#and his arrogance makes him blind (literally)...though that’s not necessarily the case here

[foolbehavior]

I definitely agree that Badeni’s tattoo plan is convoluted and has a high risk of failure on multiple fronts, but I think done more in-service of concluding his character arc. 

Badeni’s story is deeply tied to Ocxy (and Jolenta to a lesser extent), and formulating a plan like this proof of Ocxy’s impact on him. It hammers home one of the main themes of Orb; of how the idea of a moving Earth can dramatically move people as well and the power of shared connection. Badeni—a man seemingly immovable in his mission of proving heliocentrism through independent research and concrete scientific evidence—ultimately forming a plan entirely dependent on trusting in people and the power of inspiration/inherited will, while still maintaining his flair for the dramatics. It’s pretty poetic to me.

That being said, though the result of his plan is the same as simply leaving Ocxy’s book behind, I think there are also a few practical, non-character arc reasons he may have chosen this method of delivery:

Badeni is explicitly trusting Grabowski with the fulfillment of his plan

He knows Grabowski has an interest in the secular (re: the poem), thus may be more open minded to these ideas.

He knows Grabowski is a compassionate man and it’s much harder getting rid of 60 people vs burning/ignoring a book. Hostages in a sense, as you also mentioned, but their efficacy as hostages increase because he’s targeting Grabowski specifically.

The convoluted nature of his plan is a trial of sorts. If Grabowski is willing to listen to his letter, follow the beggar, and not run away, he’s likely to go all in.

Like how he hooked Jolenta through her curiosity, or how Hubert did similarly to Rafal.

Since Grabowski is very aware of Badeni’s prickly, bad personality, him trusting other people may also be a sign to Grabowski of the depths of importance the information holds.

So willingly trusting others must mean it’s something Badeni would change his principles for.

Badeni wasn’t planning on leaving anything behind in the first place, so he was already staking it all on small hope.

If he’s going to leave something behind anyway, might as well do all he can to hide it and he’s a man that doesn’t do things halfway

Similar to your point of audaciousness, leaving the tattoo heads creates a stronger legacy.

Even if Grabowski fell through, if the rumours of tattooed heads reached the right people it would be intriguing enough to pursue.

Perhaps he thought leaving a book behind, especially one simply written, wouldn’t be inspiring enough to chase down.

Classism and social standing.

Ocxy seems to be the only one consistently caring for the beggars.

Badeni was probably trusting in the fact that the beggars would have no one to tell and that no one would care about them to notice any changes.

Badeni also could have been checking in on them before things went to shit or by having Ocxy visit, he instills in them a sense of being watched (despite Ocxy being unaware).

However, I’m more trying to justify Badeni’s actions rather than fully understanding them. As you said, we can only guess based on the limited info we have. Only Badeni know’s what Badeni is thinking and unfortunately the man himself is dead. But it’s fun to think about…

Ok, maybe a controversial opinion, but I don't understand how Badeni's tattoo plan was in any way clever or practical.

Functionally, how is it any different from simply making a paper copy of Oczy's diary and hiding it in a safe place, then leaving behind directions to find it? If he trusted Grabowski enough to lead him to the beggars (making the assumption that he wouldn't report the blasphemous tattoos to the church), then I'd say he could equally well have left the entirety of Oczy's diary with him directly.

Worse, tattooing the pages on 60 different people causes a bunch of unique problems that a paper copy doesn't have.

Firstly, life expectancy wasn't exactly fantastic in those times, especially for a beggar. By the time Grabowski discovered them, half the pages could be missing from them dying — or hell, just moving to a different slum. I'd say it's very lucky that all of the people Badeni tattooed both survived and stuck together long enough for the plan to work.

Secondly, that's at least 60 people who have witnessed/experienced Badeni tattooing something weird on their heads. They may not know how to read, but they should have at least some idea of what writing is. So, again, it's an immense stroke of luck that none of them, at any point, got curious or suspicious enough to go to a clergyman and ask "hey, what the hell did this guy write on my head"?

And remember, that's 60 people we're talking about. Whatever chance one of them has to accidentally or deliberately reveal the plan — multiply it by 60. Plus, if even one of them was discovered, catching all the others would have likely been fairly easy for the church.

So... what exactly was the point of the whole plan? If you think about it, it's an immense amount of work for seemingly no reward. I'm genuinely curious what Badeni thought the advantage was in doing things this way.

[2025-01-15 EDIT:]

On further reflection, the only two possible reasons I can think of are:

Badeni was hoping that his sheer audaciousness would create an emotional effect on whoever finds the writing. The plan was proof of his devotion to the cause, and a plea for the next person not to squander all this effort. Though I seriously doubt this would be enough to sway anyone devout to the church, so it's a bit of a stretch.

The 60 tattooed beggars were essentially hostages. Badeni was expecting that if the church found them, they would be accused of heresy and executed. So he put 60 human lives on the shoulders of whoever finds the writing. Reporting the tattoos would mean condemning 60 people to death, which I bet even devout believers would hesitate to do.

But these are just guesses based on imperfect information. If the beggars explained how they were unwittingly roped into the plan, maybe they wouldn't be executed. So it's unclear if they'd even work as hostages.

[cursedbethechoice]

“He who makes a beast of himself removes himself from the pain of being human”: The Theme of Vampyr and Why the Endings Make Sense Part 1

@freyanuris tagged you like I promised

First of all: **SPOILERS** This post is chocked full of spoilers for Vampyr, so please do not read this if you don’t want the game ruined for you! You have been warned. I’m including a cut to be safe.

Since Vampyr has come out there have been complaints about the forced relationship between Jonathan and Elizabeth. There has been no lack of discussion as to why people either like it or hate it. A more interesting question to ask, though, is WHY did Dontnod make the choice to force a romance and why did they make it such an integral part of the story. The romance and its fulfillment or rejection is the major climax of the game. Every decision Jonathan makes determines whether he and Elizabeth run away together or if she commits suicide. Why? Why is this the final confrontation in the game? If we explore this question then the structure of the game, the relationships between most of its characters, and the major theme of the game become clear.  

At its core, Vampyr is a game about love. And not just romantic love. The broad range of people inhabiting London give us a panoramic of different types of relationships. We see father-son, mother-daughter, doctor-patient, brother-brother, friendship, lovers, and sister-sister relationships play out as we navigate the dark streets of the city. Not all of these relationships are healthy. Some are problematic and some are even downright abusive. Some characters don’t even have another character to interact with, but that too has meaning. Because even though all of these relationships are unique to their characters, they all have one thing in common—they are all based on love or the absence of love.

And it is this love or lack of love that determines true monstrosity in the game. The major question that Dontnod asks in the game is whether a monster is necessarily monstrous. Everything in the game revolves around this question. There is a fine line between being a monster and being monstrous but there is a difference.  Here is what I think Dontnod is defining them as:

Monster: A creature that is not human, i.e. an Ekon, Skal, or Vulkod

Monstrous: a state of being in which a person, whether human or a monster, completely closes themselves off to love and compassion

Let’s look at how I came to these conclusions. The game itself makes it very clear that vampires, no matter where they are in the hierarchy, are monsters. They are not humans and thus they are monsters. But just because they are monsters does not automatically make them monstrous.  Lady Ashbury is a monster but she is not monstrous. She is a vampire but she feels guilt over having to kill to survive. She sits with dying patients and takes care of them, shows them compassion when they are all alone by being with them and listening to them. She adopts a human orphan (Charlotte, and all the others who came before her) when she doesn’t have to and gives the child a safe, happy upbringing. She started a girl’s home to provide education to children that the world didn’t care about. She founded Pembroke Hospital in part to give herself a ready supply of blood but also to provide healthcare to people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to get it. Whenever Jonathan speaks with her, she is gentle and kind and always encourages him to control his blood thirst. Lady Ashbury is a monster but she takes no delight in it. She is still capable of love and thus is not monstrous.

Lord Redgrave, on the other hand, is a monstrous monster. He is both a vampire and has closed himself off to love.  The key to his character is his relationship with Old Bridget, his wife. He tried to turn her into a vampire like himself, and when she turned into a Skal instead, he threw her over.  By rejecting his wife, his closest companion and someone he loved enough to want to spend eternity with, he gave up love and became monstrous. While Redgrave might not go out every night and murder for the fun of it, he lacks compassion for anyone but himself. Male humans are seen only in terms of how useful they could be to the Ascalon Club and human and vampire women are just minor annoyances. He sees no qualms in killing to satisfy his need for blood.  As such, Lord Redgrave is both a monster and monstrous.  The game presents Redgrave as an unlikeable character; we aren’t supposed to want to take his side.  He’s arrogant, condescending, misogynistic, elitist, and selfish. He is the complete opposite of Lady Ashbury, who we are encouraged to like.

Old Bridget is another example of a monster who is not monstrous. Although a Skal, she is a caring woman. She acts as a mother to the other Skals in the sewer. She watches over them and protects them, teaching them to overcome their bestial natures. Physically, she looks terrifying and she is technically a monster. But she is not monstrous. She is still capable of giving and receiving love.

This dichotomy between monster and monstrous is also played out in the human characters. By definition, humans cannot be monsters. But they can be monstrous. Multiple characters, such as Rakesh Chadna, comment on the “darkness” within the hearts of people that can turn them monstrous. Jonathan’s father has a note written for Jonathan that says that he knows that both Jonathan and Mary have a dark spot in their hearts that counterbalances their caring natures. And some characters’ monstrosity is complicated because they are balancing it with love for someone else. Let’s look at some examples of monstrous humans:

Venus Darby is monstrous because she is trying to murder her husband because he embarrasses her. If Jonathan kills Clarence and then talks to Venus, you see that she doesn’t even mourn him. She chooses to value social opinion and her own comfort over the man she married. She loves nothing but herself. Thus, she is monstrous.

Cadogan Bates is monstrous because he abuses (physically and sexually) his tenants for his own pleasure. It is of note that if Jonathan embraces Cadogan, the man’s last thoughts are of him mourning the fact that no one will miss him because there is no one who loves him. There is no one who loves Cadogan because he has chosen to make himself unlovable. He shows no love or compassion to those around him and as such he must live with the consequences.

Clay Cox is monstrous because he is utterly selfish and only cares about himself. His relationship with his wife certainly isn’t loving, and he has no qualms with committing theft or murder.

These are just a few examples of monstrous humans. There are more we could discuss, but I think we get the point. Truly monstrous characters, whether human or vampire, are ones who feel no love for others.  

There are, however, characters who do terrible things but are not monstrous.

Joe Peterson rackets Whitechapel, stealing money, but does so out of love for his son Harry.

Milton Hooks and Pippa Hawkins sell beds in the hospital, but they do so to take care of each other.

Loretta and Mason Swanborough sell fake medicine to survive and to give Mason a sense of purpose after the accident that blinded him.

Stella Fishburn hides her son Seymour’s crimes because she can’t bear the thought of him being condemned to death

I’m not trying to say that love redeems these characters or justifies their actions. What they are doing is still wrong, no matter their motives. But they still are capable of love, even if it is a corrosive love.  They aren’t acting for themselves alone. There is another person that they want to take care of or protect, and they go to any means necessary to do so. It’s a selfish love, yes, but love nonetheless. Terrible people, but not quite fully monstrous.

And then there are human characters who are as compassionate as Lady Ashbury. Tom Watts, Sean Hampton, Dorothy Crane, Camellia, Ichabod Throgmorton, just to name a few.

To be a monster does not automatically make you monstrous. And humans can be as monstrous as the most degenerate vampire.

It is this idea that we, as Jonathan, are forced to confront. Do you make the choice to play monstrously or not? Do you believe that because Jonathan is a literal monster that he should act monstrously? Or is he still capable of showing mercy and compassion?

Dontnod has their definition of what makes one truly monstrous, and depending on how you play the game, you either give in to or rise above this definition. If you abstain from killing people or only kill a few, then Jonathan shows that he is still able to show love and thus gets a loving relationship—he and Ashbury are able to either run away or hide in her castle and enjoy their love. If you murder either a majority of people or everyone, then Jonathan has shown his monstrous selfishness and callous disregard for life. In this case, all he cares about is himself and it is thus impossible for him and Ashbury to have a happy ending. As a loving character, Ashbury CANNOT go with a monstrous Jonathan. She might love him, yes, but she does not compromise her own values for love. If he is monstrous then she rejects him and chooses death.

The absolute worst ending is telling of how Jonathan views love. No matter how you play, Jonathan is written to love Ashbury. If you play a pacifist route then his love his pure and focused around Ashbury, not himself. But if you murder everyone, then Jonathan’s “love” for Ashbury is completely selfish. When she says that she wants to die, he actually says that he won’t let her leave him. He doesn’t care about her as a person, he cares about preserving the person he loves for his own pleasure. He wants her and so he intends on having her, no matter how she feels about it. And when she rejects him and kills herself, Jonathan doesn’t mourn. In the ending where you kill a majority (but not all) of civilians, Jonathan expresses regret at her suicide, screaming “I love you” as she burns. But in the purely bad ending, there is no regret or sorrow. He just stands there and coldly watches her die. And then, in both of the bad endings, he is forced to live with the consequences—he travels the world, alone and unloved, using people to satisfy his own desires, much like Cadogan Bates.

But if you keep your kill count low or don’t kill anyone, then you live with the consequences of those choices too. Jonathan has proven that he is capable of mercy and love and so gets to run off with Lady Ashbury. The best ending has them going to North America (symbolic of true freedom?) to spend eternity together and in love.

To explore this theme, the game requires Jonathan to have a loving relationship with someone. Dontnod chose to make it a romantic relationship with Lady Ashbury. They could have gone with other routes, or other types of love (friendship, sibling, etc) but they chose to make it romantic. But what matters most is that a love-based relationship between Jonathan and another person HAS to be in the game. The ultimate question is whether Jonathan is capable of love at game’s end, so he has to be confronted by someone that he cares deeply about and either be accepted or rejected. Dontnod chose Ashbury for that role. Thus, the forced romance.

Love is the endgame in Vampyr.  Whether Jonathan gets love is the ultimate climax. It’s not so much about the love between Jonathan and Lady Ashbury as it is Jonathan’s ability to feel and express true love. That’s why all of your choices culminate in Jonathan either receiving love or being damned to eternal solitude.

Myrddin Wyllt and the Morrigan themselves demonstrate this concept but I will cover that in another post because this one is running long. Mary Reid, Doris Fletcher, and Harriet Jones will all be discussed in Part 2.

Love or its lack is what defines characters in Vampyr. And it’s up to you as a player to determine whether Jonathan becomes truly monstrous or not.

[i-did-not-mean-to]

Never say never - Chapter 9

Aaaah, the longfic of my heart...

Finally got the time to post the next chapter :D

Fandom: RPF - Richard Armitage

Characters: Richard Armitage x OC

Rating : Mature (but not yet)

Warnings: awkwardness, veiled insults, swallowed compliments

°9° ~Richard~

“I’m sorry if I come at a bad time.” He offered and, of course, now, his warm smile came easily to him.

“You looked pretty upset just now, so tell me everything that’s weighing on your heart as well.” Elizabeth sounded so terribly tired that all of his anger vanished in an instant.

“I’ve just come to tell you that you need to let go of your plan. Victoria clearly dislikes me and…it might be arrogant, but I don’t particularly enjoy being disliked.” He said in a low, careful voice.

“She doesn’t dislike you. She doesn’t know you. She’s scared of you.” Elizabeth replied calmly. When she looked up and saw the concern and the genuine hurt in his eyes though, she heaved a heavy sigh.

“She’s…Her life…” She struggled finding the words. “Her father is a mean man, and her husband has left her for a 20-something blonde after getting his big break. I should have known it.” She was obviously disgusted with herself.

“Because I am so mean or because I have so many blonde women in their twenties in my bed?” Richard asked pointedly.

He could not see the similarities between himself and those two men that had just been described in such unflattering terms. He was not prince charming, he was aware of that, but he didn’t appreciate being thrown together with people who sounded like proper scoundrels.

“Because you’re handsome.” Her tone made it very clear that she did not necessarily share that opinion. So…had Victoria called him handsome? Probably not, it was likelier that she had referenced Hiddleston, and Elizabeth had just assumed that he had been included in her assessment.

“It is unfair to her either way. Don’t try to make her meet people she doesn’t appreciate or who scare her.”

“Do you enjoy scaring women?” Elizabeth asked and he bristled. Naturally, he didn’t.

“In that case, I have done you both wrong it seems. If I had given her time to prepare and not sprung this on her, she might have been less panicked.” – “Well…yeah, she seemed terrified just now.”

Elizabeth had thought about that as well and would need to ponder this situation again, at home, with Angie.

There had been shock, that much was clear, but she had also read something else in the demeanour of her friend. She had not been completely wrong in her appraisal of Vic’s taste; she seemed clearly impressed.

“She has not expected you, that’s all. Neither did I, by the way.” Slowly, Elizabeth seemed to get her bearings again.

One never quite knew when that scheming glint would return to her eyes, but Richard was smart enough to be wary of her quick wit. She had not been handed her career on a silver platter; no, she had a particular skill when it came to the visualisation of a storyline. And Elizabeth was ruthless when it came to getting things done.

“I just came to advocate for her as she seems unaware of your plot. She’s your friend, don’t do this to her.” He pleaded softly, hoping that she would not pick up on his own hurt in this matter.

“I did not sell my friend. I am not a pimp, Richard. I just tried to coax her into a situation that might make her happy.” Elizabeth corrected him firmly, seemingly reading his mind and all the dark thoughts he was trying to hide.

“You failed; it made her miserable.” His voice was harder now and he cleared his throat to gain some time.

He had not wanted to put it like that, but now that she had spoken the words, he couldn’t deny that this had been part of his thought-process as well. She had literally offered Victoria like a sacrifice on the altar of whatever reason, only known to her.

“I had imagined it differently, that much is true.” Elizabeth nodded slowly. Richard felt attacked; even though Elizabeth had not said anything about her own expectations pertaining to him, his own insecurities were wreaking havoc on his mind since the previous night. Had she hoped that he’d be anywhere near as suave and charming as Hiddleston?

What could he have done differently? She had never directly spoken to him or engaged in a conversation with him. He had not come up with a funny pun or an alternative scenario she could evade into…

“I have been worried about her. I didn’t quite know what to do or say…” He tried to justify himself when he had never been accused of anything. Elizabeth gave him a broad, sly smile in reply to his stammered explanations.

He couldn’t help being a considerate person, he did not have the skill of comforting people easily; especially when he was ill at ease himself, putting others at ease was not always self-evident, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t care.

Victoria had been distressed and he had been very aware that he was part of the reasons why, so of course, he had not forced her to engage with him. His aim had been damage-control; he had tried to limit the harm suffered by that strange woman by not jostling any of the invisible and unintelligible stop signs around her.

“Are you hurt?” Elizabeth blindsided him with that one, he had to admit, and he blinked a few times before uttering a vague grunt to get her to explain what she meant by that. “I told Vic that she had been unkind, and she was afraid that she had hurt people’s feelings.”

Well, she can’t help disliking me, Richard thought, but yes, she might have endeavoured to not show her disapproval quite so plainly. “As I said, I do not rejoice that she finds me loathsome.” He answered evasively.

Somehow, it felt imprudent and indecent to talk about his feelings with this woman he barely knew. That kind of discussion had no place in the workplace, and after the stunt she had pulled, Elizabeth did not strike him as the most reliable and trustworthy of people to confide in either.

“She doesn’t. I can promise you that much. Nobody does.” Elizabeth’s deep eyes were warm now, swirling whiskey, and her voice had the smoky quality of that very same beverage.

“She literally said “It’s you” and “Oh no” not ten minutes ago, must I remind you?” Richard shot back, dismayed at how petulant and vexed that sounded. That was definitely not the way he wanted to deal with this.

“Again, we did not expect you. We both felt a bit caught as we had been talking about you.” Elizabeth conceded.

“Oh, I’ve caught the end of her BEGGING you to keep your, I quote, “old men” away from her. I am not paranoid here, Elizabeth, there are very clear signs that she’d shoot me to the moon just to avoid ever seeing me again.”

“Aah, yes, so…she did hurt your feelings. Well, we did.” Elizabeth murmured in a hushed voice, letting her lids fall slowly to her cheeks in a perfect picture of penitence. Her mind was racing, no doubt, as her fingers tapped the desk in a frantic staccato.

“Let me clear this up.” She said in a business-like tone and typed furiously numbers and combinations into the phone on her desk. Richard thought about how funny it was that she’d still use that relic, but when the ringing tone resounded, his mind snapped back to the present with acuity.

~Victoria~

She was trembling head to toe. Was that man everywhere? Would he haunt her now for real?

It had been less than 24 hours, but she had dreamt about his face and the discreet smell of him seemed to follow her doggedly. He was like some perversion of the bogeyman; she had come to expect and dread him at every corner and behind every closed door.

How ridiculous; he seemed as tall as a tree to her and yet, he had the nasty habit of sneaking up on her, just to stand there, silent, and glorious, like a statue made of flesh and bone. She had talked of dolls made of hard plastic, she had thought of marble, but no comparison really captured the amount of vitality that man carried in his stillness.

Victoria looked at hairdryers with such intensity for such a long time – all the while daydreaming about the way Richard had not even really swayed when she had bumped into him with all the momentum of fleeing prey – that an assistant came to hover at her elbow, afraid that she’d make off with the exposition unit.

Tearing herself from both the blind contemplation of hairdryers and the mental sketching of that scowling face that had hovered too close for comfort for a millisecond, Victoria made her way to the electronics that actually interested her.

The inspiration came quite naturally to her; she would buy a huge TV and a treadmill and watch movies while running in that drawing room she never used. Maybe, she could get a fainting couch just for good measure.

She ended up ordering all the electronics and made her way to a nearby furniture store where she found a beautiful, antique chaise longue with vivid purple upholstery and a bookshelf the movers would have a hard time getting upstairs.

Shrugging, she bought both nonetheless, ignoring the calls that made her whole purse vibrate. Finally, she decided to allow herself the pleasure of roaming a bit in the bookshop as well, to fill that new bookshelf with all the soppy, irrational stories her father loathed so deeply.

First, she had to take that call though, she knew it, but when she read Liza’s name on the display, her heart sank.

“What have I done now?” She asked, defeated, as soon as she had picked up.

“I don’t know, what have you done?” Liza replied with a smile in her voice. “I have bought furniture, a lot of it.” Victoria confessed with a sigh, nodding at the waiter of the small café belonging to the bookshop who wriggled a cup and a bag of tea at her as she sat down on a wrought-iron chair on the sidewalk to talk to Liza.

“What for?” Liza sounded genuinely interested now, and Victoria could imagine her leaning back in her office chair to hear of her newest folly. “To never be unprepared again. I bought another TV, a big one, a treadmill, a DVD player, a bookshelf, and an actual fainting couch.” Victoria laughed. “I intend to binge all of those soppy movies.”

“You wouldn’t? Who is this talking and what have you done to my friend?” Liza exclaimed in mock shock.

“Oh, stop it, you cow! Did you really think that you could introduce me to some of the most shockingly handsome men to ever have walked the face of God’s green earth without me doing my research afterwards?” Vic jeered.

“Most shockingly handsome, yes? Ah, music to my ears. While on the subject, I have Armitage still here with me.”

Stunned silence.

“He is of the opinion that you do not like him well; he looks like a kicked puppy. What have you to say to that?”

Victoria heard the click of the speakerphone being activated and cleared her throat, swallowing all the curses she had been about to loosen on her friend for letting her talk on and on with the very man in the room.

“Good day to you, Sir. I cannot like or dislike him, I’ve hardly spoken to the man.” Vic then replied, addressing her friend again as she was the person she was in a conversation with.

“That might be the reason why he thinks you loathe him.” Liza suggested, which made Vic snort with derision.

“I do not loathe him; how would I loathe someone I don’t even know?” Vic shook her head and took a sip of the scalding tea that had been placed before her a moment earlier.

“Your reactions have been less than positive this far.” Liza objected, watching Richard grow paler by the second. He did not seem familiar with the way women sometimes handled things, especially women as open and impatient as her.

“Well, they were, as you so aptly put it, “reactions”; I have never consciously “acted”. He’s been like that fairy-tale wolf lurking in the shadows, and I had a right to be weary.” Victoria grumbled.

“Does that make you Red Riding Hood, Vic?” Liza purred, imagining Victoria slaying poor, old Richard.

Victoria sighed. What was expected of her?

“Well, it’s too late for all of that now. Tell the man that I bear him no ill-will and let it lie.” Victoria was eager to get into the bookshop now, and she was growing impatient with her friend’s aimless prattling.

“Alright then, he still looks a bit upset. Do you have any nice thing to say to him as a parting gift?” Liza asked with a tone of finality that made Victoria’s heart soar. She would be dismissed soon enough, she only had to be gracious first.

“Erm…” Victoria reviewed her previous interactions with Richard in her mind. “He’s very pleasant and polite.”

Even to her own ears, her words sounded more like a thinly veiled insult than like a compliment, but she didn’t dare backpedal now. It would have to be good enough, he would have to believe that she meant well.

How would he know though? Already, he thought that she disliked him, and her half-arsed compliment wouldn’t convince him otherwise. No doubt, Liza would tell him that she found him beautiful…not that this would make any difference or carry any kind of weight or importance, but at least it was a real compliment.

~Richard~

Victoria did not pick up for a long time and when she did, Elizabeth picked up the receiver and effectively shut him out from the conversation.

He felt increasingly like an unwelcome guest who has not asked to leave because Elizabeth pitied him.

She asked Victoria a series of questions and he could dimly hear Victoria laugh and answer, her words a blur of cheery sounds that made Elizabeth smile sharply.

Someone was called “most shockingly handsome” and that comment was to serve as a bridge to the actual subject of the telephone call. Victoria denied disliking him, mainly advancing her complete ignorance on the subject as the reason, but her greeting was still cold, and she seemed eager to put the whole thing behind her.

He didn’t quite know how he felt about that; between the lines, she was probably saying that she had not yet unearthed the proper reasons to dislike him fully and that, as of now, she was merely weary of him.

Also, she had called him a dangerous predator again. What had he ever done to that woman to make her fear him so?

Pleasant and polite, huh? Stand-offish and cold, those were the words he heard, and they cut deeper than he had imagined. Up to now, he could have chalked her behaviour up to the startling situation, but this comment had been made calmly and after conscientious consideration of her words.

“Buh-bye. See you tonight.” Elizabeth chirped into the phone and pressed the call away.

“See? She doesn’t dislike you…” She turned to him, her face alight and shining, but the glow faded upon seeing his stern brow cloud over with disappointment and hurt.

“If you say so…” Richard grumbled and, for a moment, it looked like Elizabeth would say something more, but her lips tightened. She would not stroke his ego and alleviate the weight crushing his soul.

[apfrey]

i... cannot remember when it was the last time i was so disappointed in an episode. like, not even 6x08 did to me what this episode did. probably because i actually had some expectations for the supposed “replacement of episode 9 as the big pre-finale episode” thing. 

i’m completely livid at the arya and sansa thing, even when i tried giving the show the benefit of the doubt. i liked their first dialogue that scene since AT LEAST it wasn’t a case of bad communication and arya confronted sansa about it and all the things i wanted to be said were said. but to make arya legit threaten to skin her sister’s face off ??? what the fuck what the actual f

unless they’re trying to make a point that arya’s some coldhearted psychopath now (which i don’t buy but OKAY) this is the dirtiest they’ve done arya since the mess of a “plot” that she was given in s6

and BOY OH BOY here comes the best part of all: jon fucking snow, my prince, my wolf, my son, my absolute treasure and how they’ve fucking ruined him.

man, i used to be so on board with j*nerys. like, WAY before they ever met in canon. i was so excited for this. but what they’re feeding us is lazy, untrue to characters, and even downright insulting if i am to be honest. like, i wasn’t surprised he bent the knee. it sounds like the kind of thing he’d do regardless if it was a “push comes to shove” situation or something done out of his own volition. but...... it’s...... so random...... it’s so out of the blue it’s so ??? what ???? why did dany suddenly care for jon more than jorah last episode ??? what the fuck did dany do or show to get jon to fall in love with her already ??? all he’s seen is dany the rampant dragon queen with an obsession for the throne who has her walls built high and some serious god complex issues. he’s only seen her cruelty, selfishness, and arrogance. all of these are primary flaws that ygritte had as well. it was all he saw from ygritte at first as well. and while it took him quite a while to start feeling for her, we’re supposed to believe that it was instalove for him and dany? did he binge the first six seasons before going to meet dany to know what lies beyond that completely unflattering facade she’s been putting up all season? i’m just so livid. livid. d&d have been butchering jon since s5 onward, though. they completely reduced his character to being the dumb action hero who only thinks with his heart (and dick apparently) and it makes me SO. SAD. jon’s entire thing was that he was different from robb and ned, a lot more rational, constantly having this clash of “ice and fire” in him: of ration and of heart. he’d chosen duty over heart countless of times. sansa’s specifically warned him against not making ned’s and robb’s mistakes, yet they’re giving us a jon repeating robb’s mistakes? 

like ???? jon was there ???? when lord glover talked about robb, saying he lost his kingdom because he was fucking “a foreign whore” and he goes and does the exact same thing ??? are d&d seriously trying to make us believe jon didn’t learn ANYTHING from literally being murdered by men he had too much blind faith in ??? for him to say “oh, whatever, they’ll see you for your precious self” it’s downright disrespectful and renders jon’s entire experience in the night’s watch useless. well, they’ve done that already tbh. what was the fucking point of resurrecting jon again? but whatever. it’s another rant for another time.

i’m just so mad. again, not because of WHAT jon did but because of HOW he did it. it makes sense for him to reward her loss and effort with some faith, but he can’t force the entire fucking north to do the same. he should’ve spoken only on his behalf for now and tell dany that he’ll try to convince the north AFTER they win the war that she might be worth following. by that point, she theoretically should have contributed to the salvation of humanity. does he think they’ll tell her to fuck off after that? don’t even get me started on the fanfiction level of their dialogue. that dany bullshit which came out of nowhere. the “my queen” bullshit that had me barfing on my keyboard. it’s so fucking obvious that d&d absolutely do not care at all about building a proper relationship. there’s gotta be some sort of consequence important to the plot, similar to robb and talisa. robb and talisa were a crappy and rushed love story because they didn’t care about the characters, they only cared about what this relationship caused: aka the red wedding. and jon and dany feel the exact same. they don’t matter. natural buildup doesn’t matter. jon’s characterization doesn’t matter. they need to fuck. probably for some magic baby (by all the gods, i really hope this isn’t true). and they were probably like, “WELL, they ain’t gonna fuck without some feelings, so better go through this checklist of ‘stuff that people who fall in wuv wuv do’ first.” it’s SO painfully obvious by now that this is the case. especially when you take the time to compare it with jon and ygritte, a relationship that didn’t necessarily have a plot-affecting outcome, but which shaped jon as it developed. when he and ygritte first have sex, jon’s not in love with her. far from it. their relationship continues to grow beyond that. it’s so clear which relationship is carefully crafted because it matters to the characters and which is rushed through because it serves a purpose to the plot.

ugh. it’s just so unfair to both a jon snow lover and someone who’s had high expectations for a ship very dear to me, knowing they really ARE kindred spirits who can make their differences into their strengths and who can understand each other on a deep level. but the show just doesn’t give a shit about any of that. they’re either simply fanservice-ing this shit, either skimming through for whatever purpose j*nerys will serve to the plot. i’m just beyond pissed. jon’s not that fucking stupid. i’d even be willing to accept that he somehow managed to fall in love with dany in such a short time after seeing nothing but her bad parts. but to accept that he’s actually letting his boner get in the way of his responsibility as king? i don’t want this garbage, thank you. go rewatch your own fucking show, d&d. remember when jon took three arrows from the woman he loved because he chose his duty over his feelings? they clearly don’t.