#so the hypocrisy thing is once again the writing mess up

[yanderefairyangel]

Shez is another cans of worm.

Shez is supposed to be Byleth rival in absolutely every way.

Byleth is cold, Shez is hard boiled. Byleth is introverted and has problem with communication, Shez is extraverted and brash. Byleth is quiet, Shez is loud. Byleth is clever, Shez is.... well, an idiot. However they have common points in how they are still pretty idealistic despite their conditions as a merc and all that. Byleth is the "champion of the Nabateans" while Shez is that of the Agarthans... and apparently on accident since : 1) Arval just decided to awake in that timeline and we are never explained why 2)Somehow Thales and co decided to take advantage of their link with the Adestrian empire to make Eddie their "ultimate weapon" 3) Been a long time but from what I recall Thales and co have a beef with Epipi and thus Arvie.

Now the whole problem with Shez is that their motivation makes 0 sense. Like none. In reality they don't seek to avenge their dead coworkers since they themselves admit to be one heck of a pragmatic person, they just wanna revenge because they got beaten the heck out of by Byleth which resulted in their death in the Houses timeline. They are supposed to be seeking revenge for their captain and all that but all of this fall flat down because of how they slopply introduced the possiblity to recruit Byleth... like... couldn't you do that but better because what the heck was even that ? This makes even less sense because Shez state at least once or twice that they might love money but they never accept one job before they honnored their current contract which is supposed to show their loyalty... supposed because they gave up their revenge in the laziest way possible

Basically is Shez evil ? I don't think so. Sure, in GW it's because they open their big mouth that Claude decided to become king however : 1) Shez had no idea that's how Claude would do any of the thing he did 2) Shez, when seeing Claude do his thing, doesn't react well to it at all, they are even the one calling him out (and also calling Leonie out on her ****sheet, thank you SHEZ!) 3) Claude would have done what he did with or without Shez. Look at SF. You join Eddie, yet Claude still does his thing. That's because the impostor that is Khalid von Riegan is basically Claude without guidance. Not without the proper guidance, but without guidance period. Byleth and Shez have a different realtionship with the Lords. Byleth is more of an advisor and guide as a teacher. Shez, their classmate, just help them throught their path without taking on the role of an advisor. Again, they are a merc and their classmate. So if anything Shez can come across as amoral but even then they clearly are supposed to have a moral highground. They are a merc so they just follow orders.

Would Shez recruit Byleth, they would bond with them and when Epi does his thing, Shez tries everything they can to not kill Byleth. Does Shez keep their power ? Yes... because why would they lose them ? Byleth lost them because defeating Rhea and Setheth and Flayn resulted in the destruction of the Nabateans race (since Macuil and Indech doesn't exist in that route). The source of Shez power doesn't come from the Agarthans but Arval/Epimenides. While for Byleth it's Sothis, Rhea's mom. Her crest stone breaks because you broke her heart by killing her children when you were the closest friend she had. The only way for Shez to "betray" Arval is through the secret ending. So when they recruit Byleth.

What is said about Eddie can apply to all three Lords, they are all at their worst. Shez isn't their guide unlike Byleth, their role is drastically different and that's something that's striking in how Shez, who is hardly younger then Byleth, is placed as a classmate rather then a teacher when Byleth themselves could have been a student as well. They are just following the flow of what the lords wants. Does this means they'll accept whatever happens ? No.

Look at how they react at Claude's route after Randolph is being sacrificed. Shez have their own limits as well, they clearly won't sit well with serving someone they know is evil, and this is pretty obvious to how worried they are that Arval was Epiminedes all along and that might be a demon and also that Arval was using them all along. That which ... Byleth apparently inspired by Sothis herself end up reassuring them on that matter.

So basically is Shez evil ? No. Is Shez like any character in this forsaken game victim of Hopes terrible wonky writing ? OH YEAH. Because if we have to discuss Shez we will have to open the full can of worms of all the nonsensical change that occured in that timeline such as : Why did Arval saved Shez only in that timeline ? Did Shez actually managed to survive in Houses but then why do they never meet the Lords instead of Byleth ? Why does Thales and etc choose to create their own ultimate weapon instead of seeking for a way to manipulate Epipi's vessel ? Were there other "creations" like Shez for Epipi ? Why doesn't Eddie need the dubstep cult in that timeline ? If she doesn't need them anymore then why the heck does the Kostas plot point still exist ? Why is Eddie surprised to find Monica when we know through Houses she is at least aware of the kidnapping that the Agarthans are doing ? Why couldn't Eddie do half of the thing she did in Hopes in Houses since she openly faces the Agarthans ? Why does Byleth seems to know more about Fodlan in that game then in Houses ? Why does Sothis remember everything in that timeline ? Why can she awake and have Byleth have their mint hair without vanishing into oblivion for half of the plot except to wake Byleth and if you dediced that you like easter egg and marry her ? Why does Byleth get possesed by Sothis to save them in their fight with Shez and eventually if Jeralt dies but that never happens in Houses ?Why is the argument to recruit Byleth such a slop ? Why is there still no snow in Faerghus ?

Is Shez evil?

The thought occurred to me last night, but I think it's worth discussing. Do we play as an evil character in Hopes? Now, the Hopes!Devs did say that the war wasn't a matter of good vs evil and that it's all a matter of perspective. However, they also said that Hopes wasn't meant to replace Houses, and therefore we can apply the morality of Houses to it.

Shez is implied to be from Shambhala, making them an Agarthan. We all know that the Fodlan games use Buddhist symbolism, and Agartha is where the Asura's were banished by the Bodhisattva when they became drunk on their own power and from there they wage war against the Bodhisattva and the benevolent devas. Tellingly, Shez's unique final class is Asura, cementing this idea.

When I was looking up stuff concerning the Asuras and their world, I found this.

Nichiren defines the characteristic of (The world of the Asuras) as “perverse,” or more literally, “fawning and crooked.” Out of extreme pride or a sense of superiority, people in this condition tend to conceal their real motives and flatter others to win praise. While outwardly courteous, however, they inwardly look down on others. Such a person’s self-image is distorted and unbalanced, colored by extreme pride or a sense of superiority; the self is perceived as extremely large and important, and others as small and unimportant. Those who remain in this state ultimately do harm to themselves through their own conceit.

There was something about this that really hit with Shez. Shez's motivation is to get revenge on Byleth for wiping out their former mercenary unit. It seems like a normal motivation, but Shez also has quotes where they talk about how what happened to them is just the nature of the profession. These quotes make Shez come across as hypocritical. But the nature of the Asura realm would suggest that Shez is just putting on a metaphorical mask, saying things that sound nice while keeping their true motives hidden. It's still on Shez on whether or not they go after Byleth, and Arval not letting go of this motivation, attacking Byleth that leads to Arval's own downfall.

But at the same time, Shez doesn't lose their power like what happens to Byleth at the end of Flower. They don't stop being an Asura. They will still support Edelgard even though her path is supposed to be immoral according to Houses. Shez can confirm that Edelgard is oppressing the commoners under her rule, but unlike Byleth won't lead the BE in opposing her. Their influence on Claude ultimately leads to Claude going down a similar path, meaning it's because of Shez that Claude kills Rhea as he gives into his own hatred. Even with Dimitri, Shez had no problem when Dimitri and company's motives for the war changed to revenge, and Dimitri then continues the war after the defeat of Edelgard and Thales in order to punish the Empire. Then there's Shez's whole “I'm just a merc” gig, he's saying he's nothing more than someone paid to kill others regardless of morality.

With this in mind, we can make a judgement call. Shez, despite appearances, isn't a moral person. Shez might believe that this war is morally ambiguous, who is right or wrong a matter of perspective, but they're someone who kills for money as well as using the war for revenge which could put them into immoral territory, as they're willing to facilitate the suffering of others for their own goals, a big no-no in Buddhism. They don't care if they're the aggressor or playing defence. They're not amoral, ignorant of and not influenced by morality, like Byleth starts off as and from that they end up poisoning Fodlan. Because Shez shows up as the lords flee Kostas, they don't meet Byleth at Remire. They don't lead the lords to a better Fodlan, they just help them fight a war that's not even over at the end of the route.

Shez might appear to be nice, but we should have known better after Edelgard. As to whether they're evil, evil is defined as being “profoundly immoral.” Shez killing Byleth and by extension Sothis, living up to being an Asura, would push them into being evil, and their POV goes against the morality of Houses. That, and the Asura realm is called one of the four evil paths.

[committingwarcr1mes]

mitski once said:

“i don't need the world to see that i've been the best i can be, but

i don't think i could stand to be where you don't see me”

and now i have to write this.

i really don’t get why people are so superficial about griffith, y’all like “nah, he always was evil vicious callous etc 🙄🙄🙄” and not even trying to look beneath, which is really discouraging because the eclipse arc made it very clear and showed everything in the most obvious way possible.

oh, remark: it’s only about berserk 1997.

so let’s start from afar. “griffith never cared of his people and friends, he easily betrayed them for batman costume 👻👻👻” like WTF?? he DID. he DID CARE. he sold himself to feed and equip his people, and it wasn’t like “he enjoyed f***ing that bearded guy ahshdjsa lmao 😂🤡🤡” (btw i don’t get this crap cause it seems like y’all are so obsessed with rape theme, but while feeling sorry for one victim you at the same time make fun of another. the hypocrisy of this fandom i can’t--). but return to what i’ve started. griffith always cared for his people; he never showed it and never admitted it even to himself, but he remembered everyone who died fighting for him, and i guess sometimes he really blamed himself for that — but again, never admitted it. those scenes weren’t given just for drama or something — these contradictions were always an important part of his character and determined his sight. failure would make victims meaningless. like people died for nothing.

another thing people don’t understand is that griffith never cared only about the power and the fact of becoming the king. people never strive to go on top just to go on top, all our actions are motivated by deeply personal reasons. so i think he really wanted people to follow him, believe in him, attach with his yearning. it always feels good when you see that people like you, need you, rely on you. that is what makes a leader a leader. of course you can say that it’s a selfish and vain wish, but aren’t all people selfish? you always set guts against griffith — so weren’t guts’ wishes and life stance selfish? i think it ridiculous to judge such things.

and now we get to the core — the need for love. love of thousands is pleasant, but in the end humans need something more than that. it’s lonely at the top, as they say. you still need someone to be close to, to trust and rely on. for griffith that “someone” was guts. “ wELL aCtUaLlY hE wAs NeVEr iN lOvE wiTH gUtS 🤓” oh STFU. you didn’t get the homosexual drama, but i did 🤭

and now i’m not going to speculate on was it healthy love or sElFiSh or tOxiC or pOsSeSiVe, i don’t care, you need to get that love can be twisted, sick, destructive, wrong, but it still LOVE. i agree that griffith did use guts for his own affairs, pulled in palace intrigues and etc, but it doesn’t change the fact that he had feelings for him that were able to confuse and mess him up.

“amongst the thousands of comrades... and the tens of thousands of enemies... there was only one man... you were the only one... who ever made me forget my dream” like WHY DO YOU THINK THIS NEEDED TO BE SAID??

their relationships deserve a separate paragraph actually so i won’t drive too deep. all we need to understand is that guts became too important to griffith and it was literally the end to everything he worked for during all those years.

so, guts decides to leave, nothing now can stops him. griffith is messed up and disordered, he’s crushed and isn't really aware of what he's doing. and it is a very good subtext here — he feels rejected, so he goes to charlotte who’s obviously in love with him and has sex with her. it’s a reckless impulse, a moment of weakness, and it leads to the only mistake that cost EVERYTHING. and then griffith is tortured, mutilated and losing even the possibility to talk.

retreat: i find quite interesting how easily he lost that fighting with guts. you can say “well it’s just because guts is stronger blah blah blah etc 🙄🙄🙄”, but i think it was probably about griffith’s subliminal unwillingness to hold someone who’s already decided to give up on him. however…

what is going on in griffith’s head during all these horrible events? guts. guts guts guts. logic chain is simple: he got here because of guts, he lost everything because of guts, guts is the reason for everything he has to pass through now. i’m not blaming guts, but it’s just how griffith was thinking there — which is not surprising, like imagine yourself going through this kind of torture while remembering whom have you been and what you were striving for. all can imagine, but not all can understand.

“and yet… here, in this empty, hollow world… one thing is clear in my mind. him alone… like lightning splitting through the darkness… he appears in my mind so vividly. over and over again like the waves of a tsunami… hatred… friendship… jealousy… frustration… helplessness… affection… sorrow… they all come together into a giant vortex… they pin my fading consciousness down so that it doesn’t slip away. the one who caused this… my confinement in this darkness… will now… become the only chance at survival. when did it happen? this man, whose life was once in my hands… when did i fall into his powerful clutches? and now… in my mind i see him radiating so brightly it pierces in my eyes. guts!” IN BLACK AND WHITE

and this was the moment when love started to turn into hatred; when the pain of abandonment is so strong that it destroys the rest of the feelings. no one made griffith go to charlotte and do what he did, and yet he was so messed up with guts’ leaving that he went and did it. and now he isn’t even able to talk, to walk and to hold anything with his hands. no more fighting, no more winning. no more way to fulfill his dream. all because of guts. and still, affection is living. that moment when guts & co came to save griffith and guts holding him, griffith stretches his arm to touch… or to choke him? guess we’ll never now. however, some kind of hope flared up in him again. guts came back, and probably it will get better…

but oh, it won’t. only worse.

moving on scene when griffith lays in carriage and hears guts and casca conversation on the outside. it’s a VERY important moment that many people overlook, but it is exactly what led to the eclipse events as they are. so, guts is going to leave again and offers casca to join him, casca refuses because she needs to take care of griffith, and when she said that guts decides to stay. with HER. for HER. not for griffith. the story repeats itself, and griffith is still not that significant for him.

and look what happens here. griffith’s people saw his injuries and knew that he can’t lead them any longer. one part of them is going to follow casca now, the other one — guts. they all gave up on him. so did guts. the last one, whose affection griffith desired the most. what is for casca… it is a pretty complicated moment, but a part of the problem here is feel of betrayal. you can think as you wish but i’m considering casca as more like a sister, a fellow, a loyal companion and an assistant to griffith, than a love interest. like yeah, he had a dream where he lives with her taking care of him in small nice house, but… i think it is a question of a habit. we saw two women in griffith’s life: casca and charlotte. charlotte could be a key to power, but i don’t think that griffith wanted to even remember her after the torture. casca, on the other hand, was the one who was near him for quite a long time. she cared for him, supported him. so if griffith needed to give up and live normal life like simple men do, he would choose casca as a partner just because there is now other woman. but at this moment casca took guts away from him. another betrayal. and of course, it starts the jealous.

after overhearing guts and casca’s conversation griffith gathering his strength and drives horses to… somewhere. i don’t think he was fully aware of what he was doing, most likely it was just an another reckless impulse, but he gets into a river and decides to 💀 himself. it was a peak of his despair, but accidentally the red behelit returns to him — and the eclipse starts.

no need to retell, just want to make clear two things: 1) why did griffith betrayed his friends for batman costume 👻👻👻 2) and why he raped casca

moment №1.

besides obviously outlined in the series “he built his way on corpses and he must go on with no regret blah blah blah ☝☝☝” there is a much more important element of disappointment. like yeah, griffith is definitely disappointed about people and affections by this point. he’s not a leader for his people anymore; if they still feel something for him, it’s more like a pity for the cripple. and of course — guts. affection that cost everything, the reason why he appeared in such a position.

so now he has a choice: to sacrifice something that only ruins and ruins and finally get what he dreamt of the entire life, or to choose things that once already destroyed him and live the rest of the life as a cripple even unable to speak. noble are those who chose the second option, but i absolutely and with no doubts understand griffith’s choice here.

so yeah, now griffith chooses the power over everything indeed. he chooses himself and only. good for him <3

moment №2.

the rape. and the reason why that sacrifice was so bloody and brutal. yeah, all the people who appeared there with griffith went through hell right before their death. i don’t think all these sufferings and such nightmares were needed, like just blood & flesh & bone would be enough to give a body to femto, and still it was as it was. why?

it was said that femto will be born on the ruins of griffith’s dream. THE RUINS. so i think there was ruins of his personality either. during the last year griffith survived dreadful torments, the physical pain he suffered is unimaginable, and the trauma that leaves after such horrible events is immense. and it’s not a rare thing when people who survived violence now want to bring that pain to others — to make others suffer like they have suffered. femto is a product of griffith’s worst angles of personality, of darkest things that lived in him. so yes, everyone had to anguish and die the most dire way possible.

same thing is with casca. griffith NEVER wanted to rape her, like WHY WOULD HE EVEN DO, but he was angry and jealous because guts chose her over him. femto soaked it and just did the worst thing possible to avenge. and THE CORE: femto did it in front of the guts, so HE could watch. it was never about casca. only about guts.

idk what to write in conclusion. griffguts completely devastated me. love is an evil thing. never do such 💋

[spacelessbian]

thoughts on Agatha All Along FINALE

Full spoilers ahead, 100% don't read if you haven't seen episodes 8 and 9.

I really enjoyed the finale, both episodes had a lot to offer and overall I am quite happy with how the show concluded. Things that I liked in no particular order:

The REVEALS. There is simply nothing better than a reveal that recontextualizes everything. And we didn't get just one, but two! Personally I found Agatha running a con and murdering women for centuries the more fun one, but Billy actually creating the Road was also really good and even though I've only seen the show once (unlike many people on here, no doubt), I can name many points in the story and in the dialogue where this is worked in and suddenly makes sense. Really great stuff.

Agatha and Nicky. I was dreading this part a little bit because I know Nicholas Scratch is some sort of big name in Marvel comics and I truly couldn't care less, so I'm pleased with what we got – a genuinely sweet yet tragic story of a mom and her son, destined to death even before being born. I was surprised (but in a good way) by Agatha's quiet reaction to Nicky's death because we know his death hurt her badly, but that's just how it is sometimes.

Agatha and Rio. I won't say I'd always had fate in Marvel to not mess this up, so yay! I don't think they did. This relationship is the heart of the show (and it is black and beats for the queers) and I think the writers did it justice (apart from one thing which I will get to in the next section). The kiss was intense, sexy, beautiful and also tragic and both Kathryn Hahn and Aubrey Plaza did a fantastic job with every piece of dialogue and every expression. I want them to play doomed lovers in five more projects, at least.

The coven. I already blogged about Jen but man, is it funny. Even this was Agatha all along, but she is such a menace she hasn't even realized that. I'm truly happy for Jen making it through and getting her power back. I'm glad we saw Alice's last moment and I liked how much Billy cared about her, Lilia and Sharon.

Agatha's death. I can't help myself, I need to go to that moment again. I was destroyed by that. It was so beautiful, both thematically and also visually and all. The flowers and mushrooms? The sun coming up? I kept thinking about Hozier's Work Song: When my time comes around, lay me gently in the cold dark earth. No grave can hold my body down. I'll crawl home to her. (whadup, Rio reference)

Agatha and Billy specifically in that last battle scene. She was blue you guys, she was just completely blue and in the exact same blue that Billy wears in his silly Marvel costume. And Billy just offered her his power, without questions and without wanting anything in return! And she didn't kill him! (Writing that down, the bar is on the floor for Agatha lol.)

There are other small things (like the Subaru lol), but I am ready to go to the bad section now. Two things I did not like (hidden for lenght but also because not everyone wants to read negative stuff):

Agatha's ghost. I'm gonna say it. Agatha as a ghost looks fucking terrible and her existence itself diminishes her death scene. I do understand why they did it and even why she looks like that (Agatha in the comics, as I understand it, is Wanda's mentor and also an older white haired lady, so they wanted to keep that but it didn't make sense with Wanda anymore), but I just hate it. Especially the wig.

The Marvel stuff. Yes, I realize this sounds stupid, it is a Marvel show after all. We wouldn't get a stupid gimmick like ghost Agatha joining Billy to look for his brother if this wasn't a starting point for the Wiccan. And I like Billy, I do, I also (obviously) love Agatha, who was first introduced in WandaVision (I realize the hypocrisy), but it just doesn't work for me. I would rather think about the beautiful death scene with it's poetic tragedy than about white haired Agatha floating on a washing machine, I'm sorry.

That being said, I really really liked the whole show and I am happy to say I hooked in my best friend (if you are reading this, you are contractually obliged to like the post, you know how it is) and that I actually know other people irl who watched it and enjoyed it. I'm sad it's over and even sadder that in this day and age, noone will talk about it in about two to three weeks. Anyway, it was lovely.

[niiine]

𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄

(Part 2)

Character(s) involved: Nakahara Chuuya, Reader, and mentions of Kouyo

Summary: Tired of all the messes of the Mafia, you tried and succeeded in leaving the organization. Yet there’s only longing and regret waiting for you every time you come home, instead of a certain red head.

Warning: Cursing, mild act of violence (reader’s not really hurt), Chuuya used corruption but not on reader.

Angst, Hurt & Comfort

Repost, because I miss BSD but I can’t find the inspiration to write something yet. Reblogs are well appreciated <3

"Get out! Out! I don't need you here. I don't need you!"

A raging Nakahara Chuuya was the first thing that greeted you the moment you stepped inside his apartment. Despite his battered body—covered in blood, wounds, and bruises—it's a fit that he still managed to lash out at you. Veins throbbed in his forehead, and fiery eyes darted in your direction.

"Chuuya, please listen to me—"

"Listen to what? Your presence alone disgusts me. I can't stand you." His voice is still. Carefully held together so as not to give away what he really feels. Venomous words attempting to conceal what's pathetically broken.

"I heard you've used corruption again. I'm here to check on you. Please, please let me look after you."

Tears threaten to fall from your (e/c) orbs, concern vivid in its vibrant color. How the fuck did it all end up like this? You tried to move across the room, a little closer to where he stands, your body aching to feel his. Thinking that you can still clean the mess you've made, hoping you can still clean the mess you've made.

All desires turned into daydreams when the redhead sent you flying back, hitting the cold floor of his apartment. Chuuya won't hurt you like this. Your Chuuya won't hurt you like this.

But the thing is, he's not yours anymore.

"(f/n) (l/n). Leave," you stiffened at his words. It's silent; he's not shouting like usual. But you can feel the hatred, pain, and sadness all at once. You hate it, but you hate it more that you're the reason behind all of this. It could have been different if you weren't a coward.

"I'm sorry I left." It was hollow, the eerie silence tells you that Chuuya doesn't even want an explanation. You've hurt him, and that's enough. But your words continue, you want him to understand. "I got tired of—of killing—of this life," you paused, lungs deprived of oxygen. Guilt and regret are evident in the way you speak.

"So you end up leaving me, too? You're the only one I have after years of nothing, (y/n). You're the only one I thought I'd never lose." Chuuya looked at you. Eyes boring holes into yours. Carving every emotion you've made him feel. He's not crying, but you can hear hearts breaking in a distance— yours and his. And God, you hate yourself for hurting him.

"You didn't lose me. I'll never leave you. Allow me—please, allow me to get things right." Your trembling voice pleaded for forgiveness, sobs echoing and yearning.

Chuuya breathed a dry laugh "You? Won't leave? You already did" Your eyes meeting the cold, loveless irises. "I don't need you here. I can take care of myself. I don't fucking need you," Quivering words filled the room as he desperately tried to drive you out. Lies. Lies. Lies. His lips spilled hypocrisy while his tender, oceanic eyes told you otherwise.

A moment of silence lingers until you speak again. He's always been the strong-willed one between the two of you, and you can't let cowardice get ahead of you again. "Sure, sure, Chuuya. I'll leave," The flinch he made didn't go unnoticed as panic crept up to Chuuya's body. Can't you see that he's lying? 

"Only if you say that you don't love me anymore." His eyes snapped at you, words unable to form in a while.

You're ready to hear him say that he really lost his feelings for you; you're ready to hear him berating you with insults and shooing you away. And you will not blame him at all because it really is your fault. 

What you weren't ready for was him falling to his knees, palms in his face as he wails, almost incoherent sounds were made as if he were a child begging for love. Something he never had a chance to be.

"You won't destroy me again. You can't do it again. I won't allow you to." He said it in between sobs, breaking your heart into tiny little pieces. Kouyo would go after your head if she ever heard of what you've done to her beloved child.

Feet padding quietly on the grounds of his place, you dare once again to close the distance, crouching down near his height since he's all sprawled on the floor.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I won't do it again. I won't let it get over me again."

He placed his head on your shoulder and continued to sob. Every hitch breaks your soul.

"I regret loving you this much. I regret falling for you so hard. And I hate that I still love you even after you left me." His words contradict his actions. He's hugging you so tight as if he'll lose every inch of his life if he ever let go. Scared that you'll vanish again once he loosens it a bit. That you'll slip away, and he'll spend sleepless nights wondering why you stopped loving him again.

"How can I be sure of that? How can I make sure that you'll stay?"

"I promise I will."

Chuuya knows that promises are nothing more than words. It meant nothing. But you're here—he's holding you in his arms again. You're touching him again.

He's home, and to him, that's the only thing that matters.

[truckreincarnation]

Head Banging | Bian Le | Trial 3.6 | ATTN: Yuliya, Harriet, Vee | RE: Shin, Esmee, Luz, Frank, Vee

As Bian is faced with criticism and scorn- it doesn't upset her. She knows she messed up, after all. She's keeping an internal list of all the people she needs to apologize to after the fact: Avery, Shin, Germain, Esmee, Harriet- but there's little she can do in the moment.

Theophania's words to Nao invoke something in her. For a moment, she's gripping her desk, seething. She's the first to admit Nao could've handled this better, but how dare she be judged for her outburst by the woman who goes around and does the same. Oh, she wants to call out the hypocrisy- but she knows she's already said too much. She can almost hear a voice in the back of her head speak: A good woman takes it with a smile, because she knows her place among men. She wants to cry, she wants to yell, but she's powerless.

For as long as Bian has lived, her words have been twisted, her confidence has been diminished, and she's been played like a marionette- the only difference was who controlled the strings. It was her mother, it was her ex, and now, it was her dignity, her heart-

Meili's killer is more important than her feelings.

But Bian will remember this.

"I know... I know I shouldn't speak when I was the one who started. I cornered Harriet because I panicked when I saw mirrors to my own life. It was cruel. It was unacceptable.

But I told Esmee this once before... I think this place is designed to make us cruel. It's meant to turn us against each other, and to harden us to the horrors of war.

We can sort everything out after this trial. In private. I have many apologies to give... and my anger... my anger is pointed at this entire place. I've- I've never felt such strong anger. I'm scared. I'm scared we're going to let the killer get away. I'm scared we're going to fall into the same trap we did before... I... 

Please. Let's look everything over, one last time, before we start to point fingers again. I'm so scared."

How true is it? She isn't sure- she's never felt such vitriol. It's a terrifying thing. It'll take time for her to realize what that feeling is.

She hates how her voice cracks at the end. It reminds her of the woman she used to be.

"Unless I'm mistaken, we're down to two suspects: Vee and Harriet. Neither of them have a clear alibi, and it's impossible to vouch for either of them. The only information we have that could help is that two budgies were missing, proving Vee wrote a letter- but that alone isn't enough. With... with what we've discussed so far... this leaves two possible outcomes.

First, if the killer is Vee, then Harriet was in the fountain room when Vee attacked. There was a scramble between Vee, Frank, and Meili, and Frank and Meili were pushed down the stairs at some point. Vee would've had to grab the lance before the fight and managed to return it before.

Second, if the killer is Harriet, then Harriet was... lying about what she said. She attacked Frank, and Meili walked in at an unfortunate time. The struggle started upstairs, made its way downstairs, and eventually ended on the bottom floor."

Bian suddenly looks to the hosts, nodding.

"Is it okay if I search them both for injuries? Just... just so we can rule that out before I continue."

Once she is given the okay, Bian will leave her seat and move to both Vee and Harriet, giving a thorough yet careful search of each. It takes a few moments, but once she's satisfied, she slowly returns to her seat.

"Neither of them have any visible injuries. Vee looks a little pale, but we already know that's from Dark Revival."

With that done, Bian opens up her journal again, and she begins to frantically start writing.

"What we know of the case... the killer had to be the one to smash the wooden bench. Frank didn't do it, and Meili didn't have a weapon. If the guitar wasn't used, then something else was smashed into the...

Into the..."

Bian trails off as her face goes pale. 

"Frank was smashed into the wooden bench. His head, specifically. 

Frank has a concussion, which a fall could trigger, but it's clearly a serious concussion... this level of pain and memory loss after the fact isn't common. However, Frank has wood chips in his hair from the bench. Remember? The bench was specifically left in shattered chunks. Furthermore, a smash that hard would easily cause a serious concussion.

That explains the missing factor- what could've caused all that damage. Frank's head was smashed into the bench."

She's frantically writing, taking notes in her journal and labeling the parts of her sketch. This changed everything for her.

"We- we also have to consider what Shin said. Motive.

Vee and Harriet both had their memories shared already. It would be odd to kill for the motive, now, so they would've needed a secondary motivation. If we assume Frank was attacked, and Meili was just unfortunate to be in the wrong place at the wrong time- we need motivation specifically to attack Frank.

It's... it's hard to assume what that motivation could be. I already made a horrible mistake trying to do that.

We know that Frank and Harriet had some argument that night. Unless I'm mistaken, Vee and Frank never saw crossed paths tonight.

I don't know of any gripes or issues before tonight- if anyone does, please share."

Bian looks at Harriet. She- she has to bite her lip. God, she wants to say something, but she knows she'll be attacked the second she does. She can only keep explaining her thoughts, the words leaving her mouth in rapid succession.

"As for other things to consider:

Both know Hide in Plain Sight, which we can assume was used since Luz stated she felt something hidden when everyone walked into the room. This doesn't eliminate either of them as a possibility- however, Luz said only ONE thing was hidden. This means that either Harriet killed and hid, or Vee killed and ran off while Harriet hid.

The... the only thing that we can't figure out with certainty is the la-"

Bian cuts herself off, turning to look at Yuliya.

"Yuliya? What weapon was Harriet sparring with? This is likely a dead end... but I think it's worth checking, anyways. Or, did Harriet break any weapons during your spar?"

No stone left unturned.

"I think... I think that covers my thoughts... what I've put together so far..."

[asshymar]

Figment

Figment, Figment of my Imagination

I ring, and sing, tinge or hue of the dead

I spin my red head in my cozy bed

I said I said I'll get to it

Again, again,

The room spins, rinse the taste

Apply the toothpaste

And don't waste, yr space

Tidy up, hup ho

The show commences

The suspense is immense

But seriously, i rarely, barely, and scarcely

Embarrassedly, stand in

I miss the stars

My tiny heart scars

Northern light would free me

From this blight, tight my chest

I cannot rest, the best

Behest test of the holy crest

I spend my rending, unendingly

Candle flames as fan cuts air waves

Loaded video game saves

Unreal lights cast, color raves on

Flower, sun, & Rain,

Kill the past, Kill yr pain

Okay say what you mean pal

My mouth melded shut, knock’d flat

On my butt, cut the tape

Vape, crepe in Amsterdam, damn

The dutch interior is awfully inferior.

And no fever beaver, believer deceiver,

Receiver of this message, blessed is

The words like tiny buddhas

Who'da thunk it? Chunky

Monkey, it’s all a bit funky.

Hieroglyphics pictorial intelligence,

Expects correct verbal connects

From obscure texts with next to

No context, what’s next…

Ancient enchanted hex

My pictures are richer than

Cheesecake, never faked

Not once half baked, hey

Take a break-

Tonight for dinner, a nice juicy steak.

Large gaping eyes to summon

Among the few, monster spew

Gopher guts, crazy old nuts Hil

Who sputter and clutter, my rutter

Cuts thru grime, slime, and crime

Signant, newly acquired pigment

Ligament described in sublime

Form, hm… visual rhyme

To encase, the fragility of time

Since the beginning, there’s no winning

Grinning, i’m simmering, glimmering,

But shortly my heart halts

Bitter like hops and malts

Alternative, are representative

Attentive lectures performatively sure.

Dreaming of a golden shore

A take five breaks in my teeth

Crunchy, munchy, a bunch of candy

How dandy. You can barely stand me

I know, don't put on some show.

But what do you ever know,

To blow, slow, or escrow and hit

Below the belt, and spit on

Those you’ve writ judgments

Ill hold this grudge, ever since

Rain spills violently

Hell bentley spent quickly

Much too much gasoline,

Speckled frame gleans, with

A hue of red, and deadly sheen

Ween the spleen routine fixtures

Now picture this, split wrist

Writ trists of bliss hiss hiss

Snakes tongue rung the bell

“How could you tell?”

Technology could do little to dispel

The mythology, what hypocrisy

The hunger burns, churns in forums

Takes unholy forms, worms, squirms

Evil incarnate, gosh darn it

Necropolis apocalypse, in process of

The bosses, their losses, coin

Tosses- Heads, lead to new bets

New upsets, no rest.

Clutched deeply in my chest

What hope lies at the bitter

End of this burnt rope, it ties

Severed, leveled, in spite

Of petty things, like who is right?

Out of all the things people write

The wind pushes the technicolor

Kite, it might waver, but

Oh my, what a sight the

Ability of flight, its tight

Alright, it’s quite the fight

Unholy light, roly poly

Hides it face, solely,

Unformed, thru the earth

Wormed, and warmed,

You stole me, unalarmed

Storms formed, torn un born

Scorn of the earth-

Unasked for birth, what’s the worth

The ember that lies in the hearth

Eternally lit mirth

Scandals of vandals who mark

Walls not their own, lets light

One candle, to handle,

No dice, I’m wearing sandals

Words in terms, bitter salt sprinkled on fire burns

Take turns, my heart yearns, to at once, wrinkle

In spite my will continues to fight, holy light roly

Poly, I want to explain, my mind refrains, from

Doing so, yo-yo, train of thought goes, death throes

Patching together, sew phrasing, raising awareness

Life is a huge mess, my mind, how kind you thought

Of me, but can you really see the reality, oh moon beams

Seize, I believe, I receive the book, this outlook

Could cook, thoughts tender, come a while we’ll take

A bender, explore the splendor, you big spender

Render unto me, wind whistling thru the trees

And dirt speckling my freckled knee, heckled by bees

Free to wander, deepened the bond with her, spurs

Exotic furs, yours and mine, a better time, redder

I bet to confer, insure, alas it’s a cold and lonely life

Lass, don't sass, exacerbate, please elaborate, exonerate

“I need you to check the shipment of that crate” Great.

[josiebelladonna]

(re: i might have to revise the date of posting as the seasons grey, simply because i could lose the internet again - we're supposed to get even more snow come wednesday, delightful, i say - we've been getting snow as early as veteran's day, so you can imagine how i feel about it at this point. also, i wrote this about a week ago, so if anything sounds a bit weird or doesn't make any sense, it should explain why)

another reason why i think i might change the date is that i have this sneaking suspicion that the green druidess and temple are going to do something crazy when i post on that day, just knowing how they are. i feel like they're going to dogpile me like what happened with dead man walking and the apple shed because they’re not only paranoid, but they apparently think everyone following them is that gullible—knowing the sheer amount of people who use google docs to write their fics while simultaneously gripe about big corporations like google surveilling us all, i understand the logic there in a twisted way. doesn’t make it right, though.

how did i start suspecting this, you ask? very simple: whenever i say anything, either one or the both of them would update one of their fics, as if to one-up me and prove me wrong, which tells me they stalk my blog (why else would they be doing this?) case in point, as of writing (2/22), the green druidess’ account is essentially dead, there hasn’t been an update to anything since late january and her birthday (when i asked where she was, i was legitimately asking as well as testing the waters there). i noticed temple went quiet, too, about a week after she did. i did fuckuary and then i didn’t update anything simply because i needed to rest for a bit: i’ve been writing vigorously since late 2017, i deserve a break and do nothing but make art once in a while (so, if either of them say anything about me going quiet as if to imitate them… no. it’s just another lie on their part amongst an entire batch of lies). plus, some things came up in my personal life that needed tending to, and i didn't have internet the last four days: so, figure i'm going to be silent for a time. it actually wasn’t until i reblogged that poll about writing methods when i started thinking about the sheer amount of hypocrisy on here. this led me to thinking back to the aforementioned “clap back when i clap back” habit that temple and the green druidess do with me and i started putting two and two together. i wondered if they have something planned for that day, too. maybe they’re going to whup up on me and continue with the kvetching like what they did twice before. fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me; fool me thrice, i have a decision to make. naturally, i have to think ahead—winter weather at the peak of a mountain will put you in a “think ahead” state of mind for the foreseeable future.

to be transparent is a beautiful thing, but a little opaqueness will take you so far. it’s okay to be a little mysterious, especially now with ai watching our every move. i will not be surprised at all if my suspicions are absolutely correct; and i won't be surprised if they don't act.

yeah, i have this habit of jumping the gun, i’ll admit it. but it’s only because i just really love doing this and it’s exciting to post stuff on ao3. when temple republished "can’t lose you" on the green druidess’ birthday, it was odd to me at first, but when i thought about it, it sounded an alarm bell to me. it came immediately after those three posts. totally took advantage of a habit of mine: i gave kudos to sort of throw a cog in the machine (that's a really good way to mess with someone, too, doing anything that agrees to disagree with them), but i knew i needed something else next to it. a bigger cog. a wooden shoe. my own air conditioner and radar detector (if you’ve read now it’s dark, you get the reference). something to completely humiliate them both, make them feel the same way they made me feel in late summer 2020 but walk away from it in grace.

get revenge on the bully but do it in literally the most innocuous way possible and walk out the other side by living on and proving myself, as eddie vedder would say.

and like i said earlier, the loss of the internet for a time has been a mixed blessing with me. there just has to be a way to get inside their heads somehow and put an end to this ridiculous feud that i literally didn’t even want in the first place. i have to put an end to something that has gone on for far too long for everyone's own good: really, the only person to put an end to it is me. i can move on and walk my walk all i want, but this shit needs to stop, and it has to stop by way of my thinking ahead and making them fall flat on their snotty, spoiled, entitled fucking faces.

i hope all of you reading this can understand where i’m coming from with this and you can understand my logic behind it because it’s not like the smartest and most emotionally intelligent of people are following them (or are on here for that matter: look no further than the utter prevalence of those cancerous, brain-dead posts about mutuals, or the rise in ai art, either. we can add "reading emotions" to "critical thinking" on the list of things that tumblr absolutely sucks at). it's imperative to stick to your principles, absolutely, but sometimes principles take a backseat when it comes to standing up for yourself, especially when your opponents are two of the most emotionally dim, insecure-in-their-sexuality writers here at the granular level.

i read the first six chapters of like loving the dead and aside from that one chapter that pretty much trashed joey, i literally don’t remember anything other than a line at the end of chapter six kind of letting us know that lizzy is cruel and manipulative (art does imitate life once in a while after all). i read them twice and i only remember a couple of things that happened: same story with louder than love, even with as much as i liked it; i barely remember anything past the first six or seven chapters.

these are the women who are trying to destroy me, writing fics that i can't remember unless i make fun of them. and by the way, i really wish this hadn't been made into an issue of internalized misogyny because... it's not.

at least, not on my end, it isn't.

[themovieblogonline]

Why Does Luv Ranjan Keep Making Misogynistic Movies Like Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar?!

I’ll never understand the appeal that Bollywood filmmaker Luv Ranjan has. As a writer-director, all his movies feature some form of misogynistic representation of women. Almost every movie. And now, in the first month of 2023, there’s a trailer for a new movie of his, which seemingly has the same issues. I usually don’t cover Bollywood trailers, but there’s a lot to say about this one. The Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar trailer (You’re A Liar, I’m Deceitful) tells a new story about the dynamic in a man-woman relationship, and it’s honestly, a little messed up. But not surprising at all though, given that it’s a Luv Ranjan movie. Read on to find out the main issue with the Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar trailer, and why it continues a disturbing trend from the filmmaker. Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar Trailer Seems Fun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx_Dtwn4ayw Starring one of Bollywood's biggest stars, Ranbir Kapoor, along with the talented Shraddha Kapoor, (no relation) the Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar trailer is everything a typical rom-com should be. The trailer sees the lead couple, each with impeccable style, oozing charm and fit bodies, hook up in a seemingly whirlwind romance. But when things get serious, there’s trouble. The trailer opens with Ranbir’s character talking about how easy it is to get into relationships these days, but hard to get out of them. So he details a convoluted plan about how the best way to get out of a relationship, is to make the girl feel like it’s her idea. Basically by planting seeds of suspicion and manipulating her in other ways. But then, he seemingly falls in love. The Hypocrisy And Double Standard In Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar Trailer As the trailer progresses with cool songs and an upbeat vibe, the second-half twist comes when things get serious. As Ranbir’s character falls in love, for reals, the couple starts marriage talks. This time, it’s Shraddha’s character who has doubts about the relationship. Her voiceover repeats exactly the same thing Ranbir said in the beginning. But her approach to breaking up is to make it seem like it’s the guy’s fault, while she maintains her innocence and remains on good terms with his family. So they both basically hook up for something casual and are both manipulating each other to get what they want. Which is fine. There is nothing wrong with characters who are grey and don’t have the typical hero/heroine attributes. The problems start when double standards rear their head. Apparently, Ranbir’s character has an issue with Shraddha’s character's approach to breaking up. The same tactic he boasted about earlier in the trailer, by the way. So he decides to ‘make her pay’ or something to that effect. So it’s fine when he’s bragging about being manipulative to end a relationship he doesn’t want. But if a woman treats him the same way, she must fear the wrath of man! Really? Luv Ranjan Has Done This Before https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy0m-4meolQ The most upsetting part about the Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar trailer isn’t this particular movie or this story. It’s very easy to write off one movie that looks bad and move on with our lives. The issue here is that the writer-director Luv Ranjan has a disturbing trend of this kind of content in almost all his movies. The women characters in his movies are all depicted as shrewd, conniving and somehow threatening the masculinity of his male characters. Resulting in the men standing up for themselves and fighting back against the evil woman in their lives. Like, what?! His debut movie as a director, Pyar Ka Punchnama, as well as its sequel, both featured Karthik Aryan in a leading role. In many ways, Aryan was put on the map by Ranjan and his movies. But while the movies themselves were once again a male versus female perspective about relationships, love and life, it very much leaned one way. Aryan’s character famously has this long one-take monologue in both movies, where he basically craps on women. While the monologue itself is admirable, the content is extremely problematic. Ranjan then doubles down on his whole ‘women are evil’ viewpoint in this next directorial, Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety. The story is about how a man feels threatened when his best friend gets engaged to a confident and outspoken woman. The woman begins to influence the friend, her fiancee, to eat better, take care of himself, etc, the usual things in a relationship. But this level of control is apparently manipulative and evil, so the man takes it upon himself to free his friend from her clutches. I ask again: what?! Why Are We Still Getting Movies Like This In 2023? It’s baffling how these movies, which clearly seem to demonize women characters, are still being made in 2023. You would think that studios, producers and other creatives would be more aware of the optics of crafting a story where a man has to get payback from a woman. And then doing it repeatedly. It’s a troubling and disturbing thing that makes Bollywood movies so questionable, especially when, as a fan, you know they can do better. The more irresponsible thing about Ranjan’s films is that he packages these kinds of damaging ideas in very mainstream, lovable, bubbly aesthetics with great music and likeable stars. On the surface, the Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar trailer looks like a lot of fun. But if the trailer is an accurate representation of the story of the movie, then it’s hella problematic. And I don’t think Ranbir’s tanned abs are going to be able to make me ignore those issues. Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar releases in select theatres on March 8, 2023. What did you think about this trailer? Do you have the same issues as me? Or do you think I’m making a big deal out of nothing? Let me know in the comments below. Read the full article

[antiodote]

she can’t finish and they fight.

warnings: smut (18+), angst

•••

stress was coursing through her veins at every waking moment.

she had been feeling like this for the past two months. scoring a promotion at work meant a lot of things. it meant she got paid more, sure, but it also meant that she had more responsibility than ever before.

ever since her days at school, she craved validation; she needed somebody to tell her that she was doing good, that her efforts were not going unnoticed, that she did the right thing, and that she was good. she never quite figured out where that need came from, but she had an inkling that it must have something to do with the way her mother had raised her.

she, also, never quite figured out how to deal with it healthily, which is why all of her friends knew her as the archetype of a workaholic. she was working all the time and rarely had any time for herself, but she loved her work, so it didn’t seem like a big deal to her.

it was a big deal to harry, though.

harry, who was also a self-proclaimed workaholic, saw how much it was tearing at her and could practically smell the burnout from miles and miles away. it didn’t help that her boss didn't believe in words of affirmation and just piled on more work for her to do every chance she got. harry knew that it was eating away at her, he knew that her way of coping, which was not at all, would eventually come back to bite her in the ass. in any other situation he probably would have done something. he keeps telling her to take a break and to rest a bit; the hypocrisy of it doesn’t go unnoticed by either of them, though. truthfully, harry was also as busy as ever. with the release of his new album, movie promotions and public appearances, he rarely has time to rest himself.

before their lives got all too complicated, they had plenty of time to spend together, even with their already busy schedule. they’d go on hikes and cook and watch movies; they were a proper couple. happy and unbothered. shielded from any and all obstacles. maybe they both knew, deep down, that their honeymoon phase was coming to an end. to them, however, that seemed like it was light-years away.

and yet, here they were.

it was the umpteenth time that she had returned from work at an ungodly hour, even later than harry. he usually left to go to the studio after making breakfast for the both of them, and usually, neither of them would end up eating most of it. harry used to playfully bug her about her eating habits. he tried reminding her of the importance of three meals a day, every day. she brushed it off then and it was fine; now, however, it worries and agitates harry to no end. this morning she had left without so much as looking at it, once again. she bid her rushed goodbye and chose to forego a peck on the lips. she had forgotten so much lately that harry began to wonder if it had been on purpose, but since he isn’t the kind to ask for affection he guesses he will never know.

they meet for what feels like the first time that day in their shared bedroom. she comes in with her bag in tow and exhaustion written all over her features and it pained harry to see her like that. however, he too was feeling more than exhausted. it became harder and harder to feel sorry for her if he was being honest with himself. not when he felt like it was preventable.

“hi.”

“hello.”

silence.

“I’m sorry for coming home late again. I know it’s been happening too much. I don’t mean to…” she tried explaining herself as she did so often. harry understood and he wasn’t mad, but the defeat in his demeanour was palpable.

“it’s alright, came home late myself. how was work?“

“same old. how was the studio?”

“fine.” a lie.

harry had been having trouble writing as of late. everything he did write was either too sad to release or just not good at all. apparently, the way their relationship was falling apart seemed to directly affect his creative writing process. it was a mess, truly. he didn’t have the heart to tell her that though. he didn’t want to make her feel more guilty than she probably already did.

“okay, good.”

harry returned to reading his book, albeit halfheartedly, while she was busy looking at him - really looking at him - for the first time in ages. she is shocked to find him looking so… defeated? she wants to beat herself up for not noticing the prominence of his under-eye bags, the dullness of his skin, and even the way his hair looks unkempt and tousled. does she also look this restless? she realises, then and there, that they haven’t made proper conversation for the better part of 6 weeks, and she can’t help but feel like it’s her fault. she knows they have both been very busy, but had she made an effort to do something to at least save her relationship? she doesn’t think so.

“so, uh, we haven’t talked in a while, huh?” she sets her bag by the door and moves to her side of the bed, her side facing him while she removes her jewellery. harry sets his book down as well, hoping they would finally be able to break the cycle. the moonlight shines brightly into their bedroom window, illuminating the side of her face. if the situation was different, he might tell her how beautiful she looks, despite her visible fatigue. he doesn’t know what’s stopping him if he’s honest. what he doesn’t know is that when she faces him and sees how the warm light from the lamp on his bedside table illuminates his features, her breath oh so subtly hitches, too. she thought he was beautiful, always. like the sun, always illuminating. unfortunately, his light seemed dull lately.

fire and ice; the sun and the moon facing one another. that’s what they represent. so close, yet so far away. they used to dance in unison, but they seemed to have forgotten how to dance. why? what happened to them? it felt like they both knew, and yet? they didn’t know what to do.

except she thought she did.

she moved closer to him, fully sitting on the bed now. her blouse pulled out of her trousers, her hair down and her glasses thrown aside somewhere. facing him, she took the book out of his grasp and bent over his stretched-out legs to put it back on his nightstand. she made sure to let her chest graze over his crotch. she wanted to dance again, in a different way. a way they used to have perfected. the last time they danced was way too long ago, though, but she hopes they still remember the steps.

he held his breath, not quite knowing what to do just yet. where was this going? he wasn’t entirely sure and he didn’t want to risk fucking it up. this was the first time she had been close to him in what feels like forever and he missed her touch so much that it hurt. she moved back into a seated position, facing him.

“tell me something. anything. I miss your voice.”

he looks at her, puzzled. what could he tell her? he wrecked his brain for something, anything to tell her. something that wasn’t too boring or too sad. he found himself feeling insecure, for whatever reason. so, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he decides to listen to his heart and let his mind stop working for a bit. this was his love, he would be fine. he knew how to talk to her, he was fine. he was fine.

he opens his eyes again and speaks.

“well, mitch and sarah might want to try for another baby. they’ve been loving parenthood, it seems. I think it really suits them, too. and, uh, jeff and I have been talking about tour dates, which is always a hassle, as you know. oh! I might have to go to italy to reshoot some scenes for the movie. um, yeah.” his monologue was cut short by the sheer fact that he doesn’t know what else to talk about. the oxygen in the room seems to lessen by the second and his throat feels tight. why was he like this? could he not just act normal right now? why did he feel the need to talk to her about how he felt like they were falling apart? and how that was scaring the hell out of him? losing her seemed like such an unrealistic concept not too long ago, whereas now it feels like it’s just around the corner. he feels constricted and he hated every second of it.

“that’s nice, hm? mitch and sarah having another baby? god, I hope it works out for them. it would give you more godfather duties.” she tries to lighten the mood and it works, if only for a second. harry wants to ask her about her day, as well. however, listening to her work struggles right now would be sure to set him off, so he decides against it. and thus, silence falls heavy upon them, once more.

“what happened to us, love?”

he spoke up, his voice sounding uncharacteristically little. he voiced his fear.

here we go.

“I used to be able to talk to you for, what, hours? without any problems. but now it just feels so…different. why?”

he faces her and finds an apologetic look on her face, probably mirroring his own. they felt defeated. lost. what did happen to them?

she sighed heavily, not even trying to deny anything. “I…I don’t know, harry. I don’t know.” a beat of silence lingered again. “I miss us. I miss you, all the time. I don’t like what happened to us, it’s like we drifted apart, don’t you think?” he says. his heart feels like it could burst out of his chest at any given moment with how nervous and stressed he felt.

“do you still love me?” he asks, knowing just how pathetic he must sound. she replies instantly. “of course I do, harry. always. do you still love me?”

“yes, I do. so much.”

her fear turned into desperation. she had to do something, and she had to do it now. she moves closer to him, their faces now mere inches apart. she laces her hand into his own, slowly and carefully, afraid to do something wrong. she looks at him once more and tries not to wince at how dull his eyes looked. if she dwelled any longer on how it might have something to do with her, she might collapse. so, urgently, she moves their joined hands onto his lap.

“good. let me show you how much I love you then. please, can I?”

their hands apply pressure on their resting spot just over his crotch, clearly sending a message. he closes his eyes and relishes the feeling. he felt like they should talk first, to work through any of the problems they might be experiencing. he couldn’t bring himself to do it, though. because right now, the only thought in his mind was how he needed to feel close to her, immediately. he felt selfish, but couldn’t bring himself to care. so he nods. “please.” and in an instant, she moves closer.

their lips attach. relief floods him.

there she was. his moonlight.

heat surrounds them, quicker than they’d care to admit, and everything felt good, for once. the world stopped, and it was just the two of them. nothing else mattered. he was feeling her again, and it was good.

she moves to sit on his lap with her thighs surrounding his own. her hands migrate to his scalp to tangle them through his hair, the way she knew he liked. he moved his own hands to her blouse, desperate to take it off, desperate to feel her. he undoes the buttons and slides it off her shoulders, removing her hands from his head in the process. their mouths move in unison, their movements are rushed and desperate. they needed this. they needed to feel connected like only they knew how. in a rush to feel her skin, he peels off her sports bra, leaving her in nothing but her dress pants. his hands find her chest and in an instant, he starts playing her like an instrument, gaining a plethora of sweet whines from her. she grinds down on him, feeling the growth in his trousers. everything is hot, rushed and filled with need; their arousal growing by the second. she detaches her mouth from his to take a breath, a string of saliva connecting them, still.

“fuck, harry. please, please. I need… I need, god-“

he didn’t wait for her to finish before attaching his mouth to her nipple, sucking harshly. a high-pitched whine leaves her and she grinds down harder, making him groan. he uses his other hand to play with her other breast, and when he moves his head to lick a bold stripe in between the valley of her chest, squeezing her tits in his way, he wonders if this is heaven. this, or the treasure between her thighs. as soon as the thought enters his brain, he detaches himself from her chest in an attempt to move them into a laying position.

“need to taste you, angel. please, let me-“

“no, harry, please. need to feel you. need to feel you inside, please. need to feel full.”

they make eye contact and he contemplates her words. “you can taste me whenever else you want, honey. just need to feel you in me now, okay?” she says, with her hands in his hair once more. he closes his eyes and basks in the comfort she radiates. she was truly remarkable. and truthfully, he couldn’t possibly think of a better sensation than to be berried deep within her walls.

“yeah, okay angel. let me make you feel good, hmm?”

“yes, god yes. thank you, thank you, thank you.”

she lifts herself from her position on his lap and steps off the bed. they simultaneously remove any remaining articles of clothing, leaving nothing but naked skin in sight. she kneels onto the bed once more, resuming her previous position. harry's hands roam all over her body, squeezing her behind and finally resting on her love handles.

“you’re unbelievable. so fucking stunning, god. kiss me, please.”

she grants his wish momentarily, letting his tongue roam freely. they were in ecstasy, purely and utterly consumed with one another. she blindly reaches for his length underneath her, gripping him at the base and gifting him a few languid strokes. her thumb finds his tip and she starts spreading any and all precum around, preparing him. he moans, no, whines into her mouth, his eyes screwed shut in utmost pleasure.

“fuck, fuck, fuck. please, baby, I can’t take it. let me feel you, now.”

she smiled, kissing his nose. she loved his eagerness and how he wasn’t afraid to show it.

“I’ll give you what you need, don’t worry, baby.”

and so, she moves to sit down and truly, she couldn’t wait to feel him, as she had really, really missed it. terribly so.

she guides him inside, preparing herself mentally for the highest form of pleasure she had ever experienced-

or…not?

“ah, fuck! wait, hold on-“

she couldn’t get him inside, but not because of his size. no, she just so happens to be bone dry. no arousal was surrounding her, not even a little bit. this had never happened before, and it left her at a loss. she looks down again, just to make sure that she was feeling it correctly. and there it was, nothing. she should be dripping by now, especially with how turned on she was, but alas, the contrary seemed to be the case.

she looks at him now, helplessly, and at a loss for what to do.

“what’s wrong, you okay? not feeling up to it? we can stop-“

“no! no, absolutely not. I want this so bad, you have no idea. I don’t know what’s happening, honestly. I- I- maybe I can- or we could-“

he grabs her by the jaw, grounding her for a moment. his eyes search for hers, offering reason and calm, and relief floods her as she sees how his eyes look more alive than they did a few minutes ago.

“hey, hey, calm down. you’re okay, petal.” a kiss. “let me just get the lube, yeah? don’t worry about it.” she takes a deep breath. “yeah, okay. thank you.” another kiss.

he reaches over to his bedside table, opening the little drawer underneath. located in-between packs of condoms, some melatonin tablets and an emergency pack of cigarettes, he finally found what he was looking for: the small bottle of water-based lube. neither of them exchange words, just glances, as he shuts the drawer, opens the bottle, and squirts some of the product on his hand. once the bottle is closed and set aside, he uses his clean hand to guide her slightly upwards, freeing him from the delicious confines of her thighs. he then spreads the product on and around his length, wincing slightly at the cool temperature. once he feels like he’s coated himself sufficiently, he guides her down once more.

“tell me if it hurts and I stop, okay?”

she nods.

deep breaths. shaky hands. unsure glances.

and then…

“oh my god.”

euphoria.

“holy shit, baby. fuck. so fucking perfect for me, aren’t you? jesus.”

she sinks all the way down his length, filling her up to the brim. her head is thrown back and her mouth agape in pleasure, not a single sound escaping her for the first few moments. that is until he starts thrusting up and into her.

“good god, harry, fuck!” the delicious stretch of her walls made her want to scream, a feeling that she doesn’t think she could ever get tired of. “please don’t stop, oh my god!” her words only encouraged him more, making sure to keep his pace steady and to hit her spot every single time. with her head still thrown back and her jaw slack, harry took the opportunity to just stare at her pleasure-filled face, which only got him off more. she always looked beautiful, but like this? she was unbelievable. he thinks at that moment that he should probably write a song about it.

a particularly hard thrust made her snap forward. “fucking hell, I feel you in my tummy.” she laced her hands around his jaw and rested her forehead against his own, staring deeply into his eyes and stealing the occasional kiss. harry took this moment to steady her hips and thrust up into her with such vigour, that her eyes rolled all the way back into her skull. she had to wrap her arms around his shoulders and hug him close to stabilise herself. and then, something weird happened.

usually, with the way he was pounding into her and with how he was moaning straight into her ear, she would be done in seconds. however, now that his face was no longer in her line of sight, her mind started clouding itself with other images.

“make sure you get this back to me by the end of the day. no more slacking off.”

she squeezed her eyes shut. this couldn’t be happening, not now.

“you have to do this over entirely, this is not what I had in mind at all.”

god, no. no, no, no!

“this is unbelievably sloppy, you cannot be serious, right? you’re staying late today, this is unacceptable.”

what the actual fuck was happening?

“baby, you okay?”

her eyes opened wide in an instant. he tried prying her arms away so he could look at her properly. she, however, only hugged him closer.

“yes! yes, I’m good. so fucking good.” she made sure to make her voice extra sultry, grinding down on him to make it all more believable. she cannot let him know that she got ridiculously close to having an anxiety attack in the middle of what was supposed to be mind-boggling sex.

he couldn’t help but groan at her actions, however, he continued. “you sure? your heart is beating very fast. do you- ah!- do you need some water, maybe?” he tumbled over his words as she made sure to squeeze her walls tight to shut him up.

“I’m okay, I don’t need anything. just need you to make me come, please.” she continued squeezing him, both with her arms and her walls until he was putty in her hands. no more words left him as he started thrusting up into her once again, moaning at the sensation her delicious pussy was giving him.

“you feel fucking unreal right now, angel. how do you feel, tell me? please, god, tell me.” he was begging for her, another thing that could usually make her come in an instant. right now, however, she really didn’t think that it was going to happen anytime soon.

how was she feeling? well, for starters, she was feeling embarrassed and confused because somehow, she didn’t get wet when her hot shot of a boyfriend practically devoured her tits and called her angelic, especially because she thought she was super turned on to begin with. and as if that wasn’t enough, she was now drowning in mental images and intrusive thoughts of her workplace and her bitch of a boss, which was the very thing that is currently tearing at her relationship. and she worried, that if she doesn’t get her shit together immediately, she might not come at all. so, fake it till you make it, she guessed.

“fuck, harry, I feel so fucking good. y’make me feel so. fucking. good.” slurring her words and repeating simple sentences; that should be enough to convince him that it’s genuine. she was trying to get into it again, but so far, nothing. she made sure to grind down and twist her hips how she knew he loved. on top of it all, she nibbled at his neck, jaw and ear to really get him going. and she knew it was working when his whines got louder with each thrust.

“shit baby, you feel bloody fantastic. please, god, tell me you’re close, need you to cum f’me.”

he was begging and whining for her like that was his sole purpose in this life, which made her feel all the more guilty for how her body was not reacting at all. he could very well be stroking her thumb right now, and it’d probably have the same effect. but she was determined to make him feel good, both physically and mentally, because he deserved it. the last thing she wanted to do was to make him feel guilty about something that he had nothing to do with.

so, she did what any other stupidly in-love woman would do: she faked her fucking orgasm.

“harry, god, fuck, I’m so close- I-“

“yeah, angel? let go f’me, get my cock all wet, c’mon.”

and that’s exactly what she did, or at least, tried to make him believe.

“god fucking- ah!”

and with all the core strength that she had, she squeezed her walls incredibly tight around him. she even tried to put some pressure on her bladder to maybe release some fluids, just to make it more believable. she was all too aware of his eyes on her, staring in awe at her alleged release. and just like she hoped it would, it triggered his own release just mere moments later.

“baby, fuck! that’s it, good god, that’s- oh!”

warm fluid filled her to the brim and she thinks under any other circumstances, the sheer intensity would’ve had to trigger her own orgasm. and yet, there she was.

shame was making her blood run cold, goosebumps littered her skin and she had this sudden urge to get out of the room to forgo any awkward conversation, but she knew she wasn’t going to be that lucky.

“you okay?”

he ripped her out of her thoughts in an instant, and suddenly he was facing her. his face was soft with pleasure, a post-orgasmic glow etched his features and a tired smile was gifted to her. he looked relaxed, comfortable and most of all he looked really, really happy.

she could not mess this up.

“yeah, I’m good. you?”

“very much so, angel.” he moved his hand to her cheek and oh so very softly moved any stray hair away from her face and tucked them behind her ear. the silence around them felt heavy, almost deafening to her. to him, however, it was pure bliss.

they stared at each other until it became unbearable for her, so she tried to move but his hand on her waist stopped any movement in its tracks.

“wanna cuddle for a bit?”

it became apparent to her that he was holding on to this sliver of positive energy they had created. she felt flattered over the fact that he wanted her around. the feeling however quickly dissipated and was replaced with guilt, shame and fear. she had to be by herself for a bit, she needed to get her head straight.

“let me just do my thing in the loo really quick, okay? i’ll be back before you know it, darling.” she reasoned. he nods, gives her a chaste kiss on the lips and nose, and lets her go. a hiss leaves both of them as she removes herself from him and she makes sure to keep the mess to a minimum. without looking back, she quickly walks to their shared bathroom, locking the door behind her. as soon as her bum hits the toilet seat, the tears flow and the shame begins to manifest itself into a big, green monster in her mind. how could she do this? how could she lie to him about something as stupid as this? more importantly, why could she not come? as the questions multiplied, the answers came short. she never wanted to be this person, and yet, there she was. does she tell him? does she keep the lie going? does she pretend to be so tired and fall asleep as soon as her head hits the pillows? she doesn’t want to do any of those things. instead, she selfishly wants to bask in the warmth radiating from her boyfriend, now that he is in post-orgasmic bliss. maybe she’ll be selfish for once if her mind allows it.

“oh god.”

frustration is now emanating from every pore of her body and she decides then that she has to leave this bathroom before things start looking suspicious. so, she finishes up, takes a deep breath and does not dare to look at herself in the mirror as she leaves.

she comes back to their bedroom and is momentarily confused when she finds him in his boxers and surrounded by a cloud of smoke. his back was facing her as he leaned over the railing of the balcony, shoulders visibly sagging with every breath.

“h? why are you smoking? everything okay?”

harry is by no means a smoker. he’s the kind of person to only reach for them when he is going through heavy emotional turmoil. he wouldn’t even smoke when he drank, so this scene was more than upsetting to her. especially because she already had an inkling of what could have possibly caused this action of his.

he turns around, the lazy smile no longer to be seen. instead, his eyes look even more dull than before and his cheeks have a rosy tint to them, almost like he just finished crying himself. she felt her heart sink and suddenly becomes increasingly aware of the severity of the situation.

this was bad.

“why don’t you tell me who you’re cheating on me with, darling.”

•••

a/n: hiiii, i’m back! sorry it took so long, i’ve been super busy with preparing for my move and also seeing harry in hamburg (and getting covid </3) anyways, this needs a part two, but that isn’t quite finished yet. this is also very different from anything else i’ve ever written before, so any feedback is truly appreciated!!!

4.7k words, not proofread (sorry!), lowercase intended

[contemplativepancakes]

Following the Thread Transcript

AKA all the "canon" there is of Aiden. Google doc to save for easy reference is here. Providing this is entirely selfish of me, please use it and write some lambden <3

EXT. SUPERVISOR’S BUILDING

GERALT approaches a GUARD standing outside of a door.

GUARD: Don’t like folk wandering around here.

GERALT: Oh yeah? Well, got a beast you need someone to get rid of? I’m here about the notice.

GUARD: Ah, supervisor Lund posted it. Yeah, a beast haunts the outskirts, murdering folk. Got ‘em scared to leave their homes after dark.

GERALT: I’d like to talk to this supervisor.

GUARD: Too bad he don’t receive petitioners.

GERALT: So what’s he do, exactly?

GUARD: Delivery relief on behalf of the city council—flour and groats for the paupers. Meaning, he don’t do it personally. He’s got men for that. He, himself, he, uh. (GESTURES BROADLY)

GERALT: Supervises.

GUARD: Exactly!

GERALT: I aim to hunt down this monster.

GUARD: Best hurry, then. Some other bloke’s already after it.

GERALT: Who took the contract?

GUARD: Didn’t see the man. Was just told some brave fool’d turned up.

GERALT: When’d you find the last victim?

GUARD: Just last night. Hubert, a beggar, but a decent man. I’d let him sleep in the shed from time to time—that one, on the right. Eustace hasn’t come for the corpse yet. It’s lying in there, where I found it.

GERALT: Any eyewitnesses to these attacks?

GUARD: No, just the bodies. Beast appears only at night, chooses isolated victims.

GERALT: Thanks. So long.

Geralt goes to the shed and examines it, finding a puddle of blood that’s not human, and Hubert’s body, which is drained of blood. There’s ekimmara tracks in the shed that Geralt follows along the river’s edge, until they disappear at a dock. Geralt swims across the river and finds the tracks again, leading him to another building. Geralt notes that’s there’s rat corpses outside that have been drained of blood.

INT. DARK HOUSE

There’s the sounds of combat upstairs, blade clashing, an ekimmara screeching, and a whoosh from aard. Geralt rushes up the stairs to see LAMBERT fighting the monster. They kill it together.

GERALT: Greetings, Lambert.

LAMBERT: Damn, it’s good to see you, Wolf.

GERALT: Decide to do some hunting in Novigrad? Far as I remember, you never liked this city.

LAMBERT: Still don’t. Thing is, got a certain matter to take care of.

GERALT: What have you been up to? Any luck on the path?

LAMBERT: A lot, in fact. Quite the takings in Lan Exeter. Was asked to hunt down a giant, who turned out to be a forest troll and some bandits.

GERALT: Bandits?

LAMBERT: (SHRUGS) Came as a package with the troll.

GERALT: The matter you mentioned, anything I can help with?

LAMBERT: Hmm. Maybe. But we’ll talk about that later. Got our reward to collect. I’m kinda in a hurry. Let’s say you’ve earned half, what the hell.

EXT. SUPERVISOR’S BUILDING

Geralt and Lambert approach the guard from earlier.

GUARD: So?

LAMBERT: What do you think? We did what we had to do. Time to pay up.

GUARD: Wait here, I’ll go see the supervisor, get your reward.

LAMBERT: Do that ourselves. No reason you should leave your post.

Geralt gives Lambert a sideways glance.

GUARD: Hmm, can’t argue with that logic. Go on in.

EXT SUPERVISOR’S BUILDING, COURTYARD

Lambert and Geralt approach SUPERVISOR LUND in an outdoor space. There’s three guards milling around.

LAMBERT: We dealt with the monster at the docks. Here for our reward.

LUND: Witchers? Since when do you travel in pairs?

LAMBERT: Lots of dangers for a lone witcher. Bandits, for example.

LUND: I’d advise you to change your tone.

LAMBERT: Where’s Jad Karadin? Talk!

GERALT: Who?

LAMBERT: Trust me, Geralt. This is important. There’s something I gotta know.

LUND: I do not know any Karadin. Take your coin for the before and bugger off before I lose my temper!

LAMBERT: (YELLING) Where’s Jad Karadin? Asking you for the last time!

LUND: Guards, to the dungeon with them!

Lund runs out of the courtyard, and Lambert chases after him, leaving Geralt to fight the three guards.

INT. SUPERVISOR’S BUILDING

Geralt walks inside to find Lund cowering from Lambert.

LAMBERT: This guy’s more trouble than the ekimmara.

LUND: Karadin’s disappeared. I swear! The others, too! I only know of Vienne.

LAMBERT: What about Vienne?

LUND: She drinks at the Seven Cats. There day and night.

LAMBERT: See? You can be helpful.

Lambert unsheathes his sword and stabs Lund in the gut while Geralt watches. Lund collapses to the floor. Lambert turns to look at Geralt in challenge.

GERALT: That was murder. Was that really necessary?

LAMBERT: Yes.

Geralt shakes his head.

LAMBERT (cont.): More guardsmen’ll show soon. Let’s go. Meet me at the Seven Cats. Tell you everything there.

GERALT: The tavern Vienne frequents?

LAMBERT: Yeah. See you later.

EXT. SEVEN CATS INN

Lambert is leaning against a rock when Geralt approaches him.

GERALT: All right. High time you explained some things. Why’d you kill Lund? What’s this all about?

LAMBERT: Want the short version or the long one?

GERALT: Lemme hear the whole thing.

LAMBERT: Had a friend. Aiden was his name.

GERALT: You? Had a friend?

LAMBERT: Oh, hi-fuckin’-larious. I met him soon after I'd accepted a contract to lift the curse from the Ogre of Ellander. Aiden had been hired to kill it. He was a witcher from the school of the cat.

GERALT: Far as I remember, the ogre was killed in the end.

LAMBERT: Yeah, after it gutted my employer, we really didn’t have a choice. I cut a deal with Aiden. We joined forces, split the reward for killing the ogre between us. After that, we worked together a lot. Hands down the best man I’d ever met. I mean, I like you, you know that. Still, no comparison.

GERALT: What happened to him?

LAMBERT: Some time ago, Aiden took on a contract to lift a curse off a duke’s daughter. It was a political mess from the start. Then there was the hatred for the school of the cat to deal with.

GERALT: They worked hard to deserve that hate. Basically hired assassins.

LAMBERT: (SNAPS) Aiden wasn’t like that. (PAUSES, LOOKS AWAY) Anyway, some of the duke’s courtier’s had designs. Weren’t all keen on the curse being lifted from the duke’s first born. So, a band of trained assassins ambushed Aiden, murdered him. Our dear supervisor was one of them.

GERALT: And Jad Karadin?

LAMBERT: The assassins’ leader. And the one to deal the mortal blow.

GERALT: Sorry about your friend.

LAMBERT: Don’t need your sympathy, just your help. (PUSHES OFF ROCK HE WAS LEANING ON TO STRAIGHTEN) We have to talk to Vienne. Must’ve had enough to drink by now. Let’s go.

INT. SEVEN CATS INN

Geralt and Lambert approach VIENNE, a lithe elvish woman wearing a deep cut purple blouse with her dark hair in a braid. She has a drinking glass in front of her where she sits alone at a table.

GERALT: Vienne?

VIENNE: What do you want?

LAMBERT: We wanna see Jad Karadin.

VIENNE: (LAUGHS) Now why would I help you?

GERALT: It’s really important to my friend here.

VIENNE: And what will I get out of it?

LAMBERT: Pay for your beer, for starters. Then we’ll see how valuable your information is.

VIENNE: (CONSIDERS, TAKES DRINK) I was part of Karadin’s band, but… When was that? I don’t know where to find him; I’ve fallen out with the lot.

Geralt sits at her table.

VIENNE (cont.): Besides, he’s no longer chummy with his old mates. Word around town is he’s changed.

Lambert sits down, also, now.

GERALT: Karadin’s changed? What do you mean?

VIENNE: He’s dropped all his old connections, stopped taking on petty killings. He’s hidden himself away in some hole. Must be planning something big.

GERALT: Who else was in Karadin’s band?

VIENNE: Aside from me? Selyse, Hammond, and Lund. But they’ve scattered all over the world. Selyse went to Tretogor, Hammond to Skellige, and Lund—

LAMBERT: Lund’s dead.

VIENNE: (CACKLES) Finally met his match. Well, you’ve only Hammond or Selyse to talk to, then.

GERALT: What about you? What’s your story?

VIENNE: Scoia'tael was decimated, so I joined Karadin. They never treated me as an equal. No. I could hit a sparrow from a hundred paces, but I was never good enough for Karadin. He always preferred that cunt Selyse…

LAMBERT: You have a hand in the murder of the witcher Aiden?

VIENNE: Perhaps. I don’t remember.

GERALT: We need information about Hammond.

VIENNE: Karadin’s right hand man, once. When the band broke up, he went back to Faroe whence he had come. He’s a pirate, now. Even the jarls treat him with respect.

GERALT: This Selyse, where can we find her?

VIENNE: She’s done well for herself. Runs a brothel in tretogor, the kind rich men frequent. Whores suck information out of them, then she sells it.

LAMBERT: Name of this brothel?

VIENNE: The Black Lily. Selyse always did have horrible taste.

GERALT: (TO LAMBERT) Satisfied?

Geralt and Lambert both stand.

LAMBERT: She doesn’t know anything. We need to talk to Hammond and Selyse.

VIENNE: Don’t go looking for Karadin. If he senses you nipping at his heels, he’ll kill you without batting an eye.

LAMBERT: We’ll see. As for you…

OPTION ONE

GERALT: No, Lambert.

LAMBERT: Right, better to leave her like this.

VIENNE: What about my coin?

Geralt and Lambert exit the inn.

VIENNE (cont.): Arseholes.

OPTION TWO

GERALT: Do whatever you think is right, Lambert. Not here to preach morals.

VIENNE: (LAUGHS) “Do what you think is right?” Only one thing worse than cold blooded murder—hypocrisy. Informers, racists, snitches!

VAREN: Vienne, bloody hell. What is it?

VIENNE: They’ve come for me, Varen! I told you someone would, sooner or later!

VAREN: (IN ELDER) Don’t be afraid.

GERALT: Shit.

A fight breaks out in the inn and ends with Vienne dead.

EXT. SEVEN CATS INN—NIGHT

LAMBERT: You’ve gotta help me, Geralt. Best thing will be to split up. You sail to Skellige, try to squeeze something out of Hammond. I’ll go to Tretegor and try to get something out of Selyse.

GERALT: Lambert, let’s talk about this.

LAMBERT: Let’s not. This is one of those situations, serious situations, where you don’t ask unnecessary questions and just help your friend.

GERALT: Where’ll we meet once I’m back?

LAMBERT: At the Nowhere Inn.

GERALT: All right, I’m off. Good luck.

They both nod to each other, and the scene fades to black as Lambert walks away.

EXT. PIRATE’S SETTLEMENT, SKELLIGE

Geralt approaches two men standing guard outside of the settlement he’d been pointed to in order to find Hammond.

GUARD: Whaddya want?

GERALT: I’m looking for Hammond.

GUARD: What for?

GERALT: Business.

GUARD: He prays at the chapel on the hill this time of day. If it’s slaves you’re looking to buy, you’ll have to wait ‘til he’s done.

GERALT: He’s praying? Wouldn’t have thought him a god fearing man.

GUARD: Hmm. Yet it’s not something that would surprise any man who knows him.

GUARD TWO: Another snoop! You know the drill!

A fight breaks out with all of the pirates. After Geralt defeats them, he travels across the island.

EXT. HAMMOND’S SHRINE

Geralt walks into the shrine, and it’s an outdoor space with wide, curved beams driven into the ground that create a circle. Hammond is in the middle of the area in front of a pile of weaponry and shields. Hammond is shirtless and wearing a green tartan kilt with a wide leather belt. His hair is in a ponytail, and a leather strap encircles his left bicep. There’s a brown arm guard on the same arm, and there’s a gold band wrapped around his right bicep. There’s a large war hammer strapped to his back.

HAMMOND: Gods of the sea, I’ve never begrudge ye no gifts. Grant me another victory, so I can make an offering of me loot. (STANDS AND NOTICES GERALT) Fuck, what now?

GERALT: Heard you were in Karadin’s band.

HAMMOND: Fuckin’ say what you want. C’mon, spit it out, you arse lickin’ bastard!

GERALT: I’m looking for Jad Karadin.

HAMMOND: And just who the hell’re you?

GERALT: A friend of a friend. I’m looking for Karasin, thought maybe we could make some sort of deal.

HAMMOND: What, our business rubbing some Novigrad pricks the wrong way? Ploughin’ guild! (TO HIS GUARDS) Come on, what are you waiting for? Kill the fucker!

A fight breaks out and Geralt kills Hammond and his three guards. After, Geralt searches Hammond’s body and retrieves a letter on elegant stationary.

Hammond,

Thought I made it clear during our last face to face talk. I don’t want to keep in touch and I especially don’t want to do any business with you. I’ve no doubt the enterprise you proposed would be profitable. Nevertheless, to speak colloquially, count me out.

There are plenty of other potential buyers in Novigrad: goldsmiths, jewelers, and merchants dealing in luxury goods, for starters.

I don’t want to get involved.

Whatever you decide, I will wish you well in it. Treat this letter as our final farewell.

Karadin

INT. NOWHERE INN

Geralt approaches Lambert. Lambert is sitting at a table scattered with gwent cards and with a tankard in front of him.

LAMBERT: What the hell took you?

GERALT: Pretty likely Karadin lives in Novigrad. And he never severed ties with Hammond. They’re actually in business together.

LAMBERT: Mm. Learned something, too. He trades in, uh, live goods on the sly. Owns a ship called the Pearl of the Coast. Runs between here and Skellige. Changed his name, too, to Roland Treugger, who officially is a respected Novigrad trader and philanthropist. Has a residence in Gildorf.

GERALT: Anything on Selyse?

LAMBERT: Hmm. Well, didn’t have you there to stand up for her.

GERALT: All right, let’s pay Karadin a visit.

EXT. KARADIN’S HOUSE

Lambert and Geralt stand in a stone alleyway, looking at several guards.

LAMBERT: Think I know how to get in. Got a plan.

GERALT: If your plan doesn’t include dealing with an escort of guardsmen, best revise it.

The guards approach Lambert and Geralt.

GERALT (cont.): Calm, now. Let them start it.

GUARD: You’re expected. Come in.

Lambert and Geralt share a glance, and the scene fades to black.

EXT. KARADIN’S BACKYARD

There’s a child in a blue smock, who points at Lambert and Geralt and runs to Karadin. Karadin has yellow slitted eyes, dressed nicely, and there’s a sword at his hip.

KARADIN: Make yourselves at home.

GERALT: (TO LAMBERT) He’s a witcher.

KARADIN: Very true. Let me introduce my wife, Laetitia, and my two little tots. (GESTURES TO A WOMAN AND TWO CHILDREN SITTING IN THE GRASS) You know who I am, and I’ve heard of you. You’ve been asking questions about me. That always draws my attention.

GERALT: What school’d you come out of?

KARADIN: That of the cat. So few of us left.

Lambert sneers.

GERALT: Witchers can’t have children.

KARADIN: But they can have wards. Or take in a woman along with her children, embrace them as their own.

GERALT: I could understand a witcher becoming a hired assassin, but a merchant?

KARADIN: Why ever not? Not one among us doesn’t dream of changing our life. I simply did not stop at dreaming. They say no witcher has ever died in his bed. I aim to be the first.

LAMBERT: Remains to be seen.

GERALT: My friend needs to talk to you.

KARADIN: (TO GUARDS) Lads, take the children and Laetitia and leave us. Our guests wish to speak with me.

His family leaves.

KARADIN (cont.): I’m all ears.

LAMBERT: Talk to him, Geralt. If I do, first word he says to me, I’ll lose it and throttle the fucker.

GERALT: Nice place you got.

KARADIN: As it turned out, I’ve a flair for enterprise. Now I’ve coin enough to provide my family with the finer things in life.

LAMBERT: With some left over for philanthropy.

KARADIN: Miss Marabella’s institute does not scorn small donations. Neither does the city's Widow and Orphan Relief Fund, amongst others.

GERALT: Your wife know who you were?

KARADIN: We are thoroughly honest with each other, harbor no secrets. She prays for me each day. You know what? I think it’s working.

LAMBERT: Fucking hell.

GERALT: Relax, Lambert.

KARADIN: I confessed all just before we pledged to marry one another. Began a new life that day, with a clean slate.

GERALT: Remember Aiden? A witcher. Murdered in Ellander. Guessing the killers were paid well.

KARADIN: I remember him as I remember all the others—with the deepest regret. Yet Aiden was different, in a way. Contrary to rumor, we did not set out to kill him. We were forcced to, when he attacked us.

GERALT: What’s your version of this story?

KARADIN: Aiden had accepted a contract to lift a curse from the duke’s daughter. He took the coin, bungled the job, then left once the girl passed on.

LAMBERT: You lie!

KARADIN: We were not to kill him. We were debt collectors. He’d spent the coin already, so we demanded his swords. When he refused, tempers flared. Vienne, positioned as sniper, lost her nerve, hit Aiden square in the eye.

Lambert looks down. Geralt glances over at him.

KARADIN (cont.): Later, she devised her own version of the story. To silence her guilt, I expect.

GERALT: I’ve heard enough.

KARADIN: What now?

OPTION ONE

GERALT: You’ve changed. You have.

KARADIN: Forgiveness. It’s my sole aim now.

LAMBERT: You’re buying this bullshit? Bastard’s lying his ass off!

OPTION TWO

GERALT: You know what, Karadin? Your remorse—it’s feigned. Completely dishonest. You put on a good show, but I just don’t believe you.

LAMBERT: Don’t even know why we bothered with this chat. We came here to kill you.

OPTION THREE

GERALT: Maybe you’ve changed, maybe not. To me and Lambert, it doesn’t matter.

LAMBERT: You killed Aiden. Fuck your new life. I don’t believe in giving second chances.

OPTION ONE

GERALT: Do what you want, Lambert. Your friend, your vengeance.

LAMBERT: Been waiting a long time for this.

KARADIN: (UNSHEATHES SWORD) And I don’t aim to die.

A fight breaks out, ending in Karadin dead.

LAMBERT: Thanks for your help, Geralt.

GERALT: You’re welcome.

LAMBERT: Wanna talk about it?

GERALT: No.

LAMBERT: See you later. Some day.

GERALT: So long, Lambert.

OPTION TWO

GERALT: Leave him. Let’s go.

LAMBERT: What? Are you fuckin’ nuts?

GERALT: Lambert, this is one of those situations where you have to realize you’re pissed as hell, rein it in, and trust your cool headed friend. Let’s go.

LAMBERT: For fuck’s sake, Geralt. Don’t know that I’ll be able to forgive you.

GERALT: I said let’s go. You can always come back.

Lambert storms off.

KARADIN: Thank you.

Geralt sighs and walks away.

EXT. KARADIN’S HOUSE

LAMBERT: Explain yourself.

GERALT: Don’t intend to. Just felt Karadin didn’t deserve to be murdered in cold blood. If you feel otherwise, you can always go back. Without me.

LAMBERT: I feel like beating the shit out of you. See you later. Some day.

GERALT: So long, Lambert.

[oraganji]

IF ANYONE WANTS WRITING INSPO

ok here’s the thing. I’m way too lazy and unmotivated to write a whole series, I am in awe of anyone who can actually do that or has done it. But in the spirit of ✨ hypocrisy✨ , of course I love reading them, and thinking about ideas for some series that will never actually come to fruition. So, for all the ACOTAR writers out there, I have a way-too-long idea for an Azriel x reader that I want to read as a series, or even like a couple of snippets of writing. Here it is:

Ok, so our (preferably female bc it’s my request but I’m not trying to disclude people here it’s just my preference) MC (I like the name Kora/Cora, or Arya, whatever, but y’know, since I’m not writing this, it’s not exactly my decision to make, it could just be Y/N, that’s fine too). Anyways, she’s half-seraphim, from Cretea, and is the commander of the seraphim/Cretea army. Now, here’s where the pick your story begins. I was thinking that she could be Drakon’s sister or something, to make her a princess, even though she only acts like a commander (I love nicknames that have a meaning. So like if Azriel calls the reader angel, it’s because of her white seraphim wings, and if he calls her princess, it’s because she actually is one). So she can either be his sister, or just the commander. She was old enough to have fought in that big war that happened with Miryam and stuff about the humans or whatever. IMPORTANT PART OF THIS: MC has water and ice powers, but to a massive scale. Like she can raise ocean tides, create snow/hailstorms, all that good stuff. I was thinking she could be called a Tidemaker, like in the Grishaverse, but you could totally change around the name. That’s the base of her character. Other than what I described, free reign to whoever is crazy enough to read/write this.

So now, I think of this as a slight (major) rewrite. This takes place right after Feyre makes it back home from enemy Tamlin. So, Hybern’s armies attack Createa for some UnKnOwN reason. Maybe MC’s dad/parental figure dies in the battle, and MC is filled with grief and rage. MC fights against them until she’s bloody and battered, using the ocean and sky as her weapons. Cretea is utterly destroyed, and she tries flying to a safe place. She had met Rhysand, Cassian, and our boy Azriel before during that Great War, because she was a commander, and the Night Court was allied with Cretea at the time. She remembers this, and tries to fly all the way to Velaris. She just makes it before collapsing/passing out, and Azriel’s shadows bring him to her.

Now, our boy is shocked because he actually used to have a little crush on MC the war so many decades ago. He sees her about to die and starts to ✨ panic✨ , obviously. So, I’m thinking he tells his shadows to find Madja, and busts into the House of Wind or something, and like alerts everyone by just saying “it’s Kora/Arya/MC”. So blah blah blah, cute Azriel taking care of MC moments, she tells them what she remembers about being attacked, etc. ALSO, i think it would be SO GREAT if Cassian and Rhysand called her Goose, instead of dove, or one of those other cheesy nicknames. Geese still have white wings, so it kinda fits. I just think it would be kinda funny if the first time they were meeting to discuss war strategy, MC showed off all of her powers, and established herself as a powerful, bad b****h, and these idiots call her a goose. AnYwAyS, time skip to the meeting with the high lords cause I don’t think things through. MC comes in later than our night court buddies because she “likes to make an entrance”, and walks in there with like a crown of gold laurels (i like that as a crown idea), and like a sage green dress or something (GREEN AND GOLD IS SO PRETTY), and is all like “hello ladies! and boys. What did I miss?” after not being there for like 200 years. Everyone is shocked, and she has a little spat with Beron, where she’s like “You’re just itching to play, huh Beron? Well, I’ll warn you, fire doesn’t tend to thrive with someone like me *smirk*.” I’M DYING. And meanwhile Azriel’s *mini* crush is slowly developing even more. So after that idc what happens, BUT. I think it would be great if Cassian made MC a general or something to help him out in the war with Hybern. Then, when she goes to leave after the war, to rebuild Cretea, and Rhys and Cass ask her to stay, she give a condition, which is that she wants to train the Illyrian girls. And she would leave after she feels like that initiative is set in place. So once she sees that females are being trained, she leaves. Later, Cass invites her for winter solstice very last minute, so she comes with one gift, for our special somene, AZZY BOY!. And it’s a moonflower in an ice sphere, cause headcannon: Azriel likes moonflowers, and so does MC. One day they were walking together or flying together, and she saw some, and pointed them out. Then Azriel plucked one and TUCKED IT IN HER HAIR OMG GET ME SOMEONE LIKE AZRIEL. And he’s like amazed that she remembered and saved the flower. Crush level rising. But at the same time, Elain seems interested in him, which MC can see, and thinks that Az likes Elain, so she goes back to Cretea cause she a little bit jelly.

I’m not a romance writer, so I was just thinking that once Cretea is close to rebuilt, MC invites everyone to come visit, and is taking a stroll with Azriel. She sees moonflowers again, and this time she plucks one and puts it in his hair, and goes “Damn. I bet I didn’t look this good when that thing was in my hair.” And then Azriel mutters under his breath, “you did. you looked ethereal. like an angel.” but MC kinda hears a little bit of it, so she gives Azriel a little kiss on his jaw, cause she can’t reach his cheek (THE HEIGHT DIFFERENCE I’M SCREAMING) and says “I heard that Az. I think you look ethereal too.” He’s one blushy boy after this. omg why am I like this. But, plot twist, Elain saw this whole interaction go down and gets PISSED. Meanwhile, MC drags Azriel around, while he trails behind her like an awestruck puppy. She finds a starfruit tree (which I’m making native to Cretea, like it’s a rare thing elsewhere) and gets some seeds from them from Elain, saying that it would be good for her garden. And Azriel just thinks about how thoughtful she is, even to people she doesn’t necessarily like. They get back, and Elain is complaining about how Azriel chose MC over her to Nesta , who I think would be besties with MC. MC walks into the room and hears. Elain realizes this and tries to insult/yell at MC. But MC just had a sad smile and goes, “I brought you some starfruit seeds, Elain. They’re only native to Cretea, and I thought it might be good for your garden. Good night Elain.” OK so this is why I think it would be good if MC was Drakon’s sister and a princess. She knows she’s a princess, but she really only considers herself to be a commander. She’s debating going back to Cretea, or staying, and she tells Azriel that she’s prob gonna leave soon. And our bat boy is all ✨ panik✨  when he hears this. He says “But I wa - everyone wants you to stay”. MC smirks and goes “what were going to say Az. They’re like really close together now, so Az leans down and gives her a gentle kiss and goes, “I want you stay”. MC is stunned for a moment, and looking dazed, goes “well then I guess I’m staying.”AHHHHHHHHH. She can prob be a general under Cass.

OK SO I DO HAVE AN IDEA FOR MORE WITH OUR ANGEL AND DEVIL. Where they discover the mating bond, there’s a big threat on Cretea, MC is a bad b***h as always, and protective Azriel makes several appearences.

Y’all can make up some situations after this as well, or if you want, which I don’t know why you would, my disorganized mess of a brain can write more about the thing above.

OMG THIS WAS WAY TOO LONG. Plz tell me if u guys liked this, or are actually gonna write this crap. And let me know is you have questions! Have a nice day lovelies!

[omegas-spaghettios]

In Defense of Bo-Katan

This character receives an enormous amount of hate and it is so unfair.

Before I begin, I have a few disclaimers to make.

1. I used to be on the hate train for her. When TCW S7 and Mando S2 aired, I hated her. Absolutely loathed her and I was vocal about it. You could go back and find a trail of me hating on her, I want to admit to that before I go on.

2. I love every character I talk about during this. When I compare her to other characters or discuss other characters, it comes from a place of love. Flawed characters are the best characters because it makes them feel human.

3. I am not defending her from a moral standpoint. She does some pretty awful things. What I'm arguing is that a lot of criticism levied at her for being a "bad character" is unfair because what she does either lines up with her motivations and thus makes her a well written character (if not unlikable), or she does things and gets slammed for it when male characters do the same things and get away with it.

I'm just gonna go chronologically and discuss major talking points on why people hate her.

1. Her Discussion with Kenobi in 7×10

People hate on her because of this, and that could be fair, depending on how else you view Star Wars. Bo was responsible for helping bring an organization to power that killed her sister, she weaponized the death of her sister against Obi-Wan, and also her organization (Death Watch) has tried to kill Obi-Wan many times. She is overall being incredibly unfair and awful in this scene.

Okay, so she helped kill a woman important in her life, weaponized that death to guilt Obi-Wan, and also is responsible for attempts on Obi-Wan's life.... why does this feel familiar....

Anakin did much, MUCH worse than her, yet he is still loved. I love Anakin! But it pisses me off that when Bo does it it's a valid reason to hate her and one of the two most commonly listed examples to hate her, but when Anakin does it he gets nuance. Anakin's character and motivations line up to that event, it makes him a flawed character. But when Bo does it, we just hate her?

"But she doesn't have the development to that point like Anakin" the entire Prequel Era is the story of Anakin, no character has as much time dedicated to them. How can Bo have that much development to make it "believable" when the only character who can rival Anakin's level of development is Ahsoka?

If you hate both Bo and Anakin then her Discussion with Obi-Wan is a 100% valid reason to hate her. This is not to say you can't hate her for that, this is to say that there is a lot of hypocrisy in the fandom over this.

2. Sabine Wren

I'm not gonna spend much time on this, cause it isn't a huge reason I see often and it's just, so easy to debunk. I love Sabine and her arc is good, but from a Mandalorian standpoint, she's lucky she left the planet with a decent public standing. She makes a weapon for the empire that is handcrafted to kill Mandalorians and names it after Bo's dead pacifist sister. Under no circumstance is any Mandalorian required to treat her well after that, especially Bo.

I know she has an arc to redeem herself over the course of the show, but imagine if a public figure irl did that. No one would care how hard they worked to redeem themselves, no one would ever trust them again and that is valid.

3. Bo's discussions with Din

The way she and the other two scoff at Din is not kind at all, it's pretty rude. But guess what? Din got aggressive first when they took their helmets off.

I understand being in a cult means your view of the world is purposefully warped and information withheld so he doesn't know better, but why does Bo have this responsibility to be kind to anyone who is mean to her just because they might not know better? Why does Bo NEED to give everyone the benefit of the doubt?

Din was aggressive and accused them of not being mandalorian FIRST, he doesn't know better and that makes Bo's treatment of him less than ideal, but why does she have to respect his beliefs and identity when he IMMEDIATELY is trying to rip apart hers?

She never even says he isn't Mandalorian, just he was raised in a cult, which he high key is. The amount of identity suppression and implied information control in The Children of the Watch or whatever they are called is very cultish.

4. The Boba interaction

This and the TCW S7 interaction with Kenobi are the two big ones I see very frequently.

Before I begin with her motivations, can we talk about how blatant the one-sided hate is in this scene anyway? Boba is standoff-ish and aggressive right from the get go, audibly calling them a waste of time, ridiculing Bo for wanting to liberate her literal ancestral homeland, calling her all sorts of names, etc. Boba is by no means trying to be respectful or diplomatic but that's fine, but when Bo gives the same energy as him she gets hated. Again, Boba starts it by saying they were a waste of time.

Getting mad that she called him "not a real mandalorian" is pointless because he immediately says "never claimed to be". Boba isn't Mandalorian. He isn't. He doesn't view himself as Mandalorian and his connection to the armor is just because of his father, not because of Mandalorian heritage.

Her seething hatred for clones and attacking Boba with it is awful but it's understandable within her character. Clone Troopers came to help in the Siege of Mandalore with the explicit agreement they would leave once Maul was captured. Maul was captured, Order 66 came down, the clones never lifted their occupation. Does that mean her hatred of all clones is justified? No. But is it understandable from her viewpoint? Yes, and that makes her a 3 dimensional, flawed character.

We know it wasn't the clones' fault, but we have no reason to believe Bo knows about the chips. Even then, it is established in Rebels when Kanan first meets Rex and crew that people who know about the chips don't necessarily believe it. It takes discussion with the clones themselves and evidence to sway his belief. So even if Bo knows, why does she need to believe it when Kanan initially didn't? Bo hasn't had any discussions like Kanan and Rex had with a clone on screen, so the evidence already shown in previous media lines up with her hating clones.

Also, the weird stuff with the darksaber is not her fault. It's legit just the writers changing how it works to write their story so now she has to bend. It's inconsistent between Rebels and Mando but literally every character shown so far suffers from it. The Saber has not been won in combat since Maul killed Pre Vizsla, the whole "rightful heir" thing is just a mess and is more inconsistent writing that affects star wars overall, not just Bo.

Conclusion

Hate her all you want but stop letting men get away with the shit you hate her for lmao

I still don't particularly love her at all, I don't tend to think about her much, but y'all, come on.

[thr-333]

Mismatch- Part 1

Bio Dad Bruce Wayne Month 2020

Just found out this is a thing! I have a couple of  miraculous fics like that (all of them, not really but still!)

Next

------

“We’re late, we’re late, we’re going to be so late,” Ladybug mutteres to herself, as her earrings beep again.

“Yeah, late for our three hour wait,” Chat Noir jokes, running alongside Ladybug. “Which, by the way, is in place so no one is late,”

“Not the point! We still haven't packed!” Ladybug threw her yo-yo out.

“Oh dear if only we had a super convenient way to instantly travel between continents,” Chat Noir teases, landing next to Ladybug.

“We cannot use the horse miraculous for selfish reasons,” They could see the bakery now and sped up before they transforming back.

“Selfish?” Chat calls from behind, the window was open so they jump straight down onto Marinette's bed, “We couldn’t pack cause we spent all afternoon saving Paris, how is that selfish?”

Marinette’s transformation fall as she speeds down the stairs into their room, throwing clothes in her pink polka-dotted suitcase.

“Marion, I don’t have time to argue about this, now pack,” Marinette commands.

“Yes sir,” Marion jokingly salutes as he drops his transformation, giving Plagg cheese before he could complain.

Marinette did her best to quickly fold the clothes, which ended up in a jumbled mess regardless. Marion didn’t seem to care either way and just stuffed whatever clothes he could find into his suitcase.

“Nette, are we putting the Miracle box in a suitcase or carry on?” He asks, pausing before he packs more.

“Better do carry on, we can tell security it's a gift for Aunt Selina that we didn’t want to lose,” Marion nods and shoves an armful of clothes into the suitcase.

Marinette starts rooting around for something, Marion hands her a sketchbook filling her face with relief. The two work frantically for the next ten minutes, Marinette reading off a checklist. She double checks both their bags despite Marion's protests.

“Are you two ready to go, the taxi’s here!” Their Papa calls from downstairs, as Marion is packing his laptop into a backpack.

“Just a minute!” Marinette assures, rushing to the Miracle box to safely zip it into a secret compartment underneath her bag, covering the pocket up with her tablet, another sketchbook and water bottle.

Marion opened up his satchel for Plagg and Kaalki, double checking he had his passport, phone and wallet, Marinette doing the same. Once they were set they gave each other a nod, grabbing their bags to take downstairs.

“Do you have everything?” Their Maman asks, as they struggled to take their heavy bags downstairs.

“Everything that's important,” Marion answers cheerfully.

Sabine nodded with a smile, very used to the panicked calls telling her they forgot something at home.

“Well this isn't a tour bus so make sure you have your toothbrush,” Sabine takes the suitcase from Marion easily.

“Ah!” Marion dashes upstairs to their joint bathroom, fond but exasperate looks following him.

“Now remember to have fun,” Tom tells Marinette, “This isn’t work, make sure to spend time with your friends,”

“Well it’s a little work,” Marinette smiles, it had seemed like a waste to go to Gotham without having a concert. They plan on going to a few more cities in the states after the rest of their class goes back to Paris.

“Make time for fun anyway,” Sabine gives her daughter a hug.

“We will,” Marion runs back downstairs, quickly unzipping his suitcase. Marinette cringed at the mess of clothes all spilling out and was sure a toothbrush wasn't the only thing he forgot.

Marinette gave her Papa a goodbye hug as Sabine helps Marion close his overflowing suitcase. Marion starts to say his goodbyes as Marrinette goes downstairs to promise the taxi driver they're coming. Tom follows shortly, carrying down their suitcases.

“You stay safe ok, Gotham is dangerous,” Tom warns, as their bags are loaded into the car.

“We will, promise,” Marion assures, knowing full well there were two costumes upstairs they plan on using in Gotham, at least they are bullet proof, “Love you,”

“We love you too,” Sabine squeezes them into a tighter group hug.

“I love you too, but we’re really late,” Marinette tries to wriggle out of the hold.

“Make sure you call us,” Tom laughs, letting them go.

“We will,” They get in the taxi, rolling down the window to wave goodbye as they speed down the street.

“Well, I haven’t got any messages demanding to know where we are so that's good, right?” Marinette scrolls through her phone.

“Everything is going to be fine,” Marion rolls the window back up. “We’ve been hours late before and they waited,”

“That was because we were-” She casts a look at the driver, “That was different, I doubt they’d do it again,”

“They better, you're the only reason the class gets to go on this trip,” Marion starts rooting through his carryon, probably double checking everything.

“You helped,” Marion snorts at that.

“I proofread,”

“You gave me lots of ideas, and helped me write it, and you were the one that suggested it in the first place, and-”

“Ok, ok stop,” Marion playfully places his hand over her mouth, and they both brake down in giggles.

They arrive at the airport probably quicker than they should have and unload as fast as they can. They rush inside looking around for the class. They are gathered in a group with Miss Bustier at check in, somewhere around the midway point. The twins walk over to them, remaining on the other side of the tape, not in line.

“Oh good you're here,” Madame Bustier clasping her hands, “I’m afraid you’ll have to go to the back of the line, we can all meet up before security,”

“Looks like you got what you wanted, now we’re all going to be late,” Lila sneers from the crowd around her.

Most of the class gave them slight glares, the others avoiding them. Alya rolls her eyes at them and turns back to Lila asking another question about her newest tall tale. Marinette tries to ignore the sting and Marion rolls his eyes right back at her, Chloe was having a bad influence on him.

“We won't be late for anything,” Kagami speaks up, making her way towards them, “We have plenty of time before the flight leaves, I’ll join you two,”

The twins smile as Kagami ducks underneath the tape, pulling her comparatively smaller suitcase with her. The three walk together asking each other how packing was, Kagami cast them an unsurprised look when they told her what happened, omitting a few details.

“Can’t you use the first class line,” Marinette asks, as they reached the back of the check in queue.

“I was here before Madame Bustier, she insisted we stand together in line so the others could find us and not get confused, many joined us late,” Anyone could hear the venom in her voice at the hypocrisy.

“Don’t worry about it,” Marion tells her, “We wouldn’t have cut in anyway, it’d be rude to the people behind us,”

Marinette nods scanning the people around them.

“Adrien is over there,” Kagami tells her, Marinette blushes but looks to where she's pointing.

Adrien was talking with Nathalie, there was no luggage around them. They watch as Nathalie leave, an outsider wouldn’t be able to guess they knew each other. Adrien looks around, probably for the class, but saw Marinette waving instead and waves back.

“Hi,” He smiles a smile that could almost beat the twins pure sunshine. They do their greetings, or Kagami and Marion do, Marinette babbles nonsense.

“Did you already check in?” Marion asks.

“Yeah, but I’d rather stand in line with you,” Adrien smiles, no one but Marinette missing how he glances at her.

“So where's Gorilla?” Marion shuffles forward with the line a bit.

“MDC and MCD specifically requested that he go with them on their tour of America, so-”

“That means you're free to do whatever the check you want,” Marion finishes, giving his shoulder a light punch.

“Yeah- did you just sensor ‘heck’?” Adrien puzzles.

*gasp*”Watch your mouth Agreste,” Marion mocks, a smile giving him away. They both smile knowing full well that Gorilla wouldn't be guarding anyone until the end of the class trip, so would have lots of free time for a mini vacation.

“You’re Father is an irrational man, insisting on a bodyguard to everywhere but one of the most dangerous cities in the world,” Kagami says bluntly, Marinette cringes as Adrien's face falls.

“That's because he knows you’re going to be there, Gotham should be very afraid,” Marinette tries to cover up, making Adrien smile slightly.

“Plus a bodyguard signals someone worth something, probably better to have a Kagami,” Marion helps along. Kagami seems to find this acceptable, given that she tries to hide her blush, and drops the topic.

They continue chatting about what they were most excited for in Gotham. Marinette mentions that she was dying to see the botanical gardens, Marion could almost hear the cogs in Adrien's brain turning. A familiar voice interrupts yelling across the busy airport.

“Chloe we’re over here,” Adrien waves his arms for the blonde looking around.

She turns and waves back. Marinette is surprised to see she was carrying just one suitcase, but understands as her butler follows with several more.

“You’re going to be over the limit,” Kagami simply states as Chloe pushes her way to them, not seeing or ignoring the irritated people around.

“So what?” Chloe asks, as he suitcases are placed around her.

Kagami looks like she was about to continue, but stops as Adrien just placed a hand on her shoulder and shakes his head. She sighs and ignores Chloe's smug look, everyone knew that argument would go nowhere.

Adrien and Marion both happily greet her. Kagami and Marinette, less enthusiastic but still friendly. Chloe starts on a tangent about how she was stuck on what outfit to wear on the plane, because it had to be comfortable but also had to be fabulous enough to be her introduction to America. Marinette at least had to admit she was good at filling silence.

They make their way slowly to the front of the line. Luckily with minimal complaining from Chloe, who they distracted each time she got restless, with questions about her of course.

When they reach the front of the line Adrien stands to the side while they checked in. The only one who runs into problems was Chloe who predictably had to pay a fee for more bags, and overweight bags. Marinette fears how it will be coming back.

After they’re all checked in, they find the rest of the class waiting by the security, sitting down on the chairs around. They ignore Lila's comments about them taking too long while Madame Bustier does a headcount.

“Ok, now that everyones here I would like to remind you all that this trip is a great honour granted to us by the Wayne Foundation and I expect you all to be on your best behaviour. Now Gotham can be quite dangerous so it is important you all stay close and don’t go wandering off without telling me…” The speech goes on awhile longer before they were allowed to get in line for airport security.

“I’m telling you Chloe they will make you take it off, just do it now so you don't hold up the line,” Marinette reasons, as they shuffle forward after the rest of the class.

“Believe me once they see how fabulous I look, they won't,”

“That’s not how it works,” Marinette bites out.

“Rules were made to be broken,” Chloe dismisses, looking at her nails.

“This is airport security,” Marinette is close to tearing her hair out. Seeing this Kagami sends Chloe a death glare over Marinette's shoulder.

“Fine,” The blonde huffs out, reaching up to unclasp her necklace.

“Oh I’m just not sure,” Lila pouts much louder than needed. “The plane could make my tinnitus so much worse,”

“Excuse me Lila but didn’t you say Ladybug cured your tinnitus?” Max asks, holding his pile of technology that has to be scanned separately.

“Well I didn’t want to mention it but it came back a while ago, I guess the cure was only temporary,” Lila covers for herself.

“Oh dear,” Rose says with unfortunately genuine concern. “I wish you’d have told us we could have helped,”

Alya, Sabrina, Mylene, Kim, Juleka and Ivan all nod or voice their agreement.

“Oh you guys that's so sweet, I’m sorry I just didn’t want to bother you,” Lila says, queuing up her fake tears.

“Don’t worry about it girl, you could never bother us,” Alya assures, giving Lila a hug. Lila's victorious smirk would have been directed at Marinette if Kagami wasn't blocking her.

As they get closer to the check Marinette and Marion send their Kwamis off with their miraculous quietly. Marion pretending to put his glasses in his bag. They get through the check fine until Chloe... surprisingly doesn't set off the alarm, but that doesn't stop security from pulling her aside to check her bags after noticing some concerning items.

“Well yeah, who doesn't take hairspray on a plane?” Chloe challenges the tired looking security guard.

“This could take awhile,” Marinette whispers to the group who nod in agreement. The class had already gone ahead, Madame Bustier telling them to be at the gate at least twenty minutes before boarding.

They need to look for their Kwamis. They left Chloe to argue with the guard, telling her they would be at duty free just up ahead.

They pursue through the duty free, which teenagers doing might seem strange. They can't call out with Kagami and Adrien so close. Marion spots the candy section, tugging on Marinette's sleeve.

Marinette sighs knowing Tikki will definitely be there. The two sped off leaving Kagami and Adrien wandering behind. There was a kid there looking at the candy, but went running off when their parents called them.

“Tikki,” Marinette whispers, searching through the blocks of chocolate.

“Down here,” Plagg answers instead. The twins bend down, yelping when their heads knock together. Rubbing their heads they saw Tikki hugging a giant Toblerone block like the Kwami's life depended on it. Plagg was off to the side looking pouty, Kaalki looks indifferent. They fly over to Marion who slid his ring back and glasses back on as his Kwamis hide.

“Tikki let’s go,” Marinette whispers, Marion standing to look at the other chocolate.

“No,” Tikki said stubbornly, as Marinette puts on her earrings.

“Why can’t I find a block of camembert that big,” Marinette hears Plagg whine to Marion.

“Comeon Tikki, please,” Marinette begs, trying to tug the block away.

“Because no one but you would eat it,” Marion tells Plagg.

“I’ve never seen one this big before,” Tikki whispers with stars practically dancing in her eyes.

“Exactly it's perfect,” Plagg gushes, Marinette could feel the eye roll.

“Plleeeeeeeeaassssse?” Tikki gives Marinette the biggest baby doll eyes the small Kwami could manage, this was a losing battle.

“Every time,” Marinette sighs, picking up the large block. Tikki cheers flying into her purse.

She goes to the counter to reluctantly pay for the block. Then joins Marion where he was now standing with Kagami and Adrien.

As Marinette walks over Adrien's eyes practically light up at the sight of the giant Toblerone block. Marinette had already opened it, slipping a piece to Tiki. She sees the awe on Adrien's face.

“Um, would, would you like some?” Marinette asks, blushing at her stammering.

“Can I?” Adrien wonders, as if she is offering him some sort of treasure.

“Of course!” Marinette exclaims, breaking him off a piece immediately, smiling brightly.

Adrien starts to blush at her smile, then combusts as she hands over the piece, their fingers accidentally brushing. He fumbles trying not to drop the piece.

“Thank you so much,” Adrien smiles and Marinette might be clinically dead.

“Sorry-I mean thank you- I mean good-I,” Marinette stutters.

Both Marion and Kagami smirking. Marion notices Kagami looking a little jealousy at the block, but both are unwilling to interrupt(or save Marinette) from this little scene. So he sneaks off and buys another block, breaking off a piece and handing it to her. Kagami looks surprised, then smiles, accepting it with a thank you as they both watch the two blushing disasters. Marinette notices Marion holding another block and looks confused.

“You could have asked,” Marinette offers, holding out her block.

“But then I would be left without a weapon, engard!” Marion shouts, dropping into a not-at-all-correct fencing pose. Marinette catches on, hitting her block against his as fake swords.

The two are left pretending to be bad at swordplay, much to the amusement of the actual fencers. They ‘fight’ to a more open area away from the duty free, into a corner viewing the security check. Chloe casts them a confused look before rolling her eyes at their antics. When Marinette boinks Marion on the head he over dramatically collapses with a gasp.

“Adrien-A-Adrien are you there,” Marion reaches out blindly.

“I-I’m here,” Adrien drops down to his knees, clasping Marion's hand.

“Adrien, Adrien listen… no matter what… you must avenge me,” Marion gasps out, while Marinette is trying not to deflate into giggles.

“I-I don’t know if I can,” Adrien cries.

“You can, I know you can… I… believe…. In………. You……………. Blegh,” Marion sticks his tongue out, the universal sign of being dead.

“NooooooOOOOOooooooooOOOooooo,” Adrien yells, except not really because this is an airport and that would be rude so he whispers. At that Marinette starts crackling with laughter, no longer being able to hold it in.

“You think this is funny you-you monster,” Adrien bellows, as dramatic as possible, picking up the Toblerone. Marinette can’t answer as she just starts laughing harder.

Adrien ‘lunges’ at her, pretending to miss as Marinette tries to dodge through her laughter. The two keep ‘fighting’ every time Marinette starts to recover; she just breaks out into more giggles.

“You should probably get off the floor, it’s dirty,” Kagami tells Marion, who is still playing the part and not at all calling out ‘avenge me’ every ten seconds to make Marinette start giggling again.

“Oh shine your right,” Marion scrambles to stand up.

“Oh no a zombie,” Kagami says, montone, but Marion can tell she's trying.

“Brrrrains,” Marion groans out, making Kagami's lip twitch.

“At last!” Adrien calls out in victory, holding his ‘sword’ over Marinette who has completely cracked up and is curled over on the floor “I have defeated you,”

“Not so fast,” Kagami interjects picking up Marinette's dropped block, “I challenge you for the life of this mortal,”

“Oh great one,” Adrien calls, Marion doubts even he knows what he's talking about. “I must slay them to avenge my fallen brethren,”

“Thats me!” Marion exclaims, too happily for a guy that just died. Marinette starts laughing harder, Marion is concerned she's not breathing.

“You will have to defeat me first,” Kagami lunges at Adrien with the actual skill of an accomplished fencer.

Marion watched the two in awe as they somehow manage to make fencing with Toblerone blocks look cool. Marion walks over to Marinette, who is still laughing.

“You ok?” He asks, causing Marinette to start laughing harder. “Right got it,”

Marion sits down and rubs her back to help her calm down as she takes gasping breaths. Breathing out how her ribs hurt through the laughter. She starts to calm down into smaller giggles and sits up with Marion to watch the two fencers. They had even managed to draw the attention of some people around them, mostly the bored people waiting in line.

They both start getting more intense. Adrien lunges just a little too forcefully and the silver covered chocolate goes flying out the cardboard across the room. That is officially too much as the twins start howling with laughter. Adrien is frozen for a moment before he doubles over with laughter. Kagami even joins in, quietly chuckling. There are some people around them who are either laughing or smiling with them.

Once Adrien calms down a little he walks over to where the chocolate flew. Someone who had witnessed the 'fight' had picks up and hands it to the laughing boy as he comes over, chuckling themselves. They all gather to sit together and calm down their laughter. They try to keep quiet by each time someone starts to giggle again they all break down laughing. It takes some time but they all calm down.

“Sorry about that,” Adrien says, handing the chocolate back to Marion.

“Don’t ever apologise for something that makes us laugh that hard,” Marion smiles back, then descends into another bout of giggles,

They wait for Chloe a little longer until Kagami gets impatient. She marches over to where Chloe is still ‘talking’ with the guard. The others can’t hear what she says, but she pushes the pile of unauthorised stuff to the guard, closes Chloe's bag, and drags her away in little under thirty seconds.

“I really liked that nail polish,” Chloe pouts as they walk over to the others, who are grabbing their bags.

“Why would you bring it in carryon?” Kagami takes her bag from Marinette.

“I wanted to paint them on the plane,” Chloe looks at her nails sadly.

“Chloe you had ten vials!” Kagami accuses, as they started to walk.

“I couldn't decide which color,” Chloe pouts as they walk through duty free.

“They were the same color,”

“No they weren't! You take that back!” Chloe shouts, outraged.

“No,” Kagami states calmly, as they leave duty free.

“First of all how dare you I had canary, lemon, dandelion, honey-” Chloe starts counting out on her unpainted fingers.

“Those are all yellow,” Kagami fumes.

“They’re actually very different,” Marinette interjects, Kagami giving her a look of betrayal, but the girl is a fashion designer, what can you do?

“See? Marinette gets it, why can’t you?” Chloe asks, throwing out her hands.

“Why do I have to ‘get’ anything?”

“Because it's important to me,” Chloe sniffs, turning away.

“And why would I care?”

“Because- Oh my God look at those sunglasses!” Chloe cuts in front of Kagami to look at the pair on display in one of the airport’s shops. The group follow, still having plenty of time before they had to be at the gate.

“I like this pair,” Chloe says, looking at herself in the mirror.

“But this pair's shape suits your face shape much better,” Marinette hands Chloe another pair that she swapped over.

“Hmmmm, you’re right, what do you think Kagami,” Chloe poses for the girl.

“I don’t care either way,” Kagami answers truthfully.

“Hmph,” Chloe turns back around to admire her reflection.

“We are going to Gotham, I don’t think they get a lot of sun there,” Adrien pipes up, wearing a pair Chloe insisted he try.

“Doesn’t need to be sunny to look fabulous Adrien,” Chloe places another pair on his head.

“Is that the only word you know?” Kagami mutters.

“What was that?” Chloe asked, eyes narrowing.

“Nothing” Kagami answers shortly.

“How about we exchange some money?” Marinette suggests, cutting Chloe's comeback off.

“I don’t need to, I have a credit card,” Chloe says, flaunting her purse.

“It's always good to have some on hand,” Marinette plucks the glasses off her head and puts them back on the stand as Marion guides the protesting blonde away.

They exchange the cash, Marinette and Marion having to prevent Chloe from exchanging more than was actually necessary. They tuck it safely in their respective wallets letting their Kwamis watch over it.

They decide to get some food, Marinette and Marion immediately giving way to Adrien's excitement over eating Mcdonalds. Chloe refuses to go near the fast food place, and Kagami also refuses. So Chloe ends up dragging Kagami to look at more shops.

They take their food to an empty table. Adrien having a pile of food while the twins have a burger each and fries to fight over, not that they would have it any other way. Marinette watches completely spellbound at Adrien's simple excitement as he tried all the junk food. She vows to herself that she would take him everywhere in Gotham that sold something deep fried. Marion was slightly scared Gabriel would kill them after this trip, but it would definitely be worth it.

Marion decides to scroll through MCD’s social media before he has to turn his phone off. Marion smiles to himself at all the people in Gotham excited about his upcoming concert. He would be using the newly adapted outfits of all Gotham’s heroes that Marinette had finished weeks prior. It would be a nice surprise as everyone thought he was just going to wear the ones they already made.

“Hey Nette, do you think we can hold a meet and greet in Gotham?” He whispers so Adrien can’t hear. Although it is doubtful he would be able as he slips into a food coma, refusing to stop.

“Mmmmhmmm,” Marinette hums, as she keeps looking at Adrien with heart eyes.

Marion shrugs and sends their manager a quick email. She was a friend of Penny’s who had helped them out ever since they were small-time, despite being skilled enough to get jobs with much bigger celebrities. He gets an email back almost immediately telling him it would be hard to set up but she would try.

They spend as much time as possible away from the gate. Adrien had gotten a stomach ache and Marinette was rubbing his back as he groaned into the table. Marion offered the untouched food to surrounding people. Pointing to Adrien as he explains. Most people laughed and accept the food with thanks. Marion was glad he had a friendly disposition, he somehow doubted people would take the same food from Chloe.

Kagami and Chloe eventually come back. Kagami seemingly defeated, helping Chloe carry some bags. Marion smiles at the two but knows better than to say anything. Chloe sees Adrien's state and starts ranting, in her own caring way.

“Just the sight of that stuff is enough to make me sick, imagine what actually eating it does to you, oh, I don’t have to because you’re demonstrating that quite well,” Chloe gestures wildly.

“I think it’s more the volume that's the issue here,” Marion placates.

“Peasant food,” Chloe sneers, Marion smirks at her and they both start giggling.

“Oh that reminds me,” Chloe says, pulling out her phone still giggling. “I was filming your little scene,”

Marion shifts closer to Chloe, Kagami and Marinette watching over their shoulders. They don’t have audio but they see Marion as he dramatically falls down, causing Marinette to start giggling. They all start laughing as the chocolate goes flying out the wrapper, the angle showing just how far it went.

“Send me that,” Marion giggles, under 5 seconds later his phone beeped, “Witchcraft,” He whispers.

“You better believe it,” Chloe smirks.

“We should head to the gate,” Kagami was looking at the time on Chloe's phone screen. “Adrien can you move?”

Adrien groaned into the table, which probably meant ‘of course I’m raring to go!’.

“There's barf bags on the plane,” Marinette supplies, in what was trying to be helpfully. It likely just made Adrien die inside at the fact that Marinette had now envisioned him puking.

They manage to pry Adrien off the table. Making their way to the gate where the rest of the class was. Most of the class are sitting together, besides Max, Nathaniel and Alix who all sit alone. Well Max did have Markov.

Lila is concocting some story about the heroes from Young Justice fighting over her last time she was in America.

“Oh wow, maybe you can introduce me, I’m dying to get some interviews for my blog,” Alya babbles.

“Maybe, I’m just worried they’ll be fawning over me instead of paying attention to you,”

They walk right past the group and go towards the window. They settle down for the remaining wait looking out at the planes flying in and out. Marion and Marinette point out each time a new plane is arriving or departing. They watch with interest as smaller vehicles dart around the large plane delivering luggage and fuel. Kagami gladly listens to the twins chatter. Adrien is just glad to be looking out the window. Chloe is trying to savour her last moments with her phone.

----

Heres a bad comic

[itsclydebitches]

Some of my friends in the RWBY FNDM actually said people don’t forgive their friends for betraying them (Jaune killing Penny) but will forgive strangers betraying them (Em killing Penny). Uh…NO. Being close and attached to someone leads to bias. People are more willing to see someone they don’t know as evil for hurting them BECAUSE THEY DON’T KNOW THAT PERSON. They said this as an excuse to why RWBY will be pissed at Jaune. NOPE! (1/2)

I think it can go either way depending on the person, or in this case the character. People aren't so uniform that they'll have a single, predictable response to someone's actions depending on whether they're in the "friend" or "stranger" category, to say nothing of the complexities of figuring out when one moves from one category to the other. (Is Ozpin the beloved and respected headmaster they look up to, or a virtual stranger whose age and power makes him someone the group never would have seriously connected with? The fandom is divided.) But that connection (or lack thereof) can go in either direction. It might make it easier to forgive them, or it might make it seemingly impossible. I've been replaying Witcher's Blood & Wine where Anna Henrietta is so relieved to have her sister back that she's blind to the horrors she's committed - love make forgiveness an inevitability. I'm also rewatching Criminal Minds where Reid is furious with JJ for keeping Prentiss' secret from him, specifically because they're so close and JJ was the one to comfort him over Prentiss' "death" - love makes forgiveness that much harder. And it's the same with strangers. If someone you're less close to commits a horrible act, you might respond with pure disgust because who are they to you? Nobody. They're defined only by that one action. Or, their distance might make it easier to forgive them once you have gotten to know them a bit, simply because the action didn't, at the time, feel personal. You know the version of them now, the one that "counts," the one you're emotionally attached to. I don't think it's an either/or situation here, where there's a correct answer of "Yes characters will get angry if they're close to the person in question" or "No characters will be less angry if they're close to them." It depends on the individual, the action, the circumstances, the state of mind of the person trying to grant forgiveness, and a hundred other, smaller factors. If Yang did something horrible, would Blake be less willing to forgive her because they're so close, or more willing because they are? That depends on a whole range of things from "What exactly did Yang do?" to "Has Blake eaten and slept and generally not been stressed out of her mind lately, making her less likely to lash out?" It, to be blunt, comes down to good, nuanced writing.

Which is why the Jaune situation is... complicated. And sadly, RWBY doesn't do well with complicated. Free of the rest of Volume 8, my mind says the group has to be mad. How can they not? Even if Jaune had a 100% solid reason for killing Penny with no possible way to blame him - which, let's be frank, he doesn't. The guy has a healing semblance and just took her word that it was useless - it's not in our nature to approach a tragedy with that level of logical maturity (especially not after the crazy level of trauma that's been going on: Salem, battles, falling to their "deaths."). You don't have a friend admit they killed another friend and immediately go, "Oh yeah. Makes sense. Had to be done. No worries!" and move on with your life. You at least start with some anger, whether it's rational or not, deserved or not. People harbor anger over deaths that we know, realistically, are not the fault of another person involved, we resent people who survived over others even though we know they had no control over it, and we even hate ourselves for hating that person, because we know it's not fair and we're feeling it anyway. If we have all that complexity tied up in deaths that are unambiguously not the fault of the person in question... what do you do with the guy who straight up agreed to an assisted suicide? Gave up on healing or retreat? Was the one to drag his sword across Penny's throat? The fandom recognized that scene as something intensely complicated, made worse by ineffectual writing. We knew, the second it had finished, that Jaune was not an easily categorized innocent here who should be treated solely as a victim of horrible circumstances. There's a very good reason why the fandom went, "What the fuck, Jaune" because this entire situation is so. messed. up. I'm not saying all this to paint Jaune as some irredeemable monster or anything, but rather to highlight that there should be a huge range of emotions coming off of this action. Whether we the audience or the characters decide what he did was the right thing or not, Jaune's actions are still objectively horrifying. He killed Penny. Was it necessary? Given RWBY's shoddy writing, idk, but that's not the point for an initial reaction. The point is, "How would you respond if you found out Friend A helped Friend B commit suicide, right after you'd worked so hard to keep Friend B alive, after she'd already come back from the dead?" The answer should be, "Uh, not well. Not well at all."

But this is RWBY. There should have been a range of emotions to Jinn's vision in Volume 6, but there wasn't. There should have been a range of emotions to Penny's resurrection, but there wasn't. There should have been a more persuasive reason for Jaune to kill Penny, a better job of stripping away other options, but there wasn't. Arguably, Penny shouldn't have died at all, not after being brought back, getting the Maiden powers, being made human... but she was. This situation is already a mess but then, as you say, anon, we have Emerald on top of it all. I mentioned above that it's "Free of the rest of Volume 8" that the group should be mad at Jaune, but obviously that's not how the story goes. I can't separate Emerald from the rest of this and yeah, it looks ridiculous for the group to have a long arc of hating Jaune after they forgave Emerald in, what? An hour? We can talk about that context all we want, but at the end of the day, Emerald's actions were too horrific to shrug off as they were and Jaune's action is also too horrific to shrug off. RWBY has, once again, backed itself into a corner. What the story actually needed was for Emerald to get a full redemption arc, allowing the group to process, grapple with, and learn to forgive her past actions through apologies and new actions to demonstrate growth, so that they could then later do a modified version of that with Jaune, one tailored to his character, their characters, and this new situation. The story needs the group to be mad at both of them because both did things that would generate different types of anger. But because Emerald was granted laughter almost immediately upon arriving at the mansion, yeah, it would read as absurd for the group to go through a whole arc of learning how to forgive Jaune... even though Jaune's actions arguably do need some kind of forgiveness arc. The situation is screwed either way. If the group forgives him quickly it's, "Really? He killed Penny and that's it? No one is going to struggle with that? That's absurd!" and if the group doesn't quickly forgive him it's, "Really? You'll insta-forgive the woman who has been trying to kill you for years, but won't grant the same thing to your friend who only took that action with good intentions? That's absurd!" And if the focus is on Jaune being mad at himself, we're right back to where we were in Volume 4: Jaune mourning a redhead in his life and getting too much focus. I really don't think there's a good solution here, which (as my more recent posts speak to), we're seeing more and more as the series goes on. The more material we get and the more shoddily that material is written, the more we're going to see future situations where we go, "I don't like any of the writing options here, because of something that happened in a previous volume." RWBY has created a situation where the group very much deserves to be angry - or at the very least conflicted - over Jaune's actions, but because it's following on the heels of Hazel, Emerald, and their own horrific choices across Volume 7 and 8, any anger will feel hollow, hypocritical. But isn't that what we're left with? We've been here since the beginning of Volume 7 when Ruby repeated Ozpin's secrets and the story never acknowledged that either she's as bad as he is, or he's not as bad as they believed. We've been watching a show built on that hollow hypocrisy for at least two years (longer, really) and it's just getting worse the more the story introduces sensitive material and then doesn't appropriately follow up on it.

[thyandrawrites]

fidelcatstro replied to your photo “Heya! I think the line about “knowing from the start” refers to how...”

@bloodycarnations I don't want to repost this in case I spoil it for anyone following me, but did you notice how contradictory Twice was in Ch. 266? His dialogue doesn't only contradict itself, it evolves. From "it's a pretty pathetic and meaningful existence" when he falls after getting stabbed, to saying he "really had a blessed life" after hugging Toga-chan. I can't get over the subtlety of Horikoshi's storytelling. 

This chapter hurt, but Jin ended(?) on a grateful/happy note. Whether that was because he physically couldn't split anymore, or because he genuinely thought he had a blessed life - either answer messes me up.

Yeah. His narration hurt me so much, but it was beautiful. The main reason why I was so firm on the reading that he did die there was exactly the nice way his words wrap his arc. The contrast between the pathetic/blessed life is not one of his usual contradictions imho, but just him finally taking charge of his own narrative. 

Allow me to rant about this for a second because Horikoshi’s writing here was absolutely brilliant. 

let’s look at Jin’s backstory for a moment: a guy jumps in front of his car, and Jin ends up with a criminal record without even being given the benefit of the doubt even if he was obeying the law.

Jin rightfully objects to this: how is that fair? But he gets brushed off by the cop. This is not the end of the line. You can start over. 

By pushing for the rethoric that people “can always start over” hero society essentially refuses to acknowledge that people got their lives ruined in the first place. Not only that, but then they also victim-blame by saying that people who aren’t successful in rebuilding their life on their own are lazy, and thus deserve what they have coming. 

But the thing is... having enough willpower to put your life back together sounds great in theory, but sometimes it can’t do shit when faced with the cold, unsympathetic reality. 

Sometimes, “starting over” simply isn’t possible. 

It’s not coincidental that this was the beginning of Jin’s downwards spiral. It’s meant to tell us something about Hero society. And that is that by pushing the weight of getting back on their feet entirely on the victims, and by calling them ‘unlucky’ when they don’t succeed, hero society basically washes its hands of the resposibility of letting these people fall through the cracks in the first place. 

So Jin starts believing this rethoric as well. He starts questioning where “he went wrong”. When he became a bad egg. In other words, he starts self-blaming, because blaming the victims is exactly what hero society always does. 

So then Hawks repeating those same words at him strikes different, and becomes a wake up call. Here Hawks is no longer a friend, but just another hero who blames people for falling through the cracks. When it’s Hawks saying “you were unlucky”, it’s the entire system that Hawks embodies as its emotionless tool that it’s once again blaming Jin instead of recognizing his victimhood and hero society’s resposibilities in Jin’s fall. 

This is where Jin’s shift in mindset begins. 

Hawks offers Jin the chance to start over after he pays for his crimes. But he does it because he thinks Twice is a good person. A good egg. Not because he thinks that all people deserve a fresh start. 

This hits a nerve for Jin, because Hawks is once again proving that the system never really gave a damn about people like him, but only ever cared about rescuing the sane, the virtuous, the morally good. 

Once again, Hawks acts as a symbol for the police state he represents. And what Hawks is saying, essentially, is that only Jin deserves saving, by virtue of being “a good person”. The league does not. 

Jin blatantly calls Hawks out on this hypocrisy. 

He tells him over and over that Hawks is no hero - heroes are supposed to save everyone - and that the “fresh start” he’s offering him is just a front of kindness that Hawks will use to soothe his own guilty conscience. 

Hawks is not only denying that the league - Twice’s family, the only people who welcomed him and gave him a place to belong when hero society kicked him into poverty, homelessness, joblessness, loneliness and then lastly insanity - is worth saving. Hawks is also trying to forcibly take Twice away from them. 

So this is why Jin utlimately decides to reject the narrative that his life was sad, pathetic and “unlucky”. Because that’s the version of it hero society tried to push on him. Instead, Jin embraces the opposite. 

He refuses to go with Hawks, or to stop resisting. Instead, he fights back, and he does the very opposite of what Hawks did in the panel above. While Hawks condemned the league to die, and mercilessly and unsympathetically shot feathers through the clones’ skulls that looked like them, Jin used his last breath to send a clone to go help the real ones instead. 

Because his life was not “unlucky”. He was blessed to have formed bonds with people who loved and trusted him, and get this........ 

Hawks was not.

[teamcharlotte]

Awful things done to Charlotte that the show wants you to forget about/with a side order of awful things done to Lewis

This list is in order that it happens in the show. I wanted to put it from least awful to most awful, but there are so many ways of doing that, I just made it chronological. I'm also putting it under a read more because by GAWD is it long. The more I jotted down the angrier I got, so... here you go.

Had her diary stolen and read by Cleo, who thought she burned her old school down and accused her of cheating on Lewis, someone Charlotte wasn't even dating

Was unknowingly attacked with magic while at what she thought was a work dinner with her mother, because Cleo was jealous that someone wanted to be with her ex-boyfriend/she thought her divorced father was a date

The attack was encouraged by Rikki, who acted like Charlotte and Annette were literally hypnotizing Lewis and Don and "didn't know who they're messing with."

Attacked Lewis at his job that he got after Cleo was fired/froze a little boy's tongue to his ice cream to get him in trouble/actually got him in trouble and nearly arrested

Cleo yelled at him and made sure he felt awful and guilty for something that was literally her fault

Lewis basically tells Charlotte not to let Cleo know that they're hanging out, which... is just an objectively shitty thing to say to someone. "Hey, can you not let my ex know we're hanging out? I don't want her to know." Either he's embarrassed to be with you, or he still wants to get back together with her and is just using you for attention, both of which are sucky feelings to deal with.

Cleo is pissy that they're hanging out/unless he's begging for forgiveness from his ex-girlfriend because he's hanging out with another girl in which case, she doesn't care

Is invited to go to the award show with Lewis (I know, she pushed him to invite her) but then Cleo, who turned him down originally thus giving him the go-ahead to go with whoever he wants, decides to go with him after all and he decides lying to both of them is better than the truth

When Charlotte and Lewis go to Mako (a public island anyone can go to) because she wanted to explore and get some drawings, Rikki hints that she is going to hurt Lewis for bringing her there, despite him knowing not to bring her to the Moon Pool

Lewis still feels guilty about making his ex-girlfriend who dumped him jealous/upset about him kissing another girl

Is essentially blamed for Rikki getting hurt/Lewis is dumped on because he wasn't at their beck and call. I know he said he'd be there for them but dude, you need to get a life that isn't trailing behind three girls who treat you like crap

Is abandoned and told that Lewis doesn't like her by his ex-girlfriend, was lied to, made fun of

Is almost struck by lightning by Rikki (I don't care that she was moonspelled, they were all clearly in control of their faculties enough to do what they already wanted)

Her boyfriend douses her in chocolate milk in the middle of the cafe to see if she was a mermaid. Only two ways this could've gone and they're both awful: One, she does turn into a mermaid in public (what if she didn't know), or two, she is humiliated by her boyfriend who just leaves her and goes back to his friends and ex while they all laugh at her

Lewis lies about being with his ex, is revealed to have lied about it, then, without apologizing for lying, says that he doesn't have to explain himself to her and that she basically just needs to get over it because he can do what he wants

At one point, he has ignored her so thoroughly that when she finds him, he lies to her again and leaves, leaving her in one of the saddest shots of the show, where she sits down, abandoned and alone, struggling not to cry because her boyfriend only gives her attention when he wants some.

Because at this point, she knows. She knows that Lewis is either cheating on her with his ex already, or desperately wants to get back with her. But she really likes him, and doesn't break it off because sometimes he shows her affection. Except those times are few and far between and Lewis only finds her when he wants something

When she tries to explain to him, again, how he's making her feel, aka alone and abandoned for other girls, he just once again tells her to get over it and simply not feel that way

Is condescended to and treated like an intruder when she becomes a mermaid. Like the other three are just so... mean and cruel I can't believe people support them

Is made fun of for having a fear of dolphins. Like. You don't know why she has that fear. Maybe she was attacked when she was young. Maybe it's instinctual. Maybe she heard all those stories of dolphins being major dicks and is justifiably scared now. Jerks.

Emma makes Rikki follow Charlotte for doing nothing except pulling one over her and Rikki says she's been doing stupid things, because they're paragons of both control and not making mistakes, therefore they can pass judgement on others without seeing their own hypocrisy

Yeah, she planned a party that wasn't Lewis's style, and I'll agree that locking Emma and Cleo in the closet was a shitty thing to do, but I'd say that was, hmmm, the only shitty thing she did to them on purpose compared to the mountain of other shitty things done to her?

Lewis leaves her at the party she threw for him. Grabs his ex-girlfriend's hand as he does so. Does not make sure Charlotte is coming along. Does not apologize for ditching her at the party she threw for him while holding hands with his ex or questioning why she wasn't coming with. He leaves her standing on those steps while she watches him leave her.

You wanna know how I know the writing is shitty to make Charlotte the awfulest person who ever lived? The fact that at no point did Emma or Cleo tell Lewis that Charlotte locked them in the closet, JUST SO that Charlotte could have the chance to lie about it later. You're telling me that at this point Cleo would not absolutely jump on the chance to be like, "See?! See?! The person we said was a bad person acted like a bad person finally! YAYYYY!! Can we get back together now?"

And again, at this point, Charlotte is doing some messed up things. But after months of them doing this shit to her, WHY IS IT BAD WHEN CHARLOTTE GIVES IT BACK TO THEM?

Why is it that when Charlotte pulls Lewis away from Cleo, it's bad and possessive, but it's perfectly understandable that the three of them expect him to drop everything and run when she wants and get mad when he doesn't??!!!

Oh, and to top off the shitty writing and the piss poor excuse of a story arc, the girls are happy and victorious when they finally beat a girl who wouldn't have been in that position if everyone weren't so awful to her. We got to watch months of a girl being bullied to the point where when she was finally able to sling back what was hurled at her, they treated her like a monster instead of a product of their own creation. She did nothing that they hadn't already done, but because the plot says so, it's bad when Charlotte does it, but not when the magical girls do it.

Like, how can we justify every single bad thing that was done to her? Because she was a little clingy? Because she didn't get the hint that Lewis didn't like her? Lewis DID like her! When he wasn't having to drop her to deal with mermaid crap, he clearly enjoyed her company! Also, has no one else been in her position before? No one else liked someone more than they liked you and it made you want more? What were her sins besides being the foil of three girls who are coddled by the narrative to be as terrible as they want to a girl whose only crime is like the EX-BOYFRIEND of one of them and doesn't automatically back down when being sneered at