#and harsher judgment on female characters

[castleofravens]

a lot of people in fandom spaces will hate/demonize female characters for the same reasons they love/romanticize male characters and sometimes it’s not holding male villains/anti heroes accountable for their actions the way that female villains/anti heroes are and sometimes it’s hating female heroes/anti heroes for their personalities/flaws/attributes/trauma responses whilst romanticizing male characters for having the same or very similar characterization?? like hi why so many double standards??

ALSO some of these characters are teenagers??teenagers are really fucking messy, like they’re not gonna make perfect decisions all the time and they might seem unlikeable at times bc they’re … still children …??

[beevean]

Honestly I don't get the "if she was a male she would be forgiven" because in my experience male characters get crucified for stuff that female characters get a pass or outright praised for (I mean the whole girlboss thing is a example of that), it feels like I'm in an alternate universe or they're purposely acting like they're the unpopular one to get sympathy

It depends on the fandom and situation. (this is where I'd reference the infamous Lenector rape by deception scene and how in no fucking way the NFCV fandom would be shipping the two if it had been a man manipulating a vulnerable woman into sex to enslave and dehumanize her, but hey, since Lenore is cute and a sexy mommy...)

The Sonic fandom has displayed misogyny in the past. Elise, Amy, Rouge, Cream to a lesser extent... they got some nasty insults by the fans. Elise was a useless load at best, and a necrozoophile at worst. The slutshaming against Rouge was unbelievable. Amy was a bitch for her more aggressive behavior (hey that's familiar). Cream was annoying and needed to die because... she had a squeaky voice. They truly were hated for the most minute things, and yes, you got the impression that their femaleness made the judgment harsher.

But oh, that didn't mean that male characters got a pass at all. Knuckles? Silver? Big? Chris??? Fucking Shadow had haters! Shadow!

I politely invite young fans who weren't around during the 2000s and very early 2010s to watch the Sonic Shorts. They are a wonderful time capsule of the fandom's general mentality back then.

[rise-my-angel]

Im just disgusted by the fact that people would write twin sisters fucking each other and one of their husbands in a threesome

Let's not be so aggressively judgmental. This is fanfiction for a series which nearly every single pairing is already incestuous. Jace and Baela, and Luce and Rhaena were already going to be cousin marriages and both their set of parents (or the boys supposed parents) were also cousins and they are Targaryeans were brothers and sisters were almost expected to marry each other. Sister and sister is just a wlw pairing of this exact thing all over this entire series.

Now you can find that all gross, since I personally do, but there isn't anything different about twin sisters fucking then literally every other Targaryean pairing in the entire show other then they are both female. So, I won't judge that harsher then I judge everything else.

That being said, I don't think the pairing works. I don't see Baela and Rhaena as being open to such free sexual dynamics as that, nor do I think Jace would express any interest in his dead brothers former betrothed, as that would likely feel insulting to his brothers memory.

I think threesome fics work with two siblings if you do so respectfully, as I've written threesome fics one of which was a Jon x Reader x Robb, but I specified in that there would be no interactions at all hinting towards anything between Jon and Robb and it was all about the reader, since I am not interested in insecstual dynamics.

I don't know the person writing this fic, nor am I familiar with their work, so I cannot say if they will approach it with a careful respect for the characters. I will say, it doesn't sound like a pairing I'd be interested in if I were in the Jace community, but I'm also not even in his community so I am coming at this with an outside perspective.

You are allowed to find it gross, as do I, but I don't think it's fair to find sister x sister more gross then literally any other pairing within hotd as 90% of them are alraedy some degree of incest as it is, so sister x sister is only more gross sounding if you have no interest in female pairings, but remember, some people like the incestual pairings in the show and also like female pairings at the same time, so to them, this is a natural leap in their own train of logic.

But I don't think being so aggressive about it to an outsider of the Jace community like me was the right approach, since I had to do some deep dive thinking to get to the core of what you might be really feeling, as I am not familair with what normal Jace fics or pairings look like.

[chcrrybcmbs]

✼  ʾ   𝑎𝑐𝑡.   𝒊   ,   the   bits   &   bobs   .

FULL   NAME:   sheridan   delaney   delacroix.   ALIAS(ES):   dani  (   preferred   name   )   ,   triple   d    (      by   fans   /   friends )      ,   halfpipe   mommy  (      by   fans  ).   BIRTH   DATE:   june   ninteenth.   BIRTH   PLACE:   zurich   ,   switzerland.   AGE:   twenty   five   years   old.   PRONOUN(S):   she   ,   her.   GENDER:   cis   female.   ORIENTATION:   pansexual   ,   heteromantic.   RELATIONSHIP   STATUS:   single.   EDUCATION:   graduated   from   stanford   university   with   a   bachelors   in   biomedical   engineering.   OCCUPATION:   professional   snowboarder   ,   socialite.   CAREER   DETAILS:   click   here.

NATIONALITY:   swiss   -   american.   ETHNICITY:   english   ,   french   ,   irish   ,   german   ,   swiss - german , austrian.   LANGUAGES   SPOKEN:   english   ,   german (   first   language   ).   FINANCIAL   STATUS:   upper   class.   FATHER:   gabriel   delacroix.   NATIONALITY:   french   -   swiss.   OCCUPATION:  international   ski   resort   owner  & heir to the delacroix fortune.   MOTHER:   melyssa   delacroix (   formerly   gottsman  ).   NATIONALITY:   american   -   swiss.   OCCUPATION:   socialite   (   glorified   trophy   wife )   .   SIBLINGS:  tba. PETS:   tba.   PAST   RELATIONSHIPS:   tba.

HEIGHT:   5   foot   10   inches.   WEIGHT:   122   pounds.   HAIR   COLOR:   brunette.   EYE   COLOR:   green.   TRAITS:   ambitious   ,   confident   ,   adaptable   ,   intelligent   ,   alluring   ,   narcissistic    ,    judgmental   ,   selfish   ,   arrogant   ,   manipulative.   ZODIAC:   scorpio.   HOBBIES:   winter   sports   ,   boating   ,   sight   seeing , journaling .   CHARACTER   INSPO:   regina    george    ,   cersei   lannister   ,   draco   malfoy   .

✼  ʾ   𝑎𝑐𝑡.   𝒊𝒊   ,   the   story   so far   .

sheridan    delacroix    was    not    born    into    a    kind    world    .    it    was    as    if    she    was    born    with    an    innate    understanding    of    this    .    the    world    was    harsh    ,    herediatary    competitive    nature    told    her    to    be    harsher    .    even    as    a    kid    there    was    an    apathy    and    cruelty    for    other's    that    laid    dormant    behind    decieveingly    kind    eyes    ,    visible    to    anyone    willing    enough    to    see    it    .    there    wasn't    any    shield    of    seeing    the    best    in    other's    for    her    ,    no    turning    point    in    her    life    where    reality    knocked    the    wind    out    of    her    .    she'd    always    seen    the    worst    --    that    was    her    power    . 

    the    delacroix    family    ,    maintained    zurich    ,    switzerland    as    their    permananent    residence    through    most    of    her    adolesecence    .    growing    up    on    a    hill    in    a    gated    off    community    .    sheridan    calls    it    "    the    cabin    "    but    dont    let    her    decieve    you    ,    its    virtually    the    largest    cabin    style    estate    in    the    world    .    her    parents    ,    gabriel    and    melyssa    delacroix    were    not    your    usual    couple    and    they    surely    weren't    traditional    parents    .    love    was    not    a    feeling    you    couldn't    escape    but    instead    a    choice    you    made    every    day    ,    which    meant    there    were    conditions    to    their    love    .    high    expectations    were    inevitable    when    you    carried    a    name    that    was    forged    in    gold    for    centuries    .    there   could    be    days    even    weeks    that    would    go    on    before    she    saw    or    even    spoke    to    one    of    her    parents    growing    up    .    time    was    money    and    "    you    two    try    to    drain    me    dry    "    gabriel    would    often    note    to    the    two    women    in    his    life    .    despite    the    harsh    tone    that    was    at    the    surface    ,    the    delacroix    family    had    a    strong    foundation    between    the    three    of    them    ...    an    understanding    ,    that    not    only    her    parents    instilled    in    her   but    they'd    taught    her    nanny's    to    instill    in    her    .    be    great    :    whatever    you    do    ,    be    the    best    and    the    world    was    yours    . 

    its    was    almost    too    easy    for    her    .    intelligent    ,    athletic    ,    beautiful    ,    rich    ...    there    wasn't    anything    she    couldn't    do    and    she    knew    it    .    well    liked    throughout    her    school    years    (    well    more    like    feared    )    ,    everyone    knew    they    were    simply    no    match    for    her    .    there    was    no    competition    so    while    many    wanted    to    be    like    her    ,    she    was    never    afraid    to    remind    them    they    could    never    even    get    close    .    left    with    only    one    option    befriend    her    .    while    being    friends    with    her    didn't    entirely    save    you    from    her    tactics    though    ...    she'd    take    a    '    friends    '    boyfriend    ,    rig    a    school    vote    ,    forge    a    homework    assignment    against    anyone    if    it    meant    it    was    best    for    her    .    it    became    all    too    clear    the    lengths    she'd    go    during    the    lead    up    to    a    snowboarding    compeition    ,    just    before    she    went    profressional    .    a    girl    she    claimed    to    be    friends    with's    snowboard    snapped    mid    drop    into    the    halfpipe    ,    leaving    her    with    broken    bones    .    whispers    quickly    circled    among    other's    that    sheridan    had    been    behind    it    ,    having    one    of    her    '    minions    '    get    a    hold    of    the    girl's    board    simply    because    sheridan    didn't    feel    she    was    good    enough    to    share    the    same    slope    as    her    .    while    the    rumors    are    true    ,    there    was    no    proof    that    tied    the    accident    to    her    and    so    it    was    swept    under    the    rug    ,    left    to    be    entirely    forgotten    by    the    time    she    went    pro    .                           

    it    was    at    fourteen    ,    the    family    made    the    move    from    their    home    in    switzerland    to    one    of    her    father's    properties    in    lake    tahoe    .    a    joint    venture    ,    he    liked    to    claim    :    expansion    of    his    company    and    closer    proximity    to    the    man    who    would    become    sheridan's    coach    .    within    a    years    time    ,    her    coach    ,    freddie    burke    ,    became    something    of    a    pseudo    guardian    to    her    .    taking    her    all    across    the    world    for    competitions    and    meets    .    he    really    helped    shine    a    light    on    the    sort    of    talent    that    was    entering    the    professional    snowboarding    world    ,    he    adored    her    and    wanted    the    world    to    too    .    their    relationship    teetering    a    few    years    later    when    sheridan    got    into    a    rather    public    argument    with    his    wife    ,    who    often    referred    to    sheridan    as    "    a    crafty    little    bitch    "    and    her    family    as    "    tyrants    on    her    husband's    life    "    .    she    ended    up    separating    from    her    coach    after    this    altercation    and    moving    onto    one    who'd    moved    from    austria    to    work    with    her    ,    telling    freddie    "    when    you    drop    the    dead    weight    ,    you    can    have    me    back    "    .    it    took    a    couple    years    but    as    per    usual    her    words    manifested    into    a    series    of    events    that    would    land    her    with    exactly    what    she    wanted    :    freddie    was    divorced    and    crawling    back    to    be    her    coach    .    instead    of    returning    back    to    his    coaching    ,    she    started    sleeping    with    him    ,    having    him    on    her    arm    at    events    .    a    public    showing    ,    that    she    knew    his    ex    wife    would    see    ,    that    she    would    always    win    .    the    relationship    between    them    didn't    last    long    though    ,    sheridan    was    the    sort    of    woman    who    needed    a    man    willing    to    go    through    whatever    hell    it    meant    was    coming    his    way    to    put    his    foot    down    with    her    .    a    man    with    the    same    harsh    make    up    as    her    father    .                  

    accepted    into    stanford    university    .    it    was    the    start    of    her    slow    and    steady    move    closer    to    the    city    of    angels    --    everything    sheridan    did    had    a    motive    behind    it    .    she    studied    biomedical    engineering    for    four    years    ,    joined    the    universities    snowboarding    team    where    she    dominated    every    meet    ,    naturally    ,    as    a    olympic    medalist    at    such    a    young    age    .    during    her    time    in    school    though    ,    she    made    frequent    trips    to    los    angeles    ,    new    york    &    dc    often    alongside    her    mother    who'd    become    a    staple    in    american    high    society    from    the    moment    the    delacroix's    touched    down    in    the    states    .    it    wasn't    long    before    sheridan    was    getting    her    own    invitations    to    high    profile    events    .    hollywood    elites    loved    her    ,    statesmen    wanted    the    swiss    olympian    on    their    arms    ,    by    twenty    two    she'd    become    something    of    a    hot    commodity    .    the    public    had    cultivated    something    akin    to    an    obsession    with    her    .    papparazzi    everywhere    she    went    ,    her    name    a    headline    everytime    she    so    much    as    blinked    .    it    was    a    rare    frenzy    for    a    female    athlete    to    undergo    but    sheridan    chalked    it    up    to    her    own    rarity    . 

    she    made    the    move    to    los    angeles    ,    after    graduating    and    has    claimed    the    city    as    her    permanent    home    since    although    she's    often    spotted    spending    weeks    at    a    time    back    home    in    europe    or    in    aspen    where    her    father    has    carved    out    white    the    private    cabin    for    her    on    one    of    the    resorts    . 

[mermaidsirennikita]

Simone even getting the main female lead role in Bridgerton is a huge thing. I wouldn’t have even imagined them considering a dark skinned Indian woman for a main lead role tbh. The colorism is so obvious in Netflix’s shows. The pressure on Simone is definitely a lot, especially with Kate being such a popular character. The scrutiny she gets will be 10 times harsher than that of Phoebe’s. I already have seen some make remarks that her acting isn’t as good as Phoebe’s, after just a 1 minute clip. Can’t really deduce anything from such a small clip and side roles she has played. From her latest interview with People Magazine, she does seem like a sweet person who wants to focus on doing a good job.

The thing is that we’ve seen so little. I don’t think you could say Simone is the greatest in the world or the worst based off that clip. I liked her—I saw chemistry with JB and charisma, but again you really can’t judge. Yet she’ll have to put up with more judgment than Phoebe did, invariably. People are kidding themselves if they think otherwise.

[kingofthewilderwest]

v-bobafickle replied to your post “Do you think Mabel gets too much hate? I noticed when a female...”

Gender had nothing to do with Mabel's overall character arc... Criticisms on Mabel are about her actions in the story. Let's not forget what 'character' is, for any genre concerning writing. If it does happen to be about her gender. Then it's obviously a problem.

One of the first famous experiments I learned about when I began sociolinguistic research was an experiment in which students listened to an audio lecture recorded by a native (ergo, non-accented) English speaker. While they listened to the recording, the students were shown a photograph of the “professor.” One group saw a photograph of an Asian woman, and another group saw a photograph of a European American. Although they listened to the same lecture, the group in the experiment that saw the photograph of the Asian woman reported they had difficulties understanding her due to “her accent”. They also demonstrated lower comprehension of the material than the group that saw the European American photograph. The perception of that one audio sample changed, with measurable comprehension differences, based upon the demographic of the person they were looking at. One person ended up being judged more harshly for the legitimate same thing, just because she was Asian.

Another well-known study that comes to mind is about music: how orchestras used to hire more men than women during auditions. Even when they tried to do blind auditions, more men got hired... until they realized that the people conducting the auditions were hearing the auditionees walk in and out of the room, and the people who you could hear walking in with high heels ended up getting lower ratings. When they no longer could hear the auditionees walking in and out, and had the blind audition, then the hiring of musical performers became a more even gender split.

I feel like those experiments do a good job demonstrating how demographic-specific biases happen. Sometimes they’re intentional discrimination and sometimes they’re innately trained inside us. Especially in cases like the sociolinguistic lecture experiment, people even subconsciously perceive something differently based upon the demographic information they have before them. You’re absolutely right: gender isn’t a critical part of Mabel’s character arc, and criticisms against Mabel are based upon her personality and character arc. Her gender is irrelevant to those plot elements. However, the question becomes whether or not there is disproportionate negative judgment in relation to the character’s actions (bolding just to make my point stick out more ^.^). If two characters in a story demonstrate similar flaws, similar levels of flaws, and a similar number of undesirable choices in the storyline, but only one character gets hated upon by fandom and that character is the woman, then there is a legitimate question to be asked: if that harsher judgment is on account of the subconscious gender biases we’ve all learned and carry inside us. It often is.

In the analysis I posted, I quickly mentioned I don’t think that peoples’ aversion to Mabel’s personality and plot elements are primarily sexism, but that I’m not sure I can rule gender biases out either. I’m agnostic leaning toward a “no, not sexism”. Nevertheless, whether we agree or disagree that there’s a sexist nature to how people respond to Mabel, I think it’s important to consider that even when the character’s arc has nothing to do with their gender, how we perceive the character’s actions will be colored by their demographic characteristics. If two groups of people watched the exact same scripted Gravity Falls but one group saw a male Mabel and hated her less, then that would be gender bias.

[flying-elliska]

Well.... If lola looked pysically different (if you know, you know) the skam france fandom at large would struggle to embrace her or be so understanding about her behavior. But alas, she is acceptable so by the time Lola starts to display more positive and agreeable personality traits everybody will quickly rally behind her and the trend of throwing out harsh criticism towards her will be over. All will be well in the end (bar some questionable plot choices)

Also people wouldn't be thinking all these nasty things about Lola if it was Lucas behaving like her  (idk if this is the same anon but it makes sense for me to answer them together)

I don’t like or think it’s very useful to point fingers or guilt trip anyone in the fandom for the characters they connect with or not. But, it is true that the further a character is from your standard male/white/able-bodied/thin/cis/’hollywood’ attractive protagonist, the harsher people tend to judge them, and this extends to real life (and there are tons of studies about it). 

And this is not always a conscious thing. From a very young age we are all taught how to empathize a lot more with men of a certain type, and I think this is something we all have to go about unlearning and working on our own. And having conversations about how and why this happens in fandom can be useful ; but I think the way fans sometimes go about it is too focus on throwing shade and feeling superior rather than actually having a discussion and that’s just...not productive at all. 

In Lola’s case, when it comes to female protagonists there is a strong pressure for them to be likeable/nice/pleasant/caring (it’s even worse for women of color btw) so yeah, I think that if she becomes less spiky, people will start to like her more. Her looking like she does does encourage people to act with more empathy towards her, but right now it’s not always working either. It’s...A complicated thing lmao. And Lucas might have gotten away with more things but also maybe not (a lot of ppl didn’t really like Lucas - and still - at the beginning because of his grumpiness) . I don’t think there are any snap judgments here help. It’s also somewhat normal to be more attached to characters who are undergoing change and growth. 

One question that comes back and that is really interesting to me is ; what makes characters worthy of interest and empathy ? Part of that is deeply personal depending on your tastes and experiences ; part of that ties into wider social patterns - like what we are taught heroes should look like, whose story is worth following, how our moral judgments are impacted by the identity of the person we are judging, etc. And this analysis is worth doing on a cultural scale but also deep down, we all have specific hangups and ways in which we have been formatted. 

When it comes to skam I’m a bit...well i’m telling myself it’s a younger fanbase and the very ‘high school-y’ mentality of it at times comes with the territory but i do wish some people did actually think a bit in more depth about the message of the show lmao. And develop a bit more compassion idk.

[gebrochener-adler]

How would you play this character differently as the opposite gender?

//So this, is a very interesting thought experiment for two reasons. 

One: Austrian politics were extremely disdainful of women. They were seen as overly emotional and best suited for child rearing like many countries, but Austrian court life could be particularly controlling of it.

Two: Austria has always been fairly conservative, not a lot of high swings towards progressive movements even to this day.

So what happens when you apply this to a representative who is already reserved, a bit of a prude, and edgy? You get amplification. A female Austria would be even more hardline. She would have to fight to be seen as an equal among her peers in court life and would have to be even sharper with her tongue. Take Roderich and apply an even heavier strict school teacher Aura. This is a woman who takes no shit at any time from anyone. She would be extremely disdainful of any expressions of emotion or crying.

 This is a very repressed and blunt woman who has a hammer for a tongue and a very sharp and perceptive air.She would dress exceptionally conservatively.

While Roderich regards women as fairly equal due to having to fight a female representative from early in life, Ludmila as we’ll call her would be very quick to judgment, especially of women she sees as ‘flighty’ or ‘hysterical’. Since she would have been in a position where men consistently judge her based on their stereotypes of women, she would have a bit of what you might call internalized misogyny.It would be a lot harder to be friends, because she would be suspicious of even an apology. The hatred of the perception of pity is harsher because she’ll assume you have sympathy because of her sex.

 Austrian politics and the whole culture of the climate used to be very patriarchal and I think this sort of defensive edginess would only be amplified by an atmosphere like that.//

[bi-lullaby]

No one asked

And I should be studying, but here are some thoughts for season 16 so far:

(SPOILER WARNING, OBVIOUSLY)

1 - Merluca and it’s parts: COUPLES FIGHT STOP PREDICTING THE WORST OK. They’ve been completely adorable so far, but this is what someone said in a interview: “This is the after in happy ever after” (or something to that effect). They’re gonna fight and them they’re gonna make up, I hope. As for their fight: They were both in the right imo. Yes, Meredith is being inconsequent and it must be so frustrating for Deluca to A)Have her continue risking her career and license and freedom when he went to such lengths to help that, B) Be crapped on constantly bc of something your girlfriend did. Yes, Meredith is completely right in fighting the system that is so throughtly broken, and yes, coming to apologize to her mentor and longtime friend was completely the right thing to do. I wanna see merluca wedding and marriage! Maybe (since there are two pregnant people in this season already?) next season will be Mer and Jo? One can dream! For them individually: Poor Mer, she has bitten more than she can chew but she is ready to take on this fight! Imma love to see her as auntie mer! I mis merjolex so much tho, I know she’s been busy and all but they seem to forget she is a important part in their support system. Andrew has been all over the place. I love his confidence, but in the ep where he literally screamed at Bailey over her trying to teach an intern? And called her out bc she was using a different material than Mer? I was a bit off-thrown. But he’s still a great character I enjoy watching. Hope they find the balance between confidence and arrogance for him, and develop him even more!

2 - Amelink: AAAAAA. They’re so amazing and perfect and sweet and I wanna hug them both. Link is everything you could wish for, Amy is adorable as ever. If they lay a finger on either them as a couple, them as individuals, or their baby, imma kick some asses. I don’t think they will tho, Amy is been through SO MUCH already and she deserves a breath.

3 - Bailey: OMG SHE IS PREGNANT AAAAAAAA. I’m so happy! Ben is already a great dad, this will be so fun to watch! Hope they don’t put her through the ringer with a difficult pregnancy or a sick child, she does not deserve this! She already nearly lost her first child while giving birth in a bomb-y hospital while her husband had brain surgery NEXT to the bomb. Enough pregnancy drama for a lifetime. As for her actions: I’ve said before: I’m pissed, yes. She’s acting way too harsh and taking it out on people and more importantly (as I’ve touched on in my female grey’s characters ranking post) she’s out of character. Where is the Bailey that went around the hospital runnning after the attendings and kicking their asses into signing her proposal for a free clinic? And gave them a speech on how they had failed her and she needed something to believe in in medicine? She was one of the first characters to point out how broken the system was, to take direct action to try and fix it. Sure, she likes to try and work within the rules as much as possible, much she is not adverse to breaking a few of them if she thinks it’s necessary (hello deactivated HIV inside a young boy’s body without parental consent! Hello changing the date on a surgery which is also insurance fraud!)! If she thinks it’ll save a life! But also, she’s not completely wrong: Meredith did commit a crime, as good as her intentions were; As her boss, firing her was the only logical decision. She thought her hospital (which she dedicated a good half of her life to) was being attacked by someone she trained into the surgeon she is, ofc she’d be mad as all hell. Quadri was disrespectful, not doing her job well, actively getting in the way of her superior doing her job, screaming at her boss in the middle of the hallway about how she didn’t want to work there - firing her was a tad extreme (specially for a charact who has never, herself, had any qualms ahout mouthing off to her own superiors when she didn’t think something was right) but not completely out of nowhere. I hate hate hate how they’ll probs throw a “oh she was being crazy bc pregnancy hormones!” line after seeing how her actions have been badly perceived by people (like there isn’t enough a stereotype that women can’t have positions of power because hormones make them crazy) instead of “hey this character was put in extremely uncomfortable and tough positiona after extremely uncomfortable and tough positions and came off as harsher than necessary while trying to balance a world-class hospital crisis”. Ugh.

4 - Jackson: Ok so the last few eps have rekindled my love for him and I’m relieved! There’s the good, kind, funny and smart guy I like! I was mad bc of the whole Jaggie drama, but hey, shit happens! If they will be better apart, then I’m happy! (Ok 50% of this is because of what he said to levi! Stanning Meredith Grey + dorky Harry Potter reference? Yes!!!!). I hope this season will be kind on him, that he and Vicky work out well (from what I gathered about it, she has also been through a lot) and that we see more Harriet!

5 - Maggie: Baby girl. I love that they’re consistent that she has a jealous streak but is also a very good person who is always trying her best. Plus, official womb secret bearer is the best title omg! Maybe she should change from cardio to obgyn, lol! Plus, the sisters are everything to me! She instantaneous knew Amy was mad! She stood up for Mer! Aaaaa I love them!!!! Hope this show ends with all three of them happy and loved and badass as always!

6 - Others: Tom has been an.... Interesting piece. I love him, but his antics are almost caricature-esque now and it’s getting on my nerves. He was detestable in exploitating that family’s pain but also, the hospital did need a pr boost or it’d be in even hotter waters! The restraining order on Owen was a tad much bc it got in the way of patient care, but also he did get electrocuted in a very sensitive area by someone who had just gotten together with his ex - I’d be a little suspicious that it was 100% unintentional tbh. He’s power drunk and needs to be turned down a notch. Schmit and Nico and adorkable as always and I loved Nico’s speech about demanding more of himself - That’s one of the biggest traps of low self-steem and Imm glad it’s mentioned. I’ll miss Quadri. Helm being a MeredithGrey stan first and person second is still me lol. I loved how this last ep showed how much of a family they are - all the connections and shared pasts and references to relationships and what not. The “bird” storyline was so cute! Pac North seems so promissing and I’ll cry ugly tears when my baby Alex turns that ish around and shows everyone who’s boss!!!! The whole “the world is broken” theme of the season is my jam! Sadly, irl that handful of people are not gonna turn it around, but I want to see it happen on my screen! The medical system being fixed! As a future doctor (I promissed myself I’d not be the person who brings it up in every opportunity but lol here I am) it’d make me so happy! Against my better judgment, I’m liking Towen! They are trying, they’re really trying! Owen has done nothing wrong so far (besides offering to milk teddy which was just dumb, not malicious) and has been great at stepping down from his job so she could work! And him at Pac North will be great tbh - as much as I didlike him, he is an excellent doctor and strategist and he was a great chief at GS (until the last bit which was just gross negligence). From the promo for next ep: I don’t think they’ll make Webber cheat again. It’d be predictable and cheap and I’d be so mad that we’d have another round of acting like he’s a saint with a tiny issue of being a cheater. What I theorize is: He’ll have lunch with his friend, and either A) She’ll be friendly at the wrong time and Catherine will walk in and then think he’s cheating and it’ll be a mess, or B) Gemma is gonna try to get him back to drinking (Or maybe C) She was telling him to stop being bullheaded and fighting with his wife when life is so short). Cristina reference in the text omg, my heart!

Sorry for the long rant!

[daughter-of-pens]

Fancanon #2 - The Free World (Movie)

Streaming on Netflix, "The Free World," starring Boyd Holbrook and Elisabeth Moss, is a quiet story about a gentle romance between an ex-convict and a battered woman. Holbrook the ex-con is 60-odd days free, having been cleared by the Innocence Project for the presumably gruesome murder of some little girls. He has a job at the dog shelter under the employ of a wise, sympathetic, no b.s. taking, older woman played by the lovely Octavia Spencer. Moss the battered woman shows up one day in the passenger seat of her asshole cop husband's truck, distraught over her beaten dog, Charlie. Spencer's back and forth with the asshole implies that he beat Charlie to near death. Once Holbrook steps up next to Spencer to quietly assist, the asshole gives both Spencer and Holbrook a whole bunch of antagonistic lip for no reason, especially the latter, for the monstrous reputation he earned in prison.  During this scene, Holbrook glances up and gets a glimpse of Moss openly weeping behind the windshield. She doesn't notice him and Holbrook puts his attention on the dog and the asshole. After the latter leaves, Spencer and Holbrook treat the dog's injuries, but they're too severe for the pup to last more than a night, despite Holbrook's adamant hope that it'll pull through. Next follows a handful of scenes of Holbrook by himself, establishing his minimalist stunted life before it's disrupted. He prays to Allah, he tosses and turns on a big bare mattress, then goes to sleep in a closet. Next comes Moss and Holbrook's first scene together. Here the tale begins.

I'll be honest. I know Hurt/Comfort is not everybody's jam and there's likely a growing number of people who like to slap the "P" word on it. (Hint: Problematic.) However comma...as someone who grew up pretty unprotected for too many complicated life reasons, I freakin' liiiiivveee for this stuff. Wherever there is a description that mentions a rough person putting it all on the line for softie in peril, I will click for more. Don't @ me. (hee, I've always wanted to say that.)

So the movie. How was it actually? Because you know premise can only get me through the door. Execution gets me to stay. And the quality of the execution determines whether I walk out abruptly or stay but have a bad time or leave at the appropriate time with a big grin on my face. Let's say that's the spectrum of judgement we're working with. Where does "The Free World" fall?  I stayed and felt like I had a pretty good time for most of it, but then after I left...the more I thought about it, the more I realized it actually wasn't that great of an experience but I wanted to feel like it was a good experience by thinking of the little things I enjoyed. Simply put: It was good, but could've been better.   What was the problem? The story was about something very specific. It was about this connection between two lonely stigmatized people in this small judgmental town. That was great, but the plot which carried out this story...mm, not so much. Directly put: I think the events that transpire to put these people in each other's lives and how they react to them clashes with the actual focus of the story more than it helps bring it out strongly.  Spoiler Wall - Spoiler Wall - Spoiler Wall - Spoiler Wall

First Contact - The movie opens with Holbrook working at a dog shelter, comforting the little loves and comparing their time in cages to his own. Moss' character shows up the next day with her abusive husband. She's sitting in the car, crying her gigantic eyes out, while the husband talks crap in front of bloody beaten body of a dog on the ground.

Second Contact - Moss shows up at Holbrook's job in the middle of the night, bloody, beaten, hysterically crying and hanging on to the dog cage looking for Charlie (the dog.) Holbrook frantically attempts to shoo her away, thinking she's a druggie. Once he realizes she's in distress, he offers to help, take her wherever she needs to go - she just can't stay there. Moss gets so worked up that she passes out. Holbrook rushes over to her, taps her face, and gets blood all on his hands. He mutters "I didn't touch you. I didn't touch you." He's about to call the cops, but paranoid that people will think he harmed her, he instead carries her unconscious body back to his place. She sleeps on the bed. He sleeps in the empty living room in a chair by a shadeless lamp. 

Pivotal Contact - Moss wakes up in a strange bed in a strange room. Grabs a butter knife or a razor or something that Holbrook had set out all nice and neat against his bedroom wall. She tip toes out of the room. He hears her, gets up, and immediately starts trying to explain. She's scared and angry, saying things like "Get out of the way, let me leave, I'm not afraid of you." To which Holbrook responds, "I'm gonna let you leave, you don't need to be afraid of me, you need to understand I didn't hurt you. I didn't do anything to you, you asked for help, so I tried to help, okay now you can go." She's still not convinced, thinks that he's one of her husband's friends who apparently stalks her sometimes. He wrestles the weapon out of her hand, puts it down, hands up, and begs her to understand that he didn't harm her. He tells her again that she asked for help, so he tried to help her, that's all, and she's free to go. At last, she understands the situation and sinks down against the wall. 

At this point, I'm saying to the TV "okay, get on now. Gone get where you got to get." But she doesn't.

The cops knock on the door. Apparently, the upstairs neighbor called them due to a domestic disturbance coming from his apartment. He lies and says he was just working out and he's in the place alone. The cops come in and look around for themselves. The male cop, (who played Marshall Marshall on the show "In Plain Sight" - shout out to him), is a total racist D-bag. He antagonizes Holbrook about his time in prison while the female cop, who he refers to as "my lovely Latina partner," searches the rooms. Apparently, Holbrook earned the nickname "Cyclopes" in prison because he took his cellmate's eye out one night. Apparently, this is only one of a long list of violent acts he committed in the slammer. His beast level is clearly one of legend, since people bring that up more than whatever crime he wrongly went to prison for. Male Cop says he was so monstrous that even the black gangs didn't mess with him. (Male Cop referred to the black gangs as something much harsher that I don't care to repeat, but it's why he's pegged 'racist' as well as a D-bag.)

Lovely Latina Partner returns giving the all-clear, but Male Cop isn't convinced. Why? Because Moss can't stop freakin' whimpering and whining from the dog crate she's hiding in kitchen-side. Holbrook tells them it's just an old sick dog he's taking care of. Male Cop demands Holbrook open the crate so he can see for himself, becoming more and more aggressive with every denial. Eventually his partner gets him to back off and the cops leave. 

Holbrook opens the cage door. Moss says "I was cooking dinner," which is the beginning of whatever event led her to the state she’s in. Holbrook stands against the counter, tells her it's alright. She comes out of the crate. 

To cut to the chase here: Moss killed her abusive cop husband, presumably during a beating he was laying on her while she was cooking dinner. Rather than judge or reject her, Holbrook understands. Saying something along the lines of "people like him don't stop."

Holbrook decides to help Moss by hiding her in his apartment. The detective on the case suspects Holbrook because he's the recently released killer of the town and lets him know as much in a diner, but he never has his place searched again.

This moment is representative of the larger problem I think the movie has, which is an imbalance of agency that makes a lot of the moves the characters make come anywhere between out of the blue to unbelievable.

During a little dinner scene at Holbrook's place, Moss acknowledges that if she's caught there, Holbrook will go back to jail.

"I don't want that," she says. "So I should go." 

"You can stay." 

Not gonna say why? ...No? ...Okay then. 

So she stays. Meanwhile, the news is covering the murder of Abusive Cop Husband, deeming his missing wife a suspect. When the detective who suspects Holbrook accosts him again at work, he mentions how Abusive Cop Husband was a hotheaded a-hole who nobody liked and everybody knew he was beating his wife, but turned the other way - basically hinting that he thinks Moss killed him and Holbrook is helping her because he's sympathetic to her understandably bad situation. 

Key word: Understandably. So at this point, I'm like "okay, self defense is a thing. You're covered in bruises and even the detective said your husband was a garbage person who nobody liked (except his a-hole friends presumably) and everybody knew was a violent jerk. Soooo, why are you not turning yourself in?"

Never once is it acknowledged between Holbrook and Moss that she might actually be okay if she turned herself in. Because the theme of these characters is "stigma," it's being assumed that she would still be judged harshly for committing murder even under this extremely understandable circumstance and she would suffer in prison just like Holbrook did for a crime he didn't even commit. Because of what prison made Holbrook, it's decided that this fragile flower of a person doesn't deserve to set foot in that environment, not even for the hot second it would take for any lawyer worth their salt to get her a slap on the wrist. 

We're supposed to believe that the system is against them, so they must depend on each other. Holbrook's distrust in the system I buy because it is (thinly) established that he is stigmatized as an alleged child killer and a prison menace. Members of authority are just waiting for him to hurt somebody. Hell, their attitudes suggest they'll snatch him up if something bad so much as happens within five feet of him, involved or not. So with all of that in mind, him wanting to protect her from the system because of his own distrust of it makes sense. But Moss...Miss Moss' apprehension I don't so much buy because while her husband did apparently have a-hole friends (some or all of which could've been other cops) supporting his abuse, those friends don't make the laws. Those friends can't make a lawyer or a judge punish her to their liking (or if they could, it was never established), so what did she really have to fear? Just going to jail? Why did she not even want to try to get real help now that her husband was no longer there to scare her silent?

Perhaps Moss feared that her husband's friends would kill her before she even laid eyes on a lawyer. Or perhaps the husband's family had money and influence that they would use to sabotage her chances of fair judgement and no one would care because she was dirt poor with no family. If so, none of these things or anything like it were established at all, so there's nothing that really solidifies let alone justifies her motivation. As much as I thought she was a sweetheart and I lived for her being under Holbrook's protection, I could see no logical reason behind her decision to hide from the law after calming down and having her wits about herself.

She's not a prostitute or a drug addict. She's not a Chinese mail-order bride, she's not black or a "lovely latina," or an illegal immigrant sex trafficked from Russia or Poland with barely a grasp on English... I mean, not to get too deep or to make it seem like those who fall under what I'm about to say never suffer anything, but in this particular instance, considering the fact that she's a little White American woman with the biggest misty blue eyes and the sweetest disposition being battered by an ugly hotheaded weasel of a husband in a tiny town in the south...I genuinely don't understand why she never once even considered that the system might have her back on this one. Had she screamed in his apartment the day she first woke up, Holbrook would've been tackled, arrested, and put back in jail for the husband's murder in seconds flat even though evidence would clearly show he was nowhere near the scene of the crime. And if Holbrook was actually black or brown and she did that...Lord help him. 

But anyways. She doesn't even consider turning herself in, just hangs out at this apartment, bonding with Holbrook when he comes home from work over the course of maybe 2 or 3 days. One of those nights, she's talking with Holbrook, who's laying in the closet, and after some gentle back and forth (I don't remember what they talked about), she climbs in the closet with him and lays on his chest. He holds her in turn. No hanky panky. Just tame protective comfort. 

Yes, I aww'd. 

The next day, Holbrook sees more cops at his job, supposedly looking for him, so he turns back around. Meanwhile, Moss...sigh. Moss is staring out the window and randomly has a hallucination of her dead dog Charlie barking outside. She gets up and runs out of the house with all the girlish fervor of a literal child only to realize it was all in her head and oh no I'm a wanted woman out in the open in broad daylight. So she runs back to the apartment, but danggit, the door locked behind her. What does she do? Sit on the ground by the door, tell the nosy neighbor passing by that she's fine, and just...waits there.

Holbrook returns. Shocked to see her outside, he rushes up to her, places his big hands on her little face and in a breathy panic, asks "why are you outside, why are you outside?" while she explains in a tearful voice "I'm sorry, I got locked out, I'm sorry. Charlie..." 

Yes, I eek'd when he held her face and spoke all worried-like because he's so big and she's so little and he looks so rough yet he's being so gentle!

...Sue me.

Holbrook gets her inside where she continues to fret, revealing that the neighbor saw her and she's afraid the lady's gonna call the cops. "They'll take you back to jail. I don't want that. I don't want that," she whines. Holbrook holds her face again, places his forehead against hers--

YES I squee'd at this part because forehead touches are the keys to my soul! Can that be okay, Woke Wilma?!

--and says "I don't want to go back. I ain't talkin' about prison. I don't want to go back." There's a moment of pause with her looking into his eyes and understanding his meaning, then she leans into the forehead touch. Their decision is made. They're in this together and they run. 

Holbrook hot wires a car outside near the apartment building and drives off for presumably hours to some house in the backwoods where apparently a friend from prison had been staying this whole time. After a moment of being held up at gunpoint as trespassers, the friend recognizes Holbrook and they bring it in for a hug. The friend makes dinner for them and swaps stories with Holbrook about buddies from the pen. He starts to launch into a particular story about Holbrook as "Cyclopes," which Holbrook tries to stop, but he keeps talking. The story ends up being about how the terrifying big bad Holbrook laughed for the first time and that's when the brothers of Islam started passing him the word and getting him to chill out. 

So his little protests, which I thought were leading up to him losing his patience for the first time in front of Moss, amounted to nothing. Moving on. 

The next morning, the friend hides them in the back of his truck on some blankets under a tarp, planning to take them somewhere where they'll be smuggled to South America. In the truck bed, they're all boo'd up (tongue pop) and Moss starts telling this story about being a little spicy when she was a kid, getting into all kinds of trouble with this little fast friend she had named Chicken, who would talk smack to everybody from kids to cops. 

"Mixin' it up, huh?" Holbrook drawls with a smirk. 

Me: ugh, stop your sexy right now.

"Mmhm, I could fight, too." 

"I bet you could."

Me: ssttaahhpp being so charming and sexy you Jax Teller/Jack Mercer-lookin' Boyd Crowder-soundin' bastard.

So he starts talking about himself when he was a kid and the little trouble he would get up to back in the day when Moss kisses him. He's a little taken by surprise, but quickly returns the kiss and they have a cute little make out moment, nothing heavy - just a nice long couple kisses.

Yes, I grinned and aww'd and there might have been a lil' squee in there even though I thought the timing of the actual kiss was a teeny bit iffy.

They get to the spot - some kind of warehouse - where they're handed off to two good ol' boy methhead-looking traffickers. The friend leaves. Holbrook and Moss are taken deep into the warehouse to a cold double-bed room with a gallon of water sat on the nightstand. Moss drinks the water first, then passes it to Holbrook. Cut to black. 

Holbrook wakes up on the ground, groggy and handcuffed. Moss is missing. Holbrook goes half-beast mode trying to break his cuffs. Just then, two traffickers enter with a wheelbarrow. Holbrook attacks them. Knocks one down, strangles the other with his ankles and shouts "where is she?!"

"The hatch! She's in the hatch!"

He gives up the keys to the cuffs at Holbrook's order. Holbrook proceeds to suffocate him until he either dies or passes out. Either way, he's not moving. The other trafficker starts to get up, but Holbrook- now uncuffed - knocks him back out. He goes out into the warehouse in search of Moss. Finds the hatch in the ground and goes down a ladder into a dark hole. The camera does not follow him. We hear screaming from both Moss and a guy, and then a minute later, Moss comes out of the hatch with Holbrook close behind covered in even more blood. 

Now, at this random action/thriller point, I start wondering if maybe this story is based on some kind of Greek mythology-like fable 'cause you know those stories tend to operate this way - running through all the major events to illustrate some larger point rather than really settling into their characters or setting. Holbrook's nickname is Cyclopes, so I was thinking "Odyssey?" But y'know, I don't think it is. I don't think any of that is a thing, this is just the way the creator wanted to do it. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't know. Moving on. 

They steal another car outside the warehouse and go speeding down the road. Moss is trying to get Holbrook to calm down and Holbrook is all like "I'm sorry, that was me, I'm sorry, that was me." Basically letting us know Cyclopes came out down in that hole and was ripping dudes the F up. Too bad we didn't get to see it. 

I mean honestly, if we're gonna take an action/thriller left, hit the left hard. Lean into it, give me all of it. Subtlety had already left the building so leaving the camera above the hatch for that Shakespearean Play effect was more disappointing than goose-bumps inducing. But, moving on. 

A cop car whoop-whoops behind them. Holbrook freaks out, realizing he was driving too fast. "Why was I going so fast? Why...why?" Moss tries to get him to calm down, tells him to just keep driving.

"Don't stop. We're going, we're going."

So Holbrook steps on the gas, despite the cop's instructions over the horn. A tire on their car blows and the car skids to a stop in the middle of the road. Holbrook makes a plan that involves Moss running out first. She protests, crying, saying she doesn't want to leave him.

"They'll shoot you."

He grins, holds her face, pressing their foreheads together. "Naw, naw...they know better than that."

Me: baabbyy! how can you be so cute and lie like that? Don't be cute and lie!

Moss becomes convinced to go along with the plan. On the count of three, she bolts from the car. Holbrook gets out and staggers towards the cops saying "she's my hostage. I'm lettin' her go. I killed him," while the cops are shouting at him to get down on the ground. He gets down on his knees and while looking up to the sky whispers "I surrender."

Oh right, because Moss had asked him way earlier what Islam means and he said "surrender." So that brings that to some kind of circle.

Holbrook reaches for his prayer beads and gets shot a couple times in the chest. Falls on his back. Moss stops running for the trees and runs back to him. Falls on him, crying, holding his face, just hysterical as the cops pull her off and drag her away. The camera lingers on Holbrook as if he's dying. 

Cut to blue sky and Moss' voice delivering a sweet poetic narration of how much she misses Holbrook, but she's hopeful so long as she can see the sky. Then we see Holbrook looking like he's back in prison clothes and standing around in a jail with his arm in a cast and sling, but actually only one of those things is true. He's visiting Moss in jail, separated by the glass and phone thing. His new shirt just so happens to look like jailbird attire, but he is free. Moss mentions a lawyer working on a good deal for him. Holbrook stares at her a pause, then says "you don't deserve to be in here" or something to that effect. Moss smiles and says "I took a life. Wasn't mine to take." 

Their final moment comes with a bit of illusion. She puts her hand on the glass and he presses his head to his side of the glass. 

"Can you feel my hand?"

The visual becomes her actually rubbing his head, the nurturing comforting way one might pet the head of a dog you could say. They also kiss and I’m not sure if that means in reality they pressed their lips and tongues against the glass or Holbrook just daydreamed that part while also imagining her rubbing his head. Regardless, it happens. They give each other one more longing hopeful look. 

Then...credits.

Okay. I know by the way I recapped and reviewed the story, it might seem like I didn't like it, but I actually really did. I adore this movie's core. It's just, as I mentioned above, I don't think the plot really served that core well.

Rewrite Time

The Little Fix

Moss' Motivation: When Moss tells Holbrook that she doesn't want him to get back into trouble with the law for her staying there, that scene could've been where she starts to weigh her options. Just weighs them. Just acknowledges that if she turns herself in now, tries to get a good lawyer, maybe this and maybe that could turn in her favor. And then Holbrook could tell more of his story as far as how he - when he was a 15 year old - got blamed for murders he didn't commit and no authority in that town cared. They didn't care about his circumstances; they didn't care that he was just a stupid scared kid from the poor part of town where those little girls maybe didn't even live. They already had their story, their big bad wolf...they just needed to make him fit the part. And they did. 

They threw a little boy in a cage with real monsters and buried the key. It took strangers from up north, loads of money, and ten-odd years of his life to dig it back up. Now the innocent person he was back then is long dead. He doesn't want to see Moss go through having who she is stripped and rotted away behind concrete and steel, so he warns her not to just throw her life in the hands of people she assumes she can trust on the notion that she's supposed to be able to trust them. "You're supposed to trust your blood, friends too...but where were they the first time? Second, third?" He'd say, looking at the bruises on her face and arms. She'd try to make some excuses, blame herself for why no one came to her aid when she was being abused, to which he'd retort, "Nobody around here stood between you and that monster when he was alive and well and eating you up every night. So why the hell would they stand up for you now? They'd sooner paint you in the wrong any way they can than face the guilt of their own sins." 

Sidebar: couldn't you just imagine this as the groundwork into Holbrook having his own goal to uncover who the real killer was? It could be revealed to be some pillar of the community kind of guy who everybody kinda new was a weirdo but they turned a blind eye to his kiddy diddler ways because he had so much influence/power. Then when he killed his latest victims and hardly even tried to cover it up, they put the blame on young Holbrook - who happened to find the bodies maybe - to protect the powerful weirdo and in doing so protect their own self-interests? Like Rectify, but with a little more urgency and violence. I mean, the movie ended up having a weird random action/thriller-esque sequence anyway, so instead of dipping in and out of that tone, it may as well have been in the foundation of the story. But I digress. (for now)

Already being scared to face the consequences of her actions, Moss soaks up Holbrook's speech about not turning herself in just yet. She could decide to stay just one more day. And on that day, while thinking of how to approach her surrender in a way that might guarantee her some unbiased favor, she sees a cop car ride down the street. The detective that's been getting on Holbrook's case since the murder shows up with a couple of deputies to search his place again. Rather than running outside because she randomly has a delusion of her dead dog, Moss can run out of the house through the front door and circle around the back of the building, while the cops are upstairs talking with the landlord, requesting a key to Holbrook's place. The landlord lets them in and they snoop around, finding nothing. Meanwhile, Moss is outside behind the apartment under a window or in a corner, holding her hand over her mouth. She narrowly avoids getting seen, the cops leave. She waits for the sounds of them driving away, then tries to get back in through the window. Locked. Tries to get back in through the front door. Super locked. Then the rest of the movie can proceed as is. 

The Big Fix 

We're gonna need to perform some surgery on the timeline here. This movie went from passive to very active and action-filled, but too suddenly and in the wrong direction, which is why it was only half-committed to what little it did do. It wants to be a quiet, emotional journey about two stigmatized outcasts finding comfort and understanding in each other in this hostile little town that's full of high and mighty hypocrites who don't let people live down their mistakes or past wrongs. So the story should engage this setting more. It should build to something active and action-filled through the consequences of how the main characters react to increasingly intense challenges those hypocrites throw at them. 

First things first, we make the killing of Abusive Cop Husband a part of Moss' backstory. Let's say it's been just shy of a year since that happened. She didn't get a day in jail for it, but nobody in town lets her forget that she's a murderer. She tries to go about her day to day life as normal as possible, putting up with rude stares and whispers and the occasional intimidating accost from her dead husband's friends, but no one touches her. (yet) 

Holbrook, who we can still set up the story with the same way, gets told by his boss Spencer that he needs to go out more.

1. So his neighbors stop thinking he's planning his next serial murder.

2. To make more of an effort to re-acclimate to normal life. 

So he eats out a diner for the first time; keeps to himself and chows quickly. People stare and whisper, which makes him anxious (hence the fast eating) but nobody goes near him.

First Contact: As he's walking back home with a doggy bag, he sees Moss for the first time. She's squatting at the edge of a patch of grass going into a field, whistling and clicking her teeth. "Here boy, come on. Here boy." Sensing a dog rescue afoot, Holbrook goes over to assist. He gives her a fright and they both back away a bit from each other. He introduces himself and asks if she's trying to coax out a lost dog. That's precisely what she's up to. She's even already named him "Charlie" after her father, even though the closest they've gotten is her watching him raid her trashcan. Holbrook helps her coax the dog out. He comes to Holbrook, who then gets him in her car. He gives her some quick dog care tips to get through the night and advises her to take him to get checked out by a proper vet for the bigger stuff. They say goodnight and he goes on his way first. She watches him walk away, becoming intrigued as she realizes she's never seen him around before.

Where is the vet's office? The same place as the dog shelter because it's a small town so of course the one veterinarian also runs the pound.

Second Contact: Moss arrives the next day to get Charlie checked out by Spencer the vet. She and Holbrook have a pleasant bashful chat in the meantime. To thank him for helping her, she offers to do something - like treat him to lunch and give him a hair cut. The latter which she acknowledges sounds odd, but it's what she used to do - be a hairdresser that is and she started by cutting men's hair, her daddy's specifically, so she swears she's steady with the razor. Holbrook looks a little self conscious, smiling all shy-like, and rubbing his face. 

"I look that bad, huh?"

"Oh no, no it's...well, it's not great."

They chuckle.

Spencer is behind her giving Holbrook the nudge nod like say yes, fool.

So Holbrook accepts Moss invitation for lunch and a haircut at her place. 

Pivotal Contact: Walking around town to Moss' place, Holbrook is getting some stares and whispers. He becomes a little overwhelmed by the broad daylight, almost turns back, but ultimately keeps ahead. He arrives at her place and they have fast food chicken sandwiches because as Moss puts it "I'm a terrible cook." Holbrook doesn't mind a bit. During the hair washing, cut, and shave, they just talk. The nerves dissipate, they share a few quiet laughs over some anecdotes of lighter times in their lives growing up in the areas they grew up in - wonder how it is they never met, only to conclude they probably did but never realized it. "For such a tiny town, it sure is easy to end up in whole other worlds from people not even a foot away from you every day," Moss can say. 

At some point during their talk, they both hint at their personal controversies even though they don't want to delve into them, which makes them realize the other person doesn't know about said controversies. Odd since they're so used to everybody knowing that about them, but their ignorance is probably the reason they're able to be at ease around each other. So, they both agree to save their secrets for another day. Right as he's helping her clean up, playing with Charlie a bit, and basically getting ready to leave, a brick gets thrown through Moss' window. Moss is upset and angry, but tries to keep her cool in front of Holbrook. She hides the brick behind her back and rattles off 100 excuses for why it's no big deal that just happened. Holbrook apologizes, thinking it's about him. Moss assures him it wasn't. 

During their time apart, their minds wander to each other. Separately, they get a talking to from people about being seen in each other's company. Holbrook by his boss Spencer, who encourages him to continue making a friend, but to be careful since he's not the only one with bullies always barking at his back. Holbrook asks for Moss' story. Spencer doesn't give too much because it's not her story to tell, so she just tells him that Moss is a good girl who got put in a bad situation and nobody lets her live it down. "Just like somebody else I know." 

Moss on the other hand is confronted intimidatingly by the wife of her dead husband's best friend, who calls her all kinds of bitches and evil whores for trying to run around with the town psycho. She stands up for herself with a tough face and tone, but when the woman leaves, it shows that she's hurt. She cries, but she's determined to stay tough. 

The premise I'm building to here is one in which Holbrook and Moss would become friends and confidants first. They would learn patience and understanding of each other by dealing with the aggressive repercussions of daring to step out into the world and try to have lives, especially when they make those efforts together. Those repercussions would be the obstacles they face that challenge their bond, but they ultimately overcome. The worse Moss' aggressors act (hurting Charlie and leaving his injured body on the porch for instance), the more Holbrook will be pushed into becoming his more monstrous self but this time not to protect/prove himself to other monsters, but to protect the link to his humanity from those other monsters.

In Holbrook's own case, Moss could be looking into who the real murderer of those little girls was and it could turn out to be one of her dead husband's friends a.k.a. one of the guys who is bullying her and perhaps one or two of the other friends helped cover it up; even gave false witness statements to incriminate Holbrook. And it's the fact that she's looking into that, trying to uncover these truths for her "psycho boyfriend Cyclopes" a.k.a. their scapegoat, that's making her bullies become more actively aggressive towards her and Holbrook in the first place. There could be a point here where Holbrook finds out what she's doing and wants her to stop, but she doesn't want to, so they get into an argument over why it matters. 

To Holbrook it doesn't matter that people still think he's a killer because he knows he's not. So long as he's no longer locked up like one, he doesn't care what people think. To Moss it matters not only because those dead little girls deserve real justice but also because she knows how other people see Holbrook will always greatly affect his life - just like it affects hers. But unlike her, he doesn't deserve to be treated like a killer for the rest of his life because he isn't one. So, she's going to prove it whether he likes it or not. Having someone put everything on the line to protect him motivates Holbrook to do the same for her, which unfortunately gradually means summoning Cyclopes to keep her safe.

The most "action-movie" this otherwise indie romantic drama could delve into is Holbrook beating the shit out of their group of tormentors (killing none) and getting arrested. But he won't be sent back to prison because Moss' testimony, other sympathetic witnesses of their torment (Spencer and perhaps that one cop's "lovely latina” partner) coupled with the evidence she dug up on the real killer and conspirators will clear Holbrook of any serious charges, especially when that evidence reveals the real monsters (those responsible for what happened to those little girls and a teenager's wrongful imprisonment) to be the same ones Holbrook beat the shit out of, making self-defense all the more reasonable of a ruling.

The real monsters go to prison, Holbrook and Moss become a couple and they live together with a healed up Charlie in an actually furnished house where they have Spencer over for dinner often.

The End.

Post-Credit Notes:

So, everything has come full circle. The setting is utilized more, the microcosm of "society" that is this small town posses a much clearer and stronger threat to the characters' personal comfort and progress, and the connection between these two characters as individuals stigmatized by this little society due to their dark pasts was not only the beating heart of this tale, but drove the plot - the series of events - in a way that didn't overshadow or clash with the main theme of the story, but accentuated it. And I believe that main theme to be an examination of what it means to be enslaved by the world's perception of you; how to cope with and free oneself from this enslavement.  

Now, of course I know that movies have constraints that books don't, namely money and time. So I understand that in a lot of cases, stories are altered to fit movie making means. If that's the case here, that's fine. I still enjoyed "The Free World" for what it was. But just purely looking at the story without any of those other outside factors, I think it could have been a much stronger version of itself in just a couple more drafts.

Shortly put: If it was a book, I'd buy it. 

~R.J. 

Author's Note: Alright, I've done enough talking. Now I want to hear from you guys. Discuss things. Did you see this movie? Did you like it? What do you think of my rewrite? How would you tackle a rewrite? Get those wheels turning. Backseat-writing other people's finished works is one of the best ways to sharpen your own pen. ;)

..........

[iincantatorum-a]

Name: Dr. Ombre Mystique Facilier Age of Character: 23 Species: Human/Shadow Face Claim: Antonia Thomas or Rihanna Appearance: Always well kept, her hair usually permed with curls. Height/frame: average height for a female, slender. A tight corset makes her appear bustier than she is.

Family History :

Dr. Facilier (father) Unknown Mother

Alignment: Neutral Evil

Personality: Mystique has the charm of her father, but her façade is much more divisive. Her natural personality is that of loud, judgmental, selfish, and only doing favors that will help her in some way.  On the outside, she is quite the lady, one who would have made the finest debutant, cooking, cleaning, and sewing her way into a man’s heart for money.

Hobbies: Tarot Cards, piano Fears: Facilier coming back from the shadows.  As much as she would like to marry rich, she fears a “loveless” marriage. Abilities: Precognition through her Tarot Cards, creating simple spells, and amulets for basic things like health, wealth, love.

Brief History:

Voodoo priests and priestesses are often chosen at birth, and Mystique was no different.  Except for having been taken from a loving home by Dr. Facilier and treated generally as a nuisance.  Her abilities exceed the normal expectations of a child, but it was never enough for her “father.” While some couldn’t even understand the cards, Mystique could understand them all, although if she read even one out of order it would be several raps on her hands until she got it right.  She was to be a protégé after all; why else would he have named after“the” Voodoo Queen.

Mystique developed his charms, although more harshly.  While his charm and anger often were quite balanced enough to not scare any customers away, Mystique would eventually snap at what she perceived as their stupidity.  She began to rebel against her father, finding that none of the people she “helped” gave her anything she wanted in return.  Her temper would cause harsher punishments, until she perfected the art of smooth talking her way into a man (or woman’s) wallet… unless she found out they didn’t have anything then her façade would quickly drop.

Mystique had been sent away by her father to learn his art before the events of The Princess and the Frog; he had decided that until she was better than she already was she needed different tutelage.  When she had returned to New Orleans, he had already been taken by the shadows, Marie’s chances of inheriting his magic amulet with him.  This led her to lose out on the powerful (albeit darker) side of Voodoo, leaving her with charms, amulets, and “cure-alls.” Disgusted by her own father’s failure and the future his fall had caused to be snatched away from her,  she decided to do her best to rise up above and beyond her father.

This was easier said than done, and without a way to contact any of her former teachers, Mystique suffered the life of a below average voodoo priestess, scraping by with tarot readings and selling charms and amulets.  This was not the life she wanted.  She was named after a queen, and a queen she would be.  She set out to find any eligible royalty for her to finally get the life that was rightfully hers, one reading, one charm at a time.

[xephinatheeleven]

The Pain of Assignment (Rewritten)

Word Count: 14,664

Summary: What happens to traits when their host passes away?

IMPORTANT NOTE: No one specifically asked for this rewrite, but I feel that I have greatly improved in my writing since the original was uploaded. I have gone back and read the previous version and felt as if I skimmed over some rather important points. Since it is my most popular one-shot, I wanted to rewrite it with the love and detail it deserves! It is also important to note that any of the activities or scenes left out from the original ARE CANON TO THE REWRITE!!!

You Can Read The Original Here: https://fic-only-dark-strange-daughter.tumblr.com/post/173409071607/the-pain-of-assignment

Hope you enjoy!!!

Warnings: Grief

Pairings: Platonic Only!

Thanks to @jay-wants-to-be-a-paladin once again for helping me to edit my stories!!!

———

Traits were never born with their hosts, instead they were assigned. When a child was brought into the world, a unique combination of four main aspects was appointed to them for the entirety of their lives, creating each individual’s personality. The passing of the host however would return the facets to the Astral Plane where they would wait for reassignment, and the cycle would repeat.

The sides themselves were immortal, but the longer they lived the darker they became, and as time went by, they would develop a much harsher outlook on life. All of the personifications knew the quote, “You either die a hero, or live long enough to watch yourself become the villain,” which summed up the aging process of a trait surprisingly well, even though their immortality made it impossible for them to die. Unfortunately, that meant they would all eventually become “the villain,” so to speak. Using that order, it made sense that morality was the youngest phase, which started when an aspect turned twenty-one, followed closely by creativity. The creative stage started after a facet had had three hosts, and they would remain that way until the eighth human they were a part of passed on. Then once they became logical they were required to have another ten hosts before they would fall into the inevitable darkness that each would become. That was the final, longest, and worst part of their immortal lives, when they finally became a negative character, overall disgusted with life.

There was one way to prevent such a fate, but it was an honor that was rarely bestowed upon any to say the least. Some of the alignments of the moral, creative, logical, and negative sides worked better together that most others and that would result in a particularly fulfilling and selfless life for the human they were a part of. This allowed the embodiments to be granted the gift of Elysium by the Council of the Astral Plane, and when the traits reached the perfect haven that was Elysium, their aging process would come to a halt, and they would be permitted to live the rest of eternity in peace.

If the four manifestations failed, when the person passed on, their soul would go to the Fields of Asphodel, and the aspects would simply be paired off in a different alignment, and they would be assigned to another child. They would be given a way to remember the one they had lost however, a symbolic mark comprised of elements that had been instrumental in the life of, or important to the human they would never see again. The more the host had meant to them, the closer the resting place of this mark would be to the heart, sometimes seeming like an open wound as it reminded them of the grief they felt.

Patton, Roman, Logan, and Virgil had grown particularly close not only to their host Thomas, who had been one of the few people to ever be aware of his attributes, but to one another as well, considering the other three to be family, which was uncommon among most facets. It was interesting that the online personality had used the videos he made to help them come to a better understanding with one another without knowing about what would happen to any of them later down the line. Not only that, but the same videos influenced him, his followers, and those around him to be better people and make the world a better place.

Days, months, and years passed in a blur, and before they could process all that had happened, one-by-one, the sides came to the heartbreaking conclusion that the time they had left with Thomas was limited. Eventually he was hospitalized, and each of them struggled with the knowledge that he would never return home, and the traits themselves would be soon be separated, with great odds of never seeing one another again. The thought caused emotions to run high, and they all channeled them differently, Patton spent most of his days in tears, and Logan grew quiet, hardly speaking a word to anyone. Virgil, as the eldest had been though the process the most, and took up the position of trying to console the others despite his own grief and worry which shown clearly behind his eyes, and Roman searched desperately for a way to grant them all more time.

As the weeks passed, the characteristics learned when the doctors and other staff would come by, and the four of them would sit with Thomas in between rounds. His family and friend’s previous knowledge of them proved to be a blessing, seeing as that allowed them to visit the real-world, even when they were present. More than once despite this advantage the logical or negative aspects had been forced to take their moral counterpart back to the mindscape when he began sobbing hysterically. It was also decided for the safety of not being discovered, that the ethical facet couldn’t stay with their host alone. Sadly, they knew his emotions would cloud his judgment, and in a time of crisis he would not leave if he heard the doctors coming, so someone else had to be there to drag him away if need be. The creative persona on the other hand did his best to not let what he felt show, but on multiple occasions he had left the bedside of the YouTuber, cheeks wet with tears. Then there was Anxiety, who had difficulties sleeping at the best of times, so he elected to stay with the online personality though the night, permitting the others to try and get some rest.

To everyone’s dismay, Thomas slowly became less responsive, to the point that he was unable to acknowledge the presence of even his own sides. Then, after a few more agonizing weeks, with family and friends gathered around, they all heard it, the single, high-pitched, and unbroken tone from one of the machines which indicated the lack of a heartbeat. Morality immediately started sobbing, clinging to Logic whose professionalism was momentarily forgotten as tears sparkled in his own sorrow filled eyes. Princey placed his head in his hands as a last attempt to hide the flood of grief that caused his shoulders to shake, but when he glanced up for just a second, he locked eyes with the darkest trait and saw his own pain mirrored there. The family in the room broke away to get those who were absent, and the four aspects took their opportunity, and with hushed goodbyes they synced out of the real world, bidding farewell to the best host they had ever had the honor to serve.

Despite knowing what came next, each of them was taken by surprise when they didn’t reappear in the mindscape; instead they stood before the Council of the Astral Plane. They were given no time to react as a female voice chimed from above them, and Roman wondered how anyone could be so cheery on the eve of such a tragedy. “In accordance with our laws, you will be granted the customary six months to mourn your loss before the time of your reassignment. We apologize for any hardships or negative feelings that this most recent event has inflicted, and we hope you readjust well to the Astral Plane.” The fanciful archetype could feel his blood boiling as the shallow-sounding words were said in her squeaky, joyous tone. It actually took all of his power to keep his mouth shut as she moved back to join her colleagues; these were facets who would never experience the trauma that they were going through.

The next to step forward was a man dressed in the dark robes that marked the Leader of the Council, theoretically the most respected person in all of the Astral Plane, and that was the reason he held his tongue. Unlike the woman a moment before, he didn’t carry himself with the same light and care-free demeanor; there was sympathy in his eyes, but his voice remained professional and authoritative. “We know that this loss has touched all of you deeply, more so than any before,” he paused, and it wasn’t until the speaker locked eyes with him, that usually-whimsical side realized the glare he wore, but he didn’t shift his gaze. Eventually the one standing above them looked away, maintaining his calm integrity, “understanding the relationship you held with this host,” he waved his hand over them. “The symbolic mark he leaves upon you rests as near to the heart as it can…just below your left collarbone.”

Each of them pulled gingerly at their shirts, and after a few seconds they were left in an awed silence, but it was broken when a sob escaped their youngest companion. His knees buckled, and all three of the others jumped to catch him, but Virgil was the nearest and braced his ethical companion with a shoulder. The tattoo that each of them now bore was done in an array of colors, but was still clearly the YouTube symbol, with the outline structured like a molecule, with both ionic and covalent bonds. The three main components representing Thomas’s sexuality, love for chemistry, and the talent he had shared on the video website.

The sides weren’t allotted much time to process this newest development before being dismissed by a few nods from the Council Members. As they were ushered away, the Prince dared to shoot one last glare at the Leader, he didn’t care about the respect most showed him, all he could think of was how this person had said he understood their relationship with Thomas when he’d never even met him. He didn’t know what he expected in return, but the shadowed look of concern he cast at the floor certainly wasn’t it, but they were separated as the door shut between them. They were promptly faced with the doors to their apartments, all of which just so happened to be next door to one another in the order of their age, but none of that stunned them. The Astral Plane was able to morph and shift, meaning it was not uncommon for any place the Council needed to magically become closer at their will.

Virgil exchanged small tear-blurred glances with the other three as soon as their escorts left them, and wordlessly they walked into their separate flats. He had been back to the Astral Plane so many times that he had actually grown accustomed to his temporary home there, even if he only lived in it for six months at a time. That being the case, he still found himself longing to be back in his room in Thomas’s mind-palace.

Shaking his head to clear it Anxiety timidly opened the door and flicked on the lights, and to say that he was astonished would have been a massive understatement. In times past his apartment had changed slightly to accommodate the changes in his own personality or interests he picked up during assignment, but never before had it altered itself to be anything like this. What sat before him now in no way resembled his old apartment, and instead was a perfect replica of his room from Thomas’s mindscape.

He couldn’t hear his footsteps as he cautiously moved inside, ensuring that the door latched firmly behind him. It actually sickened the darkly-dressed trait to see, and even interact with such a perfect recreation without it being the real thing. What made it worse was that he so desperately wanted to believe that he was back in his room; he could almost hear Patton downstairs making dinner, or the music of a Disney movie echoing from Princey’s room. It wasn’t until he had made his way over to the desk in the corner, and found the black notebook with all of his notes on the others’ past sleep-walking habits, that he realized the trap that he was allowing himself to fall into. The negative aspect, despite not having grown so close to a host in millennia, knew he needed to put his grief aside, so he could help the others, and be in the correct frame of mind at the time of his reassignment.

Understanding that the only way to prepare himself would be to distance all memories from his mind, especially those he was fond of. Aimlessly the fight-or-flight reflex tossed the book in the trash, a familiar numbness evaporating as his eyes rested on the object that turned his determination into a sorrow-fueled, unbridled rampage. Suddenly, the picture that had no business being in the Astral Plane was resting in his hands, and only served to sadden him further. In the photo, the floor in his room was easily identified by the dark carpet, and on it four figures sat in a circle, and on Morality’s cardigan clad shoulder sat a black kitten, his kitten, Amaya. The feelings he had from the recent loss of his host, and the nearing separation of his family was only intensified by the reminder of a friend whose death he had already mourned.

In a moment of blind fury, the observant facet threw the picture with as much force as he could muster, and as it shattered against the far wall, it shook another frame free of its hook, and fell to the ground with an equally loud crash. The grief and anger obscured the minutes that followed; in his quest to make the flat look as different as possible he could only remember bits and pieces. Drawers were pulled from their places, contents scattered on the floor as wood splintered under the force of impact, the sounds of breaking glass and plastic thankfully overpowered any sobs or yells that escaped him. Somewhere behind the agony and heartache, in the depths of his subconscious, Virgil knew this would be the only reprieve he could allow himself. All too soon the others would need his reserved manner, and experience with death as a means of emotional support; but for now, with his room in shambles, he stumbled over to the bed.

Cleaning the duvet of any debris that had managed to land there, he collapsed into the soft surface, expecting the tears to return, but none came forth. After all the destruction, he merely felt numb, his ears ringing, and his vision faded in and out with what looked like television static. Of the hundreds of hosts he’d had, none had ever left the eldest of the four in such a frayed mental-state, normally he could just move on and ignore what he felt, but it was different this time. In the past he had been able to almost, if not completely forget the existence of those he had previously been a part of, and the ones he had worked with, but this time there was no denying the pain. Thomas had been special, and not only to him, he had been the only one to ever take notice of them, and he had done his best to amend the rough relations between them. Once the personifications had figured out just how much the online character cared for them, the sides had tried to reciprocate by doing what they could to help him through his own dilemmas.

Anxiety tried to clear his mind because while he suffered through what felt like hell, he could only imagine how Patton and Roman were coping. He didn’t know exactly how many hosts they’d had, but by a trait’s standards, they were still young and without experience, the whole process had to be harder on them. He still worried about Logan, but he wasn’t as emotional as the other two, making it a bit easier for him to rationalize his way through the situation.

The gloomy aspect was drawn from his thoughts as a soft knocking echoed from the door, and with his current mindset, it didn’t surprise him that he hadn’t heard anyone approaching. Sucking in a deep breath he got to his feet seeing as it was more than likely the youngest of the others waiting for him in the corridor, so he needed to pull himself together. His room however would be a clear indicator of the mental break he’d just suffered, and as he stepped over what had once been a bookshelf remorse stabbed at him, maybe he shouldn’t have been so quick to destroy his flat, but there was no taking it back now.

Logan had been stunned when he had stepped into his apartment, he had returned to the Astral Plane after seventeen different assignments, and never before had his temporary home fully taken on the appearance of his room from a host’s mind. He abhorred emotion, but he couldn’t deny the anguish that seared at him like someone had set his chest on fire as he took in the details of the area. There was one object though, that drew his attention over everything else, the intellectual didn’t have the faintest clue as to how it had ended up in his flat, but there it was, in the corner of his room, the Celestron 60EQ PowerSeeker that Virgil had given him so many years ago.

Resting his hand on the optical tube, he thought of the memories intertwined with the object, even with the negative facet’s original misgivings on the idea; years later, the two of them had eventually told the others the story behind the scope. As it turned out, no one had made fun, or been overly sappy about it, instead choosing to partake in, and came to love the same astronomic activities. The thoughts of the star-parties they had shared nearly brought tears to his eyes once more because he knew the number of days, and chances of similar moments, with his family were limited.

In an attempt to return to his rational mindset, he turned away from the scientific instrument, but a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror across the room brought Logic to a stand-still. For a brief moment he didn’t recognize the person staring back at him; his skin had become paler, his hair, eyes, and clothes darker, he wasn’t standing as straight and his shoulders were hunched forward slightly. At first he put it off to the major change in his life, thinking that it had shaken him more than he’d previously thought, but the chill that ran down his spine disproved his hypothesis.

The scholar was horrified that such a change had slipped his mind, but it helped to explain the difficulties he was having in keeping his emotions in check, he only had one more host before he would change phase once again. Still overwhelmed, he moved to sit on the edge of his bed, thoughts rushing through his mind as he placed his head in his hands. He wondered what kind of negative archetype he would become. Would he be anxious like Virgil? He couldn’t imagine being so fearful all the time though. Perhaps he would be a depressed side, a long time ago he had worked with such a figment, but the idea of being so dismal was no more appealing. As it was, the analytical trait quite liked who he was presently, but then again, had he not felt the same when he had been in the moral and creative stages of his life? Sighing, he knew the only way to handle the fear was to live one day at a time, and worry about who he would become when he reached that point.

The plan of action offered the academic some relief, but he was unable to relish in it for long when two equally loud crashes sounded from the other side of the wall. A barrage of destructive noises from splintering wood to cracking plastic echoed from the room next to his, and left him to wonder who was causing them and why? It wasn’t until a muffled scream ripped through the air that he understood what exactly was happening.

He had no idea how old the fight-or-flight reflex was, but there was no way he would be able to keep going if he truly remembered and mourned every host he’d had, which more than likely meant that the perfect recreation of his room infuriated him. It was extremely probable that he thought the only way he could get the distance he needed from his memories of Thomas, was by destroying everything he could to get away from them. If that was what he felt was the best course of action, then that was his choice, but he would still go and check on him after all the noises had stopped.

Logan waited in silence for the shatters and bangs to cease, and even then he allowed his friend a few more minutes to compose himself and gather his thoughts. Counting the seconds by tapping his leg, eventually he could no longer justify sitting idly by, and stood to go and help Anxiety. It wasn’t until he had already knocked on the door that he realized the other wouldn’t appreciated being, for lack of a better term, mothered. That meant he had less than twenty seconds to come up with an excuse for why he was seeking his colleague’s attention.

When the threshold opened to him, he couldn’t help but notice the shock and concern that crossed the expression of the darker aspect before being swiftly replaced with the same solemn responsibility he had been upholding for months. The teacher knew the quick lapse of emotion pertained to his change in appearance, but he did not address it. “Look, I know you probably don’t want anyone bothering you right now,” he struggled to come up with a reason for his visit. “I didn’t want to come get you myself, but we are probably the only ones who can put aside our…emotions for the time being.” Virgil raised one eyebrow, looking unconvinced by his words, “Patton and Roman however, I fear may not fare as well in our…current situation.” The claim wasn’t entirely a lie, he was genuinely worried about the others, but he had no idea how he was going to help them with their feelings.

A nod was the only response the observant ideal gave him before wordlessly stepping out of the wreck that was his apartment. They moved to the nearest door, and the rational facet made a point to stand up taller and keep his shoulders back, but he still knew there was something off about his stature. He just had to hope that without the perceptive skills that the one next to him had, they would not notice, and if they did they would also keep it to themselves.

Four swift knocks were soon answered as Morality peered out of his flat, the redness of his face and eyes betraying that he had been in tears since they had last seen one another. When he realized who was seeking his attention, he opened the door a little further, “h-hey kiddos…wh-whatcha need?”

Logic looked to the one in the corridor with him for the response, and after a quick glance he turned back to the youngest manifestation. “We wanted to check in on you before doing the same for Roman,” the eldest paused briefly as if he were searching for how to continue. “Perhaps it would be best of you went ahead and joined, then the four of us could go get something to eat.”

The ethical persona slipped out into the hall, giving them a half-hearted smile, “thanks kids…now let’s go get Roman.”

The Head Council Member stared down at the place where the four traits had been only moments before; trying to hide the shock that coursed though him from the events that had just taken place. He had no idea if the creative side had seen his reaction when he had bravely turned to glare at them one last time, but he hoped not. What caused the wave of surprise was a single moment; he felt that if he had blinked, he would have missed it, still it made him reconsider everything he had previously thought about the group that had just been dismissed. They wouldn’t know it of course, but the Council had been keeping a particularly close eye on the four of them, seeing as they were all strongly considered candidates for Elysium.

Unfortunately for them, they had managed to fall shy in only one of the testing categories, their relations with one another, but in the quick moment after they had received their symbolic marks, the moral aspect had nearly fallen to the floor out of grief. That in itself was not unexpected, it was common for the younger and more innocent to be overwhelmed by the loss of a host, but it had been the occurrence immediately after that had astounded him. Normally, the elder three facets would turn a blind-eye to such an emotional breakdown, but each of them had jumped to help, most notably was the negative embodiment who had succeeded in catching him.  More often than not the oldest cared very little for the younger sides, in this case however, he not only cared, but there was something altogether different about him that the Leader couldn’t quite place. He knew that they had also grown close to their host, but now it had come to light that they thought just as highly of one another.

The possibilities raced though his mind, he was not one to go back on his word lightly, and he had already stated that the host’s soul would go to the Fields of Asphodel, and that the attributes would be reassigned. Then again, when he had made the decision, he had been under the impression that the bond between the four was far too weak for them to achieve Elysium, and some didn’t show their true feelings until they underwent a true moment of pain or fear. That now having been the case, he was beginning to rethink his previous resolve, perhaps he had been wrong.

“Sir?” A soft voice jolted him from his thoughts, and he turned to face the speaker and his second-in-command. She was the woman who had first addressed the traits, but she seemed to have lost the preppy edge to her voice, her eyes glittering with a mixture of shock and concern. “P-Please correct me if I am wrong, but we all just witnessed the same thing, those aspects a-acted almost like a…family.” Her words were soft, lacking the confidence she usually portrayed, even falling silent for a moment as if she were contemplating something deeply, and only spurring the curiosity he constantly had for what went on inside her head. Her gaze swept the floor as she dared to continue, “should this newest development not mean that they have passed in all categories, and that they along with their host be granted passage into Elysium?” The look she gave as the question was asked conveyed the fear she held of being rebuked, but he couldn’t constitute the use of anger seeing as she voiced his own thoughts.

The Council Leader allowed the query to tumble through his mind, carefully considering the options that were now laid out before him, “it is a difficult decision.” He took the same low tone so that the others would remain oblivious to their conversation for the time being, “the event in question happened after the passing of the host, does that not invalidate their actions?”

She finally met his eyes, “may I be permitted to speak freely sir?”

“As you were.”

She nodded slowly, “pardon my forwardness, but the relations between facets is one of the few testing categories that is not influenced by the presence of a human.” She took a quick breath, “if we follow that ruling, then it should not matter if the moment of unity transpired before or after the host’s death, as long as it was before the time of reassignment.” She suddenly looked back to the floor, “my apologies for speaking out against your decision sir…if you so desire it, I will accept the papers requesting my removal.”

“That won't be necessary,” he sighed, not comfortable with the idea of going back on a verdict, and in doing so admitting he was wrong. He did believe however, that his second-in-command was correct, and the amount of courage that it took for her to address the topic in such a manner was not lost on him. She would not have done so if she did not feel strongly about the predicament they now found themselves in, “we must be certain, there is no room for error from here on in. It will take an immense amount of work from each department to retrieve the human’s soul from Asphodel, and before that can be acted upon it will require a two-thirds vote by the Council.”

She cast a quick glance in the direction of those still gathered in the auditorium behind them, but looked him in the eye as she responded, “do you not think it justified to at least try? If those personifications have passed all tests, and proven that they are worthy, then who are we to deny them the right they have to go to Elysium?”

He nodded, her conclusion was drawn from sound logic, so he slowly moved to the podium from which he would address the others, “Council Members, hear what I say.” Everyone straightened up, and sat at attention, “we have a serious matter which needs to be settled. You have all borne witness to the events that have just unfolded before us, and I doubt that I need to remind you that the sides who were just dismissed had been strongly considered candidates for Elysium. Their short coming had been in their relations with one another, but the actions that took place only seconds after they had received their symbolic marks leads me to believe that they may be closer to each other that we previously thought. Since this display of what appears to be familial sentiment was exhibited after the passing of their host, it is debatable if this should qualify them for Elysium.” He glanced around as the others waited anxiously for him to continue, “that being said, we must cast a vote as to whether or not this honor should be bestowed upon them, and for an issue of this caliber, we will need a two-thirds compliance in their favor.” He pressed a button on the surface before him, and holographic screens appeared in front of the others casting a green glow on their faces, “cast your votes, but consider your decision carefully. This is not a matter that is to be taken lightly, so take your time.”

He moved his gaze to the side as his second-in-command took her seat; the glimmer of determination in her eyes was only intensified by the light of her screen. She tapped on it a few times and the illumination disappeared, and he could almost feel the certainty of her resolve as she was the first to look up, and he knew already the verdict of her vote. Meanwhile, time seemed to creep by as one-by-one, each of the Council Members gazed up, and their incandescent desks flickered back into sleep mode. Most had an air of confidence surrounding their choices, but others came off as wary, and even he wasn’t sure as to which way he wanted the ballad to swing. In his heart, he knew the woman that worked alongside him was correct, these traits deserved the chance to go to Elysium together, especially since they had grown so close. Equally, he knew just how much time, effort, money, and paperwork it would require to reclaim the human’s soul from the Fields of Asphodel. The guards there were strict, and did not take kindly to a host being taken from their ranks, that being said, even if the vote was in favor of Elysium, he wasn’t certain that they would be capable of finishing all of the preparations and references before the time that the aspects were to be reassigned.

His thoughts came to an abrupt halt as the last screen was cut off, and with everyone now gazing up at him, he slowly moved his hand back to the podium. The screen upon it sprung into life with a blinding blue light that almost made him flinch, but he allowed muscle-memory to guide his fingers through the menus and options. As he did so, he noticed the hush that had fallen over the room, making it clear that the Council Members were all but holding their breath as they waited to hear the results of the census.

After what felt like a century, he found the page he was looking for, and he could hardly believe what he was faced with, even going as far as to refresh the page to make sure there was no technological error. When it came up the same, he accepted the numbers as truth, and lifted his head; there was no use in making the customary call to attention now seeing as the suspense in the room was almost palpable. Clearing his throat he began in a shockingly clear voice, which he prayed wouldn’t crack, “to start, I wish to thank each and every one of you for staying late to participate in this poll.” He paused, looking once more at the white numbers shining up at him just to make sure he hadn’t dreamt them, “of the two hundred fifty of you in this room…two hundred thirty-five of you are in agreeance that the happenings of a few minutes ago are to be validated. Therefore, over two-thirds of you have voted that both the facets and the human’s soul shall achieve the high honor of Elysium.”

The Council Leader didn’t know what reaction he had expected, but the enthusiastic applause that followed his words was not it. Even those who had seemed wary, or voted against joined in on the vehement response.  He waited for a few more moments before gesturing for silence, and the room fell quiet once more, “now, I told you to deeply consider your verdict, and I hope that you took my words to heart, because retrieving the human’s soul from Asphodel is not going to be a simple matter. There is much work to be done since we are going back on a previously made decision, but you all are well versed in your departments, and I have no doubt that you will complete your tasks. The most difficult and crucial piece to this endeavor is ensuring that all required business is finished before they are to be reassigned in six months time, so let us not delay any further…dismissed!”

Since they had returned to the Astral Plane, the four attributes that had made up Thomas’s personality had been all but inseparable, not daring to waste any more of the precious time they had together as a family than they had to. Patton wasn’t with them at the moment as he got some well deserved rest, after being cursed with terrifying dreams the night before. Currently however, Virgil sat with Roman and Logan in the park of their apartment complex, but he had grown a bit uncomfortable as the conversation turned to the topic of hosts they’d had prior to Thomas.

Shaking his head, the eldest side hardly heard the question that was asked, “so, Logan, who would you way was your most logical host?”

The academic took no time in finding his answer, “simple…although you might find it to be a bit shocking, the most logical was by far Marie Curie.”

“Hold on, what?” Princey paused briefly, brow furrowed, “I’m not as up to date on scientists as you are, but wasn’t Marie Curie…female?”

The query actually elicited soft laughter from the rational and negative traits, but it was the prior who responded, “well yes, but considering that she lived in the late eighteen and early and nineteen-hundreds, there were not yet labels for gender-fluidity, or the prospect of not fitting cleanly into the ideals of binary genders.”

Noticing that the confusion was yet to leave the expression of the other, Anxiety picked up the topic himself, “I think Logan and I both speak from experience, but there is a reason that people are born non-binary or gender-fluid, and for the same reason there is a spectrum. It all comes down to how many male or female aspects are assigned to a child no matter their physical gender at birth.”

“I’d never thought of that before,” the creative character looked genuinely fascinated and to some extent pleased by the explanation. “Anyway, were you a logical facet when you were assigned to Marie Curie?”

If it was possible, the one in question looked a tad smug, “as a matter of fact, yes. I was quite…gratified when she chose to persue and later win the Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry.”

“Chemistry,” the darker manifestation smiled softly to himself, “now I know where Thomas got that interest from.”

“Your turn Roman,” Logic let his gaze rest on his fanciful counterpart, “has there been anyone famous who you were a part of?”

“Two people come to mind, the first being Max Steiner…if you know who that is.”

It was clear that the intellectual was at a loss, but the observant persona knew all too well who that was, and was a bit shocked to know that his friend had been a part of his personality, “Logan may not, but I do. Max Steiner was a film-score composer, right?” When the Prince nodded in confirmation, the second-eldest glanced to their companion, clearly impressed, but it was the fight-or-flight reflex who continued, “he composed for Casablanca and Gone with the Wind, didn’t he?”

The imaginative embodiment didn’t notice the smirk he was given at first, “yes! Some of my best work if I do say so myself- what are you grinning about Hot Topic?”  As Virgil kept quiet about his little secret, another question was formulated, “I wouldn’t have expected you to know that instead of Logan. How do you know that?”

He allowed himself to chuckle for a second before revealing what he knew, “I was going to wait until my turn, but…I was the negative side of Clark Gable.”

Roman’s eyes grew wide, “you were a part of Clark Gable?!” Despite taking a deep breath, he still sounded astonished, “he played Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind, hold on,” the glimmer in his gaze changed to a shocked understanding. “That means that we have indirectly worked together before we were assigned to the same host!”

The anxious trait hadn’t realized that until it had been plainly laid out for him, and he was sure that he now wore the same look of amazement, “shit…you're right. How have we not discussed this until now?”

“I-I don’t know,” he suddenly snickered, his shoulders shaking slightly, “h-here’s what I want to know, what kind of sedatives were you given to let Clark Gable, as his fight-or-flight reflex, run through a burning movie-set?”

The teacher looked almost horrified by the trivia fact, “the movie-set caught fire! Was everyone okay?”

The other two shared a humor filled look before the darkly-dressed aspect answered, “first of all, the movie-set of Gone with the Wind didn’t burn. Next, the producers took some old sets into an abandoned warehouse at the back of the look where it was filmed, and set them ablaze to get the famous Atlanta Fire scene. Clark Gable, along with Vivien Leigh, Thelma McQueen, and Olivia De Havilland had only one chance to get the take because they were using real flames. Anyway, there’s no reason for you to get worked up, there were fire chiefs and medics everywhere off camera, and no one was injured.” He turned back to the other, “and to answer your question, I don’t really remember how the others talked me into it, but you can rest assured that Clark Gable was not happy about running though the literal burning building.”

The analytical facet appeared comforted, “well, that’s good to know, back on topic however, Virgil do you consider your admission of being part of Clark Gable as your turn?” A nod was the only answer he gave, his sense of discomfort surrounding the conversation returning, “in that case, who was the second person that came to your mind Roman.”

“I was moral at the time,” the whimsical figure gave a side glimpse to the rational archetype, “but, I did have Sir Edmund Halley as a host.”

“Wait, what?!” Despite being a famed scientist and mathematician, it wasn’t Logan who had the outburst, seeing as the eldest beat him to it. Both of the others turned to face him, but he didn’t care, “sorry…just answer me this Sir Sing-a-Lot, were you the one that convinced Halley to be kind with Isaac Newton, and help him through the issues he had with Robert Hooke after he claimed to discover the Spectrum of Light?”

“Newton discovered the Spectrum of Light, not Hooke. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt, but I thought that needed to be clarified.”

He merely giggled at Logic’s statement, “I’m not laughing at you, trust me, I know it wasn’t Hooke.” When his friend nodded, he turned back to Princey, who appeared a bit taken aback, “was it you who convinced Halley to help Newton though?”

“Y-Yes…but how do you know that?” Now, Anxiety found it hard to breathe between the bouts of laughter that racked his lungs, “why is that so funny?”

“I-I can’t believe this!” he took a deep breath so that he could remain composed long enough to explain, “I-I’m the reason Newton went into seclusion at all! Had it not been for Halley’s moral side convincing me to ease up and let him try again, Newton may never have left Cambridge at all…that moral side was you!”

As the three of them sat in a dumbfounded silence, Patton walked up, finally having awoken from his nap, and nearly scared them to death when he spoke, “what are you all gawking at kiddos?”

Thankfully Roman stopped his reach for his sword in reaction to the start, but it was the academic who broke from his trace to the point that he could respond to the query. “Well, I’m in awe that these two were previously traits of Edmund Halley,” he gestured to his visionary counterpart, “and Isaac Newton, two era-defining scientists.”

Morality was clearly impressed, but still confused, “okay, what about you two?”

Virgil did his best to shake off what he was feeling, “as it turns out, Roman and I…in completely different centuries have crossed paths, and had hosts who worked together, twice.”

He didn’t know why he noticed, perhaps it was his observational skills, but as the intellectual began asking questions about Edmund Halley, the ethical aspect kept his eyes trained on the ground, tears falling to his shirt. Quietly so as not to draw the attention of the others, the gloomiest of the four moved to comfort his colleague, at first just helping him to sit on the grass away from where their friends could hear, “what’s wrong Pat?”

He picked at the ground, “d-don’t let me tear you away from the conversation just because I can't join in.”

Befuddlement overcame him, but only for a moment, “wait…how old did you say you were?”

The lighter of the two whipped his eyes with the sleeve of the hoodie tied around his shoulders, “I-I didn’t say, but I’m a hundred and eighteen.”

Something about the number set off an alarm in the mind of the fight-or-flight reflex. And silently he did some small calculations, his previous experiences from his logical phase taking over. The number seemed too low; a persona couldn’t be assigned until they turned twenty-one, and Thomas had lived to be ninety-seven. Quickly adding the two, he understood why his companion had allowed himself to become so grief-stricken, and it was simply because he had no experience at all. “Patton…why didn’t you tell us that Thomas was your first host?”

“I-I never really felt like I needed to,” he paused, keeping his eyes on the grass, “it didn’t seem important.”

The eldest drew the youngest into a hug, “of course it’s important,” he made a point to keep his voice soft, and tried not to let his own emotions bleed into his tone. “The loss of your first host is always the hardest,” at the words, the kind figure broke down in his arms, and it didn’t take long for the other two to notice. As they made their way over, it was clear that they considered the sobbing to be the same run-of-the-mill grief that the rest of them were experiencing.

The creative attribute opened his mouth to speak, but stayed silent when Virgil gave him a pointed glare, so instead of talking they just sat down nearby. It took nearly fifteen minutes before they could discern anything the paternal side said from his sobbing, “sh-should I t-tell them?”

He gave his friend a sorrowful smile, “I think we will all be able to help you more if you do.”

“Tell us what exactly?” Even though he sounded professional, there was a glimmer of concern in Logan’s eyes.

The anxious trait received a look that pleaded for him to be the one to respond, so he turned to face the others, but kept one arm around the crying characteristic. “Guys, I’m pretty sure Patton is having a harder time with the loss of Thomas.” He trailed off, looking for the right words, and the others waited patiently for him to continue, “having a harder time because…because Thomas was his first host.”

The sharp intakes of breath conveyed that they understood the severity of what had been said, and both slowly moved to comfort the moral aspect. After a few moments, Princey’s voice rose above the quiet that evening had brought, “I wish you had told us sooner. Virgil is right, we could have done more to help if we’d known.”

“I’m inclined to agree, losing your first host is always the most difficult…and we were closer to Thomas than most traits usually become.” Despite his straight-forward approach, the academic was correct, and the sympathy seemed to be lifting Morality’s spirits. “Perhaps it would aid in your grief if we were to share our own ages, and possibly some experiences we’ve had in the past.”

The darkest of the group felt his stomach drop at the proposition, and the agreeance of the youngest. The last thing he wanted to do was disclose his personal history, thankfully however, the fanciful facet spoke up first, “by an immortal’s standards I’m still fairly young, six hundred eighty-five, but I don’t look a day over thirty! Anyway, I’ve had six hosts including Thomas, so I am about halfway through my creative phase.”

A slight gesture to his side, and the second-eldest jumped on board, “having had seventeen hosts, I am a little over fifteen hundred years of age. That means I…I probably only have one more host before becoming a negative trait.”

The other two looked at him in surprise, but the gloomier figment could only feel saddened by the confirmation of what had already guessed. That was quickly replaced with fear as the other three expectantly, the only issue was he couldn’t tell them, “I-I can't…”

“Virge, we can't hear you,” The Prince gave him a concerned glance, “we know you are the eldest, so there is no reason…”

He trailed off as the fight-or-flight reflex met his gaze, and after a moment of silence he dared to speak again, “I-I can't tell you how old I am, or how many hosts I’ve had because,” he took a deep breath, “because I can't remember.”

It was obvious that morality didn’t understand what that implied, but the other two did. It was the imaginative side who voiced what they were thinking though, “y-you're a Shadowed Lifer?”

Before he could respond, the paternal trait asked the question he had hoped he wouldn’t have to answer, “what’s a Shadowed Lifer?”

“er…Patton, that’s not really a question that you should ask directly to a Shad- Virgil, you-”

“It’s fine Logan, he’s too young to know,” even with his reservations of giving such an explanation, he didn’t want the others to have to carry that burden, or to explain it incorrectly. “Firstly, yes I am a Shadowed Lifer, which is an aspect who has been alive since the beginning of humanity or close to it, and has yet to reach Elysium. The age can range anywhere from seven thousand to two hundred thousand, which is where the ‘lifer’ part of the term comes from, and ‘shadowed’ because, if you’ve been around that long, you're clearly going to be a negative facet.”

The rational persona picked up where he left off, “Shadowed Lifers have a mixed reputation; some see them as wise elders destined to help others through grief.” He paused, giving Anxiety and apologetic glance, “others however, see them as corrupted, or unworthy of Elysium. Most never meet a Shadowed Lifer, and think that the term is just a subject of myth…even I thought that until now.”

The darkly-dressed figure couldn’t help but scoff, “well, I can confidently say that Shadowed Lifers do exist, as for the myth, I don’t really feel like I’m wiser than anyone else…honestly, I think the second description is more accurate.”

Patton couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “do you really think you aren’t worthy of going to Elysium…ever?!”A nonchalant shrug was the only response he was given, and a familiar sense of sympathy fueled rage seared at him, “son, I can’t think of anyone more worthy of going to Elysium!”

The negative character shook his head, “I’m not so sure about th-”

The youngest embodiment cut him off by trying to tackle-hug him, but he attempted to scramble away, and Morality ended up catching Virgil by the leg, and the two of them fell to the ground with a thud. Gasps from the other two indicated that they too saw the similarities to the time in which the ethical and anxious sides had gotten into a mock fight, because the latter had been putting himself down just as he was currently, but no one was laughing now.

Quickly he released the other, and the two go to their feet, brushing off the grass and dirt, an intensified feeling of mourning surrounding the four of them from the recollection of the memory. In the silence that followed, each of them glanced at the sky, which was growing darker by the minute as evening drew to a close. The chill of night began to set in, and it was clear that another day had slipped through their fingers. None of them wanted to be separated, but they knew it was time to go back inside, which gave the caring manifestation an idea, “guys,” slowly he turned to face them, fearing that his composure would crack like ice if he were to move any faster. “I don’t think anyone of us want to be alone right now…so why don’t we go back to my apartment, pop some popcorn and watch a movie?”

The sorrow in the eyes of the others dissipated slightly, and while the observant emotion still looked too distracted from his recent confession to do much other than nod, the Prince smiled, and Logic spoke for the group. “Considering the events of the last half-hour, I think that may be the best decision for all of us.”

Three of them started heading in the direction of the building that housed their flats, but Anxiety remained where he was, eyes fixated on the first stars to appear in the east. “You two go on ahead, we’ll catch up with you soon,” Roman and Logan seemed to understand, giving their friend one last look before continuing on their way. Once they were out of earshot, the father figure walked over to his companion, who looked to be watching as each of the celestial bodies came into view. “Son, you once taught me that I could come to you when I needed help…but I think you have forgotten that you can come to me as well.”

Silence enveloped them for a while before his colleague moved to sit on one of the nearby benches, placing his head in his hands as he did so, and even then it was at least five minutes before he said anything. “I don’t say this to be self-deprecating, so please don’t try to tackle me again, but do you really believe…believe that I will ever get to Elysium?”

The question nearly brought Patton to tears, he didn’t have the slightest clue as to how many times the one sitting next to him had been assigned, but clearly he had come back to the Astral Plane so many times that he had convinced himself that it was his eternal destiny. “I honestly do believe you will get there someday, it’s not your fault that you haven’t been assigned to the right group yet.”

The horror and distraught in his gaze sent a shiver down his spine, sometimes he wondered if the eldest remembered that one of his jobs was to inflict fear, seeing as he would occasionally manage to do so without realizing he had. “I-I have felt closer to you all and Thomas more than anyone I’ve ever worked with in the past.” He trailed off briefly, and if it was possible he looked even more scared than he had before, “wh-what if my being a Shadowed Lifer denied you all a chance at Elysium?!”

“Virgil! I know you asked me not to tackle-hug you, but if you keep talking like that, I’m going to go back on my promise.” He did his best to collect his thoughts, “let me rephrase my earlier statement, you will get to Elysium, and do you want me to tell you why?” The darker side hung his head, but nodded all the same, “you will get to Elysium, because with your experience, you have proven yourself to be as intelligent as Logan. For you to have kept going, even after all these years, you’d have to be as brave as Roman, and even now, you have put your own grief aside to help the rest of us with ours. That easily makes you even more kind-hearted than me.”

His friend seemed to genuinely smile, but only for a moment, “no one could be more kind-hearted than you.”

The compliment meant a lot coming from the Shadowed Lifer, but it only proved what he said to be true, “thank you, but whatever the case may be, Elysium is missing out not having you there for so many years.”

Morality watched in confusion as Anxiety spoke into his hands, “one hundred fifty thousand, nine hundred twenty-seven.”

“What was that kiddo?”

“One hundred fifty thousand, nine hundred twenty-seven…that’s how old I am, over a hundred and fifty thousand years older than you, and yet you still call me kiddo.” The ethical trait had never been happier to hear laughter in his colleague’s voice, but in the same breath, he felt honored, he was the only one the other had chosen to share his age with thus far.

“You may be older than me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still consider you my son,” he allowed himself to giggle for a moment, “I guess that’s paternal instinct overpowering even age.”

The negative aspect finally looked up, true happiness lacing his expression, “I guess paternal instinct really does overpower everything.” Both of them lapsed into laughter for a while, but he eventually spoke again, “thanks Pat…you always have been able to help me, no matter how lost I feel.”

“Well, if you're feeling better we should go join the others,” he helped Virgil to his feet, “at this rate the movie is going to be over before we get there.”

Roman glanced over as he and Patton walked into the flat, and thankfully, despite the state they had been in the last time they’d seen the two who now stepped inside, they all seemed to be in good spirits now. Virgil smiled as he saw the movie that had been chosen, Les Misérables, and he doubted it was coincidence that they had picked the musical, seeing as it was the one they had watched the first time he had joined the others for a family movie night. More importantly, it was the film that had actually spurred him to realize that there were things he had in common with the imaginative facet.

A smile actually made its way to his lips as he sat down in front of the television with the other three, the best part however was that unlike before, both the creative and anxious figures were comfortable turning the songs into duets. They even made a game out of it to keep everyone laughing, seeing who could come up with the most absurd harmonies, whose voice would go the highest, or who could still manage to sing with a mouth full of popcorn. In the end, the point was to try and distract not only the other two, but themselves from the pain they had all been struggling with for five months, and the harsh realities of life for a while.

As they continued acting ridiculous, Morality joined in singing the lyrics that he knew, but proceeded to intelligibly ramble the rest of the time. Before long, even Logan had fallen whim to the side-splitting laughter, and even the more depressing bits of the movie became difficult to take seriously. Whether it was due to the purposely bad singing, or the small, sarcastic comments they would make, by the finale of the musical no one could have guessed that they were in grief.

All good things had to come to an end though, and if they wanted to partake in anything the next day, they all needed to get some rest, so each of them returned to their respective apartments. As the observant personification stepped into his, cautiously making his way through the rest of the wreckage from the first night that he couldn’t be bothered to clean up, he realized just how tired he was. The events of the day felt as if they had happened a century ago, but had drained him of his energy all the same, so he was contented just collapsing into his bed without even changing in pajamas.

He had no idea how long he had been asleep when a knocking at his door drew him to consciousness. Groggily he got to his feet seeing as it was more than likely the youngest character seeking a shoulder to lean on, so the eldest didn’t even bother messing with his hair. He was thankful however, that he had chosen not to change out of his clothes as he made his way across the room once more.

When he opened the entrance to his flat, he didn’t recognize who was standing before him, but his voice was clear and authoritative, “sorry to bother you at such a late hour, but I need to verify, are you Virgil?” He nodded, but didn’t speak, “in that case, the Council of the Astral Plane has requested an audience with you and your colleagues, immediately.”

There was only one reason the Council would want to see them, but Anxiety hadn’t expected it so soon, they were supposed to have six months before reassignment. Glaring at the man who stepped aside to let him out of his apartment, he saw his three companions waiting in the corridor. They all looked downtrodden clearly coming to the same conclusion he had, they were about to be separated early.

He couldn’t help but notice that the kindest side was sobbing, and he began to move in his direction, but one of the escorts stopped him with an arm across his chest. The motion infuriated the observant archetype, and he turned to the perpetrator, and before he even know what he was doing, his voice filled the silence. “With all due respect, this is this moral trait’s first reassignment, and he is seeking the comfort of his friends, a right which you have just denied him. I have never seen an escort with the gall to do something so crass, and quite frankly I find that kind of behavior for a Council Elect to be appalling!” He held the gaze of the man, not daring to blink for fear that it would look as if he were backing down, “therefore, if you are not willing to let him pass, then I request that you allow me to help someone who I consider to be family!”

The escort didn’t seem pleased with the idea of being reprimanded by a civilian, but one of his co-workers whispered something in his ear, and he turned back to face the fight-or-flight reflex. “You may help your companion, and accompany him and the others to your audience.”

“Thank you,” he all but spat the words at the man as he walked over and drew Patton into an embrace. It wasn’t until they were preparing to teleport to the Council that he released him, and registered the shocked and impressed glances that the others gave him. It wasn’t commonplace for someone to talk back to, and especially demand anything from an escort, but he was a Shadowed Lifer, and knew his rights well.

Moments later, they stood back in the room they had appeared in upon their arrival back to the Astral Plane, a deafening silence surrounding them. The smiles plastered on all of the faces of the officials sickened him with anger; did they find joy in tearing families apart? He knew that these aspects would never understand the pain of assignment, or how it felt to lose a host. They would never know the difficulties of being cut off from the rest of the Astral Plane, or how it felt to restart with a new set of facets every few years, but even with all of that, he never expected them to be so sociopathic.

Virgil was ripped from his thoughts as the Leader of the Council addressed them, “am I correct in thinking that you believe you are here to be reassigned?” Though he was still furious, the question left him mystified, in all of the times that he had returned to the Astral Plane, he had never been asked something so obvious.

He made sure that the speaker met his glare before he responded, because Anxiety remembered the day he was elected to lead, and he wanted this man to know just how horrific his sarcasm fueled joke was. “Just in case this is some sort of miscalculation, we were supposed to have another month before our reassignment.” When his words elicited giggles, the negative embodiment wanted nothing more than to lunge at the Council Members, and he probably would have, had they not been in a loft above him. “What can any of you possibly find humorous about this situation? Please inform me, because I don’t see it. Between this, and the appalling behavior of the escort when he denied my friend his right to seek comfort from us, I am disgusted by what this government has become!”

“Young man, it would be in your best interest to watch your tongue, and apologize to the Council.”

The eldest turned slowly to face the escort who had spoken, rage flowing through his veins like the liquid fire from the River Phlegethon, “young?!” He paused sweeping his gaze around the chamber before returning his attention to the one who had made the demand, his tone rising in volume until he was shouting. “You’ve got to be kidding me! I’m almost certain I’m older than anyone in this room! I’ve dealt with more than anyone else here, and I’m not just going to sit idly by, letting you take away our rights, watch you berate us, and have you get a laugh out of the pain my colleagues and I are going through!”

Now it was the Council Leader who addressed him, “as an elder, I’m sure I surpass you in age, wisdom, and most certainly in rank, therefore I do expect an apology from you.”

The darkly-dressed side actually dared to scoff, “oh please! You may out rank me, but with the way you’ve been acting you certainly aren’t as wise as you're acclaimed to be. As for age, I remember when you were appointed!” The words he spoke were truth, but he wasn’t finished yet, “look me up in your databanks, there’s a term for traits like me…and that’s ‘Shadowed Lifer’.” He didn’t miss the gasps that echoed through the auditorium, and the stunned expressions that most of the officials now wore. “This conversation may very well be the reason that I never make it to Elysium, but at least I will know that I sealed my fate by defending my family!” He didn’t mean to, but he screamed the last sentence to anyone who would listen, and in a room as large as the one they were in, his words rang though the air like church bells, “and that is something I will never apologize for!”

In the silence that followed, a force slammed into him, gripping his arm, and the sound of sobs reached his ears. Without a second thought he wrapped his free arm around Morality, drawing him close, “V-Virgil…don’t throw away your chance at Elysium because of us!”

He kept his voice a whisper, making sure no one else could hear him, “and let them treat you the way Deceit did, I don’t think so!”

Moments later the father figure pulled away and released his grip on him, glaring up at the Leader, but what he did next left his gloomy counterpart speechless. “If Virgil will never be allowed to go to Elysium, then I never want to go either!”

“Me neither!” Both Logan and Roman jumped forward, looking at each other in surprise for a moment, as their voices mirrored one another.

Something about the reaction must have taken the Council by surprise as much as it did him seeing as they no longer demanded an apology, and the Council Head spoke in a soft tone as if he had forgotten all about the altercation, “he was telling the truth. You four really would give up anything for each other…even a Shadowed Lifer.”

The creative aspect moved to his side, his shoulders back defensively, “of course! We may have a rocky history, and we may not always see eye-to-eye, but I know for certain that Virgil do anything for us, and we would do the same for him without question!”

“I must agree, if you somehow managed to miss it, Virgil did just call us his family. He’s proven to us repeatedly that he truly means that, and I think I speak for all of us when I say we see him in the same light!” He was taken aback by the emotion in the voice of the second-eldest as he moved to stand next to them.

At the statement some of those who sat above them had varying expressions of shock and for some reason relief, but the woman who appeared to be the second-in-command was the first to speak her mind, “I have never seen a group of facets grow so close to one another. I thought he was joking when he told us that.” Anxiety wondered who they repeatedly referring to, but didn’t have long to think about it over before his attention was demanded again, “he said you all had developed a familial bond…but I didn’t think it would be anything like this.”

She stepped back at a gesture from the Leader, but it was Princey’s voice which rose into the quiet, “I don’t know where you learned all that, but it is true and now you're going to rip our family apart!”

“I can't listen to this, why didn’t you tell them?!” A familiar voice filled with horror and anger echoed from the corridor off to the right of the auditorium was followed by quick footfall. The fight-or-flight reflex couldn’t help the hope that ignited in his heart like a candle as the four of them turned to face the doorway. “You just let them grieve for five months without the slightest hint as to what was really happening?!” The question came to its conclusion, and a sense of joy that the negative character hadn’t felt in millennia coursed through him as the speaker stepped into view.

He almost couldn’t believe his eyes, standing before them, returned to the peak of his health, and looking as he did not too long after starting YouTube was Thomas Sanders. His hair had even taken on the bright shade of purple that had been the influence for his own eccentric wardrobe change. He was broken from his thoughts as Patton stepped away from his side, “Th-Thomas…is it really you?” Despite the tears that rolled down his cheeks, the ethical persona looked happier than he had in months. Their beloved host, the one who had left a mark so close to their hearts now stood only a few feet away smiling at them, his hazel eyes sparkling with the same tears.

Suddenly the online personality looked up to the loft, more specifically the Council Leader, “all this time you left them in the dark, when even me, who was stuck in the Fields of Asphodel for months was told. Did it really never cross your minds, any of you, to tell them what you managed to get to me despite the fact I was literally in a different world?!”

The four sides remained silence, their confused stupor only made more intense by the words that had been said. Meanwhile, the Council Members shifted uncomfortably in their seats until the Leader was forced to respond, “we thought it best not to inform them until we were sure that we had secured your soul from Asphodel. We didn’t want to tell them seeing as we feared that your referrals would not go though before the time of their reassignment.” The way he repeated his first statement with different wording made it sound as if he were trying to convince himself as well as anyone else.

The exasperation that shone in Thomas’s eyes only grew stronger, “and you couldn’t keep them here for a week or two longer because…?” There was more rustling above them, but the traits glanced at one another, trying to process this newest development without speaking. All they were able to do was agree to wait for an explanation, but they all looked back to the YouTuber as he piped up once more. “That’s what I thought, but there is nothing stopping you now, so what are you waiting for?”

Under the watchful gazes of those on the ground floor, the Leader shook his head, “we kept a close eye on the four of you and your host for the entirety of your assignment. When we spoke to you initially upon your return to the Astral Plane, we…made an error; we thought your relations with one another were far weaker than we discovered them to be.” He paused, taking a deep breath before continuing, “when you arrived however, there was a moment in which you helped one another in a way that only a, I hesitate to say it, but only the way a family would. Needless to say, we were a bit astonished by this concept, and after you were dismissed, a vote was taken. ‘Relations Between Aspects’ was the only testing category in which you all fell shy in your scores, but that moment soon after your arrival made us doubt our previous decision. The vote we took was to see if that action would qualify you to pass the one testing category that you had failed, and the outcome greatly exceeded that of the two-thirds requirement.”

Their heads shot up, but Anxiety forced himself to extinguish the flame of hope in his chest, the odds of such an honor being placed upon not only his family, but himself as a Shadowed Lifer was just too farfetched. Morality however, so young and innocent asked the question that he wouldn’t dare, “d-does this mean…?”

The Head of the Council glanced down at them, “despite the altercation from earlier, yes. You four, along with your host have passed in all testing categories.” The observant facet held his breath as he waited to wake from the dream he was in, or to have his heart shattered, but neither happened. “Congratulations, all five of you will be granted the greatest gift, and the highest honor. You will all achieve and enter Elysium this day.”

The next few moments were blurred with elation, joyous tears, hugs, and reunions with someone that were sure that they had lost forever. The negative figment could hardly believe what his senses were telling him, after so much pain, heartache, all four phases of a trait’s life, and so many hosts that he had lost count; he was finally going to Elysium. By far however, the most humbling and wonderful part was that he was going with the four people he cared most about.

When the chaos subsided somewhat, the second-in-command moved to the front, clearing her throat to demand their attention, and for the first time her smile appeared to be genuine. “Thomas, could you step forward please?” He was clearly confused, but after a few nods from the sides, he did as he was asked.

“Thomas, just so you are aware, when aspects return to the Astral Plane, they receive a symbolic mark to remember the host they just lost, and the closer the mark is to the heart, the more the host meant to those who bear it. Furthermore, when a host goes to Elysium, they too are granted the mark,” she waved her hand over the online personality, “and now you have yours.”

Thomas stiffened slightly, clearly battling between the positive emotions he felt, and the information he had just been given, “wh-what is this mark…” He trailed off as if he were afraid to ask the rest of his question, “and how close to the heart is it?” Her eyes glittered with the same happiness that her smile betrayed, and she gestured to the four standing just behind him, who had already pulled their shirts down, revealing the rainbow, YouTube-shaped molecule. Cautiously he turned, and the moment his eyes rested on them, he seemed to be overtaken by joy and humility. “J-Just below the left collarbone…” he paused, wiping his eyes on his sleeve, “I-I mean that much to all of you?”

“Yes!”

“Of course you do kiddo!”

“You were the one who created an environment in which we could come to a better understanding with you and each other.”

Even though he was the last one to state his agreement, Virgil knew exactly what he wanted to say, but waited until the YouTuber had turned to face him. “Thomas…you have no idea what being a facet is like, but I can try and tell you. We are immortal, living out our lives in four phases, moral, creative, logical, and negative, with each being longer than the one before.”

“So…you're the eldest? Hold on, how old are each of you then?”

While their host had questions, he needed to finish what he had to say, “we will tell you with time, but for now, let me explain. I don’t say any of this to ask for sympathy, or to depress you, just for you to understand the influence you have had on us.” Thomas nodded silently, allowing him to continue, “you have been through grief, the loss of your parents, bothers, and husband…grief is hell, but with time, any kind of pain can fade, but how much grief do you think any one person can take?” The online personality stayed quiet, shrugging his shoulders, but Anxiety hadn’t really expected an answer. “I actually didn’t realize it until recently, but anyone is able to handle more and more grief as they gain experience on the matter.” He pulled up the right leg of his jeans to show the faded mark a previous human had left on his ankle, “if the person is close to you, closer than any other before then,” he pulled at the collar of his shirt, “it can hurt as much as the first time you dealt with grief. Now, for a trait, from the moment we turn twenty-one and can be assigned, we don’t just lose one person at a time,” he gestured to Thomas and his own companions, “we lose four. That being said…I am the oldest in this group by far and yet with all of my experience, losing you, and then being plagued with the thought that I would soon be losing Logan, Roman, and Patton as well, it felt like I was experiencing grief for the first time all over again, and the reason for that is simple.  In the end, you were the only one to ever acknowledge our existence; you cared for us and helped us when we needed it most…a favor we can never repay. You went out of your way to accept me for who I was, and help the others to do the same. You were the one who noticed our faults and helped us strive to fix them, and be the best we could be, but most of all we have you to thank for what we all have been given today.” The observant side knew that the speech had been extremely articulate for him, and had hit close to hone since he and the others were each in tears by the end of it. Next thing he knew, Thomas had his arms around him, a gesture he would have abhorred in the past, but he had grown close to the online personality. The fight-or-flight reflex didn’t dare to pull away; for fear that everything that had happened was just a dream. Hardly moving at all, he looked over to the others, gently motioning for them to join in the hug, which they did without hesitation. Morality nearly toppled the two as he slammed into them, but the Prince quickly stabilized them with his own embrace, and even Logic allowed himself a moment of emotion as he too drew them close.

As they broke apart, Thomas looked at them sadly, “Virgil, you said something about immortality…I had no idea, and I don’t mean this in a crass way, but how old are each of you?”

The paternal trait smiled sadly, “as the youngest, I guess I’ll start…you're the only host I’ve ever had, so I’m one hundred eighteen years old.”

The YouTuber blinked at him in shock, “so this was genuinely your first experience with grief?”

He nodded gently, “yes, but don’t worry about me too much kiddo,” he glanced to the rest of them, “I have a pretty great support system!”

The fanciful aspect placed his hand on the shoulder of the other, “we weren’t just going to leave you!” He looked over to their host as if he’d only remembered what they were doing, “oh, right, I’m the second-youngest. You were my sixth host, and at six hundred eighty-five, so that puts me at half-way though my creative phase.”

Thomas looked shocked by the number, but remained silent, making the darker character wonder how he would react to his own age, but the intellectual stepped forward, cutting off his thoughts. “I’m the second-eldest, and with you being the seventeenth host that I’ve been assigned to, I’m fifteen hundred thirty-seven.”

The online personality turned to face him, and the others moved to say something, but he stopped them with a slight movement of his hand. “Thomas, I’m what you call a Shadowed Lifer…or I was. To put it bluntly, I don’t remember how many hosts I’ve had; too many to count, but there’s more to it than that. I’m going to guess that you're wondering how I’ve had so many hosts to the point that I can’t recall the number, and yet I have very few symbolic marks.” He took a deep breath to clear his mind, “like I said, pain fades with time…and with no reason to keep grieving those I was certain I would never see again, the marks faded, if they ever appeared at all.” He saw the concern in the eyes of the online personality, “then again, even with the one hundred fifty thousand, nine hundred twenty-seven years of experience, I knew the mark you left would never fade.”

Thomas didn’t seem capable of hiding his surprise, “c-can you repeat that number?”

He chuckled softly, seeing the same expressions on Logan and Roman, “at one hundred fifty thousand, nine hundred twenty-seven, I’m the eldest of the group, and probably in this room at all.”

Everyone but Patton looked at him with a mixture of shock, pain, and understanding, but it was the academic who let his voice rise into the silence, a terrified whisper, “one host…”

As he trailed off, Anxiety turned to face him, confusion pricking at the back of his neck, “what do you mean?”

Logic met his gaze, the glimmer of fear there sending a shiver down his spine, “I-I never said how many hosts I had before I would become a negative facet.” His breathing began to quicken, “one more host, and I had no idea that’s what my thoughts would have been like? What-”

“Specks,” the gloomier persona cut him off, placing a hand on his companion’s shoulder, “First of all, there is no point in worrying about what could have been. Next, your thoughts would not have run that dark…those weren’t the thoughts of a negative trait; they were the ones of a Shadowed Lifer, something you would and will never become. Do you understand?” He nodded, the cloud of horror dissipating from his eyes.

“It is clear that the five of you have much to discuss, but you will have all the time you want to talk soon.” They looked up to the Council Leader, “for now however, you will be escorted to the Gates of Elysium, where you all will be permitted to live for the rest of eternity in peace.”

Thomas had no clue as to how long it had been since he and the sides had entered Elysium, nor did he care, but he did know he had never felt so happy or blissful. At first he had wondered if he could really live for eternity in contentment without the presence of his family and friends, but as it turned out, those he had lost were waiting for him in paradise. The joy he had felt when he’d been reunited with the aspects of his personality was only amplified when he’d finally seen his loved ones again.

Currently the YouTube was heading to his room after staying up late to talk with Joan and Talyn seeing as they had only just gotten to Elysium. Reaching the top of the stairs, he came to a halt looking out one of the windows, outside it was a quiet night as always. The moon sat high in the sky, and the stars were so plentiful they looked like glitter on a midnight blue curtain. As winter had just begun, snow lay untouched and flawless along the branches of the trees and the ground below, save for the soft breeze that disturbed it now and again. The white powder and frost sparkled in the half-light of the celestial bodies above them, and with the washed out colors of nearby holiday decorations.

He took in the serenity of what looked to be a scene out of a Christmas movie while the rest of the world was at rest one last time before moving towards his door, but something stopped him. There was someone else who enjoyed the wintery evenings just as he did, and the former online personality wondered if he might want some company. Changing course, he knocked quietly on the wooden surface that would soon be opened to him, and sure enough, he was answered almost immediately, “come in.”

He slowly opened the door and looked around the room as he stepped inside, it was dark but still undeniably beautiful, at the same time functional and cozy. Even in the shadows, he could make out the picture frames that littered the walls and surfaces, each one bearing a happy memory, but that was really the only difference from the previous version of the area. Eventually his eyes stopped on a bay window at one end of the room where Virgil sat with his knees drawn to his chest, a blanket thrown over top of them, and what looked to be hot tea sitting next to him. A small, black kitten lay around his shoulders, purring softly as her white teeth nibbled at his ear, thankfully when they had entered Elysium, Thomas had lost his allergies, and was finally able to meet Amaya.

“What’s got you up so late?” At the question Anxiety sighed with contentment, his breath momentarily creating a fog on the paned glass.

Thomas felt the same sense of joy he had the first night all of them had been in Elysium, because if there was anyone who benefited most from living in their eternal home, it was the one who sat before him. Over time the darkest facet had opened up about the hell that his life had been for so many thousands of years, and in the end it had proved to be comforting to the one in question. He had become more lively and pleasant, finally in a place where the negativity that had defined him for so long could no longer affect him. Even now his voice reflected that, “I had forgotten how peaceful and calming the early hours can be.” The YouTuber smiled lightly, nights used to be the most horrible for him, but there was no reason for worry any more, not now, not here, “what has you awake?”

Thomas sat down on the edge of the bed as his friend turned to face him, “stayed up talking with Joan and Talyn.” The fight-or-flight reflex smiled softly, a distant look of joy in his eyes, as if he were recalling some sort of memory before his former host continued. “I know how much you love nights like this, and I wondered if you might want some company?”

It was an offer the observant attribute surely would have turned down in the past, but now he simply nodded and shuffled over so that the online personality could take the place across from him. Once he’d settled down, his feet only inches away from Virgil’s, the character in question snapped his fingers, and another blanket fluttered down around his own ankles, protecting him from the cold that seeped through the glass. Seconds later more tea appeared on the table nearby, and Thomas couldn’t think of any situation that would make him feel more at ease as the two of them gazed upon the world beyond the window, wrapped in blankets and the dark of night. By far however, the most wonderful thing was knowing that those they both loved so deeply were safe to the point that the two of them could sit in such a comfortable silence, no longer as trait and host, but as family.

TAG LIST (Let me know if you want to be added!!!):

@a-snoway-afternoon

@jay-wants-to-be-a-paladin

@julia6181

@lovelyyoonglebear

@lucifer-in-my-head

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@the-psycho-pie

@unikornavenger

-----

My Drawing of the Symbolic Mark:

[utopianparadoxist]

I'm gonna have to dissagree with you on the whole "Eridan is irredeemable" thing. Simply because he did have his reasons for doing things(they were just bad/misinformed reasons), and wasn't as much of a Nice Guy(TM) as everyone says. Here's what happened, according to what I remember: Eridan tries to convince everyone(or at least Feferi) that there's no hope if they don't join with Jack(not realizing that there's no hope with Jack either). 1/4

Feferi's like "Ew, you're just doing this cause you like me." Eridan goes "Ew bitch, no. I am so far over you, I literally don't care about you except you're also technically the Empress now." Sollux challenges Eridan to their Hate Duel and Eridan goes "Ugh fine". Sollux gets Rekt, and Feferi gets pissed that her new "pet"(because that's what Sollux seemed to be to her) didn't win and tries to kill Eridan. 2/4Eridan kills her first, destroys the Matriorb to distract Kanaya when she looks like she might go for him next(arguably the only uncalled for action, as I don't think she'd actually attacked him yet), kills Kanaya, and then leaves poor Karkat alone and goes to find somebody to go with him to join Jack. 3/4So he didn't just go on a murder spree, he was either winning a duel(Sollux), or defending himself against (percieved) threats(Feferi and Kanaya). If he was really gonna go on a murder spree, he would've killed Karkat, too. Also all of this probably wouldn't have happened if A: Feferi had done her job as his Moiral; or B: Present!Karkat hadn't called it off with Past!Eridan. (Sorry if this all sounds rude, I just really hate when people don't actually pay attention to Eridan's character) 4/4

You have some serious issues with women, anon. From the top:

A) Eridan was cruel, ungrateful, judgmental and unpleasant to everyone who had the misfortune of talking to him from his first appearance. Also, he’s a fucking Nazi. Feferi was forced into a position of trying to cool the temperament of a literal genocidal nazi asshole. Nobody owed Eridan further emotional labor once he was no longer a threat.

B) Your view that Feferi viewed Sollux as a ‘pet’ is as uncharitable as it is based on absolutely nothing. If you’re going to make statements that dramatic at me, be prepared to back them up with the text and have your reading put under scrutiny. I’m not here to indulge the validity of everyone’s pet headcanons. I’m here to talk about Homestuck. 

C) You’re forgetting the part where Eridan tried to get Feferi SPECIFICALLY to join Jack with him. The offer was not open to Sollux and was not made to anybody else. Eridan considered her worthy because she’s ruling class, because oh have I mentioned, Eridan is a fucking nazi.

D) I literally do not care to what extent Eridan was personally out to go on a murder spree. He’s still a gutless coward who abandoned all his friends and took dim views of even the ones who went out of their way to show him kindness, like Karkat, on account of his ***LITERAL SPACE NAZI IDEOLOGY***

E) Andrew Hussie himself talked about him in the dimmest of terms, calling him the worst kind of bastard Homestuck has to offer in the context of Act 5--harsher words than I’d use, considering LE and Gamzee exist. But like. You’re gonna have a hard time finding evidence for your pet reading, bud. 

F) Maybe when you’re expressing virulent misogyny at a female character don’t LITERALLY call her slurs? It’s kind of on the nose. You might have noticed part of my aesthetic is valuing the effort it takes to read between the lines, so like give me a little room for doubt here as to where you’re coming from ok thanks.

G) I didn’t even call Eridan completely irredeemable in the grand scheme of things, for fuck’s sake. My point was that actually just the opposite: That no matter how bad Eridan was, you still have to read him while weighing the agency of a child trapped in an exploitative system with the literal quasi-Adult GOD that set up that system in the first place. 

Eridan is shit, but there’s potential for him to be not shit somewhere in his character. The two statements are not contradictory. 

[legendofthesmashedwineglasses]

So the PV for the new LotGH anime came out and there were very mixed reactions to say the least. Besides the Ginga Eiyuu no Basuke and Kircheis jokes which I enjoy myself, I’ve been seeing a lot of people acting like it is now guaranteed to be shit. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t like Kircheis’ design either and I have my fair share of concerns about the series as a whole, but I think that’s jumping the gun a bit. We have only seen a minute and a half of a hype trailer. That’s not even close enough to the material needed to make a fair judgment. Furthermore, I think that there are some good things that have been shown so far but they mostly get overshadowed by the reaction to the character designs. Because of that, I’ve decided to write about some of the potentially good things that I think Die Neue These has shown us thus far.

It’s Distinguishable from the OVA

I know some might disagree with me on this, but I was pleased to see that it looks like DNT is trying to be different from other LotGH adaptations. If it was just going to be the OVA with upgraded animation, it would be pointless. I’d rather just watch the OVA again if it was trying to be the OVA. There’s no meaning in trying to replicate something that just can’t be replicated. Since it looks like they’re working to make DNT distinct, it will have to succeed or fail on its own merits. In my opinion, that’s for the best and I respect the fact that they’re trying something different.

Cinematic Flair

Honestly, I was surprised that the PV was for a 12 episode TV series, because it sure didn’t feel like one. From the music to the lighting to the grandiose scenic shots, it seemed like a trailer for a movie. The transition from Reinhard’s raised to the title in particular was cinematic as hell. The theatrical presentation definitely fits the space opera genre. DNT might be going for a more dramatic approach which is an interesting possibility with a lot of potential. Also, some of the shot composition was just great like the shot below and the vollery fire of the Imperial ships.

Music

There’s nothing known for certain about DNT’s soundtrack at this moment, so the only thing to go on is what was heard in the PV. The new music showed promise. It had nicely timed swells and fit the space opera atmosphere of the PV quite well. 

It might be revealed later that the soundtrack will be entirely original with no classical music. As much as I love the classical music soundtrack, I think it would be an interesting opportunity to give LotGH a musical identity. Neon Genesis Evangelion makes me think of “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” and “You Say Run” always comes to my mind when I think of Boku no Hero Academia. LotGH doesn’t really have a particular piece of music like that. The closest might be Ravel’s Bolero, but even then it is not distinctly LotGH.

If it ends up being the case that the new soundtrack is entirely original, what was heard in the PV has potential at the very least.

The Scenery

The scenery was easily one of my favorite parts of the PV. Look at this.

I need to see Heinessen now.

Animation

We haven’t been shown much yet, but what has been seen of the animation looks pretty smooth. That’s a step in the right direction and could potentially help the visual storytelling in the story a lot. 

Additionally, the CG exceeded my expectations. When I first heard that the ships were CG, I started to get upset because of certain previous attempts at CG. It’s nice to be pleasantly surprised. The CG is pretty well done and could make the combat scenes more dynamic. There’s definitely potential there.

The Uniforms

Attention to detail was put into the new uniforms. You can tell. I would consider that a positive thing.

The Alliance uniforms were changed from air force-inspired outfits to a more naval uniform. It’s an interesting touch that stays in line with the spirit of the old uniforms. (Also, Yang’s little plant on his collar is really adorable).

The Empire uniforms stay in the spirit of the OVAs designs as well, as you can see with the collars of the higher-ranked officers and general look of the uniforms. I really appreciate the fact that differently ranked soldiers now have distinctly different uniforms from early on. It’s a nice detail. 

Miyano Mamoru

To be completely honest, Miyano wasn’t my first pick for Reinhard’s voice actor. That being said, it makes sense why he was chosen. He’s popular, talented, experienced, popular, oh and popular. In my opinion he’s one of the best choices for the character out of the most popular male voice actors right now. Given his track record, at the very least we’ll get a solid performance from him.

Takagi Noboru

Takagi Noboru is the person in charge of the series composition (aka scripts/the writing) and I’m cautiously somewhat positive about him being in charge. My biggest concern for someone writing the new anime is that the person has no experience writing political dramas and stories with large casts. I have more concern about the large cast aspect because that’s easy to screw up. Takagi has a good bit of experience handling large casts from being in charge of the series composition of shows like Baccano! (a personal favorite of mine) and Durarara!!. I don’t know how well he’ll actually do with LotGH but I do think that he has some of the tools needed to handle it well.

I’m not a professional in the industry, so please understand I’m only looking at this from a completely inexperienced perspective.

The Staff of KnB isn’t Necessarily a Bad Thing

While I myself am concerned about them being the staff for DNT, there are a few potential positives about it. 

The group has worked together in the past a bunch so they’re used to each other. Having a staff that works well together generally helps the final product turn out better. 

The other thing is that they know how to handle a franchise. KnB and LotGH aren’t comparable at all, but the fact that they are both franchises remains and franchises work differently than a one-off 12 episode series.

The Ships

They’re beautiful and you can’t convince me otherwise, sorry. I love the little scifi touches they added to the Brunhild’s engines. There’s not much else I can say so have some pictures.

Before I finish this I’d like to address some complaints I’ve seen and explain why they are non-issues (at the moment at least).

“They’re pandering to women/fujoshi now! This isn’t LoGH!”

Interestingly enough, this is nothing new. Despite the reputation of the series here in America, LotGH wasn’t only for male “elitists”. In the August of 1986 which was two years before the 1988 OVA, Michihara Katsumi began her manga adaptation of the Legend of the Galactic Heroes novels. It was released in the bi-monthly magazine Chara, a magazine which printed Yaoi and Shoujo manga. And, uh, if you read through it it becomes even more clear who this was meant for.

Alternatively, LotGH is not a women-only thing either, just the idea that LotGH adaptations have never been influenced by the female demographic is completely wrong. 

“The characters don’t look like they have the same personality!”

This issue just confuses me. There are only seconds of footage of the main characters in the PV. How did you expect them to show you their entire character in seconds? This is especially odd since the PV was meant to show off the space battle side of the series. All of the characters typically look serious during the battle scenes. I’ve seen claims that Yang is now a cold-hearted person because of how he looks in a promo image meant to show his and Reinhard’s opposing paths. It’s not like that he hasn’t looked a bit harsher to illustrate the conflict in the past.

It should also be noted that Yang is an alcoholic plagued with survivor’s guilt, so yeah, he’s not going to look cute and laid back all the time. I’ve also seen similar claims like Reinhard being too cold (despite him being in battle and commanding his subordinates) and Kircheis not smiling or looking kind enough and looking sly instead. The first can easily explained with context, though I can definitely agree that Kircheis doesn’t seem as openly friendly as the OVA. However, there are subtle signs of Kircheis personality and relationship with Reinhard in the one shot we get of him.

Kircheis has a raised eyebrow and a slight smile as he speaks to Reinhard. It shows their familiarity and the fondness he has for Reinhard. This is the exact opposite of contradicting his character.

“How are they going to fit 110 episodes into 12 episodes and three movies? It’s going to be rushed.”

There’s a huge assumption here. That is, Production IG is planning to tell the entire ten-volume story in just 24 episodes. Never have they said anything to suggest that they are going to do so. I like to think that such a prominent company wouldn’t be so stupid as to attempt that and completely butcher the story in the process. I’d say it’s likely that they are planning to end with the aftermath of the Lippstadt Rebellion. 

“Why didn’t they just use the original anime designs?”

Easy, this isn’t the 80s. The OVA’s character designs are distinctly 80s and I love that about them, but that’s just not going to happen in 2018. The popular styles have changed as have the styles that animators commonly use. Sadly, curly hair is rare these days. I feel your pain.

Many people have misgivings about Die Neue These. I am one of them. I just think it’s important to remember that the PV had more than just the character designs and that the purpose of the PV was to show off the space opera-like war setting. There is nothing to indicate that the most important part of LotGH- the plot and characters- has been handled terribly yet. It’s certainly possible that it is badly written, but at this point it’s equally possible that it isn’t. Who knows how it will turn out? I certainly don’t.

[lydiahopemoore]

Collection of important findings

Survey responses - What would you like to see happen in the future in regards to women who enjoy gaming? 

“I'd like to see developers seriously try and clamp down on harassment. I left Overwatch several months ago because I just couldn't handle playing with toxic players anymore and getting harassed because I'm a girl. I know the OW team specifically has made strides to reduce toxicity, but I wish they'd use more serious methods, like what League of Legends does.”

“id like everyone to be able to play the game they want without being told that its not for girls, at whatever level they want, and for girls that are open about being girls e.g. on twitch to not be harassed”

“I am not interested in playing with people I don't know because there is a higher than average chance (given how little the larger gaming community seems to care about standards of conduct between players) that unknown players will be sexist or abusive, and that is absolutely not fun or acceptable.”

“I'd like to see male gamers start to police their own. I'd like to see them stand up to sexism and not tolerate it, regardless of whether they are friends with the person doing the harassing or not. I'd like to see standards of behaviour enforced in multiplayer games, and I'd like male gamers to stop complaining about diverse character options, games in which the main character is female, or more realistic female characters (i.e. less fantasy armor that hardly covers anything or more realistic body types).”

“That more girls feel comfortable participating in online games without fear of harassment or immediate judgment, that women who work in the gaming industry will be treated well.”

“Maybe more MMO games that appeal to women, that's kind of lacking”

“I'd like to see women able to enjoy gaming without experiencing any gender based discrimination. There will always be harassment of some type on online games, but I just wish that women wouldn't be unfairly targeted because of their gender.”

“More punishments for people who bully women online (or people in general)”

“I would like to see companies do a lot more to deal with their toxic communities and deal harsher punishments to repeat offenders. I would like women in gaming to feel safe and welcomed.”

“I'd like to be respected as a human being. I'm okay getting insulted because I suck at gaming sometimes, I'm not okay with being called hateful slurs on the sole base of my gender and sexuality”

Stand out information from secondary research:

“Among the players in the survey, 62% said video game companies themselves should do more to make online games safer and more inclusive. More than half (58%) said the targets of online gaming harassment should have more legal recourses. Another 55% indicated that the games should use technology to monitor in-game chats, a recommendation echoed by the ADL.

The organization also calls for the gaming industry to work with outside experts to modify its ratings system to give more “meaningful information” to consumers about the nature of an online community.“ 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/07/25/video-games-online-can-harbor-harassment-and-hate-adl-finds/1804991001/

Problem:

-51.84% of women have experienced gender-based harassment while playing video games.

-93.49% of those women have blocked/muted the person due to harassment.

-14.81% of women want to see less harassment and more acceptance while playing video games.