaving empty-handed, oh no, far from it! The Queen declares that she'll not only clear his name, but that he'll be honored with the greatest award Melromarc has to offer and 500 gold pieces. CHA-CHING! After all that trouble Naofumi went through, it was about time, really!

In addition to that... due to the King's and Malty's meddling, they are to be punished... but in what way? We don't really hear what the punishment is, but it sounds to be severe... The Shield Hero party will have to wait until the next day to find out when they attend the hearing to clear Naofumi's name. What...exactly is going to happen here?

IT'S A SAD THING THAT YOUR ADVENTURES HAVE ENDED HERE!!

We're in the dream world again, and OHMYGOD the King and Malty are going to be beheaded?! They're responsible for summoning the Cardinal Heroes without permission, and their orchestrations led to many deaths all over the world; they're criminals! Is this their fate?! Naofumi, even though he recognizes that they deserve to die for what they did, has some inner conflict as to whether this would be the right outcome or not.

Finally, the day has finally come where the Shield Hero's name is cleared! The crowd outside was enormous as word spread about that there are some important announcements to be made. The other 3 Cardinal Heroes remain as clueless as ever as all they want to do is party right after defeating the Pope. Little do they know what lies in store for the day's announcements...

Kicking off the event with a bang, it's time for the King's and Princess' trial! Hey, the other heroes wanted some excitement, right? They've definitely got some right here! The King goes on and on about how the Devil of the Shield brainwashed her too, but she snaps her fingers like Thanos, freezes him in place, and bluntly states there was obviously never an ability like that and that he should've known that fact. Our Queen isn't playing any games here!

We all know how much of a liar Malty is, so getting a fair trial is going to be kinda hard with her bad habits. But mama knows best and the Queen places a temporary slave crest on Malty so that the truth will finally be in full display whether she likes it or not!

Bit by bit, the truth is spilled out to paint the King's and Malty's true colors. They colluded with the Church (even though the Church tried to eliminate the royal family) for their own agendas. Malty tried to assasinate Melty, and tried to pin it on the Shield Hero, just so she could be next in line to the throne. The King worked with the Church to summon all the Cardinal Heroes while the Queen was away. To thrwart the Shield Hero, Malty falsely accused him of an assault that never even happened in the first place. Of course, idiot hero Motoyasu refuses to believe this and he forms a slave pact with Malty to get the "real" truth out.

Unfortunately for him, all she spews are lies one right after the other! He can't play hero for an obvious villain! It soon becomes clear that both the King and Princess only sought power for their own selfish reasons and caused grief and suffering to the nation all over. And so the Queen declares her verdict...

Aultcray Melromarc XXXII and Malty Melromarc are GUILTY of high treason and conspiracy! They are to be stripped from their status... and sentenced to DEATH!

Here we are again... but this time, it isn't a dream. The crowd is desperate to see justice after some of their loved ones' blood was spilled due to the King and Princess' ravenous plot. Malty cries out to her darling Motoyasu, only to be rightfully ignored.

...And then the unthinkable happens: she calls out to Naofumi for HELP! WHAT?! EXCUSE YOU?! She's hollering and pleading at him to help her out of this! Wow... no shame... BUT! Notice how her slave crest doesn't go off? This is a genuine call for help here. Only Malty can beg the one she planned to kill so she can save her hide!

Instead of their lives, Naofumi proposes that their names be stripped and...changed to names of his choosing to live under for the rest of their lives! And my goodness, they're truly unique names, wouldn't you say? I gotta say, there's something about the Queen making the official motions for their new names and saying those name VERY CLEARLY that's completely HILARIOUS!

Along with that motion, the Three Heroes Church is now abolished, and in its place will rise the Four Heroes Church as Melromarc's state religion. Now ALL Cardinal Heroes will be included, as they should have from the very beginning!

Now with sweet justice being served, it's time to party, but we all know that isn't Naofumi's style. Even though he's not up for partying, he WILL work with Melromarc and all the other nations of the world to best fight the Waves, because they're the Four Cardinal Heroes and that's what they're supposed to do. This proclamation earns the admiration of his peers (not like he wanted that anyways!).

BEST TEAM Shield Hero gets ready to set off, but with one less member; Melty is finally safely home after all the chaos she had to endure. While she huffs under her breath that she should've thanked the Queen, it's revealed that the Queen was going to offer her own life in exhange for the King's and Malty's if he hadn't stopped the execution. Had he seen right through her? Either way, things worked out for her favor, thankfully!

The Shield Hero Team finally get the salute they deserved, but Naofumi reflects that he'd gained something far superior for being the Shield Hero. But what of the Waves? Don't forget about Glass! What dangers will come their way now that the Melromarc royal family drama is over and done with? We'll have to wait and see!

But for now, let's check out what y'all thought of this amazing episode!

mfw watching shield hero ep 21 pic.twitter.com/c8Y9a7znSv

— skepty (@skeptycally) May 29, 2019

NEW SHIELD HERO IS THE BEST THING EVER

— ivX (@ivxmusic) May 29, 2019

Was excited to see a certain someone die but I'll accept what the shield hero proposed@ShieldHeroEN pic.twitter.com/x4jLPduPog

— Chino (@El_chin007) May 29, 2019

Naofumi: STOP Everyone: wut? naofumi: death is too good for them Ahhh, ok ???? #shieldhero pic.twitter.com/8qTyLuyGIB

— L3SIU (@L3SIU) May 29, 2019

THE NEW SHIELD EPISODE MADE ME SCREAM !!! HFGDSSHHH

— the strongest hero. (@_infernopassion) May 29, 2019

Not that I'm complaining, as we'll hopefully get answers to questions about the Waves and Curse Shield, but Shield Hero could've ended with this episode and I would've been mostly ok with it.

— Giant Bird Friend (@Tinytig) May 29, 2019

Me knowing there will be only four more episodes of Shield hero ;-; pic.twitter.com/tvrBWqwYvb

— Rᴀᴘʜᴛᴀʟɪᴀ ♡ (@Raaphtalia) May 29, 2019

Sweetest moment of the episode. Raphtalia being so happy that Naofumi will finally have his name cleared and people really see who he really is like she has ☺❤ #shieldhero pic.twitter.com/AhYl86bESD

— Chandler Ingram (@Chandler_Ingram) May 29, 2019

A True Hero with a Heart of gold who forgives even the ones who betray him and impose false charges on the him Thats a True Hero the SHIELD HERO Ep21 the most satisfying episode till now. Our Hero Gains what he lost his Honor and Respect he truly deserved????????#shieldhero pic.twitter.com/y9ZWS7sZw0

— Sovik Pan???? (@sovikpan48) May 29, 2019

Me: *Watches Rising of the Shield hero episode 21* Also me: pic.twitter.com/wZ4pWWWGMR

— ᏟᎽ℘ℛʉᏕ (@NewBarnabyP02) May 29, 2019

The Rising of The Shield Hero is the best anime of 2019 so far Don’t @ me.????????‍♂️???????? pic.twitter.com/NGtut0o8z7

— Nomad ???????????? EDCLV???????????? (@Trav_Da_Savagee) May 29, 2019

Give some love to the official Shield Hero twitter and Facebook fan page where you can discuss the latest episode with fans every week!

Watch The Rising of the Shield Hero on Crunchyroll

----

Nicole is a features writer and editor for Crunchyroll. Known for punching dudes in Yakuza games on her Twitch channel while professing her love for Majima. She also has a blog, Figuratively Speaking. Follow her on Twitter: @ellyberries

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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