#and i think endeavor's is fairly well done. it's honestly a breath of fresh air to see a character so willingly go 'oh holy shit. i'm awful

[jaguarys]

I'm not really a BNHA guy anymore or anything but I fairly ardently disagree with the arguments against Endeavor's redemption arc. The series is continual case after continual case for people being able to be better, and Endeavor's arc is perfectly in line with that. He's a complex character just like the rest of them. Idk. I think it hits a lot of good notes

[unblackened-andromeda]

16 July, 1977 || Drabble

She crossed her legs, leaning back into her seat as she cradled her cup of coffee. The white dress she wore rose up her thighs with her movement, but she ignored it, giving her full attention to him.

Ted was speaking, and she laughed, finding his enthusiasm vastly entertaining. She watched him carefully, watched the way his eyes lit up when he spoke, the way he smiled, and before she knew it, she was no longer hearing the words he said, though his mouth continued moving.

Today was her wedding day, but she wouldn’t be walking down any aisles. Her thoughts drifted, and suddenly she was back in her father’s study.

“What is it, Andromeda? What do you need?” he’d asked her, still oblivious as to why this conversation required both Druella and such seriousness.

She hadn’t spoken yet, steeling herself as she stared back at her parents. She could do this. She could totally do this. She had Rabastan’s support, just as she always did, and this was probably what gave her the extra push she needed to finally put her foot down.

Druella spoke up, then, irritated with her middle daughter. “Andromeda, if your plan was simply to stare at us, you might not have wasted our time this way. Honestly, child. The audacity. There are still any number of things to finalize for your nuptials next week.”

Andromeda turned her face to her father, silently willing him to help her silence her mother so that she could speak. Whether it was her silent plea or no, Cygnus laid his hand on Druella’s, stopping her tirade before she begin properly. “Speak, Andromeda. What have you asked to see us for, that we could not have spoken of in a less formal setting?” he prompted, urging Andromeda to speak.

Finally she took a deep breath, and met his gaze. “I will not be marrying Rabastan next week, Father, Mother.” She could see the horror in her mother’s eyes, and she spoke quickly, tacking on the next sentence before Druella could scream. “I do not want to be the first to marry. I’m not the eldest. I will marry him, of course, as this is what you’ve asked of me, and planned for me. I simply ask of you that you not make me go first. It’s not my place.”

Well, that had certainly not been what Cygnus had been expecting. His surprise was written all over his face, and while Druella’s was taken over by a near apoplectic rage, she had not managed to splutter out a full sentence yet.

Oh, how she wanted to let her gaze fall away. This was not her. She was compliant, obedient, rational. She wasn’t bold, or brash, or selfish. She never should have said anything.

“Andomeda Cassiopeia Black! I cannot believe you! You-” but Druella’s second tirade was ended nearly as abruptly as her first, Cygnus speaking her name sharply, causing her mouth to fall closed as she glared at her daughter. 

“You’ve certainly taken your time coming to this decision,” he said, his words directed at his daughter. “I must ask what exactly you expected from this conversation. Did you not think of the money that has already been spent? The time your mother and Jacqueline have devoted to ensuring the event is perfect? Have you no regard for this at all, Andromeda?”

Trust her father to so calmly dress her down. His town was not cold, his words not harsh, but the truth of them cut to the core of her. 

“Of course not, Father. I appreciate each and every galleon and moment that has been spent in ensuring the perfection of my big day. My request is not about that. I feel, confidently, that things could be moved, postponed if you will, without  too much extra cost to yourself.” Her hands she slipped behind her back, folding them together to prevent wringing them in distress. 

“I am not the eldest, Father, Mother. I wish not to become the eldest by default. Bellatrix-  forgive me, I do not wish to speak ill of my beloved sister- is the eldest. It is her duty to this family, to our name, to myself and to Narcissa, to be an example, to do as she is bid, and marry Rodolphus. She is to bear the Lestrange heirs, and become the future of both their family and ours, and to live up to our legacy.”

She took another breath, and Cygnus stayed silent, squeezing his wife’s hand to ensure her silence as well- he could sense Andromeda was not finished.

“I have always done as I was asked, and it has been no difficult task. I want for nothing, Father. I have been well provided for, and will continue to be until I breathe my last. But today, I am asking. Please. Don’t make me marry him next week. I am not prepared for this. I am not ready to be a wife and a mother; I am not ready to walk down that aisle and become the future of the Lestrange name. I don’t want that for myself, or for Rabastan. It’s not his place either; it’s his brother’s.”

Finally, she sighed, heaving out a massive but cleansing breath. Bringing her hands in front of her, she folded them together once more, waiting silently for a decision.

Druella looked at Cygnus, who said nothing for a long while, and, exasperated with Andromeda’s new-found selfishness, left the room. The silence hung in the air for several long minutes, and it took all of Andromeda’s willpower to hold her father’s gaze as she waited.

“And what do you propose instead? You said that you will not refuse to marry Rabastan, is this true? You do intend to marry him?”

“Yes, Father, I will marry him.”

“But?”

“Not until Bellatrix has married Rodolphus.”

“I see.”

The silence fell once more, and Cygnus steepled his hands in front of him, resting his chin on them as he regarded his daughter. It was true, that she did not ask for things; she did not cause trouble, she was not raucous or rowdy, she was not selfish. She was just young and terrified.

“Very well. I will agree to this. Perhaps this is the push that our Bellatrix needs to fulfill her duties. Perhaps this will make her see that she is going to lead more than just herself astray if she does not do as she is told. I will speak to Beauregard this afternoon, and tell him of this change. I’m sure he won’t be thrilled, but you do make a valid point. There would be a succession change, and his heir deserves and opportunity to resolve that. I must ask you one thing, though, before I dismiss you.”

“Yes, Father?” she asked, her face a mask of calm that she did not feel. 

“Did you inform your betrothed of your intentions before speaking to me?”

“Yes, Father, I did.”

“And what did he have to say about the issue?”

“He offered me his full support in the endeavor. He said that if I was not ready, then I was not ready. He was very gracious about it, but I suspect he may have also been a bit relieved to avoid the spotlight a little longer.”

Cygnus nodded. “Very well, Andromeda. We will revisit the issue in a month’s time, and see where we are at. Does that seem fair to you?”

“Yes, Father. Thank you.”

“You are dismissed.”

She’d bowed her head at her father, turning and leaving before he could change her mind. Shutting the doors to the study behind her, she leaned against them, letting out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. From upstairs, she could hear Druella moving around, her pace angry, and Andromeda moved quickly out of the front door and into the fresh air outside. 

Freedom. She would not be getting married next week, and she was fairly certain it would be several months before she could be coerced to do so. If there was one thing that could be counted on, it was Bella’s steadfast refusal to marry without it being on her terms.

Andromeda would not be getting married anytime soon. 

“Hello? Andie? Are you even listening to me?”

She was shocked back into the present as a piece of muffin hit her in the forehead. 

“Did you just throw a piece of muffin at me? At my face?” she asked, blinking, as she stared him down. The goofy- somehow sheepish- grin he gave her was answer enough, and she shook her head at him, plucking the bit of muffin off of her lip and lobbing it back at him. “I can’t believe you did that!”

“You’re off in your own world over there. I had to get your attention somehow, and it’s better than kicking you.”

“Food. You threw food at my face.” She was still staring at him, eyebrow raised, but really, she was struggling not to laugh.

“Well, since you’re ignoring me, the least you can do is tell me what you’re so distracted by.”

Andromeda flushed, and she could feel her cheeks heating up. She could tell him, she knew she could. Sure, she’d made a decision not to bring up Rabastan around Ted, but she figured that just this one time, she could make an exception. An exception for total honesty- for once.

“I was thinking about how I was supposed to be getting married today. But right now, all I’m thinking is that there is nowhere else I would rather be than right here with you.” She gave him a full smile, and felt her cheeks flushing again, though this time she wasn’t sure why. 

“Tell me the story again, please. I promise you have my full and undivided attention.”