#i just think it's interesting that a whole vault full of people would agree to cryo in order to survive a nuclear fallout

[criticalfai1ure]

thinkin abt how hank was complacent in the end of the world as they knew it and while, yeah, it ended up paying off for him for like thirty years, but was there ever any real guarantee that being one of bud’s buds would pay off?

[shipcestuous-two]

Fallout (spoilers!)

@bourbonthesecond: The new Fallout show has canon incest. The lead has been fooling around with her cousin but breaks it off for an arranged marriage. It's apparently enough of a feature in Vault life that they have laws against it but it seems to be fairly culturally accepted. He's heartbroken and rebounds with her best friend.

Anon:  I imagine you must have gotten a number of asks about this by now but!! I just watched the Fallout show with my partners and I'm not over the canonical cousin-incest that takes place in Vault 33 lmao. Episode 1 has characters casually talking about fooling around with their cousins as kids (before moving on to "real" relationships for the sake of procreation), and the protagonist's cousin is openly in love with her. She turns him down, but to me they felt like that had more chemistry than she did with her actual love interest lol.

I really enjoyed Fallout (a couple things about it make me scratch my head but I enjoyed the ride either way) and I’ve seen it twice now. 

It’s clear that, at least in Vault 33, fooling around with your cousin is no big deal. I’m not familiar with the games, so help me out here if you know for sure, but the vaults seem to have 100-200 people if they’re full. While I can see how that would lend itself to cousins fooling around, from lack of selection, it’s also not like there wasn’t anyone else she could be with. 

Lucy states that her reproductive organs are intact and she maintains good hygiene, but she hasn’t been able to find a suitable marriage partner in their vault. 

So, except for Chet being her cousin, and she agrees that cousins shouldn’t have children together, she considers him a suitable marriage partner. (Given their limited gene pool, cousins really shouldn’t be having children together in that context, probably. But how long before they’re all cousins anyway? Maybe it’s a pointless delaying of the inevitable.)

She tells her friend Steph that after ten years of “cousin stuff”, she’s ready for the real thing. It’s unclear if she and Chet were having sex, it kind of sounds like they weren’t doing the kind of stuff that could have gotten her pregnant. But ten years! That’s a long time. 

This whole thing was a little strange, because it’s played for laughs, but there’s just a little more to it than that. Chet is in love with Lucy, it wasn’t just fooling around for him. And Lucy says that everyone knows he’s in love with her. No one cares about that either, but they all follow the rule that she and Chet can’t marry. So that was interesting point #1. Interesting point #2 is that Chet is one of the main characters in the Vault 33. He’s secondary character overall. He could have easily just been a throw away character never mentioned again. Interesting point #3 is that Chet being in love with Lucy gets mentioned again, a couple of episodes later. In a rather sad way, when Norm suggests that Chet came with him to investigate Vault 32 because he’s still in love with Lucy and being with Norm reminds him of Lucy. It’s like, ok, make me cry. Why is this so sad!

While it isn’t discussed explicitly after that, it’s pretty clear that Chet isn’t happy with Steph. For more than one reason, but probably mainly because he’s still in love with Lucy. 

I assume, given the circumstances, that Chet is the maternal cousin of Lucy and Norm. While Chet and Norm spent quite a few scenes together, I didn’t like that they never referenced that they were cousins, too. This is a tangent, but when Chet was sent to live in Vault 32, Norm called him a coward instead of being like, “Bye, Cousin. I’ll miss you!” But I think he was just bad at showing that he felt abandoned and that now he would be alone with all of his questions. But what I’m really getting at is that Norm had lost his mother, his father, and Lucy, and then his cousin gets sent to live in the other vault and they’ll only see each other every three years, if even. 

I also wanted to note that Norm calls Chet a coward, which was really hypocritical since we know Norm feels guilty about hiding during the big fight, but which also isn’t fair because when Lucy wanted to go to the surface, Chet wanted to go with her and she had to drug him to stop him. 

I really can’t believe that the show has a tortured canon cousins relationship, with sympathetic unrequited love and the two of them forbidden from marrying. 

While of course Lucy has a canon love interest on the surface and likely won’t be back to Vault 33 anytime soon, it is kind of fun that her arranged marriage, her “real thing” ended up being a man who tried to kill her. It’s like, Chet is looking pretty good right now, isn’t he? 

[mini-jiminie]

Hi!

Regarding your post on the 2021 Bday live, I have a headcannon for the bit where Hobi questions JM being in JKs studio. Just a theory, nothing factual but it makes sense of the moment for me:

Hobi's kind of comment likely would have been made in reaction. To previous conversations and not prompted out of nothing. It could be as simple as JK one day kicking everyone out of his studio because they wouldn't leave him alone. Or him retreating there when we wanted to get away from people. Commenting on JM being there could be highlighting that JM is the exception to JKs isolation space.

Or it could even be something to do with logistics at HYBE. Do all of the members have studios? We know the rapline do and JK but have we ever heard about Jin, V or JM having one? Maybe the business standard is like a salon and the artist needs to negotiate for their own space. If so, maybe the others specifically didn't want to make the investment since they weren't really involved in the production aspects back then. Didn't the members also ask JM where he was working when he mentioned FACE during the Festa dinner? I don't think that question would have been asked if he had a dedicated studio.

Anyway, all theories but I don't think we'll ever actually know why there was such a mood in that live. And honestly, I love that for them. They should be able to have some mysteries from us but boy does it make me curious!

Heyy

That's a very interesting headcannon actually!

What I love most about jkk's bond is that I am completely content with not knowing the full picture. What interests me the most about those two is the ever-present air of ambiguity surrounding their dynamic. It's that constant feeling of 'wait are they like....being for real?' that gives me tornadoes of butterflies.

At that time, out of the vocal line, only jk had mentioned having his own studio space. Recently, in the FACE documentary, jm was mostly working at p-dogg's house or, in the other producers' studios at Hybe. This is just my own observation, but I think jm thrives creatively when he makes music as part of a team. Going back to the FACE documentary, he would often just hum a melody and the producers would immediately pick up on it and start suggesting things.

To the point of jm specifically using jk's studio, I think the staff probably just picked an empty studio space to set up in. Jk obviously was chill with it because he wasn't surprised at all that jm was in there.

But, agreeing with your point, Hobi's oh-so-pointed tone during that whole conversation was definitely not one of surprise. To me, it was coming off as an 'oh, of course you'd use jk's space of all spaces'.

Them continuing to justify it with 'its public space' makes the conversation even funnier because, so what if he's in jk's studio?😭. I would not have batted an eye at the members being in each other's studio spaces (except maybe yoongi cause that man's studio is a vault). They're bandmates and besties at the end of the day but, yea Hobi's insistent teasing is very, very interesting :)))

[fakeshibe]

I agree with all of this critiques so much omg. i love Billie and I was so excited to start Doto and get to see more of her story but the more it went on the more i realised i wasn’t really going to get that. :/ She’s such an interesting character, but doto didn’t really take full advantage of that and it’s so sad. She’s got so much going for her, and yet…

I can understand what Arkane were going for by not having a chaos system in doto, making it into a ‘this is such a small and personal mission for Billie that maybe it wont affect anyone else’s life’ type of thing, but my dude she fucking explodes a bank vault and kills important local figures. You return to the same area like 4 times, it makes no sense for it to not change based off of what you do when you’re there. But instead it feels like you achieve nothing, no-one cares that you killed a dozen guards anymore than they care they lived. A dishonored game without a chaos system is just, not as interesting.

Billie having Deirdre’s rat charm is such a missed opportunity too. She’s a character that by design constantly parallels Daud and mirrors Emily, and yet the way she’s being tormented with the voice of the lover she couldn’t protect is such a direct parallel to Corvo.

She has this amazing opportunity to atone for her past and move through how killing Jessamine was not just a horrific thing to do for Dunwall and the empire, but for Corvo and Emily personally. She apologises at the end of D2, and is fully accepting that Corvo/Emily could kill her over it. She knows how badly she hurt them, and now that understanding is being turned against her and she’s saddled with a reminder of her own loss. It’s a gift of penance from the outsider.

Deidre as the rat charm is almost crueller than jessamine becoming the heart, because Deidre died in the street, and now the only way Billie can hear her voice is by looking for rats in the gutters. Even then it’s just the rats speaking, nothing of Deidre is actually there. Which I like conceptually, but i think is part of why it feels so disconnected from any sort of grief. If it’s just her voice, Billie can look past it. The heart hurt more because occasionally it would be Jessamine just speaking to Corvo/Emily, usually in some sort of pain. Having like, one interaction every so often that’s Deirdre’s voice saying something like ‘Did you kill them Billie? after they killed me?.’ with no opportunity for Billie to reply or know if it’s really Deidre speaking. I think maybe they avoided that cause it makes it too similar to the heart but, idk i feel like they are similar tools so it makes sense they’d have similar moments of personality.

To the games credit, Billies relationship with the outsider is incredibly well done. The outsider feels threatened by her, but also understood by her and that’s something we don’t see with any other character. Billie is his biggest threat and the closest thing to a saviour he’s ever had, and it’s such a well done dynamic. I love it. Billie has this empathy for what he’s gone through, but is still fuelled by the anger over what his power turns people into and it’s such a good conflict. Both of them have their pasts, and the outsider goes out of his way to explain his and put them on equal footing. He lords above Daud, Emily and Corvo, but he sees Billie as a peer. He recognises her strength, and his feeling change throughout the game as his feelings towards death change. It’s one of my favourite dynamics in the whole series.

I appreciate that they explore her and Daud’s relationship, I really liked the way that was handled. But Daud being her mentor/father figure isn’t even the most interesting thing about her character. She becomes this relationship with Daud rather than that becoming part of her. I understand a huge part of her motivation in this game is atoning for betraying Daud, but she has other reasons to want the outsider gone too.

She’s a multifaceted character,and she’s spent her whole life playing second fiddle to other people (Daud, Delilah, Sokolov, Emily/Corvo). The one relationship where she truly had an equal was with Deidre, and that was taken from her before they had a chance to live it. Now in this game she’s on her own, she’s free to do anything she wants, she’s finally the lead in her own story and what happens? She’s goes back to having her motivations second place to somebody else’s.

It’s crazy how the story of someone who’s survived this long with no powers, just her own wit and strength, and has now decided to kill god, is just a bit, meh to actually play. I wanted to like Doto so, so badly but I think Knife of Dunwall set my sights too high for just how good a DLC campaign can be.

Basically, I don’t think Doto is bad, I just think it underused Billie and didn’t give her an equal footing compared to the other 3 playable characters. She is such, such an interesting character, and despite seeing her in major roles in multiple games and literally playing as her, I feel like I don’t actually know her.

She deserved better from her game, the fandom and her life.

What is your favourite thing about Billie Lurk?

(Answers are obvious possibly but i love when people talk about her👍)

thanks for the ask!! YEAH ME TOO I love when people talk about Billie! I can't say I have a favourite thing specifically, but I can explain why she's my fav. apologies for not taking this qn literally, but -

short answer: she’s really cool

& you can stop reading there, or, for the maybe 2 mutuals who might have time to read this my thoughts on her as a character, her meta, and her character as raw potential...

long answer:

i considered making this entire thing a gush so you could read a gush about Billie. but, part of what draws me to her is that she’s not always well written, and in fandom she’s underrated for a literal protagonist.

since you ask...

billie is a cool character

when I played Dh2 (hadn't played Dh1), I was excited to see a black woman with disabilities who was captaining a massive ship by herself. wow.

then I discovered Billie’s backstory with Deirdre, the way she responded to that, then having to survive while living on the run, and her bisexuality. as well as her history with daud & delilah. fascinating!

she’s an outsider who has so much to lose, and knows what it's like to lose everything - having lost everything not once but three times - but nevertheless speaks truth to power. she's so brave! she went and helped Emily & Corvo and she must have known they might kill her! plus, she’s smart, she’s funny, she gets shit done, she’s gorgeous.

but... the meta

mild critique of fandom & arkane incoming.

skip this bit if you want - you've been warned twice now - jump to tired Hayao Miyazaki and read from there if you'd like my thoughts on writing her.

i thought Death of the Outsider was going to be amazing and then... well. *sad trombone* i've written about that before so i won't keep banging on. i figured others must be disappointed too, so I joined a few fandom spaces in hopes of finding camaraderie.

most people with complaints about DotO didn’t like how the Outsider and Daud were handled. which is valid & I agree. but it seemed like most paid no attention to Billie; when people talk about her it’s with respect to Daud, as opposed to in her own right. you could argue for fandom misogyny because people don’t talk about adult Emily Kaldwin that much either, but in Billie's case, it’s misogynoir (compare & contrast with the popularity of thomas, particularly the popularity of thomas portrayed as a white man for no particular reason that i've been able to discern - i keep asking around, is it in the books???).

i think this is a LOT better now than it used to be, which is fantastic. or perhaps i have found the correct echo-chamber? ha.

ultimately, The Fandom is a fraction of the entire picture, and not even the important bit since The Fandom is not who these games are made for. you can't make money relying on only your hardcore fans even if all of them spent a fortune on merch, this is true for any AAA game.

while it's true that Billie is underrated from a fandom perspective - but Billie as an underwritten protagonist is squarely Arkane’s fault.

it was reasonable when she was a side character - the lack of info in Dh2 makes perfect sense (if anything there was more lore in Dh2 which is kind of wild)-

- but as a protagonist in Death of the Outsider?

.... there’s lousy writing, and there’s whatever is going on with Billie Lurk, a black woman who mostly exists as a foil or saviour for light-skinned characters. In her own game there’s barely any of her own lore except where it's relevant to saving two dudes.

lore hints at, but barely touches on what race means in the Dh universe (xenophobia is stronger in Dh1; separate essay i guess), but Arkane has patted themselves on the back for portraying non-white characters, which feels like the same thing as the aesthetic of diversity we're seeing in advertising currently because it’s in marketing trend guides. it's self-congratulatory and it's a missed opportunity for deeper storytelling.

you can see an example of diversity at its most shallow in the way that Billie’s written: there’s little engagement with her as an entire person with history & wants & preferences, and the world she walks through in that game feels like it has nothing to do with her. you could make a case for alienation as a theme, but then, how do you handle the titular premise of 'Dishonored' without ever letting Billie make changes in an environment without a chaos system? it's disappointing from that angle too.

in my opinion, whatever it's worth, it was an accident Arkane created such an awesome character - they needed someone to betray daud. congrats billie.

all this said, it makes her an underdog as far as characters to enjoy & create art & stories for. it's nice to find so many like-minded, switched on people! <3

billie's character potential

she’s got a wealth of unexplored lore, being deeply intertwined with both Karnaca & Dunwall’s fates & criminal underbellies, as well as her connections to the witches & whalers, and three Empresses.

she’s lived a few distinct lifetimes and in the games we get to meet her at two peaks (KoD & DotO) & a low (Dh2 as Meagan).

her voice is very distinct, her dry & often dark humour is entertaining & fun to write. her perspective is really interesting - she’s had the widest variety of void-powers of anyone canonically, and she’s also lived through the highest highs and lowest lows.

she's got everything going for her :) i couldn't really pick a fav thing!

[persephone-plasmids]

Safe

A Danse and Nora fic.

[Read on AO3]

-----------

“It’s eerie how well preserved this area is,” Paladin Danse said, as the elevator cage opened to reveal the silent Vault 111 in front of him.

“That was kind of the whole point, Danse,” Nora said, smiling over at him. “If they could preserve me this well for 200 years, it only makes sense that the metal walls held up too.”

“They preserved you wonderfully,” Danse agreed with a nod.

“Is that a line?” Nora asked, raising an eyebrow at the Paladin and making a slight blush rise in his stubbly cheeks.

“I… of course not,” Danse fumbled. “I just meant, from a medical standpoint, what they were able to achieve in this vault was… impressive.” Danse let his words trail off towards the end of his sentence, finding that he was only making things worse.

“Relax, Paladin,” Nora said, her grin still in place. “I was only joking.”

“Of course,” Danse said, trying to sound confident even though he still felt flustered. “I knew that.”

The way Nora gave him a short nod and held back a laugh before walking further into the vault told him that she knew he was lying. He appreciated that she didn’t state this outright.

Danse followed behind the vault dweller in silence. Or, in as much silence as he could manage when the sound of his power armor reverberated off the walls so loudly.

“The gun should be right through here,” Nora said, leading Danse through the halls of Vault 111 expertly. “I saw it when I first… woke up in here. But I wasn’t as familiar with lockpicking back then.”

“You’ve definitely honed that skill since wandering the Wasteland,” Danse agreed, giving her the smallest ghost of a smile.

He admired Nora for so many reasons. Her lockpicking skill was just one of the many ways she’d adapted to an impossible situation after waking up to a world she didn’t recognize.

She’d lost her son. She’d lost her husband. And yet, Danse had never seen her show the people of the Commonwealth anything but kindness. He didn’t know such people still existed in the world. Meeting her had shifted his perspective on a lot of things.

“If I can get the lock open, will you check out the gun to see if it’s something that might be useful for us?” Nora asked, shaking Danse from his internal musings.

“Of course,” he answered.

Nora led him to a small room within the vault and quickly began working on the locked glass case that held the gun.

“It’s called a Cryolator,” Nora explained, puckering her lips as she moved the bobby pin and screwdriver in such small subtle ways that Danse could hardly tell she was moving them at all. “From what I read on the terminals when I first woke up here, the Overseer of the vault made it as a way to pass time. It’s supposed to freeze enemies.”

“That definitely sounds like a unique weapon to have in your arsenal.

Nora nodded but didn’t say anything. She was focused on the lock in front of her, still trying to crack it as Danse watched her.

In this moment, with her full attention taken up by something else, Danse allowed himself a moment of self-indulgence. He watched the way her brown hair fell out of its bun in small wispy strands. He saw the freckles on her cheeks that she swore she didn’t have before leaving the vault. He studied the way her vault suit fit her a little too perfectly, which had been one of the reasons he’d tried to convince her to trade it in for a Brotherhood suit.

Her pink lips were still puckered as her long fingers worked at the lock.

Danse swallowed hard, realizing that he shouldn’t be staring at his partner this way.

“Bingo!” Nora said, standing aside with a triumphant smile.

“Outstanding, soldier,” Danse said, hating the way his voice sounded ever-so-slightly off after studying her so closely.

“Have at it, partner,” Nora said, gesturing to the gun and standing aside.

The Cryolator was definitely something Sanctuary could use to keep the settlement well-defended. And as Danse studied the weapon, he imagined the various ways it could be used to ward off Raiders.

“You really do wonderful work, soldier. Have I told you that lately?” Danse asked, turning around to find that he was alone. “Nora?”

Feeling his pulse pick up a few paces, he left the small room and began making his way through the halls of Vault 111.

What if something had happened to her? What if Raiders had been camping out inside the vault and they’d somehow missed them on the way in?

It wasn’t until Danse entered a cold room full of large metal containers that he found his partner. She was standing in front of one of the pods with an expression he couldn’t read. When Danse approached and curiously looked at the frozen man behind the glass, his brain made the connection.

This had to be Nate. This had to be the man Nora had loved. The man she’d built a life with, only to have it all stripped away in mere seconds.

He looked from the man in the pod to Nora, watching the way her jaw tightened as she stared at her spouse. She didn’t let any tears fall, though Danse wouldn't have faulted her if she did.

He wasn’t sure what to say to her at a moment like this. He wanted to tell her that she was welcome to grieve however she wanted. He wanted to make this better for her. But he was at a loss.

“Take all the time you need, soldier,” he said, because what else could he really say?

“I’m fine,” Nora replied, taking a deep breath, turning on her heel, and walking quickly away from the room.

Danse barely had time to register what had happened before she disappeared completely.

He could hear the sound of the vault elevator in the distance as it brought Nora back up to the surface.

She probably needs a few moments alone, he thought to himself, looking back at the lifeless form of the man Nora had loved. The one she had trusted.

His heart ached for her.

Danse waited a while before making his way back to the vault elevator, not wanting to impose on Nora’s private moment the way he accidentally had when he’d clomped into the cryochamber. But to his surprise, Nora wasn’t waiting for him on the surface.

She probably went back to Sanctuary.

He wasn’t sure if this was true, but he hoped it was. Any time he lost sight of Nora, he began to feel a panic take over his heart. He’d had a lot of partners and lost a lot of partners. But he’d never worried so much over someone in his life.

Nora had proven herself a capable soldier in the field. Despite her kindness and her tenderness, she could also be tough. She was a walking contradiction wrapped up in a blue and gold vault suit. Danse didn’t have to worry about her being safe on her own.

And yet, he did.

The sound of Danse’s power armor tromping through the dirt was anything but stealthy, but he didn’t care about being quiet at the moment. He only cared about finding Nora and making sure she was okay.

Walking through the streets of Sanctuary, Danse found the first settler he could, even though he wasn’t exactly happy with who it was.

“Have you seen Nora?” he asked the ghoul in front of him.

“Wait… are you actually asking me, a lowly ghoul, for help?” Hancock asked, his mouth quirked up into a half smile.

The Paladin knew the ghoul was pushing his buttons on purpose. And in the back of his mind, he knew he deserved it. But that knowledge didn’t do anything to quell Danse’s rage.

“Listen to me, you…”

“Careful Danse, if you get too worked up, your power armor might rust and you’ll be stuck in there forever,” Deacon said, stepping up beside Hancock with a matching smile.

Of course it had to be Deacon.

If there was one person who liked to get under Danse’s skin more than Hancock, it was Deacon.

Danse clenched his jaw tightly, to try to keep his temper from flaring up. “Nora is distraught from something we encountered on our mission,” Danse began. “As her partner, it’s my job to make sure she’s okay.”

“I think he still thinks he’s part of the Brotherhood of Steel,” Hancock said to Deacon.

The jab shouldn’t have hurt as much as it did. But the reminder that the organization he’d dedicated his entire life to had thrown him out like an old pipe pistol after they’d found out who he really was, stung him to his core.

He wasn’t sure he’d ever be okay with the way things had ended. And he wasn’t sure he’d ever be okay with who… or what… he truly was.

But Nora was. She wasn’t just okay with what he was, she’d convinced him that he had something to live for. She’d saved his life in so many ways. Because that’s who she was.

“Garvey,” Danse said, while still keeping his eyes locked on Hancock’s in a scowl.

He’d been aware that Preston Garvey had been watching the exchange with mild interest. He also knew that Preston would give him the information he needed, rather than needling him for fun.

“The General is in her old house,” Preston said.

“Oh come on,” Deacon whined. “Why did you have to ruin our fun?”

Danse simply shook his head in annoyance, never letting the scowl leave his features as he walked away from Hancock and Deacon. “Thank you, Garvey.”

“Ad Victorium!” Deacon called after Danse’s retreating form.

“Ingrates,” Danse mumbled under his breath as he made his way to Nora’s old home in the quickly fading light.

It didn’t take long for his expression to soften as he heard the soft sounds of music coming from her living room.

Danse exited his power armor and knocked on the front door, straightening his posture and trying to figure out what he could possibly say to Nora about what she’d just seen. He should have known that going back into Vault 111 would be difficult for her. The fact that it had never crossed his mind only made him feel that much more responsible for her current dismay.

“Come in,” she called over the music.

Danse opened the door to her home and entered the living room to find Nora sitting on the couch with a large bottle of bourbon in her hand.

“Soldier,” Danse warned. “I know it’s tempting to lose yourself to something like that. But it isn’t wise.”

Nora laughed at his words before patting the couch beside her. “Come sit with me, Danse.”

The Paladin looked around the room, as if he’d find someone else there who would tell him it was a bad idea. There was no one. And the voice in his head that was constantly telling him to be better was nowhere to be found right at that moment.

Danse swallowed hard before taking a seat beside Nora. He felt oddly exposed without his power armor on. With only the orange Brotherhood jumpsuit between himself and the outside world, he wasn’t quite sure how to act. He felt too vulnerable.

“Why do you still wear that thing?” Nora asked, running her free hand over the arm of Danse’s jumpsuit in a way that gave him goosebumps.

“I could ask you the same question,” he answered with a smile, looking at her blue vault suit.

She took another long drink from the bourbon bottle before smiling at him. “Touche, Paladin.”

The bottle was almost empty and he silently cursed himself for giving her so much time to herself after she left the vault. She’d most definitely be inebriated by now.

The way she lazily watched him told him that the alcohol was definitely doing its job. And while he didn’t approve of her drinking, he had to admit it made it easier for him to address what had just happened.

“Are you… okay?” he asked.

“You mean after seeing my dead husband frozen in a metal container?” her words should have sounded harsh, but coming from Nora, nothing sounded harsh. “I’ve felt better.”

“I know that couldn’t have been easy, seeing him like that again.”

“I wasn’t planning on going into that room,” Nora admitted after another drink. She looked down at the bottle in her hands. “I told myself I wouldn’t do it. And then I did.”

Danse watched her carefully. Her cheeks and nose were red from the bourbon and she looked sad. Sadder than he’d seen her in a while. How could he possibly make this better.

“I’m sorry,” he said simply.

Nora looked over at him. Her green eyes were wide as she watched him. “You remind me of Nate sometimes.”

“Oh?” Danse wasn’t sure how he should respond to that. Keeping his response vague felt like the best course of action.

“I mean… you don’t really remind me of him. But that feeling of safety I always felt with him… I feel that with you too.” Nora smiled now, before setting the bottle down on the coffee table in front of her. “I feel safe with you. And that’s… it’s an invaluable thing in the Commonwealth.”

Danse tried to look away from Nora as she spoke, feeling uncomfortable with how vulnerable she was being. But he couldn��t seem to tear his gaze away. “Thank you, soldier.”

Nora laughed softly at his response. “You don’t have to call me that,” she said, nudging him with her shoulder. “We’re not on some official assignment. You were just… accompanying me on my own little recon mission.”

“I prefer keeping things formal,” Danse lied. The truth was, he didn’t feel like keeping things formal with Nora. But he wouldn’t tell her that in a million years. Danse was broken beyond repair. Nora was many things, but there was no way she would be saintly enough to look past what he was.

“Do you really, Danse?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him and leaning in closer.

“I think you should probably go lie down for the night,” Danse said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable at just how close they were on the couch. “Sleep off that bourbon.”

Nora leaned away from him and sighed. “You’re probably right.”

She seemed… disappointed. Danse wasn’t sure why she’d be upset by his suggestion.

As Nora stood up from the couch, she stumbled slightly, catching herself on the arm of the sofa.

“Okay fine,” she said with a giggle. “Maybe you’re right. I do need to sleep this off.”

“Indeed,” Danse answered, standing up and placing his hand under her elbow to help keep her steady. “Easy now.”

Nora leaned against him as he walked her through the hall to her bedroom at the back of the house. He tried to ignore the way his breath seemed to catch in his throat at her touch.

When they entered her room, Danse let her go for a moment to pull her covers down for her. When he turned back around, she was staring at him with a look he couldn’t quite read.

“You always take good care of me,” she said, her voice so low that he could barely hear it.

“I'll always have your back,” he said. “That’s what we do. We watch out for each other.”

“We do,” she said, the lazy smile returning to her lips.

Danse watched her in silence for a moment before his discomfort grew to be too much. “Are you ready for bed?” he asked, looking away from Nora for a moment.

“Was that a line?” she asked, her grin widening.

“Nothing I’ve said today has been a line,” Danse said, hoping she was too intoxicated to notice how red his cheeks had become.

Nora stepped closer to Danse with the grin still in place. “Are you sure about that?”

Danse backed away from her but couldn’t move very far before the back of his legs hit the mattress. Not wanting to encourage her further, he stepped away from the bed. Of course, this only brought him closer to her.

Seeming to take this as a sign, Nora pressed her lips firmly against his. She tasted like alcohol, which only helped to remind Danse of why this was incredibly inappropriate.

Pushing her away gently he tried to gather his thoughts as his mind desperately tried to push him closer to her again. “Soldier, this is… inappropriate.” His words were stilted and his voice sounded tight.

“Again, Danse, that’s kind of the point,” Nora said, bringing her lips to his again and wrapping her arms around his neck.

Danse knew he should push her away. She was intoxicated and he had no business kissing her. But he couldn’t stop himself from kissing her back. Only for a moment. Only long enough for his heart to begin hammering inside of his chest.

His breathing was shallow as his mouth moved with hers, and he hated himself for kissing her back when it was so obvious she wasn’t in her right mind. The guilt that flooded his mind was only outweighed by the sudden deep desire he had to deepen the kiss.

Danse couldn’t remember the last time he’d been properly kissed. And as much as his hands were itching to pull Nora closer, he pushed her away again.

“Soldier,” he began. “Nora… this… this isn’t okay. You’re drunk.” His voice was soft as he stared into her green eyes. Those beautiful eyes that had looked into his soul when he’d first found out he was a synth. Those green eyes that had convinced him he had something to live for.

“I’m not that drunk,” she said. “And I know what I want.”

Nora kissed him again, this time more desperately. She parted his lips with her own, tangling her fingers in his dark hair and pulling him closer and closer. Her kisses grew hungrier with every second and with each one, Danse found himself less able to do the right thing.

He wanted her. And that realization terrified him. He’d never wanted anyone this way.

“Nora, please,” he insisted between kisses. He wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to resist the woman he’d spent so long admiring.

In response, Nora dropped her hands to Danse’s waist, pulling him against her. “Don’t you want this?” she asked breathlessly. “I’ve always thought you did.”

How did he respond to that? He couldn’t possibly tell her the truth. That he’d wanted this since he’d met her. That would only encourage her. And Danse wasn’t the type of person to take advantage of someone when they couldn’t properly think for themselves.

“Nora,” he said, pushing her hands away and taking a breathless step back. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he watched her. Even now, knowing he had to do the right thing, his body was screaming at him to pull her close again. “You’ve had too much to drink.” His words were short and to the point. He didn’t think he’d be able to stay away if he let any emotion sneak into his voice right at that moment. “If this happened, it wouldn’t be right.”

“I already told you I want this,” Nora insisted, but as she took a step closer to Danse, he sidestepped her.

“You aren’t sober enough to make that decision,” Danse answered, furrowing his brow and wishing Nora hadn’t found that bottle of bourbon. “So I’m making it for you. You need to go to sleep.”

Nora watched him with hurt in her green eyes, her brows knitting together. “I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable,” she said, turning away from him. She seemed to take a deep breath before crawling into her bed.

Nora turned her back to Danse, instead facing the wall after lying down. The silence between them was suddenly deafening.

Even though he knew he was doing the right thing, her response made him feel like the bad guy.

“I wasn’t uncomfortable,” he said. “I just… want you to be safe.”

He watched her for a moment longer, feeling like he’d done something wrong somehow.

“Goodnight, Danse,” Nora said.

He sighed deeply at her words. In the morning, he’d come by and check on her. She probably wouldn’t remember any of this. He wasn’t sure if he was happy or sad that he couldn’t say the same.

This evening would be burned into his memory for the rest of his life. The feeling of Nora kissing him was going to make it almost impossible for him to keep working with her. He’d always been vaguely aware of his feelings for her, but he’d managed to tell himself that they were simply a result of finding a genuinely kind human being in the midst of a place as awful as the Commonwealth.

Now he knew the truth. He was head over heels for Nora. But he knew there was no way she’d ever want a synth. And why should she? He’d brought her into the Brotherhood. He’d taught her that synths were an abomination. And now he’d have to reap what he’d sown.

He watched her with sad eyes as her breathing slowed down and she fell asleep.

He’d be a good friend to her. He’d always try to be a good friend to her. Because despite his feelings that he knew couldn’t be reciprocated, she deserved a good friend. Danse would rather have Nora in his life as a friend than not at all. And even though he knew it would be torture to be around her after realizing just how much he cared for her, he couldn’t live with the alternative.

“Goodnight, Nora,” he said into the now-dark house.

.

[Part 2]

[itsclydebitches]

A great example of “RWBY+ can do no wrong” is the whole “Let Penny make her own choices” thing. They keep doing it over and over, yet while watching I never got the idea RWBY+ doing it was bad. They’re never called out, they never regret it, or anything. Ruby takes the scroll from Penny’s hand and answers Ironwood for her, and makes her human without her consent. I get the not killing Penny thing, BUT THAT’S THE ONLY THING THEY DO FOR HER. WTF?!

Yes let's take a hot second to unpack all this.

Now, I'm going to be focusing on late Volume 7 and Volume 8, but in reality this problem started way back during Penny's introduction. Namely, presenting her as a literal tool of the military who has to break the rules set down (go out, have friends, etc.) in order to be her own person. There's a small problem here in the form of making Pietro the shadowy scientist and then changing him into the doting father with no acknowledgement that he a) built Penny with the purpose of being Atlas' tool and b) went along with dictating her actions through that whole run. However, given that Pietro is a minor character we may never even see again, we have a much larger problem in the form of Ruby being entirely disinterested in Penny's plight. Ruby cares about making sure Penny feels real, not that Penny has all the freedoms a real person innately deserves. Admittedly, this is less of an issue back in Volumes 1-3 because RWBY was a less serious show then, Penny was a new friend, and Ruby was the teenager student. But come Volume 7 when our show is questioning the characters' morals, Ruby is an adult now, Ruby has her huntsmen license, and she supposedly has this incredibly strong bond with Penny, it's now a problem that she hears things like "Ironwood doesn't want me to have friends" and just... doesn't seem to care. Or do anything. Or suggest that Penny do something. It's a non-topic. Ruby only becomes interested in Penny's autonomy when that autonomy threatens Ruby's own goals. When Ruby is working for Ironwood, it's totally fine if Penny works for Ironwood too, no matter how she might be being treated. (Though, frankly, I think the show did a terrible job of establishing Ironwood's supposed mistreatment. The no friends rule makes zero sense when Penny is being sent to celebratory parties organized by Ironwood. So that's a whole other issue.) But when Ruby is against Ironwood... well, then Penny needs to be on their side. Of course she'd be on their side. It's presented as inevitable, despite the fact that it very much should not be. But the point is that Ruby cares about keeping Penny away from Ironwood and giving her an illusion of choice only once she is breaking away. Otherwise, Penny's autonomy is not her concern.

So that's where we're starting out which is pretty bad. Already Ruby's status as the contrast to Ironwood is falling flat, but the show admittedly helps smooth things over by giving us such an extreme. Meaning, we learn fairly early on that Ironwood want to hack Penny and take that autonomy away, full stop. Ruby doesn't. Ergo, Ruby is the lesser of two evils here. I can see why so many fans dismiss the scroll scene given its seemingly, comparative insignificance, but it definitely rubbed me the wrong way. Part of that is because Penny never gets to express her own opinions to Ruby. She gets to do it with Winter and, notably, Penny comes to a sort of, 'We can manage both' stance. The dilemma of going after Cinder or saving Winter and fighting Salem or saving the people of Atlas/the Relics are meant to mirror one another and Penny manages to achieve both. She saves Winter and keeps the power out of Cinder's hands too. Then, she's given the one key that controls the latter dilemma: the Maiden powers. So what will Penny decide? How does she view the situation to leave or stay? How will her decision regarding Cinder and Winter impact her decision about Atlas and Mantle?

It doesn't. We have no idea what Penny thinks outside of a 'I'm sad when friends fight' line (which, again, puts a huge damper on the idea that Penny was always Ironwood/the Ace Ops' puppet and should be glad to be rid of them). Penny is brought into Ruby's group and her opinions disappear because Ruby makes all the decisions. Whatever Ruby says goes and THAT'S why the scroll scene is so horrible. Because we just watched Penny deciding for herself what to do about Winter. We just watched Penny deciding to take on the Maiden powers, making herself the most important person in the Kingdom right now. And then Ruby picks her up and all that goes away. Penny is given the chance to decide things again when Ironwood calls and Ruby takes the scroll away, speaking on her behalf. It does not matter whether Penny actually agrees with Ruby's decisions here, the act of not allowing her to make those decisions for herself speaks volumes.

From then on Penny just stops making choices. Ruby is the one who talks her into forgetting about Ironwood and the Ace Ops. Jaune is the one who decides to split the team and Ruby decided they need to get Amity up. Pietro literally takes control of Penny's body to hack into the system. Penny gets cut off from the group due to the Ace Ops and Nora is the one who decides to help. Prior to literally being hacked, she was more of a puppet in their hands than she was with Ironwood because it's in Ironwood's employ that we actually see Penny pushing back: She's going to be friends with Ruby no matter what, she's going to challenge Winter on her views, she's going to take the powers because that's what needs to be done, etc. But that lack of agency is completely overshadowed by Ironwood's hack Penny plan. Everything looks better compared to that, even if what we're left with is pretty awful on its own. Remember, this is the point in the story where Ironwood is fully evil, post-shooting Oscar and the Councilman. The group can do whatever they want at this point and come off looking "heroic," simply by means of not being Ironwood.

The next time Penny makes a decision is when she stands up to Pietro. Note that prior to this everyone talked her into doing something she says she does not want to do: leaving the group to stay on Amity. Pietro suggests it, Ruby justifies it, Weiss says it might be for the best and Blake ends the conversation by saying they need to leave. Penny goes, "I guess we all have to do some things we would rather not." They all make that decision for her. So she goes, fights Cinder, and then Amity starts to fall. Pietro says, "You’re in no condition to do something like this. Even just the temperature out there could--" and Penny counters "It is our only option."

No, it's not. This is Ruby's option. You can very much not send the totally useless message out, supposedly risking your life in the process ("supposedly" because, again, why this is such a danger for Penny when she was just flying outside with Cinder remains a mystery). Penny treats Ruby's plan as something inevitable. They can't fall back after Penny hacked into the Atlas systems, Penny fought off the Ace Ops, Penny defended Amity from another Maiden. She has to go one step further and risk another death because the concept of saying, "Hey, Ruby's plan isn't feasible anymore" is just never on the table. Ruby is in the mansion sitting around while Penny does all the dangerous work to put her plan into action.

So she pushes back against Pietro in a way she NEVER has with Ruby, insisting that this is how she's going to live her life. Even Maria chimes in with a "we need to remember the big picture." (Wait, the potential death of a Maiden and the loss of the key to the vault isn't a part of the big picture?) Pietro is supposedly in the wrong because he cares about Penny, not the war, but if that's such a bad thing... then what does that make this?

We have a whole scene where Penny wants the group to destroy her to (again, supposedly) help them in the war - take her out as a threat - and they give a resounding, 'Fuck that.' Ruby doesn't want to see her friend dead for the sake of this war. Pietro doesn't want to see his daughter dead for the sake of this war. Yet Pietro is the one who is framed as too narrowminded. Penny standing up to Pietro is meant to be celebratory, but Penny giving in to Ruby is meant to be celebratory too.

And then, of course, once it's Jaune with a sword to her throat, Penny's desire to die is honored.

Then, finally, we have the Ambrosius fiasco. I've spoken at length about this already, but suffice to say we never got a scene where Penny expressed a desire to be turned human. As the above scene demonstrates, her desire to risk her life/die is ignored only when it's Ruby making that call. Otherwise, with Pietro and Jaune, Penny's agency is upheld (however horrible the circumstances). Does she want live a life with a flesh body? Does she have any other ideas how they might eradicate the hack? Would she prefer Ruby try to put her into a new android body first? We have no idea! We never see Ruby ask. We never see that Ruby cares beyond what she wants for Penny. They clearly had the time to hash out all these loophole wishes, but we couldn't have gotten a ten second scene where Penny goes, 'I'm cool with this'? Assuming that Penny knows what they plan to do and that she has no reservations prior to waking up with flesh hands doesn't work, not when her character largely revolves around agency and Ruby has not been showing her that particularly well.

Ruby decides that Penny is on their team (scroll scene). Then she decides that Penny will not die (contrast to Jaune and Pietro). Then she decides that Penny will be saved by stripping away a core part of her identity. Penny goes from being hacked to watching that part of herself actually die, glitching out while her friends smile about it. Ruby spent Penny's entire run insisting that she was a person just as she was, but then Ruby is the one to turn around and take that away from Penny, prior to leading her into a battle where she died again, likely because she was now a fragile flesh girl. Ironwood was given the extreme of trying to take Penny over completely, once he went full Bad Guy, but Ruby is the one who made decisions for Penny throughout this run, with Penny given no chance to speak up for herself. Penny, once at Ruby's side, subscribed to the overarching belief that Ruby is always right (fitting in nicely with Ren's arc of learning to stop questioning things). The story didn't even consider giving Penny different opinions, hesitations, anger, or anything that would truly jeopardizes what Ruby wants, because what Ruby wants is, consistently, treated as the only way to go.

[missnight0wl]

Idk if u already did but I was seeing a post where u said Merula should have been a Gryffindor, and I want know why u think that

I don’t think I ever got to making a full proper post on that, even though I was planning to. So, I’ll try my best to do it now!

Why Merula Snyde should’ve been a Gryffindor?

1) Merula is a very poor representation of Slytherin House.

Let’s start with how this idea even started. In my opinion, Merula is a really bad example of a Slytherin, and she doesn’t really have Slytherin traits – or at least they’re not dominant. I know a lot of people claim that she’s the embodiment of ambition (the devs including…), but… I just can’t agree with that. Her ambition is very empty. She’s always fixated on the end result, but she can’t recognise that she actually has to improve to get there.

There was a side quest in Y2 called “Merula’s revenge” where Merula was obsessed about losing with MC in Y1. She wanted to duel them again, but her main motivation wasn’t to prove that she improved. She was upset that whenever she said that she’s powerful, people replied that MC is more powerful. She wanted to end it that people always talk about our duel when duelling is mentioned. She couldn’t acknowledge that she can prove that she’s more powerful by gradually improving. No, she had to “destroy” MC in a duel. And it repeats over and over again - and she’s always surprised that she lost. It took Merula seven years to defeat MC, and it wasn’t even a fair duel.

In “Polyjuice Potion” SQ, she stole Penny’s potion to be praised by Dumbledore and Snape, but it didn’t occur to her that it’s meaningless if she wouldn’t get better at Potions in general on her own. Merula is ambitious about being powerful, but it’s like she wants to skip the whole process and achieve this goal right away.

Another important thing is that Merula fails totally as a Slytherin when it comes to leadership. She lost her team in Y3 not because MC “stole” anyone from her – she just couldn’t keep them together because she can’t respect people she works with. Tulip told us back then:

This is why I believe that Merula’s friendship with Tulip would end eventually either way, even if Tulip didn’t “betray” her. The same would be with Barnaby probably. Another example of Merula not being able to be a leader is the Circle of Khanna. She wanted to be a co-leader, but she was terrible at that. It was basically her way or the highway (which on its own is a pretty Gryffindor-ish approach). For example:

She’s also really bad at recognising the strengths of people she’s working with, which we can see later in Y6:

Now, when it comes to Merula’s cunningness, it varies quite a lot. Yes, she was fooling MC about being the mole for years, but she was really losing her cool by the end with her panic attack about the Weird Sisters concert or how obnoxiously she insisted to take her to the Sunken Vault. When you’re trying to kill somebody, perhaps it’d be smarter not to tell them: “Hey, it’s me who locked you with this Devil’s Snare! I’m telling you this because I assume you’ll die either way”. She was trying to sabotage MC a couple of times, but Snape quickly realised it’s bullshit (Y2Ch5):

Like, Snape called her out on being a bad Slytherin.

There’s also a very interesting scene in Y6Ch9:

After that, MC went to the Library to meet with Tulip and Percy to discuss how they can break to the Ministry of Magic – so do something that Dumbledore told them NOT to do. Sure, you can say that it’s understandable that Merula was emotional after Rakepick’s betrayal, but let’s keep in mind that it was a hard time for MC, too. They were betrayed by Rakepick as well, they were left by Jacob again, they were dealing with their friends having difficulties (New Ben, Penny and Beatrice, Charlie wanting to leave to Romania etc.). Yet, it was MC who acted like a true snake – not Merula.

2) Merula already has Gryffindor traits – even if they’re mostly negative ones.

Personally, I’d say that one of the main traits of Merula is her impulsiveness – which happens to be a stereotypical Gryffindor flaw. We’re seeing Merula acting before thinking all the time, especially in the side quests. It’s almost a guarantee that if she appears there, she’s gonna make trouble because she’s short-tempered and reckless. Of course, it doesn’t mean that it’s not present in the main story at all. Even in Y1, Merula followed MC and their friends to the Icy Room, she knocked all of them down, she entered the Room on her own… and what happened? She got stuck in the cursed ice. Good job, Merula. Pretty much all examples I mentioned as her not being cunning were ruined by her being hot-headed.

Now, the interesting thing is that Gryffindor and Slytherin share quite a lot, so Merula technically scores here for both Houses. For example, both Gryffindors and Slytherins can be arrogant. I mean, I think that I don’t have to explain that Merula is arrogant, right? Both Houses tend to be self-righteous and stubborn, too. That being said, I think that Gryffindors are more likely to seek attention. They want to be perceived as heroes. And isn’t it pretty much what Merula wants? Of course, her image of “a hero” is rather deformed, but still.

Also, I have to give it to Merula that she’s actually quite brave, even if her courage is usually very close to stupidity.

3) Merula being a Gryffindor would create a potential for a more interesting story.

While HPHM did a great job at giving us good Slytherins, it’s a bit disappointing that the antagonist still had to be an “evil Slytherin” either way – especially that, as I showed above, there’s not much about Merula that really makes her a Slytherin.

And before you say that Merula might’ve asked to be put into Slytherin because of her family, let’s keep in mind that the Sorting Hat doesn’t always listen to students. Neville didn’t want to be in Gryffindor, but the Sorting Hat ignored his request. In fact, I think that Merula being in Gryffindor despite her family being in Slytherin for generations would add a pretty interesting narrative to her story. Imagine how upset she’d be that she let the Snydes down. It’s a drama connected to her backstory I wouldn’t actually mind.

Moreover, it’d add to her relationship with Ben. I imagine that Merula would have very conflicting feelings about being a Gryffindor. On the one hand, Slytherin is the only right House, and she doesn’t want to be in Gryffindor. On the other hand, if she’s already in Gryffindor, it should be the best House. Therefore, she’d hate Ben not only because he’s a Muggleborn, but also because such a coward doesn’t belong to her House. Sadly, it could mean that it’d be easier for her to bully Ben… I’m sorry for that, Benny.

Finally, Merula’s story is supposed to be about redemption. So, imagine that Jam City would actually put any effort to give her a redemption arc. At the beginning of the story, everyone would be confused: why she’s in Gryffindor? She has no idea about chivalry or helping people in need! Then, Merula would start trying to be nicer and more helpful for the others like Penny, Ben, or the Weasleys. But then, we learn about the mole! Well, fuck that! Merula doesn’t belong to Gryffindor after all! But at the very end, everything is solved, perhaps Merula even saves MC’s life or she helps MC so they could save each other… Either way, the moral of the story is that: “Yeah, the Sorting Hat was right to put Merula in Gryffindor”.

[sleepysailorghost]

Benny's Big Score

It turns out that New Reno was not a great place.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, a solution to his problems. But it wasn't.

New Reno was dirty, but not in the same glimmery-glittery way that New Vegas was. It wasn't like when he had come to Vegas for the first time, the Bootstraps with him. He was alone. There were no chairmen to protect him, no brothers willing to die with him.

Sitting in the dingy bar, he curses the courier under his breath.

"Oh, don't get me started on Couriers." a melodic voice chimed in. A smooth-voiced ghoul in a fancy pre-war tuxedo sat down on the barstool next to Benny. "You wouldn't know the half of it."

"A courier done you wrong too?"

"I gave as good as I got." the ghoul replied, and in him, Benny recognized that they were both well-dressed men who had been chased out by couriers.

"And yet we're still sitting here in this bar, ring-a-ding." Benny took a sip of his drink. Disgusting as it was (and expensive!), Benny's pride as a Bootstrap and leader of the Chairmen kept him from spitting it out. "Say, who are you anyhow?"

The ghoul rolled his eyes under the sunglasses he wore.

"200 years ago everyone knew my name. Dean Domino's the name, don't wear it out."

Benny's eyes widened.

"That for real? Where ya been hiding out all this time?" Benny questioned, leaning on the bar counter. "Could have used you back in New Vegas."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Dean answered smoothly. Benny prodded at him again in his "Ring-a-Ding-Ding" fashion, and Dean sighed before answering. "The Sierra Madre."

"Woah, let's keep it in the grove. You," He paused for emphasis. "Are the ghoulified version of prewar icon Dean Domino and you've been hiding out in the casino in the land of the dead?"

"Yes, I suppose if you put it like that."

"I'm the Ben-man, the kingpin of the whole Strip." Benny said, bitterly drinking from his glass. "Or I was."

"Taken down by a courier?" Dean snarked.

"Ain't that a kick in the head. You think you put one in the ground but then they follow you home and try and climb in your bed. Ruin your damn plans. But I'll be back."

"The courier-I never caught their name-banned me from Vegas. They threated to kill me if they ever saw me again. As if they'd get the chance."

"You and me, we're men cut from the same cloth." Benny said, and Dean looked over him.

"Are we really?"

"Yeah, we're both men screwed over by couriers when we could've been kings!" Benny rubbed his hand over his jaw, and then continued. "Y'know...we oughta get together sometime. We could get revenge on the Mojave Express and I have a lot of draw in New Vegas. I could even get you a job preforming in the Tops. Hell, even the Lucky 38."

"Why not?" Dean agreed. Thinking a moment, he asked. "That courier you knew, did they have a large scar on their head?"

"They did actually...a gift from me. Tie, I think that's their name. Well, it's what their boy-toy sniper-type called them when they weren't trying to jump into bed with me."

"Two birds with one stone." Dean said. "Shall we?"

"Yeah, pal."

It took time to get back to New Vegas. This gave them time to plan and plot and scheme about how to get their revenge on the courier.

More or less, it was easy for them to get into the Strip. After all, this was the land that Benny was Chairman of. He was also very skilled with computers, so it wasn't a challenge for Benny to hack into the securitrons.

Their first stop in Vegas was Mick and Ralph's. Throwing a cap to the crier boy outside the story, Benny asked "Are your old men inside?"

The boy responded and Benny strolled into the building like he owned it. Explaining to Dean, he added, "It helps to bring flowers home."

"Benny." Mick greeted shortly.

"Mick, my guy! How's the family?" Benny sidled up to the store owner. "Say, have you gotten any flowers in lately?"

Mick sighed and retreated to the back room. He returned with a wilted bouquet.

"I've only got these in because of Pacer. You know how he's gonna get, you're throwing of his plans with" Mick complained, but Benny cut him off.

"Tell him to send all his complaints to the Tops!" He exclaimed and snatched the bouquet. It was dry and wilty, formed from common Mojave plants rather than one made from Vault-Tec's greenrooms. It must have come in with Crimson Caravans, Benny thought, but Swank would like it well enough.

He shoved a couple caps into Mick's hand-underpaying people was something that got him into trouble before.

"To the Tops!" He called, and Dean followed him.

"Ugh. How things have changed." Dean groaned. "What have you done with the place?"

"Seal it, Dean-o! I've got a man to see. Our plan won't work without Swank."

The man in the check-in window looked up when Benny said his name.

"Shit, Benny. I haven't seen you in ages."

"Missed you too, Swank. You didn't even kiss me goodbye."

"You're not supposed to be here. I know you tried to kill that courier."

"C'mon, Swank. You've gotta let me explain." He gestured with the bouquet. "I brought you flowers."

Swank looked like he was conflicted, but then he sighed.

"Fine. Explain then, boss."

"Alright, so the courier. I did try and kill that courier, but I had good reason for it. You've got to believe me. I needed the platinum chip."

"You can't just keep saying I have to let you explain and I have to believe you. It doesn't work that way. But I'll bite. What's a platinum chip and why did you need it?"

"It's what we need. If we have it, we can upgrade the securitrons and then we won't need the NCR or the Legion or House to protect New Vegas." He smiled bitterly. "It would have been freedom for all of us."

Swank looked at Benny silently.

"I know why I failed now. I needed you and the Chairmen. I needed you."

That seemed to certify it for Swank. He inhaled deeply and then exhaled.

"Alright Benny. But this is the last time. You mess this up and it'll be the end-not just for you and me, but for all of us." He made cautious and firm eye contact with Benny. "What's the plan?"

"You're the man, Swank!" Benny shouted excitedly and leaned over the weapon-check counter to wrap a hand around Swank's shoulder and pull him down for a kiss. Releasing him, he continued. "Oh, it's a doozy of a plan."

Swank looked around and then signalled to another Chairman.

"You take over here." He said, and stepped out from behind the weapon check counter.

The plan was a doozy, Swank thought as he walked from the Tops to the Lucky 38. He hoped the Courier was staying there tonight. If not, he'd have to regroup with Benny and Dean to send them to the Atomic Wrangler instead.

Night had fallen quickly over New Vegas in the hours after Benny had made up with Swank, but his thoughts were quickly interrupted when Swank bumped into someone.

"Watch it," He barked. Looking at the young woman, he realized she was a courier-she had a courier's duster loosely over a purple shirt-but not the one they were going to kill.

"Eh? Did you need something?" She said, "I'm going to Show Low."

It was a dangerous route for a courier because it went right into Legion teritory, but Swank didn't care. It seemed like a good idea at the time, a solution to his problems. But it wasn't.

"Sorry. Good luck!" He said and continued on route to the Lucky 38.

"You too?" Swank heard, but there was a lot of noise. The Strip was loud.

Arriving at the Lucky 38, he let himself in. The collar weighed heavily in his pocket, but he knew that was just in his head. It couldn't weigh more than a pound or two.

"Hello?" he called. "I need to speak to the Courier? It's really important..."

There wasn't any response for a moment. Then the elevator chimed and two people exited.

One was the Courier, and the other was a bitter-faced sniper with an NCR beret.

"Oh...Mr. Tops?" The courier said. "Did you need something? We were just on our way out..."

"Yes, and it's very important. And it can't wait." Swank replied

The little computer on the Courier's arm beeped.

"Alright, what's going on?"

"Sit down, this is very important news." The courier sat down. The sniper stood to the side.

His hands were starting to sweat and he wiped them on his suitpants. Ugh, he could almost hear Benny scolding him for dirtying it.

"I've discovered..." He spoke softly...and the courier leaned into hear better. Just as they planned. "Sorry."

With that, he swiftly reached into his coat pocket and snapped the collar around the courier's neck. It latched closed and armed before they could even move.

They startled back, but it was of no use.

"Recognize it, courier?" a charismatic and smooth voice called as Dean Domino and Benny Gecko strolled into the lobby of the Lucky 38.

The Courier's face was fearful, but the sniper's eyes were full of rage. Their hands clawed at their throat, but it was futile against the explosive collar.

"I wouldn't do that, Pussycat." Benny's voice chimed in. "It's rigged to blow. But I'm sure you knew that. According to my new friend here, you've had some experience with them."

"Dean." They said quietly. " You were warned. I told you what I'd do if I ever saw you again. I'll kill you even if I have to take you down with me."

"Geez, Domino, what'd you do to make 'em hate you so bad?" Benny ran a hand through his hair. "I shot them in the head-twice, even-and left them for dead. And they still tried to sleep with me! Oh, and I wouldn't go making any moves there, friend, unless you'd like your little courier blown to bits. Or do, it would make it easier on me."

"I believe it was that I had their little friend's vocal cords ripped out. Or maybe it was the whole threatening to blow them up." Dean answered. "I never narrowed it down."

"Wow, Benny!" the Pip-Boy beeped. "I never thought I'd see you again! You keep some interesting friends!"

"Yes-Man?" Benny questioned, and then waved it aside. "Eh, never mind. When I've got the platinum chip, I can fix whatever they did to you."

"Yes-Man," Antietam said, dropping their hands from their neck "Could you keep it down? I'm about to get blown up."

"No, you're not." Boone reassured them quietly. "Gotta be some way to take these guys out..."

Internally, Antietam was weighing whether it was worth it to charge Dean and take him down with them. But there was a likelihood of Boone being injured in the blast, so it wasn't going to work out.

"Now, now Courier..." Dean said. "Where did you take the treasure when you ran off? You ruined over two hundred years worth of revenge."

The courier wanted to lash out, but they reigned their temper in.

"You ruined it...You ruined the whole Sierra Madre, did you know that? It could have been a safe haven, a shelter from the nuclear anihilation. But you couldn't tolerate what you percieved as an insult to your ego! And you ruined Vera's life-she was dying and you blackmailed her!" Their vitreolic rant paused. It wasn't the whole sad story, but the only one who knew that was Antietam. And they were too angry and biased against Dean to really care that their rant was biased. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Woah, let's calm down, Pussycat. You keep yourself under control or one of us might just forget ourselves and hit that button. We wouldn't want that, now would we? Let's get down to business." Christine and Veronica ran downstairs.

"Hey, what's going on? We heard commotion." Veronica said, and then when she saw the situation, she put her hands on her hips. "Are you guys having a party without me?"

Christine, on the other hand, growled.

"Dean." It came out in Vera's voice, and if Dean had skin, it would have gone pale with fear. As it was, it broke his composure.

"So it worked." He said finally.

"Alright, don't make any moves!" Benny shouted. "You try anything and I'll blow your friend to smithereens."

"Who are these guys?" Veronica asked.

"Some guys who tried to kill Tie before, I think." Boone answered

"Dean Domino, Swank Gecko-Pierce, and I'm the pro from Dover." Benny barked. "Now I want answers! Where's the platinum chip?"

None of them answered.

"I guess none of you value the Courier's life, seeing as none of you are providing answers." He pulled Maria from his pocket. "No matter. We'll start with the boy toy."

With that, he leveled Maria at Boone.

"Things are getting a little heated, Benny." Swank said, making eye contact with the checker-suited man.

"Stop." The Courier said. "I'll tell you where I hid the chip. Just let my friends go."

"Benny, this is getting more heated than I thought it would." Swank noted.

"Can it, Swank. We're about to get some answers!" Benny responded.

"It's in the dresser in the motel in Novac. Let my friends go, Benny."

"It's like it doesn't even matter to you!" Benny exclaimed. "It-" Swank cut him off by setting a hand on Benny's outstretched arm.

"Benny, calm down. We don't have time for his right now."

"Yeah, Benny, calm down." Dean chimed in, although it was clearly mocking him, which Benny picked up on immediately.

"You got something to add, Deano?" Benny snarked back.

"You know, Ben-man, I think I'm tired of playing accomplice. I'm so tired of playing second fiddle...I think I'll kill you and your friends and claim New Vegas for my own."

"Yeah, that's not happening." Benny fired back. He pointed Maria at Dean. "It's been real and it's been great, but it's not real great."

He fired.

"Shit, Benny, you missed." Swank said, to which Benny responded "Shut up, I know I missed."

He shot again and again and Dean didn't move, until he slumped to the ground, full of lead.

"Well, that's a bust." Benny said. "Hey, whataya say, Courier? We can burry the hatchet with this guy and work together. I won't kill you or your little friends and you won't kill me and Swank. Fair's fair, right?"

It was a stretch-even now, Christine and Veronica's nimble fingers were removing the explosive collar from the angry courier's throat. But Benny had always been a gambling man.

[ravenclaw-ftw]

February Formal

Prompt: None

Pairing: Draco Malfoy x Ravenclaw!Reader

Word Count: 2,876

Warnings: Bad writing

Synopsis: You were both left without a date to the February Formal. With you being the quiet Ravenclaw who has been focusing on her studies, and him being the stuck up one that no one wanted to spend the night with, what will they do?

ONESHOT:

You were sitting in the library late Saturday, getting ahead on some studying for your O.W.L.S. coming up. The library was quieter than usual. Yes, it was a weekend, but there were usually some people, like yourself, still working hard to prepare for the weeks ahead. Looking up from your textbook, you observed the very few others around you, and noticed the subtly red and pink flowers around the library. Usually the library is adorned with flags of the different houses and some lanterns to light the area. Turning around you see some pink sashes covering the vaulted ceiling of the library. The girls around you are wearing more makeup and perfume than usual, you could smell it. Acting a little more flirtatious with their study group.

You had completely forgot.

Tomorrow was Valentine’s day, or better known around Hogwarts as the February Formal. Everybody who is anybody attends that ball. You knew it was coming up, but you had been so occupied with your studies that it had slipped your mind.

You hadn’t been asked to go with anyone either, so that had a helping hand in you forgetting about the formal.

You gather your things and begin the long walk to your dorm. You noticed the decorations around the corridors as well, just reminding you of what awaits tomorrow.

The last few years you have gone with groups of friends. It wasn’t out of the ordinary to do that, lots of people did. You’ve been wanting to get asked, to go with anyone really. But you did have your eyes on one Slytherin since Year 2.

The blonde headed Draco Malfoy.

Your friends have teased you before about your little crush on him, but it’s not like you could help it. Under all his attitude you knew there was some good to him. Behind that ice-cold stare, there was a soft center. You think back to that first day you really interacted with him in Year 2.

Rushing down the halls to your charms class so you weren’t late, you had tripped, and dropped your books and they scattered across the corridor. Draco, also on the verge of being late to charms, saw what had happened. He didn’t hesitate to help you though. He leaned down, picking up papers and charm books with you. He looked up and said, “Charms class eh? That’s where I’m heading,” handing you your books.

You both stood and began walking to your class. “Thank you, Draco, you didn’t have to help, now we’re both going to be late,” you thanked him. “That’s alright, I wasn’t going to make it anyways. But how do you know me? Have we met before?” he asked quizzically. “Well, no, but doesn’t everyone know you? You’re probably the most infamous Slytherin, other than your father,” you explained. “I guess you’re right, I never got your name,” he said as you stood outside of the Charms classroom, most likely late, as the door was already shut. “Y/N, my name is Y/N,” you answered. “Y/N, pretty name for a pretty Ravenclaw. Just about the most normal Ravenclaw I’ve met,” he said. You blushed and looked down, “Thanks for the, compliment?” you questioned. “It is, Ravenclaws are odd sometimes,” he chuckled.

It was a simple interaction, he even gave you a compliment, as much as a compliment Draco could give. You remember it fondly as you walked into your common room, seeing your friends lounging in the few chairs scattered around the common room.

“Y/N! You’re back, now you can help me pick out a gown for tomorrow!” Luna had yelled. “You’re telling me you haven’t had this picked out for months?” you laughed back. “Well, you know how indecisive I can be,” she said as she got up. The both of you walked down to your dorm, and to Luna’s wardrobe. She pulled out the options of gowns and laid them out on her bed.

“Which do you think I should go with, the Persian blue? Or the Egyptian blue? Oh! Or this sapphire blue!” she asked you as she felt the material of each dress. “You’re telling me those are supposed to be different colors?” you laughed at her. “Well, yes of course. Ugh, I don’t know which to wear, what color dress are you wearing?” she asked. “Honestly, I forgot the formal was tomorrow, I don’t have a dress to wear,” you explained as you walked over toward the window seat. “Y/N, how could you have forgotten? It’s all the whole school has been talking about the past week. Would you like to borrow one of my gowns?” she looked away from the dresses and toward you.

“Luna, I don’t even know if I want to go this year. I love going with you guys but..” you looked out the window, wishing to see a messenger owl with a note from Draco, asking you to the ball. “Oh, I have a date. I wouldn’t be able to go with you,” Luna said simply. You spun around, “What?! And you didn’t tell me? Who is it!” you jumped out of your seat and onto her bed, chin in your hands looking up at Luna.

“Harry Potter, I thought I told you this,” she said. “Oh girl, I would’ve remembered if you did, that’s so exciting! Do you know what he is wearing? You guys should match!” you rambled excitedly. Luna giggled, “I think just simple black dress robes, hopefully the Weasley’s don’t make him wear some of their homemade dress robes.”

“Well I definitely think you should go with the sapphire blue, it compliments your hair very well,” you explained. She nodded and tried on the dress, the sleeves drooped around her shoulders and framed her collarbones. The velvet material cascaded down her body in a mermaid shape.

“That’s the one,” you confirmed. “Okay, now your turn,” she turned toward you. “Luna, I said I don’t know if I want to go,” you explained. “What? Just because no one asked you doesn’t mean you don’t have to go! And you can’t wait around forever for Draco to get the courage to ask you,” she teased, “What you should do, is go to the ball, looking so beautiful, that he won’t be able to resist you.”

“Does he even have a date for the formal? I’m not trying to be a homewrecker,” you asked. “Y/N, no offense, but girls are really intimidated by him, I don’t think he has a date. But for some reason you’re brave enough to be friendly with him,” she explained.

“You know what, you’re right. I will go, who needs a date anyways?” you said, “do you have any other dresses that would fit me?”

“Oh yes! Of course!” she started rifling through her wardrobe. You saw a peak of a light blue sleeve tucked in the back. “Wait, Luna, what’s that one in the back there?” you asked. She pulled out the dress. A cascade of light cornflower blue tulle rolled onto the floor. “Wow, where did you get that one?” you asked Luna. “My aunt made it for me for a wedding we had to attend, try it on!” she exclaimed. You discarded your Ravenclaw robes in exchange for the gown. As soon as it was laced up in the back you turned toward the mirror. You touched the material as if it was gold.

“Wow, Y/N, now you HAVE to go to the ball, Draco will be drooling all over you!” she said.

“It’ll be an interesting night now,” you hoped.

___________________________________________________________

The next day, the day of the formal, everyone was excitedly getting ready. You and Luna helped each other with hair and makeup. She went with a simple natural makeup look, while you went for simple with a bold lip. Her silvery hair was in a braided bun, while yours was in a half up, half down look with the ends curled.

Harry came to the Ravenclaw common room to pick up Luna like a gentleman. You were excited for her as they looked good together. “Y/N, would you like to join us and walk down to the ball together?” Harry has sweetly offered. “Thank you, Harry, but you two go on and enjoy yourselves, I want to go on my own,” you explained. “Have fun, don’t wait on him to come up to you, be brave,” Luna encouraged you as they left. You nodded as you sat down on a chair, watching them leave.

You tried to hype yourself up to go down to the ballroom with everyone else. All you wanted tonight was the chance to approach Draco. Possibly to get the chance to talk with him, spend some of the night with him. Maybe even get a dance with your long-time crush.

With that, you stood up, leaving the common room. Luna was right, you are brave enough to go alone. As you walked through the corridors to the ballroom, you saw your favorite Slytherin outside of the ballroom. He was seemingly alone, leaning against the stone wall of the castle.

You stopped in your tracks, not expecting to see him so soon. You were taken aback by how good he looked. He wore all white dress robes, coincidentally matching very well with your gown. His blonde hair slicked back, and his eyes looking down. You gathered yourself and approached him, without a plan really.

As your heels clacked against the cold stone floor, he heard, and looked up at you, eyes wide.

“Hello, Draco,” you smiled.

“Y/N, wow, you look stunning,” he complimented, a full compliment this time.

“Thank you, you don’t look too bad yourself,” you said back.

It looked like he blushed, you made Draco blush. That gave the little bit of confidence you needed for tonight.

“Why aren’t you in there with everyone? Why are you out here?” you asked him timidly.

“Well, I didn’t want to show up without a date. Crabbe and Goyle both asked some Hufflepuffs to go with them to the ball,” he looked away, almost sad.

“Did you not ask anyone to go with you? I doubt anyone would turn you down if you asked,” you questioned. You wanted to know the reason why he was alone. Did he get rejected? Was he too nervous to ask someone?

“I- I don’t know. I had someone in mind I wanted to ask, but they probably wouldn’t want to go with an arse like me,” he explained.

“I highly doubt that,” you looked down kicking your feet, slightly disappointed. That someone probably wasn’t you, because you would’ve agreed to have gone with him in a heartbeat.

“Would you want to walk in there with me? You don’t have to stick around if you don’t want to,” Draco asked, finally looking at you. He noticed how beautifully done your hair was, and the way your dress hung around your body, you looked like an angel. He had wanted to ask you earlier, but he didn’t think you would want to go with him. He’s asking now because, you didn’t show up with a date, and no one had come up to you yet.

“I would love to,” you smiled. He returned your smile and held out his hand, like a gentleman. You took it as you both finally walked into the ball.

The room was decorated beautifully, white and pink sashes hung above your heads and there were flowers adorning the tables. Loud muggle music bounced off the walls, it was hard to hear Draco ask you, “Do you want to sit? I can grab us some pumpkin juice,” he offered.

“I’ll grab a table,” you answered. He split off from you to grab the drinks. You looked around and saw Luna enjoying her time with Harry, she spotted you, said something to Harry, and ran up.

“Draco asked you?!” she yelled over the music. You laughed, “Kind of, we were both without dates, he’s grabbing us drinks right now, we’ll see what happens,” you answered. “Well, with you in that dress, you got the power to make him do whatever you want,” she winked as she walked back over to Harry.

Draco came back with the drinks and sat down. You smiled at him as he handed you the cup. Slowly sipping you looked around the ballroom, this is closer than you thought you’d be with him tonight. You were ecstatic. You could fall over on your arse and it wouldn’t even care you were so happy.

“Did anyone ask you to the ball tonight?” Draco asked hesitantly. “No, actually, the past 6 years of being at this place no one has asked me. I’ve always came here with friends. I only didn’t do that tonight because everyone else got a date,” you answered and looked down. “Are you kidding?” he looked baffled. “What?” you asked, nervous that he would make fun of you or something.

“I just-“ he was cut off by the DJ saying there would be a slow song playing next.

“Would you like a dance with me?” he stood and held out his hand. You nodded and took his hand, still curious about what he was going to say, but you followed him to the dance floor anyways.

He placed your hand on his shoulder and took your waist. You looked up at him and blushed. This has made your night, it could not get better than this.

After swaying to the music for some time, your head on his shoulder, you looked up and asked, “Why were you so surprised earlier when I said I’ve never been asked to a ball before?”

He looked down to you, noticing the height difference and smiling, “Well, I’m just surprised no one would ask someone as beautiful as you to the ball.”

With your newfound bravery, you asked, “Well, in that case, why haven’t you ever asked me?”

“I thought guys would be begging to go with you, that’s why I never bothered asking. Why would you say yes to me anyways?” he questioned.

“Well that’s a silly question now isn’t it? I’m here with you,” as you leaned your head back on his shoulder, still swaying to the music. “Admittedly I’ve been waiting years for you to ask me,” you mumbled into his shoulder.

“If I had known that I would’ve asked you the second I laid eyes on you during first year,” he lifted your chin up to look at him, “But I was such a child then, I didn’t have the guts to ever say anything,” he said.

You giggled, “Technically you still didn’t we ended up here together because we both didn’t have the guts to say anything,” you teased.

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing right now, it was like a dream come true.

“And what do you mean first year? We never even spoke back then?” you asked quizzically.

“Who wouldn’t notice a beauty like you from across the great hall? In the library? Bloody hell, I almost failed our Charms class together because I couldn’t stop looking at you,” he said matter of factly.

The slow music has long since stopped but both of you have been swaying in the middle of the dance floor while people danced wildly around you. But it felt like it was just you two in the whole ballroom. You smiled up at him, admiring his sparkling eyes in the dim light. He leaned down to press his lips to yours, in a tender, careful kiss, almost as to not scare you away. Pressing back, you leaned into his touch, wanting nothing more than this for the past few years.

The kiss was interrupted by a squeal near you, your broke the kiss to turn and see what or who, that was. You saw Luna and Harry dancing near you two, and Luna got overly excited seeing what just went down. Draco looked over and only saw Harry above the crowd.

“Potter… you won’t ruin this for me too,” he glared at him. “Draco don’t blame this on me, just go take your girl and enjoy the night, don’t ruin it for everyone,” he stated.

“He’s right, let’s go somewhere more private,” you tugged on his robes, drawing his attention away from his made up drama.

Draco grabbed your hand and pulled you out away from your friends and led you out of the ballroom. “What’s your favorite dessert?” he asked as he slowed down, turning toward you. “What?” you giggle. “I have the house elves wrapped around my finger, now what’s your favorite dessert so I can get it for you,” he answers simply. You ponder for a moment, before answering, “Bundt cake.”

“Very odd choice, but alright,” he answered.

The two of you enjoyed a small bundt cake in the courtyard that night, his jacket around your shoulders as it was a cool February night.

“Thank you for tonight Draco, it’s been a perfect night,” you looked up at him after finishing the cake.

He looked over to you, and smiled, “Thank you for being the perfect date,” as he leaned down to kiss you. A perfect ending to a perfect night, it all worked out as “planned”.

[ruby-whistler]

Hi, I just found to your blog and I noticed you are a dream apologist but also like tommy, which is rare to see, and even tho I dont agree with alot of your posts about dream it's still interesting to hear other people's perspectives anyways the reason I bring up Tommy it was because I was wondering what you think dreams see Tommy as?

Like does he hate him ?does he like him ?does he see him as a toy a pet ? I'm very interested to see what your perspective is

absolutely! i am so happy to see someone who isn't a full-on dream apologist stumble upon my takes, hello there :] always refreshing to see different kinds of people around!

i actually know quite a,,, couple who also like c!tommy! dream apologists don't inherently hate him, they dislike a lot of his fans more than anything because of,, personal experience, let's say, but most of them are quite neutral or sympathize w/ the character!

i myself really do like the character from a writing perspective! i don't like him personally despite relating to him (ptsd go woooo) because of his quite insensitive and extroverted personality (not saying that's bad! he's flawed and that's very cool of him!) but he's a good protagonist for his own story, albeit a bit stuck in bad mindsets.

as for the disc duo,, man, i am so sad every time i think about the two. during season one i used to be such a discduo stan, like their interactions gave me life, dream reminded me of myself back when i was willing to reach out to people like tommy.

and then uhh,,, stuff happened, as we all know

but from the beginning, i do believe the two were very rivalsduo-like. they'd tease each other but in reality they really were friends even if they didn't admit it. before l'manberg, after l'manberg, it really didn't matter that much, even through the initial disc wars it really was just a way to fight each other but it was not all that serious. they were being immature over a couple of worthless items. they were hanging out. and then war and trauma and revolution came, and everything went downhill at a 90 degree incline.

their relationship had just,, such a twist for the worse and it freaking hurt because now i had to choose between the two and i for the love of god couldn't. everything light about them turned dark.

of course, this is c!dream's fault. the reasons he did what he did are debatable to being a product of the environment, the effect others had on him and the situations he was put into, but he absolutely wrecked it and he made it awful in every way.

the thing is, dream when interacting with tommy - much like tommy had often said about people like dream, wilbur and techno - makes him somewhat the worst version of himself.

and i'm not even making this up, the way he interacts with literally anyone else is so much different from how he acts in front of tommy.

and it's??? so strange?? green man you ok????

like, contrary to popular belief, c!dream doesn't like to see people suffer, or play with them, or making them hurt.

the only times when he says stuff like this is in front of tommy.

my theory for this is what i think is the most supported by actual canon - he's falling into the villain-hero narrative.

the fact that c!dream is not mentally healthy and has been shoved into terrible mindsets is evident especially from the finale stream, and i think the whole vault scene definitely leans towards my theory about this. he keeps going on about sidekicks and pawns and - not only is he treating everyone else as a game, he also does it to himself.

it's important to note his actions have always been both outwardly and inwardly destructive, many being unhealthy coping mechanisms.

what i think is, he's purposefully playing a role. i think this might sound like a stretch but... it really is not if you consider everything?

it makes sense; dream is trying to make tommy (and tubbo, by extension) terrified, to view him as a monster, something less than human, someone to fight, someone to defeat, to bring down. he's taking every opportunity to make himself out as someone totally cruel, while actually acting completely different with other people.

so, as to answer your question? that's what i think dream sees tommy as. i think he sees him as the hero; or rather, someone who wants to play the hero. he wants to challenge him, wants to get tommy to play his game because it's the only thing c!dream knows how to play anymore and he's,, secretly scared, because he's forgotten how to be anyone but a villain, and on top of that doesn't see any other way for himself to achieve his goals and get back what he cares about.

like, dream cares, that much is obvious. he cares about people. i don't think he hates tommy and i don't think he likes him. he says they're friends, and in some twisted sense, i think he means it, and he thinks tommy is simply in denial. he's wrong.

the way he acts makes me think that he genuinely considers him and tommy the same at their core, and that if the roles were switched, tommy would do the same as dream and dream would do the same as tommy. this is untrue, of course, but dream believes things like this because his worldview is utterly shattered, much like his mental stability. i think he thinks the only difference between them is their role in the story. i think he buys into the narrative to the point when he fails to see it's,, incorrect, about him, tommy - about everyone.

but that's just my opinion! sorry for rambling, c!dream is such an enigma sometimes, and although i claim a lot of things in good faith, there are some i don't usually touch upon because they genuinely confuse me. the way c!dream acts around c!tommy is one of them.

[padawanlost]

Something I recently noticed is that in the master scene in rots, Anakin doesn’t proclaim that “I deserve this position” or “I earned this.” Just “that’s outrageous and unfair.. how can you be on the council without being master.” Even after that he completely silences after Mace tells him too. Idk about the fandom’s perception, but Anakin’s ‘apparent’ arrogance and pride and dominance over decisions and situations are greatly stretched.

Right? Anakin is outraged that a conservative and traditionalist group is changing the rules just to keep him out. It’s a slap in the face and he’s rightfully upset by their decision. It’s not about him being better than them, being this incredibly arrogant person who can’t take no for an answer.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan said softly. He gestured to an empty seat beside him. “Please.” And something in Obi-Wan’s gentle voice, in his simple, straightforward request, sent his anger slinking off ashamed, and Anakin found himself alone on the carpet in the middle of the Jedi Council, blinking. He suddenly felt very young, and very foolish. [Matthew Stover. Revenge of the Sith]

Yeah, looke  at that gigantic arrogant monster, poletely apologizing to his superior. He is so out of control -___-

People seem to forget that immediately after his outburst Anakin submissively apologizes, retreats to his seat and *accepts* the Council’s decision. Hardly the behavior of someone as arrogant and full of himself as people pretend he was. 

Anakin inclined his head. “I understand.” “I’m not sure you do.” Mace Windu leaned forward, staring into Anakin’s eyes with a measuring squint. Anakin was barely paying attention; in his mind, he was already leaving the Council Chamber, riding the turbolift to the archives, demanding access to the restricted vault by authority of his new rank— “You will attend the meetings of this Council,” the Korun Master said, “but you will not be granted the rank and privileges of a Jedi Master.” “What?” It was a small word, a simple word, an instinctive recoil from words that felt like punches, like stun blasts exploding inside his brain that left his head ringing and the room spinning around him—but even to his own ears, the voice that came from his lips didn’t sound like his own. It was deeper, darker, clipped and oiled, resonating from the depths of his heart. It didn’t sound like him at all, and it smoked with fury. 

[...] And as the holopresences of Plo Koon and Ki-Adi-Mundi winked out, as Obi-Wan and Agen Kolar rose and spoke together in tones softly grave, as Yoda and Mace Windu walked from the room, Anakin could only sit, sick at heart, stunned with helplessness. Padmé—oh, Padmé, what are we going to do? He didn’t know. He didn’t have a clue. But he knew one thing he wasn’t going to do. He wasn’t going to give up. Even with the Council against him—even with the whole Order against him—he would find a way. He would save her. Somehow. [Matthew Stover. Revenge of the Sith]

Anakin was shocked because he was counting on the title to give him the access he needed to save Padmé. He was far more interested in saving her than in walking around telling everyone he was a Master. Hell, people seem to forget that Anakin was planning on leaving the Order as soon as the babies were born and Padmé was safe. At that point, Anakin was no longer concerned with a long Jedi career.

She looked away. “I had been thinking—about going somewhere … somewhere else. Having the baby in secret, to protect you. So you can stay in the Order.”

“I don’t want to stay in the Order!” He took her face between his palms so that she had to look into his eyes, so that she had to see how much he meant every word he said. “Don’t protect me. I don’t need it. We have to start thinking, right now, about how we can protect you. Because all I want is for us to be together.” [Matthew Stover. Revenge of the Sith]

Though his secret couldn’t last, he wasn’t ready for it to come out just yet. He and Padmé had agreed last night that they would keep it as long as they could. He wasn’t ready to leave the Jedi Order. Not while she was still in danger. [Matthew Stover. Revenge of the Sith]

[aster-aspera]

Just a short chapter I wrote for new year.

CW: child abandonment, homelessness

Pairings: romantic/platonic DLAMP, romantic anxceit

Happy New Year everyone, I hope you have a great day/night and I hope 2021 brings everyone better tidings <3

Masterpost

Janus ignored the urge to straighten his bowtie before walking up the small path that led to the house. As much as he wished he could make some final adjustments to his look, his hands were currently full, with flowers on one side and his cane on the other. He figured dropping either to fiddle with his bowtie would be a rather ridiculous look.

It would be fine, he told himself. It was just a small celebration at their house, it didn't matter how he looked. They loved him, they wouldn’t judge him.

And oh, those words. They loved him.

The thought made him simultaneously want to leap with happiness and run for the hills as fast as he could. It was so terrifyingly new and at the same time it felt so comfortably familiar. The phone calls that lasted way longer than they should. The bad days when all of them came over and baked him bread. The banter over the comms when he was too tired to join in on patrol. They loved him.

A raven haired head popping itself out the door distracted him from his brooding.

“Dude, are you just gonna spend the whole evening standing in our garden or are you gonna come in?” Virgil asked.

“I was just admiring the flowers,” Janus drawled.

Virgil raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

“Come in, everyone’s waiting for you.”

He stepped inside and handed Virgil the flowers.

“Aww, are those for us? How sweet,” Virgil cooed.

Janus definitely didn’t blush. “It’s polite.”

“It’s romantic,” Virgil teased.

“Virgil,” Janus sighed, trying to sound exasperated but only managing to sound fond.

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop. Come on, I need to start frying the gulab jamun.”

“You’re making gulab jamun?” Janus asked, pleasantly surprised. They were apparently a famed treat in this household.

“Yeah,” Virgil stopped when he walked into Roman.

“And now he shows up,” Virgil snarked “Here, go put these in a vase, I have dessert to attend to.” He shoved the flowers into Roman’s hands and quickly disappeared into the kitchen.

Roman beamed at Janus. 

“Hello darling,” He purred “You look absolutely stunning.”

“You are not allowed to use that nickname, it’s mine, I licensed it,” Janus protested.

“Oh, but I just love the way it flusters you, darling.” 

Janus could feel the heat creeping all the way from under his collar up to his cheeks. Roman was definitely getting back at him for all the times Janus had flustered him in costume.

“Roman, stop,” Janus sighed as he gently pushed his shoulder.

Roman just chuckled and led him into the living room, where Logan was arranging some snacks.

“Guess who arrived!” Roman announced to the entire house.

Logan looked over and smiled brightly.

“Hello Janus, you look good.”

“As do you,” Janus complimented as he walked over to shake his hand. Logan ignored the proffered hand and pulled him into a hug.

Well, okay. He hadn’t seen that one coming.

Of all four of them, Logan was the least keen on physical contact. Patton and Roman were always going in for surprise hugs and even Virgil would frequently rest his head on Janus’s shoulder. But Janus had only ever seen Logan hug his boyfriends. And that one memorable time when Janus had nearly drowned and Logan had cuddled him to keep him warm, but he really prefered not to think about that.

“Will you be joining us for patrol?” Logan asked when he pulled away.

“No, not today.” Janus lifted his cane a bit to illustrate his point.

Logan nodded understandingly. “We’ll be happy to have you on comms for tonight.”

Janus made his way into the kitchen, where Patton was sliding something into the oven as Roman bothered him.

“You can’t bake something at 1800 degrees, Roman, that’s not how baking works.” Patton sighed. He noticed Janus entering the kitchen and beamed at him.

“Dee!” Patton smiled at him. “I’m so happy you’re here. Food’s nearly ready. ”

“Why not? 10 minutes at 180 degrees equals 1 minute at 1800 degrees. That’s how math works.” Roman interjected.

“Well, it’s not how ovens work,” Virgil groaned, from where he was bent over the frying pan, a little closer to the hot oil than was probably safe.

“If you guys would just listen to me, food would be ready in a minute,” Roman sighed.

“Virgil’s right, sweetie, that’s not how ovens work,” Patton said.

Virgil stuck his tongue out.

“Very mature,” Janus laughed.

Eventually, when all the food had been baked at an acceptable temperature, they gathered around the table.

“So, does anyone have any new year’s resolutions?” Patton asked them.

“New year’s resolutions are just a festive way of lying to yourself. Nobody actually keeps them,” Janus said.

“See! He gets it,” Virgil said triumphantly.

“Come on,” Patton pleaded, “humour me.” 

Virgil sighed and rolled his eyes, but Janus could see the fondness in them.

“Well, my new year’s resolution is to take more time to read books I’ve been meaning to read. I have a whole pile of interesting paperbacks,” Logan went first.

“Of course you would choose something so nerdy,” Roman teased, “My resolution is to spend as much time as possible with you, my loves,” He swept a grand gesture over the room and Janus tried not to think about how he was somehow included in that, “and I vow to give you all the kisses and hugs you deserve.”

“Well, next year I resolve to make better bad decisions and to remember to write 2021 instead of 2020,” Patton chimed in with a bright smile, “but in all seriousness, I hope to spend more time writing next year and maybe sign up for some art classes.”

“That’s a great idea, Pat, I might join you for those,” Virgil said.

“See, now you have some new year’s resolutions too.”

“What about you, Janus?” Logan questioned.

“Well, I guess if I have to, I resolve not to kill as many people this year,” He answered sarcastically.

Patton shot him a look. “Try again.”

“Fine,” Janus sighed, “I resolve to read more books, I guess.”

“Splendid resolutions, my dear lord of the lies,” Roman praised.

“Are we going to eat now? We have to patrol in a few hours,” Virgil complained.

“As always, you really have your priorities sorted, Virgil,” Logan said teasingly.

Logan shrugged himself into his costume with precise movements and fastened the cloak at his neck.

“You know, I really don’t get the cloak. Isn’t it awfully impractical?” Janus asked him from where he was draped against the door frame.

“Maybe, but I distinctly remember it coming in handy when you nearly died of hypothermia. How would people say it? It saved you ass?” Logan answered smugly.

“That was one time, you can’t tell me you wear a ridiculous cape,”

“Cloak.”

“Whatever, because someone might fall into the harbour. How often does that even happen?”

“More than you’d think. Also, Batman wears a cloak.”

“Batman is designed by nerds who don’t even know how to throw a punch, it’s a wonder you haven’t tripped over it yet when vaulting over rooftops.”

“Unlike some people who don’t need a cloak to trip when vaulting over rooftops?” Logan asked, voice full of faux innocence.

Janus growled exasperatedly and punched his arm, in the friendly way.

“As much as I love hearing you two bicker, we do need to start patrol,” Roman interrupted.

“Bye, Dee!” Patton hugged him and gave him a quick kiss on the nose before bustling out the door. 

Roman and Logan followed in quick succession, pressing kisses to his cheek and forehead. They sauntered out of the room, leaving him reeling with the ease they had done that. 

Virgil smirked up at him from where he was sitting at the computer, looking over some police reports. 

“What?” Janus asked him.

“Nothing,” Virgil replied with a shit eating grin, “You just look awfully cute when you blush.” 

“I’m not cute,” Janus snarled.

“Whatever you say,” Virgil replied as he walked past him. He stopped for a moment, staring into Janus’s eyes. His look didn’t bode well for Janus. He placed a gentle hand on the back of Janus’s neck and then pulled him close. 

“Is this okay?” He asked, his eyes drifting to Janus’s lips.

“Very,” Janus managed, his voice a little rough.

Virgil leaned forward and pressed a soft but insistent kiss on his lips. Janus felt himself leaning into it, the sweet taste of honey and saffron overwhelming his senses.

After what felt like a mere fraction of a second, Virgil pulled away. Janus made a small noise of protest and Virgil chuckled.

“Later,” He promised, “I have to go patrol now.”

He walked out the room, leaving Janus feeling lightheaded and wondering if the others were as good at kissing as Virgil. He sincerely hoped so.

~

Patrol was surprisingly uneventful. Generally, the statistics indicated there was a rise in crime around the holiday period. New year itself was always quite a hazardous day, with the large crowd of people out at late hours and the fireworks masking any sounds that could give you away. 

Yet this year, Logan had found himself inexplicably looking out to the new year. Maybe it was the fact that a certain former villain had enthusiastically agreed to come over and celebrate.

Whatever the reason, the city had decided to grace them with a calm night and Logan sat on a rooftop ledge, watching Virgil teach Patton a back handspring on the adjoining rooftop.

“Can you do one of those?” Janus asked him over the comms as they watched Patton fall onto his back for the third time.

“They’re not too hard.”

“That doesn’t answer the question, nerd,” Roman chimed into the conversation from where he was checking out an alleyway somewhere.

“I’m sure I could manage it,” Logan sighed.

“Like Patton’s managing this one?” Virgil quipped as Patton landed on the ground once more. Logan was incredibly grateful for the shock absorbent breastplate he wore.

“I nearly got that one!” 

“Sure, pat.”

“Shit,” He heard Roman hiss through the comms.

“What?” Janus’s voice was immediately on edge and Logan heard the familiar clicking of keys, telling him Janus was probably pulling up the live feed from Roman’s mask.

“Oh,” He said.

“What’s going on?” Patton asked, righting himself from the wet rooftop.

“A kid,” Roman gasped.

Logan felt his heart clench. 

“Is he hurt?” Virgil asked.

“No, not as far as we can see, but he does look malnourished,” Janus explained.

Logan got up and quickly swung down from the rooftop, the others right behind him.

They entered the alleyway, where Roman was crouched in the corner, whispering quietly.

He looked up and gestured for them to stay back. They obliged, Patton sitting down against a wall as Virgil walked a bit further back to make sure no one would enter the small street.

Logan leant against a dumpster bin, trying not to look too threatening.

“It’s alright, we won’t hurt you. Could you just tell me your name?” Roman asked gently.

“My mom told me never to give a stranger my name,” The kid deadpanned.

Logan smiled, if the kid was quipping back, he couldn’t be in too bad a shape.

“Touché” Roman chuckled, “you can call me prince.” 

“Like the singer?” The kid asked with an audible chuckle.

“No,” Roman sighed and Logan heard Patton giggle.

“Well, you probably should have chosen a better name then.”

“Probably,” Roman said, “At least give me something I can call you, if you’re not gonna tell me your name.”

The kid thought for a moment. “Fine,” he drawled, “You can call me J.”

“Ok, well J, that corner doesn’t look all that comfortable, if you would come with us, I’m sure we could find you more suitable lodgings.”

“No!” J snapped, fear colouring his voice.

“Why not?” Roman asked, clearly taken aback.

“You’ll just stick me in the system and... they don’t want me there.” J choked up a bit and Logan saw Patton’s eyes fill with sympathy.

“No, we won’t,” Roman promised.

“Oh yeah? What’re you gonna do with me then? Nobody wants some abandoned street rat.” J sighed bitterly. Logan ached at how he seemed to have given up any hope of someone caring for him. The poor kid had clearly been through too much in his life.

“Do you really have no one left?” Roman asked.

“Do you think I’d be sleeping on the streets if someone still cared about me?”

Roman looked back at them helplessly.

“Isn’t there anywhere he could stay on short notice?” Virgil asked.

“I have people,” Janus interjected quietly.

“Dee, no!” Patton exclaimed, “we’re not going to drop some kid off with those thugs you work with.”

“Not like that,” Janus sighed and Logan could almost see him pinching the bridge of his nose, “I know someone who works for me who’s really good with kids. He and his partner have fostered kids before. I think they could help him.”

“Really? You think he’d just be okay with it if we rolled up with a kid?”

“I’d have to discuss it with him first, but I’m certain we can find a home for J, if not with this guy, we’ll definitely find someone else.”

“I could ask my moms,” Patton conceded,” I don’t think they’re up for another kid, but they might know someone who wants to take care of him.”

“And what for tonight? We can’t really show up at someone’s house and just drop him off.” Virgil said.

“Take him to our home,” Logan suggested.

“Are you crazy? That’s a huge security risk,” Virgil burst out.

“We can’t just leave him in the cold to freeze,” Patton protested.

“I have a safe house near where you are, just take him there,” Janus interjected.

“Is that settled then?” Roman asked them from where he was still crouched in the corner, the annoyance clear in his voice.

“Yeah, I think so,” Patton replied.

“Okay kid, let's get moving. We’re taking you to a safehouse near here,” Roman told him.

“Did you explain everything to him?” Logan asked, he really hadn’t heard Roman say anything.

“Of course, you guys were too busy bickering to notice.”

J still regarded them warily and Logan was vaguely worried he was going to bolt the moment they got out of the alleyway.

“Hey,” Logan said, trying not to sound too awkward, “we’re not just going to abandon you to the system. We're heroes and that means we’ll find a way to help anyone.”

J just looked up at him with an unimpressed expression. “Right.” He shouldered past Logan, heading to where Virgil was waiting.

Patton quickly caught up to them, probably because Virgil was looking at the kid like he wanted to flee to the nearest rooftop.

“So you’re really not gonna tell us your name?”

“No.”

“You guys want me to head to the safe house too?” Janus asked, ignoring their chatter.

“We’d love that,” Roman beamed, “We might even be just in time for the new year.”

They got J settled on the ratty couch in the squalid safe house. It wasn’t a terrible safe house, it was actually quite clean. It just clearly wasn’t used for much except the occasional emergency.

Janus arrived quickly, dropping a bag filled with what Logan presumed was food.

J froze when he saw Janus. “Deceit?” He asked and Logan felt his stomach plummet. Of course the kid would be afraid, they had trapped him in a small space together with the city’s most notorious crime lord. It didn’t matter that Janus had never and would never harm a child, his reputation was terrifying enough.

But inexplicably, the kid’s shoulders relaxed and he seemed moderately more at ease.

“You know, most people don’t look so at ease in my presence,” Janus said, clearly also puzzled by the reaction.

J shrugged. “You’re not that bad, you’ve helped a lot of my friends, gave them jobs and places to stay. You do more for the street kids of this city than these heroes.”

Roman gasped in mock offence. Logan shrugged. It made sense, they didn’t have the resources or connections to help kids like J, but Janus had been putting an effort into helping the worst off in their city for years. It seemed his efforts hadn’t gone as unnoticed as they had previously assumed.

Janus grinned at them, his expression smug and then grabbed something from the bag. 

“Here,” He held out a soft sweater, “this is for you, it would be a shame if we went through all the trouble of getting you here and then you died from hypothermia.”

“You could just invest in a space heater for this place,” Virgil complained.

“Sure, because this space is used so often. It definitely isn’t a waste of money to purchase heaters for all those safe houses I barely use,” Janus snarked.

J ignored their bickering and sauntered over to the window, pulling the sweater over his head.

“Hey, guys,” Patton interrupted, “I think it’s time.”

Logan looked at the time on the corner of his display. He was right, the clock told him there was only one minute left of this year.

They all gathered round the window, looking out over the city.

“To new beginnings,” Patton announced.

“To new beginnings,” They all replied. J just rolled his eyes.

Logan felt Patton clutch his arm and Janus loop an arm around his waist as bright fireworks exploded over the city skyline. He looked over at his friends, how they stood gathered together, their faces awash with the colours of the fireworks. 

And he looked at J, the young kid who was staring at the fireworks as if they were something magical, his hands tangled in the sleeves of his sweater. 

Logan promised himself he would do everything to get him a good home, he deserved so much more than the world had given him.

New beginnings, it was a fitting sentiment.

[hyper-cryptic]

Oh yes, an ask ! What's the opinion/relation of Kate on the others companions ? Do they have a bestie ? Does she hate/dislike one of them ?

Hell yeah!! I am glad you ask about her, I absolutely adore talking about Kate! By the way, really funny fact, I have actually romanced most of the companions (Danse, I am coming for that ass), but canonicaly, their partners are Hancock and Nick! :D

Cait:

She admires her! Like, a lot! They think she is a super strong person, in both meanings! She loves how brave, how sassy she is! She’s just really fun to be with overall in Kate’s opinion!

About her drug addiction, Kate never really minded, but they were really concerned about her health. When Cait told her that she wanted to be cured, they didn’t hesitate to help her. 

Kate knows Cait can be a better person, especially under her influence! She constantly makes subtle comments that might make Cait change her opinion on things. Every once in a while they sit down to talk about her insecurities if she’s ok with it!

Funny extra: Since their names sound literally the same, Kate asks to be called Kat! Or to call Cait, “Irish Kate” tho expect a very angry irish person coming down your way.

Curie:

Absolutely LOVES her!! They love her curiosity and optimistic personality! Thinks she’s adorable.

They were very supportive of her wanting to be a synth, she thought it was very interesting! Though, was also very worried about how they would get to it...She was relieved that she didn’t have to take anybody's life!

Kate loves to make Curie flustered. It’s honestly adorable to her how she gets mad about getting compliments because she gets distracted, or confused. She lets her know why, tho! Hahah.

Codsworth:

He is family. He had been since before the war. It was the only person she could actually be herself.

When the bombs dropped she couldn’t stop thinking about him, if he was fine, if he had survived. When they got out of the vault, she was so happy to see Codsworth alive and well.

Kate wasn’t able to leave Codsworth’s side during 1 whole months, if it wasn’t for him and Preston, she would’ve given up on everything, on the ‘whealth, on shaun, on herself.

She adores his dumb sense of humor and his ridiculous british accent.

Danse:

She...likes him? She certainly enjoys his company and thinks he is kind and great but his bigotry and loyalty to the BOS makes her really uncomfortable.

Kate could connect to him on an emotional level, but never actually be interested in him, no matter how much they tried. BOS was just a major shit that made her uneasy. She only joined because they could be helpful to get rid of the Institute, and she was going to until…

They straight up refused and told off Maxson, but he didn’t give her the choice. When Haylen begged them to hear out Danse, they told her that she didn’t need to worry at all and would do everything in her power to keep Danse safe. They tried to change Maxson’s mind about Danse, about synths, but as she expected, he didn’t. After this whole incident, she quit the BOS and decided to destroy the Institute with the Minutemen.

She offered him to stay with her, on the lighthouse, but after a BOS attack to a settlement she left him in, Danse insisted to let him live alone, that it wasn’t safe to have him living there so close to Shaun. Kate sadly had to agree, she couldn’t risk to lose Shaun or any of her companions. She still goes and visits him every once in a while! Even got him to meet Shaun! They got along and share a love for cowboys.

Deacon:

LITERALLY BESTIES. Imagine those girls in highschool that are always together, wear matching clothes and call each other “slut”, “whore” and “bitch” affectionately? That’s them.

They literally wear matching clothes when they travel together. (I make ‘em wear matching clothes…)

Kate always introduces them as “ The Death Bunnies”.

She catched up immediately with his compulsive lying. She doesn’t mind it, in fact she might even go along with it, depending on the context and what type of lie it is. She tries to help him with it, along with his impostor syndrome (...which comes...literally sometimes?) and he tries to help her too. Hoes got each other’s back.

If they aren’t with their partners, they are with Deacon. Hell, even when they are with Nick and Hancock she brings him, of course if it’s not private. Deacon gets along with Nick so it isn’t much of a trouble...but they literally have no idea why Hancock dislikes him, tried to ask him but he said “some things are best left unknown”, which left Kate even more curious but respected his...privacy...I suppose? She asked Deacon, he said that it was no biggie, but to get Hancock to hold a long grudge like that is really weird so she can’t believe him. What did he do? She might never know...

They adore him overall, and loves his dumb comments, which she tries to always reply without bursting in laughter.

Dogmeat:

Light. Of. Her. Days. Well! Of course after her partners!! *gulps* 

They can’t go on with her days if she doesn’t pet Dogmeat at least...twice. She gives him kisses, pats and plays with him at the end of the day. 

When they first met Dogmeat, they almost couldn’t believe it. It was like a light in the dark, he definitely made her days easier as she was trying to stay stable during those 2 dark months.

She almost never goes out with Dogmeat because she is really worried the radiation might affect him, or even die out there. She usually has this fear with most of her companions, but specially him, as he is a literal animal and will probably not know if something is really dangerous or not just looking at it.

She usually falls asleep with him on the couch.

Hancock: 

Do I really even have to say anything? He is her everything along with Nick.

Kate’s first impression of him was: “Oh. FUCK. HOT?!”

Okay but really, she found him attractive and interesting after that first interaction. They had their doubts about him..you know him being a politician and all, but they quickly disappeared the more they interacted with him. Damn, the more she knew about him, the more she was interested in him. 

About Bobbi, she was totally into robbing McDonough, she did question Bobbi a lot though, as she instantly noticed how shady she was. She actually realized they were going for Hancock instead mid-way but waited to get there to confront her, make sure she was right. She didn’t do it for Hancock, instead because she wasn’t going to rob somebody who didn’t deserve being robbed. Tried to tell her to get out, nobody needed to be hurt but Bobbi refused to, so she had to pull the trigger. She knows it was the right thing to do, but can’t help but think if it could’ve ended differently.

She loves Hancock so much, they can’t stop thinking about him. “What would Hancock think about this?”, “Hancock would love this”, “I wish Hancock could see this”, “I miss Hancock”, literally being so clingy.

Overall, she thinks he’s such an amazing person: he’s kind, he’s brave, he’s funny, he’s understanding, he’s adorable, he’s caring, he’s determined, he’s (very) handsome...I really could go on.

She tries so hard to get him to understand that he is an amazing person. He appreciates the efforts.

“watch you sleep” by girl in red is totally their song.

MacCready:

LITERALLY A LITTLE BROTHER. They adore him! They love how funny and sassy he is.

Kate had to constantly tell him that she doesn’t care about caps and that he can keep ‘em if he wanted, that it looked like he needed it more than her, and she’d be right!

When Mac told her about Duncan she was upset at first, how could he just leave his child like that? Never acted on it, since she knew it would make it worse, but she could quickly understand where he came from and why he did what he did. Didn’t hesitate to help him find the cure for Duncan. 

They share a love for snipers and long ranged weapons so...that’s a topic they talk about a lot!

They both geek out about Silver Shroud every once in a while! Listen to the plays together and stuff like that!

Nick:

HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They didn’t like him when they first met. They liked Nick’s humor, but couldn’t stop thinking about how much he acted like a cop, and let’s say Kate had their share of bad situations with cops because of race, and shit like that. Kate didn’t know a lot about synths at the time, so she just guessed somebody programmed a fucking cop persona into him. And she wasn’t going to deal with a cop bot that probably had a stick up his ass.

Eventually, when she got so oversaturated with work, and stressed out with the whole Institute shit, she decided to go and do some of the cases with Nick, she couldn’t wait to show this “cop” that even a “civilian” could do his work. As she worked through the cases, she began to notice that Nick was...actually ok? She had more knowledge about synths at this point, but still didn’t understand how Nick worked exactly. He did tell her that he was a prototype, between Gen 1 and Gen 3, so she quickly realized that he was no ordinary bot. She eventually warmed up to him, and could see the appeal.

It was like a bomb dropped inside her head when Nick asked if she was doing fine. Kate had never actually opened up with anybody, not even with Hancock. She mostly worked over her depression and anxiety by keeping herself busy and unhealthy thoughts like “they need me to be strong, I am a role model right now.” with the whole being a General thing, and the fact that so many people relied on her. Kate tried to be dismissive of it, but Nick could see right through her, and insisted that it was ok to open up. She had to get really drunk to do any of that shit! So they told him that they should both go to a “more private place”, as an excuse to get her hands on some alcohol. Didn’t end up drinking any alcohol, and just spilled most of it. Found comfort on his “origin story” with Diamond City. 

He was a huge part in her full recovery, along with Hancock and Deacon. But honestly? If it wasn’t for him, it would’ve taken her snapping at anybody and being confronted about it to actually open up to anybody. 

She didn’t realize she had any feelings for him until a month after that event. That they were storming into Eddie’s shelter that she realized that they loved him. All of this they were doing for him, the cute comments, the praising and trust they had in him...it became so clear why while he was talking to her after killing Winter, she couldn’t help herself but to dump on him why he was not just “a shell” how he was so much more than that. She didn’t actually confess her feelings to him there, but they were pretty close to doing it. If it wasn’t for her thoughts stopping her from doing it, what would happen with Hancock now? She still loved him deeply...

Eventually, two weeks after, they took a break at the end of the day from missions with Nick, at the empty bar that she had built inside the Castle. It was midnight and mostly everyone had gone to sleep, so they could talk about whatever they wanted and get as drunk as she wanted. They were having so much fun until Nick brought up something she had said that day they ended Winter’s life. Fuck. God, they wished they hadn’t been so busy to actually sit down with Hancock and ask him what he thinks of polyamorous relationships because she was way too drunk this time to stop herself from doing anything stupid. And she didn’t, Nick did, he corresponded but said that he couldn’t let her do this to John. Hah! Little did they know Hancock was super into the both of them. (I actually want to make a lil’ fic about this!!)

They just love him so much and connect with him on a whole new level. He and John make them so happy, she literally couldn’t ask for anyone or anything better than what they have going on.

I know it isn’t exactly a love song, but “Agnes” by Glass Animals reminds me of them.

Piper:

WHAT A LADY, AM I RIGHT? They adore her!! 

She is literally her kind of lousy! Always speaking her mind, always speaking the truth. She admires what she does.

I really don’t have much to say about her, just that they really like her and that she thinks she’s a good friend and overall good person!

Was totally in to beat up McDonough’s ass.

Preston:

They think he is amazing!! He is so kind and caring, they like him a lot!

Let’s say that he liked him so much at some point they got together during those two months. It wasn’t a stable relationship and they both acknowledged that they just didn’t work. Besides, he was there when she met Hancock, and had this look in her eyes that he had never seen. Not to worry tho! He has been testing the waters with Sturges lately! ;)

They function better as friends! Besides, it was quite awkward for Kate their General/Soldier dynamic they had going on, so that was another thing!

She thinks he is so cool and amazing, and they let him know this!

Kate teases him about when they were a couple and they laugh it off.

Honestly, he was a big help for Kate during those months and she is really grateful for all his help. They were both really important for each other.

X6-88:

They didn’t get to know him as much as they wanted.

It all was happening so fast, they couldn’t do anything to convince him to get out of the Institute before it was too late. 

And it was. They had to kill him along with the other coursers. 

In their time as companions, they thought he was enjoyable to be with. He looked like he could be saved, but...yeah.

They made him a grave in the Institute’s remains.

Aaaaaaaaand, that’s all!! Gosh, that was loooong!! Can you see I was really eager to talk about Nick and Kate’s relationship? Yeah, that shit is long.

(I literally finished this yesterday...at 2 am or something)

[kitkatopinions]

Honestly, shooting Oscar was the closes they got to an acceptable ‘good guy does evil thing’. The key being that there’s enough interesting tragedy to explore, and since Os didn’t actually die Ironwood could be easily redeemed. We’re at the scene, as Ironwood stares at the Vault. He hears someone coming down and let’s out a painful sigh because he fully understands the pain Winter is going through (the same he is with abandoning Mantle). As he turns around to comfort her, he sees Oscar. /1

You know, I fully agree that James shooting Oscar is the most ‘good guy does bad thing’ we ever needed from James. By piling on evil thing after evil thing, not only did it take away from Ironwood’s character (and the character of everyone close to him like Winter and Qrow,) but it made it so that very little that he did actually gets any focus, including shooting Oscar. Did Ruby ever even know about it? Did we ever see Oscar grapple with the fact that James had tried to kill him? Did we ever see Ironwood even acknowledge that it happened? The moment feels entirely passed over. Then again, with Sleet, the Ace Ops are all shocked about Sleet, Winter looks hesitant, but then steely and accepting, Marrow is alarmed... But ultimately that goes nowhere. Winter having stood by Ironwood even while he murders unarmed civilians and not considering it a deal breaker, along with the other Ops (yes, even Marrow,) isn’t really gone into and is brushed under the rug, because the focus quickly changes to him working with Watts. But do we see Penny in a moment of clarity forced to grapple with the fact that a former mentor and someone she probably saw as a friend had forcibly taken control of her body? Does it even have a long term affect on the story? Considering Penny could’ve died due to Cinder trying to steal her powers just as easily as a robot as she did a flesh-person (with Pietro claiming he couldn’t restore her again,) I’d argue that Ironwood hacking Penny had zero real effect on the plot. At least our main cast freaking knew about it, though, instead of the other scenes of Ironwood’s descent being mostly for the audiences sake it feels like. We quickly move on from the emotional weight behind Penny getting hacked by a mentor/friend, because then we get some rabid fire “what the heck” moments like Ironwood being like “huh, shoulda tortured Qrow.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  And I could’ve tormented some teens.” And Winter is freaked but then we only have like a minute of sitting with that before there’s a bomb threat, and James is threatening to bomb the people of Mantle for... Reasons, standing in his backlit light with the black background so you know it’s spooky villain time. This at least gets some more focus, but even then, in the fight with Winter when she’s listing grievances, she doesn’t really get into the whole torture/bomb thing. And James is still not the focus, the primary threat of the last two episodes is Cinder. Everything in season eight was just so rushed and hurried we didn’t get a chance to focus on anything for the time that it needed with the exception of possibly Renora’s makeup/breakup? which was also badly handled, but got like, the appropriate amount of screen time imo. But we definitely didn’t have any time to get into the meat of a good hero-does-bad concept. Which is a shame, because it could’ve been good.

You’re right that shooting Oscar was all they needed. They established a really good base conflict: James believes they’re in a no-win situation and is trying to save as many people as he can while Team RWBY believes they need to come up with a plan that will save everyone all at once / because of Team RWBY’s actions, Ironwood doesn’t trust them and tries to have them arrested, Team RWBY are fugitives who no longer have Ironwood’s resources to rely on and must grapple with those consequences of their actions. Then, they want to - imo unnecessarily - drive the point that due to the terrible situation, the recent perceived betrayal of Team RWBY and co, his own deteriorating mental health, and pushed by his TOTALLY UNMENTIONED semblance, James falls into destructive actions that cause harm. Having him shoot Oscar/Oz in a moment of paranoia does this without wholly ruining his character. It breaks Oscar’s aura, but nothing worse, and one could argue James didn’t mean him to go over the side (you know, except that the writers did mean for him to mean to, but for the sake of this narrative, we’ll say it was maybe unintentional.) It could’ve been something that Oscar/Oz then have to process or struggle to understand, or forgive, while it’s something Ironwood could regret and possibly come back from while still clearly being in the wrong in that situation, and it could’ve been treated more sympathetically. We could’ve actually paid attention to that moment, rather than having it (and every single further jump into villainy) swept away. James could’ve been an antagonist for the season without being a full villain. Not everything has to be “Team RWBY against pure evil.”

We already had Cinder, Watts, Tyrian, Emerald, Mercury, Neo, Hazel, and Salem for god sakes. Most of those villains had to get taken out by fellow villains - in fact, all of the villains that we dealt with in V7 and 8 that got taken out of the picture were by the villains, including Emerald abdicating, which happened because of Salem’s motives and Tyrian confirming them and Oscar literally just said a sentence and then sat around. None of these villains were used well or got the focus they needed except for possibly Cinder, who wound up not growing at all anyway. But they could’ve been a great, compelling threat if they hadn’t gotten trounced by a fifteen year old with a magic deus ex machina after doing almost nothing this season, because they had to get pushed aside so Ironwood could have his moment as a villain. And then even Ironwood got pushed aside too. Even the built up and dreaded ridiculously stupid grudge Qrow had that made him want to kill James just up and vanished. It’s almost like James never had to be a villain at all since it amounted to nearly nothing and there was very little emotional depth tied to it. It’s almost like the writers could’ve actually made their existing large amount of villains more interesting and do something with them.

Like, don’t get me wrong, Watts was amazing. And the temporary team up of Watts, Cindy, and Neo had me thinking CRWBY would do something interesting and compelling with the villains for once (I’m putting on the appropriate clown paint for it.) They could’ve used the volume 7 momentum to go into an actually emotional arc centered around this one violent act, how people feel about it, how James might come back from it, all while giving the focus to the actual main villain of the series and presenting her as the real threat. But instead...

Anyway, this wound up being a pretty long post. Sorry about that. :P

[malphiguswrites]

ANALYSIS of The School of Athens

Denada Permatasari. 6 November 2017.

Fig 1.0 Fresco of Raphael's Scuola di Atene (The School of Athens), 1509-11 (courtesy of the Musei Vaticani).

The School of Athens by Raphael Sanzio, or more accurately, Raphael and his studio. This elaborate wall mural is a fresco in the Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican. Measuring 584 cm in length, this artwork was made in 1509 and finished in 1511.

I think that this artwork is a phenomenal masterpiece. From a technical standpoint, it is no debate that the scale and the mastery of human figures are impressive. Every single aspect is carefully planned, apparent from the detail of the backdrop to the individually distinctive figures present in the artwork. The symbolism in this work represent the core of Philosophy through subtle means of the wall division, the composition, down to the character’s body language, where they are situated, and even from the clothes they wear. In this essay, I discuss what all of the previously-stated elements mean and how they come together to give this artwork its meaning, and its significance.

Before delving into analysis of the artwork’s components, it is important to discuss why this artwork was made. This wall mural is part of Pope Julius II’s commission to decorate his private library (Zucker and Harris). The room has four sides, with each side representing the four branches of human knowledge at the time of High Renaissance: Philosophy, Divinity, Poetry, and Justice. The School of Athens, located on the east wall, represents Philosophy and is directly facing Disputa, representing Divinity (Zucker and Harris).

This placement, and the fact that this artwork is no less impressive than Disputa, can be seen as one of the defining attitudes of the High Renaissance: secularization. Here, the religiosity and philosophy are seen as equals, alongside poetry and justice. This is a big step from pre-Renaissance times when religion tended to dominate and rule above all aspects of life (qtd. in Toman iii).

Fig 1.1 Imagined horizontal and vertical lines of The School of Athens.

Moving on to the aspects of form of the artwork itself, I will first talk about its composition. In Fig 1.1, it is shown from the horizontal blue line that “… below the vaulted architecture and celestial backdrop, [Raphael] set the assembly of philosophers in the lower half field, on earth” (Rosand). This means that Raphael deliberately separated man, who is concrete and earthly, from the abstract.

Fig 1.2 Areas of interest in The School of Athens, as labeled with numbers.

Next, the vertical red line between the two figures in the center of the artwork (Area 1 in Fig 1.2). This imagined line serves as a divider for the opposing school of thoughts in Philosophy: Plato, the older man on the left, represents the ethereal and the abstract. He represents the belief that “… there is a realm that is based on mathematics, on pure idea that is truer than the everyday world that we see” (Zucker and Harris). Whereas Aristotle, the younger man on his right, represents the belief “… on the observable, the actual, [and] the physical” (Zucker and Harris).

This divide can be seen from the other characters’ placement in the artwork. In Area 2 (Fig 1.2), which is Plato’s side, are a cluster of people who are also concerned who explains the world from an abstract, cosmic lens (Rosand). This is contrasted by the group of people (Area 3) in Aristotle’s side, who explains the world through factual and concrete means (Rosand). I shall explain how I know the aforementioned observations through analyzing the elements, aspects of form, and the identity of each figure that makes up The School of Athens.

Fig 1.3 Zoom in of Plato and Aristotle.

First, the two main figures (Fig 1.3) in the center of the fresco (Area 1). They are separated from the others by the arc frame of the background. I have said before that the older man on the left is Plato, and the younger man is Aristotle, Plato’s pupil. They are also holding their own books, Plato with his Timaeus, and Aristotle with his Ethics. This section of the essay will highlight how the subject matter and design elements reflect the meaning of the divide in schools of Philosophy.

Plato, representing the ideal and the abstract, wears purple and red. “… The purple, referring to the ether, what we would call the air, [and] the red to fire, neither of which have weight” (Zucker and Harris). Whereas “Aristotle wears blue and brown, that is colors of earth and water, which have gravity [and] weight” (Zucker and Harris). This contrast between the abstract versus the concrete is further compounded by their body language: Plato, pointing up to the heavens, to the realm of high thinking, his bare feet just merely planted on the ground. Aristotle, his hand splayed downwards to the ground, wearing gilded sandals, feet firm on the tiles (Rosand).

Second, the homage to ancient antiquity, apparent in the pagan sculptures of Apollo on the top left and Athena on the right (Rosand). The design of the architecture, with coffered barrel vaults, pilasters, et cetera, is ancient Roman design as well. The god and goddess of the ancient times only reinforce the conceptual divide of the artwork, with Apollo, the god of music and poetry, things that are appropriately platonic (Rosand). Then there is Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom, who is more involved in the practical affairs of man (Zucker and Harris).

The architecture design, which is equal throughout the artwork, represents the unifier in this artwork full of divides. They serve as a reminder that even though there is a fundamental divide in perspective, all of them are still under the same branch, Philosophy (Rosand).

Fig 1.4 The labeling of figures in Plato’s side using capital alphabets from A to F.

Third, the groups of people on Plato’s lower side in Area 2 (Fig 1.2). These figures are labeled with letters (Fig 1.4). Though the identities of many of the figures here is much debated, since Raphael did not leave any notes or annotations, let’s agree for the sake of discussion that:

A: Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher and mathematician who is arguably in the center of this group gathering. He sought to discover the mathematical principles of reality through musical harmony and geometry (Rosand).

B: Boethius, a Greek philosopher who wrote The Consolation of Philosophy (Lahanas).

C: Anaxagoras, a Greek philosopher that correctly explains solar eclipses and the presence of small particles (atoms) in all objects (Agutie).

D: Parmenides, a Greek philosopher who founded the method of reasoned proof for assertions (Agutie).

E: Hypatia, an Alexandrian philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer. She is considered to be the most famous student in the School of Athens (Lahanas).

F: Ibn Rushd (Latin: Averroes), a Spanish-Arab philosopher who wrote commentaries on almost all of Aristotle’s writings and major works of Plato (Agutie).

All of the figures in this cluster are concerned with the cosmic, bigger-picture truths, echoing Plato’s ideals. Moreover, two figures in this cluster deserve special attention: Hypatia and Ibn Rushd. Hypatia’s placement in Plato’s side is reminiscent of Plato’s principle of women’s equality (Fakhry), in fact she is the only woman in the whole artwork. On the other hand, Ibn Rushd’s placement in Plato’s side is curious, since he is more associated with Aristotle’s works more so than that of Plato’s (Fakhry). Even so, Raphael must be commended for including a woman as an equal with men and a Muslim figure, which was seen as radical and out of line in his era.

Fig 1.5 The labeling of figures in Aristotle’s side using capital alphabets from G to J.

Fourth, the group that represents Aristotle’s way of thought in Area 3 (Fig 1.2), concerned with the physical and the concrete. They are labeled with letters (Fig 1.5), with identities as follows:

G: Euclid, a Greek mathematician. He is the father of geometry and is seen bent down, applying geometry with a compass to a tablet, flat on the ground (Rosand).

H: Zoroaster, a Greek astronomer, founder of Zoroastrianism, holding a celestial orb (Agutie).

I: Ptolemy, the royal astronomer, who was the first to believe that all heavenly bodies revolve around the earth (Agutie).

J: Raphael, the artist himself in black, and his mentor in art, Sodoma, in white (Lahanas).

The figures in Aristotle’s side are arguably more interesting than Plato’s, as there is more diversity in terms of the principles that the figures represent. Of course, they are all still united in their more earthly and human-centric concerns, but the inclusion of the artist’s self-portrait is the main highlight of this area of interest. For Raphael to include himself is a historical statement, as stated by Dr. Beth Harris, “… here, the artist is considered an intellectual, on par with some [of] the greatest thinkers in history” (Zucker and Harris).

Fig 1.6 Zoom in detail of Heraclitus.

Last, but certainly not least, is the lone figure of Heraclitus (Fig 1.6), an ancient philosopher that sits and thinks alone, separated from the others (Area 4 in Fig 1.2). What makes this figure stand out is the fact that he is a deviation from the orthogonal perspective of the whole artwork. Apart from Diogenes, who is sprawled on the steps, also by himself, Heraclitus feels out of place in the artwork. This is because Heraclitus was actually added after the fresco was finished (Rosand).

At this point, I will discuss the personal aspect that Raphael weaved throughout this commission; Heraclitus’ figure is one of them. The model for this ancient philosopher is actually based off of Michelangelo, and this insertion, this acknowledgment of the older artist is very curious in of itself. The personal antipathy between them is well known; Raphael, the sociable and cultured artist was intensely disliked by Michelangelo, the brooding and melancholic artist, who accused him of stealing his ideas from the Sistine ceiling (Hale 274). For Raphael to include him in his impressive fresco can be said as an homage or a tribute to Michelangelo (Rosand). This speaks of Raphael’s respect and regard for the other artist despite their differences.

Heraclitus is not the only figure who is modeled after someone else –in fact, most of the major figures in this artwork are modeled after someone else- take, for instance, Plato who is actually modeled after Leonardo da Vinci (Toman 336), an artist that highly inspired Raphael. For him to model Plato, the central figure of his fresco and one of the greatest thinkers of all time after Leonardo is a significant honor to his person. Another instance is Euclid. The geometer is actually modeled after Bramante the architect, Raphael’s friend and professional companion (Toman 336). His tribute for Bramante doesn’t end there; the architectural design of the background is actually inspired by Bramante’s architectural design and vision (Martindale 83).

All of the analysis of the components, and how even the smallest things contribute to a greater meaning, is the main reason why I think this artwork is phenomenal. If anything is to be obvious from my essay, is the amount of planning, effort, and thoughtfulness that Raphael did for this fresco. For me, personally, there is nothing more impressive than a successful execution with an underlying concept that is well thought of in every step of the way. In this, I am very pleased with Raphael’s technical skill to make something so legible on an intimidating scale, yet still retaining a degree of thoughtfulness that is apparent in every single dot of his fresco.

To further compound this, I am not the only one who thinks that this artwork is extraordinary. The School of Athens has received high regard from the moment of its completion, even until the present day. The Stanza della Segnatura has been a famous tourist attraction because of the wall frescoes that Raphael made, and The School of Athens is arguably the main attraction in the Vatican Palace.

Most importantly, however, is Raphael’s own influence on the High Renaissance, and what follows after. As Johan Huizinga, a Dutch art historian has stated:

The Renaissance marks the rise of the individual, the awakening of a desire for beauty, a triumphal procession of joyful life, the intellectual conquest of physical realities, … a dawning of consciousness of the relationship of the individual to the natural world around him (qtd. in Toman i).

To attribute all of those values of the Renaissance to just The School of Athens is optimistic at best and naïve at worst, but it is worth acknowledging that The School of Athens is one of the main highlights of the High Renaissance, and certainly sums up the entirety of the High Renaissance. In this light, Raphael deserves much acclaim, as written by Luitpold Dussler in his book Raphael:

Raphael has left an indelible mark on art. He revolutionized portrait painting … and epitomized the style which has come to be known as High Renaissance. … Perhaps Raphael’s greatest achievement is that he appeals on all levels and makes something profoundly deep and complex appear simple and comprehensible (qtd. in Hale 275).

In conclusion, the value of Raphael’s The School of Athens is that it is invaluable. It was significant by the time it was completed, and is still significant even today, more than five hundred years later. More than just a room decoration, it speaks of the general perspective of Philosophy during the early 16th century. Raphael’s ability to condense such a difficult, multi-faceted discipline into a thoughtful work of art that can be appreciated by anyone, at any level, is a testament to his remarkable technical skill and conceptual knowledge.

I will end my essay with one conviction: that The School of Athens is one of the definitive artworks of the High Renaissance, and I hope that the significance of attributing an entire period to one single artwork is realized and acknowledged.

Works Cited

Zucker, Steven and Beth Harris. “Raphael, School of Athens.” Smarthistory. 27 Jul. 2014. 3 Nov 2017.

Toman, Rolf. Introduction. The Art of the Italian Renaissance. Germany: Könemann, 1995. Print. i, iii, 336.

Rosand, David. “Raphael’s Fresco of The School of Athens in the Stanza della Segnatura of the Vatican Palace.” Columbia University. New York. N.d. 3 Nov 2017.

Lahanas, Michael. “The School of Athens, ‘Who is Who?’ Puzzle.” Hellenica World. N. d. 3 Nov 2017 <http://www.hellenicaworld.com/Greece/Science/en/ SchoolAthens.html>.

Agutie. “Raphael (1483-1520): The School of Athens, 1509. Interactive Map.” Geometry from the Land of the Incas. 13 Jul 2014. 3 Nov 2017 <http://agutie.homestead.com/files/school_athens_map.html>.

Fakhry, Majid. Averroes (Ibn Rushd) His Life, Works and Influence. London: Oneworld Publications, 2001. N. p.

“Raphael.” Encyclopaedia of the Italian Renaissance. Ed. J. R. Hale. Lindon: Thames and Hudson,1981. Print. 274-275.

Martindale, Andrew. Man and the Renaissance. London: Paul Hamlyn Limited. 1966. Print. 83.

[hushedhands]

Challenge 74

Thanks for voting @winter-131! One easy thing you can do to encourage your friends to vote is just post that you voted on social media. It reminds people to vote, shows them that it can be fun, and makes them want to be one of the cool kids like you ❤️🤍💙 I hope you enjoy this Maxerica fight!  

America knew that she was Illéa’s darling. The nation, rocked by tragedy in the wake of the rebel massacre that stole their King and Queen from them, took almost feverish delight in the freshly-crowned King Maxon’s brand new marriage to a humble girl from Carolina. The tabloids made it look like a dream from the outside, but inside the Palace all America saw were threats. Advisers sneered at her naive policy ideas, etiquette lessons with Silvia took on a desperate tenor as it suddenly became America’s responsibility to gracefully represent Illéa to the world, and there were always more rebels lurking somewhere in the shadows.

Now that Maxon wasn’t dating dozens of other women at the same time that he was courting her, America’s relationship with her new husband was better than ever. Still, they didn’t see much of each other. Now on nights when he didn’t take her on dates, it wasn’t because he was making out with Kriss Ambers, it was because he was still at work. America loved him with her whole heart, which made it all the more frustrating that she still didn’t know him very well.

One of their first major galas as a husband and wife took place in the gardens, because the Great Room was still being repaired from the rebel attack. The celebration was full of politicians who wanted to talk to Maxon and look at America, but even though America was only expected to stay quiet and pretty, she used the evening as an opportunity to practice the skills Silvia had been teaching her.

America moved on her own from cluster to cluster of important people, welcoming them to the Palace and thanking them for all of their “hard work in this difficult time”. She was both bored by how easy her job was and convinced she was doing it completely wrong all at the same time.

It felt like she’d been at it for hours, moving around the gardens like a bland, bejeweled ghost repeating herself over and over as if her unfinished business in life had been thanking people for coming to her party. In reality, maybe 45 minutes had passed, and she only had to make it a little longer until dinner would be served and she could take a break. Then, out of the corner of her eye, America spotted a familiar face and made a beeline toward her.

“Georgia, I can’t believe you and August decided to come.” America smiled.

Georgia offered America a perfunctory little curtsy and then looked across the garden for her husband, standing and talking to a few interested-looking military-types. “And I can’t believe all the times we risked out lives for the chance to be able to live openly in society, and this is what we get.”

America laughed, “Not worth it at all.”

“Not even close.”

“Hey, maybe we should start a new underground rebellion.” America offered.

“People who hate parties?” Georgia smiled wryly.

“We just run away, hide somewhere pretty, and periodically release manifestos about how boring this is.” America giggled as she gestured to the scene around them.

“I’m in.” Georgia immediately agreed. “Except, uh-oh, that’s interesting…”

“What?”

Georgia stepped closer to America and tilted her chin up to point at something happening over America’s shoulder. “Emiliana Chrystie found Maxon.”

“Who… the actress?” America blinked, turning to look back at her husband slowly so that the people around them wouldn’t notice the new direction of her attention.

“She married her way into one of the most influential families in Illéan politics, a complete caste climber…”

America cast a sidewise glance at Georgia, “Is that supposed to be bad? What do you call me, then?”

“I call you the wife of the man Emiliana is flirting with right now.” Georgia replied casually.

America didn’t see it at first. Maxon wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary, really. He was smiling, laughing at something Emiliana had said. She was playfully running a finger along the shoulder of his jacket, but just to show him something. They were probably talking about fashion. It was a little familiar, sure, but Maxon was just being friendly. And were they standing a little close together? Maybe. But standing around isn’t exactly a scandalous activity.

Then America saw it. Maxon placed a hand on Emiliana’s upper arm, leant in, and whispered something that made Emiliana blush and giggle. Not only did America feel embarrassed that her husband would flirt like that with another woman in front of so many people, but she felt stupid for not seeing it right away. She felt taken advantage of, because she’d made all of those excuses in her mind for Maxon about why his behavior was probably perfectly appropriate.

America was used to seeing him treat women that way because that’s how she’d seen him treat everyone in his Selection. Meaningless, shameless flirting from morning until night. Had the Selection groomed her to accept this kind of behavior from Maxon unquestioningly? Was that one of its darker, more sinister functions? She wouldn’t even have noticed what was happening if Georgia hadn’t pointed it out to her.

“Look America, I know that Maxon will be the first king in Illéan history not to take a mistress—“

“What? They all took mistresses?”

“All of them.” Georgia nodded grimly.

“Not Clarkson—“

“All of them.” she repeated emphatically. “I know Maxon’s different, but this is a party full of the old guard: important figures from Clarkson’s reign. They might not know Maxon’s different yet, which means the women are probably already jockeying for their position in a secret, second Selection to become the King’s lover.”

The look on America’s face must have been obviously pained, because Georgia was quick to reiterate, “Obviously Maxon would never do anything like that to you—“

But America wasn’t so sure. They’d never talked about anything like this before. She knew he loved her, but how could she stop him from taking on a mistress if that’s what he really wanted? He was the King and she was just his pretty little wife. She excused herself early from the party, claiming she had a terrible headache, and she let her maids pamper her when she returned to her bedroom.

America curled up in bed in her fluffiest robe and hugged a pillow to her chest, thinking hard about the last occupant of this bedroom, Amberly. The whole room had been remade after the royal wedding, but these were still the walls that had once contained her. Had she known that Clarkson had a mistress? Had Maxon known? Was this something very normal for the royals, like seven-course dinners and having a vault full of crowns? Had Silvia simply forgotten to put this in her etiquette lessons? Had she just not gotten around to teaching America about it yet?  

By the time Maxon made it to his bedroom next door, America had been alone for long enough that she’d moved from sadness to righteous indignation. She wasn’t here to be an ornament on Maxon’s arm, like a pair of cufflinks with a cute backstory behind them. She got dressed, put on her running shoes, and went next door to confront her spouse.

Maxon’d had just a little too much to drink that night, enough to make him giddy and make the hard edges on the world around him blur softly so that everything felt safe. Now he was in a pair of silky pajamas that felt especially inviting after the long day he’d had. He was tired in a pleasant way after a productive day with lots to show for his efforts. When America wasn’t waiting for him in his bed, he’d assumed it was because she’d wanted to sleep off her headache without being awoken by him when he returned upstairs. When she opened the door to his bedroom fully dressed and not at all sickly, it took him a sluggish moment to realize what was happening.

“My love? Are you alright?” Maxon asked.

“No.” America crossed her arms defensively. “We need to talk.”

“Oh dear.” Maxon sensed that she was unhappy, but his first thought was that someone at the party had said something rude to her. “I had thought, in light of the recent massacre, that the guests would comport themselves with appropriate sensitivity. What happened?”

America didn’t understand what he was talking about. She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion and replied, “You spent the whole night flirting with that actress.”

Maxon was taken aback. Nothing could have been farther from the truth. “Wha… the whole night? America, I most certainly did no such thing. I spent the evening currying favor with important dignitaries.”

“Emiliana Chrystie is an important dignitary now? So what does it take to win her favor?”

“America!” he was scandalized at the vulgar implication her tone carried. “This is entirely unbecoming behavior from you—“

“From me?! Maxon, you were flirting with another man’s wife right in front of me!”

“I was not!”

America cast him an incredulous look, which only made him more angry at the accusation, “America, I am not permitted to ignore the women at my parties. Yes, I spoke to Mrs. Chrystie, but I made absolutely no inappropriate advances toward her. How could you think I would do that to you?”

“Seriously? That’s all you ever did to me when we were dating!”

He frowned, “That’s entirely different.”

“Is it?”

“Yes, America! You weren’t the only one I was dating at the time. Now you’re my wife, in case you haven’t noticed, and our circumstances have changed.”

She didn’t appreciate his sass. “How would you feel if I started flirting with the men at our parties? What if I leaned in and whispered scandalous secrets in their ears, touching their arms, laughing while making eye contact? Should I try it?”

Maxon grew sullen, an acrid tone in his voice, “Didn’t you already do that with Aspen?”

America knew that was still a sore spot with him, even though he and Aspen had been good friends ever since the massacre. Still, the idea that Maxon deserved to flirt to his heart’s content because America had snuck off with Aspen a few times during his Selection was the height of arrogant hypocrisy, and America needed to nip it in the bud right now. “You chose between 35 women, I chose between 2 men, and you’re the one who gets to have affairs now?!”

“Affairs?! America, this is absolutely insane. I have to be allowed to talk to women without being accused of having an affair.”

“Maxon, you weren’t talking to her the way you talk to men. You embarrassed me, it was completely obvious that you found her attractive—“

“So now I’m allowed to talk to women as long as they look sufficiently plain?”

“That’s not what I’m saying, you’re twisting my words on purpose.” America accused.

“I have to twist your words to make any sense out of them.”

“Maxon!”

“I’m sorry that you feel embarrassed, America, but I didn’t do anything wrong.” he said in a tone that told her that the conversation was over.

America narrowed her eyes at Maxon and made the last move available to her, “I’m going to spend the weekend with my mother.”

“Good idea.” Maxon said, though it was the last thing he really wanted. He hated being alone in this enormous Palace. “Maybe she can make you see reason.”

America couldn’t stand that tone in his voice, the one he used to deliberately communicate that he didn’t care what she did as long as she stopped annoying him. She turned around, left his room, and closed the door behind her.

***

America awoke the following morning in her bedroom at her mother’s new estate. Though Maxon had gifted the place to Magda, and America had never truly lived here, Magda kept a bedroom specially for each of her children at her house, even Kota. Downstairs, America could just make out the sound of baby Astra loudly “talking” to her mom and grandma, the cutest delighted baby sounds in the world.

America only knew one thing for certain, she would not let Maxon have a mistress while he was married to her. She refused to be humiliated like that. She didn’t really know what options she had, because divorcing the King was illegal and Gregory Illéa had probably made the punishment something stupid like execution. But she could probably run away, either live here with her mother or take up residence in one of the monarchy’s many properties scattered all throughout Illéa. Or maybe she could flee to Italy and spend the rest of her days as a refugee with Princess Nicoletta. That didn’t sound horrible. There were amazing concert halls and museums containing the most gorgeous art in history in Italy. It was enough of a backup plan that America felt good enough to crawl out of bed and stumble downstairs for some breakfast.

When Astra spotted her from her place on Magda’s hip, she reached out her chubby baby hands and said, “Ayayayayayah!”

“That’s pretty close to America.” James smirked. He wore one of Magda’s flowery aprons, spatula in hand, standing near the stove where he was monitoring the progress of a fluffy, golden pancake.

“Our baby can talk!” Kenna cheered, smooching Astra on the cheek. “She’s a genius!”

“Ayayayayayayah…” Astra replied, now focused on the flowers in the vase in the middle of the table.

“Well, she’s working on it.” James allowed.

“Do you want to visit Aunt America?” Magda asked Astra, but really she was offering America a turn to snuggle with the wiggly toddler. America held out her arms gratefully and accepted her cute little offering.

“Ames, let’s go let her crawl around outside before breakfast.” Kenna encouraged. “She’ll be less squirmy while she eats if we do.”

America was happy to oblige. It was a gorgeous, misty summer morning out there. Gerad was already playing hard all the way across the enormous yard, but he paused to wave to America and Kenna when he saw them step out.

America lowered Astra to the soft grass and the baby took off.

“The groundskeepers do a good job of keeping ants and biting bugs away, so all I really do is follow behind and make sure she doesn’t try to eat any sticks or something.” Kenna rolled her eyes at her sweet, stick-eating baby.

Baby Astra was already off on her own adventure, wobbly, unsteadily creeping and crawling through the short, plush green grass.

“So… you showed up unannounced in the middle of the night…” Kenna said, trying to keep her tone casual.

“Mhmm.”

“Is it rebels?”

“No.”

“Would you tell me if it was?”

“Yes.”

“Okay…” Kenna didn’t press for more information. They just quietly strolled lazily behind Astra, watching her explore the world. America didn’t know how to tell her big sister that Maxon, who was beloved by their whole family, was also a shameless flirt who didn’t care that his actions hurt America. It was embarrassing, really. Why wasn’t she able to hold her brand new husband’s attention? It would only get harder the more he got used to having her around, right?

“No, baby—“ Kenna hurried forward and took a small rock from Astra’s hand, where it had been halfway to her mouth.

Astra made a noise of upset at being robbed like this.

“Dangerous.” Kenna told her daughter sternly, “No eating.”

Astra disagreed, clearly. She loudly vocalized her dissent until she caught sight of Gerad kicking around his soccer ball. Rock entirely forgotten, she changed course and started off on the long journey to the far side of the yard to play with her young uncle.

Kenna sighed, “It’s a miracle the human race survived this long.”

“Only because of moms like you.” America smiled at her big sister.

Kenna smiled back, proud of herself for joining a long, ancient heritage of women pulling rocks from babies mouths. Emboldened by her lineage, she encouraged America, “You can tell me anything, you know.”

“I know.”

“I’ll never ever judge you, I’m always on your side.”

America frowned, frustrated, “I just—“ she shook her head, wishing this didn’t feel like such a big deal. “I don’t know, it’s probably stupid! But also—“

Kenna shook her head, “If it’s got you this riled up, it might be a lot of things but it’s not stupid.”

America started from the beginning, telling Kenna all about how Maxon had flirted with that actress at the party, how Georgia had warned her that Kings always took lovers, how there was probably a shadow Selection happening right now, full of gorgeous women vying to become the King’s favorite. How Maxon completely brushed her off the night before. Said her concerns were crazy. Refused to apologize or promise to change his ways. And how she needed a backup plan in case he took on a mistress, because America refused to share him in that way ever again.

America was surprised that Kenna giggled when America was done.

“That doesn’t sound like you’re on my side, Kenna.” America accused.

Kenna put her hands up as if in surrender, “I just can’t imagine sweet, awkward Maxon taking on a lover.” she said the last word with all the scandal it deserved.

“Well, he’s not just sweet, awkward Maxon anymore. He’s the King now. Things are different.” America frowned.

“Ames, did you tell him that this is what you’re scared of? Does he know that his behavior gave you bad flashbacks to his Selection?”

“Yes! Well, no, not the first part. But he knows how it made me feel, he just doesn’t see any problem with flirting like crazy all the time.” America was exaggerating. It had only been one woman at one party, but it was the start of something that could spiral out of control really quickly.

Kenna thought it over for a moment and then said, “Huh. I wonder…”

“What?” America peeked over at her big sister curiously.

“I just wonder if maybe Maxon doesn’t know how to be around women… I mean, you told me that he hardly knew any girls before his Selection. That means by far, most of his interactions with women took place while he was dating them. Maybe he really doesn’t see anything wrong with being flirty, because that’s the only way he knows how to be around women.”

America scowled. So now, thanks to Maxon’s sheltered upbringing, she’d have to share him with a harem of women? Would there be a race to see who could provide him with a male heir fastest? What if America only had girls like Anne Boleyn? She’d read about her in the Palace library, and her story did not end well! Would Maxon execute her so he could marry one of his mistresses?

“Ames?” Kenna brought America back to the present. “Don’t spin this up into something that’s bigger than it is.”

“I’m not.” America lied.

“Maybe Maxon doesn’t even know about the whole… royal mistress thing.”

“How could he not know?”

“Well maybe he doesn’t think you know? You guys are changing a lot about the monarchy, maybe this was just something he wanted to quietly let go of…”

America sighed and tilted her head back. She already knew she was going to have to go back to the Palace after breakfast and talk this over with her husband, even though all she wanted was to hide here with her family and snuggle baby Astra all weekend. She loved Kenna, but sometimes talking over her problems with her big sister was too helpful.

***

America found Maxon looking glum on their bench in the gardens. It was a warm Saturday, and since summer was the slow season for the government, Maxon had the day off.

“Ames?” he was surprised she was back, and she didn’t miss how he seemed to perk up just from the sight of her.

America jumped straight to the chase, still totally prepared to turn around and head back to her mother’s house if this didn’t go well. “Did you know that kings are expected to have affairs?”

Maxon blinked, surprised, “I beg your pardon?”

“Georgia told me. Illéan kings are supposed to take mistresses after they marry.”

Maxon shook his head mutinously, “Northern rebels don’t know everything, Ames.”

“So it’s not true?” America challenged him.

Maxon paused a little too long.

“So it is true, and you know it.” America sank onto the bench next to him. “It’s pretty messed up that you made me feel crazy last night since you knew full well that all of those people expect you to take a mistress soon.”

Maxon looked stunned. Finally he confessed, “I didn’t… what I mean to say is, I had no idea it was some sort of rule. I knew… I knew my father…”

America turned to him, jaw dropped, realizing what he was saying. He’d caught his father having an affair, but he hadn’t realized that was expected for Illéan kings.

“Oh, Max.” America placed her hand over his and squeezed. “I’m so sorry. That’s awful.”

“Ames, I would never do that to you.”

America smiled, but she wasn’t entirely convinced, “Not even with a gorgeous young actress? I’m still eighteen, but what about when I’m old and wrinkly?”

He smiled wanly and pressed two featherlight kisses to the outside corners of her eyes, “I should be so lucky as to share a life with you that’s long and happy enough to lead to wrinkles…”

America’s stomach swooped at his honeyed words, but then she realized that that’s exactly how Emiliana had felt the night before.

“Maxon, you need to treat women the same way you treat men.”

“I’m sorry?”

“If a woman is a good friend of yours and you want to touch them, whisper to them, tell secret, risqué jokes with them—“

“I wasn’t—“

“Let me finish.” America insisted, and he fell silent. “I’m telling you that’s fine. But stop for just a second before you do it and make sure you’d do the same thing with a man. I think, maybe, you just don’t know how to socialize with women you’re not dating. You’ve never really had to do it before.”

Maxon let her words sink in, this time doing his best not to dismiss them out of hand. After all, the only woman outside of his family that he’d had much of a friendship with before his Selection was Daphne, and she’d walked away from him heartbroken because she’d thought he was in love with her. “America, you may be right.” he realized, appalled. “What do I do?”

America smiled at his lost little confused look, a startled princeling in a king’s crown. “Just like I said, try to treat them the exact same as men. It’ll take a lot of thought at first, but I’ll bet you’ll get used to it fast. Especially if you start adding women to your roster of advisers.”

Maxon looked down at his shoes, then squeezed her hand gently, “I’m so sorry I hurt you, Ames. I should have listened. I didn’t put it all together… the fact that those guests expect me to take a mistress, and the fact that I don’t behave the same way around women as men…”

“I know you won’t be perfect overnight, and I’m glad you haven’t secretly been planning to move your mistresses into the second floor—“

“God, no!”

“I didn’t know.” America blushed. “I just… after everything I’ve learned since your Selection started, I… I didn’t think you’d do it, but I just didn’t know…”

Maxon nodded grimly. He could understand how such a thing might just be believable to her. “You trust me, don’t you?”

“Absolutely.”

“Good. Then trust me when I say that I will never, ever have an affair. You are my wife, and I am perfectly content with my choice. I’ll do my best to make that clear to everyone else, too.”

America smiled, truly feeling the sun on her shoulders for the first time all day.