#is homelander redeemable?

[zepskies]

Just a question, do you think Homelander could be redeemable in the same way People think that soldier boy could be?

Oof, so this is also the answer to the question another anon sent me on Friday night (if I would ever write for Homelander).

No, I don't think Homelander is redeemable in the same way Soldier Boy potentially could be. Their personalities have similarities, but also notable differences. I talk about them in a review of this book, Supes Ain't Always Heroes.

But Homelander (John) has been literally labeled by psychologists as a malignant narcissist: arrogant, racist, and emotionally manipulative, he lacks empathy for others’ pain, and in fact enjoys inflicting it. As Antony Starr has said, "he's damaged goods."

Now, Soldier Boy (Ben) ain't no picnic either. He's got flaws for miles, but he wasn't home grown in a cold lab by himself with little to no socialization. He's an asshole. He's arrogant, crass, callous, misogynistic and violent, but I don't believe he enjoys inflicting pain the way Homelander does.

Soldier Boy "does what he has to do" to be the alpha male, to retain what he believes power is. In season 3, he was very much fueled by his thirst for revenge. Where the snippets of the past show him as not being so much a megalomaniac, but a self-indulgent celebrity with a violent mean streak to those who stepped on his toes.

His future trajectory remains to be seen, but this is why I felt the spark to write a redemptive arc for Soldier Boy, and continue to write about him. 💚

Homelander, for me, though he's a magnificently interesting character, rich in contradictions and shades of gray, is just a bit too flawed for me to write comfortably as a romantic interest. But I have friends who do, and they're very talented at it!

Sorry for such a long answer to what should be a simple question lol. But that's my personal take!~

[plasticfangtastic]

Still mourning the potential of a Viclander arc in the boys yet they gave us firecracker.

Like she could have had Homie on his knees like the dog he is

[thyhauntedmansion]

The aggressive Gen V fandom discourse on TikTok is so funny because while people make very good points on who would win the coveted telepath vs blood bender fight, my brain will always revert to how I had to sit there and watch a stage 4 cancer patient change out of his hospital gown in order to take down the only other blood bending supe, with nothing but the alien tentacles he spontaneously sprouted and has only ever used once before, unconsciously.

I’m just saying. Anything can be written in this damn universe💀

[springbudeyes]

One thing is for certain. Helgrind > Homelander

[vonkarma2]

had a dream where I tried to pitch my childhood favorite book series to someone as “the boys but with fairytales instead of superheroes” I cannot express to you how much that sentiment is not true

[mommy-mortis]

I've seen all your sins and I have to be honest with you, you're going to suffer in the end, do you mind if I sit and watch?

[elfgirlcraftworks]

Let America Be America Again

By Langston Hughes

Let America be America again.

Let it be the dream it used to be.

Let it be the pioneer on the plain

Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed—

Let it be that great strong land of love

Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme

That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty

Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,

But opportunity is real, and life is free,

Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There’s never been equality for me,

Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”)

Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?

And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,

I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars.

I am the red man driven from the land,

I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—

And finding only the same old stupid plan

Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

I am the young man, full of strength and hope,

Tangled in that ancient endless chain

Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!

Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!

Of work the men! Of take the pay!

Of owning everything for one’s own greed!

I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.

I am the worker sold to the machine.

I am the Negro, servant to you all.

I am the people, humble, hungry, mean—

Hungry yet today despite the dream.

Beaten yet today—O, Pioneers!

I am the man who never got ahead,

The poorest worker bartered through the years.

Yet I’m the one who dreamt our basic dream

In the Old World while still a serf of kings,

Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,

That even yet its mighty daring sings

In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned

That’s made America the land it has become.

O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas

In search of what I meant to be my home—

For I’m the one who left dark Ireland’s shore,

And Poland’s plain, and England’s grassy lea,

And torn from Black Africa’s strand I came

To build a “homeland of the free.”

The free?

Who said the free? Not me?

Surely not me? The millions on relief today?

The millions shot down when we strike?

The millions who have nothing for our pay?

For all the dreams we’ve dreamed

And all the songs we’ve sung

And all the hopes we’ve held

And all the flags we’ve hung,

The millions who have nothing for our pay—

Except the dream that’s almost dead today.

O, let America be America again—

The land that never has been yet—

And yet must be—the land where every man is free.

The land that’s mine—the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME—

Who made America,

Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,

Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,

Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose—

The steel of freedom does not stain.

From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives,

We must take back our land again,

America!

O, yes,

I say it plain,

America never was America to me,

And yet I swear this oath—

America will be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,

The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,

We, the people, must redeem

The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.

The mountains and the endless plain—

All, all the stretch of these great green states—

And make America again!

[andhumanslovedstories]

Do you know the Langston Hughes poem "Let America Be America Again"? I think you would enjoy reading it.

I know it's cool among leftists to hate America and wish it harm, and yes it's built on a LOT of harms, but your post resonated with me. It's the country we have, and it IS our duty to keep the freedoms we have and extend them to everyone.

god Langston Hughes is always hitting

Let America Be America Again

Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pioneer on the plain Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed— Let it be that great strong land of love Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There's never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")

Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark? And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek— And finding only the same old stupid plan Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

I am the young man, full of strength and hope, Tangled in that ancient endless chain Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land! Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need! Of work the men! Of take the pay! Of owning everything for one's own greed!

I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil. I am the worker sold to the machine. I am the Negro, servant to you all. I am the people, humble, hungry, mean— Hungry yet today despite the dream. Beaten yet today—O, Pioneers! I am the man who never got ahead, The poorest worker bartered through the years.

Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream In the Old World while still a serf of kings, Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true, That even yet its mighty daring sings In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned That's made America the land it has become. O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas In search of what I meant to be my home— For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore, And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea, And torn from Black Africa's strand I came To build a "homeland of the free."

The free?

Who said the free? Not me? Surely not me? The millions on relief today? The millions shot down when we strike? The millions who have nothing for our pay? For all the dreams we've dreamed And all the songs we've sung And all the hopes we've held And all the flags we've hung, The millions who have nothing for our pay— Except the dream that's almost dead today.

O, let America be America again— The land that never has been yet— And yet must be—the land where every man is free. The land that's mine—the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME— Who made America, Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain, Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose— The steel of freedom does not stain. From those who live like leeches on the people's lives, We must take back our land again, America!

O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath— America will be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death, The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies, We, the people, must redeem The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers. The mountains and the endless plain— All, all the stretch of these great green states— And make America again!

[phoenixtakaramono]

Alternatively, a smart writer’s choice is if you put Ryan in the center of the conflict—and we the audience see there are two choices presented. Either they can continue their fight, or they can set their differences aside to save Ryan. As fathers. As heroes.

And that is the last final send-off. They aren’t good people. But they’re human.

I’m not sure what dramatic death the writer’s room can contrive, but imagine these two enemies banged up and bloodied pausing from their fight, fists raised, teeth bared, because they hear Ryan’s cry. Somehow the boy is in dire straits—and he will die if they don’t save him.

Ryan is the future. He’s the next generation. He’s Becca’s their legacy—and their hope for the future. He has Homelander’s powers, but he has Becca’s humanity and Butcher’s…cynicalness? He can’t die.

Both Homelander and Butcher rush to save him. We get a dramatic scene where these two aging, bloodied men who’ve been at each other’s throats are having to heft up a crumbled ceiling or military tank or something plot devicey (Kripke’s Homelander clone stand-in, or a Deep or Black Noir gone wrong) that’d put them in a do-or-die situation.

Ryan’s wide-eyed, hair blowing in the wind and crusted over with grime and matted blood. He sees his biological dad and his other paternal figure be a hero at that moment. Even with their selfishness and brokeness, they’re there for him when he needed it the most. They look at him, smile exhaustedly, and say something heartfelt to him (something something about being their “son” or warning him to be better and not follow in their footsteps). They buy Ryan enough time to escape or for Hughie and Annie to pull Ryan out of danger. And these two men, after making eye contact and maybe exchanging a last quip or two, are crushed to death or explode together. One last dance together. This ties it all back together as a callback to S3 where Billy and Homelander surprisingly lasered Soldier Boy in tandem, for Ryan’s sake.

Now Ryan will have that image in his head of what real heroes are. Cue future spin-offs.

End scene.

Thoughts about The Boys (TV) ending at S5

In my humble opinion, Billy Butcher and Homelander deserve to have their final dance together—in Hell.

[late-draft]

"Can the Fire Nation be redeemed?" "Dude, they were about to 'win' the war using Sozin's comet, I don't think they can be redeemed the next day!"

The situation is like that the story could easily continue with many (and I mean many. Half of the nation even) FN characters still being the villains.

Their new Fire Lord took the throne via a dubious Agni Kai duel against Azula who hadn't yet been officially crowned, and their previous Fire Lord Ozai was taken down by the Avatar, who (supposedly) most of the Fire Nation does not recognize as a legitimate authority figure due to a century of propaganda that elevated the Fire Lord and FN's own "greatness".

The Fire Nation was winning and suddenly overnight, they are informed that not only do they have a new Fire Lord, they're also immediately halting all war efforts, have surrendered, are retreating their army back to homeland and are about to start paying reparations. At least half of the country would be outraged. They were profiting from the war! And they're not about to give up because a branded traitor, scarred boy king ordered it.

The peasants are mostly glad the war stopped, the industry is confused and worried about profits, and the military is furious. Zuko and Iroh would probably have a very difficult time establishing control over it, as many splinter factions would pull it apart and plunge the Fire Nation into civil war in a desperate attempt to quickly resume the old course, especially when the information about Ozai being still alive and Azula still having her firebending spreads.

There could easily be another season where these problems are tackled, and villains still aggressively bend fire and spread destruction.

[lamentationsofalonelypotato]

Chapter 27: Take Me Back To The Beginning

Pairing: Soldier Boy x f!reader, Reader POV

Summary: When the reader left Payback 40 years ago after a falling out with her childhood best friend she never looked back, but when two men show up to her apartment and start asking her questions about the past, the reader begins to think those things can’t stay hidden and starts to question what’s real and what’s fantasy.  This is a re-telling of The Boys Season 3, where the reader is a supe who's known Soldier Boy since 1927. The chapters will fluctuate between past and present. This is chapter twenty seven of my "You Call It Madness But I Call It Love" series. (I'm so bad at summaries please forgive me!)

Word Count: 13.3K (I tried to cut it down I promise 😭)

Warnings:  I'm gonna label this one 18+ because it's Soldier Boy. Homelander is a freak AGAIN,  A little bit of Oedipal Complex (It's Homelander the man is a walking Greek Tragedy), Graphic depiction of death, Dark thoughts, References to Past Trauma,  Angst, Cursing, Sexual References, Family Problems- A LOT of family problems, Homophobic comment (It's Soldier Boy), Past Trauma, Death Mentioned, Blood mentioned. Soldier Boy might be, is, really, absolutely, completely a little OOC. Soldier Boy is really all you need as a warning.

Note: This is told from the Reader's perspective. Any references to the reader is made using you or your. There is minimal use of y/n. I tried my best to proofread, but nobody's perfect. Reader is described as "curvy" occasionally. If you don’t like, don’t read, but if you do like, you’re my favorite!

Internal Monologue is in first person and is in italics

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

A/n: It's that time y'all! The final battle is finally here! This chapter was a doozy to write, there were so many things that needed to be wrapped up, but I really have loved writing this series and I really like how everything came together.

READER POV

The building is just as cold as you remember it, the hallways are silent and empty as if they'd been cleared for this exact moment as the three of you make your way into the depths of Vought Tower.

I wonder if Homelander was the one who did it, or if someone else realized what was coming.

There was an electricity in the air like the coming storm, rolling in front of Ben, Butcher, and you like a dark omen.

Homelander is going to get what is coming to him.

Any remorse you had for him left the moment that he took Lou. There was nothing human to save, nothing left to redeem, the only thing left was the sharpened, cruel creature that Vought created from your own flesh and blood.

And if you were his beginning, you might as well be his end.

Ben was walking beside you, any softness that you'd seen outside the building replaced by the cold calculating mask of Soldier Boy, you knew all too well, but this time you didn't fear his descent into the blaze, you reveled in it. For the first time in years, you were happy to see Soldier Boy again, and this time you knew that Ben was becoming this for you, for Lou, and for Rosemary.

You hoped that this time he wouldn't hold you back from doing what you needed to do as he had earlier. Though he did seem sorry for what happened while the two of you were outside, you weren't sure how eager he was to put it into practice.

Butcher seems to know where he is going, so you fall into step behind him, not concerned as to how Butcher knows exactly where he is headed. He stops outside a massive gilded door across from a rather exhaustive statue of the Seven craved from black marble.

The double doors that lead into the main conference room at Vought Tower are made to look intimidating, but you didn't feel anything but anger and fear. Not fear for yourself, but fear of what Homelander had done to Lou and to Rosemary.

Butcher pushes open the doors with one hand revealing a large room that lacks warmth. The last rays of the setting sun send honeyed light onto the black marble floors, dramatizing Homelander's stoic figure where he stands at the large floor to ceiling wall of windows at the opposite side of the room. His gaze is focused on the city below, like a proud emperor observing his kingdom and everything he owns.

He probably believes he does.

You think to yourself, eyes skating around the edges of the room looking for possible threats, but you don't see any. The wall to your left is lined with monitors and the wall to your right also has some, but instead holds a smaller pair of black double doors.

You didn’t know what kind of tricks Homelander had up his sleeve, but you were preparing yourself for the worst. Of the Seven teammates remaining he was the most formidable. You doubted that the Deep could do anything to you on dry land and you were more than happy to turn him into a tuna roll. You were a little worried about A-Train. He was fast enough to cause a problem, but you didn't know how much. Butcher had told you not to be worried about Hughie's girlfriend Starlight, mentioned that she wouldn’t side with Homelander and that she probably wouldn't be anywhere near Vought Tower. You figured that she'd probably gone to pick up Hughie from the gas station that Butcher had left him at, but you didn't know if she would come take down Homelander.

Honestly you were more worried that she would come for Ben. You'd seen her posts on social media proclaiming Soldier Boy as a terrorist and a villain, which meant that she probably wasn't your biggest fan either. You hoped that she was far away, you didn't want to kill someone who didn't deserve it or rather someone who lashed out against Ben or you because they didn't understand the whole situation.

Butcher also seemed unsure about who would be at Vought, mentioned something in passing about his old team that included the man you'd seen back at Herogasm, but you hadn't seen anyone in the building or sensed that anything unusual was about to happen other than your plan to rip out Homelander's spine and wear it around your neck like a fur boa.

"I remember the first time I stood here." Homelander says without turning around. You could see his pristine reflection in the glass, blonde hair perfectly styled and glowing in the last few wisps of sunlight. "I hadn't seen anything like New York City before, hadn't been around so many people in my entire life." His arms are crossed behind his back, the epitome of control. "They told me it was mine. That this was what I had been bred for my entire life." He glances over his shoulder at you. "I would have been willing to share it with you and dad."

"Where are Lou and Rosemary?" You keep your voice under control.

He ignores you and turns, eyes flicking from Butcher, to Ben, to you. "You are so beautiful. When I imagined what my mother would look like I never imagined someone like you. Maybe I imagined you looking a little more motherly." The feeling of his eyes tracing your figure makes your skin crawl. "But I can see why dad loves you so much. And of course why Noir was obsessed with you."

The mention of Noir makes your blood run cold. How did he know about that? Did Noir tell him?

That was another side of this whole situation that you had considered, you had no idea where Noir was. If he had stayed at the Tower or if he had cut and run when he heard that the rest of his team was being killed one by one. You hoped that it was the first option, trying to hunt him down and find him seemed inconvenient and you'd much rather just settle this now.

"Answer her question." Ben growls, the air around the two of you heating from Ben's newfound powers and the smell of ozone begins to float under your nose. He was trying to hold himself back from stepping in front of you and hiding you behind his body, that much was obvious. You could tell how much he hated how Homelander kept staring at you.

You did too. The guy is creepy enough, does he have to turn this into a Greek Tragedy? Did he see how things ended up for Oedipus?

Homelander only smiles, the same one he had back at Legend's, wide and with too much teeth. The smile of a predator before it catches it's prey, pretty until its teeth latch onto your throat.

He's very confident for someone who has no chance of taking down both of us. Then again, maybe he feels that way because he has the two people in the world who mean everything to me.

You strain your hearing to find Lou and Rosemary, but you can't hear them. There's a low buzz being projected through the building that makes it impossible for you to hear anything else.

Interesting that he's willing to handicap us even if it handicaps him as well.

"Hello William, still standing in my way and feeding them lies about me I see." Homelander tsks his finger as if Butcher is a child.

"Jealous that your dear old dad gets along better with me? Or maybe that your mother doesn't think that I'm as big a twat as you?" Butcher breezes with an easy smile.

Homelander's right eye twitches with Butcher's taunt.

"Sorry mate, does that make you angry? That your parents see me as the son they never had?" Butcher's smile grows.

You take this moment to skate your eyes around the room looking for any evidence of your granddaughter and daughter but you don't see any. Butcher was buying you time, but you didn't know how long it would take for Homelander to be done talking and you were ready to beat the location of your daughter and granddaughter out of him.

"Where are Lou and Rosemary?" Ben shouts again interrupting Butcher. "If you've hurt either of them I swear-"

"Why would I hurt my niece? I'm not a monster. She's fucking four years old." Homelander scoffs.

But hidden in his answer is the possibility that he hurt Rosemary, and it makes your blood run cold.

"We both know that you're capable of that." You respond coldly. "You thought nothing of using her as a human shield earlier."

Homelander presses a hand to his chest as if you've hurt him. "Why mother dearest, how could you say that about your only son?"

"Tell me where they are, and I will consider letting you live." You say without emotion.

Lie.

"There she is." Homelander smirks. "There's the woman I know and love. The one I met at Herogasm had so much ferocity, such rage, and pride. I think you try to hide her behind this. When you act pathetic and human." He gestures to you as if that explains things. "Because you're afraid to embrace it."

"You don't know me-"

"Well. The saying is, like father like son, but-" Homelander's smile doesn't reach his eyes. "The woman I met at Herogasm, she's something special, and exactly like me. Not to mention the woman who killed Stan is just as ferocious, and I'd like to talk to her."

"Keep pissing me off and you're gonna do a little more than talk to her."

Homelander chuckles. "Don't tease me." He has the audacity to wink.

"Don't you fucking look at her that way you sick fuck." Ben growls.

"Why? Aren't pretty things made to be worshipped?" His smirk grows. "And if I had someone like her I sure would worship her."

Ben lunges forward, to wipe the smirk off his face, but when you reach out and grab his arm, he stops. When he turns to look at you he looks like he's ready to snap Homelander in half, a fire blazing behind his eyes that you're not sure if it's because you held him back or because he's upset over what Homelander said.

With your eyes you try to say:

"You can rip him apart after he tells us where Lou and Rosemary are."

You're not sure Ben gets it, but he doesn't advance so you assume he got some form of that.

Deep down you were worried that Homelander had already handed them over to Vought or to the government for some kind of deal. It was an all consuming fear, because yes you would fight tooth and nail to get them back, but it wouldn't be easy if you had to fight the United States government to do it.

"Ashley." Homelander says, but when no one appears he roars the name again, with so much ferocity that it echoes off the walls of the round room, vibrating against the monitors, and into the hallway behind you.

A red-haired woman appears at the black double doors on the right side of the room, looking frazzled and pale. There are pieces of her hair stuck to her fashionable black pantsuit in clumps and she's wearing a pair of crimson heels that clack loudly against the marble floors. She's got a death grip on her phone so tight that you can hear the tension of her tendons in her hand.

You remember seeing her before in the background of an interview on t.v., but never paid much attention to her. Ben looks as confused as you do at her appearance, no doubt waiting for her to start lobbing fireballs or make heads explode, but instead she drags Lou through the doors behind her.

Lou looks the same as she did when Homelander took her, still wearing the same pink polka dot pajamas, except now she's holding the hand of a boy who looks maybe twelve years old with blondish-brown hair that hangs into his eyes that you're assuming is Ryan.

The woman, identified as Ashley disappears as suddenly as she appeared and slams the doors behind her.

Probably had the right idea. This entire room is about to become ground zero. Which is horrifying because now Lou is here.

The amount of relief you feel at the appearance of your granddaughter is overwhelming, fear of her being locked away somewhere evaporating as her eyes fall on you, wide and green.

"Lou." You breathe and cross the room to get to her, ignoring Homelander's gaze that follows your every move. You drop to your knees to give her a hug, but for the first time since you met her, she doesn't hug you back. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?” She's not smiling at you, she's frowning.

"Are you my grandma?"

The question makes you freeze for a moment. Obviously Homelander had told her the truth about everything and you didn't want to lie to her again. You knew this day would come, but you didn't think that she would find out this way. If anything Rosemary and you were going to tell her when she was old enough to understand that it wasn't something she should say in public.

You didn't look like a grandmother, nor did you think that anyone would believe Lou if she said it in public, but it would reveal that you were in fact Indigo.

Then again, we're probably past that. You frown at the thought, but it was true. There was no going back. You'd walked into Vought with no disguise in front of all the cameras and you certainly were going to leave your mark here tonight. You'd be lucky if Vought didn't run the story in the morning:

"Payback Strikes Back Against the Celebrated Seven"

Of course in that story everyone would conveniently forget that Ben and you were also beloved heroes, were also worshipped and elevated in society. Funny how things like that seem to be lost in translation.

"Yes." You reach up to push back her hair and she moves her head away, her dark hair slipping through your fingertips.

"Why did you lie? Lying is mean." She whispers, hurt flashing in her eyes. "Did you not want to be my grandma?" Lou looks down at her feet clad in a pair of teddy bear slippers.

"Oh sweetie." You sigh, tilting her chin up to look at you. "I did. I am. It was just easier this way-"

"Mommy says that lying is bad." Her green eyes are watery, voice quiet.

"I know. It is. But you have to understand it was a grown-up decision and we didn't want you to find out like this." This time she lets you brush her hair back from her face. "And it doesn't mean we love you any less."

Her eyes flick to Ben. Ben had followed you over, to make sure that Homelander didn't attack you when your back was turned.

"You're my grandpa?" Lou sniffles.

"Yeah." Ben forces a tight smile for Lou's sake, but you know that he's thinking that this isn't the place for this.

It isn't.

You could still feel Homelander's eyes against your back and you were trying to fight the shudder of disgust.

"Ryan say hello to your grandparents." Homelander calls from his position by the window, his voice proud and filled with  humor.

"Hello." Ryan smiles, but its hesitant and you’re happy that he’s at least able to read the room. A skill that his father didn't seem to have.

"Hi." You smile back tightly, the same smile that Ben had moments ago.

Meeting Ryan made all of this worse. You hear Homelander's footsteps as he gets closer to you and Ben mirrors his movement to block Homelander narrowing his eyes. You weren't here for a family reunion, you were here to kill Homelander and get your family back, but the thought of killing Ryan's father in front of him made you hesitate. That was something that seemed too cruel to consider, unless if Ryan was somehow shown how monstrous his father was.

Homelander holds his hands up in mock surrender. "I just want to talk this out."

You stand and push Lou behind you, refusing to let Homelander get anywhere near her again. "I thought you didn't want to talk to us anymore." You spit the words.

"I changed my mind." He forces his expression into something that looks like shame. "Maybe I got a little carried away before. But you have to understand I have been waiting to be apart of a family for such a long time and now that I have Ryan I’ve realized how important it is to have one. I'd never felt that kind of love for someone else, the kind of love that drives you to sacrifice whatever you have to save them.” He glances down at Lou who is peeking out from behind your leg at Homelander. "The kind of love you have for Lou."

He speaks like a practiced actor, his hand movements simple, rehearsed, the expressions on his face calm and collected, but you don't believe it for a minute.

"I know you said that I wasn’t your son, but I am." He says, eyes flicking from Ben to you. "I am your blood that's all that matters and now we can be a family. A real family."

"Where is Rosemary?" You ask. Lou hasn't moved from behind you.

"Please. All I'm asking is for a chance-" Homelander says ignoring your question.

"Why should we give you a fucking chance? You kidnapped Lou, you've probably hurt Rosemary or worse!" You could feel the room beginning to shake with the force of your anger, eyes shifting to purple.

"You kidnapped her, Dad?" Ryan asks in surprise.

You look back at where he was standing. Lou was still holding on to his hand and when you'd pushed her behind you, you'd also inadvertently pushed Ryan behind you too.

"I thought you said that Lou wanted to come live with us." Ryan continues looking confused. "And who's Rosemary?"

"He lied." Ben snarls, eyes not leaving Homelander.

"My guess is he does that a lot." You sigh looking at Ryan. "She's Lou's mother, your aunt. She flew after him when he took Lou. You haven't seen her?"

Ryan shakes his head.

Fuck.

Homelander ignores the question again and changes tactics, his blue eyes turning on Ben. "I understand what it's like for your team to betray you, to stab you in the back, to act like you didn't fight together, bleed together and to act like you weren't willing to die for one another. We could be unstoppable together, all of us. A family. Isn't that what you always wanted dad?" Homelander says the last part softly, enticing Ben to make that choice. "I read your file. Everything about what happened to your mother and it wasn't hard to figure out what happened with your father."

Ben's jaw clenches together and you watch his entire body tighten at the mention of his dad.

It was true. Ben had always wanted a family, always wanted someone in his life that cared for him, that he could love and be loved by, and you had made sure in all the years you'd known him that it was you. You were his family just as Ben had become your family and cared for you. It was hard to not be family to one another after all the years you'd spent together, to not care about him the way you did. It wasn't a burden to you to love Ben and wasn’t a burden for you to take up the title of family, because it was simply true.

You reach out and touch Ben's back to let him know that you’re there, feeling his muscles twitch for just a moment beneath your hand, before he glances over his shoulder at you. For just a fraction of a second you see the Soldier Boy façade drop and you see your Ben again, before something hardens in his eyes. The conversation that passes through the glance you share is absolute and quick, but he understands.

Ben takes a step towards Homelander letting your hand fall as he forces a tired sigh. "I'm sorry." He places his hand on Homelander's right shoulder.

You watch Homelander relax under the contact, the expression on his face hurts you. You didn't think it would, but Homelander looks happy and comforted that Ben was here with him. Content that Ben finally gave in.

In some ways you wished that it could be this way, that Homelander was redeemable, and that you could all be a family the way he wanted. But you couldn’t. The blood on his hands was too great and you had to stop him before anyone else got hurt.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't there, sorry that I wasn't able to teach you what I should have father to son." Ben sighs. "I think it would have helped you. I think your mother could have helped you."

"You're here now." Homelander says, looking over Ben shoulder at you, his eyes misty. You force yourself to send him an encouraging smile. "Both of you are." Homelander's voice sticks a little as he says it.

Something deep down breaks when he says that, because it’s the same thing that Ben and you had said to each other outside. As much as you wanted to hate Homelander, to push him away, another part of you was beginning to unravel, the part of you that wanted to accept him as your son. But you couldn’t because he didn't deserve that. Homelander was the monster that Vogelbaum created, there wasn’t a shred of human decency left and that meant Ben and you had to make a hard decision.

You wonder if Ben really did feel that way or if he was just doing this because he knew you wanted him to.

Ben continues to smile at him. "It would have helped you not to become a sniveling weak pussy starved for attention."

Homelander's smile falters. "Weak? But I'm your blood. Your son-"

"I know." You try to ignore the emotion that bleeds into Ben's voice when he says it. "And you're a fucking disappointment."

"What-" Homelander doesn't get the word out before Ben tackles him back away from you and Butcher leaps over the table to help him.

Ryan stiffens behind you as they do this and you look at him. "Dad?" Ryan whispers.

Lou gasps and touches the end of your shirt in fear, watching Homelander fight Butcher and Ben back, his eyes glowing an ominous red.

You open your mouth to say something to her and Ryan, but you feel a sharp pressure on the back of your neck and hear a high pitched snap.  You turn your head to look to your right and see Black Noir standing there, a broken syringe that holds a clear liquid in his right hand. The tip snapped when he had tried to press it into your body, unaware that your newfound power meant that nothing could break your skin.

"Ryan, please take Lou out of here. I don't want her to see this." You say calmly, not looking away from Noir, who lowers the syringe slowly in shock.

"But-" Ryan begins to say.

"Do it now." You order turning your body to face Noir. "Hello Earving. Long time no see."

Noir takes a small step backward realizing his mistake as Ryan pulls Lou to the doors on the other side of the room.

You hear Noir try to form a word, nothing more than an awkward click and a wheezing sound. "Sorry I can't hear you." You smile cruelly at him.

"I’d say you look good but, Ben really fucked you up pretty good didn't he?" You look through the mask with your x-ray vision, seeing just how messed up Noir is underneath. "It's a miracle that you're alive. That any of you got out of there alive."

Noir drops the syringe and pulls a knife, the blade shining in the fluorescent lights.

"You know, if the syringe didn't work, I don't think the knife will either." You begin to say, but he's undeterred.

He lunges forward sweeping the blade in a deadly arch aiming for your neck, but you catch his wrist. “If I had been there you all would have suffered.” You turn his wrist at an awkward angle, listening to the sharp cracking of bone as it snaps and Noir’s wheeze of pain.

Behind you, you could hear the telltale sound of punching and crashing, but you don’t look away from Noir, trusting that Ben and Butcher have it under control.

"Before I killed Countess I had to listen to her go on and on about how proud she was about that day, how proud she was that you all stabbed Ben in the fucking back, and honestly I didn’t mean to kill her. Though I will admit I regret not making it last a little longer. The Twins begged for mercy, tried to tell me that it was a big mistake, that Ben lied to me." You shrug advancing on him. "But Ben doesn't lie to me."

Noir tries again, kicking his foot up to hit your abdomen, but your hand closes on his ankle keeping his leg extended between the two of you.

 "He told me exactly what happened that day." You snarl, shoving Noir back from you so harshly that he lands on the ground. "You all turned on him. And honestly, you got off easy. You're lucky I wasn't there. Do you have any idea what I would have done to you if I had been there?" You smile and let out a low laugh. "Well I guess that doesn't matter, because you’re about to find out."

He scuffles back still on the ground, trying to crawl back, and reaches into his pocket for something. You were expecting a gun or a throwing knife, but instead he pulls out a notepad and a pen and you stop.

"What are you-" You begin to say, but Noir starts frantically writing with his only good hand.

He curls his ruined arm under the notepad to hold it steady as he forms the words on the page, and holds it up for you to see.

Did it for you.

"What?"

Noir drops the pad to write again.

Using you.

"Who?"

Him.

"Ben?"

Noir nods frantically.

Only way.

Wow he is so much worse off than I thought.

Then again, when Ben broke your heart you did think that too for a little bit. That all the years spent together had been a lie and that he was manipulating you and using you because he didn’t want to face the silence alone. It reminded you of the thing your mother shouted at you when you gave Howard back the ring and left home:

“You really think that disappointment will ever love you? Care about you? You are nothing to him, just another plaything. And the day he finally tosses you away, don’t bother coming back here.”

It makes you hesitate again and Noir sees it as an opportunity to write more on his piece of paper.

Set you free.

"You thought that the only way to free me was to send Ben to fucking Russia?"

Noir nods.

"I wasn't some fucking damsel in distress. I wasn't locked up in a tower by some dragon. I wasn't trapped-

You were.

"No I wasn't I chose to be there-"

Not happy.

"I was happy Earving."

I am better for you.

Your jaw snaps together, looking past the mask and into his scarred face. The expression in his eyes has shifted now, to something softer, something vulnerable and earnest. You remember what Stan said about Noir going through your apartment when you weren't there, stealing pieces of your clothing, and stealing your jewelry.

I did everything for you.

Noir reaches into his pocket and pulls out something that glimmers in the light. It takes you a moment to recognize it, but it's your pearl necklace, the one your father gave you when you spent your first birthday away from home. He holds it out to you and you take it from his hand. The beads are just as you remember, maybe a little yellowed with age, but still in good condition. Soft and supple against your fingertips, warmed from where they were in Noir's pocket.

Said I could have you.

"Who?"

Stan.

The name of the man you killed makes your blood run cold and for a minute you feel bad for Noir, feel bad that he believed what Stan said. Stan who told Noir whatever he could into manipulating him to do his bidding.

Stan knew that he was obsessed with me, knew exactly what to say to make sure that Noir would do what he wished. And Noir believed that I was something that Stan could give away. I didn't belong to Stan, didn't belong to anyone but me.

That was the problem with Stan after all, that he thought you were a commodity to be sold. That everyone else in the entire world believed that you were nothing more than a puppet to be used and disposed of whenever they saw fit. It was the same attitude that drove Stan and Vogelbaum to take your genetic material.

But then you left. Tried to find you. Couldn't find you. Why did you hide?

You watched Noir's shoulders slump as if it was painful for him to go through the past forty years not knowing where you were.

Could have helped you.

 A chill of disgust traces its hand down your back. You wondered how long he had been stalking you and wondered how many things he still had from forty years ago. The pearls were quickly icing in your hands, a symbol of the girl you used to be, the one who walked around Philadelphia and saw the world in color, saw the good in people. You knew that she was gone, long gone. Not after everything that you'd been through in the past week, finding out about what Vogelbaum did to you changed you, finding out what happened to Rosemary with Charlie changed you into someone different.

But you didn’t hate who you had become. You glance behind you at where Ben is fighting Homelander, ducking beneath the blows that Homelander tries to land, dancing around him.

I love you.

When your eyes trace over the familiar words and see the earnestness in Noir's eyes behind the mask. A part of you breaks for Noir, understanding that his obsession with you maybe did stem from good intentions but the descent into madness that drove him to do the things he did was dark and consumed him quickly.

"Did you know about Homelander?"

Noir was still sitting on the ground looking up at you and when you ask the question you watch him drop his head to his chest in shame.

Yes.

You move the pearls to your front pocket, considering your next move. "I saved your life before from Ben, not because I loved you but because I didn’t think it was right for him to hurt you. I didn't think that you deserved to lose your life over a film role.” You murmur with a sigh “But maybe if you'd gone about this the right way I would have given you a chance."

Do it now.

"No." You shake your head.

But I love you. I'm here-

The next word is just a scribble now as you fling your hand out and Noir's body flies back into the concrete wall. It cracks around him as you increase the pressure and he begins to fold in on himself.

"If you really loved me Earving, you wouldn't have let them do that to me." Your voice sounds hollow, but you know that it's the truth. “You would have tried harder to find me every day, to tell me what they fucking did.”

“Did try-“ He wheezes in a broken voice, barely audible.

“Should have tried harder.”

"Please-" The word is only a shadow of what it should be, his injuries making it difficult to form it, and through the mask you see a single tear tracing the side of his scared face.

"Ben would have ripped them all apart if he knew what they did. But you didn't, you sat at Stan's table for forty years and did absolutely nothing. You don't get the privilege to beg for mercy. Not after the things you did to Ben, and after the things you kept from me." There’s a purple outline glowing all around him, weaving around his torso. Your hand closes, the subtle glow of purple around his body tightening more and more, his screams sounding more like muffled wheezes, different than the shrieks of pain that Stan released in his final moments. And you continue to close your hand until there's nothing left, but a ball of flesh, tissue, and bone sitting on the ground where Noir used to be. Blood flecks the floor, forming rivulets that run like rivers over the pristine black marble like the roots of a tree.

You take in a breath, trying not to go into the darkness again that surges up with Noir’s death, the same darkness that dragged you under when everything happened with Stan, but you right yourself and turn to look at where Ben is fighting Homelander.

Ben is shaking his head and rising from a pile of debris, while Homelander floats in the air holding Butcher by the throat, looking down at him with a sickening smile.

"Goodbye William." Homelander turns and throws him against the window. It shatters with the force of Butcher's body being thrown against it and his body disappears from view into the air outside of the building.

Homelander turns to look at Ben and you. Ben has a cut on his cheek from Homelander's laser vision and takes a shaky step forward, but he stands proudly, putting himself between Homelander and you.

“Dad why did you do that?" Ryan asks. "Butcher was my friend."

Your gaze flicks to where Ryan and Lou are peeking around the door way that leads to another part of the tower and you're suddenly afraid that Lou saw what you did to Noir, but she's only looking out the shattered window in horror, tears in her little eyes. She liked Butcher, thought that he was funny.

"He was standing in my way son. And we don't let anyone stand in our way do we? Even our friends." Homelander's hair is hanging in his face from the fight, suit ripped away from his chest to reveal the black bodysuit underneath, one of his golden eagle shoulder pads is missing, and he has a prominent bruise on his cheek.  "See isn’t that better. No more Butcher to spread lies about me. Now we can all talk like a family.”

"Wouldn’t be too sure of that you narcissistic cunt." You hear Butcher’s voice say.

Rosemary floats into the room, supporting Butcher with one of his arms wrapped around her shoulders. She's still wearing the exact same thing she was when she followed Homelander, but now the dark sweatpants and t-shirt are ripped and riddled with what look like bullet holes. Rosemary's hair is wild around her face the hair tie that held it long gone, and she has blood flecked on her arms that you’re sure isn’t hers.

But she's there and she's alive.

You weren’t going to ask her what happened, but the wave of relief you have with her appearance obliterates the weight on your shoulders.

“We aren’t a fucking family.” Rosemary grits her teeth together, spitting the words back at Homelander.

"Mommy!" Lou says happily pulling away from Ryan to go towards her mother, who is closer to Homelander than you wanted her to be.

"How did you-" Homelander sputters.

"Get out of that pathetic excuse for a trap?" She snarls, green eyes flashing, looking more like Ben as she touches down in the room, helping Butcher to his feet. "It was easy. But you and I aren't done."

"I think we are." Homelander's eyes glow bright red, letting lose a bolt, it glances off her arm, but Rosemary crashes into him, grabbing him around the wrist to bring him down against the ground so hard that it rattles the other windows in the room.

But as she tries to bring his body against the marble floor again, Homelander breaks free and rises from the ground to fasten his hand around her throat, his eyes still glowing a sharp red that cuts through the room.

"You’re really pathetic." Homelander sighs. "I expected more, but I suppose you have no training or no practice controlling your powers."

She spits in Homelander's face and his gaze turns murderous.

"Let her go." Ben snarls, his chest beginning to glow, and this time you know that he won't stop, that he won't hold back from hitting Homelander full blast.

Homelander ignores Ben, focusing on Rosemary. "You think that you’re more powerful than me? You're not. I am the oldest after all." Homelander's voice is eerily calm. “You are nothing. Insignificant. You waste your life caring for other people and it makes you weak.”

“Leave my mommy alone!” Lou shouts and kicks Homelander in the shin.

Homelander looks down at her, his eyes still glowing.

Oh shit.

“You know, I thought you were cute at first, but you’re really just annoying.” He sighs kicks out with his foot and before you can do anything Lou goes flying out the opening in the window with a blood curdling scream.

“No!” You shout as her body vanishes just as Butcher’s had only seconds ago. You feel your body take off the ground to chase after her, but before you make it out the window, Lou comes soaring back in her little fists clenched tightly at her sides.

“That was mean.” She states indignantly.

Your eyes widen in shock, feet touching back down on the ground. She can FLY?

“Wow. I kinda expected more than you only being able to fly seeing as you’re supposed to be so powerful but I guess-" Homelander begins to say.

Lou waves her hand a purple glow coming from around her fingertips and the large table in the middle of the room jerks off the floor and slams into Homelander like a freight train. A loud “ooof” comes out of his mouth as he drops Rosemary and flies back against the wall of monitors.

“Mommy are you okay?” Lou says hugging her mom tight.

“Yes sweetie.” Rosemary says hugging her back, but even she seems as stunned by this turn of events as you do.

Yes Rosemary had said that Lou was going to develop powers, but you didn’t think it was going to happen like this or this soon. Then again you weren’t well versed in how long it took for supe children to develop them. Rosemary had developed hers when she was one year old, but you were hoping that maybe you had a few years before Lou developed hers.

“How did she do that?” Ben murmurs to you.

“I have no idea. It’s not a power I was born with or Rosemary was born with. Same with the flying-“ You whisper back. “She didn’t touch Rosemary before she did it, but-“ A horrible thought comes flitting into your mind.

The truth was you’d never used your powers around Lou, neither had Rosemary. Lou didn't know that either of you were supes. She’d never had exposure to super powers before today, hadn't watched them on t.v or been around any other supes which meant that she was experiencing all of this for the first time.

And that’s why they’re manifesting right now.

“But what?”

“She saw me use telekinesis to fight Noir. She saw Homelander fly." You murmur.

I receive powers through death, Rosemary through touch, and Lou through sight.

Holy.

Fucking.

Shit.

She could have limitless power, more than any of us, more than any supe that ever lived. No wonder Charlie was obsessed with her power. All she has to do is see a supe use their powers and-

The fear of Vought and the government comes crashing over you all over again, because you knew that they wouldn't let Lou go free, not when her ability was something like that, something that made her indestructible and unstoppable.

They'd run experiments on her, do whatever it took to try and gain that power for themselves, because who needed an army of supes when there was just one who was able to do anything?

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Ben leans towards you.

“Yeah.”

“Fuck.” Ben mutters.

“You can say that again.”

Homelander rises from the ground brushing off his clothes with a snarl on his face eyeing Lou and Rosemary before he finally turns himself towards Ben and you. "I don’t understand why you're doing this."

"Us?" You scoff trying to shake off the shiver of fear that came with the revelation of Lou’s gift. "You’re the one who kidnapped an innocent child and just tried to throw her out a fucking window."

"You should thank me!" He snaps, eyes gleaming darkly in the light. "I unlocked her abilities. Something that neither of you had been able to do. And now she really is growing into her potential." His eyes flick to where Ryan is standing by Butcher. Butcher's hand is on his shoulder. "You really turned into a disappointment too. I tried to do all of that with you and all you did was kill your fucking mother!"

Ryan inhales sharply, and Butcher's hand tightens on his shoulder. "The only disappointment here is you." Butcher's eyes narrow as he stares at Homelander. "Ryan is not a disappointment to me and he wasn't a disappointment to Becca! And it's not his fault what happened to her."

"Oh right Becca." Homelander rolls his eyes. "You've really got to get over her. She wasn't anything special. Practically brainwashed Ryan into believing he wasn't special. When he comes from a practically god-like bloodline. Judging by Lou's powers I'd say that Ryan got the short end of the stick."

"We are not gods." You spit. "Can't you fucking see that? We are what Vought created. We live, we bleed, we die, that's it. Nothing more, nothing less."

"It wasn't supposed to be like this." Homelander looks furious. "You were supposed to be my family, supposed to love me!" He looks from Ryan to Lou to Rosemary and then finally back at Ben and you. "Somebody has to like me best! Someone has to love me! I'm your blood! Your son! Your first born!"

"She's said it before and I'll say it again." Ben states from where he's standing next to you. "You might be our blood, but you're not our son."

The manic look on Homelander's face makes you anxious. He was like a feral animal backed into a corner. He knew that he had lost and you knew that there was no way to tell how he would react to this.

“Do you have any idea what I could do to you?” Homelander’s voice is more of a growl now as he begins to advance on Ben. “I am the most powerful super who ever lived. I am a god. And you are nothing compared to me.”

You step up beside Ben preparing for what comes next. “You’re nothing Homelander. You’re just a sad little boy who never grew up and became a hollow shell of a person that Vought filled with macho bullshit until you turned into a monster.” You say cooly. You were ready to fight him again, to kill him, because you knew he would never stop, that he wouldn’t leave any of you alone unless he was dead.

“I am not a monster!” His eyes are dark. “You think you’re so high and mighty? You’ve killed more people than me and at least I do it quickly. Did you enjoy it?” He smiles wide. “To watch the light fade from their eyes? To crush them into nothing while you sat back and craved their deaths?”

“The people I have killed I have killed to protect my family. I don’t do it for sport.”

“I don’t understand why you won’t just accept me! I’m your son! I’m not some fuck up disappointment! I’m Homelander! The greatest supe who ever lived. You should be proud of me! Proud to be my parents.” His eyes narrow. “Do you have any idea what I could give you? I have built an empire from nothing. Dad, you could be on top again, a household name, respect, power, money, women, anything you wanted and you’re really going to throw all of that away? For her? For them?”

Ben's eyes skate over Lou and Rosemary, and flick to you before he levels his gaze on Homelander once more.

“I have everything I need.” Ben’s voice is low and gruff squeezing your hand tighter in his as he speaks.

You feel your heartbeat stutter for a second, because Ben had said and done the one thing that you never believed that Soldier Boy ever could. After eighty years, Ben had chosen you just as you’d chosen him the night he asked you to give up everything you knew and dive into the unknown with him. And you felt the last shred of apprehension about him staying in your life crumple up and burn, because you knew that he wasn't going anywhere and that he was going to love you and stay with you for the rest of your life. If you weren’t in this situation you were sure that you would be crying.

“Fine. If you don’t wish to be apart of it, then you’ll burn with the others.” His eyes begin to glow bright red as he prepares to charge Ben and you.

You brace your body for the coming fight, dropping Ben's hand.

Everything slows down. Homelander's feet leave the ground as he starts to fly forward to kill you, the heat from Ben's chest burning the air around you, and the beating of your own heart thunderous in your ears as you feel your eyes shift to red.

But the attack never comes.

A blinding flash of golden-orange light hits Homelander in his left side, there's an unmistakable smell of burning flesh and hair, and Homelander's body is knocked off course through the wall full of monitors. There's a scream somewhere and you turn to see Rosemary, kneeling over Lou's body that lies on the ground.

And you understand. The attack didn’t come from Ben, it came from Lou. Lou who saw Ben use his powers, Lou who had the ability to replicate abilities through sight, and Lou who was so little that you were unsure what something like that would do to her.

"Lou." You gasp racing over to where Rosemary is cradling her little body to her chest.

She looks okay, paler than normal, her breathing is uneven, and you can hear the frantic beat of her little heart, but she does not open her eyes.

"Lois?" Rosemary says, stroking the back of her head, looking into the face of her daughter, using her full name for the first time in years.

She doesn't move, stays limp in her mother's arms.

No. I can't lose Lou. I've lost so much over the years.

Tears spring to your eyes as you fall to your knees, reaching out to touch her arm. Her skin is so warm it almost burns the palm of your hand, but you don't remove it.

"Lou please. Wake up sweetie." You say, voice thick with emotion.

Lou stays as she is.

Ben's hand comes down on your shoulder and you lean into his leg, shuddering as tears begin to trickle down your cheeks.

Rosemary is beside herself, sobs shaking her shoulders, cradling Lou to her chest. "Please don't leave me." You hear Rosemary whisper.

You suddenly flash back to the day on the beach that you took the bullet for Ben, when your blood turned the sand to mud and Ben held you so tight to his chest that it almost hurt, and you thought you heard him say the same words as you felt yourself began to drift off into nothing.

Ben pulls you up against his chest, tucking your head into the hollow of his throat, his arms wrapped tightly around your waist as he looks down at his daughter and granddaughter. You shudder into his chest, choking back a sob, arms gripping the front of his suit.

"Mommy?" You hear Lou's little voice murmur.

You pull away from Ben's chest to see where Lou is still lying, her eyes blinking open, but it seems like too much effort.

"Yes sweetie?"

"Can we go home now?" Lou says. "I'm tired."

"Whatever you want honey." Rosemary sighs in relief, hugging Lou closer to her.

"I want grandpa to come with us." She breathes into Rosemary's shirt, wrapping her little arms around her mother's neck. "And grandma and Ryan." Lou says the last too so quietly that you don't think that you heard correctly, but she quickly falls asleep.

"Okay." Rosemary's eyes are closed, and she's petting the back of Lou's back.

You exhale, slowing down your breathing, still holding tight to Ben's supe suit. Ben's eyes aren't on you though, they are focused on the giant hole in the side of the building that Homelander disappeared into.

Homelander comes stumbling through holding his head. His supe suit hangs in burned tatters on his shoulders, but his skin looks unscathed. There's a large lump on the side of his temple, and he squints at Ben and you as if he can't recognize you.

"Hello." Homelander says it hesitantly. "Um. I'm sorry I don't know where I am. Do you live here?"

Holy fucking shit.

"Um." You stutter.

"Do you know who I am?" Homelander continues taking a shaky step towards where you're all standing.

"Dad are you okay?" Ryan asks.

Homelander's blue eyes flick to his son. "I'm your dad?"

Butcher is on Homelander before you can stop him, tackling him to the ground and landing a punch against Homelander's nose.

There's a sickening crunching noise and a high pitched wail from Homelander, as the nose breaks beneath Butcher's fist and blood floods down Homelander's face.

He's human now, but he doesn't know who he is. Your eyes skate across where Homelander lays under Butcher until your eyes catch on the lump on his right temple. He has brain damage from when he landed, he hit his head, doesn't remember any of this, any of us, any of who he is.

And before Butcher can land another blow you grab him by the back of the coat and throw him across the room. He checks himself mid-air and lands in a crouch, his coat billowing out behind him like a cape.

"Just hold on for a minute." You say.

"What the fuck are you doing?" He shouts, fist still covered in blood.

What am I doing? The thought was also going around in your head. You had come here to kill Homelander, to make him pay, but seeing him like this, unable to tell who he was or where he was, made this feel wrong. You couldn't put your finger on it, but it felt evil to kill someone who didn't know the reason why they were going to be executed.

"Don't touch him." You say, standing between Butcher and Homelander. Ben and Rosemary are watching you like you're crazy, but you don't let Butcher get close to Homelander.

"Why did you do that?" Homelander cries, holding his gloved hand to his nose to stop the bleeding. Tears are slipping down his cheeks from the pain.

"Ryan give me your jacket please." You hold out your hand for Ryan's red jacket who is looking at his father in total disbelief. "Here." You give it to Homelander. "Tilt your head back and press this to your face."

He does what you say, but he's still watching you like he doesn't completely trust you.

The feeling is mutual.

"You're kidding right? He's still a psychopathic maniac-" Butcher snarls advancing on you. Ben steps forward to stop him.

"I'm not going to let you kill him in front of his child and it-" You glance back at Homelander. "It's different now. He doesn't know who he is, doesn't know why he's here-"

"You don’t think he's fucking faking?" Ben shouts, glaring back at where Homelander is still standing, and for the first time you see genuine fear on Homelander's face.

I mean he is a good actor, but I don’t think that he's acting.

"I don't think he is."

Ben pinches the bridge of his nose. "Look sweetheart I know that he might be having a little bit of memory loss, but he's still Homelander. And I know that he is technically our son but this isn't like starting over. You can't redeem him this way."

"You're my parents?" Homelander asks looking at Ben and you suddenly confused. "But you're so young?"

You ignore him. "I'm not trying to redeem him and I'm not saying that he doesn't deserve to die or that we shouldn't kill him. I just think that we shouldn't kill him now when he's like this."

Ben narrows his eyes at the man who used to be Homelander. You can see the gears working inside of his head as he mulls over your logic, but you knew it meant that you had a shot of convincing him.

"Ben he's human now, you saw Butcher break his nose. He can't fake that-"

"That doesn't matter he's still the same person!" Ben sighs as if you're annoying him. "The same person that hurt Rosemary, the same person who kidnapped Lou."

"I know he's the same person, but it feels wrong to do this, to execute him for something that he can't remember. It's like killing a little kid."

"Fuck." Ben mutters it more to himself than to you as he tries again to see your logic.

Honestly, it hard to see it yourself. You had killed a few people over the years, didn't feel remorse when it came to the safety of your family, but this was different. Homelander had killed people, threatened, and tortured others but he didn't remember it. You hated that it made you guilty when if anyone deserved to die it was him.

"Fine." Ben holds up a hand. "Fine. We help him jog his memory then we kill him."

"Okay, yes that's all I'm asking." You agree.

"Wait a minute, I'm not going to agree to any of that bullshi-" Butcher begins to say, but the large doors at the back of the room open and a group of people walk in.

You recognize Hughie right off the bat, one girl as Starlight from her livestreams, the man from Herogasm who tried to gas Ben that Butcher identified as MM, but the other two are unfamiliar. One is a supe, her black hair straight and hanging around her face, but the other is a man holding a canister of some kind in his right hand with cropped black hair who smells like how Ben used to when he would shoot up and smoke whatever he could get his hands on in the 70's.

Well this is either going to go badly or go badly.

"Who are they?" Homelander says, his voice nasally from where he's holding the jacket to his face.

"What the fuck happened?" Hughie asks, looking around the room at the destruction.

"Well-" Butcher begins to say.

"I turned him human with whatever the fuck is in my chest. You're welcome." Ben lies.

You swallow the lump in the back of your throat. The last thing you wanted was for them to know what Lou was capable of. Rosemary is standing now behind you, holding Lou in her arms who sleeps quietly, curled into her mother.

"But how did you-" Starlight asks.

"I held him down telekinetically." You shrug. "Wasn't that hard."

"Huh." She frowns. "But you didn't kill him?"

"He hit his head." Butcher explains coming to stand beside you. "Can't remember a bloody thing."

"And you believe that?" MM sputters. His eyes haven't left Ben and you know exactly what he's thinking about, the night his grandfather died.

"She does." Butcher nods his head in your direction. "And she doesn't want to kill him if he can't remember why he's a fucking cunt."

MM's eyes flick to you. "Who are you?"

"You're Indigo right? The supe from the 80's who vanished?" Starlight asks.

"Mhmm." You hoped that they weren't here to fight you, but the shiny silver cannister in the shorter man's hand says otherwise. "But all of that doesn't matter now. It was a long time ago. The only thing that matters here is that Homelander is human and that no one died."

Her eyes flick to the ball of flesh in the corner that was Noir then back at you. "No one?"

"No one who didn't deserve it." Ben clarifies gruffly.

You could feel the tension in the air between the group of people standing in front of you. Ben was mirroring your protective stance in front of Rosemary, Lou, and Ryan. You weren't sure what was going to happen, but you didn't want to put them in the line of fire.

"We don't want any trouble, we're just going to take Homelander and leave." You say diplomatically.

"Who's Homelander?" Homelander says still obviously confused. "Is that me?"

Everyone ignores him.

"Wait where are you going to take him?" Hughie asks.

"I have a friend. She knows how to handle supes. She'll find a place for him." Your gaze flicks to the other female supe who hasn't said anything since she walked into the room. You didn't like that you didn't know what her powers are and did not know what to expect if she chose to fight you.

You also hadn't spoken to your would-be friend in over forty years, but you figured that she still was able to pull the same strings she had done in the past for you.

"A friend?" Butcher sounds skeptical.

"Yeah. So if you wouldn't mind letting us through-" You take a step forward preparing to push through the group of people.

MM pulls his gun. "We can't let you do that."

"Why?"

"Well for one Soldier Boy is a terrorist. He's killed people." Starlight's eyes narrow when she looks at Ben. "He's a nuclear bomb with a short fuse, who knows who else will get hurt. Not to mention he's murdered people."

"The only people I murdered are the people from our old team, everyone else was an accident." Ben replies gruffly, looking down the barrel of the gun, unfazed.

"Doesn't matter. It's still murder." The man with the gun states, his eyes narrowing at Ben.

This is not going to go well.

You sigh. You didn't want to kill them, but it was quickly becoming apparent that they weren't going to back down.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way." The other man says in a faintly French accent, the dark haired supe beside him tensing as if preparing to spring.

"And you don't want to fight us." MM narrows his eyes at you.

Ben chuckles under his breath. "Trust me kid, it won't be much of a fight."

He's really not helping his case.

"Oh really?" Starlight's eyes begin to glow a dangerous gold, challenging you to get in her way.

You snort before you can stop yourself. "Your eyes glow, that's cute." You smirk at her, feeling yours shift to bright purple. "Mine do too."

"Annie wait." Hughie says, placing his hand on her arm. "Just let her talk for a minute."

"Really? You want me to listen to this psychopath? You see what she did to Noir-" Starlight, now Annie, gestures back to the blood stained wall and what's left of your old friend.

"If it's any of your business, you would know that he deserved it. And he started it." You say simply. "But it’s not."

"So what? You're telling us to just let you take Homelander?" She spits, eyes still glowing. "And let you leave with Soldier Boy?"

"You really think you can stop us?" Ben takes a step towards Annie, but you hold up your arm to stop him.

"I've honestly had a really bad week and we don't want to fight." You emphasize. "But we will if we have to. And trust me you really don't want that to happen."

"Then come willingly." MM says without lowering his gun.

"You know we can't do that. The last thing I’m going to do is let you lock Soldier Boy up again in some fucking lab. He's been in there long enough.” You reply.

"I'm not going to let you walk away with a ticking time bomb. He's killed people." Annie looks at where Ben is standing slightly to your left.

Like hell you're gonna take him and lock him in a cage.

"He's in control now. And I'll keep him in check."

"You expect us to trust you?" She scoffs. "You, who also have killed who knows how many people over the years."

"Could be worse." You shrug. "But the truth is none of you can stop us, sure maybe you can slow us down for a few minutes, but it won't end well for any of you. And I'd rather not kill any more people today in front of my grandchildren." You raise an eyebrow.

Annie's eyes shift back to where Rosemary is watching her warily, still cuddling Lou to her chest, and you can feel Starlight hesitate for just a second.

"Look Annie, can I call you Annie?" You let your eyes return to their natural color and wave your hand in what you think might be a friendly gesture, but your patience was wearing thin.

"No."

"Annie." You clear your throat. "The things I've done, I've done for my family. I think that maybe you can sympathize with that a little bit. And Soldier Boy well-" You glance at Ben, who is still staring down the barrel of the pistol with a stoic expression. Honestly you knew he was waiting for you to say the word to take down the group of people in front of you. "He's trying to be better and I'm going to help him, but I can't let you put him in a prison cell somewhere or in a cage or a lab."

“I can’t just let you disappear with him.” Starlight’s gaze is firm, unyielding.

You were willing to kill her if that’s what it took, but honestly you were exhausted. Emotionally. Not to mention you didn’t want to have to use the one favor you had but you were going to have to, to make your friend deal with Homelander. You hated owing her favors, they never ended well.

“We won’t disappear.”

“Why should I believe that?”

"You don't have to, but I don’t owe you anything Annie. No explanations, no nothing. Please just be thankful that this is all there is." You look at the faces of the people around her and stop on Hughie, before shifting back to her. "Do you want their blood on your hands? Because I don't. So please let us go and I promise that we won't be a problem."

"You're so sure that it's going to go your way. That you're going to kill all of us. You might be a supe but you don't know that you're going to-" MM begins to say and you finally snap.

Your eyes shift back to bright purple, energy pulsing out from your body as you unlock the anger, rage, betrayal, and hurt you felt the night you almost destroyed Legend's backyard. The bodies of the people standing in front of you lock up as your powers take control, weaving across their limbs, and shrouding them in the warm purple glow from your abilities, forcing them to their knees with their hands behind their backs. The only one you didn’t do this to was Hughie who is looking at you like you're some kind of monster.

And maybe the old you would have thought that too, but the new you wasn't phased.

Annie's body is glowing now, trying to fight the compulsion of your telekinetic abilities, but you know that she can't break it.

"That's how she knows." Ben says with a smirk. You can almost hear pride in his voice.

"Please let them go." Hughie asks you.

"I will. But first we're going to leave. Rosemary, you, Lou, and Ryan go first."

She walks around the people with Ryan in tow who looks back at Butcher for a moment, before he vanishes through the doors. "Ben take Homelander."

"Like fuck I'm going to leave you-" You turn your glowing eyes on him.

"I will be right behind you, now go."

Ben grits his teeth together, waiting another minute, but finally grabs Homelander around the arm and tugs him from the room glaring at you the whole time and muttering something under his breath.

You glance at MM. "I'm sorry for your loss, I am. I know that nothing can make up for what he did and I know that none of you want to believe me when I say this but, he's changed and he's trying to be better." You sigh. "I didn't want it to be like this."

"Wait you're not going to-" Hughie's eyes are wide and you feel Butcher take a step towards you as if he's going to stop you.

"No. Y'all don't deserve that. And I like to think that I'm still a good person. But-" You let out a breath. "I swear on my life that we won't disappear. I swear that I will do my upmost to help him and make sure that no one else gets hurt. And I'm sorry that it turned into this, but I hope that you believe me." Your expression hardens. "Because the next time you come and threaten my family or me again, I won't be forgiving and you won't walk away."

You drop the hold you have on their bodies when you make it to the elevator where your family and Homelander waits for you and you hope that they've chosen not to follow.

"So, what do I owe you for this one?" You ask Grace Mallory, as you stand on the dirt road, surveying the Upstate New York countryside. The fields on either side of the roads were filled with waist high grass that rustled in the wind blowing from the East, wicking the sweat on the back of your neck.

The sun was rising on the horizon and it had taken most of the night to get out of the city to meet her there. It had been a long drive, but the car you'd stolen was working, for now. Rosemary, Lou, and Ryan, were asleep in the back seat and Ben were standing at your side. When Mallory had received your call she didn't sound surprised. You knew that she probably figured you would need her especially with the revelation of Soldier Boy's reappearance. She knew that you had unfinished business with him and that he'd try to find you.

She looks different than she did the last time you saw her years ago. Her hair is now more gray than blonde, pulling free from the severe bun at the back of her head. Her dark colored suit is sharp, pristene, and freshly ironed.

You'd met her in the weeks that followed Ben's supposed death, when Legend and you were planning your disappearance. You didn't know why she helped you make a fake ID and smuggle you out of the city, but she had. The favor you owed her had been collected when Rosemary went off to college, a little supe problem that Mallory's team couldn't handle. Off the books of course. You hadn’t been recognizable and you knew that no one would be able to find you.

"I'll send you my bill." Her smile is tight-lipped, but it's still there. You knew she hated supes, and sometimes you think that she tried to hate you, but you were too much alike.

"The same I'm guessing."

"Maybe." She shrugs watching the other officers escort Homelander into the vehicle.

His nose didn't look much better, it was swollen and purple because no one had set it, and he was wearing a pair of gym shorts and an oversized t-shirt that said "Ask Me About My Cats" on it. It was all you could find at the gas station Ben had stopped at in the middle of nowhere. Technically all of you had to change, especially Rosemary who's clothes were still riddled with holes and with blood splatter. You had a few splashes of blood from Noir, but not nearly as much as her. You knew that the two of you would talk about what happened to her soon, but not right now.

A bird soars overhead and joins another on the power lines hanging above the street, squawking as it settles down.

"Figures. Can't we just call this a favor for an old friend?"

"I guess I should be thanking you. Taking down Homelander, that's pretty impressive. Can't believe Butcher let you walk away with him like that." Mallory says, pressing her lips into a tight line.

Her eyes flick to where Ben is standing beside you. He hadn't said much since he pulled up, still trying to take in everything that had happened last night. You knew she wasn't ecstatic about seeing him again, the last time she saw him she'd told you about after you'd helped her out with her little supe problem and she'd asked you to join her for a beer. You didn't drink it, but you'd sat with her anyway.

When she'd gotten out of the car as you pulled up you'd heard him mutter "is that captain lesbo?" under his breath and it was the first time you'd genuinely laughed since everything happened at Vought tower.

Honestly, you felt kinda heavy on your feet. The stale gas station coffee had done little to boost your energy level and neither had the protein bar that Ben forced you to eat because he said you needed to eat something.

I better get a long vacation after this.

"He wasn't on board, but I convinced him. His team also took some convincing." You frown remembering exactly what you'd had to do to let you walk away, but you didn't feel bad about it. You knew that it was the way things had to be to keep your family safe. "You're not going to tell him about this are you?"

"Maybe. Not for a while though. I'll give him some time to cool down, have a cup of tea, let things settle." Mallory taps a text message on her phone. "It definitely changes things though."

"What does?"

"A cure for being a supe." She eyes Ben for a second. "Word gets out that's not going to be good."

"Believe me I know." You sigh.

You were trying not to think about the revelation of Lou's powers. You hadn't told Mallory that Lou was the one that took down Homelander, nor would you ever. You'd take that to your grave and if Butcher knew what was good for him so would he. You'd destroyed all video evidence on your way out of the Tower, but you were still afraid that someone, somewhere knew something that they shouldn't. Lou had woken up for a little bit on the drive and seemed more like herself after she drank some chocolate milk and ate some dry cereal, than she had when she used her powers earlier.

She just needs to get used to it. We all went through that when we got our powers. But things are never going to be the same though.

Ben nudges your arm with his shoulder as if he's trying to reassure you that he's there and you're not going through this alone. When you glance up at him, you see the corner of his lips twitch into a smile for just a half-second before going back to his stoic expression.

They really aren't going to be the same.

"Don't worry. I'll try to keep it on the down low as long as I can." She shrugs.

Homelander waves once at Ben and you as he is placed into the black Tahoe. The entire trip upstate he had tried to ask more and more questions while Ben drove, but you didn't want to answer him, didn't want to form a bond with him, not when he was acting completely different. You didn't want to get attached, because one day when he remembered who he was and what he had done you were going to kill him.

Ryan hadn't tried to answer his father's questions. You honestly were surprised that he had come with you willingly, he didn't know any of you, but he didn't complain. Plus you'd bought him a pack of state capitals and abbreviations flashcards at the gas station and he'd busied himself with running through the flashcards as fast as he could.

"Do you think he's really forgotten?" Mallory asks you.

"I don't know." You reply honestly. "I think so. But he was backed into a corner, and this may have been his only way out. He didn't like that we weren't accepting him."

"Hmm." Mallory exhales out a breath. "Just makes all of this more difficult I guess."

"It's always difficult." You sigh just as heavily.

"Yeah. Seems like it."

"At least the fucker doesn’t have any powers." Ben adds. "What are you going to do with him anyway?"

"Lock him up, see if they can jog his memory." Mallory examines Homelander as he looks through the darkened windows of the Tahoe at the three of you, still smiling. "I'll let you know if it comes back."

"Thank you Grace."

"Sure. You owe me though."

"I know." You pull absentmindedly on the end of the bright pink shirt that you had to change in to at the gas station, because your other one had Noir's blood on it. "Try to give me a little time first okay?"

"Of course." She reaches out to shake your hand and then shakes Ben's. Mallory turns to walk towards her car, before she stops and turns around. "What about Ryan? You want me to take him off your hands too?"

Ben glances back at the car where Ryan is fast asleep, his head leaning against the window, hair fanning out against the glass. "No. I think he'd be better with us."

"With Homelander the way he is, Ryan should be safe now." You look back at Grace. "Rosemary has an extra bedroom in her apartment, she can take him."

"You sure your cousin can handle a supe with his kind of powers?" Mallory raises an eyebrow referring to Rosemary as your cousin as she always does. Though you believed she knew better and just never said anything.

"Yeah. I think she's got it. Plus Ben and I live in the city too. I have an extra room in my apartment, but I just need to clean it out before he can stay with us. Ryan will be safe and maybe he'll be able to have a normal life." The thought was comforting. You didn't know too much about Ryan's background, but thought that maybe he would benefit from having a normal schedule in his life and have a normal life away from being a supe. Of course you were already thinking about ways Butcher could be in his life. It was obvious how much Butcher cared about him and how much Ryan looked up to Butcher.

You were going to call him when you got back into the city. You also supposed that you could have told him about Mallory, but when you and Mallory started working together you had both decided to keep it to yourself, saw that it was better this way.

"Alright." Mallory turns back to walk towards the car. "See you in ten years." She jokes.

When the car pulls away and drives down the street, Homelander waves at Ben and you again as you stand there leaning against the hood of the SUV you stole to get out of the city. It was easy to steal cars when all you needed to do was telekinetically turn it on.

"You didn't tell me you knew Captain Lesbo." Ben says.

"Don't call her that." You snort. "I owe a lot to her, she helped me get away from Vought."

"Why?"

"No idea." You lean your head against Ben's shoulder, listening to the cawing of the birds and feeling the wind pull and tug at your hair as if trying to ask you to play. It was a nice day, warm, but not too hot.

"Tired?"

"Mhmm."

Ben presses a kiss to the top of your head, holding you closer to him for a few precious seconds, his arm squeezing around your shoulders. "Come on Sweetheart. Let's go home." He murmurs into the top of your head.

"Home?" You murmur looking up into his green eyes, cupping his bearded cheek.

Ben's eyes are bright in the sunshine, the same color they were the day you painted him at the park all those years ago with paint splattered fingers and skirts. But it doesn't feel like any time has passed. It still feels like him and you walking the streets of Philadelphia together with warm pretzels, him crawling through your window to escape the rest of the world, him and you soaking up the sunshine along the bank of a pond, him and you drinking sour beer in a bar and singing all the way home, him and you dancing in a ballroom with the lights twinkling above, and him and you and falling asleep in the same bed bodies entwined. He's still your Ben even after all these years. You knew every smile line, every frown line, every freckle, every dimple, every dip and curve of his handsome face. His arm is still heavy around your shoulders, comforting and familiar.

"I'm already there Ben."

Ben brings his hand up to hold your cheek, the rough pad of his thumb tracing along the curve of your cheekbone. You were more beautiful than he remembered, leaving him breathless each time you smiled at him. His eyes trace the frown lines, the smile lines, the scrunch between your eyebrows, the smile on your face, and down to the parts of you that you believe are imperfections. Someone so familiar to him that he was sure he would never forget, and yet looking at you always felt like the first time, like he was a drowning man and you were the first breath of fresh air. He still saw the pieces of you he knew growing up, the girl whose hair caught fire in the sun when you painted him by a pond that was probably dry and gone, the girl who smiled at him every time he crawled through her window to escape the rest of the world, the girl who refused to let him be alone, the girl who protected him and defended him, the girl who saw all the parts of him he tried to hide from the world, and the girl who made him feel loved for the first time in his life. "Good, because I'm not going anywhere sweetheart, for as long as I live, I promise to be here."

"I'll hold you to that Benjamin."

"Forever?"

"Forever."

A/N: Whew! Big chapter. Lots to take in I know!! But also really fun last moments that I just loved writing. I'm not gonna lie I was tearing up a little bit in that final scene. These characters have just meant so much to me to write. There is one more chapter coming! I know this one kinda felt a little bit like a wrap up, but the Epilogue is coming next. Stay tuned!

As always, thank you so much for reading and for all the love and support! If you'd like to be added to the taglist for this series let me know! I know that there's only one chapter of the series left, but I will transfer it to the One-shot fics I have planned for them. 😊

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[tryandbehappy]

Is Nick a Nazi? Let’s talk.

This is a question that’s come up again and again in The Handmaid’s Tale especially this season, both among the characters and the fandom. People in the show and in real life label Nick as part of “them,” as one of the bad guys.

So let’s break this down, through the lens of history, ethics, and good storytelling.

1. What does it really mean to be a Nazi?

Historically, being a Nazi didn’t just mean “working for the regime.” It meant believing in the ideology: racial superiority, totalitarian control and the dehumanization of others.

It meant actively enforcing and spreading those ideas.

There’s a key distinction that emerged after World War II especially in the work of philosopher Hannah Arendt, who coined the term “the banality of evil.”

She described how people could participate in horrific systems not because they were monsters, but because they were passive, conformist, afraid or just trying to survive.

In that context not everyone in the system was a true believer. Some were swept up in it. Some chose survival over resistance. And morally that’s still complicated but it’s not the same as actively endorsing and spreading evil.

(It’s a very sensitive topic for me, considering my homeland is sliding into a fascist regime. I was able to leave because I had the means but not everyone close to me did. And they have their reasons without them being true believers. It’s complicated)

2. So where does Nick fall?

Nick is not a Nazi. He is not an ideologue.

He’s a man who got pulled into the regime early, when he was very young, poor, and desperate and who found a way to survive inside it while helping others however he could. I love that they even showed he used to spy on the commanders — the actual bad guys — and get them punished, back when he was still an Eye.

He doesn’t believe in Gilead . we’ve seen it so many times: the way he rolled his eyes when Serena was praying over June’s pregnant belly, how he didn’t care when his wife cheated on him, how he didn’t want to consummate the marriage or even get married in the first place. He doesn’t push Gilead’s values — he hates them.

He doesn’t take pleasure in the power it gives him.

In fact, we see him:

• Risking himself to help June, Moira, Luke. He was willing to help Rita. He saved the resistance letters from being destroyed (June almost burnt them down) and got them out of Gilead

• Showing compassion, repeatedly not just to June, but to Eden, to marthas when they were blaming June. He cried over the previous handmaid who took her life and promised he’d take care of the next one and yes, he really did 😏

• Avoiding cruelty. He doesn’t punish. He doesn’t exploit.

• Carrying deep guilt and emotional restraint — not because he’s cold, but because he’s feeling too much. Being so drowned in guilt, he ended up devoting himself to June as his only way of redeeming himself

He is a man inside the system but not of it.

3. Why do people in the show label him anyway?

Because from the outside, it’s easier to judge than to understand (and in real world it’s the same)

He wears the uniform. He has the title. He lives in a commander’s house. HE’S A TERRIBLE MAN

People like Luke and even June, at times see only the surface and refuse to look beyond it. They’re clouded by their own self-judgment and an obsessive need to be perfect all the time.

But that’s the tragedy.

Because Nick is living in a constant gray zone, walking the tightrope between protecting those he loves and not losing what’s left of himself.

(And also because he’s the lead and they need drama)

4. What makes him different?

He’s not passive and he’s not power-hungry.

He’s careful and strategic. And he’s so strong in it. The youngest commander ever. Even tuello noticed “it takes talent” - “just staying out of trouble”

But underneath that there is no cruelty, only exhaustion.He’s not motivated by dominance.

He’s motivated by love, guilt, and the hope of doing something right in a world where everything feels wrong. And his rank as a commander gives him more opportunities, to help others, and to stay alive himself.

5. Why doesn’t Nick just leave Gilead?

Because it’s not that simple and it’s not because he believes in it. He stays because he’s no one outside of it. Because he’d be in danger as a commander, a man with blood on his hands (he could face trial, be locked in jail or be killed)

Because no one’s waiting for him out there. Because he no longer believes in governments or saviors, he’s seen too much.

Because running means facing the version of himself he was before: lost, broken, desperate. Also he doesn’t know the world outside and it was highlighted in the flashbacks (“I didn’t have much of a life before all of this”). Because escaping Gilead is treason and treason means death, even for a commander.

And because now, he’s married to a pregnant woman, and leaving would destroy her life too.

But still he chooses love and want to run away with June. Nick has no political ambition in Gilead.

6. So is it fair to judge him?

It’s human to want things to be simple: heroes and villains, good and evil. But Nick forces us into the uncomfortable middle.

He makes us ask:

What would you do if you were him?

What would you sacrifice? Would you sacrifice your life?

How would you survive without becoming the monster?

Because that’s the real conflict of The Handmaid’s Tale: not just the system, but the moral wreckage it leaves inside everyone who touches it.

Nick is not a saint. But he’s not a monster either. And absolutely not one of “them” (yes June, it hurt a lot 🥲)

[reinieseason]

the boys’ writers are so smart, they picked the perfect plot of a spin-off. gen v is the perfect spin-off for the boys.

i say this because the two shows directly parallel each other in perspective.

in the boys, we follow humans who have been wronged by supes, which place most supes in an antagonist role, some with redeeming qualities but i feel like overall the boys paints supes in a negative light, save for exceptions like starlight and kimiko.

so the perspective that we spend 3 seasons with is the the perspective of humans, humans who have been wronged by supes.

so most supes i would say are characterized in a very vain negative way.

however, with gen v, our main cast are supes, they are the protagonists of this story. gen v explores the discrimination and consequences these kids face as supes, what they’ve gone through and how their identity as supes shapes who they are. we experience supes as our protagonists and we place humans who have bad experiences with supes (like dean shetty) as our antagonists.

gen v and the boys offer two differing perspectives that make the issues and situations they bring up incredibly more complex than before.

think about how dean shetty is compared to butcher, how they operate with the same anger and the same rage because of similar situations with homelander that caused the lives of the people they loved. if dean shetty was on the boys, we would be on her side more so. she operates on the same side as the boys (i don’t think same team but i feel like if she was on the boys she would be an ally).

and yet in the boys, she is (well… was) our titular antagonist. we viewed the world from the perspectives from the supes like jordan and marie.

so like maybe on the boys’ perspective, this would be about making the supes human or making them know they are not gods. the reason some (maybe most) supes act so carelessly with the world is because they think they are better, they are entitled to more because they are gods, they’re better than humans.

i feel like if the virus storyline is played on the boys, we would be pushing for the (at the very least) existence of this type of virus, something capable of wiping powers from supes when they go out of line.

however, in gen v, we experience the storylines of characters who’s powers are not just their strength but integral parts to their identity ie. jordan, jordan needs their power to be able to express their identity, without it they’ll be lost.

and so we root for the absolute destruction of this type of virus.

i’m not sure if this made any sense but i just feel like the boys writers picked the perfect spin off because now the issues are so much more complex and we can experience these situations from differing perspectives.

[milliondollargirlstuff]

Li Mei and the Hypocrisy of Outworld

Topics

Introduction

The Story of Li Mei

Power dynamics in Outworld

The Gift of Shame: When You're No Longer Useful to the Powerful

Loyal to the end

The Philosophy of Forgiving and Forgetting

Finalization

Introduction

I never thought I would criticize Outworld's social system, but watching Li Mei's intros I realize how hypocritical and blind people like Sindel, Mileena and Tanya are towards Li Mei, one of the most loyal characters in the entire game.

Here in Brazil, we have the saying that "the one who throws the punch forgets, but not the one who takes it". I believe that this saying also existed in other countries, but here we use it mainly to say that it is easy to forget something bad that you did, but the person who suffered that bad thing, not, and that is exactly the case with Li Mei.

The Story of Li Mei

As her parents’ firstborn daughter, Li Mei was claimed by the Umgadi, the warrior priestesses who guard Outworld’s royal family. Li Mei’s service began with high expectations. Her early success caught the eye of the Royal family. But it all fell apart when a terrible tragedy unfolded. Li Mei was blamed for this and in the aftermath, she did the unthinkable: she quit the Umgadi. Friendless and alone, Li Mei needed a new purpose. She joined Sun Do’s constables, the Outworld capital’s rough and tumble police force. Over time, she became their First Constable. Li Mei is glad to be the capital guardian. Still, she hopes one day to redeem herself.

First we have to talk about how the Umgadi are formed. The intros and biographies imply that the firstborn females of all Outworld are chosen to protect the royal family and they serve until their deaths (or until they get too old to protect anyone). I know we shouldn't associate everything with slavery, since it existed and was cruel, but I can't find another name for when a person is taken from the arms of their parents and their homeland to serve an order that will give them nothing in return except to die for its name.

In an intro with Liu Kang, Li Mei expresses her desire to meet her parents, as she must have been too young to remember them. The Umgadi dynamic reminds me of the Black Widows from Marvel Comics: little girls taken from their families and trained to be servants. I hardly see the choice of firstborns as something spontaneous in Outworld families, tell me, what mother who loves her daughter tirelessly would give up her daughter to be a royal protector and never see her again? These families probably had no choice since it was a royal decree, making the beginning of Li Mei's story tragic, as she was forcibly orphaned.

Moving on, she fell into the good graces of the royal family for her excellent work in protecting them, she even trained Kitana and Mileena in their childhood, probably being a second mother figure, but it all ended when Jerrod died, with no one hesitating to blame her for the emperor's death, having no choice but to become a police officer to escape the shame of failing in her only objective in that palace.

Power dynamics in Outworld

I imagine that Outworld is an absolute monarchy, since there is no evidence that there is a parliament or any council that helps in the empire's decisions, which makes things worse, because in absolute monarchies, power is very centralized in a single person, and we have already had examples in real life of what happens when power falls into the hands of an unprepared and bad monarch (the French and Russian Revolutions, for example). But MK1 wants us to believe that in millennia of monarchy, no democratic revolt has ever occurred in Outworld (probably Liu Kang made democracy and liberalism things of Earthrealm 🤣).

One thing the game makes very clear in its intros is that the archdukes of Outworld are all lying and manipulative snakes, with some even planning to betray Sindel and probably ally themselves with Shao. Symbolizing that most of the richest people in the empire are nothing more than privileged traitors, something that also reminds me of the French and Russian revolutions, where the people (Tarkatans) suffered and the nobles drank and ate in their luxurious palaces without worrying about nothing in their lives.

In conclusion: The empress rules everything, if she wants to declare war on a rival nation, there is nothing anyone can do, because the word of an absolute monarch is law. The nobles are not loyal to the crown despite their positions and titles depending on it. People like Li Mei's parents are only there to obey the system and deliver their daughters to the Palace without question, because again, the empress's word is law.

The Gift of Shame: When You're No Longer Useful to the Powerful

Li Mei was taken from her family and even trained the princesses, and what does she get in return when Jerrod dies? Leaving Umgadi in disgrace and being publicly reprimanded by Mileena and Sindel, yes, I understand that they both loved Jerrod and miss him, but we know that Jerrod was murdered, and that the only thing Li Mei did was be careless (which is later even revealed to be partially a lie, since the supreme matrons used her to hide their own faults). Sometimes it even seems like it was Li Mei herself who killed the emperor!

I don't know the laws of the empire, but I don't doubt that the punishment for Umgadi who break the rules is execution, one could say that Li Mei was lucky to choose to just leave the order before Sindel decided to behead or hang her (which I totally see her doing, since she was an angry widow).

It is also said that the people of Outworld dislikes her for the Emperor's death, which makes it quite clear that ingratitude is not exclusive to the royal family. She has served that family for millennia, always obeying and following the rules, but the moment she makes a mistake, bye bye dear, you become useless to the powerful.

Loyal to the End

Despite being treated like a criminal, Li Mei remained loyal and even mentions that if she had remained a Umgadi, Shang Tsung wouldn't even breathe the same air as Sindel, which makes me draw a parallel with another character from another media.

For those of you who have never heard of Game of Thrones or The Song of Ice and Fire, Barristan Selmy was a protector of the royal family of the Seven Kingdoms who fought countless battles in the name of the crown and was anointed as one of the best knights in the realm. When King Joffrey I dismissed him, saying that he was too old to protect anyone and that he had eventually let his father, King Robert, die. Barristan, no longer useful to the family that ruled the kingdom, went to the other continent and swore loyalty to one of the main claimants to the throne, switching his support. This could easily be the story of Li Mei, so furious at being discarded like a piece of paper that she switched sides, but no, she remains loyal to that family that hates her until the end.

The Philosophy of Forgiving and Forgetting

Li Mei is unfortunately so loyal to the royal family that she doesn't notice their hypocrisy. When it is revealed that Shao, Quan Chi and Shang Tsung were making a fool of Sindel and manipulating her to start a war with Earthrealm (in addition to the matrons' revelations at the end of Tanya), Li Mei is magically forgiven and even Mileena wants her to return to the Umgadi, as if she hadn't said in chapter 3 that expecting something competent from her was too much. Tanya says in Li Mei's chapter that she was incapable of protecting the royal family, but in the intros, she seems to admire her years as Umgadi. When Li Mei defeats Mileena, Sindel says that she is in debt to Li Mei.

Bitches, are you serious?!

Where were you guys being friendly with her when she was seeking forgiveness?! Oh yeah, you were calling her incompetent and that she didn't deserve a place in the tournament if it weren't for Jerrod's tradition. Mileena and Sindel can use the excuse that they didn't know the matrons were using her as a scapegoat, but for Delia and Argus' sake, no person deserves to be treated like she was after centuries of service. You should be thankful that she's still loyal to you.

"Oh Li Mei, forget that I blamed you for my father's death, return to the order that left you an orphan and serve me again!" — Mileena probably.

I believe that Mileena and Sindel have spent so much time in a capsule of privilege and trapped in the idea of being protect, that they have no idea how much being publicly humiliated hurts.

Even if Li Mei were instructed back to Umgadi, it's unlikely she would be the leader again, since Tanya's ending implies that she is the new leader of the order (the same case as Sektor here, it's easy for you to be second in command of something when you're the same person who's sharing your superior's bed, sorry girls).

Li Mei is the greatest example in video games (at least for me) that ingratitude always wins in the end.

Finalization

I confess that I was a little angry when I wrote all this, and perhaps most of you will disagree with me, or they didn't even understand what I meant, if that is the case, I would like to know because I always like to hear other opinions about my analyzes ☺️

[fsfghgee]

Bi-Han and Sektor's Relationship in MK1. They are a couple now? Why?

First of all, I give my honest opinion based on analysis here, regardless of what people are repeating out there. I will never say something I don't believe just to please a loud part. That said, I like the expansion, I like the story and I like the couples (more precisely, Sektor/Bi-Han and Rain/Tanya). Tanya and Rain have a certain past and I enjoyed getting a glimpse of what they would be like in a relationship. Bi-Han and Sektor were a couple that surprised me positively, I didn't expect Sektor to be so affectionate with Bi-Han and much less that Bi-Han would reciprocate like a man in love, I enjoyed seeing this softer side of Bi-Han with her…

I admit that when I saw this scene I was like " own :3 " And then like "Liu Kang, you killjoy〴⋋⋌〵 !" haha

I thought that him watching over Sektor's body in mk11 would be the most of a soft side of Bi-Han that I would ever see in my life. And although I already knew because of the leaks that Sektor and Bi-Han would have a relationship in mk1, I never imagined that they would do it so explicitly. I was surprised, but positively. Because as I said in some previous analyses, a relationship with Sektor would give more depth to Bi-Han as a character. I knew that a relationship with Sektor would be their way of showing us a softer side of Bi-Han, showing that he has feelings and his actions are not only justified, but validated in the clan. I already expected Sektor to support him. They wouldn't make Bi-Han and Sektor so close since Sub-Zero's ending (where she was mentioned as a genius that he seeks advice from and even shares the leadership of the clan, since he refers to everything as "we", "our" and such) for nothing.

 "I had broken the Lin Kuei free of Liu Kang's enslavement. We were now masters of our destiny and could take our place among Earthrealm's greatest nations. But taking and holding territory would require a vast army. I needed more fighters to make our presence felt. Then I recalled Shang Tsung's dragon warriors. An army of them would be unstoppable. But trafficking in such strong magic would surely draw Liu Kang's attention. Sektor advised that we avoid detection by building our army using science, not sorcery. We've invested much time in this endeavor, and we are beginning to see results. Once again proving the depths of Sektor's genius. When we are done, all of Earthrealm will honor our desires and heed our demands. If not, they will face the Lin Kuei's wrath."

And as I've been saying since the day this game was released (and I'll keep saying it even now that he's been turned into Noob Saibot) Bi-Han is not a villain, but an antagonist. He's not good, but he's not purely evil either. He's a morally gray character.

I know a lot of people want one, but I don't care about a redemption arc and I don't see why it would make sense for him to have one. To me, neutral/morally gray characters are much more interesting. I like how they play by their own rules, how they're not easily influenced, how determined they are and all that.

And after Bi-Han saved the timeline, he already redeemed himself and the only thing that really didn't make sense in his story was fixed (which was allying with outsiders just for the promise of receiving power to rule, neglecting the safety of his own clan since their base is in Earthrealm). I've already highlighted intros that prove that even though he didn't participate in the battle against Titan Shang Tsung to free Shao from prison in OutWorld. After he helped Shao in battles in OutWorld and Shao failed to fulfill his side of the agreement, he returned to defending Earthrealm (more precisely, he returned to defending his clan):

*In MK1, all endings and intros are canonicals (with the exception of guest characters like Homelander, Omni Man etc).

"Though I had returned to the temple after Titan Havik's defeat, I remained livid. Livid with Bi-Han's foolishness, Kuai Liang's betrayal, and Cyrax's defection to his Shirai Ryu. So when Quan Chi arrived to parley, offering to eliminate the upstart clan, I listened... For his services, Quan Chi asked that I retrieve an amulet that was locked away in the Temple of the Elements. No small task, given its wards and guardians. Though one worth understanding, if it would finish the Lin Kuei's rivals. But before I could find the amulet, I found Bi-Han. There he was, imprisoned and forgotten, when Liu Kang had promised to restore him! As I rescued Bi-Han, all thought of retrieving Quan Chi's treasure was quickly forgotten. I will never forgive Liu Kang for this betrayal. That he is a god will not stop me from seeking vengeance."

I had hoped that after the expansion, because of what Liu Kang said to Bi-Han, they would come to an agreement about his desires. But they turned out to be just empty words and he refuses to even listen to Bi-Han's vision. Which I find quite ironic. Because it's so reprehensible that Bi-Han wants to rule Earthrealm while Mileena sits on the throne of OutWorld with her family ruling for generations…

Why is it only Bi-Han and his clan that have to settle for just serving as Liu Kang's lackeys? Because at the beginning of the story mode that's all they did....

Why should they settle for this fate of sacrifices without any reward forever? Because Liu Kang said it has to be so? I don't blame Sektor, Bi-Han and others for rebelling against this.

 "As I regained consciousness, I regained my memories: My transformation into a creature of chaos, my defeat of Titan Havik, and my failed confrontation of Liu Kang. Sektor was obsessed with finding the means to purge my soul of Titan Havik's corruption. She was shocked when I told her she should do no such thing. Infusing my soul with chaos did not damage me, it enriched me. By embracing randomness and chance, I have unlocked vast new powers. My kombat is less predictable, more formidable, and radically more lethal. Titan Havik gave me these gifts to use in fomenting his chaos. Instead, I will use them to fight for the Lin Kuei. Liu Kang, the Shaolin, my brother, and his clan will yield in terror when confronted by my perfection."

The only things that really disappointed me in the expansion was the lack of dialogue about Bi-Han's mother. I really wanted to know more about her and why Bi-Han reveres her. And the length, of course. There were a lot of things in a short space of time and I think that if it weren't for the amount of cuts they made, we could have had a longer expansion.

Regardless of what some people wanted or expected to happen, Mortal Kombat 1 was promoted since its release as a New Era that would present major changes made by Liu Kang in the destinies of iconic characters in the hope that everyone would find peace, but as the slogan "It's in our blood" said… It was never meant to last. In other words, although some characters ended up taking similar paths, others also took completely different paths. But the most important thing to know is that the Era of Peace is over.

And although Liu Kang has no control over the choices of those he has created the new destiny for, he has redesigned everyone's destiny and this has resulted in consequences…

Sektor and Cyrax being born female in this New Era and having a considerably different personality may have been both part of Liu Kang's plan, or just a consequence of his changes in the destinies of these two.

We never knew who Sektor's mother was and only his father was known, Oniro, the Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei. In the New Era, Sektor is the daughter of Madam Bo (a former Lin Kuei warrior leader) and Longwei (retired master armorer of the Lin Kuei), in addition to having siblings, while og Sektor was an only child.

Sektor is literally not the same person, but she kept the fighting style and the codename Sektor. While Cyrax was not even born in the same country and unlike the og Cyrax, she did not choose to serve the Lin Kuei, she was born into a Lin Kuei sub-clan and was trained since childhood to defend Earthrealm like all Lin Kuei.

Cyrax's change of country and the fact that she was destined to be a Lin Kuei and did not become one by choice is hard to understand. But Sektor not having the same parents or the same position is completely justified. First, because it was not og Sektor who had the idea of ​​Cyber ​​Initiative, it was og Sektor's father, the grandmaster. Sektor just obeyed the grandmaster by voluntarily undergoing the transformation into a cyborg. And the way Liu Kang tells them not to doubt Sektor's zeal for Bi-Han and tries to manipulate her love for him in favor of his plans to restore Bi-Han…

May indicate that Sektor was destined to be by Bi-Han's side. And knowing that nothing in the previous timelines points to Bi-Han or Sektor as homosexuals and that both were extremely individualistic men in the past who only joined forces for pragmatic reasons…

And the fact that the Lin Kuei are a real clan in this New Era (a group of close-knit and interrelated families. They literally grow the clan by having children among themselves, not by kidnapping children from the streets as in previous timelines) and an ancient clan of warriors with a long lineage whose roles in the clan are passed down from generation to generation (almost like a caste system). Sektor being born a woman makes total sense. And since she does not actually have the same parents as the og Sektor, it is entirely possible that she was born a woman who, although cold, is able to develop feelings and feel love for someone without Liu Kang's interference (especially for someone like Bi-Han, a kindred spirit). In the same way that Bi-Han developed a great attachment to his mother and began to trust in the abilities of the women in his clan because he had a warrior mother this time.

In addition to not being a random and meaningless couple (since Bi-Han and Sektor have always been Lin Kuei and the most loyal ones), they made an effort to present a background for this couple and give it a foundation. Since the end of Sub-Zero (where he praises her a lot, always referring to everything as "our" and "us". And although I was one of those people who thought that the random Lin Kuei there was Sektor, as soon as these speculations started it was confirmed that that guy was not Sektor and I should have guessed, since Sektor has always had red as his characteristic color in the games), then in the expansion it really shows that there are no secrets between them, that thing about Sektor bowing was all just part of their act to deceive Cyrax (a very funny performance in my opinion, because not even pretending to treat Sektor as just another subordinate he could keep his hands off her or stop sucking up to her lol), throughout the expansion it becomes clear that they have a very deep and strong connection as mentioned in Sektor's bio….

A relationship that goes far beyond that of a simple subordinate and boss...

I like their succinct personality differences, where Sektor, despite using fire in combat, is much colder and more rational than Bi-Han, while Bi-Han is reckless and explosive. They are a dangerous couple and likely to cause problems for the good guys. But they are not evil for the sake of being evil, they are doing everything they can to make the Lin Kuei rule. They fight for it. And the way they support each other unconditionally, share beliefs, goals and dreams. Their relationship is anything but simply pragmatic. There's love between them

Cyrax: Love for Bi-Han has made you blind. Sektor: It is you who can't see the Lin Kuei's future.

Geras: If you love Bi-Han, return him to Liu Kang. Sektor: It's because I do that I cannot.

Quan Chi: You were supposed to retrieve the amulet. Sektor: Saving Bi-Han was all that matttered.

Sektor: I won't let you near Bi-Han. Ermac: You are one. One cannot stop Us.

Liu Kang: You should have trusted me, Sektor. Sektor: Why?! You left Bi-Han to rot.

Sektor: I couldn't leave you locked away in the Temple. Noob Saibot: You were right to be impatient.

Noob Saibot: Your mother concerns me, Sektor. Sektor: She knows nothing which can hurt us.

Ashrah: Your ardor for Bi-Han is -- Sektor: I don't need a demon's advice.

Sindel: Your 'beloved' should never have crossed me. Sektor: He doesn't fear you. And neither do I.

Shang Tsung: Bi-Han will pay a steep ransom for your return. Sektor: Just how are *you* planning to abduct *me*?

Shang Tsung: This hostility is unwarranted, Bi-Han. Noob Saibot: You tried to abduct Sektor!

Noob Saibot: It is time you answer for Sektor. Shang Tsung: For what, exactly? She escaped me unharmed.

Noob Saibot: You tried enlisting Sektor against me?! Quan Chi: Not against you. To help you see reason.

Noob Saibot: Leave. Before this gets ugly. Quan Chi: I am here to haggle but if we must fight, so be it.

Quan Chi: Sektor refuses to abide our agreement. Noob Saibot: I won't force her hand, sorcerer.

Liu Kang: Sektor should have trusted me to heal you. Noob Saibot: You should not have made her wait.

Noob Saibot: If Liu Kang seeks to punish Sektor -- Geras: It would be his right to do so.

Kenshi: So you and Sektor, eh? Hm. That tracks. Noob Saibot: If that is mockery, you are a dead man.

Sub-Zero: Together we will make the Lin Kuei immortal. Sektor: I am honored to fight by your side.

Sektor: You've been purged of Havik's magic?! Sub-Zero: Not exactly, Sektor.

General Shao: Sub-Zero sends his woman after me? Sektor: He sends his most skilled warrior.

Sektor: I couldn't leave you locked away in the Temple. Noob Saibot: You were right to be impatient.

Sektor: If Liu Kang continues to stand -- Noob Saibot: We will neutralize him.

Sektor: Is it best for you to remain this way? Noob Saibot: It is best for the Lin Kuei.

Kitana: I have to question your taste in men. Sektor: Please, Princess. Share your thoughts.

Reiko: Do you share Bi-Han's power? Or just his bed? Sektor: Careful, Reiko. Disrespect can be fatal.

Kenshi: You and Bi-Han deserve each other. Sektor: I couldn't agree more.

I particularly like how she imposes limits too…

Even though, everything indicates that she loves bold and dominant men…

Or more specifically a bold and dominant cryomancer who has won her heart and tested its strength several times with his foolishness and stubbornness. And despite this and the mockery of some, she and Bi-Han lead the clan together in perfect harmony and won't stop until the Lin Kuei rule Earthrealm.

I like a powerful couple. I like this couple. I like Sekhan.

tks @kermitthegod ^~

.....

[atreeinthemoonlight]

I have never seen a ship that hated his main characters as much as Rhaelya. Lyanna gets turned into someone that doesn't even care if her family dies if she gets a crown while Rhaegar is a shitheel who uses, abuses, and abandons his wife and babies to honeymoon in her own homeland with his mistress!!! What exactly is redeemable here?

This problematic poison ship is just irresistibly appealing to them.It doesn’t exist in real life, so in their fantasy, they can ship it however they want—without limits, without consequences.A father and brother dead, a kingdom lost, a wife and children slaughtered—none of it is theirs to bear.

As women themselves,what they long for is a man’s absolute loyalty.Rhaegar and Lyanna are nothing more than vessels for their wishful thinking.What they’re really shipping is being the one a man pledges absolute loyalty to, the one he gives up everything for, the one he devotes himself to completely, lifting her high above all else.The more grand and dramatic the abandonment, the better.

What we see as Rhaegar’s disgraceful asshole behavior, they see as the absoluteness and purity of loyalty.They call it "righting wrongs"and "everyone back where they belong"—they like it,and think he should’ve gone even further.They won’t be satisfied until Rhaegar, in word and deed, declares his marriage to Elia a regrettable error.They really really think that the colder and crueler Rhaegar is to his wife and children, the more absolute loyal he is to Lyanna,the more exalted her status becomes.

I used to say they were squeezing Elia out of existence just to make room for Lyanna. Now they’re squeezing Rhaegar too—draining every drop of romantic love, family love,emotional affection, respect, and care he might have had for his wife and children.Not a trace allowed.They even go so far as to claim that Rhaegar never had any feelings for them from the very beginning.They have this stereotypical view of political marriages—where the husband and wife share not a shred of warmth, barely even speak to each other.The children?Conceived in two minutes, with eyes closed and lights off. In their minds, not a single second of that married life was something Rhaegar ever wanted.Rhaegar couldn’t bear even a moment in the presence of his wife and children.Rhaelya stans can't bear Rhaegar, Elia, and their kids appearing as a normal, happy family in one scene.Because if he did, can it still be called absolute and pure loyalty?How do they justify their existence at all? Surely it couldn’t have just been a petty, dishonorable elopement,could it?There’s nothing noble about it.It’s cheap.Pathetically so.