#and guess what children are the easiest to manipulate

[sk3l3t0n1n]

i wanna feel safe again...

[somewhereincairparavel]

🐚 Daughter of Neptune headcanons list 🌊 Part Two..

note: dam this was superrr long aswell, I hope I didn't bore y'all lol, I really enjoyed writing this actually! Again, this is the continuation of my first fic, this mostly includes big brother percy! x reader, and yes there will be a part 3 aswell, that focuses more on reader x bf! Jason, gosh I was not expecting this to become an actual series LOL! This part is mostly Percy centric! Also, i wasn't expecting my first hc list to get that many notes?? Like 72 notes is a LOT for me especially if it's for something that I've never done before! So thank you!

•Jason's disappearance would drive you INSANE. I'm not even kidding, those 6 months would be the worst you've ever had. Almost as bad as Annabeth, and it's not just because your maybe-boyfriend disappeared. It's because your sleep was PLAGUED with nightmares about this mysterious lady who called herself the earth mother. She kept trying to recruit you to her side. Gaia was trying to make you join her. But you didn't even know that it was Gaia, at that point. 

• Since you were linked to the earthen side of Neptune, and Gaia wanted ALL forces of earth to join her against demigods, you were her main target, along with Percy and Jason. You'd be the easiest to manipulate amongst all big three children , since your powers reeked of earth.

•You anxiously told Reyna about these nightmares, but she waved off the suspicion as stress, with you being unnerved about Jason’s whereabouts or something.

•You also got dreams about a teenage boy with black hair, wandering around the streets of San Francisco helplessly, something about this boy felt super tranquil (yes it's Percy lol)

•And don't get me started about the senators' uproar about their praetor’s disappearance. Conspiracies swirled around the whole camp. 

•Octavian was NOT helping the matters, the guy was such a drama king. He cooked up this wild story that YOU were the reason Jason disappeared, taking advantage of the point that Jupiter and Neptune were rivals to give himself an upper hand in his argument. 

•He also latched on to the point that all of these atrocities were happening because YOU were a bad omen to camp, which unfortunately, convinced the whole senate. The whole camp now hates you more than ever. 

•And guess what happened? You weren't even a full centurion anymore. Ppl thought you would lead your cohort to conspire against everyone, so they forced poor Reyna to transfer the centurion-ship to Gwendolyn.

•Octavian also deliberately refused to look for Jason because he was happy to get rid of the son of Jupiter.

•Nico and Reyna were your only support systems at this point. Reyna elected you as the unofficial praetor (not that she told anyone else, of course, this was a secret between you both, she needed another praetor in place of jason, and she badly wanted it to be you, but the senators begged to differ) so you were secretly helping Reyna to help reinforcements to look for Jason.

• Nico would actually be such a big comfort to you. Bringing you coca cola from McDonald’s while you both just sat in silence in pluto's shrine wallowing in sadness lol

•Okay okay I'm yapping so much, so here comes the best part. The most anticipated one. Your brother Percy Jackson's arrival. 

•You actually weren't in camp when he dramatically came by, you were in Temple hill, trying to convince a thick headed octavian to burn his god damn bears and issue a prayer to Jupiter about Jason. That jerk was so stubborn. So you were practically yelling at each other.

•That's also EXACTLY when Percy and Hazel get sent to Octavian by Reyna. So while they were approaching you, you were just in shock and stopped mid way from the argument you and Octavian were currently having and stared at Percy. He was the same boy in your dreams.

• This strange boy had worn the same expression as he stared at you. Shock. Unbeknownst to you, Percy had been having dreams about your wispy face as well. 

• Hazel told Percy about you after he dramatically charged into camp as a child of Neptune. Percy would actually be SO excited when he finds out that he has a sister in this mysterious camp. 

• But TWO children of Neptune? At the same place? Same time? This all brought on such an uproar amongst campers

• Octavian had practically hardwired the whole “Neptune children are unlucky” thing into ppls mind so much that everyone was worried that Percy's arrival meant something bad was happening.

• When Percy met you though, he'd actually find you very closed off and rigid. But he cannot help being soft around you, since you were practically his younger sister.

• You'd deliberately avoided him a little. Because you were SO overwhelmed with everything. How did you dream about your nonexistent brother before you actually knew he existed? You actually had a hard time trusting him with everything going on, so you'd act a little cold around him for the first day. Even Reyna would notice your lack of enthusiasm when you welcomed Percy to your legion.

• But you failed to intimidate Percy. like miserably. You'd shoot him grumpy looks, only to find him smiling back at you. You felt kind of bad now. Since Percy looked like he badly wanted to talk to you.

• so. You planned a secret excursion. You were both in the same cohort, so you had no problem tapping Percy on the shoulder at lunch, and told him to meet you at your dad's shrine at around 12 AM.

• Percy was super confused at your sudden offer but he obliged anyway out of curiosity.

• so he'd be walking around the shrine like a lost puppy, admiring how new his dad's statue looked. Hazel had told him about your efforts to bring glory to Neptune, and how you'd never miss a day to clean his shrine, and percy'd admire that. Like a lot. He knew there's more to you than what people said about you in camp.

• "Good old dad huh?" You'd say as you came inside the shrine, startling Percy so bad that he'd trip on his own shoelace.

• That shit was hilarious as hell lol making you holler with laughter.

• He'd be super embarassed but would totally laugh along with you.

• Okay so the first few minutes would be painfully awkward. I mean, what do you say to your long lost sibling you never knew you had?

• But Percy would interrupt by telling you that he'd had dreams of you. Which shocked you to the core. Because you had them aswell, that piece of information would leave him shocked aswell.

• So after this info dump, the conversation after would flow so naturally?? Like where did all the awkwardness go? You'd both talk about everything, you'd tell Percy about Jason (though you kinda left out the boyfriend bit lolz) and he'd tell you about Annabeth.

• You'd walk Percy around the streets of New Rome, breaking curfew, like you always did, as you told him "well you deserved a proper sisterly tour of the city yesterday, I'm sorry I didn't give you that, I just had a lot on my mind, I DO want to get to know you more, you are my brother, after all".

• All of these words would leave Percy overwhelmed tbh. He'd been so scared that you wouldn't talk to him, and that you may not want have a sibling dynamic with him. But he was wrong. You were still a little awkward, but you were trying. And that made him feel a rush of brotherly affection for you. You were nothing like the scary/grumpy heartless girl you were perceived to be by the other campers.

• the whole excursion-with-your-brother-to-bond with-him thing actually worked. You had no idea what you were doing, but it worked. You got to know stuff about him, even though he barely remembered a thing, and as much as you hated to admit it, you sort of overshared with him. The bullying you faced at camp, how everyone called you names, scoffed at you, how Octavian was being. well. Octavian. Your dad not noticing you, So all in all, you shared basically everything with guy. And no, you still left out the boyfriend detail, he ain't gonna know about that lol

• It actually helped you get those things off of your chest. But at the same time, you had too much fun maintaing the grumpy mean girl persona, and now that you've given him your tragic villian backstory, you no longer had the "mystery" aura around you anymore, and you were sure Percy thought of you as a small marshmallow he needed to protect. You didn't need protecting.

• And you were SO right, Percy got super protective the next day, the change was SO visible, that even Reyna noticed and asked you about it.

• you kept the sibling excursion trip a secret though lol no way were you scrubbing the streets with toothbrushes again. You'd broken enough rules.

• So now, the curfew thing just became an inside joke between you guys lol

• Percy would SO introduce you to blue food. Tell me he wouldn't.

• Okay so after loads of protesting and senate Mayhem, you'd go on the quest to free thanatos, along with Percy, Hazel and Frank, where you also found out that you were a part of the prophecy. You'd discover that you and Percy's powers would work SO well together.

• You both would look like a power duo in all honesty, you'd cause the earth around you to tremble, while Percy made the waves accelerate. Frank and Hazel almost fainted omg

• Octavian was SO sure you were going to fail the quest.

• Jokes on him, his expression when you and Percy rode on Mrs O Leary, carrying the golden eagle together, screaming "Twelfth Legion! Fulminata!" was hilarious. He looked angry, shocked and murderous all at the same time.

• I kid you not, The amount of celebration you and Percy got after you came back was insane. You were both elected as praetor the same day. Yes, I know there can only be 2, but at that point, not even Octavian could deny the fact that you both deserved praetorship. (Sucks that it only lasted a few days before you guys ran off to the argo ii)

• Percy's arrival had helped you as a person, and helped restore glory to your father Neptune and the twelfth legion. All of a sudden, Neptune children, were regarded as lucky charms. You both would definitely go down in the Camp Jupiter history reports as the sibling duo who restored the golden eagle to Rome again, after many many years.

• okay now that the plot centric stuff with Percy is over, lemme just add a few extra stuff.

• you and Percy would have SUCH different auras, it was actually hilarious. You'd be dark and broody, Percy would be calm and serene (well, most of the time) which was GOOD. Bc if you both were mad, then I'll send the world some thoughts and prayers, mostly prayers. Since it would end in an avalanche mess.

• also, i forgot to mention, you broke your imperial gold sword in the quest, that left you shattered. Bc that sword held memories. But in return? You got something SO much better.

• Your good old father, Neptune, had appeared in the praetorship ceremony, (leaving Octavian terrified) and congratulated you and Percy for being "such a pride symbol" for him (Percy got SO mad, like oh. NOW you notice us pops?) but yeah, Neptune, told you that your efforts to restore glory to him was very much noticed ad appreciated, by him.

• Neptune had given you something else as a replacement for your sword. It was a pearl bracelet but when you tapped it twice, It turn into this unique aqua coloured metal, that would transform into any sort of weapon you wanted. But the catch, is that it could only be one weapon at a time. This was eerily similar to Jason's coin-sword and Percy's Riptide.

• Percy had sassed the hell out of Neptune on your behalf though lol I mean, the guy has every right to be angry, His sister was neglected for SO long?

• in a way, percy also felt super guilty bc now tha he got his memories back, he knew Poseidon would visit him a lot, but his Roman side never visited his other child up until this point? He felt like he had a privilege you didn't.

• Sally would totally love you. She'd coddle you as much as she does percy tbh.

Update: part three is just out!

https://www.tumblr.com/somewhereinhogsmeade/746677981633724416/daughter-of-neptune-headcanons-list-part?source=share

[ewitsrin]

fuck you it's autistic infodumping time pokemon legends arceus spoilers under the cut

Volo is, for all intensive purposes, a complete idiot. Like. A TOTAL dumbass. A charming, manipulative dumbass, but a dumbass all the same.

Let's go over the easiest thing to point out first; If Arceus wasn't going to show up for the MC, its chosen hero, until they had "sought out all Pokémon", then it obviously wouldn't have shown up for this random blonde twink who decided that complete and utter global wide genocide was the solution to his problems. Even if he had won and gotten all of the plates and played the flute, Arceus would have taken one look at who was trying to summon it and went "wow okay, no." Why would God go "fuck, my literal child hero got defeated. guess i gotta bend to the will of this batshit insane dude with a shitty hairstyle and destroy everything i created." when it could just. Not do that.

Secondarily, by helping the MC in order to manipulate them into doing what he wanted later on, bro was basically giving them a loaded gun to use against him later. He's inadvertently the reason they managed to create the red chain, which eventually lead to them catching a literal God of their own. By the time he gets to the point where he betrays them, he has basically played a part in giving them access to 2 Gods and 3 Mythical, God-Like beings. Even if he wasn't expecting them to use them in the final fight, they'd still have the ability to whip them out whenever they so pleased. He might of had Giratina, but now they have access to two of Arceus's favored children *and* the lake guardians. Bro did not think that through.

Finally, and might I add, another obvious point; he. he could have just. not revealed his big plan to the MC prior to taking the plates? like. if he said "may I see the plates? I have an idea!" they probably would have handed them over. maybe not, but telling them that he was about to kill them and everyone that they loved before at least trying that was. not very smart. him being completely and utterly confident in his ability to defeat them as well despite the revelation of his true intentions was also not smart. he watched this kid blaze through the whole region, befriend gods, and tame gigantic beasts, and thought "no yeah my demon worm has this in the BAG." like ok sweetie. whatever you say.

tldr volo is a big dummy. also i haven't actually replayed the game in a while so maybe i got some things inconsistent but uhhh. yea.

[unstablemotions]

i don't know much about what happened. it didn't happen to me

tw // incest, csa, alcoholism, grooming

my grandma and grandpa would abuse their own daughters. emotionally, physically and sexually. i know my grandpa beat my mom so bad she would faint. i know he molested my aunt

my grandma had a daycare when my mom and her sister were still kids. the kids were abused by my grandma. i don't know in what ways, but i have my guesses

my grandma later worked with elderly people at a retirement home. most of these people she took care of had dementia. she might have abused them too, but i don't know

my grandma used to take care of me as a kid pretty often. i used to love her. i loved the attention she gave me and how special she made me feel, but it also felt gross. i remember her telling me she loved me more than my sister and that it was our secret. i got upset she'd say that about my little sister. i started to notice the red flags. she was so controlling and manipulative, but i was 5 or even younger. i don't remember

she'd always want me to perform for her like a circus monkey. i needed to be a perfect little pretty girl who was smart and charming. she wanted me to dance for her. she wanted me to show off. she would slap my ass and talk about how petite it was. when i hit puberty, she'd start talking about my breasts with my mom and how big they were. it made me feel gross. they wanted me to be an alluring little lolita who they could live through

i also remember masturbating every night from when i was maybe 4? i would imagine myself getting killed by a monster while doing it and then play dead and try to see how dead i could seem. i'd hold my breath and keep my eyes open a little. my genitals would be sore from it. i don't know why i did this, but i knew it was "wrong" and i was ashamed. i remember my mom putting a cream on my genitals, i think because they had a rash. don't remember if it was from me masturbating, poor hygiene or something else. i don't remember the name of the cream, but i remember the smell and the tube. it was something from the pharmacy

i don't think my grandma is a pedophile. like i don't think she's attracted to children. i think she's a sadist who likes hurting people and she just picks the easiest target. i never got to know my grandpa since my grandma divorced him long before i was born because of his alcoholism. i don't know if he had any other sexual victims than his two daughters. maybe he has more kids than them now

i know my grandma has also experienced severe abuse, including sexual, as a young child. i know why she turned out like this. my mom is more tragic, because i see my mom wanting to be better than her mom, but then she repeats what her mom did. my mom is definitely not as evil, but she's still abusive

just a trauma dump to get some things off my chest. idk what to do with this information. i fall kinda in between all the help for csa survivors in my country since i don't think i was sexually abused "enough" to really fit their help programs. it was mostly me growing up knowing my grandpa molested my aunt and then more nccsa. like more emotional incest than physical things. this is all very confusing and i don't want to talk with my siblings about it. i don't want to trigger their potential traumas and destabilise them. i don't want to worry them before they're ready to talk. i feel lonely and like im going insane

[henghost]

Twig Liveblog for Arc 7

another banger arc. at first i was concerned that it was too "wormlike," that the brechwell beast was essentially just a retread of leviathan, not to mention the meetup with major villains where the use of children in evil schemes becomes a point of contention. in the end though i think it ends up being more idea-heavy and character focused, which is pleasant.

really the arc is about the love triangle between sy, mary, and lillian. let's discuss mary first: i thought the most powerful moment was when percy asked her whether her moral opposition was her own or the lambs', and sy notes that what he's really saying is that he didn't design her to have a conscience. that she does have a conscience i think is interesting; i think it's part of twig's radical atheism. morality, for the lambs, derives from bodily forces rather than a transcendent ego-consciousness or soul (quite a nietzschean idea 🧐). peering into the way mary (as well as sy ofc) speak to themselves internally really heightens this effect--they have no "free will" over the ways in which they see and understand situations. instinctively calculating the easiest way to kill everyone in a room is simply the way she was built, quite literally in her dna. i'm glad she got to exert some agency wrt percy, and that she has experienced at least some sort of closure, but that said, with percy gone, what is animating her? it's hard to see her getting with sy after the events of this arc (😭), and her fate with gordon seems up in the air, probably doomed, though i suppose they're all doomed anyway. she isn't exactly an academy loyalist, and yet she also has no strong reason to defect except to stay with the lambs (and i guess maybe to reunite with her bff catcher). without percy, mary seems lost. she'll have to become a new version of herself (perhaps with gordon and hubris' help?).

lillian, meanwhile, has become far more interesting to me than she was before. so much hinges on where her loyalties lie. when it comes up that she would be reluctant to defect because of her family--that hurt a little. i found myself thinking: can't spell liberal without lil 😂. it leads her to hypocrisy. she loves sy and yet wants to join the very institution controlling him, abusing him. yes, of course, sy is pretty awful to her, but when it comes to life-or-death decisions such as whether to join fray, i've gotta say i think sy is right to manipulate a little. they're probably pretty bad for each other despite being adorable.

the themes of bio-control continue to enthrall me. that scene where hayle tells lillian that he considered chemically castrating sy but that instead what he's gonna do is channel his lust into an easily controllable receptacle (lillian) hit like a fucking gut punch fr. for my gravity's rainbow enjoyers out there (@pjospoul) it's almost like a disney version of katje and slothrop, especially with the presence of an octopus experiment.

thank god there's a dog now. i hope they do join fray, and i think fray is right to disseminate academy materials among the masses, but that's mostly because i think the proles deserve an easy way to synthesize thc.

[pianocat939]

Great Celina!! I have came far and wide to ask you ... HCs/theories on Yandere big mama BUT! He was raised by big mama instead of splints ~ 👀 love to see what you come up with

Hello traveler from afar! I shall heed your request!

Tw: Leo tries to eat bugs, betrayal, manipulation, murder and kidnapping at the yandere part (it's towards the bottom)

Theory on Leo if Big Mama was his Parent

(Now before we actually begin I assume you’re talking about Leo because I did briefly touch on a former post about it but if you were talking about all 4 I apologize.)

The only possible way I can see Leo being even in Big Mama's clutches in the first place is if Lou Jitsu dropped him on accident while trying to escape Draxum's lab. It can be both in the yokai or human world but either way, bro got left behind.

Big Mama finds a poor turtle baby and decides to take him home since there was no one to keep her company after Lou went dashy-dash on her. And guess what, she is a surprisingly great mom.

Spiders are known to just straight up leave their babies as soon as they are born, but as she is a yokai, not an animal, so she has empathy for infant Leo. She would do the things that society would consider a "loving mother". Although some of her spider behaviour does change a few things: she feeds him bugs, nips him lightly if she's in her spider form, and carries him around in her silk threads.

Oh, and he picks up her accent lmao.

By the time he's a child/pre-teen stage, he is 100% brat. He'll mess up his mummy's hotel decorations, steals food from the chefs, and do anything a child can think of. But there's one thing that's the most important in this stage, his development of manipulation. Not only is he the son of the owner of Grand Nexus Hotel, but he is also a child. And children can get away with anything if they use the right words.

Whenever he causes mischief and someone tries to report him on it, he'll do puppy eyes with a hint of sadness in his voice, and before you know it, he deceives the staff member. This lets him get away a few times until Big Mama notices his talent with words.

She starts giving him little tasks such as "Try to get that dealer to give you that fruit for free," or "Have that little boy let you play with his toys". This slowly starts turning gears in Leo's head and by the time he's a teen he helps his mummy out in "assisting" customers.

So the day when the turtles meet Big Mama, imagine their surprise when they see another turtle dressed in fine formal wear. The other 3 boys always heard stories from Splinter about how they had a missing brother that has red marks on his face. There was no possibility that he isn't their brother.

As expected, Mikey runs up to him in a big hug, which is lightly shrugged off by Leo as he thinks Mikey is just another customer. He's bombarded with questions from Donnie and Mikey but he waves his hand and walks off, stating he needs to attend to his job.

Skip forward to the time Big Mama reveals her yokai form and the two groups start fighting. Midway through the battle, Leo attacks one of them, most likely Donnie as he is the easiest to target. Donnie feels betrayed and painstakingly says 'brother' but Leo only laughs and retorts he's not their brother.

So now he's their eternal enemy.

Ok now for some Yandere Hcs because that's my job now.

He's not too different when compared to his normal counterpart but there are a few noticeable changes in his personality.

He tends to do some more indirect actions such as having hitmen, or throwing people in the Battle Nexus whenever there's a rival. If he's really feeling murderous though, he'll fight them right in the arena.

He doesn't have an "I feel useless" problem like normal Leo either. Instead, he has a more possessive and "what would you do without me" type of thing.

If he is to kidnap MC, they're going to be trapped in the Hotel as that is where he is often times and the security guards/cameras are everywhere (the staff does not want to upset Big Mama's son, he has a horrible temper if things don't go as planned).

If I were to summarize everything, he's a mix of normal Leo and Donnie.

——————————————————

Something tells me he would try to crawl around like a spider as a kid.

- Celina

[twistedtummies2]

Top 6 Castlevania Villains

Our final Castlevania-related list for Dracula Month was somehow both the hardest AND the easiest to make, at the same time. It was difficult because I knew who my top three choices would be without question, but it was hard because, from that point downward, it was a lot harder to work out who to include and in what place.

In my previous countdown related to this popular video game franchise, I covered the central protagonists of Castlevania: the characters that players are able to take control of on their quest to destroy all the monsters in their path. Of course, these hordes of skeleton knights, ravenous gorgons, and more bats than you can shake a Vampire Killer at cannot work on their own terms: in every game, there are bosses and antagonists who command the creatures of the night. From the shadows they plot and scheme, till the moment the heroes finally get a chance to face them head-on. And while the heroes of Castlevania tend to get a lot of attention, I actually find that the villains of the series rarely get the same amount of focus when people discuss their favorite characters from the franchise.

With that said, it’s time to start talking about some of these renegades and rogues: the Children of the Night who haunt the Belmonts and their allies on their journeys. Without further ado, here are My Top 6 Castlevania Villains!

6. Satan.

In the classic “Castlevania” games, of course, Count Dracula was the central antagonist, and the main villain of nearly every game in the series. When the “Lords of Shadow” reboot was created, however, the decision was made to make the main character actually BE Dracula. So, if Dracula is the (anti-)hero now, who is the villain the player must face? Well, I guess the creators felt there was only one enemy who could top the King of the Vampires, in that case: the Devil himself. In the first “Lords of Shadow” game, Satan is a sort of surprise main villain: his presence and machinations are alluded to throughout the game, but he doesn’t actually appear till the climax. It is revealed he has secretly been orchestrating all the Events of the game, with Zobek being unknowingly manipulated by the Devil, so that the Lord of Darkness can gain control of a magical mask. Satan is banished back to Hell at the end of the game, but in the later “Lords of Shadow II,” it’s revealed that banished does not mean destroyed: his Acolytes have continued to remain on Earth, working to bring their master back to Earth, so he can take his revenge against those who have defied him. Once again, Satan finally arrives in full form at the climax, as Dracula and Alucard must work together to stop the Devil from destroying the entire planet. It was a cool idea basically having the Lords of Shadow games be “Dracula vs. The Devil,” I have to admit, and actor Jason Isaacs was an excellent choice of voice for the role. However, I feel that the relative smallness of the role prevents Satan from rising any higher in the ranks.

5. Brauner.

While Dracula is the main antagonist of the Castlevania series AS A WHOLE, this doesn’t mean he’s the main antagonist of every story IN that series. Being the main villain and the main antagonist are two different things. Throughout the games, other villains do come and go to cause trouble for the heroes, and it’s only after they are beaten that Dracula himself finally makes his grand appearance to provide a final, terrible obstacle for the players to overcome. One of my favorite examples of this idea is Brauner, the central antagonist of the game “Portrait of Ruin.” Visually inspired by Max Schreck’s “Count Orlok” (the name given to the Dracula character in “Nosferatu”), Brauner is one of the more tragic villains in the series, as well as one of the most unhinged. Once upon a time, he was a renowned and mortal artist…but after his beloved daughters were killed in the heat of the first World War, he went mad with hatred. Brauner came to see the human race as degenerate and self-destructive, and wished to purge the world of mankind’s warmongering ways…by purging the world of mankind itself. He thus became a vampire, and brainwashed two young ladies, deluding himself into thinking they were his actual daughters brought back. He then set out on a campaign to take over Dracula’s role as the new Lord of the Vampires, and destroy humanity in revenge; his own twisted way of taking care of his family. You feel sorry for this guy, since he’s so utterly and completely out of his gourd, and his reasons for wanting to destroy humanity actually are quite sympathetic…but at the same time, you obviously can’t allow his depravity to continue. In the end, Death destroys a weakened Brauner, after the vampire is defeated by Jonathan Morris and his friend, Charlotte, and uses the opportunity to bring Dracula back once again. The character was later reimagined in the “Lords of Shadow” universe, but his role there is much smaller and, aside from the name, that version is nothing like the original, who in my opinion is MUCH more interesting. I would genuinely love to see an animated series based on “Portrait of Ruin,” and a chance to see how Brauner would fare on television as the main antagonist of that show.

4. Isaac.

There are two COMPLETELY different versions of Isaac in the universe of Castlevania, and this is something that needs to be addressed. In the original, “Classic’ games, Isaac appears as one of the main villains of the title “Curse of Darkness.” In that game, he is a sadomasochistic psychopath who looks like some sort of BDSM-obsessed nightmare goth. In the universe of the Classic era, Isaac is the arch-nemesis of Hector: the two were once servants of Dracula, each serving as his most trusted human allies; his Devil Forgemasters. However, Isaac was always jealous of Hector, and when his rival chose to betray the Count, Isaac vowed to, from that point on, make his fellow Forgemaster’s life a living Hell. The character would make some sporadic appearances in later games, but it’s his initial appearance where this sicko is most prominent. In all cases, though, in the games, Isaac is a villain, plain and simple. This leads into the second version of Isaac: the one from the Animated Series. In THIS series, Isaac stars as a major antagonist in Season 2, and his basic backstory has its roots in “Curse of Darkness”: once again, he’s a Devil Forgemaster, serving for Dracula, has a tension-filled alliance with Hector, and while his reasons for scarring himself are completely different, he still engages in acts of self-mortification. HOWEVER, things change when Season 3 gets rolling in, as Isaac actually begins a steady path towards redemption in the series. He goes from a cold-blooded follower of Dracula, just as determined to wipe out the human race as the vampire lord, to learning how to value not only the lives of other people, but also his own. Instead of becoming Hector’s arch-nemesis, Isaac instead forgives Hector, and the two become friends. This is where I’m left with a bit of a puzzle: while the one from “Curse of Darkness” is a very fun villain to see in action, I think the Animated Series version of Isaac is honestly much more interesting than the original. However, with THAT version, he’s not really a villain for most of the series…and even when he IS one of the antagonists, he’s far from the most loathsome of the bunch. One could therefore argue that he shouldn’t count here at all…however, the original character in the games is and was always a villain, and the TV version of Isaac does still START OFF as a baddy, so…yeah. I’m still counting both versions in this slot, together.

3. Carmilla.

Carmilla - sometimes called “Camilla,” minus the R - is a character with quite the history behind her. In the “Classic” games, Carmilla is a frequent recurring boss, appearing in multiple titles, but in most of these cases she’s a fairly minor figure. We usually don’t know much about her and she’s really just another enemy for us to fight and defeat. The one exception is the game “Circle of the Moon”: in that version, she suddenly got the spotlight as the main antagonist, trying to find a way to bring Dracula back to life. “Circle of the Moon” was later declared non-canon with the rest of the Classic continuity…but this marked the beginning of a shift for the character. Ever since then, her role in the Castlevania universe has expanded in other incarnations. In “Lords of Shadow,” Carmilla is depicted as one of the titular group of antagonists: in the first game, she is the Queen of the Vampires. It is her castle that ultimately becomes Castle Dracula, after her destruction at the hands of Gabriel Belmont - the future Count Dracula. In “Lords of Shadow II,” she returns from the grave, seeking to take back her throne, and has developed an unusual love-hate relationship with her successor and former slayer. The character reached critical mass in the Animated Series: in Season 2, Carmilla is the secondary antagonist, manipulating Hector and one of the vampire generals, Godbrand, in an attempt to take over Dracula’s throne. While she does not succeed, this sets the stage for her in the remaining two seasons, as she remains a major antagonist, hellbent on - you guessed it - taking over the world. This version is depicted as somehow both thoroughly repugnant and yet oddly empathetic at the same time, and was by far the most interesting take on the villainess to date. From humble roots to the height of power, Carmilla has had QUITE the journey throughout the franchise.

2. Death, a.k.a. The Grim Reaper.

The secondary antagonist for the entire Castlevania franchise, Death - the Grim Reaper himself - is one of the most recurring and noteworthy villains in the series. What’s interesting is that, through the three basic continuities - the Classic games, the Lords of Shadow reboot, and the Animated Series - while Death has appeared in every single one, the actual DEPICTION of the character is different in each. In the original games, the Grim Reaper is Dracula’s second-in-command: the Count’s single most loyal and devoted servant. He seems to be the closest thing the King of the Vampires has to a friend. In games where Dracula is not present, Death usually still is, always seeking a way to bring his Master back from the grave, and protecting the Count from those who would harm him. In “Lords of Shadow,” Death - also known as “Zobek” - is radically reimagined: instead of being Dracula’s friend, he is the Count’s arch-enemy, and arguably the one most responsible for all the misery in Gabriel Belmont’s life throughout the series. In the last game of the reboot trilogy, the two form an uneasy alliance, but naturally it falls apart and they have their long-awaited showdown in the end. In the Animated Series, Death’s alignment to Dracula falls somewhere down the middle: Death is depicted as a demonic creature who feeds on the souls of humans. He sees Dracula as his “best weapon,” as the vampire’s genocidal desires have allowed Death to feast like never before. Naturally, he’s mighty peeved when his favorite meal ticket gets slain. Thus, he works to find a way to bring Dracula back from the grave, this time planning to have the Count follow his will directly, so he can gorge himself on the spirits of everyone Dracula kills. One consistent thing with the Grim Reaper through every incarnation is that he’s a surprising master of disguise: in the Classic series, he adopts the identities of characters like the wandering priest, Zead, and even Dr. Seward from the Bram Stoker novel, to manipulate the heroes. In “Lords of Shadow,” Zobek starts off in a human guise, pretending to be a fellow monster slayer, working to “help” Gabriel for his own ends. Even the Animated Series kept this trait: for much of Season 4, Death disguises himself as Varney the Vampire (one of the fictional Dracula’s antecedents) before ultimately revealing his true identity. Whether he’s swinging a scythe or hide behind a mask of goodness, one thing is as certain in Castlevania as in real life: Death could be lurking around every corner.

1. Count Dracula.

Come on, you all had to know this choice was coming. While Dracula isn’t the main antagonist of each and every single story or game in the Castlevania franchise, he IS the main villain for the entire series as a whole. I would also argue he’s the single most important character in the Castlevania universe, throughout every continuity: even when Dracula isn’t physically present or active in a story, his presence is felt, and it’s usually because of something related to him that events in the games and other media transpire the way they do. And in terms of the games specifically…I may be wrong here, so feel free to correct me, but I believe Dracula is the only major character in the franchise to appear in EVERY. SINGLE. GAME. I’m not joking! In “Aria of Sorrow” and “Dawn of Sorrow,” the main character - Soma Cruz - is revealed to be Dracula’s reincarnation, and depending on how you play the game, each story could end with Soma giving in to the darkness and becoming the Count. While you could argue Soma is a separate character (and I certainly think of him as such), this DOES still mean Dracula appears, in some way or another. Then you have the first “Lords of Shadow” game and the title “Lament of Innocence;” in these games, Dracula doesn’t appear as a boss or by name, but characters within those stories (Gabriel Belmont for the former, Mathias Cronqvist for the latter) are revealed to be the people who will BECOME Dracula. So, once again, he still shows up, in a roundabout way. As the franchise has gone into different branches and evolved over the years, Dracula’s character has evolved with it: he started off as a pretty straightforward, nasty villain, but over time later become a more sympathetic antagonist, and occasionally even acts more as an anti-heroic figure. Whether he’s facing the Belmonts, the Morris Family, his own son (Alucard), or even various other characters, Dracula is the scourge of mankind, and there’s no sign of him losing his prominence anytime soon. There’s not a single shred of doubt that Count Dracula more than earns his title as My Favorite Castlevania Villain.

HONORABLE MENTIONS INCLUDE…

Shaft.

A major antagonist in “Rondo of Blood” (and its remake, “Dracula X Chronicles”) and “Symphony of the Night,” Shaft is the quintessential “dark priest.” He’s a mad cultist who zealously worships Dracula, and seeks to bring the Count back from the grave in both stories. Also, his name is very easy to make fun of, but we’ll ignore that for now.

The Toy Maker.

A villain exclusive to the “Lords of Shadow” universe, the Toy Maker seems to be that world’s riff on Jekyll & Hyde. Once a humble creator of children’s playthings, the Toy Maker was possessed by a demon, and - under its influence - became one of Dracula’s chiefest allies, creating killer toys and experimenting on living subjects to turn them into even more dangerous monsters. When not under the demon’s influence, the Toy Maker is a jovial and friendly fellow…but once the darkness takes him, he basically becomes the Castlevania version of the Joker.

Celia Fortner.

Much like Shaft, Celia - the main antagonist of “Dawn of Sorrow” - is a mad cultist who wishes to bring Dracula back from the grave. However, she’s a more complex figure than Shaft: she believes that the world is only held in balance if both absolute good and absolute evil exist, physically, on the Earth. In other words, she claims that what she’s doing is for the good of the planet. (One should add that, as her magic abilities rely largely on that presumed balance, she does have ulterior motives for wanting to bring “harmony” to the universe.) Believing Dracula to be the embodiment of the evil force, she seeks to either turn Soma Cruz to the dark side, or find some other way to resurrect the Count in the process.

[lycanlovingvampyre]

MAG 197 Relisten

Activity on my first listen: Slow Tuesday at work.

BASIRA: "What’s down there?" JON: "I don’t know." BASIRA: "That makes a change." JON: "It’s… somewhere else." Yaaaay, somewhere else!!!

BASIRA: "Yes I do. You’re too close to this, and I need to make sure you aren’t going to do anything dumb. Situation like this, we can’t make rash assumptions. Right?" That is actually fair. Like I said many times, it's typical for Jon's character to perform poorly under stress. And sometimes he gets a bit impulsive.

ANNABELLE: "I thought you liked his voice?" MARTIN: "I do, when it’s his voice." Nawww...

MARTIN: "So why don’t you just tell me straight? It’s not like I’m going to run off. I’d only trip over my own feet and fall in, even if I tried." Martin already trying his usual charm to get what he wants^^

ANNABELLE: "Perhaps I was wrong about how well suited you are to us. I’m not sure you have the patience for The Web." That's the Lonely-influence. If we really go by the "The Lonely is a metaphor for depression" then it's only logical for Martin to have gotten irritable and short-tempered.

ANNABELLE: "A TV show. Reaching out into the homes of millions, giving the more vulnerable ones a subtle nudge towards terror. Probably something for children. It never went anywhere, of course. These things rarely do." Hmm, a bit stereotypical to assume children are the easiest people to manipulate, when there's a whole older generation out there, slowly withering away in front of the TV with almost no engagement and also no impulse to engage.

MARTIN: "Wait… Wait, hang on, is that him?" ANNABELLE: "Yes. I guess you’re better with the Web than we thought." MARTIN: "And – Wait, ha– No, uh… is that… Basira? He – He’s got Basira with him!" Web!Martin is back on the menu! xD

[MUFFLED AGITATION] [MUFFLED ANXIETY] [MUFFLED ANXIETY INCREASES TO MUFFLED TERROR] [MUFFLED SADNESS] [MUFFLED DEMAND FOR RELEASE] [MUFFLED POINT OF CONTENTION] [MUFFLED ATTEMPTED EXPLANATION, FOLLOWED BY MUFFLED SIGH AND MUFFLED AGREEMENT] [MUFFLED DOWNBEAT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT] [MUFFLED DISCOMFITED REALISATION] [MUFFLED DESPONDENCY] [MUFFLED WORRY] I love all of these...

ANNABELLE: "I didn’t. He came of his own free will." [MUFFLED POINT OF CONTENTION] JON: "'Free will,' she says, as we stand in the middle of her fucking web!" Ah, Jon is angry! I like it!

JON: "Martin, is this true?" [MUFFLED ATTEMPTED EXPLANATION, FOLLOWED BY MUFFLED SIGH AND MUFFLED AGREEMENT] BASIRA: "Told you." Why is Basira so set on both of them not really knowing each other? In MAG 177 she kind of mocks Martin for trusting Jon not to look into his head. And now she was like, what? "haha, told you your boyfriend wasn't kidnapped, he just left you"??? That conversation is not on tape right? I remember this “told you”, but there was no conversation in detail about this in MAG 195 or at the beginning of this one...

JON: "It’s inevitable." Well, now he's starting to sound like Agent Smith xD

ANNABELLE: "Of course. And knowing this, knowing for centuries you would eventually be trapped, doomed to starvation, what would you do?" [LONG CONSIDERED PAUSE] JON: "Plan an escape." Lesson 2: Plan your exit on the way in! (Me at every single social gathering XD)

ANNABELLE: "We found the one we believed most likely to bring about their manifestation. We marked him young, guided his path as best we could. And then, we took his voice." JON: "No…" Actually, right now Jon is taking this better that expected. He still sounds pissed, but not devastated. That'll come as soon as he had time to think about it... Also, I don't think Jon was the only one the Web prepared. In fact, it very much looks like it did a little experiment with Father Burroughs of MAG 19 and 20. They probably had a bunch of candidates but when it became clearer, that Jon could actually be the one closest to pull it off they started to focus more and more on him. After all, at first their influence was minimal, guided Martin to Prentiss. Only when that worked they delivered the lighter (and table) do take this further.  

JON: "Because for the Fears to spread into these new worlds, they would need to leave ours, wouldn’t they?" Like he said in MAG 164, "If the Fears are removed".

JON: "Leaving us behind in the process, freeing our world at the cost of others." BASIRA: "What are you saying?" JON: "We can pass them our apocalypse." [MUFFLED DISCOMFITED REALISATION] ANNABELLE: "Nothing so extreme. In these new worlds they would exist as they used to in ours, lurking just beyond the threshold." JON: "Until someone is stupid enough to release them there, as well." ANNABELLE: "Perhaps. Even the Mother cannot see the future. Only try to shape it." JON: "And so they spread through realities like a disease!" Jon, who ultimately suffered all the guilt from this, gets what this means for others in an instant. It's a very understandable trauma response.

ANNABELLE: "Jon would lose much of himself, the parts of him that are The Eye. But he would survive. And perhaps more importantly, he would remain who he believes himself to be. And you would end the suffering of all those others who remain here." It's so interesting to get into interpretations what these parts that are The Eye are supposed to be. Where do they begin and where do they stop? Is it simply memories or even parts of his personality? Is it physical, like his literal eyesight? Is there a higher meaning to "who he believes himself to be"? Is it just subconscious or can he actively influence this, in either a positive or, for Jon most likely, a negative way? Like his self-perception. Is all this also the case when he gets separated from The Eye through, say, being literally cut "free"? So many possibilities! (For fan fictions! XD)

ANNABELLE: "Many years ago a draughtsman made an unfortunate and egregious error on certain city planning documents. As a result, an unusually large and dangerous gas main just happened to be constructed directly below the building you knew as the Magnus Institute, in a place where it would be protected by the tunnels of Robert Smirke, unchanged by the world’s reformation. You need only ignite it." God, I fucking love how all of this was constructed! And that’s just one part of it...

JON: "Ignite it?" ANNABELLE: "Indeed. And it just so happens that the perfect tool was once delivered to you as a token of appreciation. Though you really do need to learn to keep better care of it. Somehow it always seems to slip your mind, doesn’t it?" JON: "What?" BASIRA: "Jon, it’s that stupid lighter of yours." JON: [Indignant] "My what?" [JON PULLS THE GOLD LIGHTER WITH EMBOSSED SPIDERWEB FROM POCKET AND FLICKS IT OPEN] JON: "Oh? ... Oh." Funny story: So while I was listening to MAG 196 and 197 I was texting with my sister, who got me into TMA. I was simultaneously already doing a relisten with my spouse and already picked up on a few things during that, and so I was talking to my sis about foreshadowings. She mentioned like "all the spider references... the lighter!" and I was like "oh yeah, the lighter... Anyway the web table-" And my sis continues to talk about web-influences, Prentiss, Jon going for a cigarette because of the lighter, oliver banks... and I answer "What? Huh... Somehow I seemed to have overlooked a lot of spiders..." My sisters already laughing saying "It's so funny, cause it's the running gag" (and I had no idea about the lighter yet at this point in the conversation). She'd already went on about "You have a few similarities, afraid of spiders since childhood, prematurely greying hair, somehow you always seemed to know stuff about people and I have no idea where you got these from... now you forget the lighter. It's so funny cause there is no way you're doing this on purpose, that's all natural" and I again proceeded to change the topic XD Started talking about the writing xD We've had such a good laugh xD Just scrolled back in our chat log to re-read it, always funny to see. Shortly after this conversation I got to this part in the episode with the lighter and I then texted her "Ohh, now they need the lighter!!!" (And there will be another gag with the lighter! So, to be continued xD)

ANNABELLE: "I’ve played my part to its completion. You get to decide how I exit the stage." MARTIN: "Jon?" JON: "Go!" ANNABELLE: "Very well. We shall not see each other again, Archivist. But I eagerly await your decision." Another excellent choice for fanfic writers to use for Somewhere Else!

All in all the entire multiverse thing is great for fan content. Basically everything could exist in canon! Catboy Elias is real and he can hurt you! xD

@a-mag-a-day

[independent-beat]

This reply really made me think. Apologies for the long post and obviously, spoilers ahead.

I think a lot of my problem with Kit’s death is based on how it felt like intentional expectation circumvention.

So, to me, this feels very much like Cassie went, “Oh shoot. I wrote a family tree and an epilogue with a bunch of information about these kids. And now I’m writing a new series about these kids. I can’t have it end the same way it does on the family tree, or else I gave away the ending too soon!” Especially since the family tree includes Grace being accepted into the main gang and returning to the name Cartwright, which, if Grace served the same role she does in TLH currently, would be a massive game changer for her character and a huge spoiler. So small changes to the tree (Cordelia’s mom being Sona not Colette, birth and death years of some characters, etc.) all mean the tree is overall wrong, but nothing would be different enough. Something big has to change for the tree to not be a spoiler.

We know Tessa and Will only had 2 kids, as referenced by Magnus and Catarina(?) in TMI. We know Tatiana doesn’t have any other biological Blackthorn children because Rupert dies in Clockwork Princess. So, in order for those two lines to continue to our TMI/TDA heroes, both James and Jesse need to have partners by the end of the series. (I guess technically there are other Blackthorn lines, but we don’t hear about them really at all)Gabriel and Cecily are heavily implied to be Alec and Isabelle’s ancestors, since we hear repeatedly how much Alec looks like Will and Isabelle wears Camille’s ruby pendant (which Will gave to Cecily), but we don’t know how many children they had. Neither TMI nor TID specify.

So, the easiest place to change the tree without changing the big picture narrative (James and Lucie have magic demon powers, Tatiana is in cahoots with our Big Bad, Jesse is dead but not, etc.) is in the Lightwood family. Therefore, Christopher has to either die or not end up with Grace. Killing him can serve more of a narrative purpose (ups the stakes, gives our main cast someone to avenge, shows that no one is immune from war no matter how kind and noble they are, etc.) and so that’s what Cassie did. Give him a backup brother to carry on the line and blow up the tree. Sure, fine.

What I don’t like is how much Cassie set up Christopher/Grace, and teased fans that maybe they would be endgame, when all along she knew she couldn’t do that. We spend most of Chain of Iron and Chain of Thorns where the only person who sees past Grace’s actions to the person below is Christopher, even Jesse struggles to see the sister he loves. We see Grace respect Christopher’s knowledge and kindness and see him as a man she wouldn’t want to manipulate, even if she could. We hear Christopher advocate for Grace to the Merry Thieves. We’re set up with a redemption arc through the power of love and friendship. We’re given this whole story that, to me, feels far more authentic than the Matthew/Cordelia fakeout. It feels like authentic respect and camaraderie that could become love with time and effort.

And sure, many relationships don’t work out. People do die in real life and their potential partners have to move on without them. But this is a YA novel. This is a book where the ships matter just as much as the plot. This is a book where main cast characters die and are either brought back (Jace…twice), hang out as a ghost (Jessamine and Livvy), or are saved through magic intervention (Jem). Simon’s ‘death’ is circumvented through plot armor and hand waving. And that’s okay! This is a book where the bad guys lose and the good guys win and true love can overcome any obstacle!

And it’s not like I particularly shipped Christopher/Grace, Grace had a long way to go to be anyone remotely tolerable. Christopher couldn’t date Grace without invalidating James’s trauma. Hell, Kit could’ve been ace based on his depiction! I just didn’t love reading two books worth of laying the foundation for a potential relationship just to have the rug pulled out like “SIKE! You thought!”

But here, a true relationship built from an imperfect person trying to make up for the sins of the past and the smart and kind person who believes in her, can’t exist because otherwise we just read 3 books to end up with what we already knew. And so, we spend thousands of pages of buildup to get an abrupt 180 and a “SIKE! You thought!” because it was too predictable otherwise.

This isn’t to say I particularly “shipped” Christopher and Grace. Grace still has a long way to go to atone, even a little. Christopher dating Grace minimizes James’s trauma. Christopher could realistically be ace or demisexual based on his depiction. It’s not that I wanted this ship to happen, more so that I feel it’s disingenuous to spend 2 books laying the groundwork just to pull the rug out for the sake of a shocking twist.

Q&A, spoilers, COT

VERY SPOILERY. DEATH AND STUFF.

shadowbooker asked:

Hi Cassie!

I love Christoper so of course I’m devastated about what happened to him. Was his death always planned or something you came up with while writing book 3?

------

I knew Christopher was going to die before I started writing Chain of Gold. There are a few hints I think in Thorns, but I wanted his death to be unexpected, to hit our characters out of nowhere — and to hit the readers the same way. But indeed, the reason Alexander, his little brother, exists is partly simply so we would know who carries on the Lightwood line down to Alec etc. — because it was never going to be Christopher.

[hollybollybingbong]

Albus Dumbledore is the worst.

Albus Dumbledore was written to be a hero, and that's what makes him such a good villain. Almost everyone in the Wizarding World trusted him and thought he was so incredible and amazing, but in reality, he was playing a brilliant game of chess, using them all as his pawns.

How? Let's start from the beginning with Tom Riddle.

Dumbledore first met Tom when he was eleven, and even then, you could see the warning signs. Dumbledore did too. He saw that Tom was dangerous and unstable, and Dumbledore, being Dumbledore, wanted to give him a chance at Hogwarts.

But, Dumbledore, also, being Dumbledore, was the only one who saw who Tom really was, and only "kept an annoyingly close watch on him." He saw Tom Riddle, at the age of eleven saying "I can make bad things happen to people who annoy me. I can make them hurt if I want," and did not think to do anything about it.

He said to Harry in Chamber of Secrets that, "help will be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it," yet, here we have Tom Riddle, who desperately needed help, and did not get it. Could Dumbledore have prevented Tom Riddle from becoming who he was? I'm not sure. Could he have helped him more while he was at Hogwarts? 100%

Next up, Sirius (and a bit of Remus)

One thing I never understood while reading the books was why Sirius had to spend twelve years in Azkaban when there were literally potions that forced you to tell the truth.

The truth is, unsurprisingly, Dumbledore wanted him there. By keeping Sirius in Azkaban, there was no way he could adopt Harry (who was legally his), and ruin Dumbledore's perfectly thought out plan of manipulating Harry. Dumbledore was a high-ranking member of the Wizengamot, if he managed to get Snape off, he surely could've gotten Sirius free too.

But unlike Snape, and Remus, and Hagrid, and Harry, Dumbledore couldn't use Sirius. Remus was a werewolf with no job prospects in the Wizarding World, and no Muggle qualifications either. He spent twelve years alone, as he watched his friends die or get sent to Azkaban. But then here comes Dumbledore, who gives him a job and a home when no one else would. And suddenly, Remus is loyal to Dumbledore.

Hagrid, a half-giant, was kicked out of Hogwarts in his third year for something he didn't do. But Dumbledore comes along and suddenly Hagrid has a home and job, and owes it to Dumbledore, ensuring his loyalty.

Even Snape, Dumbledore saved him from a lifetime in Azkaban prison, securing his loyalty too.

But Sirius, Sirius was different. He saw right through Dumbledore and his manipulation. He was a rebel and chose his path. A path that didn't involve Dumbledore, which is why he was stuck in Azkaban for twelve years, despite him being innocent. Because him being around would've messed up Dumbledore's plan to raise Harry to die, because there is no way in hell that Sirius would've allowed that to happen.

Finally, Harry Potter, himself.

Harry escaped death at the age of one and then was essentially kidnapped by Hagrid on Dumbledore's orders. While there's no proof, surely James and Lily would've written a will, especially considering they were living through a war with their son being the target for the greatest dark wizard of all time. I believe that Dumbledore pulled some strings (because remember, he was a member of the Wizengamot, and despite not holding the title of Minister for Magic, he was as good as, especially considering how incompetent they were), so he could be in charge of Harry's living arrangements and manipulate him further. Sirius Black was his legal guardian, being godfather and all, and yet Hagrid had "orders from Dumbledore," so he got stuck with the Dursleys.

Harry grew up in this abusive home where he was unwanted, neglected, and bullied, so when he eventually finds out about the Wizarding World, he sees it as a home, a safe haven, away from the Dursleys. He feels grateful to the Wizarding World for saving him from them. And when he has to go back at the beginning of summer, it's a reminder that it can all be taken away, so when Harry has to sacrifice himself to save the world he's come to love so much, of course, he does! Because why wouldn't he? It's his home.

Dumbledore could've left Harry with Remus, or the Weasley's, or the Longbottom's, or literally any other family, but the Dursley's made Harry easiest to manipulate.

And before anyone mentions Lily's blood wards, Dumbledore says in Order of the Phoenix: "You need return there only once a year, but as long as you can still call it home, there he cannot hurt you."

There was no reason for Harry to grow up in an abusive household, isolated from the Wizarding World, but it made Harry an easier pawn to manipulate in Dumbledore's game.

Similarly, when Harry is in school, he rewards Harry's saviour complex through house points. In Philosopher's Stone, the trio very clearly go against McGonagall's orders and put themselves in dangerous situations to 'save the day.' But instead of facing any punishment, they are rewarded via the House Cup, and Dumbledore is buying Harry's loyalty.

It's always Harry being the one to put himself into dangerous situations, never Dumbledore. Chamber of Secrets, Harry and Ginny both nearly die, but oh, thanks to Dumbledore's phoenix the day is saved! But wait, wasn't Dumbledore there the first time the Chamber was opened? Was there nobody else in the entire Wizarding World who could fix this mess, without having to rely on a twelve-year-old???

Prisoner of Azkaban. Why were Harry and Hermione the ones to rescue Sirius? Why couldn't Dumbledore do it himself? Goblet of Fire. You're telling me the 'most powerful wizard in the world' couldn't break the magical contract? In all honesty, he probably could, but he said it himself, he wanted to see what would happen. He was using Harry as bait. McGonagall seems to be the only person who cares about this poor boy's life. And then we have Order of the Phoenix. Where Dumbledore isolates himself from Harry, gets Snape to teach him Occlumency instead of doing it himself, which leads to Sirius's death, which I believe was planned (to an extent).

And at the end of Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore comes 'clean,' saying that the reason he ghosted Harry for the entire year, was because 'he cared for him too much.' That he cared more about Harry's happiness than the safety of others, that he put Harry's life above the life of innocent people. He was telling Harry, who watched his godfather die in front of him, and blamed himself for it, that him being happy would lead to the deaths of others. Dumbledore's exact quote was, "What did I care if numbers of nameless and faceless people and creatures were slaughtered in the vague future, if in the here and now you were alive, and well, and happy." And of course, Dumbledore said this, because he knows Harry has a tendency to sacrifice himself for others, and as a result, he'll choose to die when the time comes.

Dumbledore kept Harry's inevitable death from him for sixteen years, five while he was at Hogwarts. And guess what? By this point, Harry was wrapped so tightly around Dumbledore's little finger, and wouldn't say no even if he could.

Harry Potter was raised like a pig for slaughter, by a man he trusted. And this makes me so angry. Harry Potter was seventeen when he walked into the forest alone, more than willing to die. He was seventeen when he and his friends fought in a war against people twice their age. He was seventeen when he saw some of those friends for the last time, watched them die fighting a war that none of them had seen the start of.

He was fifteen when he watched his godfather die before him, and blamed himself for it. He was fourteen when he watched Cedric Diggory die at the hand of Voldemort. He was twelve when he had to fight a basilisk and Tom Riddle single-handedly while trying to save himself and eleven-year-old Ginny Weasley. He was eleven and having to find and protect the Philosopher's Stone, the first 'test' of many. He was a child battling an adult's war, with no choice in the matter.

Dumbledore manipulated them all, so he could get children to fight his battles for him.

[somewhatgreatexpectations]

Unforgettable (Wanda Maximoff/ Reader)

Hello, everyone!

Songs used: "Unforgettable" By Nat King Cole (1952)

Summary: Wanda is forced to delve into her past as you deal with some unexpected obstacles trying to get back to her.

“I know, she does look shocked to meet the real us, doesn’t she?” Agnes- Agatha said to her rabbit with a laugh. Wanda couldn’t help but feel frustration creep under her skin at the air of indifference Agatha was speaking in. It was clear she couldn’t trust a word that came out of the other woman’s mouth, so she decided to take matters in her own. She would just look into the other woman’s mind to get answers. The perks of having powers.

Except… Nothing.

Rather than being able to see into the other woman’s mind she was met with a wall. Even in the early stages of having her powers this had never happened and Wanda couldn’t help but feel unnerved. “Oh, that’s adorable.” Agatha laughed. “My thoughts are not available to you, toots. They never were. So, don’t wear yourself out. It’s a waste of time. We have much more… pressing matters to tend to.”

Wanda clenched her jaw, refusing to play into the game Agatha clearly wanted her to play. “Where are my children?” Her blood boiled when Agatha mockingly repeated her question back to her.

Again, Agatha laughed. “Do you have an accent or not, sweetheart? Make up your mind.”

“Where are they?” Wanda repeated, flexing her hands to manipulate her powers only to be met with the same resistance from before. Her blood ran cold. This had never happened.

A chilling smile crossed Agatha’s features. “Aww. Sweetheart. Don’t you know? Your magic is useless here. Much like yourself.” Before Wanda could even consider reacting Agatha flicked her wrist and Wanda felt her arms get pinned tightly behind her back along with her legs as she flew forward. The invisible vice like grip tightening as Agatha flexed her fingers. Wanda groaned in discomfort.

Agatha began speaking again but Wanda could barely process the words as she panted in pain. “Basic protection spells. Honestly, how dim are you?” Wanda finally allowed herself to look around the room, taking in the strange markings that littered the wall. “These are runes, Wanda. In a given space, only the witch that cast the runes can use her magic. Do you know anything?”

“Who are you?” Wanda demanded.

“Who are you?” Agatha countered. “I was so patient. Playing along with your twisted little fantasy. Waiting for you to reveal yourself.” She smirked. “I will admit, sending fake Anna and fake Pietro seemed to push your buttons. I thought Amelia- sorry, Ellie, would have sent you over the edge but you didn’t seem to care if your wife mingled with someone else. Just like I’m sure she’s doing now.”

Wanda’s jaw clenched tightly as she pulled at the invisible restraints. “Leave Y/n out of this.”

It was clear Agatha was amused by Wanda's anger. “Oh, sweetheart. How could I do that when she’s the easiest way to get to you? And Amelia was more than willing to be an active participant in all of this to get Y/n back.”

In response Wanda leveled Agatha with a hard stare, not giving her the satisfaction. “The silent treatment? Oh, well. Guess I’ll have to talk to myself.” Agatha mockingly pouted. “When I sensed such powerful spells cast all at once… I knew I had to see it for myself. Mind control is a classic… But having thousands of people under your thumb, each with their own complex stories? That’s something special, baby.”

“I spent years practicing to be able to create one believable illusion, but you, Wanda… Westview under your spell? Every little detail is in place. You’re even running illusions all the way at the edge of town! Magic on autopilot.” Agatha pushed a hand through her hair, her eyes deranged. “What’s your secret? I need you to tell me how you did this.”

Wanda’s brow furrowed. “I didn’t do anything. I’m not-” Before she could finish, Agatha flicked her hand and Wanda was sent crashing into the walls on either side of her. Grunts of pain falling from her lips before Agatha stopped her directly in front of herself once again.

“I tried to be gentle, I did. To wake you up from this stupid little fantasy you have but it’s clear you’d rather fall apart than face your issues, little witch. You left me no choice.” Agatha stepped closer to Wanda. “What was it you said to your fake brother? You felt empty. Like you were drowning. Endless nothingness… Let’s start there.”

Wanda wordlessly watched the woman pluck a hair from her hair and chant words she didn’t understand under her breath. The strand glowing purple as it floated over to the door.

“It’s been fun playing pretend, Wanda… But now it’s time to look at the real thing.” Agatha whispered menacingly. “Let’s go.”

Agatha waved her hand and Wanda went crashing to the floor. “No.” She gritted out, her eyes locked on Agatha, refusing to look at the familiar door. She knew what would await behind that door.

“Did you forget that I have your children lock in this basement? It wasn’t a request.”

Before Wanda could respond she could hear the voices of Billy and Charlie call out to her behind the door and she knew she had no other choice but to enter.

______________

As you were flying lower to the ground your eyes caught the sigh of someone waving their arms noticeably. You needed to get to Wanda though. You needed to see her. To tell her you were sorry. That you were there for her… That you loved her.

Begrudgingly you flew down, you would just check if this person was okay before getting to Wanda.

When your feet touched ground, you were practically knocked over by Ellie leaping into your arms. “Y/n! You have to help me!” She cried desperately, tears streaming rapidly down her cheeks.

The sight overwhelmed you as you tried to maintain your composure. “Ellie, what’s wrong?” You asked cautiously, placing your hands on her shoulders to hold her back.

“My names not Ellie. It’s me, Y/n. Amelia.” She grabbed your hands and tugged you forward slightly. “Wanda is trying to keep us apart.”

You stumbled back with her words, not expecting it. “No. I don’t know who you are, but I know Wanda. I know I love her and that I’ve always loved her. I’ve seen it in my mind.”

Almost immediately the tears stopped in their tracks. Ellie- Amelia stared you down. The sight sent a chill down your spine as your fingers began tingling with energy. “Oh, Y/n, sweetheart. That’s just not true.” You noticed she began playing with a small device in her hands. “Maybe you just need a little… encouragement.”

Your fingers sparked with nervous energy, as a pit began forming in your stomach. “What do you mean?”

Before she could reply, Anna and Pietro strolled up. “There’s something about music that messes with her head.” Anna said flippantly, as she picked at her nails. “Try that.”

Pietro smirked. “If that doesn’t work I can help you out with that little device you have there, hot stuff.” He added with a wink to Amelia.

Amelia tilted her head thoughtfully. “That won’t be necessary. Agatha taught me a little trick.”

With a small wave of her hand, a purple fog drifted from her fingers and disappeared into your mind.

“Hello, beautiful.” You looked up from your place on the floor of the training room, smiling slightly when you saw it was Amelia.

“Hi, doll.” You replied back, the term of endearment tasting bitter on your tongue. It felt out of place. You tried to ignore it. This was your girlfriend now after all.“Here to get schooled in some hand-to-hand combat?”

A laugh fell from her lips. “Oh, please. I could take you any day, Y/ln.”

You smirked up at her. “That’s cute that you think that. My mentor is Steve Rogers. I trained with Natasha Romanoff almost daily. Captain America and Black Widow. My skill levels are unmatched.” You said easily as you brushed imaginary dirt off your shoulders.

“Yeah, yeah. We get it. You were an Avenger. Blah, blah, blah. That’s really not as impressive as you th-” Amelia squealed slightly as you swept her legs out from under her, pining her almost immediately.

With a grin, you looked down at her. “You were saying?”

You noticed the way her gaze fell to your lips and you couldn’t help but smirk again. Before you could do anything, she flipped you over, pining your hands above your head. “I was saying, I would’ve thought Black Widow taught you better than that.”

Her grip on your wrists loosened slightly as you tugged her down. Your lips meeting in a kiss.

Blinking rapidly, you shook away the fog in your mind as you refocused on the world around you. “Do you see now?” Amelia called out to you. “It wasn’t Wanda. It was me you were with.”

All the pieces of memories you had seen the last few days flashed in your mind. The love you had for Wanda flashed in your mind. There would never be anyone else. “No, Amelia. I’m sorry, but it’s her-”

“-it’s always been her. I’m sorry that I didn’t say anything sooner, but I don’t want to hurt you anymore than I already have.” You winced at the tears that seemed to be forming in Amelia’s eyes. “I can’t love you when I have no room in my heart for someone else. Even if Wanda and I can’t be together. Even if I can’t forgive her.”

Your eyes widened at the memory that it seemed you were able to recall on your own. “I told you I was in love with Wanda. Why are you doing this?”

Amelia gritted her teeth. “Because Wanda didn’t deserve you, Y/n. I did. When Agatha approached me and told me this was a guaranteed way to win you back I knew I had to do it.”

You shook your head. “I'm never going to love you back, Amelia. I need to get to Wanda.”

“Ralph, now.” Amelia told Pietro, tossing him the small device. He caught it and sped over to you.

You felt the small prick against the back of your neck and then everything went dark.

__________________

The trauma of having to relieve losing her parents and experiencing the effects of the mind stone again weighed heavily on her. The pain was all fresh and Wanda wasn't sure she could take anymore.

Then she saw the familiar sight of elevator doors.

For a moment Wanda was sure her legs would give out underneath her. She knew that behind this door was peace. The peace she wanted her mind to remain in forever that didn't exist anymore.

The simplicity that was behind that door didn't exist anymore but it was something she longed to see.

Agatha made a quiet noise of surprise as Wanda moved forward on her own, rather than reluctantly as she had before.

The doors slid open as Wanda felt the cool breeze blow through her hair. The imagine of her younger self sat looking out at the city before her. “So, where are we now?”

“The roof of the Avengers compound.” Wanda said quietly. “It’s where Y/n and I fell in love. No matter how hard I tried to shut her out, she never gave up. Pietro was dead, and I was in a new country. I had never felt so alone… She saved me from drowning.”

Wanda’s heart thudded painfully in her chest she saw the younger version of herself open her mouth to speak. She knew what was coming next. “Y/n.”

You stepped in between Agatha and Wanda a small smile on your face as the younger version of herself never looked away from you.

Wanda’s breath hitched because looking back at it now, it was clear she had always been in love with you.

“Um, hi.” You began, bashfully rubbing the back of your neck. “I wanted fresh air and it’s such a nice day out and it looked like you could use company. I mean, not that you have to have company if you don't want it. I can go if you want or I can just sit here with you and-”

Wanda couldn’t help but laugh slightly as she interrupted you. “Y/n. You’re rambling.”

Your cheeks flushed, and the current Wanda couldn’t help but smile adoringly at the sight. Of how oblivious you both were. “Right. Sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude.”

The young version of herself never let her eyes leave yours. A stark contrast from the girl who couldn’t even look at you for more than a minute when you first met. “You don’t?”

The redness on your cheeks darkened. “Well…” You winced. “I guess I did since I knew you’d probably be here and I just-”

“I like being around you.” Wanda whispered at the same time you said the words.

“Even if we don’t talk most of the time.” You finished shyly.

Her eyes shone slightly under the fading light. “What are your intentions now?”

You shifted slightly from foot to foot. “I think my intentions would be whatever you prefer.”

Wordlessly she pat the space next to her. You smiled as you took a seat next to her, looking out over the skyline, your shoulders brushing. “Wanda, I…” She tilted her head to look at you. “I don’t want to pretend I know exactly what you’re going through because we all fight battles that no one knows about… But if you ever need to talk or just have someone around I’m here for you. If that would give you even just a little comfort.”

Wanda’s eyes flashed with controlled annoyance. “What makes you think that talking about it would give me comfort?” You stayed quiet. “Or sitting here with you?”

Wanda flinched at the tone her past self used and watched the way you began spinning the rings on your fingers anxiously. You were nervous, she could see that now.

She wanted to yell at herself for all the time she spent pushing you away when she should have been pulling you closer.

“I just thought that-”

“The only thing that would bring me comfort is seeing him again.” Wanda cut you off sharply, her eyes shining with unshed tears and her voice thick with emotion.

Wanda could see the understanding in your eyes. You knew exactly what she was going through, and she had no idea at the time.

You nodded faintly, shifting your gaze back to the skyline. “Sorry.” You said quietly. You pulled out your phone to play music, the default to being around Wanda. A silent support.

“Never before has someone been more… Unforgettable. In every way, and forever more that’s how you’ll stay.”

The music made tears well up in Wanda’s eyes because this was the first song you had played that she had allowed herself to actually listen to. The silent messages you were sending her. The walls you were breaking without even realizing it.

“I’m sorry.” She eventually mumbled.

You turned to face her, your brows furrowed in concern. “Don’t be. It’s fine, Wanda.”

A pained smile spread across her lips. “It’s just… I’m so tired.” She inhaled sharply and the glistening in her eyes became more apparent. “It’s like this wave washing over me, again and again. It knocks me down and when I try to stand up, it just comes for me again. And I… It’s just gonna drown me.”

The defeat in her voice made your heart clench as you fought the urge to hold her, to take her hand. “It may feel like it’s all sorrow right now, but there’s more.” You said quietly. Wanda’s stared back at you with curiosity. “The pain you’re in is a telltale sign of the love you gave. Of the unwavering strength of your love… because what is grief is not love persevering?” For a moment you just stared at one another.

The abrupt sound of a loud ad startled you both as you jumped. A laugh fell from your lips because of the terrible timing. “I really should start paying for ad free. Sorry.” You smiled at her nervously.

The surprise on your face was obvious when she smiled back at you. “No, it was funny.” She replied with a chuckle.

You made a face. “It is kind of funny that an Avenger can’t afford ad free music, isn’t it?”

“Mhm.” Wanda hummed, her eyes twinkling in amusement.

The sound of her laughter faded as you both stared at one another, the intensity of emotions left unspoken making the air heavy with tension. Eventually you both turned your gaze back to the skyline, your shoulders still brushing.

A single tear fell down Wanda’s cheeks as she stepped further onto the roof, the image of you both faded away as she looked around.

“So, to recap… Parents dead, brother dead, Y/n pretty much dead.” Wanda’s face crumpled in pain as the tears fell down her cheeks more steadily. Agatha continued on. “What happened when she wasn’t there to be your life raft anymore, Wanda?”

Wanda roughly wiped away the tears that wouldn’t stop falling. “I can’t do this anymore.”

“You’re right there! Tell me how you did it.” Wanda’s chest heaved with the weight of the emotions. “They tried to take Y/n, but you weren’t going to let that happen.”

Wanda’s eyes widened slightly as she thought back to the moment. “I wasn’t going to let that happen.” She repeated as she marched through the familiar door.

Anxiously she watched herself find your empty room, she watched the panic in her every move, she watched Hayward talk about you like you were nothing.

Her heart broke all over again as she watched herself hover over your practically lifeless body.

“I can’t feel you.” She whispered brokenly, the pain in her chest overcoming her. The sensation composing her entire being as everything within her collapsed. She was alone, and she knew she wouldn’t recover.

Her eyes glowed red as she waved a hand, all of the doctors in the room turning away from your body on her command. Hayward turning away as well before he could even react.

Carefully she made her way over to you and took you in her arms, her hands glowing as she carried you away through a back entrance where no one would see her leave.

Cautiously, she placed you in the passenger seat of her car and began driving. Her heart thudding heavily with each passing moment that you didn't wake up. The only thing that brought her a small semblance of comfort was the sight of your chest still weakly rising and falling with each breath.

After an hour or so of driving she pulled into an empty driveway. “This- this was supposed to be a surprise… I bought it when we were in Scotland... For when I was finally able to propose. For when we were finally able to start our lives together. Our happy ending.”

Tears began falling rapidly down her cheeks. “We were supposed to be a happy ending.” She whispered brokenly. “I just want you to be able to see it b-before you go. You deserve more than to have your last moments in that room.” Her words were shaky as if it took all she had to even get them out. Because it did.

Wanda made her way out of the car and carefully carried you out to the middle of the empty lot. “I love you, Y/n. So much.” She whispered, noticing the way your breath was becoming weaker and weaker by the minute. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

Slowly she sunk to the ground, still holding you in her arms. The pain in her chest growing unbearable. She couldn’t breathe. All she felt was pain. Broken sobs fell from her lips as she watched the color steadily fade from your face. The steady thrum of your heart rate against her fingertips fading away.

With a scream of agony red burst from her chest and you began floating in the air, gently wrapped in the red. Quickly the energy expanded and expanded. The house appearing from nothing as your feet slowly touched the floor. The hospital gown that you were in moments before gone and replaced with an old-fashioned dress. Your eyes were still closed as the red energy continued to stream out of Wanda.

When the red faded away, Wanda was left breathless by the sight. All she could see was you. Her eyes watered when she met your eyes again. The eyes she had spent weeks begging to see open again.

You, standing before her with the same smile you wore the first time that you met. Your eyes looking at her with all the love you had before it all went wrong. That was all she ever wanted.

Tentatively she stepped forward, as if one wrong move would make you disappear. The outfit she was wearing transforming into an old fashioned dress as well.

The smile she gave you was loving as her eyes shone with feelings she hadn’t been able to feel in weeks. Happiness. “Wanda. Darling. I’ve missed you.” You said sincerely. “Should we stay in tonight?”

You turned on the radio before meeting her in front of the couch.

“That’s why, darling, it’s incredible that someone so unforgettable thinks that I am unforgettable too.”

As the music washed over you both, you took a seat on the couch wrapping an arm around Wanda, pulling her closer as her hand lifted to glide over your cheek. Her fingertips brushing along your jaw lovingly until they landed on the back of your neck and pulled you closer. Your lips met in a sweet kiss and Wanda happily gave herself over to the moment. To you.

Wanda watched the moment with an aching heart as the scene before her faded away. Suddenly she heard the sound of clapping in the distance. She cautiously made her way forward, squinting against the bright overhead lights.

“Bravo.” Agatha called sarcastically before snapping her fingers and disappearing into a haze of purple smoke.

Before Wanda could react, she heard the desperate cries of her children. “Mom! Mom! Help us!”

“Please! Please, help us!” Continued as she ran to the door and into the bright daylight.

Panic coursed through her veins as she ran down the street frantically trying to find the twins. Her chest tightening as her breathing became almost impossible.

A moment later she came to a stop before Agatha. The sight making her stomach turn. Agatha held the twins hostage as the purple force wrapped around their necks, preventing them from escaping. “I know what you are.” Agatha called out, but all Wanda could focus on was the pain her children were in.

Her hands began to glow as she made a weak attempt to reassure them. “It’s okay, babies. It’s okay. I’m here.”

“You have no idea how dangerous you are. You’re supposed to be a myth. A being capable of spontaneous creation and here you are… Using it to make breakfast for dinner!” Agatha’s lips curled in disgust.

The glow in Wanda’s hands intensified. “Let go of my children!”

“Oh yes, your children. And Y/n. And this whole little life you’ve made… This is Chaos Magic, Wanda… And that makes you... the Scarlet Witch.”

And we have concluded with part 8! One final part after this!

If you would like to actually read what happens in SWORD with Hayward its in part 13 of "Love Goes" which I will tag here. And a nice conversation that they had about feeling like drowning is in part 1 of "Love Goes" which I will tag here.

Ironically, I wrote that scene about drowning before episode 8 of Wandavision came out so it kind of messed with the flashback scene when I was writing it.

Anyway, that's all. As always, I hope you all enjoyed! Thoughts and comments always welcome! :)

Taglist:

@theofficialzivadavid // @tquick99 // @marrymemcgrath // @afuckingshituniverse // @pxterstrk // @aimezvousbrahms // @ensorcellme // @sapphicshots // @daisybri7

[baylardo]

idk why i was thinking about Future’s End this week but obviously it presents the issue of threshold!janeway and paris not being able to blend in on a more historically-based Earth setting,,,,,, and it’s season three so I’d consider kathryn to still be in her “Moody About Things” phase,,,,,,,,,, but she has her moments every once in a while post-Resolutions. I wouldn't consider Future’s End to be one of them though. :)

also kinda a side note, it’s cute that in the beginning of future’s end kathryn talks with tuvok about taking up tennis again and that she’s really rusty at it, having lost in a novice tournament while on the holodeck. It’d be cute if in the AU, the reason why she’s rusty is because she’s having to play with a tail now. :~)

I was talking with Alice and Riley about what the workaround might be as far as getting both Tom and Kathryn to blend in on Earth. And likeeeeee I'm REAL HESITANT to suggest any kind of temporary medical procedure that would manipulate their appearance. Only because i think about the ordeal of FAST tail removal/growth and i'm a little MMMMMMMM Maybe Not haha. I guess the easiest solution i can think of is like, the temporal leap through time SPECIFICALLY messing with Paris and Janeway given their unique warp 10 physiology (the triplets would likely the same given they didn't TECHNICALLY experience warp 10, they were born as is).

But yeah future’s end is still early enough that i bet the two of them, kathryn especially, would be THRILLED to look like her old self again. :) i bet she’d fumble around without her tail but in an annoyingly tolerant way that chakotay just does NOT vibe seeing from her ‘cause I imagine she’s SUPER full of herself and ignoring her children completely in this instance. future’s end is around the time agewise for the triplets that they’d begin saying their first words. :3 and I bet he’d kinda passive aggressively shoot that at her while she’s examining herself in the mirror that she’s missing out on it hehe. You could really manipulate that first scene of them on Earth to fit this energy too, ‘cause chakotay’s all like “well kathryn, you got us home,” and stuff like that hehe. 

Obviously they go back to being to their super evolved selves after returning to their timeline. And maybe prior to that kathryn would have to come to terms with the fact that this isn’t her life anymore. Maybe despite her enthusiasm for looking “human” again, her face almost feels foreign to her now, and she hasnt quite adjusted to not having her tail. It’d be even more angsty if her babies didn’t recognize her.

future’s end really fittingly too comes JUST before the Q and the grey too,,,,,,,, where Q offers to give kathryn her normal appearance back to try to entice her to mate with him. :) and at that point she’s like nah i’m good (like yes she idealizes it but in that circumstance the bribery, just as similarly as him offering to take Voyager home, isnt worth it to her)

[has-brain-rot]

sorry for the long reblog but THIS HERE

(under the cut because t'is long)

OKAY so like, there's the obvious reasons why people might not instinctively like pearl. As you pointed out her "pathetic-ness," and like, she was one of the original trio that got hit the most with the homophobia that's generally directed towards the show (purely because she was the first to show obvious affection and love towards another woman).

BUT there's also like, the other part (somewhat hc on my part) where she's neurodivergent and traumatized (and also like, Pearls are made to be servants on homeworld and uh, people have difficulties with such topics). She comes from a background that not many people can relate to and is a character some people could find annoying in real life, which already puts a strain on her relatability to the general audience.

However the people that will relate to her are also people that the general society shun to some degree.

Neurodivergent folks, though unfortunate face ableism in their lives, even if some aspects of neurodivergency has become "accepted" in recent years. And people with PTSD (and especially C-PTSD, which I personally believe Pearl is more likely to have) face their own difficulties in the world.

I think there's a subconscious mix of people recognizing "outside traits" when it comes to Pearl. Obsessiveness that is portrayed more realistically and not as a quirky harmless trait, self-destructive tendencies, being trauma bonded to a person who formally played a role as her "master", having difficulties recognizing how her emotions and actions impact others, having difficulties processing her own emotions, among other things.

Pearl is, to whatever degree Steven Universe could pull off in a children's animated show, a representation of some of the uglier sides of trauma and neurodivergency. Sure, it can be played for laughs, but it isn't just treated as something humorous. And that's something that many people can feel uncomfortable about, whether it being that something about her hits too close to home, or that it seems too "outlandish" for a show that otherwise has an insanely positive main character.

She strikes out, she has routines that help her feel stable, she has difficulties adapting without direct example that the adapting won't hurt her. She struggles with control because she was quite literally programmed to have no control. She also doesn't eat, which could make people view her as less human than the rest of the main gems (however that's a random guess on my part).

Plus there's also how Pearl's main love interest was the partner of Steven's dad, and isn't directly in the show. Lapis is a fairly similar character to Pearl (I'm so sad they didn't interact more. They're surprisingly similar in many aspects) but part of why she got so popular was because she had Peridot as a love interest (plus they executed Lapis' story arc a bit better than Pearl's purely because Lapis didn't have to be in every episode so the episodes she was in could feature her more naturally).

I could go on about how it seems like in the first season they didn't fully know what to do with Pearl. Like how she used to have powers to manipulate sand and mist, or how she has the unusual power to make holograms that can actually fight for her. She's a powerful character that isn't treated as such, and maybe people find that if a character has these strengths they shouldn't be weak (which is.. not a good outlook).

I'm also going to add down here that it seems like a large part of the Steven Universe fandom was involved in fanfiction, and Pearl isn't like, the easiest character to write. She's got layers, many of which took seasons to reveal themselves. Ultimately compared to some of the other characters she's too hard to write, harder to ship with other characters, and isn't as relatable as other characters. Lapis and Peridot both share many similarities with Pearl, but don't consistently portray the more serious/hurtful/damaging sides of those traits...

Well.. Lapis is more complicated, but by the end of the show she's completed her character arc and begins learning how to be happy, even if she takes a few steps back sometimes. Pearl doesn't get that to the same degree, and makes mistakes more often, and people can fall into the victim-blaming mindset of "if it hasn't been bad in a long time, why aren't you better?". Her mental health journey is kinda wibbly wobbly.

AND, back to the fanfic point, Pearl doesn't fit neatly into one pre-established stereotype, like how Peridot could fit into the Nerd stereotype, Lapis into the Emo/Edgy stereotype, Amethyst into the Funny one stereotype (which they do tackle in the show actually!), etc etc. Pearl can fit a lot of these, but it feels wrong to slot her into just one.

She's been a renegade to be feared, she's canonically killed other gems, she's grieving for a life she thought she could have as her partner broke up for her, she's fighting her programming of being a slave. She swings from being logical to being emotional, etc etc etc.

ANYWAYS the summary is that I VERY much agree. Pearl is an underrated character and has committed many Woman's Wrongs and I love that for her. And I found her quite relatable when I was younger, so I mean there's that bias there

Idk why people hated Pearl Steven Universe so much her design and voice acting and characterization was amazing. You can’t support women’s wrongs and talk about loving pathetic obsessive women but then hate Pearl Steven Universe (or even most of the other gems either for that matter)

[raazberry]

i told all my friends that you thought [godtongue] was trans and we all unanimously agreed that it's a great hc given her backstory <3 one of them said 'based because she's so beautiful & trans fems are pretty'; i'll send one of my wips of her for u to see

(there's no need to guess what her name is... points at the link >:3c although i'll keep referring to her by the title i gave her to lure other people into her lore if they come to close)

get ready for a doodle & too much reading (2.7k to be exact) since i'm using your ask as a way to rewrite everything in a way where i can explain to newcomers.

in summary of what's up with her,

⁠— 𝐢. 𝐂𝐈𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐀.

separate from godtongue's universe where earth resides, is another universe that holds a world named cibruthea. in this universe, a sorcerer known as solis gathered 14 individuals underneath his command, bound by debt. this so-called "debt" was mostly purposeful, having forced these individuals into dire situations in which he'd "save" them with the promise of their own dreams & desires to be fulfilled. although he may have seemed grand to some, these were white lies. solis had his own plans that he wanted to see to fruition.

the 14 individuals, whom solis named, are known as:

the scapegoat, the great old god, the godtongue, the keeper of keys, the pyrrhic prophet, the chatelaine, the margrave, the wanderer, the living creature, the cloistered empress, the odalisque, the holy fool, the fool, & the sacrificial lamb.

the godtongue on cibruthea is different than my godtongue on earth—the original godtongue's name is sirusho, a woman of high military status. a war had broken out in her country, and she had lost all of her family, including her husband and children. the only child who survived was the youngest, nazeli, whom she scooped in her arms and ran. eventually, she'd be taken in as a refugee by solis, a sorcerer of kuviel's royal court.

she'd eventually fall in love with the great old god, tian, and he'd help raise nazeli with her. years passed, and unfortunately, solis did not like this. given his own backstory and his goals, he'd send little nazeli off falling to her death once he told her there was a peach tree a little ways of them.

once word reached sirusho & tian, they were devastated. and they knew who the perpetrator was. they'd witnessed him murder the sacrificial lamb, and out of everyone else they were the closest to understanding who this man truly was.

and although solis was prepared to kill them both shortly after, he was not prepared for the catastrophe known as The Blight. it was only a matter of time before the consequences of his human experimentation (o7 creature & fool you two were among the easiest to manipulate) and the seething hatred of a certain fiery sorceress would catch up to him and bring forth the demise of cibruthea (o7 world of cibruthea you'll always have cursed timelines thanks to asshole solis).

at this point, solis had already slain both sirusho & tian after the rest of the 14 individuals relentlessly attempted to defend the world from destruction, dying alongside it...or so he thought. tian, with his neck utterly lacterated and having witnessed the deaths of his friends and family, of witnessing his gentle & compassionate nature turning poisonous & vengeful, had managed to give a taste of what solis deserved. death.

and although cibruthea had come to ruin, it could not stop solis' experiment to seep into other timelines. other universes. he chose to see to what lengths a human body could handle "magic", and to prevent them from combusting from within, he had devised a way where the bodies could adopt intangible forms made of dark matter, the same dark matter he was used to manipulating into doing his bidding.

eventually, the realm of nox would be birthed.

— 𝐢𝐢. 𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐍𝐈𝐒.

in cibruthea's universe, a tabby cat would find it's way to the 14 individuals' residence, their lives feeling a whole lot brighter with this little critter around; they named him ponchik, after the pastries he liked to paw at, for he was just as sweet as they were.

this tabby's real name was lemnis. in reality, he was an immortal denizen of magic (time & space), sent to survey a strange phenomena occuring within this set universe. he'd grow alongside these people for years, loving every single one of them through their flaws, even if they would never find out that he wasn't actually a cat.

and he couldn't bear the sight of watching them die one by one. he couldn't fathom how the cursed cycle would repeat in every timeline in the same universe.

upon hearing word that The Blight was seeping into another universe and soon, other universes, lemnis was the first to immediately offer his aid. his beloved, diástasi, would follow suit.

however, upon arriving a world known as earth (that's us yippie <33 he got there when civilization first sprouted. earth is obviously also where my mc is because [points at obm]), he'd realize that diástasi wasn't with him, and he could no longer contact [The Council]. he sensed that something had gotten in-between them that prevented any further contact.

centuries passed, and he'd finally sense the presence of a child named casteus, the spiritual descendant & predecessor of the great old god. soon, the others would be born.



⁠— 𝐢𝐢𝐢. 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐀 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑.

my mc, born en-caul in the mediterranean to a dignified woman from a lowkey group of scholars (associated with rivers & knew magic of their own, although not the same as that of the sorcerer's society), and a silly man from a high society household, makes her debut.

[godtongue]'s father had took her mother's hand, and they both ran from her family romeo & juliet style--for good reason. her family was not to be messed with, for they had their own controversial plans that my mc's mother wanted nothing to do with. they settled in a plain house near her father's family, living frugally. they were content,

save for the times her father's family would spit upon herself and her mother. in spite of this, [godtongue] would continue to happily involve herself with her cousins, and would curiously peer into everyone's business. if they chose to snap at her, she'd cleverly confront them back.

even if she was in the right, [godtongue] would still be reprimanded by her parents about why she may have been right, but her choice of action wasn't. the more curious she was, the more bitter her father's family became, although, jabs at her were not as strong as jabs at her mother. it was only a matter of time before something dire came up, and her father helped the two of them go into hiding.

eventually when her mother became too wary knowing that her own family was tracking herself, her daughter, and her husband down, she's had enough of her husband's family treating them the way they did. her strong sense of justice would guide her to confronting her in-laws, bringing a small [godtongue] (13) with her.

they crashed a party her father's family was having, and [godtongue] had assumed the worst once she witnessed every wine bottle explode and crash to the floor.

upon looking back at her mother, she had lost all sight of who she was. her justice had turned into fury, and her fury into poison born from hurt. her mother had ended up unleashing her wrathful power [godtongue] had only seen in small instances. cut to her witnessing the terror and sorrow in her father's eyes who slowly approached them, his love for his wife & daughter stronger than the fear he felt.

pleading with her mother, despising the look of hurt on her father's face, the two of them left the vicinity and fled into the forest of the countryside. it wasn't long until her mother collapsed--the magical power she had used, and was using, was quite literally eating at her from the inside. although she did not mean for it, [godtongue]'s mother was about to die as a result of not keeping her dangerous power in-check.

she would stay by her mother's side as she was dying an unnatural death, but before her departure, her mother raised a hand towards her daughter. in her peripheral, [godtongue] could see a dark apparition of what seemed like a cat, but was far from it. it calmly sat at a distance, watching, observing.

a long, dark, and sharp cut then found itself being violently administered onto [godtongue]'s chest, but no blood had come out. it was a marking, a label. as the cut was bestowed upon her, her mother's last breath was an accepting whisper of something [godtongue] could not make out. she stayed beside her mother for a while in spite of the wind gradually picking up, and took one last look at the ominous spirit that had watched the scene before running back into the direction of her father's family. the spirit did not break its gaze.

⁠— 𝐢𝐯. 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐄-𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐒𝐄𝐀.

after a short period of grieving, [godtongue] ran back to the estate with the intention of letting everything out: her pain, her sorrows, her hatred, whatever she could muster. once she had arrived,

it seemed to them as if she was a reincarnation of her mother: rrisen from the grave, knowing things she wasn't supposed to know. when they glanced at her wine-dark eyes, they felt the powerful sting of her mother's gaze, through the misery of their shared blood.

after finishing her speech, [godtongue]'s small body could do nothing but shake in the aftershock. panic overtook her once she saw her loving father take a step towards her, ushering her towards him with emotion threatening to pour out.

she ran.

she ran, and her father followed. no matter how much she loved him, she could not find herself running back into the warmth of his loving arms, even with his desperate cries. she was the last precious person he had; he could not lose his daughter on the same night he lost his dear wife, too. but [godtongue] would rather die than stay rotting in a golden cage.

once she had caught sight of the ocean beyond an upcoming cliff, she ran faster, and although her body screamed at her to turn back around and return to her exhausted father who had collapsed onto the ground behind her,

she leapt into the wine-dark sea.



— 𝐯. 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄.

something switched. something felt off.

the impact didn't kill her, but she felt her legs being dragged down by numerous hands. forcefully breaking free by some miracle, she managed to swim to the shoreline. unfortunately for [godtongue], the beings made of shadow that attempted to drag her down made themselves known as they rose from the sea, and once she whipped her head to see more of them further off on the beach behind her, she'd instinctively run towards the lighthouse off in the distance. it shone no light.

what she didn't realize is that she had slipped into a separate reality, a pocket dimension known as nox. the dark matter that had slipped into [godtongue]'s universe cursed magic-users who would be consumed by their own magic, and then banished into purgatory. to get out, they must switch souls with a magic-imbued human: [godtongue] was a prime target among the weaker of these beings, known simply as nightfolk.

once [godtongue] reached the top of the lighthouse, the light magically flickered on upon her touch, and warded the nightfolk that had followed her up. she knew better than to stay, thus she would use a rope to quickly slide down and continue to run. when she couldn't any longer, she stopped, contemplated, turned to face them, and extended her hand.

light wisped out, not in a strong burst or a quick flash, but in a soft, quiet breath, almost a whisper.

they were gone.



— 𝐯𝐢. 𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒.

when [godtongue] awoke, she found herself in the same spot she was in as she was drowning. she swam up to the surface with the last bit of her strength as she caught sight of the sky turning blue, a snippet of golden light from the sun.

she reached for the light, just as she did before, just as her parents reached for her.

she did not have the energy to keep herself afloat, even when she clung so desperately onto a piece of driftwood. fortunately for her, an older man seemingly in his late 40s scooped her out of the water and onto his humble boat.

groggily awakening on an unfamiliar bed, she was met with a pair of warm, hickory brown eyes. his fluffy hair was a shade of ivory, a tinge of cinnamon.

“hi... what's your name?”

“casteus. what's yours?”

“...aurelia. by the way, you smell like wet dog.”

“you smell like stinky fish.”

with the chatter alerting the old man, he'd come into a room with a bowl of cut peaches for the two children to share. expressing her thanks, she'd take a single slice and pop it into her mouth.

she cried.

she's never had a peach before.

with tears pouring out her eyes, she'd innocently look up at the man who fished her out, “what's your name?”

and with a melancholic look, he responded,

“lemnis.”



— 𝐯𝐢𝐢. 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓. (ish)

cutting it short (because this is already so long), the rest of the 14 individuals' spiritual descendants would eventually be brought up and raised by lemnis, all referring to him as 'dad' & variants of 'grandpa'. all but one, scapegoat. he didn't fit his title, but he'd eventually venture into nox with a teenage [godtongue], and would uncover things he didn't wish to know. as a result, he chose to leave his adopted family at the age of 17. at the time, this only consisted of four individuals with the addition of lemnis.

a few years after he left, [godtongue]'s younger brother, sasha (the margrave), would dive after her youngest sister, bijou (the sacrificial lamb), who found herself being dragged into the ocean, just as she had been years ago. it was an emotional scene, [godtongue] desperately trying to run towards them and somehow aid them, being held back by her brothers. they were dragged, and never came back up.

with a few more years passing, things went on normally. [godtongue] (27), having finished her schooling after years of traveling & studying, was spending her evening going over notes for her last client outside a café.

the dark cat spirit from her youth made its presence known once more, sitting idly at the edge of yet another forest. wary, but still curious, she followed.

she wasn't expecting to be teleported, thrown onto the marble floors of RAD's council room, looking up at nine demons. she wouldn't be wasting any time.

using diavolo's shoulders as a stepping stool (lol diavolo imagine getting jumped couldn't be me), she leapt onto him and grabbed onto the ledge of the window, and slipped out onto the roof where lucifer would promptly follow her.

“hello,”

“...hello.”

“my name is aurelia, what's yours?”

“lucifer.”

“i apologize for making you come up here for me, lucifer. would you like for me to come back?”

“yes, that would be ideal.”

“if that's the case, will you help me find my footing so i can get back down safely?”

“...??”

[godtongue] was certainly spooked, but she deliberately chose to wait to see who would come for her, and learn whether or not the person was civil enough to aid her, albeit, not much in this regard. she was able to get back down just fine on her own (experience of exploration in her infancy, experience with twisting into tight gaps and reaching high ledges in her adolescence as she aided her grandfather with ship repairs), but the kicker is that she chose to wait and see what lucifer would do.

she returned to the council room with him, and her first impression was based on awe and confusion. mostly because the royals & the rest of lucifer's brothers saw the confusion on his face, with [godtongue] being perfectly calm (she was not calm).

after leaving RAD, [godtongue] doesn't wait around to tell him of her true intentions from earlier on the rooftop—she sees no reason to lie in this scenario, even towards a being who theoretically has the power to snap her spine out of spite. even so, she doesn't waste a breath thanking him, although he did very little for her out of duty, and not compassion.

the story continues from this point~

(i hope you enjoyed this & make sure to drink lots of water because this will certainly fry someone's brain </3)

okay i just read the whole thing and

first of all lemnis my beloved. i audibly gasped when he met godtongue oh my god... him being basically stranded on earth without being able to talk to the council made me cry a little ngl. btw was he actively seeking out the spiritual descendants or did they all just somehow. come to him? either way i love him so much im

also i know why godtongue ran and left her dad behind but it just hurt SO MUCH she lost so much so quick :( i am once again asking to give her a hug

also is casteus also one of the spiritual descendants of the og 14 from cibruthea?

speaking of cibruthea LITERALLY WTF IS WRONG WITH SOLIS tian was so real for using his literal last moments to kill him i love him for that :(

also nazeli falling to her death bc of the promise of a peach tree by solis & casteus offering godtongue peaches and her crying bc she's never had them before im sooooo normal about this (<- lying)

also i love how confident (?) she grows up to be. like not exactly confident more like she seems so... clear and determined even when shes in a stressful or scary situation. like when she ran from her dad's family or the thing with lucifer

i've started every paragraph with also i just realised help but IDK I JUST LOVE THIS SO MUCH THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING????? the playlist and the random links (especially the silly man one it made me laugh) made reading this like so much more fun :D

goes without saying but I FUCKING LOVED READING THIS i have so many more questions like what was her relationship with the rest of her siblings like when she lived with lemnis!! they sound rlly interesting!!! 10/10 would read this book

[kjack89]

An Agreement Between Gentlemen (Chapter 2/?)

Continuation of the E/R Bridgerton AU (chapter 1 tumblr | AO3) with all the shenanigans. And some fake marriage. Because why not.

This Author has long been of the opinion that there is nothing so dangerous during the season as a mother desperate to make a match for her daughter, especially when that daughter is plain, or comes without a substantial dowry. But this season may bring a danger even greater than a desperate mother of daughters: desperate mothers of sons, unable – or unwilling – to seal the deal.

While certainly families with daughters, no matter how titled or landed, stand to lose much if they are unable to find a suitable marriage, the prospect of title or land passing out of the family without a suitable heir is enough to drive even the most respectable of families to desperate measures. Especially in the case of the Marquess of Enjolras, who is approaching thirty without a suitable marriage match in sight.

It is rumoured that the Dowager Marchioness is at her wit’s end and determined that her son shall marry by the end of the season. She is even accused of going so far as to negotiate terms without her son’s knowledge. There were several reports of a great row coming from the elder and younger Enjolras earlier this month, with son and mother shouting at each other for the entire park to hear. 

The Dowager Marchioness finds herself in good company, at the least: the Duchess de Courfeyrac has long despaired to any who will listen that her eldest will never settle down, and the rumour is that the Baron of Pontmercy has proclaimed he is refusing to marry any girl save for young lady he caught glimpse of for but a moment at the Thénardiers’ ball (and whom he has never seen since, assuming she does exist). And of course, the landed gentry without titles find themselves in similar straits. Just take Mr. Grantaire, who, despite owning one of the largest houses bordering the park, has yet to find a wife, and as he is well past the age one would expect, his father has all but given up on him and retired out of the country.

Of course, with the exception of Baron Pontmercy, it is well known that neither Lord Courfeyrac nor Mr. Grantaire, nor most other young rakes who have yet to settle down, finds himself short of unsuitable women, but our gentle readers will know that unscrupulous women might warm a bed but will rarely walk down an aisle. And on a contrary note, the Marquess may well be a monk – there is not a single rumour that this Author has heard of any woman, suitable or otherwise, who has warmed his bed.

Then again, there is none who would ever think to bat the term ‘rake’ in the direction of Lord Enjolras.

But speaking of our notable rakes, this Author has learned that the Marquess of Enjolras has called upon Mr. Grantaire this past week. And our readers may remember that despite several seasons’ worth of acquaintance under their belts that neither man would consider the other friend, which causes this Author to wonder just what those two have to discuss.

Whatever they may be up to, this Author is certain it will bring nothing but more despair to their poor guardians. LADY WHISTLEDOWN’S SOCIETY PAPERS, 18  APRIL 1831

Grantaire blinked. "I beg your pardon?" he said, and Enjolras thought it was too his credit that he sounded only mildly baffled.

Still, Enjolras could not help the flush that rose in his cheeks at the absurdity of his request. "I am fairly certain that you heard me perfectly well," he said, a little stiffly.

"Heard you, certainly, but..." Grantaire trailed off. "You wish for me to help you get married."

"Correct."

"But you need that marriage..."

Again he trailed off, and Enjolras cleared his throat delicately. "To not be real, correct," he finished in what he hoped was a helpful way.

Judging by the look Grantaire gave him, it had not been. Still, Grantaire was silent for a long moment, taking several sips of whiskey before telling Enjolras, "I will not claim to be anyone's first choice to ask for help with any variety of matters, but I still never thought I would see the day when I would be asked by a marquess to assist him in committing fraud."

"And yet if memory serves, once upon a time, you offered me your help with anything," Enjolras said. "You even offered to black my boots."

Grantaire looked momentarily surprised. "I did not think you would remember that."

Enjolras shrugged. "It was not I who drank my weight in wine that evening."

Grantaire smirked. "True enough." His smile faded slightly and he finished his second glass of whiskey before standing and crossing again to the drink cart. "While my offer of assistance still stands, there is something I must know first."

Enjolras eyed him warily. "What's that?" he asked.

"Why," Grantaire said simply, pouring himself another glass. "If you wish for my help, I need to understand the circumstances that have driven you to this most desperate – and patently absurd – endeavor."

Enjolras scowled, though he had certainly assumed that Grantaire would not just blindly assist him without asking why. "Fine," he snapped. "If it will move this conversation along, then I will tell you." 

He waited for Grantaire to return to his seat with his whiskey before sighing and telling him grudgingly, "It's my mother."

"Your mother," Grantaire repeated.

"Yes," Enjolras said stiffly. "Do you intend on repeating everything I say? Because if so, this tale may never be finished."

Grantaire arched an eyebrow. "Forgive me, my lord," he said coolly. "Your statement merely took me by surprise, as I did not expect you to be a man who is cowed by anyone, let alone his own mother."

Enjolras sighed and drew a hand across his face. "No, it's you who must forgive me," he said, even more grudgingly than before. "I should not have snapped at you, but my mother..." He sighed again. "There is none who vexes me like she does.
"

"Not even I?" Grantaire asked, a small smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.

"Well," Enjolras allowed, "perhaps one other who vexes me like she does." Grantaire smiled, but it was too soft to be his usual smirk, and there was something in his expression that Enjolras could not quite place, but made him flush again, and he looked away, busying himself by pouring another cup of tea. "In any case, my mother is insisting that I get married so that my future bride's dowry can support the lavish lifestyle to which she has become accustomed."

Grantaire took a sip of whiskey. "And I suppose telling her no is off the table?"

"I have told her no many times," Enjolras said with a sigh. "And cut her off from the money I control to boot. But her only other assets come from some land she inherited in her own right, and she is threatening to raise levies on the poor people who work that land if she does not receive any additional funds."

"Like the fiefdoms of old," Grantaire murmured, a dark looking crossing his face. 

Enjolras nodded. "Precisely."

It took a moment for Grantaire's expression to even out, and he gave his head a swift shake. "So then, give her more of your money," he suggested.

"I cannot."

Grantaire's brow furrowed. "Why ever not?"

This, honestly, had been what he had been looking forward to least about having this conversation with Grantaire, in large part because he knew the man was liable to mock him with the reminder that the road to hell was paved with good intentions. "Most of my money is tied into trusts and investments to maintain the houses and lands, and to support infrastructure improvements in the village," Enjolras said. "And what remains is held in a trust by my solicitor that only I can draw on, and for specific purposes only."

"And let me guess, supporting your mother is not one of those specific purposes?"

Grantaire's tone was wry, and Enjolras sighed. "Indeed it is not. In fact, when I wrote the trust covenant, I deliberately chose to strictly forbid that type of use."

It looked as though Grantaire was trying very hard not to roll his eyes, but for once, Enjolras couldn’t really find it in himself to blame him. “So if you can’t use the money already under an existing trust, then you need new money, and the easiest way for that is…”

Grantaire trailed off and Enjolras nodded, relieved that Grantaire had finally caught up. “Some poor girl’s dowry,” he finished.

Grantaire pursed his lips, his expression skeptical. “You truly believe your mother would not just sell some jewels or something if the situation were truly that dire?”

“She might eventually,” Enjolras allowed, but his tone turned grim. “But I know my mother, and purposefully cruel is the kindest way to describe her. She would sooner squeeze every cent from her workers than suffer even a minor inconvenience, no matter the pain or destruction she leaves in her stead.”

“And you’re certain this is not simply a ploy to try to get you married off?” Enjolras looked affronted at the question and Grantaire held his hands up defensively. “I beg your pardon, but it had to be asked. Mothers are known for resorting to extreme measures in their desperation to see their children married off...or so Lady Whistledown would have us all believe.”

Enjolras wet his lips with his tongue as he contemplated his answer. “She might,” he said honestly. “I certainly wouldn’t put it past her. But I believe that if that were her true motive, she would’ve tried to force me into marriage through guilt over wanting grandchildren or a daughter-in-law, not going straight to the money angle.”

Grantaired nodded. “Well,” he said, “it’s good to know that you come by your manipulation tactics honestly, at least.” Enjolras gave him a withering look that Grantaire blithely ignored, asking instead, “What if you used some money from your trust to make a large purchase, a house or a tract of land, and then sold it quickly? Surely the profits from the sale would not fall under the terms of the trust.”

“They would not, but the trust—”

Grantaire groaned. “Do not tell me that you set up the trust so that you could not use it to expand your lands or holdings.”

Enjolras threw his hands up in frustration. “You know damn well I wish to be rid of these things!” he half-shouted, his irritation at the entire situation getting to the better of him. “Why would I allow myself the right to purchase more of that which I wish to depart from?”

“Because you really should have foreseen this becoming an issue,” Grantaire sighed, rubbing his forehead. He drained his glass of whiskey but to Enjolras’s relief, set it down on the table instead of getting up to pour himself another. “May I ask a question you will certainly find foolish?”

“Have you ever asked for my permission before?” Enjolras returned.

Grantaire half-smiled. “A fair question,” he said. “And I suppose I should not get in the habit now. Very well.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Why can’t you just get married? Most marriages of your social strata are loveless, or at least start out that way, more business arrangements than unions, and most if not all have at least financial motivation.”

Enjolras just shook his head. “I would not do that to any poor woman,” he said, his voice low. “Even if they imagine they would be stuck in a loveless marriage, I would not take from them the chance at one, or at having a family of their own, neither of which they would get from me.”

For a moment, Grantaire’s expression was almost soft as he gazed at him. “I see,” he said slowly, and Enjolras frowned at his sudden change in tone.

“What?”

Grantaire shrugged. “Here I thought you might be waiting for true love.”

Enjolras rolled his eyes again. “Hilarious,” he said dryly.

But Grantaire just gave him a small smile. “I would suggest you do not dismiss the idea until you have tried it.: 

Enjolras’s eyes narrowed. “Is that why you’re not wed?” he asked snidely. “Are you waiting for ‘true love’?”

Grantaire’s expression didn’t so much as twitch but Enjolras still immediately regretted his words, or at least the tone with which he delivered them. “I am not wed because I do not wish to be. Now forgive me, but I believe we were here to talk about your nuptial problems, not my own.”

Enjolras nodded stiffly, not quite willing to apologize yet again for the crime of sticking his foot in his mouth, but luckily, Grantaire moved on quickly. “So then borrow money from one of us,” he suggested, tracing a finger idly over the brocade fabric of his chair. “Certainly I can give you the equivalent of a good dowry.”

“And explain it to my mother how?” Enjolras asked. “A dowry is a one-time cash injection that my mother knows will not come again, and she can plan accordingly. If she knows or suspects that I have borrowed money, she will not stop until I have bled my friends dry.”

Grantaire arched an eyebrow. “I did not know that I was counted as one of your friends.”

“Do you really think I would ask this of someone I did not consider friend?”

Grantaire looked away, his expression unreadable. “Well,” he said, his voice a little strange, “in fairness, you do let Marius join us at the Musain, so.”

Enjolras rolled his eyes. “Fine,” he snapped. “I will not let my mother bleed dry my friends, acquaintances and occasional nemeses, then.”

Grantaire looked back at Enjolras, his usual smirk back in full force. “Occasional nemeses,” he repeated. “Oh, I do like the sound of that.”

“Are you going to help me or not?” Enjolras asked impatiently.

Grantaire stood abruptly, but he didn’t return to the drink cart. Instead, he wandered over to the window, tucking his hands in his pockets as he stared out the window overlooking the park. Enjolras knew him well enough to know that he was thinking, and he stayed quiet despite everything in his nature wanting him to ask what was going through Grantaire’s mind.

After a long moment, Grantaire gave his head a little shake, still staring out the window. “It’ll be tricky,” he murmured, almost solely to himself, as if he had forgotten Enjolras was in the room. “We will need a plausible explanation, a suitable scandal...and of course, long-term…”

He broke off and stared out the window in silence for one long before turning back around, his troubled expression replaced by something like resolution. “Adélaïde,” he said, and Enjolras stared at him.

“I’m sorry, who?” he asked blankly.

“My sister,” Grantaire said firmly. “She is the solution. You will marry my sister for her dowry.”

Enjolras opened his mouth and promptly closed it again, completely taken aback by how this conversation had suddenly turned. “And dare I ask what you will say if I tell you that I have absolutely no desire to marry your sister, for her dowry or for any other reason?”

Grantaire didn’t look remotely deterred. “I can’t imagine she’d be too thrilled with the match either, but seeing as how she has no say in the matter…”

He trailed off as Enjolras recoiled, his expression darkening. “I did not think you the kind of gentleman who would think so little of his own sister’s consent.”

To his surprise, Grantaire rolled his eyes. “I think a great deal of her consent,” he said impatiently. “But she gets no say because she has been dead for almost twenty years.”

“Oh.”

Enjolras barely breathed the syllable, the word more an instinctive response less to what Grantaire had said and more to the pain he could see painted across Grantaire’s expression, even as his brusque tone tried to hide it.

Grantaire just jerked his head in what may have been a nod, a muscle working in his jaw, and Enjolras hesitated before saying, tentatively, “I am sorry. I did not know.”

“No one does,” Grantaire said quietly. “I…” He trailed off before shaking his head. “She and I were quite close when we were children, and after she died, it was simply easier to not speak of her.” He did not wait for any additional sounds of sympathy from Enjolras, instead straightening his shoulders as his tone turned businesslike. “But that works in our favor, as it means that no one in London knows that she is dead. It will not be difficult to tell a few key people about her, that I indulge my sister for nothing and that she has fallen in love with someone back in the country, the vicar’s son or something. And why should I subject her to the marriage market when her hand is already spoken for?”

He delivered this scenario as if it was one he had thought about before, and Enjolras shook his head slowly. But Grantaire did not let him interrupt. “Then you can come visit me,” he continued. “Just a friendly visit out to the country for a few days, mid-season. But we can stage a scandalous encounter between you and my ‘sister’ and leak the details to Lady Whistledown. A quick marriage without any of your family in attendance will be the best way to settle the scandal, and you can be ‘married’ with none the wiser.”

“Save for you,” Enjolras said faintly.

Grantaire considered it and nodded. “Myself, and likely my butler and housekeeper. I cannot imagine pulling this off without their assistance.” He looked at Enjolras expectantly. “So what do you think?”

Enjolras shook his head again. “It seems almost insane enough to work,” he said slowly, because he could not think of anything else to say. “But it’s also a ruse I cannot imagine keeping up for long, and while I might pray every day that my mother drops dead, I doubt this ruse would outlive her.”

“Ah, but you are missing the beauty of it,” Grantaire said. “As my sister is already dead, it’s easy enough to stage an illness and then her death.” Enjolras made an unconvinced noise and Grantaire added, “And besides, because of the nature of the scandal, it would make it only natural that she would not wish to subject herself to London, giving you plenty of time before she needs to grow sickly for you to carry on without any concern.”

“It certainly seems like you’ve thought this through,” Enjolras said, scrambling for some protest that would make Grantaire stop and listen, that would get him to reconsider this almost certainly asinine plan.

Grantaire smirked slightly. “I have,” he said simply.

Enjolras gave him a look. “Then I know beyond doubt that it will not work.”

Grantaire just shrugged unconcernedly. “It may not,” he said. “But what have you to lose in trying? And what other options do you possibly have?”

None, was the answer, and it was all that Enjolras could tell Grantaire, a little helplessly. “None. And I have nothing left to lose.”

“Good,” Grantaire said. “Then we have a plan.”

[darkwingsofimagination]

I have lots of thoughts and feelings about Madre Solo Hay Dos, and this post is an attempt to express it. Since I'm posting through the android app I can't use the keep reading option, so SPOILER ALERT IN CASE YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED MADRE SOLO HAY DOS YET.

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So, when I began watching I couldn't find a trailer or a teaser, was relying solely on the small synopsis Netflix gave - which honestly was the best thing for me.

It also meant that at fisrt I was really surprised there was a husband at all not to mention two older kids in Ana's life, but I grew up watching enough mexican telenovelas to know that one way or another things would work out (I surely hoped so). But I liked how the story unraveled.

I was also VERY SURPRISED by Mariana and Elena's relationship because I definitely wasn't expecting Mariana to actually be with a woman before falling for Ana.

Juan Carlos cheating on Ana was both expected and utterly irritating (how could he do that when he had such an amazing wife and family?) And it cannot be justified by the fact she was controlling and workaholic. It just isn't, I mean he knew that control was how she showed love - he said it in episode two - and knowing he met her in university he must have known she was and would still be career driven. And to me that marriage was in the verge of ending and not just because he cheated, but for how he treated her. Always making her feel bad on focusing on having a successful career. I like him as a father, he is pretty good. But as a husband to her he was an asshole. I mean I could understand him asking her stop working a little to spend some time with the baby, for health and bonding issues, (and in a way she did need some rest) but I can't say I liked him in the first episode, because as soon as I knew he cheated that was it. But I tolerated him, he had some nice moments.

Pablo made me so pissed at him for the way he treated Mariana, specially after she said no to him. Although I didn't see him as being manipulative at first, I do agree he seemed to only want Regina if Mariana would go back to him. Besides, the fact he kept competing against Elena (he didn't see Ana coming at all and I really love that lol) irritated me. To me he was clearly treating Mariana as if she were some prize. As if she came back to him would prove he was better than Elena, that Idk Mariana was only with Elena because he left you know? Like getting her back was just to boost his ego - just my opinions. If he could work on not being an ass to Mariana just because she doesn't want to go back with him and still be in Regina's life and for all that's holy if he finally stops listening to the jerks he calls friends he could be tolerable.

I like Elena, I don't love her though, but I like her pretty much, however telling Mariana that she was just confused about how she felt for Ana was a jerk move. I get it, she is hurt and maybe she feels like getting revenge because what Mariana did to her wasn't nice (I mean, it was pretty clear she let Elena assume they were more than just friends who occasionally kissed) but still doesn't justify it. Honestly, I don't even think she should have told Mariana that she noticed she fell for Ana. Mariana needed to that on her own (which she was almost there if the gay panic on her face while she looked at Ana during their "bonding" ritual for Regina's spiritual reception was any indication). What happens is I think that Elena accepeted that she had lost Mariana to Pablo, and to her ir made sense: he was there first (in the sense he was her previous relationship), he was a man, and she was the first woman Mariana ever was with, so maybe she was trying new things and he is Regina's father, maybe she even thought Mariana was still in love with him on some level (which is even sadder, honestly). But seeing Mariana fall in love with Ana, made her realize that Mariana likes women, that she can fall in love with another woman, she just never fell for Elena. So yeah, if they don't make her into a manipulative bitch she could still be an awesome character - my headcannon is both Elena and Pablo getting their heads out of their asses and helping Mariana win Ana back.

All of the men in Ana's life are stupid.

Juan Carlos doesn't appreciate all the effort she puts in trying to be a business woman, a good mother and wife. Neither does Daniel, her ex, seems like he actually understood her. While he read a bit of his book to her she seemed very unconfortable, just as when he talked about not being able to keep up with her. And like he said, her smile is beautiful, yes (the woman is masterpiece of beauty) but she's way more than that. However her ex did look like a fool in love when he saw her again (which Juan Carlos never does) and I guess that's what drove her to him.

I'll save the best for last, so bear with me just a bit more before getting to Ana and Mariana. Before I'd like to talk about Teresa.

Even if I wish Mariana didn't hide from Ana what happened I do understand her. First Tere (beautiful woman, wich honestly this show just slayed me with so many beautiful women) is her mom and she is kinda manipulative (although I'm sure she sometimes means well most of the times she doesn't think about the consequences of her actions) and I don't know, I think as strong and as independent Mari is, she does want to have a family that gets along and people here in Latin America sometimes get in too much of that "family is blood" bullshit, and not only Latinex but the rest of the world seems pretty adamant in having children listen and forgive their parents and carry on toxic parent-child relationships because "they are your parents", which sucks, but it's true. And not only that as much as Ana feels hurt I don't think she would have believed Mariana if she told her. After all in 20 years Juan Carlos never seemed to show any signs of ever being unfaithful to her. Even if it was the right thing to do, it's not the easiest decision. It wasn't just a relationship of a married couple it would affect but also JC's relationship with the children, because it does change their view of the parent - hence he cutting Ana before she said to the children she cheated on him. And yes Tere is her mother and the thing about parents (and other immeadiate family members) is that even if they screw us up all the time we always feel like we have to stand by them someway, somehow. And (and it's a very unpopular opinion and I'm not sure if I'll manage to get my point across very well but I'll try) I guess Mariana felt guilty for what Tere did, not only for keeping the secret but for her actions as well. Mariana is always trying to fix things with and/or for Tere and I guess she might have felt guilty over bringing Tere into Ana's life, even if she knows it's not her fault anything happened... but guilt is something really weird, so yeah. why I think she feels guilty is because, well, I don't know how it is for other people, but when living with manipulative people they managed to make you feel bad for things you have nothing to feel sorry for, not to mention that her attempts of protecting and trusting her mother comes from a feeling of guilty of not being able to trust her - which is also another thing both Pablo and Teresa want from Mariana without ever giving her reason to and then making her feel bad about not being able to trust them.

And finally, what I thought of Ana and Mariana's relationship.

I love how Ana and Mariana balance each other, I like the age difference as well. I thinks it sends a great message as well, not only with the cliché that you may find lkve whenever, but that no matter how old or how young are life happens and you have to deal with it. Being married and having a stable life didn't stop Ana from having her life turned upside down, and the same with Mariana, in her case it just meant that her mess of life got even crazier but that just it.

I love how the relationship between Mariana and the kids just flows naturally as well. And I love how Mariana does support Ana and shows she is happy for her a lot more than her own husband. Even if they are not married they do act like each other's partners, at least to me.

I feel like their relationship begins to shift at the end of the first episode when they decided to live together - and 'Flotando' by Francisca Valenzuela playing during the scene, to me, it's a very beautiful and subtle way to say to us viewers that we can and should expect more from their relationship.

However the second episode it feels to me like it's fundamental, specially for Ana. They both fell very silently for each other, and without noticing and I think Ana began falling when Mariana not only broke her rules but defied her and told her the truth everyone else was afraid to say - and not only that that bond the girl began forming with both Ceci and Ro. I loved how she was super attentive in listening how Pablo was a jerk and then being super protective of both Mariana and Regina when he began coming around - but I also loved that she relented, albeit reluctantly, when she saw that Mariana really thought Pablo could be of importance to Regina. The fact that Mariana was so worried in making sure Ana approved of him showed more of how much she valued Ana's opinion than whatever she may feel for her ex, which to me was step 1 of Mariana falling for Ana, step 2 was definitely the scene where she makes faces at Valentina just so the baby would smile at Ana and the woman could be a little happier, and sideways hug was the cherry on top - the way she feels uncertain of it before doing was very well thought out and executed.

The scene where Ana introduces Mariana and Regina as her other daughter and Valentina's other mother without explaining further than "we are the mothers of the two babies" was really such a heartfelt moment I just died.

I loved how after those initial moments they were constantly checking on each other (I really do love when Ana goes check on Mariana after her disaster of day with Anuar and she gently tucks Mariana's hair out her face in such a beautiful caress).

The scene in which Ana is shocked about how Mariana's date went is definitely one great indication of the fact she was feeling something more (I mean, saying that if she were a man she would definitely hit on her? That has got to be the oldest play on the book, the famous "I'd kiss you if I weren't straight"). Also on the same episode but before the horrible date, she did ask Mariana to never again say she wasn't attractive, which I also saw as something more, 'cause she was able to read between the lines. Mariana out loud said she wasn't sure about her body, not really saying she didn't feel pretty but one could read it. I think it meant something because Ana seems not that much of an expert reading people, so to be able to be so certain would mean she really paid attention. When Ana said Mariana should try with someone she trusted I think that she wanted it to be hed, even if she didn't realize yet. Or maybe did. In the episode where she takes time off before accepting her promotion there's a scene after she wakes up that Juan Carlos begins to kiss her, clearly intending to have sex (and they did have it) but her face is like "god this is boring/I don't think I really want to" that just makes me think ok, maybe she's already realizing she wants someone else (I had this impression). The episode where they go away and not only Mariana manages to convince everyone to go without being intrusive it's really nice, I also loved how fast Ana embraced everyone else as family for Mariana and Regina. The pool scene, oh my, I melted. First how pissed Ana was to know that Tere got distracted and Mariana almost drowned and how she instantly went after Mariana to chek on her, and not only trying to calm her about the water, listening to her about her fears and at the end asking if she trusted her (like I said before I really think she already wanted Mariana and knew it) and then the way they looked at each other whilst in the pool with the babies. Perfect!

Ana feeding Mariana the baby food was the cutest, and I know she said the girls weren't ready to be parted because she was afraid of she might have cancer I really do think she also meant because she wanted them there (let's not forget the lengths she went to make Mariana stay when Juan Carlos said he thought it was time to get back to normal).

Ana's "Te amo" makes lots of people think it came out of nowhere, but I don't think so. I really do believe she fell in love with Mariana, silently and without even noticing - the lingering gazes and gentle touches are some indication - and while she was drugged and asked Mariana to promise her to take care of the girls and she did I guess it hit her right then and there how much she fell for her and you know, most people do say that when you're drunk or high you tend to do and say the things you really want to because your filter just doesn't work. So yeah, I admit to me it was both unexpected and not at all.

I keep wondering if Mariana would have told Ana that she kissed her had she not told her she needed to do the biopsy to rule out cancer. Either way I love everything about the scene. How grateful Ana is to know that she can count on Mariana and how fearful Mariana looks. I loved that Mariana just stopped everything to accompany Ana to the hospital.

I loved that Mariana never for one second seemed to think of saying yes to Pablo and how even with all of her mother bs she refused to live with them because Ana needs her.

The baptism is the peak. Their bonding ceremony is not only wedding vows worthy but it's also the it finally hits Mariana that she fell for Ana, and I just love the gay panic she clearly has. I love her face of fool in love when Ana goes to her friends and how happy both of them look while holding the girls through the ceremonies.

Even if I'm very grateful for the declaration and the kiss we got - highlight for the lightning of this scene. The way the sun hits them helps give the impression that they will work it our - however Mariana should've processed her feelings first but I get her, she was afraid of losing Ana without a fighting chance - both for not telling and for Ana may having cancer. That scene is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking with both of them so miserable. The ending is one more proof of how well this show knows to pair scenes and songs. Cobarde's lyrics is so perfect it feels like it was made for the scene (or perhaps the scene was thought for the song).

I really hope we get these two together in season 2 - however I love me some angst, and usually is what we get, so I think that Ana's tests will come back positive and that Mariana will go back to take care of her and things will go on from that.

And that was my TedTalk, thank you for having the patience to read the ramblings of a very enthusiastic viewer.