#and like not deeming their actions treason is a way that she can save them from facing the full ramifications of it without seeming weak

[halfyearsqueen]

thinking about her and her siblings

[fanfictasia]

Yiu know what's the difference between the clones and Anakin? Anakin CHOSE to start killing the Jedi. The entire point of the chips is that the clones had no CHOICE. As for the alleged treason of the Jedi, Anakin had just learned Palpatine orchestrated the civil war. The Jedi knew the Sith were leading the Separatists because of Dooku. That isn't treason against the Republic?! Anakin literally yells that Palpatine has to live because Anakin NEEDS him (to save Padmé from.... something).

You clearly lack the most basic understanding of treason, so I’ll feel free to explain to you what it means. Treason is “the crime of betraying one’s country, especially by attempting to kill the sovereign or overthrow the government.”

And since you’re an idiot, I had better go ahead and define the word “sovereign” for you, so you don’t get confused again. Sovereign means “one possessing or held to possess supreme political power or sovereignty.” Okay, so I think we can both agree that Palpatine fits that definition, since he was the Chancellor and the head of the Republic.

What were the Jedi doing when they instructed Anakin to spy on him? They were committing treason. Palpatine is the head of the Republic as well as the head of the military. The Jedi are all military officers serving underneath him. The fact that Palpatine had the ability to request the Council put Anakin on it is, I think, proof enough that he had a great deal of control over them. Why do you think the Council didn’t want Anakin’s assignment to be on record?! It’s because if he was discovered, then there’s no proof that the Council was involved. Anakin would have taken the fall for it alone, and he would have been executed. Can you even imagine how horrible of a thing that was? The Council was literally setting Anakin up to take the fall for their choices! Why do you think he was so upset at being given those instructions from Obi-Wan? Anakin is literally married to a Senator, and he’s spent much time with the Chancellor. He would have definitely been well aware of many laws, especially those about treason, given what happened with Ahsoka.

It’s so convenient to pretend that there are no laws that have to be followed in Star Wars, but it’s not reality. There are laws, and whether good or bad, Palpatine was the elected head of the Republic. If he’s guilty or suspected of being guilty of a crime, there are appropriate courses of action which can be taken. The Jedi do not have the authority to get involved. It’s a Senate matter. It’s something that the Senate would have to investigate. Not the Jedi. By trying to arrest Palpatine without any evidence of his guilt, the Jedi again committed treason against the Republic by “attempting to kill the sovereign.”

See, Palpatine never said “I am the Sith Lord who orchestrated the Clone Wars.” No, he said that he knows the ways of the Dark Side. It’s not illegal to be a Dark Sider. Palpatine was clever, and everything he did, he did legally. Was it immoral or unethical? Oh yes. Absolutely. Was it illegal? No. When the Jedi tried to kill him, they were committing treason, and as such, he had the authority to take whatever actions he deemed necessary to protect the security of the Republic. It might be hard for you to grasp the idea that your precious Jedi Council who Can Do No Wrong could have messed up so badly, but they did. They acted without thinking of the consequences or the legality. And they committed treason.

Anakin was trying not to commit any crimes akin to treason all throughout ROTS, and he was successful. Yes, he had a personal motivation in wanting Palpatine to be alive, but so what? Windu was still committing a crime for which he would likely have been executed regardless of whether or not he was successful in killing the Chancellor. It’s all good and well to think that Anakin is Bad because he stopped Windu from killing Palpatine, but you’re not thinking realistically. Maybe if the Jedi had listened to the Force the way Anakin did, they would never have made so many mistakes.

And you also mentioned that Anakin chose to kill the Jedi, unlike the clones. But did he? Did he? He had no way of knowing what Palpatine would ask of him when he agreed to join him. The Jedi were already doomed, and nothing he did would have changed that. Anakin had two choices: follow orders or don’t follow orders. He, with his own eyes, saw the Jedi committing a major crime, and as a military officer, it was Anakin’s duty to mete out justice. If he didn’t follow orders, he would have been killed, and Padme and their child would have met the same fate if they were lucky. In a worst-case scenario, Palpatine would have adopted and raised the twins as Sith, but let’s not get into that, shall we?

You are also conveniently ignoring the fact that despite the fact that Anakin’s choices were practically non-existent, Palpatine has been grooming him to kill the Jedi for years. Victims who face this type of abuse generally feel as if they have no choice but to comply with their abuser, even if they hate themselves for it. I’m sure @englishlady wouldn’t mind expanding on this if you really need the clarification, though I suspect you’re just being ornery, since there’s no way you haven’t already seen what she’s said about Anakin being groomed.

Even if I was answering a rather inane question… at least you were polite about it. Lol.

[natthebattygeologist]

A Brush with a Cursed Lily

Royal Court AU

King’s Advisor!Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader

A/N: So here it is, a second part to A Kiss From a Rose. I’m sorry for the wait however I got very busy with work and my university projects. I do so hope you enjoy this. It’s written slightly differently to part 1 as this is all from the Reader’s POV.

I just want to thank @cockslut-padalecki for allowing me to write part 1 as part of the #notmyninth writing challenge and I hope that this angsty follow up does A Kiss From a Rose proud.

Word Count: 2208

Warnings: Angst, angst, more angst, some light fluff, swearing, implied smut, grief, mentions of loss.

Reader’s POV

I ran around chasing after the little squirt who was currently avoiding his bath-time before tripping up and landing square on my backside in a patch of tall Calla Lilies. They were a stunning shade of deep violet and brought back the memories of 6 summers ago. The day I was married off to my best-friend, Steve Rogers, Lord of Rosebury-upon-Sale. I chuckled to myself as my husband rounded the corner of the orangery with our son, covered in mud head to toe, a huge smile plastered on his face. The last few years had been trying at times, and unbearable in others but somehow, we managed to make it through.

“Frolicking in the flowers are we, my petal?” A deep laugh resonated from Steve’s chest as he took in the sight of me, dishevelled and dirtied from my tumble.

“Yes, it’s a rather delightful hobby I have found. Quite the thrilling end to chasing our little gremlin child. Now if you would be so inclined as to help your pregnant wife out of the flower bed, I would greatly appreciate it.”

“Come now love, you know I love to see you in a fluster, but I suppose it would do the baby no good leaving you there.”

I took the hand he so graciously offered me and took our muddied little boy from his father’s hold.

“Now honestly Charlie, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Prince as muddy and dirty as you are right now, you little rascal. Let’s get you cleaned up and fed, then maybe we can go and visit Uncle James before bedtime.”

----------------- 4 Years Earlier----------------

The King summoned us back to court, and what was meant to be a joyous visit quickly became a permanent stay. Upon our arrival we were greeted by a bleary-eyed Prince and an equally as troubled Princess. The King was dying and had called upon his advisor to help prepare for Bucky’s transition into power. To anyone else nothing would’ve seemed amiss, except it was.

When James’ back was turned, I had witnessed Princess Maia acting rather strangely, gathering bouquets of foxglove and trimmings of deadly nightshade. I was almost certain of her intentions but feared my own safety and so kept it to myself, until one night where I couldn’t bear the burden this knowledge held over me any longer.

“Steve, my love, I have something troubling my mind.” My voice came out a hushed and broken whisper.

“What worries you so my petal? I know it hasn’t been easy for you being back, and having to pretend to like Maia, I assure you that I am always here to listen to you and love you.”

“Well, you see, I think I know why the King is sick. On several occasions I have witnessed the Princess with my own eyes gathering bouquets of foxglove and cuttings from the nightshade bush down by the lily patch. I worry that she is poisoning the King, taking advantage of both his and James’ compromised states to hold a sway over decisions that will likely see our kingdom lost to that of her own father.”

I spoke confidently now, having been an integral part of the court for all my childhood. Steve knew better than to question my knowledge of how things ran. He also knew that I would be one of the first to notice if anything was awry, be that with the account books or even the numbers of armed men stationed at each watchtower. After the death of his wife the King only had James as an heir, and so, he vowed that in case any ill befall him I would also be trained, so that if required, I could become a successful Queen someday.

“Steve, I do believe wholeheartedly that this is all a set-up and that we have been blindly infiltrated by our enemy. Things aren’t adding up. The number of guards stationed at The Keep has been halved in sized since the King has fallen ill. It leaves the West of the kingdom in a precarious position. One where an attack could easily happen and be kept quiet. I don’t like the look of it, any of it, and something needs to be done before we are conquered, you are killed, and me resigned to a life of slavery and servitude at the hands of the despicable Wyvern family.” My voice broke and a sob tore through me at the thought of losing everything I have left to the family that has already taken so much from me, starting with my mother shortly after I was born.

“Hush my petal. Tears will do nothing to fix this. The King is aware of the situation, however in our absence the Prince has changed, and he has become blinded by his love for ‘his lily’, though I daresay snake would be the better term for that venomous bitch.” A scoff escaped Steve’s lips before he continued. “The reason the King summoned us is because he has seen what fate has befallen James. He has made his bed, albeit a rather uncomfortable bed, and now he will have to lie in it. The King wishes for you to become Queen after his passing. He wants to stop the plans of Maia’s family before their tendrils of poison can run further into our kingdom than they already have. You my love can bring all this to an end, and I believe you would be able to unite the Kingdoms in a peaceful treaty that could last.”

I curled up into Steve’s side placing a chaste kiss to his lips. He returned it with a hunger and passion before carding his fingers through my hair and tracing them along my jaw.

“Please my petal, let me chase away your worries, after all, if you are to be Queen, we shall need to work on producing some heirs.”

A smirk befell his lips before he ducked his head, nipping at my neck, knowing full well that I would cave to his carnal desires.

--------------- Present Day -------------

After having cleaned up the mucky Prince, Steve and I walked with him through the gardens as evening began to draw in. Fireflies filled the air as we made the trek to the rose garden. As a child it had been mine and Bucky’s favourite place to hide, and on more than one occasion hugs and kisses had been exchanged.

Today this garden holds a whole new meaning as at its centre, beneath a beautiful weeping willow, lay James’ grave.

------------- 3 Years Earlier ------------

Before the King’s passing, he ordered his kings-guard to imprison and execute the Princess for treason against the throne. She was hung at The Keep as a warning to her family that they were next. Their years of planning and scheming had come to an abrupt and distasteful end.

What the Wyverns deemed as an unlawful murder incited a full war between our Kingdoms, it saw both Steve and Bucky fighting on the front lines with me at the helm, as Queen. Soon I had treaties signed with other Kingdoms aligning us for generations to come, until the only one stood against the alliance was the Kingdom of the Serpents. The battle of Roseknappe in the Western borders was the bloodiest battle of all. By this time, I was no longer part of frontline action as I was holed up in the castle under the watchful protection of my elite Queens-guard. When news got out that I was with child the Wyverns stopped at nothing to try and kill me or at the least cause me harm enough for my body to rid itself of the heir I now lovingly grew inside of me. But they needn’t have worried.

When I was around 5 months along tragedy struck our kingdom. The arrival of my husband looking grey in pallor, with sunken eyes and covered in injuries was the first sign that something was very wrong. When the two had left to fight they rode off, side by side, settling any grievances they had over the arranged marriages and uniting to fight to save the Kingdom and keep me on the throne. Steve’s return signalled the end of an era and feelings in my gut that had been dormant for years surfaced in cry of grief so great that it silenced the birdsong for days. Although James was not King, he was still a beloved Prince. My first love and the person who would forever hold a piece of my heart.

In my grief-stricken state I had fallen and managed to land with the sharp riser of the marble stairs squarely in my abdomen. The shock I was in meant that I hadn’t noticed the blood that began pooling nor do I remember what happened over the next few weeks as the doctors and healers frantically worked to keep me alive.

“Steve? Steve? Where’s James? I…. I want to see him. I…” I was interrupted by Steve coming over and pulling me tight to his chest.

“Praise to the Old Gods, my petal, are you okay? Are you in any pain?” worry had seeped into his tone and what looked to be a pang of guilt crossed his normally stoic face. “My love, how much do you remember of the last three weeks?”

A confused expression befell my features before Steve decided to continue.

“Oh, my sweet love, James... James isn’t coming back. The fight at Roseknappe, he saved my life by taking the arrow that was meant to pierce my heart, he sacrificed himself because he wanted me to be able to return to you, so I could love you the way he was never allowed to. So that I could raise a family and keep our Kingdom strong. He died in my arms after begging me to pass you on this letter that he wrote, almost as if he knew he wouldn’t make it back from this war.”

Fresh tears began to fall as Steve handed me the bloodied paper.

My dearest Rose,

How I wish things had been different, and that it was I that got to hold you in my arms at the end of the aisle. I begged my father to change his mind, but he wouldn’t budge. I will never forgive myself for the horrid things I said to you when father made you queen. I was poisoned by the words of a traitor and knowing now I hurt the one true love of my life is the reason why I will fight so hard to save you.

If you are reading this it means I am gone my sweet girl. I know that you will grieve me but please, for my sake as much as your own, I want you to love Steve as wholly as you once loved me. I beg of you to take care of yourself and to keep me close as you grow through the years. I am sorry I will not be there to see my little nieces and nephews, but I know that you and Steve will be the most wonderful parents.

That day in the rose garden, after your first dance in front of the court, when I kissed you. I wanted to tell you then just how much I loved you, but I couldn’t do it. It’s almost as if in my heart I knew you would never truly be mine.

I love you my Rose and I will see you in the next life,

Your Prince,

Bucky

xx

4 months later after grieving the loss of the Prince, the Kingdom was celebrating, not just a victory of war and a long lasting treaty of peace, but the birth of their future King.

Prince Charlie James Buchanan Rogers, heir to the throne of Rosehall and Duke of Snowblossom Grove.

----------- Present Day ----------

“…… and that is the story of how your brave Uncle James battled the terrifying Wyverns to protect your mummy.”

I could hear Steve talking with Charlie as I sat on the bench staring blankly at the grave, wishing with every ounce of strength that I could, hoping to gain just one more moment with my soulmate.

“Come Charlie, let’s get you into bed, then tomorrow we can go riding and Papa can show you the waterfall where him and Uncle James decided to scare me into thinking that your Papa had drowned. Really, they just wanted mummy to go swimming with them, but they knew I wouldn’t go unless there was an emergency.”

After settling Charlie into bed, I took a stroll around the halls before heading to my shared chambers. Laying on the bed next to Steve he protectively wrapped his arms around me, as if he could shield me from the pain the world would throw at me.

“I love you Steven Grant Rogers. It may have taken me a while but, I have always cared for you, and I vow to you now that I will love you until my dying breath.”

“I know my petal, as I will love you, and Charlie, and this little one that we have yet to meet, until mine.”

Taglist: (My Humble Peeps)

@missyredbean

[franniebanana]

CQL Rewatch - Ep 26

Note: I will be critical of Jiang Cheng in these posts. If you can’t handle that, please feel free to scroll on.

The absolute what-the-fuck-are-you-doing-here look on Lan Wangji's face right now. I'm cackling. He's really not subtle at all. The genuine shock from this apparently grave impropriety is just written all over his face. In that situation, I'm definitely Lan Xichen. I'll quietly go to the host later and tell them that they really shouldn't have invited that guy. I mean, he's so nice about it, though, and I really do feel bad for Jin Guangyao, who just invited him because they're friends. Aside from all the shit they pull, he and Su She really do care about each other. You know, Jin Guangyao sees himself in Su She, and probably the opposite is true as well, depending on what Su She actually knows about him. It's no wonder Jin Guangyao selects him from the crowd as he does and kind of takes him under his wing. He knows the feeling of being unwanted very well.

He couldn't look more annoyed that Jin Guangyao is bringing up how the Jiang Clan has captured more prey than any clan in the history of these hunts. Part of it is that Jiang Cheng knows that he never would have brought in that many if Wei Wuxian hadn't used Chenqing to bewitch the beasts into the nets. I think the other thing that annoys him is that the whole situation was an embarrassment and now Jin Guangyao is drawing attention to it again, as well as to the fact that Wei Wuxian isn't even there. He's wandering the streets in the city below when he should be at Carp Tower. As I've said before, Jiang Cheng expects and desires Wei Wuxian to be obedient as well as subservient to him. It pisses him off that Wei Wuxian is such a delinquent and has no care for the propriety of the cultivation world.

And the way Jiang Cheng is all smiles to the Jins, toasting with them, being the perfect little clan leader. Like, he has to, right? Anything else would be weird and unorthodox, not to mention rude. But as soon as he sits down again, he's back to that nasty look on his face, brooding about where in the hell Wei Wuxian is and why he had to go and embarrass Jiang Cheng in front of all the other leaders.

Oh, speak of the devil! Here he is! Yeah, remember how Wei Wuxian found Wen Qing at the end of the last episode? Well, now he's really angry. At this point, it's over. Propriety and orthodoxy have been thrown out the window. The Jin Clan is out of line, and he doesn't care what he says and to whom he says it anymore.

I keep saying this, but this is one of my favorite parts. The absolute disdain that Lan Wangji has for this man that he won't even stoop to respond to him. He's seen what he's like on numerous occasions, I'm sure, but not least important when the man was criticizing Wei Wuxian right in front of him to the point that Jiang Yanli stood up to defend him. Lan Wangji is not giving this man the time of day, let alone breaking one of the disciplines just to please him. Lan Wangji doesn't give a damn whether this man deems him friendly or not. And I love all the reactions. Lan Xichen is just like, "He's never gonna do it." Nie Mingjue looks a little worried, like, "Oh, shit, what's he gonna do??"

And my favorite part, where Lan Wangji looks so so thirsty, and there's a tall drink of water right in front of him. Not to talk top/bottom dynamics (but I'm gonna briefly), but this is when I knew CQL Lan Wangji was a bottom. Those eyes just say "fuck me," and I really won't hear any arguments on this.

But another thing I want to say is that this is one of those moments where Wei Wuxian does something rather heroic. Not all of his actions have to be big and grand to be important. Lan Wangji definitely felt rescued here. I think I remember hearing Xiao Zhan complain that he didn't get to do enough fight scenes and he didn't get to run around and rescue people--he felt useless on the battlefield, while Lan Wangji got to do all the saving. But these moments feel more special to me, when he was there for Lan Wangji. Just like I don't really remember the moments where Lan Wangji knocked a sword out of the way, but I do remember how he looked when Wei Wuxian collapsed in his arms in the Nightless City, and I remember how he insisted on Wei Wuxian letting him help him, and I remember how he sang to Wei Wuxian in the cave. Sometimes it's not the big, grand gestures, but the small, quiet, unassuming ones.

I mean, at this point, is there anyone who doesn't want Wei Wuxian to murder this guy? It is kind of amusing to me that Wei Wuxian just moved on from one Jin to another. He's sort of forgotten about Jin Zixuan, who's definitely the less annoying of the two, and now he has turned his attention to Jin Zixun, who is just a gigantic asshole. The guy is just here to antagonize Wei Wuxian, seemingly, by the way he is taunting him here about how long the banquet is going to last.

While he's pretty rude to Jin ZIxun (who cares), Wei Wuxian clearly and calmly explains to Jin Guangshan what the situation is. Not only that, but he's very polite to him. The situation is simple: Wen Ning was kind to him and he wants to return the favor. I feel a bit like CQL didn't do enough to develop the relationship between Wen Ning and Wei Wuxian, even with the added scene with the dog, but even if you just look at what Wen Ning and Wen Qing did for Jiang Cheng--based upon that alone, I think Wei Wuxian would want to save them. Jiang Cheng would be dead right now if it weren't for them. It's interesting how that's reason for Wei Wuxian to save the Wens, but Jiang Cheng wants no part of that. He seems to value looking good in front of the other clan leaders over repaying a life debt. Even without knowing about the Golden Core thing, they still saved his life. Wen Ning brought him out of Lotus Pier on his back. Both Wen Ning and Wen Qing suffered at the hands of the rest of the Wen Clan because of what they did--hello, it's treason. They committed treason for two people they barely knew. And Jiang Cheng doesn't even have the balls to stand up for them now?

Oh, boy, now he's gone and done it. Suggesting the Jin Clan just moved in as the reigning Clan, the one who is better than all the rest, the clan in charge of the others. In other words, the Jin Clan is no better than the Wen Clan--these are the sort of actions that lead to the kind of hubris that they had. And considering the Jin Clan helped the least during the Sunshot Campaign, it's pretty interesting. But, of course, they have a lot of money, they have a lot of men, they were basically untouched during the war. It only stands to reason that they would sort of slide into the place that the Wen Clan carved out. Of course, Jiang Cheng is mortified that Wei Wuxian would suggest such a thing. I mean, in his situation, rightly so. Wei Wuxian is part of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect, so his actions and words reflect poorly on all of them. But the sticking point for me is that Jiang Cheng doesn't attempt to understand where Wei Wuxian is coming from. He doesn't try to look at how Wei Wuxian is trying to save the people who saved them--he doesn't see that as a valid reason. Considering CQL is trying to sell that Jiang Cheng has (or had) feelings for Wen Qing, he doesn't seem to care about her very much. Why isn't he disturbed about this news--why is he only angry that Wei Wuxian is being improper? I get what Jiang Cheng is doing here, but what I'm trying to say is that I don't think he's struggling at all with it. I think, for him, it was wham, bam, thank you ma'am, in a sense. He was saved, he got healed, and now he doesn't really have to think about Wen Qing or Wen Ning anymore. They were, in a way, stepping stones on his rise to the top. They were willing volunteers to help him be a better person. He doesn't owe them anything in return. Because, I think, if MXTX or the CQL writers had really wanted us to believe that Jiang Cheng wasn't selfish and narrow-minded, I think he would have gone with Wei Wuxian to try and find Wen Ning.

Me counting down when my toddler is goofing off before bed time.

I think at this point, both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji know that he can't come back from this. After what he just said, then threatening to kill Jin Zixun, then essentially saying he could kill anyone and no one would be able to stop him--there is just no coming back. There's no apology he could give, no words he could say that would convince him to let him back into the fold. It's a moment of desperation, both for Lan Wangji and for Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian is going to save Wen Ning and Wen Qing, even if it means sacrificing what is left of his life. Again, he's willing to give up everything for someone else. Lan Wangji doesn't yet understand, and Jiang Cheng certainly doesn't understand him, even though he is the one who should understand him the most.

Lan Wangji has no choice but to go after Wei Wuxian. Even his brother knows and immediately gives his blessing to do it. Why is it that two people from a different clan are willing to go into the lion's den, but someone who is essentially Wei Wuxian's brother won't do anything? We see Lan Xichen having more concern for Wei Wuxian than Jiang Cheng. To be fair, he's also thinking about his own brother here, knowing that Lan Wangji wants to go, knowing that he wants to help Wei Wuxian. And given that, we have another good contrast to Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian. The Prides of Yunmeng, indeed--both are indeed proud, so proud that they sometimes forget to even care about each other.

This part gets me every time. It's so heartbreaking listening to her scream out for her brother--even in a valley full of the dead, she calls out for him as if he can answer. Truly heartbreaking. And then the silence that washes over her when she finally sees him.

I kind of wonder why Wei Wuxian doesn't immediately help her search the bodies. Part of me wonders if it's because he does not really accept that Wen Ning is dead. He expects that Wen Ning will answer the call, or that he will pop up somewhere, having been hiding. It's as if he starts searching only when he begins to realize that Wen Ning may actually be dead.

I think what we get between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian is a bit of a peek into what may have happened if Lan Wangji had been there when Wei Wuxian decided to give up his Golden Core. More likely than not, Lan Wangji would have tried to stop Wei Wuxian from doing it. I can't really imagine him just standing back and saying, "Go ahead. It's your body." Lan Wangji is always thinking one step ahead, always thinking about the consequences--what would it mean down the line?

Lan Wangji, bottom line, doesn't really understand Wei Wuxian yet. He knows him well, yes, possibly better than anyone else, even given that Wen Qing and Wen Ning know about the Golden Core transfer. He doesn't understand how Wei Wuxian feels indebted to the Wens--but it's not even that, I don't think. I think it's a mix of that and just protecting the weak, doing what's right--I think that's why he has to stand up for the Wens here. He sees the injustice going on, and he has to stop it. And recalling the oath that they made that evening, Lan Wangji knows he has to step aside. He knows that Wei Wuxian has to do this--needs to--wants to--even at the expense of giving up his cultivation status, his life, even going against everyone else in the orthodox world. And Lan Wangji lets him go. It's probably the hardest decision he's ever made in his entire life. But he was faced with a choice too: go with or stay behind. Hold onto Wei Wuxian or give him up. Be with him, or never see him again. Indeed, the implication here is that you aren't supposed to talk to Wei Wuxian after this. He's been ostracized of his own doing, he is a rogue, a villain, dangerous, not to be trusted. No one in the civilized cultivation world would have anything to do with him.

Other episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | Or just check out the #CQL Rewatch hashtag

[pastelsandpining]

Santa Tell Me (New Love)

The eighth prompt in 12 Days of Christmas by @zelink-prompts​, the prequel to prompt seven here

Prompt List

Words: 2419

Summary: Zelda finds a friend in the little forest boy who claims to be the Hero of Time. 

Ocarina of Time, post-game, child timeline(???)

Zelink-mas 2020  l  Masterlist

The Princess of Hyrule was bubbly and bright, and she felt like she could take on the world. She wanted so badly to go on a grand adventure, to escape the walls and locks of the castle and explore the kingdom she was set to rule over one day. How did she know what was best for her people if she never met them? But her father wouldn’t hear a word of it and Impa wouldn’t let her try. Little Zelda was forced to instead play by herself in the courtyard. She liked to pick up sticks and pretend to fight, and she liked throwing crushed up leaves and berries into a water filled hole to make potions. She liked to fall in the dirt and scrape her knees. 

She did not like practicing the ocarina.

“But you promised!” she whined, tugging at the arm of her caretaker. “You said you’d teach me how to be Sheikah!”

“I promised to teach you Sheikah ways,” Impa corrected as she stuck the little blue instrument into her hands. “But not today, little princess. You haven’t practiced in weeks, and you promised your father you would.”

Zelda huffed and gripped the tear-drop shaped piece of wood tighter. 

“But it’s so boring!”

“You’ll have to do many boring things in your life as queen,” Impa replied, ruffling the cap that covered her hair. Zelda scrunched up her nose and, defeated, brought the ocarina to her lips. It was drilled into her where her fingers should go as she played a set of scales to warm up. 

The three note melody her family named after her (or, rather, after Zelda in general) came naturally, and she played it twice before stealing a glance at Impa. She didn’t look satisfied, so Zelda huffed and turned around to face the window instead. There was her father, sitting on his throne while speaking with a man—a man she’d seen a few times before. He was tall, and his eyes seemed to glow with an evil that made her nervous. But her father wouldn’t listen to her when she tried to tell him that he scared her.

“How did you-“

A ruckus followed Impa’s unfinished question, so Zelda turned with furrowed eyebrows. Stood before her was a boy no older than her, dressed in green with a sword by his side. She stumbled a little backwards. He resembled the forest boy from her dreams a little too perfectly to be real. And yet something about him felt so familiar.

“Who..?” she started to ask, but the boy dropped to a kneel in front of her.

“Princess,” he greeted, his voice shaky and quiet. “I’m Link. I.. I’m the Hero of Time, I think.”

Zelda blinked. She’d never heard of such a thing, but he sounded too serious to be joking. But despite everything she’d felt within the past few weeks, she was unconvinced. 

“How can you be something without knowing it?” she asked, placing her hands on her waist. 

“You’ve gotta believe me!” the forest boy pleaded. “Ganondorf’s gonna get the Triforce and take over and destroy the world!”

So, the Hero of Time was here, as nothing more than a child, making the claim that her dreams would come to pass. As ridiculous as it probably sounded to Impa, it shook Zelda to her core. But her father didn’t believe her, much less a little kokiri boy. She was running out of ideas.

“Prove it,” she challenged, holding the ocarina out to him. “This is the Ocarina of Time, an heirloom of the royal family for generations. Play something only the Hero of Time would know!”

Link took the instrument from her hands and raised it to his lips. Zelda pulled at the sleeves of her dress in anticipation, shifting on her feet. What was she expecting him to play? Would he be able to play? If he could, how would it prove anything? 

Her lullaby was being played back to her.

“How..? You--you heard me playing it!” she accused, taking a step back. It was the only explanation, it had to be.

“You taught it to me! Right here! Don’t you remember?”

He looked so crestfallen and scared. He was as small as she, yet he spoke as if he’d seen war. If he really was who he said he was, then… he had. And he was there to warn them.

“Tell me everything,” Zelda demanded, holding her head a little higher. 

“Princess--”

Zelda looked over to Impa and whispered a soft “please”, then shifted her gaze back to the little kokiri boy. 

Link was hesitant, but he retold everything he could remember. He told her that she sent him to retrieve the spiritual stones, and he pulled the Master Sword, and that Ganondorf had followed him into the Temple and touched the Triforce, sealing him inside of the Sacred Realm. He told her how he woke seven years later to Hyrule in disrepair, with Ganondorf as the new king. He told of the temples and the destruction, and how he was forced to travel back and forth in time to undo all the King of Thieves had done. By the end of his story, Zelda was on the verge of tears. It was her plan that caused such a downfall--the very same plan she’d wanted to share with him as soon as he appeared before her.

“We have to tell my father,” she said, spinning to face Impa. “Please.”

Impa too was hesitant, but Zelda wiped at her tears and grabbed Link’s hand, pulling him towards the entrance to the castle herself.

“Princess-” Impa called again, but the little princess was determined. Ganondorf was leaving just as they entered, and she felt Link’s hand tighten around her own. But she couldn’t stop now. She had to make her father listen if there was any hope at all.

Just as she’d expected, her father was dismissive. He wanted to write it off as a childish nightmare, but Zelda forced Link to recount everything he’d just told her. The king remained unconvinced, but he looked a little bothered and she could work with that.

“Zelda, it is very immature to get this little boy in on your fantasies,” he scolded. “I cannot arrest the Gerudo king on the account of two children, not when we’re so close to mending the split caused by war.”

“But you heard his story! The Hero of Time said he fought Ganondorf himself!” Zelda argued, stomping her foot.

“Your little friend snuck onto the castle grounds unpermitted, so I would hardly deem him trustworthy. Unless he can prove that he is who he says he is, I will not take action.”

Link lifted the ocarina to his lips again and Zelda waited anxiously for the three note lullaby to hit her ears--but it never came. 

“I’ll pull the sword again,” Link declared, standing up as straight as he could. “I’ll travel to Gerudo Valley and find Nabooru--she’s a Sage and she could tell you everything Ganondorf has planned!”

“I will not send a child to that desert-”

“Then take me to the Temple of Time,” the hero challenged. 

The king looked hesitant once more. He scratched his beard as he looked between Link and his daughter, and Zelda tried to look as serious as she could manage.

“Link’s story is exactly what I saw in my dreams. You know daughters of the goddess can have pro.. prost-”

“Prophetic,” Impa supplied. Zelda nodded once.

“-prophetic dreams because you said mother had them too!”

“I cannot take you into the Temple of Time,” the king said, slumping back into the throne. “If you really are the Hero of Time, then there’s no telling what pulling the sword will do. But I will look into this. If I find nothing, then the two of you will be in very big trouble.”

Link didn’t look happy, but Zelda would take it. She was admittedly too scared to keep thinking about it, and any action her father took would be better than none.

“Promise?” she asked her father, stepping up to his throne and sticking out her pinky.

“I promise,” he replied, wrapping his larger finger around hers. He wiped at her cheeks after that, and Zelda leaned into the comfort of her father. She didn’t want to lose him too. 

Link was allowed full permission into the castle after all that had transpired. Zelda met up with him any chance she could get, and they would run around the courtyard together with sticks and matching bruises. His stories sounded far less scary when he acted them out before her, and Zelda often stole Impa’s headband and pretended to be a Sheikah named Sheik--just like the other Princess Zelda he spoke so highly about. 

Their courtyard playdate was interrupted when a figure passed by the window. The Gerudo king had arrived in chains, and Zelda grabbed Link’s arm and pulled him out of view.

“What’s going on?” he asked, but Zelda pressed a finger to her lips and snuck towards the entrance so they could hear what was happening. There was a lot of yelling, but she heard her father condemning him for plans of overthrowing the monarchy.

“--guilty of treason of the highest measure. For the crimes you have committed, you will be taken to Arbiter’s Grounds and executed.”

Zelda nearly tripped over Link as she stumbled backwards. The Gerudo king was being led their way. His eyes, burning with hatred, settled on her and Link, and he ripped himself free from the guards’ hold. Ganondorf reached for her with hands twice her size and she bit her tongue to keep from screaming. She tried to think of what Sheik would do, but she hardly got a chance before Link was in front of her, his kokiri sword pointed at the King of Thieves’ hands. Ganondorf laughed, a deep, evil sound that shook her to her core, and the guards took hold of him again, and he was dragged away, still laughing. 

Link turned around and wrapped her in a hug, and Zelda, still shaking, grabbed his shirt and closed her eyes. The yellow eyes of the Gerudo king would follow her into her nightmares, she was sure of it. 

In the following week, her father held a ceremony to acknowledge and thank all of those who saved Hyrule. 

Link and Nabooru, who’d acted as an inside source, were gifted with titles of honor and medals of service. Zelda too was awarded for her wisdom and insistence, but she didn’t think she deserved it as much as the other two. It was her fault Link had gone through all he had to begin with, and she didn’t think she could ever shake that feeling of guilt. But the party afterwards helped to lift her spirits, because her father told her she could have as many sweets as she wanted, and she could stay up as late as she wanted. 

“We did it!” Zelda cheered, once she’d found Link in the crowd. People were gawking at him and asking questions, but she threw her arms around him anyway and they landed in a pile on the floor, giggling like crazy. She could hear Impa in her head, scolding her about how improper and unladylike she was acting, but the princess didn’t care. A war had been avoided, and she made a good friend in the process. 

A friend who took her on adventures around Lake Hylia now that there was no threat, and protected her from any monster that tried to show its face. He took her to Lon Lon Ranch, where she met Malon and Epona and rode a horse of her own. He took her to Zora’s domain, where she met the little Zora princess who looked too interested in Link for her liking, and he took her to Goron City (under the supervision of Impa) to meet Darunia. 

But their time together was short lived, because their courtyard playdate took an awkward turn when Link held out a handful of colorful flowers and told her he had to go. He looked so sad, and she wished she could squeeze him tight until his sadness was gone.

“I lost a friend,” he explained, avoiding her gaze. “Every kokiri has a fairy, and I lost Navi when.. when I was sent back. I need to find her.”

She wanted to ask if he had to go. She wanted to beg him to stay here and find another fairy. But even as a selfish child, she could tell how much had been taken from him and she didn’t want him to hurt more than he already had. She would be a bad friend if she didn’t let him go.

“Will you come back?” she asked as she held the flowers tighter. 

“I’d never leave you behind,” he answered, giving her a shy little smile that made her cheeks burn.

“Do you promise?” she questioned, sticking out her pinky. 

“I promise,” he replied, wrapping his finger around hers. Zelda hesitated for a moment, but she leaned forwards and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.

“You better not break your promise, or I’m gonna be really mad at you,” she said as she pushed him away and looked at the ground.

“Just watch! When I come back, I’ll be your knight and we’ll get married,” he replied, wrapping her in a hug. Zelda giggled and held him tightly, because she wouldn’t be seeing him again for a very long time.

“You’re gross!” she declared, but the little princess liked the idea, even if she didn’t know the full story of what a marriage involved. They were too young for that anyway, but Impa told her later that love had no age and that souls that were meant to be together would find each other again in time. 

She didn’t know the word for what she was feeling when he left the courtyard for the last time. He looked back at her with a wave, but she couldn’t find it in her to raise her arms. They felt heavy and tired. She spent the first few months in naive hope, waiting in the courtyard and playing the ocarina as if her songs could bring him back. She held onto Impa’s words and onto the matching medals they had, and she came to question herself if she did indeed love the little boy from the forest. 

Perhaps when she saw him again, she would tell him properly.

[perthshirecottage]

I was thinking some more about Varian’s redemption and I don’t think Varian gets enough credit for how he came back to the light. I know, it sucks that we didn’t get to see Varian’s path to redemption onscreen, but there are plenty of clues.

Fredrick promised Rapunzel that Varian would receive help. Now we have no idea what this help would entail. Maybe once a week Varian met with a therapist or something or the sort. Whatever this help was did and did not do it’s job. Now, I know some people have wondered why Fredrick didn’t want to put Angry and Catalina in jail but was perfectly fine with tossing Varian in there. First off, Varian committed treason, kidnapped the queen, destroyed the courtyard with a modified raccoon, drugged a bunch of people, created a bunch of automatons to attack people, threatened to encase Arianna in amber, then nearly murdered Rapunzel, Cassandra, and Arianna. Angry and Catalina stole some stuff. Also, while Varian is a kid, he is also several years older than the girls. Doesn’t make it a lot better but that is a fact. Angry and Catalina have done something wrong but it wasn’t the worst thing ever and so Fredrick was willing to be lenient. Varian needed to be kept somewhere secure for everyone’s safety. He was a lose cannon who didn’t care who he hurt in the midst of his mindless rage. It’s the part about locking Varian up with a full grown adult that is the really bad part. But who knows, maybe the cells were full and Andrew was deemed the least dangerous for Varian to be paired with.

While Varian was in jail he came to the conclusion that what he did wasn’t right and came to regret his decisions. He no longer had the single minded goal that he could free his father. At this point, Varian probably came to accept that he couldn’t free his father from the amber. He was completely alone in the world. Varian obviously depends on having someone who loves him because when he lost that one person he knew cared about him, he went pretty bonkers. Now, there isn’t enough information to determine whether Varian came to this conclusion on his own or with whatever help Fredrick offered. The first part of this realization had to have come from Varian recognizing that it was his own actions that led to his father being trapped, accepting this truth, and no longer blaming anyone for his own shortcomings. Letting go of this anger allowed him to see that he was not making his dad proud and that he had really screwed up. He also realized that because he had messed up he would most likely not be forgiven. After all, he didn’t forgive the citizens of Corona or Rapunzel for perceived slights against him when they didn’t deserve his wrath. Why would they forgive him for hurting them on purpose?

Rapunzel was only away from Corona for about a year, so Varian had to have come to this realization fairly soon after being imprisoned. Probably after a few months. Now that Varian was no longer being led by anger, he must have fallen into despair. His dad was gone, most likely forever and the no one could possibly forgive him for what he had done. Varian himself said that he wasn’t sure how anyone could trust after that trust was broken. Varian felt betrayed by his trust being broken and lashed out so others would do the same. This is where Andrew came in. He offered a hand in friendship that Varian sorely needed. I don’t think that Varian saw them as true friends, he was aware that Andrew needed him and that Andrew wasn’t exactly a good guy. Varian even made sure Andrew not hurting anyone was part of their agreement of working together. But Andrew was still more than Varian had. Andrew would also have made sure to play up how despite Varian’s revelations about himself, no one would forgive him. Then Andrew came up with a plan to use Varian, who had nearly brought the kingdom to its knees singlehanded, to take over Corona. There was time to come up with a plan and then the actual coup and then however long, perhaps a couple months or more, or citizens digging in the mines for the minerals Varian needed. There was a lot of Quirinium on that ship so they had to have dug up a lot of those minerals plus Ulf going off to find Rapunzel would have taken time.

In the time Varian was in prison, no one ever gave Varian the impression that he could make up for his mistakes. They never implied that he could be freed and earn forgiveness. There was no hope of anything besides prison. Varian quickly helped with erasing the king and queen’s memories because they hadn’t given him any indication or shows of potential friendship.

When Rapunzel comes back, again Varian has no idea that he can make up for what he has done and Andrew’s plan seems like the best one at that time. So he continues along with trying to make to Quirinium because what else can he do?

The part I like the most about Varian’s redemption is when it happens. Rapunzel is in a cell, Varian is gloating about his victory over her and how all of his plans will work and he will have everything he wants. During this conversation Varian reveals that his motivation has changed from freeing his father to making everyone forget how badly he messed up. That he has let go of his anger and doesn’t want to hurt people anymore. He no longer wants to force people to feel as miserable as he does. He is at rock bottom and desperately trying to claw his way out and no one besides Andrew has given him a chance. And then Rapunzel offers Varian the chance he has been waiting for. She offers him the forgiveness he thought no one would ever give him. All his doubts are proven wrong and he has a chance. Here he is, with all the power, Rapunzel locked up, and the Saporians on the cusp of victory and Varian turns back to the light. He chooses to help Rapunzel when has no reason to. He fights to save those he once hurt when he has no guarantee that they would ever accept him again. He offers to risk his life to make sure his mistakes don’t hurt anyone else. Varian does all of this with no certainty of a reward. At this point he doesn’t even know about the reverse incantation or that there is even the slightest hope of saving his dad. Thought the whole episode Varian never mentions freeing his dad, like it’s not even something he is considering because he doesn’t think it’s an option.

Varian’s redemption is so different from a lot of villains. He gets to that point on his own, he just needed a little push to make that last step. Then he does everything in his power to earn the redemption he never thought he could or should be granted.

[dreamcatcherfication]

Welcome to the Murder House - Lights Up on Hampton High

Fuck it. I wasn’t going to post anything today, mush less this, but I thought I’d surprise you all. The only person who really knows about this is @theatergirl06 who read half of the first chapter way back during our ask war (it’s been over a month since then, I think!). I have the whole plot written out already, but I realized I would never finish this unless I started posting and pushed myself to work on it.

A little context! This is my high school/murder mystery AU that’s been in my google drive for a while now (no, it’s not based on WATT - not majorly, at least). PSA: I’m using American style high schools because I’m not British and I don’t want to mess something simple up. I’m cruel, and let’s just say there are going to be many, many plot twists. Also Parrlyn is in there. But enough rambling - it’s time I welcome you... Welcome to the Murder House, please enjoy your stay.

Writing Masterpost

If you want to send a request or a prompt, my inbox is always open! I publish a story at 8:00 AM PST everyday, so I’m always in need of new ideas. If you want to be tagged in my works, just let me know and I’ll be sure to tag you!

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Trigger Warnings: Talk of death, the typical amount of swearing/insults you’d expect from high schoolers, brief slut shaming/sexual harassment, high school bullying, mentions of parental abuse

Anne Boleyn was the most popular girl in school, and it was obvious to anyone just why. She was the prettiest girl around with the most desirable figure. She had a sharp wit, ready to cut anyone who got too close for comfort, yet at the same time drew everyone in. Everyone at Hampton High bowed down at the feet of Anne Boleyn, worshipping her very existence. Any newcomer to the school would immediately be enlightened on her legendary rise to fame.

The only thing Anne Boleyn was more infamous for than her rise to power was her fierce protectiveness over her cousin, Katherine Howard. Katherine was only a sophomore but she had quickly climbed the ranks at Hampton due to Anne keeping her close at all times. It was rare to see the cousins separated outside of their classes. 

Kitty Howard was an innocent lamb compared to the predator that Anne was among the student body. Anne sheltered her from any boy wishing her harm and attacked anyone who even looked at Kitty wrong. Unaware to Anne, this backfired on Kit, keeping her from making any friends of her own other than the seniors Anne deemed acceptable to be around Kitty.

This included Anna von Cleves and Cathy Parr, two of Anne’s classmates whom she had the most faith in. Anna was vulgar and unafraid to fight someone bold enough to challenge her, a butch senior with a history of disciplnary trouble. Anne had known Anna since elementary school when their teachers thought it would be fun to pair the two together due to their names. On the other hand, Cathy was quiet and supportive, but also a talented writer with distinct opinions and uncontrollable stubbornness. She had transferred to Hampton in junior year and Anne had taken her under her wing, hurling her up the social standings. The four of them were the golden quartet of Hampton High and no one dared mess with them.

Not when they were together at least.

Henry Tudor was a popular, brutish jock with as many brain cells as inches on his dick. In his time at Hampton, he had dated six girls, including all of the four aforementioned girls. His first girlfriend, Catherine de Aragon, had dated him for the entirety of freshman year and half of sophomore year. It was in their second year when Catherine found out that Henry had been cheating on her with Anne Boleyn, some popular queen at school. Catherine tried to confront Anne but was instead humiliated and kicked down the social ladder. Anne was boosted to the most popular girl after getting together with Henry.

But karma always came back, and Anne found out her idiotic boyfriend was cheating on her as well. Jane Seymour, the sweet student council member had been seeing Henry before he broke up with Anne. She refused to back off Henry, leading to Henry breaking up with Anne so the two of them could be together. But Anne wouldn’t let herself be pushed out of the light like Catherine, so she fired back at Henry, stepping on him to secure her spot at the top of the social ladder.

After a pregnancy scare, Jane broke up with Henry, too frightened to stay with someone like him. So Henry moved on and tried online dating, meeting HotAC and taking a liking to her. Too bad that when he tried to hook up with her, he found out that she was one of Anne Boleyn’s friends. Too embarrassed to admit that he was scared of getting on Anne’s bad side again, Henry accused Anna von Cleves of being an ugly horse and turned half the student body against Anna and the others.

Thus began the ongoing feud between Henry Tudor and his jocks with Anne Boleyn and her Golden Quartet.

Henry’s final girlfriend was Cathy Parr, if only briefly. When she first got to Hampton, Henry latched onto her and essentially peer pressured her into dating him. Barely a month into the two of them being together, Anne pushed her way into the relationship and saved Cathy from an unsavory high school experience with Henry.

The bad blood between Anne and Catherine and Jane kept the three from interacting, but Anne was fiercely protective of all the other previous girlfriends of Henry Tudor. Senior year, finally the drama with Henry had cooled down and the school seemed to be at a standstill, waiting for the next bombshell to drop. No one dared to talk about Henry’s fifth girlfriend to Anne’s face for fear of what she would do at the mention of his actions...

Like any other day, Anne was sitting at the quartet’s lunch table while Anna was on top of the table itself. Anna had one hand leaning against the table as well as one foot up while the other dangled off the edge. “It said some pretty nasty stuff, are you sure you want to know?” Anna asked hesitantly, her eyes on Anne’s clenched fists.

“Yes, I want to know what they’re saying about my cousin,” Anne gritted out through her teeth.

Nervously scratching her nose, Anna relented. “It was on her locker, thank God she didn’t notice. There was some cheap photo from a porno with the words ‘Slutty Kitty’ written under it.”

“Those dickwads!” Anne slammed her hands against the table.

Rushing to calm Anne down, Anna assured her, “Hey, Cathy and I cleaned it off before Kit could see it.” It was a miracle she managed to calm Anne down, even if only by a little bit. The popular girl was known for having a temper, and it had been a long time goal of Anna’s to balance her out.

What neither of the girls noticed was Kitty herself approaching the table, her backpack pulled tight around her body. She had overheard the conversation, but put on a perky attitude to make it seem like she was oblivious. Anne didn’t like when Kitty was sad, so she tried to avoid being sad around Anne. No need to worry her cousin about something stupid like high school bullying. “Hi Anna, Hi Annie!”

The two girls turned to face Kit and smiled. “Hey Kit,” Anna said, sliding off the table to sit on the bench across from Anne.

“How’s my favorite cousin?” Anne asked, scooting to the side so there was room for Kitty.

Shrugging, Kitty put her backpack on the floor. “I’m fine. Science was boring, as usual. But in history we started talking about the French Revolution, and I told my partner about the time you built a guillotine -”

Gasping in playful shock, Anne covered her cousin’s mouth. “I thought I told you never to talk about that incident!” Anna leaned forward dramatically, even though she had already heard the story multiple times.

“You tried to chop my head off for treason!”

“It was out of love -”

“How do you chop someone’s head off out of love?”

Before the conversation could escalate, Cathy entered the cafeteria and made her way over to the table, catching the trio’s attention. “Hey Cathyyyy,” Anne said, batting her eyelashes at the other girl.

Ignoring Anne, Cathy sat down on the other side of the table with Anna. “Are you still working on that article for the newspaper?” Anna asked before taking a bite of her rice and chicken (yes, she was the stereotypical black girl. She knew and was proud of it).

Nodding in confirmation, Cathy sighed and banged her head on the table. A moment later she lifted her head again and gave the others a tired smile. “Yeah, and it’s kicking my ass. I was just interviewing Jane Seymour and Catherine de Aragon about -”

“Woah woah woah, you were talking to Jane Seymour and Catherine de Aragon?” Anne gaped at Cathy.

“Well yeah, it’s for -”

“Why would you talk to them?” Anne exploded. “They’re massive bitches and you know our history. They’re the reason behind all the rumors at school and you entertained their bullshit?”

Giving Anne an incredulous glare, Cathy shot back, “Okay first, I was only talking to them because they’re both in charge of the student community service branch of council and I needed their interviews for the paper. And two, even if I did want to talk to them, who are you to tell me who I can and can’t be friends with? You’re popular Anne, but you’re not our dictator.” All the girls were open mouthed at Cathy’s tirade, but the girl in question only sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I’m sorry Anne, but let me make my own decisions.”

Swallowing thickly, Anne nodded. “Right, I’m sorry Cathy. Just… the three of us don’t have a good history.”

Laughing lightly, Cathy made eye contact with Anne. “Yeah, I know.”

“More like the whole school knows,” Anna mumbled, giving Anne a fake smile when her head shot to the side to glare at her friend. But when Kitty giggled, Anne let Anna off the hook and laughed with her cousin.

“Hey Anna, you’re still good to walk Kit home, right?”

Shooting Kitty a cheeky grin, Anna confirmed with Anne. “Yeah, I’ll make sure no wild kidnappers jump out to catch her while you’re not there.” They all joked about it, but everyone knew how protective Anne was over her cousin. 

“And Cathy, you and I are still -”

“Still going to infiltrate the cafeteria in order to prove there is malpractice going on, yes.”

Rolling her eyes, Anne complained, “Come on, you make it sound so boring. We’re going to break into the school and cause chaos in the cafeteria.”

“That sounds like fun!” Kit agreed, bumping shoulders with Anne.

Resting her chin on her hand, Cathy exhaled loudly. “It is not fun, it’s important. If we can prove the food isn’t up to health standards, then we can finally take some steps towards proper changes around here,” the writer explained.

“Wait, does that mean they’ll get rid of the pizza?” Anna asked.

“NOT THE PIZZA!” Anne cried, far louder than she should have. Kitty shushed her when some of the nearby tables looked over. Protectively, Anne hunched over the last slice of pizza still on her plate. It was far from healthy but Anne was addicted to the grease.

The only ones at the table who didn’t have lunch were Cathy and Kit. Cathy tended to sleep or work during lunch, so she trained her body to run only on two meals and a plethora of snacks throughout the day. And although Kit wouldn’t admit it, her father never gave her any lunch money or provided her with lunch foods. If she asked, he would give her lunch but then refuse to serve her dinner, so Kitty learned to stop asking. “Look Anne, if you want to break into the cafeteria with me, you’re going to have to forfeit your pizza rights.”

In an almost comical moment, Anne actually contemplated whether to choose pizza or breaking and entering, but eventually she gave in. “Alright, I’m sorry pizza, my second love!” And then Anne devoured the slice.

The other three girls rolled their eyes. Whenever Anne made a comment about “my second love” it was almost always followed up with something like - “As much as I love you pizza, you never stood a chance against Cathy Parr, the apple of my eye.”

For as long as the quartet had been friends, Anne had been flirting with Cathy. None of them questioned it anymore, and even Cathy had become accustomed to the constant shows of affection. Both girls were obviously attracted to each other, but Cathy made it very clear she didn’t want to date anybody anytime soon. So instead, Anne kept serenading her with proclamations of love.

Later that day, Anna and Kit were talking home together, comfortably chatting with each other. “She built the guillotine to threaten Mary, but Mary scares Anne way too much - even though she’ll never admit it - for her to actually attempt it.” Anna nodded along to the story, even though this was probably the fourth time Kit was telling it. “So when I told Anne that the guillotine idea was stupid - which it was! - she accused me of treason.”

“How dare she,” Anna spoke in mock horror, playing along with Kitty.

“Right! Ugh,” Kit groaned, “so of course George was on board with it because he’s always on board with Anne’s shi-” 

Anna shushed Kit aggressively before she could curse. “I may not be your cousin but I don’t want my head chopped off if she gets wind I let you curse.”

Kit frowned but then continued her story. “So they got the guillotine which looked so scary, because I was only ten, and carried me to it execution style. George held me down and everything while Anne tied a blindfold around my eyes. By now I’m freaking out because no one’s stopping them - I didn’t actually think they were gonna kill me,” Kit scoffed in the self assured voice of someone who was most definitely lying. “And whoosh! The blade comes down and I don’t scream, and the two of them are laughing at me!” Kit pouted and stomped her foot in frustration. “The blade was fake, it was only styrofoam.”

Lightly punching Kit’s shoulder, Anna commented, “Must’ve been traumatising.”

“It was embarrassing,” Kit groaned.

“Well it’s your fault for hanging out with them.”

Perking up at those words, Kit ran ahead and spun around so she was walking backwards and facing Anna. “On the topic of hanging out with people…”

Quirking up an eyebrow, Anna invited, “Yes?”

“Do you think Anne would be mad if I hung out with other people?”

Furrowing her eyebrows, Anna shrugged. “I don’t know, Anne’s pretty unpredictable. But it’s like Cathy says, she can’t control who you hang out with.”

“So…” Kit waited for confirmation. “Does that mean it’s okay to be friends with other people?”

“Of course Kit, you can be friends with whoever you want,” Anna told the sophomore. The two of them had known each other practically their whole lives, Anna remembering Kit from when she was a toddler. It gave her a lot of teasing material, but usually she left that to Anne. If Kit wanted to branch out and meet new people, Anna would support her without hesitation.

Unbeknownst to Anna, Kit already had an idea of who she wanted to befriend. In her mind, it made perfect sense. Together, the six of them all shared the misfortune of dating Henry, so why shouldn’t they be friends? Or at least acquaintances. She had never told Anne, but Kit found her rivalry with Jane and Catherine stupid. They had so much they could relate to, why let past bad blood govern their relationships?

Anna waved Kit goodbye when they reached her door. “I’ll see you tomorrow Kit,” Anne called, watching to make sure Kitty got inside safely.

“Bye Anna!” she replied, unlocking the door and moving inside. Once the door was closed, Kit let her backpack slide off her back as a smirk grew on her face. She couldn’t wait for tomorrow.

Anne kept turning around in her seat to watch the cafeteria doors, completely ignoring her lunch. Whatever Cathy and Anna were talking about faded into white noise as she peered through waves of students passing through the doors. She couldn’t focus on anything, frantically searching for any sign of her cousin. “You alright Anne?” Anna asked, breaking her conversation with Cathy.

Removing her gaze from the crowds, Anne faced her confused friends. “Have either of you seen Kitty today?”

“I saw her during passing period,” Cathy commented, twirling a pen in her hand.

“Right,” Anne mumbled, shooting another glance at the door. “She’s late for lunch.”

“Maybe a teacher’s holding her up,” Anna offered, 

Still, Anne was unconvinced. “You think something’s wrong?”

“No,” Cathy waved her hand. “Kit can take care of herself, Anne.”

“But what if -”

“But what if nothing,” Cathy cut her off. “She’s not eating lunch with us for one day. It’s not a big deal. You’ll see her after school Anne, and everything will be fine.”

Sighing, Anne shook her head, glancing at the empty seat next to her. “Everything will be fine,” she told herself.

As for Kit, she was on a mission. Jane Seymour and Catherine de Aragon tended to stay away from others, not interacting all that much with the student body. They were both reserved, so Kit didn’t expect to be able to confront them easily. It was pure dumb luck she ended up where she did.

While leaving her classroom for lunch, Kit had been swarmed by a bunch of juniors who knocked her over without apologizing. All her books went sprawling across the floor, stepped on by her inconsiderate peers. Scrambling around, Kit tried to pick up her papers before they could be ripped or further damaged.

A hand came into view, holding her history textbook. Looking up, Kit was stunned into silence at the kind face of Jane Seymour. “You dropped this,” she prompted, holding out the book.

Hesitantly taking it, Kit murmured, “Thank you.”

Her eyes sweeping across the floor, Jane offered an apologetic glance at the mess of papers. “Do you need some help with this?”

“Uh,” Kit blanked. “That would be great!” she accepted a little too enthusiastically. Jane only chuckled and bent down to help grab the papers.

It occurred to Kit for a moment that Jane might not know who she is. But when Jane handed her the last of the papers and said, “There you go Katherine,” that thought went flying out the window. Biting her lip, Kit awkwardly shifted on her feet. She could leave right now and go have lunch with her friends or… Jane seemed to catch on to what Kit was waiting for. “Would you like to eat lunch with me?” she asked.

Without a second of hesitation, Kit nodded her head. “Yes, I’d like that.”

“Well okay then,” Jane grinned, leading Kit away from the cafeteria. “Catherine and I - Catherine de Aragon,” she clarified as if Kit didn’t already know, “we sit outside. It’s peaceful and not many people come to bother us.”

“Sounds nice,” Kit replied, her voice still soft. Jane noticed but decided not to comment on it. She wasn’t one to judge people.

When the two of them made it out of the building, Jane was flagged over by Catherine de Aragon who was sitting on a blanket under a tree. It seemed like she had set up for a picnic, even though they were still on school grounds in the middle of a school day. “You brought a guest today?” Catherine raised her eyebrows at Jane, her lips tugging upwards.

“Sure did,” Jane replied, plopping down next to her. “You can sit down wherever you like Katherine.”

Awkwardly shuffling to the opposite side of the blanket, Kit sat down and hugged her backpack to her chest. She didn’t have any lunch, as per usual, so she used her backpack as a barrier between her and the other two girls. Suddenly, she cursed herself for wanting to make new friends. Where had this social anxiety been before she got here?

Catherine and Jane seemed to notice her awkwardness (who wouldn’t?), so they attempted to get rid of it. “So Katherine…” the other Catherine started. “Why’d you want to have lunch with us today?”

Mumbling lightly, Kit felt a small blush of embarrassment rise to her cheeks. “What?” Jane prodded, unable to hear Kit’s answer. 

“I wanted to make new friends,” she told them, burying her head in her arms.

The two seniors shared a glance before turning their attention back to Kit. “Of course you can be our friend,” Jane assured her.

“Really?” Kit peeked her head up.

“Sure, why not,” Catherine answered. “You seem nice enough, and there’s no reason for us not to be friends.”

Frowning, Kit picked at her fingernails. “But Anne.”

Visibly, Jane flinched and Catherine’s face morphed into a snarl. “You’re not her,” Jane spoke calmly, putting a hand on Catherine’s arm. “If you want to be our friend, we’re not going to let that come between us.”

For a moment, Kit almost ran away. This is what she wanted, but now that it was being presented to her, she was terrified. She had never had friends that weren’t also Annie’s. She didn’t know how to start her new friendships other than with, “Okay.”

Catherine and Jane shared a glance. “Okay.”

“Well this is going to be awfully confusing for me,” Jane laughed, “Two C/Katherines!”

“Oh!” Kit perked up, “You can call me Kat. Or Kit. Or Kitty. Any of them work.” Then to herself, “Wow, I have a lot of nicknames.”

Chuckling, Catherine stuck out her hand. “Kat’ll do. Well Kat Howard, I’m your new friend Catherine.”

“And I’m your new friend Jane. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

At the end of the day, Kit almost screamed in surprise when Anne practically rugby tackled her to the ground. “Where were you!” Anne demanded, hugging Kit tightly. “I was so worried.”

“I’m fine Annie,” Kit assured her cousin. 

“Then where were you?” Anna stood beside Anne, watching the scene unfurl. Anne was huffing, her face red, a cross between relief, fear, and anger. The Boleyn girl cared so much about her cousin, but sometimes she became overbearing.

Hugging Anne back, Kit explained, “With my new friends.”

“You have new friends!” Anne brightened, pulled Kit closer. “That’s amazing! Do I know them?”

Letting out an awkward laugh, Kit prepared for the worst. “Jane Seymour and Catherine de Aragon,” she admitted.

Freezing, Anne slowly pulled away from Kit. “What?” she asked, her face as hard as stone.

“Jane Seymour and Catherine de -”

“I heard what you said!” Anne screeched. “You of all people, Kit!” Turning around and stomping a few feet away, Anne screamed into her hands. She spun back around to face Kit and marched up to her. “Those girls aren’t worthwhile friends. They don’t actually care about your wellbeing -”

“How do you know that!” Kit fired back in frustration. “You’re blinded by this stupid fued that’s been going on for years. They were nice to me and we didn’t even have to talk about Henry or any of that.”

Clenching her fists, Anne tried to stay calm. “I don’t trust them Kit. I don’t feel comfortable letting you hang around them.”

“Good thing it’s not your choice then,” Kit stood up for herself. Anna continued watching to the side, frantically texting Cathy for backup. She wasn’t getting any response.

Yelling through her teeth, Anne pulled at her hair. “Kitty, my dearest cousin,” she spoke in a sweet voice. “You know I love you.”

“Don’t you dare and try and guilt me.”

There was a moment where Anne almost continued, but her conscience kicked in. She knew Kit’s history with guilt tripping, and that was a line she would never cross. Before either of them could make another comment, Cathy came bursting out the school doors, sprinting towards them faster than she had ever run in her life. Anna looked up from her phone which she had been repeatedly texting Cathy on. “Cathy? What’s wrong?” Anna called.

Gasping for air as she slid to a stop in front of them, Cathy’s face was ghostly white. “Christina Denmark is missing. The police think she’s been murdered.”

------------------------------------------

Tag List:

@radcowboyalmondtree @boleynhowards @annabanana2401 @babeebobo @dont-lose-your-queerhead @everything-insanity @mindless-pidgeon @i-wanna-dance-and-sing-six @thenicestnonbinary @its-totes-gods-will @thatbolxyngirl @thenameisnoone @sixqueendom @frogs-in-clogs @timetoriseabove

[cloudshapedpatch]

Misguided Royalty

Chapter 1: The Royal Guard Ain’t Shit

Next

💚 💚 💚 💚 💚 💚 💚 💚

The wind teased the small buds on the trees. The nearly bare branches swayed in the pleasant breeze. Far off yonder laid the mountains. They appeared blue against the cloudy sky, and the tips of the peaks shone white with glittering snowmelt.

Despite the gloomy weather, a girl crept among the bushes of her mother's garden. She was fourteen years old, and dreading her next birthday. This part is important, so you must listen closely.

A 15 year old girl was deemed a woman. A great party was held in her honor to celebrate her passing into adulthood. She would begin courting the young men of the town, laying her fate down in the hands of her father.

This particular girl, however, was not excited for her 15th birthday.

It was not because she thought her party would be boring. She was sure it would be the talk of the town.

It was not because she did not want to marry. She was quite the romantic, and had been dreaming of this for quite some time.

It was not because she wanted to remain a child, young and free. She was ready to be esteemed as a responsible adult.

Well, maybe she was a little nervous because of those things. But those thoughts gave her the warm flutters of anticipation. The real reason she did not want to turn 15 was because of the role it placed on her shoulders.

For at 15, she was set to become the next ruler of China.

So, what was the princess doing in the garden while the sky was preparing to weep? She was running from her scholar.

Marinette was not fond of most of her studies. She ~

Oh, I apologize. Did I forget to mention her name? Well, it's Marinette. Princess Marinette Cheng. I'll have to ask that you excuse my pardon.

As I was saying, Marinette liked to learn of her kingdom's history, and of it's geography. However, she did not enjoy her etiquette counseling. Poor child was constantly dropping tea cups and tripping over her own two feet. It seemed, for the young girl, that the list of rules to follow was ever-growing.

So Marinette, the esteemed princess, was crouching among the rose bushes and making her way to the stone arches on the other side of the statue of her mother. If she could just get there, then she could use the hidden passage and ~

“Your Highness! This is not very lady-like of you."

Marinette rolled her eyes whilst still hidden, but heaved a sigh and stood. Her hands fiddled with a ribbon from her dress.

"I apologize."

“Princess, you must master your studies. You must be a capable empress by the solstice."

It was true. Her birthday was on the summer equinox, fitting for royalty if I may say so. She would have to not only be ready to become empress, but also to become a wife.

"Oh, you and I both know I'd just be a consort." She said bitterly.

Her scholar, a stocky elder whose surname was Damocles, gasped.

"That is hardly befitting language to be coming from you. You are to be empress."

However, Marinette could only roll her eyes. Damocles gave her a wary look, and she looked to her feet in shame.

“Besides, Your Highness, it is not safe out here. We must go inside at once.”

Even I hate to admit it, but he was right. This was no time for the princess to be dawdling about in the open. Who knows who could be listening?

Well, I would know. But that is because I am the all-knowing narrator. You must find out of your own accord as the story progresses.

Sir Damocles led the upset princess back into the palace, where she was immediately summoned to her room. She was going to have dinner with the emperor tonight, she must look her finest.

Many maids fluttered about Marinette, tugging at her clothes and hair. She did not like this one little bit. She preferred the nightly routine better; it was much more gentle. But alas, soon her makeup was touched to match her fresh hair-do.

This was the dinner attire. The silk weighed heavily on her shoulders. And oh, how she fumed as she made her way to the dining hall.

At one end of the long table sat her mother with her shimmering eyes. Everyone adored Empress Sabine. She was just and kind to the entire kingdom, and was always making trips to far off cities to check on the people.

And at the other end of the table sat the Emperor himself. His large frame almost made the roast boar seem small in front of him.

“Thank you for joining us, Princess. Please, have a seat.”

Warily, Marinette sat at the middle of the long table. Silence filled the room as she was served.

Sabine cleared her throat after many long minutes. “So, honey, how were your studies?”

“They were fine, mother. They were the same as they always are.” She gave her steaming plate more attention than it deserved.

My goodness, I’ve never known how moody a child could be until Marinette came around.

Emperor Dupain looked up from his food to stare at Marinette. “Do we need to hire a new teacher?”

“NO!”

The only sound the could be heard was Empress Sabine’s chopsticks falling on the table.

“I mean... that won’t be needed, Your Majesty. Damocles is a fantastic teacher. Thank you.”

“If there is a problem with your studies, then it must be addressed.”

“No, Your Majesty. There is no issue.”

“I just want what is best for you.”

“I can’t say that I agree, tìdài. You want what’s best for the kingdom.”

“Marinette!” Empress Sabine scolded, but she had already stood from the table.

“If you will excuse me, I must be getting some rest. I have a lot more to learn from Sir Damocles in the morning.” And then, she was gone.

She had stormed up to her room. Very typical of her.

Marinette’s personal maids had followed her into her bedroom to remove her makeup and help her into her nightclothes, but she waved them away glumly. Thankfully for the sanity of everyone in the castle, they knew just what to do when the princess was feeling down. So they sent word for the apprentice messenger.

The sun was setting when Alya Cesaire arrived at the palace gates. A royal guard hurried her through a side entrance and immediately to Marinette’s bedroom.

Upon hearing the knock on her door, Marinette only groaned.

“Oh please, Your Exquisite Royalness, do let me in.”

Alya smirked to the guard as they heard something hard fall to the ground on the other side of the door, followed by a quiet grunt of pain. Then in a flash, Alya was pulled into the room and onto the bed.

“Alya! What are you doing here?” The blue haired girl practically shouted.

“I’m here to see you, of course! Why else would I have rode in at sunset?”

“An important message?”

“Possibly. I do have the latest gossip from the market square. Would you like to hear it?”

“Would I? You know it always cheers me up.”

Marinette settled herself on her bed while Alya dramatically cleared her throat.

“Well, everyone is still quite upset with Emperor Dupain. The raised taxes are causing some women to start selling pottery and jewelry. Although, no one is buying because everyone else is struggling.”

“Awful! What else?”

“Lady Haprele got a new hat and has been parading the streets with it. It’s absolutely heinous.”

The girls giggled quietly as Alya started to brush Marinette’s long hair.

Unbeknownst to them, a stranger lurked in the shadows of the princess’s balcony.

He had been watching her all day. He listened in the garden, he eavesdropped their dinner conversation. He had a plan for exactly how he was going to obtain the bounty over the princess’s head. 5,000 gold pieces was certainly worth the effort to kill her.

I don’t know. He seemed like a bitch when he accepted the job.

Now he was here, sitting behind a tall plant and listening to her and Alya chatting about the latest gossip and occasionally switching back to talk about her father.

Correction; her step-father.

Emperor Dupain was not liked among the people. He taxed them when he wanted to go on a trip and barley kept the kingdom in working order. Anyone who was willing to marry him surely was just as uncaring as him. You can imagine how surprised the citizens felt about meeting their new Empress. But they had never seen the heir to their throne yet. She had yet to make an appearance, and her absence reminded everyone of the Emperor. It was not unexpected for the people to be wary. But oh, how they hated her. Never even met her, and yet they wanted her dead.

Could you blame the bounty hunter for accepting? Perhaps the Emperor would be next, and their kingdom would be saved under the wise hand of Empress Sabine. He made a silent promise that he would never let the corrupt princess into power.

This, however, became a problem. As he spent more and more time listening, he started sympathizing for her. He had yet to lay eyes on her, but when he did he was sure that he would be able to go through with the treason.

His cat-like ears twitched as he heard the Princess’s sweet voice bid her friend goodbye. He readied to jump into action, dagger in hand, as she stepped out into the night.

“Hello, Princess. It seems you’ve run out of time.”

She spun on her heel and gasped. And that was when he saw her.

Beautiful. Was the first thing that came to to his mind. His heart stopped beating for a moment, then pumped double-time as her impossibly blue eyes glittered with unshed tears.

“You’re... you’re... you’re Chat Noir.” It came as a coarse whisper. His heart twinged to hear her so scared, and it confused him.

Hell, I’d be confused too.

Before he could process the situation, she had stepped back, her foot catching on a flower pot. His callused hand grabbed her own before she could fall.

She looked at him in fear and confusion, her eyes flitting to the sharp dagger dangling lazily in his free hand.

Almost hastily, he pulled her up until she got her footing.

“You’re here to kill me, aren’t you?”

Now that he wanted to speak, the words stuck in his throat.

“Um...”

Without thinking, he sheathed his knife. He looked away only to give in and gaze at her once again.

“That was the plan, yes.”

Much to his surprise, she took a deep breath and held her arms out at her sides, eyes shut tight. “Do what you must. I must be worth a lot. That is, assuming you’re getting paid off.”

“Are you sure, Your Highness? Does 5 grand seem enough?”

“Dear goodness, I’d have thought I was worth more than that.”

“Have you no sense of self preservation?”

“At this rate, I’ll be lucky to make it to the solstice.”

Now Chat Noir was heavily confused. On one hand, everything he had heard of the princess was malicious. But the girl standing valiantly before him was anything but.

“What’s happening on the solstice?”

Marinette opened one eye. “You don’t know?”

“I can’t say that I do, Princess.”

“Does anyone else know?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

Her hand dropped dramatically to her hips. “I will be turning fifteen. I will begin courting and soon after I will be married. I suppose to just become a consort.”

Chat Noir stood slack-jaw to hear the princess speak in this way.

“But I guess I won’t get to see that day, hm? Do you make all your victims talk like this?”

“Well, you aren’t a victim.” He said confidently. Truth be told, he felt a little weak. Then and there, he decided he could not kill the princess. Something stirred inside that told him not to. And when your life is spent on the run, you learn to trust your gut.

He still seems shady to me.

“I’m not?”

“Not anymore.”

“I suppose that’s good.” She still looked troubled, but she slowly walked over to her door. “Um, good night?”

“Yeah. I... I mean, good night, Your Highness.”

She certainly had not let him off the hook. Good for her! Marinette looked at him quizzically before softly closing her door and closing the curtains.

As Chat Noir leapt off the dark balcony, he had many thoughts swirling in his mind. But the most prominent one was, ‘What will I tell Papillon?’

[geekgirles]

Lila is not a sociopath. Stop spreading false information

Are you sure about that, though?

It's true a character's sociopathy will not be openly discussed or addressed in a kids show, the same way it doesn't outright mention the several issues Adrien's developing as a side effect of his father's neglecting parenting. But those are things that can be sensed, and that's when fans who enjoy analyses, such as myself, step in to help.

Leaving aside that I find your accusation of me spreading false information uncalled for, I feel obliged to tell you, in the most respectful way possible, that this is an opinion shared by many and backed by many others through throughout observation.

There is one particular post that explores the possibility of Lila being a sociopath in depth, however, I won't share it nor tag its origins because I don't want to put its OP in a difficult position. But I assure you, if you just type in the search bar something like "ML Lila is a sociopath", it should appear.

With your permission, I'm going to explain why I agree Lila Rossi is indeed a sociopath. This is an analysis on a character, so I won't tag it as hate, please, forgive me if it does look like it at any moment.

The first thing that should be addressed is Lila's knack for lying; very common in sociopaths.

Ever since Volpina, the ML team has made it clear that Lila's most distinctive trait is her compulsive lying. Her possible sociopathy is heavily hinted on this; in every single episode she's been in, she's lied about her past: 

Every single famous person she claims to have met.

 All her travels.

The various selfless actions she's done (such as saving Jagged Stone's kitten).

Being saved and best friends with Ladybug.

Living in Japan (supposedly).

Creating "Freestyle Clash 2".

If that weren't enough, not only does Lila lie with every breath, but she fiercely defends each lie. Proof of this are her reactions whenever one of her lies has been exposed or she meets someone who's aware of her tendencies.

In Volpina, after Ladybug exposed her, her second highest priority besides introducing her alter ego and trying to get rid of Ladybug was going to Adrien as her akumatised self to convince him she wasn't lying.

Then, in Chameleon, she covered up the lie about her wrist saying she'd only caught the napkin because it could've hurt Max, and later, when no one who doesn't know the truth was around to force her to act friendly, she coldly refused Adrien's request of her being more honest and furiously exclaimed the liar was Ladybug, not her. 

And before it's pointed out, she only calmly dismissed Marinette's attempt at exposing her with another lie in Catalyst because, as I implied before, there were too many people present to let her façade drop.

Not to mention the great lengths she goes to to make her lies more believable or avoid getting caught in said lie. In her debut, it was the necklace she bought to convince Adrien of her false superhero heritage. In Catalyst, she took the phone from her mother to prevent her from finding out the truth and talk with Mr. Damocles, as well as claiming he was akumatised too. In Oni-chan, she used every single piece of information Adrien had shared in the car to make her lies convincing enough to be allowed inside the mansion.

Another trait shared by sociopaths that Lila has demonstrated as well is her incapability to acknowledge her own faults, something that can be linked to her being immature.

This particular trait was shown again in Volpina, Catalyst and Chameleon: 

In Volpina, she blamed Ladybug for ruining her chances with Adrien. And while the superheroine played an important part in that, we must remember it'd also been Lila's fault for lying in the first place.

In Catalyst, while Lila was watching the news on her laptop right before Gabriel threw the bomb, she was, ironically, accusing the superhero of everything she had done both as herself and Volpina; lying, cowardice (she used her illusions to do her dirty job for her, instead of actually facing the heroes) and treason (her whole plan as Volpina was gaining their trust to betray them later, so…).

In Chameleon, she still blamed Ladybug for what'd happened at the park, claiming the superheroine had been the one who lied, not her.

Another thing linked to immaturity and sociopathy is not learning from one's mistakes, which, considering Lila keeps getting akumatised (now willingly), lying with every breath and has made no attempt at being more honest of a better person in general, I would honestly associate to her as well.

There's also the fact that sociopaths tend to display a violent behaviour; in Lila's case, although she keeps her mask around many people, whenever she has the chance to show her true colours, she takes advantage of it to the fullest. For starters, as Volpina, though they were actually illusions, she threatened Ladybug a total of three times with very aggressive scenarios; she "trapped" her under the threat of missiles, she pretended to blow down a building and to kidnap and endanger Adrien's life. As herself, though, she cornered Marinette in the bathroom and gave her an ultimatum, she tends to throw away her stuff whenever she's angry, she let her disdain towards  Kagami, Ladybug, Marinette, Chloé and Nino show and, as Chameleon she went and publicly tainted Adrien's reputation as well as proceed and furiously fight Ladybug.

Another aspect of Lila's character that backs this up is the way she reacts to minor offenses; again, Chameleon is the perfect example for this type of behaviour; especially the way she tries to get even from Adrien as Chameleon when the most harm he's done is nicely requesting her to stop lying, something he's in his right to do since Lila's the one trying to become a part of his life, not the other way around.

I also want to take the opportunity to point out something that I've discussed several times before; Lila declared war at Marinette even when she hadn't actually picked a side herself. Just by watching the last minutes of the episode it's easy to notice there's nothing that could be taken as a declaration of war from Marinette's part, she even let Lila's slip up about which one of her ears had the tinnitus slide and didn't interact with her again until the very last minute; when Lila herself made her her arch-rival. So why does Lila hate her with a passion now when she was previously willing to give her a second chance? Easy, because she was jealous Adrien had chosen Marinette over her; again, a minor offense. Especially because it was Adrien's decision, not Marinette's doing.

On the other hand, there's the thing with Lila's belief of being better than everyone else. She clearly says, when comparing Marinette to the others, that she thinks they're dumb. Just like she thinks herself as the best option to become the one closest to Adrien; deeming Chloé of tacky, Marinette of being "a dummy" and even badmouthing Nino; when two of the three aforementioned teens hadn't done anything to her, they hadn't even doubted her claims (in Chloé's case, at least not until she talked about her secret formula to call Ladybug). This is something she also shows when akumatised, she considered Volpina to be the best hero of Paris (going as far as saying she was the only hero the city needed), when Gabriel was putting her persona down compared to Ladybug she reacted strongly (even if Volpina was, indeed, a bad copy of a superhero) and as Chameleon she kept on underestimating Ladybug.

Lila has a knack for isolating people, both personally and using other means to do so. She's done it herself when she went after Marinette when she was in the toilet (I won't disregard the possibility that she might've offered to go instead of Alya or any other classmate in an attempt to win her over as well), she always talks to Adrien when the two are alone, even going as far as looking for a place where it can be just the two of them (the library in Volpina, the locker room in Chameleon, which she used to lock him and get a kiss to transform, or his house in Oni-chan) and she talked to Chloé when only Sabrina was present, who, unfortunately, doesn't have that much of a presence.

And as for the other means, if you think about it that's exactly her goal regarding her issues with Marinette and Adrien; she wants to isolate Marinette to get rid of her, and thus, the only person capable of making her web of lies crumble, and she wants to isolate Adrien to have him all for herself. And on a side note, when she straight up isolates people she does so in a way that the other won't have a chance to escape; she becomes unpredictable.

Something else that should be discussed is her façade itself.

Many sociopaths are known for appearing caring, kind and generous; things Lila pretends to be to win people over, such as promising Nino she'd talk to Steven Spielberg/Besielberg about him, her role in the environmental conference that took place in the Kingdom of Achu or promising Marinette she would help her get closer to Adrien. All the which make her look like an exceptional role model to others, like Caline's amazement on her numerous "feats."

I'd also like to mention that Lila shares another similarity to your average sociopath; she knows how to read people and tells them what they want to hear; something she even admitted herself.

In her debut, she complimented Chat Noir and agreed to Ladybug's change of her plan to defeat Hawk Moth to reduce suspicions on her and make the super heroine look paranoid and jealous. In Chameleon she didn't hesitate to entertain her classmates with more stories about her travels, the celebrities she'd met or her friendship with Ladybug, just like she complimented them all as well for being so kind as to "remember her hearing problem", to bring her her food and the like. In Oni-chan, she even played, or at least tried to, this card with Gabriel, telling him everything he wanted to hear about Adrien's protection and his parenting.

One more thing that I honestly believe Lila possesses is a very aggressive and intimidating, yet cold and distant stare. If you look at her closely, it's easy to notice most of Lila's character is reflected on her eyes and eyebrows, after all, the eyes are the mirror of the soul. She actually has two different types of glare:

Her coldest, most manipulating and most intense stare is one she reserves to people she despises, mainly Ladybug/Marinette.

The other, is less hostile, however, it still gives the impression of a predator watching its prey; of course, this kind of glare is the one she uses on Adrien.

And, lastly but not least, sociopaths are known for guilt-tripping others.

Lila herself has done this while pretending injuries and diseases to get what she wanted from others; the seat next to Adrien, her food…, to make Marinette look bad about not wanting to move to the back, to manipulate Nino into convincing Adrien to study with her, etc.

Lastly, I would like to point out that her possible sociopathy is not what makes her a villain; that's her ability to tell from right or wrong and, still, ignoring the right path. And I must let you know, anon, that I never spread false information. The one time I referred to her as a sociopath that I can think of, I was actually explaining another anon who'd seen that term being used to describe her in Wikipedia that I'd seen it myself on TV Tropes. And just like that, I wasn't the first to think of her as such, I only read some very good, in depth analyses that presented that option and found myself agreeing with them. That's all I did.

May I give you a piece of advice? Try voicing your concerns a bit more nicely, something like "I don't see why Lila is a sociopath. Could you please share your views on the matter?" It'll save you a lot of trouble :)

[rachelbethhines]

So I’m rewatching all of Varian’s episodes in preparation for season 3 and I came across The Alchemist Returns and I just wanted to point out something that’s been on my mind lately...

Varian was justified in taking the flower

Now I’m not saying everything he did was right, nor was his actions afterwards justified, but anyone one else in his position would have done it, including the King who already did. 

So here’s the scenario you find yourself in. You’re home has been hit by a natural disaster, everyone is ordered to evacuate,  but someone you love has been seriously injured in the event. Now, due to the still on going devastation, no one can immediately come to help. OK it is a scary situation but understandable. But then once the emergency has passed you find yourself waiting and waiting and still no one comes. And all the while time is growing short for the person you love; they may even already be too far gone. 

Then someone does arrive. It’s the military. Surely they’ll help. They’re here to rescue people right? Nope. Rather then send in relief or help rebuild, the government has decided that your home and your loved one aren’t worth saving. You and any survivors are ordered to be removed, but you’re injured loved one can’t move! They’re sick! You refuse to go with them and instead leave to go find someone who will help. 

Only, no one will. The government has placed trumped up charges against you. You’re deemed a dangerous and violent radical all because you refused to comply. Because said government is trying to hide their incompetence in handling the situation. Few even know about the natural disaster that hit your home, even fewer believe you when you said you were framed. 

So you’re now an outlaw, on the run, and trying desperately to find the means to save you’re sick loved one. Then in your search you find out that the government has been hording medicine. The very medicine that could save your loved one. Medicine that could potentially save countless people. Turns out the government has been hiding this life saving medicine for years and no one but you and a few top government officials knows it even exists. 

Now you can’t tell anyone about this. No one would believe you; you’re a criminal after all. Further more if the government got wise that you even knew their secret, you'd be good as dead. So you devise a cunning plan to steal the medicine. 

And you succeed! Sure the government found out your plans and now the president has deemed you a traitor and public enemy number one. So few will ever know of your true deed and if caught you’ll never live to see daylight again. But who cares? You got the medicine! Your loved one is saved! 

Only...only... it doesn’t work! What you stole was just a prototype. The real medicine is still with the government. In fact it’s with someone within the government who you once trusted for help but now believes you to be a criminal same as everyone else. What do you do?! You just threw away your life, your future, your freedom, and your very soul all for this one shot and you blew it! The possibility of ever clearing your good name is now gone forever and you’re loved one is one step closer to the grave. 

What do you do?

It’s not a one to one analogy, obviously. But it’s worth pointing out that Varian didn’t go from sweet innocent angel to murderous vengeful villain in one fell swoop. Regardless of when with “Let Me Make You Proud Reprise” happens within the timeline, Varian still is trying non-violent means to achieve his goals. He’s still trying to get Rapunzel to his side, and he only keeps getting ever more desperate as his options are continuously closed off to him. 

And with regards to stealing the flower specifically, he was in the right. As with the given scenario above, the King was hording medicine from the public at large. That’s a clear abuse of power. Framing someone so they won’t speak out against you is also a clear abuse of power. And making “treason”, the highest crime in a land, (so bad that it was once thought to doom your mortal soul to darkest pits of hell) to non-violent crimes like stealing or disobeying an authoritarian is just barbaric. There’s a reason why the US’s legal definition of “treason” is so specific and narrow. Because dictators use it as a way of silencing any political revolt and free speech if not strictly defined. 

To make matter’s worse, Fredric doesn’t even have a legal claim to the flower. It was found outside of Corona's walls. He stole it same as Varian did, and with knowledge that doing so could harm others later on.    

Varain’s actions after stealing the flower are indeed horrible and I’m not defending them. But leading up to that point, King Frederic's actions are so, so much worse. He’s an absolute monarch. An authoritarian with unchecked power over people’s lives. He can kill people with but a word. He can ruin lives with simple inaction and neglect. He may not dirty his hands himself, like Varian, but he’s clearly been shown in canon to abuse to his power, rip families apart with unjust laws, and it’s implied that people have died by his orders. Everyone who knows him, even his family, fears him and the power he welds. So much so they can’t be honest with him, for they don’t know what he may do. 

What I’m getting at here is that Rapunzel, and by extension the show itself, shows a clear bias to Frederic over Varian. It’s an understandable bias on her part, but a bias nonetheless. Rather than owning up to all of his misdeeds, Fredric just gives a sob story about how his wife and daughter almost died. Rapunzel instantly forgives him for doing the very thing Varian tried to do, for no other reason then because he’s her father. When questioning why Varian would care about his own dad over that of the kingdom, she herself never bothers to question her own dad. She blindly accepts his laws as “good” and “right” despite the fact that he has given her little reason to trust him at this point. And indeed she seems perplexed and disturbed by the fact that Varian would be so concerned for his dad, despite the fact that saving Quirin is a good enough reason to steal the flower anyways. Saving one life is just as important as saving a kingdom, especially since doing so won’t hurt anyone other then a tyrant’s pride. 

I sincerely hope that for season 3 we’re building to some sort of comeuppance for Frederic.That he’s half-assed apology/confession to Rapunzel isn’t the end of his character arc. Because while Frederic is a compelling character with his grey morals and questionable motives, it’s important for a children’s show to challenge authority and those that wield power unjustly. Especially in today’s political climate when wannabe authoritarians the world over are trying to take over our democracies. And the main reason Varian is the most popular character in the show right now is because thus far he’s the only person to actually stand up to said authority and abuse, regardless of how extreme his methods of doing so would eventually become. 

[darrowsrising]

So a lot of civilians died as a result of Darrow's storm. do you think that was justified?

I have answered this before, but I can't find it right now. I tag meaninglessly, because dumblr search function is useless.

Look, 'justified' just ain't the word, because he didn't do it intentionally. Was it justified for Orion to fly the Storm God above primary horizon? HELL NO. Did the mercurians deserve it? At first, I would have said hell no, after finishing Dark Age, I say...err, maybe, because I am petty like that. But my pettiness aside, let's get some things clear here:

Darrow always tried to avoid civillian casualties, no matter what war we are talking about. When he Rained on Tyche in Iron Gold, he did it specifically to avoid casualties, although it had repercussions on his own army.

He used the Storm God, because it was the only chance the Free Legions had to turn the odds. He tried to trap Atlas and it backfired, so he called Orion, because that plus Atalantia's chem attacks wiped out most of the Second Army and their chances of an escape route if he didn't think quickly.

Orion and her Blues were the only ones available to pilot the Storm God. He trusted Colloway too, who did her psychTests. He also tried to help her with a mission instead of letting her stew in her own trauma - because it clearly didn't help as we have seen her post torture.

What Orion did was directly against Darrow's orders and basically treason. Yet, Darrow still takes responsability for her actions and for the fact that he trusted her.

The hypercane destroyed whatever was in its way, it wiped out the foe and friend alike, so to think that Darrow would let this happen intentionally, when all he wanted with the Storm God was to gain the upper hand against the enemy, not destroy the fucking planet he tried to free, is quite bullshit.

Atlas is a bitch, he has no problem letting Atalantia kill en masse, thinking she is justified, because she has no other option. He also kills en masse and has no problem with it. All this Mercury vs. Mars bullshit is just that - bullshit. Mass killing is mass killing on Mars as is on Mercury. He just thinks that Martians deserve it, the fucking xenophobic bastard.

Darrow is not a saint in all of this. Not at all. But that is war for you. And it's not Darrow becoming evil because of war. It's the fact that as a leader, you have to pick and choose between a bunch of options that are more or less rightous, but never totally rightous. The only thing that Pierce says it's consistant, despite the grey morality of both sides of the war is that IT IS BETTER NOT TO MAKE SLAVES.

Look at the Dock of Ganymede, most would say that Darrow is evil for destroying them. But thing is...he isn't. What he did wasn't good for the Rim, but it was good for the Republic. Because Golds like Romulus are proud creatures - after destroying the Sword Armada, they would have waited for the conclusion of the battle between the Rising and the Core and strike the winner. They would have won too because they had time to equip, rest and prepare throughly. To presume otherwise, it would mean to be delusional.

The only reason Romulus accepted the Pact of Ilium is because he decided to ally with the Rising in the first place and the results are his fault, he was the one tricked. He would have been deemed incompetent as Sovereign. Also, making the issue public would have meant that the Rim would have to try save their own honor and attack the Rising, letting themselves exposed to the Core and lose their Independence.

So, Darrow's call then? Valid. Although, less than honorable to put it nicely.

The call he made with the Storm God, again, it was in the interest of his people and valid. The consequences of the Docks and the consequences of the Storm God? He bears them both. Because that what leaders do. Make difficult decisions and deal with the aftermath although there is no making it right, it's just moving on.

If you look at Darrow's attitude towards civillians and prisoners you will see - although he needed the Arcos Knights he allowed them to remain and save the civillians of Tyche; he shared the radiation meds with them, even though there weren't quite enough; instead of sacrificing his army to get to Atalantia, he retreated to Heliopolis. He did his best always to have as little casualties as possible - because this is war, you can't expect no civillian casualties, because nothing stops Atalantia from using civillians as a shield and then blame all the destruction on Darrow. Also, he treats prisoners according to the New Compact and besides the usual torture methods, no one overdues it - like a certain disgusting Olympic Knight.

So - is it justified? No. Is it completely Darrow's fault and he is an evil monster? No. Is this a part of being a military leader? Yes. Especially when you consider that the enemy doesn't play fair and you will have to walk the line to get yourself out of whatever was thrown at you. You see when you are in a duel and the enemy cheats, they more often than not, win, unless you adapt to the situation. You don't have to cheat too, not necessarily. That what Darrow often has to do he has to adapt and shift the paradigms quickly, otherwise the consequences are dire. Sometimes he would cross lines, but never he he ever intentionally tried to wipe out civillians like his enemies do.

Will Darrow be a tyrannt or is he a tyrannt for this? HELL NO. He is just morally grey as always. Does this make Lysander right? HELL NO! Unless you are a fascist scum. Is Darrow some sort of saint that can do no wrong? HELL NO! He is not, but can you truly condemn him for the things that he can't control? No, but he is responsible for the losses and he also has to move on from that and concentrate on protecting Mars and the only world where he and his family and friends can live freely.

I think that one of the testaments of Darrow not plunging into evil is the willingness his soldiers have to sacrifice themselves for him. As long as he lives, they don't mind dying. Because he cares about them, he came for them. Banished, exiled, on the run, it doesn't matter to them. He can be hated by the peacocks of the Senate, but not by them, because they know how much he sacrifices for them and fights for them. They understand him like he understands them. They are all the first line and no prissy bitch preaching a peace that would never last can make Darrow evil to them. His son too understands.

So yeah, that's my take. If anyome wants to call me names for saying Darrow isn't evil, but morally grey, then be my guest...

Howl on!

[booksoanahasread]

Elias și Spioana Cărturarilor by Sabaa Tahir

This is a truly fantastic book, interesting and funny, suspenseful and surprising.

The characters are very well described and thought-out. The characters are complex, with multiple motives and different facets of emotions and points of view. It was truly fascinating to see how they all created this incredible story and a plot that had numerous plot twists that I never expected. 

I love the way the author described the settings of each scene, enough so that you could imagine it clearly, without being overbearing and sounding monotone. The setting, a kingdom in a different universe where some people are slaves and others are the rulers, is quite well constructed.

The action of the novel is palpitating with numerous changes in the way some characters see the world. Some decide to close their eyes and ignore all the wrong doings ordered by the Empire, while others are enlightened and they find out who the antagonists really are.

Elias Verturius, oh my goodness, I love him. Such a complex character, making it easy to relate to him. There are things he doesn’t want the world to know, such as the way he wanted to escape from Blackcliff, his need to do the right thing, even if it goes against the academy’s rules. He is sarcastic and as emotional as he could possibly be in his situation. The bond he forms with a slave, Laia, is surprising due to the nature of his upbringing and his education. He truly knows what is moral and what isn’t. 

He refuses to kill innocents unless absolutely necessary, it tortures him to know what he had done in the third trial. His remorse and regret isn’t something we see in any of his competitors, none of them actually care about the people who surround him. 

Laia is such a good person as well, although she is constantly tormented by the guilt of having left her brother at the hands of a Masked man. Her only hope to keep the one person in her family that hasn’t died is to save her brother from the prison the Warriors have thrown him in. She is desperate enough to go into Blackcliff Academy to spy on the headmaster. Something that is dangerous beyond measure, most certainly deadly. 

She also tries her best to not implicate anyone in her acts of treason against the Empire, so as to save them from the fury of the commander. She sparks sympathy in the hearts of readers and she doesn’t know what to do. Besides all that, she is a seventeen year old who falls in love easily and sometimes not wisely. She trusts too many people she shouldn’t trust and yet that I wouldn’t see so much as a defect, rather a way in which the world is cruelly pitted against her. 

Perhaps the scene I found the most fitting and interesting was the Festival of the Moon, or something like that. When Laia and Izzi (Laia’s new friend) sneak out of the academy and go to the festival, Elias follows them to see what they were up to. Laia goes to see Keenan and talks to the Resistance, meanwhile Izzi dances with whoever asks for her hand, since she has never been to such a festival before. Elias dances with the leader of and important tribe and she tells him that he can ask her for a favour if he deems it necessary. Afterwards, Elias dances with Laia and it’s as if the two of them were meant to dance together. They both start to fall for each other in that moment which was sweet. It was this one moment where they could just be free, even if it didn’t last long. The Empire decides to send raids to end the festival. 

I loved the fact that Izzi told Laia to stop feeling sorry for helping her escape and see the festival, even if it meant putting her in danger. She said she wouldn’t have changed any part of it for the world, especially since it was the most fun she’d had that she could have remembered. 

To conclude, this novel is incredible and deserves to be read. It teaches lessons like how to not be afraid of the consequences when you know you are doing the right thing. I loved this book and I can’t wait to read the next one!

[I borrowed this book from Biblioteca Judeteana Cluj-Napoca, filiala Zorilor]

[bunny-wan-kenobi]

Jaime Lannister: A Man of Honor

So I’m supposed to accept that Jaime just *forgot* that Cersei tried to kill him? TWICE. And that after she betrayed him and manipulated him and after seasons of struggling by her side and getting increasingly fed up with her destructive and myopic actions, he had finally reached a point where he could no longer stay in King’s Landing? The line should have been the Sept of Baelor, but since his realization of her toxicity came later, it makes his abrupt return to her even more baffling. 

He had realized that his life doesn’t mean more to her than her desire for the Throne, that she would sacrifice him for power, and he decided he was done. And so we’re supposed to forget all the growth and maturation his character underwent to bring him to that weighty point of decision and treat his journey to Winterfell, his fighting alongside Cersei’s enemies, his embracing of his love for Brienne, his committing himself to staying in Winterfell with her while Cersei was losing as a mere blip in his overall storyline? 

We didn’t get any insight into his thoughts or any explanation as to what triggered this dramatic shift that led him to leave Brienne and go back to Cersei when Cersei was winning. The timing and potential motivations don’t make sense. He had already left her knowing it was treason and knowing she was pregnant, and that wasn’t enough to keep him in King’s Landing, or enough to motivate him to go back right after the battle at Winterfell. Apparently he was fine staying in Winterfell with Brienne while the Northern armies went forth to defeat her. 

There simply wasn’t enough groundwork in place to justify that sudden turn so it felt like whiplash and deeply disturbing to fans who have invested so much in his long journey. We’re being asked to accept that the man who two episodes before knighted Brienne and tenderly charged her to “defend the innocent” all of a sudden doesn’t care about anyone else but Cersei? We’re being asked to accept that the man who defended thousands by killing Aerys, saved a woman who was his captor from rape and then a bear, left his sister because she wouldn’t go fight to save humanity, is really that callous and detached from anyone but Cersei? 

It simply doesn’t make sense from a narrative standpoint and based on what the writers have already established within their own canon. Earlier in Season 8, we see Jaime referring to his relationship with Cersei in the past tense and with disgust. He has finally freed himself from that harmful dynamic and now has the opportunity to build healthy relationships and serve alongside people who will not ask him to do something that will dishonor him. 

That matters in the overall arc of Jaime’s character and what his motivations are. He is fundamentally compelled by love, yes, but he is also a character who cares deeply about what other people think of him. He does care about his legacy. He does care that people condemn him as a Kingslayer. And so much of his journey is about him rediscovering and reclaiming an identity apart from a narrow adherence to his family loyalties. It’s about him realizing that part of him still yearns to be the knight of honor he initially envisioned he would be, and his relationship with Brienne galvanizes that reawakening. She embodies the characteristics he would like to live up to, and she challenges to be more than what he settles for at Cersei’s side. 

During his travels with Brienne and after losing his hand, we see Jaime grow more humble, more willing to consider others’ welfare, more willing to set aside family loyalty aside to do what he believes is right, whether that is sending Brienne on a mission to save Sansa or riding North to fight with the Starks. These actions serve as a counterpoint to how we are introduced to his character when all he appears to be is an incestuous almost child-murderer. Catelyn Stark declares he is “a man without honor,” and the rest of his arc after that point examines and challenges that thesis. 

Jaime remains a flawed character who makes some truly terrible choices. However, while the writing for his character was mishandled so often (looking at you Seasons 5-7), the narrative did give him space to actually grow to the point where the Jaime we see land in Winterfell is drastically different than the one we met in Season 1. 

Yes, Cersei will always be part of him, but as his scenes when apart from her demonstrate, she does not have to be definitive of him. He can exist and thrive apart from her, he can make choices to defend others, he can live honorably. He has the capacity for this, and this has been evidenced again and again, most notably by his time in Winterfell. 

I see Jaime’s story as less of a redemption arc and more about self-discovery and growth--similar to Zuko in Avatar The Last Airbender (another character known for his complicated relationship with honor). When he arrives in Winterfell, for the first time he has to actually confront the consequences of his choices (like pushing Bran) and reevaluate who he now wants to be. He resolves to fight and die by the woman he loves and defend the Living. What nobler and more honorable cause could there be for a man once deemed to have no honor?

Jaime knighting Brienne is a culminating point in his character arc because in that scene he is given the opportunity to become that knight of honor, repeating the vows he once took with a renewed sense of conviction of their importance. It’s also an act of love that for once does not cause collateral damage in the way his actions for Cersei did. Again, this is the narrative reinforcing his self-discovery and his commitment to change. 

And when he and Brienne finally embrace the love they have for each other, that shift feels earned because it’s reaping the fruits of several seasons of their parallel development and the ways their characters have informed and shaped each other’s growth. Their love story makes sense in light of the themes of honor and loyalty and past hurt in relationships that are present in both of their stories. It makes sense that these two could find a fulfilling kindredness in each other that frees them to move forward rather than be mired in past wounds. 

I say all this to reiterate that the show’s narrative has already established an arc for Jaime where it feels organic and believable for him to finally leave Cersei and forge an identity and life apart from her influence. That choice carried a lot of weight, and so to have that weight diminished and dismissed with a handwave to conclude, “Well he’s addicted to Cersei and realizes he’s just BAD,” is frankly insulting to anyone who has been paying attention to the storytelling thus far and a huge disservice to both Jaime and Brienne’s characters. 

This is not subversion or being “realistic.” This is contradictory and lazy writing that conveniently ignores certain aspects of the Jaime’s journey in order to use him as a plot device to engineer a final scene with the Lannister twins dying together, as if that is the most poetic and fitting way for their stories to end. When Jaime declares, “No one matters but us,” it’s as if absolutely nothing changed for him between Season 1 and Season 8 if he and Cersei are still framed as moral and romantic equals so intertwined that nothing else exists. 

If the narrative hadn’t already given me enough contrast to his statement through previous examples, maybe I could have accepted this ending for them. But the fact is....it didn’t which is why Jaime’s arc in Season 8 felt so rushed and like a retcon of all that the writers had already built up over several seasons.  

And in a show with so many characters who have suffered from being stuck in a cycle of abusive and toxic relationships, to conclude that they simply cannot break out of that and are unable to change is disheartening and disturbing. Jaime’s story is inextricable from the idea of change and renewal, and to assert that his final conclusion about himself is that he is fixed, static as this hateful person, is truly tragic. It leaves us wondering if Catelyn’s original assumption is the final word on the character, even though we’ve been presented with so much evidence of the contrary. 

Give me complex, imperfect characters who make good and bad choices, but may their choices make sense in the larger context of their story and their motivations. And may the end of their journey not pose death as the only way out for them.  

[kylandara]

Someone also commented underneath that one of the other reasons Daenerys went north was because she wanted to be seen as a Saviour and wanted the North to love her after doing the “saving” and when she didn’t get that adoration, she chose to be a dragon. Personally I’m not feeling very thrilled with the Northerners in KL. Yes they were terrible during the siege and it made me cringe so hard, but there could be some that resisted the raping of KL women (me thinks) but they would get punished either way because they are Northerners. Now onto it

—————

You know how when a white guy commits an immoral crime media immediately assume he has “psychological issues”? You know how women are historically deemed witches and “crazy” for showing any kind of emotion men themselves pass off as reasonable? That’s what’s happening here. Daenerys is egocentric and she has always been.

Game of Thrones does “ego” very, very well. And audiences have always bought it. Because we, too, live in a world where people can sell themselves as who they want to be as opposed to being judged for how they choose to act. Ned’s image is that he’s honourable when he’s willing to betray his King. Cersei is painted as evil when she’s driven by love for her family. And Daenerys is a liberator and a conquerer even when she wants power because she feels like it. We all see the characters as how other characters, and by extension the show, tells us they are. Even when time and again we’re shown how opposites can in fact co-exist in the same person. How these people continuously make consistent choices, just in different contexts. You can be evil and loving, honourable and a traitor, a liberator and a mass murderer.

Daenerys didn’t just go “mad all of a sudden”. Has she not been travelling Essos announcing she is Daenerys Targaryen and therefor worth more than others? Has she not been revelling in how her people love her and how her enemies fear her? Has she not always been clear about how she will take what is hers, with fire and blood? Daenerys has always been selfish. We just saw her selfishness compatible with what we and the world around her deemed moral. So we’re shocked to see that same selfishness do immoral.

Still, this is the woman that only wanted to free slaves after she herself was sold into slavery. That wanted the Iron Throne only because it was “taken” from her. That announces herself with a million titles. She hid behind images of justice, destiny and family, but in the end she did it all because she wanted it for herself. As I’ve long expected the moment this beautiful white woman with white hair was lifted up by brown people she freed wasn’t a victorious moment. It was to show Daenerys did it as much for herself as she did it for morale.

There’s no one single truth in Game of Thrones. Never black and white, or good and evil. Just a lot of different perspectives. Like a father confessing a treason he didn't commit to protect his daughter who’s only in need of protection because he put her there, or a girl trying to save a mother and child but abandoning them when she would get scorned herself. Or a woman who like many men before her uses fear and violence to get the Iron Throne because she can. All justify their actions based on how they see themselves and what they truly want.

Very few people choose to do things for others in spite of not wanting to do it and without any reward for it. For most people ego always wins. Even when its masked behind righteous causes or mercy for future generations. When they’re forced to choose, they choose whatever suits them. It can be what saves thousands of people from a certain death, or what kills thousands of people. It can be willingness to die for a cause or to stay alive at the expense of others. In the end it’s still what they choose. At least in TV shows where drama is based on character decisions.

And Daenerys, betrayed, isolated and without any of the love and support she always enjoyed, chose she rather wanted to be Queen of the Ashes than no Queen at all.

Pass Daenerys’ selfishness off as sudden madness if you want. Unfortunately that doesn’t mean it’s not also very human, in the cards for years or indeed, just a matter of perspective

[ambereyedcetra]

Eden the Umber (Tsviet AU)

Note: This information is subject to change, will notify when updates are made. All information can be found under the “keep reading” link below. 

Also, if you need to see her main verse’s information for reference, it can be found here

So, starting off with her color choice.

Why Eden the umber?

Umber is a yellow-ish or reddish-brown pigment found naturally in the earth. This color easily connects to Eden’s Cetra heritage as they are said to be connected to the Planet. The color’s name comes from the word umbra which means “shadow” in Latin. Shadows have become a symbol for Eden. The shadows have provided her shelter, comfort in being unseen by those she deems a threat. However, shadows of her past and the LifeStream’s souls haunt her at a near consistent rate. Could argue that she feels as though she is stuck in Aerith’s shadow, as Aerith proves to be the strongest Cetra.   Also the color at its darkest shade, burnt umber, can be seen in her appearance, just as other Tsviets have their colors visible (examples being Rosso’s red hair and eyes or Nero’s black hair). Eden’s hair would be a very dark, burnt umber, so it works.

Why did she become a Tsviet?

It’s been stated that those who become Tsviets show some sort of unique ability. The fact that she can hear the LifeStream is what saved her from being executed. Though Eden despises this ability, she is quick to speak of it to preserve her life. I feel with DeepGround’s goal to awaken Omega (she finds herself in DeepGround during the events of Dirge of Cerberus), they may find use in her connection to the LifeStream and decide to keep her alive if it made bringing forth Omega easier.

Abilities?

Aside from her hearing and feeling the Planet, stealth, cunning, and hunting instincts are her prime abilities. She lacks the immense strength that many Tsviets possess, however she is able to use manipulation and her learned skills as a hunter to pull her through. Survival is key in DeepGround, and what better way to learn to survive a hostile place than know how to read the potential threats/targets, mask insecurities, and when to attack? I imagine that a great many in DeepGround rely on basic instincts rather than try to reason with much of the dangers. Eden is no exception, however, she also doesn’t just blindly run that innate, primitive nature. She watches, taking note of every word, detail, and action, anything to provide her vital clues to bring about her oppressors’ downfall. She often plays to their narcissism, appealing to them just enough to earn trust. Because she’s aware that with that trust comes rewarded freedom, and with that freedom she’ll bring about her vengeance.

Savage Eden

This is connected to her abilities. Each Tsviet seems to have their own “form” and Eden would be no exception. I feel that because her Cetran abilities, the Tsviets would rush to give her an advantage of some sort to stay alive, and thus stay useful in DeepGround. This would have been done by subjecting her to the Metamorphose experiment, as it seems to be the fastest way to give her the much needed strength. This experiment’s information, such as the protocols, were likely stored in the computer Patricia. And if Shelke can find a virus and hack what once was an impenetrable computer system, I’m sure this information wouldn’t be hard for her to locate. Due to restrained time and resources, however, they could not do it in the same scale as Azul’s. She would not shapeshift into a behemoth, but rather into a Nibel wolf. This is what is called her Savage form.

Since Azul’s behemoth is obviously unique in appearance (in comparison to the natural behemoths seen in the game), I decided to take artistic liberties in Eden’s Nibel wolf form. I imagine that nibel wolves are meant to look like large dire wolves. She would look similar, however her muzzle would be broader and shorter, more similar to that of a bone-crushing hyena’s. Paws would also be large and appear more like bear paws, as she is unable to shift completely to a wolf. Her fur would be mottled with shades of brown, burnt umber, and tan, almost similar to the appearance of a merle Australian Shepherd’s fur or even an African wild dog’s fur. The deep scars on her left side, chest, and right wrist remain visible from the fur and glow a pale blue from the mako in her blood. The mane is heavy and layered, however the long, silken hair of her humanoid form seems to be maintained beneath the shaggy mane, as well as her thin braids. Though she has lost her lip and ear piercings, the remaining holes leave damage. Her ears have notches from the stretching and tearing of the former piercings. Her lips also develop two tears from where lip rings used to be and from the tension of the transformation.

In humanoid form, she looks fairly similar to how she did before the experiment, however her ears are pointed and slanted (almost elf-like in appearance). Her teeth are sharper and jaw is heavier, giving her head a slight downward tilt from the weight. The teeth in the far back left corner are missing due to her enduring jaw-breaking blow on her first day in DeepGround. Her scars and amber eyes maintain the eerie glow.

Weapons:

After losing her hunting knife, Eden is given twin shotels, both of which are strapped onto her hips unless a battle were to erupt. The curved, sickle-like blades are swirled with copper and silver, giving an appearance similar to mokume gane. The handles are gold with dark brown leather wrapped around the length of them, leaving the pommels bare.

Plot:

So far, there are actually two possible ways how Eden got into DeepGround. These are dependent on their respective alternate universes.

In one, Eden dares to look through ShinRa’s abandoned Headquarters in hopes to find answers of her Cetra lineage and what it really means to hear the LifeStream. Dirge of Cerberus states that many workers, soldiers, and civilians went missing as they searched through ShinRa HQ’s remains. Eden would be one of the many to dig through the ruins. Eventually, the floor gives way, and she falls to into the abyss. She wakes up and tries to find her way out, only to be found by a Tsviet.

In another, she hears the wailing of a thousand souls coming from the direction of Midgar. In a panic, Eden tries to run from where the cries are coming from, thinking the distance would stop them. This leads her into a skirmish with a Deepground troop and a small village. With the guidance of the LifeStream, she manages to avoid the major carnage (although not without enduring injuries). She manages to collide with a fight with one of the lower ranking soldiers and kills him. This gets the attention of the other Deepground fighters and she is captured like the other survivors and brought underneath Mako Reactor 0.

These are only two that have been tried out for threads. I’m open to all possibilities!

In both of these beginnings, Eden uses her identity as a Cetra and ability to hear the Planet, claiming she could make awakening and controlling Omega an easier feat. Though she still struggles with accepting her heritage and connection to the LifeStream at this point, she’s not above speaking about them in great lengths if it prevents death. She eventually reaches the Tsviets and they agree she could be useful to their plans.

Though she managed to save her life for the time being, her treatment as a prisoner doesn’t improve. Eden endures both mental and physical torture, manipulation of all types, and brutal training regimens. It wears on her already damaged psyche, but holds onto the hope of being able to learn Deepground’s system, its weaknesses, and eventual escape. With the hunt on the world going on, and time running out, she is ordered to go through a variant of the metamorphose experiment to make her abler to survive and maintain usefulness.

Her resentment towards Deepground grows after they rip away the remnants of her humanity and she vows revenge. She trains even more at that point, planning to get to the Tsviet’s level, earn their trust, and use it against them.

Over time, however (depending on who takes part on the thread and the characters’ relationship), she becomes attached to the other and begins to enjoy her newfound rank and the respect it demands from others. This only lasts a short while, however, as she watches innocent civilians get captured and realize what becomes of them in Deepground. The Planet urges her to act, to save itself and the people depending on it. She then must make a choice: Does she forget her hatred towards Deepground to embrace her power, or does she risk her own life and safety to save those who have either been her enemy for most of her life (the Planet) or unfamiliar to her?

She takes on what could be described as a suicide mission. She takes part in missions to gather civilians, however, she sabotages them in various ways. Some of these methods include allowing the targets to escape before the troop could reach them; killing off soldiers or troop officials with lies that the soldiers tried to challenge her rank, that they were the ones trying to free captives, or simply they were killed in battle or by tragic accident. These plans work for a while, but only for a while. The other Tsviets grow suspicious of the mission failures. Eden then realizes she needs to act now at that point or she would be found out and killed for treason.

Using a distraction (be it releasing the Beast soldiers and let them cause havoc in Deepground or another way), Eden makes her escape. Her fight to get to the surface is bloody and nearly kills her (especially if the one fighting her was also the one she grew closer to during her stay), but she manages to barely hang onto life long enough to drag herself to the World Regenesis Organization. There she gives them all the information she has about Deepground’s plan and the Tsviets. Though she hopes they would not only give her vengeance she fiercely desires and save the Planet and its people, she also endures the torn feelings towards the one she once put her affection in (whether it be friendship, trust, or even love) and the consequences they bring about.

This is only a rough, possible idea in how the over-arching plot can go, it can be changed to however my RP partner sees fit!

[inhumansforever]

Inhumans: The Once and Future Kings #1 Review

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Writer, Christopher Priest, and artist, Phil Noto, join forces to bring us a tale from a critical stage of the Inhuman Royal Family.  The story and art match wonderfully, working in concert to bring forth an intriguing tale that (thus far) captures much of what is so wonderful not just about The Inhumans, but the comics medium in general.  Full recap and review following the jump.

The tale takes part in the Royal Family’s past.  The Inhuman society of Attilan is in crisis.  Its king and queen have perished in a tragic accident and their two sons are deemed too young and not quite ready to assume the throne.  In the interim, The Inhuman known as The Living Terrigen  has stepped in to fill the role of stewardship ruler of Attilan.  He will decide when the brothers are ready to lead and which one will ascend to be the king, whether it be the ingeniously clever Maximus or his older brother, the destructively powerful Blackgarr.  

The story begins on the shores of Iceland, where the city of Attilan was first built upon an isolated island.  The Living Terrigen takes the brothers to view a monument that has been built in honor of their father, Agon the fallen king.  Neither brother seems particularly interested in the monument.  Maximus speaks about his crush on their cousin and peer, Medusa, while Blackgarr expresses concern over the welfare of the Inhumans’ slave caste, The Alpha Primitives.  Blacker cannot speak due to the nature of his powers, yet Maximus’ psychic abilities allows them a rapport that enables him to share his brother’s feelings with The Living Terrigen.  Blackgarr’s moral qualms over the Alpha Primitives are discarded by the steward king  He states the beings are not slaves, but merely a lower form of life who rightfully serve more advanced beings.  

Before the matter can be further discussed, the party is suddenly attacked.  Each are struck with arrows that have attached to them repressor modules that have the effect of nullifying Inhuman powers.    

It is The Alpha Primitive who are making this attack.  Led by large Alpha named Dkamas the slaves are looking to slay their abusive master, The Living Terrigen.  Maximus stays behind to defend his steward king while Blackgarr less hoping to outrun the range of the power dampeners.  Maximus fights valiantly but is hopelessly outmanned.  It looks as though he is about to fall when Blackgarr makes it to a cliffside beyond the range of the dampeners and hence regains his powers.  He yells ‘enough!’ and the resulting sonic blast disperses the marauding Alphas.  

In its wake, the monument to King Agon has been destroyed, but Maximus and The Living Terrigen have been saved.  Someone (perhaps a guard, perhaps Maximus) has run Dkamas through with a spear, killing the leader of the revolt.  

Blackgarr and Maximus have saved their stewardship king, yet it will soon become evident that they will pay dearly for the act.  The Living Terrigen is initially thankful for his rescue.  He doubts that this revolt could have been orchestrated by the simple minded Dkamas.  The use of the power-dampening arrows required a level of sophistication that he feels is beyond the Alphas.  Yet he is mistaken.  The whole ordeal has been witnessed by an Alpha known as Elisha.  There is something special about this Alpha, he possesses a wisdom and intellect not yet seen among those transformed into Alpha Primitives.  It was he who had arranged this attack, who sought to kill the slave master and free his people… a plan that was foiled by Blackgarr and Maximus.  

Back on Attilan, The Living Terrigen restores his health by bathing in Terrigen.  Kadlec, The Inhuman known as The Seeker, stands by his king as the two discuss the revolt of the Alphas.  The Living Terrigen continues to doubt that The Alphas possess the wherewithal to engage in such an intricate attack.  Rather, he believes that the revolt must have been the work of an Inhuman, perhaps someone among the Royal Family.  

Furthermore, the ordeal has afforded The Living Terrigen the opportunity to maintain the throne; and he aims to utilize this opportunity.  He has Kadlec summon Medusa… she will be his key to undermining the sons of Agon and securing the kingship for himself.  

The scene switches to the residence of House Amaquelin where young Medusa argues with her mother, Ambur, over adhering to laws of Attilan.  Medusa is as wild and feisty as her prehensile hair.  

She has been summoned by her king but has no interest in bowing before him.  She sees The Living Terrigen as the scheming opportunist that he is.  Yet her mother is having none of her daughter’s disobedience.  Her daughter will do as their king orders or else risk the safety of her whole family.  Reluctantly, Medusa agrees to her mother’s wishes; she will appear before the king.  Crystal makes a brief appearance in the background.  

Elsewhere, Blackgarr and Maximus have traveled to the catacombs beneath the city where a group of Alpha Primitive sit in vigil of their brothers who had been killed during the failed coup.  By way of his psychic connection with Maximus Blackgarr expresses guilt and remorse over the deaths of these Alphas.  Maximus disagrees; as he sees it Blackgarr did the right thing in foiling the Alpha’s revolt.  Blackgarr killed no one and has no reason to feel remorse.  Blacker is unmoved by his brother’s objections and joins the Alphas, kneeling with the others in mourning those who had died.  

The two brothers are pulled aside by Elisha.  He acknowledges that it was he who had orchestrated the attack on the Living Terrigen.  The inhibitor devices he had contracted gave the Alphas their one opportunity to kill a malevolent god, yet Blackgarr had interfered and now the brothers will pay for their folly.  

Elisha explains further that there is no way that The Living Terrigen will stand for the embarrassment of having to be saved by Blackgarr and Maximus.  He is far too proud to let this matter stand.  Somehow, he will manipulate things so that Blackgarr and Maximus are held as responsible; he will utilize the whole ordeal to dispose of the sons of Agon and secure his rulership.

Elisha’s warning is further supported when The Living Terrigen appears to also sit in morning among The Alphas.  His doing so disavows any responsibility or ownership over the deaths of the Alphas, making it further evident that the whole matter is likely to be wrongfully pinned on the brothers.    

Later, Medusa arrives for her audience before the king.  The Living Terrigen shows her the Slave Engine, a device left behind by their Kree ancestors as a means to secure the wellbeing of the Inhuman peoples.  The Slave Engine uses Xerogen Crystals to transform humans into devolved Alpha Primitives, creating a force of mindless laborers to serve the Inhumans.  

Medusa appears to be just as disgusted by the Slave Engine as her cousin, Blackgarr, yet she wisely hides her contempt, saying to her king what he wants to hear: agreement and devotion (although she does manage to tip her true feelings a bit by referring to the slave engine as a ‘weapon’ rather than a device).  

The Living Terrigen makes it known that he has chosen young Medusa to be his queen and then leaves her to process the matter with his servant, Kedlec.  She holds her tongue no longer and expresses to Kedlec that she has no interest in being the consort to this vile king.  Ever the schemer, Kedlec has plans of his own.  He reveals that he has had Medusa’s home bugged and possesses a recording of Medusa speaking in a treasonous fashion… a recording that can be used to frame Medusa as responsible for the Alpha’s revolt.  And yet Kedlec has desires of his own and offers to dispose of this recording were Medusa to choose him as her mate.    Kedlec punctuates his lecherous proposition by groping Medusa’s rear end.  It is an insult Medusa will not stand for.  Her hair snaps into action, ensnaring Kedlec and slamming him against a wall.  

Medusa turns heel to walk out but Kedlec shouts after her, wording the guards to seize her and proclaiming her as among the conspirators who plotted against the king.  Medusa’s hair grabs the guards who have come to apprehend her, yet they are not guards, it’s actually Maximus and Blackgarr who have come to rescue her.  

Elisha had warned them that The Living Terrigen would use Medusa as a means of framing them all for the attack and the brothers had come to her aide.  Understandably, Medusa is less than pleased to learn it was her cousins who had gotten her involved in this whole mess.  But there isn’t time to discuss it.  Elisha shows up, having brought Lockjaw with him.  And here it should be noted that seeing lockjaw as a puppy is just about the cutest thing ever.  

Anyways, there isn’t time to get to the bottom of how it is that Elisha is so knowledgeable and worldly... why it is that he appears to wear clothes from the human world.  What matters is that they are in danger and must utilize Lockjaw’s teleporting abilities to escape.  The four of them hold hands around the puppy and are instantly transported away.  And the story comes to its cliffhanger conclusion as the young Royals and Elisha are teleported to the heart of Times Square in Manhattan.

Wow!  This is just about everything I could ask for in an Inhumans comic, harkening back to all of the weirdness and palace intrigue that first so bewitched me and made me such a fan of their bizarre characters.  It’s all such a wonderful combination of super heroes and science fiction, a bastard lovechild of Claremont’s X-Men and Frank Herbert’s Dune.  

Christopher Priest follows in the path of past Inhuman writers, Paul Jenkins and Ann Nocenti, casting aside any attempt to make The Royals more traditional super heroes and embracing all of the strange and problematic weirdness that makes the Inhumans unique.  Yet he does so in a fashion that makes you care about these character despite their flaws.  It’s a rather remarkable feat, and is accomplished so seamlessly that it can be easy to not even notice it.  

The addition of Elisha to the cast is both intriguing and welcome.  I’m very interested in learning more about him and how it is that he possesses such knowledge.  Yet more so I am happy to see The Alphas more fully incorporated into the Inhuman lore.  There being a specific Alpha as a main character in an Inhumans story has been long, long overdo and Christopher Priest is a writer I absolutely trust to handle the character properly.  

All of this is all brought to vibrant life by Phil Noto’s fabulous art.  Noto’s skills at illustrating people and facial expressions has been a well established strength; yet here he also gets to show off his abilities for creating cool settings and dynamic action sequences.  It’s some of his best work and it would seem that Noto’s stint illustrating the Star Wars comic, Poe Dameron, has aptly prepared him for The Inhumans.    

There are a couple of continuity matters that are likely only to bug hardcore fans like myself.  The first of which is that Royals #3 had the brothers’ parents dying when Maximus was nineteen and Blackgarr twenty.  The two are clearly younger than that in this story, but the matter can be chalked up to artistic license; a no-prize explanation can be that Maximus merely misremembers how old he was when his parents died.  

The relationship between Medusa and Blackgarr also appears a bit altered in this telling.  Beforehand the story had been that Medusa would go visit Blackgarr when he was sequestered in his isolation chamber and that the blooming love between the two was pivotal to Black Bolt’s learning to master his destructive powers.  This story slightly reimagines the relationship, laying the foundation for more of a love triangle between Medusa, Blackgarr and Maximus.  

The slave engine is in and of itself a retcon, an alteration of the inhumans lore that was born out of The Unspoken Story arc in the pages of Mighty Avengers.  Before this retcon, The Alpha Primitive had been created by the Inhuman scientist, Avadar, who used cro magnum DNA to create clones who were meant to be drone-like automatons.  It was only after several generations of new clones that the Alphas gained sentience.  By then Attilan had grown so reliant on the Alphas as laborers that they forced themselves to repress this knowledge and attempt to deny that they had become a slave state.  This repressed guilt was later channeled by Maximus in his creation of the android, Omega the Ultimate Alpha.  This whole story was altered in Mighty Avengers #27 with the introduction of the Kree Slave Engine and the idea that the Alphas are actually captured humans who had been mutated by way of exposure to Xerogen Crystals.  

Finally, the tale once more has Blackgarr, Maximus and Medusa referring to each other as ‘cousins.’  According to the family trees of House Boltagon and House Amaquelin, Blackgarr and Medusa are not blood relatives.  It may be that the story is looking to rework that matter; cousins intermarrying is certainly not unheard of among royalty.  Or it may be that ‘cousin’ is more of a colloquial term on Attilan.  The population of Attilan is only about twenty-five hundred strong so they’re all pretty closely related to one another…

Once more these are all merely continuity blips that do not in any way detract from the story.  Firm continuity can be fun, but I’m all for giving authors leeway if it means telling the story they want to tell.  

The short backup feature string Lockjaw and The Thing doesn’t bring a while lot to the table, but is a fun bonus nonetheless.  Ryan North is a hoot and his and Erica Henderson’s The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is always one of the best reads month in and month out.  He and artist Gustavo Durante offer up a quick and fun Lockjaw story that’s a nice pallet-cleanser after the intensity of the main story.  

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.  An emphatic five out of five Lockjaws!