#like what am i supposed to do? force a confrontation? accuse people of lying? | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ask-thedepressedkidatthetable · 11 months ago

Text

A moment of offense washed over them, like a wave. Accused of lying. Then again, they lied all the time, choosing the truth only when it suited them, when it was most inconvenient for others at times. Perhaps Love was more perceptive than they would have credited her for, whispering to solitude as company. The job had been signed as robbery. They were an assassin, more like a serial killer who had shot people for the given reason of, "They're annoying." Wasn't the logical conclusion for an employer to assume a tool would do its job if confronted with the rot they feared? For some reason or another, the universe pushed an answer onto them NO. The feeling filled their being, keeping their reactions dim- Absinthe stepped back, forced back on the next step as the other made her move. She was strong. Stronger than they could ever be naturally. Absinthe's envy quickly turned to muted admiration. For strength? The pot wasn't sweet enough.

The couch was unfamiliar, stuffing dipping and bulging, unforgiving as hands explored their body, trailing downward. A black streak was left behind on their jacket. More they didn't know about undoubtedly appearing. Absinthe took a deep breath, letting it out like a resigned sigh, waiting to do whatever they had to do. Bored eyes watched, absorbing the new information, piecing it together with what they already knew. "Are you distracted by how Beautiful we are?" The words reminded them of days waiting for the bus. Now was the time to talk, steer the conversation wherever they liked before something drastic happened. As fortune had it, they were too late, Love pulling the trigger. Fluid stained their face, splattering against the walls and ruining her lovely couch. They propped themselves up, balancing on an elbow while their other hand splayed across her chest, a body, like so many others, slumping forward toward until she came back to life. They lowered their hand. Everything came back together, but only half-way. Damaged. Absinthe did find it rather distracting, but their face, aside from raised brows, was impassive. "I do not think your pain has reached immortality yet." Part of Absinthe would have dearly loved to kill her, relishing a challenge.

Their beloved weapon, a machine, brilliant in its simplicity, was thrown carelessly to the floor, skidding to some shadowed corner. Absinthe's fingers join hers at their throat, making no move to break away, but challenging her all the same. "Make your decision" Supposed immortality or death, it didn't matter. They would be unrecognizable by the end of it and that was enough. They didn't have to play to her whims, building satisfactory realities. Perfume mixed with rot, they were close enough to breathe in her mechanical, habitual exhalations. Eye to eye as she waited for them to speak. Absinthe took their time, their thumb drifting back and forth across her skin as silence filled the space between them. "I am. I was not informed of such until just now, and had not cared to ask. As I said, I was here to rob you." The truth existed in all forms, regardless of their information. Absinthe bared their neck, the needle pressing against their skin. Reasoning, their life story, none of it needed to be given to an insane Lover in exchange for a few extra seconds. Perhaps such impressions were immortal. In the coming years, when her shots ran out, would her body waste away? Or would she have lie in wait for circumstances to change, some atrocity that would permit her appearance. Absinthe rather hoped it was the latter, finding the sudden thought of so many more like Love rather appealing. It would certainly be an interesting case-study in expression and acceptance. // @eroticabomination

How funny. The only human being breaking into her place, standing in front of her, interacting with her in weeks is this complete stranger. Her eyes are filled with pain, a pain that comes from this isolation, this solitude she so desperately locked herself in. Her acquaintances, her friends, her coworkers, her fans, the men who would climb mountains to fuck her, the women who would sell their houses to be her... Love hoped it would be one of them, missing her So Damn Much in their lives, they would fight to forcefully open the door Just to see her. Just to check on her. How delusional. None. None of them called, none of them came, none of them cared. Love has always been the face of Everything, that's what success does, adored of the masses, the Object of Desire everyone wanted to devour. Disappear for a few months and realize it is all build on lies : never mix adoration for love. In little time, she got replaced by another doll who sold even more magazines and movies than her.

Their eyes are linked as he, a gun in his hand and she, a syringe in hers. An eye contact that gives birth to something she cannot quite comprehend : this man, he doesn't look at her in the disgusted way she is waiting for - why isn't he? What's in the syringe, he asks. If she wanted to, she would kill him on the spot with what's in it but she hesitates, he doesn't seem frightened by What she became, what she looks like. The syringe contains the treatment she is taking herself : it helps her tame down her internal organs that are turning against her, they connect together and give birthes to more Loves, like matryoshka dolls, clones. A side effect never seen before. Another organism than hers could never handle the liquid, it would burn them from the inside. He talks to her, he asks questions, circling around as she remains silent. She circles too, as if in a fight ring, he makes a step to the left, she makes a step to the left, like an animal ready to jump to his throat if he attacks first. "ROB ME?" A slight demonic sparkle in her eyes is spreading to her lips as if it is the most hilarious thing she ever heard. "HAHAHAHAHA YOU'RE HERE TO ROB ME?! LIAR!" She does not believe him. Being locked for so long has turned her into a bomb of paranoia. "He's here to kill us." She whispers, looking to the side as if speaking to an hallucination of hers. Quite actually she is speaking to herself : the side of her face that is still flawlessly Beautiful is talking to the side of her face that is completely damaged, meltin and rotting, as said, the birth of anoter Love, they are currenly two in her body. "I know... They're probably sending him to put an end to us. Let's just kill him and get it over with." She is answering in whispers still, talking to her self again. Her attention goes back to him as Love steps forward, she pushes him, her strength has increased tenfold, a demon trapped in a petite delicate frame. She shoves him again and again, pushing him down her red velvet couch, her hands straight onto his body, searching for the gun as she climbs on top of him, straddles him, locking him down. "Tell me you Dirty Little Liar, Is Sculpture sending you? Is the Big Bad Doctor paying you to do his dirty little job? Aww nooo he couldn't kill me HIMSELF? What are you waiting for huh? Why aren't you killing us already mmm? Are you distracted by how Beautiful we are? " A large grin is spreading over her lips as she opens her mouth widely. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, her obsession to remain beautiful is what cost her everything, right now, she's just a monstrosity that's hard to look at. The tip of the gun is then placed into her mouth as she doesn't break eye contact with him. BANG. She shoots herself in the mouth. The bullet explodes against the back of her skull, damaging the bones of her jaw, the teeth, the tongue, even more black blood dripping out of the fresh wound down to his face and clothes, her eyes rolling white as her head is thrown to the back, neck half broken, arms dropping to the side : a dead woman. It regenerates quite immediatly, the bones, the skin, the organs, the mouth, regenerating back to life as her head mechanically comes back to her original position. Eye to eye. "You couldn't even if you tried." Immortal. Too bad. Sculpture is the secret organization disguised as a Plastic Surgery Clinic that made her beautiful and also turned her into this black blooded grotesque ghost of a female atrocity. Almost amused, she throws the gun to the ground. Her fingers crawl up his neck, wrapped around it. He called her Interesting. Her eyes are narrowed, the tip of the syringe close to his carrotid. Not once he tried to actually harm her, maybe he won't.. but how can she be so sure? She does not want to kill him, actually, in a weird psychotic way she likes him, the only company she has had for weeks : Can't she just keep him here with her? For as long as she can? "I'm asking again and if I don't like your answer, that's where you find out what's in the syringe, Handsome. Are you working for them?"

#absinthe&love #eroticabomination #[HI HI!! omg; i totally get that]#[just know trying to get into the swing of things]#[after like; two months of six day work weeks]#[of course i replied!! it's great!!]#[absinthe desperately wants to tell her they're non-binary]#[seeing as she's insane though...]#[and ooooh now that you mention it yes it does!]#[absinthe and love sounds so good!]#[absinthe's a non-judgemental party in a lot of ways]#[they'll keep her company for a little awhile]#[nothing else interesting going on in their life]#[also i'm sorry that this is shorter than i would have liked!!]#[they're not a huge talker initially]#long tags

3 notes · View notes

the-ferocious-kittyrose · 4 years ago

Text

Rewriting Haggar/Honerva’s redemption arc

One of the many things that bothered me about VLD S8 is Honerva’s redemption arc. While I was never fully against the idea of Honerva getting a redemption arc, I just didn’t want VLD to do it because I knew that they would fuck it up if they tried. And low and behold, I was right!

But yeah, I wasn’t against the idea of her being redeemed. And I don’t mean “redeemed” as in “all is forgiven and she’s just a good guy now,” but more like a Darth Vader, “the things she did were inexcusable and she would never be able to right all her wrongs but she goes out on one good act to show that there was still good in her deep down and she at least had the potential to change.”

I know a lot of people don’t like the whole, “redemption=death” thing, which I understand, but I personally never had a problem with it.

Ok, so why didn’t Honerva’s redemption work? Well there are a few reasons but the one that baffles me the most is that, instead of trying to make her more sympathetic, season 8 seemed to go out of its way to show her being more evil and vile than ever.

And because I have nothing better to do, I’m gonna go through Honerva’s story in VLD and explain what I would change to make her redemption more believable.

(Keep in mind I am not a writer, this is just me ranting about my favorite character and how I personally would’ve written her.)

1. Realizing she’s Altean

I always thought it’s was weird that when Allura said “you’re...Altean!?” In the S2 finale, Haggar didn’t seem to react at all, she just kept attacking. It’s as if she didn’t care or already knew, which doesn’t make sense considering in the S3 finale and S8E2 it’s established that Haggar has no memory of who she was before she died. And in S4E3 she seems shocked by her Altean face (which also doesn’t make sense because her blue skin isn’t camouflage that’s just how she looks after the rift) so it seems like she didn’t know.

Wouldn’t it have made more sence if after Allura said “you’re...Altean!?” Honerva looked confused/shocked? If she became defensive and said Allura was lying/trying to insult her? There’s def anti-Altean propaganda in the empire so it would be considered an insult.

After that she starts questioning Zarkon. And when she looks into his mind, it’s out of genuine curiosity and desire to know the truth, not because, “the empire needs him” or whatever that meant.

And isn’t it a bit odd that she doesn’t seem betrayed at all when she finds out Zarkon has been keeping all this from her? She’s just like, “oh, you’re my husband? Cool.” Wtf???

2. Her past relationship with Zarkon

Okay, I love Zonerva, but if we’re being honest, Zarkon was not the best husband. He enabled the shit out of Honerva, even when it was obvious that the rift was doing serious damage to her physical and mental health. To me, it seems like Zarkon was so blinded by the power the rift gave him that he didn’t realize/ignored the negative effect it was having on Honerva. In the same way he downplayed the negative impact the rift had on the planet.

I think that should’ve been explored more. Maybe Honerva notices that she’s been acting differently and is worried somethings wrong (think S5 Kuron). And Honerva tries to tell Zarkon that she feels strange and Zarkon just brushes it off.

And later, when Alfor visits Diaibazaal years later. Things are pretty much the same except when we sees Honerva, she is very obviously pregnant and Alfor’s there when Honerva falls and goes into labor (instead of a random quintessence seizure). Alfor and many Galran doctors try their best to save her and the baby but she dies in childbirth.

Zarkon goes ballistic. He’s yelling, throwing doctors across the room, and Alfor turns to the doctor holding Lotor and tells them to get the baby to safely, fearing Zarkon will take his grief out on the baby.

Zarkon turns on Alfor, blaming him for Honerva’s death and accusing him of letting her die so that he could get his way and close the rift. He lunges Alfor and roars at him to leave.

He spends the rest of the night grieving at Honerva’s bedside, when Kova jumps on the bed and starts gnawing on her finger trying to wake her up. This is what gives him the idea to bring her back with quintessence.

3. Her current relationship with Zarkon

I think it’s pretty safe to say that they’re relationship didn’t get better after the war began. Zarkon hid her identity and her child from her for 10,000 years and essentially used her as a tool of war. It’s pretty fucked up.

I know it’s pretty well established that Zarkon treats Haggar with more respect than his other underlings, but I feel like it would be interesting to see that change overtime. We see that after Voltron comes back, Zarkon becomes very obsessed with Voltron/Black, and he and Haggar start disagreeing more and more.

Remember the moment where one of Haggar’s druids told Zarkon Haggar said he needed to rest and Zarkon hit them with his bayard and told them, “remember who your master is”? What if, instead of a random druid, it was Haggar who he hit?

I feel like that would be a good way to show Haggar and the audience just how much Zarkon’s obsession with Voltron is affecting him, and make the audience feel a tiny bit bad for her.

Then later in season 4, when Zarkon wakes up from his coma and finds out Haggar brought Lotor back to take his place he gets pissed. He puts a price on Lotor’s head and has Haggar arrested for treason. She steals a ship, escapes, and later on meets up with Lotor’s generals.

Her and Zarkon are officially broken up and her quest to reclaim her identity and get her son back begins.

4. Oriande

I never liked the concept of chosen/sacred Alteans. The idea that some Alteans are just born more powerful than others just feels iffy. My idea of Oriande is that it’s an Altean holly land, any Altean can enter it just depends on whether or not you can pass the White Lion’s trial. Passing the trial proves that your intentions are pure and and the White Lion will bless you with power.

I didn’t like how Honerva seemed to force her way into Oriande, I think it would be more effective if she had gone through normally because, at this point, her intentions were pure. She was going there to purge herself of the dark magic corrupting her and reclaim her memories so she could go get her son back.

I also like the idea that Oriande is a sorta link to the Altean after life, and you can speak with people you’ve lost. Allura gets to speak with Alfor, and Honerva speaks with her mother.

You could also have her be confronted by the spirits of the Alteans she helped destroy. Have the weight of her past actions bear down on her. An important part of any redemption arc is acknowledging the terrible shit you’ve done in the past, and that was severely lacking in Honerva’s arc.

Another interesting thing you could do is have Honerva talk to her younger self. The one that died 10,000 years ago. This kinda thing actually happened in 80s Voltron, young Haggar appearing in Haggar’s head trying to convince her to be good again.

5. Her relationship with Lotor

Now this is where the redemption arc really falls apart. I forget who, but one of the writers said after S5 that Haggar/Honerva was motivated purely by love for her son, but man did they do a bad job of showing that.

And it would’ve been so easy to fix that problem, just have her not be horrible to him. Have them have actual civil conversations, have her protect and defend him. Don’t have her reject him as a fucking baby!

Imagine if, after Zarkon destroys Lotor’s planet, instead of immediately deciding to

exile him, Zarkon says that this is the final straw and he’s going to have Lotor executed. But Haggar speaks up to defend Him. There’s actually a scene in DOTU where Zarkon tries to kill Lotor and Haggar gets on her knees and begs for him to be spared. (Though the scene was mostly played for laughs.)

she asks for mercy and justifies it by saying it would be unwise to kill his only heir. It’s a weak argument, Lotor’s a half breed and couldn’t realistically take the throne, but Zarkon does concede, he still loves her after all, and has Lotor exiled.

And Haggar isn’t spying on him because she doesn’t trust him, but because she’s concerned for him. When Lotor confronts Haggar about sending her cronies after him, she says she knows he’s hiding something. Lotor asks if she’s threatening him, thinking she’s going to rat him out, but she says no, she’s not threatening him, she’s just trying to warn him against doing anything stupid because, with Zarkon seemingly on his death bed, the empire needs Lotor’s leadership.

At this point in the story, Haggar is questioning her loyalty to Zarkon, so I feel like it would make sense for her to be silently supporting Lotor from the shadows.

Then at the Kral Zera in season 5, It was weird to me how she was helping Lotor through Kuron while also telling him he couldn’t be emperor and trying to put Sendak on the throne. I feel like it would’ve made more sense for Sendak to just show up on his own without Haggar.

Haggar wouldn’t even be at the Kral Zera, she would just watch through Kuron.

And then we get to S6 when she actually reveals to Lotor that she’s his mom. This scene was just so poorly done. She never actually apologizes to him, she’s just like “yeah I forgot you were my kid and I never loved you, but were cool now right?” I remember when I saw S8E2 and it shows her after Lotor rejects her and she looks like she’s about to cry, I was just thinking, “this would be very emotional and sad IF she had actually apologized and made it clear that she genuinely loved him.” But she didn’t and I don’t know why!

And then we get to season 8, and of course everything in S8 is bad but Honerva’s story is particularly bad. She’s supposed to be motivated by love for Lotor yet she doesn’t act like she actually cares about him at all.

She manipulates his corpse and when she sees his gross melted body, she doesn’t even react that much. When a mother sees her child’s mutilated corpse, how do you think she reacts? Screaming? Crying?? Hurling??? But no. She’s just like, “...”

And then when she goes to the alternate reality and meets baby Lotor and he rejects her, her reaction isn’t disappointment or sadness, it’s anger and entitlement. She immediately decides, “ok, fuck this kid. Let’s destroy this reality.”

It just doesn’t make sense! This is the season you’re trying to REDEEM her! Why are you going out of your way to make her so vile?

6. Her S7-S8 plan

(Keep in mind I haven’t watched S7/S8 since they came out and barely even watched S8 to begin with, so I don’t remember some things and I can’t be bothered to rewatch them.)

Okay, starting with S7, she’s not in this season at all but in “The Ruins” the druid dude says that her final order was to hunt and destroy the Blade of Marmora. I guess it makes a certain amount of sense because she saw that it was Keith who brought Lotor’s actions to light, but that whole plot was really pointless in my opinion. (Was anybody really hoping for a rematch between Keith and that one random druid?)

If you want us to forgive Honerva for her crimes, you really shouldn’t keep adding more unnecessary crimes. It’s established that there were a lot of Galra war lords vying for power and pirates looking for money, just have it be that Kolivan got kidnapped by one of them.

Then you have her season 8 plan and I’m gonna be real with y’all, I have no idea how to fix this mess.

I feel like the basics of her plan could work. She tries to get Lotor and Sincline out of the rift but when she gets him he’s a melted corpse so the plan then becomes to use sincline to go to another reality to find a living Lotor, but opening all these rifts causes problems and the paladins have to stop her.

But all the shit with manipulating the colony Alteans, killing the White Lion, desecrating Oriande, and destroying Olkarion and entire realities, it was all so unnecessary.

Personally I would cut the colony Alteans from the story all together, there are other ways for Lotor to betray the team. It was a lazy way of making Lotor 100% evil and having Honerva manipulate them is unnecessarily cruel, especially in the season you’re trying to redeem her.

Here’s a very basic outline of how I would do this plot.

If we’re going by season 8’s logic that she needs a sacrifice to bring back Sincline, I would’ve had the Galra she killed at the Kral Zera be the sacrifice, not the White Lion. She stands on the pyramid and talks about how the empire stole her life from her and she wants revenge as she absorbs their quintessence into herself and then uses that to bring back Sincline.

Then when she finds Lotor dead she takes Sincline and uses it to go to another reality where she can be with her family.

The danger comes when she opens rifts to the other realities and rift creatures start coming out and causing damage. The paladins fight them and follow her into the rift to stop whatever evil plan she may have. Because the paladins don’t know that Haggar is now Honerva and all this is just to get Lotor back. They think this is all some plan for multiverse domination or some shit.

Meanwhile Honerva has just been rejected by little Lotor and seeing Voltron show up pushes her over the edge and they fight.

But when they find out the real reason she’s doing all this they start trying to appeal to her and convince her to give up and close the rift peacefully. And similarly to how the paladins had to sacrifice the castle to close the rifts created by the fight with Lotor, Honerva has to sacrifice herself to close the rifts.

In the end, I feel like a Honerva redemption arc could’ve worked if the writers were actually competent and actually made an effort to have her be sympathetic, but In canon, her reasoning, “If I can’t indulge in the simple joys of life, why should anybody else?” just doesn’t cut it.

It’s disappointing. VLD had so much potential. I’m thinking of just rewriting the entire series from the beginning. Hopefully putting all my thoughts out into the universe will help me move on.

#voltron #voltron legendary discourse #haggar #honerva #Lotor #prince lotor #Allura #princess allura #vld #vld critical #Altean #voltron season 8 #zarkon #emperor Zarkon #zonerva #Galra #redemption arc

184 notes · View notes

thelandswemadeofpaper · 3 years ago

Text

Rebel

Screw Your Ultimatum!

Defends Against Their Own Kind

Start My Own (or go solo at least)

Secret Rebel (Alter Ego? A Mole can be a Rebel that decided to stay instead of Defecting. A Secret Rebellion?)

Screw the Rules, I am Doing What is Right

Turned Against Their Masters

The Pawn Escapes or Rebel

Faustian Rebellion

Resign in Protest

Defector from Paradise

Breaking the Glass Ceiling

Retired Badass

Former Member (Servant? General? Quitted? Kicked out?)

Uprising

Rebellion/Resistence

Coup D’etat

Defiant Captive

Band of Outlaws

Grew Beyond Their Programming

Rebellious Subordinade Faction

Cultural Rebel

Forbidden Fruit

Phlebotinum Rebel

The Paragon Always Rebels

Occupiers Out of Our Country

Outcast Refuge

Split Rebellion

Robot Rebellion

Hunting the Rogue

Deviants

Disobey an Order

Resistance as Planned

Theft

Monumental Theft

Decoy Object

Steal It to Protect It

Stolen Powers

Stolen Love

Borrow without Permission

Intangible Theft (voice? heart?)

Usurpation is not only for a throne, maybe stolen inheritage, a competition, a heroic merit, a position, a familiar, bastard children being passed as their parent's...

Duel

To decide something? Its 'official' or cultural like Agni Kai? Or Vongola Ring Battles? You can have a champion? Trial by combat?

Forced Prize Fight

Shapeshifter Showdown

What decision? A maiden's hand? A trial by combat? Honor? Humiliation?

The results, the defeat could be part of someone backstory. What happened after?

There was a sabotage? Its was staged? What happens to the loser? Execution? Dishonor? A lawful trial is not murder is some settings

Impossible Task

Necessary Stab

Trial by Combat

Punishment

or just doing something wrong? And related situations? Not sure how to tag this.

The Resenter

Clear My Name/Clear Their Name Quest

Ask for Forgiveness. Never Permission.

Sins of our Fathers (Children of a Traitor or Enemy? Familiar Foe?)

Amnesic Crimes (maybe being unaware or mind controled?)

Punished for Sympathy

Pre-Redemption Crimes and Former Enemies/Villains Problems.

Horror Hates a Rulebreaker

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Punishment as Revenge or Compensation.

I Will Punish Your Friend for Your Failure

What is the Punishment? Its the more 'Magical' or 'Mundane' type? There can a offer for a better alternative for the original punishment, like the 'Recruit the Criminal' trope.

Arrest? Investigation? Apology? Forgiveness? Pardon? Reconciliation? Deal? Blame? Or Refusal to do so? Missing Culprit? Fugitive?

Can have someone beg for mercy, can have the accused being denied a trial or give false confessions, even a forced one. Or they run away and/or are captured. Or someone stand up for them.

Can result in the accuser being punished for lying (is it truly a lie?). Or maybe the victim ends up punished. Or the real culprit remains free while the blamed is locked up/exiled/killed.

You can forced to punish someone (relatively) blameless. For reputation? Laws? Measures? To please a ally?

You can defend/trust/believe the wrong person. You can get a friend in trouble (to save another? yourself?).

The allies can demand the freedom of the accused

A former criminal that did a good thing can be given both a Reward and a Punishment.

Or third character taking the blame, willing or not, or suffering the consequences to 'fix' the situation. Even if they were not involved at all.

Or the wronged person takes advantage to ask for something in change (it was a mistake then? guilty tripping?).

You can punish people by association (student? followers? a hostage? family? allied or subordinade faction?) with the culprit. Or in their place (because the character escaped?) or use them to punish the person in question.

Another character can confront or attack by themselves or take the matter on his/her own hands (by openly accusing? kidnapping the suspect? playing judge and executor?).

Maybe you decided to act because of suspicions? Not exactly a punishment, but like...a ultimatum? A order to keep the supposed accused in check?

A entire faction (family? kingdom?) being persecuted for the actions of a few (most likely the leaders at time).

The culprit was caught in the middle of the act or after an attempt.

The victim does not wish for the criminal to be punished

Imposter? Set up? Misunderstanding? Framed? You did an good thing but its 'ilegal'? Disobeyed Orders? Self-Defence? Revenge? Seeking Justice? Scapegoat? It was presumed due you have good reasons to do so and the real criminal don't? Tricked? Rebel? Pariah? Staged? Used (like a caravan unknowing having spies?)?

The character thinks they are responsable for said deed because of the tricks of a Manipulative Bastard. (A perspective variation: they think another character did it for the same reason)

A thing you are responsable, but wasn't unaware. Kinda like a "I did this?" Reveal.

You get in trouble with the local law

A Non-Mundane Example, kind of a 'Magical' Punishment? For insulting a supernatural being? Disobey some 'Magical Rules' given? To teach them a lesson in humbleness?

#my wiritng #tv tropes #tropes #writing prompt #authority #rebel #rebel tropes #authority tropes #story writing #writing plots #writing tropes #writing story #writing ideas #diplomacy #blame

10 notes · View notes

tsarisfanfiction · 4 years ago

Note

I think I drank too much - with ma boi John Tracy, Eye in the Sky?

(I hope you wrestle uni into submssion)

A Bad First Impression

Fandom: Thunderbirds Rating: Gen Genre: Family/Friendship Characters: Scott, John, Penelope

Brain is in default Scott mode (when is it not?), so more Scott than John, but it is John saying the line, so that counts, right? Haven’t proof read this or anything, but alcohol+John gave me one idea straight away, so here we go!

4am so the other prompt currently sitting in my inbox will have to wait until post-sleep (and probably post-more uni work), but feel free to send more in!

(Uni is... not going down without a fight but I have got my lecturers on my side so it’s not quite as terrifying as it was the other day. Still got a heck of a lot of work to do, but hopefully it’s survivable now.)

Lightheaded/Fainting Prompts (I know it says ‘starters’ but I figure as long as the line’s in there somewhere it counts). Or honestly any other prompt games I’ve reblogged are fine, too, just make sure to tell me which one it’s from!)

Scott glowered down at his phone, where his message was stubbornly remaining as sent. Ideally, he wanted a reply, but it had been five minutes and it still wasn’t even showing as read.

People were sending him disapproving looks, no doubt seeing a stranger with a backpack lurking outside a door and drawing their own conclusions the longer he remained slouched against the wall. Apparently even in England, people didn’t take too kindly to loitering, and Scott would appreciate it if his brother would hurry up and let him in.

Maybe for some people, five minutes was too soon to be getting cranky, let alone worried, and any of his other brothers, in any other situation, Scott wouldn’t expect an instantaneous reply, but it was John, at midnight. He should be wired into whatever technology he was playing and receiving messages instantly - especially as Scott should be expected.

The journey had been a long one, jet lag was hammering hard, and he just wanted to greet his brother, catch up for a bit, and then crash out on the couch. It had been too long since he’d last seen him - why John had decided to go to college in England, Scott had no idea.

Seven minutes, and still no answer. No little icon assuring him John had even seen it, even though John had known exactly what flight he was on and had been the one to tell Scott how long the taxi would take from the airport. Scott had fully expected his younger brother to open the door just as the taxi pulled to a halt.

The fact that he was still standing outside, seven minutes later - and midnight in Oxford was not warm - had Scott one part annoyed to three parts worried.

The looks were getting dirtier. He was surprised no-one had confronted him yet, and hoped that didn’t mean they’d decided against talking and skipped straight to calling the police.

“C’mon, John,” he muttered. “What’s taking you so long?”

Looking up from his phone again - nine minutes - he caught sight of a pair staggering their way in his direction. One was ginger, and he straightened, more than a little disbelieving when his younger brother staggered right past him without looking and pawed at the door ineffectually.

“Honestly, John,” the girl he was with - petite, blond, and in high heels that made Scott’s feet ache just to look at (his younger brothers didn’t know about his time in high heels and it was staying that way) - sighed, although the giggle that followed it ruined whatever gravitas she was trying to exude.

There were many things wrong with the sight, from John being not inside, to John looking like he’d been at a nightclub, to John apparently bringing a girl home, but the thoughts all temporarily abandoned his head as John swayed just a little bit more.

“I think I drank too much,” his brother commented, in that sort of detached fashion Scott recognised from his own nightclub experiences, and ignoring the girl, he lunged forward just in time to catch John as he crumpled.

This wasn’t the greeting he’d been expecting.

Nor was the stiletto kick to his chest, winding him and almost making him drop his brother. It was fortunate his first instinct was always to hold on tighter, otherwise John would probably have just gained a concussion to go with the hell of a hangover he was going to be facing in a few hours.

“What do you think you’re doing?” the girl demanded, drawing herself up to her full height - and even in those dagger stilettos, still failing to reach Scott’s chin. “Unhand him at once, or I’ll call the police.”

Scott was tired, grumpy, and had no patience for irritating girls trying to get in with his not interested younger brother. He straightened, hefting John into his arms - he might be tall, but John had never been a challenge to lift on the rare occasion Scott had carried him - and made a show of looking down at the small female.

“And I suppose you were planning on carrying him inside?” he challenged, shifting John’s weight until he could slip two fingers into his pocket and extract his door key.

John always kept his key in the same pocket. Scott was glad that hadn’t changed.

“And now you’re trespassing,” she huffed as he fumbled the door open. “No-one invited you in. Leave, before I call the police.”

“Actually, I was invited,” Scott snapped, stepping through the door. “You, on the other hand, are not welcome. Go home.”

He kicked the door shut with his heel, knowing Grandma - and probably John, in the morning - would be furious with him for leaving her outside by herself at midnight, but not finding it in himself to care right then.

The apartment wasn’t large, just a kitchen with a sofa and a door that Scott determined had to lead to the bedroom and en suite, which meant he heard the front door open again as he shouldered his way into the bedroom.

“Who are you?” the girl demanded. Scott ignored her as he settled his brother on the bed - planets and stars embellishing the otherwise plain navy comforter. “Look at me when I’m talking to you!”

Scott pulled his brother’s sneakers off and set them down on the floor, making a mental note to find where John kept his shoes and put them away properly before his occasionally-clumsy brother tripped over them later.

“Why are you in his apartment?” he asked, kicking off his own shoes and letting his backpack fall onto the floor before pulling himself up onto the bed. John could sleep in his clothes just fine, but that coat and jumper had to come off before he overheated.

“Are you stripping him?” she shrieked. “That’s it; I’m calling the police.”

...Okay, Scott could see why it might look bad if she didn’t know who he was.

“Look, miss,” he started.

“Your ladyship,” she interrupted.

“Uh, what?”

“It’s your ladyship,” she said. “Not miss. I am Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, and I insist you tell me who you are and why you’re manhandling my friend.”

“John has friends?” John did intellectual peers, but he’d never cared for friends, mostly because he found it tiring when people couldn’t keep up with him - or tried to force him into socialising, which Scott was starting to suspect this girl, Lady, whatever, had done tonight. His friends were computers.

“Of course he does, you pervert,” she snapped back. “Now answer my questions, and if I don’t like the answers, I’m calling the police.”

“Perv-” Scott interrupted himself with a sigh. “I take it John didn’t bother to tell you I was coming to visit for the week?”

“Your name,” she insisted, and he rolled his eyes.

“Scott Tracy. I’m his brother, so if you could stop the ridiculous accusations that would be great, thank you very much.”

“You don’t look related.”

Oh, for-

“You should see the rest of them.” John shifted against his chest in a quickly-aborted attempt to sit up. Scott tightened his grip. “Scott, Lady P. You won’t get rid of her. Trust me. Lady P., my big brother, Scott. You won’t get rid of him. Trust me.”

“John-”

“So stop arguing and let me sleep. My head kills. Penny, why did you let me drink so much?”

“I was curious what you’d be like drunk,” she answered, completely unapologetic. “You didn’t tell me your brother was coming.” She paused. “Why didn’t you tell me when I came to get you earlier?”

“You’d have accused me of lying to get out of going,” John muttered. “Sorry, Scott. Thought I’d be back before you turned up. Wasn’t expecting to drink so much...” He trailed off with a yawn, and Scott helped him lie back down.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said - not strictly true, but as far as reunions went it was already terrible. He had no intentions of worsening it with an argument. “Get some sleep. I’ll find you something for the hangover in the morning.”

John was asleep again before he’d finished talking, and with a fond smile, Scott slipped off the bed and pulled the covers loosely over him.

Then, he eyed the blonde in front of him. John didn’t like socialising, and yet she’d dragged him out regardless - and apparently never took no for an answer.

Scott did not like the implications of that.

“We need to talk,” he said, quietly enough not to wake John, but seriously nonetheless. Blue eyes flicked from him to John and then back again.

“Yes,” she agreed. “I suppose we do.”

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds are go fanfiction #tsari writes fanfiction #scott tracy #john tracy #lady penelope creighton-ward #thunderfluff #drabbles #such-a-random-rambler #a bad first impression

45 notes · View notes

four-loose-screws · 4 years ago

Text

FE8 Novelization Translation - Chapter 12, Section 2

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

If you are interested in donating to support my work, please check out my Ko-fi here. Thank you!

———————————

I call this a “section” because it is not a separate part of the chapter in the book, but divided from the rest of the chapter by a scene break.

———————————

Chapter 12: The Wyvern Rider's Wrath (con’t)

When confronted, their formation did not crumble. They waited patiently. Because Eirika’s army had to rush right into the center of that formation and break through it, they were clearly at a disadvantage.

The enemy was using the canyon’s complex terrain to their advantage. Just when the enemies in front of them captured all of their attention, soldiers lying in wait would appear from unexpected directions.

“Do not fall back! Keep moving!” The enemy’s sheer might put great pressure on them. Eirika called out to any soldiers that looked like they might pull back, and led them directly.

Nearby, a sudden, violent noise echoed through the air. Eirika immediately turned around, and saw Franz fall to the ground. It appeared that his horse had been shot and he’d fallen off.

“Franz! Are you alright?”

She ran over to him, but he quickly sat up before she could lend him a hand. He shrugged off his pain and forced himself to smile. “I am! I’m not injured at all!”

However, his lance arm seemed to have been injured from the force of the fall. He couldn’t put any power into it.

“You need to be healed right away…!” Eirika wrapped him around her shoulder, and stood him up.

The healer unit on the rear line felt so very far away. Compared to their enemy, organized in their perfect formation, Eirika’s army was split up, and they couldn’t cooperate with each other at all.

Had she chosen the wrong order to give?

Doubt sprouted up within her. Perhaps what Innes had said was right, and they should have pulled back for a moment to assess the situation. Had commanding her army to charge no matter what may happen been utterly reckless?

Joshua had told her that this would be best. But they were slowly being closed in on now. It wasn't too late. Should she order her entire army to retreat…?

"Eirika, look over there!"

Tana's voice rang through her ears.

If Tana flew up into the sky, she would just become fodder for the ballista, so Achaeus had greatly reduced the height he flew at, and stayed just above everyone's heads. Tana was clinging to his mane, and staying around the rear line.

Eirika saw three figures just ahead of them. "Dragons…?"

She froze. The three figures were calmly flapping their giant wings, and coming their way. Because she'd just seen dragons a few days ago on the mountain, there was no way she could mistake the sight of them. They were dragon riders from the Grado Army.

Was it General Glen? Eirika's heart was filled with both hope and anxiety.

He had promised to ask the emperor what his true intentions were. Once he knew that the crime Eirika was accused of was a lie, he would surely focus his efforts on working towards a conclusion to the war.

Was he able to find out the truth? Had he learned that Eirika did not massacre ordinary citizens? Had he come to order the Grado Army to stop fighting?

The wyverns gradually became bigger and bigger. The Grado Army also noticed them, and started cheering. Both armies pulled back to make space for them. The canyon with two armies jumbled together fighting in it opened up.

And it was indeed there that the dragons landed. The wind their wings whipped up caused a small dust storm, making Eirika squint.

A tall young man jumped down from the lead dragon. He wasn't Glen.

The young man landed on the ground and studied his surroundings with anger in his eyes. His gaze stopped on Eirika.

He had brown skin and sharp eyes. 'His facial features look like Glen's…' The moment Eirika had that thought, he started walking with huge steps. Directly towards her.

She stepped back. There was a fierce hatred within his eyes.

"Are you the princess of Renais?" He stopped in front of her, and spoke in a low voice.

Eirika nodded timidly and asked in return, "And you are…?"

"I am Cormag. The brother of the man you slaughtered, General Glen."

"...What?" She couldn't believe her ears.

Silence fell across the battlefield. Even the Grado soldiers gulped and stared at Cormag.

"I… killed… General Glen…? I could never…"

"I cannot hold a grudge against you for it. It is the nature of the battlefield to kill your enemies. But that reasoning alone will not calm my feelings! I must avenge him!"

"Please wait. What do you mean? There's no way… are you saying General Glen is dead? What could have possibly ha…?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" Cormag shouted and cut her off.

Deep within his harsh anger, she could also feel a hint of sadness, and it made her unable to know what to say.

Glen was dead. The shock she was in was immeasurable. Who could have killed such a brave general? She couldn't imagine who.

Cormag seemed to think that it was she who had done it. She shook her head weakly. "This… is a misunderstanding. I didn't fight General Glen." Eirika only angered him more and more with each word, but she further pleaded with the young man, as he was still gripping his lance. “The general promised me that he would confirm the truth with the emperor. He was going to ask if the charges against me were true, and…”

“Don’t try to mess with me! You really think my brother would trust you!?”

“It wasn’t about him trusting me. General Glen had a strong sense of justice. The claim that I massacred innocents in Kiris was vague and without proof. So he decided to confirm the truth… and tried to return temporarily to the capital to ask the emperor for the truth.”

Her voice was shaking. Every time she remembered Glen’s face in the moment they said goodbye, her chest tightened. Though she’d seen hope in him that he could help end the war… he’d been lost suddenly and unexpectedly.

Cormag’s expression changed to one of doubt. His features were still harsh, but he narrowed his eyes in thought.

“That does sound like something he would have done. He wasn’t the kind of person to fight someone when he wasn’t sure of what was true and what was false.”

“Yes… I once met him at Grado Palace. Both General Duessel and Prince Lyon praised him for his strength and honesty. Anything he was working towards, he hoped would help bring an end to wars like this one quickly. And yet he was…”

Eirika’s words and expression both made Cormag start shaking. He swallowed, unable to hide his confusion. “So… if it wasn’t you, then who…? Who could have killed my brother…?”

Cormag’s eyes fell on Eirika’s hand. In it, she was gripping her beloved rapier. His eyes became even more harsh. He whispered slowly, confirming each word as he spoke them, “...The wound in Brother’s chest. It was not one that could have been inflicted by a sword. It had to have been… a lance. Brother was killed by a lance. But there shouldn’t be that many people who are strong enough to be able to kill my brother with just one strike…”

Suddenly, the color drained from his face. His voice was like a growl. “...No… Valter? Was it him…?”

Cormag tightened his grip around his lance, startling Eirika. However, he did not point it at Eirika. Instead, he brought it to his chest, as someone about to make a very important vow would do.

Eirika saw that his face was stiff with nervousness, and it made her uneasy.

However, the words that he spoke were a complete surprise.

“Princess Eirika. I will work together with you.”

“Huh?”

“Starting now, my enemy is the Grado Empire. Until I kill the man who killed my brother… I will work with you.”

Eirika couldn’t believe her ears. The two soldiers he’d brought with him reacted in the same way.

“Sir Cormag!” One of his dragon riders said in a shrill voice. His face was pale. “What are you saying!? There’s… There’s no way you could betray Grado!”

“I want to avenge my brother. I don’t care if I’m called a traitor for that.”

“You’re supposed to inherit the title of Sunstone! For you to do something so foolish… you would sully your late brother’s honor!”

Cormag’s expression looked pained for a moment, but then he shook his head. “My conscience is my guide. I have nothing that I should be ashamed of. I know Brother would understand.”

“Sir Cormag…”

“If you want to stop me, then come at me at your full strength!” Cormag raised his lance and turned it towards the dragon riders that he was supposed to be working with.

The dragon riders were still pale, but made up their minds and tightened their grips on their lances, then one shouted to the paralyzed Grado soldiers, “He’s a traitor! Cormag… no, that man… kill him!”

Though they were enemies, the dragon riders were heroic knights. They both shouted as they raised their lances and charged towards Cormag.

Cormag stood up straight. Going up against two knights riding dragons should have put him at an overwhelming disadvantage, but he was calm.

He spun his long lance. With that one attack, he delivered a fatal blow to both the dragons' necks.

Their stances crumbled, causing their riders to lose their balance and fall to the ground.

“Who’s next?! I don’t care where you come from! I’ll fight you!” Cormag shouted.

The dumbfounded Grado Army ran towards him.

The soldiers clad in Grado armor collapsed, one after the other. By the time Eirika came back to her senses, four soldiers were already lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

A commotion started to sound from behind them, signaling that the second enemy army was probably making their entrance. They likely thought that the battle had progressed with Cormag defeating Eirika, and her army falling in one fell swoop to the front army’s pincer attack. However, the tide of battle had changed.

Eirika’s decision to have her entire army continue marching forward was the right one. They didn’t panic at the sudden appearance of the army coming from behind, and instead were able to face the enemy reinforcements with strength to spare.

The battle became more intense than it had been before. Cormag’s betrayal had shaken up the Grado army, and he showed no mercy towards his former allies. He fought so fiercely that it looked like he had become possessed by something, waving around his lance without taking even a single moment to rest.

He defeated roughly ten soldiers in the blink of an eye, then climbed back atop his dragon.

His mount did not care which side he was on either. Dragons were known to be highly intelligent creatures, and loyal to their riders. He allowed Cormag to direct him and spread his wings open wide. That was when the real battle started.

Eirika’s overwhelmed army made a comeback, yet still, Aias’ strategy truly was a magnificent one. Aias himself was lying in wait inside of a fort deep within the canyon, and did not try to show himself, but his commands traveled to every corner of his army. The Grado Army had recovered from the shake-up, but they were getting desperate.

The battle was at a stalemate. As Eirika’s army became more and more exhausted, continuing to fight became all the more grueling for them. The enemy had made bases of small forts located throughout the canyon, making them able to fight while revitalizing their morale. The army behind Eirika’s also pushed against them so much that it seemed like the enemy had unlimited reinforcements.

At this rate, the fighting would continue on until nightfall. That worry started to make her chest feel tight.

If darkness fell, then her army, which did not have a base of their own, would be at a fatal disadvantage. They would become terrified that they would not know where their enemies might attack from, and that would add all the more to their fatigue.

Just then, a loud commotion arose from within the fighting soldiers. Eirika turned her head to see what it was.

It looked like a large number of reinforcements had arrived yet again. She looked up towards the sky. This attack would be too much for her army, which was only becoming more and more exhausted.

‘Is there already nothing that can save us…?’ The moment she felt just about ready to give up, she heard a voice.

“Lady Eirika, it appears that the Holy Knights of Rausten have arrived.” Seth, who had been protecting her, called out.

“Rausten…? Is it true?”

She greatly doubted it, as L’Arachel’s information had been nothing more than a vague message the wind had told her.

“Look at their flag. It has the emblem of Rausten’s holy knights sewn into it.”

Seth pulled Eirika atop his horse, and she looked in the direction that he was pointing.

She could see it clearly, fluttering in the twilight sky. There was no mistaking it. It was indeed the emblem of Rausten’s holy knights.

Although Eirika couldn't normally call herself a deeply religious person, she found herself whispering a prayer of thanks to the gods. Reinforcements had arrived at the very last minute. She couldn't think of it as anything else than a real miracle.

The Grado soldiers panicked and started to flee. No matter how much they'd had the upper hand until now, they were tired as well. Now up against a strong enemy like the Holy Knights of Rausten, it was no surprise that their will to fight shriveled up.

"They're finally here!" The voice was L'Arachel's.

Eirika turned around and looked at the smiling woman.

Dozla dropped his axe and sighed, then his bearded face turned up into a relieved smile. "They're late! I was nervous they wouldn't make it in time!"

"Truly! That was quite a close call!!"

The knights shouted a valiant battle cry, then rushed straight ahead. The Grado soldiers could not hold out for even a second. They were defeated in the blink of an eye.

Eirika tried to go over towards the knights with Seth, but then she received word that a messenger had arrived.

Eirika entrusted Seth to receive the message first, then continued over to the knights along with L’Arachel.

The knights also noticed that Eirika and some of the others were near them, and one ran up to them. “Princess! The Holy Knights of Rausten have arrived!” He then bowed his head towards L’Arachel.

Eirika stared blankly in amazement at L’Arachel.

L’Arachel responded in a dignified voice, “I apologize for troubling you. Please raise your head.”

“We fought with the Grado Army along the way, and that is why we were late. We are very sorry!”

“By the gods, you were too late!” Dozla’s chest puffed up with anger, and he looked down upon the knight as he said, “If I hadn’t been here to protect Lady L’Arachel, can you imagine where she would be right now!? All of you need to reflect deeply upon your actions!”

“Yes, Sir! We are very ashamed, Sir!”

“Come now, Dozla, you can’t scold them. They’ve been fighting very difficult battles, just as we have.”

“Um… L’Arachel?”

Eirika had been in shock and listening to their conversation the entire time, but she was finally able to speak up and get a word in the conversation. “Who are you…? What connection do you have to the knights…?”

“Huh?” L’Arachel seemed to have completely forgotten that Eirika was there. She looked at EIrika with her eyes opened wide, and burst out in a fake laugh. “Ah, this… it’s nothing! Please pay us no mind!”

“But… they called you princess…?”

“That’s… that’s a nickname! Just a nickname…”

“Lady L’Arachel, I must humbly say that I don’t think there is any way you can hide your identity any longer…” Dozla whispered.

L’Arachel nodded in resignation. When she lifted her head back up, she said in a voice tinged with regret, “Oh well. Even though I wanted to leave it a mystery for just a little while longer… Alright, Eirika. Since things have come to this, I shall reveal the truth. My identity as a beautiful young woman wandering the lands continuously on a journey to slay monsters is only temporary. I am actually the princess of the Theocracy of Rausten!”

L’Arachel raised her staff majestically, and Dozla clapped his hands together with a thunderous boom.

Eirika’s eyes were wide as saucers as she stared straight at the master and servant. Now that L’Arachel had said it, many things suddenly made sense. She should have realized it when L’Arachel had predicted that the knights were close by.

“Why… did you decide to hide your identity and go on a journey? Fighting monsters is dangerous, right…?”

“Because it is my duty! No matter how dangerous it may be, it was a test given to me by the gods, so I gladly devoted myself to it.”

“And how noble of you it was, Lady L’Arachel!” Dozla shouted in a voice full of admiration.

L’Arachel puffed out her chest.

The knight whispered to Eirika, “The princess was impassioned by the words of the troubadour Saaga. She said that she wanted to fight evil just like a main character in a hero’s tale, and fled the palace, even though we did not agree with her passionate pleas…”

“I see…”

“Are you telling her more than she has to know?” L’Arachel strained her ears in their direction.

The knight panicked and dodged the question. “Not at all! More importantly, Princess, we’ve brought you something from King Mansel.” The knight turned around.

Another knight noticed this signal and slowly walked over to them. In his hands was a white bag, which he politely handed over to L’Arachel.

L’Arachel seemed to know what was inside without even asking the knight to confirm it. She gingerly took the bag, confirming just how heavy it was, then smiled with satisfaction. “These are war funds, correct? It’s just like Uncle to be so thoughtful!”

“He said to tell you that for the time being, he is giving you five thousand gold. If you should need more, then he will prepare it, so he wants you not to have any reservations about requesting it.”

“For now, this is plenty. Isn’t that right, Eirika?

L’Arachel dropped the bag, still full of all of the money, in Eirika’s hands. It felt very heavy to her. Their journey had continued on much longer than they had anticipated, so the war funds that King Hayden had given them were almost completely gone. She was very thankful for the assistance.

“I have one more message from King Mansel. Do not push yourself too far no matter the circumstances, listen closely to Sir Dozla’s good advice, never forget to give thanks to the gods, go to bed early and wake up early…”

Sensing that the message would continue on for a very long time, L’Arachel cut him off. “Understood! Lord Uncle is as much of a worrywart as ever, isn’t he?”

“Yes, Your Highness! In summary, he said that he wants to see you safe and sound as soon as possible, so please come home straight away.”

“Before that, we must defeat the Grado Army, which is currently attacking Jehanna. Once we’ve saved Jehanna, I’ve decided that I will come home immediately.”

L’Arachel’s voice was filled with excitement. The knights’ arrival seemed to have put her in a very good mood, and Eirika felt the same way. It also meant they had confirmation that they had the full cooperation of the Theocracy of Rausten. It was more reassuring to have them as an ally than anyone else.

However, Seth was running over towards them quickly. Eirika noticed the dark look on his face, making Eirika uneasy. “What’s wrong, Seth?”

“We’ve received a report from the front lines. Jehanna Palace suffered a fierce attack from the Grado Army, and has finally fallen.”

“What…?” Innes gasped.

The smile also disappeared from L’Arachel’s face.

Eirika couldn’t speak. She stood frozen in place, unable to do anything but stare at Seth.

Innes asked in a biting tone, “And the queen? Is Queen Ismaire safe?”

“That is unclear. The palace has already been conquered by the Grado Army, so we do not know any information about what is happening within it.”

“We must hurry, Eirika.” Innes turned toward her.

“Pray that she is safe. We must save her right away.”

“Yes!”

Eirika quickly started to turn around, but then Seth said, “The Grado Army’s commanding officer is Prince Lyon. That is the end of the messenger’s report.”

“...Lyon is…?” Her feet froze. When she looked up at Seth, he was staring at her with a dark expression on his face.

He knew very well the emotions Eirika and Ephraim felt for Prince Lyon. The siblings liked the kind prince very much.

Though she’d been prepared for this since the war started, now that the time might come to make a decision, she was very unsure. Would she be able to turn her blade against him?

L’Arachel saw Eirika’s expression, and tilted her head to the side. “What’s the matter?”

“...Oh, it’s nothing. Let’s hurry!”

It wasn’t entirely decided that they had to fight. There was surely still room for them to talk things out. There must have been a complicated reason as to why Lyon had to fight. Perhaps his father, Emperor Vigard, had forced him to, and he’d had no choice but to lead the army. Or maybe, rather than entrust the army to a violent commanding officer, he’d thought it best to go himself, and keep the damage done to Jehanna at a minimum… and that was why he volunteered to deploy.

Eirika shook her head, casting away her lingering memories. There was no time for her to waste guessing what Lyon’s feelings might be. The only thing she could do now was head towards Jehanna at once, and confirm that the queen was safe...

#fire emblem #fe #fe8 #sacred stones #gba #game boy advance #eirika #japan #japanese #translation #novel #light novel #fe8 novelization translation

9 notes · View notes

slowburnsuicidee · 4 years ago

Text

This was made by @furiousgoldfish

“Have I been manipulated into believing abuse was my fault?” game! Bold all the items that happened to you, if you’re not sure, italicize! Alternatively, just write down the score for every category. TW for explicit abuse mention.

Brainwashing; forced to take responsibility for abuser’s actions:

I was forced to apologize after being beaten/abused

I was beaten/abused while apologizing and in obvious pain

I was beaten/abused while crying

I was forced to thank them for beating/abusing me

I was forced to promise them I would change my behaviour in the future

I wasn’t allowed to cry or express pain after being beaten/abused

I was told the parent was the one with the right to cry/be upset after beating/abusing me

I was forced to comfort them after they beat/abused me

I was forced to take on pain/humiliation/guilt until I would agree that it was all my fault

I was forced to agree that I was forcing them to beat/abuse me, with my misbehaviour

I was forced to agree that I deserved the abuse

I was forced to make up to them after they would abuse me

I was forced to clean up the mess they made during abuse

I was forced into breaking down to tears if I tried to fight for myself

I was forced to hurt myself to prove my remorse for behaviour

I was forced to repeat that it was my fault

I was told the abuser didn’t enjoy doing it and was in fact forced to do it for my own good

I was called a monster/demon/sadistic/evil and accused of enjoying abuser’s pain

I was told abuse was done for my own good and that one day I will understand and be grateful for it

I was expected to have positive reactions to abuse and any negative reaction was blamed on me

I was punished for showing trauma symptoms and for showing in any way that I was abused, only acceptable way of behaviour was obedience and unconditional gratitude

I was told others were treated exactly like this, even if they weren’t showing it, and that the abuse was completely normal

I was told my reactions weren’t normal and made to focus on how I was reacting to the abuse, rather than damage and injustice done to me

I was told my reactions to abuse were the reason of the abuse, and that I was in the wrong for fighting/pushing back/provoking/not listening/not being obedient enough/angering the abuser

I was told the abuse was because “I wouldn’t have it the nice way”

I was forced to endure harsh punishments for even a small mistake or no mistake at all

I was told all I got was what I deserved, even if I couldn’t connect to how I deserved it, except that the abusers felt I did

Note: Doing any of these to a child after having them go through beating or intense episode of shock, pain and fear will leave them in a broken and vulnerable state of mind, and anything said to them or forced onto them while in that state will imprint deeply into their subconscious, and they will accept the message without being able to fight it. This is a method of brainwashing. Abuser will do this to crush child’s spirit and to destroy the child’s ability to hold abuser accountable or responsible for any abuse that occurs in the future, to transfer all the guilt and responsibility for their own actions onto the child, and depict themselves as too powerful for child to ever be able to stand against.

Dehumanization: implication you are below a human being and thus do not deserve humane treatment

I was called animal names/slurs/insults and degrading terms continually

I was told I should be beaten up and abused more often than I was

I was compared to beasts and monsters when the abusers were angry

Beating/abusing me was talked about as if it was a good thing they were proud of

I was publically beaten and/or humiliated

I was threatened with public humiliation

I had my physical injuries minimized and dismissed as unimportant

I had my psychological and emotional damage minimized and dismissed as unimportant

I had my illness minimized and dismissed as unimportant

I had my needs and desires minimized and dismissed as unimportant

I had my achievements and accomplishments minimized and dismissed as unimportant

I had my opinions and thoughts disregarded and ridiculed as stupid, unwanted and unimportant

I was blamed for struggling with mental or physical illness

I was called crazy, delusional and insane if I pointed out the unfair treatment

I was looked at with disgust and contempt most of the time

I was accused of wanting to be abused and asking for it

I was accused of “causing a scene” when the abuser would lash out at me

I was forced to “learn my place” if I assumed the same rights everyone else had

I was excluded from positive activities the rest of the family participated in

I was denied the rights, benefits, resources and attention the rest of the family got

Forced gratitude/implication of debt: idea that you “owe” your parents to endure their abuse

parent kept reminding me of what they’ve done for me, even the most basic parental tasks

parent often stated or implied I was ungrateful/not grateful enough for them

parent insisted they were sacrificing themselves for me, implying they expect the same in return

parent kept pointing out others lower living standards to remind me I was “lucky” in comparison

parent demanded I would have to “earn” basic respect and boundaries

parent would not allow me to complain, object or resist their treatment and if I tried, they would remind me I deserved even worse

parent insisted any abuse is perfectly acceptable and rational and that I am wrong and “taking advantage of them/denying their rights” if I resist or fight it

parent stated or implied that I’m supposed to return their effort to them with favours, obedience, endurance and compliance, or I was not worth raising and being kept alive at all

parent insisted that they have the right to do anything to me since they’re the only reason I’m alive at all (I was treated like their property)

parent made it clear it was forbidden to speak of past abuse or past events that show them in bad light, but they would keep bringing up events which paint them as good parent and keep them central to how they should be perceived by me

parent accused me of making things up/lying/being crazy or mentally ill/trying to manipulate or hurt them when I tried to talk about an event of abuse and point out they hurt me

parent kept me hyperaware of how much I owe them and how much I would risk losing if I dared to accuse them/confront them on being abusive

parent would remind me it could be much worse, and would use other people’s suffering to shut me up and make me feel guilty for even thinking I could talk about my own issues

parent kept me aware that accusing them of any abuse is hurtful and abusive towards them, and that I am cruel and ungrateful if I dare to make any statement like that

parent told me I was wrong/weird/stupid for getting traumatized by abuse because “others wouldn’t get traumatized by that much”

parent made me aware of all the issues they were dealing with, and treated my needs for attention and positive environment like an extra issue they do not want to deal with

parent kept me aware of how sick/mentally ill/troubled/desperate/tired they were and kept me feeling guilty over not doing enough for them, not being enough of a support and help, and having my own needs and wants was out of the question

parent made me aware they’re ready to abandon me if I prove to be “too much work” or “too inconvenient” or even just “not obedient enough”

parent made sure I know all their other issues and life problems were more important than me, and that it was not my place to complain, ask for anything, or object to how I’m treated

parent accused of “living in the past” and “failing to be a bigger person” if I didn’t show perfect adoration and acceptance for them

parents assured me i would turn into a spoiled, arrogant brat had they not abused me

Societal brainwashing; forcing the idea that no parents are abusive, and that all parental abuse has to be forgiven at any cost

parent/society taught me I was a bad/selfish/ungrateful person unless I forgive and forget all and any abuse

parent/society taught me I was an awful, ungrateful and selfish child if I didn’t demonstrate perfect love and gratitude for my parents

parent/society taught me it was my duty to understand and accept my parents, and that no matter what, they were doing their best and wished only the best things for me

parent/society taught me that I was responsible for teaching my parents how to be better people

parent/society taught me I should never judge or accuse my parents because “I couldn’t possibly understand how hard time they’re having”

parent/society taught me any animosity, hatred, anger or any negative thing I had to say about my parents proved me to be bad, ungrateful and unappreciative person

parent/society taught me that all parents only want the best for their children and there are no parents who hate or hurt their children on purpose

parent/society taught me that there was nothing that can be done about me getting hurt by my parents, and that it was up to my parents to decide what I deserve

my parents/society taught me that being bothered by abuse was my own fault and if I wasn’t weak and pathetic, it wouldn’t have affected me at all

my parents had other people affirm they were good people and thus I was wrong to accuse or judge them for anything they did to me

my parents had other people agree that I was not normal and there was something wrong with my judgment and perceptions, so my point of view shouldn’t be trusted or even taken into consideration

my parents had other people agree that I was a selfish, unappreciative, and hard to raise child

i had family members/cousins/friends/teachers/acquintaces/therapists side with my abusers and against me

I had family members/cousins/friends/teachers/therapists defend my abuser and take their side, assuring me I have to, once again, forget my point of view and consider abuser’s side

I had other people/society defend the abuser and assure me I’m wrong to accuse them

my parents insisted the abuse/parts of abuse/events i remembered didn’t even happen, and that there was something wrong with me for making up such a thing (gaslighting;guilt tripping, maybe i should write another category for this one)

my parents were a part of religion/cult that excused all and any of their actions because they were doing it for the sake of the third party that had to be worshiped/obeyed (maybe i should write a cult category as well there is much more to this one)

If you bolded even one of the items on the first two categories, or multiple ones in third and fourth, you have undergone psychological abuse that would force you to believe it was your fault, or that you deserved the abuse. This is wrong, as you neither deserved it, nor it was your fault. You were a child, and there was no way for you to commit any crime bad enough to deserve anything like this. These methods are used for brainwashing and breaking a person, and abusers do these on purpose.

#well then #ow

2 notes · View notes

hollowcanyougo · 4 years ago