#with the implication being they don't let him fight with two blades

[fracturedodr]

"Yeah, he... followed Hogni, apparently?" Maybe this wasn't his story to tell, but... context was fine, right? "I remember them arguing about Hogni not telling Hedin that he was gonna leave. They-" and he can't help but flush red here, knowing what was really going on between the pair- "really like each other? I think? B-but don't spread it around, I don't know if they want anyone to-" But he cuts off when he hears voices that absolutely weren't from Miss Eina.

What on earth were Hogni and Lili doing here? Lili being with Hogni he understood, they didn't want him wandering unattended until they felt they could trust him (why he wasn't ALSO being watched when technically he was just as potentially dangerous, he DIDNT know) but. Why here?

Or rather, if he could gauge off the conversation - why him?

"Uh. W-well. Um. S-see, Miss Eina? I'm not lying. He's... here. In Hearthstone, in... Hestia Familia." HERE here, too, for some reason. In the meeting room. Why?

Endlessly curious about what could have warranted such an interruption (Hogni seemed more the sort to leave people be if they were mid conversation about Personal Things, anxieties aside) Bell couldn't help but look at the pair interestedly - and, admittedly, confusedly.

"...I know you just said you forgot, but... why are...? Uh - did something happen? I really hope not, the only battle I want to be a part of right now is training so I can remember how to use two knives at once." Because for some reason he hadn't been allowed, in Freya Familia. A question to which he'd never once received answers.

...This was unheard of. Not one, but two Freya Executives, left her. Hestia Familia just gained two level 6s...Eina seemed to be in a state of shock. Silence lingered in the air as she processed the information given to her.

"Hedin...Selland..." she repeated his full name quietly. Hogni, she could kind of understand...But Hedin?

Before she could question anything, there was a quiet knock on the door and the first elf in question peeked into the room, only to realize Bell had company--he'd only heard he was in this room in particular--and was quick to hide himself behind the door. That was, until he was nudged in by Lili. Her turn to chaperone him. "If Master Hogni is going to go places in his own home, he shouldn't be scared that someone might be there," it might've seemed like she was scolding him, but in her own way, she was encouraging him.

...Hedin probably would've said the same thing, actually.

"I--Misfortune befell me, I cannot fathom the thought--the idea that brought forth my actions--"

"...You forgot why you wanted to talk to Bell?"

[wittyrogue]

we all like to joke that zevran's failed contract in origins has lost the crows an entire country but in this essay i will tell you how actually crows are afraid to go further south than the free marches because the black shadow will get them.

lets set the scene: early 9:30 dragon, a hit goes out on two grey wardens from the "ruler" of ferelden. zevran wins the bid and effectively disappears. two grey wardens are still seen out and about. taliesen is later sent to clean it up and also disappears.

their fates, canonically, are "unknown" (per world of thedas, vol. 2 pg 96, screen capped at the bottom of the post for reference).

grandmaster eoman arainai (zevran's master and the one who ordered rinna killed) is killed four months after the blight ends. four other members of house arainai are also killed over the next three years (9:30-33 dragon), taking house arainai from being the house with the eighth talon to obscurity.

grandmaster runn and grandmaster availa are also killed (honestly unclear if they're house arainai or not, but we'll run with them being eoman's replacements 1 and 2), likely around 9:33 or at the latest, 9:34 dragon.

at some point, zevran makes some friends and seems to have worked to fill the ranks of those rising within the crows with those who are similar in his mindset--those that have been cheated out of well earned coin, driven into hiding, or silenced in one way or another, slowly building a rising generation of crows less keen on the old house structure way of doing things.

during this time, whenever zevran is discovered in antiva, he's chased out by the crows, who get as far as rivain or the free marches and then those crows go missing--the implication here being that they chase zevran, only to at some point have the chase twisted and end up killed by zevran's own blade.

also at some point, zevran is caught in a trap by the crows, who continued to hunt him "for the honor of antivan crows" aka a crow never breaks a contract (though at this point claiming zevran as a crow seems like a clerical oversight).

in case you were wondering: - crows: 1 - zevran: 3 grandmasters, 5 assassins (rank or higher), innumerable rank and file lured south

by 9:35 dragon, the guildmaster of rialto has been killed and two guildmasters are said to be in zevran's pocket. first caveat: unclear if this is widespread to all of the crows, or limited to just house arainai. second caveat: guildmaster and grandmaster seem to be used interchangeably? which is mildly frustrating but it is what it is. this is also assumed to do with zevran's escape from wherever they were keeping him captive.

relative radio silence from the maker's perfect boy until 9:40 dragon when he sends an "oops i did it again ;)" letter to leliana apologizing for killing a crow hired to do inquisition business. for the record, this crow is doing business in hercinia at the time, which is in the free marches. this exchange speaks to a pattern of continuing the crow killing business, specifically those going south to the free marches.

now we're up to the current year and lucanis and harding have our oh so charming exchange below (emphasis mine):

Harding: Lucanis, you've never really been to Ferelden? But I thought you traveled all over!

Lucanis: The Crows don't take many contracts there. Not since the Fifth Blight.

Harding: I heard Teyrn Loghain hired Crows in his fight over the throne.

Lucanis: And that's why we don't work there anymore.

Harding: So the Crows don't work in Ferelden anymore because of Loghain? Why, exactly?

Lucanis: House Arainai embarrassed themselves so badly on that job, the Crows buried six different Eighth Talons.

Harding: You're... you're saying they actually die of embarrassment.

Lucanis: Some of them weren't dead at the time. But they got it eventually.

hey scroll up for a second, back to the part where i told you the crows vs zevran tally.

ok come back. thanks.

now at least one of those six #confirmed kills of zevran's is grandmaster eoman arainai, the eighth talon. clearly being a grandmaster and a talon are not conflicting roles. i'd gather, actually, that being grandmaster of the house holding a talon position makes you the talon as well. so zevran's killed at least three arainai talons (eoman, runn, availa). if we put house arainai in rialto, that makes a fourth in 9:35 dragon during zevran's escape from imprisonment for four dead talons, just between 9:30 and 9:35 dragon. i really think in the following handful of years, zevran can do two more. as a treat.

all this to say--in this dialogue with harding, lucanis is putting on his professional customer service voice and saying that no, they just don't really like working in fereldan all that much.

please don't look at the line of dead crows that starts in the free marches.

please ignore the pile of dead eighth talons.

please stop looking at house arainai.

honestly, i think there's a solid argument to be made that zevran's hunting of crows affected a widespread change in his generation of rank and file crows, to the benefit of any follow-on generations. it was mentioned a little how zevran was gathering allies, even paying off guildmasters, and i think it's seen in the fact that arainai hasn't prospered and crows like teia even exist at all.

references under the cut.

[ladynamida]

Hi all!

Happy @verladyweek Day 4! I've been working a story featuring two of the prompts for Day 4, Confession and "Except for your eyes, no blade can control me, no sharpened knife."

First I'd like to say another big thank you for the inspiration - the brain worms are so wriggly about this.

Second, this week has been so fun I don't want to ruin the vibes, so no one has to reblog this post.

Third, this story has become something larger and more personal to me than I originally intended. Some might say, extremely self-indulgent writing-as-therapy. I'm just saying "oops". It deals with some sensitive topics that I'm not sure I'll be confident in sharing widely. Not until I can do them justice at least. Either way, it won't be finished this week. 😔

But!

I'd still like to contribute by sharing a wip snippet or two! The snippet under the cut gives a flavour for the rest of the story. (I promise there are more upbeat moments amongst the angst I could share, but didnt want to mislead on the overall vibe). Let me know in the tags/asks/DMs.

Trigger warnings: depression, mental health crisis. If you're worried about the content but want to find out more, I'd be happy to respond via DM. Please take care of yourselves first and foremost 💙

Dante's voice was hoarse as he whispered, “I don’t know what to do.”

Okay, this did sound like it was shaping up to be some kind of crisis, and Lady did pride herself on her ability to salvage the best possible outcome from bad circumstances. Being thrust into world-threatening situations on a semi-regular basis and life-threatening situations practically every week did wonders to sharpen your disaster management skills. “Whatever it is, we’ll take care of it, that’s what we always do, right?” She gulped the rest of her coffee in one long draw, and dropped the cup from chest height into the waste paper basket. She retook her seat. “So what’s going on?”

“Nothing, and that’s the problem. Have you seen much of Vergil recently?”

She shakes her head, thinking. He had been missing in action recently, though she hadn’t really thought too much about it. He was weirdly quiet at the best of times, unless he was arguing with Dante or Nero, even then he was just as likely to storm out as he was to fight back. She couldn’t remember the last time he’d raised his voice, even when fighting. They’d had a few brief conversations after he and Dante returned from hell; about coffee, about the weather, about nothing significant. Just normal, everyday stuff. She didn’t really care for boundaries, but she didn’t particularly want to push his and cause the group any problems, so when he ignored her she ignored him right back. The implications of what Dante might be suggesting started to sink in. “Can’t say that I have. You think he’s up to something?”

A single, dry laugh. “Nah.”

She trusted his judgement, since no one knew Vergil better, and Dante had agreed to keep an eye on him. “Then what’s the problem?”

“He never does anything.”

She snorts, trying to keep the tone light despite her growing sense of dread. “Like drinking and going to strip-joints? Maybe he just has a better taste in hobbies than you.”

“No hobbies. You don’t get it. He doesn’t do anything, doesn’t go anywhere. He hasn’t left the shop in three weeks.”

She lowers her voice, realising he must be upstairs while they’re talking about him and not wanting to provoke any awkwardness should he hear. “Maybe he’s just doing his thing, reading or something. He’s always quiet.”

“Lady, he hasn’t left his room in nearly a week… not even to use the bathroom.”

Now, that shocked her. “So what, he’s just rotting in his own filth? That’s not like him.”

~ to be continued ~

“Nah, nothing like that. He’s not eating or drinking either, so there’s no mess. I’ve been in there, he’s just sat there on the floor like some kind of fucking zombie.”

Lady felt her face pale. She stayed quiet and still for a moment, letting the weight of Dante’s comment settle between them, as she racked her brains to try and work out how she could help them.

“Do you think he’s still sick?... Like V was?”

He sniffed, and bowed his head, his hair hiding his face. “Nah, I dunno, he looks normal. Can’t see any marks or anything.”

“Did something happen the last time he was down here?”

She could almost smell the guilt. “I don’t even know when that was. I don’t think so.”

“Okay.” She absentmindedly kicked her feet, slowly tapping her heel against the side of the desk. “And you’ve tried talking to him?” Silence, and a nod. “Well, maybe I’ll head up there and give it a try?” She stood and pulled her shorts down, making herself more presentable. She didn’t know why, but she felt slightly nervous. Dante she knew well, she had a pretty good handle on his moods and how he might react to her poking and prodding. Vergil… well, Vergil was a different animal.

[felikatze]

Base game Awakening is, on the surface, very black and white. But only on the surface and fandom has a VERY big problem with that, I find. I feel like there's implications historical Ylisse has done War Crimes and Emmeryn has to cope with knowing this and that her people probably still would War Crimes the Plegian people at the drop of a hat, regardless of cult association or not.

YEAH. both chrom and emmeryn bring up their father being Exalt McWarCrimes. the war found in the game is just War 2. When Gangrel talks shit about emmeryn just hiding away in ylisstol after ylisse ravaged plegia, he is still talking shit about her, but also voicing legitimate grievances. but when she retorts that she had to rebuild ylisse first, and just had neither time nor ressources to help plegia, that's also true.

everything that happens is just unrest left over from the previous war. it's questionable if the grimleal would've risen to that much power if political instability made religion a great rallying point for a broken country. plegia was the defending party in the previous war, and it's reasonable that a lot of people want retribution, and feel their crimes against ylisse are justified.

it mainly comes down to how the issues are dressed up. chrom questions himself and his purpose, yet the people he fights against are always without a doubt portrayed as villains. going back to gangrel, his behavior is so over the top ridiculous that it ruins the good points he makes. validar's motivation is also incredibly weak, and i don't think it would've taken much to prop it up. he could've aimed to revive grima to secure the political power of the grimleal, which took a big hit after the previous war decimated a lot of them. having an actual god to show, and being the person who revived that god, would net him a shitton of influence, not just in plegia, but the entire continent. grima could be a force of revenge for the plegians, finally striking back at ylisse.

but instead the villains are all just zany tropey bad guys. chrom can be as introspective as he wants about killing people, the only boss people actually feel bad for killing is still mustafa and nobody else. depth for some of the other bosses comes from henry's supports of all places. In his ricken support, he talks about how some of the bosses were actually his friends. That's interesting! How do Henry and Tharja feel abandoning their own countrymen? Both of them were part of Gangrel's forces!

This is just a huge FE problem in general. It's where story and gameplay clash. in order for there to be gameplay, there need to be people to fight, and that can't always be justified in the story. So very very often, between big story moments, there'll just be Random Brigands who LOOOOVE burning down villages for fun. fucking. binding blade does random brigands better through its own thief characters. hell, there's two recruitable brigands. through supports and story stuff, it's incredibly clear that the brigands exist because of war profiteers and lycia's rampant poverty, especially in its capital of ostia.

avenues for depth in awakening tend to fall flat, but the implications are still there. I'm particularly mad about Aversa's spotpass thing. Like yeahhh she didn't do any of this of her own volition she was just brainwashed :) fuck off man.

and before that, she's also just a cartoonishly evil puppet master. she wants to revive grima.. why exactly?

basically all chapter bosses besides VERY few of them are so unremarkable. they're just Random Bad Guy who you don't need to feel bad for killing. three houses attempted to do an all sides view, and it. hm. it sure tried. all around, the series is hesitant to ever let the player question if what they're doing is right. the player always needs to be the hero. that's why you have so many varieties of brainless zombies to slaughter en masse, generic bandits who Deserve To Die, and devoted soldiers who cannot be reasoned with.

though, tbh, the moments where you feel like shit for playing the map are the fucking best. ch23 of binding blade, you are so cool thematically. and like, everybody remembers mustafa! it works!

that was a long tirade. i think i've made my point. maybe.

[ink-fireplace-coffee]

Marble and Magic Monday: Mafia AU Part 1

A/N: we start the AUs with a Mafia one because y e s

TW: death, blood, guns and knifes. I think that's all.

If there's one thing you need to know about magic, is that it turned into a luxury.

And when people start fighting for something, only the most powerful survive.

Unknown to the Starless people, the city is constantly on the edge for those with magic. Having to choose between three sides - affiliating to the Eterna Realeza, ruled by the Asya family; work for the Striker Gang, a mismatch of powerful outcasts; or going solo… With all the implications of that.

There were little things that could make both empires crumble to the ground, and yet, Jasper Cheasya just happened to be one.

It took him exactly two days to notice he was being observed and followed by no less than six different people: he came from a rich family, and there was no trace of a doubt his status preceded him.

After all, his mom was no other than the Witch.

Since his arrival three weeks ago now, this was the first time Jasper had tried to outrun his followers. And not knowing the layout of the city clearly became a problem. Anxiety growing in his chest with every heartbeat he had ended in a street full of closed businesses.

"I wouldn't turn there," a voice at his back said, right before he was about to go to the right. "That's a dead end, right there. Although," the man kept rambling, "you are gonna end up dead either way."

Jasper finally turned around to face him: a man in his thirties, his broad shoulders and the gun he was carrying were indicative of his job.

"Why did you tell me that?" Jasper tried not to stand small, knowing damn well he was just buying time. The man would not have time to chit chat.

With a simple shrug and a sharp smile he answered: "Because I like to give my preys time to run."

He then swung forward towards Jasper who took off running as fast as he could.

'He needs me alive,' he thought trying to find somewhere to hide in between the alleys and streets. When he heard the first gunshot, the statement vanished.

To his dismay, in between the gunshots and laughs of his hunter, another voice joined the chaos.

"Hey!" It was a girl's, and stood in between Crazy-Man-With-a-Gun and him.

Panting heavily and wanting to roll over and vomit, Jasper sent a last prayer to the Stars and wished his death was as quick as possible.

But Death did not come looking for him. Instead, he just heard more shots… Not aimed at him!

The boy spotted some trash cans and quickly kneeled behind them, trying his best not to make any sound.

The girl and the man were too busy with each other to even think of him anyway…

Agatha hated patrol days. Waving off drunk men and waking up homeless people who were in their territory was by far the most thrilling things that could happen in one of those days.

But try telling that to Kathan.

"Direct others," she mimicked his voice while rolling her eyes. She was worth more than just walking around their territory for the Stars' sake!

She jolted when she heard the first gunshot. What the Hell?

A guy passed running down the street, and in no time she stood in between him and another man.

"Hey!" Her gun was already in her hand, pointing at the man. "Realeza trash, I thought your kind knew this is our territory-" she cocked the gun- "And that we have permission to eliminate all of you if you so much but step on it."

"I'd love to see you try Flower Girl."

A few shots later, the blood right from the man's head dyed the ground red. Agatha scowled and looked at him with disgust one more time before remembering about the other boy.

When he took off running she wasted no more time.

"Stop running," she called, but that weird kid wouldn't listen, and she had to make sure whose side he was on.

'Desperate times…' Agatha launched forward, making the stranger fall to the ground beneath her.

When he tried to escape and grunt, she carefully pushed a little knife to his throat.

Jasper's scream died in his mouth when he felt the pressure of the blade against him.

"Now, now, Pretty Boy, are you sure you want to move again?" her voice was the soft caress of a lover, and that only increased Jasper's fear.

"I will only ask once, and to give you a hint, there's only one correct option." Her mouth was as red as the blood of his hunter. "Whose side are you on, Pretty Boy?"

"Side? I have no idea what you are-Please don't kill me!" he begged when the pressure of the little knife increased. "I truly have no idea what you are talking about, I swear for the Stars."

Only then she pushed the knife away. “If you are lying I promise you-”

“I’m not! I arrived in the city three weeks ago. I have no idea who that dude was or why was he following me!”

Agatha stood up, towering over the boy. “In that case, let me give you a friendly welcome: You got yourself in Striker’s territory, and what happens to people who come here and should not be here…” She looked back at the corpse. “Understood?”

Jasper nodded a few times, popping carefully onto his elbows.

“Now if you aren’t a part of Realeza, but they wanted you…” she muttered to herself. “You are coming with me, Pretty Boy.”

“I haven’t done anything wrong!”

“Oh well, that’s your word, but the most powerful mafia sending a guy to track you and hunt you down says otherwise. Besides,” she added, “I think you would not turn down protection from us, now would you?”

“Protection?” Jasper’s head felt foggy.

“Yes, protection,” the girl sighed like talking to him was unbearable. “You are important for them, which makes you a valuable piece for us. So come on, I’m bringing you to the Boss.”

And with that, Jasper, the son of the Witch, was taken under the wing of the Striker Gang.

“My name is Jasper, by the way,” he added when the silence in between them was too uncomfortable.

“Agatha. Let me give you a free tip, Jasper: watch your back. I don’t have a clue why you are so important for some people, but if I were you, I would always carry a loaded gun with me.”

Maybe he would have to get one.

------

[Taglist under the cut]

@fuyugomori|| @enchanted-lightning-aes|| @alexwritesfiction|| @dontcrywrite|| @indecentpause|| @writing-is-a-martial-art|| @47crayons|| @the-writing-moon|| @shamblingthing|| @kingsinking|| @fiercely-raging-writer|| @euphoniouspandemonium

[casmybelovedass]

The Destiel Folder: Season 10

[Season 4; Season 5; Season 6; Season 7; Season 8; Season 9]

Episode 1:

Cas is slowly dying, practically naked, in a bed, and the first thing he says when talking about Dean is "I miss him" (6:35), with a soft smile. "Why would he just disappear?"

... I'm sorry but If Cas Were A Woman, this would look like a scene from a movie or something, where the wife talks to a friend over the phone about her missing husband. JUST SAYING

Crowley: "The girl seemed nice. Slightly damaged. I could see the old you falling for that." (9:29) uhm... who else is "nice and slightly" damaged? I don't know... CASTIEL??!!!

So... these two men (actors Todd Mann and Brad Mann) we see with the DemonGang, are real life twins (9:14).

At (27:18), Crowley states him and Dean did "extroardinary things to triplets" ... and, well, the only twins with a possible other sibling we see are... them

And this is not the first time we hear about Dean doing "things to triplets" with a buddy of his (15x07)... and the first time he was NOT a demon... so, there's that. And triplets don't necessarily mean "all females"

Cas, while talking about the good things that come with choices, mentions "hope, love, dreams" (39:06), and Hannah points out that "those are human things". Human things...

Cas is talking about his own personal experiences with creating chaos, so those are the things he felt after rebelling for... Dean... WOW. ICWAW, it would totally be read it as a reference to Dean. A romantic one. Fight me

Episode 2:

Cas is dying, just got back from a fight that left him wounded, doesn't have enough power to heal himself, is on a mission to restore Heaven, and once again he chooses to go save Dean (9:35), and the way rage builds in his eyes when learning Dean has become a demon. Look at this shit

I might be crazy, but this feels like a touching metaphor to me:

"I think you don't know what you want. Tell me, Dean. What are you? A demon? [...] Maybe you're human. [...] Why don't you do us all a great, big favor... and pick a bloody side!" (22:22)

METAPHOR

Episode 3:

We are reminded that, even tho in terrible conditions, on the verge of death, Cas is willing to risk it all to save Dean, and is devastated by the thought of Dean not making it (4:47 - 5:17)

This is so funny to me, I'm sorry, but Cas is so visibly uncomfortable with Hannah touching him, it's hilarious (15:58)

"I've been around humans for long enough to see how easily distractions occur. Emotions, feelings... They're dangerous temptations." (22:32) like rebelling against your own kind, destroying your home, falling... all for a human?

"I'm trying to keep our priorities clear." Moments earlier, Cas listed "Getting to Dean" (22:17) before anything else. In fact, Hannah says "I am very clear of my priorities... and yours." = Dean (23:00)

Cas is not sure whether the cure will kill Dean or not, and in any case, he wraps his arms around him, and softly says "It's over... Dean it's over." (35:40) as if hushing him to sleep, in what could have been their last moments together... wow. Think about this ICWAW

"Well, I can see his point. Only humans can feel real joy, but... also such profound pain. This is easier." (36:17) Look at the way Sam is looking at Cas looking at Dean

BITCH OKAY!!

SAM KNOWS

POSSIBILE future Empty reference "real joy"

Cas already stated he misses being human, but knows how fragile they are in both body and spirit:

Castiel really wants to be with Dean. For real. But maybe he thinks (see season 9) him being an angel is an obstacle to their feelings.

Only by being human he can truly be happy (MMMMMMHH SEASON 15), but isn't sure he could handle the pain that comes with it. A possible rejection, the thought of Dean dying, him leaving Dean... MMMMHHHHH

"You look terrible." [...] "Well, you, on the other hand, you... *checks out Cas* Looking good." (39:09) full homo right there. Also parallel with Ketch in 13x18 ("You don't look good." "Yeah, well, you're not my type, either.")

The way they are looking at each other here... man.

Cas is so happy to have Dean back, and Dean looks hurt about Cas leaving so soon.

"So... so, you're back?" "At least temporarily." (39:27) bitch, you know that's not what he ment.

In all of this, Cas is trying to make Dean feel better about the whole situation (DAT SMILE 40:18), and Dean replies with "I'm glad you're back, man.", basically no-homoing himself...

Cas starts walking out of the room, but stops and turns back [insert concerned husband here] (40:27), and Dean has that hopeful look in his eyes, like Cas is going to stay, and the hurtful look comes back as soon as Cas is gone

Episode 4:

"On your knees!" "Wow, I'm awfully flattered-" (34:33) SASSY BI DEAN IS THE DEAN WE DESERVE

Episode 5:

Fucking kill me NOW!!! Dean's reaction to Destiel is PRICELESS!! And even before he learns what that is, he just looks at the girls playing him and Cas and... freezes for a moment (13:18) And the eyebrow raise thingy at (13:34)... what's going on in your brain, Dean?

I'd like to point out that the Italian translation for "You can't spell 'subtext' without S-E-X" is, for once, AMAZING:

"It's just that... their bond is so strong it has subtext of a... sexual nature."

THANK YOU ITALIAN DUB! JUST THIS ONCE, THANK YOU! (13:43)

Also at (9:44) Dean immediately reacts to the implication of Wincest subtext, shutting it down and telling the girls to take a step back, but with Destiel he is like... alright

... this is so fucking cute, (25:54) Dean adjusts the girl playing Cas' tie so that it's messed up like the real Cas'. ADORABLE

SAM SHIPS IT (13:57) and is teasing the SHIT out of Dean, who reacts like someone being teased about their crush. Just saying (14:08 - 14:52) [AND THIS HAPPENS IN FRONT OF A PINK-BLUE WALL]

"I know I have expressed some differences of opinion regarding this version of Supernatural." (26:44) ... oookay meta? *turns to "Cas"* "And I want you to put as much sub into that text as you possibly can." ... oKAY?!

Episode 7:

Cas being extremely uncomfortable with women is too fucking funny to me (5:03 - 12:51)

Episode 9:

(15:13) Alright, so, this is a date... what now? Anyway, nice bi flannel, Dean. And the little sweet smiles you two are giving each other? So fucking precious (16:01)

"I ain't exactly a role model." "That's not true." (16:07) how Dean looks at Cas right after that? BABIES!

"How are you, Dean?" "Fine." "*I-call-bullshit look*" "I'm great!" "No, you're not." (16:18) #MARRIED

As Cas is choke-holding a guy, Dean, clearly amused (almost proudly), says "I'd do what he says." (22:17) Like that time with Raphael in 5x03, Dean likes it when Cas gets rough

Episode 10:

Shut the fuck up and marry each other already so you can finally actually BE the old married couple™️ you ALREADY ARE (22:17)

This is the "My husband is so FUCKING STUPID" look (22:30)

"I was hoping you might reach out to her." "... Me? I'm probably the last person she'd want to hear from." [...] "All I know... is she won't talk to me." (23:03) #MARRIED, PARENTS, PERIODT

Shut the fuck up. Cas is the dad trying to figure out technology (23:36) "I'll text you her number. I like texting. Emotions!" DAD

Cas worries about Dean like a wife would with an alcoholic husband

Of all the things Dean could be MAD about at Metateon... the first thing he can think of is him stealing Cas' grace (31:33) (okay, maybe he is going in chronological order but STILL)

Episode 11:

[I AM SO SO SO SORRY BUT DEAN USED THE ALIAS "PRESLEY" (18:55) I AM NOT OKAY]

Episode 14:

Have this deleted scene: Castiel and Crowley bitching over Dean, and Crowley calling Dean Cas' boyfriend

This is some hell of a goodbye-eye-love-making scene (26:57)

Cain compares himself to Dean... and CAS TO HIS WIFE COLLETTE [PARALLELS]

"You're living my life in reverse [...]

First you'd kill Crowley. You'd get it done, no remorse. (Cain had been killing his descendants, for whom he didn't care much)

And then you'd kill the angel, Castiel. Now, that one... that, I suspect, would hurt something awful. [And than Sam is Able, bla bla...]"

AM I WRONG?! YOU'RE GONNA LOOK AT ME AND TELL ME THAT I'M WRONG??!!!

Dean gives the First Blade to Cas... oKAY (37:10)

Worried brother-in-laws (41:27)

Episode 16:

This is such a good source of hidden meanings scene! Dean starts his "confession" as a scam. Everything he says at first is to attract the spirit.

He starts talking about seeing lots of women, not being able to control himself, and being sick of it. Then the real confession begins...

Dean feels he's going to die soon, and fears not death itself, but what he would be missing from his life.

"There's things... people, feelings that I... I would experience differently than I had before. Or even for the first time." (25:28) and the priest believes Dean is talking about love.

Well... "people, feelings"... who could he be referring to? Does Dean want love all of a sudden? People he wants to experience for the first time... uhmmmm... Is Dean opening up to his attraction to MEN??!! Or one angel in particular?

ICWAW we would guess Dean was talking about Cas

"Who mixes their blood and bones into paint? No woman has ever done that for me." (39:19) UHM- Dean, what about

6x20 "He has bled, died bla bla bla for us",

7x21 "I'm always happy to bleed for the Winchesters" or

9x22 "You just gave up an entire army for one guy"

ICWAW we would ALL roll our eyes at this statement and scream CAS

THE GUY BLED, LOST HIS HOME, REBELLED, DIED FOR YOU!! HE REBUILT YOU PIECE BY PIECE FROM HELL- SAVED YOU DOZENS OF TIMES!!!

Episode 17:

About saving Dean from the Mark: "We won't- (free Metatron)" "Yes, you will... because you're desperate." (9:44) Hannah knows. Let's remark that

"All I'm getting from you is... colours." (14:26) bitch he is a walking 🌈PRIDE FLAG🏳️‍🌈

Notice how, when we get a Sam-Cas centred episode, we don't get the same interactions with Dean-Cas? Why this?

Dean is always ready to call Cas a "brother", but the only one true bromance here is Sam and Cas'. There are no longing stares, no weird sexual filled dialogue nor tension, NO LONGING STARES

Facts, my people. Facts

Episode 18:

"You killed my friend." "Oh, pff, Dean is fine, mostly. Can't you get past that?" "Never." (12:39)

Charlie being excited about meeting Dean's famous boyfriend is WHOLESOME (37:34)

To have Cas back, 100%, safe and sound, is a win for Dean (38:58) and the face Cas makes after Dean hits him with another no-homo "It's good to have you back, pal." is "UHH not this again". Charlie already ships it

Episode 20:

A #MARRIED couple and their daughter. NO ARGUMENTS VALID (7:06)

Look at how they enter the motel (16:22)

OH MY GOOOOOD!!! #PARENTS coming back home from shopping!! THE HAND ON THE SHOULDER!!! Also

"Happy birthday. I got it at the Hot Topical" DAD

Dean: "Imma head back over there." Cas: "I'm coming with you." Claire: "I'm coming with you too." (17:24) #FAMILY

A fucking family comedy about a dad confronting the daughter's boyfriend and the other dad scolding him:

"What did you do to him?" "I didn't lay a hand on him!" "Dean, that isn't exactly true." "... Well, I didn't kill the guy." (17:14)

Surprisingly enough, this is not the first nor last time Dean acts like a dad to a lost child (AND TWO OF THESE TIMES THE KID IS SOMEHOW RELATED TO CAS) (21:54)

Episode 22:

C: "Claire, you are not going out there. [...] It's too dangerous. I can't let anything happen to you." D: "Claire, you're not going." C: "You're not either, Dean." D: "What?" (19:29)

#FAMILY DON'T TALK TO ME!

"No fighting. [...] Both of you." AAAAAA

This doesn't fucking matter, but Dean just said "... for the ladies. Or the fellas. I don't judge." (36:23)

Cas' speech to Dean... wow. "So if there's even a small chance that we can save you... I won't let you walk out of this room." (39:20)

I hate this scene. (40:11)

Dean is overwhelmed by Charlie's death, Sam and Cas' betrayal, the Mark changing him and all the other shit.

The Mark is taking over, and Dean can't (and won't) help it. Cas knows it. He doesn't want to hurt Dean. He is not even resisting. Doesn't put up a fight.

And just like Colette with Cain, Castiel only asks Dean one thing: "Stop." (40:38) [9x11]

Parallel to 8x07:

The only thing that stops Cas from killing Dean, is him begging, clutching onto his sleeve.

"Dean... please..." (41:08) Cas pleading Dean, clutching to his arm, makes him resist the urge to kill him.

Episode 23:

You can find gifs and the script of some deleted (destiel) scenes in this post by @charlie-minion

As the Mark eats Dean... he starts feeling guilt for the people he hurt... first on the list: Cas (14:54)

(This gif is not mine)

Well... what a season.

[Season 11>>]

[brandstifter-sys]

Projections

Word Count: 2530

Characters: Patton, Deceit, Remus, Virgil

Rating: M (not smut)

Warnings: Suicide Attempt, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Sutures, Angst, Hurt/Comfort

Patton is fed up with himself because of how strangers online see him. It takes three unlikely sides to save him and help him work through things.

The following is not an attempt to critique the fandom in any way. This is a vent fic and I was working through my own shit via Patton. I hesitated to post this for a long time out of fear that it would blow up in my face. 

Patton stood in the bathroom under the artificial light. The only part of his room that was free from clutter and the one place he could see himself as he truly was, the bathroom was the only place he could go where the memories couldn't reach him—except the ones at the top of his head.

Manipulative…

Strict…

Overbearing…

Abusive…

Tears streamed down his flushed cheeks as he thought about the recent surge of hate. He stared at the flushed yet pallid face in the mirror and shuddered as bile crept up his throat. He couldn't bring himself to fight the voices in his head, screaming at him.

Did he split Creativity all those years ago? Was it his fault that Roman was insecure and that Remus was unhinged? He couldn't tell, they were all just toddlers. Even so, he knew he was to blame for the divide in the mindscape. No matter how hard he tried to lessen the impact, tried to see value in the gothic sides, tried to make amends slowly but surely, no matter what he was still to blame.

Strict…

Overbearing...

He had been strict recently, he found that out the fun way. But at least it was Logan who said it, not the other side who knew early on. He wanted Thomas to be a good person and a good friend. He wanted to be there to guide Thomas, but he was so confused! Right and wrong shifted and he lost his footing. He should have said something, but no he buckled down and tried to force the morals he knew back into place. He hurt everyone with that decision, especially Thomas. He failed at his job.

Manipulative…

He leaned over the sink, tightening his grip around the handle. Maybe this next step was just a new way to weasel some pity out of the others, a threat for attention. He overstepped his bounds in terms of influence and with his family. How did Roman forgive him for the guilt trips? Why would he? Because of morals. He manipulated everyone by existing.

Abusive…

Was he abusive? The theories and stories he read painted him as a monster. Was his own perception skewed so badly that he pretended to be a good guy while being the real villain?

"Patton, you messed up everything!" he growled at his reflection, "You fucked up so bad! It's time for Thomas to have a new, better morality!" He dried his eyes and pressed the blade to his wrist, pressing until red oozed from the wound. The joyful catharsis that filled him only grew stronger as he opened his arm. It was time.

"Patton!" two familiar voices yelped. In an instant he was being held to one side's chest while the other took his box cutter. He squirmed in the tight grasp and fought with all his might.

"Remus hold him still!" Deceit ordered as he conjured a suture kit.

"This is going to hurt. Bear with me." Deceit said flatly to Patton as he tied a tourniquet around his upper arm to stop the bleeding. Patton's eyes widened and he squirmed in Remus' grasp. They were not going to take this away from him! It was the only service he could provide for the mindscape and he would see it through!

"Hey!" Remus hissed when he was kicked in the shin. He shared a look with Deceit as if asking a question. Deceit nodded as he cleaned away the blood.

"Hey Pattycake you should skip the Crofter's in your next batch of cupcakes—ocular fluid would do a better job."

"There won't be a next batch!" Patton wailed, "Let go!"

"No? I was gonna offer you my eyes too!" Remus giggled. Deceit internally groaned at the duke's attempts and lifted a free hand while he threaded the needle.

"Why the hell are you—?" Virgil grumbled low and peeked inside the bathroom door.

"PATTON!?" he shrieked upon seeing the fatherly side with blood oozing from his arm, clearly miserable—and not because Deceit was holding his arm still or because Remus had him pinned to his chest.

"Virgil, thank you for your prompt arrival." Deceit hissed, "Be a dear and paralyze Morality with fear, he has to stop moving." Virgil swallowed thickly, and nodded. He was scared enough that only the slightest touch could freeze Patton in his tracks.

He slunk in next to Deceit and pressed his trembling hand to Patton's throat, letting it become enveloped in black smoke. For a second, Patton hoped Virgil would choke him to death to finish the job. He was wrong. His muscles tightened and his breathing became shallow.

"Oh dear," Deceit tsked, "I have to use quite a bit of grafting material. This could take some time. It will be as pleasant as Remus' fingers."

Remus shoved a surprisingly clean hand in his mouth and growled, "Bite." Patton did, and it was unpleasant.

"It's gonna be okay, Patt." Virgil breathed with tears welling in his eyes. Patton doubted that as the needle went through his vein. He screamed and bit down hard on Remus' hand. Virgil cringed at the muffled sound. Deceit blocked it out and continued his work, using all six hands to make sure everything was perfect.

"Did you do this to yourself, Patt?" Virgil asked, lip trembling. Patton's eyes watered and he averted his gaze. The sorrow and confusion were agony. He didn't deserve pity.

"Yeah, with the sharp knife on the ground." Remus answered for him as he screamed.

"Why?"

"He believes he is only causing harm." Deceit grunted and carefully moved as swiftly as possible, "Unfortunately that is a lie and I was summoned."

"And I showed up because he was having some fun ideas. And then I realized that they weren't just passing fancy and I got scared." Remus frowned.

"So why didn't I get summoned when you were scared?"

"I'm always scared! Have you heard the shit that comes out of my mouth?" Remus giggled awkwardly as a muffled "language" escaped Patton between screams.

"Is there a way to numb him or knock him out?" Remus grunted when Patton's teeth broke through his skin.

"I can," Virgil said, "But we need to lay him down."

"Do it." Deceit ordered "And keep him down. Remus we're going to the lab, don't think about holding him like a baby when he's out cold." Patton shrieked and argued, his vision blurred with tears. Virgil moved his hand to the back of his neck...

And everything went black.

Patton blinked and glanced around the room. He was in the common area, but not his usual commons. The walls were too dark and the air was too cold. He could smell something tomatoey and delicious cooking in the next room, but his stomach was not interested.

He tried to sit up, but he yelped and fell back against the couch. He lifted his arm and stared at the dark stitches running along the underside—that nightmare was real. He was so close! He couldn't even die right!

"Morality!" Deceit gasped and hurried into the room. He was surprisingly without his hat and gloves. In fact he was dressed in black sweats and a yellow hoodie, not at all his usual attire.

"Deceit?" Patton groaned as he tried to sit up again, his head spinning. Deceit hurried over and gently pushed him back.

"No, stay right where you are. You lost a lot of blood and you need to rest." he said and sat on the edge of the seat, studying his face.

"Why?" Patton breathed as two more sides entered the room without saying a word.

"Why did we save you?" Remus asked and shrugged, "Because we need you, Daddy—oh! Daddio!" He rubbed his shoulder where Virgil punched him and pouted.

"But Thomas could make a new, better Morality. A Morality who wasn't the scum of the Earth."

"Pat, what are you talking about?" Virgil questioned and sat next to him on the ground.

"I'm bad. I caused a huge rift in the mindscape, I manipulate the people around me, I'm abusive and strict, and I—"

"Abusive?" Remus questioned, "Since when?"

"Since I caused you and Roman to split. Since I valued one twin over the other."

"You did nothing of the sort. You couldn't have, if you could, Anxiety would be Fear and Vigilance, separately. I would be Self-Care and Deception, in the same way." Deceit scoffed, "Sides split themselves based on Thomas' development."

"I'm the demonstration. Roman is the inspiration. He might not remember what the King planned but I do." Remus explained with a regal air the Patton never expected from him.

"Too bad he was a kid with no foresight with no way of knowing that we'd be so different. He had no idea I would be plagued with intrusive thoughts, violent urges, and a nearly manic state of being that could cause the entire mindscape to implode, splattering side guts against collapsing walls." Remus continued, losing that dignified aura. Patton winced at the implications.

"Hey, Douche, zip it. Literally." Virgil hissed and shifted to his knees to run his fingers through Patton's hair, just enough to ease his tension.

"Patton, you aren't the only one who caused the rift. That was all Thomas as he was growing and learning. You're as much a product of that time as we are." Deceit sighed.

"Besides you weren't the only one forcing the divide, Deceit and I are just as guilty." Virgil added.

"What gave you the idea it was all your fault? Who told you that you were abusive and manipulative?" Remus asked. Virgil shot him a look and Remus zippered his mouth shut, with a cartoonish zipper.

"Well, I kept seeing all these theories and stories and—" Patton began.

"They're absolutely right, a character who they're projecting onto without all the information has to be exactly as they invision." Deceit droned sarcastically, cutting him off.

"You can't please everyone, you have to focus on the people who matter most." Virgil said, "And those things that a bunch of strangers say aren't necessarily the truth. Take it from us."

"But those things have to come from somewhere!" Patton sobbed, "And what if they're right?"

"You can choose to believe me if you want," Deceit sighed, "You are not the exaggerated character in most stories—abusive, or stupid, or naive, or without bias. None of us are merely common tropes, despite the way the series is scripted. Sometimes people need a character to use as a stand-in." He averted his gaze an inhaled slowly.

"Deceit?" Patton whimpered. And that's when Remus unzipped his mouth.

"They made him abusive, murderous, conniving, the scum of the earth, a victim of abuse, suicidal, a soft little baby, a skeezy flirt, and the villain only I could come up with, all after appearing one time!" Remus cheered. Deceit and Virgil glared at him but that didn't stop him.

"They like to make me an obsessive, out-of-control, homicidal maniac who wants Roman to suffer—I mean that's not entirely inaccurate, I have my moments with Princey and I can get pretty manic, but they don't know me! Some of them make me a deranged puppy, suffering from horrible thoughts and isolation. And don't get me started on the shit they put Virgil through!"

"No! Not you too Virge!" Patton cried. Virgil zipped Remus' mouth shut again and sighed.

"Pops, you know I'm not a soft little innocent baby. You know how I'm mean and judgemental and I make threats. There's fics and theories about me being abusive too and fics that make me out to be a shy timid softie. Fics that make me the villain to make these two look better. But you don't believe those, or anything about the rest of us that you haven't learned first hand." Virgil replied.

"Yeah, you have a point there," Patton pouted, "but I can't come up with an outsider perspective for myself."

"You rely too much on how others perceive you." Deceit hummed, "In both positive and negative lights. Take it from any of us, falling for the diverse opinions of strangers is harmful."

"Especially when they're so varied." Virgil added.

"mphhhhh hmmm mmmm mmmph!" Remus grumbled enthusiastically. Then paused to banish the zipper.

"We all get shit, but only the finest compost is allowed in." he chuckled, "Think you can sort out the critique to let your garden bloom?"

"That was incredibly well thought out and positive." Patton commented all too soon.

"And then you'll have your choice of poisonous plants to play with and make the people in your way suffer an agonizing death!"

"There it is." Virgil grunted.

"Well at least the first part was uplifting." Patton pouted.

"Indeed. And if you find it hard to sort out the truth from the projections, my door is open." Deceit said, offering a half smile, "I know how hard it is to let them have their catharsis and keep a sense of self."

"For better or worse you have the three of us." Remus smiled, "The sly, the mad, and the stinky!"

"Pops, you have a whole lot more family than you think." Virgil added, and stood up,

"But right now I gotta go, teach Remus how to be you."

"Why Remus?" Patton questioned.

"Deceit is busy." Remus shrugged, "Byeeee!!" Then he and Virgil sank out. Patton was confused but oddly comforted. Deceit was watching him with concern and a certain fondness.

"After all I did to you, why did you come running?" Patton questioned and tried to sit up, "Why not get Roman and Logan?"

"Neither of them are quite equipped to handle that situation, not when Roman would blame himself and doubt his capability as a prince, and certainly not Logan, who's been bottling his feelings for far too long, seeing you like that would break him."

"But what about you and the other two?"

"Fight-or-flight is an instinctual protection, I am self-preservation, and Remus is a far more hands-on creativity, thinking on the fly and worming his way out of danger as quickly as he finds it," Deceit answered, "We shadowlings are here to protect Thomas, all of him, as prevention and damage control. We care about all of him, even if we don't see eye to eye."

"But Princey and Lo care about him."

"Despite his insistence on being a heroic knight, Roman is not a form of protection. Logic can provide some insight, but overall he is a guide, the three of you are."

"You have it all figured out." Patton pouted. Deceit shook his head and returned that pout in earnest.

"I don't." he sighed, "I'm not going to pretend that I do, unlike a certain educator. But I do know one thing for certain."

"What's that?"

"Thomas needs all of us, especially his emotions and morals. He needs you, Patton, no matter what anyone says."

"How do I know you aren't lying?"

"Actions speak louder than words. Who was it who stitched you up and made pasta for you?"

"You made pasta?"

"With your secret ingredient." Deceit chuckled.

"Cumin." Patton said with a knowing grin.

"Yes." Deceit responded, flashing a snakey fang.

[scoundrels-in-love]

We draw a line in the sand, We say don't cross this or else (Take this from me, take this lonely heart )

Brienne hasn't believed love itself is enough to defeat all obstacles for a long time.

When Jaime comes to join the convoy returning North after Dragonpit, it's not about them loving each other - it's about survival.

But maybe it can be about love, too.

Also on AO3.

I

 Brienne hasn’t believed love is enough in a long time.

 Like a flower, this childish belief has gradually lost its colorful petals - blown away by harsher fall winds that had blown out candles of her mothers’ and infant sisters’ lives, trashed to ground by cold rain like waves had battered Galladon’s body against the cliffs, fallen away from the first touch of frost that her decision to leave had brushed upon her relationship with her father.

 Love could not carry you over the pits in the road or take you over the mountains life raised in your path. Only you yourself could try to overcome these obstacles, assisted by it’s sometimes gentle, sometimes bruising hand.

 She still carries imprints of those, they ache dully into the night when she could not sleep, when neither crackling of fire or familiar shuffling of camp settled down (but never quite at peace) could soothe her.

 Her love could not save Renly when he bled out in her arms, so far from his own beloved.

 Just as her oaths and beliefs could not save Lady Stark - or her late Lady’s love had not saved her family.

 Much like Jaime, whose golden, cracked heart could not dispel darkness over Cersei’s mind with its glow.

 And, in turn, she could not follow its shine into the marshes, in hopes to find him and pull him back on safe, stable ground.

 Yet, she had dared to hope, for a brief moment in Dragonpit, when their traded glances held the weight of gathering storm clouds upon the horizon - they could dispel yet, giving way to a sun so bright it blinds in its play or unleash a storm that would devour fleets in minutes.

 She had been blind, alright. But no sun had been present, except for the resplendent Lannister twins. And what cruel desert suns they could be.

 “Fuck loyalty,” she had told him, but now it tastes like salt and ash of burned would-bes in her mouth. Brienne would feel better if she could truly, honestly say she had meant it, without a single, passing thought of ‘fuck loyalty to her, your sister, and maybe you will find a different sort loyalty in the smoking ruins of what Cersei has reduced your love to’.

 Selfish, even when she tried to do what is right, even when she tried to save him.

 And so, so godsdamn angry when she could not.

 Podrick calls considerable amount of it upon himself, when she glares at the boy as he tumbles into her tent, red faced and out of breath.

 “Ser Brienne, Ser Jaime just arrived with a handful of men and announced he has a meeting with you.”

 II

 Jaime looks slightly out of place in her tent, but that is less disconcerting than the fact he is here and how much he still looks like he belongs. She has spent many years in war camps, too, but Brienne knows she looked a lot more misfit in his lavish Commander’s tent back in Riverrun.

 (She tries not to think about the implications of that, tries and fails.)

 “I could have exposed your lie,” she tells him, plainly. The implied should sways between them like an axe’s blade, edge of it glinting in the candle light.

 “But you didn’t.”

 “Do not make me regret it.” She regrets immediately, for the flicker of doubt, an almost hurt that casts shadows over his eyes, dips into the lines of his face, making her think of all the pain that others have inflicted on him with their dismissals and accusations.

 “Cersei does not intend to send her forces. I overheard her speaking with Qyburn, her rat of a Hand, about how she intended to keep me in the dark until the last possible moment.”

 He barrels on, which is for the best, because with a moment to speak or act, she might have walked up to cup his clenched jaw, take his fist in her hands until it warmed and melted open again under her touch.

 “I bade my time, took my most trusted men and raced to catch up with you. I doubted I would be given a chance to explain myself and enter the camp, so I lied and said this is what we had spoken about at Dragonpit.”

 She knows there are countless questions to ask, about logistics, about how many men he had trusted and if they could indeed be trusted, about, about, about, but all that she has on her tongue is: “Why?”

 It comes out quiet and paper thin, a rustle of dry leaves to reflect the drought in her mouth.

 Jaime walks forward, stops a step away from her, and she can see more clearly now how distraught he really is. It’s not even the way his beard is far from the well-maintained form it had been back at Dragonpit or the tension in his shoulders, his whole body, really. There is something broken and hopeful and soft in his eyes, which she has only one word for, but not one she can give it.

 She thinks he looks like a page torn from a book that hopes she will sew him back into another tome, instead of tossing him into the fire.

 “If I have to go North and die fighting decayed monsters, at least we can do it together, Brienne.”

 She has been addressed in many ways and her name dragged through spit, blood and mud, but the way he says it now is as if he has washed it clean and is holding it tenderly. It lances through her heart, right next to where his solemn proclamation is buried hilt deep.

 “You are seeking out an honorable death, is that it?” Later she wonders if her voice rose in volume, but right now, all she can feel is anger as a wall built hastile in response to the hurt.

 “We all die and this is perhaps one way I can actually be useful doing it.” She sees him closing up, too, retreating now that the conversation had spun out of his hands, though Brienne does not know where he had wanted to take it.  

 “Ser Jaime, do you intend to live or to die?” He flinches at her use of his title, the moat she has haphazardly dug around herself filling with water rapidly. And yet, she still hopes he will give something, so she can lower the drawbridge.

 “You know none of us can intend much in a battlefield.”

 The gate falls shut and she knows Jaime sees it, hope that has been crumbling already turned into foggy resignation and yet the softness stays.

 “Very well, Ser Jaime. I will make necessary arrangements for the stay of you and your men. I am sure your brother will be happy to let you spend tonight in his tent.”

 “Good night, Lady Brienne.”

 III  

 Handful of men turn out to be a good fifty well armed and equally trained soldiers and while rest of the camp is vary of them initially, enough for them to be somewhat glorified prisoners, the trial which Brienne had worried for is seemingly postponed until they reach Winterfell and over the journey, the tension eases and connections are made.

 She, too, finds herself making some - particularly with Jaime’s second in command, Addam Marbrand. Next morning, after she had finished training with Pod, he had strode over to her, all easy swagger and seemingly genuine respect, introducing himself and pressing kiss to back of her hand as he told he had heard great many things of her valour and battle skills.

 Perhaps it is what he chooses to praise or his eagerness when sparring, or the way he lures a shadow of smile or a familiar scowl out of Jaime over stories he shares of their childhood that makes her feel more at ease around him than she normally would.

 Or maybe she spends time with him because it is closest to natural excuse she has to be near Jaime. At first, she had avoided him and he seemed to do the same, but then Addam had started dragging him to campfires and early morning spars.

 “If you intend to watch Lady Brienne’s six, you could do better than merely be a body shield for one or two wights,” he had said the first time, ignoring Jaime’s grimace (and earning a notch on her appreciation scale).

 After she and Addam are done with him, he has more than a remark to make faces about. But he grins and bears it, quite literally, and within a week he taunts them in return and the improvement is clear. Sometimes, she almost forgets where they are and what awaits them, with the way their swords sing and banter warms the space between them. Some of it is stilted still, bear pits of silences they stumble into, especially when it is just her and Jaime, the unspoken things just as dangerous as the beast that left its mark on her body.

 Especially so on quiet nights when they find themselves sitting together and gazing at the moon in her milky garden, promising cold weather. It makes her wonder if that single, wilted flower could’ve been part of an azalea instead, which now mistakes the warmth of his shoulder for the arrival of Spring. But the Winter is not just coming - it is already here.

 IV

 Though Winterfell is half-sunken in snow, something seems to thaw in Jaime after his trial has passed. There is uncertainty to him still, like he is a spring that hasn’t found the path it will carve out ahead just yet, but he throws himself into the preparations earnestly and his eyes glint with color of laughter (green of new leaves) more often.

 It feels selfish to seek him and Addam out, under guise of discussing strategies and overall progress, when she merely wants a moment of breathing, away from everything that they’re actually supposed to think about. She draws in air so deeply, so greedily it actually hurts - hurts when Jaime’s hand hovers near hers as they stand on battlement and his smile is warmer than memories of sun, clouds on its edges because they know this is not enough. And he cannot give her more.

 Yet he does.

 Addam had mentioned her (lack of) knighthood before, but she had brushed him off. It is the last thing on her mind, when Jaime stands up abruptly after Tyrion mentions most of the people present have fought the Starks at one point, yet now they are united to defend their castle.

 “There would have been no one to truly reclaim it, if not for Lady Brienne, who brought Lady Sansa home,” he says, almost conversationally, but she can sense the flood of certainty rolling generous waves within him. She fears she is the river banks it intends to swallow.

 “And if there is to be a new dawn, it deserves to be greeted by one true knight in these seven wretched kingdoms.” Jaime sets his cup down and moves to the center of the room, the sound of him unsheathing Widow’s Wail almost deafening in the quiet that has entangled everyone.

 “Kneel, Lady Brienne.”

 She wants to laugh it off, before he can, before someone says ‘women cannot be knights’, before -- but only he exists outside the silence and she has no voice. Somewhere, on the edges of her vision, Addam and Podrick smile at her with such pride and encouragement that it sweeps her off her chair and toward Jaime, like he is the lighthouse and the cliffs that could shatter her all at once.

 He guides her to the shore, gleaming in the firelight, and her legs wobble as her lip does when she stands up, now a knight.

 In that moment, love isn’t just enough, it is everything, and all she can see is flurry of pink in golden sunlight.

 V

 Morning comes, but the night has taken many under her cold, silent wings.

 She has lost the count of how many times she thought it will carry away those dearest to her, instead it had become a rod of ice next to her backbone that hadn’t let her bend or break, or stop even for a moment as they fought through the Long Night.

 It still has not melted, almost a day later, because Addam is laying pale in a makeshift infirmary bed. Only for a moment, she had lost sight of him, but it could as well have been an infinity, because next time a wave of wights crested and fell apart, so was he crumbling to the ground. They had managed to drag him along as they were forced to retreat towards a wall, clinging to the ragged breath he still drew and the hope it could be over soon, but if the battle had lasted even half an hour more, he would have faded away propped against the stone, now uselessly protected by three swords.

 She has not seen him since they brought him to Maester that night, immediately overtaken by  duties, interrupted only by short and restless sleep where sometimes it was Jaime, sometimes Addam and even Podrick that fell (and then rose) in her dreams. But now she is here and so is Jaime, who has little else to do than to be by his friend’s bed and mend his own wounds.

 He chides Brienne for looking as if she will keel over herself, has few choice words for Lady Sansa’s inability to manage even a day without her, and drags her on a stool next to his. Doesn’t let her hand go even afterward - it is rough and warm, and familiar somehow, though they have barely ever touched. As if all the countless dreams she has had have somehow become a piece of truth, reality, embedded in her body and mind.

 “Brienne, he will live,” Jaime tells her and she wants to tell him he cannot know that, not with the clarity he bears, but she smiles a little and nods in return, because it is good one of them can be so assured of it.

 “And so will I.” His voice is almost solemn, trembling just a little like he isn’t sure if this promise is even wanted, though he must, just as she had known his heart. And she thinks of the gaping abyss they still have yet to cross which love will not lift them gently over on its own, and of the way she cannot think of taking another step without his hand in hers, and then she is kissing him, soft and sweet and he cannot taste like first warm spring rain, yet he somehow does.

 “Could not wait until I am good enough to say finally with all the panache it deserves, could you?”

 They startle apart, though Jaime’s hand stays on her shoulder, still drawing her closer even if it is awkward at this angle. Addam still looks pale, but she appreciates seeing his eyes again, the glimmer of mirth and relief making him seem more lively than he logically can be.

 When she stands to call Maester, she thinks she was right - love itself might not be enough. But when it is encased with support and trust and oaths that are hard to give but easy to uphold once said, and life that shall be lived and shared, it becomes something that makes roads and homes in impossible places. And somewhere in her heart, azalea blooms dizzyingly as the color drips back into the landscape.

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

tags via @carinyms bc YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH they're actually both extremely soft and that's actually why i go off about ep5 in tags so much- by necessity of circumstance, simply because in episode 5 each of them has taken turns for the past episode thinking they'd lost the other, there is so much emotional vulnerability, and that's really the softest we've seen Sylvie so far.

i really cannot shut up about the implications of her pruning herself, because not only is she risking her entire life's goal on the off chance she can get Loki back - bc Sylvie is actually the more impulsive of the two, despite how she tries to make it seem otherwise; i don't think her theory about the Void was fully formed when she pruned herself - she's also, like i said before, risking her life. and yeah i've mentioned this way too many times but it's worth saying again because even in a six-episode season it remains consistent, albeit not stated outright: Sylvie is terrified to die.

you can see it underneath her anger the entire time they're on Lamentis, the way she can't stand still after the train (something about the way she's rocking back and forth on her feet as she yells at Loki in that scene just gets to me, ok?), the way her eyes are just a little too shiny to pass as simply being angry- it all winds up back at this really deep fear. and maybe it starts as the fear of failure, the sudden realization that she may never be able to complete her lifelong goal, but by the end i think that's fallen away. she's so tense sitting beside the lake and when the explosions start getting closer and she takes Loki's hand and pulls it closer to her she looks like she's on the verge of a panic attack.

(i added something to another post about the moment Loki recognizes how scared she is, how you can see him resolve to comfort her in those final moments and that's the moment she becomes his glorious purpose. i hold to that sentiment.)

so yeah. even just that early on you can tell that Sylvie fears dying. it's consistent, too, if you look at the scene where they take on Alioth and the monster starts going for her?? her eyes get REALLY BIG and she looks very scared for a few seconds. you can alsp see it right before she prunes herself, the way she looks down at the spear and her face goes blank for a second but you can see it in her eyes, she knows Ravonna could be lying about the Void and she has to weigh the worth of throwing away the last shreds of her former plan just on the 50/50 chance that this woman who hates everything about her is actually telling the truth.

and yet she still does it, even though she's visibly nervous and very possibly ending her own life??? i'm gonna have to tag a trigger warning at the end here tbh because of the way i'm talking about this but for real, i stand by that one line i wrote in my very first Sylki fic about how, essentially, what Sylvie did in pruning herself was suicide. she killed herself, or at least knew it was an option, just for a chance to be with Loki again. and she was scared, she was but the feelings she has for Loki outweighed that in those moments!!

which makes the last episode even more poignant and painful on a couple counts: number one because in ep6, her feelings for Loki aren't powerful enough (or, rather, she doesn't let them be powerful enough, but that's a whole other rant and i've probably already written it somewhere lol) to outweight her need for revenge and purpose. but also, backing up a little bit, all of this *waves hand at above ranting* adds a whole new level to "kill me then, thake your throne".

Sylvie, terrified of death even more than she fears vulnerability, stands in front of Loki in the middle of a heated fight and holds his blade to her neck. now i mean obvs this is the same sentiment as Loki goading Thor into fighting him at the end of Thor1, but also... i don't think she expects him to actually fight her?? she wants him to, she's trying to force him to turn on her so that her pathological mistrust will be validated, but i feel like even in the midst of that she knows better and maybe even on some level does trust that he wouldn't hurt her???

anyway i just spent like an hour and a half rambling and going off on several different rabbit trails, anyone who's actually read this whole spiral deserves cookies or something. the point is that yeah Sylvie is actually extremely soft and she tends to cover up all that vulnerability with anger but a lot of times it still shows through and i am OBSESSED with all the different things you can notice about her

Loki | episode 3 - Lamentis

[ganymedesclock]

ok so i just saw a post that was like "keith never defends himself". like all the times lance insults him he never bristles up enough for it to turn into a fight, and when Allura is pissed about the "half galra" thing he just... accepts it. I don't think there's anywhere in canon where he actually gets upset for himself? like even when BoM!shiro called him selfish he seemed more apologetic than anything. i really want to hear your input on this, bc your character analysis is incredible,

So this is... picking at two actually unrelated threads.

The first thread: You’re right in that Keith clearly invests less in the rivalry than Lance does. This has nothing to do with Keith sticking up for himself, and it has a lot more to do with after the third episode, they are pretty much ambivalent to each other. Their “arguments”, both ways, become kind of lighthearted and ridiculous, not things to get offended about. Because in the first episode? We do see them nearly come to blows. Because at that point Lance is bitter and he’s taking shots at Keith that really hurt. Later on in the show that hurt isn’t there so neither is the vehemence of the response.

But in general, Keith isn’t passive towards Lance. The Paper Airplane comment in s1e9, s2e5′s “very far away.” We even see Keith instigate several times: s1e6 “Hey Lance, I got your Lion back,” and then claiming his radio isn’t working, s3e3′s “I’m glad we’re all making fun of Lance.”

Keith gives just as good as he gets. The thing is, again outside of the first two episodes it turns much more to playful rivalry. And even in those first few episodes, with the fall exercise in s1e2 both Keith and Lance pile into the ground because they both were escalating it. Also, arguably the first dispensed sass between the two of them was Keith to Lance. “We could toss off some non-essential weight.”

Keith is totally sassy! It takes him a little to open up to people enough to be willing to do that, but in s2e9 he cracks a joke at Hunk that Hunk points out. The thing is, he doesn’t care too much about the rivalry because he’s not particularly mad at Lance most of the time, and he never was. This was highlighted in the first scene with them together- you have Lance, hackles up, addressing his Rival, while Keith is sort of trying to recall who this person is and why Lance is so mad at him. Especially early on, you can see several times Keith just looks confusedly towards Lance, sees an irritated expression, and gets mad himself. So they bounce off each other as kind of a:

Keith “what the heck is your problem?”Lance “what the heck is YOUR problem?”

where both of them kinda feel like the other person started it. And as they get to know each other better, they learn what to, and what not to, take personally, and pretty much none of it is actually personal because they don’t hate each other.

You can see this pretty clearly at work in s3e3, for example- Lance gripes at Keith when he feels like Keith isn’t listening to him, but when Keith, super distraught, pretty much actively crawls back to Lance talking about how Lance was totally right and he got everyone in trouble- Lance clearly doesn’t exploit that, or even consider doing so- he sets his own ego aside, doesn’t mince words (”yeah, you kind of did”) but focuses on, in effect, reassurance- the issue is fixable, they can make this work and take responsibility and Lance is there to help him. And the only reason Lance was so angry in the first place was that he felt like Keith was putting the whole team in danger, which, he had a point.

Keith opens up these vulnerabilities to Lance because he can trust Lance with them. And Lance returns the favor- consider s3e6 and the “leave the math to Pidge” conversation. Again, Keith doesn’t mince words, but emphasizes proactive motion- that it’s okay, Lance can stay with Red, they’ll figure something out that doesn’t call for inordinate sacrifice from anyone. 

They’re “rivals” but they’re rivals who trust each other enough to actually genuinely let their guard down and say “here’s what I’m worried and scared about” and trust the other person isn’t going to mount it on their wall like a trophy because getting one up on each other was never a high priority and it’s certainly not higher than the other person’s wellbeing as a friend.

Keith doesn’t defend himself from Lance because Lance isn’t attacking. They have their back and forth but it’s harmless and they both react to it like it’s harmless. It might seem like Lance has a ‘bigger’ response because Lance generally is much more surface about his emotions than Keith is.

The second thread here: as you say, Keith specifically doesn’t defend himself against Allura’s rejection, and hologram Shiro’s rejection. I phrased that in a specific way because here’s the unifying thread there.

Keith is, to a traumatic degree, terrified of feeling abandoned by people. He laid this out very explicitly in his vlog: a large amount of his psychology was shaped by that first perceived abandonment- feeling like he was rejected by his mother. Later traumas- the loss of his father, likely rejections by other people in the foster system (official bio states he lost his parents at a young age, but doesn’t have any adopted family we know of which would suggest he shuffled around multiple places before leaving the system on his eighteenth birthday)- just sort of added fuel to that fire.

The reason why Keith folds up into a little ball and turns uncharacteristically passive in the face of perceived rejection from people he cares about (especially Shiro who is still a very high value friend to him) is that he is functionally, and quite literally, being triggered. His history and trauma tell him this is all his fault, that there’s a fundamental flaw in who he is, he’s a bad person and unlovable and everyone hates him.

Which isn’t true, not at all- but frankly? The way Keith engages with the whole galra revelation and Allura’s response, the way Keith sees this, it plays directly into his cognitive biases. His attempt at connecting with Acxa in the Weblum boils down to he’s trying to convince himself that maybe there’s a scrap of good to the galra that’s not just limited to the few rebels who’ve rejected their nature.

Keith is looking at his own heritage through a flawed eye here- so he doesn’t defend himself against Allura’s feelings, that she herself admits aren’t reasonable, that she still cares about Keith, that she’s hurt because she feels like he hid this from her and her own prior trauma is lending a huge amount of heat to it.

Because to Keith? Wholesale rejecting him for being a galra is perfectly reasonable. He’s got enough internalized issues he can’t really relate to the Blade because he’s a lot more scared he’s the other kind of galra they’ve encountered. The part of his brain that says “nobody likes you because something’s fundamentally wrong with you, all of these other people get along just fine,” just found something that seems to support that conclusion. “You’re related to the murderous space conquerors” is a hell of a lot louder in his mind than “the galra as a people are more complicated, we just met a bunch of rebels attacking them, even that mysterious person that robbed you saved your life and was not very Victory Or Death about it.”

The trial of Marmora was even more direct- it’s not showing us a real situation, it’s showing us Keith’s nightmare. That Shiro, too, will reject him, over some kind of perceived inherent nature (“You’re just being selfish like always”? not anything remotely approaching Shiro’s actual feelings or the reality of the situation) and leave, and Keith will end up alone and it’ll be his fault.

This is his worst fear, paired with ‘greatest hope’- that hurt, scared, and exhausted, he wants to see his only long-term friend pre-Voltron come tell him things are going to be okay.

Which, incidentally, it’s the hope, not the fear, that we see the real Shiro living up to. While it’s cut off by the awakening of the blade and Keith clearing the trial, Shiro would sooner fight his way past a huge organization like the Blade, alone, towing an injured Keith, than force Keith to give up the weapon to appease him. His decision, in that instant is, “I’m taking Keith, he’s taking his knife, and we’re leaving.”

But look at that picture- look at how Keith isn’t looking at Shiro. There’s a cognitive disconnect for Keith about how much other people mean to him.

In s1e4, we do see Keith trying to fight a perceived rejection- he’s the one who digs his heels in and yells at Pidge for trying to leave.

He aggressively avoids, in his logic, any implication of “please don’t do this, I care about you, I don’t want to lose you.” He tries to put everything in the most objective language he can put it in, but it’s pretty clear with how incredibly upset he is, this is not just about defending the universe.

Keith is both terrified of losing people and has an internalized attitude that he’s not good enough to make others want to stay around him. And this is something he’s processing, slowly, but out of the characters, this specter of perceived unworthiness is Keith’s demon- it’s what’s keeping him from the truth of who and what he is that is arguably his birthright as the Red Paladin, whose virtues are instinct, passion, and personal clarity.

In part, Keith has been deprived accurate mirrors to know himself- s1e10′s purple hand incident and the appearances of other half-galra we’ve seen tell us that Keith has seemingly been denied his own real appearance, as well as any contact with the galra half of his heritage. He has powers he doesn’t understand or even really realize they’re there, because no one has been around to recognize these qualities in him. He has had supports- Shiro and the other paladins- but all of them are, until outside intervention, just as stumped as he is.

But another part is- Keith is hiding from these revelations because he’s terrified of the idea of becoming- or having been all along- something unacceptable to other people. Something fated to be alone. Because again, deprived of people he can relate to and the context that makes everything about him make perfect sense? He’s mis-diagnosed himself hard as an inherently unlovable person and while that’s something he can fight in many situations, certain issues and scenarios seem to feed that fire and when it does, Keith tends to just give up.

So yeah- Keith doesn’t tend to defend himself when he feels like someone is rejecting him, and it’s a particular flavor of learned helplessness and cognitive biases.

[revchainsaw]

Demolition Man (1993)

I am by no means an Action Movie guy. I have however time and time again found myself surprised by the genre when it has found its way into my viewing habits. The first Action Movie that really impressed me was Die Hard. I watched it one Christmas as I searched for more unusual holiday fare and was utterly blown away. I felt as if I should seek out more of these films. I got as far as Lethal Weapon 2 before I retreated back to the world of absurd horror and sci-fi. If not for the power of cultural osmosis and the question of the 3 shells i might not have worked up the interest to check out 1993's Demolitions Man. I was expecting a typical cop vs criminal action flick starring Stallone, but what I found was an absolutely delightful Science Fiction Comedy.

The Message

Released in 1993 Demolition man starts right out of the gate with a hilariously pessimistic prediction that by the year 1996 every city in America will be Gotham on crack. The Joker of this film is Simon Phoenix and though he lacks the circus act accoutrement he is absolutely a clown prince of crime. I would not be surprised to discover Heath Ledger took inspiration from Snipes for his turn as an agent of chaos. Phoenix is an unstoppable force and in Stallone he finds his immoveable object, John Spartan (God I love these action movie names), a cop who will walk through hell itself to see this mad man brought to justice. However in his blind pursuit of his greatest enemy Spartan is easily coaxed into making reckless decisions, resulting in unnecessary fatalities. Both Spartan and Phoenix are thus sentenced to cryogenic prison sentences.

In 2032, Phoenix is thawed out for a parole hearing and of course things go as you might expect. Phoenix finds that he has changed, someone has used scifi shenanigans on him while he was frozen giving him abilities both mental and physical that he had not had before, hinting at some kind of conspiracy, he also finds that this was overkill as even the unmodified Phoenix would not have had any trouble conquering the world of 2032. Society has become utopian and nobody has a concept of using physical force to resolve issues. This leads the police of the time to make the controversial decision to thaw out Spartan to bring down the villain.

Hilarity ensues as Sandra Bullocks character, Lenina Huxley (awesome name once again; named after the author of Brave New World), is tasked with keeping the primitive 90s action hero in line with the moral imperatives of the time. This includes avoiding violence, not using naughty words, a vegetarian diet, and socially distanced sexual intercourse (a gag at the time but in the real life 2020's may have been a welcome invention).

Without giving too much more away, this future peace comes at a great cost to personal freedom and expression and there is a society of free people living in the fringes of society known as Scraps lead by a civil rights leader of sorts named Friendly. There is a sinister conspiracy to wipe them out that is the central plot contrivance that brought our forces of Good and Evil to face off. The Super Phoenix betrays his handlers, seeks to turn this utopia into his personal playground and is eventually defeated by Spartan in the final showdown. Sylvester Stallone eagerly eats a rat burger and Sandra Bullock says a cuss word at one point.

The Benediction

Best Character: Phoenix Rises

Everyone loves a villain. I had mostly known Wesley Snipes from the Blade films and did not know he had this kind of range. I expected very stoic boring bad ass action dialogue from both Stallone and Snipes in this movie, and believed the sci-fi elements would simply be space cars and laser guns but was I wrong. I'm so happy to be wrong. This film just surprised me and Snipes performance as Phoenix was by far the most enjoyable. I loved his menace and the threat that he presented. I don't think there had been such a loveable bastard force of nature character like this portrayed in film so well until this time. He is such a believable threat that I really doubted there was going to be a way to bring him down. It was great to see the other characters underestimate him and to see him not only physically dominate his obstacles but to also out smart and out class his 'puppet masters' was just a pleasure the whole time.

Best Actor: Bullock in the Chamber

I know that Sandra Bullock stars in a ton of comedy films but I've never been able to say that I found her to be particularly funny. She also strangely plays a cop in a lot of these comedies. I may think of Lilina Huxley every time I think of Sandra Bullock from now on. She was absolutely hilarious, deadpan and dedicated to this character in a way that sold the world of 2032 America. I really don't think that the overly sensitive utopic world would have felt like a genuine place where human beings lived and not just a cartoonish backdrop without the honesty that Bullock brought to the role. It's hard to find actors who can inhabit a comedic world as seriously as a Middle Earth. And maybe that's not what she'd like to be remembered for, but I think she deserves that credit.

Best Aspect: a Genre/Genre/Genre Classic

Demolition Man is such a pleasant surprise. No one in this movie seems to begrudge it's wackiness and it lends itself to the humor in a way that lets the audience rest in the assurance that this was a pleasure for the cast and crew as much as it is a pleasure for us. It doesn't sacrifice it's action to be to screwball, and it doesn't sacrifice it's world building to be to absurd. It's a comedy that takes it's self seriously. I can not stress enough that this movie nails several genre's at once. It's a funny comedy, an ideologically committed satire, an exciting action flick, a hard science fiction tale that explores the high concept of the consequences of utopia, and a fantasy that sells it's goofy future world.

Worst Aspect: If Only Cops Were More Violent

I am not a fan of the implications of the film. In the 90s it seemed that PC culture was the big enemy of personal freedom and that giving a shit about other peoples feelings was going to turn our civilization into a bunch of overly sensitive weaklings. This narrative has imbedded itself in our culture and produced a generation of selfish assholes who feel completely justified in their every callous action. Demolition Man is a Libertarian science fiction film, but I find that it's central fiction is just that. I do not believe that committing to non-violent conflict resolutions, considering the feelings of others, and not eating meat will 'neuter' our abilities to live individually free and fulfilling lives. It's a caricature, that while funny, i think is inaccurate. If you are of the mindset that Personal Freedom is at odds with social justice then you may find yourself enjoying the idea that it takes a violent police reaction to save society from it's own worst impulses, but I find that idea fairly fantastical. I think seeing the community stand firm in their convictions and still overcome evil may have been a more ideologically realistic interpretation of how the day can be saved, but instead we are given a lone wolf renegade cop killing the bad guy will reform the world, and in todays world, that just seems like a profoundly stupid message.

Best Scene: Fight at the Museum

Demolition Man boasts several ass kicking confrontations between Spartan and Phoenix. The opening Escape from L.A. backdrop that establishes these deadly foes, and the fall out that an interaction between the two can have is considered extreme even when the world is seemingly at the brink of collapse. It really sets a high stake for our squeaky clean future. The final battle in the Cryo-lab is also iconic and features a pretty excellent practical effect. However, I'd have to give the best scene to the fight at the weapons exhibit. The fact that Spartan knows his enemy so well is on display as he predicts that the Weapons exhibit will be an irresistible draw, we get to see Phoenix at his chaotic best, great one liners, and it's just a toy box for both Hero and Villain to let lose and deliver on that fall out I was just mentioning had been set up in the first act. While I loved the comedic take on this rivalry, I'd like to see Snipes and Stallone take up their beef again in a more seriously violent film. They make for great arch-rivals.

Best Gag: Potty Mouth

When I was a kid I remember my father hauling ass down our residential road and getting pulled over just a block away from our driveway. I think he was doing 55 in a 35. It was his fault but as the proud small government southern man he was, he felt it was absolutely overreach on behalf of the police department to give him a ticket on the road that he lived on. Stupid, I know. But our car was full of groceries and the officer let our ice cream melt while the whole time we sat in the truck with our home in view. My father was so enraged about this ticket that he got revenge on the mean old government by writing the check to pay his ticket, and then using said check to wipe sweat from his ass crack after mowing the lawn the next day. He mailed it in and I as an 11 year old knew that it was not going to effect the offending officer in the least, but that some poor old county clerk was going to probably get pink eye. Anyway, if you handle money or checks, you should always wear gloves, or wash your hands regularly before touching your face or eating. All that to say, I really enjoyed that after being frustrated with the 3 shell system Stallone racks up a series of fines for profanity. These fines are issued via an automated ticket dispenser on the wall in the police department. Stallone lets out a string of hilarious expletives that I hope to God were adlibbed, before he is satisfied with a nice pile of paper in his hand. He implies that he is going to the bathroom to do a little paperwork, and the scene is over. Even if you don't want to watch the whole movie, go ahead and YouTube this scene. Stallone has a surprising talent for comedy on display here.

Summary

To Begin with, I would say not to take this film too seriously: It is a comedy, after all, and I am not certain that the political implications of the movie were meant to be thought out as much as I have above. Unlike Judge Dredd, which Stallone would star in 2 years after this, (tragically deciding to bring Rob Schneider along with him) Demolition Man does not openly advocate for fascism. It's funny, it's a tight story with a satisfying conclusion, it's got great action choreography and it may be Snipes, Bullock and Stallone at their absolute best.

Overall Grade: B

[sp4c3-0ddity]

Aaaaand... Reacting to the other one crying about something for Shallura (I don't know why I'm asking for angst but here we are)

i’ve never posted any shallura before so this should be interesting. also i’m sorry this is so late, but I hope you like it!!

i took some inspiration from this post by @justpidgance i reblogged a few days ago, and also if you’re confused about Keith’s role in this here’s my bizarre and unfounded theory (or Opinion) about how Sam Holt should get rescued

now on ao3!!

Shiro had never seen Matt andPidge happier.

Even in the excitement of takeofffrom Earth and their eventual arrival to Kerberos (how long ago that nowseemed), Matt Holt never smiled so widely as when he and his father reunited.

Sam Holt clung to his two childrenwith surprising strength for one so frail, looking just as happy and asrelieved as them. Shiro’s own chest filled with warmth at the sight, but heresisted the urge to approach and to take his own reunion with his missioncommander – a man who had been, or who was,something of a father to him. Let Sam enjoy his son and daughter first, beforeShiro, who felt he must be as unfamiliar as a stranger after all the time thatpassed, spoiled it.

Keith hovered nearby, uncertainand still dressed in the suit that marked him as a member of the Blade ofMarmora. His eyes flicked from the Holts to Shiro, then beyond him down thehall, towards the Castle’s other occupants. He approached Shiro.

“I know Kolivan may not be happy,”Shiro said, sensing Keith’s need for reassurance, “but Matt and Pidge are,Keith. You did well.” He smiled at him. “Reallywell.”

Keith brightened a little. “Iknow,” he agreed, glancing back towards where Pidge chattered excitedly aboutsomething to Sam. “But…where’s everyone else?”

Shiro sighed. “Lance and Hunk werehere for a bit,” he explained, “before you got back, and Princess Allura…” Hesighed, looking over his shoulder. “She came but excused herself.” He wasn’tsure, since Allura ducked her head so quickly, but the smile she wore when shewelcomed Sam fell before she was out of sight, the pink markings on her facepaling like they did whenever she was distressed in some way. Shiro could imaginewhat might have upset her, but…

Before he could second-guesshimself, Shiro touched Keith’s arm. “I’m going to find the princess,” he said. “Youall right here?”

When Keith nodded, apparentlyunderstanding, Shiro left in the direction Allura had, though he soon foundhimself at a loss to guess where she went. The bridge, to throw herself intosome battle plan? Her bedroom, for privacy – implying that she wanted nointrusion? The Blue Lion’s hangar, for solace and comfort?

(Solace and comfort that Shirohimself could provide, if only she sought it. If only she knew to seek it.)

In the end, Shiro found Allura inthe most obvious place:  the chamber thatonce housed King Alfor’s AI.

She crouched in the center nearthe pedestal, folded in on herself and with her shoulders shaking, her back tothe entrance. But she glanced up as Shiro walked in, and rapidly looked away.

“Princess,” Shiro said softly.

“I’m all right, Shiro,” she said,though the waver in her voice belied her words. Her shoulders stilled, her softsniffling quieted, and if he wasn’t so worried he would be impressed with howquickly her composure returned.

He almost felt guilty aboutdisturbing her. Almost.

“Are you sure this is the bestplace to cry?” Shiro asked. He knelt near her, maintaining a respectfuldistance, but still close enough that, if he wanted or needed to, he couldreach out and touch her shoulder.

“No one else comes here,” Alluratold him. There was no reprimand in her tone, despite the implicit one in herwords.

And Shiro’s eyes widened insurprise at the other implication. “You…comehere often?” He involuntarily cringed, since it sounded too much like one ofLance’s unsuccessful pickup lines for comfort, but Allura didn’t seem tonotice.

She didn’t reply. Instead shewiped her eyes and face, though she was careful to keep the curtain of her hairin the way. Which Shiro thought foolish, since he knew she cried, he knew shewas distraught; so why hide it?

The same reason he hid his grief and trauma, herealized. Because so long as there were bigger demons to fight, the smaller, morepersonal ones were forced to wait.

Shiro gritted his teeth and satdown, crossing his legs and positioning himself so he faced Allura, so that ifshe decided to look up, she would see him before she saw the pedestal where herfather’s specter once stood.

Finally, she spoke, “I should behappy for Pidge and for her brother.”

“There’s nothing wrong with beingjealous,” Shiro told her.

“There is!” Allura said, glancingup and shocking him with her vehemence. But then her eyes widened and she bowedher head again.

Shiro sat with her in silence,broken only by the sound of her muffled sobs, renewed after her outburst. Heclenched his hands into fists, feeling useless, his chest aching with empathy. Heslid closer and, guided by instinct and no small amount of his own selfishness,rested his cybernetic palm on her fist.

To his surprise, her hand relaxed,fingers uncurling and wrapping around his, nails biting into his palm in whatwould’ve been painful if he hadneurons rather than wires. Still, Allura must’ve thought she hurt him, for sheeased her grip on his hand.

But she didn’t let go.

Shiro tugged on Allura’s hand,inviting her closer, and she accepted, leaning into his side and resting herhead on his shoulder. With his free hand, he stroked her hair, and within a fewminutes – a few doboshes – her sobs stilled.

“I lost my father twice,” Allurasaid, voice much steadier now. “And my people, my home…” She shuddered, clinging to his arm.

“I know,” Shiro said. He relishedthe feeling of her soft hair between his fingers, despite the circumstances.

(He wished he could hold her inhappier times, with happier words exchanged between them.)

“And I wouldn’t wish the same onanyone,” she added. She rubbed her forehead and laughed mirthlessly. “Not evenZarkon, not anymore.”

“I know.”

Allura shifted, and Shiro’s handstilled as she lifted her head to meet his eyes. “I know you seek to consoleme, Shiro, but…” She frowned deeply, her hands sliding down his cybernetic armto cradle his hand. “Quiznak, I hate feeling this way. Jealous, helpless, bitter…” She looked down, at theirjoined hands. “Do you wonder if Pidge and her family are all safe in the otherreality?”

Shiro blinked, surprised at thequestion; the others – not Allura, for it must’ve been too painful for her to recount – told him of it. He sighed, but smiled,nudging Allura’s chin so she would look up at him again. “No safer than theyare in this one,” he admitted, “if my alternateself is any indication.”

Allura returned his smile,beginning to look comforted. “Yes, that sounds right.” She dropped her headonto his shoulder again, and her fingers intertwined with his. “Thank you, Shiro,for listening, and for understanding.”

Shiro turned his head, just enoughthat his lips brushed the crown of her head. “Anytime, Princess.”