#or the way white people hear words they cant say and lose their goddamn minds

[pegasusknightcore]

i know i'm just another white woman online but i think the thing that is so frustrating/perplexing to me about tumblr's 2024 Rap Discourse is that it really underlines so many white people's inability to actually listen and humanize black people. it underlines the way that white "anti-racism" still dehumanizes and others black people.

they can talk about why anti-blackness is bad, and talk to other white people on here about why whitewashing is bad and why structural racism is bad but they can't actually handle black people saying the same things in their own words.

to be clear, i am no better here. i am constantly working on my internalized racism and my internalized anti-blackness. this is a lifelong struggle because we're socialized with white supremacy and it's so hard to undo. but consuming black art and actually listening to black people Obviously makes a huge difference because, well, it is humanizing.

even beyond that, when you hear people complain about sexdrugsviolence in black music, the fact of the matter is that those things are all products of white supremacy and the structures that people live within. but white people create art about similar things, no?

is Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B.'s WAP not a radical reclaiming of sexuality by women? yet we don't flinch when white women sing about sex on top of house beats.

when it comes to drugs, what's the difference between white people favorites such as TiK ToK and 50 on High all the Time?

we idolize Kurt Cobain and the violence he sings about frequently, but what's the difference between him and, say, 2Pac?

what's the difference? seems clear to me.

so yeah, listen to the rest of Kendrick Lamar. let the pain and wisdom in the words in The Blacker the Berry sink in.

listen to The Roots on Don't Feel Right and the way they present american fascism in a clear view in a way that it would take us white american leftists decades to understand.

listen to Public Enemy talk about black representation on Burn Hollywood Burn and the way that media has no interest in portraying black people in a positive light or any light that may upset white audiences.

but it's not just about conscious hip-hop and the oppression that black people face and have been speaking up about. all of the artists I've mentioned are so much more than that because, they're people who have so much more to them than that.

listen to Kendrick talk about love and heartbreak on LOVE. listen to The Roots enjoy the thrill of competition on Adrenaline. listen to Public Enemy just have a good goddamn time on Give It Up.

ultimately, the fact of the matter is that despite claiming to be anti-racist, when confronted with a black person talking about their existence, white leftists and liberals still find it easier to listen when it's "more palatable".

when people make you think about the white supremacy you participate in, it's a lot easier to ignore them, huh?

[sugar-omi]

(swiftie asker) OH MY GOD YOU GET IT. YOU UNDERSTAND. THIS IS ... EVERYTHING??? THIS IS THE MOMENT????? THIS IS ALL THAT EVER WAS AND ALL THAT EVER WILL BE???????? HELLO???????????? your english teacher is so based for that btw i know damn well i'd be digging claw marks into that desk DKJNCFJ

IF THERE WAS EVER ANYBODY WHO UNDERSTOOD BAXTER WARD IT WOULD BE YOU. BECAUSE YOU FUCKING GET IT, YOU UNDERSTAND THE ASSIGNMENT AND YOU RAN WITH IT LIKE THE GODDAMN WIND. "promises oceans deep, but never to keep" OUGHNGGFJGH IT'S SO BAXTER . ESPECIALLY SINCE ANY OCEAN MOTIF OF ANY KIND IMMEDIATELY ROLLS IN THOUGHTS OF COVE....... FUCKKK DUDE

dude. LOML /IS/ BAXTER CODED HOLY FUCKING SHIT ARE YOU SERIOUS??? "you cinephile in black and white", "in your suit and tie, in the nick of time", "MR. STEAL YOUR GIRL, THEN MAKE HER CRY"... how did i not see this before what the fuck . ???!?! i'm a fake fan fr /j ...

no but seriously. THE WAY THE SONG HAS REFERENCES TO ILLICIT AFFAIRS, YET ANOTHER BAXTER/MC CODED SONG??? the connection between illicit affairs's "they lie and they lie and they lie a million little times" and loml's "you told me i'm the love of your life about a million times" FUCK DUDE I'M CONVINCED TAYLOR KNEW WHAT SHE WAS DOING WHEN SHE RELEASED THESE TRACKS BECAUSE IT'S JUST TOO PERFECT.

"i wish i could un-recall how we almost had it all" and "you're the love/loss of my life" as both baxter AND mc mourning what could have been if they were two different people...if they'd met under different circumstances, in different periods of their lives. if they had one, two, a thousand more chances to get it right. if they weren't built to fall apart - destined to find and then lose each other as if it was nothing. if mc is the moon and cove is the sun, then baxter is the ever-buoying ocean - destined to forever reflect their light and be swayed from shore to shore by mc's magnetic pull - but the way they dip below his horizons by dawn as if melting into him, it's nothing more than the illusion of touch; the ghost of something he might have had once but can't hope to yearn for again.

OKAY I THINK I'VE BEEN RAMBLING WAY TOO MUCH FOR A COMFORTABLE-TO-READ TUMBLR ASK SKJDFKDFJD... truly i will never get over how you just took my silly little thoughts and absolutely TOOK OFF with them, i'll literally never be the same after "that'd be too selfish. he couldn't be that selfish." DUDE LIVES WERE CHANGED. PEOPLE DIED. (it's me, i'm people) so all of this is just to say YOU HAVE DONE IT ONCE AGAIN . ABSOLUTE ICON . 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

"if mc is the moon and cove is the sun, then baxter is the ever-buoying ocean - destined to forever reflect their light" + ".. the way they dip below his horizons by dawn as if melting into him, it's nothing more than the illusion of touch; the ghost of something he might have had once but can't hope to yearn for again."

IS FUCKING CRAZY. OH MY GOD. IM GOING TO SOB??? IM.. IM ON THE FLOOR?? THE WALL???? SHIT, MY LIFE WAS CHANGED JUST NOW AFTER THAT PARAGRAPH. WHAT THE FUCK. like excuse me while i go tattoo such a GUT WRENCHING BUT SO BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN, SUCH A POETIC PARAGRAPH ON MY EYELIDS !!!!!

AND YES YES YES "you're the loss of my life" IS FUCKING CRAZY. I WAS GRIPPING MY STUFFED ANIMAL WITH BOTH HANDS. THAT WAS SO CRAZY N SO FUCKING TRUE

IN FACT. THATS LITERALLY BAXTER'S LINE???? baxter meeting you again, be it when you help plan scott and jude's wedding or when you marry cove, THAT IS HIS FUCKING LINE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU DON'T GET BACK TOGETHER WITH HIM..

literally screaming rn, i will not be able to sleep at all omg... i'm gonna be thinking about that reflecting their light line all fucking night... LIKE I KNOW IT SOUNDS LIKE IM EXAGGERATING BUT I AM GENUINELY SHAKEN /POS. YOU HAVE ME IN A DEATH GRIP RN ISTG

i love your mind. my writing freak as been matched. you are brilliant 😭👏👏👏👏

also im trying to listen to more of the songs on ttpd but istg i cannot hear if i cant see words so im checking the lyrics and. THE SMALLEST MAN TO EVER LIVED? BAXTER CODED ANDI NEED YOU TO HEAR ME OUT

"was any of it true? / gazing at me starry-eyed in your jehovah witness suit / who the fuck was that guy?" + "and i dont even want you back, i just want to know / if rusting my sparkling summer was the goal"

THAT LINE. "i just want to know if rusting my sparkling summer was the goal" THIS IS SO PERFECT FOR IF YOURE STILL MAD AT BAXTER EVEN 5 YEARS LATER.

and listen, i have somewhere to be in the morning so i can't wax poetry abt this line right now, imma type some shit up later bc i am going CRAZY but literally even though baxter gave you such a lovely time, and even though you knew it was going to end. even though you hoped he'd stay for awhile..

the way he wraps you up in his arms so sweetly, smiles at you so handsomely... he has you hooked on him like a drug only to turn you away, blame you for your addiction to him. blamed you for still yearning for the temporary but euphoric effects of his love...

[shadedrose01]

64?

Author Note: Happy Pride Month everybody!!Know that no matter your gender or sexuality identity, you are welcomed and loved ❤🌈🌈🌈❤

I hope you all enjoy!

Note/Warning: I've never written a trans character before, and this deals with negative self thoughts and dysphoria (a dead name is also used, but is crossed out). If there's anything I've gotten wrong, or if the way I wrote it is insensitive and/or incorrect, please please please let me know and I will try to fix it/delete it. 💞

Also sorry that its bad aosmskka

--

He let's out a slow, shaky breath, staring at his knuckles which are slowly turning white from his tight grasp on the marble counter of the vanity in his bathroom. He glances up once, catching a quick glimpse of stormy grays, surrounded by dark purple circles, of long, too long blond locks, of a face too rounded, too clean, and his face instictually scrunches, his gaze dropping as his eyes burn, more rivers slipping down his cheeks as his mind screams at him, 'wrong, wrong, wrong-'

He squeezes his eyes shut, more liquid escaping as his body, curved and top heavy and wrong, heaves in a silent sob. He cant keep doing this, he knows. Cant keep living this lie, cant keep pretending. Knows that why he texted that morning, why his boyfriend was in the living room right now, waiting for him to come back out, probably getting worried at how long he was taking-

But goddamn it, he was scared. He was scared shitless. Not because he thought Peter would hurt him, no no no, he would never hurt him. But because he didnt know if he'd stay once he knew.

And Peter... God, Peter means so much to him. Peter, who stayed with him through every up and down, who held him close after he cried for hours and hours when his mom died, who he's sat with and laughed for hours, until his stomach aches and happy tears will rolling down his face, who's been with him- well, he thinks he's a her; even the thought causing his stomach to churn and another sob to shutter through him- for almost 2 years now, having started dating in 9th grade when they were both new and baby faced and young, so so young and naive, and-

And Harley- not Hailey, no, no, no- didnt know if he could lose him. Didnt know if he could handle it if Peter looked at him in cold, hard disgust and walked out, never looking back. But it's a very real possibility. He knows some people cant handle transgender people (he's trans, it's still a revelation for him even after all these years of hating himself and wondering why, even after figuring out what trans meant a few months ago, even after realizing he was that last month, it was still weird, still new to him), much less date them.

And from what he knew, Peter was straight. And Harley wasn't a girl. He was almost sure that Peter wouldn't stay, because why would he? He wanted a girl, thought he was dating a girl, but Harley wasn't a girl and-

He shakes his head, opens his eyes and wipes his tears away, taking a deep breath. No more time for second thoughts, he just- he just has to go out there, say it, and- and see what happens. He swallows down his fear, straightens his back, and unlocks the door, walking out.

He makes his way back to the living room, where his boyfriend ('for now' his mind tells him, 'he'll leave, he will') is still lounging on the couch, sprawled out and relaxed, scrolling on his phone without a care in the world, unknowing of the secret, no, the revelation that was about to  dropped, that was about to ruin their night and relationship. He glances up when Harley walks back in, and gives him a warm, familiar grin, his coffee eyes sparkling and shining with the same abundant amount of love as he always has when staring at Hailey and it causes his chest to squeeze, his heart to hammer worse, his hands to clench. Because thats who he thinks he is, thats the facade of the human Peter knows and loves, hidden under lumps and curves, unknowing of the true him lurking underneath.

"Hey baby, is everything okay?" He tilts his head, and his smile dims a little, his irises swirling with a worry, a concern now that Harley doesn't deserve, Peter doesn't deserve this, doesn't- he can't do this, he can't- "You were in the bathroom for a while." Harley swallows, and stays silent as he sits down, back ramrod straight and head down, focusing on his hands sitting in his lap, squeezing and unsqueezing over and over in his nerves, his fear. At least, they were, until another hand reaches over and plants itself on top of them, causing Harley to flinch slightly. "Hailey, what's wrong?" Peter sounds scared, now, scared and confused and Harley's heart aches but he needs to do this, he needs to.

"I have to tell you something." He finally finds the strength to whisper, his voice high, too high, and squeaky, a current of self hatred pumping through his veins as he longs for it to be deep, to be normal, to be him. "And it's- something big, and I get it if you want to break up with me afterwards, or hate me, I get it, I do, trust me-"

"Hailey," he squeezes Harley’s hands with his own, trying to be reassuring but his words, the name- not his name, that’s not his name- makes Harley flinch again, and his face scrunch up as tears burn at his eyes, making his view of their beige carpet floor blurry. "You're scaring me, princess, talk to me. What's going on?"

"I'm not a princess!" He blurts, then, loud and irrational, Peter reeling back in surprise, his eyes wide when Harley jerks back up to stare at him just as his tears start to fall.

Peter pauses, clearly trying to think of the best way to go about this, before he leans forward, face focused, serious and voice cautious, as if Harley was fragile, dainty, breakable. "Okay. If you didn't like the nickname, you could've just told me, Hails."

"No! That's not-" Harley rubs at his face, rough and harsh, scrubbing away his tear and rubbing his face raw as he croaks out, all of the fight rushing out of him. "...I'm not Hailey, Peter."

He hears a scoff from beside him, but its gentle, more bewildered than anything else. "Yes you are, I've seen your birth certificate, I've met your parents-"

"I'm a man, Peter." He forces out, finally, finally, the words slipping through his teeth like air, soft, low, barely a whisper, but its enough, enough to shut Peter up completely, enough to make Harleys eyes and heart squeeze as he continues, "I'm not Hailey, because I'm not a girl. I'm a man. I'm- I'm transgender, Peter."

His chest convulses in a sob as soon as the words escape him, and a multitude of emotions rush over him, but he can't tell what they are, can't distinguish if they're  panic, fear, concern, or if they're relief, joy, a weight off of his shoulders. Maybe its a mix of both, swirling and making his stomach churn as they sit in silence, the rock forming in Harley's stomach getting bigger and bigger, heavier and heavier the longer Peter doesnt say anything, doesn't move, doesn't breath or blink or anything. He squeezes his eyes shut again, turning away again, shoulders tense and heart aching. He can't bare to look at what he knows will be disgust and anger on the love of his life's face. He can't. "I'm sorry. I- I know this isn't what-" He hiccups, tears still rushing down his face and trembling his chest, his breathing ragged. "What you signed up for. I under- understand if you can't deal with it, if you- you want to- to-" He breaks off into sob, harder and heavier, leaning forward and curling into himself more, just as Peter finally, finally responds.

"No, no no wait, no, that's not-" A hand brushes at his arm, and Harley jolts again, but Peter doesn't pull away, grabbing onto his forearm gently, softly, his hold loose enough for Harley to break if he truly wanted to. "I would never, baby. Never."

Harley freezes, blinking his eyes back open and glancing up at Peter, who's looking back at him with- with honesty, with compassion, and care, and love, but- but that doesn't make sense, he- "You don't- don't mind?" He murmurs shakily, searching Peter gaze for any hint of a lie, but he can't find any, can't find any hostility, or hatred, or anger at all. Only understanding, and truth.

"Of course I don’t, Haile- uh, I dont-" He stumbles and fumbles for a second, and Harley can't help the small chuckles that bubble in his chest before he corrects, "Harley." Peter nods, looks contemplative. "Harley. It suits you." Harley can feel himself beam at that, a smile twitching at his lips and his eyes crinkling. "Of course I don't care, Harley." Peter, his boyfriend, his soulmate, he loves him God he loves him, repeats, looking straight into Harleys eyes and past his physicality, into his heart and soul, into his being. "Man, woman, both, neither, I don't mind. Whatever makes you happy."

He can feel more tears pooling in his eyes, but for a completely different reason this time, his chest warming and swelling with adoration, with love and security and comfort, but he just, he has to make sure- "Are- are you sure?"

Peter softens, and reaches a hand over to cup Harley's cheek, and he leans into it immediately, seeking his touch. "Of course. I don't love you for your body, Hai- Harley. I love you for your heart, and wit. For your stubbornness, to put your foot down for what you love, for your patience, to be able to deal with me every damn day," They both chuckle then, light and airy, but real. "For your temper, to tell me off whenever I need it, for your confidence, and the way you can command a room just by walking in. But, in general..." He curls a strand of Harley's hair behind his ear, still too long and straight and not him, but its less noticeable now, when the other man is staring at him with the biggest, sappiest love eyes in the world. "I love you for you. You. I love you." He presses gently into the dimple on Harleys cheek for each you, and he can't hold back the tears anymore, the waterworks bubbling over and running down his cheeks like waterfalls as he sobs and rushes forward to crumple into Peter's arms, who are open and waiting for him, and cradle him as soon as he arrives, pulling him closer to his chest.

"Thank you, thank you." Harley repeats, over and over, his cheeks aching from his smile and his chest bursting with his joy, and happiness and hope and excitement and love, overflowing with it, causing it to compass him completely as he switches his words, to emphasize and mimic the way he feels. "I love you, I love you, I love you so much."

And Peter just holds him close, one hand rubbing up and down his back, the other running through his hair as he presses a kiss to the side of his head, and murmurs "Of course, always. I love you too."

Once his tears finally stop, Harley slowly dozes off in his boyfriends arms. Once he wakes, they'll discuss where Harleys pronouns and where wants to go next, they'll start to plan his transition, buy him binders and book hair appointments and do all of the things Harley longed to do for years. Harley will slowly, but surely, become himself, all with Peter at his side. But for now, he slowly eases into sleep, feeling joyous, comforted, loved and accepted.

[simplysparrow14]

Why I absolutely hate Korra.

 Gifted Children do not make good protagonists. 

I really hate Korra. Like, I fucking cant stand her as a characters. She’s honest to god one of the only characters besides Kylo Ren that I just full on hate. 

She’s whiny, She’s cocky, she’s too brash for her own good. She got the biggest overinflated ego the size of Mount Fuji. She bitches and moans when something doesn't go her way, and then as the balls to blame other characters or blow up in their faces when she’s starts the fire herself!  

She leaps into battle before she thinks and when the villain of the season kicks her ass to the curb, we’re supposed to sympathize with her and feel sorry for her, even though She deserved everything she had coming to her

Her god complex is bigger then the fucking sun and she gets all pissy when someone even mildly calls her out on her bullshit or even gives her polite constructive criticism on her Avatar duties. 

She never learns diplomacy or peacekeeping or patience or empathy for others around her or when to shut the fuck up and take a step back before you get the shit kicked out of you. 

One of the prime examples of her being absolute stupid was when She and Mako go to one of Amon’s rallies, and after figuring out that Amon was a bloodbender who locked his own brother up in a cage, they decide to go to the rally to boldly claim that Amon is a bender without presenting any physical or damning evidence that suggest otherwise.

“How in the world do we beat him?”

“We cant. Any attack we throw at him, he’ll redirect with his mind. That’s how he’s been able to challange any bender.”

“So much for our ambush....If we stay here, we’re toast. But there’s another way to beat him!”

“How?!”

“This whole time, Amon’s been one step ahead of us. But finally, we have an advantage...We know the truth about him!”

“If we expose him as a bender in front of all his supporters, we can take away his true power!”

.......huh...... WHAT?..... A-are you serious?! THAT’S YOUR ADVANTAGE AGAINST AN ALL-POWERFUL BLOODBENDER ?! WE’RE REALLY GOING TO  BLATANTLY CALLING HIM OUT IN FRONT OF ALL OF HIS FOLLOWERS WITHOUT EVEN A SHRED OF EVIDENCE?!

what makes matters worse is that they don’t even take Tarrlock with them. They just leave him in his cage. Like, yeah, he tells them to go because he doesn’t want Amon’s supporters and the rest of the public to know he was Amon’s brother, but honestly, that hasn't stopped Korra before from forcing someone to give her what she wanted. She’s not lik a regular person who has to abide by the rules of Rebublic City, she’s the goddamn fucking avatar: If she wanted a fucking statue erected in her honor, she would order that in a fucking heartbeat. 

ANd  May I remind you, lovly readers, that Korra literally  manhandled a non-bender activist to give her information about Amon’s next rally not just a few episodes before this?

So her acting this respectful and this pulled-back is so out-of-character and jarring to watch because the show clearly states that Korra is a bad bitch and if she wants something really badly, she’ll fucking get it herslef, no questions asked.  

 And then when Amon corners them in a storage room and beats the shit out of them with bloodbending and chi-blocking, we have to feel sorry for them. We have to feel sorry to Korra  All because her “expertly” constructed plan didn't work out, and that Amon took the brats bending away when she  busted into his rally uninvited without evidence to show to his followers,  or even a half-ass plan on how to effectively beat the shit out of him if he refused to go down easily.

Look, I get that we have to have dramatic tension for the story, but that doesn't mean that the characters have to lose a majority of their very limited brain-cells  in order for it to happen. We should not have to sacrifice a character’s personality in order to progress the story. 

There’s also the fact that during Season 1 when Korra literally barges into Tarrlocks’ office unannounced to let the non-benders out of jail and berates him about how he’s intimidating people into falling in line with his views and opinions 

I

“You’re using your power to oppress and Intimidate people!”

Its only when Tarrlock pulls the Reverse Uno Card on Korra’s superiority complex that we as the audience get the first and maybe last good spot of introspection and interesting character development within this show 

“And you don't? Isn’t that what you came here to do? Intimidate me into releasing your friends?” 

But then, its all thrown out the window when Korra goes full ape-shit and tries to fuck-up Tarrloq, and we’re again supposed to feel bad for her when Tarrlok fuck her up right back with blood-bending, kidnaps her and locks her up in a metal box. 

Your avatar, every one. 

All throughout these scenes, we never get any notion that she’s gaining character development. 

She never takes a step back, never looks into the situation, She never shuts the fuck up,  never considers that maybe, just maybe, her plan might not work. There’s no patience in her what so ever and it infuriates me to no end! 

And yet, the show treats her as through she did nothing wrong! They treat her like a goddamn goddess, and its so....

There’s also the fact that throughout the series, Korra goes through more pitty parties and anger bursts then most characters have in their entire series run and in the end, her woes/ temper tantrums are forgiven because, well, she’s the protagonist.

Your boyfriend calls you out on your bullshit about the civil war happening between your home-tribe and the sister tribe? Crash his place of work and throw his desk across the room and tell him that he’s a traitor just for doing his job--A job he;s wanted to be apart of since he was little, no less. 

Cant figure out how to work with the wind panels without getting punched around? Don't be the leaf and burn a historic Airbending training device to ash!

“That was a Two-thousand year old historical treasure… WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!”

“There’s nothing wrong with me! You’re a terrible teacher!” 

Cant handle being called a wuss?  Challenge the mastermind of a political movement with chi-blocking and blood bending to a fight under your previous incarnations statue and then cry like a bitch when he kicks your ass. 

No Korra, you don’t get to cry when it’s clearly you’re fault it happened in the first place. Look, I get that you’ve just had a low-key high-key traumatic moment.....But you don’t have brain-cells. You knew he could take away bending--You saw it at their rally not just a few days ago-- so i don’t know why you thought that challenging him to a one-on-one duel in a dark, abandoned place where no one can hear you scream was an perfect idea you dumb bitch.  

Aparently,

Its also apparent within the series that she never has to work for her character development, or work for what she wants. 

People often remark that Korra was coddled at the Avatar, but I feel as if Spoiled is the best word: 

In the beginning of the series when the White Lotus comes to the southern Water Tribe to Search for the Next Avatar, we're Introduced to Korra punching a hole through the wall, spewing flames from her fists and using water to put out the fire. Hell, the first sentence that we hear from the brats mouth is “I’m the Avatar. You gotta deal with it.”  

 Look, no one likes gifted children (unless those children are yours). Gifted Children are probably the worst type of main character to have, because the whole point of your main character is that people are suppose to relate to them. People cant relate to gifted children, because we, as normal human beings, are not all gifted. 

Cut to 15 years later, and we learn that Korra hasn't even left the Southern Water Tribe.  Teachers have been flown into the water tribe to teach Korra more on the elements. And at the every start of the first episode, we see her pass her her fire bending test, with her commenting on how already she’s mastered Water and Earth.

 The whole point of the Avatar journey was that the Avatar had to journey to find their teachers and experience the world they needed to protect. When you take away that Journey, you’re just leaving the Avatar to be handed everything on a silver platter. 

During Season 2 when Kaiju Korra nearly gets her ass handed to her, Jinora force-ghosts her way into the battle and gives Korra the upper-hand during the battle with Vaatu, almost entirely erasing any the trace amounts of danger that the battle was trying to portray. 

There’s also the fact that in the middle of Season 2 when she’s fighting Eska and Desna, suddenly out of no-where she can Spirit bend (Or as I like to call it, Spirit-pacification) without so much as a single day of training. Like, talk about pulling out an ability out of your ass. 

There’s also the fact that during her visit to the Su-yin’s home, she  masters Metelbending out of no-where and then has to gawl to show off in front of Bolin, who’s been trying to metelbend for a while.

There’s also the fact that she’s never punished for any of her actions. 

When Amon takes her bending away, she never as a moment to reflect on how her actions affected her future or the rest of the avatar cycle.  We never see her come to terms that facing Amon head on resulted in her losing her bending. And when it looks like it does have an impact on her, Ghost Aang pops up right out of nowhere, takes pitty on her and gives her back her bending. Oh, and we’ll also throw in the Avatar State as well, as a treat. 

Right after she destroys the alleyway in the first episode of Season 1, Tenzin busts her out of jail and says to Lin that he’ll cover all the damages Korra caused! 

There’s also the incident where Tenzen told Korra not to go to the Pro-Bending tournament. And when Tenzen does have to drag her ass back to Air-temple Island, he remarks that Pro-bending is what she needed, completely Ignoring the fact that she disobey’d a direct order from her master and thus is never punished for it! 

 She’s never called out on her bullshit regarding her very sudden kiss with Mako when the man openly and explicitly said that he was dating another woman. 

(Like, girl, i get it. you have feelings for him, I get it. But when someone says: “I’m already dating someone right now.” and they admit they might be also have very confusing feelings for you as well,  You back the fuck up and give them time to make a decision. You just don’t go: “Oh you already have a girlfriend? oh, smoochy smoochy time then.”) 

Omg, it’s like the show was entirely written by male writers who have no idea how to write romance or develop unique and interesting characters who are not homicidal bat-shit insane brats who cry’s when they’re not the center of attention 

I guess my big question towards Korra’s character is… Why? 

Why do we have to root for a character who doesn't struggle, doesn't think she has to try to master her bending and that everything should come easily? How are we supposed to connect to someone when they blow up and get all pissy when someone even just lightly insults their god complex? 

Why is she a waterbender when she has the temperament of a fire-bender? Why is she getting her ass kicked by every villan if she’s the all powerful avater?  Why is she the avatar when she doesn't  have when a shred of humbless or appreciation for the bending she’s been given? Why do we have to put up with a brat of a protagonist for 3+ seasons? 

She is, in the bluntest term I can say, a meaningless character. She holds no purpose to the story or its messages or its themes. 

Aang was meaningful because it was his story and he was a 12 year old with the weight of the fucking world on his shoulders as both the last living Airbender and the Avatar, all while trying to navigate a world that did not and would not uphold his peaceful beliefs. 

Katara was meaningful because she broke down social norms by not only mastering the both the female -only water-bending techniques and Male-only water-bending fighting style, but also the scary-as-fuck-blood-bending. She showed the duel sides of being a bad ass strong independent woman. 

Toph was meaningful because she was an all-powerful earthbender who was fucking blind, showing that disabilities cant stop you from kicking ass. 

Sokka and Suki were meaningful because they were two badass people who didn't need bending to kick fire-nation ass. You don’t need to be like everyone else to save the world. 

Zuko was meaningful because his failures,and mistakes and abuse and scar showed people that no matter how awful your current situation was, you’re able to build a better life for yourself through hard work, self-love and good people who love you. 

Korra is meaningless. She is selfish, and spoiled and the only message she has to tell “Be a brat, cry a lot, and throw temper tantrums until you get what you fucking want.” 

Fuck Korra.  Fuck her character. I’ve never seen a character so poorly executed in my life, and I surly hope I dont ever get to see that ever again. 

[insomnihan]

han’s Entire Thoughts and Feelings on Dreamcatcher’s “Boca”

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

there are no read mores here so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

ALRIGHT SO-

THE SONG HAD THE F UCKING NERVE THE AUDACITY THE GUMPTION AND THE GALL TO BE AS BOMB AS IT IS literally the moment i heard that rain and thunder i was f cukity F CIKED the way that they just know how to work with more gentle verse parts and theN PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE WITH THE CHORUS ITSELF SPEAKING OF THE CHORUS ITS F UCKING CRAZY??????????? THAT????????? GODDAMN GUITAR????????????? OWNS MY ASS??????????? OH MY F UCKING GOD JUST THE WAY GAHYEON STARTS IT OFF TO EASE US INTO IT HMMMMMMMMMM- THE ABSOLUTE POWER IN DAMIS FIRST RAP........... SHES SICK™ FOR THAT!!!!!! ‘HOLD UP’ YEAH HOLD UP I WASNT READY DAMN IT!!!!!!!!!!!! THEN DAMIS AND GAHYEONS RAPS IN THE SECOND VERSE YOU CANT EXPECT TO BE OKAY AFTER THAT™ ARE YOU SERIOUS- just all of their voices............ the way theyre just so powerful and emotional and you can tell............. siyeon pls your high notes holy f uck-

WHAT IM SAYING Is this song was such a good follow up to scream like F UCK i literally ask after every comeback ‘will they top this’ and tHEN THEY DO

i was so boo boo the fool like i really thought since diamond and breaking out fell into the same genre that it wouldnt be intense like This im 🤡

SO I WILL BE USING THE COMEBACK SHOWCASE TO TALK ABOUT THE DANCE BC OH MY GOD- so they all said that this song was their hardest dance yet................. queens of dance I F UCJUNG SWEAR

FIRST OF ALL THE BEGINNING POSE IS EVERYTHING™

THE PART AFTER THAT WITH DAMI PULLING YOOHYEON INTO HER SINGING PART....................... i just like it a lot

HONESTLY DAMIS ENTIRE PART

YOOHYEONS PART BEFORE THE CHORUS

THE ACTUAL CHORUS

both the upside down triangle hand symbol AND then for ‘boca’ where they make their hands like a mouth................... Iconic™

GAHYEON WITH THE FLAGS?????????? HELLO????????

and then dami................................. i-

the flags............... sua and jiu and yoohyeon.......... Thinking A Lot™

this part with jius bridge lives rent free in my brain

sua sitting on the dancers shoulders and singing the most hard hitting lyrics in the song thats it thats the bullet point

just................. the WHOLE ENDING

shouldve really just put the entire damn video here but i already wrote it out

THEY NEVER PLAY AROUND WITH THE VISUALS EVER!!!!!!!!!!! THE COLORS ARE ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS AND VIBRANT THE SETS ARE SO DREAMLIKE???????? I WISH I CAN FULLY EXPLAIN IT BUT ALL I COULD REALLY DO IS DESCRIBE THEM AS THEY ARE- THE PINK SET THEY DANCE IN IS SO COOL TO ME THE PLACE WITH THE TREES AND GRASS AND THEYRE DANCING IN THE F UCKING WATER AND WHERE GAHYEON HURTED US WITH HER RAP AND WHEN THEYRE ALL JUST STANDING AROUND LIKE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES AND WHERE YOOHYEON SAT AMAZINGLY- AND WHERE SIYEON STANDS WITH ALL THE BUSTS WITH TAPE OVER THEIR MOUTHS THE SYMBOLISM™!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEN WHEREVER DAMI WAS IN GENERAL.................. [REST]

TIME TO SHOW WHICH SCENES I LIKED

THE WHOLE F UCKING THING MOVING ON-

T H E M

okay................................ everyone who follows me KNOWS that im just so whipped for all these women if i was a Brave Bicth™ id tell them they were all beautiful every day to their faces but if this is your first time seeing this CHAOTIC AS F UCK series of posts then-

LOOKATTHEMBEINGBEAUTIFULANDETHEREALPRINCESSESINONESCENETHENBADBITCHESINTHENEXTAREYOUKIDDINGMEICANTBELIEVETHEYREALLYOUTHERELOOKINGLIKETHIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JIU

BELLE????????????? BELLE IS THAT YOU???????????? why does Miss JiU over here just got to be one of the most beautiful women in the GODDAMN UNIVERSE I CANT STAND THIS LOOK AT THIS PICTURE!!!!!! i wont lie to yall but it was gonna be this one or the one kinda at the beginning where shes wearing red..................... and....................... her neck- THE RED IS FIRE BY THE WAY AND THE SAME OUTFIT BUT IN LIKE R.o.S.E BLUE WITH THE CHAIN STEP ON ME- and the black one that we dont really see a lot of.................. the sheer of it............ bicth-

SUA

yes it was absolutely necessary for me to use this shot

OFC MY BICTH ASS NEARLY FELL OFF HIS F CUKING BED WHEN SHE SHOWED UP IN THE TEASER JUST COVERED IN WATER I SWEAR I COULDNT BREATHE FOR LIKE TEN MINUTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! first of all the red and blue ones just one sleeve and those shorts and all those belts I DUNNO JUST THIS WOMAN AND CROP TOPS OKAY IM LOSING IT IM THIS 👌 CLOSE and then the white dress i cant stand her i really cant-

SIYEON

HOOOOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO MISS LEE SIYEON OUT FOR MY NECK I SEE- i just wanna point out first that i love her love for pants like the rest of the outfits are gonna be worn for performing and they all have those baggy pants she loves so much pls shes everything im 🥺🥺🥺 tho the braids and the high ponytail without and yknow what WITH BANGS TOO im........................ i cant stop staring at this picture-

YOOHYEON

SHE IS NOW A LARGE AND SCARY DOG-

this specific hairstyle in the screenshot........ the braids the safety pins with the brown and pink or whatever it was like three different colors just the Serve™ she is serving in that with that outfit and the back of her skirt is long than the front im weak in the knees for you maam- oH THAT F UCKING RED ONE GRABBED MY NECK NAILS INTO MY SKIN AND ALL AND ENDED ME HONESTLY and that chain necklace.......................... keeping words to myself-

DAMI

SHES SO HOT AND FOR WHAT my god this blue hair she is WORKING IT- i had such a difficult time even finding a good screenshot of her and i know the moment i just decided with this one that i was just gonna keep getting distracted by it and i am rn as i type this GOD- the all black outfit she shows up in the very first time in the mv..................... [REST] the blue one with the thing on her thigh with the low ponytail................. [REST x2] herself....................... [D*AD]

GAHYEON

POPULAR OPINION: THIS IS HER ERA

THE MOMENT SHE JUST SHOWS UP RIGHT AT THE START SHE GRABBED US BY THE NECKS AND LET US KNOW SHES KILLING IT LIKE THIS this pink hair is doing her like two million favors like the space bun look right here???????? STUNNING just left long and straight??????? BEAUTIFUL the fit with the beige(?) sweater and skirt and that black outfit during her rap verse the pink dress iM D*AD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BONUS TIME: B-SIDE TRACKS (short thoughts and parts i liked)

Intro

A SLAPPER WE LOVE TO HEAR IT-

Break the Wall

oH BICTH the way this song took me back to my edgy middle school years listening to music like this MY GOD THEIR VOICES SOUND SO COOL ON IT like they were using megaphones and s hit THE CHORUS IS SO GOOD IM GOING FERAL™ I FEEL LIKE I CAN CONQUER THE WORLD WITH THIS-

Can’t Get You Out Of My Mind

ALL ENGLISH SONG BICTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its all about the yearning its so catchy and good i was literally already singing it randomly right after the highlight medley like honestly this and break the wall are so nostalgic highkey- their pronunciation is so so SO good!!!!

Dear

JIUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😭😭😭 IM SO SOFT DONT LOOK AT ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! she wrote this herself and its just so full of love and thankfulness and gratefulness and appreciation for insomnias SOMEONE PROTECT HER- and then the rest of the members singing so gently and beautifully there are real tears in my eyes...............

LIKE im just gonna say it every comeback now i guess THEY👏NEVER👏DISAPPOINT👏EVER👏 i love being an insomnia so much yknow??? love them as people love them for always providing content and always showing that they love and appreciate their fans and how they always make me laugh and feel better and most importantly of all is THEIR MUSIC not implying anything with capitalizing and bolding that............... unless they are so incredibly talented and show how versatile they are in so many different genres AND THEYVE GROWN SO MUCH IN POPULARITY THIS YEAR AND ARE NOW BEATING THEIR OWN GOALS im so happy to be their fan 😊😊😊 this just became a paragraph of me and how much i love them ANYWAY-

IN CONCLUSION: WHERE IS THE LOVE?????????? ITS BEING DIRECTED AT THIS ALBUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and AS TRADITION:

[snowycrocus]

Frozen Fanfiction Ice Bros! 

“To Be Brave”

For those of you that thought I couldn’t write fluff- hah! I’ll show you! 

Inspired by a quote by Robb Stark (see notes at end) I’m just at season 3 of GoT so TAG YOUR SPOILERY SH*T PEOPLE! 😁

----------------------

He shouldn’t say anything.

Just keep your mouth shut, Kristoff, he tells himself.

But it’s no use. He’s just too damn curious.

He tries to push the thought away to the back of his mind. He can ask Elsa later – a story for another time, perhaps.

This, he knows, is their quiet time. Their alone time. No questions, little talking.

Of course, Anna says ‘no one likes to be alone,’ and despite the fact that he and Elsa sometimes do, in fact, ‘like to be alone,’ they both love her too much to argue when she demands that they spend some ‘alone’ time with another person.

Ugh, what he does for love!

But he does love Elsa, in his own way – like the sister he never had.

She’s confusing, and obstinate, and goddamn frustrating sometimes. She’s this weird mix of self-loathing in combination with a surprising amount of arrogance and cockiness that he can’t quite figure out. He never knows if what he says will make her laugh or make her withdraw; if she’ll shove a fistful of snow down the back of his neck in jest or simply stalk off, flurries following her.

But she’s surprisingly warm-hearted; tender and loving and caring. Her smile brightens her face like nothing else can, and for someone who hadn’t touched another for thirteen years she certainly knows how to give a good hug. (Hey, he’s had some rough days, okay?) Anna may be his lover, yet Elsa still completes him in a way that he never even knew he needed. A friend.

They’re sitting silently by the meadow just outside the castle grounds – their own, secret spot. Elsa always brings a blanket and a book. And snacks. (She may nibble on some cheese occasionally but they both know the food is for Kristoff). He sits with his back up against the rough bark of a thick tree trunk. Sometimes he’ll fish, sometimes he plays his lute if it won’t be too distracting for Elsa. Sometimes he naps. (And he caught her doing so one time, too).

This is their monthly alone time. It’s peaceful. They don’t have to say anything.

But he can’t resist, not this time.

“Did you want to be Queen?”

He doesn’t think she even hears him at first. She’s deeply into her book, the only sign of her hearing him the firm press of her lips together. She’s lying on her stomach, feet raised into the air. It’s so odd to see her like this, in contrast to her stiff posture and controlled expressions, movements – controlled everything – while inside the castle. Here, it appears to him, she is like a fish walking on land. Something he would never expect to see.

But, he supposes, he never expected to see ice magic either.

She calmly slides a bookmark in place before sitting up cross-legged to face him. She squints. “Why do you ask?”

He sighs internally. Such diplomacy. She always has to find out the reason before giving an answer.

He was in a new room this morning with Anna, he explains. The room with their old family portrait – all four of them, with the late King and Queen. “You both looked so little,” he explains fondly. He barely remembers seeing them at that age in the forest so long ago. “And you looked…different.”

Elsa’s mouth splits into her lopsided smirk. “I should hope so,” she says. “I quite hope I don’t look as I did when I was seven.”

Kristoff rolls his eyes. Such snark. “Yeah, funny. But I wondered if you knew then, what you would be. And if you wanted to be Queen, or knew what it really meant.”

Elsa carefully sets her book down next to her, mulling over his question. If it were anyone else who asked her that, she would lie. “Of course I knew,” she would answer. “I had been trained my entire life for the role and all that it entails.”

But Kristoff wasn’t just anyone – this was someone that could be discreet, someone that deserved her honesty.

“I don’t know,” she answers him truthfully. Her eyes meet his and her gaze is piercing. He notes her hands leave the book and play with the fabric of her skirts in her lap – they always have to be doing something, never idle.

She doesn’t continue, but Kristoff knows by now to wait. Elsa, as intelligent and sharp as she is, isn’t one to think things through quickly. She acts and speaks rationally, logically, after much deliberation and thought. Anna’s opposite. Kristoff waits for more words to spill from her lips.

Her eyes drop down to her fingers still playing with her skirts. “It’s not something I ever gave thought to; whether I’d like to be Queen or not. I never had a choice, so why think otherwise?” She gives a wry smile. “My thoughts were more regarding how I could manage being Queen if I couldn’t leave my bedroom.” She huffs in remembrance.  “I couldn’t have fathomed what being Queen actually meant. My entire childhood was devoted to learning to be Queen, and yet it’s not something one can truly learn and understand until the crown is placed on your head and people are looking for you to lead.”

Kristoff nods in understanding. It’s one thing to learn something in theory, another to actually act on it.

Elsa closes her eyes for a moment. When she opens them she holds out her palms in front of her, gazing at them as if they contain some secret.

Kristoff knows they do.

Elsa’s next words are faint, nearly a whisper. “I couldn’t even control myself. I couldn’t keep my sister safe. I couldn’t join my mother at tea.” She bites her lip. “I couldn’t learn how to rule from my father at an actual council meeting.”

A life measured in cant’s. Kristoff has felt useless; like a failure at times throughout his life, but he had enough accomplishments as he aged that he felt adept at at least some things.

The woman sitting in front of him was the most responsible, capable being in the entire kingdom. And yet, he realizes, she’s never felt like anything more than a failure.

“Hey.” Kristoff reaches out to place his hand in hers before thinking better of it. He rests it on her shoulder instead, and she looks up to meet his gaze. “Sorry I asked. Why don’t we go back to doing our own thing?” He hates to upset her. Should have known to keep quiet.

Surprisingly, Elsa smiles – it’s weak, faint, but it’s there. “No, I – let me explain.”

She continues, her words stronger than before. “I didn’t understand. How was I supposed to lead an entire kingdom – thousands of people – when I couldn’t even leave my bedroom? I was – I was so scared.”

Kristoff’s desperate to turn the conversation around. “But you did it! You were brave. You overcame a lifelong challenge, figured out the answer. And you got your sister back.”

Elsa chuckles. “Kristoff, I was never brave. I never have been. I ran away from my problems.” She pauses. “Well, I always tried to, anyway.”

“My life, up until – well, you know – was ruled by fear. When Anna and I were first separated, I thought I’d be in control within a year. Then when I was ten I told myself that thirteen was the age by which I’d have everything figured out. Thirteen passed, and I knew that as an adult at sixteen, that was when the answers would come.” She shakes her head, rolling her eyes at her foolishness. “At sixteen, I realized maybe I would never control it.” Her voice breaks on the word control.

“At eighteen,” she continues, “I knew it was…hopeless. I begged my father to make Anna heir. I told him I was too scared of what I would do as Queen to my people, too scared of how I could possibly rule an entire kingdom behind closed doors.”

“But my father-” she smiles fondly, “my father insisted that it was fear that makes a good leader. He once told me that being a King or Queen is like having children- you fear for if they’re safe, if they’re fed, if they’re healthy. You’re afraid of them being attacked, afraid of them struggling. He told me that being a Queen would always mean being afraid, and that’s how I would know if I was doing my job well.”

Kristoff nods, thinking. “That…makes sense.” He had heard about Anna and Elsa’s secluded childhood, of course, but hadn’t known such details that Elsa just shared with him. “I guess you can’t be brave if you don’t have fear.”

Elsa nods. “It didn’t quite help me back then,” she says, “but now, looking back – I see that without fear, this is no growth, no reason to push the boundaries.”

Her words bring back memories. Kristoff remembers watching Anna attempt to climb a cliff face, seeing her take charge and fight off wolves. He remembers watching her hair turn white and seeing her shiver and pass out while her skin turned to ice. He remembers the fear – pure, sharp and cold – that shot through him.

“I always thought I was better off on my own.” Kristoff adds. “I was brave, and independent - I had my life figured out with no one to burden me.” He smiles. “I thought I was so tough – that I could overcome anything, just me on my own. I always had before.” Elsa tilts her head slightly as she listens.

“Growing up, just me and Sven – we could do anything. I found and cooked my own food. I found my own way into ice harvesting, made enough to finally buy my own tools, developed a reputation. I scaled mountains and learned how to survive out on the ice. I thought that’s what made me a man.”

He shakes his head, his hair flopping over into his eyes. Elsa nearly brushes it away before she thinks otherwise. “Courage, power, strength – I thought that’s what made me strong. But then – then I met Anna.”

Elsa grins. She knows how Anna changes people.

“And I learned I wasn’t strong or brave, after all.” Kristoff continues, blushing. “I never had anything to be strong or brave for, until I met her. I had something to lose.”

“She taught you what true bravery is.” Elsa concludes.

Kristoff nods. “I think she taught both of us.”

“That she did,” Elsa agrees. “I didn’t understand, back then, how one can be brave if he’s afraid. But things have changed.”

Elsa settles back into a more relaxed sit, her legs still crossed but her arms supporting her weight behind her. She smiles softly. “It’s not a matter then, of whether or not I wanted to be Queen. It’s about what it meant to me, about what I thought I couldn’t do and could do. Anna’s been the one to show me that it’s okay to have fear, but that you have to live despite it.”

“Right,” Kristoff agrees, snatching up the last bits of bread and cheese laid out on the plate. He contemplates, chewing. “To be brave, you have to have something to fear for.”

Elsa smiles softly. “I suppose we’re lucky to have so much to fear – to have someone to fear for.”

“Just for the record,” Kristoff says, “I think you’re pretty brave – you’ve gone through a lot but you don’t let your past stop you.”

“Thank you,” Elsa responds. “You’re pretty brave too, you know. No one else could take Anna’s antics for quite as long as you have!” She covers her mouth to laugh demurely and Kristoff lets out a loud barking laugh at her words.

“That’s true.”

“Yes. Now, hush. I was just getting to the best part of my book.”

---------------------------

Inspired by Robb Stark - I was watching this episode and Robb was talking about something his Father had once told him: “I asked him, ‘How can a man be brave if he’s afraid?’ That was the only time a man can be brave, he told me.” 

I’ve been wanting to do another Ice Bros fic for a while, and always intended to have Kristoff ask Elsa the question from this fic, and upon hearing that quote I had to write it down because it was so perfect! 

Please please let me know what you think of this, readers! You know how much I love hearing from you all. ♥️♥️

[ninzied]

another kind of goodbye

for @carry-the-sky. happy birthday, my friend! have a little post-cancellation kastle fic.

It’s three months, give or take, when Frank lets himself think about her again. Really think about her. Not in the passing kind of way, where he’s walking down some street and sees a bouquet of gardenias, like the kind he’d almost gotten her instead of the roses that day. Or when he’s sipping on coffee, and Karen’s face flashes like a mirage at him across the cheap Formica table – blonde hair almost white under the shit diner lighting, but those eyes still so blue as she told him he would never lie to her.

So – okay, so he thinks about her. He thinks about her.

(He wonders if she—)

Frank eventually makes his way back to the city again, after. Another day, another job. Madani thinks he’s meant for something greater than this – than picking off these scum-of-the-earth kinds of assholes that litter the streets of a place like New York.

He can’t believe that he was meant for greater, but. Sometimes, he does wonder. If a part of him – whatever part of him that’s not still buried deep down in the ground with his family – was meant to come back here. To walk these streets and feel the pull of her, always, even when that’s all he can afford to feel.

He tells himself that has to be enough.

He’s been laying low, since his return. Coughed up some cash for a three-hundred-square-footer in Brooklyn, but he crosses the bridge to the city most days, maybe even finds his way to Hell’s Kitchen from time to time too. It’s risky, he knows. If Murdock catches wind of him, they’d be lucky to walk away from each other in one piece. And Karen…

There’d be a different kind of hell to pay, if Karen ever found out.

His phone gives a single buzz in his pocket as he’s hunkering his way down 47th, and he stops in his tracks, nearly colliding with an elderly woman in the middle of the sidewalk.

“Excuse me!” she says in a shrill voice, bag clutched tight to her chest.

“Apologies, ma’am,” he nods as she makes a show of putting as much distance between them as possible, and then he fishes his phone out, hesitating for one absurd moment before glancing down at the screen.

Back in town yet, Castle?

He barks out a laugh. Chrissakes, Madani.

His phone buzzes again.

I have a job for you, if you’re still interested.

“Still,” mutters Frank, with a scoffing shake of his head. He thinks he admires her perseverance, but Madani’s gotta know she’s only wasting her breath.

He cuts south down 10th, toward Lincoln Tunnel. It’s a brisk day, and the wind on his face feels sharper than usual, considering he hasn’t bled much there in a while. He jams his hands deeper into his pockets, ignoring the insistent drone of Madani’s follow-up call.

He’s got a date with a park bench on the wrong side of town, and if he closes his eyes, he can pretend it’s the same bridge overlooking the water, and when he opens them again Karen’ll be there, waiting for him.

…

His closest call comes with, of all people, the lawyer. Not Red – the other one. Franklin Nelson.

Frank’s emerging with coffee two storefronts down just as another door opens, and he’s cursing himself for not seeing the signs when out tumbles Nelson with his back turned, adjusting his tie against the wind.

“Foggy bear, wait!” someone else is laughing, and a blonde lady steps out to chase after him, slinging a purse over her shoulder and reaching with her other hand to link around his elbow.

“I told him this was gonna make me late for work,” grumbles Nelson, but without any heat to the words. “Dad’s surprise party isn’t until tomorrow, don’t know why this couldn’t have waited – oh, crap, I forgot I told Karen I’d pick up some coffee—”

Nelson’s about-facing sharply, girlfriend following closely behind. He doesn’t appear to notice Frank crouched down in a corner by the 7-Eleven, hood obscuring half his face as he trains his eyes on the ground by their feet. The girl unearths some coins from her bag as they pass, clinking them onto the lid of Frank’s coffee cup without seeming to hear his low mutter of thanks.

He’s leapt up the moment he hears the door latch shut, brushing the coins into his palm as he goes.

He leaves them with a guy camped out by the train stop, a dog lifting her head from their blankets to blink sleepy eyes up at Frank, and he walks away harder, takes the steps two at a time and wishes – God he wishes—

…

Another text from Madani.

He shuts his phone off. Goes back to retrieve it ten seconds later from the trash can that he’d dumped it in, wiping it down and scowling as her message pops up on the screen.

Castle – offer still stands, FYI.

“You should call her back,” advises a man huddled down by the newsstands next to him. His face is like leather, worn down and weathered with age, with living. “Apologize for whatever it is that you did, so you don’t end up out here like me.”

“Already there,” Frank tells him, turning the phone over and over in his hand. Madani’s message lights up again each time, flashing and flashing until he sees it like a burn through his retinas even when the phone’s no longer facing him.

“Damn. That’s a damn shame.” The guy shifts, scratching at a spot on his back. “Maybe shouldn’t’ve stayed away from her for so long.”

Frank shakes his head, uttering a short, incredulous laugh. “Well, maybe I got my reasons, yeah? You think about that?”

“Doesn’t matter what I think,” shrugs the guy. “Does she think they’re any good? These reasons of yours?”

Frank turns away, jaw working furiously.

“Yeah.” The guy shouldn’t have any right to sound as smug as he does, and yet. “Yeah, I didn’t think so.”

…

He’s got no place in coming here. He knows it. He knows it, but he thinks it was always meant to be this way, him circling back around to her, even after everything that he’s done to push her away. Maybe a part of him had never left. And the rest is just – there, hovering right at the edge of some sharp realization, that he could try to be whole again if he simply took that first step. And a part of Karen must at least sense that. It’s why she’d never really given up on him, before.

It doesn’t change how I feel about you.

Frank wonders if she’d forgive him this time. If he’d even want her to.

It wouldn’t be anything close to what he deserves, that’s for goddamn sure.

He gazes up at her fire escape, counts the number of steps it would take just to be able to reach that bottom rung from his vantage point across the street. Her shades are drawn, the lines of them blurred out in the dim orange light. On one corner of the windowsill, wedged up against the glass, there’s a small stack of books. On the other, a vase. From this angle, the shadows folded into the fabric of her curtains look almost like flower stems.

Frank squints, and the stems disappear.

…

There’s about a week in between, where he feels himself inching closer to something, each time he drops by her block. He never goes farther than the patch of sidewalk across from her building, but it’s getting harder not to just careen over the ledge.

More than anything, he wishes he knew, in those moments obscured in half-darkness, whether he’s come to look for that after she’d spoke of, or if he’s come to say goodbye.

Then, one day he spots flowers in her window, for the first time since—

(They’re pale white against the cream of her curtains, their stems dark slivers of green, and he imagines them pricking the pad of his thumb, drawing up a spot of blood.)

Frank takes a deep breath.

…

She doesn’t look surprised to see him when she opens the door, swinging it back two-thirds of the way before stopping. Her lips are pressed tightly together, like there’s too much to say, or maybe there’s things that she can’t, either way he can’t read her and he thinks she’s never terrified him more.

Frank drops his gaze, mouth moving soundlessly until the words grind their way out. “How’d you know I was here, Karen?”

He’s not sure what kind of answer he’s expecting. That Nelson had grown a real pair of eyes, or that Red had managed to ferret him out of his lurking somehow. Or maybe Karen really just hadn’t known at all, and those flowers were never for him.

What Karen says instead is, “Dinah and I grab a beer together, sometimes.”

“That right?” he asks, trying to lay out an image of this in his mind. It sits strangely there, stumping him for a moment, and some of his bewilderment must show on his face because Karen’s mouth almost turns up in a smile before flattening again.

She leans away from the doorjamb, waving her hand in a worn-looking gesture before letting it drop to her side. “Besides, you…haven’t exactly been subtle, in your haunting of Hell’s Kitchen.”

He doesn’t know what to say to that, other than a gruff, “’S’what dead men do, Karen,” as she folds her arms and sighs at him.

“You sure you’re not just losing your touch, Frank?” She steps into the doorway, whether to move closer to him or to block him out of her apartment, he can’t tell. “Or was it because you wanted me to know but couldn’t tell me to my face?”

His eyes snap up to hers, twitching slightly under the sharp weight of her gaze. He shakes his head, wishing he could just ask her, What do you want from me, Karen? but they’re long past that now, and if he can’t find his own way to answer her, then.

God, he really doesn’t deserve this woman.

“I think I—” He shifts his body and tries again. “I think I needed to figure some things out. Karen. I was waiting 'til I felt like I was ready, and I don’t think I’ll ever be that.” But I’m here, he wants to say, but I’m here.

“Yeah.” Karen’s nodding, hair falling into her face, and she brushes it back, resting her chin in her palm for a moment. “I know that, Frank.” All of the fight in her seems to have ebbed slowly back, and he resists the urge to reach out and shake the storm back into motion, to make her understand she doesn’t get to let him off the hook so easy.

The look she gives him now is softer, but he knows. Fight’s not done. May never be done. And he knows this because he knows he’ll never stop fighting for her.

She’s stepped back into the door, letting it swing open further. She doesn’t invite him in, but she’s quirked an eyebrow up at him, biting her lip with another deep sigh and a shake of her head.

“You, uh.” Frank glances back and forth at their surroundings, doesn’t quite meet her eye. Tries to lighten his tone through the gruffness as he asks her, “So, you wanted to see me?”

Her voice is soft, forbearing, with a hint of gentle knowing behind it. “You didn’t?”

She’s holding back the clear start of a smile from him this time, and Frank. Christ. It’s taking everything in him not to step toward her, to—

Karen tilts her chin at him, the motion loosening another wave of blonde hair, and he can’t remember anymore why he was trying so hard to stand back from all this. He’s moving, swaying forward until she’s just an arm’s length away, and there’s something almost teasing about the way she relaxes her shoulder into the door as she watches him.

“You back to kill some people, Frank?”

He feels a corner of his mouth turn up. This girl. He licks his lips, lets out a quiet sort of laugh. “That was the plan, yeah.”

Karen gazes up at him, unblinking. “Have you?”

“I was—” Frank has to look away for a moment, finally turning back when he can. His eyes are steady, boring into hers, voice low and full with meaning. “I was. Working on it.”

Karen nods. Doesn’t speak for long seconds, and he measures them out in heartbeats, chest tightening hard enough it feels like it might break when she asks him, very carefully, “Still?”

Frank steps closer, close enough to feel the way her breath shakes with a small sigh, how her body moves away from the door to meet him.

His hand is inches from hers, but he doesn’t reach for her. Not yet.

She waits, gaze searching. He gives the barest shake of his head, and a single word, gravel-filled, a promise. “No.”

Something cracks open in her expression, and it means everything to him, her head ducking away as though she can’t have him looking too closely at the way she's biting back that smile of hers, and he thinks – he thinks he wants to make her do it again, and again, for as long as she will have him.

“Would you like to come in, Frank?”

He takes her hand in his this time, feeling the pull of her as he steps across the threshold, door shutting firmly behind them, and it feels like coming home.

[grubhivemind]

JACE: -the past few days have been full of some intense introspection, mixed with all manner of emotion, and some that aren't even his own. he knows what he wants to do, but he can't just do it. he needs to tell people. he needs to quit keeping secrets.- JACE: -it's a little late when he emerges from his room and he'd prefer not to bother his parents right *now* but they weren't the first person on his mind anyway. he starts his search for joel, who... he's fairly certain is still here. he hopes he is.- JOEL: *Definitely still here. Joel finds himself out in the patio, having a drink and sitting crosslegged on a deck chair cushion. He seems preoccupied talking to someone via text but is otherwise on his lonesome. Probably responding to Rammie's string of snapchats regarding her trip to Febrealia.* JOEL: *An ear angles back to Jace when he enters. That old concern starts gnawing on him again.* Hey. JACE: -aw geez... his heart starts racing as soon as he sees him. he wishes he were braver.- JACE: Hi. -steps over and takes a seat with him, probably too cautiously.- Um... JACE: I wanted to talk to you. JACE: Is that okay? Uh. Are you good to talk? -geez way to make it obvious he's a mess. not that it's a surprise to anybody.- JOEL: Im good to talk. *Joel would say he doesn't bite but that is the very opposite of true.* JOEL: ... JOEL: *gestures at another deck chair. Maybe the one at the opposite end.* JACE: -nods slowly and plops down in the chair. for a second, he just wringes his hands, posture anything but relaxed as he leans over his legs.- JACE: I... JACE: Well, I mean... JACE: -exhales, shoulders sagging.- You probably already know why I was in the forest that night. JOEL: *slowly puts his phone away to give Jace his undivided attention.* No. I dont why you were in the forest. JACE: -alright, he's PRETTY sure he's just trying to get jace to be straight forward which... is fair. and he wants to be. for another second he avoids eye contact, heat rising to his head quickly.- JACE: I was following Kougah. I wanted to check on him after what happened at the town meeting. JACE: Because... Because Ive still been hanging out with him. A... A lot. JACE: And-- And I was worried. About him. -eyes start to prickle with tears already. why does he have to be like this??- JOEL: *He hears all this and swallows against an ugly amount of bile rising up as he makes connections.* You still been hanging out with him. /A lot./ *echoes the words so Jace can hear them too. As well as how disbelieving Joel is that they're real.* JOEL: *but now he's swearing under his breath, unable to keep a cap on the hiss in his voice.* ...God. JOEL: Just... *Is there even words for this? Joel can't seem to grasp the concept.* What... the hell is wrong with you?? JACE: -shrinks into himself, the bite of joel's words resounding in his head, somehow managing to overpower even the thud of his heartbeat in his ears. it's a good question, really, but he knows he can't let himself be bowled over. swallowing the tightness in his throat, he squares his shoulders in prepartion for more verbal strikes.- JACE: When you told me what you did... I was angry... And I wanted to understand. I didnt... I didnt get it, because he-- JACE: He saved me. JACE: I started coming to Avalon when I heard about the missing people... And the spiritual activity. I wanted to study it... Because I wanted to help. But I didnt know what I was getting into and... I might have died if he hadnt shown up. -eyes flood with fresh tears again remembering it. it makes everything that happened that much more painful.- JACE: So, I... I wanted to confront him. About why. And how. He could do that. And I told him-- How much Rammie meant to our family. And to me. And I told him to make things right. And he said he would, because-- Because how I felt mattered to him. -ducks his head, choking a little on the tears now.- JACE: I thought that maybe things could get better. That we could work something out because... He-- I cant... I cant explain it. I guess it doesnt matter. Its no excuse. JACE: I just... didnt feel so lonely anymore. JACE: ... Im sorry. JOEL: *Rage is flooring past any amount of sympathy or understanding Joel might have had for Jace. It's fueled by the gut-wrenching fear and the heartbreak of knowing there wasn't a damn thing Joel could do about any of this. Joel stands with such a vicious snarl.* YOU COULD HAVE DIED IF YOU STAYED WITH HIM. DO YOU NOT REALIZE THAT??? JOEL: And you... YOURE the one worried about HIM??? HOW FUCKED UP IS THAT JACE???? JOEL: It only took ONE FUCKING MISTAKE AND RAMMIE SHE JUST... He FUCKING LEFT HER IN THAT FOREST JACE. HE WOULD HAVE LEFT HER THERE AND WE WOULD HAVE NEVER FOUND HER. JOEL: So Im asking again WHAT THE *FUCK* IS WRONG WITH YOU??? YOU SAY YOURE HELPING PEOPLE??? YOU JUST ADMITTED IT! JOEL: YOURE JUST HELPING YOUR OWN GODDAMN FUCKING *SELF*. JOEL: WHY WOULD YOU THINK ANYONE WHO GIVES AN ACTUAL SHIT ABOUT YOU WOULD BE OKAY WITH THAT?????? JACE: -drags his hands over his hair and through his hair, trying with all his might to stand tall and take it, but he just can't, eventually crumbling into desperate sobs. he doesn't know what's wrong with him, and suddenly he's unsure all over again what he should do.- JACE: -did he really want to go back to help, or was there some fucked up selfish ulterior motive he couldn't quite identify? images of the dead pack of wolves and what may become of avalon flood his thoughts, followed by a rush of rage and grief and uncontrollable helplessness and it takes all his power to keep him planted in this seat instead of finding something to drive his fists into. instead, he j JACE: ust digs his nails into his scalp and mutter under his breath.- JACE: I dont-- I dont know...... JOEL: Well you better fucking know. *growls, the sound very real in the way Joel grits his teeth. Trying not to give into the ill feeling he feels in the deepest part of his stomach.* Because youre thinking of going back there. And trying to fix a goddamn PROBLEM that was never yours to begin with. JOEL: You just??? SOMEHOW made this your problem. And I wont say somehow. You know exactly what youre doing. JACE: Thats not... -not true, he wants to say, but it pitters off meekly as he completely loses sight of what even is true. he doesn't know why he listened to anybody who supported him. the reality is that he's a selfish idiot, so desperate he'll forgive anything just to grasp at a little bit of happiness, and that complacency makes him an apologist of unforgivable things. that makes him no better than JACE: a murderer. maybe in some sick way, that's why they deserved each other.- JACE: I wont go. JOEL: *He exhales sharply, feeling like his chest was being cleaved in two. The wound seeps with pain, invisible but very very fresh. Joel would clutch at it if he only could.* I hope so. I dont... *falters, his guard wavering* JOEL: I dont know what else to do with this. JACE: -keeps his voice quiet and his head lowered.- Theres nothing else to do. Theres nothing... JACE: Theres... *nothing.* -hiccups, kick starting yet another series of sobs.- JOEL: *Everything hurts and nothing is okay. But Joel keeps pressing on, draggig his hand down his face. As long as it helps steer off the waterworks.* Theres not nothing Jace. Dont you see that? JOEL: Theres still You. JOEL: And damn if Im gonna let you believe thats not good enough. JOEL: Whatever else happens... you did try. JOEL: And it fucking counts okay? I dont care what anyone else does or says. JOEL: You just... JOEL: Cant fix something like this. Or someone like him. JACE: -it's hard to swallow any kind of reassurance after being repeatedly questioned about what's wrong with him. so what if he has himself when he's awful? so what if he tried when he did it for selfish reasons? he gets the feeling he's just being talked down so he'll stop crying, and the idea leaves him hollow enough that sobs dissolve into sniffles and he can start to wipe away tears without more re JACE: placing them. he just nods slowly.- JACE: Okay... JOEL: *he's quiet a moment, grappling with the physical desire to reach out to his brother. But it feels like such a dangerous thing. Like they could both hurt each other more than they already had.* Im... JOEL: Really sorry. JOEL: *Joel doesn't suspect there's more to say after that. With a trot down the patio steps, he's gone down the beach. Taking off into the stretch of night.* JACE: -there's another long moment where jace sits alone, blotting out everything till he's only left with a buzz of white noise in his head. and only after his thoughts are disturbingly clear does he get back up to go to his room. nothing left to do now but sleep.-

[isaacathom]

so theeennnn the woman starts interacting w/ more villagers the more time she spends and she starts becoming real good friends with some of them. and because her ‘master’ thinks shes trustworthy and stuff, he’s not strict, and she sometimes gets free time to just hang out with these friends shes made. and the survivor, from that attack, is really pissed that shes basically just a regular worker as opposed to a ‘proper slave’, angry that he’s being lenient and that she’s just been accepted.

so what the guy does, is he gathers evidence of her ‘slacking off’, even gets some testimonies from people who don’t know that her master allowed it and shit, and he peeps on her hanging out with one of the ladies from the village and being real close to her. and he brings it before their council, claiming she’s fucking around instead of atoning for the misdeeds. so they bring everyone together, and it doesnt even go far, because the second in command steps forward and goes ‘listen yall, this is my fault, ive been lenient in her work and she’s been permitted time off to relax, and she’s been using said time to make friends. if this set up displeases the council, i will alter it immediately and she will be reigned in. i am at fault, not her’

and the council accepts it, her schedule is changed to minimise that free time spent on the town, and the survivor is FURIOUS, because the punishment deflected off the woman and punished that guy instead, and thats not what he wanted. so he’s gotta find something else.

the end goal would be to provoke her into demonstrating her goddamn ~magic hands~ and proving beyond a shadow of a doubt in anyones mind that she definitely did the murder, which would have her ostracised instead of welcomed and would ruin her good status with the second in command. after all, his good treatment of her mostly came as him believing her to be innocent and non-complicit in the attack. if the survivor can prove that she has the ability, then she’ll lose the good status. but i think going from the aforementioned slacker charge to bringing back the murder is..... a bit.... a bit high. theres gotta be a middle ground.

but while i think that up, the provocation. itd be tough, because shes a fairly collected sort, and quick to resort to humour or to straight up disappear as soon as stuff gets tough on her. so he’d have to get her in a place she cant leave, and a very public place at that in order to ensure he’s not seen as a guy with a vendetta, and he’d have to provoke her. all i can imagine that’d really provoke her would be a suggestion that she’s fucking the second in command, because anyone would be insulted at the suggestion that their status comes from just shagging a guy. idk if that’d tilt her so hard she almost goes murderer, if anything she’d just be :||| excuse me, sir, do you want the chicken or not. like customer service or smth.

if it was long term, like its a long night and he keeps going, it could hit her by the end, especially if she cant easily access the second in command and get him to like. switch her out or something. she’s stuck dealing with him chipping away. maybe the shag suggestion comes at the end and its what finally tips her over. at that point, her eyes would go white and she’d go ‘excuse me’ in a very creepy voice and the survivor would suddenly realise that this isnt actually exactly what he wanted. see, what HE’S thinking is that he can provoke her into doing something she’s not allowed to do. and he’s done that, he’s succeeded, but said thing is an attempt to stuff his head into a christmas turkey with fucking telekinesis. what happens in the end is he stammers out a repeat of what he just said, she steps forward and white light surrounds her hand, he starts screaming in absolute fucking terror and someone tackles her to the ground to prevent her from hurting anyone. after all, everyone knows about the attack. everyone knows how it was described, they all heard what that survivor said, about how a mysterious lady summoned white light in her hands and shots holes through people. and they see the lady that they were told did it but, on reflection of character, really didnt buy that, and they see her summon white light, and it clicks in for EVERYONE. every single person in that room, excusing perhaps children and The Blind, is that she absolutely did it.

so following that display, she’s put back in the slave quarters and its a fucking disaster, dude. like shes distraught. she’s fucked it up. she’s maintained that, though she has ~magic hands~ and could have been in the area at the time and encountered the hunters, she’s ALWAYS believed that she could never have killed them. not with intent, absolutely not. if she did do it, it wouldve been as a result of her being so exhausted that she didnt understand what she’d done. but never, at no point, did she genuinely believe or know that she did it. but her almost fucking up the survivor, it proves to her (and everyone else) that she did. she now has no excuse. she cant reason with it. everything adds up. magic hands, intent to do harm, it all tracks, she had the power and the ability to do it, and if thats the case, how can she say she didnt do it????

at that point, the second in command would need to talk to her, but she wouldnt talk. she’s just silent, head in hands, and nothing he can do can convince her to just explain what happened. and he has to come before the council, or specifically the guy he’s the right hand of, and explain that. it gets really weird. the thing is, her actions imply an intent and attempt to reoffend, which is grounds for banishment. the second in command really doesnt want to do this, because hes positive that if she would just talk to him, he could save her from that, and he still thinks that maybe theres a misunderstanding. because at this point, she’s been in this town for over a year, and she’s been so good up till that point, this doesnt add up to him, there must be more to it.

the only way to really clear her name of that last debacle and keep her in town is to prove it wasnt premeditated. if they can prove she was provoked, they can get her. the problem is, the people who wouldve been close enough to hear all the survivors comments were friends of his, and wouldve agreed with it, thought it fun and not seen his game. they though she snapped as a result of a few harmless comments and that it wasnt a deliberate provocation by him. being able to prove that he provoked her deliberately would clear her. but shes the only one who can prove it, and aside from not talking, its difficult to take the word of the accused on its own. the second in command could stand as a character witness, to speak on her good name, and there are many who could, but equally many who saw what she did and wont. the second in commands word will not stand. everyone thinks that shes corrupted him in some way. before the display, they probably all thought that, but in a vaguely positive way. he’d become a better leader, prime to become the High Council Guy, with her involvement. if there was corruption, it was generally well meant and produced a positive result for all (except the survivor and his family, ofc)

the only OTHER way to really clear her name is to find who actually DID the murder. if they can prove she didnt kill the hunters, then she didnt reoffend, and furthermore would no longer be a slave, or would have her ‘term’ drastically shortened. problem is, beyond the fact that noone knows anyone else would could match the picture of the killer, is that i dont actually know if she did it or not. i like the idea of keeping it ambiguous. proving that she could, but also proving through her general character that she couldnt, making a conundrum for ‘reader’ and characters as to whether she did or not.

god, idk. three clearing options - prove he provoked her into ‘reoffending’ at the party or whatever, prove she didnt do the murder in the firstplace, OR even prove that he and the hunters provoked her in the initial attack, which would subsequently downgrade the initial offence into an act of self defence, which would carry different connotations. OOH, and there’d be a way to do it, sorta, if we bring the initial attack a lot closer to when she collapses in town. like, a day or so. as in, the attack happens and the hunters are all brought back to town in their awful state. the survivor, who wasnt actually injured, explains what he saw. the next day, a woman matching his description of the attacked collapses badly injured in the town. when questioned, she has no recollection of ever meeting the hunters, and thus cannot prove she did or did not kill them. coincidental evidence is still strong. but theres the problem - she’s very badly injured with fresh wounds. were they received in the altercation? but the survivor claims the woman just appeared and attacked them, and that all they could do was run and hide until she left. no blows landed on her, he claims, as all the hunters lowered their weapons once they saw she was human, and wouldnt have had time to raise them for an attack.

so you layer that, and you get the idea that perhaps the hunters attacked this exhausted woman and she snapped, as she did in the ‘party’, and retaliated with ~magic hands~. but because she doesnt actually remember ever meeting the hunters, she cant prove that, hence being found guilty of murder and becoming a slave.

so then, if the second in command really wants to clear her name, and she wont talk to him, and no close witnesses would implicate the survivor as the unquestioned provoker in the display, he needs to prove she committed the murders in an act of self defence. there would be evidence, without doubt. her wounds wouldve been documented, as would those of the hunters and the locations they were found. possibly if the second in command went the location, he could find a weapon coated in blood that implicates one of the hunters as having landed a blow on her. but a) thats a bit deus ex and b) itd be difficult to place the blow as being before or after she went all ~Avatar State~ on the hunters, which means it wouldnt be useful. thats the issue here. if its been a long time since the attack, a year like a said, itd be really difficult to confirm whether she did it when the only witness is the Survivor, who’s a cunt. if she remembered the incident, and could explain it, the whole mess wouldve been fixed, but her suddenly remembering the attack after a year and when shes in trouble would look /real/ suspicious, and wouldnt be taken seriously at all.

whoops written myself into a detective hole here. fuck. this is why all my dr fan stories fell through, yall. the fucks a murder mystery.

unless like. ok. heres an idea. so the woman is travelling with someone else the whole time (for what reason? she doesnt explain, but shes clearly a foreigner so mm), and theyre both exhausted and probably vaguely headed for the town to rest and recuperate. on their way, theyre encountered by the hunters. things lead to things, probably nasty, and the travelling partner is killed by the hunters. they know theyre humans, and the Survivor’s mention of ‘putting their weapons down’ is probably true, as of when they first encountered the women. but as i said, shit leads to shit, the traveller is murdered, and The Woman loses her fucking mind. of course, at this point, the hunters all have their weapons drawn, with the possible exception of the survivor, because itd make some sense in a sec. so the hunters, w/ their weapons drawn, see the woman go all Avatar and attack her, in response to which she fucking destroys them. at that point, possibly leaving the Survivor due to him not participating in the murder of her friend. the woman promptly flees the scene, screaming bloody murder. this is what, at least initially, piques the interest of any villagers nearby, because her yells probably echo through the forest.

The survivor thinks fast. his friends were just slain in front of him. theres a dead woman in front of him, who his friends just murdered. what does he do? chucks the woman in a fucking ditch, probably. and because investigators have no reason to look in the ditch, they dont. the womans body remains. because the Survivors now covered in shit, he goes and starts to drag one of his friends back to town, and now he starts yelling for help. the story is set. he and his friends were set upon by a wild woman and slaughtered. he alone survives, covered in cuts and scratches from the undergrowth and trees and covered in the blood of his friends. when the woman subsequently turns up in town, blood covered and fatigued, her wounds are coincidental. she doesnt remember their encounter. she has no reason to inherently distrust what the Survivor says. all she knows is that she was travelling with someone, who now isnt there, and she has to believe that in their exhaustion and injuries they were separated. she has no idea.

and the thing w/ the survivor not killing the friend comes up. because the Woman has ZERO reason to feel inherent hatred towards him. if she saw the hunters’ bodies, which she didnt, she mightve had a gut reaction, but she has no gut reaction of the violent or upset kind towards the Survivor, because he didnt do it. she doesnt hate him. so for the whole time shes in the village, she treats her vague sense of deja vu towards his face as just a coincidence and moves on. ofc she develops hatred to him, as hes a Cunt, but she doesnt have it inherently. she clearly doesnt, because she let him live when she slew his friends.

so THEN what happens is that, in the lead up to another trial of her, the second in command explores the area in which the attack happens, and discovers the partly preserved body of her friend in the ditch. its brought back to town for investigation, because, yknow, a dead fucking body covered in weapon wounds, theres foul play. they briefly postpone the Woman’s trial in order to investigate this fresh case, and she could be found with shit on her that is identifiable as either the hunters’ or the Survivors, implicating him. as that shit mounts and stuff looks sus, the second in command manages to convince the council to allow him to bring the Woman to see the corpse. then she fucking reacts, because she immediately recognises it as her friend, and she probably almost goes avatar again before being restrained and escorted out. NOW she’ll talk. thing is, she still has 0 recollection of the night of the attack. her memory doesnt miraculously reappear on that front. that whole night doesnt exist. probably a trauma thing but also, try and remember a specific random day from over a year ago, good luck buddy.

but she’d now be able to explain proper what happened on the day of The Display, and theyd be able to piece a lot of stuff together and come to a conclusion that she and her friend were attacked by the hunters and that she retaliated after they killed her friend, which would allow to sorta slot under an act of self defence (or a similar, not fuckig murder charge, you feel me), thus allowing her sentence to be drastically shortened, and for a charge of murder (or conspiracy to murder, or culpability, or like, what... accessory! accessory to murder) to be laid upon the Survivor and posthumously upon the hunters.

fuck. thatd work. i guess? especially if the element of the dead woman is established. mentioned when the woman wakes up in a panic in the home of a king soul, asking if theyve seen her and if she was with her, and being forced to weakly concede that she doesnt remember having seen her recently due to her exhaustion blacking out many of her days. then you can bring it up later, when the second in command gets closer and more curious about her and asks about how she came to be in the village, and she’d mention her travelling partner and how she wished she knew where she was. then, the body. BAM. fuck! rule of threes, motherfuckers, i know how to construct a narrative! fuck me

tl;dr the Survivor tries a few times to get the Woman thrown out, and eventually succeeds in almost being attacked and killed by her. in an effort to clear her name (because hes a naive good soul who cant combine the image of a murderer with the general way this woman has acted since her arrival), her master, the Second in Command, does a sweep of the area in which the survivor was attacked and discovers the partly preserved corpse of a woman, who was murdered by the Hunters, prompting their deaths at the hands of The Woman.

fuck me down