#his debatable lack of care in actually getting them rescued like he doesn’t hate

[dykedvonte]

Never seen it really discussed but despite his complaints about Pony Express, Jimmy is the only crew member to somewhat like being on the Tulpar.

Of course, the reason is sort of shallow, he likes being there due to the control he has in the cock pit as co-pilot. The fact that he’s actually in charge for once, even on such a minor scale. Everyone else has this open or held in contempt for physically being there but he likes it on a fundamental level, freaks out and lashes out on such a personal level when he realizes he’s losing the first job he’s probably enjoyed and that stability/control.

It’s not anything specific or I think polarizing about Jimmy but I feel like it adds to how he tells Curly this is home to him. Earth is objectively not a place of ease or comfort for Jimmy, but the Tulpar is. It’s a fucked up perversion of home and that’s so interesting for his character who also hates the corporate culture the most out of all of them.

[robininthelabyrinth]

extra 2 for Tedious Joys - warnings for adult content, WRH/Lao Nie, slightly dubcon, not necessarily in the same universe as the previous extra, possibly AU

ao3 link

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Humans had three modes of dealing with evil things: fighting, feeding, and fucking.

Much to Jiwei’s disgust, it seemed that her Master could not be dissuaded from treating with Wen Ruohan through the last of these.

You’re disgusted any time I pick the ‘fucking’ option, her Master said tolerantly. He was watching Wen Ruohan’s body as the other man moved through the crowd like a shark amidst waters filled with fat fish, merciful and restrained only in his current lack of interest and yet convinced of his superiority. You’re barely more interested when I pick ‘feeding’, and my body would collapse if I stopped doing that.

I’ve heard good things about inedia, Jiwei retorted, but her Master only laughed. You agree that he’s evil, though.

Jiwei, sweetheart, you think almost everyone is evil.

Because they are!

The ethical frailty of humanity was practically a given at this point: one need only look around this sect conference to find examples of it, the hall teeming with the stench of moral corruption. Sect leaders who would sell their daughters for an iota more of power, who had blood on their hands from executions conducted behind closed doors, liars, thieves, cheats, crooks, evil –

To be both good and evil is natural, Jiwei, even for us two. It’s not worthy of a death sentence.

Jiwei was not arguing in any seriousness: she had long ago reached the conclusion that it was not a debate that her Master was inclined to yield upon, and of course he had long ago won the argument. After all, her Master had done his share of terrible things too, in his time, to defend his sect and his family as needed, and she had been at his side, aiding him as she ought.

She was not as rigid as Baxia, that fearsome child, who longed only, as her master did, for righteousness; she would not argue with her master the way Baxia did, quibbling over mundanities as if the human world were something that could be judged through the merits of a saber. But then Baxia had Nie Mingjue, whose soul was very near to a saber itself – unbending in its ferocity and clear in its simplicity – and Nie Mingjue listened to his saber in a way his father did not, too close and too compassionate, too forgiving of his inhuman partner’s flaws and too willing to take the time to convince when he ought to simply order.

Perhaps it was simply different for the two of them.

Baxia had roared to life with an ancient soul, a queen among sabers, and even Jiwei would not so easily choose to face her down, for all that she was more clever and more practiced, more thoughtful and more reserved, her power the greater, but her potential worse. Luckily it seemed unlikely to ever become an issue, what with Nie Mingjue earnestly trying to teach Baxia the meaning of being filial to one’s elders, as if age were at all relevant to a saber spirit.

Still, even if she were not Baxia, Jiwei had her own pride: she was still a saber, stubborn and inflexible, and so she said, Even Lan Qiren thinks you shouldn’t fuck him.

Jiwei rather begrudgingly liked Lan Qiren. She hadn’t at first, of course – not that she’d noticed him much when he was just a fellow cultivator her Master had taken a shine to, a teenager with a strange manner and his own pride, but later, when her only thought of him had been to wonder how he would dare attempt to interfere with her connection with her Master – but he was stubborn in his own way, obstinate, uncompromising, tenacious.

There was even unexpectedly some rage in him, buried deep beneath his rules and the scars left on his heart – not enough to do anything with it, the poor soul, but enough to show that he knew what it was. Jiwei had finally started condescending to give him a little of her time and attention, maybe a little of her rage that he always seemed to be seeking: at least he knew that he needed it.

Lan Qiren doesn’t want to fuck anyone, her Master said, fond as always. He, at least, would be more than happy to fuck Lan Qiren if the other man were interested. He doesn’t understand the appeal, so how can he really make a judgment on the matter?

Jiwei wasn’t sure that was how it worked – her Master respected Lan Qiren’s judgment on all sorts of things that Lan Qiren didn’t personally appreciate, and in all honesty she suspected that her Master was thinking with all the brain in the lower half of his body again – but she also didn’t actually care all that much.

Wen Ruohan hates Lan Qiren, she said instead, not for the first time that day.

Her Master frowned, as he did before. I don’t know what’s gotten into Hanhan over it. He even went and got Qiren drunk again, and I thought he swore never to be in his vicinity while drunk ever again, after last time.

Lan Qiren, when drunk, dropped all façade of caring about other people’s lack of interest in his favorite subjects, and also any reservations about using his strength and body to pin people into place – he’d held Wen Ruohan down by the arm, and ended up at one point in his lap to loudly insist that he pay attention because they were just getting to the interesting part, despite assurances by Wen Ruohan that it was not interesting, had never been interesting, and that he would shortly begin to bite off his own limbs in order to escape if it did not rapidly become more interesting.

Her Master had gone over at that point, nominally to assist but actually in order to enjoy having Lan Qiren on his own lap, and yet somehow that had only made Wen Ruohan’s expression worse.

Humans were so confusing.

Didn’t you tell Lan Qiren that you’d rescue him sooner if he got drunk again?

Her Master laughed, but he put down his drink and went: Lan Qiren had drunk four toasts, which was three and three-quarters more than he could tolerate, and he had cornered some poor sect leader and started in on some subject on musical cultivation that even Jiwei, who had no ears, could identify as being both esoteric and extremely boring.

Wen Ruohan caught her Master by the wrist before he got to Lan Qiren’s side.

“You should come spend some time with me, my friend,” he said, his eyes intent, purposeful, gaze as hot as the sun patterned on his clothing. “I have scarcely seen you this evening.”

Because you were too busy trying to get Lan Qiren drunk for some reason, Jiwei said scathingly, and her Master shushed her.

“The days in your Nightless City are long and the nights longer, A-Han,” her Master said, turning his hand to stroke two fingers along the underside of Wen Ruohan’s wrist – the other man released his hand, recoiling as if he’d been burnt; he had never grown accustomed to her Master’s shameless displays of affection. “There will still be time for us to spend time together.”

Wen Ruohan’s eyes narrowed. “But not now.”

“Not now,” her Master said agreeably. “I promised Qiren that I wouldn’t let him embarrass himself.”

“Someone else could do that.”

“They could, yes, but I’m the one that promised him.”

Wen Ruohan’s lips twisted. “You promise him many things. More than you should, with him the sect leader of another sect…”

“So are you, Hanhan,” the Master said. “And don’t I promise you the moon and the stars, if only I could fetch them down for you?”

The poetry of humans was truly insipid, in Jiwei’s view, and yet like all monsters Wen Ruohan both hated and loved the purity of her Master’s emotions, his heart offered on a platter without reservations.

It didn’t seem to be working this time, though.

“Go to him, then,” Wen Ruohan sneered, his jaw tight from where he was grinding his teeth together. “I trust you will tell me, then, when you finally decide to promise him that I will no longer be sharing your bed.”

I like him when he’s jealous, her Master remarked to her, and sometimes Jiwei thought her Master could be a very stupid man. He’s never more ferocious and passionate than he is when he thinks someone has taken something of his.

Never more dangerous, you mean. You always did like the ones that could and did want to kill you.

It adds some spice to life.

Life is not a food. It does not require spice.

You don’t eat, sweetheart; what do you know?

Jiwei considered this comment to fall into the same category as the one about Lan Qiren not knowing a bad idea just because he was sensible enough not to want to fuck it.

“Lan Qiren has no say in who I allow to share my bed,” he said, and stepped forward abruptly: Wen Ruohan, his senses as always tuned to the highest level of paranoia, instinctively stepped back, and so allowed her Master to corner him up against the wall, bringing their faces level and close to each other until their breath was shared. “Don’t think I didn’t see who was sending all those toasts to him, A-Han.”

“You object?” Wen Ruohan hissed, trying to pretend that he was unmoved by her Master’s nearness – as if anyone could miss the blood pounding through his veins, or the hardness beneath his clothing that her Master deliberately pressed his thigh against in a teasing gesture that made Wen Ruohan inhale sharply.

Wen Ruohan was too powerful, Jiwei thought; his wives treated him like a god, and his concubines like something even higher – he had never been treated so intimately, so recklessly and without care for whether or not he approved, and he was fascinated by it.

“Do you like him?” her Master asked, and Wen Ruohan’s eyes went wide in indignation. “The Lan sect breeds for beauty, and he’s got his fair share of it, even if he doesn’t think of it that way.”

“You cannot be serious.”

“There’s something appealing even in his very disinterest,” her Master mused, and Jiwei resigned herself to hearing this again. “He’s above such things, like a statue carved into the mountainside, untouchable and cold, the stone unyielding, and yet his flesh is as soft as any other man’s – it would give if you pressed on it. Turn red if you dug your fingers in, bruising like the skin of a ripe peach.”

Wen Ruohan’s throat worked as he swallowed.

“You like that sort of thing, don’t you? You like it when people are in pain…you like the rush of power it gives you. There are other ways of having power, A-Han.”

Her Master had thoroughly pinned Wen Ruohan against the wall now, even though the other sect leader’s cultivation was higher, his physical strength above their own. Their hips were slotted together, the two of them grinding up against each other, and Wen Ruohan’s mouth was a little agape, his lips and the tongue between them very red.

“There are,” he murmured, eying her Master as if he wanted to peel off his skin and devour him whole, put him in his belly where no one else would be able to reach him. “And this is his: that even now you will leave me and go to him instead.”

Her Master laughed.

“I need to take him to bed,” he murmured, words deliberately ambiguous, and Wen Ruohan jerked in his grasp – perhaps her Master was not so wrong in thinking that Wen Ruohan admired the coldly beautiful Lan Qiren more than he should. “Why don’t you help me?”

Wen Ruohan frowned, even as her Master stepped away. “Help you?”

“Take him to bed,” her Master said, and smiled as Wen Ruohan scowled at him. “It’ll be easier to carry him with two of us.”

Lan Qiren did not especially want to go with them, eager to continue his elaboration on whatever subject he was on now – actually a method for temporarily cutting off someone’s breathing using sound alone, not that anyone would be able to tell unless they had an excellent understanding of musical notation, esoteric cultivation techniques, and the human pulmonary system – although the sect leaders he had cornered were deeply grateful for the intervention. Still, Lan Qiren was a cultivator of song and thought, his strength respectable but nothing in comparison to martial cultivators like Jiwei’s Master or Wen Ruohan; they were easily able to drag him away despite his protests.

Her Master eased the way further by picking up another jar of wine and pouring it into Lan Qiren’s throat as they fought to get him up the stairs, the additional liquor finally acting to push him from wildness into quietude in a single step: he fell asleep at once, instantly becoming as limp as a fully cooked noodle and just as inconvenient.

“Do you have to deal with this every time?” Wen Ruohan complained.

Jiwei’s Master chuckled. “It helps to have experience,” he said, tapping the side of his nose. “Come, get his shoes off while I get the bed ready.”

“You treat me as if I were a common servant,” Wen Ruohan said disdainfully, although he did kneel and remove Lan Qiren’s shoes. Jiwei almost wondered at his willingness, given Wen Ruohan’s usual self-perception as a soon-to-be deity, or at least she did until he ran his fingers up Lan Qiren’s calf and even up to his inner thigh, his gaze firmly fixed on Jiwei’s Master as if in challenge – he was starting something, of course.

“You can’t make him jump when he’s like this,” her Master said, unmoved by the provocation. “He’s utterly insensate; he wouldn’t even notice if you put your hand on his dick.”

“Maybe I should,” Wen Ruohan said, the implicit challenge now outright.

“Maybe you should put it on mine instead,” her Master said. “There’s a second bed in the room.”

Jiwei did not have eyes, but she could enjoy the expression of shock on Wen Ruohan’s face through her Master’s perception of it.

“You’re not serious,” Wen Ruohan said. He did not sound repulsed by the idea – merely surprised that Jiwei’s Master had suggested it, and more than a little intrigued by it.

“I’ve gone night-hunting with him before,” her Master said. “He understands that men who are not him have needs that must be fulfilled; he’s told me before that he doesn’t mind me getting myself off near him, or even while thinking of him, as long as I don’t involve him.”

“You’re rather pushing the boundaries of that agreement, aren’t you?”

Jiwei’s Master had a smile full of teeth – his own type of shark, his own type of monster. “Don’t you like pushing boundaries the most, A-Han?”

It was things like this that drew a clear line between Jiwei’s Master and Baxia’s, Jiwei thought to herself, amused. In the ranking of things that were dear to her Master, his sect came first, and all else second, even family, friendship, or morality; Nie Mingjue, in contrast, would rank family first, morality second, and sect third, and would never take even minimal advantage of a friend, even when the gains were great and the downsides almost none.

Their power over Wen Ruohan was useful to the Nie sect, and pleasing to Jiwei’s Master on a personal basis; the power they drew out from their dual cultivation beneficial to both him and her – they did, in fact, engage in it on the second bed in the room, her Master’s voice rough against his Hanhan’s ear, spinning fantasy and filth at the same time, both their gazes fixed firmly on where Lan Qiren slept innocently on, detached in his disinterest and unlikely to object to anything other than the sheer impropriety of it even if he awoke.

Certainly that had been his reaction the last few times her Master had brought someone back to the single room at the inn that they had been sharing – not that Wen Ruohan needed to know that he wasn’t the first.

Do you intend to court them both? Jiwei asked, curious. It wasn’t the worst idea, even if she despaired at the thought of there being even more fucking instead of fighting: Lan Qiren’s coolness was a good counterbalance to Wen Ruohan’s heat, even if Wen Ruohan’s viciousness was more their speed than Lan Qiren’s level-headed contemplation and compassion. If he obtained them both, her Master could get the benefits of Lan Qiren’s company and conversation, which he truly enjoyed, and Wen Ruohan’s body and cleverness, and perhaps with two of them at his side Wen Ruohan would finally find himself content with what he had, able to stop his endless quest for more, more, more, the yawning pit of greed that lay beneath his arrogance and drove him to do increasingly terrible things.

Perhaps, if they’d let me, her Master replied. His mental voice was tight the way it always was when he dual cultivated with another cultivator, in the time before he reached release – he would be full of energy in the morning, excitable; their morning training together would be especially good for them both, strengthening them as they shared the qi between them. They’d be a force to be reckoned with, especially with me beside them…Qiren doesn’t like sex, but he’s never objected to romance, so it’s not hopeless. Hanhan could be taught to respect limits, and Qiren’s always been remarkably easy-going with those he considers his friends. It would be a good match. Don’t you agree, sweetheart?

You’ve always had eyes for things bigger than you can swallow, Jiwei said. She would roll her eyes if she had them. Well, good luck. Don’t let it be your funeral.

Don’t worry, her Master said, reckless as always. I won’t.

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - The King and Queen of Hearts

The existence of this episode just baffles me, as it undermines so much of what season three was trying to accomplish. 

Summary:  Rapunzel continues to try and restore the memories of her parents, King Frederic and Queen Arianna, and hopes to use the journal of Herz Der Sonne to remind them, but they do not understand the significance. Arianna still lusts for adventure, while Frederic cannot get over his obsession of egg collecting. Rapunzel recruits her friends to try and set up the perfect date for them and while they cannot find anything in common personality wise, they share a mutual love for Rapunzel. However, King Trevor arrives with the intent to woo Arianna using an ocean crystal he found.

So What Exactly Is the History Here? 

We have no context for this sudden love triangle. All we know is that Trevor hates Frederic because he’s still in love with Arianna who wound up marrying him instead. 

But like, I don't know why Arianna married Frederic. I don’t know why Trevor is still hung up on her years later. Did she actually choose Frederic or was it an arranged marriage cause that’s what royalty did back then? Was she having an affair with Trevor this whole time but couldn’t/wouldn’t leave because of duty? Was she and Trevor pining star crossed lovers, or is Trevor just an incel? 

I know what the story wants me to assume; that Arianna deeply loves Frederic and that Trevor is just a jackass loser; but the series has done such a poor job of making Frederic likable and giving him and Arianna any sort of chemistry that I’m inclined to side with Trevor. 

For all we know, he may be trying to rescue Arianna from both her memory loss and her abusive relationship while at it. Especially now that she’s no longer needed as a ruler and has no reason to stay in Corona. 

Why Not Just Use the Potion from Rapunzel: Day One? 

While any Varian cameo is appreciated, it doesn’t add thing to the story. In fact it only raises more questions. We already had a cure for the memory loss, why aren’t we using it? 

Even if we write it off as Rapunzel no longer having that particular Saporian spellbook on hand, she still has a whole dungeon full of actual Saporians who know magic that she could gain information from! There’s also Xavier, who already knows everything under the sun about Saporian/Coronian history and magic and owns spellbooks galore. You’re telling me he just has mood potions lying around but can’t brew up a cure for memory loss? 

Then there’s also the fact that the amnesia spell doesn’t work on Rapunzel’s parents the same as it did on Rapunzel and we’re never given a reason why. Like just some basic consistence is all I ask show. 

I also can’t figure out what Varian is even trying to do here. Where’s is the science to this? What does strawberry goop and lighting have to do with memory? It’s just a cheap reference to Frankenstein and nothing more.  

We’re Already Pass Seven Months Since Rapunzel’s Return. 

Ok, I have gotten into frequent debates with people about the timeline of season three. Many a story board artist and writer on the show have came forward and stated that season three was only one year. But the very existence of this episode disproves them! 

If you remember season one, Hearts Day took place after the Goodwill Festival, but before Queen for a Day. Even when putting episodes back into their intended production order that still remains true. 

Hearts Day has to be at least seven months past Rapunzel’s birthday, if not eight months, because the Goodwill Festival is six months past and her parent’s anniversary (QfaD) is nine months past. 

Now Rapunzel’s Return has to be Rapunzel’s 20th birthday because season two was a full year, and even if you say it’s not, then that still doesn’t explain Once a Handmaiden (the Goodwill Festival) coming after this episode.  

And no you can’t move the episodes around, Once a Handmaiden has be the second to last episode of the series and Under Raps always comes after Rapunzel’s Enemy in any order you watch the series in. 

No matter how you slice it, we’re missing a birthday episode for Rapunzel and season three has to be more than a year; a year and a half at the very least, if not two full years.  

Look I’m not trying to be disrespectful of the talented artists who worked on this show, but their word isn’t law. The very fact that they’ve had to tell us the timeline after the series was over with indicates bad writing, and the very fact that the show itself contradicts them indicates either a lack of communication behind the scenes or a lack of editorial oversight. Either option is just poor management. 

We Have Yet Another Failed Narrative Promise! 

Are we seeing a pattern yet? 

This is the third time in a row where the episode flat out states that Rapunzel needs to learn something and then, just, never has her learn it; four if you count her non-apology to Varian. Instead the show rewards her for her bad behavior by just giving her want she wants on a sliver platter for no adequate reason. 

In fact, one could argue that this episode is the worst offender in the show because divorce is a real thing real kids have to go through. Children that will undoubtedly watch the series. 

How upsetting would it be to such a child to watch Rapunzel force her parents back together  with zero consequences and realize that they can’t do that in real life? It can potentially feed into misplaced delusions or make them even more bitter, either way it’s unhealthy and super irresponsible to tackle such subject matter in this way. Even Sesame Street handled the topic of divorce better than this supposedly ‘mature’ show. 

It’s a Castle! Why Can’t Frederic Get His Own Room?

Frederic is the king. He still technically owns everything even if he’s not the one still in charge. He could have his pick of any room so why is he forcing himself on Eugene? Hell he doesn’t even have to stay in the castle. As pointed out during The Return of the King review, there’s other accommodations within the kingdom that’s suited for royalty. Why not head up to that mountain retreat?  

This is a Really Bad Message 

I understand that this is meant to be a joke, because of how ridiculously over the top it is, but because the series gives Rapunzel what she wants in the end without ever having her acknowledge how she is wrong here, it winds up validating her toxic world view anyways.

Divorce is not inherently a bad thing. We should be working towards both normalizing it and promoting healthy coping mechanisms for those that go through it, adult and child alike. What Rapunzel is doing here is just repeating puritanical fearmongering. And while I can understand why she might behave in this way, I don't understand why the show refuses to call her out on it. Or any of the other million bad behaviors she displays repeatedly through out the show... like the example below for instance... 

Why Am I Suppose to Like Rapunzel Again? 

It’s like the writers don’t understand that a joke can damage a character, especially if it’s overplayed. Super sweet upbeat Rapunzel snapping because she finally met someone who was annoying or a situation she couldn’t just solve with a positive attitude was funny maybe like the first time; but we’re three seasons in and this is supposedly her closest loved ones.  

Look at them! They’re fucking terrified of her! All they did was point out that she maybe should do her job and deal with real problems instead of poking her nose into her parents business where it doesn’t belong! And this brat is now the ruler of the whole kingdom!? No one can legally stand up to her. 

Like where’s the Eugene that stood up to her in Under Raps for trying this same bullshit? Why hasn’t she learned her lesson? She also pulled this same bullying tactic on young Lance and teen Eugene two episodes. Cass left her ass, supposedly, because of her bossy thoughtless ways. And this is also the same woman who abused a child back in season one and still has never acknowledged it. 

Yes characters should be flawed, but they should also face real consequences for their actions, and if they’re a protagonist they need to learn and grow past their flaws. 

I actively started to dislike Rapunzel after this scene. I already felt something was off way back in the season three opener, but this is the point where I stopped and went “What the fuck?” She used to be my second favorite character behind Varian. I didn’t go into this wanting to hate her, even after this episode I still held out hope that they were trying to purposefully lead up to some sort of falling out with everyone and with Rapunzel having to own up to her bullshit in order to win. You know like a classic third act “the hero is now alone due to their past mistakes” type story. But Nope! 

There’s no pay off for any of this. Rapunzel is just mean for the sake of being mean in season three, and no one is aloud to call her out on it. She’s now the same type person as Frederic, a tyrant. That’s not a good development! 

She’s Literally Bullying Her Own Parents Now, and I’m Suppose to Find that Funny? 

Yes, Frederic is her abuser, and yes some people might find this scene cathartic if they hate him. But this isn’t actually calling out his past abuse. It’s just Rapunzel treating a now powerless old man with that same abuse and denying him bodily autonomy. An old man who has both less political rights and less power within the relationship than her; since due to his memory loss he is now dependent upon her. 

In the real world it’s the equivalent of picking on an Alzheimer's patient who is in your care. I don’t give a shit how much of dick they were before the illness set in, you don’t fucking do that!  

Why Should I Want Arianna and Frederic To Be a Couple? 

The show has done nothing to sell this relationship. In fact one could argue that the show is trying to purposefully sabotage it. 

Before the memory loss Frederic was proven to be abusive, to the point where even his own wife was afraid of him and wouldn’t stand up to him. Meanwhile Arianna was shown to be a shell of her former self who’d all but given up upon the things she actually enjoyed in life. And now that they both have had a second chance they have even less motive to stay together. 

Look at Arianna up there? She’s clearly not enjoying her time with him. While he doesn’t want to engage in anything that she likes. I mean a couple doesn’t have to share their interests in everything, but there still has to be some sort of connection and the series just does not give us that connection. 

There’s no reason why they should stay together. They no longer have any commitment or duty to fulfill as rulers and their daughter is fully grown. Contrary to what Rapunzel says, the kingdom isn’t going to fall apart if they separate. It actually would probably better for everyone, including Rapunzel, if they got divorced. At least then she’d have to grow up somewhat and stop being a controlling asshat.  

Why is Attila Here?

I thought Attila got a job running his own bakery and that it was Lance who became the new cook at the Snuggly Duckling? Even if you argued that Attila was just doing Rapunzel a solid that still wouldn’t explain who is running the place when Lance isn’t there. 

If you’re going to set up developments like that then you need to either stick with them or give an on screen reason for why these previous developments are no longer relevant. Flat out ignoring them like this is just lazy. 

Lance’s New Outfit is the Best Thing About the Episode, and It’s Also a Complete Waste.

Lance deserved a new outfit because the team was too lazy to give him one for season two, even during the island arc. This however is a waste because it doesn’t add anything to the narrative. People were paid to make this thing for it to only show up for a few seconds of screen time. 

This Whole Exchange Is Gross. 

Oh let me count the ways in which this is so, so stupid. 

Neither Rapunzel nor Frederic has ever proven themselves “thoughtful and responsible.” In fact both of them being irresponsible is intentionally a plot point in the main story arc.

How would either Frederic or Arianna know any of this? Not only have they lost their memories, but they didn’t raise Rapunzel themselves and those traits aren’t inherited; they are taught. 

Gushing over your grown daughter isn’t a point of connection! 

Why would anyone be compelled to kiss a practical stranger, that they previously didn’t even like, just because they both admire some woman they also barely know and happen to be related to? What is the thought process behind this? “Oh we made that? Then lets make another one!” What the fuck show? I’m ace and even I know that’s not a normal thing to get titillated over. 

The Series Turns Frederic Into a Literal Baby In a Last Ditch Effort to Make Him Likable 

The whole point behind the amnesia plot was to absolve Frederic of his past wrong doings. You can’t call out an old man with Alzheimer's for being a dictator, I suppose. (not like that’s ever stopped me from criticizing Ronald Reagan, tho)  But from there the series then takes it one step further and actually infantilizes both Frederic and Arianna, because Chris assumes that if he makes Fredric as pathetic as possible the audience won't hate him any more. Well guess what, it didn’t work. Frederic isn’t suddenly a poor woobie just because he’s useless now. That’s not how that works.  

Rapunzel Literally Physically Assaults a Person, Kidnaps Them, Threatens Them With Even More Bodily Harm, and Causes an International Incident; All Because They Asked Her Mom Out On a Date! 

You can’t hear it in the screen shots, but there’s very clearly a clanging sound to indicate that Rapunzel just wacked Trevor upside the head and knocked him out. 

Let me repeat, a Disney protagonist just committed armed assault against a guy, simply because she doesn’t respect her own mother.

What the Fuck!!!???

Arianna is fully grown woman. She is perfectly capable of making her own choices and she agreed of her own volition to go out with him. In fact she’s the one who asked Trevor if she could come along on his sea voyage. It’s not Rapunzel’s place to interfere with that. 

Secondly, Rapunzel shouldn’t get a free pass to attack people just because she’s doesn’t like them. And she most assuredly shouldn’t get to write off her cruelty as justice because she's royalty! What the hell? You just turned one of your official princesses into a literal tyrant for the sake of a joke, Disney! 

Where the fuck was the oversight on this show!? 

And to top it all off, Trevor is a ruler of a competing kingdom. This could easily have been deemed an act of war. Thankfully for everyone involved Trevor has far more sense and compassion than Rapunzel and doesn’t push the matter. 

Yes that’s right! The intentionally annoying prat and comedic antagonist is a more upstanding person than the main heroine! Let that sink in! 

Wait, If Laws Don’t Apply Out In the Ocean, Then Why Did Eugene and Max Have Jurisdiction to Arrest Lady Caine in Peril on the High Seas? 

Max shoved this same rule book into Eugene’s face when Eugene rightfully questioned if it was his job to arrest the mutineers. This book said that it was not only his job, but that he was also legally required to stop any and all ‘wrongdoing’ no matter where he was at nor whether he was on duty or not. While also failing to specify what ‘wrongdoing’ entailed. 

Now that’s very problematic and ridiculous for a whole host of reasons that I’ve already covered back in my review of Peril on the High Seas, but this scene now adds a whole new layer of stupidity to the mix. 

If zero laws apply out in open waters than yes, Eugene and Max were acting out of their jurisdiction. Not only that, but the pervious dumb rule regarding their duties is also now null and void. So, Justice For Lady Caine! 

Oh, but were not done yet, cause it gets dumber. 

If laws, including marriage don't apply, then getting married while out at sea also would not apply. Thereby rendering Trevor’s plan useless, unless they got married back in Equis. Which if they did that, it would bypass the entire pointless rule book completely because Equis is not subject to Corona’s laws anyways. 

There’s not even any ‘inter-kingdom’ laws that they would be subject too because Equis isn’t a part of the seven kingdoms. Any treaty they did previously have with Corona would be something else entirely, and Trevor would be within his rights to end such an agreement.     

Also Trevor is a king. He can do whatever the fuck he wants. Same goes for Arianna.

Ummm, No You Don’t Rapunzel

Trevor can’t marry Arianna without her agreement to it. It’s already been established that she’s physically capable of taking care of herself and she’s also mature enough to make her own decisions. If she did wind up marrying him it’d be because it’s her fucking choice to and Rapunzel has zero right to interfere with that.  

There’s no one to rescue here. Rapunzel has no reason to go chasing after her mom. All this is doing is denying a grown woman agency over her own life. Why should I or anyone, root for Rapunzel here? 

You Do Know That Arianna Has More Than Just Two Choices Here, Don't Ya Show?

Arianna doesn’t have to be in any relationship. That’s also an option. While I personally like Trevor, this shouldn’t be a choice between him or Frederic. The show should be asking what Arianna, as a character, would want for her life, instead of just shoehorning her into just being a wife for someone else. 

I still don’t know what Arianna really wants in life, but I do know that being a domestic housewife and a queen does not suit her. She doesn’t actually like being tied down with commitments and responsibilities. She’s repeatedly indicated over and over again that she feels uncomfortable in her role. 

But the show reduces her into trophy to win and turns her into a damsel in distress multiple times. Then it further neuters her so that she complacently walks back into that life over and over again for no logical reason. She’s treated not as a person but as a prop.    

Really, Arianna? Are You Really Sure About That? 

These aren’t Arianna’s words. They’re Chris’s. 

Arianna has shown zero interest in Frederic up to this point. The closest they got was during that creepy boat scene where they just jumped to almost kissing for no real reason.  While before now Arianna was making actual goo-goo eyes at Trevor earlier, before Raps stepped in and broke them up.  

They actually do have things in common and had a genuine point of connection. They even almost kissed themselves until Raps started being a dick. No forced and icky conversations about their grown children needed here folks!

While I still firmly believe Arianna should just be single, the show does far more to convince me that she and Trevor should be together more so than her and Frederic. Everything about this scene on the boat feels forced and hollow because it doesn’t ring true to what was previously established. 

This just isn’t good writing. It’s the animation equivalent of a six year old smashing their Barbie dolls faces together and shouting “now kiss!”, all because a middle aged man couldn’t get over they fact people didn’t like his self insert. 

No, wait, I apologize. That’s being mean to six year olds. They usually have more interesting plots and established characterization than this.  

Hey, Remember When the Series Villainized an Orphan For Stealing This Stupid Book? 

Yeah, stealing the book was treason and the mains ruined a child’s life over it, but apparently it just doesn’t matter any more cause no one seems to give a shit about Trevor taking it. Like, yes, as the king of another kingdom, Trevor isn’t beholden to Frederic’s bullshit, but you would think that the characters would treat this as a bigger deal than what they do, given how they responded previously to it being taken.

Unless Rapunzel was just talking out of her ass back during The Alchemist Returns. That’s also quite possible.  

This Literally Has Nothing To Do With You Rapunzel 

Just because Rapunzel herself is a woman, doesn’t mean that stealing the agency of another female character isn’t misogynist. Especially when their both written by primarily men.  

Every guy who was involved with the writing of the episode, should be fucking ashamed of themselves!!! 

So What Exactly Has Trevor Done Wrong Up To This Point? 

Yes, the story board artists and voice actors do a lot of heavy lifting here to try and make Trevor seem like a creep. Arianna’s body language and tone of voice when dealing with him here will be very familiar to a lot of women, I’m sure. I know what it’s like to have a stalker and not know how to turn them down because you’ve been trained all your life to ‘be polite and nice” to people, and I’m not unique in that regard. 

But here’s the thing, it’s not set up properly. There’s nothing backing this sudden shift in the characters’ dynamic. Up till now Trevor has been a perfect gentlemen. Sure he was over the top as always, and you could call it an act when regarding his politeness to Frederic, but he seemed to genuinely respect and admire Arianna and clearly desires genuine affection in return from her. Why would he suddenly stop behaving in a way that worked for him and start talking over her instead? 

Also why wouldn’t Arianna just tell him no to begin with if that’s what she wants? She had no trouble speaking her mind before now. But that begs the question why she wouldn’t return his feelings as well, because as stated above, she clearly showed interest in him previously. 

This is So Fucking Forced

Yeah, okay, you’re daughter has no reason to be here to begin with, disrespected your wishes, and attacked Trevor first. At this point I’d argue he has a right to retaliate. Especially since, if Rapunzel was allowed to board, you know she’d just attack him again, because she knows no other way to resolve conflicts other than to hit people very hard.  

Arianna’s actions here only make sense if she’s kept in the dark about what an awful human being her daughter really is. That’s poor writing. 

Also, having a woman just punch people while denying them actually agency and choice within the plot is not ‘girl power.’ It’s fucking misogyny!

How Does Doing the Bare Minimum, and Just Showing Basic Human Decency Count As ‘True Love’? 

What was she suppose to do? Let him drown? I mean I wouldn’t, and I despise the man. Not to mention anyone else could have done the same thing. They’re all right there. If Lance had jumped to the rescue would Trevor have proclaim them lovers too? 

Trevor Is Still the Better Man Here

Here he is rescuing Rapunzel even after she treated him like shit. 

Best. King. Period. 

This Still Doesn’t Redeem Frederic 

So through out the episode Frederic has inexpiably shown an obsession for eggs. He now collects them even though this was never an established trait before now. But whatever. He’s just been through something traumatic and looking for something to ground himself.  Far be it from me to make fun of someone else’s special interest. If you like to collet eggs than good for you. Go live your life to fullest. 

That’s more respectful than how the show handles it, as everyone dismiss his interest and it’s treated like a joke through out the episode. Only to have said obsession save the day. But this isn’t here to teach the others about respecting other people’s hobbies, oh no, it’s here to try and give Frederic a big hero moment so you’ll cheer for him. 

Except one nice thing does not erase his past actions! I don’t care what your hobby is, if you deliberately try to cause grievous harm to people you’re and asshole! And you will continue to be an asshole until you can admit what you’ve done wrong and try your best to make up for it. 

I Hope You Made Back Up Copies of The Tunnel Maps 

A bunch of people are more upset over this development than I am, because it is a historical artifact and preserving the past is important. But the only story function the book held was a map to the tunnels, and said tunnels were never utilized properly through out the entire show. 

To this day people still don’t understand that they’re meant connect the island to Old Corona or that Herz Der Sonne is the one who built them into order to invade Saporia because the show is so bad at its world building. And come season three, they’re all but irrelevant anyways. Such a wasted concept. 

Once Again the Whole ‘Memory Loss’ Subplot Is a Copout 

Ok that’s not how the spell worked previously, but that’s not what I’m taking issue with here. 

If the whole point behind the amnesia plot twist was to sweep Frederic’s awfulness under the rug, then I expect his past actions to be addressed once he’s regained his memories. They are not. 

This episodes reverses the very thing that the season was trying to achieve and just hopes the audience is too stupid/attention deficient to notice. Well guess what, we noticed and we’re far smarter than you Chris. 

Conclusion

I don’t understand the point of this episode. It shoots everything season three is trying to do in the foot. It screws up the timeline, makes Rapunzel even more of an irredeemable dickhead while preventing her from learning yet another needed lesson, undermines Arianna as a character once again, and it puts Frederic back in the crosshairs of the audience’s scrutiny. 

Oh and look, it’s written by the same guy who wrote Rapunzel’s Return. Why am I not surprised.  

Anyways another one down and only 15 more to go. You can support my continued marathon by dropping a tip in my ko-fi if you wish. I’m currently back to job hunting yet again and anything you can give is appreciated. 

https://ko-fi.com/rachelbethhines

[majorxmaggiexboy]

my favorite part about TURN is how most of Ben’s little handful of Personal Enemies tend to just. forget he exists. usually (but not always) right after verbally confirming their intent to murder him.

( disclaimer: this is a very silly list and not meant to be taken seriously at all, especially toward the end, although imo i’ve got a point on some of them XD )

Simcoe is more implied, but i mean he has his own special way of saying Ben’s name and a very good reason to Absolutely Hate Him (they share a birthday!), they had an excellent dialogue basically debating each other under the guise of playing Devil/Angel to Newt...but ultimately he’s content to go after Abe and Caleb and be the bane of Anna’s existence and never think about Ben again.

Rogers literally spends all of s1 on a full-on quest to get revenge against Ben for having the audacity to fight for his life and survive Rogers’ ambush. The first time he hears Ben’s name, it zooms in on his face as a “oh sh** he comin” song plays over the scene.The last time they see each other, Rogers  l i t e r a l l y  swears to hunt Ben down....and then only ever mentions him again, one time, to Abe, and then hecks off to do his own thing and doesn’t even go back to the Must Kill Tallmadge quest after finishing the Must Kill Jandre quest. Drops Ben like a hot potato (not an inaccurate label but we digress)

Sarah considered shooting him but she isn’t really on this list

Arnold gives his whole stupid spiel in the tavern about how Ben’s one of the Meddling Kids who ruined his life and how he Will Not Let That Stand and then, to be fair, you know what, actually he might have been trying something when he invited Ben to turncoat. He knows Ben’s Head of Intelligence. Maybe he had a little backstabby plan there. We’ll give him half a point for inviting Ben via postcard to come to his little ratbastardly house party, immediately after verbally confirming intent to murder him...before proceeding to never think about or mention Ben again. half a point to Arnold. However points off for lack of follow-through or finesse bring his score to a number so negative we don’t actually have a number for it.

Lee not only decided he wanted to murder Ben, but was also fully gonna make it happen until Wash intervened and then Lee couldn’t even be bothered to plot in the background or send assassins or anything. no points. actually two points for the hilarious scene where he does intend to attempt murder. but points off for being Lee and also for giving up. Hasn’t he heard of Try, Try Again? I mean Ben’s fully immune to death but come on, dude.

Randall got his face rearranged by Ben (and the people said amen) and while it was mentioned that there was a fallout from this (for Ben) we didn’t see it and Randall didn’t discuss it and it was never brought up again. Granted there is nothing that could improve Randall’s score at this stage of the game but you know what now his score is even lower. Randall Sucks, objectively.

To be fair, Gamble never claimed he’d like to- actually no I take it back he actually did verbally confirm that, for pretty much no reason, he’d like to not only murder Ben but also ~be mean to him~ first. Actively attempted to hunt him down after he escaped but apparently was eventually like “eh, forget it” before getting indecisively d’Artagnan’d by Ben. He doesn’t lose any points though because he’s got a cute smile and is weirdly charming in a swamp weasel kind of way. Also used his last words to make a pun.

Bradford’s on the list just bc he did not give a damn. He didn’t forget anything with Ben bc Ben was barely on his radar to start with. He was so unconcerned with actually participating in the rivalry, that Ben had to carry 90% of it himself. Every time Ben shows up Bradford’s just like 🙄 doesn’t lose any points bc the only reason he didn’t make a solid attempt to do whatever he was going to do right after announcing intent to do something, was that Caleb was there as backup (always) and then the whole dying thing happened. Solid effort, Brad, deserved better and i like him so much. 9/10

Hewlett’s on the list just in order to mention that Ben literally charged into town with guns blazing and ruined his day and Hewlett was just like...he had nothing to say. Ben was off his radar so fast they couldn’t even get to the Personal Enemies stage.

Jandre unfortunately loses some points for the fact that Ben gets outed to him as Head of Intelligence and Johnsauce doesn’t particularly care or do anything with that information he’s just like “that’s weird bc based on what I know about Tallmadge, the kid sucks, but based on what I know about Washington’s Head of Intelligence, the kid is brilliant. Huh.” so he loses points for never even trying to ruin Ben’s day or anything like that but he gets a pass bc their little interaction bit was all sweet and mutal-respecting and emotionally just. yeah.

Mary’s on the list because she should have had a personal grudge like “you’re the one who invited my husband into your dangerous little spy club?” and they had some tension but she didn’t do anything and really all they did was yell at each other so u-u

hell let’s throw Scott on here too because he was like “dISCIPLINARY ACTION” but then he was like “...LATER.” like dude you can shoot like three dudes dead with no trial but you can’t even roll up one of those reports and bop Ben on the head with it? tch. no gumption Scott, you suck. Loses points because he was so convinced that someone else would handle Ben for him that he (thankfully) didn’t just do it himself.

you know what let’s actually put Washington on this list too just because of the fact that two different times, TWO TIMES, he reaches the point of being like “TALLMADGE YOURE FIRED” and literally nothing happens. Especially funny because the first time, he said Ben was fired for not being able to get the spies to listen to him and follow orders...and then Ben proceeds to...not...follow orders...like ever. at all. straight-up planned to go behind Wash’s back to rescue Hewlett but Caleb was like “I got this”...continued to defy orders right up through the second time he got fired. 10/10 but no actually Washington loses some points for just being like “I’m done with you. You’re fired.” instead of dropping that cape over Ben’s head and then spinning him a few times or something. Show some initiative, my guy, be creative. Express yourself. Anyway he apparently forgot Ben had been fired both times it happened so. List.

Peggy’s on the list because not only did she cook up a scheme to try to at least get information from Ben, she also...look, she was told by Arnold that Ben’s Head of Intelligence. The wheels turned, onscreen, for God and everybody to see. She goes to Ben, turns on the charm, which he’s too busy admiring the clock and being sad to properly appreciate, had that whole thing where she was like “Hey,,,,wanna dance,,” and he was like “I’m at your service” (!!!!!!!!) and she was like, “I should think so” (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and there was nothing happening right then that wasn’t her being like “i’m gonna squeeze this himbo for every ounce of war-critical intel he can give me. won’t even know what hit him” aND THEN IT’S NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN. SHE JUST. SPOKE TO HIM LIKE ONE TIME AND DROPPED THE WHOLE SCHEME. WIThIN THE SAME EPISODE. 1000000000000/10 Iconic, Pegs. Well done on the “Let’s not bother with Tallmadge, he’s a silly boy” angle!

Lastly let’s actually put Tarleton on here just because i mean in real life, he and Tallmadge allegedly had a run-in (an ambush, actually) that involved him stealing Tallmadge’s horse, some money, and some documents. In the show? Never even shows up. Not even mentioned. Dude quit before he even started that’s how uncommitted...boooooo

[hedwigstalons]

Joining The Dots

Alan got annoyed that his contribution to Tracy Prize was limited to a few smart ass comments and some eye rolls.  The kid decided to get all dramatic as revenge.

 xoxoxox

 Alan stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. The angry red spot on his jaw line stared back at him.  Sometimes being a teenager sucked.  He debated whether to just ride it out but he wasn’t in the mood for the inevitable teasing from Gordon.  

 He felt tired and irritable.  Perhaps he ought to cut back on the late night gaming.  His skin was paler than usual and the dark circles under his eyes only served to accentuate the pimple.  Grabbing the small tube of concealer from the back of his cabinet Alan made a passable job of covering up the welt.  

He ventured into the kitchen but nothing tempted him. The distracted opening and closing of cupboard doors drew the attention of Scott who was working his way through his own post-run breakfast.

 “You ok there Allie?”

 “Yeah, just not really hungry.”

 Now Scott was worried.  The calorific intake of the International Rescue operatives was phenomenal. Alan normally had the double hit of typical teenage appetite added to the hunger born of having a physically demanding job.  If he wasn’t hungry something was probably wrong.  

 Scott passed a closer eye over his youngest sibling. He noted the pale complexion and drooping eyelids.

 “Are you sure you’re ok?”

 “I’m fine.  Just a bit of a headache, that’s all.  I’ll grab a couple of tablets from the infirmary and maybe head back to bed for a while.”

 “No.  You go straight back to your room now and I’ll fetch the tablets.  You look dead on your feet.”

 Anal nodded gratefully, wincing slightly at the motion. The bright sunshine through the panoramic windows was suddenly feeling just that little bit too bright.  He scratched distractedly at an itch on the back of his neck and felt another lump.  He must be run down if he was getting a full on acne breakout.  Alan trudged back to his room and collapsed onto the bed.

 When Scott entered the dimly lit sanctuary a short while later his smothering instincts went into overload.  For a start the teenager was on the bed rather than the floor and this alone was enough to rouse suspicions that it was more than just a simple headache troubling him.  

 Alan seized upon the offered water and painkillers and gulped them down rapidly.  A steady hand was placed against his forehead, checking his temperature.

 “Well bed is definitely the right place for you” his eldest brother said kindly.  “Come on, get those clothes off and get into bed properly.”

 Alan grimaced but the look on Scott’s face showed he wasn’t going to leave until Alan had complied.  He pulled his shirt off over his head and dumped it over the side of the bed onto the floor.  The moving material felt rough and itchy against him and he scratched at his arms and chest.

 “Whoa, Allie.  That’s not good.”  The alarm and concern in Scott’s voice was clear to hear.

 Alan looked down at himself.  The exposed skin was marred by angry dots.  The start of an unidentified rash was spreading across his body.

 “Infirmary.  Now. We need to get you into quarantine.”

 Pausing only long enough for some pyjamas to be gathered up Alan found himself marched to the infirmary.  His body now ached and the itch was spreading.  It was a relief to finally slip between the cool white sheets and sink back to sleep it the darkened room.

 xoxoxox

 Scott was worried.  Worried for both his family and the organisation that they kept running on minimal manpower.  Alan was going to be off duty for an unknown amount of time and they had no idea what was ailing the teen.

 He looked through the observation window into the infirmary. Alan looked even younger than normal. The washed out skin would be barely distinguishable from the white linen if it wasn’t for the bright red spots. Spots that had rapidly multiplied until every inch of him was covered in the mystery rash.

 Full quarantine had been implemented.  Alan was sealed off with any visitors forced to wear bio-hazard suits.  It felt like an extreme reaction but they couldn’t risk an infection spreading, especially since they didn’t know what they were dealing with.  

 Even Scott was isolated and under observation in case he had already contracted the disease.  He paced about the room like a caged tiger.  He felt fine but until they had answers it wasn’t worth the risk.  He might be confined to quarters but that didn’t stop the Commander from taking charge of the situation.

 He opened a link to Thunderbird Five.  “John, I want you and Eos to analyse Alan’s mission logs. Go through every instance he has left the island in the last four weeks.  Cross reference this with any local medical board reports on disease outbreaks.  Let’s see if we can’t work out what he has been exposed to.”

 His next contact was to Brains.  The scientist and medic had already drawn blood samples from his patient and was working hard to identify the cause of Alan’s illness.

 “Any progress Brains?”

 “N-n-negative, Scott.  I b-b-believe the cause is viral but I am finding it d-d-difficult to identify the specific strain.  Once John has c-c-compiled a list of options I c-c-can narrow down the testing.”

 “I understand.  Just keep trying.”

 xoxoxox

 Brains was at a loss.  Normally the Tracys were a robust and healthy bunch.  Medical intervention tended to fall into the ‘patch it and stitch it’ category with maybe the occasional concussion thrown in for variety.  Actual illness on the island was a rarity.

 A blood sample drawn from Alan had confirmed Brains’ suspicions that Alan was harbouring a virus.  The virus was currently developing in a cell culture in the laboratory.  Once this had been completed he would be able to sequence the virus genome and identify the culprit.  These stages took time though.  As many of the process involved were automatic he settled down with Alan’s medical file to see if that would yield any answers.

 Alan’s file was impressively thick despite his youthfulness.  Every ailment and injury was detailed.  The results of every annual medical were contained in thorough reports.  Each vaccination and booster received was listed; a list that was more comprehensive than for the average individual due to the need to be able to undertake missions in every geographic regions. Many illnesses had been eradicated through global health programmes but there was still a need vaccinations. Alan hated injection days.

 Brains delved back further into the childhood records, tacked on as an appendix to the main report.

 Brains scoured the list, blinked, and checked it again.  

 There was one glaring omission from the vaccine list. One that he had never even thought to administer because it was normally dealt with in toddlerhood, long before he had taken over the youth’s medical care.  The varicella vaccine.

 It wasn’t conclusive proof of what Alan was suffering from but it gave him a starting point for his investigations and it could yield answers faster than trying to conduct a genome sequencing from scratch.

 He checked in with John to see if there was any chance his hunch could be correct.  A quick test of the sample now he knew what he was looking for, confirmed his suspicions.

 xoxoxox

 Scott was restless and agitated.  His baby brother was sick and he was powerless to help. He couldn’t even sweat out his agitation in the gym until Brains had cleared him as free from the illness that had struck down Alan.

 He leapt to his feet when the door to the isolation room opened.

 Scott relaxed slightly when Brains appeared. The lack of bio-hazard suit showed that the medic had good news for him.

 “You are c-c-clear to leave, Scott.  You aren’t contagious”

 “Does this mean you have worked out what it is that Allie has?”

 He looked through the observation at his brother who was scratching at the spots even in his sleep.

 “Yes.  Alan has chicken p-p-pox.”

 “Chicken pox?  How on earth has he managed to pick that up.  We were all vaccinated against that as kids.”

 “John suspects the source of the infection was that luddite c-c-community Alan went to help last w-w-week.”

 “That doesn’t explain why Alan caught it though.”

 “Alan was never v-v-vaccinated.  His early records show the appointment w-w-was made but Alan never went and it was n-n-never followed up.”

 “But Dad was always so thorough about these things.”

 “It wasn’t your father that m-m-made the appointment. Your m-m-mother did.  Alan should have had his shots the w-w-week after your skiing holiday.  Under the circumstances…”

 Brains tailed off.  Scott didn’t need any help remembering that time period in their lives. It was obvious which holiday Brains was alluding to.  That holiday had changed their lives forever.  The moment when their mother had been cruelly snatched away by the avalanche.  It was small wonder that the routine appointment had been missed.  The family had bigger concerns at the time than a two year olds injections.  Their father probably hadn’t even been aware of the appointment.

 “So what does this mean now?”

 “The g-g-good news is that everyone else on the island has immunity.  The b-b-bad news is that chicken p-p-pox can be worse the older you c-c-contract it. Alan will be very unwell for about t-t-two weeks and will then need recovery t-t-time.”

 Scott looked through the glass to the limp form in the next room.  He cursed himself that something so simple had been overlooked and now Alan was paying the price.  At least he was now cleared to care for his baby brother.

 Scott hurried through to the main part of the infirmary to do what he did best; looking after his family.

[wingsofkpop]

Finding SKZ - 3: WK97

pairing(s): Hybrid!Bang Chan x Reader, Hybrid!SKZ x Reader

genre: Hybrid!AU, Dystopian!AU, heavy Angst, eventual Smut, pinch of Fluff

warning(s): Mature language, violence, abuse, mentions of death, possible triggering topics

Trigger Warning: This chapter does contain depictions of abuse. Please do not read if this will trigger you. This is your final warning. 

word count: 4,9k

synopsis: After rescuing an abandoned hybrid from his fate of death, he has one other favor to ask of you. Not only do you have to find his eight other hybrid brothers, but you have to keep them safe from the deadly dangers of your city: Miroh

chapter directory

He’s late. What else is new. 

You release an annoyed sigh while gazing back down at your cell phone. It’s not like you were expecting a text message indicating his tardiness. Why would he be considerate like that? Oh that’s right… He wouldn’t. 

After shoving your phone back into your pocket, you reach for your lemonade and take another sip. With you being here for almost an hour now, this is your second glass and it’s already half empty. Fortunately, your father has good taste in the places you come for lunch, so it’s actually really good. Who knew you could make quality lemonade? 

“(Y/N), you’re here already.” You glance up at the familiar voice and nearly scream in delight at the sight of your father. He grants you a soft smile and a stiff pat on the shoulder before taking the seat across from you, dropping his briefcase at his feet. “It’s nice to see you. I hope you weren’t waiting too long.” 

“Not at all. It’s good to see you too, Dad.” As much as you wanted to voice your complaints about his lack of punctuality, you decided to keep your mouth shut. These meet-ups are always awkward enough and you don’t want to make it any worse. You take another sip of your drink before investing your full attention on the man in front of you, “Anyway, how are things?” 

Your father sends you a weak smile, “Busy. My unit took up a new project down at the Capital, so we’ve had a lot more work than usual.” 

You nod. Your father was an engineer for one of Miroh’s technological industries. It was because of him you were able to attend university without worrying about the immense debt you’d likely have in the future. Although, the only reason why he paid your tuition was one out of guilt. But hey, it’s not like you’re complaining or anything. 

“That sounds interesting. I hope they’re not working you too hard.” 

He chuckles, “You know how I am. How are your classes?” 

You shrug, “Fine. This semester actually went by pretty fast.”

“Good, good.” 

The moment of awkward silence is saved by your waitress who just so happens to show up at the right time. You hold back a sigh of relief as you tell her your lunch order, which you’ve been waiting to do for the past half hour. Earlier, you debated just eating without your father and dealing with the guilt later down the line. Curse your moral heart for shutting down that decision. 

When the waitress dashes away, the unpleasant silence from before resumes. For a few minutes, you and your father trade glances back and forth, hiding your uncomfort beneath light sips of your drinks. You hoped that he would strike up the conversation again himself, since to be honest, you hated asking him about his life. It’s not like you were bitter about his other family, you could care less about them. You just felt weird doing it. 

It’s hard to believe this man is your father in the first place with how distant the two of you are.

“Well, has anything new happened recently?” 

You praise the force above for appeasing your request. Although, you were a little wary. You didn’t really want to tell him about the two hybrids living in your apartment whose lives you actually saved. Your father and his family aren’t as heartfelt about hybrids as you are. 

They have three female cat hybrids, none of which you’ve ever met. But from the only dinner you’ve ever attended at your father’s home, you could tell they basically used them as servants. And maybe it’s a little far-fetched, but you’re pretty sure your father’s twin daughters have been raised by them more than their own parents. 

With a fake smile, you answer, “Not really. You could say I’ve been… preoccupied with school.” 

Your father doesn’t pry, and for once, you’re thankful for his closed-off tendencies. Instead, he allows silence to takeover. The conversation doesn’t pick up, not even when the waitress returns to your table to deliver your food. You were expecting no words to be exchanged until your eventual goodbyes, but about two bites into your sandwich, your father surprises you, “You know, (Y/N), you should consider doing something for yourself every once in a while. School isn’t everything.” 

You nearly choke and erupt into a more than embarrassing coughing fit. After a couple gulps of lemonade and questions about your dignity, you shake your head, “I-I know that. Winter break is coming up so-” 

“-So you should go do something. Here, I actually might have something for you.” You watch your father lean down and pilfer through his briefcase. He manages to retract what seems to be some sort of pamphlet from the mess of papers and folders and offers it to you. Hesitantly, you take the pamphlet. And when you see the front cover, you immediately regret that decision. 

“The circus?” 

Your father nods, “I’m taking the girls next weekend for a treat. It might be enjoyable for you too.” 

He couldn’t be anymore wrong. You went to the circus once with your friends in elementary school. During the show, you were nearly crushed by an acrobat, knocked out by the juggler and scared half to death by the clowns. You never went again. 

“I don’t know. This isn’t really my thing.” You shake your head and aim to offer the pamphlet back. Your actions falter though when you catch a glimpse of one of the large multi-colored sentences. Ignoring the protests of your father, you flip the booklet to better read the words: 

Come one! Come all! See Miroh’s amazing singing bear! You’ve never seen anything like it before! 

“-What’s this singing bear about?” 

Your father, surprised at your sudden interruption, shrugs and shakes his head, “I don’t know exactly. It’s some sort of bear hybrid they’ve had for the past few years. He’s supposed to have one of the most beautiful voices you’ve ever heard sing-” 

Once again, your father’s voice drowns into the background and you’re back inside your own head. With shaking hands, you flip through the pamphlet to find the excerpt detailing this strange bear. Your heart stops and blood runs cold when you spot it’s name: 

Kim Woojin.

~~*~~**~~*~~

“I don’t understand how this is even possible. I thought you said Woojin was purchased by some other scientist.” You watch as Chan paces back and forth across your living room. His eyes were darting feverishly across the pamphlet you kept. After an awkward ending to your lunch date, you rushed back home to show the wolf hybrid your findings. Between the two of you, you couldn’t tell who was more shocked. 

Then again, Chan does seem like he’s going to have a stroke. 

“I honestly don’t know.” Chan sighs, running a hand through his blonde locks. You notice how his fingers halt at his furry ears, tugging at the protruding flesh with anxiety. He shakes his head, “The people who bought us at the lab were free to do whatever they wanted with us. Woojin’s buyer could have sold him after for all we know.” 

You nod, “Okay. Well, where does this take us?”

“What do you mean ‘where does this take us’?” Your companion looks at you with incredulous eyes while the rest of his body stiffens. He shakes his head again, “We go and we get him out. That was the plan, was it not?” 

“You know what I mean, Chan,” You roll your eyes and rise from the sofa. Your feet lead you toward the tense hybrid, his gaze never once faltering from your moving body. You take the brochure from his fingers and continue, “We can’t just waltz in there and demand they give him to us. According to a lot of sources, Woojin brings in a good portion of the audience, and you know what that means, right?” 

Chan doesn’t answer and averts his eyes. 

You sigh, “Money, Chan. It means money. They’re not going to give up one of their main attractions just like that. We need to figure something out.” 

“Why not sneak him out?” Both your and Chan’s attention transfers to the kitchen doorway where you discover Seungmin stood, contently munching on a piece of jerky. He hums, “After dark, you sneak inside and just take him.” 

You open your mouth to answer but Chan beats you to it, “What do you think you’re doing? What have I told you about eavesdropping?” 

Seungmin shakes his head, “I wasn’t eavesdropping, hyung. You and (Y/N)-noona just didn’t notice I was here.” 

“Bullshit.” The sudden curse has your nerves standing on end. You turn to look at Chan, and the anxiety only spreads to the rest of your body. The hybrid was pissed, his teeth bared and eyes shooting daggers at the younger male. His ears twitch before he continues, “I told you that whenever (Y/N) and I are talking about the others-” 

“-But I want to help.” The other hybrid argues and reaches up to flick at his one floppy ear in annoyance, “Why won’t you let me help?”

Chan sighs, “I already explained why. It’s too dangerous. 

“They’re my brothers, too, you know. Why won’t you just give me a chance-?” 

“Because I don’t want to lose you again, goddamn it!” Your body flinches at the sound of glass shattering. You gaze down to see the remnants of your coffee table littering the floor. Each broken piece glitters in the sunlight streaming in through the window, and for a moment, you thought you could see your own shocked expression in the reflection. 

Footsteps call your attention back to Seungmin, whose tail you barely catch as he dashes into the hallway. A couple seconds are followed by the slam of a door and the sigh of the remaining hybrid. You glance over at Chan to see his face buried in his hands and his ears flat atop his head. You wanted to say something, but your brain seemed to be frozen in place. 

You had never seen him get so angry. 

After a long drawl of silence, you find the strength inside yourself to walk to the hybrid, careful not to slice your foot open in the process. Once again, you open your mouth to say something, but a different voice resonates instead, “I shouldn’t have lost my temper like that. I’m sorry, (Y/N).” 

“It’s okay.” You hum, rubbing the side of your head, “You’re under a lot of pressure, Chan. I get it.” 

He shakes his head and uncovers his face. His eyes are wide with guilt and despair, “There’s no excuse. I broke your table. I’m so sor-”

“-Chan, I am not the one you should be apologizing to.” Your words send Chan into a tense silence. Your heart aches as his features become pained, and with a closer look, you also notice his hands are quivering. Without another thought, you raise your arms and pull the distressed male into a gentle hug. 

You murmur softly, “We’ll get him. We’ll get him and all the others. I promise.” 

Barely a couple seconds after you uttered those words does Chan wrap his own arms around your waist. And through your embrace, you swear you could feel his hurt bleeding through your clothes and into your own body. 

~~*~~**~~*~~ 

“Seungmin, sweetheart, please stop squirming.” 

“Sorry, noona, I can’t help it.” Seungmin’s face contorts to a wince as you group his floppy ears into the black beanie. “It’s really uncomfortable.” 

You sigh, “I know, but it’s only for a little while. You’ll get used to it.” 

Once you’re satisfied the youngster’s ears are hidden completely, you throw him a smile and turn to peer at the other hybrid. Chan was in the process of pulling his own hat over his head, making sure to cover his ears as well. When he meets your gaze, he gives you a weak smile of his own. Beneath it though, you could see the anxiety and fear within his dark irises. 

Ever since the incident on Tuesday, Chan had been avoiding you as much as he could. He no longer allowed the two of you to stay in the same room together for more than three minutes at most, unless your conversation topics involved your plan for freeing Woojin from the circus. You understood he was embarrassed and ashamed for losing his temper, but you hated how distant he had become. You’d never admit it, but you missed him. 

And that scared you. 

“You remember how this is supposed to go, right?” Chan looks over at Seungmin, who’s pawing at his beanie again. At your warning glare, he stops. It took you this long to get it on. You’ll be damned if it comes off again. 

After some debate, Chan reluctantly allowed Seungmin to join the heist. Well, kind of. He was limited to the car and couldn’t help you guys with the actual ‘heist’ part, but the younger hybrid was still content nonetheless. You could tell how much he misses his other brothers. Just like Chan. 

“Yes, hyung.”

“Good. And what’s your job?” 

Seungmin rolls his eyes, “Stay in the car and wait until you and noona return with Woojin-hyung. We’ve been over this many times.” 

“I just want you to be safe. And no matter what happens, you do not leave this car, understood?” 

You shake your head, “He’ll be safe, Chan. Make sure to lock the doors behind you, okay? And please don’t take off your hat.” 

You don’t allow the wolf hybrid to stall any longer and quite literally, push him out of the vehicle. One of your friends allowed you to borrow her car for the night, seeing as once you do manage to get Woojin, you won’t be able to take the time to wait for a taxi. Plus, it’s the only reason why Chan agreed to Seungmin coming in the first place. 

You hope it won’t come to the point where you’ll need a getaway driver. 

“C’mon. The show’s gonna start soon.” You lead Chan through the brush, careful not to avoid the various branches reaching for your face. To avoid suspicion, you had parked the car on the other side of the forest from where the circus is set up. It was a longer walk, but you’d rather be safe than sorry. 

The walk through the trees is silent and tense. Chan purposely keeps a few steps behind you so you’re unable to spark up a conversation. You debated the thought anyway, but decided against it. He’s under enough pressure and stress as it already is. Who are you to invade the space he obviously needs? 

You just wish he wouldn’t avoid you like this. 

The both of you walked for about half a mile before reaching the clearing where the event is functioning in full effect. In the glow of evening, the lights of the red and white circus tent act as stars against the darkening sky. Crowds of people are streaming into the entrance, roaring with excitement for the amusement that’s about to come. 

You turn to say something to your companion, only to find him already staring at you. Your eyes remain connected for a moment until you muster up the courage to break the silence, “Are… Are you ready?” 

You curse yourself at asking such a stupid question. However, your self-depreciation fades when you feel fingers lace between your own. When you turn back, you see the hybrid beaming at you with a genuine smile that makes your knees weak and stomach flutter. 

He nods, “With you by my side. Of course.” 

You hope he doesn’t notice how his words bring heat to spread across your cheeks. Luckily, your wish is heard and Chan merely leads the both of you toward the sea of bodies entering the tent. Your hands still clasped together. 

Thankfully, you enter with no issues. The vendors at the doors take your tickets with no questions and point you in the direction of your seats. Since you bought them so close to show day, they weren’t the best, but it’s not like you had a choice exactly. The circus is only available this and next weekend, and next weekend is already sold out. It was today or never. 

“We’re at the top on the end.” You have to shout over the amount of chatter inside the tent. If Chan weren’t a hybrid, you don’t even think he would have been able to hear you at all. Nonetheless, he walks in your guided direction, his fingers tightening over yours when you’re forced to push through a group of people. 

Once you make it to your seats, you take the time to get a good look at the inside of the tent. It’s been years since you’d last been to the circus, but yet, everything still looked the same:  The sandy ring in the center, the acrobatic ropes and rings hanging from the ceiling, the metal bleachers surrounding the stage. You wonder if anything had changed. 

You sure did. 

“What’s wrong?” Your attention is stolen by your companion, who you once again realize is staring at your face. His eyebrows were furrowed in concern, lips pursed, “You look… sad.”

You shake your head, “It’s nothing. Thinking too much, I guess.” 

Chan nods, but you can tell he’s unsatisfied with your answer. His expression doesn’t fade, and if it weren’t for the dimming lights, you couldn’t tell if it ever did. 

The show goes by just how you remember it. The ringmaster comes out with his giant hat and staff, introduces himself, gets the crowd all excited, and promises a night that they will never forget. You’re pretty sure you’ll never forget this night for different reasons than the others here. 

One by one, the different acts play out. First the juggler, then the contortionist, the clowns, the acrobats, the clowns again, and a bunch of hybrids. Most of them were cats and dogs who could do things like play instruments, gymnastic tricks and martial arts. One poodle hybrid was really good at guitar, even though he messed up on a cord. As cool as they all seemed, your mind wasn’t really there until the ringmaster announced the last act of the night: 

The singing bear. 

You catch your first glance of Woojin when he enters the ring through a curtain leading from backstage. He’s dressed in a nice black and white tuxedo with golden gemstones and glitter adorning the fabric edges. His dark brown hair is nicely styled to show off his matching ears which jut out in half circles at the top of his head. You watch as he strides up to the platform in the middle of the ring where a microphone is waiting for him. Spotlights make the bling on his suit shimmer and illuminate his handsome face even more. He was smiling, but you can tell it’s artificial. 

When the music starts and his voice enters your ears, you swear it’s the most beautiful thing you have ever heard in your entire life. Good music has always been a rare thing for you, considering the radios barely play anything other than news channels and broadcasts. But you could spend an eternity just listening to Woojin sing. 

His performance is over too soon, and with one final wave and grin to the roaring crowds, Woojin disappears back behind the red curtain. The show ends with a final farewell from each of the acts and when the lights eventually flickered on again, you were more than grateful. You turn to speak to Chan, wanting to comment on Woojin’s beautiful voice, only to find the seat beside you empty. 

Chan’s gone. 

Your panic level immediately skyrockets. Jumping on your feet, you try to catch Chan in the river of people making their way towards the exits. There’s way too many, and even if you did manage to find him, you wouldn’t be able to get to him fast enough through so many bodies. Against your better judgement, you just stay where you are and continue to watch the waves leave the tent. 

After a while, the tent had mostly cleared out save for a group of stragglers and custodians. Even so, there was still no sign of Chan. You dash down the stairs, apologizing to a mother for nearly pushing over her little boy. 

Your feet carry you outside the tent, where many people are buying last minute souvenirs and carnival food. You end up wandering aimlessly through the crowds not once, but twice. All without any sign of Chan. Coupled with anxiety, your hands fly to grasp the strands of your hair as your breathing grows heavier. A couple shoots you a strange look, but you could care less. 

What are you supposed to do now? 

You shake yourself out of your helplessness and head toward the darker part of the plot where you have yet to search. By the light of the moon, you can make out the silhouettes of giant trucks. Something in your gut told you that you weren’t supposed to be here, but when you move to turn back and search for your lost companion elsewhere, a high-pitched scream has your body stiffening. Your mind transfers back to the alleyway where you rescued Chan. 

Without thinking, you take off in the direction of the yell, your pace quick and clumsy. Yet another scream leads you around one of the trucks and toward an extra part of the tent. You mold your body against the side of the vehicle, making sure to keep yourself out of sight. You don’t know what you were expecting when you peered around the corner of the truck, but it sure as hell wasn’t what you actually saw. 

The first thing you see is blood. A lot of blood littering the tarp floor of the tent. The next is a body laid face down, which at first you thought was unconscious, but the screaming said otherwise. With a closer look, you recognize them to be the poodle hybrid from the show. His costume was torn to shreds, exposing the oozing welts and gashes staining the flesh of his back. A snap of something has your figure flinching back into the truck, and when you return your gaze, a new welt had already begun to form on his skin. Your confusion dissipates at the sight of the ringmaster from before holding what looks like a long, leather belt. 

Your stomach violently turns. 

“Please stop! You’re killing him!” From your hiding place, you can see another hybrid, which you quickly realize is Woojin, banging on the bars of a large cage. Beside him, is none other than the one you’ve been looking for: Chan. 

Another crack of the belt is followed by another scream from the hybrid. You resist the urge to empty your stomach right where you’re stood and instead try to use the last functioning parts of your head to make a plan. Your attempt fails as the ringmaster attacks the poor hybrid with multiple strikes in one go, “You’re a fucking useless piece of shit! Can’t ever do nothing fucking right!” 

“Stop it! Please!” Woojin’s cries go unheard yet again. And it could have just been you, but you swear the cracks of the belt were becoming louder with each snap. 

“I should have just fucking left you on the side of the road, you little bastard! Freaks like you don’t mean shit! Just think how fucking better the world would be without you filthy scum!” 

Out of instinct, you pull out your phone and open the one broadcasting app you never needed until now. You quickly switch to the live camera, and with the little courage you have left, step into the tent and make your presence known. 

“My name is (Y/N) (L/N) and I am currently backstage of Miroh City’s Circus-” 

The ringmaster pauses at your voice, his face immediately paling when he sees your phone pointed straight at him. His mouth drops open and his fingers tighten over the belt, “What the fuck-?”

“-This man has been beating this poor hybrid along with many others to the brink of death, and has likely been doing it for as long as they’ve been in the show-” 

“-You little bitch!” The ringmaster lunges toward you, threateningly snapping the belt at his side. “I’ll-” 

“-Touch me and you’ll be answering to more than just the MHA.” You threaten back, somehow keeping your voice steady and strong. You hope he can’t see the way your hands are quivering with the camera in your grasp, “You are being broadcasted live with over eight hundred people watching right now. I wouldn’t be surprised if the police are already on their way right now-”

The ringmaster’s eyes widen, “-You-You’re lying! Th-They can’t-” 

“-I suggest you put the weapon down. It’s already looking pretty bad for you.” 

You’ve never felt more relieved in your entire life when the sound of the belt hitting the floor enters your ears one last time.  

~~*~~**~~*~~

Never before in your life have you ever been as terrified as you were in that moment. Even after the cops showed up, you still felt uneasy and sick and horrified all in one. The lady you were with likely noticed your trauma which is probably the only reason she allowed you, Chan and Woojin to leave as easily as you did. She also offered to call someone for you, but you declined. God forbid your aunt ever find out about any of this.  

You can’t even understand what the hell just happened. 

You had heard and seen so many stories about hybrid abuse, but witnessing one before your very own eyes is so much different. That hybrid was practically teetering on the cliff of death and yet his owner didn’t care one bit. All he cared was that he messed up his routine during the show. 

Humans are truly cruel, aren’t they? 

The trip back to the car was suffocating. Chan kept trying to speak to you, but all you could return were either one word answers or just complete silence. Eventually, Woojin had to tell him to leave you alone. You felt like a porcelain doll on the verge of shattering into thousands of pieces. One tap, and you’ll just break. At least he’s talking to you again. Or trying to. 

You felt a little better after Seungmin and Woojin’s reunion. The bright smile on Chan’s face made everything worth it too. Then again, you wouldn’t hesitate to do something like that again. At least, you hope you wouldn’t. 

The only issue is you can still hear the snap of the belt inside your head. 

Wanting to distract yourself, you lurch forward to turn up the heat in the car even though it’ll probably do nothing to settle the chill in your body. You peer up into the rear view mirror and your heart warms at the sight of Seungmin and Woojin sleeping against one another. You gulp, noticing the faint welts adorning Woojin’s palms. 

“(Y/N), you’re drifting again.” 

At Chan’s observation, you turn the steering wheel to correct the course of the car. You hum, “Sorry. Thanks.” 

The silence from before resumes with the only noise being Seungmin’s deep breathing and Woojin’s soft snores. From the goosebumps emerging over your skin, you can tell Chan is studying your face. And though you try to ignore it, you can’t this time. 

“What, Chan?” 

“I didn-” 

You shake your head, “I can feel you staring. If you want to say something, please, just say it.” 

Chan sighs, watching as you guide the car to turn at another yellow light. Luckily, at this hour, there were no other cars. He murmurs, “I’m worried about you. What happened was-” 

“-Terrible? You know what, yeah, it was.” You never meant for your tone to emerge bitter, but you couldn’t help it. 

“You’re upset.” 

You scoff, “No shit, I’m upset. One minute you’re there, and the next, you’re gone. Whatever happened to the plan?” 

“I just needed to get to him.” 

“And we would have. Goddamn it, Chan, we would have.” Tears well in your eyes at the images that plague your mind. The snap of the belt, Woojin’s pleas, screaming, blood, Chan. “Do you know how worried I was? What would have happened if I hadn’t found you guys? What would have happened to you?” 

“(Y/N)-” 

“-I could’ve lost you today.” You didn’t even realize you were crying until a tear drop lands on the flesh of your arm. Your mind was telling you to shut down, but with everything that had happened, you needed this. You needed Chan to know this:

“If something were to happen to you, and I wasn’t there to save you…” Your voice fades away and you find yourself unable to continue. Instead, you allow the tears to freely cascade down your cheeks. The remaining five minutes it takes to pull into the lot of your apartment building is excruciating. Chan hasn’t said one word, yet continues to stare at you. 

You shake your head and plead, “Say something, please.”

Chan still doesn’t say a word. Not even when you turn to wake the two other hybrids. Not even through the elevator trip up to your apartment. Not even through when you get Woojin and Seungmin all settled in their room. And it’s not until you’re closing your own bedroom door when Chan does answer.

But even by the time he does speak, his words are stopped by the wood of your door and never reach your ears.  

[jess-the-vampire]

Sky And The Forces Of The Multiverse, Chapter 34

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The door to the wing opened carefully, trying it's best to not make a sound. Angel was probably asleep at this point, he was going to need all the rest he could before the trial after all. She really didn't like visiting him in her pjs of all things but it wasn't like she had much of a choice in the matter either, only being able to sneak out as the guards fell asleep. She hadn't seen Jackie since Luna left but had the feeling she'd be pretty dissapointed she had been left with some of the worst of the worst to guard the princess of mewni of all things. But tonight, it was an advantage, though she only planned to be gone a few minutes anyway.

Sneaking out had been something she'd do for Judas, and Nora kinda counted as well, she'd never tried doing it for the prince she had conflict with for so long. Didn't really think she ever would either, but at least it wasn't to rescue him or anything. She was careful, using her wand to light her way and just hoping it didn't go out as she approached angel's bed, the boy passed out in his sheets, and it looked like he was wearing some of judas's old pjs.

Boy she hoped he wasn't wearing judas's old underwear either, but somehow she knew he probably was. At least she wasn't the one having to supply the guy with her old clothing. He seemed rather quiet and peaceful, and though she reached out to tap his shoulder, she quickly stopped herself .Was this a good idea? Knowing him she'd startle him and he'd wake up everyone, or think he was being attacked in the middle of the night and bite her, or a number of equally uncomfortable things. Maybe she'd be better off turning back? No one had to know she was here and she could speak to the prince before the trial started tomorrow. She tapped her foot, thinking it over again, debating which was worse as angel stirred. "So....what do you want...princess butterfly?". She froze, oh right, angel had an AMAZING sense of smell, he could tell when someone was around without even looking at them. He sat up, four eyes blinking at her as she became embarrassed to be caught, yeah, this WAS a bad idea. She made a mental note in her head to fuss at sunny later for making her decided to actually do this, Angel himself looked rather embarrassed as well, though maybe it had to do with how awkward the situation was for now. He looked like he wanted to say something, apologize to her and get it out out but was trying his best to resist, as if expecting sky to reject his apologies. "You're....awake?". "I'm having a hard time sleeping....tomorrow....it came so sudden...and...I'm not sure what to expect...". "Right...". This was by far the most painful conversation sky had in a long time, even she was having a hard time knowing what to say and if to actually spill it out to him. The guy wasn't even really trying to look her in the face directly, sweating nervously, and coughing. "I'm not sure if judas told you...I...I can't really tell who it was...under the mask, they...even disguised their scent. He...he knows this might be a lost cause to protect me...you....you don't have to do this..". "I know you don't believe that'll stop any of us, especially not him, you're going to get punished either way, nothing you can do about that...but jude and me know what it's like to not be liked by a lot of others and....he wants to keep you from getting the worst of it....I guess...he's....never liked seeing people he cares about get in trouble. If he doesn't try and save you, he's going to blame himself for not doing something for years, it's just how he is.", she still wasn't looking at him directly but she could tell angel agreed with her on that front. "He's....too nice...", he gripped the shirt he was wearing as the words left his lips, "Does he do this stuff for you...regularly?". "Have me wear his old clothes? No. Do nice things for me to make me feel better and reassure me? Yeah....like....a lot, he does that a lot when stuff goes wrong. Get used to it, this is the treatment you can expect when you're jude's friend.....but, it's far from a bad thing.". Talking about judas seemed to make the situation a lot more comfortable then it had been a second ago, if only because it was a topic that was a little less painful to talk about then the incident that started this current mess. "You think he'll want to still be friends...if things don't work out tomorrow?". He sounded so small in a way, not prince-like, and not bratty either, drained of all his pride and stuffiness he seemed to hold before. "Yeah, it's judas, he doesn't give up on people....". "Have you given up on me?". And there it was, she was surprised he even managed to chock it out of his system considering how hard he was trying not to address it. It left a strange silence in the room, sky wanting to both answer and not angel and angel wanting her to answer and wanting her to not answer his question. Though she needed to cough something out, the longer she waited on this the worse i'd be, "I...uh...I don't want to....". It wasn't exactly a yes or no, but angel didn't press further on it either, "I....I'm...truly sorry for what happened Sky, I-I don't expect you to forgive me I just want you to know i'm deeply sorry". Her eyes met his again and he seemed almost on the verge of tears, it almost felt like a crime to not accept the apology like this. And yet, she was having a hard time trying to respond to it. She'd feel guilty to not accept it, knowing how much he regretted all this and that he was practically crying, but was something like this going to just be fine with a simply apology either? Her lack of an answer seemed to make Angel more uncomfortable and worried, he turned away and moved some of his hair aside. "We can talk more tomorrow, before the trial, I....expect you'll be there...with your moms being a couple of the judges, or..maybe just your one mom since the other is still out....". She mumbled so quietly she felt like Nora, "Yeah.....sure...". He nodded again. "Well, i'll see you tomorrow then....sky...", he turned around and laid back on the bed, pulling the covers over himself. Sky didn't move though, as if frozen to the spot, even though her mind was telling her to just go and leave the guy be. Angel didn't even look at her but his ears twitched, he was probably wondering why she was even still here at this point if she didn't have anything else to say to him or even want to fully make things up between them. She felt paralyzed before she forced herself to make a step backward, then another, then another, turning herself around to him. Then she stopped again. "I uh...thanks....for....what you did, or what you tried to do....", then she kept heading on her way out, as angel sat back up in his bed and looked at the back of her head, "I-I should be more grateful, you saved my life, you and prince lucitor.....i'm the lucky on. But...you're welcome....I...I just wish I had succeeded....". Sky paused, back still turned, "Maybe you'll get another chance....next time...we'll....keep you informed.". She quickly left after, eager to get out of the already awkward and increasingly uncomfortable situation. Angel watched her leave, also feeling a lot less uncomfortable but still a little sad as his ears seemed to move downwards as if he were some kinda dog. Tomorrow, maybe tomorrow. - Judas quickly fixed Angel's tie, trying his best to brush any and all dust from his vest to make him look more presentable. The prince was in one of his older prince outfits for the time being, angel already constantly trying to fix his hair and avoid sweating bullets. The food judas brought him earlier was almost threatening to come back up his throat at this point, and the demon quickly tried to reassure him with a pat on the shoulder and a smile, turning his head to see Sky arrive carrying a bunch of stuff in her arms, mostly papers and books. "Sky? Whoa....", she stopped in front of him, catching her breath, "I got all the girls together, they handed me what I needed...I tried to get some more testimony from some of the witnesses on trial. I don't kow how you handle this much stuff jude but i have a lot more respect for you then ever before for managing.", judas reached out to help her carry some of the stuff but she pulled back, "No no, gonna bring it in in a second, the girls will be seated soon too, congrats angel, you're about to witness mewni's terrible court system play out....". Angel seemed to tense up. "Don't worry, we can still try to manage to beat something that already sucks with our own suckish argument, just try not to do anything stupid while on trial. All our parents are going to be up there.....including my moms...". Judas blinked at her, "Wait, Queen Star has returned? She's been out on her search for days I thought she wouldn't make it back in time for the trial.". His companion bit her lip in frustration, shaking her head, "This morning, she made it back, in a mess actually.....Jackie and Kelly....they're now out on the search instead in the meanwhile.". "Well i'm glad she's ok, if anything, I can imagine it wasn't a fun search for her....", sky still seemed rather nervous and distant though, tugging the stuff in her hands even closer to her chest. "Sky, you're gonna have to speak to her about what's been going on, it's going to be ok, I know you got this.". The girl nodded and looked to the doors to what was normally the magic high commission's meeting room, now fitted as a courtroom, and it seemed as if it were magically expanded to fit everyone inside, "I better get ready, people are starting to arrive....". She looked to angel, her blue eyes to his red, before heading in. "Try to breathe angel....". "I wish I could....but...everyone is going to be staring at me....they hate me. They'll probably hate all of you for even trying to defend me...". "They already hate us angel...", judas snickered, fixing his own hair, "People well....I've had more time to think about it...of what you've said to me, and luna....and other friends and....some people are just always going to hate you...they're always gonna hate me and sky....but...well...I care about what you think of me more then them, you want to be in our good graces...and I want to do so with you too.". The prince seemed even more touched by that, his face almost a darker shade of pink. "I-I....thank you, Prince Luci- Judas...". "No matter what, after this, i'll try and grab us all something to eat...it's going to be a long day...no matter what.". Angel had to agree to that. "Judas!". He turned his head to see Sunny running up, dragging Galexia behind her who looked equally as excited. Sunny seemed super happy to see Angel, tugging his hand and shaking it, "You're going to do great in there and hey, if you gotta do community service, then i'm sure it might be fun.". Angel didn't seem to be so cheerful, the 16 year old probably wondering if doing labor would result in any physical damage to himself. Even Judas seemed to catch on to angel being uncomfortable, trying to change the subject. "So sunny....what do you think of our chances?", actually, now that he thought about it, that would probably make angel MORE nervous. "Well, it's not the HIGHEST chance, mostly because you're going against several kingdoms who already don't like angel much to begin with....and now found out about what he did, but we might be able to turn this around if we know right where to hit em!", She patted angel on the shoulder herself, "Just stay confident, you got friends looking out for you, we're gonna keep them from dethroning you, just you watch!". The girls made their way inside and Angel leaned against the wall, "I.....I don't want to face them...". "I know you don't....but you're going to have to own up to your mistakes...it's an important step in improving and it might help a lot.", angel took another deep breath, and Judas felt tempted to cheer him up, "Hey, if you do get dethroned, you're allowed a room at my castle...maybe even sky's too. You're not going to have to be alone or anything, or even have to live at your kingdom, those queens and kings in the past that got dethroned had to move forward somehow....you'll be ok.". "I just know some of them won't forgive me...". "Yeah, but it's worth a shot, if you wanna be king and do better for your people you deserve a second chance.". "You ever been to a trial before?". Judas thought back and nodded, "One, but i was pretty young, and it was one of those high council trials and they used the box, and it was towards a guy i really didn't know, I think he got in trouble for trying to fiddle with dark magic and he ended up doing labor to make up for it, and had the spell erased from his mind but i wasn't around to see that happen. Dark magic is...well...dangerous stuff, it can corrupt those who use it and spreads like a virus if you're not careful with it, it's why sky would be in trouble for it....eclipsa's spells are mostly harmless but some spells out there....not for the public.". "I assume you haven't spoken to eclipsa much since....it happened, have you?". The demon was silent for a moment, before leaning against the wall next to angel, "No, we really haven't, she hasn't been around much and we had other matters on our plate....i'm not sure about you, you seem to get along with her quite well.". The monster gave a brief nod, before crossing his arms, "She reminds me of my mom in some ways, I haven't spoken to her much either, I worry she's worried i'll blame her or something for what happened...side with sky...I think she'll be at the trial though...". "Well, we'll try to talk to her lat-". "Will nora be there?", he asked so fast judas was surprised, though a small sorry came from the boy's lips quickly after. "I...don't know, her parents won't tell me where she is, I know they're visiting your wing and seeing your mother..but...nora....I don't know where she is i just know she's in the castle somewhere.", the spider's nose twitched, "Perhaps, i might know....". Though his conversation was quickly interrupted as Judas was greeted by his parents, King and Queen Lucitor arriving in a burst of flames and in matching royal outfits as they usually were during important events. The Queen wearing a dress of course. "Judas, Prince Angelus....", Angel stiffened at the sight of them, though Judas was being warm to them, his current situation with them definitely making him a little uncomfortable despite his mother's welcoming expression. King Tom Lucitor walked forward and fixed his son's shirt, "Been a long time since we even had to go to a trial, and having to judge one is even more of a surprise......be careful out there judas if you're going to be speaking for this boy, you'll be speaking in front of all the other attending kingdoms after all.". "It'll be alright, I promise....it's not like you wouldn't do highly insane things for dad or Queen Butterfly, Angel is...well he's a friend, we're going to try and get him through this trial...", neither could argue against that, tom's eyes gazing towards the door to the newly fitted courtroom, "We'll have to judge fairly judas, even if he's your friend. We're in a position to agree with you as you've been deeply involved with the people closest to the source of the problem but you need to still make a case for his punishment...". Marco took a look at Angel's sad eyes and seemed to have a hard time looking at him in the face, crossing their arms and trying to keep most of their focus on Judas. "We're not taking any joy out of this, believe me, but treason is a serious matter and this is just not something he can get off scot free, even as much as he regrets it.....he's going to have to find a way to make amends and you're going to have to argue why he still should be allowed to be in a position of power.". "I Understand, I promise...". A smile was placed on the King's lips, "We'll see you in there, we love you....", and the couple walked through the doors together, the door shutting behind them. Judas still looked troubled when it came to them but he had to relax for angel's sake out there, taking his hand and guiding him elsewhere, "They'll all be arriving soon too, let's head to the bathroom, finishing prepping you, and head down to where we need to before they call you out, don't wanna run into too many others before this...". Honestly, he just didn't think seeing more and more of the people who despised angel would do much for the boy's health anyway. "You seem more worried then I am...", judas turned to look at the prince whose eyes were following him curiously, "Look, if things....do go wrong today....I....I don't want you to blame yourself. It's...bad enough feeling what I do, it's not going to be a lot better if I have to feel worse because you're blaming yourself because of me...I...screwed up, it's my fault....I know it's my fault....you just have to do what you can manage for me.". Judas was pacing, before stopping at a sink and splashing his face with some water. "Judas...". He turned to look at angel, his hair still a little damp and still a bit tired, "Huh?". "If you're truly my friend and want to help me because you think of the best of me despite what I did, and you're not doing this as some attempt at redeeming yourself for the guilt you felt being powerless as a child, then please, tell me you'll promise to accept whatever verdict i get today...", his voice grew somber, "I'm not giving up, and i trust you to do everything you can, but whatever happens, happens, whether it's the best or worst outcome.". "I promise..."., he leaned against the sink, "But I won't give up till it's all over either....". He could feel angel nervously putting a hand on his back as well, even though he new angel was shaking himself, "Sky....came to visit me last night, we talked for a little bit, I....apologized but....she never responded to it, she....did tell me she was grateful however...for everything....and i'm grateful too, you both saved me...i'm in your debt more then ever no matter if i'm a prince or not after this.". Judas turned around and quickly pulled angel into a hug, the spider surprised and caught off guard as judas held him and smiled into his shoulder. "We'll you'll owe us bigtime when we save you in this trial, and I mean when, i'll accept it if we fail....but....we're going to do it, I believe in those girls in there and I know we'll figure this out.", he let Angel go, Judas seeming more relaxed as he took another deep breath, fixing his hair. "You'll be heading in there real soon, it'll probably be a long trial, just try to stay calm in there and be honest about everything as much as possible, well...except for the whole...you know what?". "The fact those girls in there are um...from alternate timelines I assume?", Angel said, one eyebrow raised, "Yes, well, i'm sure that's not relevant enough to the case to mention anyway, since this is mostly my crimes....but I assume if i said anything the queens would have my head so....i'll be quiet on that. However, I hope that means the girls were prepped for this too, because they witnessed what happened and they can't exactly let that insane fact slip to everyone in the room.". "They've been prepped, I promise...". He seemed thankful on that. "I get the feeling I won't be allowed to talk about that much in general till this trial is over....will I?". The demon smiled, conjuring a flame and drying his hair in an instant. "Sounds about right....I'm sure you still have a ton of questions about it, once this is over, no matter what happens, we'll answer them all for you." - Judas watched as the nervous prince stood on the pedestal in front of the awaiting royals seating above him in an almost jury type box, all of them dressed well and all of them looking down at the poor boy with disappointment. Judas could feel angel sweat on stand, looking around at the seated crowd, he could spot the girls, katrina, and sure enough, eclipsa and globgor were in the audience as well. The people attending weren't a large amount, but were just enough to add to the anxiety. Judas was not well educated on earth trials, but knew enough from his mother to know mewni didn't work like earth, mewni was sloppier, it had different rules and different ways to declare it's verdicts. Witnesses had truth potions, witnesses faced a truth machine called the box to force them to speak the truth or die, with magic witnesses could have their minds read entirely, it made it easy to bring most crimes to an end compared to human ones. Though at this trial, there was no need to force truth out of a boy that had admitted to everything, there was nothing more to squeeze out of him, he had been drained of all information he could disclose, what this was about is what his fate should be. It may of ended in a few minutes if it weren't for the fact they wished to participate, going over what angel did and properly deciding what to do with him. It wouldn't be easy among so many different kingdoms however. Some would want to punish him with labor, some would wish to take it easy on someone still so young, some would decide to dethrone him with no question regardless. Getting a verdict everyone could agree on was most likely not possible, but it was possible to at least have more sway to the options that wouldn't further ruin the prince's life. He would be scoffed at no matter what, but losing his crown meant he would never have a chance to redeem himself in the eyes of his people and quiet possibly never be able to return home. It was not exile, but it might as well have been. Judas could spot Sky already digging through her stuff, as if deciding what she should talk about first, sunny helping her by her side. Sky was really serious about this, more serious then Judas had been expecting. And despite how nervous he was, he felt a little proud of her. The high commission he could spot seated in the very back, all of them sitting and watching and it made his blood boil. He turned to spot a goblin quickly entering, out of breath as he weakly blew into a royal horn he was carrying, still out of breath. "S-sorry...I-I'm here to annonce the queen in charge of this trial, the trial of Angelus Arachford, The gracious and lovely...Queen Butterfly!". The eyes quickly were drawn to the door as the Queen stepped inside, golden gown and all, with her hair in twin buns and tired as ever. But she was actually smiling as she usually tended to, but she must've lacked much rest from her hunt. "Hello everyone! Sorry I'm a little late...long story, Pardon me...", she quickly headed over to the grand seating area to join Janna who quickly patted her shoulder, clearly impressed. Sky groaned and grumbled from her seat. The Queen cleared her throat as the goblin who had entered coughed into his fist and blew into the trumpet once again before putting out a scroll he'd been carrying on his person and reading it aloud, "Today begins the trial of Prince Angelus Sebastian Arachford, as headed by Queen Star Butterfly of the Butterfly Kingdom, the accused is charged with treason and conspiring with a criminal for months, only caught recently. Said criminal is currently only charged with breaking in and robbery, but had also enchanted the Royal Spiderbite family inside their own home for days on end before they were rescued.". Angel was twitching, have a hard time looking at anyone, his eyes facing more downwards then anything as judas forced himself to stay where he stood. "- as such, the prince has confessed to sharing information with the criminal in trade for the return of magic to his people and a cure for the sick Queen Arana Arachford, his mother. He has also confessed to being used to get close to the princess , Princess Skyler Butterfly, in order to grab new information for the masked criminal....as well as being used as a distraction for the criminal to further carry out crimes. As such, Prince Angelus Arachford has been considered responsible partially for the terror that had been roving around mewni for some time now, though he declines telling the criminal anything about the systems that were put in place by Miss Butterfly or in terms of actions laid out against the criminal. Today's trial will be to determine the Prince's fate and whether or not he should be trusted after this incident.". Judas and Sky both let out a ting of frustration for the same reason, no mention of angel trying to take the criminal down. Figured as much. The goblin bowed and backed away as Star conjured up a small toy hammer, slamming in down on the table in front of her, honestly the likelyhood she knew how courts worked on earth was a bare minimum, but as long as she took the rest of the trial seriously they're have a chance. Angel forced himself to stay still, his legs folded and saying as close to his body as possible, trying to stay small and try and keep the confidence he knew the others wanted him to have. "Well, honestly if the situation had been simple, we wouldn't need a trial to decide what we should do with you. But with you having affected all of mewni, and you being royalty, there was no other way to go about this, everyone seems to have different thoughts on it and everyone feels like they personally should be given a chance to speak on the matter. It's not every day a child kinda affects all of mewni so drastically, and puts them into a panic...", she was almost amused in a way, if not still frustrated. Judas could feel Sky rolling her eyes, knowing full well her mom did her own set of changes to mewni around that boy's age. "But, it's also been made clear the prince himself was critically injured by the criminal, and from our witnesses he had been intending to betray and capture the criminal himself. The Arachmen as a species have the ability to paralyze others with a venom they store in their fangs, though this is activate by them, the vemon will keep the victim paralyzed for hours and the prince has admitted his goal had been to capture them and bring them into custody, believing he had been threatened to work with them or suffer as a result". There were murmurs among the crowd. "The boy's told others that he had intended to help as a favor in order to help his people, but found himself unable to leave without being threatened. And as it's clear from his injuries, this criminal was indeed no mere criminal, displaying magical powers that harmed him greatly and had the ability to force others to work under them, which is why the prince of the ponyheads had often went missing for so long and had no memory of where he went.". Angel's ears twitched, the sounds of people murmuring only making him more nervous. The Queen's blue eyes look directly at the monster prince, gathering herself as she crossed her arms and stared him down. "Prince Angelus, is everything i've said so far true, or is there anything you wish to correct me on?". His eyes darted to the royals watching down on him, though his eyes specifically skipped his own father's, who sat alone in the back. No doubt him even showing up was a risk on his part, but a necessary one considering who was on trial here. "No, that....sounds about right...", he could feel jude's eyes on him, and was quick to speak as normal as possible so he could be heard among the crowd. "So he really did do this huh?", star turned around to spot the Ponyhead queen, who looked incredibly unhappy to be here as she usually was, "It's his fault I got dragged in here instead of getting my main looking fancy today, and making everyone paranoid as heck. Jeez gurl, and I thought WE did some crazy stuff, like if St O's were still running, you know he would've been sent to that evil little prison instead of being forced on trial for this kinda stuff.". "Well....actually-", Larry Kelpbottom spoke up next to her, a little nervous as his wife stared him down, "I mean, that place was for misbehavior like property damage, and avoiding royal duties, and being a messy and irresponsible princess and prince...it's um....quite different from doing a large crime like this? When princesses and princes go against their own kingdom like this, it's just not simple enough that a boarding school can help with it....", the pony's stare only grew larger and he got more quiet as the other royals spoke among themselves. The Pigeon king let out a cough, his booming voice getting the other's attention, "The boy taking a stand against the criminal is rather commendable, especially if faced with death if he had lost, his alliance with them must've caught them off guard when he attacked. It's quite like us pigeons, it's always the ones you underestimate that become your downfall". Eclipsa let out a snicker from where she sat, if only because some of the other royals were giving the king strange looks. "I say we just dethrone him and get it over with, prince never did much good and he couldn't even capture them. If he can't do that then why should he have the throne over someone more capable instead of taking their boss down well after they went behind the other kingdom's backs...", it figured the one speaking would be a Johansen, the current queen in fact, the dark haired woman grunting and slamming her hand on the table in front of her, "This boy did nothing but terrorize mewni and it's people for years, get into fights, start protests, keep people from working  so he could complain-". "Well for the record, we were complaining about the whole "My race was almost wiped out by a mewni queen" thing, which is probably a decent reason to kinda be upset, I mean....not everyday your species almost gets wiped out, loses it's powers and history for the most part and goes forgotten and poor is it", Leave it to Queen Janna to be snarky at a time like this, the other Queen being noticeably mad but also not daring to challenge her too much either. "Maybe we should start asking the witness questions?", Queen Spiderbite sighed, standing up, "Prince Angelus, were you in anyway responsible for what had happened in the spiderbite kingdom? It is believed the one who attacked us was your boss, did you know she would attack and were you apart of it?". Angel shook his head, "No....I didn't know about it, I wasn't involved, I found out about it after the fact, because she offered Princess Spiderbite's book as my reward to help cure my mom....I was left out of what happened there...". "and the Lucitor heist?", Tom stood up now. It may of been useless garbage, but it was still a robbery to a place that was supposed to be secure to many precious items. "Well, I originally was but....my attempts to try failed...I wasn't even able to figure out a plan before they did it themselves, the only thing I may of helped on was...I was the one who told them about it, because I heard it from my father and at the time we were just talking and I was rambling on but.....they were interested...I didn't think much of it, I just was talking about stuff and that the lucitors had this item and soon enough they wanted me to take it....only to do the task themselves...". Honestly, now that Judas thought about it, Angel wasn't a very competent minion. "So...you didn't directly have a play in most of the heists? That's-". Then Queen Johansen spoke up again, "but he was there when they attacked butterfly castle, correct queen butterfly? I remember after that happened we specifically asked for more safety shields and protection, and the boy had been caught at the scene.". There were more whispers among the royals and the crowd and angel had to nod along with her words, he couldn't say no, he was indeed there. Though he did attempt to speak up, "I was transported there while i was asleep....I didn't go on any orders....". "You must have known why they moved you there though? There was no other reason for you to end up inside on your own, and yet you went right along with their scheme and ended up running right into Prince Lucitor, Princess Skyler, and Princess Nora, putting a few heirs at risk directly.". Angel gulped, and judas tried to force himself not to say something, only to give in and walk over to where Angel was standing, catching the royals off guard. "Prince Lucitor? So you have something to add?", Queen Spiderbite asked, Judas looking to angel before nodding. "I was leading the charge with him that night, fully attempting to let someone know he was here and take him back home, I ran into sky down the line and nora was with me because we were looking for a friend. We ran into him by pure chance and ran into sky by pure chance, on our hunt at the time we ran into her as well. Angel had no direct affect as to how we ran into them or to putting us in danger, he'd been forced to the scene to make a distraction and wasn't at fault for why we ran into the criminal, he was an unwilling participant.". "Prince Lucitor, you witnessed what happened the day this young man was arrested right?". "Yeah, I'm the one that saved him from getting hurt from the thief's escape, and before then i had been looking for where he went off to, we listened in on his meeting with his boss.  Angel was being honest when he told the knights and guards before that he'd been trying to back from their deal before attempting to bite them and paralyze them, when he got attacked and was injured it was a direct result of him attacking the criminal and then turning the tides on them.", judas sounded confident but he knew he was sweating bullets, trying to avoid focusing on the whispers around him. "What is your relationship to this boy?". "Well, we're uh.....recently friends, we were more of familiar acquaintances before, but we've gotten closer more recently.". "Then how do we know we can trust your words on this matter?". "Because Sky was also there, and so were our other children, not to mention your own daughter", Marco nodded to Judas before looking the woman in the eyes, "They all gave similar stories, it's why we have the story we do, i doubt they would all be trying to cover for this boy with a fake story, he had been so injured it took awhile for him to properly heal. This boy was attacked Penelope, he might not have been here at all if it weren't for the kids, they all stated angel had risked his life to turn on her.". "Yeah but, he still chose to work with her, I ain't hearing him tell us he was forced to work under her or something. ",Queen Ponyhead looked more bored then ever at this trial, judas looked to Angel to speak, "You're right....It uh...didn't start out that way....I....I thought she was an ally...but it took some time into our alliance before I realized that I didn't like it and felt like if I turned my back she'd destroy me....her uh....attitude and words got scarier....I was afraid what she could do to my family or me...or....my friends...". "So you believe it was almost like a con.". "Yes, something like that...I...feel like I was tricked and then I couldn't get out of it...". "A prince whose easily tricked into giving up valuable information to a stranger isn't exactly a good sign of a leader...is it?", Queen Jaggs coughed out, "Imagine if he had given out kingdom secrets and how our military all worked, this person doesn't exactly seem to look like the most trustworthy individual, and yet you fell for everything they were offering to you? Promises to fix everything you've wanted.....it sounds too good to be true for most kingdoms". "Yeah but I....I just...they showed me what they could do and...I felt like they really wanted to help me....", he sounded so vulnerable but there still seemed to be some skepticism among the group, doubts being spread on whether he had been tricked or had accepted knowing full well what he was getting into. Star glanced over to sky and back to the prince, nervous about her next line of questioning, "The lessons, the ones you took with my daughter...?". "Yes?". "Did you use them to manipulate my daughter, did you tell the criminal anything about her?". There was an uncomfortable silence in the room, the whispers dying down quickly as to hear the answer. Angel could barely get it out. "Y-yes...B-but i didn't do it to manipulate her! I wasn't trying to trick sky into telling me anything, I-I just told them we were learning together! And that sky and I were learning stuff like magic and royals stuff and history...sky never...she never said anything to me i could even consider telling anyone else!". Though the questioning continued, and Judas stepped in front of angel as more questions arose from the group. "So does that mean if she did say something you would've spilled?", asked Queen Pidgeon. "What? No no no....I mean, well, I guess it depended when it happened, if it had been early on It may of happened, b-but i got in serious trouble with them more recently for keeping my mouth shut about anything going on!" "Just because you stopped helping doesn't remove the fact you were willing to do it before, you're rivalry with the princess is fairly clear to mewni, your grudge against her and her family alone makes it hard to believe where you align, and now you've said you would've been willing to say just anything about her to some stranger." Judas seemed to be looking for something to interject in but it was pretty hard to really defend angel on doing actions he hadn't done but could've done. However, Sky stood up now, getting the room's attention, papers still in her hand. "Princess Butterfly?". "Look, angel can kinda be the utter worst sometimes....and kinda an idiot, but he doesn't really want me hurt either...when we fight, it's with no intention to really hurt each other. My kingdom ruined his kingdom, i'm sorta in the way of him trying to get my mom to help fix things, i have to kick him out. It's annoying but not malicious. I mean seriously, angel could only do one simple spell for ages it seems, you really think angel wanted to harm me? He never even tried to bite me or use a weapon or anything!", defending him by insulting him, works well enough. She made a fair point, one that could not be proven against either. "I-I think it's cruddy...that he went behind my back like this....but we weren't friends when he did this either and when we were it was when he gave up wasn't it? He didn't exactly betray my trust because at the time he didn't trust me yet...it was the fact he....that it felt like he was only friends with me or opened up to me to use me after everything that I....that I ended up feeling the way I did. Angel's not a bad person....he just makes bad choices and does dumb things because he cares..."., angel's ear flickered, his eyes closing. "As touching as that is princess butterfly, are you saying this somehow means he should not face conflict?", Mr Kelpbottom asked curiously, "surely you can't be asking for us to redeem him solely because he he didn't ever really betray you?". Sky stepped forward, "No no, that's not what i'm saying, I mean, angel screwed up and he knows it....but like, he's willing to do anything for his own people and make sacrifices in order to help people he cares about, isn't that what you'd want in a future king?". "Yes, but even his own people don't like his actions, what do you think King Arachford?". Angel's father had been remarkably quiet this entire time, listening and not speaking to those around him. He was having a hard time making eye contact with his son and he coughed and proceeded to speak, "Well, Angelus isn't popular with our people, I can attest to that....though the kingdom did seem almost thankful to have been granted the ability to use magic again they thought lost. Seeing it come from the prince they all seemed to dismiss was...well...a surprise. They had chalked it up to being almost a miracle, but it seemed a lot more then that...". Angel was more then just his name that day. "They were not...happy for a few reasons...they wanted to remain in good graces with the butterflys and...angel trying to protest them them stood in the way of that, they were fearful of what the butterflys would do if angel went too far. I'm deeply sorry Queen Butterfly, I wished to never bring this up, but I have no choice in this matter. The people are glad to finally be getting aid from you and....they hated angel because they were scared of you.", he looked ashamed to look upon the queen's face as she turned to him. "You were scared I would stop helping you because angel was annoying the kingdom?". "Yes, I'm deeply sorry.". "King Amir....no, that's...I'm sorry you ever felt like i'd abandon you at the drop of a hat....simply because of your son. You should trust me more then that....I should never have made you feel like you were on a thread. I'm the one who should be sorry here.". Her blue eyes look genuinely sad, "I'm supposed to be helping monsters in mewni and yet they're still scared of what i'll do to them? That's against everything I stood for....Maybe your son had a point...in me not helping enough.". "Your majesty?" This had quickly turned around to be something else entirely, Star nodding before turning back to the group. "When the trial ends, we'll speak on this further.". Sky stepped forward, clutching the papers in her hand, "Angel's still a kid, he's sixteen, he still has time to fix things, he still has time to do better before he's crowned. Dethroning usually only happens with adults, with adult leaders and royals, how can you put angel in the same category as them? If someone younger then him did something similar, would they be just as guilty? Would they deserve to be dethroned despite them being six or something? He made a mistake when trusting someone but he didn't know he was causing any harm, so why remove him from the throne from it?". "Princess Butterfly, you are only a year younger then him, are you not?", her blue eyes met the one's of King Rock Johansen. "Yes sir." "So you're mature enough to speak about this, but he's too immature to be punished?". "Well I-". "Excuse me...", sky watched judas cross his arms, setting himself in front of his friend, "Her point still stands here, no matter how young she is, you are holding a sixteen year old monster prince to the same standards as an adult, the adults were dethroned in the past are not the same as angel here. They were fully aware of the crimes they were committing and if they had turned on their people or put them in danger, angel believed he had been doing something good and we know who we're dealing with has magic...". "As much as you're trying to argue here, Judas and Sky make decent points.", Marco spoke, holding tom's hand and keeping themselves levelheaded despite the chaos. "Should we really be judging the prince under the same rules as a normal king? If the situation was a trap and he was forced to help or suffer, then he's a lot less blameless then...committing murder. I'm not sure what most people would have done under his situation, especially if you worried for the life of others.". "Reporting it was an option, was it not, the sooner he said it to someone the sooner we could've saved everyone and protected those in danger!". Angel suddenly got smaller on his podium and there were more whispers, judas quickly filling everyone in. "Angel....felt if he told someone, they wouldn't believe him, or....there was no way he could save his mom, this person held a cure over his head to keep him helping.", and the King's eyes got more somber, " He felt he had a live to save and....I feel like if my parents were on the line, or my brothers...or sky....i feel like i'd be doing everything in my power to want them safe. People just...make bad choices if it means they can safe the life of someone they care about. It's his family we're talking about here, his mother.". It felt like they were winning, like they were winning the audience over with not removing the prince from power. But it was clear some would not give up so easily. "Would his mother approve of his actions? Would she have approved of him messing with the princess's feelings or doing these things to save her life?". The room was tense. "B-but that doesn't matter!", The demon snapped back, "Maybe she wouldn't have agreed to what he chose, that doesn't change the fact angel wanted to save her life and didn't know what he was getting himself into! I can't speak for her but I doubt she would want her son dethroned either for this!". King Lucitor was quick to whisper to their partner, Marco nodding and coughing into their hand, "As Prince Lucitor and Princess Butterfly have mad clear, the prince is a teenager, who had been tricked into helping for the sake of his own mother's life, now whether we feel he should be judged as an adult would is still up for debate it seems, but I suggest for now we hear from someone else on this matter...". Janna smirked, fixing her crown as she laid back in her seat, "Oh, who you got under your sleeve diaz? another one of your exs?". "What? No! I meant Eclipsa, she was the one who informed you of the incident and had been teaching him and sky for awhile now...and Angel reports they had been hanging out outside of these times to help him with his magic, I think we should hear more from her.". Their gaze went to the woman with the dark clothing and spade markings as she stood up, reassuring globgor before walking forward. Judas and Sky being shooed off to the side as Eclipsa stood next to Angel, nervous, but still ready for anything. "Geez, your own mom kicked us out...", the princess wasn't happy, grumbling under her breath as they leaned against the wall. "We were hitting the same points over and over, it makes sense to have more of another opinion on this...eclipsa might know more about angel's intentions then we think....". "Eclipsa Butterfly, how close are you to this young man?", Eclipsa was a wild card sometimes, and Judas could tell his mom was a little worried about speaking to her. Logically Eclipsa was the next step into getting further on this issue but what eclipsa thought was ok and what others thought was ok could be widely different. Not to mention Star's mother instincts kicked in heavily with sky ever since eclipsa also got her hurt and sky could tell she was almost afraid of hearing eclipsa had gone too far again. "Well, he and sky were learning under me for a while, lessons kinda got cancelled when what happened....happened. Angel however, has been a rather charming young man, very silly though sometimes, he'd come alone to talk and he was worried sky and judas didn't lik-". Marco interrupted though, "Eclipsa, that's not necessary, did he ever tell you anything about the current situation? As in, did he talk about being forced to do these tasks or about his intentions to betray the criminal controlling him?". "Oh well no, not directly, he told no one.....however....". "Eclipsa....". "It's possible at one point i may of used mind-spying on him....". Angel's eyes lit up, his head turning to look at her in disbelief. "Wait...wait...you...WHAT?", his face was suddenly very red and embarrassed, and Eclipsa both seemed embarrassed for having done so, but judas could tell she was also a little amused. "Don't worry, i'll keep the personal stuff to myself, in terms of this situation at hand so we're on topic, it's entirely possible i was so worried about him because he was getting so sickly and anxious I wanted to see maybe where the problem was stemming from since he didn't want to speak about it...". "And you saw....Her?". "She was in his thoughts yes.". More murmurs, some good, some bad. It left Judas and Sky both feeling uneasy as the dark queen kept talking. "It wasn't incredibly weird though, globgor himself went investigating and found her hanging around a lot near his kingdom, So we already had seen something like this coming. We only didn't want to scare the boy, we simply kept our distance until we got more on the matter of what was happening. The boy is still quite young, i wasn't going to go around doing any foul deeds to him to get him to cough it up or anything, well, at least not him, he's a good exception.", Eclipsa seemed rather fine with her statement but it was clear the royals seemed to be ranging from confusion to anger to her. "You knew about this and decided to say nothing?!", Star gripped the banister in front of her as she leaned forward, freaking out. "My daughter almost died out there! All because she went after that boy, If you had told us sooner we could've prevented anyone from getting hurt and stopped them much before-". Then Eclipsa held up a hand, "Star, dear, there wasn't enough there to prove whether he was at fault or not, her being around his home, and her being in his thoughts alone isn't enough to convict anyone, you should know that...i was arrested under much less convincing reasons..". "Ughhhh, still, you should've said something...c'mon eclipsa, sky was in danger...". "Right, right....". "She just cares about me!", Star's attention was turned back to angel, "M-maybe she should've said something, but if she had blabbed...well...there's fair reason to believe that....thing would've thought I was the one who squeaked and.....I might not be here today! Eclipsa just....I needed someone to talk to sometimes who...I new for sure would want to help me and would trust me at the time...talking to her...helped me decided that I had to stop her....she didn't know but...I asked her what she would do if people she cared about were in danger and...if she did something against the bad guy they would be in more danger...". "And i said, I'd kick their butts and get my family out of there, because I know they'd prefer it if i helped save us all then let us live miserably and let worse happen.", she finished, nodding to him. "So...in the end it was best I had to do something myself and just....keep everyone else from getting hurt. I didn't want judas or sky involved cause they could get hurt and I couldn't let anyone know because then i'd be dead...I just...I needed to take her out by myself and....then...no one gets hurt.". "You were blasted in the back...right?", Larry Kelpbotton asked, the spider nodding. Star also let out a long sigh, brushing some blonde hair from her face. "He was in our wing to recover, it wasn't pretty but he managed to heal pretty fast, unfortunately another hit and he might've died. Apparently Sky had moved in by that point and had been the one to save his life, according to the prince the criminal had full intentions to silence him so he wouldn't be able to spill.". "I-I asked for my mind to be wiped when i said I wanted out...", the spider added, "I told her to have me forget everything if it meant I could get out, but they....they thought it was better i became like Prince Ponyhead, my mind in her hands. Because even if I had my mind wiped, then people would just wonder what was wrong with me and figure out my mind was erased and I may of had a part to play. I guess maybe they thought the idea i was kidnapped or i ran away was much better then any chance of me going back with no memory and having my memory jogged...". "Why would you want your memories to go?", the King looked puzzled at the monster prince and Eclipsa motioned for him to explain himself better. "Well no no, the meeting, me wanting out, the memories...It was a front so i could capture her. I did really want out but I rarely can ever find her in person or get close enough to bite her or anything, So i figured...if i invited her to something super important, she showed up, got close enough to do a spell on me, I could get her...just like that...I thought I could do it...". "He'd asked about training....with me.", Eclipsa coughed, "Angel had...well...I believe the term to most others are "Gone feral"? He'd done it at least once in our training sessions to practice fighting, though his people call it an "Ultimate". It's almost their form of the butterfly form, except of transforming, he becomes suddenly more powerful and more monsterous. He didn't tell me why he wanted training for it, but he wanted private training to see if he could master it, and he was working on it during nights". "During...nights?". "He's been here mostly since the spiderbite situation, before then I picked him up a few times from home with my butterfly form, after that it was only a walk to my tower.". "I thought I could do it....who better then me? I was already working for her...she'd have a harder time seeing me coming...or they...I still don't know who they are. I was getting so much better with it, I thought I could bite into their wrist, their arm, they would be paralyzed by my vemon. Then I could take her directly to the castle or unmask them and you could have them in custody, and they wouldn't be able to stop you, you could even prevent them from using magic in that time before the vemon wore off....but It all went wrong...I..I missed.". is head hung low, "I failed....again....even when I'm trying to do better...I still failed...". He was on the verge of tears and eclipsa reached out to comfort him, people still talking to each other about his confession. And Sky and Judas may as well have stepped in as well if the guards in the room hand't put their hands in front of them, making them stay put on the matter. "Sorry your highness, no more barging in the middle of the conversation, you'll only be called when asked from now on, same goes for Prince Lucitor on the matter.". Of course. "Eclipsa I-". "Hey, you told me I was his new teacher, and he wanted to learn something alone, I'd say he has every right to learn on my account. You never said not to teach him about this stuff at night."., She patted his back, careful of any lingering injuries he might of still hand, "I for one, thought he was quite a fun student, I think when he sets his mind to something it's hard to get him out of it. Sky's similar in that regard, though too busy to need extra lessons.". "You were the one who informed the queens of what was happening...correct?", Angel didn't look at his father as he awaited Eclipsa's answer. "Oh yes, that was me, I.....I know not everyone thinks I should've done that....but...I already lost a girl i care dearly about for before...I....I couldn't have it happen again...", judas felt sky shift, her anger still present. With meteora still being alive it was no wonder. He wrapped an arm around her and she leaned against him, Eclipsa still speaking to the court. "Thankfully everyone made it out alright, who knows what may of happened otherwise.", there were more murmurs, and eclipsa felt she was probably about done. Then Janna spoke up. "Eclipsa?". "Yes?". "What exactly do you think angel should be granted throughout this?  I mean, you kinda got imprisoned cause of some losers in power.", she eyed the commission, all of which didn't seem amused, "How would you judge this guy if you were up here?". Eclipsa looked to angel and sighed, "If I were in your position, I'll be honest, I would free him of all charges....even though he did screw up and go against all of mewni. I feel like I know him better then to think he has bad blood and would ever do this again. The boy has promise and I don't think dethroning everyone who you don't like without giving them a chance to prove themselves to do better is the route mewni should be going in". Angel seemed touched. "You are dismissed eclipsa...". The woman returned to her seat, Star sighing and rubbing at her face, "I suggest, we take a small recess....and when we return our final witnesses can come up and give their presentations. Then we'll decide on the final verdict for the prince here.". There seemed to be a collective agreement as angel got off the stand, judas and sky walking towards him as they all headed out the doors to regroup and talk. Sky giving the high commission a glare on the way out. - "I think we're doing pretty well out there...I think". Sky quickly ruffled through her papers, "We've established your motives, we've gone into how unfair it is, and we've had people go up about your character in general. I think maybe the people in there might think of you in a bit of a lighter view then they used to....at least i hope so after this.". Judas was still pacing, mostly in a circle, trying to deduce exactly where everyone on stand was at this time. He knew his own parents were probably more understanding and less likely to incriminate the boy, especially now knowing he wasn't directly involved in the incident that got them hiding in a safe room. But Sky's mom seemed mixed in some cases, the Johansens seemed deadset on punishing him greatly, Queen Ponyhead barely seemed to care and when she did she was annoyed with him, the Spiderbites were a complete mystery and the list went on.  Their odds seemed more in their favor then against but that didn't mean something couldn't completely flip that around suddenly. Angel was only so sympathetic because he meant no real harm and hadn't directly caused any major harm, not to mention being a kid who got tricked. But that might not be enough for most people and there was still time to turn the tides. "When we get back in there it's sunny's turn to speak, and i think celeste and galexia are joining her....if only we had nora....she was a witness too.". Sky grumbled to herself, going through her documents,"I had to pack so much of mewni's history of dethroning and court cases, I had to study more for this then eclipsa's own classes....ugh. But I think we can kinda win this....not sure if we could get the verdict eclipsa would prefer considering the crowd but...". "I think it's fair to say when everyone found out angel had done this they expected him to admit he'd been dropping tons of info on the castles and had been planning everything and left and planned to stop her cause he wasn't getting what he wanted out of the alliance or something. I get the feeling that him having done little on purpose and getting force to work and leaving because he regretted it was not fitting with how people saw him before this point...no offense angel, i think to the public you were seen a lot more bratty....", he stopped in his tracks and looked to the boy sitting on one of the sofas nearby. "It's fine...I....I wasn't my best....I was just....too stubborn to accept I was doing nothing but making everything worse...". "Well whatever, I think we might have it, just need to seal the deal with the next line....unless they all decide to screw us over despite all this.....ugh they better not. I don't want us to have worked so hard on this only to have them all decide it meant nothing because they hate angel too much to give him another chance." Judas walked up to the dark-haired princess, patting her on the back, "You did well out there sky, i'm really impressed how well you're holding yourself.". "Thanks jude....you too.". "Alright you guys, you ready?", Sunny came bouncing by, nervous as ever but determined. "You guys did pretty darn well in there but the fight isn't over, it's not over till the verdict is determined. And you never know if something else comes into play last minute, we better keep on our toes.". Galexia and Celeste walked up behind her, Celeste still reluctant to be here but also required to be here, "Since mason is too young to be here and nora is...wherever, they dragged landon as someone to question with us, he's uh....not excited....". "They really should let all of us tesitfy shouldn't they?", sunny looked up to Judas and he only shrugged. "I mean, i guess three of you is perhaps enough, but i won't deny I think nora and mason should have some imput...but i can't argue against my parents on that, he saw a lot he probably was too young to see....we'll just have to work with who we got. If angel does get dethroned, he's not only vulnerable and he'll most likely never be able to go home, but if we really think about it...it's a good time for anyone to step in and take that kingdom for themselves in this state....someone like...". "Don't finish that, I don't wanna think about it...", sky said, waving her arm at him, "Let's just go in there and finish this, for angel....and for our own safety.". - The court got back in order, everyone returning to their seats, or in the case of sky and judas, along the wall. Queen Star took her seat and Angel got back on his podium. The final fight was ready to begin. The goblin running in to blow on his horn once more, coughing, "We now resume the second half of court today for the trial of Prince Angelus Arachford, accused of committing treason. By the end of this trial his fate shall be determined by the rulers of mewni, let us continue....". He headed out as Star tapped her fingers on the table nervously, "Well, we're moving on forward by calling some new witnesses to talk about what happened during the situation, since judas and sky are close with the boy, there is potential their attachment to him may of made their truth a little different...so to be safe, we're calling on witnesses with less of such an attachment....sunny, galexia, and prince landon lucitor diaz!". The three teenagers quickly headed foward, landon and celeste of course incredibly unhappy to be in this situation as the girls next to them smiled ear to ear. "Girls, and....Landon, can you confirm what the prince has said as the truth? Did he or did he not attempt to take the criminal down with his vemon?". The girls all looked to landon, who coughed, "Only I saw that part m'am....they entered the scene after sky and judas went in to save angel....yeah, it's basically what happened. He's not lying and neither are sky and my brother on that....dude kinda tried to take her out, almost died, they came in to save him...sky blasted the guy....". Landon clearly didn't want to be there, but he went on, "There's not a lot else to add, we were just out there to find him when we saw what happened.". "Girls?". "We saw everything after, with judas saving the prince, the queen saving sky, and the being getting away in a flash of light, the queen herself i believe i can attest to that.". "I can.". "Well....if there is little to add, then sounds to me we can decide on the verdict as is", Marco crossed their arms, looking to their company, "We've gone over some of the history relating to this, put the rules into question,, and have gone over the details surrounding this situation. The boy had good intentions and it sounds to me he had been manipulated and threatened to work for them, i'd say in a way it's brave for them to have even considered betraying them at all. I think on the basis it sounded like a clear case of him betraying mewni, but it seems he never had a huge part to play in most of the incidents and most of what he did was minor or accidental. This situation is not as clear cut and dry as it had seemed". There seemed to be mainly nods from most of the other royals, sky raising an eyebrow. Did they win? Already? They actually did it? Judas let out a sigh of relief, angel's surprised face almost turned into a smile. "WAIT!" The audience collectively turned to someone standing up in the crowd. The High Commission. Sky felt her teeth grit. "What is it?", Star looked annoyed, crossing her arms and sighing, "We're almost done here". Hekapoo turned to the others and sighed, "We have a question for the witnesses.....". "What? The witnesses? Is there something wrong with their story here?". She closed her eyes, "Witnesses, did you mention what color was the magic princess butterfly shot out of her wand when she saved the prince?". Landon rolled his eyes, "No, why would that matter?". Hekapoo turned her head to look at Sky, the commission following suit. "Because the magic that came from her wand, wasn't normal, it was green!". There were gasps everywhere, whispers. Sky felt her stomach drop as they pointed a finger at her, everyone looking at her. "Once more, Princess Butterfly intended to kill!".

[dragonindigo245]

So I know there’s a superhero AU for the sides but consider... supervillain?

Bare with me. This is going to seem really funky but I figured why not? In this AU Thomas is a superhero and the sides are supervillains. Here’s a semi-breif- Oh nvm this is way to long. Woop dee doo. Feel free to scroll away if you don’t want a long AU. If you’re into that... here’s some character descriptions!

Thomas

•Thomas is a YouTuber who vlogs and is known for his small skits and vines. His most popular series after vine died though is his Awkward Adventures.

•He collabs with his friend Remy to do some “sleep” skits.

•He used to collab with Patton, Logan, Roman, and Virgil back when vine was around too but they hardly knew each other.

•Thomas hardly remembers them besides a few off set jokes.

•Thomas was born with the powers of flight, super speed, and to feel emotions.

•He can’t alter them but he does try to help others like the good person he is.

•Actually was convinced by Emile to take up superhero work. Emile didn’t mean it in the “go beat up bad guys” way but here they are.

•Everyone knows Thomas identity. He doesn’t hide it.

•Joan and Taylon designed him a superhero outfit. It is basically a white jumpsuit with rainbow cuffs and a giant, glowing rainbow star symbol in the middle. There’s also an epic rainbow cape to go with it.

•He doesn’t view the supervillains as bad guys, but rather broken people. He only uses physical force if they attack him. Otherwise he try’s to convince them to turn themselves in. Course it doesn’t work all that well but he tries.

•He doesn’t go by anything besides Thomas. He doesn’t need a superhero name to be super.

Patton

•Patton has two kids who go by Fiona and Liam (The kids from vine) and is a single parent.

•Their dirt poor and often have trouble scraping by. His kids don’t even go to school due to school fees.

•He declines any money from his friends and his family has given him all they can. They aren’t as poor as Patton but also aren’t comfortable.

•Logan actually comes by Patton’s house weekly to try and tutor them to his best abilities. In certain subjects they know more than kids there age but in some their lacking.

•Patton was born with the powers to alter emotions and to fly.

•He actually alters his own emotions so he can remain happy around other people.

•Problem is that only represses them for later. When he’s alone he’s a total mess.

•He started going into crime around 5 years after he adopted his kids, when poverty was at its max.

•He doesn’t have a job unfortunately because he was to low on money to send the kids to school, hence not having time for a job.

•Pat only does crime for the money so his kids can eat and he can keep his apartment. He really hates it though.

•He doesn’t have a supervillain costume but he wears the typical black mask superhero mask along with his cat hoodie.

•Despite hating crime, he’s the best at it compared to the others. He can actually be really intimidating when he needs to be.

•The only crimes he has committed are robbery, attempted murder (course he would never actually kill someone), and trespassing.

•His kids don’t know he’s a supervillain and he intends to keep it that way. They have gotten dangerously close though.

•He hasn’t been captured yet.

•He still calls Virgil his “dark, strange son”.

•Virgil accepts this and the kids treat him like an older brother.

•Patton was the one who got Virgil into eyeshadow surprisingly.

•Patton actually hasn’t gotten hurt by Thomas. He munipulates his emotions to make him not hurt him. Thomas has stopped him from doing whatever crime every single time though.

•His supervillain name is Curse, due to him wearing a cat hoodie and the whole black cats have bad luck thing. Also based on him often using fear to keep enemies away.

Logan

•He lives in a two room apartment, one room always remains locked and with a few modifications, made the door booby trapped.

•Only he knows how to get past them without destroying them.

•There’s actually a booby trap designed to go off if you destroy the door trap.

•He often tutors kids other than Patton’s. However they know what they should be learning so their significantly easier to tutor than Fiona and Liam.

•He received his powers in illegal experimentation though he was a test subject so he wasn’t in much trouble.

•Really he just had a migraine for a few days and suddenly he could lift an entire couch with one arm.

•His powers are unique. He is quite literal when he says “Knowledge is power.” His strength is based on how much intellect he possesses.

•Currently he can lift 2,000 pounds comfortably. This does mean he can lift some cars.

•Ironically because he looks so skinny, people tell him he should go to the gym so he’s able to hold his own in a fight.

•If you mention a new topic to him he doesn’t know much about, he will get a splitting headache and he is almost incapable of resisting researching it. He will become hyper fixated on it for like a month.

•His supervillain costume is a black jumpsuit along with a black bandana. Patton stitched in a black hood to the jumpsuit because Logan was worried that he could leave a hair at the scene of the crime, and get caught. He also extanges his glasses for contacts.

•He commits crimes the least often compared to everyone else, only doing so to unleash bottled up anger. When he gets angry enough for that though, all hell breaks lose.

•His first crime was commited in his softmore year of High School.

•His crimes include homoside, arson (don’t ask where the fire came from), assault, kidnapping, property destruction, and finally trespassing.

•He has been captured twice but has gotten away before they could unmask him.

•His supervillain name is Mind Bender because he wasn’t exactly discrete how his powers work. Really Thomas just came up with it on the fly and the media loved it.

Roman

•Roman lives in a two bedroom apartment with his roommate Remy who knows of Romans identity.

•Thankfully Remy doesn’t give a shit unless Roman intrupts his life with it. He had to take an oath not to tell anyone as long as Roman doesn’t bother the Starbucks industry.

•Remy may not care Romans’ a supervillain, but he will keep his identity a secret because he doesn’t go back on his word.

•Roman was considered to be a magnificent actor but was disgraced once Remus became a supervillain.

•He now works for a modeling company... as a photographer.

•He loathes he can’t be a model himself but doesn’t make a fuss about it.

•Honestly being the photographer is just rubbing salt in the wound for him.

•His powers include the ability to make anyone enamored with him and he counts his reflexes as a power even though it isn’t. He’s just crazy talented.

•His powers actually were a hex from Virgil, as a way to able him to be a supervillain. He also has been begging Virgil to give him the power to communicate with animals but Virgil has told him to wait for awhile.

•Problem is, his powers actually make him more prone to falling in love. Magic always takes its toll.

•He’s actually once had 3 relationships in one week before. It was just sad.

•After losing the acting carrier, he became extremely greedy and obsessed with riches. You can imagine why he is a supervillain.

•He started becoming a supervillain around the 2 month mark for his photography job.

•His list of crimes are theft, robbery, shoplifting, arson (again nobody knows where they get the fire), manslaughter, and kidnapping.

•Though with the kidnapping he literally did it to spite the ladies boyfriend. Really nothing happened to her. She sat in a dark room, tied to a chair, having a debate with Roman which Kardashian was the best. Then the police showed up and Roman jumped out a window.

•Romans outfit is the same princely getup as in the series and a white and gold masquerade mask. Also a gold crown that he bought himself. He carries a sword as well to aid in battle but he uses it as an accessory all the same.

•Patton once swapped Romans’ crown for a Burger King crown in the middle of a heist. He didn’t even realize until Patton handed him his original crown like half an hour later.

•There is viral camera footage of this event. Roman is still a bit bitter towards him but secretly finds it funny.

•He has been caught five times (every time he went on a heist with Remus) and has had his secret identity revealed in private by a few cops. They were all killed by Remus before they could tell anyone.

•Technically Roman owes Remus.

•His supervillain name is Prince for obvious reasons. Remus claimed him as his sidekick immediately so that helped the name decision.

•Everyone thinks Remus is Romans sidekick though. Nobody believes Roman is the lesser one here.

Virgil

•Virgil lives in a 3 bedroom, house with Dee and Remus.

•He’s actually been alive since the dark ages.

•Currently he works at a Hot Topic.

•He’s a supervillain because he is actually a serial killer. Virgil loathes this fact though and tries to repress it as much as he can.

•His powers come from a spell book he has. He can do electrical magic and some illusion magic without help from the book but otherwise he has to read it from the pages in combat. Easy to do with cops, hard to do with superhero’s.

•The spellbook however gives the user intense fear for as long as it’s left open. He tries not to use it to much.

•One time however he literally collapsed and had a panic attack while fighting Thomas. Thomas actually stopped fighting and helped Virgil through it though.

•The athoreties showed up with Virgil proped up ageist the wall beside Thomas. He willingly came but wouldn’t allow for his identity to be seen. He was rescued by Logan later on before he had to go to court.

•Virgil has been detained twice, the first time being him beaten down, the second time him willingly going.

•His outfit is a black cloak along with the rest of his body wearing black. He has fingerless gloves too. His face is hidden by a simple black bandana.

•His supervillain name is Shock, in both the electrical way and emotion way. Another one Thomas came up with.

Dee

Well for starters I just found out how to do this easier. Okay anyways resuming.

Deceit goes by Dee or Dec. He refuses to tell anyone his name. If they ask he says something like “Karen” or “Linda”.

He doesn’t have a job for this reason.

Oh and the fact he can’t cover his identity very well so he’s on the run from the law.

He was involved in the same experimentation Logan went through, but was tested for something different.

Long story short: His body ended up going through the extremely painful process of growing scales on his right half of his body, his canines (teeth not dog) grew into poison filled fangs, and his tounge became thin and forked. An unfortunate side effect was him going blind in his right eye.

He was the one who actually got the experiments shut down.

He was treated as a freak of nature and feared. Eventually he developed the mindset that society was a lie and it needed to be torn apart.

So I guess now he wants an anarchy.

He’s also a narcissistic liar so he fits the role of a snake.

His powers are being immune to physical damage on his right side, and having a venomous bite.

He wears the same bowler hat and everything he originally wears. There is no need to change when you can’t conceal your identity.

He’s actually terrified of snakes despite being part one. Unfortunately snakes are attracted to him.

Remus constantly reminds him that snakes can have two d-

He started a few years ago with his whole anarchy thing from Orlando but Thomas quickly put a stop to it.

His list of crimes just... keep going... it’s to extensive but let’s just say genoside is on there.

His supervillain name is Deceit. He made it himself.

Remus

Ho boy the real train wreck.

He’s currently hiding at Virgil’s place along with Dee.

He is not mentally stable enough to have a job. He’s also the most wanted person in America. This guy can’t get a job.

He’s literally chewed his way out of a straight jacket. This mans unhinged.

His powers? Nobody knows where he got them. Probably used Virgil’s spell book.

His powers are teleportation and shapeshifting.

Leads to some interesting interactions.

He has the achievement of being the only person Thomas has genuinely lost his cool with.

Remus doesn’t conceal his identity. His outfit is just his normal duke outfit he wears everywhere.

I mean when the police first showed up on his first heist he was eating a dollar bill and introduced himself as, “Remus, but you can call me Duke.”

He’s frankly terrifying.

He’s committed every crime in the book. Tax evasion to mass homocide.

His villain name is Duke and it is a household name across America.

Somebody get this man under control oh my god.

So there’s the character bios. Here’s some little tad bits of information!

Emile Picani is both Thomas and Virgil’s therapist.

Virgil hasn’t told him about being a supervillain but oh he knows.

Emile very discreetly is trying to get him to be better one step at a time.

All the supervillains logos were designed by the media.

“Curse” And “Mind Bender” are apparently I dinamic duo on the internet?

Patton, Logan, Roman, and Virgil often team up. Their not official team members or anything but just good friends.

The four often try to pull each other out of crime. For example someone will anonymously give Patton some money, keeping Logan calm, ect.

Virgil used to team up with Deceit and Remus all the time but slowly started to pull away due to them being absolutely unhinged.

Fiona and Liam actually are friends with Thomas.

Remus can actually be quite calm around Deceit and Roman. There can’t be anyone else in the room though.

Thomas is very insistent on finding everyone’s identities and helping them out.

Remy actually knows everyone’s identities besides Virgil’s but because the unhinged ones are already known, he doesn’t care.

Virgil and Roman will sometimes come over to Patton’s house to give him a much needed break from being a single parent.

Logan and Dee are actually extremely good friends and have been since the experimentation. Everyone is pretty good friends with everyone but those two are a whole new level of friends. The others are convinced they might have telepathic powers between each other.

Emile and Remy often hang out together and chat about whatever.

Welp there’s that! I’ll probably be writing some stuff for this so stay tuned! Enjoy the rest of your day!

[angel-wings-and-broken-things]

A rant about Vanya Hargreeves

(Note: this is decidedly anti-Vanya. If that bothers you, I suggest you click off right now, you have been warned. That said, I'm always up for some friendly debate if you see anything that I’ve said is incorrect, but please don’t respond with bullshit comments like “Luther made her” as it’s an embarrassing display of the pure immaturity that comes from Vanya stans.)

So I’ve been putting off this rant for a long time, mainly because I’ve been busy with school and other stuff. Also, I’ve been getting my kicks ranting to my sister about the pure idiocy that is Vanya Hargreeves and Vanya stans. However, my sister now says that she is done listening to my hour-long rage-fueled rants. Let me tell you that I cried, because a staple in my morning routine has become eating my toast and spilling tea with my younger sister. However, when presented with the facts, for example, that she has never watched the show and has no opinions on the character nor on the cataclysmic stupidity of the fandom for idolizing this psychopathic monster, I realized that perhaps it was the proper time for me to make this, and pray that I can move on to a life of happiness after expelling my hatred of these unintelligent people and arguments.

Also, I’m extremely high on caffeine and procrastinating my essays. So please bear with me as I take you on the journey of my three AM coffee induced rants. I understand that there is a very slim chance that I will change anybody's mind about Vanya, as many people choose to be ignorant about the problematic and hypocritical behavior of their favorite character. Society is relentless in its enablement of the truly moronic behaviors, and nothing has made me lose more faith in the world than the actual arguments I have seen from the half-witted, mindless Vanya stans. I’m not saying that everyone who stans Vanya is an idiot, but if someone else were to say it I would not disagree. Unfortunately, that is simply the conclusion that all evidence leads to. This introduction has gotten away from me a bit, so without further ado, here is every single bullshit argument that I have seen Vanya stans argue debunked.

Vanya’s Childhood.                        

First of all, I would like to point out that I have the utmost sympathy for all of the Hargreeves children for having to grow up with an abusive father. At no point in this rant will I disvalue Vanya’s trauma. As much as I truly hate her character, invalidating traumatic experiences and PTSD is a fucking dick move that I will leave to other parts of the fandom (*cough* anti-Luthers *cough*).

Now that that’s out of the way, let me dig deep into her psychopathic tendencies and unflinching lack of remorse for her actions that clearly has been present since adolescence. First, let us address her powers. I see people everywhere saying that having her powers bound was abusive and horrible, that Allison could have rumored her to have control instead, that she didn’t mean to do any of the things she did, etc. However, please consider that Reginald didn’t have a choice. Or rather I should say that his choices were limited and he made the best possible one given the circumstances. I’m not condoning his actions at all, I will be the first to denounce his actions and character. However, we need to consider all of the facts; not only did she physically attack him, but she also murdered several innocent people because she didn’t like oatmeal. This was to the point that Reginald designed Grace for the sole purpose of having someone who could control Vanya. Vanya was clearly displaying apathetic tendencies towards murder at a young age and cares nothing for the people she killed as long as she got what she wanted. She murdered people over oatmeal, and people stay defending her?

I was shocked when I saw this scene and realized that people were still stanning Vanya, because do you know what this points to people? A pattern. Vanya is a power-hungry maniac. This is shown many times in the show. She knows that she’s the most powerful person in the room and she shamelessly abuses that privilege. When she is a child and she realizes that she’s more powerful then Reginald can handle, what does she do? She explodes the glasses and hurts him with her powers. When she is fed a type of food that she doesn’t like and knows she can use her powers to get whatever she wants, what does she do? She murders her nannies for the sole purpose of getting her way. When she is an adult and realizes that she doesn’t have to listen to Allison, what does she do? Slits her throat and attempts to literally murder her, then runs away. When she doesn’t want to be held captive she destroys their house. When her siblings try to stop her from hurting people she burns the world to the ground. Do you see the pattern?

Furthermore, let us discuss The Umbrella Academy. Also known as Vanya once again showing her true colors as a spoiled brat. We see in both her autobiography and in the flashback scene where she destroyed the house that she felt excluded. Listen, I am a sibling, I have felt excluded before and I’m sure that my sisters have as well. But somehow none of us have burned our house to the ground. I know, you’re probably sitting at your keyboard shaking your head in awe at out restraint. I get that people sympathize with her loneliness throughout childhood, and I can see why. But honestly, I didn’t see anything too terrible in the flashback scene. What? Diego was pissed at her for barging into his room and Allison didn’t want Vanya to see her macking on Luther? Call me crazy but that just seems like siblings being siblings (aside from the making out with your other siblings part, that’s weird). Yes, the one about her being left out from the family portrait was kind of rough, but no reason to attempt to murder your whole family, kill your mom and father figure, and destroy your house. 

She clearly has a being left out complex that began in adolescence and carried through adulthood. It’s okay when you’re a kid and you’re whining that Jimmy and Tommy won’t let you play tag with them, but it crosses a line when you act that way as a grown ass woman. Her book was also crossing a gigantic, fat red line that says in all caps YOU’RE TAKING THIS TOO FAR. What, Ben didn’t want to share his toys so in return you write a passive-aggressive novel about how much your siblings suck and left you out of their super secret club? Let’s say that Klaus also published a book talking about all of his traumatic experiences, and at the center of it was perfect Vanya who was normal and never experienced a single hardship. Different story, right? We don’t seem to talk about the fact that being in the Umbrella Academy seemed to suck. Klaus was forced into a mausoleum and made to live his worst nightmare, Ben was made to kill people using his powers, Luther was transformed into an ape-man without his consent and exiled to the moon, Five ended up stranded in the apocalypse for 45 years, and that's just when was shown on the screen. I’m positive that there were tons of other horrible things that the academy experienced, so where does Vanya get off pretending that she invented tragedy all because her precious feewings were hurt? 

Locking Vanya Up 

Listen. Listen. I said that I wasn’t going to invalidate Vanya’s trauma, and I plan to stick to that. Luther locking Vanya in that cage was fucked up. He shouldn’t have done that. However, in order to properly make my case we need to analyze everything, so allow me to play devil’s advocate for a moment. Vanya slit Allison’s throat. In what universe is that even a little bit acceptable? Not only was Allison her sister, but she was just trying to help. She says repeatedly that she loves Vanya, that she wants to help her, that she’s trying to rescue her from her abusive boyfriend, and once again we see Vanya turn to violence when she doesn’t get her way. I see tons of people saying that Allison had it coming because she rumored Vanya into thinking she was ordinary, but consider this: you’re an asshole. Allison was a child, she didn’t realize that what she was doing was wrong. She even admitted it to Vanya and said that she was confused/just remembered it. Guilty people don't admit their sins. Allison was confused and hurt, and Vanya tried to kill her. 

Additionally, let’s refer to Leonard. Vanya killed him. Now, I’m not particularly broken up over his death, the bastard sort of had it coming.  However, this is yet another example of Vanya overreacting with violence when she’s upset. Her murdering Leonard wasn’t self-defense, as he wasn’t attacking her, nor had he ever physically hurt her. While I’m aware that emotional abuse can be just as bad as physical abuse, and that Vanya was definitely in an emotionally abusive relationship with Leonard, it was still murder. There is no way that it would have held up in court, and I get that people can get trapped in abusive relationships, but if you want to leave a toxic relationship, the answer is not murder. It is never okay to kill someone unless it is in direct defense of your life. or someone else’s. Vanya killed Leonard and showed absolutely no remorse. In fact, the only time she ever showed any sort of guilt over what she did was to Allison, and she got over that in about 30 minutes.

I have gotten a bit off track, so going back to Luther locking Vanya up, he shouldn’t have done it. That much is clear, you should never subject someone to their worst fear. I could go on about Luther and his motivations, but I’ll save that for another rant. All I’m trying to say is that he had a good motive, it's still not okay but I feel that the entire fandom already holds Luther accountable for that, whereas no one holds Vanya accountable for her actions. Additionally, consider the other timeline. In the time where Five came from, Luther didn’t lock Vanya up. Why would he? We can see from Five’s flashback to finding his family dead that Allison’s throat wasn’t slit, therefore because Five was the one who pointed them in the direction of Harold Jenkins, and he wasn’t in the original timeline, there is only one conclusion to draw based on the evidence. In the original timeline, no one went after Vanya. Therefore, Leonard was able to convince her to go destroy Hargreeves mansion, and sometime in the process, Luther ripped his eye out. This is supported by Five saying that while he has assumed that the mansion fell with the apocalypse, it has actually happened before that. Vanya then, after murdering all of her siblings, went on to destroy the world, Leonard, and herself in the process. This shows that Luther was actually somewhat justified in his actions, Vanya has already proven that she is capable of killing and has no qualms about doing so. She has killed billions of people in multiple timelines, and Vanya stans still want to act like none of it was her fault? Okay.

The Guy In The Car

This is a pretty specific sub-category, but I felt like I had to bring it up because it is so fucking incredible the things that Vanya stans are willing to look past. Vanya literally murdered someone because he honked at her. Even if you can justify everything else she did, how can you justify that? Is road rage seriously worth killing over? People are so quick to say “YAS badass Vanya! A QWEEN!” but was Luther a badass when he grabbed Klaus by his fucking neck? No, so why is Vanya a badass when she nearly kills her sister and actually murders innocent people?  The fact of the matter is, Vanya shows a continuous pattern of killing without remorse. She has not only killed many nannies, Leonard, her siblings (in the alternate timeline) and the whole fucking world (twice), but she murdered the man in the car for absolutely nothing. He could have had a family, he could have had children, but did Vanya think of that? Probably not, because she’s a psychopath.

Stop and take a good long look at any of these gifs and try to tell me she wasn’t in control. Try and tell me she isn’t a murderer.

The Apocalypse

Finally. The part of this rant that I’ve been the most excited to get to. This is where I get the most idiotic comments about Vanya. I may have to write a whole other section addressing the most stupid comments I have gotten. But nonetheless, everyone seems to be unanimously in agreement that it wasn’t Vanya’s fault, and this is where I run into some issues. Vanya isn’t a child, she’s a grown ass woman. Correct me if I’m wrong, but when you’re almost 30 years old, its time to take responsibility for your actions. Some of y’all’s mamas didn’t raise you right and it shows. When I was a kid, it didn’t matter if my little sister told me to steal the candy bar, I still stole the candy bar. It was my fault, I got punished. No one held a gun to Vanya’s head and forced her to burn the world to the ground. If you rewatch the final scene, it’s pretty clear that she’s in control of her actions. The only times I saw her lose control was when she was defending Leonard from the muggers and when she was ranting about her siblings. During the apocalypse? All I saw was pure vindictive pleasure. She was pissed off, so she would have everyone die. 

I would like to point out, because I haven't seen anyone else talking about this, that Vanya was straight up ready to kill Luther, Klaus, Five, and Diego. At the end, when they all were trying to stop her (from destroying the world) she had them suspended in air and was clearly hurting them. You could see them in pain, their lives were literally draining away. It was pretty clear that they would have died if Allison hadn’t stopped her. And through it all, she didn’t care. She didn’t care that they would die, she didn’t care that the world would burn. The bottom line is that Vanya Hargreeves is a psychotic murderer, and the fandom needs to stop treating her like a goddess.

In conclusion

To summarize, Vanya displays the characteristics of a spoiled toddler. All she does is lash out when she doesn’t get her way and destroy the world and other people. She has killed countless people, and the fact that people keep saying it wasn’t her fault is such a classic example of the world’s stupidity. If you say that she wasn’t responsible, or that Luther made her do it, then congratulations, you are just as mature as Vanya is and that is not a compliment. No one can make you do anything. You always have choices, Vanya chose to destroy the world and that is something that she needs to be held accountable for. 

I can kind of understand the appeal to Vanya, I suppose. She could come across relatable because of her lonely childhood. Or maybe shes just amassed such a large following because people love Ellen Page (which I get). But the fact remains that I have heard so many idiotic Vanya supporters preaching her psycho gospel and completely ignoring every shitty thing she’s done. So next time I reply to someone’s moronic, unintelligent, not thought through comment, and they try and start beef with me, I’ll just link this rant. I’ve gotten tired of repeating myself. So hey, if you said something to me on twitter about how Vanya isn’t responsible for all the people she killed in cold blood, and I commented with this link, then congrats! You are such a moronic mouthpiece that I felt the need to spend hours writing this essay detailing every single reason as to why your opinion is invalid. Save us both some time here and just stop talking. Either that or turn on your notifications and fight me irl, I won’t hesitate to cleanse the bloodline of your stupidity. Sucks to suck man, don’t let the door hit you on the way to hell. 

If you finished this, congratulations. Grammarly tells me that this takes an average of 12 minutes to read so thank you for sticking with me throughout this 2,500-word monster of a rant. You’re a real one. And if you still stan Vanya, then no worries. Believe it or not, I’m not against stanning Vanya. The problem is that most Vanya stans love her on the grounds of believing that she’s innocent, and the fact of the matter is that she’s not. It’s okay to like whoever you want to like, but acknowledge that your fave is problematic instead of being an idiot and naively trying to convince me of her innocence. The facts are on my side here, people. You’re not going to win this argument. 

[preserving-ferretbrain]

Race, Brand and the Placebo Effect

by Dan H

Tuesday, 31 March 2009

Dan rambles on the vague theme of Racefail~

This is an article about race, but it's going to start off being an article about shampoo.

I have, on occasion, had trouble with dandruff, and as a result have needed to purchase shampoo to deal with this affliction. In my second year of university, I ran out of shampoo, so I went to the local Co-Op and picked up a bottle of Head and Shoulders.

It wasn't until I was on my way back home with my purchase that I realised that the only reason I had chosen that particular brand was that I had been seeing advertisements for Head and Shoulders for as long as I can remember, so that in my mind “anti-dandruff shampoo” was linked with the Head and Shoulders brand on a fundamental and inextricable level.

This was something of an epiphany for me, because it finally made me realise that advertising does not work the way I thought it did. I had assumed, and I think most people assume on some level, that advertisements worked my making you see the advertisement and immediately want the thing advertised. Some adverts do (particularly ads for food or drink if I see them when I'm hungry or thirsty) but that's usually secondary to their main function, which is to get into your head on a subconscious level and make you associate a particular need (anti-dandruff shampoo, a cool refreshing drink, a boost to your fragile self-esteem) with a particular product in a positive way, so that your choices and actions are influenced without your even knowing it.

And it works. If I am generically thirsty and not making a conscious effort to drink more fruit juice, or actively wanting a particular type of drink, I'll buy a coke.

What's even more interesting about this phenomenon is that it works even if you are aware of it. I know that a big part of the reason I drink coke, eat fast food, and shop in Sainsburys is that I've been influenced by advertising, but I carry on doing them anyway because most of the time people don't make informed decisions about things, we just go with our first instincts and our irrational impulses, even if we know they're wrong.

The same concept shows up in all kinds of places. It shows up in the pharmaceuticals industry, people find shiny red pills in bold, brand-name packaging to be more effective than nondescript white pills in generic grey packaging. We respond instinctively to visual cues, and we don't know we're doing it.

I bring all this up, because one of the many semi-irreconcilable controversies that came up during the whole Racefail debate is the dichotomy of race-as-physical-appearance versus race-as-cultural-identity. Heck, the whole thing basically started as a direct result of Elizabeth Bear saying you should write non-white people the same way you wrote white people, and some other people respectfully disagreeing.

Essentially there's two problems. The first is that most characters – particularly most protagonists – in genre fiction tend to be white (and tend to be men). The second problem is that most invented cultures in genre fiction tend to be based on either medieval Europe, modern America or horrendous stereotypes of non-European cultures.

The argument can be made that the latter problem simply can't be addressed by white American or European authors. Hell, it could be argued that it can't be addressed by non-white American or European authors. Nobody can ever really shake off the preconceptions of the culture they were raised in, and you can never really understand a culture that isn't your own. You can know stuff about it, but no matter how much anime you watch you can never know what it's like to be Japanese.

The first problem, however, can be addressed by white, American or European writers, and should be. Again the argument could be made that, particularly if you're working in a created world, race is kind of an arbitrary choice and so is ultimately meaningless. This argument is half-right. In a created world, race is purely cosmetic, but it's cosmetic in the same way that the colour of a headache pill is cosmetic. It's the sort of cosmetic that gets in your head and changes the way you think.

It all comes down to the nature of racism (or, for that matter, of prejudice in general). Prejudice is a lot like advertising: people think that it's all about big, obvious things. You see an ad for coke, so you go out and buy a glass of coke, a black man applies for a job, but he doesn't get it because the guy who interviews him is a big fat racist who hates black people.

I'm going to go off on another tangent here and talk about

Captain Planet

.

Captain Planet

was a well meaning kids cartoon that took an endearingly multiracial gang of kids and had them fight villains who represented various ecological issues through the power of Earth, Fire, Wind, Water and Heart, which together allowed them to summon Captain Planet, who would lay the smackdown on evil villains who wanted to wreck the environment for no clear reason.

My mother really didn't like it.

She didn't like it because she thought it was dangerous to present the idea that problems for which we are all responsible (like pollution) are caused by single “villains”. I kind of think she was right.

I get that you can use a villain to personify something that is “part of all of us” (man) but I think it's actually hard to pull off in practice. Most of the time, personifying a social problem as an unambiguously horrible villain just sends the message that there are “bad people” out there who are polluters, racists, or whatever. This is why Whedon's cardboard misogynists piss me off, this is why the pseudo-Nazism of the Death Eaters was so annoying to me. Pollution doesn't happen because some guy in a cape decided to tip toxic waste into the sea for fun, it happens because guys like me can't be arsed to turn out heating down in the early summer.

The same kind of goes for racism. We all like to think that racism exists because of other people, that somehow there's some kind of rogue group of twenty or thirty hardcore racists out there who are between them responsible for all race issues everywhere, from the lack of Chinese characters in Firefly to the lack of decent Kosher butchers in Oxford. In fact racism exists because racist attitudes are pernicious, self-perpetuating, and all-pervasive.

There's a lot wrong with the Avenue Q song Everyone's A Little Bit Racist (it frequently sounds like it's using that statement to excuse racism rather than examine it - “ethnic jokes are so uncouth, but we laugh because they're based on truth” umm, no they're not, guys). It is, however, an important statement of fact. The reason that a white person is more likely to be hired for any given job than a nonwhite person is not because the person giving them the job is a cartoon racist, sitting there saying “no, I will not hire a filthy mudblood” it's because the person giving them the job is affected by racism on a level so fundamental they don't realise they're doing it. Just like you pass over the store-brand coke for the one in the red-and-white can you have been taught your whole life to associate with a cool refreshing beverage, so you pass over the guy (or woman) who doesn't look how you have been taught your whole life to expect a lawyer/teacher/investment banker/data entry clerk to look.

The really scary thing is that I catch myself doing it. I do, in fact, pay less attention to the opinions of my non-white and female friends. Even though I know that most of them went to Oxford and many of them have degrees in subjects that are actually directly relevant to the the topic of conversation. It's weird as fuck when you catch yourself doing it, just like when you catch yourself unconsciously reaching for a can of coke instead of a bottle of lemonade, or buy Head and Shoulders instead of a cheaper or more effective shampoo.

It all comes back to branding.

Now okay, you can make the argument here that I'm just passing the buck, and to a degree I am. Ultimately my attitudes, my purchasing habits and my behaviour are my responsibility, but they are influenced by the surroundings I grew up with. There isn't a causal link, I don't listen to my female friends talking and think “gosh, I remember this one TV show I saw had a woman on it who didn't know what she was talking about, therefore I won't listen to this person” nor do I think “well Willow knew what she was talking about, so this person must too”. I just have instinctive responses to things which are coloured by the society in which I was raised.

To put it another way, just imagine for a moment that Harry Potter had been a black kid. Of course first you need to get over the fact that it would then be a book about a black kid who gets rescued from his abusive black family by a kindly white guy, but if we assume that Harry was black and the Potter books weren't written in such a way that “Muggle” was effectively a racial slur. You would then have a situation in which the single most recognised fictional character in the world was a black kid (not only a black kid, but a black British kid). It would be huge, just like it was huge the first time they let an actual black guy play Othello. It wouldn't matter in the slightest that Harry Potter didn't listen to hip-hop or talk about Malcom X or use “urban” slang or do whatever else it is that white people seem to think black people have to do in fiction to properly represent “black culture”. The simple fact of the most popular fictional character in the world having black skin would have been huge. It would have changed the way a generation of children thought about race, and it would have changed it for the better. It wouldn't have been a miracle, it wouldn't have abolished racism overnight, but it would have done more good than any three government initiatives you might care to name.

Of course, if Harry Potter had been black, the book might not have sold at all, but that's a whole different problem.

Themes:

Topical

,

Minority Warrior

~

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http://mary-j-59.livejournal.com/

at 23:19 on 2009-03-31This is really interesting, Dan! The comparison between unconscious racism and branding makes a scary amount of sense. (And you are right about the "Potter" books, as well.)

But the fact that SF/fantasy often seems more racist than other types of lit is another problem entirely, isn't it? A friend and I were discussing this when racefail happened - the link is here, if you're interested.

http://mary-j-59.livejournal.com/40140.html

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http://viorica8957.livejournal.com/

at 00:31 on 2009-04-01(I keep getting an error message when I try to log in, so I'm using OpenID)

It's a pervasive problem, and one that is worsened by the fact that so many people refuse to acknowledge it. I was arguing with my mother about racism recently, and the argument she kept falling back on was "But don't you see how much has changed since the sixties? There's a black president! There's no segregation! Things are so much better!" It's a defense people use to ignore their own buried racism- "

I'm

not a Nazi/KKK member/skinhead, so clearly

I

can't be racist."

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Sonia Mitchell

at 03:20 on 2009-04-01

Even though I know that most of them went to Oxford and many of them have degrees in subjects that are actually directly relevant to the the topic of conversation.

I'd love to bristle more at that than I am, but much as I hate myself for it that's a bit of branding I end up buying into. Whenever my mum says I'm studying in Oxford I have to add 'Brookes, not proper Oxford' just to make it clear I'm not attempting to ride on coat-tails.

Anyway, interesting article. Whenever I'm staying for any length of time with advert game co-players (guess the advert on tv before the product is named) I find myself much more aware of how many don't mention the product until right at the end. Building up the atmosphere/message first and then linking it to the product, cementing it in people's minds on a less conscious level after a few repeated viewings, seems to be the way a lot of things are done.

Which, as you say, is exactly what makes these attitudes harder to spot - they don't come ready labelled.

Mary-j-59 - that was an interesting read, thanks.

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Guy

at 05:30 on 2009-04-01I think a really interesting example in relation to this question is the original series of Star Trek. For anyone who isn't a total nerd and therefore doesn't know this already, part of Gene Roddenberry's idea for Star Trek was that in the far future, all of our silly, parochial attitudes about race and gender and nationality and so on will have been resolved and looked on much like we look on witch-burnings or the crusades or whatever; we will have gotten over it and it'll just be a bit of ugly but quaint ancient history. And on this basis, he wanted to have a multi-ethnic crew, with men and women in equal positions, and, most importantly, for them *not to make a big deal out of it*, with "episode of the week on gender equality" stuff happening.

Of course, for any of us who watch an episode of Star Trek now, this is a pretty laughable conception of what's going on, because the most important person on the ship is Captain Kirk, a white American male, who is pretty much defined by his adherence to an ideal of American masculinity which is very much "of its time". Meanwhile, he's surrounded by a crew of other white men who are primarily distinguished by their funny accents... and Uhura, who essentially is a telephone operator wearing a very, very short skirt. So from the point of view of making a judgement about whether or not this represents a successful embodiment of Roddenberry's vision, we would stamp "FAIL" all over it in big red letters.

However, I remember seeing a documentary a while ago (possibly "Trekkies"? Anyway...) which mentioned that Uhura was the first black woman on television (either in a regular part or at all, I can't remember) and various well-known contemporary black women talking about how exciting and how important it was for them to see a black woman with a speaking part on TV. By contemporary standards the part seems incredibly sexist and virtually definitive of the whole "token black character" phenomenon, but compared with the standards of the other things on TV at the time, it was very progressive.

So I guess what I'm saying is, people making well-intentioned efforts to move the discourse forward are actually good and important, even if they fail in all kinds of ways to live up to the ideal of what they intend to attain or represent.

In terms of fantasy fiction, I think the clear beacon showing how the representation of people of other "races" (I have to put the scare quotes because I'm one of those who believes the term "race" is not a good descriptor of anything) can and should be done is Ursula le Guin's Earthsea series. Ged is not just a "white character with dark skin", but nor is the culture he comes from depicted as some horrible stereotype of an existing earth culture. It may be the case that in 50 years time people will look back on Earthsea and find it just as gauche as we find Star Trek now, but for the moment I would say it is the gold standard. It's also rather unfortunate that there doesn't seem to be much else around that is even trying to achieve that standard, but... "90% of everything is crap", as they say, and with genre fiction that is probably, sadly, an understatement.

Lastly (I hope that I don't break ferretbrain with such a long comment!) on the "everyone's a bit racist" question, I think there is a grain of truth in that statement but taken at face value I would disagree with it. I think... in my own case, I grew up in a suburb of Sydney where I never saw a black person at all, on a day-to-day basis. In fact, the only black person I knew was my grandfather (who is/was an Australian Aboriginal - but the genes are "dilute" enough in my case that I look absolutely white) who I did not see often. And so as a consequence I think I had all kinds of unconscious ideas about "other races" that I didn't really think about... I guess I didn't have any real sources of information beyond books and TV and lectures at my very left-wing school that took the form of "Don't be racist! For real!" (which were well-intentioned but I think were in their form a bit stupid, rather in the way that Captain Planet is a bit stupid).

Anyway, when the family moved to England we moved to a suburb (and I went to a school) where there were a lot more non-white people around, and I discovered that... a lot of my ideas had been really dumb, as well as being rather unformed. And in some sense, if you were to spell out those ideas in words, you would probably conclude that they were indeed racist ideas and that therefore I was "racist", despite all my intentions to the contrary.

But... I also think that it was that exposure to the actual people that broke down and changed those dumb ideas. And it remains my conviction that all the well-intentioned talk (or even, clever and subtle argumentation and explanation) in the world is no substitute for encounters with real people for breaking down prejudices based on ignorance. I suppose, to go back to your Shampoo analogy, it's kind of like this: the world may be full of explicit, overt messages telling you to buy a certain shampoo, and those overt messages may be supported by hidden and hard-to-unearth ideologies (bright packaging indicates a superior product to those in bland packaging!) but once you actually put the shampoo in your hair, it either works or it doesn't. (There may of course be an effect whereby those social messages cause you to undermine or misunderstand your own experiences, but this post is already waaaay too long...)

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Gina Dhawa

at 07:46 on 2009-04-01@Guy regarding Star Trek - I entirely agree. There is a lot of fail with regard to the depictions of race in TOS, but as a product of its time, I give it a lot of credit. And about the gender imbalance, it's very interesting that he was specifically told to drop the female second in command from the pilot episode if he was ever to get the series on air.

@Dan I've never been entirely convinced by the argument that a white author can't write non-white cultures, particularly in SF/Fantasy. OK with writing aliens and vampires and wizards, but can't write a black man? Right. I think the key thing people forget is just to have a

awareness

goes a long way. Doesn't go the whole way to fixing the problem, but it's a good start.

In the case of culture, it isn't a case of understanding truly everything about a culture that isn't your own, it's about respecting that culture and not treating like the exotic other. I'm not saying it's an easy thing to do, but hell, if I wasn't to write about a culture other than mine then I have no idea

what

I'd ever write.

Even though I know that most of them went to Oxford and many of them have degrees in subjects that are actually directly relevant to the the topic of conversation.

I will bristle at that, thanks.

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Arthur B

at 08:27 on 2009-04-01

But the fact that SF/fantasy often seems more racist than other types of lit is another problem entirely, isn't it?

I suspect a lot of this boils down to people using particular ideas or tropes developed by the grand old racist authors of the past without really thinking about where the tropes from and why they are doing it; all they know is "this is the sort of thing that happens in the SF/fantasy stories I like, so they're going to happpen in the stories I write."

For example, it's perfectly possible to enjoy Robert E. Howard's Conan stories in a non-racist way: you simply have to skip the ones which are just blatantly horrible, and treat the others as an inversion of colonialism, in which the simple beliefs of a "primitive" outsider prove to be more powerful and enduring than the hypocrisies of so-called "civilised" people.

There is nothing in this scenario which

requires

that the outsider be a white man from an analogue of Northern Europe, or the corrupt civilisations he encounters have to be Mediterranean/Middle Eastern city-states. But hundreds of Howard imitators, and even more folk who have been unconsciously influenced by his stories, make that assumption every time they use the idea. And that's racist.

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Andy G

at 10:18 on 2009-04-01"For example, it's perfectly possible to enjoy Robert E. Howard's Conan stories in a non-racist way"

I wondered about this recently when I was reading H.P. Lovecraft - whether we really can "read in a non-racist way" - as Dan says, it's not a matter of racist individuals, but of pervasive racist attitudes in society as a whole. Can we actually manage to remain a detached attitude where we're conscious of how terrible the "racist bits" are while still enjoying the "good bits" on their own grounds? Or are we just deluding ourselves that we're not just indulging a little bit in some unpleasant ideas?

I think you're spot on though about modern authors not reflecting on the dubious assumptions they take from older authors. I especially felt that about Olaf Stapledon.

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Andy G

at 10:37 on 2009-04-01Oh and there's also a great example

[here]

of the Captain Planet approach to complex world issues.

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Shim

at 10:58 on 2009-04-01

@Dan I've never been entirely convinced by the argument that a white author can't write non-white cultures, particularly in SF/Fantasy. OK with writing aliens and vampires and wizards, but can't write a black man? Right. I think the key thing people forget is just to have a awareness goes a long way. Doesn't go the whole way to fixing the problem, but it's a good start.

I suppose there's a bit of difference there, because if I wrote about aliens (or heck, even from an "alien perspective") there's little to no chance of aliens lambasting me in the Sunday papers about my ignorance and stereotyping. Also, because they're not real, there's no objective reality that my writing would fail to reflect. A lot of stories basically take White Middle-Class Anglo-Saxons and jiggle them a bit to make them vampires or wizards (sometimes, especially for wizards, these people are 'Celts' in an unspecified way that is hard to distinguish from WMCAS).

On the other hand, if I try to write about or from WMCAS female experiences, the fact that women actually exist means my writing can be objectively inaccurate. Same for, say, writing about Indian culture. So I think the fact that there is a whole deep, complex culture there that the writer doesn't understand is a real problem; while more understanding can mean they write more convincing stories, you can end up with the situation where people understand things just enough to make massive generalisations, or inaccurate depictions that convince the foreign readers but not the natives.

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Rami

at 11:24 on 2009-04-01

OK with writing aliens and vampires and wizards, but can't write a black man? Right.

Indeed, I've always found that particularly grating. Mostly that no one seems to even make the effort. And situations like RaceFail can make it worse for white authors who mean well and would like to make the effort but are scared off because the Wrath of the Public might descend on them.

My favorite line from "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist" is

♫ If we all could just admit / that we are racist, a little bit ♫

because I think it strikes toward the heart of a sensitive issue in pointing out that pretty much no one is free from racist ideas -- and if we admit that to ourselves and make a conscious effort, things could be a lot better. Lots of people mistakenly

equate racism with blatantly racist speech or actions

(warnings: PDF, racefail), after all.

For example, it's perfectly possible to enjoy Robert E. Howard's Conan stories in a non-racist way

I was thinking vaguely along these lines recently as well, when I picked up

Triplanetary

, and had to put it down after only a few pages because it was so full of the unconscious attitudes of the 30s and 40s. It may be a classic of science-fiction and have inspired half of the current generation of SF writers and editors, but the racism and sexism were a bit too much for me. It distresses me that, as Arthur points out, lots of modern writers have doubtless picked up a few of the tropes because they "really liked it in the Lensman series" and completely obliviously dropped them, scheming dark-skinned villains and helpless blonde damsels included, into their own work.

think the key thing people forget is just to have a awareness goes a long way. Doesn't go the whole way to fixing the problem, but it's a good start.

Absolutely!

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Rami

at 11:28 on 2009-04-01

massive generalisations, or inaccurate depictions that convince the foreign readers but not the natives

IIRC, that kind of thing was at the root of the whole RaceFail imbroglio -- when people did exactly that, but refused to admit it.

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Arthur B

at 11:34 on 2009-04-01

Can we actually manage to remain a detached attitude where we're conscious of how terrible the "racist bits" are while still enjoying the "good bits" on their own grounds?

We'd better learn to, otherwise that's everything from before 1950 down the memory hole...

Or are we just deluding ourselves that we're not just indulging a little bit in some unpleasant ideas?

Firstly, reading isn't condoning. You can read, and even enjoy, something written by someone you disagree with and still disagree with them afterwards; I really like Gene Wolfe but I'm not going to convert to Catholicism just because there was a nice mass scene in

The Book of the Short Sun

.

Secondly, if the stories have any merit at all there's going to be something more to them than just bigotry. Yes, Lovecraft used the fear of the outsider a hell of a lot. But the fun thing about that particular fear is that it's always going to be with us, and HPL had a clever knack of turning the fear of the outsider into the fear of the outside itself. When Lovecraft was writing about how threatening he found immigrants (

The Horror At Red Hook

) he was being horrid; when he was writing about how the entire universe beyond this placid island we call Earth is a cold uncaring void that is completely hostile to any life that even resembles us (

The Colour Out of Space

) he was being visionary. It's not always easy to divorce the cultural xenophobia from the cosmic vertigo - they're written by the same man, they have the same experiences and agendas shaping them - but I'd submit that it is possible.

Thirdly, there's plenty of Lovecraft and Howard where racism just isn't a factor, or is only a factor if you try hard to look for it.

The Tower of the Elephant

and

At the Mountains of Madness

spring to mind.

I honestly don't think that reading Lovecraft or Howard is necessarily going to feed anyone's inner racist unless they actually

want

to be influenced that way ("Oh man, I totally agree with that but I could never say it in public..."). It helps that they lived in a time when many people simply didn't know better; it doesn't excuse them, but it does mean that both the attitude of the society they came from and their own personal quirks are well-known and out there for all to see. As Dan points out, it's not the individuals who you can identify as being racist bastards who are the problem a lot of the time (although they're usually the ugliest symptom), it's the people where you don't necessarily see the subtext, perhaps because they themselves aren't aware of it.

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Rami

at 12:00 on 2009-04-01

You can read, and even enjoy, something written by someone you disagree with and still disagree with them afterwards; I really like Gene Wolfe but I'm not going to convert to Catholicism just because there was a nice mass scene

Depends how much you disagree with them, I guess, and how evident that is in the text. I agree you can't dismiss an author entirely because of their attitudes, since as you say there's got to be something other than bigotry -- but if the bigotry is omnipresent it does get pretty difficult. Lovecraft is a good example: I'm sure there were interesting ideas somewhere in The Horror at Red Hook, but because every other paragraph was about the demon-worshipping foreigners I found it impossible to get through and kept wishing I could punch ol' HP in the face. On the other hand, he's only peripherally bigoted (xenophobic, but in a more understandable way) in The Whisperer in Darkness, and that's much easier to appreciate for what it is...

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Dan H

at 13:18 on 2009-04-01

I'd love to bristle more at that than I am, but much as I hate myself for it that's a bit of branding I end up buying into. Whenever my mum says I'm studying in Oxford I have to add 'Brookes, not proper Oxford' just to make it clear I'm not attempting to ride on coat-tails.

Crap, sorry about that. It's probably deeply ironic that in an article entirely about the subconscious effects of prejudice on our everyday thoughts and actions, I managed to forget that using "went to Oxford" as a synonym for "knows what they're talking about" is, itself, kinda offensive.

Sorry folks.

To clarify, all I meant was that it was absurd that I find myself ignoring my friends' university educations or other relevant qualifications in place of easy stereotypes about race and gender.

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Dan H

at 13:39 on 2009-04-01

Lovecraft is a good example: I'm sure there were interesting ideas somewhere in The Horror at Red Hook, but because every other paragraph was about the demon-worshipping foreigners I found it impossible to get through and kept wishing I could punch ol' HP in the face.

I suspect this is one of those examples of White Privilege in action. It's easy for me and Arthur to read Lovecraft (well, easy for Arthur to read Lovecraft, I don't actually like his writing) and say "gosh, this is very racist but I still appreciate it as an artifact from its time." We're in a position where we can condemn racism without it actually harming us. There's a world of difference between reading an old work of genre fiction and saying "hey, those monsters are supposed to be black people" and reading a work of genre fiction and saying "hey, those monsters are supposed to be *me and my family*."

My favorite line from "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist" is ♫ If we all could just admit / that we are racist, a little bit ♫ because I think it strikes toward the heart of a sensitive issue in pointing out that pretty much no one is free from racist ideas

Yeah, I can see that. It's just that a lot of the way the song presents itself is in the language of racist apologism. Remember that the very *next* line is "and we could all stop being so PC!". The more I've thought about the actual sketch, the more I've been bothered by the way it's presented - remember it basically starts with a minority character (Kate Monster) calling out a non-minority character for being racist, and the non-minority character using "well you're racist too!" as a defence (and in fact citing the "but minority rights groups are racist as well!" argument).

But perhaps I'm overthinking it...

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Shim

at 14:16 on 2009-04-01

Lots of people mistakenly equate racism with blatantly racist speech or actions (warnings: PDF, racefail), after all.

Interesting linked article... overall I tended to agree with the arguments, but at times it gave me the feeling that they were interpreting things in the way that supported their expectations, i.e. seeing racist attitudes that

might

not be there. Given how complicated some of the topics were, and how much discussion of racial issues goes on, it's not surprising to me (for example) that people sometimes argued from several sides, or were less coherent on more personal, complicated questions. I'm also suspicious of suggestions that arguments like "I'm not a black person, so I don't really know" should be lumped in as ways to conceal racist attitudes, and the idea that it might be a valid point in some circumstances wasn't considered. Ditto, say, ambivalence over 'affirmative action', which people still can't decide whether it's beneficial overall and exactly what form it should take. Oh, and I'd have liked some counter-examples of answers that were

not

seen as hiding racist attitudes.

Also, it could really do with proofreading. But enough digression, back to Dan's article!

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Arthur B

at 14:48 on 2009-04-01

I suspect this is one of those examples of White Privilege in action. It's easy for me and Arthur to read Lovecraft (well, easy for Arthur to read Lovecraft, I don't actually like his writing) and say "gosh, this is very racist but I still appreciate it as an artifact from its time."

For what it's worth, I don't actually enjoy

The Horror At Red Hook

; I was raising it (not very clearly) as an example of a story that I'd usually just skip because the motivations behind it are entirely too obvious and entirely too ugly.

At the Mountains of Madness

is nice in that the monsters don't resemble

any

identifiable people - not physically, and not culturally - so that's at the other end of the spectrum.

I do think that a certain amount of white privilege is inevitable, but I don't necessarily think it's a problem so long as you're aware that it might be happening and that other people might not see your favourite author in the same way. (It helps to have a diverse group of friends and colleagues as well; "hey, that's meant to be my friend's family" is almost as shocking as "hey, that's meant to be my family".) The most important thing is to read with your eyes open, and to read diversely; I think an exclusive diet of Lovecraft, Howard, and the various descendants and imitators is vastly more unhealthy and likely to blind you to problematic elements in their stories than a more balanced reading range.

A tangent: it dismays me sometimes to see the amount of uncritical fanboyism that surrounds

The Shadow Over Innsmouth

, which granted is a decently-written story but it again has massively problematic undertones; any interpretation of it which doesn't at least acknowledge that part of the point Lovecraft was making was KILL THE HALF-BREEDS is wilfully blinding itself to a really major component of the story, and there's a distressing number of authors who keep reusing the Deep Ones without even considering that angle.

Granted, the angle that people imitate most frequently is the "Oh no, it turns out I am a Deep One too" revelation at the end of the story, but - like Lovecraft himself - nobody ever makes the leap to "wait, surely that means the Deep Ones can't be all bad".

Even people who admit that Lovecraft was a racist

do this. And nobody calls people on it or says "hey, you're just repeating Lovecraft's slurs against miscegenation", presumably because everyone's kidding themselves that the fish people are fish people and can't possibly be a metaphor for something else.

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Arthur B

at 15:06 on 2009-04-01

To put it another way, just imagine for a moment that Harry Potter had been a black kid.

He was, Rowling just didn't mention it in the books.

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Andy G

at 15:57 on 2009-04-01@ Arthur: I did enjoy Lovecraft for the kinds of reasons you said (otherwise I wouldn't have kept reading) - and felt that I could "pick and choose", appreciating and analysing without necessarily condoning. But equally, I was aware that some of the bits I now found uncomfortable I would never even have noticed a few years ago - because I only really imagined racism to be overt KKK-style hatred, as Dan terms it (and Lovecraft does occasionally go there) - and yet even back then I would have prided myself on being able to detach myself from condoning the "racist bits" of the stories, which I now realise are far more pervasive. That's why I hesitate a bit before saying I can definitely remain a detached, objective attitude without colluding in the questionable ideas and imagery. Even if we can distance ourselves from stories by regarding them as historical artefacts, I'm not sure that we can do that completely successfully while still enjoying them as stories.

I also wonder whether it's sufficient to find the bad bits "unpleasant", "uncomfortable" or "distasteful" (from the perpsective of white privilege) but keep reading anyway - I mean, at what point does the text simply become so irredeemably bad that the only thing to do is just not to keep reading? Again, I didn't feel that with Lovecraft, but is that a defensible position?

Hmm ... basically, I do kind of agree with you, but am niggled with doubt, because I wonder whether what I'm really trying to do is give myself an excuse to enjoy books and films that I really shouldn't.

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Gina Dhawa

at 16:11 on 2009-04-01

To clarify, all I meant was that it was absurd that I find myself ignoring my friends' university educations or other relevant qualifications in place of easy stereotypes about race and gender.

Sorry, Dan, if my hackles got raised. It's one of my buttons.

I do think that a certain amount of white privilege is inevitable, but I don't necessarily think it's a problem so long as you're aware that it might be happening and that other people might not see your favourite author in the same way.

This. People have different levels of privilege (white, class, education, etc) and that's such a big deal with regard to how their mileage will vary at what they will personally be able to deal with in texts.

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Gina Dhawa

at 16:19 on 2009-04-01That's not to say I condone racism or any other kind of bigotry in texts, just that I find it understandable that people who don't themselves necessarily hold bigoted views can find things to enjoy in texts that do.

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Arthur B

at 16:33 on 2009-04-01

I also wonder whether it's sufficient to find the bad bits "unpleasant", "uncomfortable" or "distasteful" (from the perpsective of white privilege) but keep reading anyway - I mean, at what point does the text simply become so irredeemably bad that the only thing to do is just not to keep reading?

It varies for me. I have, in fact, stopped reading Robert E. Howard stories because they were pure out-and-out bigotry. On the other hand, I read

The Horror at Red Hook

all the way through. When I do keep reading, it's normally for one of two reasons (or a mix of them):

- The story has something more to it than racism.

Red Hook

is awful for many reasons, one of them being that there really

isn't

anything more to it than the racism.

The Shadow Over Innsmouth

is, in many respects, just as racist, but it also features other ideas which are sufficiently interesting - and have exerted a sufficient influence over the horror genre - that those ideas are both worth salvaging and engaging enough that reading the story doesn't

exclusively

evoke discomfort.

- The story is useful for understanding the author, and I'm interested enough in the author to want to understand them.

Red Hook

as a story is terrible, but as an insight into what Lovecraft was thinking during his brief and unhappy tenancy in New York it's valuable.

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Dan H

at 18:11 on 2009-04-01

He was, Rowling just didn't mention it in the books.

I see what you did there.

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Dan H

at 18:44 on 2009-04-01Also:

Just reading the article you linked to Rami.

It's kind of terrifying, isn't it.

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Shim

at 18:45 on 2009-04-01

He was, Rowling just didn't mention it in the books.

Hmm... I reckon there were enough references to his tousled mop of hair, and looking pale, to make that problematic.

East Asian descent? Native American? Inuit? Totally possible.

(this leads me to something Dan mentioned once; racism discussions always leap on to Black/White dichotomies even though it's not the most obvious one for everyone. I'd argue in Britain that Chinese or South Asian ancestry is much more common, certainly in the north)

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Arthur B

at 18:49 on 2009-04-01look he's albino with really messy hair

you are racist against albinos you are

you want to kill them and turn them into

medicine

and that's wrong

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Shim

at 21:56 on 2009-04-01What a wasteful idea! Everyone knows that albinos are best used as ruthless assassins.

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Dan H

at 22:15 on 2009-04-01

I'm also suspicious of suggestions that arguments like "I'm not a black person, so I don't really know" should be lumped in as ways to conceal racist attitudes, and the idea that it might be a valid point in some circumstances wasn't considered. Ditto, say, ambivalence over 'affirmative action', which people still can't decide whether it's beneficial overall and exactly what form it should take.

I personally found it fairly clear from most of the examples that the actual opinions of the inverviewees were, if not racist, more likely to be perceived as racist than the opinions they tried to express.

It's things like the fact that pretty much all of them disagreed with affirmative action (which I'll admit can't be taken as racist in itself - it's a specific government policy and there's probably several reasons to disagree with it) but that none of them actually felt that they could *say* they didn't agree with affirmative action.

One of the things I've noticed in my recent Rambling Thoughts About Prejudice is that there's a lot of things that people are willing to condemn utterly (or support wholeheartedly) in the general case, but not in the specific. "I have nothing against interracial marriage, but I'm a little bit worried about the children" or "I support affirmative action, but obviously you can't let a better qualified white guy lose out to a black guy if it's a job he actually wants."

Ironically the person that comes out best is the seventy year old woman who says straight up "I'm against interracial marriage, but if my daughter married a black guy I'd still support her."

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Shim

at 22:44 on 2009-04-01

I personally found it fairly clear from most of the examples that the actual opinions of the inverviewees were, if not racist, more likely to be perceived as racist than the opinions they tried to express.

Indeed. Sorry, I'm not clear enough... it was the way the arguments were presented that I found dodgy, rather than anything in the analysis of the examples given; it seemed like they might be generalising from "this person said this, and in context of everything else they said which I have only partially printed here, they seem racist, so I think it may be tactical" to "this kind of language is a tactic to cover racism". The usual extrapolation problem arises. That's kind of why I'd like to see a comparison with non-racist people discussing the topics.

I found the paper a bit rambling (ooh, diminutive) and sometimes incoherent - for example, as basically a scientist I'm used to things with statistics and explanations of the experiment, rather than launching into an argument peppered with examples. Also I think it mixed up the names in at least one place (Andy/Mickey)?

I've had three goes at articulating why I agree with you about the old woman, and can't get one that covers all my feelings, so I'll leave it as "Yeah".

Back on the article... I remember the Captain Planet thing coming up in a PSE class about ethics, on the lines of whether there were actually specific Evil people. A surprising proportion of the class (upper sixth) were really set on this idea and did

not

respond well to questions like "so do you honestly believe that Pol Pot never did a single good thing?" or "exactly what characteristics distinguish between the Evil people and everyone else?".

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Dan H

at 23:17 on 2009-04-01The paper is a bit rambling, and does make a bunch of assumptions (you can't really go from "these white people said this" to "white people say this") but I think it highlights some interesting points. I thought the example with "there is a firm which is 97% white" was a really interesting one, because a lot of the arguments people made were basically "you can only say their hiring policy is racist if you have met their HR guy and you know that he, personally is a racist".

Which brings us neatly back to Captain Planet and the depressingly common belief that there really are Bad People out there who do self-consciously Evil things Because They Are Evil.

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Wardog

at 23:24 on 2009-04-01I'm not saying anything constructive here because I'm quite frankly *terrified* since it's such an incredibly complex issue. But I just wanted to mention that I found the article interesting and the comments equally so.

I was also really worried we were going to have our own small-scale racefail but I'm relieved we only had a highereductionfail instead.

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Rami

at 00:04 on 2009-04-02

That's kind of why I'd like to see a comparison with non-racist people discussing the topics.

I don't remember exactly where I was linked to this paper from, but the two studies mentioned in the paper (from which the interviewees were drawn) tried to measure prevalence of racist attitudes based on survey responses, and found very few sets of responses that appeared minimally prejudiced. I think it's because of this that the paper makes the assumption that the interview responses are evincing racist attitudes, even where the responses themselves could be seen as ambiguous.

I've had three goes at articulating why I agree with you about the old woman, and can't get one that covers all my feelings, so I'll leave it as "Yeah"

I'd say it's because she was honest ;-)

the depressingly common belief that there really are Bad People out there who do self-consciously Evil things Because They Are Evil

I don't doubt there are people out there who are and do; I think that, as you say, the problem with Captain Planet et al is that they encourage the belief that the little actions of every day (not turning off the lights properly, etc) are perfectly OK, and that the Badness is distilled into the Evil People and that they are the only ones to blame.

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http://roisindubh211.livejournal.com/

at 03:50 on 2009-04-02The Tarzan books are a little horrifying- I was pretty young when I read them and completely believed that racism ended in the sixties, but even then I understood that something strange was up with all the beautiful blonde women (and beautiful, blond Tarzan, of course). Why the hell would any ape (except humans) think a blonde was attractive? Later on in the series the racism gets more overt but its still ridiculous when its just "look how pretty and superior we are!"

My mom used to laugh whenever I watched Captain Planet and said I was being brainwashed.

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https://me.yahoo.com/a/x4HhAM1souauxovBXQn5IheyvJm6KIO2jP8MPvM5#590f1

at 03:53 on 2009-04-02Andy G.:

I mean, at what point does the text simply become so irredeemably bad that the only thing to do is just not to keep reading? Again, I didn't feel that with Lovecraft, but is that a defensible position? Hmm ... basically, I do kind of agree with you, but am niggled with doubt, because I wonder whether what I'm really trying to do is give myself an excuse to enjoy books and films that I really shouldn't.

I enjoyed Taming of the Shrew when I saw it performed twenty years ago in college. Then I watched it again within the last two years. It sickened me. When Katherina obeyed whatshisname, I booed, but only loud enough for my wife and maybe a nearby audience member could hear.

Unless the play is promoted/listed as one of the tragedies, I won't see it again.

Perhaps the harder question is: is it making an excuse for the racism rather than for the enjoyment of the read.

The language the theater used excuse the production of TotS was that it may *appear* offensive to the modern audience and that it was the norm for the time. But that's donkeyshit. Disney's Song of the South won't be 're-released on dvd/blueray for only a limited time' even though it was the norm for the time because it *is* offensive to the modern audience today.

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https://me.yahoo.com/a/x4HhAM1souauxovBXQn5IheyvJm6KIO2jP8MPvM5#590f1

at 04:14 on 2009-04-02

It all comes back to branding.

But the people that do the branding are members of the dominant culture.

Though arguably, that has been changing especially within last couple of decades. Well, at least to some degree though not quite for the better. Fucking BET.

- F.Dillinger

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http://sistermagpie.livejournal.com/

at 20:01 on 2009-04-02

But perhaps I'm overthinking it...

Honestly, thinking about it at all lead to overthinking, because although that song from Avenue Q gets quoted *all the time* in discussions of race, it doesn't really seem to be saying anything simple about race at all except in the title. It includes characters talking about actual racism that they experience (Gary Coleman "can't even get a taxi"), apologetics ("stop being so pc"/"ethnic jokes are based on truth") and some things that honestly sound like they know perfectly well they're defending racism: people make judgements about race not about "big things like who to buy a newspaper from, but little things like thinking Mexican busboys should learn to speak GODDAMN ENGLISH!"

In the end the song is kind of a big mess of things you've heard people say about racism, but without a clear pov. The clearest point actually is that everybody's racist and that's okay, but there's other stuff in there too...and also racism is such a hot button word it's hard to imagine using it to be completely positive. Also yes completely about the way it starts off with the idea that a minority is being "racist" to ever focus on its own group without including the majority, the "reverse racism" claim. Blech.

And regarding the rest, yes--in some of the discussions about sci fi I remember somebody mentioning the mystery genre and that shows a real difference. Where sci fi and fantasy has in many ways stuck to their traditional white guy roots, I don't think any mystery fan would say that they really expect the detective in any series to be white or male. I'm not a huge reader of mysteries, but even knowing the genre a little it seems like creating detectives from different backgrounds has become totally common. I guess since the detective is always going to have certain standard qualities (smart, analytical, observant, insightful etc.) people are eager to branch out in other ways looking for how they are different and how their differences affect how they solve crimes.

Where as fantasy seems still so stuck in the whole colonial project mentality...you've often got the race that's our pov race, who seemings white and British or American, and then you've got these other races who are all far more alike than the main race is. To us HP as an example, you couldn't really say what a Wizard was like personality-wise, but you could do that for a House Elf or a giant or a goblin or a centaur...

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Arthur B

at 20:57 on 2009-04-02

Where as fantasy seems still so stuck in the whole colonial project mentality...you've often got the race that's our pov race, who seemings white and British or American, and then you've got these other races who are all far more alike than the main race is.

I think sometimes it is colonial, and sometimes it is an attempt to be pseudohistorical. People have this odd idea that in the medieval period nobody travelled at all, and while it's true that 90% of the population never travelled much under normal circumstances a) that's still kind of true today in many places, and b) even though that was the case, you never had a situation where you had the English people who lived exclusively in a place called England whose borders were always much the same as they are today, and neighbouring them the French people who lived in a place called France with borders much like today's, and so on. People moved around: rich folk travelled and became merchants and sometimes settled in cities where the money was, poor people went on pilgrimages and were drafted into their lord's militia when time came to go to war, and enormous numbers of people ended up becoming refugees from plague, famine, and war - and that's just in medieval Europe.

This is not to say that our cultures aren't more diverse today than they were back then. But they were significantly more nuanced and heterogeneous than the sort of fake-medieval societies that sub-Tolkien fantasy hacks crank out. Writing realistically diverse societies is

achingly difficult

, and many people just don't try. (Which is wrong of them.)

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Dan H

at 02:04 on 2009-04-03

The clearest point actually is that everybody's racist and that's okay,

It's the "but that's okay" that I have trouble with. Or rather, it's the way *in which* it's supposed to be okay. I'm okay with the idea that "it's okay" to have racist attitudes in the sense that everybody has them, and having racist attitudes doesn't make you a bad person, just somebody who needs to be a bit more aware of race issues. The song, though, seems to imply that racism is just plain acceptable.

This might be a bit overly-analytical, but the song basically involves a bunch of minorities complaining about racism, then being revealed to be hypocrites. There's a fine line between humour about racism, and humour that is just plain racist and I fear that EaLBR strays into the latter camp.

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http://sistermagpie.livejournal.com/

at 02:35 on 2009-04-03

t's the "but that's okay" that I have trouble with.

Sorry, I wasn't clear there--neither am I. I don't think that the clearest message being "everyone (including minorities) is racist and that's okay" is a particularly good thing.

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http://descrime.livejournal.com/

at 17:52 on 2009-04-03re: Captain Planet clip: Oh God, that was so bad I had to stop watching at the 30 second mark. I think I watched CP as a kid. Obviously I wasn't a very bright child.

I thought the firm question was stupid, to be honest, if the only information they are given is that a firm is 97% white! Draw inferences!

I once worked for a small business that employed 5 people. It was 100% white. By the paper's logic, the owners were horrible racists. But the population size of the firm is too small to use statistics like that.

Also, what industry is this firm in? If a 20 person video game development company employes 19 males and 1 female, is it sexist? The population of video game designers is heavily skewed towards men and 20 is still a rather low number to be applying statistical inferences to.

If a hospital's nurses are 97% female, does that mean the hospital is discriminating against male nurses? To figure that out, you need the percentage of male nurses in the area to compare with.

Now, I did do an internship at a ~170 person, publicly traded company and every single position of importance was filled with a white male, and that did seem suspicious.

If a firm is 97% white, all that statistic tells us is that is could be racist, not that it is racist no matter how obvious the author of the paper finds that conclusion. Similarly, even if the company has reached that magical percentage that means diversity, it doesn't mean the company /isn't/ racist.

My aunt works for a large "diverse" company, 600 employee, and she told me about a month ago how a group of white coworkers had hung voodoo dolls from their desk lamps (as in mimicking lynching) in response to a black coworker reporting on some previous misbehavior they had done (I don't really remember the details). The company had no real policy to deal with the situation and basically tried to sweep it under the rug.

I thought the paper was interesting in that it showed some examples as to how people have developed a method of speaking around an issue that is impossible to discuss in our society.

I also thought it was interesting that people who reported having friendships with someone who was part of a minority group were much less racist towards that group. Which would suggest to me that diversity in elementary schools is probably one of the most important things we could do to help promote understanding.

I thought his methodology was a little suspicious for what he was trying to achieve--an honest discussion of racial prejudices. A stranger asking you questions to your face on a sensitive topic (which he obviously have strong feelings for) is hardly likely to promote honesty and is probably a large factor in the nervousness and stuttering the subjects showed.

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Arthur B

at 18:11 on 2009-04-03

If a 20 person video game development company employes 19 males and 1 female, is it sexist? The population of video game designers is heavily skewed towards men and 20 is still a rather low number to be applying statistical inferences to.

Wait, what? I know it isn't very fair to blame individual game companies for an industry-wide bias, but wouldn't it be completely fair to criticise them if they made no effort to address that bias?

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Dan H

at 19:31 on 2009-04-03

Also, what industry is this firm in? If a 20 person video game development company employes 19 males and 1 female, is it sexist? The population of video game designers is heavily skewed towards men and 20 is still a rather low number to be applying statistical inferences to.

I think you're actually making a classic mistake here, which is to make the focus of a discussion about prejudice the question of whether or not specific *people* are prejudiced instead of whether prejudice is at work in a given situation.

If a games development company is 95% male, whether they have 20 employees or 200 there's something wrong. Is it partly the fault of the industry? Probably, but not entirely. Roughly one in six

World of Warcraft

players are female, the proportion of women in your hypothetical company is one third that size.

There is, actually a serious issue here. An interesting statistic is that when people are asked to judge what a "balanced" gender mix looks like, they tend to settle on a male:female ratio of about 2:1 with anything more than that being perceived as unfairly biased towards women. Even

Buffy

follows this pattern, with the core cast of the first series being two girls (Buffy, Willow) and three guys (Giles, Xander, Angel) for a 60-40 split in one of the most female dominated shows on mainstream TV.

Part of what I've been trying to get at with the article above is the idea that it's all too easy to condemn prejudice in general, while making excuses for it in every specific instance. You actually

can

take the fact that only 5% of a company's employees are women as evidence of sexism. Evidence isn't the same as proof, but if your first reaction to the suggestion that your hiring policy might be sexist is to go on the defensive, you're never going to make any progress.

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Shim

at 22:54 on 2009-04-03@Dan

agreed. I do think the response depends on exactly what question is asked (and due to editfail/vagueness of the article I'm not sure) and how the interviewees interpret it; someone might say that racism was definitely at play (in the industry as a whole, in the education system...) but not necessarily conclude that the company itself is definitely racist. But as you say, it would be a pretty good place to start.

Re: gender balance; a similar rule applies to time-per-student in the classroom. Teachers of either gender judge a "balanced" lesson as one that gives far more time to boys (cf. "Language Myths", Bauer & Trudgill - let nobody say I make airy claims). Observers, students etc. also follow this pattern. Giving equal time is a major problem for teachers even when made aware of it and leads to people claiming the lesson is dominated by girls.

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http://arkan2.livejournal.com/

at 22:30 on 2009-04-06Another excellent essay, and great discussion, too.

Yeah, it's scary what advertisements can do, without being able to influence people through “subliminal messages.” Ever seen

The Ad and the Ego

? Heavy stuff.

And then of course, there's Naomi Klein's

No Logo

…

You're right, Dan, this is exactly how racism works. And sexism, heterosexism, classicism, ableism and all the rest. Until those types of oppression are completely eradicated, they'll be with us to some extent, but the first step towards making the solution is identifying the problem.

I also agree that you can't learn Japanese culture by watching anime, but that's not the same as saying you can't learn it at all. You can't learn everything about Japanese culture, or even just a subsection thereof—but then, this applies even if

you yourself are Japanese

. Nobody can know everything about a culture, their own or anyone else's.

Fortunately, authors don't need to do that much, any more than honest anthropologists do. How should an author in the United States go about writing a story set in modern India with modern Indian characters? To which I would reply: the same way said author should go about writing a story set in medieval Europe (or a decent knock-off thereof): research. Of course, cultural imperialism and cultural misappropriation are dangers that rear their ugly heads in the former case, but I think if the author comes at it with the right mindset (including but not limited to sympathy, sensitivity, awareness of probable pitfalls and a continentload of caution) they can pull it off (though you can't please

every

one).

I have the same problem with Whedon's Misogynist-Of-The-Week depiction of sexism as you do. Audiences in my experience tend to process characterization first, symbolism second. (A strongly feminist friend of mine who is also a major Whedon fan once tried to sell me some argument about how incredibly feminist the symbolism of the female characters in

Firefly

is. I'm betting she'd say the same about

Dollhouse

. My reply would be that even if so, the straightforward characterization is rather less feminist, to put it charitably, and that counts for a lot more.)

I'm sure

Harry Potter

could've sold if Harry had been black, or brown, or any other known shade of human skin. Whether it would've been such a cult phenomenon is a different problem. (Who knows, it might've been. And yes, that would've done more than probably any ten government initiatives. And what if he'd been Arabic …?)

people making well-intentioned efforts to move the discourse forward are actually good and important, even if they fail in all kinds of ways to live up to the ideal of what they intend to attain or represent.

That's a very good point, Guy. I believe I maybe try harder than Roddenberry to be progressive on issues of race, sex, sexuality, class and all the other -isms, but if in 100 years' time people aren't looking at my fiction and finding a dozen holes in it at first glance, I'll be one disappointed ancestor. I'll be disappointed because it will mean that a) the culture will not have progressed so far as to outpace anything I could even imagine at my most radical, or b) that I never ended up actually publishing any fiction (or at least none worth looking at). To some extent, whatever I do will be a product of its time, just like the

Star Trek

.

OK with writing aliens and vampires and wizards, but can't write a black man? Right. Indeed, I've always found that particularly grating. Mostly that no one seems to even make the effort. And situations like RaceFail can make it worse for white authors who mean well and would like to make the effort but are scared off because the Wrath of the Public might descend on them.

Yeah well, white privilege means that you can ignore all that and not have to worry too much. Whereas if you're a person of colour (say, Arabic) and you piss off the white folks, Allah help you. (There are exceptions like Salman Rushdie, of course, but they are very much the exception.)

I for one do care about public opinion of people of colour, but I think it better to take that risk and at least try to be part of the solution than play it safe and know for sure that I'm perpetuating the problem.

Firstly, reading isn't condoning. You can read, and even enjoy, something written by someone you disagree with and still disagree with them afterwards;

This is a good point, Arthur. I recently read Michael Crichton's

State of Fear

, and, for various reasons, have been obsessing over it for months. It's a pretty mediocre thriller, but I have an intense love/hate relationship with the discourse. Some of it I agree with, a lot of it I don't, but what really gets me is that Crichton sets himself up to make his points in a way that should get even the readers who don't agree with him thinking, then lets most of it dissolve into a tired political rant. I felt like I would've enjoyed the book more—should've enjoyed it more—even as I was disagreeing with it, but Crichton failed to try hard enough to connect with the skeptics (which is ironic considering we're presumably the one's he's addressing).

… Although, as Dan points out, there's a difference between something being disagreeable and something actually insulting you as a person because of the social group you happen to belong to, especially when there is a looong history of insult and oppression of people from that social group.

On the other hand, as we're agreed that in a racist society everyone is racist to some degree, all the fiction we produce is probably going to be racist in some way. So if we can't find any merit in racist works, then Arthur's suggestion of throwing out everything before 1950 is too conservative by half.

So basically, I guess, it all comes down to degree of offensiveness and personal taste. If you can find merit in something, I'd say there's probably some merit, although I reserve the right to withdraw my condone-ance (there doesn't seem to be a proper word for that) if the merit you find is something along the lines of e.g. “All Arabs are evil.”

As Dan points out, it's not the individuals who you can identify as being racist bastards who are the problem a lot of the time (although they're usually the ugliest symptom), it's the people where you don't necessarily see the subtext, perhaps because they themselves aren't aware of it.

Damn, you people are good at making excellent points with incredible clarity.

It helps to have a diverse group of friends and colleagues as well; "hey, that's meant to be my friend's family" is almost as shocking as "hey, that's meant to be my family".

That's my viewpoint too, and something I feel slightly guilty about not cultivating more some of the time. However, I do think there's a bigger difference than you suggest, Arthur. I have a lot of close friends who are queer, but when I see something homophobic, the fact that “they're talking about my friends” doesn't spring immediately to mind. Similarly, when I see something blatantly anti-Palestinian, I don't immediately think of my Palestinian-American friend.

I agree that it helps to have friends who belong to the insulted group in question, but maybe not as much as you suggest.

To put it another way, just imagine for a moment that Harry Potter had been a black kid.

He was, Rowling just didn't mention it in the books.

Or in the liner notes to the movie script. Dumbeldore's sexual orientation on the other hand …

the depressingly common belief that there really are Bad People out there who do self-consciously Evil things Because They Are Evil

I don't doubt there are people out there who are and do;

Well I for one, don't doubt the exact opposite, and think that's a

very

dangerous philosophical road to venture onto. Of course, it partially depends on what definition of “Evil” we're working under, but still …

re: Captain Planet clip: Oh God, that was so bad I had to stop watching at the 30 second mark. I think I watched CP as a kid. Obviously I wasn't a very bright child.

Me neither.

And yes, racism is amazingly adaptive when it comes to rhetoric.

I've heard elsewhere that positive exposure tends to dilute one's own prejudices at least. So yes, diverse elementary schools = very good idea.

Part of what I've been trying to get at with the article above is the idea that it's all too easy to condemn prejudice in general, while making excuses for it in every specific instance.

Like all other types of basically immoral attitudes/behaviors/actions. War/torture/murder/rape, people can (and too often do) excuse away the patently inexcusable when it gets down to specifics. If anyone has any suggestions on how to get people to stop doing this I'm listening.

very

attentively.

[marybeatriceofmodena]

(1/2) I agree with everything you say but I'm too afraid to say so myself. Especially because if you don't agree 100% with how Rey is being portrayed, folks think you're being misogynistic. I wish we could be more open to discussion. You can love a movie or a character and still don't agree with certain aspects of them. For example, yes, Kylo became Supreme Leader, but his "victory" was undermined 5 minutes later when Luke trolled him in front of the fo and what was left of the resistance.

continued: (2/2) His win felt like a loss, which is a good thing for redemption, but it means two failures in a row nonetheless. In other hand, Rey’s biggest loss was being wrong about Ben Solo and her parents. Yes, she made mistakes but they didn’t bring her consequences she wasn’t able to overtake in the same movie. At the end, her bad choices don’t stop her from becoming the resistance savior. It feels like she can’t do no wrong, which makes it hard to sympathize with her as much as I can with Kylo.

*

Well, I think the problem why people are a bit more “jumpy” is that there have been a lot of bad takes - on both sides of the debate. I’ve seen some pretty bad anti-Rey/pro-Ben takes myself. Like, I prefer seeing them as two flawed individuals who ended up fucking it all up because of their flaws, and because of a lack of communication? 

I might also be influenced by how star-crossed lovers stories usually go: it often happens that lovers in star-crossed romances are separated due to outdated or bad societal conventions - that’s actually EXACTLY what happened with Anakin and Padmé. And honestly, if I was writing IX, I’d follow Rose’s words about “saving what we love, not destroying what we hate” to heart, and have the war end not by the Noble Resistance/Rebellion defeating the Evil First Order/Empire (because c’mon, it’s the OT all over again, you can do better), but by people overcoming their differences, working together, and ultimately show how absurd war is. 

That’s what TLJ was about, especially in respects to the Finnrose plot: both Finn and Rose discover that the people behind the war machine don’t care about who’s the bigger dog in the galaxy and all that matters is your own personal gain - and the First Order, as well as the Resistance, all play a part in oiling that machine. Not to mention that Solo was basically an introduction to the underground crime world, who also make their profits out of weapon dealing, so I don’t think that was a coincidence. 

That’s not to say you shouldn’t stand against oppression and injustice - you absolutely should, since the opposite would be going against what Star Wars has always been about. 

But war is what has always been the cause of every single trial the heroes went through: war is what provoked the Clone Wars, initiated the enslavement of millions of men because they were clones; war is what led Ahsoka Tano to leave what was the equivalent of her family behind after the irreparable had been done; war is what eventually drove Anakin Skywalker to become Darth Vader, and killed Padmé; war is why Luke and Leia grew up and never knew who their real parents are; war is why Luke’s aunt and uncle were killed in a gruesome matter, just for being indirectly implied with a matter they wanted no part in; war is what killed not only Leia’s adoptive parents, but her entire planet as well; war is what killed people like Jyn, Cassian or Bodhi before they were given a chance to actually live a peaceful life; war is eventually what tore Han and Leia apart, destroyed Luke’s work of a lifetime, and drove Ben to the Dark side. 

So… wouldn’t it be fitting that the war is won not by a big epic battle of good vs. evil… but people coming together to pursue a common goal, and not care about clans and factions and all the like… but like the Rogue One team, do it even if you have the whole galaxy against you because it’s the right thing to do? 

If it was up to me, I’d have Rey, Ben, Finn and Rose team up and plan to take down the First Order from the inside, because it’s the best way at this point to end it all. Rey does it because she has decided to become part of Ben’s life and, to become part of his family and also finding the belonging she always longed for, she helps take down the very organization that tore them apart in the first place, but this time, with Ben, without any conditions, as equals. Ben does it because he realizes on his own that like for people like Finn, Rose, and all the Stormtroopers, the First Order has ruined his life. And if he wants to help establish a new order and make the galaxy a better place, the First Order has to go too. Finn does it because he doesn’t want to fight against his brothers and sisters in arms, and because they, too, want to be free and have lives of their own. And he accepts to do it alongside Ben because he may not understand why Rey loves him, but he trusts her. And Rose does it because in every child who has been indoctrinated by the First Order, she can see Finn in them, and with her planet being enslaved, she realizes that, well, it could have been her. 

* 

And to get to the rest of your ask… yes, Ben is sympathetic because as much as he’s an asshole, you understand why he’s the way he is. Of course he messes up. Of course he gets humiliated. He needs all those things in order to be able to grow, understand his mistakes, and learn. THAT’S what makes him sympathetic. 

Rey… obviously, she learns what really went down between Luke and Ben, which makes her realize that when it comes to heroes and villains, it’s not always the way it seems. So far, so good, and it’s actually brilliantly done. The problem is that as I said for her rescue plan, while her heart was totally at the right place, the plan itself… honestly needed more work, and Ben pretty much had to save her ass. 

And look, I’m a-okay with Rey being impulsive, jumping to conclusions, heading head first into trouble - it makes a lot of sense with her background and characterization. It doesn’t make her unlikeable AT ALL, it just makes her a fully fledged character. The problem here is when those flaws aren’t treated as such - and that’s what’s frustrating, lol. But ya know, it’s a writing problem. Not a problem with the character specifically. 

So if she can do no wrong… how can you “sympathize” with her? Because “sympathizing” with someone implies that either they’ve done something bad, either they’re involved in a touchy situation, either they’re affected by a bad situation. 

And sure, you can argue she got her heart broken - but my issue is that the movie doesn’t show that. All it took was one little scene where she leaves the Throne Room teary-eyed, looking at Ben but turning away. Instead, straight after the Throne Room fight… next time we see her is her being all happy-go-happy while shooting TIE fighters. So because of that, it makes her look like she doesn’t care - which is not what you should be going for, lol. 

But again, to know whether it’s a bad writing decision or not, we’ll have to wait until IX. But all I want Rey to realize is that in order to help Ben, and help the galaxy against the First Order, she can’t drag Ben around, and she can’t expect him to just follow her around because she thinks she’s right or her heart is at the right place. She needs to work WITH HIM. Ya know, do the couple thingy, like, TALK. COMMUNICATE. 

[robininthelabyrinth]

Fic: An Internal Affair - Chapter 19 (Ao3 link)

Fandom: The Flash Pairing: Leonard Snart/Barry Allen

Summary: Leonard Snart, the CCPD Captain of Internal Affairs, is known as Captain Cold for a very good reason: He hates corrupt cops with a merciless vengeance, and once you’re on his list, you’re in serious trouble.

His next target?

A CCPD lab tech named Barry Allen who’s developed a suspicious habit of disappearing at random intervals.

—————————————————————————————————

Len is so far from having a good day, he can't even begin to quantify it. It's like something out of one of his worst nightmares.

(There had better not be a meta with the ability to turn nightmares into reality, because if there is and they have anything to do with this, Len is going to throttle them and he won't even be sorry. Well, maybe a little sorry.)

But seriously, he’s having trouble picking the worst thing that’s currently happening to him.

Mick is gone - hurt, kidnapped, probably dying from lack of hospital access, trapped at the mercy of some superhuman monster that likes to play with people before he kills them.

Trapped in a room knowing there’s nowhere to go, just like Len was.

If Len thinks about that for too long, he’s going to crack, and he can’t crack, not when Mick's counting on him, so he can’t think about it.

But if he’s not thinking about Mick, then he’s thinking about the fact that the Families are on the cusp of closing a deal that will give them fresh blood and power and vigor, thereby undoing all the work he's so painstakingly accomplished with twenty years undercover.

Or the fact that the police force he gave his life to, his friends, his family, his truth to, is corrupt beyond all belief, beyond even his admittedly negatively biased views of it.

That the city he loves is a ticking time bomb and he's one of the few people who knows it.

That Barry is still fucking perfect.

Okay, that last one is probably not at the same level as the others, but damnit, it feels like it should be.

Barry has no right being so damn wonderful. He committed horrible crimes!

...which he accepted, taking responsibility for and accepting the consequences of. He didn't make excuses, he didn't try to explain himself, he just looked Len square in the eyes and said: You're right, I was wrong, I will never let it happen again, I will do better, but just saying so doesn't change the fact that what I did was wrong and I will pay what I must for it.

And he was manipulated by Wells, who's apparently good enough to play politics with the military and the Families and the Central City government, all at once, and that's without considering how he tricked Barry into seeing him as a surrogate father figure, utilizing his apparently extensive stalking (including, apparently, cameras in Barry's bedroom which really is the stuff of nightmares) to figure out the best ways to get under Barry’s skin.

Under the circumstances, really, one could see many of Barry’s actions as being taken under a form of emotional duress...

Damnit.

Mick was right, as he so often is.

Barry really isn't corrupt. Barry's trying his best and making mistakes (if very bad ones) in the process. But deep down, Barry’s still a good man.

And Len is head-over-fucking-heels in love with him.

A realization that helpfully arrived after he destroyed Barry's life and those of his closest friends and family.

He fully expects that this has almost certainly ruined his chances to ever get Barry’s forgiveness, even after Barry serves whatever time he must. Acceptance, tolerance, understanding, maybe, but nothing else.

Nothing like love.

Great.

Way to go, Len. Way to fucking go.

At least Len’s still in charge of the investigation in some part – really, he ought to have recused himself as soon as he’d processed what Hartley had told him, given his emotional involvement with one of the targets, but he was just so upset that he utterly forgot – so there's a chance he might be able to present evidence of what mitigating factors exist to explain Barry’s actions, and hope that that's enough to convince someone impartial to take pity.

The alternative – Barry's spirit getting stamped out of him by the brutal realities of prison, or indelibly tainted by a quiet and unethical dismissal designed to avoid having to re-open his cases – isn’t worth thinking about.

So he won’t.

Len’s gotten very good at not thinking about things.

At least he has now: this wonderful, awful interlude where they're working together, a unified front, the way Len wishes they still were.

The way they were before Len screwed everything up because he just couldn’t help his knee-jerk instinct to assume the worst in people and refuse to listen to any explanation they might have. If only he'd confronted Barry in private, maybe...

Still, if this little bit of teamwork is all Len can get, he'll take it.

Of course, despite his confident words to Barry, actually getting everything into action and going to STAR Labs to defeat Wells and rescue Mick and Thawne isn't as easy as just saying that they’ll do it.

Len has a time and a half getting the Feds on board, but twenty years of being one of their most reliable local guys pays its dividends and they agree to come with whatever resources they can spare, which on such short notice – the day before, really, Snart, you getting lax on us? – isn’t much but will have to do. Len puts his contacts in touch with Singh at the CCPD and Cecile Horton at the District Attorney’s office, the only two he personally trusts to not be on a Family payroll, to work out the business of getting warrants and putting together an actionable plan for how to deal with what’s coming.

Unfortunately, getting in touch with the CCPD means that the CCPD, leaky boat that it is, knows that something big is going down.

There’s no way to avoid it, but Len didn’t spent his years undercover twiddling his thumbs, either.

“Singh, I want you to go for a walk with someone and mention to them that they’ve got to keep it real hush-hush, but the Feds are getting involved ‘cause someone’s threatening a terrorist attack on Election Day,” Len instructs. He’s getting annoyed that he’s still on the phone while Barry’s already finished up making plans with Iris, called in Ramon and Snow to go help the CCPD with gadgets and triage for potential injuries respectively, and is now standing around and is, in fact, twiddling his thumbs.

And, to add insult to injury, he didn’t even use superspeed.

“Yes, I know, the cover story won’t last past impact,” he adds impatiently when Singh protests. “That ain’t the point. The point is that we don’t know who in the department is on the take and who ain’t, and that means we tell all of ‘em the cover story in an attempt to keep the Families from panicking before the Feds can show up with RICO warrants. Just drop the story publicly, then keep going with it in private until everyone’s convinced that’s the reason for the time being.”

There’s more arguing on the now-conference call line.

“No, we’re not getting clearance from the Commissioner,” Len says. “Not till we’re sure he’s clean. Listen, he gave me free clearance to recruit as many people as I wanted to my Weird Things task force, right? And basically no mandate? I’m recruiting your entire precinct, it can go under my name, it’s fine – yes, I’m aware that it’ll blow up in my face if this intel’s wrong, I don’t care, I’m willing to take the risk.”

That convinces a good few people. Amazing what the opportunity to cover your ass will convince people to do.

After a bit more insistence, they finally agree to accept his idea and to implement it in just the way he proposed, and then they move on to debating mechanics – where to put up barricades to help reduce damage if there are, as expected, riots, explained away as preparations for a potential panicked response to the ‘terrorist attack’, how many resources they need to divert to reinforce Iron Heights to ensure there aren’t break-outs in the meantime, etc.

Len waits a few more minutes and, when he’s pretty sure they don’t need him anymore, says, “In the meantime, I’m going to go deal with an outstanding issue –”

Immediate protests.

Goddamnit, people, you’re adult policemen! Do your goddamn jobs! Without Len holding your hand the entire time!

“Are you done yet?” Barry asks hopefully.

"You know what, yes," Len says. "Fuck this. Let's go. Yes, I’m hanging up now – no, you can’t call me back, I’m going to mute my phone the second after I hang up, I don’t care – listen, if I survive what I’m about to go do, I promise I’ll sign off on all of this minutiae and if I’m dead, just blame whatever you do on me. I ain’t gonna care, I’ll be dead. And right now, I don’t know which one of ‘em’s a better option!”

He hangs up.

“Sometimes I wish we still had flip-phones,” Barry says nonsensically, but it makes sense when he adds, “I feel like it would have been more satisfying to slam something closed or down in the hanger or something, rather than just angrily stabbing the ‘end call’ button.”

“Very likely,” Len says, and then his phone rings again.

He lifts it up to throw it down on the ground, only for Barry to flash it out of his hands before he can. “I’m gonna turn off your phone,” Barry says wisely. "It's clearly stressing you out."

"Mick is missing and maybe dead, the Families are going to destroy my city, lots of people are gonna die, and even the police I trust not to be corrupt are being pests," Len says, scowling. Barry hands him back his phone with the setting firmly on ‘mute’, which helps a little. "I think I’ve gone beyond stress."

"Where we're going, we don't need neurotransmitters."

Len pauses. "We're in the middle of a crisis and you’re paraphrasing Back to the Future?"

"...maybe?"

Stop being perfect.

"Right," Len says instead. "Let’s find a private corner and you can take us to STAR Labs. When we get there, if you see Mick and Thawne -"

"Don't you dare say that I'm to prioritize getting them out," Barry cuts him off. "I can only carry two people, and I'm not leaving you alone."

"Barry -"

"You can't defeat him. I barely stand a chance."

"I have the cold gun –"

"He's a speedster. You got one over on him the last time because he wasn’t expecting it, but now that he is, you'll never get the chance to use it."

"It doesn't matter," Len hisses. He knows that. He knows that all too well. But ultimately, in the end, it doesn’t matter. They still have to try. "Barry, please. When we get there, you have to listen to me, okay? I'm not going to say you have to prioritize them, we'll make a game-time decision on that depending on the circumstances, but I have to trust that you'll listen to me."

For some reason, that makes Barry pause. "Okay," he says. "Okay. You can trust me. I'll listen to you."

"Even if I order you take them out and leave me behind?"

"Even then. But we have to try to get everyone out before we resort to that, okay?"

"Deal." Len tries on a smirk. “I don’t intend to let Wells have the last word – besides, didn’t you hear? I’ve got paperwork to do.”

“Just so you know, that conversation doesn’t actually give me a lot of confidence in your desire to survive this,” Barry says dryly, because he knows Len pretty well, but he runs them to STAR Labs anyway.

Despite the fact that the sun is rapidly setting around them, almost all of STAR Labs’ lights have been shut off, likely because Ramon wasn’t around to turn them on, lending the building an eerie, deserted feeling.

It's "almost all" because once they walk through the main doors, they see that it's not entirely true that the building is deserted – the lights in the base of the Accelerator itself, the very core of STAR Labs, are still on.

“Wow,” Barry says. “So, everyone who thinks this is a trap, say ‘aye’.”

“Aye,” Len says. “Sadly, we’re going in anyway.”

“Should I pick up my Flash suit?” Barry asks. “It’s in the main lobby, and it could offer some extra protection –”

“No, don’t. Ramon made that, and it lives here; Wells could’ve tampered with it at any time.”

Barry makes a face. “Yeah, point. I’ve seen some of the stuff Cisco can do remotely with that thing; I don’t want to get trapped or lit on fire or something like that.”

He still looks wistful, though, so Len adds, “If we survive here, you can get him to make you a new one. Ramon, that is; it doesn’t seem like Wells took him into his confidence.”

Barry nods, looking a bit cheered. “Stop saying ‘if’,” he advises. “We’re going to survive. Better, we’re going to rescue everyone.”

Determined optimism is a good look on Barry.

Everything is a good look on Barry.

(Barry's beautiful.)

God, Mick was right -

He can't think about Mick.

Mick, who was torn away from the hospital equipment he still needs to live. Who could already be gone, dying a torturous death of sepsis or an infection or even just an inability to keep all his body functioning...

He can’t think about Mick.

“Let’s go,” he says, and makes his way into the Accelerator.

It’s not even a surprise to see Wells waiting patiently for them down on the Accelerator’s floor, a door pulled open from the floor to reveal a ladder undoubtedly leading into a secret basement room.

Len assumes that’s where Mick and Thawne are being kept.

Wells is wearing the yellow suit with the hood pushed back off his face. It looks exactly like Barry’s Flash suit, only in reverse colors and with a lightning bolt facing the other direction.

Creepy stalker.

Len wonders if Barry’s suit was always designed to be the opposite of Wells’, and if so, what that was supposed to signify.

“Take us down,” Len tells Barry. “Fast.”

He grits his teeth through the run, even though, as always, his back and leg protest the movement. It’s fine, though; he’s prepared. He can’t show weakness right now.

He's always been good at ignoring pain to avoid showing weakness.

“Mr. Snart,” Wells says. “Mr. Allen – no. Barry. Welcome. I’ve been expecting you for some time now.”

“What can you say,” Len drawls. “Sometimes I can be a bit – slow.”

Barry, who was standing as tense as wire string and almost undoubtedly working himself into an anxious frenzy that would do nothing but make him less capable of thinking through his actions before he did them, audibly snorts at that, relaxing into a more comfortable stance.

Len knows Barry pretty well by now, too.

“Indeed you are, Captain Cold,” Wells says. “Slowing things down is rather your specialty, isn’t it?”

Len isn’t impressed with Wells right now. “You realize that’s a precinct nickname, right? And I’m pretty sure you ain’t a cop.”

“In my time, you are known almost universally by your chosen appellation,” Wells says. “I’d start adjusting now, if I were you.”

“In your time?” Barry asks. "What - do you mean that you're -"

No way.

No fucking way.

"Oh yes," Wells says, and smiles. It's a very creepy and intimidating smile. "It’s true. I'm from the future."

Len shifts to lean more of his weight on one crutch, pulling it in tight against his body for better balance, and raises his other hand into the air like a schoolboy.

"...do you have a question, Mr. Snart?" Wells says, his voice a little strangled, his creepy smile gone crooked with confusion. Probably wasn't expecting Len’s infantile behavior, but in his defense Wells is clearly setting up for a nice lecturing monologue, so it seemed appropriate.

Barry just has his eyes closed like he's trying to keep himself from kicking Len and his lips pressed tight to keep himself from laughing.

"How far in the future?" Len asks. "Are we talking one day? One week? One year? Ten years? A hundred? A thousand? Has the sun exploded yet?"

"I - no? Why would the sun have exploded?"

"Ain't it supposed to do that in a billion years or so?" Len frowns at him. "You're a scientist, don't you know that?"

"He's a particle physicist, Len," Barry says, sounding long-suffering but also highly amused. "You don't have to take astronomy courses to get a degree in that. He's not some sort of all-around mad scientist from a novel or television show or something. Besides, time travel we know is real; multidisciplinary studies is just implausible."

"Fine, fine," Len says, even though as a non-scientist that sounds highly dubious to him. "The question still stands - are we talking real time, or is he just being really pretentious about having come back about a week or so?"

"I traveled back a thousand years to find the Flash," Wells snaps. "And when I did, I discovered that he wasn't worthy of the honors history had bestowed upon him! I was alone, Mr. Snart; the only one in my era like me, the only one gifted with these powers, and yet when I sought out someone who could understand, he rejected my friendship -"

"Rejecting a crazy murderous fanboy," Len says. "Can't imagine why he did that."

Wells scoffs. "The people I kill here now have been dead for centuries to me, Mr. Snart. They were insignificant to the timeline; it makes no difference."

"Makes something of a difference to them," Len says. "Lemme guess the rest, yeah? You got powers - maybe you even gave yourself powers, after hearing about what the Flash could do from your history books - and then you realized that it's too damn easy to be the only speedster around. So you found a way to go back to the only place you knew you'd find another one, 'cept you're a waste of space personality-wise, a self-absorbed asshole with delusions of grandeur, so when Barry here didn't immediately give you all the attention you wanted, you decided you hated him and that you were gonna kill him. Except for you, it wasn't enough to just kill him, 'cause then he'd still be alive for you, wouldn't he? Not like those other, insignificant people - no, you needed to wipe him outta history. So you went back to when he was just an insignificant little kid. Something like that, yeah? Stop me if I got anything wrong."

"Very clever, Mr. Snart," Wells says. He looks like he's just bitten into a lemon. Probably wasn't expecting Len to steal his thunder like that. Pity for him that Len’s actually read a book or two in his time, and he likes scifi. God, what a cliché. "Unnecessarily editorial, but right on the important points."

"That's why you killed her?" Barry asks, blankly, numbly. Another dagger in his heart, courtesy of Wells - was there no way this man would stop hurting him? "Because - because of me?"

"You were my target, Barry, yes," Wells says. His voice is kindly, almost paternal, if you ignore the batshit crazy stuff spilling from his mouth. "Your future self stopped me, stealing you away and saving you, and I killed her in anger. But it was my good fortune that I didn't succeed - killing your mother was enough to derail your future and stop you from being the Flash. But it was only then that I realized: without you to inspire me, I would never have obtained my own powers. My access to the Speed Force was cut off, and I was trapped in this primitive era - and my only way back was you, Barry. I need you. Only you will be fast enough to help me use the Accelerator to open the time portal I need to get back home."

"That's why you wanted me to get faster," Barry says, his eyes fixed on Wells much like a man confronted by a venomous snake. "As soon as possible. That's why - but why in the world would you think I'd help you? Especially now? Why?"

"Because, Barry, I can help you fix it," Wells says, his eyes avid. "The same speed that will enable me to return to my era will help you go back to when you need - to stop me from killing your mother at all - to erase my mistake, that caused you so much pain -"

"You know what, I don't believe you," Len announces.

"You - what?!"

"I don't think you killed her."

"I beg your pardon?!"

"You're a speedster, Barry's a speedster," Len says with a shrug. "Who says the real Man in Yellow couldn't've been a third guy? You might just be claiming credit."

Wells looks irritated beyond all belief. Barry is just staring at Len in total disbelief. Lots of belief going around here.

"What?" Len says. "He's got a nice story - ooooh, I'm from the fuuuuture, how narratively satisfying - but no proof. Why couldn't he be taking advantage of someone else's crime to get what he wants? It's not like he knows any details about the murder that only the murderer would know or something -"

"I murdered Nora Allen in her own living room," Wells snarls. "With a stainless steel knife measuring approximately eight inches, taken from the kitchen - the second drawer on the counter, the third one down the right side of the knife block, knocking down several pans that were hanging above as I did - and then I stabbed her in the thorax between the seventh and eighth rib, using enough force to cause traumatic bruising throughout -"

He stops abruptly. And then he starts chuckling.

"Oh, very clever indeed, Mr. Snart," he says, his voice soft and menacing. "Always thinking ahead, aren't you? I assume you're recording this conversation?"

"My phone's uploading to a cloud stream right now," Len confirms cheerfully. "Scattering the evidence onto a dozen different servers all around the world - none of which you'll be able to track, being a particle physicist and not a computer engineer. Thanks, though; that'll make proving Barry's dad's innocence a heck of a lot easier."

Barry looks touched.

"Besides," Len says, "your plan won't work and you know it."

Wells scowls at him. "And why not, exactly?"

"Because you know very well that I made Barry promise me he wouldn't go back and change significant events in the past," Len says. "I've got some mistakes of my own that I need to confront and accept, and knowing there was a way to reverse 'em was too easy. So I made him swear." He shrugs. "Barry's a bit of a liar, don't get me wrong, but once he promises something, he sticks to it."

Wells looks even more lemon-faced, probably because he's spent significant time with Barry these past few months and knows that what Len's saying is, in fact, true.

Barry's a stickler for his promises, even if he lies like a scarlet-and-gold Aladdin-style rug when confrontation is in the air.

Len's pretty sure that Wells already knew all of this, though, which means he's just posturing - and still has cards left to play.

"Well, then," Wells says, and sure enough he doesn't actually seem surprised by the revelation. "It appears we are at something of an impasse. Unless you're willing to release Mr. Allen from his promise?"

"Nope," Len says. "Sorry. And yes, before you start, I included the event of my death in the things he ain't allowed to change. So that's my last word on the subject."

"Luckily, it isn't mine," Wells says, and smirks. "I heard you, you see, in the hospital - very touching, confessing your love for Mr. Allen -"

"His what?!" Barry blurts out.

Great.

Thanks, Wells.

"- but you also made something else very clear," Wells says. "You vowed that you'd never pick anything over Mr. Rory ever again, didn't you?"

"You stole him from a hospital bed," Len says bitterly. "One attaching him to things he needed to live. Given that he's probably already dead now, what exactly are you offering me? A redo where you don't take him?"

"Oh no, Mr. Snart -"

Wells blurs, and suddenly Mick is there - on his knees, his arms bound before him, a gag in his mouth - but he's alive.

He's alive.

He's –

Noticeably less injured?

Still burned, yes, the burn scars still ugly across his neck and his shoulders and chest beneath the ill-fitting STAR Labs sweatshirt Wells put him in, but he's breathing on his own and he's not bleeding and his muscle tone looks vastly improved.

He looks like he could almost be - okay.

"One of the many advantages of future technology, Mr. Snart," Wells says. "When I took Mr. Rory - admittedly, more in the interest of tormenting you than in preparation for this moment, but waste not, want not - I realized swiftly that he would soon expire if a number of his more serious injuries were not resolved. And so: I did."

Len swallows.

Mick.

Mick, alive, better - and probably about to be murdered by a speedster.

Well, two outta three ain't bad.

"And so I offer you a deal, Mr. Snart," Wells says. "You may love Mr. Allen, but you also love Mr. Rory. Which one do you love more?"

"Why'd you take Thawne?" Len asks, playing for time. That didn’t sound like the sort of ‘deal’ he’d be interested in. "Instead of Iris?"

Wells smirks. "Ah, yes; hadn't I mentioned? My name is not Harrison Wells - that was merely an identity I assumed upon coming to this era. Instead -"

"You're a Thawne," Barry breathes, inadvertently interrupting. "That's it, isn't it? You're his descendant! If anything happens to him, that would affect you, wouldn't it?"

"Very good, Barry," Wells says, because apparently Barry interrupting him with insights is all well and good while Len doing the same is just annoying. It's okay, Len knows who the favored child here is, and he doesn't envy Barry one bit. "My true name is Eobard Thawne - a descendant of a great and noble house, politicians and scientists and kings, the great movers and shakers of history. It occurred to me that continuing to run around with Mr. Snart here could lead little Eddie into trouble. And while he himself wasn't anything special, his death would be - paradoxical."

"Very Back to the Future of you," Len says.

"Indeed. Very well, enough of this - Mr. Snart, I will give you Mr. Rory, in his new stabilized condition, as well as my word that I will refrain from harming both of you. In return, however, you release Mr. Allen from your promise - and leave him here with me."

Barry swallows. "Len," he says before Len can react.

Len looks at him.

"It makes sense," Barry says quietly. "I'm the only one who's a match for him - even with your cold gun, you won't be able to do much. This'll at least keep you guys safe. It's a good deal. You should take Mick and go."

"That's right," Wells adds gloatingly, smirking as Barry flinches. "Just take Mr. Rory. You love him more, after all -"

"S'got nothing to do with who I love more!" Len exclaims. "That doesn't matter!"

"It - doesn't?"

"No! I'm a goddamn cop! Trading one innocent life for another is unethical."

"Unethical," Wells says blankly.

"Yes! Ethics! Contributing to another person's crime makes you part of it, while doing nothing doesn't. Listen, even for a psychopath like you that don't got a little voice that tells you right from wrong, there are rules that lay it all out, and the rules are real clear on this one. Emotions don't even come into the goddamn equation. No one's getting traded for nobody."

And then he catches Mick's eyes and without saying a single word they both act at once, in one gloriously synchronized motion the way they used to do when they were proper partners, Len acting as a distraction by pulling out his cold gun, keeping Wells' (Eobard's?) attention while Mick swings his bound arms straight across, thereby hopefully giving Len a chance to finishing getting his gun out.

Wells might be a speedster, but he still needs to notice something coming his way.

He also reacts to being punched in the balls the same as any other man.

Unfortunately, he recovers much faster.

Much, much faster.

He knocks Len down, only to be hit in the side by a charging Barry, and next thing Len knows the two of them are running through the Accelerator.

It's no contest.

Wells is faster - much faster. He has more experience, more practice, more time to experiment - he knows tricks Barry hasn't even conceived of.

He's leading Barry on a pointless chase through the Accelerator - or maybe not so pointless, given what he said about using the Accelerator to open a time portal.

Not good.

"Barry!" Len shouts. "Get Mick and Detective Thawne outta here now!"

Yes, he's aware that he could have safely left Thawne in, er, the other Thawne's custody; Eobard-Wells has already admitted he doesn't plan on killing him.

Not on killing him, no. But harming him...

There are plenty of ways to harm someone if all you need from them are their genes.

Besides, Len would never leave someone trapped in a small room, an oubliette, abandoned and losing all hope of rescue - especially as Wells would undoubtedly move him to somewhere equally secure but less easy to find if he were given the chance.

At least Wells wasn't expecting Barry to veer off so sharply, obeying Len's orders without hesitation, and he actually comes to a complete stop for a moment, staring after Barry as the yellow flash of light zips out the door.

Then he turns to Len.

"Cold, Mr. Snart," he says, and his tone is murderous. "Very cold. When given a choice of which one of three to sacrifice, you choose - yourself. The cripple."

Suddenly he's in front of Len, standing far too close, the cold gun batted out of Len's hands to their feet. Len can't bend to pick it up, not with his injuries, and he's pretty sure his conventional weapon will be less than useless.

"Pity," Wells says conversationally. "I would have liked to work with you, one day. But I suppose you'll have to serve my purposes by showing Barry that nothing he loves will ever be safe until he defeats me. Me - and only me."

Len doesn't even feel the blow that throws him across the room, but he does feel it when he hits the ground, hard, his crutches clattering down around him, his side and leg on fire, his head spinning from the impact as he stares blankly up at the Accelerator's glass ceiling.

He can see the stars in the darkening evening sky.

Only two, mind you, but that's light pollution in Central City for you. Plus he's pretty sure only one of them's a star and the other a plane.

Still - not the worst view to end a life on.

He regrets it, of course, but Mick will be safe and well, and Barry - well, Len already broke Barry's heart when he turned him and his friends in to the police. Barry will mourn him, of course, and probably the what-might-have-beens, thanks to Wells’ little revelation, but he'll be fine, in time.

Wells appears above Len and hauls him up.

"Not yet, Mr. Snart," he says. God, what an utter cliché he is; Len could practically recite his next few words with him. "First I'm going to wait until Barry comes back. Then I'm going to kill you."

Yep. Just as expected.

"Boss!"

Wait, what?

That was not part of the script.

Especially since that was Danvers' voice, rather than Barry's or Mick's.

"Who are you?" Wells asks, a bit blankly. He's probably never even seen Danvers before.

"That's my secretary," Len says, just as blankly. He has no idea what she's doing here - Iris must've told her where they were.

"Admin assistant, boss!" she shouts, a kneejerk instinct.

"...right," Wells says, obviously deciding that he doesn't care. "Unless you've instructed Mr. Allen not to return -"

Damn, Len wishes he'd thought of that.

But no, it's too late for that, he can already see the red-and-yellow streak that is Barry Allen, running towards them desperately, and he can see that Wells sees him, too, and Wells lifts his hand, vibrating as fast as a saw, and -

Suddenly there’s glass everywhere.

Glass?

Oh, he's gone through STAR Labs’ glass ceiling.

Wait - how?

Danvers has him in her arms.

(Heh. Women and glass ceilings - there's a pun in there, somewhere.)

Wait, is Danvers flying?

That seems impossible, but they're definitely hovering far above STAR Labs, looking down at Central City, all lit up for the encroaching night, laid out beneath them. Which - huh?!

They float there in silence for a long moment.

It’s getting awkward.

“Well, Danvers,” Len finally says, because he’s never been awkward with Danvers and he has no plans to start now. “No wonder you never had train problems!"

[justanotherwannabeclassic]

Finding Neverland (12/?)

Summary: When Juliet Jones and Gideon Gold fall through a time portal and find themselves in Neverland, finding a way back home is the least of their worries. One wrong step can irreversibly change the course of history, placing both of their existences in jeopardy. As Juliet attempts to ensure her parents are on course to falling in love, Gideon struggles with the realization that he’s about to meet his deceased brother for the very first time. Will they succeed in preserving the timeline, and what happens when these star-crossed lovers realize their respective families’ goals are at odds? Relationships: Gideon Gold x OC Swan-Jones kiddo, Captain Swan, references to Rumbelle and slight Swanfire

Read now on AO3.

Previous Chapters: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Chapter 12

Over the years, Emma has imagined kissing Neal again. How could she not? He’d been her first love, and everything between them had felt so unfinished. She’d never truly found closure -- still hasn’t, if she’s honest with herself -- so, she’d find herself fantasizing. Fantasizing about kissing him, about raising Henry together, about all the things they couldn’t have because he betrayed her.

He left her.

Maybe that’s why, when he kisses her for the first time, she doesn’t pull away immediately. Maybe that’s why she doesn’t introduce him to her right hook -- she thinks, vaguely, that Killian might be amused by the pun. Instead, she stands frozen as his lips mold to hers. There’s a part of her that thinks this kiss might be something out of a fairytale. It’s the same part of that’s still seventeen, and hoping against hope that something went wrong, and that Neal didn’t let her take the fall for the watches.

But here’s the thing: Emma Swan isn’t seventeen anymore. She’s twenty-nine, with over a decade of pain and baggage under her belt. And there’s more than just that, the anger and resentment, there’s --

“Stop it!”

Neal jerks away suddenly at Juliet’s cry, and Emma does her best to ignore the wave of relief crashing over her as she draws her attention to the young woman who had previously been missing. Juliet stares at them, wearing an expression that can only be described as betrayal. It’s only then that Emma remembers that she’s in a crowd, and embarrassment floods her. Juliet must notice it too, because her cheeks turn a bright pink as she begins to stammer, “You, um, you can’t just grab people and kiss them.”

“It’s basic consent,” Romeo chimes in, and Emma wonders if she’s suddenly been transported into some after-school PSA about healthy relationship dynamics. Not that it would be any stranger than being in Neverland.

Neal raises his hands in supplication, “Hey, I didn’t mean it that--"

“You know, Juliet is right,” Emma hears her father cut in from somewhere behind her. She wonders if the ground might swallow her whole. She doesn’t want to deal with the overprotective father bit at the moment, especially since she is an adult who didn’t even want to be kissing Neal in the first place.

“More to the point, we have more important things to worry about than...that,” Regina adds, her voice dripping with barely concealed venom as she levels a dark glare toward both she and Neal. Emma feels a bubble of anger, even after Regina crosses her arms, and redirects her attention toward Juliet. “Where were you?”

Good question, Emma thinks. They had spent the past day or so worrying about Juliet, and suddenly she appears unharmed, Hook, Romeo, and Neal in tow. It’s suspect, especially since Neal is supposed to be dead. He should be dead. I watched him die.

“Kidnapped by Pan. We both were,” she gestures toward Neal. Juliet then looks back up to Gideon. “And these two were were attempting to find us. Keyword being attempting, because we got out just fine.”

“I wouldn’t say just fine,” Neal cuts in.

Juliet glares. “We’re not dead yet, are we?”

Though Emma appreciates Juliet’s spunk -- she’s never been a fan of the damsel-in-distress thing, herself -- Emma can’t help but notice something strange about the way Juliet and Neal are speaking. Almost as if they talking around one another, judging by their use of emphasis on words.

“So how did you escape?”

“We traded secrets,” Juliet shrugs. Ah, secrets, Emma thinks, this is probably why they sounded weird.  “There’s a cave, and its whole schtick is secrets. We shared secrets, so we were able to leave.”

“And what secrets did you share?” It’s Regina who asks this, one perfectly manicured eyebrow raised. Her gaze is intense, and Emma is thankful she’s not the one on the receiving end -- for once.

“It’s a secret. You can’t share secrets,” Juliet says, surprisingly defiant.

“This isn’t some middle school slumber party, this is--”

“My secret was that I would rather my mother have been killed by pirates than have her abandon me, and hers is that she’s having second thoughts about her relationship with her boyfriend,” Neal cuts in. Juliet’s jaw drops, and her gaze darts to Romeo.

“Babe, I--”

“Secrets, right?” Romeo disentangles his hand from her, and moves a step away. For moment, Juliet looks as if she might cry, and Emma once again finds herself wishing she were anywhere but here. She tears her gaze away from the couple, only to find Hook. His expression is stony, but there’s a certain sadness in his eyes. She’s about to wonder why, until she recalls Neal’s half of his confession.

“I would rather my mother have been killed by pirates than have her abandon me.”

She knows Killian wouldn’t have made the same trade. She wants to say something, she isn’t sure of what. David steps in before she can find words.

“That takes a lot of courage to admit,” he says, reminding Emma why some take the Prince Charming moniker at literally. A glance over to Romeo and Juliet makes Emma think that they would rather Neal be a coward. Hook likely feels the same way, too. “So, I take it after leaving the cave, you met up with Hook and Romeo?” David’s expression turns sour. “Thanks for telling us you were leaving, by the way. We really appreciate it.” Hook lets out a broken laugh. “Believe me, if I thought I had the time, I would have. Our star-crossed lover over here was quite eager to find his lady love.”

“Something could have happened to you.”

“Why, Dave, I didn’t know you cared.” Hook adopts stance that Emma can only describe as ‘cocky asshole’.

“I don’t. I just prefer to be aware. You’re the one who’s always going on about how dangerous this island is. You could have died, and we wouldn’t have known.”

“Oh, I’m sure Pan would have flaunted my head on spike sooner or later, but I appreciate your concern.”

“Excuse me, do I need to take out a measuring tape so you two can finish comparing sizes, or should we get to the matter at hand. Your squabbles are--”

“Can we please not talk about comparing sizes?” Emma overhears Juliet whisper in response to Regina’s admonishment, and she can’t help but agree with the young woman.

“--doing nothing to help us find my son.”

“Our son,” Emma emphasizes, because even if she can’t control Neal or anything else in this fucked up situation, she can control this. No matter what, she still Henry’s mother.

“Right.” Regina only manages to look somewhat annoyed.

“And we do have the upper hand on Pan,” Neal adds. “I doubt he thinks all of us would end up together as quickly as he did.”

“Neal’s right. It’s likely the demon wasn’t preparing us to progress so quickly.” Hook casts a dark look toward Romeo. “As it stands, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’ll appear quite vexed to find his plans foiled.”

“I don’t care about how vexed he is. I care about saving Henry,” Emma tells him. The idea of Henry being trapped by an irate Pan makes her sick.

“And we will, Swan. Of that I have no doubt.” Hook stares at her meaningfully, and Emma realizes that he actually means it. He honestly doesn’t have any doubt in their ability to rescue Henry. She avoids dwelling on why that means so much.

“Thank you.” “As heartwarming as that was to witness, it’s still not a plan.” So they plan.

Or, at least, attempt to plan. They settle the outline of something -- capturing Pan’s shadow, and it’s Regina who offers to go off and find Gold, much to Neal’s relief -- with minimal debates. But by the time they have half of the plan settled, everyone is exhausted. The lack of sleep weighs heavily on everyone, adrenaline only carrying them so far. Juliet had been the first to turn in, retreating to her makeshift bedroll before any plan had been settled upon. However, considering the circumstance of her recent capture, no one brooked argument. Not even Romeo, who had kept his careful distance from her, still apparently spurned by the Neal’s reveal of her secret. But when they all settle for what’s left of the night, Emma still notices that he retreats to sleep near Juliet, albeit at an arm’s length of a distance.

It would be easy, Emma thinks, to fault Juliet for having second thoughts about Romeo. After all, everyone here had recently witnessed the level of Romeo’s dedication to the woman he loved. How could anyone have second thoughts about someone so devoted? But Emma reminds herself that she doesn’t know Juliet or Romeo that well. They had been in a fight earlier. And for all she knows, Romeo might have done something unforgivable in the past. And if Juliet is having second thoughts about that, can anyone blame her? Some transgressions just can’t be forgiven or forgotten, not matter how much the other party wants them to be. As Emma settles once again in her own bedroll, she hates herself for finding the couple’s relationship woes a welcome distraction. It’s much easier to focus on theirs than hers, and analyzing their dynamic keeps her from thinking about all the terrible things that could be happening to Henry. Regardless of the questions she has, Emma can’t help but find herself still rooting for the couple, which is something she can’t say about Neal.

 -/-

 Everything is slower in the morning. Gideon can feel the weight of the restless night in every aching muscle. He knows he ought to move up from the ground and his makeshift bedroll, but after an extended period of being separated from Juliet, he revels in the warm press of her body against his and the way she buries herself into his chest. Despite falling asleep separately in an effort to keep up the ruse of quarrelling lovers, they had gravitated toward one another in the night. Even though it doesn’t aid their cover, he doesn’t fight it. Her soft, even breaths tell him that she’s asleep, and he doesn’t relish the idea of waking her. She had gotten just as little rest as he had, maybe less. She needs this, he thinks as presses a soft kiss to the crown of her head.

It’s still early yet, but Gideon can hear the slight stirring of the members of the camp -- another reason for him to feign sleep. As much as Gideon appreciates Neal’s quick thinking at concocting secrets, he still feels uneasy around the man, mostly because he hadn’t been prepared to see Neal at all. He’d known it was an inevitability, but Juliet’s disappearance had made him briefly forget that the brother he’d never met was here. Knowing that Neal also knew of his identity only elevates the dread. He doesn’t have the cover of pretending to be a stranger to talk to the man. Neal knows that Gideon is his younger brother, and all interactions going forward would be that of brothers.

Neal can no longer be an abstract concept to him. This is his opportunity to get to know his brother as a man -- his traits, his personality -- and not just the sketches that his father, Henry, and Emma had drawn with their stories of him. And, in turn, this is his chance for his brother to get to know him, Gideon Gold.

It’s terrifying.

And it’s made all the worse by knowing their motivations for whatever happens in Neverland are in direct opposition.

They both want to save Henry, sure, but Neal is approaching from the perspective of a worried father, whereas Gideon -- though he loves Henry --  just wants the situation to play out how it’s supposed to. His brother’s earlier display, however, highlights something else: Neal wants to rekindle his relationship with Emma, something that Gideon absolutely cannot allow to happen.

Gideon’s well aware of the tropes that appear in TV and movies. Falling for the older sibling’s significant other has been a plot played out at least a hundred times, but Gideon doubts any media has covered what happens when you fall for the daughter of the older sibling you’ve never met, and whose existence depends on your brother staying very far away.

The running joke in his and Juliet’s relationship, and their ability to vaguely play the parts they’re playing now, has hinged on their fathers’ mutual history of hostility. Neal had been an non-issue, except when Henry had expressed his own personal discomfort with his “uncle” dating his “baby sister”. But now Neal very much is an issue, and Gideon can’t help but feel as if he, himself, is a roadblock standing in front of his brother’s happiness -- a complication he never once considered.

“If you squeeze any tighter, I’m pretty sure you’re gonna break my ribs.” Juliet’s voice is soft, a whisper into his shirt that he knows no one can overhear.

“Sorry,” he mumbles into her hair. He loosens his grip slightly, but doesn’t make any further movements to untangle themselves, continuing his own game of pretend. “You rest any?”

“Not really,” she tells him. “Stressed.”

“Yeah.” Gideon wants nothing more than to stay ensconced like this in their small bubble of warmth, but he knows they can’t, not with what’s at stake. He wishes they were at home, cuddled under the massive blankets that Juliet insists on sleeping under. That would mean they were safe. They would be home. “We’re kinda fucked right now.”

“‘Kinda’ is an understatement.” She tightens her own hold on him. “But, I’m still here, so we’re not totally fucked.”

“No, instead you’re having second thoughts about me.”

“Yeah, only so we can have a fight and get to the makeup sex later.” He feels her grin against his chest, and it takes everything in him to hold back a laugh.

“Later being when we get home, because I cannot imagine anything happening here with everyone around.”

“Oh God, don’t put that picture in my head. The library was bad enough.” This time, it’s Juliet that has to suppress her giggles. She sobers quickly enough. “You know I have no second thoughts, right? About you and me?”

“I know.” He’d been afraid his reaction around the others had been too much, but it would have been unnatural had he done nothing. Juliet had thankfully caught on, but pretending to fight had been unpleasant.

“I’m glad Neal had our backs.”

“Mmmhm.”

“You’re going to have to talk to him about why...and, you know, to not kiss Emma.” He’s too busy not wanting to think any more about Neal that he completely misses the first part of Juliet’s sentence.

“Wait, me? Why me?”

“Because no matter how weird things with my brother, it’d still kill me if I never talked to him. And I think he wants to talk to you. So, talk,” Juliet whispers as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. And maybe it is,but he’s unwilling to admit it right now due the absolute weight of the conversation he knows will come.Besides, talking to Neal will mean letting go of Juliet and putting on yet another act of pretending to be mad at her. That, too, is an unfavorable next action.

“When I’m with Neal, what are you going to do?”

“Get my parents together, of course.”

[bearxclaws-archive-blog]

Arc Headcanons // PRE-SKIP PT.4

It’s been two weeks since I did one of these ‘cause I was on vacation, but here we go again! Sorry for being repetitive, but there will most likely be mentions of Sanji x Anita.

DUVAL / SABAODY ARCHIPELAGO

— ARC OUTFIT

— After almost watching Sanji’s upper half disappear on Thriller Bark, it’s going to become a habit for her to touch a bit more. Not that she was why about it before because she’s just a physical person, but she’ll touch his arm, chest and anything from the neck up as a weird way of making sure he’s there. Totally brushes it off as just making sure he’s still mostly intact.

— She doesn’t know him, but Anita is worried about Ace too. She doesn’t like that his Vivre Card is burning. Still, she trusts Luffy’s judgement and doesn’t insist that he go after his brother. By the sounds of it, Ace is perfectly capable of defending himself.

— While Chopper and Usopp are relaxing and the rest of the crew is dealing with the submarine, Anita is in the kitchen pouting because she wanted to go underwater. With her Devil Fruit, she can’t. Oh, well, it’s sort of given her the chance to indulge in her stupid crush and watch Sanji work.

— Him getting decked by Keimi’s whole body when she lands on him cracks her up, though. She really needs to stop laughing at other peoples suffering. Not really sure why she does, but I feel like she just would.

— Having not been there during the Arlong Park chaos, she isn’t sure who Hachi is. Learning about it infuriates her, and so does learning that mermaids are sold.

— A thing I am realizing; when her island was taken over, her and her troupe were basically turned into slaves. They were a little cleaner and happier looking, but it was part of the act to lure pirates in. If they disobeyed, they were beaten or even put to death. They were scared of the man that had put himself in the position of master. So the entirety of this arc, Anita will likely be pissed and slightly afraid in a ‘ does he realize I’m gone and has he told other Marines so they recognize me’ way. She doesn’t want to be dragged back home yet when she can’t help. Didn’t have the smarts to think that it might happen until now. Whoops~

— Anita goes with the flow, so she doesn’t care who they’re saving as long as Luffy’s the one that ordered it. Although a large part of her wants to meet a talking octopus-man.

— Duval’s existence almost kills Anita. She will be doubled over despite being attacked with poisonous harpoons, holding her stomach and wheezing for breath.

— Because she’s stupid and obvious, I feel like the ones that know she has a crush on Sanji would be Nami, Robin and Usopp. At least one of them is going to be a shit and make a joke about her liking Duval because what’s the difference between him and Sanji? Rude as fuck, but it only makes her start laughing again.

— Flips her shit when they trap him in the water and announce they’re going to drown him. God, sometimes she hates that she has a Devil Fruit. When he does get rescued and has his dumb little nosebleed, Anita will poke him with her foot. Moron.

— Luffy and Anita have a contest to see who can put the most takoyaki in their mouth at once. Anita loses, obviously, and ends up almost choking. Sanji goes to help but Luffy smacks her hard on the back and ends up coughing it up. Ew.

— I’m wondering if Anita would know who the Celestial Dragons are. What I’m thinking is that their conditions at the circus were a lot worse than I first made them out to be. That they were treated like slaves, and that because the corrupt part of the government turns a blind eye ( and sometimes encourages ) the buying and selling of people. So if they were treated and seen as slaves, then I wonder if Celestial Dragons visited the island to be entertained and buy some of the troupe members. 

One day she will have noticed that a certain member has gone missing and not come back. Would destroy her to see them being treated poorly years later while visiting Sabaody. Not sure if that’s giving her too much personal involvement in the arc, though. But, honestly, I’m liking this idea because she’s not going to get a major arc of her own like the canon Straw Hats to. This is the only personal things I can think of to make up for her lack of an arc and a slight foreshadowing that she won’t have a home to come back to.

— Anita debates being a love-struck idiot and staying on the ship with Sanji while it’s getting repaired by Franky and Usopp. Decides against it because she knows she’s being stupid and doesn’t want to look at his dumb, handsome face. Stupid cook.

— Like Zoro, she wasn’t there for the briefing about not dealing with Celestial Dragons. She’s off on her own thing, probably notices someone that used to be in her troupe but sees they have a collar and are being treated like an animal rather than a person. Follows after them, tries to call their name and get their attention. Might get a small, frantic look as the only warning not to say anything else! Gets confused and ends up losing them before she realizes that she’s where the rest of the Straw Hats are. Is yanked down onto her knees by one of them and doesn’t get why. Learns real quick and decides just as swiftly that she doesn’t like this place.

— Doesn’t care about Law’s crew, except for Bepo. Bear! Walking, talking bear! If they weren’t trying so hard to get Keimi back, she would have scrambled over to talk to Bepo. Wants so badly to be his bear-buddy.

— Adds a kick of her own when Sanji asks if they can buy the dancing girl. Come on, Sanji.  .  . Really? You’re my most beloved muse and I wanna kick your ass for that.

— Anita doesn’t get why people are reacting so badly to Hatchi. She isn’t the least bit against other races because there were too many different kinds of people that worked for the circus, so she only sees them all as people.

— She’s secretly enjoying learning about all these old pirates because she never met Crocus, and she doesn’t hear about Roger much. Always a sucker for good stories.

— The idea of splitting up doesn’t appeal to her. She has a bad feeling in her gut that she blames her animal-like instinct on. Assume Chopper can feel it too even though they’ve got got human in them too. Doesn’t mention it and almost approaches Sanji to ask if she can tag along with him wherever he plans on going.

— Anita can be incredibly dumb sometimes, but I feel like she would quickly notice that it wasn’t Kuma they were fighting. Or, at least, notice that he doesn’t have the paw-pads. Kind of hard for her to forget those when she’s so closely associated with bears.

— Probably tried to bite at the Pacifista’s and only managed to get through the ‘skin.’ I know Brook couldn’t get through it, but she’s a gigantic bear, come on. They’re supposed to be able to bite through iron, so she’s going to get her jaw into PX-4 and shed some of that outside layer.

— Running would be so easy for her in her bear form, but she doesn’t flee like she’s told. She’s taking on too much responsibility as a tank and trying to protect the groups that look like they’re under attack the most. 

— Because of that, I feel like she would end up being the first one ‘erased’ because she would make every attempt to lunge in front of Zoro when the real Kuma comes. I know Zoro disappearing first was important, but she’s the one that jumps out first to do her job. She won’t get to see what happens to Chopper while he’s rampaging again, and doesn’t get to see what happens to everyone else. I wanted to be more despair inducing for her, but she would be one of the first gone and won’t have time to see them vanish.

URSA ISLAND / TWO YEAR SEPARATION

— Anita crash-lands on an island inhabited entirely by large, beastly bears. They’re all larger and stronger than she is, and they aren’t the least bit welcoming to find a human on their island. Unlike actual wild bears, these ones are barely smart enough to have a system of roles, the most important being tribe leader.

— The tribe leader, Anita dubbed King. He was a large, black, monstrous bear with nasty scars and gnarly teeth. He looks like a cruel leader, but he’s actually as kind as they come. He only wants to frighten her away because they can’t stand humans. He seeks only to protect his people. That’s what she’s come to understand, at least.

— There’s only one place that’s safe on the island, and it’s the largest tree in the entire place. They can’t climb to the top, and she can in her human form. Discovers, however, that she’s not the only human stuck on that island. A young girl is also trapped there. She doesn’t know herself very well and is nameless. She lives in the trees to avoid the bears and has lived there so long that she smells like them. Eventually, they agree that she will be called Ylde. Pronounced like ‘wild’ but Anita can’t spell and just went based on the sound.

— Ylde: Isn’t it spelled w-i-l-d?     Anita: ...How the fuck does a two-year-old stuck on a bear island know how to spell better than me?     Ylde: I’m thirteen.     Anita: Silence, small baby.

— Ylde attempts to convince Anita that there’s no point in trying to integrate herself into the tribe. Even as a bear, they’ll know she doesn’t belong from her scent and size. Anita corrects her and says she only wants to get off the damned island so she can get back to her friends.

— Because it will be a while before she gets the paper and she’s determined to leave, she gets into her bear form and readies herself to fight through the swarm of bears just to get to shore and find one of the many boats Ylde says have washed up over the years.

— End up coming back to Ylde’s tree because she gets her ass kicked. Tries this every single day until the moment the News Coo comes with the paper saying. She understands the hint given by Luffy and is immediately relieved to see he’s still alive. Doesn’t know if the rest are, but she’s hoping so. Didn’t even occur to her that they might be dead because she managed to survive the crash.

— Spends the next to years fighting and learning on her own. Ylde doesn’t stick around when, during the first year and a half, an intact ship is discovered. She insists Anita come with her, but she refuses. Ylde, having gotten attached to her, promises to come back to that exact spot in two years to pick her up and take her where she wants to go.

— Anita’s goal, like everyone else, is to get stronger. She realizes after being beaten again and again that she’s too weak in her bear form. Seeing as how that’s the part she wants to strengthen most, she dedicates herself to staying a bear as long as she possibly can. Day in and day out, from sunrise to sunset, she wants to stay a bear. She does this and does get stronger, but doesn’t realize that in the process she was inching closer to becoming the tribe leader herself.

— Over the two year separation, the following happens; she learns armament haki that she uses only on her teeth and claws, gets even larger than before, earns more devastating-looking scars, gets even greedier with food because of how unfair the tribe was to her before she became leader, eventually becomes the leader and earns the respect of the entire island.

— But because the rest of the tribe refuses to fight her, she becomes lazy and antsy. She will absolutely crave a fight whenever it feels like one is brewing now.

— New moves:           Mighty Roar: Can either a. instill fear in an enemy and send them fleeing or b. temporarily disable them because the intensity of the sound is mind-numbing. Not to be confused with Conqueror's Haki ;;

          Bear Trap: Bites through any part of an enemy that she can and fuses her jaws together with her Armament Haki as long as the teeth are touching, leaving it nearly impossible to shake her off.

          Bearrel Roll: Yes, it’s a pun to barrel roll. Doesn’t actually suit the move because she’s not doing a barrel roll, but she does curl up and roll into her target to catch them off guard. Is a good move to use with people she trusts to throw / kick her.

[jvj246018]

Next day

I pull my aching body from the comfort of my sheets and strat rummaging through my chest of draws settling in an oversized plane black t shirt and faded blue skinny jeans it was going to be a long day she knew it just by the feel of the morning after pulling on her flat riding boots on and grabbing a black jacket and her purple handbag/ back pack its one of those multi functional / compasidy bag that can hold literally everything perfect for my slaying gear and of cause my school supplies.

Grabbing my mobile placing it in my bag and quickly doing my make-up just light done to hide the bags under my eyes and the fact that I slept for literally 3 hours.

Then I head down to the kitchen where I hear Aunt Jenna toast I can make toast

Elena : it's all about the coffee aunt Jenna

Jeremy: is there coffee

Me : there's always coffee.

Oh aunt jenna have you forgotten about your meeting thing?

Jenna : that's at crap now...

Me : Go will be fine right guys

Jeremy huh .

Elena: of cause we will be.

Oh Nicki are you coming to school with me and Bonnie or making your own way?

Me : if it's cool with Bonnie I'd like a lift

Elena : I'll tell her it's both of us then.

Me : cool thanks .

In Bonnie's car.

Bonnie : so my Grams is telling me that I'm a psychic.

Me : maybe you are?

Bonnie : really not you too .Elena hey elena back in the car ..

Elena : oh god I did it again didn't I.

Me : its okay Elena we get it

Elena : you were saying that ?

Bonnie: that I'm physics now.

Elena : then product something somethings about me.

Bonnie : I see ..

Crack ..

Me : was that a bird ?

Elena : uhm.

Bonnie : yeah it was like a bird I'm so sorry guys.

Elena : it's okay we can't be freaked out by cars forever.

Bonnie: I predict that this year will be kick ass and all the sad and dark times are over and you two will be beyond happy.

Then we get back on the road and arrive at the school when Bonnie starts again.

Bonnie: total lack of male reliastate , oh wow look at the shower curtin..

That's where I choose to stop listening I don't like ragging on people's cloths it's not cool regardless of weather they appear to be wearing a shower curtin that's their perogative.

I'm pulled from my thoughts by Elenas whine he hates me.

Bonnie : that's not hate thats you dumped me and I'm to cool to show it but secretly I'm listening to air supply's latest hits .

Me : she's right he doesn't hate you.

Maybe you are psychic?

Bonnie : umhum.

Wait who's that ?

Elena : all I see is back.

Bonnie : that's a hot back, I'm scencing seattle he and he plays a guitar

Me : not gonna drop this are you.

Bonnie: nope I'm pretty much going to run it into the ground.

Care: oh my god Elena Nicki your here how are you, how are they are they good

Me : yes we're fine

Elena : much better.

Care : you poor things she says as she breezes past us into her other friends.

Elena : no comment.

The bell rings and we all go off to class I sit second left at the back because Tanner didn't want me helping Elena in class so here I sit the new guy is in front of me and there fore behind Elena. Tanner called on Elena and Bonnie and the new guy jumped to there rescue just as I was about to, I'm kinda glad because i was too tired to play the Knight in shining armor today, he even rubbed Tanners face in it. Harsh considering he was just trying to make them pay attention but it's was nice enough of him I think he's trying to let Elena know he's interested witch she already knows. But he might not know that so I'll give him some credit but you know I can't get this feeling that he's... there's something not right he feels old. He feels like Angle but different too he's the same and yet not. Deciding to shake that thought away since he's new and I'm supposed to be in class not in slayer mode not that I'm ever out of it but he's knew deciding I'll text Wilson see if he knows anything.

Its probably just my elevated paranoia but still.

I look down at my phone send a quick text and head to my next class without waiting for Elena since I'm in art next.

She has French on the opposite side of the school.

So I sit in my class drawing on to my canvas over the dry paint to draw a silhouette of the moon that I will paint later .

There's a few stems of trees too that will have leaves when I find my natural sponge.

I'm pulled from my thoughts by a text from Caroline.

Have you spoken to the new guy ?

I send her back a message No.

And continue as I ignore my phone after putting it on silent.

To continue the project scenary views the moon is the view from my window I have a picture to prove it.

My teacher loves that I work in the style of Bob Ross. So she's okay with me using it alot.

All in all I like this class it's a lesson where I don't have to hide just got to be me that's it.

The rest of the day went really quickly since I had double art and pe last. I found myself walking home to avoid the Stephen talk.

I also wanted to stop in to see Wilson see if he turned up anything.

Oh boy did he ever.

Inside Wilson's spacious but cluttered apartment he is sat at his desk I'm opposite him reading his ansesters diary on the Salvetor brothers. Getting frustrated I lean back into his blue arm chair using a ribbon as my book mark.

Wilson: Stephen is a ripper, a ripper that forces himself to eat animal blood to survive according to my ancestor he's actually a good guy when he's on the waggon.

But his brother Damon he's a peace of work. And determined to make Stephen suffer.

Me : grate. Anything else I should know ?

Wilson : not yet but if I find more I'll tell you.

Me : this is just grate Stephen is vampire that may aswell have a drug addiction and he brings his brother that takes glee in murder and all things that vampires reval in.

Wilson : you may have to kill them.

Me : yes only problem Stephen is Elenas new thing.

Ugh this will be hard.

Wilson : your going to need to cast a protection charm.

Me : grate how do I do that? I don't have a spell book the things I taught my self were just academy's that kept happening I learned to control them

Wilson : here, taking the offered book I check the index .

Chaper 5 page 156780. Right .

So herbs holy water vervain talismans will that work on them they are of a witch made line.

Wilson : humm yes just pay attention to the making talismans really understand what you want them to do.

Me : right okay what do I use ?

Wilson : stones crystals metal wood just about anything really.

Me : okay where's that book on stones and what there for?

As if he predicted it he handed it to me then he sat with me and we found the one that will make it so they have to be invited in every time they leave and come back.

With that in mind she started digging through the crystals making sure to have them represent an angle since they are strong representation of a protector.

Carful to choose the representation stone tigers eye for Jeremy, Lapis lazuli for Elena , strawberry quartz for Jenna and amethyst for me. I figure I'm lucky that he keeps these things he's abit of a pack rat.i smile as I think this.

Then I made one for the house to be kept by the front door and it had all 4 stones in it each one is made from stones and steel for durability.

Then Wilson drove me home and thanked me for all my help with the restoration of old books.

Jenna might know but Elena and Jer don't so secrets to be kept.

After hanging the houses talisman up then I had jenna her one I attached them to the keys jenna nodded understanding and then I give Elena and Jer theirs and they thank me Jer likes his and Elena dose too its nice.

I never hide the supernatural I just don't come right out and tell them either.

They would never believe me.

And Elena would want to help but that would probably get one or both of us killed. They know I believe in this stuff and they think I'm mad for it. One day they'll know I hope but for now I'll just be the crazy sister.

Pulled from my thoughts by a text from Carebear or Caroline depends who you ask.

You better be coming to the back to schools bash .

I text back

Yes I am I'm just debating on an outfit I'm thinking riding boots to below my knee thermal leggings black boots navy leggings black dress top.

And a leather jacked .

She beeps back no the swishy floral top I gave you for your last birthday.

Laughing at her since she's grate at this kind of thing I pull on the top she demanded I use, and then the rest of the outfit.

Pulling it back off placing it to one side I think I'll just wear it all day tomorrow that way no big change and frees me up but care would kill me so my burgundy long top in place of the floral top for school.

Same purple bag I take for everything always be prepared.

Then I did a cleansing to keep out the vampires that Elena might end up inviting in, but she they won't be able to get in and out as they please.

I love Care but her need to be popular is suffercating its why we don't have the whole BFF thing going we are but out of the lime light I'm the one she can just be herself with not even Bonnie can claim to have that.

We have sleep overs monthly and she catches up on everything and in-between Elena tells me her self absorbed versions care is definitely the more trust worthy for gossip but you need to take her exaggeration with a pinch of salt.

With that last thought Nicki found herself headed out to patrol. She just hoped that she wouldn't have to slay Stephen tonight that would be a major downer.

[gyroshrike]

To everyone who saw the Kalematsuba Call-Out Post

I’m not sure where to start, and my chest is getting kind of tight just trying to plan it in my head, so I’m just gonna try and start saying words and hope it comes together in the end.

Now, I’m absolutely not well known on this site, so you really have no reason to listen to me, but all I can do is speak from the heart and those of you who read this will have to decide whether what I say is worth anything.

Also, I’m not here to show you proof of anything. I can only share my opinions of and my experience with Kale and of these events in a way that I hope resonates with people who aren’t sure how to feel or who maybe jumped too quickly when faced with a call-out post.

I’ve been following Kalematsuba for two years, since he first made his current blog. Since then, this is the first I have ever been confronted with the idea that Kale has the past he does. And I know that’s the cue for a lot of you to claim he’s been keeping it a secret, but what I mean is, is that since I followed Kale I have seen nothing that alludes to him drawing anything other than wonderful, enjoyable, safe content and being anything other than a genuine, trustworthy human being.

I pride myself on having a pretty good bullshit detector and judge of character. When I meet someone, people who usually turn out to be negative or bad people I don’t want to associate with, I usually feel the vibes instantly. I listen to what people say, how they say things. I listen for those same vibes. Kale has never, EVER, not once, given me those vibes. I have never felt uncomfortable talking with him one on one, in a group setting, or as part of his audience.

Now, this not a post debating on whether or not what Kale did was wrong. I’m not here for that. Sexualizing children and child-like characters is bad. (I’m also not here to argue how ethical it is to age up child characters for the purpose of sexualizing them because that’s a whole other can of worms.)

Kale fully acknowledges what he did. When the news broke out in the personal discord channel he mods for his followers he admitted immediately to anyone who didn’t already know the situation:

“for the sake of transparency, I DID used to draw femboy art and "shota" like characters..but it was never about drawing "cp" it was so i could cope with being an effeminate boy..and then people sarted commissioning me for that type of work and it got way grosser than i ever intended it to”

For people who are construing was Kale said in a post he made earlier, then deleted, it wasn’t about sexualizing children in order to cope with dysphoria. That was not what he meant. He was referring to drawing effeminate boys, “effeminate boy” being how Kale felt at the time. It wasn’t about an attraction to the characters he drew. He saw himself in his art. These effeminate boys were representation of him to varying degrees. Unfortunately, what happened is this expressed itself using a very shota style and characters that were originally created to be underage.

That being said, Kale himself admits that it got out of hand. He is not denying he did something bad. He’s not denying the unhealthiness of the situation.

A follower who experienced this with Kale also added this about the people who would commission artwork from Kale:

[ALL SCREENCAPS ARE STAMPED WITH HST TIME ZONE]

“Kale was groomed into their incredibly posessive circle he tried to escape and they threatened to hurt him [and] eventually they finally lost interest”

Kale said nothing of this and did not ask to be defended. This was said unprompted. This is not meant to excuse Kale, but to perhaps give a little bit more insight into the context of the situation. He talks about it fully here.

All of the screencaps are from Kale’s discord, which was the first discord I ever joined and Kale always made it very clear that it was a safe place and had little tolerance for bullshit or anything that made any of his followers feel unsafe. Kale’s discord is now the standard I hold other discord channels to. They need to be safe, healthy, supportive places.

“I've been dealing with an actual dangerous procontact pedophile, but tumblr goes after the savior who rescued me”

“heres the thing of it. i have been a victim of pedophiles. these people are sick and horrible. YOU kale are no pedophile. i get a vibe from those sickos but you make me feel okay, your aura is safety. YOU ARE A WONDERFUL PERSON WITH A HUGE HEART whome i respect and care about, as i do everyone i know. i will support you 100% and thats that”

“Coming out of the woodwork here to just say: Nobody likes who they were 5 years ago, you know who I was 5 years ago? A 14 year old girl who shipped my male classmates for the sake of seeing "hot Yaoi" I made and laughed at rape jokes, I contributed to the "women suck" stereotypes put out by a bunch of teenage boys

Four years ago I pushed away friends I loved dearly for the sake of saving face with a "good artist" I admired, I regret it immensely, but my mindset from 4 years ago was different from what it is now. I used to judge who I become friends with based on their artistic ability alone

Three years ago I made a post that got really popular about the "jock/nerd soulmates" trope, I was the originater and romanticized an abusive trope bc I thought it was a good idea, I was 16, now I realize what a mistake that was and I've learned the error of my ways

TL;DR: Tumblr fucking sucks, it's a toxic place, and people will jump at any thread of drama they possibly can if it means they can unravel someone being successful in a way they can only dream of being

Kale, whether you were into shouta art or not doesn't matter, what matters is that you've moved past it, you're done with it, that's not the person you are now and you've grown as a person Your past mistakes do not define you and what you've accomplished, the things you've learned do.What you've made here, all the art, your own community, your freaking comic that a lot of people are onboard with, that's what's amazing and incredible and you should be proud of itYou are better than this, you are better than who you were 5 years ago, and if these holier-than-thou internet teenagers can't even try to understand that people can change, then they don't matter. They're not worth your time, your tears, or your work”

These screencaps are just from today. These don’t even begin to cover the time and time again that people have found support and comfort and a healthy environment in Kale’s discord from many a number of things not limited to: mental illness, abuse, traumatic experiences, suicide, and even gentler more mundane things like life and art advice.

--

Another point I would like to make about the validity of Kale’s character. In the call-out post posted today (August 21st, 2017), all OP does is link to their previously made call-out post (August 21st, 2015). There is no added material, no new art, nothing, to attest to any continued behavior or art that could reflect negatively on Kale. Which to me, implies that Kale has so soundly changed as a person and what he features in his art, that OP didn’t have anything else to say about him. Mind you, the original post is 2 years old and Kale shut down his pixiv and patreon years ago.

Kale himself said that:

“i literally havent drawn an ounce of that stuff in 4 years”

OP is not bringing anything new to the table. Nothing has changed from 2015 to 2017.

And if anyone receives hate mail from someone claiming to be a supporter of Kale, they are not from Kale’s inner circle and did not get is permission to do so. We within the personal discord agree that this situation will be met only with calmness and positive support for Kale. Anyone attacking Call-Out OP or their supporters is acting on their own or is a fake with the intention of further defaming Kale.

WHY I IMPLORE YOU TO KEEP SUPPORTING KALE

He is creating 1989nk to for trans and nb youth like him, who, from dysphoria and a lack of representation, may will seek out media or express themselves in ways that are unsafe or unhealthy.

He does not want what he experienced to happen to other trans and nb youth. That’s why 1989nk has such obvious trans colors on the front. He wants potential trans readers to see it, read it, and feel validated, safe, and represented.

I truly believe anyone who really looks into Kale’s current work, how he feels for 1989nk, the heart and soul he’s put into it, would see the kind of person he is.

Look, when I’m with my friends, I’ll be the first person to lean over and say something is problematic, makes me uncomfortable, or might be unhealthy. Anyone who knows me well can tell you that I never, ever stick my nose into tumblr discourse. So, if I’m sitting here addressing you all like this, it’s because I wholeheartedly believe in this person with everything I have.

I believe in Kale. I trust Kale. I wouldn’t follow him or support his work if I didn’t.

But then again, you have no reason to trust me. You may have to look and decide for yourself.