#and now they're protecting everyone else—each other—in her stead

[puredoesnotmeankind]

These two excellent ILITW metas by @spacetravels really got me thinking about the 'Everyone Plays Together' scene in regards to Noah and MC. Regardless whether everyone else survives or dies, it is between them to take the place of the monster, in Jane's stead. Because, while everyone else was traumatized from what happened when they were kids, they were more-so stuck in their grief for Jane, the person they both loved so much, and their failure to have protected her. And by the end, they're the only ones who aren't to push past their respective traumas and insecurities. In the 'Everyone survives' ending, while everyone else is able to defend themselves and confront Jane when she taunts them about their insecurities, MC instead breaks down apologizing and never actually stands up for themselves.

(sorry for the shitty quality of the last one, I forgot to take my own screenshot and had to use a different one)

And Noah continues to blame himself for everything that had happened, instead of accepting that he was just an innocent kid who had no way of knowing what Redfield was capable and of stopping him from killing Jane. That he was not at fault for what had happened.

Noah and Devon's trauma and insecurities overlap (having been unable to save Jane when they felt they were the ones responsible for her protection) but manifest in different ways. MC feels like they need to save everyone, even at their own expense (like during the scene where they confronted Redfield, knowing that they could've died).

While Noah blames himself and falls into self-hatred and depression, being unable and not allowing himself to move on.

In the end, only one of them is able to be saved. Like everyone else, they're both tested by Jane, to see if they are able to overcome their trauma or if they succumb to it.

Noah is put under Jane's control, which symbolizes how his entire life, Jane's death has had a hold over him. His lack of a support system and his mother constantly blaming him has led him to centre his entire self over what happened back then. If his nerve is high enough, he's able to break her hold over him. If not, he succumbs to her influence over him and kills MC.

If Noah is able to break through, their fates are in MC's hands, which is MC's test. It's established that MC has a saviour complex, stemming from their past inability to have protected Jane. That's why it's MC's choice, not Noah's, of who sacrifices themselves.

Should MC choose to let Noah take Jane's place, it shows they're putting themselves first for once, and breaking their cycle of trying to save everyone. But if they choose to save Jane themselves/give Noah another chance on their own expense, while it was a selfless move, stemming from their love for Jane and want to save Noah, it was one that showed they had yet to overcome their guilt (and now would no longer be able to) and still felt like saving others were their responsibility.

That's what makes this final choice so interesting because neither choices are wrong or right. Would it be better for MC to let Noah make up for his last mistake and die content after a life of loneliness and self-hatred, being stuck in his grief about Jane to never have amounted into anything else? Or if they sacrifice themselves, letting Noah a chance of redemption and recovery while also robbing him the one thing that would've allowed him to finally feel at peace? And what about themselves? Is it better to be selfless and putting others in front of themselves like they've always done? Is it selflessness when Noah didn't even want MC to sacrifice themselves? And would it be fair to themselves?

There's no better or worse choice. It's just whatever choice MC chooses and the both of them have to live with it.

(another thing worth noting is how whoever out of MC and Noah do survive are shown in ILB/ILW to still be stuck on their past, but now in regards to each other and their past choices (MC letting Noah sacrifice himself/not saving him that day or Noah's actions leading to MC being put in a position where they choose to sacrifice themselves) with MC obsessing over trying to save Noah or Noah trying to bring MC back and undo his mistake but that's a post for another day)

[frodothefair]

OC and minor character lore that may or may not make it into The Golden Hall that I'm sure everyone cares about :P

Ainslie.

First, FYI about Ainslie, Éomer's ward. I dropped the parts about her being a seductress, female manipulator, and double agent. Now, she is simply a neurodivergent 18 year old with some combination of Autism Spectrum Disorder, trauma, and mild developmental delay. In Éomer's words, "we do not know if she was always this way, or if the horrors she lived have made her so." Ainslie was abused by Wormtongue, passed off as his ward, and "given" to Éowyn as a handmaiden to ingratiate himself to her. Once Wormtongue is discredited, the royal family takes Ainslie under their protection.

Éowyn, as a fellow victim of Wormtongue, takes pity on Ainslie, and leaves her a generous living/dowry before she leaves to marry Faramir. However, this has an unintended consequence -- Ainslie becomes a target for fortune hunters, and Éomer is forced to fend off a new would-be bridegroom every month, all the while lamenting that soon Ainslie will be 20, and will be able to marry and manage her finances without his permission. (In this universe, Rohirrim have some adult agency at age 15, but do not become full-fledged, legal adults until age 20).

Additionally, all the other characters try to parent Ainslie, each in their own way, but in the end, they are forced to moderate their expectations. You kind of have to, with neurodivergent people. You need to teach them and set limits as you would with anyone else, but after a while, they're probably going to have some behaviors forever. So in the end, Ainslie is always blurting out something inappropriate, or stimming, or dancing around or giggling when she shouldn't, and everyone is like "yep, that's Ainslie." And for better or for worse, being around neurodivergent individuals tends to bring out the best -- or the worst -- in people, so I've always wanted to write such a character.

Finally... perhaps Ainslie was in the Lord of the Rings after all. Remember how Elijah Wood's sister, Hannah, has a cameo in The Two Towers? She plays a Rohanese refugee in the Glittering Caves! And to be fair, she has the right innocent look and slightly dazed expression.

Hafrith and Amrothos.

Hafrith and Amrothos start to correspond when Lothíriel refuses to write to her family on account of being angry, and tells Hafrith to do so in her stead.

Eventually, Amrothos comes to visit Meduseld, and sparks fly.

Hafrith, by this point, has gotten some closure from her trauma, and is ready to start thinking about love and a family of her own. However, she does not want to leave Meduseld, her King and Queen, and Ainslie, who is like a daughter or younger sister.

Lothíriel tearfully embraces Hafirth, and tells her that she has spent the last decade of her life caring for others, and should start thinking of her own happiness. Besides, Lothíriel is coming into her own as queen, and can manage Meduseld perfectly well, while Ainslie, she is sure, will take to Dol Amroth like a fish to water (haha, bad pun).

Amrothos secures a post as ambassador to Rohan to spend more time with his sister, his brother-in-law, and his love interest.

Lothíriel encourages Hafrith to get to know Amrothos thoroughly before she considers marriage, and not to make the same mistake that she and Éomer did.

She also warns Amrothos that if he ever acts dishonorably towards Hafrith, she will send a fully armed éored to remind him of his duty.

A bit about Amrothos.

An excerpt from a yet-unpublished chapter where Lothíriel refuses to write to her kin, and tells Hafrith to do it in her stead.

Amrothos, as you'll see, is fancast as a taller Elijah Wood, because Frodo does not appear in this story, and I am a silly goose who is obsessed and fond of reusing faceclaims.

꧁ This Amrothos was a different creature entirely. 

Not only did his g’s and y’s have long curlicues, as if the letters were standing up and waving for attention, but his words were warm, playful, and familiar.

My darling, silly, petulant sister – he wrote – Why do you not answer our letters? We are all exceedingly worried. Are you so taken with your husband that you can not spare your kin a single moment?

Another letter, among several frantic ink blots and smears (Amrothos appeared to be left handed), attempted a slightly different approach, and invoked the questions of others:

The Lady Anoreth wishes to know – and she is very insistent – whether those Rohirrim feed you and clothe you, and whether your husband is as kind and honorable as his reputation. Rest assured that if he is not kind and honorable, I will deal with him myself, King or not, brother in arms or not.

And in the final letter, he seemed at his wits’ end, and there was an imprint of a wine glass at the bottom of the page.

Lothíriel! Lothíriel! – he cried – Why do you not answer? If I don’t hear from you by the month’s end, I will come to Rohan myself. Don’t think that I won’t! You have been warned, dear sister!

Hafrith tried to picture this Amrothos in her mind’s eye – he had his sister’s daring humor, so she could not help but shape Lothíriel into a man: tall and slender, but broad in shoulders, with curly dark hair, a tall nose, high cheekbones and a self-assured smile. He would wear a cloak and armor with the image of a swan, for that was the insignia of Dol Amroth, was it not?

She calculated quickly, based on the date of the letter, how likely he was to actually come, and how long it would take him to get here. 

She imagined him galloping across the darkened plains, across treacherous mountains, pausing only to sleep, and her breath caught in his throat.

She imagined his footsteps across the cold flagstones, calling anxiously, “Lothíriel? Sister?”

Hafrith exhaled a sharp breath, and gripped her quill. 

She would start with him first. 

Most esteemed Lord Amrothos, she began, carefully tracing the words, I serve at the pleasure of her Majesty the Queen Lothíriel, who being taken with her duties at court, bade me to write to you, and tell you all about the many events of her reign so far.

@emmanuellececchi @from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras @konartiste @dilettantefeminist @celeluwhenfics

[mostly-vo1d]

Lydia: but I'm not an Argent. and I'm not Allison.

Isaac, still in fucking france: welcome to the club

[itsclydebitches]

THANK YOU for bringing up ghira & kali in response to the taiyang hate. it's been so aggravating to read "well why is taiyang just sitting around doing nothing instead of going after his children??" 1. he thinks they're with qrow & should be safe, he probably still thinks they're meant to be in *mistral*. & 2. why do none of the other parents face this kind of flack. ghira & kali get a pass, willow flies under the radar despite the fact she's *actively* neglecting whitley. it's just maddening.

Right? I didn’t mention Willow because the point there is that she is neglecting her kids, but as said, what about everyone else? Ghira and Kali have both proven themselves in battle, so why didn’t they go with Blake on her very dangerous mission? Or immediately leave Menagerie after hearing about the Fall to try and find her? Jaune comes from a line of huntsmen, but there’s no one else in his (massive) family trained and looking out for him? We don’t know anything about Oscar’s aunt, but she’s not getting heat for seeming to accept that her nephew just left for some reason and may or may not ever come back. 

The real answer here is that they’re side characters that the story doesn’t have time for and that extends to Tai. It’s like the Ironwood point I was making the other day. Him not forcing Watts to turn on the heat has a 99% chance to be because the writers forgot that he could do that/don’t want the heat back on yet, not an intentional look into Ironwood’s characterization. Similarly, Tai sitting at home has a 99% chance to be because the writers didn’t know how/didn’t want to write a story about Ruby and Yang’s dad, not because it says something horrible about him as a parent. We can’t acknowledge these writing constraints and give other characters a pass and insist that Tai is worthless for not doing more. “More” in this case was never really on the table. 

Even in-world though we have plenty of answers. As I’ve said in the past, we can’t treat the cast like fully grown adults and simultaneously children whose parents are entirely responsible for keeping them safe. Ruby - the same Ruby the story is now allowing to decide the fate of the world - likewise decided to leave home with only a note. That was her choice! And it reads as a choice that really hurt Tai given how he dropped the tray of food in shock. Why didn’t he immediately run after his daughter? Because his other daughter was at home with depression, recovering from a lost arm. Here’s another moment of nothing but terrible choices that the fandom insists on blaming a character for: no matter what choice Tai makes he’s got a bad outcome. Stay with Yang? Ruby is alone. Go after Ruby? Yang is alone. He can’t be in two places at once. So Qrow goes in his stead and when Yang is better she decides to find his very dangerous ex... again, that’s her choice, but I certainly can’t blame Tai for not wanting to tag along. Finally, there’s a good possibility that he expected them to come back. I mean, Ruby went off to find Cinder and Yang went to find Ruby. Neither knew about Salem or the war at the time of these decisions. So what’s the logical conclusion here? Yang will find her sister and they’ll both come home, maybe start up school again. Instead, they fought at Haven, stole a ship to Atlas, and are now under attack. Far as we know, no one has written to Tai - including Qrow - to tell him what’s going on. Ruby’s broadcast is the first he’s heard anything in months. He didn’t know where they were before now, whether they’d come back, he’s retired... what exactly do people want Tai to do? Randomly hitchhike across Remnant looking for his girls? Sure, he technically could, but as RNJR found out, it’s a dangerous world out there, getting more dangerous each day with Salem’s forces (something Tai knows about) and kingdom tensions. I wouldn’t know where to begin, how to protect myself, or whether leaving was even the right move. 

If we’re at all going to give the group a pass for the world-altering mistakes they’ve made, we can afford to cut Tai some slack too.