#then he got radicalised while down here

[ninjasmudge]

u forget the word for a group of monkeys for one second and suddenly its personal

[starlightseraph]

love to the brave antis!

i’m being so serious rn when i say that if you’re part of the rpf circle (and that specific one) then please get the fuck away from me and my asks and my posts.

i spent a while hate-reading and rubbernecking, but i was strong enough to block all the major players and i’ve almost entirely kept them blocked. if my inbox last time i mentioned this was anything to go by, clearly some of y’all couldn’t do the same to me.

if you’re in the good omens/staged fandom or a fan of david tennant and michael sheen and somehow aren’t aware, there are a bunch of disgusting blogs that have been spewing hatred and conspiracy theories, for years in some cases. these include but are not limited to: that georgia tennant and anna lundberg baby trapped the guys (with like every kid they’ve had, because david and michael have clearly been on the edge of leaving them so many times), that georgia is repeatedly raping david (???), that she’s abusing him and he’s afraid of her, that david and georgia’s kids hate georgia because they recognise the abuse and are disgusted by it, that anna is some maniacal villain who always planned to trap an established actor because she can’t do anything, that she hates michael, that david and michael are in a sexual and romantic relationship, that they they want to leave their partners for each other, that they already have left their partners in secret, that david and georgia have gotten divorced and are living apart, that georgia’s dad set up her and david on purpose (outside of his influence in getting her the role that they met on), that georgia and anna send coded messages to each other and to followers with the songs they use on instagram stories, that georgia was a criminal-level stalker who baby-reindeer’d david into marrying her, that the four of them have a pr firm that’s orchestrating every flick of their eyes but that this firm is failing miserably by telling them to turn down the heat between david and michael while forcing them to drag georgia and anna along wihh them, and that anyone who doesn’t agree with these rpf blogs is homophobic and wilfully ignorant.

they send death threats to and dox people who dare to say anything against them, i’ve gotten threats myself. @dtmsrpfcringe has gotten wishes of ill on her children and she’s been told that her family doesn’t exist and she’s making them up or is delusional. i myself got death threats and a bunch of abuse on anon for my relatively tame posts on this shit. i was fairly early to the game, i think my first post on the situation was 10ish months ago, and they have radicalised more and more since then. i’m not up to date on their latest insanity— i’ve had them blocked for a long while for my own mental health— but i’m not gonna let the brave people behind the aforementioned blog and others get absolutely vile messages without saying anything.

now i wanna make myself very clear: rpf is fine! real person fiction is fine! i personally don’t like it, but i have no ethical objections as to why others shouldn’t. using the names and likenesses of real people for fun and silly little stories on ao3 is totally ok. but it crosses a line when y’all present the stories as an “investigation” or claim that they’re objective reality. some of the followers of these blogs have admitted to messaging georgia and anna directly about this, and there have also been a few comments on their instagrams that seem fuelled by this stuff, proving that their claims of staying quietly on their own corner of the internet are bullshit.

if anyone’s interested, my old posts on the matter are here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. they’re all months old and quite out of date by now, as i’ve been pretty good at keeping the blogs blocked, but i do think they include some well-written points (much better than this post lol, i just woke up). something has changed though; i say in one of the posts that i’d have no problem with the theories being true, but the blogs have since begun more proudly displaying some truly insane accusations, which i would absolutely have a huge fucking problem with.

anyways. most of the new stuff i’ve seen comes from tori and co, see dtmsrpfcringe and the council (lol) for more, if you want to see a bunch of wonderful people fighting a shit show to protect the fandom.

[marauderseraconfessions]

Okay, I have thoughts on the debate around fanon's characterisation of Death Eaters, so hopefully I can say this right. I'm not wonderful with words, but I'll try.

Criticising them is absolutely okay, first of all. Please do that, we need more of it. When a fandom babygirls fascists to the point I've seen a ship fic set in a concentration camp between a Nazi and one of their victims, we have a problem. A rather fucking large one. So criticise all you want.

There is a part of me, however, that wants to use the potential we have in them being so young. They're in their formative years in a large majority of fics, and we can use that.

For example, Barty. Criticise him all you want, he was a terrible person. He bullied children, helped bring Voldemort back to life, and did any number of horrible things we should absolutely call attention to.

In the 70s, he got radicalised. His father showed hatred for what his son became, so we can easily assume he was not raised believing muggles were inferior (or at least not to the same degree as the Black Family, as the Crouches were still members of the Sacred 28). In my opinion, he could be used as a parallel to young men who go down the alt-right pipeline today. The narrative should criticise him— but I think a warning about radicalisation could be a fantastic theme in fics about him. And there can be a level of sympathy there, too— he was a child. He could have been good, and he didn't become that.

On the other end, we have Regulus. Being completely honest here, I may be slightly biased on his character. There are ways I will admit to relating to his life before I was able to go on the internet and find differing beliefs for myself. All the same, I'm going to try to keep this fair.

Regulus was also a bad person. He supported Voldemort. I don't care whether you like to think he directly hurt people or couldn't stomach doing so himself, he caused harm. Being a bystander (and that is the best possible descriptor you can give him with what we know) is not an action free of harm.

That being said, getting rid of beliefs your parents instilled in you is difficult when that's all you hear. Sirius was only a year older than him and figuring all this out for himself, I doubt he even knew how to conceptualise it for someone else in an effective way. (This is not me hating on Sirius btw, I love him. I'm just being realistic. My own brother followed a vaguely similar path, and he's one of the people I care about most in the world)

Regulus, at the same time he was a terrible person, was eighteen at most when he died. He did have room to become a better person had he lived. We don't know what he was thinking about when he was planning to go to the cave, we don't know if he started to question his beliefs or not. There's ways to write him, after finding the horcrux, as a more sympathetic character (albeit one in desperate need of a character arc).

I don't know. Hopefully this isn't just a bunch of rambles. I just think there's no way to write any of these people— when they're in school— as one-dimensional villains or undeserving of a chance to become a good person. This includes Snape, and Petunia, and any other kid in this era. We have the chance to explore what makes someone hate and what makes someone change for the better. Condemnation of babygirlifying characters is completely fair, at the same time that growth isn't altogether impossible.

But. Words. I'm not great, so tldr: we should absolutely criticise the way this fandom interacts with the Death Eaters, but I personally don't agree with calling children with the potential to change automatic monsters. There are ways to write about them that doesn't make light of what they've done while still retaining some sense that they're human.

ᯓ★

[harrowharks-iliac-crest]

As Yet Unsent

I’ve recovered from my initial relapse after gut alteration. My weight has levelled out. My captors’ procedures were conceptually primitive but sophisticated in execution. They have still failed to regrow my stomach or bowel, as they lack the basic techniques required to do so, but have outsourced their functions to apparatus outside my body for the interim.

As always, we start off the read with a healthy dose of Hey what the fuck????

The operation went ahead. Severe reflux required another landing in order to fix it. I was sedated for the majority of the time. Hect provided competent guidance. The ambient thanergy was thin. The corpse has still failed to rot. The princess says they are leaving it outside in significantly fluctuating temperatures, under observation, and it still fails to rot.

I have so many questions.

Why are they doing this to Judith??

And what corpse?

It's been a little while now since I finished Gideon the Ninth, so let me refer back to what the Emperor told Harrow in the epilogue -

“Who else beside me is alive, Lord?” “Ianthe Tridentarius,” said the Emperor, “minus one arm.” “The Sixth House cavalier was only injured when I left her,” said Harrowhark. “Where is she?” “We haven’t recovered any trace of her, or her body,” said the Emperor. “Nor that of Captain Deuteros of Trentham, nor of the Crown Princess of Ida.” “What?” “All the Houses will have questions tonight,” he said. “I can hardly blame them. I’m sorry, Harrow, we couldn’t recover your cavalier either.” Her brain listed sharply. “Gideon’s gone?” “Everyone else is accounted for,” he said.

Camilla, Judith and Coronabeth are alive, so if this is referring to any corpse taken from Canaan House, it's actually most likely to be Gideon Nav. What are they doing to my girl??? Studying how fast her body decays on an unfamiliar planet with "thin" thanergy??

Security anklet only, wired to a severe but not fatal electrical shock. Since my previous report they used it on her once, which hospitalised her for a week. Camilla Hect is in the process of being converted to their cause.

Oh yikes once more. Blood of Eden sure has some colourful torture/persuasion tactics. Camilla seemed pretty sold when they met Harrow, so this is presumably before then.

There is no way of softening this. Coronabeth Tridentarius has already been radicalised.

As I expected.

Are we going to get more info on what went down at Canaan House after Gideon died, but before Harrow and Ianthe were recovered by the Emperor?

To have Coronabeth Tridentarius near me in my suffering only hardened my heart. All the while she would tell me the things they had told her, as though she wanted me to argue her down. At first I tried. Then I realised she was just using me to sharpen her own reasoning.

Coronabeth, while being called stupid by Ianthe, is actually anything but. I mean, they're twins, so how could she be? Ianthe might be ahead of her, but that only means that comparing her to Corona is unfair. This girl is still cunning.

Hect maintains I am incorrect. Hect maintains that Coronabeth’s intervention kept us all alive, and that the princess deliberately put herself in harm’s way. What am I to believe? That the princess was and remains an innocent victim, or that the princess maintained the pose of innocence and has become a victim anyway? She sincerely believes that the Houses have done wrong, and worse, that they are being led incorrectly. The tips of her ears go pink when she is genuinely impassioned.

I mean, I feel like the Blood of Eden do have a point here, and it's not particularly hard to convince someone like Coronabeth of that. Judith is much more indoctrinated from the Houses' side, and Coronabeth is probably capable of holding the duality - sympathetic to the rebels' cause, and also trying her hardest to keep Judith and Camilla alive - the closest thing she has to friends in this situation.

The corpse is still as it ever was. I asked Hect if the scavengers had got at it. She said that animals refused to touch it even when encouraged.

Curious. Curious indeed. If this is really Gideon, then this is more points for her being, technically and biologically speaking, a fucking weirdo.

Could it be that Eden are using her body to keep tabs on Harrow?

I never experienced the physical vitiation that some necromancers suffer. The Second House’s signature thalergy transferral does not burn the necromancer’s tissue so viciously, especially in necromancers who enjoy more competency than genius. I could run a kilometre in ten minutes, which was among the fastest for my adept group in the junior reserves. Marta could run it in five.

A kilometre in ten minutes is still not particularly good. I can walk a kilometre in ten minutes. Judith isn't as frail as some necromancers, but still isn't particularly fit either.

Well, she was not that frail for a necromancer, before Eden decided, for some reason, to tear out and replace a large chunk of her digestive system. Which still begs the question of Hey what the fuck??

The princess sourced me paper, [...] The princess and Hect and I all agree we hate the texture.

An autistic mood. What's flimsy made out of, exactly? Non-organic materials of some sort?

She said, Do you have designs on Camilla? I said that romance was the furthest thing from my mind and should be the furthest thing from hers. I said that in such a febrile atmosphere it was for the best if we did not make any connections that Blood of Eden could exploit. The princess asked me if at any point blood had ever flowed in my veins or if it had always been graphite shavings. We had an argument.

A lot of arguments happening here between Coronabeth and Judith. Kinda yuri tbh. (Judith would hate me for saying so...)

I said it needed to be bathed in thanergy-enriched blood by at least three adepts and that the carvings needed to be kept clear of crusts or clots. I said one necromancer alone would not be able to use it as an anchor and that it needed to be energised on a thanergenic planet, so it would never be of any use to them. [...] Blood of Eden have a stele-capable ship. My only hope is that I am the only necromancer they have in their possession. I keep telling myself this has to be the case.

So a stele is a necromancy-powered engine of sorts, but it needs several necromancers to work (at least this one does). Interesting.

I think Judith is probably right that she's the only necromancer they have. If they were successful in keeping necromancer prisoners, if they'd managed to convert any or torture them into being useful, they would know more about necromantic ability and aptitude.

I said to Hect, I hadn’t actually read them as closely as I’d made out to the lieutenant, in that initial conversation. I had to go back and reread all of them in a hurry. Hect said, That’s the first human thing you’ve ever told me about yourself.

Cute.

I told her that when I was seventeen I was overwhelmed by the cavalier relationship. I told her that I hadn’t expected it to feel that way. I told her, using efficient and unsentimental language, that the love Lieutenant Dyas showed me as my cavalier—in all the ways she had made us one flesh—turned my head completely. I told her how deeply I had fallen for Marta Dyas as a woman, to the point where one evening I tried to make things different between us. At this point I tried to find the words with Camilla, honourable words, and Camilla Hect said: You propositioned her? I said, Yes. She was the age I am now; I was seventeen. I’d been secretly reading material . . . I was convinced . . . I thought it was a natural development, or at least, one nobody had to know about.

Oh Judith, I know the feeling. Who doesn't love a capable strong woman?

I said I, who had had a healthy relationship with my cavalier, was obliged to help others who hadn’t had my privileges. She said if that was the way I had put it to Camilla then I was lucky to be alive.

Corona is probably right there, Judith.

I have an internal infection. My gut fused correctly to whatever grisly artificial thing they put inside me, but I’m dying. [...] They won’t let Camilla Hect in to see me, whether or not she would want to, on the belief that she might try to give me antibiotics. They are letting the princess in reluctantly. She says the Edenite commander We Suffer is of the opinion that I should live no matter what, but she is faced with the opposite opinion from literally every other Blood of Eden soldier.

Interesting. Eden aren't a cohesive unit as much as a bunch of squabbling soldiers, bickering over whether they should let their captive necromancer die.

I hope she doesn't.

She said, Did you know? Every birthday we got to have one person we’d invite and our mother and father would get to invite the rest, and Ianthe always invited whoever Babs didn’t want to see at the time, and I always invited you.

How perfectly Ianthe. Though Corona's reasoning are not far off, honestly:

She said, It was always me. I had so much fun seeing you. You were the only person who acted like they had to get through the party for duty’s sake, and everyone else was there acting like they’d rather die than be anywhere else. Even your cav pretended she was having fun . . . But there you were, wearing your uniform, freezing me out. Perfect Captain Deuteros. Perfectly boring Judith Deuteros.

This is so funny. "Everyone else was having a great time but you never even had a facial expression. I wanted to study you under the microscope like a weird bug. I loved that."

Jody, you can’t die on me. I’m so alone now. I said, It’s been a long time since you called me that. She said, You won’t die on me, Jody. I won’t allow it.

Oh, the loneliness and grief of Coronabeth Tridentarius are so palpable here. I ache for her. I really hope her and Ianthe can meet again someday.

Someone said, You absolute idiots, she’s very nearly dead. It was not one of the voices of the other Blood of Edenites. It was new, and spoke perfectly accented House, pitched high. It was this voice that said, Who gets a toy they have been desperate for, then breaks it immediately? [...] Why are you people always such a curious mix of the competent and the completely deranged?! It never changes, and it never has changed!! I think they just clone you all out of the same vat!! Out of my way, you wretched, cack-handed children, and let me fix it.

No clues yet to who this is, except it kinda sounds like Mercymorn. Am I just hoping beyond hope?

I have been under the knife and lived through multiple necromantic processes, some of them internal. Nothing had ever been like what was done to me. My body was convulsed with paraesthesia. The voice said, Much nicer, much neater. This is how to do it.

No, that still sounds like Mercymorn.

Then the voice said, Now show me this wretched body. I don’t believe this story for a second. What you’ve done is accidentally kept it airtight . . .

PLEASE tell me more about the body.

And yeah, I'm positive now that this was Mercymorn, on a secret undercover colluding with the Blood of Eden mission, probably before picking up Harrowhark and the Emperor.

I wonder if they will stop the experiments now. The corpse of the Ninth House cavalier is as pristine as when Camilla Hect convinced them to take it on board. She never explained herself fully to me. Some business about a note.

It IS Gideon!! And there IS something fucky going on with her body. PLEASE keep telling me more, this is fascinating.

A note -?

Camilla convinced them to take her???

So she's presumably not being used to track Harrow somehow. Why would Camilla want to -

And why isn't she decomposing? I would LOVE to hear what Mercymorn had to say about that.

It is not a confession of temptation. I wasn’t tempted by Coronabeth’s offer. There was never any possibility of it. I committed the understandable crime of desire for Lieutenant Marta Dyas, having joined my hand to hers with the best and most pure of intentions. Why would I ever knowingly take Coronabeth Tridentarius’s, having desired her already for twelve long, stupid, fruitless years? And I said, Thank you for the offer, Your Highness, but not in this life or in any other.

Whoa, dropping that gay in there almost unexpectedly, right at the end.

Wow this was one hell of a ride!!! We learned a lot, and yet still sooooo many questions remain.

I think at some point between now and re-starting Gideon the Ninth, I will have to compile a little post on all the thoughts and updated theories I've had in my absence. I've been very distracted with other things, but still this story has been bouncing around in my brain and generating more interesting thoughts that I wanna share.

I guess I only have to decide whether to do that before, or after reading Doctor Sex!

[intheorangebedroom]

Well….

THIS:

Cassian Andor x rebellion pilot!reader x Din Djarin

Is absolutely screaming at me 😵‍💫🖤🥵

Just the thought makes me

💜

Ahahahhaha!!

Thank you so much for this ask, Kyla 🧡🥰🧡 This one is so old. Before I even knew there was fanfiction on tumblr! I spent weeks, no, MONTHS, daydreaming about it, right after I saw season 1 of The Mandalorian. I'm gonna try ot give you the short version because it goes very deep 😅

So you are a teen when the Empire destroys your home planet and kills your family. Classic. You're left with nothing to lose, no one to love. After you escape, you get radicalised and join Saw Gerrera and his crew. With them, you train very hard to become a ruthless killing machine. You can use any weapon, blaster, vibroblade, rifle, your fists, you basically turn your own body into a weapon (can you tell I want to be Black Widow when I grow up?).

However, as you grow older, you don't always see eye to eye with Saw's modus operandi, and when you meet this young rebel intelligence captain (this was long before the Andor series), you decide to follow him.

The connection between you is immediate (yeah ok, I know I have a brand...). You work together, and there's nothing you can't do, no intel you can't retrieve, no mission you can't achieve successfully. You think and work and move as one, two peas in a pod, it's uncanny the way you can communicate without words, and that's what makes you so good at your job.

At night, at the base, you share one bunk bed, and there too your connection is otherwordly. It's not even sex, it's a communion.

It's weird to think of yourself as happy, given the war and the circumstances, but you are fulfilled. You have a purpose, and someone you'd die for.

Until you get word of this super weapon the Empire is building... So here it merges with the Rogue One plot, but without Jyn (I'm sorry Jyn, I love you, but there's no room for you in this pod). On Scarrif, at the very last moment, before the impact, Cassian manages to shove you into an escape pod despite his injuries, and you're propelled into space, drifting helplessly as you watch the love of your love being blown to atoms. You hurt so much you think you’ll die yourself. You want to die. When you reach base they have to sedate you. You miss the battle of Yavin and all. 

Fast forward a little, you become a pilot for the Black Squadron, some kind of last chance unit that gets sent in when the situation is desperate. You’re the best because you're reckless, you've got a deathwish. You’re dead already, anyway. 

When the war ends, the politics start and you’re gutted because half the Imps are pardoned and walk free. So you go rogue, hunting them down on your own. You’re now wanted down by your former comrades, people you’ve fought alongside with. You live in the shadows. But again you don’t care, you’re dead. 

That’s how you end up on Nevarro, helping a certain Mandalorian escape with his little package (my babyyyy).

At first, Din doesn't trust you at all. Things are very rough between you. But he understands he needs you. And he's intrigued. He saw you fight. As for you, you stay because you won't let the Empire get what it wants.

So time passes by, on the run from the Empire and the New Republic. You cohabitate in silence, you fight alongside each other, you take care of the kid together. After a while, you become intrigued too. He’s righteous and competent and a reluctant hero and... broad. You look at him and caught him looking too (as much as you can tell with the helmet). However, you know about the Mandalorian way. And that shit's not for you.

So you strike a bargain. You two can fuck whenever the kid’s asleep, but you only take off as much clothing as he does. So it’s a dance, sort of, over many weeks, months, between you and him. You're tough, and he's tougher, but is he really? It's him wanting more and more of you, so taking off more and more of his armour so he can touch more and more of your skin (yeah I know, the armour-peeling metaphor is not very original 😂).

However, Cassian haunts your dreams. Or rather your nightmares. Even more so now that you’re slowly falling for another man, even if you don’t realise it yet. You wake up in sweats, crying out his name, and Din is fucking burning to know but he can’t bring himself to ask. He grows increasingly impatient and furious at your reckless ways, you take too much risks, it’s obvious you don’t care if you die and he just can’t take it anymore. He cares. And he wants you to care too. He’s giving you his trust, forgoing his way, and you’re not committing yourself. You remain on the edge. And his frustration and anger reach an all time high (*swoon*).

After one particularly violent fight-- wait, should I tell you how this ends??

Anyway, I can't believe myself, I said the short fucking version 🤦🏻‍♀️ The girl who couldn't be concise to save her life (or that of her friends). I'm sorry! Plus it's most likely not the mmf you expected, it's just fight and smut and angst, I'M SORRY!

Here, for your trouble:

(this gif makes me fucking sick)

[thebindingofpillo]

Isaac

The man. The myth. The legend himself, Isaac Moriah! His backstory will be pretty short since it’s basically already explained in the game, but there’s a couple little differences that might make it more interesting.

Isaac comes from a deeply problematic family. While his mother wasn’t homicidal, she was prone to rage outbursts and wasn’t above threatening violence to get her way, and his father wasn’t much better, always managing to escalate every and all conflict. They met  for the first time at an AA meeting, while Isaac’s mom was waiting for her brother (Uncle Bob lmao). The two actually clicked and started dating even if they were pretty different people: Mom (I’m just gonna call her Mom to not get her confused with Maggy) was the golden child of a fairly religious family, while Abe was a handy man who went to church every Sunday but not much else. While Mom’s family wasn’t against their relationship, they weren’t exactly pleased either but were willing to let it slide since their daughter seemed happy enough. Anyway, once Mom got pregnant, Abe swore to become the best father he could ever be, and was a good six months sober when they finally got married. Isaac was born soon after and the family actually managed to live happily enough for a few years.

Things get waaaay worse under the cut!

Mom’s family, not pleased with her shotgun wedding, disowned her and cut all contacts with them, which took a tremendous toll on Mom’s psyche, as she was very cose to her family. This caused her to start resenting her son in a way (in her mind, Isaac was the reason her life fell apart) ad there was nothing Abe could do to help her. Their fighting got worse and worse and in the end, Isaac’s did left the family for good, which made everything even worse! But enough about them! This is all about Isaac, his parents will get their own post. Maybe. Eventually. Most definitely, because I love to suffer.

Anyway, Isaac’s home life was never incredible, but with his father spiralling into alcoholism again and his mother being radicalised by televangelists, suffice to say it was a real shit life. I’m not gonna go into details about his abuse, because it makes me kinda uncomfortable and it almost feels voyeuristic in a way, but it wasn’t pretty. Still, Isaac managed to scrape a  few moments of happiness here and there, both with his mom and his dad. One of his dearest memories is of Abe’s bedtime stories, and the time they created the character of Bum-bo together, as well as the countless monsters and funny creatures they crafted out of the cardboard Mom provided them. Or when she let him play dress-up with her makeup and clothes. A crumb of good times amidst all the terrible ones. Eventually it got even worse. Once Abe left the family things very quickly spiralled out of control, with Mom getting more and more unstable and Isaac now taking the brunt of her rage. On a particularly bad day, Isaac locked himself in the toy chest to escape her (just a minor incident involving lunch probably, but Isaac saw the bread knife in her hand and thought the worst) and that’s where his fate diverges from the game.

But just as he accepted his fate, God intervened, sending an angel down from above to stop his mother's hand and, just like that, it was over. Eden burst into the door, quickly opened the chest and held Isaac firmly in their arms as he slowly came back to his senses. They were on the lookout for a new iteration of their friends, and managed to save Isaac just in time. The neighbours promptly called CPS and since both Mom and Abe were not suited to take care of a child, Isaac was put into a foster home that later adopted him. This is also where Maggy comes in! Isaac’s foster parents were her biological ones, so the kids grew up together as siblings. Isaac at first didn’t take very well to his new family, but they had both enough time and financial resources to get him everything he needed (mostly lots of therapy) and with time, he managed to get accustomed to them. Twenty years later, he has no problem calling them “mom” and “dad” and considers Magdalene his full sister. Isaac’s biological parents apparently fell off the face of Earth, and while he’s never expressed the desire to see them, he still thinks about his dad from time to time. While he understands the man probably wasn’t the hero he put on a pedestal when he was a kid, a little part of him still thought of Abe as a good man. What Isaac doesn’t know, is that his adoptive parents went to great lengths to make sure Abe could never reach out to his son, and even got a restraining order against him after the man tried to break into their house, completely drunk, and demanding to see him (Isaac was at school at the time, and doe not know about the incident). Eden also kept a closer eye on Isaac, even as they were busy finding the others.

After this, Isaac’s life became reassuringly mundane. After a couple of years, the family moved (due to Isaac’s therapy being pretty far from home) and in a new school, Isaac and Maggy met Judas, who quickly became their best friend. After middle school came highschool, then college (Isaac majored in art) then work as an illustrator for an indie magazine, then he managed to publish a book (with the help of his sister) and now he’s currently working on some commissioned projects while also trying to balance art contests and other independent gigs. Eventually Maggy left to go live with Judas, and Isaac stayed behind. He still lives with his parents, which is not that bad because they’re lovely people. He still attends group therapy once a month, and has a lot of friends (one of which is Job!!!!! Woooohoooo!!!! A dear friend of his, made by my buddy @bootleg-sara​), most of whom he met in college or while working as a freelance artist. Eve is also one of them! They met in art school.

His personality Isaac is the definition of a good boy. He is an incredibly caring man, and very sensitive too. This doesn’t mean he’s easy to push around tho. While sweet, he’s also very passionate, determined, and will fight tooth and nail for what he believes in, be it his friends or his art. He might be slow to anger, but that doesn’t mean he’s never had a fight. Despite what he went through, he still has a bit of childlike cheekiness in him, and while a bit shy, he’s very quick to warm up to new people. Magdalene helped him  a lot during his formative years, by being his anchor and his first best friend, and definitely helped him get out of his shell.

Now, traumatising events can cause the resurgence of those special memories, and taking into account the sheer amount of trauma Isaac went through during his childhood, it’s not surprising that he remembers everything. Even his past lives after the biblical events, something that no one in the rest of the cast managed to achieve (aside from Lazarus, due to his countless near-death experiences). While Isaac managed to get this under control through therapy and meditation, he still gets some wild dreams sometimes. Due to this, he’s practically unfazed by anything supernatural by now. He already knew Eden was an angel, he actually remembered Azazel from a couple of past lives, and didn’t bat an eye when he met Apollyon for the first time. Sure, angels and demons can be freaky sometimes (he even knows about Judas’ deal with Belial, which sucks because he’s incapable of stopping him) but he is OVER their shit. As long as they’re not a direct threat to him or anyone he loves, they can stay, or else they get the gun. When it comes to magic, Isaac is the living embodiment of the “call an ambulance… but not for me!” GIF.

Stuff

Suffers from claustrophobia.

Does not drink. At all. Can barely stand the smell of alcohol, and definitely doesn’t want to taste it. His friends are cool with it, of course, and he’s usually the designated driver every time they go out.

Despite having worked through most of his trauma, he still can’t bring himself to call Magdalene “Maggy”, as that was his mother’s nickname. He usually just calls her Mag/Mags. At first he couldn’t even stand other people saying that name, but with time he at least managed to overcome that barrier

Loves comics! Even started his own collection

Still loves cats. Currently has two of them, Pickle and Funkytown.

Is still somewhat religious, but mostly just because he knows God exists. You won’t see him in church every Sunday.

Met Azazel while he was in college (the demon was working as a delivery boy) and managed to be his wingman when he wanted to get closer to Judas and Maggy.

On the same note, him and Eden actually became friends throughout his life. They started hanging out around highschool, and while Eden is a bit volatile they still keep contact.

After being adopted, Isaac also changed his last name, so now he’s called Isaac Mitchell. This will probably not be relevant to the story but I felt like saying it

Prefers neutral colours and has a very basic wardrobe. While friendly and eager to meet new people, he’s more than okay with just blending into the background and observe the action

Both he and Maggy have an interest in sewing. While he’s not good enough to make his own clothes, Isaac uses his skills to fit his new dresses to him.

[cescalr]

For the WIP ask meme, "Percy Rebels And Shit AU; last year, nodus tollens, outline (2022)"

Ok, so;

Percy Rebels And Shit AU is a collab fic series idea between me and @vivithefolle, set in a No Boy Who Lived AU of Harry Potter, where Harry himself was never born. It's in it's early stages, mostly of planning and brainstorming. But as you can tell by the title, it focuses less on Harry, you know, not existing, and more on the ramifications of Ginny's first year at Hogwarts without him.

As in, nobody with parsletongue hanging around to open the chamber.

We open at the close; the start of the fic is set post this alternate year two, wherein Ginny succumbs, Neville and Ron are memory botched by Lockheart, and Dumbledore is scrambling with his allies to combat the fact there are now two whole voldemorts wandering around.

Our focal character is Percy Weasley, because the main actual premise of this fic outside the like, setting exposition, is that Percy gets disillusioned with the Wizarding World status quo and ends up radicalised by a group of disestablishment-minded individuals - an awkward collection of people from all sides of ww political spectrums only weakly held together by the singular goal of removing the acting government. Some of them are total anarchists, some of them are blood purists, some of them are ww liberal, some of them are statute abolitionists, etc etc.

In a sense, PRAU is a combination of standard HP AU trope ideas (no/wrong boy who lived, voldemort returns early, rebellion against the corrupt ministry, etc) and sort of... twists them 180 to the left. Squints at 'em and interrogates them. Looks at them and says, okay, but what would that actually entail?

But it's not cynical.

The problem i have with most of these AUs is not how edgy they get, though that's kind of the point - a darker take - it's how little faith they have in our protagonists. The Weasley family always gets the short end of the stick, and I don't think that's fair. Me and viv are especially sour on the treatment of Ron, as prominent and loud members of his Defense Squad, lol. The collab part comes in that i'm godawful at writing the kind of... well, almost slice-of-life-esque stuff needed for the non-percy side of things; Viv is the primary writer for Ron's side of the story, while I'm doing Percy. Ron's side of the story is more about the hope, the humanity - sure, Harry might not be here, but he's not the be-all end-all. He's just one guy. There's a whole society of people who wouldn't put up with Voldemort's shit knocking around to lob his head of, you know? Vive la révolution, and all. Just 'cause Harry never existed doesn't mean all hope is lost. Just because Percy starts down a bad path doesn't mean he has to end that way. Just because Lockheart fucked over Ron and Neville doesn't mean they're useless now they've got memory problems - they're people. And where there's people, there's always hope. I don't know. I just don't like how.... pessimistic a lot of WBL/NBL AUs are. It seems antithetical to the point of the whole thing.

obviously the entire outline is unshareable for spoiler reasons, but as for 'last year' and 'nodus tollens';

last year - currently the only actually written part. It contains what will probably end up being the summary on ao3, if/when we get this finished enough to post it;

'Last year, Voldemort returned, in the form of Percy's defence professor. This year, Voldemort returned, in the form of his little sister. And yet, the Ministry does nothing.' When family members die, it can start you down a path there’s no returning from. Percy Weasley knows this better than most.

As for Nodus Tollens....

Nodus Tollens: “The feeling that the plot of your life doesn’t make sense any more.”

In your life, there are many choices you can make. These choices range from what you’ll eat for breakfast that morning, whether you’ll wear black or teal-tinged black or maybe even silver-tinged black that day, whether you’ll re-read your favourite book or find a new one in the library, whether you’ll talk with Mother or go on a mission or, as it stands right now, whether you will live, or whether you will die. Regulus has this choice, and he must make it.

>;).

(As you can probably tell, there's A Lot going on here - and a lot that will have to go into it before it's anywhere near ready to share. This'll be a slow one, and likely won't show up properly for a while yet.)

thank u very much for the ask!

[tinnictheguardian]

Dimitri’s Brain & the power of friendship

I read some comments about how some people, while playing Azure Gleam, expected Dimitri to spiral as the story progressed. That we would have front row seat to Dimitri’s decent into madness. I.e. we’ll see how the Protector, as he’s titled in FEH, becomes the Savage Boar.

However, instead, what we got was front row seat to show how to stop people from spiralling down a dark hole. Because Dimitri still suffers from PTSD induced psychosis, still has survivor guilt and still loathes himself to the point that he found it cathartic to kill his doppelganger in the darkness of Zaharas. The difference is that the Warrior King had the constant support of his friends.

I think there is lesson to be learnt here because Dimitri getting the loving support is the real power friendship. Also, I feel that it is something we can do for our friends, family and loved ones in RL where an increase number of people are in danger of radicalisation. 

Dimitri became the Savage Boar because he had no one else to listen to except the echo chamber created by the voices in his head. When he had counters, he could stop himself from falling into the dark hole of savagery. I am glad that’s the direction Koei decided to go. Instead of forcing a plotline where he artificially isolates himself and embraces the darkness!

An aside, I feel that Byleth is getting a short end of the stick as people make their way through Three Hopes since some people are commenting that Shez is better at preventing problems. While Byleth fixed problems. But the Byleth had to fix because she disappeared for five years.

Had she not tried to save Rhea in AM, she would have been in a position rally the Knights of Serios and most likely follow Dimitri back to Faerghus and similar to CF, I think he would have been crowned king and start to fight back immediately but with Byleth by his side. Similar to CF and AG, Dimitri would never have slid into darkness and I am guessing the war would be over pretty quickly.

Especially since I think a Claude who spent a year at the Academy would have pretty much joined forces with Byleth and Dimitri from the start! But its a ‘what if’ and we’ll never know the truth. Because while I am half expecting a DLC for Three Hopes, I don’t think Houses is getting anything more.

[horrorhysteria]

Scream 2022

Spoiler Free: No

Listening to: Dewey's Theme

Let's preface this by saying I absolutely LOVED this movie - It's easily my favourite behind the original.

But, saying that I do have my issues with it.

- The reveal of the killers was my biggest gripe (as it seems everyone else's.

- Skeet's appearance was just absolutely hilarious and I wonder if they included that as pure fan service because they knew what they were doing to Dewey.

In my personal opinion, I think they should have scrapped Amber as the killer all together. I really didn't like her character so really didn't care when the reveal of her being one of the killers (albeit shocking, poor Liv).

I think that going down the route of Richie being Stu's nephew would have worked in everyone's favour, this way we could've had the Stu comeback we all want and a good motive.

Here's how I would have liked to have seen it play out:

Richie is Stu's nephew, who (Stu) has recently escaped from prison ala Michael Myers and attacks Tara, who previously been on social media, where a trending topic was something along the lines of "Escaped killer at large."

Which further could've been a social commentary of how now as a society we have become desensitised to news etc.

The rest of the movie plays out exactly the same with added background news of the escaped killer, which is why Judy rushes back when she gets the call because she knows it's the same killer.

This would make Dewey's death more logical also as Matt Lillard is literally a giant and could easily overpower him and according to wiki Stu was 18 in the first movie making him 43 now

Then at our party scene, this plays out the same minus Richie revealing himself as the killer and 'Killing' Mindy (she survives like Chad)

Then our kitchen scene is the same, Richie having the girls under control.

Ghostface reveals himself as Stu, albeit an older, mangled Stu.

(I would've quite liked Stu to kill Sam and for Mindy to be the new Sidney but I digress)

Stu's motive was Billy, he and Billy were 'friends' and over the years in prison, his hatred towards Sid has grown and killing Dewey was his way of getting her back/getting back at her.

He's got some very white superiority views going on after being in prison for 25 years, which he has passed on to his nephew, Richie, who has almost been radicalised by his uncle to kill.

Obviously, they both get absolutely fucked at the end by Sid and Gale.

Our Survivors are; Sid, Gale, Tara, Mindy and Chad.

The last scene is a reddit board (Think the end of the movie Spree where all the internet bro's are worshipping Stu and Richie) while Red Right Hand plays over an ominous post about 'carrying on the ghostface killings'

Stu kills; Tara (Injured), Vince, Judy, Wes and Dewey

Richie kills; Liv, Amber and Sam

- Jess

[saturnsummer]

i don't mind forever.

AU: When Sol is handed a case, she doesn't realise how big the case gets. Luckily for her, her best friend is here. (AU of lawyers at Hankuk Law Firm.)

notes: all credits go to @thenerdywriter !! she gave me this prompt just days after i joined tumblr, and i’ve been working on and off on it ever since. my first au series, so please go easy on me! i know i’m practically killing myself for doing two series at once, but i’ll deal with it later. as always, big love to everyone! any grammar mistakes and all will be taken fully responsible by me!

ao3 link

words: 4035 words

one.

Sol scrunches her hair in frustration. She twists her long, wavy light brown hair in a bun, fixing it with a jab of her white, long chopstick hairpin. She adjusts her bangs for good measure and resumes with her report. She reaches over to her coffee mug, only to find it empty. Great, it’s the third coffee she had today, and it wasn’t even lunch. Hearing her colleagues nagging on drinking too much coffee in her head, she stands from her desk and pushes the glass door of her office to the staff pantry. Her heels click against the marble floors as she strides across, filling her cup with iced water before retreating back.

It would have been a normal day at the Hankuk Law firm, but it wasn’t when she had such a pressing case.

It's been weeks. A client of hers has pressed charges against Lee Man Ho, claiming that he scammed her life savings. Lee Manho was a convict that was charged for raping multiple women and on several occasions, sexual harassment. He had been on good behaviour after his release for a couple of years, with no complaints and no news. Only now did his name resurface. He was snarky in his speech, manipulative and quick with his tongue, but most of all had a sinister smile that sent shivers.

Sol, being Sol, couldn’t say no to the poor woman. How could she? She experienced her fair share of poverty from growing up in a single-parent family that made enough to get by. She sympathised with her feelings, knowing just how stressed this poor mother must be when she can no longer afford to pay rent for her home, even less so the necessities for her toddler kids. Because, too many times, Sol was found broke and skipping meals so she could have her younger sister, Byeol, be fed instead.

With the help of the local police, she found more victims to be scammed, all similar in their scenario. Manho would call under the alias of a financial aid consultant, sometimes an insurance agent or bank teller. Then, he would extract their bank numbers from them, effectively draining their money away. By the time they victims tried to call back, the number would be out of order, or picked up by another voice, evident that he used another number to cover up his.

None of his victims had anything in common. Some were rich, some were poor. Some were female, some were male. And Manho had long disappeared in the wind the moment he got out of jail. He was said to be sighted once and when the police placed eyes on him, they lost him that same day.

His digital footprint was an utter headache as well. The police had other things to matter, and figuring out his digital footprint was the least of their concerns when they had important murders and urgent matters to solve.

But two could play this game.

Seungjae was a good friend of Sol’s. They were close acquaintances in school and kept in close contact. He, unlike Sol, was a whiz with computer codes and had his fair share of hacking experience. She remembers how he would hack into the system during school events and broadcast short music videos on the school televisions during breaks. Despite their age gap, he was always courteous, nice and kind hearted in helping others.

Seungjae eventually found a job with the police force, using his skills to legally hack criminal networks and dark nets. He was essentially part of a task force that identified suspicious activities like mass radicalisation, fake news and essentially tracking down internet hackers. It was a no-brainer that Sol would approach him, even though she knew that he could only legally hack under his work orders, not for personal favours.

Well it’s best she at least try.

She called Seungjae, who was fortunately free, and agreed to meet at a cafe. The sun was out, warming them from the autumn breeze that chilled them. Sol grabbed her coat and placed a post-it on her door, informing her colleagues of her business. Sol, while dressed in a warm coat, was undoubtedly freezing from the breeze. If only she could go back to law school, where she wore jeans and sweatshirts all day. Instead, she had a light blue long sleeved blouse, a knee length pencil skirt and a midnight blue blazer, and her only coat she had weakly shielding her from the cold.

“Sol A, what gives me the feeling that you aren’t calling for the purpose of catching up, but for a favour?” Seungjae asks as soon as his ice coffee arrives. Sol is amused at his habit, that he still calls her Sol A to differentiate her from Sol B, her colleague just working next door to her. But in response, she gives a small frown.

“Oppa, please? You have to help me with this. This case is driving me nuts!” She says in frustration as she stirs her ice tea. “Look, he’s off the grid, like properly off. I can’t even track his number or his email accounts. When the police placed plainclothes on him, he was like a ninja and they lost him within the first hour.”

Seungjae’s frown deepens. He knows of people who are good on the internet, but for an ex-convict to be running this alone? Furthermore, a convict who had no criminal record of scamming, conning and IT based crimes? There was definitely more to this.

“Sol A, do you think that he’s working alone?” Seungjae asks, stopping Sol in her speech. She tilts her head, the way she does normally when she puts the puzzle pieces in order. From her bag, she takes out a notebook and scribbles down the facts, then pushes it to the centre of the table.

“Okay, so we know that Lee Manho was convicted of rape and sexual harassment long time ago. Now, he’s running scams, and has no known background of coding or conning people, yet somehow the money appears in his bank account and it disappears the next moment.” Sol states as she circles her notes with a pencil and Seungjae nods.

“I think… I think you’re right, oppa. He’s definitely not working alone. And he could just be the middleman bringing the cash from one place to another.” Sol breaths out, realising how big the case has gotten. She’s not just going after Lee Manho, but she’s going after an entire team.

“You said that you can’t track his whereabouts, people he communicates with and where the money is going to?” SeungJae asks. Sol nods.

“Looks like someone is covering up the transfers and his tracks.” Seungjae concludes. Seungjae furrows his eyebrows. Sol recognises his thinking face and tries to plea once more.

“Please, oppa? You helped me check out and verify Yeseul’s boyfriend, which saved her life! Please, oppa…” Sol pleads with him. Seungjae knew how much Sol was going to dedicate to this, and besides, he was legally going to hack. He was fighting for those who couldn’t fight. What difference would it make? It felt wrong to ignore such a desperate plea.

“Fine. But you have to let me use a laptop that isn’t mine. I can’t have my superiors know I’m hacking into a case that wasn’t submitted to me again. God, Yeseul’s ex-boyfriend case got me a bloody earful from the captain.” He finally agrees, getting up from his seat and grabbing his coat. Sol lets out a relieved sigh and picks her coat too.

“Thank you, thank you!”

“Save it for later, when I’m done hacking. Let’s head back to your office for now.” He says and walks to the door. At that moment, Sol’s phone rings, and she picks up, knowing who will call at this time of the day. If it’s lunch, it has to either be Yeseul or Joon Hwi.

“Are you joining us for lunch, sunbae?” Sol takes a moment to close her eyes in frustration. This man is going to drive her insane.

“Yeah. Are you all ordering?”

“That’s right. Extra pickles?”

“Always. Add one more jjampong and kkampungi, too.” The receiving end goes silent.

“Who’s joining?” Sol gives a knowing smile as she unlocks her car.

“An old friend of ours.”

-----

“Wah, it’s been a long time since Seungjae-hyung could eat with us!” BokGi says, as he passes out the chopsticks and Yebeom unpacks the meals. Seungjae only gives a small smile while helping out with the food.

Despite the cold weather, the odd group of friends found pleasure in eating outdoors as opposed to their office pantry. It was too noisy some days, too quiet on some, and knowing how chaotic the group can get during lunch, it only made sense to have their meals downstairs at some benches. Besides, they could use a break from being stuck in their offices all day and look at trees changing their colours to shades of red, oranges and brown.

“Thank your noona here, for convincing me to come.” He says as he nods his head over to Sol, who is busy unpacking her pickles and noodles. Joon Hwi gives a smile as he stares at the delight on her face when she sees those yellow pickles on a plastic saucer.

“Hyung, what are you here for?” Joon Hwi asks, as he unpacks his noodles.

“This lady here has enlisted my help once again for a case she is working on. But it has to be off the books. Thus, my presence here instead of my cubicle back at my headquarters.” Sol chokes and she quickly takes a sip of her tea.

“Oppa, why do you make me sound so law breaking…” Sol grumbles. Yeseul, sitting next to her only gives a small smile and squeezes her hand.

“Seungjae-oppa did help me bring Yeongchang to jail. So I would consider his work, whether under his boss orders or not, to be lawful.” Yeseul quips quietly. The table grows silent for a moment, knowing how this topic took a mental toll out of them, but Yeseul was hit the hardest.

When Yeseul first started dating Yeongchang, everyone didn’t mind it. Only when Sol witnessed how Yeseul would be frightened to pick up his call and spotting bruises on her arms did she get Seungjae to dig into his personal life. Lo and behold, not only was he abusive, he was seeing two other women and they were treated badly, if not, worse.

Yeseul’s heart broke, this being her first love and the man she envisioned marrying. But with her friends' support, she took it upon herself to press charges on him, for the women he tortured and for herself. Representing herself and the women that he had failed to protect and taken advantage of, it wasn’t easy for her, having been so blind in love and still harbouring feelings.

The group stood by and silently supported. They accompanied her trials, no matter how busy they were. Sol remembers Jiho running from one courtroom to another on one occasion when he had to immediately attend a court hearing for a client he was defending. Sol had Yeseul stay over at her apartment during the entire situation, while Yeseul searched for an apartment nearby after moving out of his house. Even Sol B, who was usually cold, bought her meals and stayed to eat when the girls spent late nights in silence and drinking.

Finally, the judge ruled that Yeongchang was to be charged in jail. For the sexual, mental and physical abuse of these women, including Yeseul. It has been months since then and time can only tell how much she has healed. The rest can only give their silent support and be there for her.

“I didn’t mean to make the mood bad. Come, let’s eat. Also, what is the case about, unnie?” Yeseul quickly breaks into a smile, an attempt to let everyone know she’s okay. Sol gives a brief description of her case to everyone while she slurps her noodles and pickles.

“This is going to be difficult. If you guys are right, you might be dealing with something bigger than just Lee Manho.” Sol B states and Sol gives a nodded reply.

“Please don’t tell Superior Kim or Superior Yang about this. I really need to break this case and Seungjae-oppa is my only way to.” Sol informs her group. They give half hearted murmurs, not wanting to be meddled into Sol’s affairs. Well, all but one.

“Yah, why didn’t you come find me? I have my own contacts in the police as well.” Joon Hwi asks, a slight frown on his face. From anyone else looking, it would have been easy to miss. But for Sol, she knew that he was upset, interpreting his complaints as “Why didn’t you come and tell me about this first?”

“Because, Mr. Second Round Judicial Exam Pass, you have been too busy! Do I really need to remind you to eat every damm moment? You drive me crazy some days!” Sol argues. They launch into a light hearted argument, as the rest of the lunch group watches with equal fervour as they eat their meals.

“Guys, stop arguing, my ears hurt.” Jiho said, his tone in slight annoyance as he dove straight into the kkampungi and tangsuyuk. Sol finally gave up fighting, earning a teasing smirk from Joon Hwi. They continued their noisy meal, chatting and catching up with Seungjae. Seungjae gives them some updates of his pregnant wife and some interesting cases.

After their meal, they separated their trash neatly. The sun now hides away in the clouds, leaving little warmth against the chilly breeze of autumn. Sol brushes her coat and rubs her hands and arms. If only she could afford a better one than this old coat she’s been using since her first year in university.

Joon Hwi notices her trying to warm up against the cold and takes his coat from the chair, layering it on her. He honestly didn’t feel cold, but he knows he has always been the stronger one to resist against the cold. For Sol, it must be freezing.

“Take mine.” He simply says, taking the packs of plastic from Sol. If Sol had a hint of blush, he pretended to not notice.

“Oh, thanks.” She said as she took wipes from her bag and wiped down the mess on the benches and tables. “But I don’t need it. We’re heading back to the office anyway.” She shrugs his coat off and drapes it over her arm, returning it to him. He pushes it to her, and leans in closer to her.

“Help me carry it, so I don’t have to, sunbae.” He teases with a smirk, sending Sol in a fit of frustrated squeaks, chasing him as best as she can in her heels. Sol knows Joon Hwi gets a thing out of his teasing, and sends him annoyed glares as she continues to clear the tables. Jiho manages to sigh and Sol B rolls her eyes as she dumps the trash in the bins.

The group grabs their bags as they head back into the office, where Sol checks Seungjae in as a visitor at the reception. The receptionist hands him a blue lanyard with a visitor pass as Sol leads him to the elevators. Jiho and Bokgi are off to meet clients, and Sol B is headed to court for a hearing. Yeseul stops at another floor to her office with Yebeom, who needs to pick up some reports from a colleague.

Joon Hwi follows Sol to her office with Seungjae, despite his office being upstairs. Sol grabs her personal laptop from her bag, which is separate from her desktop computer and passes it to Seungjae, who takes a seat opposite her and starts programming the computer to begin hacking.

“What, did you just let him use your personal laptop?” Joon Hwi asks in concern as he takes a seat on a spare chair.

“Let him do it. Don’t you have your reports to do?” Sol asks as she turns to her own reports before typing in her findings for the new Lee Manho case. Joon Hwi doesn’t reply, and Sol sends an annoyed glance. He’s not going to leave unless he knows all the information of this case.

“Okay, I got it.” Seungjae says after a series of clicks and turns the screen to show Sol what he has found. Sol leans into a chart of bank transfers.

"From what I can tell, it seems like the money enters his bank account and is transferred to an offshore account. I can't trace where the money goes from there anymore." Seungjae explains as he uses the cursor to show them. "I can't tell who owns the account either. If I could take a guess, it's probably the mastermind of this."

"Wait, look. Lee Manho is getting paid a constant amount every single time before a large sum comes in and leaves." Joon Hwi points. Sol grabs her printed papers as she matches the amounts that her clients have given here. They match exactly to the large sums, but have no relation to the constant amount that he gets every scam.

"He's getting paid to scam? Tch, God, I hate this crook." Sol says through gritted teeth. Joon Hwi sighs and observes the anger rising in Sol. He places a hand on top of her clenched fist for comfort and her fist stops clenching as she sighs in response.

"Sol A, I can't track his location with your laptop. It's not exactly ideal, since it can be tracked back." Seungjae says, eyes darting while continuously typing. Joon Hwi could sense the disappointment in Sol's face, but it can't be helped. It was too dangerous from her location and IP address.

"Oppa, thank you for helping. I owe you one." Sol says as Seungjae scrubs her laptop clean from hacking traces. Seungjae returns her laptop and stands up. "You should go back, oppa. You've been gone too long."

"I'll keep you updated." He says as Sol guides him out of the office. Once she shuts the door, she pulls the hairpin from her hair and crunches her hair in frustration. She has the information on where the money is going, but it's no use when she can't find out where he is. Joon Hwi takes a seat opposite her.

"Don't stress." He says softly, and Sol bites her lip in frustration.

"Don't stress? How can I not? The police aren't giving me any information on him, delaying his location tracking! I can't even find him! How am I supposed to get evidence to charge him, if he can't even appear to show up to court?" Sol angrily spills, her hands flailing. Joon Hwi sighs but grabs a hold of her wrist.

"Don't get swayed by your emotions." Joon Hwi firmly says, sparingly into Sol's anger-filled eyes. She pulls her wrist back, taking a deep breath before gathering her hair up again.

"Fine." She grumbles. "Get out of my office, Prosecutor Han. Don't you have work?" This earns a soft smile from Joon Hwi. As he heads to the door, he turns back before he leaves.

"Don't... Don't do anything stupid or impulsive, you hear me?"

Sol clicks her tongue and gives a half-hearted nod. She turns back to her report and updates her findings and tries to diffuse the thought of asking Seungjae to hack with her laptop to find Man Ho's location.

For Kang Sol A, such thoughts don't leave easily.

-----

"You sure?" Seungjae asks, seated in Sol's car. Sol takes a deep breath in and nods.

It was a few days after Seungjae visited the office. Sol called the police as much as she could, but they always left her on the line or just said "we're working on it." Thus, Sol told Seungjae to meet her at a park, before driving to a random alley and passing him her laptop.

"Yeah, I'll take my chances." She replied. Seungjae sighs and begins typing away.

"You know you're putting yourself at risk?" He asks, eyes never leaving the screen.

"I'll put myself at risk for the justice of my clients." She says firmly. A few minutes pass as Sol stares out of the car and watches the bright moon and the clouds floating by in misty swirls.

"Got it." Sol turns her attention to Seungjae. On the screen is a map and a blinking red dot of Manho’s location. Sol reads the map and puts her car back in drive before turning out of the alley.

"Woah, do you know where you are going?" Seungjae asks, grabbing onto the overhead handle for support and his hand securing the laptop.

"Seungjae-oppa, don't tell anyone about this, okay? Especially not Joon Hwi." Sol ignores his question as she speeds up the car, turning into a drop-off point of a train station.

"Sol A, you're-"

"Sorry, oppa. But I need to find him. I can't sit and wait for the police anymore. I promise you, I'll be safe." Sol says. Seungjae couldn't say no. He knows how stubborn Sol is, how when she decides on something, she will commit to it wholeheartedly.

"If he's armed, you could get yourself in danger." Seungjae exasperatedly sighs. It was too big a risk to see the junior he treats as a little sister put herself at risk.

"I'll be fine. Look, you're on my speed dial. You know that I can handle myself. There's a reason why I took years of self-defence classes." Sol tells him. Seungjae nods his head unwillingly.

"You better call me after you're done." He says as he opens the door and gets out of the car. "Please, please stay safe." Sol nods and gives a small smile.

"Thank you, oppa." Sol drives away immediately, leaving Seungjae to pinch his nose bridge in frustration and concern. Silently, as he boards the train, he prays for Sol's safety.

-----

Sol knows the area well. As she parks her car at a carpark, she checks to make sure Manho is still at the bar. The blinking dot stays stagnant at the bar, not moving ever since she dropped Seungjae off. Getting out, she tightens her coat around her and thanks herself for the long trousers she's wearing. At least she isn't wearing a skirt, if she needs to beat someone up.

Entering the bar, she naturally takes a slow walk around. But hidden by the corner of the bar tables sit a lone man, with a cap, dressed in black button up and holding a glass of golden whiskey. She knew that was her target.

Taking a seat next to him, she orders a glass of soda water from the bartender. Man Ho chuckles next to her as he sets his glass down. Turning his head, he faces Sol with sly eyes, lips curled at the corner.

"Prosecutor Kang, you're quick." She hears him say and a chill goes down her spine. She lets her eyes meet the cold stare of Manho.

"Oh, you think I don't know you? You're the one after me more than the police are for the past weeks." Man Ho sinisterly says, a sick grin on his face. Sol grits her teeth and takes a deep breath to soothe her anger.

"Why are you doing this? You think it's fun?Watching my clients suffer?" Sol says through her gritted teeth. He only scoffs.

"My, my. Don't want you getting agitated now, don't we? We just started." He says, sipping from his glass again.

"Answer my question." She says with force. Man Ho sips on his glass, swirling the golden brown liquid against the large square cubes of ice as he exhales.

As the words fall from his mouth, Sol grows as cold as the glass in her hand. Her hands slightly shake as she hitches her breath. When her shaky eyes turn to Manho’s, his eyes are sly with a mocking grin. No, he can’t know.

"You’re just as feisty as your sister, aren’t you?”

[angstsfordays]

Beautiful Pain (6)

Chapter Six- Growing Pains

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Enhanced! Reader

Summary: Post-Blip, you started to feel lost when most of the Avengers team are gone. Coping with your loss, you still find hope in the connection with your remaining friends. However, it is not easy as everyone is trying to figure their lives after the Blip.

Having a long history with Bucky ever since you both saved each other from Hydra, you were still glad you had Bucky after all this time. However, as you try to give Bucky space to find himself after being pardoned for his past, you start to wonder if you should ever cross the line of friendship before it’s too late.

That thought might have to be put on hold though, when you, Sam and Bucky find yourselves having to deal with threats that continue to rise in a post-Blip world.

Chapter synopsis: Arriving in Latvia, you find your group closing into Karli’s group. You found yourself unexpectedly in upsetting exchanges with Bucky, making you take two steps back from the progress you two had since Madripoor.

Warnings: Angst as I like it! Bucky being a dense block of wood.

Word count: 4k

Notes: It’s insane the number of followers I have gained after starting this series. I am very humbled to know that you guys take interest in my work! Appreciate all the likes and reblogs! 🙏🏼

Hope y’all would enjoy this chapter! Things cannot be forever smooth sailing and we see a roadblock to Bucky and reader’s progress. I would love to know your feedback on the story so leave a comment if you can! 🥰

The tag list is still open! Let me know if you want to join with a message or comment in the chapters!

Previous: Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five

Next: Chapter Seven

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Six years ago

The embers from the fire glowed warmly in front of you, a finger daringly reached out to touch the flames. The energy flames emitted from the tip of your finger and blended into the fire.

Turning your head back to Bucky and Ayo, you saw how Bucky was anxious and had a doubtful expression on his face. It had been a week since the programming has been removed from his system.

While he was still reassured that the worst was over, he had a lot of reservations. Having you by his side was the only source of comfort that he could through these hard times.

“I won’t let you hurt anyone,” Ayo spoke to relieved Bucky of his concerns. You flashed an encouraging smile back to him and Bucky nodded at Ayo for her to start.

As Ayo started saying the code words, you could see Bucky’s entire body tensing up as if he wanted to resist the possibility of being turned. Holding in your breath at the entire situation, you clasped your hands together in prayer, wishing that things would turn out well.

Every time each word was said, it built up hope and anxiety at the same time. You could see the dread, regret and guilt all from his eyes alone as Bucky stared intensely at the burning fire. It seemed his mind was heavy on a lot of memories and recollections that seemed to eat him away.

You wanted to take a step forward but Ayo shook her head, silently asking you to stay put.

As the number of codewords was closing into zero, your anticipation grew at how Bucky was doing well. However, your heart started breaking when you saw the tears welling up in his eyes.

Once the last code word was spoken, Bucky was sobbing. Seeing this sight, your own tears started to fall down your cheeks as you brought your clasped hands over your heart.

“You are free,” Ayo stated with a pleased smile and she looked over to you to give you a nod. Grinning a full wide smile at her, you looked down to Bucky shaking by the fire. You wondered what was wrong until he removed his clenched fist from his face. It was when he turned to face you that you both mirrored the full-blown smiles on your faces.

-------------------------//---------------------------

Stretching your limbs on the plush couch, your eyes closed wearily from the flight to Latvia. You still couldn’t process the entire series of events that had happened in the past 72 hours and your mind was mentally drained.

Hearing the door open, you lifted your head to finally see Bucky joining everyone in Zemo’s fancy place. Bucky’s eyes turned to yours and the two of you stared at each other silently for what felt like an eternity.

You first broke the stare by blinking and bit your lips in nervousness. Your mind immediately went back to what happened in Sharon’s club and you turned your back to avoid looking at him for the time being.

Bucky was thinking of the same thing and tried his best to maintain a cool façade. Seeing how you turned your back on the sofa, he felt it was best to move on to business with the others first.

“Well, the Wakandans are here. They want Zemo.” Bucky spoke to Sam before looking at an unbothered Zemo who was fresh out of the shower in his robes.

Bucky’s words managed to get you to turn back and sit up at attention.

“It was sweet of you to defend me at least.” You see Zemo looking grateful at Bucky but the super-soldier just rolled his eyes.

“Hey, you shut it. No one’s defending you.” Sam shut Zemo down as he couldn’t believe how thick-skinned the Sokovian man was. “You killed Nagel.”

Zemo tried to defend his stance while Sam definitely wasn’t buying it. You couldn’t say it out loud lest you get a look from Sam but you were glad Zemo did it. Who knows if there would be a day where you would be handed off to Nagel and he got his hands on you to do whatever he wanted?

You shuddered at the thought and as if Zemo knew what was on your mind, you see the Baron turning back to give you a wink and mouthing a ‘welcome’. Your nose scrunched in distaste, not wanting to give the man the satisfaction of him being right.

“Karli bombed a GRC supply depot,” Bucky spoke up again after looking up from his phone. Sam asked for the amount of damage to which Bucky answered that eleven were injured and three were dead.

This was getting serious. Especially when you heard Bucky saying that the Flag Smashers were promising more attacks if their demands were not met. You suddenly felt a renewed sense of responsibility and purpose to help the world once more after the last battle.

Even though you were tired of fighting, you knew that bearing the powers that you had gave you the responsibility to take action for the greater good.

Zemo then remarked that he had the will to follow through with this mission but questioned you and your friends.

“She’s just a kid,” Sam emphasized, showing his empathetic and kind heart who chose to see the good in others first. It reminded you so much of Steve and you smiled at the resemblance.

Zemo didn’t agree with Sam’s opinion and explained how Karli was a supremacist. The very idea of super-soldiers was troubling, how they viewed themselves as invincible and above others. Zemo compared it to the Nazi ideology, how it led to Ultron and the Avengers.

His last point rubbed you the wrong way because you knew your friends were never focused on themselves but rather dedicated time, effort and their lives for the world.

Sam understood that Karli had indeed been radicalised but still argued for a better way to manage the situation, one that he hoped would be peaceful and led to lesser bloodshed.

“I agree with Sam.” You spoke up for the first time. All three men focused on you as you lifted yourself from the sofa and walked towards them. “She’s not doing this for power or money, she’s doing this to help her community and the vulnerable. The least we could do is to try to talk to her first.”

Zemo tilted his head with an annoyed look, seeing how you backed Sam up in this debate.

“Y/N. The desire to become a superhuman cannot be separated from supremacist ideals. Anyone with that serum is inherently on that path. She would not stop, in fact, she will escalate unless you kill her.”

You knew that there were part truths in Zemo’s words. You kept quiet and he looked at you pleased that he probably has gotten through you in some sense.

“Or you can kill her first.” With this, Zemo stared straight at you as if he decided to give you this responsibility, knowing that you were the likeliest to overpower Karli when the time comes.

“Maybe you’re wrong, Zemo. The serum never corrupted Steve.” Speaking from behind you, Bucky refuted Zemo’s claims but Zemo seemed unaffected. He even added on that there was no other Steve Rogers. Who were you guys to presume not everyone could get corrupted once they had a taste of power?

Having enough of Zemo, Bucky suggested handing Zemo over to the Wakandans right at this moment and you wanted to agree. You were indebted to them and with their late king’s murderer right in front of you, a sense of guilt washed over you as you must have realized how livid they must be that he was walking free.

Sam then explained how Donya was an influential member of the community and related it to his own story of his TT aka his aunt. When someone who was a pillar in a close-knitted community had passed, people would gather to hold a long ceremony in memory of that person. He presumed that the same would be done for Donya and that’s where you all should lead with.

-------------------------//---------------------------

The four of you decided to venture to the streets to ask for information on Donya. As Zemo and Sam went their own ways, Bucky looked over you as if to ask if you wanted to join him.

“Uh, I-uh-I” You started stuttering without realising. Bucky knitted his brows in confusion at your sudden display and he immediately thought of your almost moment. Did you not want it? Did he overstep?

Inwardly groaning, he couldn’t believe he did something so stupid in the heat of the moment. Deciding to do something about it, he spoke up.

“Hey. About earlier-” Glancing up at Bucky, he nervously rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to find the words to say.

“Earlier?” You weren’t sure what he was referring to and returned a quizzical look. Taking a deep breath before exhaling, Bucky tried to continue the conversation.

“I mean back in Madripoor. You know that uh-” Your eyes widened realised at the particular event that he chose to bring up. Your heart quickened at how he was choosing to address it now and you stared at him expectantly. “Yeah?”

“It was stupid, all right? I didn’t think and it was all at the moment, I didn’t mean to went in like that-” Blinking your eyes as if you couldn’t process what Bucky had just said, your heart dropped at the realisation that everything turned out to be one-sided wishful thinking of yours.

In his attempt to piece his words together and play it down, Bucky didn’t realise the disappointment painted on your face and how you stopped the tears that welled up in your eyes from falling.

You felt so stupid. There was no way that Bucky would have taken interest in you. All this time, you were nothing more than friends. You didn’t doubt that that moment in Madripoor with its atmosphere could have clouded both of your senses.

“It’s okay, Buck. I totally understand.” You spoke up to prevent him from continuing to dishearten you.

“I’m cool. We were swept up in the music and the dancing- it’s natural to uh-do that.” You were starting to choke up at your words but forced yourself to swallow down the knot in your throat.

Pulling your lips into a tight grin and forcing yourself to meet Bucky’s eyes, you saw him puzzled and expectant of your next response.

“I am going to go that way.” Mustering up a cheerful voice to make it sound like you were fine, you pointed over to a random street. “We should split up and cover more ground. Bye!” Giving a quick wave to him, you hurriedly turn your back and almost broke into a sprint to get as far away from him as possible.

Bucky knew that from your reaction he must have done something wrong. He just wasn’t sure what he did. Scolding himself for being such an idiot, he looked back to where he last saw you before you turned the corner.

Bucky’s hands and jaw both clenched with tension at how things had been with you just moments ago before allowing himself to be distracted with the mission. He made a mental note that he had to catch you later and have another talk.

-------------------------//---------------------------

You were a woman with a purpose and that was to find out more about Donya Madani. You realised after the first few queries, people here were wary once you mentioned the woman’s name.

Cracking your brain to think of a strategy, your eyes roamed around the neighbourhood for some sort of idea. A familiar back caught your attention and your eyes widened in shock at who you had spotted.

The man back from the fight on the truck was here. That means Karli and her group were here too! You didn’t have the chance to see the man’s face as he had a mask on back then but you recognised him instantly.

He was alone and that gave you a good chance to corner him. You blended in with the crowd while closing in on him with every step. As he turned the corner to an alley, you quickened your steps in fear that you might be losing him.

Once you stepped foot into the alley, you were shocked to see there it was clear and empty. Running your fingers through your hair in a stressful moment, you wondered how he could have disappeared without a trace. Venturing further down the alley, you hoped that you might be able to catch sight of him once more.

Your body reacted a second later than your intuition when you felt someone grabbed you from behind, the hands covering your mouth to prevent you from screaming.

The person switched hands and used their strength to push you against the brick walls. Feeling the wind knocked out of your chest, you took quick hurried breaths to regain yourself and that’s when your eyes looked up to meet the dark eyes of the man that you had been following.

His eyes mirrored yours as they widened at the recognition of who you were and he then spoke. “How did you follow us? Where are the rest of your friends?”

Clawing at his hands to free your face, your hands started glowing a bright orange to get him to release you. The man was taken aback at the display of your powers and decided to make a run for it, knowing that you would have the upper hand eventually.

“No wait, please!” You cried for him to stop. The man’s steps slowed down at your plea and he turned back slightly to face you. You raised your hands up in surrender to show you meant no harm.

You willingly put your hands behind you, clasping them together and showing them to him.

“I just want to talk.” You continued saying. Sensing the man’s hesitation, you then emphasized please desperately. Taking a few steps closer, you still left a gap between the two of you.

“I am Y/N.” Hoping that introducing yourself showed that you were interested to get to know him, you looked on anxiously for his response.

“Dovich.” The man replied curtly before staring back at you. Repeating his name once more in your mouth, you showed off a friendly smile before resuming.

“I know what you must be thinking, but please I do not mean any harm.” You hoped that the sincerity in your voice would get his guard down but seeing Dovich squaring his shoulders to look more intimidating, you knew that he couldn’t trust you yet.

“Lies!” Dovich refuted your claims.

“What happened back there was self-defence!” He must have thought about how you were about to use your powers just moments ago. “Trust me, if I wanted to do any damage, I would be able to but I didn’t.”

Seeing how you were still standing there with your arms behind your back, Dovich’s stance seemed to ease up a little. “What do you want?”

“We- my friends and I want to talk to Karli.” You knew your words only served to upset him once more as his face distorted into a frown.

“We really want things to work out! We don’t ever want things to escalate, it is never in my interest to kill anyone.” Dovich glanced over you to see an earnest expression on your face and he couldn’t help but be a little swayed.

He knew who you were. You were less well-known but still regarded as part of the Avengers team. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t intimidated. He recalled how you fought his group back then and knew that given your powers, there was a chance to be bested even if he had taken the serum.

Dovich still clearly remembered how you pulled him up when he was about to fall off the moving truck from before. Your actions at that moment had changed his impression of you, regarding you in a better light. It matched what you had just said earlier, you weren’t interested to kill anyone.

“Karli wouldn’t listen. She is determined and resolute in our vision.” Dovich hoped you understood his perspective and you nodded in acknowledgement.

“I know but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to try settling this peacefully. We don’t want more lives gone than it already had.” You added on to your own perspective in the matter. Dovich believed you but he still wasn’t sure. He couldn’t be so easy to trust especially of all of the experiences that he and his group went through.

You were still considered a threat to the existence of the group.

“I don’t trust your group. Especially that Zemo guy. We know he hates super soldiers.” Dovich reiterated his mistrust before continuing. “Plus you guys are the Avengers, you wouldn’t know what it is like to be us. You get to live comfortable lives and do as you please.”

Hearing his assumption, you shook your head in disagreement. You closed your eyes and exhaled deeply before speaking.

“The Avengers aren’t really there anymore. Most of our group are gone. We are only what’s left but it doesn’t feel like there’s a team anymore.” Your mind to your current situation. Yes, you were with Sam and Bucky but they were just tolerating each other for the moment. You didn’t exactly feel like you were a team at all but just a group put together because you were all that’s left.

The sense of camaraderie from your previous team was gone and you were at a loss. You did what you had to do to support your two friends but you felt empty on the inside. You titled your head up to see Dovich peering at you with an almost concerned look on his face.

“Besides, that’s a bit of a generalisation you have there. We don’t live fancy lives, that’s a misconception because of uh-Tony. We all are still normal human beings dealing with struggles in our personal lives too. We gave up most of ourselves to defend this world….” Reeling from the exchange that you two had, you knew Dovich was someone that could be reasoned with.

“Of course, I am not trying to brag or anything!” You hurriedly explain before he had the thought that you were trying to make yourself look better in his eyes. “It’s just that I hope you could understand where we are coming from too.”

Dovich didn’t expect the conversation to progress in this manner. He had spotted you in the reflection of a glass window of a shop and initially wanted to get you off his tail. Despite the initial scepticism, he was starting to warm up to you. He figured you weren’t like the rest of your group and seemed down to earth despite being an Avenger.

He couldn’t lie to himself and claimed he thought of you several times ever since the first encounter. How can one not forget someone who stepped in to save their life once?

Dovich gazed at you now standing civilly with an awaiting look. He wanted to trust you, he really did. But he knew Karli was especially alert and distrustful of anyone outside her circle. Your affiliation wouldn’t help in this case either. He couldn’t make a promise that he can’t keep.

“I can’t promise you anything.” A grin formed on your face for the first time and you nodded your head in understanding.

“Of course, I just need a chance to talk. That’s all.” Dovich nodded back before he started walking back to the other end of the alleyway. He told you that he would speak with Karli after Donya’s ceremony and asked you to wait for his contact. He made you promise to not speak to your friends about this meeting and that he only trusted you.

You gave your agreement and maintained a friendly smile before he turned back to go onto another street.

-------------------------//---------------------------

Walking with lighter steps, you were glad to be able to do something right. You re-entered Zemo’s place and was greeted with the men gathering around to discuss their lack of result. You had to control yourself from revealing about your meeting with Dovich and kept quiet.

You agreed with Sam’s remarks on understanding Karli’s perspective and how she and her group were not motivated by malicious intentions.

Bucky then gave his own input that Karli would not be any different from Zemo. Recalling your last exchange with him, you suddenly felt upset with the super-soldier. You didn’t agree with his words either as you believed you understood better after talking with Dovich.

“I agree with Sam on this. Karli’s group is different and we need to give them a chance.” Bucky looked at you in disbelief. This was the first time you were ever not on the same page with him. He couldn’t agree with your views of giving the Flag Smashers a chance when they were such obvious threats.

Bucky believed that your soft-hearted nature was clouding your judgement and he thought better of you given your experience of dealing with such people.

“Can’t believe you are actually siding with terrorists Y/N.” His words came out harsher than expected and his heart twisted when he saw the tinge of sadness at how you received his words. A brief moment later, he saw your brows frowning and now looked at him with an offended stare.

“Not everything is black and white, James.” You scoffed before walking off to use the bathroom.

Sam and Zemo were surprised to hear the condescending tone in your voice towards Bucky. Knowing how you and Bucky were close-knitted, witnessing the suddenly tensed exchange between the two of you would have been baffled at what just transpired.

Hearing you calling him James was clear as day to Bucky that you were definitely not happy with him. Rubbing his temples in dismay, he wondered what have gotten over you suddenly. Sure, he was at fault for saying such a harsh comment but he still didn’t expect you to be like this.

Bucky lost his cool when Zemo stated he wanted to keep his leverage by not revealing any more information he had gotten from the little girl on the streets about Donya.

“You wanna see what someone can do we leverage?” Bucky too the glass in Zemo’s hand and threw it to the wall behind the Sokovian baron. He was silently seething at Zemo’s play on top of the unpleasant exchange that he had with you.

Sam came around to calm Bucky down before he indicated that he would make a call.

You stepped back into the common room when you heard the smashing of glass. You looked to see Bucky and Zemo in an intense standoff, well more so Bucky than Zemo.

Sam walked away first. Zemo asked Bucky if he would like some cherry blossom tea but the super-soldier refuted the offer with disdain in his tone.

“Y/N?” Zemo gestured to the lovely glass tea set on the coffee table. Glancing up to meet Bucky’s eyes, you could tell he was still bearing an annoyed look on his face.

You weren’t sure if it was his emotions from his exchange with Zemo or yours. Walking up to Zemo, you gave a polite smile before speaking.

“I would love to.” It was the second time that you acted out of character in a row. He knew that you didn’t like Zemo at all, only because of what Zemo had done to him. You were his girl (well sort of) and seeing you accepting Zemo’s offer even if it was just tea hit him differently.

Hearing how you graciously accepted the glass from Zemo and commenting on the fragrance of the brew, Bucky couldn’t believe his ears. He immediately stomped away from the scene before he felt like he would implode.

This was not right at all. Why would you suddenly act like this?

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Tag list: @tanyaherondale @spookycereal-s @cataves @archaeoheart @conflicted-noxsirius @archaeoheart @idiotinnit @anxious-stitcher @lindseyrae20 @mads-weasley

[randomoranges]

older bro finally gets a name, 93 parts later

prince au part 93

Edward followed Calvin, quietly, while a myriad of thoughts ran through his head. From what he’d understood, it seemed as though his older brother had shown up unannounced. He panicked, his heart rate speeding up, as he wondered what it could mean that his brother was here. He’d assumed that Maxime had found out, at long last, where their father had sent him off too. And – maybe, in a fit of rage, his brother had then decided to come after him and – kill him? Have a polite chat with him? Edward wanted to laugh at the absurdity of his last thought. Maxime had never been fond of him, even before he’d been – radicalised, or – started thinking that people like him were scum of the earth and needed to be removed from it.

 But why come here, when he’d – be protected, to some extent. People like him were accepted and welcomed here. The king was here. The same king who had fought to have such a law implemented. Maxime wouldn’t be able to get away with it. Then again, his brother wouldn’t care. So long as he eliminated Edward.... Unless – unless his brother hadn’t come alone and there were others that thought like him with him. Then, this could turn messy – and bloody.

 The closer they got to their destination, the more questions Edward had. How had his brother made it here, when the castle was impenetrable at this time of year? Surely, his brother had not heard the news of his engagement – or had he? Would Edward benefit from the full protection of the castle, given his new status? Would Calvin execute him himself, or would he give the honours to his brother?

 Unfortunately, he couldn’t blame Calvin – not this time. He knew how this looked.

 Therefore, when Calvin threw him in one of the dungeon cells and when another guard patted him down and then shackled his wrists, he accepted his fate and didn’t even find it in him to make a joke of the situation. He readied himself for whatever sorry end he’d get and only hoped that the prince would be spared, in all of this. Étienne didn’t deserve whatever mess this was.

 He watched with regret as Calvin instructed the guards to keep an eye on him and to take action if Edward so much as sneezed, and then he left, most likely going to join the others to deal with Maxime, leaving him alone with his thoughts and worry in his heart.

--

PREVIOUS: XCII CURRENT: XCIII NEXT: XCIV

[creativefiend19]

Here I am with another one 😅

Feel free to tell me to stop harrasing you anytime.

So, Declan. Unfortunately while reading TRC I let Ronan's opinion on him influence me. Not that I hated him but I never stop to think about his feelings or his life.

After Call Down the Hawk I kinda started seeing him differently.

And yesterday, after reading a lovely fic about Adam somehow going back to being 7 years old and being taken care by the Lynch Brothers at the Barns, I went to sleep thinking about Declan and how unfair the first books treated him.

The way Niall stole his childhood and teenage years and put Declan to help him with his work and the way Niall never explained anything to Ronan about the dreaming really got me thinking that the real "villain" here is actually Niall.

What do you think?

Hi! Thank you for another great Ask. They’re always welcome!

TRC is purposely full of unreliable narrators, even about their own experiences and opinions within their own POV. So, we're right to be wary. 

However, giving us a glimpse into a character’s thoughts changes everything - like with Declan, like you mentioned (And that's why we were never given a Kavinsky POV. We're not meant to know anything more). 

It’s just the human way, to be empathetic when you have understanding. That’s why one of the first steps in radicalisation is to make the enemy ‘other’, and not think of them as an actual person. I remember I read Silence of the Lambs and Perfume one after the other. I still think the serial killer in the first book is awful, and I feel bad for the (very similar MO) killer in the second book. Because the POV of the Silence is an FBI agent hunting the killer. And you are inside the killer’s head in Perfume. It’s a visceral difference  of feeling that I cannot shake to this day. Despite knowing that my opinion was simply shaped by authorial choices of lens, I am still powerless against their manipulation.

So, while I think that Niall Lynch was a rubbish parent, I wouldn’t like to go so far as to say that he’s a villain - yet - simply because I don’t have all the info. We’ve only seen very skewed accounts of him from the outside (and in flashback), coloured by the extreme and opposite biases of Ronan’s hero-worship and Declan’s repressed hate. 

There are facts though. Niall told Ronan fuck all about being a Dreamer. We know this was not because of some Hero’s Journey BS quest for answers or to build character (because K of all people ended up teaching him, didn't he?). It just put Ronan through a traumatic and avoidable crisis, that robbed him of his mental health and happiness (also, the Dream Thieves would have been a very slim volume, so yeah, let’s remember authorial choices).

Also, Niall boasted about the Greywaren (so he knew what title Ronan held, ‘cos Niall was not a Greywaren, he was just another Thief like K) which is what got Greenmantle greedy and Niall killed. (To be brutally honest, I might sneer at Niall here, but then Ronan gives the Magic Mafia everything but his social security number almost as soon as he walks through the door of the black market, like an absolute fucking twat. But I'll forgive my idiot son anything * sigh * which just shows how biased it makes us when we sympathise with a character!) 

Niall brought Declan into his sleazy and dangerous black market world way too young - no two ways about it. But if he was a villain, it could be that it wasn’t just a Responsible Eldest Child thing but a ‘you’re useless because you’re not magic so you’d better earn your keep the only way you can’ thing. Or even a ‘your bitch of a mother was too strong for me to control and so I had to create a docile copy, but I got saddled with you so I’m going to take it out on you’ thing. 

So, yes. Niall = Shit father. Not sure about anything else. The new Fenian acting very much like Niall makes me wonder if we’ll learn more about the original’s motivations. He did save Ronan from the Nightwash, and did hug Declan like he loved him. And the advice he gives Declan is very parental and caring and ‘get the fuck out of here’. So maybe he’s a better father than Niall was.  

At the same time, I don’t really have any sympathy left for Niall at all, after all the shit he put his family through. So, even if we find out that there were some logical and selfless reasons he made those shitty choices, I’m never going to like him as a character. 

P.S. - I’m reading that same deaged Adam fic by @hklnvgl and it’s giving me so many feelings!

[thekillerssluts]

DIY Magazine, October 2020.

Interview TALKING ‘BOUT MY GENERATION: WILL BUTLER

Talking to Will Butler is a bit like trying to have a conversation with a human magpie. Hugely enthusiastic and with a constant giggle on the go (“I have a nervous laugh, so I laugh at more things than I should…”), the 37-year-old has a tendency to veer off down strange tangents, taking your original point but then getting distracted or excited by some other new, shiny train of thought in a different direction.

You can tell he’s smart - not just booksmart, but the kind of smart where you can practically see the cogs turning at 100mph. “I love knowledge for its own sake,” he professes at one point. “I believe in it to a fault. I think it’s worth knowing all this shit, for no other reason than just knowing that it’s true.” And it’s this attitude that’s filled the three years since ‘Everything Now’ - he and his Arcade Fire bandmates’ society-skewering fifth LP.

In that time, amid world tours and festival headlines, Will has had two more children - twins - and went to Harvard to study a masters in public policy. He also found time to record ‘Generations’ - a second solo effort that takes the brilliantly all-over-the-place nature of 2015’s ‘Policy’ and hones it into something that’s more pointed, though still clearly fuelled by the same curious mind. Or as he puts it: “The first [album] it’s like, ‘I’m at the market! There’s some eggplants! Oh there’s a nice sausage guy! And OK cool I’ll get some of those and these!’ But then ‘Generations’ was much more like, ‘I’ve been storing these bones in my freezer for two years and now we’re gonna boil this down to make the pure essence of the beast’.”

Like most debuts from artists splintering off from their main projects, ‘Policy’ had been born from accumulating a collection of material that didn’t fit with his band. Unlike most, Will had just been nominated for an Oscar (for his soundtrack to Joaquin Phoenix film Her) before its release, “so that was a confidence boost,” he notes amiably. Conversely, the essence of ‘Generations’’ particular beast seems a far more targeted one - one intrinsically linked with the intense political conversations the musician had found himself wrangling with during his recent studies.

“I always want whatever I’m making to emerge out of what I’m living and for it to help me understand how I’m living better, so going to policy school was certainly part of that artistic project as well as the ‘what do we fucking do?’ project,” he explains. “I jokingly say that I was radicalised at Harvard, which is basically true. I was in a mid-career programme, so there were 25-year-old geniuses but also people in their middle age who’d worked in the UN in Pakistan or the government in Mexico. They had this whole perspective of how fucked everything is across the whole globe so it was… educational.

As such, his second brims with a sense of palpable unease for a society that’s not only crumbling before our eyes right now, but has been doing so intermittently for decades and centuries. The twinkling, finger-clicking patter of ‘Close My Eyes’ belies the all-too-timely despair beneath it (“The photograph is new / But I seen that same headline, and I got to dance to keep from crying”), Randy Newman-esque closer ‘Fine’ digs right back to “George Washington and all his slaves,” while ‘Not Gonna Die’, he explains, was written in direct response to the November 2015 Bataclan shootings.“All these things hit different people in different ways, but that was so close to home,” he says. “It was Christmas after that and I was shopping in Manhattan; I walked into Sephora and it was super crowded and I thought, there’s a lot of people in here, where would I go [if something like that happened]? And I got so mad. It fucking worked. You made me scared. I’m not gonna die in Sephora on 5th Avenue but you made me think about it, you fucking pieces of shit.“Mike Pence was writing about it before he was running for Vice President, like, ‘We need to make sure we don’t have any immigrants come in because the immigrants can do this to us here’. And it’s like, I’m not gonna be killed by a woman fleeing violence in Guatemala!! The terrorists and the people saying ‘Be afraid!’: what you’re doing is working, and I AM afraid, and fuck you.”

Perhaps most interestingly, however, ‘Generations’ doesn’t just point the finger outwards, it also poses questions of the singer’s own inherent part in it all. “A big chunk of this record is asking: What’s my place in American history? What’s my place in America’s present?” he explained in a previous statement about the album. “Both in general, but also extremely particularly: me as Will Butler, rich person, white person, Mormon, Yankee, parent, musician. What do I do? What can I do?”

“It’s basically like, ‘My God, how did we get here?’ - that Talking Heads line,” he continues now. “The record is at times literally a conversation with people arguing back and forth, and there’s a lot of questions raised and the answers aren’t answers - you just end the conversation in a different spot. There’s something to that process of discussing and coming to some sort of revelation only to find out what’s lacking there, and then you move onto the next conversation and find out what’s lacking there. I was pleased that the material felt cyclical and of a piece, and you feel like you’re in a different spot than you were at the beginning.”

Because yes, his latest might not provide all the answers - “This is a musical work and I don’t know what the end notes are,” he admits - but ‘Generations’ does emphasise the importance of asking the questions and having the conversations, both with the world and with yourself. And if you can have them over an album of musically explorative, rich and often perversely funny new offerings? All the better.

Next, he’ll return to the fold to begin work on Arcade Fire’s sixth opus. Writing for that had originally started in New Orleans before the pandemic hit, but the band “don’t have the file management down to really do it at a distance,” he chuckles. “Win and Régine are always demoing and working, and I’ve done a little. We always work on a record for about a year and a half and we’re not off that pace yet, we’re still weirdly on track…”

You can bet by the time that record lands, he’ll have chalked up a handful of other accomplishments to his name, too; lord only knows the political battleground of the coming weeks will give him enough food for thought. And in the inquisitive mind of Will Butler, thought and curiosity are clearly the most nourishing tools of all. “You can write a love song that’s super true, but can you write a history song that also is? And if it comes out right and there’s some value in it, then what does that mean?” he muses. “It’s about just trying different angles to express something true.”

‘Generations’ is out now via Merge.

Butler’s Bits

‘Generations’ is undoubtedly an album rooted in politics and society - this much we know. But it’s also a record that digs into the musician’s relationship with other parts of the human experience…

HUMOUR “It’s a coping mechanism and it’s also a worldview. There’s not exactly a cabaret scene in New York but the comedy here is quite musical and there’s a lot of comedians that interact with people in interesting ways. They’re a bit younger than me - I’m the oldest millennial - but there’s something in that spirit that feels relevant.”

RELIGION “I grew up Mormon and I’m still ethnically Mormon. It’s like The Smiths song, ‘Meet Me At The Cemetery Gates’ - ‘Keats and Yeats are on your side, and Wilde is on mine’, you lose, haha. I’m sure Yeats is such a fucking asshole but that’s my heritage. The classic lineage of the Western canon is how I grew up.”

ADULTHOOD “I have three kids now, and it doesn’t make me worry about the future so much as it’s made me learn so much about humanity watching them - watching how it all goes into the ‘this is what humans are’ mill. On ‘Policy’, the protagonists are a motley crew of rag-tag whatevers, whereas this is much more a coming of age novel - not like a teenager becoming an adult, but an adult becoming a worse adult…”

As featured in the October 2020 issue of DIY, out now.

[bintturaab]

I live in a country with a Muslim population of 95% and this is an Islamic town for you. Schools here are not well educated and raise stupid herds. as well as preventing institutions trying to provide Islamic education. They shut down independent Islamic non-governmental organizations trying to do so and accuse their managers of even being members of a terrorist organization. what do you say about this. in schools they force our children to prostrate before an idol. If you don't want to send your child to that school, the state will confiscate your child and they will never let you meet. think about this

I'm very much familiar with this situation, but what makes you think darul kufr is any better? I personally know of sisters whose children have been confiscated from them and given to non-muslim household to be raised by kuffar. A muslim child. Being raised by kuffs to prevent radicalisation. And I know more than one sis who suffered from this. I know sisters, and these are good friends of mine who live in the West, one was threatened with her siblings being taken away and the other was threatened with her children being taken away. And the schools in the west from a very very early age indoctrinate lgbtq+ values and interfaith and other such nonsense and if the parents show any kind of protest, children are threatened to be taken away. Not to mention I know a sis who kind of got into trouble for having surah tawbah on her phone? And many other sisters were physically attacked for their hijab. I don't understand the point you're trying to make. You seriously think life in darul kufr is better? How? I'm not saying Muslim populated countries are ideal. Some are worse than others. Like Saudi, its hostility towards muwahhideen is astonishing, and the length that they would go to for spying, surveillance and sting ops as well. Many other such "Muslim" nations are also problematic, I'm not denying that. Like the situation you mentioned. But that means that you find another alternative place, and if it's possible for you to shift, you do so. Because then at least you'd be living amongst the muslimeen and not kuffaar. This is a grave matter in the Shari'ah that people need to start taking seriously.

Surah An-Nisaa, Verse 97:

{Indeed, those whom the angels take [in death] while wronging themselves -  [the angels] will say, "In what [condition] were you?" They will say, "We were oppressed in the land." The angels will say, "Was not the earth of Allah spacious [enough] for you to emigrate therein?" For those, their refuge is Hell -  and evil it is as a destination.}

“This noble ayah is general for everyone who resides amongst the polytheists while he is able to make Hijrah and he is not able to perform his Deen, and so, he is wronging himself and committing something forbidden by Ijmaa’ and by the explicit evidence of this ayah.” 

[Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 2/343, and Ibn Ateeq, Ad-Difaa, p. 13.]

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:

“I am not responsible for any Muslim who stays among polytheists.” They asked: ‘Why, Apostle of Allah?’ He said: ‘Their fires should not be visible to one another’, and he (saws) said, “Whoever joins the polytheists and lives with them then he is like them” and he (saws) said: “Migration will not end until repentance ends, and repentance will not end until the sun rises in the West.” 

[Al-Musnad, Vol.4/99, Abu Dawud, Kitab al-Jihad, Vol.3/7, Hadith 2479, and ad-Darami, Kitab as-Siyyar, Vol.2/239. Albani classifies it as Sahih. See: Sahih al-Ja’mi’ as-Sagheer, Vol.6/186, Hadith 7346]

Ash-Shawkaanee (رحمه الله) said:

“The statement, “…then he is like them,” is evidence for the prohibition of residing with the Kuffar and the obligation of separating oneself from them. Even though the Scholars have discussed the authenticity of this Hadith, the statement of Allah testifies to its authenticity: 'Then sit not with them, until they engage in a talk other than that; (but if you stayed with them) certainly in that case you would be like them.' (an Nisa: 140) 

[Nayl al-Awtaar” (8/177)]

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: 

“I have nothing to do with any Muslim who settles among the mushrikeen.” 

[Sunan Abi Dawood (2274) and is a Sahih hadith, al-Irwaa’, 5/30]

‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar (رضي الله عنه) said:

“Whoever settles amongst the disbelievers, celebrates their feasts and joins in their revelry and dies in their midst will likewise be raised to stand with them on the Day of Resurrection.” 

[Ibn Taymiyyah said in his book: Iqtidha’ as-Sifat alMustaqeem, p.200, that the chain of narration of this Hadith is Sahih]

Shaykh ul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله) said:

“The state of a place reflects the state of a person. It is possible to be sometimes a Muslim and at other times a disbeliever; sometimes sincere and at other times hypocritical; sometimes good and pious and at other times rotten and corrupt. Thus, a person becomes like the place of his abode. The migration of a person from a land of disbelief and profanity to one of faith and probity is an expression of repentance and of his turning away from disobedience and perversion to belief and obedience. This is so until the Day of Resurrection.”

[Majmu’al-Fatawa, 18/284]

Ibn Hazm (رحمه الله) said:

“Whoever joins the ‘land of war’ and disbelief, of his own free will and in defiance of whoever amongst the Muslims calls him to his side, is by virtue of this act an apostate, by all the laws of apostasy, in Islam. Whoever is able to kill him must do so. His property is unprotected, his marriage null and void, all his rights are swept away.

But whoever flees to the ‘land of war’ for fear of oppression, who neither opposes the Muslims in anything nor bears any malice towards them, and who was not able to find any refuge among the Muslims, is free of any guilt since he was compelled to leave.

As for someone who takes the Muslims as his enemies, offering his help and his service to the disbelievers, he is a disbeliever. But those who would emigrate to non-Muslim lands in search of wealth or prosperity to live under their protection, while they were able to go to live amongst the Muslims in their own land, but still do not withdraw themselves from the disbelievers; such people are not far from the fold of disbelief, and we can find no possible excuse for them, so we ask Allah’s Forgiveness.”

[Al-Muhalla’: Vol. 13/139-140]

Al-Hassan Ibn Salih (رحمه الله) said:

“Whoever remains in the land of the enemy, will be treated like the disbelievers, so long as he was able to join the Muslims but did not do it. If one of the disbelievers accepts Islam, but still remains with the disbelievers, even though he was able to go to join the Muslims, he is to be treated like them; neither his blood nor his property will be protected.” 

[Al-Jasaas, Ahkam al-Qur’an, Vol. 3/216]

[aion-rsa]

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 3 Recap: Baby Nichole, June’s Flight Plan and the Waterfords’ Fall

https://ift.tt/3gvFaYa

Warning: contains major spoilers for The Handmaid’s Tale seasons 1-3.

After the misery of season two, which slouched from one cruelty to the next, The Handmaid’s Tale season three owed viewers some victory. Broadly, that’s what it delivered. We saw Fred and Serena’s marriage implode, June make new alliances in the Lawrence house, and cracks begin to appear in Gilead. 

First, the regime lost baby Nichole and Emily over the Canadian border, and then it lost the Waterfords – now both under arrest and facing trial for their actions. Finally, Gilead suffered the loss of its most precious asset: children. June and her collaborators risked their lives to rescue 86 children and infants, carrying out a plan to successfully spirit them away on a plane to Canada. 

With season four approaching, here’s a recap of what changed in season three, and where everybody was left…

June Osborne, From Survivor to Badass

If seasons one and two were all about June becoming a survivor of Gilead, enduring its brutality but not breaking, season three was all about her burning it down. A radicalised June transformed from survivor to resistance fighter, sacrificing people and to some extent, her compassion in service of that goal. 

The last we saw June in the season three finale, she was being carried away by the Handmaid resistance after getting shot. Her plan had worked – a network of Marthas and Handmaids had smuggled the stolen children of Gilead to Commander Lawrence’s house. From there, they’d hiked to an airport and got the children onto a plane, creating a diversion so it could take off. 

It was a hard won victory. At the start of season three, June’s focus was on her and Luke’s stolen daughter Hannah, now Agnes Mackenzie. Hannah was the reason June didn’t escape to Canada with Emily and Baby Nichole in the season two finale; this time, she vowed not to leave Gilead without her. June visited Hannah at her home, and later tried to see her at her heavily guarded school, as a result of which Hannah’s much-loved Martha was hanged and the Mackenzie family left the district for an unknown location. 

Distraught at losing the chance to reunite with Hannah, June attacked Ofmatthew (Ashleigh LaThrop) – the pregnant Handmaid who’d informed on her aborted Hannah visit to Aunt Lydia – and encouraged her friends to alienate and bully her. Cruelly, June told Lydia that Ofmathew had confessed to feeling ambivalent about her third Gilead pregnancy, an unthinkable crime in this world. Ofmatthew eventually snapped, stealing a Guardian’s gun and attempting to shoot Lydia, but was shot by a Guardian and went into a coma as the doctors tried to save her unborn baby. Forced to pray at Ofmatthew’s bedside until the baby was delivered as punishment, June went through her own rebirth of sorts. After Janine caught her trying to disconnect Ofmatthew’s ventilator and told her she was being selfish, June understood the error of her ways. Separated from her own daughters, she promised the unconscious Ofmatthew that she would help Gilead’s other children, and hatched a plan.

To pull it off, she needed the assistance of Commander Lawrence, the head of June’s new household after the Waterford house burned down, and the man who had helped Emily escape after she attacked Aunt Lydia in the season two finale. Lawrence was an economist whose ideas were used in the creation of Gilead, but who was trapped inside the regime, which he covertly opposed. He secretly refused to carry out the monthly Ceremony in which Commanders and their wives raped Handmaids, and pretended not to notice his staff running Mayday operations from his home. If he and his much-loved and mentally unstable wife Eleanor ever escaped Gilead, he would be imprisoned for war crimes, keeping them in place.

An increasingly ruthless June manipulated Eleanor into helping with her unsuccessful visit to Hannah’s school. Eleanor was put under more pressure when Fred Waterford, in an act of characteristic cruelty, forced the Lawrences to rape June as part of the ‘Ceremony’ to prove their loyalty to Gilead. It was after the rape that a sickened Lawrence agreed to help June’s plan by providing a truck to transport the kids to the airport.  Afterwards, when June walked in on a dying Eleanor who’d taken a deliberate overdose, she chose not to resuscitate her and watched her die. June saw Eleanor as a liability who would put the rescue plan in danger, and so she sacrificed her for the greater good. 

Read more

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June’s ruthlessness in season three culminated in the murder of Commander Winslow at Jezebels. June had made Commander Lawrence take her to the illegal brothel used by Gilead’s Commanders, so that she could arrange the plane to rescue the children through a contact who worked behind the bar. Seeing June there, Commander Winslow attempted to rape her in his hotel room, but June fought back and killed him. The other women at Jezebels disposed of his body and Winslow was officially recorded as missing. 

From survivor to freedom fighter to murderer to… what will June be in season four? By the looks of this trailer, next on the list could be war hero. 

Baby Nichole, Serena and Fred Waterford: Loss, Lies and Betrayal

At the start of season three, Serena Waterford looked like a candidate for becoming a double agent in the fight against Gilead. The Sons of Jacob had maimed and humiliated her – cutting off her finger as punishment when she petitioned for Gilead’s girls to be taught to read the bible. She’d seen Eden, the teenaged ‘bride’ forced upon Nick, drowned for falling in love with another teenager when her husband, rightly, refused to touch her. And in the season two finale, she agreed that Baby Nichole would have a better life in Canada, so allowed June to take her away. Nichole’s escape was reframed as a kidnap by ‘unstable’ Handmaid Emily, and Serena’s involvement was covered up.

After losing Nichole and her finger, Serena set fire to the Waterford house in a suicide attempt she survived after June led her out of the flames. Separated from Fred, she also tried to drown herself in the ocean while staying with her mother, who told her she was nothing without a husband. When she agreed to reunite with Fred, who needed her as social capital, there was hope that she was about to use her insider position to help to bring Gilead down. 

She did no such thing, because unlike June – who realised that she had a responsibility to all children, not just her own – Serena could only think about Nichole and herself. Betraying June, she agreed to an international campaign for Baby Nichole’s return, including televised appeals and a prayer event in Washington DC prayer (where Handmaids’ mouths were sewn shut with metal rings). The Sons of Jacob, led by Commander Winslow (whom June murdered in Jezebels, see above) wanted Nichole returned to set a legal precedent that would see all the other escapees sent back to Gilead to be punished for their crimes. 

After Luke and Nichole were spotted at a televised anti-Gilead protest in Canada, June was forced to arrange a meeting between Serena, Luke and the baby. Serena travelled to Canada for the visit, where Mark Tuello once again tried to get her to defect, and slipped a satellite phone into her luggage. Wanting Nichole back, Serena made a secret deal with Tuello, tricking Fred into driving over the Canadian border where he was arrested for his Gilead crimes, in exchange for a new life in Canada, with access to Nichole. However, that plan backfired when Fred told Tuello of Serena’s crimes, namely, forcing June and Nick to try to conceive in season one. Serena and Fred both ended the season under arrest and facing trial.

Aunt Lydia‘s Past Revealed

Lydia vacillated in season three, between her usual brutal self and unexpected flashes of warmth to her ‘girls’. Being stabbed and pushed down the stairs by Emily in the season two finale made her unpredictable and violent. She tasered June for trying to help her, and viciously beat Janine when she asked the Putnams if she could return to their household to make baby Angela a sibling. She forced June and Ofmatthew to take part in humiliating rites and for June to help to execute Frances, the Mackenzie household’s Martha who’d helped June to secretly visit Hannah. Lydia also facilitated Fred Waterford and Commander Winslow’s plan to force Commander Lawrence to rape June in a ‘Ceremony’ by witnessing it. 

But then, when she chaperoned June on the Waterford’s trip to Washington DC, Lydia admitted that she didn’t agree with the capital’s new method of sewing shut Handmaid’s mouths. She also presented Janine with an eyepatch to cover her mutilated eye socket, hinting at (deeply) hidden kindness and maternal feelings for Janine.

In a pre-Gilead flashback episode, we learned that Lydia was once a schoolteacher who befriended a young single mother who encouraged her to dress up and date a widower. When he turned down Lydia’s sexual advances on their date, she felt such shame that she turned it outwards and betrayed her friend by calling social services and having her son taken into care, citing her as an unfit mother – an easy thing to do in the very early days of Gilead’s growing rhetoric about the divinely appointed responsibilities of motherhood.  

The Nick Blaine Enigma

Of all the transformations in season three, Nick’s was perhaps the greatest in that he went from driver to Commander to military leader extraordinaire. After the state murder of his ‘wife’ Eden and the destruction of the Waterford home, Max Minghella‘s character was deployed as a soldier outside the district, on the front line. He met up with June in Washington DC, where she tried to make a deal with the Swiss to keep Nichole in Canada, using Nick as leverage. The Swiss informed her that Nick wasn’t just a lowly driver, but had been an instrumental part of Gilead’s coup and occupation of American soil, so the deal was off. After the season aired, actor Dominic Minghella confirmed that he’d filmed scenes which weren’t used in the finale, which would have explained more about Nick’s role and allegiance in Gilead.   

The Canadian contingent: Emily, Moira & Luke

Over the border, Emily (Alexis Bledel) struggled to recover from the trauma of Gilead. She became involved in anti-Gilead activism with Moira and Luke (Samira Wiley and O.T Fagbenle), protesting visits from Gilead leaders. She initially refused to see her wife and son, until Moira convinced her to visit them, when they agreed to take things slowly. 

Luke and Moira cared for baby Nichole, and had her baptised just as Luke and June had done for Hannah. Neither wanted Serena to have access to Nichole, but reluctantly agreed. Serena passed Luke a cassette recording in which she told him that Nichole wasn’t born of rape and that her real father was Nick, whom June loved. 

We last saw Moira greeting the planeful of Gilead refugee children now on Canadian soil, and Rita introducing herself to Luke, who was disappointed not to find Hannah on board the plane. They hugged and Rita told Luke who was responsible for rescuing the children. “She did this. June. Your June.”

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The Handmaid’s Tale season 4 starts on April the 28th on Hulu in the US. It’s due to air on Channel 4 in the UK later this summer.

The post The Handmaid’s Tale Season 3 Recap: Baby Nichole, June’s Flight Plan and the Waterfords’ Fall appeared first on Den of Geek.

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