#Only for that same person to have been being blackmailed/lied to/forced into betraying them all along

[sophieswundergarten]

You know what would be SO MUCH better than the protagonist getting mad when their friend is forced/manipulated into betraying them?

The protagonist recognizing that their friend was taken advantage of and getting all protective and turning their anger on the antagonist instead

[aurora-313]

Another thing that amazes me about Bleach; about Shounen in general, but Bleach specifically: Despite being a teenager, Ichigo somehow found it in his heart to forgive his guardians and caretakers for lying to him his entire life.

Think about this for a minute;

Imagine you're Ichigo. You grew up believing you were human - albeit an extraordinarily gifted one. Then when you're 15-16, in the face of the worst enemy you've fought to date, you discover the hard way that you're not completely human. You're a human-shinigami hybrid with a dash of hollow spliced in. A fact proven when your Shinigami father - apparently a former Captain - swoops into the fray to save you from... talking?

You don't have time to process this event because there's more pressing concerns to handle, but the revelation has thrown you off your game. A tiny part of you has sunken into an existential spiral of doubt, wondering what else in your life you've been lied to about.

Then, in the face of that same enemy, your recently-revealed Shinigami father forces you to learn a technique that sacrifices all of your powers and a portion of your soul - the very things that give your life meaning. You do it because you've been convinced there's no other option and you're too emotionally distraught (and emotionally blackmailed) to even entertain the idea of saying no.

Then a couple years later, you discover, no, you're not human at all and never were. You're a Shinigami-Hollow-Quincy hybrid. A fact you only discover through the enemy's head honcho, who reveals himself to be your great times X grand sire.

Only after you've been thoroughly humiliated in trials organised by the High Lords of the Shinigami, trials they knew you'd fail, after you fought so valiantly to defend them against their new enemy, your father decides to come clean, all the while goading you with your own ignorance.

That intense conversation reveals the true species and fate of your mother, validating that tiny legitimate fear you've had since learning your father's true nature; your entire life is built on a lie.

In addition to that, the horrible tragedy that haunted your days since you were nine years old wasn't your fault in the slightest. Your father knew that with absolute certainty but did nothing to alleviate your guilt, which could've led to you healing that scar sooner. Instead he chose to allow you to continue believing your self-destructive lie, knowing full well what it was doing to you psychologically.

The entire conversation serves as proof the adults in your life, whom were entrusted with raising, caring and protecting you, knew the truth about what you were even before your conception, but did absolutely nothing to prepare you for what such a life would entail.

Even back when you were first thrust into your powers, those same "guardians" did the absolute bare minimum to prepare you before tossing you into the jaws of death over and over again as a convenient superpowered cudgel to solve messes they created.

And what's the cherry on top of this bullshit sundae? The being you're supposed to trust above all else, your own zanpakutou partner... isn't your zanpakutou. Its a parasite that's manipulated you against the one person - the only person - who has never lied to you, for its own selfish ends. And somehow it expects to be allowed to remain in your soul, thanks to shedding some crocodile tears.

That is Ichigo's life.

He has been lied to. He's been manipulated. His entire perception of self and reality has been shattered over and over again. And he's been fundamentally betrayed by everyone whose supposed to care and protect him. In the face of all that, a teenager like Ichigo would not be accepting. He should be angry. He should be furious. He should want nothing to do with these people anymore.

In the face of all this; I would've preferred if Ichigo went through the TYBW arc with the angry attitude of "this is the last thing I do for any of you. Once this war's over, I'm disappearing off the face of the planet because I refuse to associate with any of you again." because any teenager who had their trust so thoroughly betrayed on so many levels would.

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

fic title: the girl with flowers in her bones

Izumi learns she has a Quirk age six when the weird bump on her shoulder is inspected by a doctor who cuts it open to reveal a pretty flower.

Said flower quickly changed and becomes deadly, nearly killing a nurse before it’s destroyed.

No one knows how it got there but now people know about it. At first Izumi is happy. She has a Quirk.

Then she isn’t.

“It’s a useless Quirk!” Kacchan taunts her. “Perfect for a useless girl like you! Flowers under the skin! Pathetic!”

Kacchan burns her shoulder and she goes home crying.

Later a flower develops where she’s been burned and after some quiet conversation with Inko about how her husband had left because of Izumi’s Quirkless status and Izumi had heard it, they figured it out.

The flowers bloom when someone hurts her. They bloom and the doctors do a scan revealing many more flowers all over her- some were small and no one could see them. Little hurts the doctors theorized.

They still had to be removed. Izumi has been getting slower, becoming more exhausted each day. It’s the flowers.

Izumi numbly lets it happen.

But it happens again. And again.

Flowers bloom because people keep hurting her. They turn deadly when exposed to the air.

“Freak, monster, liar-“ it’s all shouted at her by her class. Kacchan leads the charge.

His flowers are always an orange lily. Hatred.

Izumi wonders if it means him or her who hates the other. When it becomes a sweet pea, she has a feeling she knows why she is receiving a goodbye.

She stops growing flowers for him. Because she knows she will only get pain from him, because he is no longer one she believes to be a friend.

“The flowers are signs of betrayal,” she changes the classification. “I can only be hurt by those I do not think would hurt me, those I trust. Once I stop trusting or believing they will not hurt me the flowers stop.”

Her mother sobs upon hearing it. Inko then goes and terrifies the Bakugou family, promising that unless Kacchan leaves her alone Inko would go after them.

Kacchan doesn’t listen.

So Inko slaps them with a lawsuit she wins. It’s enough for Izumi to go to a new school where she sits quietly and doesn’t talk.

There people whisper still but it’s sad whispers.

“Her Quirk hurts her.”

“No, it’s people hurting her which sets off her Quirk.”

“She’s so quiet.”

Izumi just works. The only one she trusts is her mother. Inko who tries so hard not to hurt her, who is honest and open. Who gives her books on flowers and smiles.

When Inko hurts Izumi she leaves violets and lavender. And they’re always small, so small. Small hurts, being too honest with her daughter.

Izumi loves her mother for it.

Izumi grows and soon she finds herself applying for UA. She wants to be a hero and her mother frets and admits she isn’t sure if Izumi can do but the two have researched and researched and well, they think they can figure a way out. Sports festival- she just needs to beat all the other students.

She thinks she can. The money they won from the lawsuit had helped Izumi not only get into a new school but also got her into a martial arts studio. Her mother insisted.

Probably was upset with how many flowers Izumi grew from cuts and burns and bruises. Those were the bigger ones, when they were left on purpose. They pushed against the skin, looked strange.

Funny, Izumi noticed that she didn’t gain flowers sparring.

“It’s probably based on intention. When you gain flowers from bruises or cuts and they’re from people doing it to hurt you and betray you, they come as flowers. But when it’s done as a fight or a spar it’s on purpose still but it’s not a betrayal of yourself.” Her Quirk therapist theorizes.

It makes sense.

Izumi goes to UA after failing the entrance exam and ends up in 1C where she finds herself meeting a boy who is like her. Sharp and broken and hurt.

Shinsou is a friend and she finds herself chuckling at his comments.

Their friendship only blooms truly though when she meets Kacchan again. He sees her and attacks, screaming. She fights back. Shinsou speaks and stops Kacchan and Izumi looks at him, seeing something similar back.

The situation ends with Izumi in the principal’s office telling her story. She looks him in the eyes tiredly.

Kacchan is removed from UA- apparently, the lawsuit hadn’t been included in his application.

“It was when he was ten!” His mother tries.

“It still happened and you lied,” Nezu tells her. Izumi isn’t supposed to be there but she went to the office to pick up some papers.

She thinks her homeroom teacher arranged it.

“The papers are supposed to show us if we need to watch out students for anything. You lied on the application.”

Izumi doesn’t know what to think as she slides away. She hasn’t seen Kacchan in years. Hasn’t spoken to him.

Yet he still tried to attack her. He hasn’t learned anything.

Izumi has left him behind. The pain he caused ended any relationship between them.

He is a child. He can learn, if he wishes.

She feels as if she is choking when she runs into someone.

“Ah,” the person says and she blinks at a girl with red and white hair. It’s long and in a braid as she stares at Izumi. There’s a burn scar on her face and as Izumi looks into her eyes she sees the same sort of pain Izumi has.

The girl nods and leaves and Izumi stares after her in confusion.

Then she has to head to class and Shinsou and it’s a mess.

A flower blooms under her cheek as she speaks and she wonders if it’s from the shock someone attacked her at UA or it’s because she always hoped Kacchan would change the longer she left him.

“It’s not the same.” She tells Shinsou. “I was in hell until I was ten and then just isolated after.”

“It’s close,” Shinsou tells her. He touches her cheek and she closes her eyes. “It’s growing?”

“Yeah. It used to be orange lilies. It might be the same now.”

It is. It’s removed by Recovery Girl and Izumi breathes and doesn’t try to think.

She doesn’t know what to think about anything.

She thinks in a way that expelling him was to much. She understands that they lied, that they removed the evidence of the trial. But did they truly know that it counted?

Kacchan is a child and needs to learn things.

At the same time, he tried to attack her.

Her mind feels muddled and confused and Shinsou tries to help but it’s different for him. His bullies were cruel and never stopped and yet he never expected it either to stop.

You can only be betrayed by a friend.

He tries but they fight and eventually he yells that she’s worthless if she wishes to let a boy who hurts her back into UA.

She flinches and he does too.

Shinsou reaches for her but she leaves, feeling sick.

Izumi wanders UA campus after that- a week after the Kacchan incident- a week after the USJ got invaded. With Kacchan in the office the class hadn’t gone to USJ, something all of them expresses relief about.

Izumi wanders and then runs into the red and white girl again. She’s training in the gym that all students are allowed to Izumi wandered to it out of habit. Usually she and Shinsou train- Shinsou finally accepting that he needs to train his body.

He’s not with her though, and she feels her shoulder ache.

Shinsou didn’t mean it, he was angry and didn’t understand. Izumi gets it.

But it still was a hurt.

“... are you okay?” The girl asks and Izumi blinks, realizing she’s been standing in the gym staring off into space.

“I’m fine.” She says. “I got into a fight with my friend.” The girl looks at her and Izumi sighs.

“My Quirk lets me know when I’ve been hurt,” Izumi explains. “The hurts become flowers under my skin. Ever hurt, physical, emotional, mental, minor or major.” Izumi sighs.

“... you were the one Bakugou attacked, the reason we did not go to the USJ.,” The girl says calmly.

“We were friends once. He hurt me badly, and we stopped. He tried again, my mom sued him and his family and they didn’t put the trial in his transcripts. So he’s been expelled and I just… I feel bad for him. He’s hurt me but I cared for him once and is it fair that he was a child when this happened and he’s still himself a child?” Izumi sighs. “Sorry. I-“

“I have similar feelings to my brother and mother.” The girl offers. Her face is slightly blank. She looks at Izumi, cocking her head slightly. “My father is not a nice man and he’s only stopped hurting us due to blackmail my eldest brother has given. I’m under the custody of my second eldest brother. My other siblings were deemed unsuited and my mother is in a mental health institute.”

“Oh!” Izumi blinks. “You didn’t-“

“You told me.” The girl shrugs. “I’m Todoroki Shouto.”

“Midoriya Izumi.”

It’s the start of something.

From the hurt Shinsou dealt jasmine is dug from Izumi’s skin and he apologizes over and over again. She tells him it’s not okay but she understands he didn’t truly mean it.

It makes her sad still.

She and Todoroki meet from time to time in the gym, speaking. Sometimes Shinsou joins them, sometimes not. He wishes to keep his Quirk private, wishing to get into the hero course like Izumi wishes.

Todoroki is kind, Izumi finds. She’s standoffish and blunt but she’s kind.

Her story is a sad one, told over gym meetings. Her father is Endeavour and he wished to overcome All Might. He had children to force it, and the abuse he placed his family through broke her mother.

Todoroki loves her mother. She loves her dearly but cannot face her.

“I used to blame myself, thinking it might be my fault she burned me. Natsuo, my brother, he got me into therapy and I’ve learned it wasn’t. I was a child, it was not on me. And yet my mother is ill.” Todoroki explains. “I care deeply for her but… I can’t face her right now. Because I have learned it is not my fault what she did and I have to adjust.”

Her brother, her eldest brother Touya, is a different story.

“He blamed me for the abuse. Said it was all my fault, hated the fact I was a girl too. Kept going on I was a screw-up, that I was disgusting. He’s in therapy to now but… I don’t talk to him. Ever if I can help it. Natsuo says he’s getting better but he won’t make me do anything. My sister keeps trying to get us to forgive our dad. We don’t want to.” Todoroki tells her. “It’s a mess.”

Todoroki doesn’t know what to do herself. Her brother was young when he became angry, and her mother ill. Neither were fully at fault, and yet she struggles.

It’s nice to talk to someone who understands.

Their friendship grows and Izumi wonders why it feels different then from her and Shinsou.

Yet as she watches Todoroki smile, she thinks she knows.

At the sports festival, Izumi and Shinsou manage to get to the tournament. They manage to claw their way to the semi-finals, determining who will go on to compete for first.

Shinsou insults her, curses her. And then he confesses.

Izumi keeps her mouth shut and shoved him out, even as she feels the flowers begin to bloom.

She does tell him she doesn’t feel the same.

“I know,” Shinsou tells her. “It’s Todoroki. You two smile all the time around each other, you laugh and have fun.” He shrugs sadly. “I just wanted to be honest.

Izumi accepts it, and later she finds the flowers to be yellow tulips.

One-sided love.

Yet first comes the finals, where Izumi screams at Todoroki to use her fire, even as the girl refuses to use it.

“I won’t use his power!” She yells.

“It’s not his! It’s yours!” Izumi cries back.

It’s chaos and destruction and in the end, Izumi has a silver medal.

And she has a smile she treasures.

It’s not love, not yet. But it has a chance to be.

A chance they cultivate, a chance they find becoming stronger and stronger as time goes on. As she and Shinsou enter the hero course, as she fights to protect a boy she barely knows on the streets of Hosu, protecting her hero mentor as well.

It’s a chance she takes, kissing Todoroki after the final exams. Todoroki accidentally burns her in shock and feels horrible.

Izumi treasures the fact a red rose blooms under her skin.

[brittanyslibrary]

Liar ✦ Shota Aizawa (part two)

part one

Summary: How could he be so relieved at her return, yet so angry at the same time?

How were they supposed to move forward when everything seemed so broken?

“You’re a real hero, Electra!”

“What would we have done if you didn’t take them down?”

“We are forever in your debt!”

She wanted them to shut up, she wanted them to leave her alone with the swirling thoughts that plagued her every waking moment.

Yes, she had completed her mission, but at what cost? Her sanity? Her friends? Shota?

She nodded stiffly, still opting to stay silent. She hadn’t said a word since she revealed herself as an undercover pro hero to her “comrades” and had the words “traitor” spat in her face more times than she could count.

Her heart raced as one of the nurses announced that she would finally be able to have visitors.

Though, she was thoroughly shocked when Hizashi was the first one to step into the room.

Without his gleaming grin or booming voice, the man looked so out of place. He stood rigidly in the doorway, until she nodded for him to come in.

“I know I’m not who you expected to show up first, but..” the words died on his lips when he noticed the tired acceptance on her face.

“I knew what was going to happen when I accepted this mission, and I knowingly broke his heart. I expected him to be angry, it’s alright” she sent him a weak smile, one he saw right through.

“Fuck,” he spoke her name gently. “everything has been in shambles since you left. I can’t even tell you the state U.A is in. And Shota....I, just, why? Why did you have to be the one to do this? What made you decide faking your death and not telling any of us was the best course of action?”

The bite to his words stung like a slap to the face, but she had expected this as well. They were shocked, they were angry, they were confused.

How could she blame them? After everything she had put them through.

“My quirk was best suited for this, as well as my background with stealth operations. If it wasn’t me that took on this mission, it’s success rate would have dropped drastically” she droned on with no inflection or passion in her words.

She sounded like a damn robot, like the emotions she’d always seemed to display had been sucked out of her.

“Did you even think about us? I’m your friend, so is Midnight and All Might and...and class 1-A? They’re so different, now. Muted, like the life has just been snatched from them”

She asked him to stop.

“Shota...it’s like he’s dying. It’s like when I lost you, I lost him too. He drinks and he teaches but he’s not even there! It’s like a fucking clone took his place or something. He’s more cold and bitter and the nights that he gets so drunk he can barely stand all he does is ask why he wasn’t there to save you. He blames himself for all of it, he doesn’t even sleep anymore, he barely eats. God, he’s my best friend and I don’t even know him anymore and you...you took everything from him when you decided to leave us all behind for-“

“I said that’s enough!” Her voice cracked, hoarse from all that time of not using it. “It was your reactions that made it believable. These thugs knew exactly who Eraserhead was, they were taking all these extra precautions to kill him when he would inevitably be swept up in their plans. The only thing to make them let their guard down was my death, because they thought they’d gotten rid of two birds with one stone. Without me, Eraserhead wouldn’t be on his best game, and they could afford to get sloppy. That was my time to strike”

The reasoning was solid, but as the tears fell freely from her eyes and her shoulders shook with tiny sobs, she knew she would never be able to make this up to them, to anyone.

Hizashi looked away, staring at the blue curtains separating them from the waiting area.

“I don’t know if Shota’s coming or not....but know that he loves you, that he is so relieved that you’re alive but so fucking hurt that you lied to him, to all of us. Don’t question how he feels about you just because he needs time” Hizashi stood, sparing her broken body one last glance.

“I won’t,” she whispered as he passed the threshold, the curtain swaying gently behind him.

It was hours later, after the news outlets had been shooed away and class 1-A had taken the time to stop in and express their gratitude that she was okay and their hope for her return in the classroom, that she finally saw him.

He sauntered into the room with all that grace, but he was off. The usual burnt out appearance seemed too..artificial. As if he’d been trying to come off that way to ward off any sympathetic stares.

To anyone who didn’t know him, he looked like regular, exhausted Eraserhead.

But those eyes, the way they regarded her with nothing but pain, that was her cue to what was really going on.

Her chest ached, she wasn’t sure if it was because of the pain he felt or the fact that it had been months since she’d seen the love of her life, but it ached.

“Hi..” her voice came to be barely above a whisper, and he averted his gaze.

His fists clenched, knuckles turning white and eyes falling closed. He lingered in the doorway, where she’d finally been moved to her own room.

They wanted to send her home tomorrow, but she wasn’t sure she had a home anymore.

“Shota, please look at me” her voice cracked, this time from the tears that already blurred her vision. “I haven’t seen you in months...I just want you to look at me” she pleaded.

Moments of silence passed between them before he sucked in a deep breath.

“How can I?” he simply asked in a low rumble.

Before she could ask him what he meant, or to elaborate, he was speaking again. The edge to his voice got sharper and sharper as he spoke.

“I’ve been wondering, since I saw you on the television this morning, why you would ever accept a mission like this” his arms were folded behind his back as he paced back and forth, like a caged lion.

“I thought you surely must have been blackmailed into it. Or, perhaps there was no room for you to argue as you were being pressured by the police to take on such a daunting mission. So, tell me, were you forced into it? Did you feel like you didn’t have a choice?” the condescending tone was one not usually used on her, making it all the more intimidating.

“Shota, let me explain. It’s not like that-“

“Yes or no?” he demanded.

“No, I wasn’t forced into it. I had a choice, and I chose this mission but-“ once again, she was interrupted by a mirthless laugh.

“So you chose to lie to me? You chose to hurt me? To break me? That’s what you’re saying?” he sneered.

“No! I would never! I love you!” she insisted.

“But you did!” he exclaimed, turning on her. “You lied to me! You betrayed me. Not to mention you betrayed everyone who ever cared about you” he spat.

“You of anyone should understand why I did this! Innocent people were going to die, Shota. I was the best fitted for this mission and if it hadn’t been me then who knows if it would have been successful?” she attempted to defend herself, to make him see this was never about hurting anybody.

“That’s fine, that’s what I loved about you. You save people without a moment’s hesitation, never caring about the affects it will have on you. But this wasn’t just on you this time. You could have told me, warned me at least. Fuck, I thought...I thought I lost yet another person I loved and...” he pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut, clearly trying to stop tears.

Still, his words echoed in her head like a mantra. What he’d said, what he’d insinuated.

“Loved?” she questioned, fear gripping her in its icy cold fingers.

His silence remained, still unwilling to look at her.

“You don’t love me anymore?” her voice had morphed into a pathetic whine while tears tracked down her cheeks. The heart monitors she was hooked up to mirrored her rapidly beating heart.

His tired eyes found hers, but they were damn near empty.

“I loved a woman who supposedly died three months ago saving a family of four from a burning building that collapsed on her” he fixed her with an even glare.

Then, he left, and took a piece of her with him.

She was discharged the next day, heart in her throat at the thought of having to ask Shota if she were still welcome at home.

Thankfully, Principal Nezu had an extra dorm open and offered it to her for the next few days, as he was well aware of the situation between herself and Aizawa.

He was still his chipper old self as he steered her to the empty dorm room. It was two buildings away from class 1-A’s dorms, she noted to herself.

In case she wanted to attempt to see him, but she doubted he’d even let her in the front door.

After lingering for a few extra moments, Nezu nudged her calf to gain her attention. When her eyes met his, stopping at the thick scar over his right eye, she could see a sentimental smile on his face.

“Your performance was so believable that even I had no idea you were still alive,” he admitted, crossing his arms over his chest. “But, for what it’s worth, I’m so glad you’re back. I’m sure Shota will come to his senses soon enough” he nodded assuringly.

She swiped a stray tear that had fallen and thanked the Principal once again for his graciousness.

That night her sleep was plagued by nightmare after nightmare, not only from her experiences undercover, but one Shota Aizawa who would never end up forgiving her and would eventually move on with someone else.

Someone who wouldn’t lie to him.

“Shota...it’s me,” her voice was shaky over the voicemail he had argued with himself for twenty minutes straight to listen to.

He could barely hear the sound of the fan she must have been using to lull her to sleep in the background, and he would have smiled if he could muster it.

Even when it was freezing, she still needed that damned fan.

“Um, I know I have no right to ask this of you...at all, but could you pretend to love me? Maybe just for tonight?” she sniffled, and he could hear the sound of rustling sheets.

“I just really need someone right now-“ her voice broke, but she charged on. “I keep dreaming about them, and about you and-and I just need someone to hold me if only until I can fall back asleep. I don’t know what else to do and I feel so alone right now...”

The broken, tiny sobs he heard yanked at his heart strings painfully. There was nothing he wanted to do more than hold her, or just be near her.

He’d missed her so damn much, and it was getting harder and harder to stay away from her. Then, he would remember how she lied to him, knowing how it would hurt him, and did it anyway.

“I know you probably felt alone, too, when I did what I did. Shota, please know how much it killed me to do it. I didn’t want to, but it’s my duty as a hero to protect those who can’t protect themselves. As much as I hated lying to you, I....I can’t regret it”

No, he wouldn’t expect her to regret it. She’d saved hundreds of lives that day.

. He asked himself, then, if he would have done the same thing. He wanted to think that he would have warned her, allowed her to be in on the facade so she wouldn’t worry.

But what if the circumstances forbade it? What if her knowing affected the mission to the point that it was necessary she be kept in the dark?

Would he still accept it, knowing if he didn’t, people would die?

In his gut, he knew the answer to that question.

He grabbed his jacket off the hook beside the door and began his short trek in the chilly night air.

A delicate knock on her dorm door caused her heart to race and ears to perk up slightly. Was she hallucinating, or had she truly heard a knock?

It resounded again, a little louder this time. She crept toward the door, the floor creaking beneath her bare feet. Her hand hovered above the door handle, obscenely hopeful.

She could barely make out his form through her blurred vision, tears weighing heavily on her waterline, but she knew it was him.

He smelled like that cologne she’d pestered him to get when they first started dating.

“You came..” she whimpered, which prompted her to reach a trembling hand to cover her mouth.

He stepped into the room, pushing the door closed behind him. The gentle click of the latch felt like it was the loudest sound to invade her ears.

He was standing directly in front of her now, hands frozen in mid air, as if he wasn’t sure how to proceed with her. The back of his throat burned, eyes glossy as he watched her fall apart.

She waited for him to make the first move.

Just when she thought he wouldn’t, he roughly pulled her against his chest in a strong embrace. His face fell into the crook of her neck while her shoulders shook with relieved sobs.

He gently rocked them to an imaginary rhythm as they remained standing by the door. She was far too distracted by Shota’s presence to be worried about where they stood in the dorm room.

“I..I thought-“ her voice shook through another sob. “I thought you didn’t love me anymore” she nearly lost her breath with the force that she was heaving her sobs out.

Shota cursed himself for saying such a damaging thing out of anger, out of pain.

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured into her neck, the strain in his tone muffled by her skin. “I don’t even know why I fucking said that..”

For hours, the reunited couple held each other in the dim light of the television screen, by the front door of her temporary dorm room. The last few months would never be forgotten, both of them knew as much.

But as they climbed into their shared bed that night, slipping under the covers and relishing in the nearness of the other, it was evident that this was worth fixing.

They were worth fixing….

[stxleslyds]

MY TOUGHTS ON PART FOUR OF RED HOOD BY CHIP ZDARSKY :)

THIS ONE IS A MESS.

But first a little rant about my feelings about Red Hood in general at the moment.

I am not going to lie, it took me a long time to read this comic, I am kind of tired of reading this book, I feel like I lower my expectations each issue that passes by and I still get disappointed at the result.

Maybe I just love a Jason Todd that is no more and I have to accept the one we have now, but here is the thing, if this is what we get then I just don’t like it, and on rough days I hate it. These are very negative thoughts about one of the two DC characters that I love and I don’t enjoy having them, I don’t want DC to keep giving us this version of Jason or these versions of Jason, each time they change little things that just change the character from the one that he once was even more.

I feel a bit defeated about it and I don’t know, on one side I want to fight and scream so they can finally give Jason the characterization he deserves and for them to give up the bland formula they have going on with him and on the other side I just want them to stop, stop writing Jason Todd/Red Hood and that is so sad, imagine loving a character and wanting the publisher to stop making content with them because what they give is just terrible. I don’t know, this is a rant that I felt like writing before I read the issue (I did skimm it briefly), so don’t take this as part of the review, its just me explaining my feelings right now.

Anyway, I will start the review now, sorry for the rant.

Wonderful, this book is on crack (or should I say Cheerdrops?), the thing with this particular issue is that I had a great laugh, it’s funny but in a good way, it's stupid and it kind of doesn’t make sense, the only way to describe Zdarsky’s writing here is with a phrase that we say here in my country “se pisa el palito”, which means that he lies about something and after some time he reveals the truth himself by mistake or because he got confused, in this case Zdarsky makes Jason say something like “this time I have come prepared” but he is actually not prepared at all and like two pages later (within the same scene) he has Jason call himself an amateur, it's very weird and to me it translates to Zdarsky not liking Jason or just not caring about him at all.

And that sucks and it really bothers me. As I have said before this anthologies book might be called Batman: Urban Legends but the particular story I am reading is a RED HOOD one, I am not here for Batman content, I am here for Jason Todd content.

The fact that we are not getting a Jason-specific story in a Red Hood book is killing me, it would suck if we get, let’s say, a Nightwing book and its all about his relationship with Barbara…That is not a Nightwing book, that’s a Nightwing and (fake) Oracle book.

Anyway, this issue in general is like a connector, the things that happen are all happening because they will be developed in the next issues but what is said here is absolutely absurd so I will be talking about that.

This issue starts with a flashback and Jason from the present (who is currently a popsicle because he fell in Freeze’s trap) having a monologue. The flashback is set when Jason finds out that his birth mother is alive and is being used by the Joker so he (in civilian clothes) and Batman at doing some reckon. What I want to dive into is the monologue because it's interesting but also very dumb so here we go.

“What was I supposed to do? I thought I was an orphan; I carried that sadness and anger everywhere I went and then I found the woman who gave birth to me halfway across the world. I found her…and the Joker. He was blackmailing my mother, forcing her to help him steal medical supplies, which he replaced with a deadly gas, that was being hauled to a village.”

“Batman knew what he had to do. Save people, forever saving people. Batman has always been a master of control, every situation, everyone around him. He’s always known just how to handle everything. Until I came along.”

“How could he be surprised? How could the great Batman not know? I wouldn’t listen to him and he couldn’t hear me. And the fucking cycle continues.”

The first part of the monologue is pretty simple it's basically setting the scene in time and space for the reader and it also gives us a little insight on how Jason was feeling at the time which was quite nice. It sets up the fact that Jason wanted to help his birth mother out of a horrible situation, he wanted to save her from the Joker. (Hear that DC, haters and fanon, Jason was a good Robin and a loving and caring son!!!!!)

In the second paragraph of the monologue I would have assumed that Dick never existed in this universe because the idea of Batman being able to control Robin!Dick or Gotham back in the day by himself is incredibly funny to me but because Dick exists and has been mentioned in this story already I will just take it as Zdarsky wanting to really push the “Jason could never reach the level of good Robin because he was reckless and nothing like Dick” and the “Dick was always completely obedient and Batman’s perfect little soldier” narratives. It sucks man, this is like bad fanon made real and I don’t like it!

During this part we also have a little dialogue between Batman and Jason where the narrative of Jason being so incredibly reckless is explicitly shown once more.

Let me repeat myself, Jason didn’t take on the Joker because he wanted to prove himself to the Bat or to prove that he was as good a Robin as Dick was, Jason did what he did because he wanted to save the last person that he had that he felt was family, he wanted to save the woman who birthed him and that he was hoping he could call a mother. He worried and cared for this woman and then he was betrayed and it ended up ending with him dying at the hands of a mad man that to this day is still alive.

Jason wasn’t reckless for the sake of being reckless, he took the decisions he took because he didn’t feel heard by the man that was supposed to protect him and care for him, a man that had the same feelings of sadness over being an orphan, a man that despite being the greatest detective to ever detective in the multiverse couldn’t understand that Jason felt like the woman that was his birth mother could come first in his list of priorities. Jason was a child and the adult responsible of him at the time bares the fault of his death as much as the mad man that committed the crime.

There, I fucking said it.

Gladly in the third paragraph of the monologue Jason calls out Bruce on his bullshit.

Also, what the hell was Bruce thinking leaving Jason stranded in the middle of the dessert, the man literally takes the only mode of transportation away from him. What the hell.

That’s it for the first glimpse at the past, now we are in the present with Ice!Jason where Zdarsky lies to our faces, he says that Jason is prepared for this situation…I am sorry but I do not believe this.

Anyway, Jason does manage to break the ice but he trips on the iced floor almost as soon as he breaks free and falls in a hole. Are you kidding me? I know this is supposed to be funny but Jason has been written as this incompetent dumbass in this book so much that this is just insulting.

He manages to escape for three or four seconds but he realises once more that the whole thing was a trap because Freeze had actually closed all the exists with ice because he meant to trap the Bat (also maybe Freeze is under the effects of Cheerdrops?), Jason also tries to use his guns even though he had already thought about the fact that they wouldn’t fire because of the cold AND he didn’t pack his explosives, yeah… “I am now prepared”, sure Jan.

The last thing we see in this scene is Freeze getting ready to ice Red Hood once more before we start jumping from past to present scenes as Jason’s monologue continues, he does that a lot in this issue, it’s quite impressive.

We jump into the past and we see Jason going to help his mother in his Robin suit, her betrayal and the Joker being ready to torture and kill a child. From there we go back to the present where Jason manages to ask Oracle for help but not anyone’s he asks for the Batman’s help.

First let’s talk about the monologue that happens across these scenes because it has some interesting takes.

“Stupid amateur, its not going to be okay, not if we keep repeating the same mistakes. He never trusted me, I never trusted him. Neither of us lived up to the idea of ‘Batman and Robin’, the ‘Dynamic Duo’. Because Batman and Robin requires trust, it requires knowing you can’t do it alone.”

Let’s be honest as per the modern take on Batman and Robin (if it includes Bruce as Batman) the dynamic is quite dysfunctional, Batman doesn’t know how to care for a child and children shouldn’t be responsible for an adult’s safety, so the whole thing has been weird for every Robin, its not something that happened only to Jason but here is the thing, in Under the Red Hood (which is canon in this story) when Batman and Red Hood fought side by side Bruce said the following: “…Neither of us has the strength to take him out, it will require skill and teamwork. It happens before I have time to question it, a manoeuvre that comes without thought, executed as practiced and practiced many times in the cave.”

So, him and Jason worked well, they trusted each other and the work they were doing but that is not all, because they are in the middle of a fight the Red Hood doesn’t act recklessly and takes the opportunity attack the Bat when he is vulnerable, he sticks to the coordinated fight because he trusts it will work. Batman’s thoughts confirm that because he continues saying this: “To complete it (the manoeuvre) I’m forced to leave myself unprotected from an attack, an attack from the Red Hood. But the attack never comes, he just takes cover from the blast, like practiced.”

– Batman: Under the Red Hood, chapter 10.

This thing alone, written in 2005 kills the narrative of Bruce’s Batman and Jason’s Robin not working well together.

Secondly, I have to laugh about what it's actually said in the very last panels. I am sorry but it's too funny to me, I know it acts as a parallel to Jason asking for the Bat when he was about to die but this is a man, a grown man that has experience on this job, this situation would have never happened if Jason was written fairly. This is funny because of all the people in the world I would never imagine the Red Hood asking for Batman’s help. Fuck that.

Oracle of course contacts Batman but let me say something really quickly, Barbara and Bruce are both acting like Jason getting in trouble and needing help is an annoyance. What the hell is wrong with these people? Why would Jason work with Oracle or Batman in the first place?

Batman gets in the Batmobile as soon as he can and dares call Jason his son. No thank you sir, I will not be taking that kind of bullshit today. Anyway, the Bat also has a monologue because he can’t be less, here it goes.

“Jason. Dammit, son. I’m on my way, I won’t let you…” (explosions) “You’re alive. In the here, in the now. I know this, like magic…with a curse…You’re alive.”

“I don’t need to be there again, in the past. I’ve learned my lessons, the guilt doesn’t help me, it doesn’t have a hold on me anymore. You’re alive, Jason and I intend to keep it that way.”

To this I have to say the following, the only reason why Bruce is not feeling guilty about what happened to Jason is because Jason forgave Bruce/Batman for not arriving in time in order to save Jason from the explosion back in that warehouse all those years ago. Jason forgave Bruce when the final confrontation happened in UtRH. He did it because he believed that Bruce tried and still didn’t make it.

- Batman: Under the Red Hood, chapter 13.  

And something else, Bruce might have been “keeping Jason alive” but he has harmed him. Rebirth RHatO #25 exists, I don’t know if it's canon within this particular story but I can’t not bring it up if this is what this man has to say.

My take on the Batman and Red Hood relationship is that it shouldn’t exist. Red Hood is not a Batman villain but he IS a Batman antagonist. STOP making Batman and Red Hood work together, with how things ended in UtRH Jason would never work with Bruce again. I am sorry but the concept of the Batfamily with Jason as a willing participant is the biggest lie this fandom and Lobdell gave us.

Enough of my takes, let's go back to the issue because it's ending is closer and the funniest panels in this whole ass book are coming!

Batman does Batman shit and as he grapples out of the Batmobile, he manages to get Ice!Jason out of a truck and everything comes to a stop, the bad guys come out of said vehicle and one of them is going in Red Hood's direction with the intention of killing him, Batman of course saves Jason and starts fighting the rest of the baddies.

I will show you funny panel number one.

You really want to make me believe that Bruce can pull that move, shut up!!!! There is no way! That’s some Nightwing level of leg work, stop it, if the Bat pulls that move he will break something or get stuck like that…

Ahh it doesn’t matter because as Batman finishes defeating all the baddies he goes to Jason’s side and here is where funny panel number 2 comes!

STOP IT, WHAT THE HELL IS THISSS? I am losing my mind over this, have you ever seen something and thought “oh this is wrong wrong” like what? This interaction is so wild to me, everything about it makes no sense…Imagine putting Jason Todd in such a vulnerable position that he is, I don’t know, happy or glad that the Bat showed up and that Batman would say that he will always be there for Jason, this shit is hilarious.

But that’s not the end, at this point nothing should shock me (as far as character designs) but this dude shows up…

Who the hell is this guy, and why does he look like that, why are all these new character designs the same and horrible? He reminds me of the weird discount-Joker-looking dude that we had in Rebirth RHatO #52

Anyway, the new dude that will be called Cheer (apparently) and Freeze ice Batman as well and that’s it, our Red Hood related suffering is over up until next month!

This one, this one was wild, I don’t know what else to say about it…I am honestly drained after reading the issue and writing this.

Let me know what you thought about this issue and if you want to read my reviews of the previous parts I will link them here! Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3!

[knightthunderis]

Once Upon A Time

Have you ever had one of those days when your past and present lives end up colliding and intertwining somewhere along the way?  I know it may sound crazy but hear me out.  I guess to fully understand how crazy things can get when your true love and soulmate are involved is to start at the beginning.  We all have three personalities, our royal form which in his case is Karyson Gabriel Wolfe of Thaddea, his human and present form Tristan Michael Llewellyn, and his hero form Knight Wolf.  But somehow his royal side got separated from the other two parts of his personality and landed back in Thaddea with no memories of our past together. This is the story of how through a crazy case of mistaken identity, lies, deceit, rivals, hidden agendas, conspiracy, invasion of privacy, blackmail, and manipulation my true love and I as Reimeiko Thunderis made it back to each other and full circle.  I am known as Reimeiko Christyne Amaryllis Thunderis Wolfe by royal standards, Queen of Thunderia and Thaddea thanks to my getting married to Karyson before the last battle with Darcien’s forces. My father, his Knights and fellow royals had to use their combined powers to send us here to be reborn and find each other again.  The problem was none of us had any memory of our pasts until our respective guardians found us and reunited us.  But that is another story for another time.  Anyway, when we were all reborn here, I was born Jamison Logan McKagan the eldest daughter of Robert and Veronica McKagan also known as Thor and Kyiandra Thunderis of Thunderia.  But you already know that, if you know my story.  Anyway, I am getting outrageously off track.  But when this all started, I had no doubt how it would end because of Karyson and our past together.  But boy was I wrong.  I had never felt so betrayed in my life.  How I came into this as Reimeiko Thunderis instead of who I am in the human form?  Well I will tell you.  It all starts here at the Coronation Ball.  On this night, not only will Garyson be taking his place as king, but he will also be choosing his future bride.  At the doors of the grand ballroom stood Jamison Logan McKagan Llewellyn also known as Reimeiko Christyne Amaryllis Thunderis Wolfe of Thunderia and Thaddea.  The Lady Knight of Thunder was getting ready to make a grand entrance.  Tonight was the night for her.  As she entered the ballroom, the herald announced her.

        "Lady Reimeiko Christyne Thunderis." the herald announced. She walked further into the ballroom spotting her friends and Knights from back home as well as some of the friends she had made along the way or so she thought.  Her brother and sister in their Knight forms showed up close to her speaking telepathically.

     (I know that the connection between Karyson and Reimeiko is solid.) Knight Shadow said. (But you might want to take the connection between Jamison McKagan and Tristan Llewellyn into consideration.)

      (Tristan is Karyson’s human form though, remember brother?) Knight Nova replied. (They were separated into their own individual personas somehow and we must figure out how to reunite them, but now is not the time.  The Knights are all stationed throughout the palace grounds, fully powered but dressed for this ball.)

      (Do you not think that you are overdoing it just a bit?) She asked. (How are all the background checks into the key players going?  One cannot know how to play the game without a scorecard and details on everyone involved especially who gains and loses the most.  There are a lot of secrets here and I want to know all of it.  Not just the key players but the background players too.  Leave no stone unturned, leave no passage unexplored.  We had orders to do that before we left.)

(Our wisdom knights are taking care of that and have been since before Dad debriefed us.) Shadow replied. (Anyway, we will keep in close contact with you as the night progresses)

Shadow and Nova made their way into the crowd to check in with the other Knights as Jamison glided over to talk to two other suitors in the competition.  For some reason, she suddenly felt uneasy, why, she did not know.  Granted, she had seen and dealt with her share of evil tyrants, love rivals, band rivals, and threatened hostile takeovers, but she and her Knights had always made it through almost unscathed.

    “Reimeiko, you look so beautiful.” Elenia Zhang gushed. “The prince will not be able to take his eyes off of you all night in that gown.” Jamison drifted back and forth between the first debriefing and present day.

    “First off we have Elenia Zhang.” Marco said. “There is not much known about her and her family except that they are Thaddean nobles who live outside the typical line.  In addition to being a Thaddean noble, Elenia is multi-talented which will be one of her strengths and make her a good ally as well.  Knowing you Jamie, you would have her and everyone else won over in no time.”

    “Hah, he might like the way she looks,” Lamani Evander sneered. “But when it comes to choosing his future queen, he knows who will be able to rule by his side and that woman will be me and me alone.” Back to the debriefing.

   Lamani Evander, she was so evil that she made Dariana Lanoson look and act like an angel, but even though she could scare or intimidate others, she did not scare or intimidate Jamison or Reimeiko.  Long before, Jamison had faced off with the Federation of Evil’s many different factors, love rivals, rival bands, threatened hostile take-overs and she knew how to fight dirty if she had to.  In her royal form of Reimeiko Thunderis, she fought like a man although she was a woman.  Along with her siblings and fellow Knights, she trained from the time she was young to be able to take down and fight the forces of evil who continued relentlessly to take them down and take over the universe.  Reimeiko and Jamison were rejoined or reunited when Jamison was fifteen and was discovered being Princess Reimeiko Thunderis while in her hero form of Knight Thunder and her boyfriend Tristan Llewellyn in his hero form of Knight Wolf was discovered as being Prince Karyson Wolfe of Thaddea which was who Jamison and the others were vying for.  She knew something about Karyson, his true siblings Corydon and Racine, and Samuel and Francine that the other people present did not know.  Samuel, Francine, and the Thaddean Trio were immortal like Reimeiko, her siblings, and Knights; and no matter what the other ladies of court thought, Karyson was Reimeiko’s eternal soulmate.

“Well I can say this without any conviction.” Jamison said. “It will be his choice who rules by his side not yours, and may the best woman win.” To herself she said. “I know it will be me because I have been to the future, I am the Queen in it and none of you are there.”

“I am sure that I will win because I have known him all his life.” Lamani replied.

Jamison rolled her eyes and shook her head as Lamani walked away.  The only other woman in the running so-to-speak was a woman by the name of Almeda Fitzgerald who was being sponsored by the present queen Alyssa Candelaria.  No one had really seen her through the competition because she had been staying close to the queen.  Just then a trumpet sounded, and a herald announced the arrival of Karyson Tristan Michael Llewellyn Wolfe Prince of Thaddea and he was heading right in the direction of Jamison and Elenia.  He took her hand and bowed. “Princess Reimeiko, may I have the pleasure of the next dance with you?” Prince Karyson asked.

“You want to dance with me?” Jamison asked. “I am ready to do much more than just dance with you, but I would love to.”

“I was hoping you would say that.” Karyson replied. He took her hand and whisked her away to the dance floor of the grand ballroom.  As the orchestra plays, he leads her into a waltz around the room her gown swirling as they glide through the steps.

“To think a few months ago as Jamison McKagan,” Jamison acknowledged. “I did not even know the first steps to the waltz.”

“And now no one would ever know that your human form was not born into this life.” Karyson replied. “I hope you never have cause to regret coming here.”

“What do you mean?  Why would you say that?” Jamison asked. “You and Tristan will be reunited before this crazy adventure is over, then so will we be.”

“So much has happened.” he said pausing as the song winds, his hands lingering on her waist and his eyes searched hers which were filled with uncertainty, fear, and confusion. “I need to speak with you.”

“Is something wrong?” Jamison asked, fearful of what the answer would be.  Despite the soulmate connection between them, she knew that something was not right.

“There is nothing really wrong per se.” he replied. “It has been nearly impossible to even get a moment alone with you these last few days, but I need to know--”

“Prince Garyson, may I be so bold as to cut in?” Duchess Lamani Evander asked.

“Oh yes of course.” Karyson replied. “Do not worry, Reimeiko, we will talk later.”

[Yeah right] Jamison thought sourly.  As Lamani and Karyson glided away, Jamison found herself wandering off the dance floor and running into a familiar face in the crowd. “Derrick? I did not know that you would be here tonight.  You look so handsome in your formal uniform instead of your usual mix of clothes.”

“Karyson insisted.” Derrick replied. “I guess I should congratulate you.  You look exactly like one of them.  I guess you are one of them now in these days.”

“Please do not lump me in with those two-faced, hypocritical, narcissistic fleet of bozos and bimbos.” Jamison pleaded. “Real people like you are more fun to be around.  You and I are cut from the same cloth.  We do not fit into their world of snobby losers and I thank God that we do not.”

“This time tomorrow, you might be queen and then our lives are going to go in very different directions.” he said.

“If I am chosen to be his bride, but I have a sick feeling that I will not be,” Jamison said. “I will still be me.  Titles do not make me who I am or who I will be.  Nothing will take me over.”

“Looking at you right now, it is hard to believe that.” Derrick said with a sad look. “This place has a tendency of changing people, and some of us like the woman you used to be.  You know, that right?”

“I promise, I am the same person I was from the beginning, even under this fancy, hard to breathe in a ball gown.” Jamison replied. “Despite everything that has happened, I have not changed.  I am the same Reimeiko Christyne Amaryllis Thunderis, Jamison Logan McKagan Llewellyn.  If there is ever a time you feel that I get too cocky, just remind me of the first time we met, I was taking out the garbage to the big dumpster outside and waiting tables at Russo’s bar and grill.”

“It does feel like it was so long ago.” Derrick acknowledged. “I cannot believe that it has only been a few months since this all began, and it feels more like once upon a time now more than ever after everything.”

[msjr0119]

What took you so long?

Part 3- Daddy’s garden

Liam had been assassinated, Drake had left Cordonia before this. He had heard from Savannah about his friend- he felt guilty not returning. Someone had blackmailed him to not return, with only his sister knowing the truth. Leo had taken over the throne in place of his brother due to there being no heir....

*CHARACTERS BELONG TO PIXELBERRY*

{Drake x Riley}

Tags: @annekebbphotography @burnsoslow @drakesensworld @ladyangel70 @butindeed @bbrandy2002 @bascmve01 @kingliam2019 @drakewalker04 @pedudley @captain-kingliamsqueen @duchessemersynwalker @insideamirage @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld @kozabaji @texaskitten30 @ibldw-main @kimmiedoo5 @nikkis1983 @dangerouseggseagleartisan @gnatbrain @walker7519 @lodberg @cmestrella @hopefulmoonobject @addictedtodrakefanfic @angi15h @liamxs-world @rafasgirl23415 @notoriouscs

******

“Hello, Riley.” Liam said sheepishly.

Riley felt like she was in a nightmare. A nightmare that she couldn’t wake up from. Did the last three years even exist? What was even happening?

“Li...” she finally managed to whisper. Accepting that he was here in the flesh. She released herself away from Leo’s embrace. Ambled towards Liam, reaching out for him- her fingers brushed down his body slowly.

“It’s really you. You’re really here.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Cupping her cheek, lifting her chin up to meet his gaze. Leaning in for a kiss, he was moments away from touching her soft skin. Her wet eyes, soon glared with anger- the heat from her body could have potentially burnt him. Pushing him away from her, he could now tell that he had broken her. Raising her hand, she slapped him across the face- the applaudable noise echoed throughout the room. Liam felt his cheek sting - he couldn’t blame her. Leo had already attacked him.

“HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME? TO US?”

“I had my reasoning Ri, I will do everything in my power to beg for everyone’s forgiveness.”

“You’ve fucked gaining my forgiveness.... I don’t give a shit about me but how could you leave your child? For forcing your brother to take the wrap for you? Don’t even answer me!”

Riley was heartbroken at the same time as being furious. Mainly feeling sadness for Liam Jr- the innocent child in all of this. Turning around she noticed Drake and Leo sadly looking at her, before focusing her gaze on Olivia.

“Liv, please tell me I’m wrong. Did you know?”

“Yes.. he’s been with me at my Duchy. Bastien came to update him all the time about Liam Jr.” The Duchess responded with no sign of empathy- it was as if the situation was normal and common in real life.

“I swear to god if you wasn’t expecting a child I’d rip your fucking head off that perfect body of yours! Is it his?”

Riley’s eyes pleaded with her for an honest answer. Olivia avoided her gaze not answering her question, looking at Liam instead. That was all Riley needed to know. Feeling betrayed, she thought back to when she was in labour with Liam Jr.

“Jesus Riley. Get to the toilet next time. Not very ladylike pissing yourself.” Maxwell said.

Before Riley could respond she screamed in excruciating pain, falling to the floor. Olivia ran over, and saw the colour slowly drain from Riley’s face.

“Her waters broke Maxwell! Get Leo!”

Riley was crawling about the floor, scared, anxious. The time was finally here. Liam wasn’t here. She needed him.

“It’s too early.... Liv... I’m only 37weeks. I can’t lose him.”

“Get up woman, we need to get you to hospital breathe! I’m here to support you.”

Olivia helped Riley up, Leo came storming into the room- with a concern look on his face. Scooping her up in his arms, he led her to the back entrance of the palace- where the SUV waiting to escort them to the hospital privately.

“Ri, just breathe. I’ll come with you.”

“I don’t ... I need Liv or Hana. You don’t want to see my vagina! Soz... arghhh.”

“Fair point. I love you and I love my little nephew who’s just too eager to see us all.”

Riley was in labour for 6hours, Olivia never left her side. Feeling like Riley was breaking her hand- she needed to support her and fight through the lack of pain she was having in comparison to Riley. Throughout the labour, she placed a cold compress on Riley’s head constantly, also rubbed her back. She was the perfect birthing partner, Riley believed.

After one last push, the two women heard the tiny cries. Both their hearts filled with joy.

The midwife placed the baby boy onto Riley’s chest. Skin to skin. She began crying uncontrollably and noticed the Duchess also shed a tear.

“Hey, you. I’ve waited so long to finally meet you. You look so much like your daddy.”

Riley placed a long kiss on the newborn baby. Holding his tiny hands, smelling that newborn scent. She had fallen in love immediately.

“Thank you Liv. You’re the best friend anyone could ask for.”

She pulled her friend in for a hug. Olivia felt guilt rising through her body. Faking a smile to the exhausted women she replied.

“Anytime. Congratulations Riley.”

She stormed towards the door, Leo grabbed her, holding her close- pleading with her not to leave. He felt the exact same feelings, but they needed answers.

“Ri, don’t run. We all need to talk, to gain closure!”

“No, Leo! I’ve heard enough. I’m going to see MY child. My child that Olivia was my birthing partner for. Knowing that Liam was alive all this time. I don’t want to even look at them. Please just let me go.”

*****

Riley ran through the palace, she didn’t know how she had gained this much energy. Knocking on Hana’s door, she immediately raced to Liam Jr. Cradling him in her arms, kissing him tenderly. Hana couldn’t comprehend what had made her friend this emotional.

“Ri?”

“Liam’s alive. Olivia and Bastien knew all this time. Oh and Liam Jr is having a sibling.”

“Are you pregnant? Who with?”

“No not me. Olivia!”

“WHAT?”

Before Riley could respond Hana, flung the door open nearly taking it off it hinges. Sweet little Hana, was furious and now like a different person. She had seen her friend go through all this heartache all for what?

****

Drake and Leo stood in the room scowling at the three other people in the room. Drake was unsure about his relationship with Riley- last night made him feel complete. He had always loved her, but now Liam was alive, would she eventually want Liam back? They have a child together- Drake wasn’t only the third wheel in this relationship, now potentially Olivia and her child was.

“How could you do that to her Li?”

“I didn’t have a choice Drake, he threatened you, he threatened me, he threatened the whole country.”

“So you planned to fake your death? Leaving behind a beautiful fiancée who loved you and a gorgeous intelligent kid? Why Liam?”

“I never intended it to stay a secret this long. I loved Riley and I’ll love my son. I felt a failure. My country was falling apart. Anton threatened to kill me or told me to fake my death- not knowing that I changed the law so Leo could take over. He believed that he would take over the throne. I didn’t want him to hurt Riley or my child.”

“Rather than run why not unite everyone together? Fight him! I stupidly ran but you had more support, more power than I did. I’m just a commoner, I did what was best for my family- you had no excuse. I kept in touch with Savannah at least! Instead you leave your family, force your brother to pick up your shit. And I assume begin another family?”

“I don’t blame you for leaving. I fully understand what predicament you was in. I want to get to know my son.”

Before Drake could respond, Hana barged through the door- not really knowing what she was doing, she stood in front of the former King- perfecting a groin shot at him before punching him. As she pulled her hand back, she shook it as her face grimaced ever so slightly. Leo smirked at her- he never knew this shy sweet woman could throw a punch like that. Grabbing some ice to sooth the pain she must have just consumed- Leo had hoped she hadn’t caused any damage.

“You can get to know him Liam, but a father doesn’t do that to his child! You left him too long. You have a lot of making up to do!”

“I know Lady Hana.”

“And for you Olivia, Riley thought you was her friend. Instead you betray her in so many ways. I’m so disappointed in you.”

Drake pulled Hana in for a hug before taking her out on the balcony for fresh air. Both of them taking deep breathes, they noticed Riley outside holding Liam Jrs hand protectively. She was helping him dribble a football- he shot it into an invisible goal. He looked up to his Mom, with the biggest cheesiest grin before she picked him up celebrating his achievement, ending it with a high five. Hana noticed Drake fixated on Riley.

“Are you okay Drake?”

“Yeah.... She’s a brilliant mom.”

“Damn right she is....she had all of us to support her, but she’s done an incredible job on her own. What happened last night between you two?”

Drake gulped, his hand began to rub his neck. Were they the court gossip now? It didn’t matter. Because Liam being alive would replace that ‘old’ gossip in a flash.

“Er.. we had words. We had sex. I didn’t want to rush things. I felt guilty. I love her Han. I always have. But she made her choice once upon a time picking Liam. She will pick him again. I just wished I could keep control of my feelings to save all this heartache.”

“Drake, she loves you too. Do you really think she’s going to pick that ass? Liam Jr is her priority. He always has been. Look at her now, she hasn’t ran into Liam’s arms knowing he’s still alive. She’s with her son. And I know she will want to talk to you at some point.”

****

“Mommy can we go and see Daddy’s garden?”

Daddy’s garden- the memorial garden that everyone put so much effort into creating a tranquil place - where Riley took her son to remember Liam. The little boy loved this place- Riley now hated the fact that the reasoning behind this garden was all a lie.

“Of course darling. Shall we go to the kitchen first and have a picnic?”

“Can I bring some toys too?”

“Yes, baby.”

Riley and Liam Jr arrived at the garden that was filled with a riot of colour. Carefully placing the picnic blanket on the ground, Liam scattered his toys around the area, whilst Riley pulled out the food out of the wicker basket. She had quickly made some ham sandwiches and had brought some fruit and cucumber sticks. Just spending this time with her son, made her forget about the shitstorm that was slowly brewing.

“Hi daddy, we are having a picnic. Look.”

Yes, daddy look. Now you can physically look. This is hurting me so much. I don’t know how to tell him the truth.

“It’s Spider-Man. And green goblin. Green goblin is a naughty boy. He doesn’t like Spider-Man.”

That sounds familiar Liam Jr- it’s like you are reading our minds. Is Daddy the ‘hero’ Spider-Man and Anton is green goblin? Hero my arse. Which superhero lies and fakes their death? None.

Riley was knocked out of her trance as Liam Jr jumped into her arms- petrified. Wondering what had spooked the little boy- she realised when looked up, rolling her eyes.

“Hey, Casper!” Riley sarcastically snapped at Liam, shortly before seeing all her friends join her in the garden.

Leo decided that they needed to speak, so picked his nephew up, playing hide and seek in the maze with Hana.

“Riley, please. I hate myself, I just want to get to know my son.”

“Oh your son. You actually care about him now?”

“I always cared Riley. I had no option. My biggest regret was leaving you both.”

Liam cupped her cheeks, tears falling down his own cheek.

“Please can I spend some time with him?”

Taking a deep breath- she didn’t want to the be the monster in all of this.

“Liam, I’d never stop you from seeing him. He’s your own fresh and blood.”

“Thank you. I know I don’t deserve this. I’m so grateful.”

Liam walked over to his brother who was now holding Liam Jr, Riley following him- she knew Liam wouldn’t hurt their child but still subconsciously was on edge.

“Hey Liam, how are you buddy?”

Holding tightly onto his uncle, he responded to the stranger- “I’m okay.”

“That’s good then. I’m sorry I haven’t been around. I- I ... I’m ..”

Liam looked at Riley, even though she was ready to actually murder him- she knew what he was attempting to say. Giving him an encouraging smile, he knew it had to come from him.

“Liam, I’m your daddy.”

“Mommy said you sleep with the angels.” Riley sunk her head to the floor, hating that she had now lied to her child unknowingly- she bit her lip waiting for Liam to respond but he was frozen. Realisation that Riley had spoken about him all the time to their son- broke his heart. She didn’t want his son to not know about him- to not forget his legacy.

“Daddy did. But he realised how much he missed you darling. So his sleepover ended and he came back to see you.” Riley interrupted as she grabbed her son, hugging him tightly. This was the hardest thing to say to a child at such a young age.

“I’m sure daddy would like a hug? Can you do that for him baby?”

The toddler nodded, kissing his mom on the cheek before running into Liam’s arms. Liam held his son for the first time, he never wanted to let go- uncontrollably crying he couldn’t contain his emotions. This was his son, and he had missed out on his life so far- he kissed his child on the forehead before Liam Jr dragged him over to play with his toys. Riley was still scrutinising every move Liam made with their son, now he was back - she wondered what his intentions would be. Needing some reassurance, she went to the person who had her back all this time.

“Leo, he’s not going to take him away from me is he?” Riley questioned him, worry in her eyes.

“Ri, I won’t allow him to don’t worry. He doesn’t deserve this- but you’ve been the civil grown up thinking about your child in all of this. You deserve better. Talking about better- Drake’s nipped back to the cabin. He believed you would need some space.”

“Why? Oh... could you arrange a car for me later? To take me there? I’ll let Li have this time with Liam first though.”

“Let me know when you’re ready.”

Riley hugged Leo, tightly. Out of all the people over the years he had been the most supportive- the playboy years had disappeared he had really stepped up to his King duties. Liam interrupted their hug.

“Thank you, so much Riley. For letting me have this time with him. I’m so sorry for how it all turned out. I did love you and a part of me always will- but you know our marriage was only for political reasons.”

“Oh, I know that. You know that. But I still loved you. I’m annoyed that we were so careless and brought an innocent child into this whole mess. But he means the world to me and I wouldn’t change him for the world.”

“That’s something we can agree on. Erm. I was wanting to propose to Liv, now my father has passed. I feel like I need your permission. You don’t have to tell me now.”- he was going to leave her with that bombshell, not expecting her to have an answer straight away.

“I’m not going to stop you Liam. You’re having a child with her even though neither of you have physically admitted it. Just don’t forget about our child- whenever you want to see him you’re welcome to.”

“I don’t deserve you. I never did. Thank you.”

Riley just nodded, how she kept so strong she didn’t know- she just wanted to breakdown in tears. Leo arranged for the car to be ready as soon as possible to get to the homey cabin. Getting in the car with Liam Jr, Bastien drove her to the secluded location- the silence was deadly. As he pulled up -he attempted talking to her, she ignored him. Not intentionally, she just didn’t want to regret all the vermin that could potentially be released. Closing the door, she fake smiled at the man before leaving the drive. Hesitantly, hovering her hand over the door, she didn’t know how Drake would react to seeing her. She didn’t need space- she needed him.

“Brooks? What are you doing here?”

“To mend a heart you didn’t break is part of loving a child you didn’t make.”

[serpentlopez]

I’m Not Okay (I Promise)

Who: Eliana & Kitty ( @northsidekitty w. mentions of @serpentchar and @southsidepey )

What: Eli and Charlie ( @serpentchar ) blackmailed Pastor Wilde and is now going to get paid. E doesn’t expect who is paying her.

When: Nov 5, Evening

Where: At Assembly of God church

Notes: There’s a HC para where E seduces the Pastor and Charlie films it but this happened back before the masquerade party

ELIANA

As she had been most of the week, Eli was laying in bed when her phone went off. Assuming it was Charlie again, or Ale, she looked at the message without moving until she saw who it was from. Pastor Wilde. It simply had a time and a location - how mysterious - but she knew exactly what it was. Almost two weeks ago, Eli had crossed a line. She'd gotten high, went to the church, and after a little flirting and a few touches, she'd climbed onto his lap. Even if he'd intended to resist her, once she was on top of him, rolling her hips against his waist, he gave in. All those shiny words about being a good person and he was just as low as any of the scum she'd been with. Charlie had been there, as planned, recording everything.

It was a terrible thing to do to someone. No matter how fucked up she was, Eli knew that. But they had made this plan to save Peyton's shop and get her out of her father's reaches so it was worth it. When he finished, grubby hands all over her, Eli had made her attack, tugging her dress back in place and telling him all about the video. She would keep it quiet, of course, for a price and that price was steep. A giant payout of one hundred thousand. It was enough to pay off Peyton's shop and have a little more left over. 

 Now it looked like it was time to pay up. Climbing out of bed, Eli took a shower, had a quick line for dinner to steady her, and then got dressed. She didn't have long to be there.

KITTY

Kitty wasn't supposed to know. Nobody was supposed to know. Pastor Wilde had been a faithful husband all his life. It was his only redeeming quality at this point. He had lied, deceived, stolen. And now, he broke the most sacred vow he ever made. That's what went through Kitty's mind as she heard him speak on the phone. She wasn't sure who he was speaking with, but she heard him admit to every single filthy thing he had done with--God, she couldn't even say the name anymore. And then she heard it. The bribery request. The money that...bitch had requested to keep her darn mouth shut. A blinding rage bubbled up inside Kitty. Not just against the other woman but against her father as well. 

She knew plenty of the dirty things he'd done in the past, but this was too much, even for her. The second his phone call ended, Kitty opened the door, revealing herself to him before she stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Her mother didn't need to hear what she had just heard. She had a few choice words to say to her father; she had to make sure he felt ashamed of what he had done. And once she knew he comprehended how that single moment of pleasure could very well ruin their family name and their reputation, Kitty's mind took a sidestep and took on a new resolve. 

 When the day came for the money exchange, Kitty waited until everyone was asleep, making sure her mother didn't see her leave the house with the bag of money her father had given her just hours before. She felt disgusting just holding the bag, knowing what it was paying for. With the key in her hand, she opened the side door to the church, the one she knew the other woman would use to get in as well. But instead of waiting at the altar like she was supposed to, Kitty set the bag on one of the front pews before moving to take a seat in one of the pews near the main door, hidden away from view in the shadows of the early morning, waiting for the big moment to come.

ELIANA

The deal was simple. She gets the money, he gets the tape, they don't have to talk about this ever again. It wouldn't be too big of a loss. Eliana hardly went to church as it was. In fact, the only thing she visited was when she was seeing Kitty. The woman who was so steadfast about her morals but said 'oh my God' so many more times in bed than she need in church. Eli would get the money, go back home, text Charlie to pick it up so they could give it to Peyton, and then she'd go back to bed. She parked outside of the church, not caring - maybe a little recklessly - about who saw her bike there. Walking around the building, she shoved her key into her leather jacket and steeled herself to see Pastor Wilde. 

She was sure he would try and talk her out of doing this but she didn't care to be convinced. Not only did Peyton need the money but if the Pastor was dick enough to cheat on his wife and fuck Eli when she showed off a little thigh, then he deserved to be swindled. Walking inside the church, Eli looked by the light of the prayer candles, most of the room shrouded in darkness. Then she found the bag on one of the pews and she walked over to it, yanking it open so she could start to count through the money and make sure it was all there. Though she was surprised the Pastor wasn't here to collect the tape..

KITTY

Just as expected, not long after Kitty entered the church, someone else followed. It didn't take much for her to recognize who it was. Not because she knew who to expect, but because she'd recognize the woman anywhere. She watched quietly as Eliana walked in and looked around, and when her eyes locked on the bag, Kitty quietly stood up, making sure she wasn't seen. She waited until the woman opened the bag before she walked, high heels clicking against the floor. Her hands were tightly wound in her font, as if she tried to hold herself together. Which in a way, she was. It took every ounce of will power for her to keep her composure as she walked, but as soon as her figure reached the light, there was a smile on her face. Once that was void of anything nice. "I see you found your payment. Go ahead. Make sure it's all there."

ELIANA

Eliana had counted the number of hundreds in each stack, and then started going through each one of the stacks. She was only about halfway through when she heard movement and the sound of heels clicking on the floor. It surprised her enough that she jumped back from the bag, shocking herself because Eli was rarely caught off guard. But she hadn't been in her right head space lately. Taking one step back, Eli watched as the female figure came into voice but as soon as she spoke, she wouldn't have needed to see her face. "Kitty." Eli had never expected to see the petite blonde there. Pastor Wilde wouldn't have told her what happened, would he? Her eyes narrowed, trying to help everything make sense but the pieces weren't fitting. Pastor Wilde was supposed to want to keep his indiscretion a secret. That was the whole point of the money. She looked down at the bag of cash and then back up at Kitty. "What.. What are you doing here?"

KITTY

The woman looked like a mess. Whatever she was on--because clearly she had to be on something to fall off the rails in the way she was--was not benefiting her in the least. Maybe that's what lead her to do what she did. Maybe that's what she needed the money for. But either way, she had no business messing with Kitty's family like that. "Surprise..." Her jaw clenched, fingernails digging into smooth skin. Keeping calm was proving to be much more difficult than expected. "Me? I'm delivering a bag of money to a blackmailer." Kitty stopped next to the bag, head tilting slightly as she watched Eliana's uneasiness. The smile on her lips was cold, clearly forced, more of a sneer than an actual smile. "Tell me something. Are you as stupid as you look? Or did you honestly think you'd get away with it and no one would ever know?"

ELIANA

Eliana had known Kitty practically since she'd arrived in Riverdale. The woman didn't have any money or any place to stay, just trying to get away from her home life. She'd met her at the homeless shelter. Knowing someone that long meant that you recognized those awful looks when they settled on a familiar face. She knew the look on Kitty's face but she hadn't even seen it there. At least not directed at her. When she said blackmailer, Eli had everything she needed to know that Kitty was aware of the situation. Her jaw clenched however when the woman asked her questions that seemed more rhetorical than real. "I never made him do anything," she clarified. "I didn't force your father to fuck me. I'm just benefiting from his hypocrisy." It might not have been the right thing to say but she wasn't going to be shamed for it. Even though in the pit of her gut, she felt nothing but shame.

KITTY

Looking at the other woman now reminded Kitty of when they first met. The void in her eyes, the shakiness of her hands. Was Kitty fooling herself when she believed she had saved Eliana from a worse life? Most likely yes. Because despite everything she did, Eliana still betrayed her in the worse way possible. Very much in the same way a dog that bites the hand that feeds it. Kitty tried to keep calm. She really did. She couldn't say she didn't try. But the second words started pouring out of Eliana's mouth, Kitty lost all sense of cool. Her hand shot out, landing right across the other woman's face hard. Kitty didn't even realize she had done it until she heard the loud smack echo across the church. She took a deep sigh, regaining her composure after a momentary slip, lips pressed tightly together. 

"My father may be a lot of things. Adulterer is not one of them. But I suppose I can understand how easy it is to fall prey at the hands of a filthy whore." Calmly, Kitty reached into the bag, picking up one of many stacks of money her father had gathered for this moment. "A hundred grand. It's quite a lot of money. I never took you for a high end prostitute. I mean, you don't even look the part anymore." Her eyes drifted from the money toward Eliana, eyebrow raised. Her words were laced with sheer disdain, but she needed to get them out before she exploded. "We haven't known each other for long, not outside the bedroom at least, so you're not aware. But allow me to enlighten you. You see, I have a certain...reputation on the Northside. Yes, I am the Pastor's daughter. But those who know me well, also know exactly what I'm capable of when rubbed the wrong way. You came in here thinking you could mess with my family, take money from me, and walk away with your head held high. I'm sorry to disappoint, but that's not how this works."

ELIANA

Eli put her hands on her hips and she was ready to tell Kitty more, tell her that it wasn't important because people were awful most of the time. Her father was no exception. She wasn't surprised that Kitty was upset but the slap certainly was. Her head snapped to the side and she was knocked off balance, almost stumbling off of her feet. The side of her face stung - she hadn't known Kitty could hit that had. She touched the side of her face, feeling for a cut or blood but she didn't find any. At least not yet. 

 Looking up at Kitty, Eli was about to snap back but stopped when she was called a whore - the one thing she knew she technically was but didn't want to admit. Her jaw clenched and she had a choice. She could either walk out of there without anything, or take what she had come here for. Straightening her back, Eli narrowed her eyes. "That's the deal, Kitty. I get the money, you get the tape. You think it'll ruin me if this gets out there?" Her nose wrinkled and she pointed over to the alter. "We were right over there, and trust me, the view of his face is impeccable."

KITTY

Kitty only hesitated for a moment. She didn't mean to hurt Eliana, so seeing her off balance like that nearly threw her off as well. But she quickly remembered why they were in this position in the first place and all regret quickly vanished. Eliana was just as quick to recover and the harsh look in her eyes only fueled Kitty's anger. "You think you'd live if that tape got out? You honestly thing your filthy body wouldn't be found lying in a ditch shortly after?" There was a fire in Kitty's eyes that was rarely there, one that she only allowed out when a situation was too out of her control. She was against violence for the most part. But some people only responded to it and Kitty would gladly oblige. "You want your money? Here's your money." 

As Kitty spoke, her fingertips easily ripped the bind around the stack of money she was holding, loosening up the bills in her palm enough that when she threw them at the other woman, bills flew around her, spreading in the air as if it were rain. "Take it. Take all of it." Long gone was the calm and collected Kitty. In its place, there was a ball of pure anger and hate and frustration. She was screaming each word. All the times she had to swallow her pride and keep her mouth shut came exploding out of her. She reached into the bag, picking up each stack to throw at Eliana. Each this time, she would rip the paper bind. One after another, bills flew out and around them. She knew they wouldn't hurt her but Kitty didn't care.

ELIANA

Eli's eyes narrowed at Kitty. What in the hell was she trying to insinuate? She'd already had a big enough threat to worry about when it came to Derek, but if she was trying to say that she had someone else to fear.. "Who the hell do you think you ar--" Before she could finish her question, or any of the other things she wanted to say, Eli was hit square in the stomach with a bundle of cash that immediately went flying around the room. Her eyes widened but had no time to react before another bushel was throw at her. And another. 

Eli took a step back with every hit until she stepped on one of the fallen bills and slipped onto the ground. She threw her arm up to block her face as the money kept flying at her until it was all in a mess, bills floating to the ground around her. Her heart was pounding and holy fuck, she hadn't gotten high enough to handle this. Looking up at Kitty in that moment, the candlelight illuminating the hateful expression on her face, Eliana lost all words. Part of her wanted to fight. She had more street smarts than anything and she could know the fuck out of the tiny woman. The other part of her wanted to apologize. But in the end, she did neither, simply staring in shock from her spot on the ground.

KITTY

Something in Kitty's mind clicked and all of a sudden, she couldn't stop. She was breathing heavily, hair a mess but she kept throwing the money, until there was none left in the bag and she simply tossed it to the ground next to where Eliana had fallen. She hadn't even stopped to check if the other girl was hurt. Because she honestly couldn't bring herself to care anymore. She was about ready to get the hell out of there. She had nothing else to say, she was pretty sure she had made her point. But first, she had something to find. 

She leaned down, reaching for Eliana's pockets in search of the flashdrive. If Eliana so much as dared to push her hands away, Kitty would not be held responsible for what she might do. Once she found it, she stood back up, using her free hand to brush the hair away from her face, the cold smile slowly returning to her face. "I believe this belongs to me now. I paid good money for it. Now, be a good little whore and clean up after yourself. You have three minutes or I'm locking you in." 

Kitty stepped over the pile on the floor, smoothing down the front of her dress as she walked toward the altar, bringing her hand to her heart as if to plea for forgiveness for what she had just done. But there was no going back now.

[thisdiscontentedwinter]

"But poor Scoot got murdered because Stiles refused to share his own trauma with his one true alpha & owner Scoot! It was all Stiles' fault, really!"

More ableism, double standards, victim blaming, canon erasure and Scottpocrisy 101 courtesy of delusionals https://liliaeth.tumblr.com/post/184828048616/you-really-dont-know-what-conspiring-means-do

anonymous: You really don’t know what “conspiring” means, do you?

liliaeth: Oh I definitely do, I think you guys are the ones who don’t.

Stiles wanted Theo to keep quiet about Donovan, so in exchange Stiles kept quiet about Theo killing Josh. That’s conspiring. And before you bring up ‘blackmail’, all Stiles had to do to stop that, is tell Scott the truth.

It’s not like Scott’s ever thrown Braeden or Argent out for using guns. It’s not like Scott berated Derek after he said they’d make their own deadpool of those who came after them for the money. 

The notion of Scott supposedly being against any and all killing is fanon. And Stiles should have known this. But Stiles was so caught up in his own guilt, that Stiles saw Scott’s statement that was clearly about what Kira had done, as the same as the clear obvious accident and self defense that happened with Donovan. 

Stiles was blaming himself, so he put more trust in Theo’s willingness to keep quiet, than that he dared believe that Scott would accept him.

The reality is that if Stiles had told Scott the truth, Scott would have helped him. All Stiles had to do was stop lying. 

Instead Stiles worked with Theo to hide the truth from Scott, to the point of trying to keep the pack from the Nemeton, so they wouldn’t find Donovan’s body.

And as a result, Stiles betrayed the pack, betrayed Scott. 

endraking: It looks like the anon is forgetting when Stiles being blackmailed turned into conspiracy.  

First, What did Theo do? Leverage Stiles killing Donovan to keep Josh’s death a secret, specifically from Scott. Keep that in mind. Stiles not only kept that secret, one he could’ve told earlier than that but what else did he do? He partnered with Theo to catch the body thief, which is not the wisest decision regardless of how he felt that he would catch Theo in the act. Then he proceeded to hide information from the pack even misdirecting Lydia from tracking and finding the Nemeton.  

Stiles didn’t even lie to craft a story on why he thought Donovan was dead so his dad would stop devoting resources to finding him. He could’ve easily lied to his father, by this point it was almost second nature. That plays into Theo’s agenda in neutralizing the pack and Stiles did it willingly without outside prompt. Theo was able to succeed to the level he did because Stiles helped him. I feel that statement needs repeating: He succeeded to the extent he did because of Stiles’ actions.

Ways Stiles could’ve been blackmailed that wouldn’t have been conspiracy: 

-Do Nothing; Literally go home, curl into a depressive ball and turn his back on both the pack and Theo/DDs -Toe the line in helping the pack without outing Theo to keep his secret -Tell the pack/family/friends first and steal any power Theo had over him -Leave; Theo’s power over him could only exist if he were physically present.

princeescaluswords: Something else that needs to brought in mind, as the original anon asked, is the definition of conspiracy. To conspire means, according to Webster’s, to join in a secret agreement to do an unlawful or wrong act. It doesn’t matter why a conspirator joins in that secret agreement to make it a conspiracy.

I don’t have a problem with Stiles being drawn into the conspiracy. His motivations were solid and established even if they were irrational. He didn’t want his father and his friends to look at him differently after he killed Donovan in self-defense. They were products of trauma and his own insecurity.  

Yet it was a conspiracy. Stiles helped Theo cover up Josh Diaz’s first death and Theo helped Stiles cover up Donovan’s death.  

My problem is when the fanon (and to a lesser extent, the show) somehow attempts to make Stiles’ participation in the cover-up and the conspiracy Scott’s fault. Because the truth is that even if Scott had believed Stiles from the moment he said that Theo was shifty, unless Scott straight-up murdered Theo or somehow managed to drive him from Beacon Hills, it wouldn’t have changed a damn thing. Donovan would have come after Stiles anyway, Stiles would have still killed him in self-defense, and Stiles would have still lied to Scott about it. 

The truth is that Stiles didn’t defend himself in Lies of Omission; his goal was to shift the blame for Donovan’s death to Scott, which he failed to do. First Stiles tried to make it a referendum on Scott’s nature as a True Alpha – that it was Scott’s fault that he wasn’t Stiles shadow 24/7 “Some of us are human!”. When that didn’t work, Stiles tried to make it a referendum on their friendship “Say you believe me!” – and this emotional blackmail didn’t work.  

His final shot was to try to make Scott responsible for the consequences of his actions “Tell me what you want me to do,” so Scott did, and that’s not what Stiles really wanted at all. He wanted Scott to say “Don’t worry about it” as Scott had said every time before. But they’re not the same people, and Scott was right to direct Stiles to his father. Because Stiles killed someone, lied about it, engaged in a conspiracy and got caught.  

We can talk about fanon’s huge double standard forever when it comes to characters acting under blackmail, we can talk about the show’s cowardice when it came to confronting the flaws in the Scott & Stiles relationship, but it came down to the fact that Season 5A focused on the negative consequences of Stiles behavior from Season 1 to 5 – the lying, the avoidance, and the entitlement.  

DW: Ah, then Scott conspired with Gerard, didn’t he, when he planned to force Derek to give him the bite? Doesn’t matter if he was threatened or forced, he conspired. Glad we cleared that up after all this time. 

And no, Season 5 did not focus on the consequences of Stiles’s negative behaviour. If it had all been down to Stiles, Scott still would have had the rest of his pack standing by him. Season 5 focussed on Scott’s failure to keep his own pack. Stiles was just the last piece of that puzzle, and he had nothing to do with Scott driving the others away. 

Scott dies in Season 5 because he fails, personally, to be the alpha his pack needs, not because of anything Stiles does. He fails each pack member on an individual level. Stiles is the last one who is driven away, not the first. And that’s on Scott. 

 His final shot was to try to make Scott responsible for the consequences of his actions “Tell me what you want me to do,” so Scott did, and that’s not what Stiles really wanted at all. He wanted Scott to say “Don’t worry about it” as Scott had said every time before.

No, Prince, Stiles is asking what he can do to make it right again. But thanks for the demonstration of how bias works, and how, yet again, the people on your planet don’t understand how humans operate. Or stories. 

And none of you get blackmail either, do you? Yes, the whole point of blackmail is that you could end the whole thing by telling the truth--but you believe the consequences of that truth being known are somehow worse than maintaining the lie and going along with the blackmailer. That’s not conspiracy though. Conspiracy is two or more people plotting together, hence the “con” prefix. Stiles isn’t a co-conspirer because he doesn’t come up with the plan. 

He’s a blackmail victim. 

[mahouproject-one]

Nothing Left To Say | Miyu | Trial (re: all; ATTN: Genbu)

Miyu knew that the bitter words wouldn’t end simply because she was condemned and crying. There was still plenty of time to make sure she knew exactly how badly she had screwed up, and after she had preyed upon the class’s pity earlier to save herself, there was no reason for anyone to show her any sympathy.

Sympathy, or something akin to it, still poured in. Miyu didn’t really understand what Farah was trying to say, but she knew by the end that they were trying to wish her peace in death. (Ah, so they were the secret admirer all along.) Takako was… Takako. Ever the force of chaos, she had already forgiven Miyu, or more accurately had not been hurt by any of this to begin with. And only now was Miyu beginning to wonder if Takako cared about anyone. (At least if she really did stay behind as a ghost, she could always vent at her and not have to expect a heart-to-heart talk in return.)

Which left Mi-ke.

“We almost had it. I almost – I could’ve… Why did you…?”

But she knew why, of course. She was the true third wheel, the interloper who saw two lovers weakly huddled together and decided right then that the three of them needed to kill someone. And, really, it was still just as much Miyu’s fault as it was Mi-ke’s or Kris’s, no matter what they had to say about it. It had been her four words – “we can end this” – that had marked the beginning of this night.

She had meant to only be a guard and a saboteur (not realizing that it would have all been for naught and that the other two planned to confess), but she was still more than just an accessory to murder. She’d still brought this down on Mi-ke, so why would they ever keep protecting her once it was clear she was dragging their boyfriend down with her?

“You’d… You’d better take care of each other. That’s the least you two can do now, for yourselves. And for me.”

These were the exact wrong words to say, especially right after overhearing “we have to talk”. When was that ever a prelude to something good? But buried deep in her harsh words was some fragment of concern. She knew that Kris and Mi-ke were now the biggest targets in the class, and she knew that they were the only ones who could protect themselves.

…Miyu didn’t want to think of the near future and what it would bring for them. Ghost possibilities aside, she would be unable to see that future, anyway.

And finally, it was time to separate. Miyu Suzuki was destined to be alone in the end, anyway. She tried not to look at the reopened wounds on her hands, or at the smear of blood she had left behind on Kris’s jacket. Why would he protect someone who was minutes away from death, anyway?

(…Could she run? But, no, Ouryuu had chains. She’d dragged them around like animals for much less than this. The fireplace was so close, but… But the entire castle seemed to pulse with her malice. Miyu’s only hope would be to leap off the school grounds entirely and into the rocks that were surely below the layer of fog. Escape just wasn’t possible.)

The room still echoed with so many justifications and so many reproaches. The voices were beginning to blend into each other, people were saying things Miyu already knew and had known all this time, and – and she had enough.

“Stop.”

Gripping the sides of her pensieve, she forced herself back onto her feet, taking just a moment to wipe the last of her tears on her sleeve. She’d had her moment of weakness, and she was resolved not to spend all of her final moments sobbing on the floor.

“Just – stop it, Kris, Mi-ke-chan. I-I can defend myself.”

From the moment she collapsed after overexerting herself swinging the spade, this whole night had been all about them defending Miyu. The scalpel wounds were not her idea. The lies about improper use of leash spells and cat-ear spells were not her idea. Not even the story about a hitman blackmailing a poor naïve girl had been entirely her idea, even though she had taken to the role as well as she could.

A Suzuki needed to be able to take care of themself. As the heiress, as Kintaro’s successor, as the person who was meant to fix all of their problems, she needed to stand on her own and speak for herself.

Holy was the only person she wished to directly speak to. Holy, because he was completely right. He had put his trust in her, telling her about the scene he had witnessed (that she deliberately made sure people witnessed), telling her about his own deep fears and even the few personal details he had been willing to share.

She wanted to call him by his real name, to prove that she really had grown fond of him over these past weeks, but she couldn’t do that when everyone else was listening in. Besides, she had a hunch it wouldn’t be appreciated. She cleared her throat, trying to get rid of the last signs that she had been crying.

“I-I know I betrayed your trust, Holy-san. But you aren’t the stupid one here.”

Which implicitly meant Miyu was, not that she could ever directly say it.

“And of course it’s not an apology – why ask for forgiveness when I know I’ll never get it? It’s information. For you and the rest of Genbu.”

It seemed she remembered that she had procrastinated for weeks on contributing to the bulletin board.

“All this time, I’ve had access to the other half of the topic that Akiyama-san brought up the other day. I’ve had it since shortly before that Labyrinth trip, and I knew what was in that place. I think you can understand why I didn’t want to tell anyone right away – not that it matters anymore.”

“By the way, most of what I said about Hope’s Peak Academy is true, as far as I understand it. They did indeed offer my father a plea deal in which I would be protected as a student. All so that they wouldn't have to face the fallout of a former Art Dealer and a Pharmaceutist being investigated for fraud.

The only thing I don’t know is why they would send students with certain… occupations such as ours together on the same trip. Did they want to see if a hitman and a vigilante would hunt down a forger and a thief, all on their own, or maybe see if they would attack each other…? All I know for certain is that the academy cannot be trusted ever again. Anything they offer comes with strings attached. Remember that.

And remember… remember that someone started this by awakening Ouryuu. If you all want that badly to live? Find that person, and make them pay.”

She let her words hang in the air.

“…I’m not sure what else you all want me to say. Tell my family that I love them? Actually, no, tell my grandmother Chie that I hate her. I’ve hated her for years because she never accepted that I was myself, and I’ve wished that she was dead. There, tell her that. As for my father… Tell him thanks for nothing. Thanks for selling me to the academy just to prevent a prolonged trial.”

Miyu knew it was more complex than that – the board members had told her Kintaro did it out of love for her, to save her from the legal consequences of what she had done. Her mother told her everything he had done was for her, even when he questioned every one of her life’s decisions. Miyu had been expected to forgive her father because of all that.

Even now, as she was about to die, she couldn’t find it in herself to forgive Kintaro for dragging her into a life of fraud and forgery. She would never forgive him.

“…Goodbye. Maybe I really will become another lost soul here, like Agatsuma or Tenpō-san. But if I become an onryō like Ohara-sensei… I hope that you would have the sense to put me down one last time, for good.”

Because Miyu feared loss of identity in all aspects, like being laid to rest under a name that wasn’t hers. Or becoming like Seiji, a being of rage and anguish that was cursed to haunt the dungeons for the foreseeable future.

She gave the crowd one of those well-trained smiles, the falsehood that decorum had taught her. Fake it ‘till you make it – back then, right now, and always.

“…Thank you.”

To who? To Reiko, Joon-young, Outa, Hikaru, and Holy, all of whom she had betrayed and left behind nothing to prove her existence but a blood-smeared notebook? To Takako and Farah who had wished her peace in death and in the afterlife? To Mi-ke and Kris who had given up everything in the futile attempt to save her? Or just to some unseen force, for having given her life to begin with?

…But Miyu had never really believed in higher powers.

[vixenofthemist]

71. “Kiss me, quick!”, Todomomo if you don't mind

71. “Kiss me, quick!”

Changed the prompt a little to fit the story more, and this is literally been almost three months in the making and I’ve rewritten it a million times but I’m finally HAPPY with how this turned out!!

                                                     ———–

Momo was used to hiding for her job.

Her thoughts, emotions, feelings- all of them cast aside to keep her family safe. Everything was for them! Even… if they had no idea it was.

Even, if it was for her parents who forced her into this life….

Even, if it involved hiding her job from her husband.

She loved her husband- maybe even more then she loved her parents- and the thought of him finding out about her job tore at her heart in such a way- that the façade almost cracked every time she thought about it.

Finding out your wife is a spy wasn’t just something you have a calm discussion about after all.

Or, that is what she always thought.

The rising music filled her ears and momentarily escaped her from her thoughts- though she was quickly brought back as her assigned partner for the night waltzed back into view- the well of neatly kept back emotions brimming back up and threatening to dislodge at the sight of him. He hadn’t noticed her yet, was still blissfully unaware of the news she was about to spring on him as he sipped his wine and scanned the room with his captivating eyes.

She stayed in the shadows, trying to sort through her thoughts quickly before the moment she had to approach him arrived. The sweet sway of the music helped slightly, watching him stand across the hall in a nice suit she hadn’t known he owned brought a lot of feelings to the forefront, but the calm of the music helped her delicately place them someplace else where she could bring them back later when the moment was right, and her entire spy career wasn’t hanging on her completing this.

She was a professional, and giving away that she knew him could endanger not only the mission- but him as well.

The dainty watch on her arm ticked smoothly to the designated time- and her body immediately moved out of the shadows and she started casually mingling with the crowd. Laughing with this woman- talking with this man- politely declining a drink on the excuse she was pregnant from that waiter- it was all routine for her. But, the person she was meeting on the other side was not the usual. Not the usual at all.

And creation was she conflicted.

Gliding in next to him, she wasn’t surprised at his widening eye’s as she slipped her arm through his, though his quick recovery did more to add to her growing suspicions that she wasn’t the only one in their marriage keeping a secret.

He introduced her as his wife- and for once it wasn’t a lie.

That made her feel odd- waltzing around the ball room on the job with her husband at her side was both refreshing and confusing. Their interactions with others was the usual and the same as it was for normal parties, and Shouto’s presence was, as always, a breath of fresh air in her muddled and confusing life- a pleasant step up from Bakugou her usual assigned partner. But on the other hand, him being here brought so many questions- so many confusing and despairing emotions- that Momo found herself squeezing his arm more than once- and pushing his neatly combed hair back into place- just to check she wasn’t imagining him.

He would always return with a gesture of his own- like a grasp of her hand, pushing her hair back, not letting go of her arm- all things she knew where him both checking to make sure she was real- and keeping her there beside him.

Not that she would leave of course- the mission was to important to just walk away from.

Midnight was drawing closer- the more the hour hand ticked on the giant foreboding clock above the heads, the more tightly Momo found herself holding on to Shouto. She guided him slowly to the position point, tucking them away into the folds of the shadowy corner where no one could see them.

She couldn’t see his face clearly, but she could feel the sad realization in him as she pulled out a gun.

She really wasn’t what she said she was their entire relationship.

Her hand clasped tightly around the gun, forcing herself to push aside the guilt that was threatening to take over and focus on prepping for the job. Shouto stepped back slightly from her, watching her in such a wearily way that she almost broke and reassured him. Almost, but above the dancing people and merging crowd, the giant clock ticked closer and closer to that crucial moment.

“Why didn’t you tell me.”

Shouto’s voice was low, but filled with subtle pleading as Momo loaded her gun with ease, though she faltered at his question.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” She asked in return, postponing her answering that question for as long as she could. Shouto cast his eyes at her with confusion.

“I quite doing this when I was eighteen. By the time I met you I considered it all in my past.” She remembered that. Not that exactly, but him mentioning a few times during their dating that he had a past he was trying to move forward from- and that she was his new life.

And all she did was bring him back to the life he was trying to leave behind.

‘Some new life I am.’ Was all Momo could think bitterly.

“Then why are you here tonight?”

Shouto folded his arms and looked away from her and outwards the sea of moving dresses and suits.

“My father blackmailed me into doing this.”

“What did he threaten?” The words left Momo’s mouth before she could stop them. Simple though they seemed it held more truth in it then she would have liked to reveal. She knew Endeavor’s favorite form of blackmail was threatening.

And, since Shouto had never told her, that meant only one clear, painful thing.

And as Shouto turned to her with a snowstorm of understanding and hurt in his eyes, Momo knew he figured out just what that thing was.

“You.”

Shouto’s answer was as simple as her question, though it sunk down deep into Momo as she knew her question had done to him.

If only she had told Shouto what she did- what she TRULY did for a living- then he wouldn’t be standing next to her, hurt gleaming from his face as the truth about what she did and who she worked for coming out into the open in such biting ways.

Shouto appeared to be on the same train of thought, moving slightly so he was leaning against a pillar and face only half illuminated by a beam light. The distrust and pain even more evident in his eyes.

Momo couldn’t look at him. Especially when he asked the question that she was dreading to hear. And the one she couldn’t answer.

“Why didn’t you tell me Momo.” His voice was low, and her name rolled off his tongue as it always did and sent shivers down her spine- but unlike other times where the shiver was caused by the desire or love in his voice, this time it was caused by the disheartened decibels that escaped his mouth and revealed just how much this had cut him and his trust of her.

His image of his intelligent and loving wife had been pierced deep- and Momo could only pray as she tightened the strings of her dress that she would be able to repair it.

“I… can’t tell you.” Momo hated her feeble and lackluster answer. Hated how his emotions withdrew and concealed themselves at it, how his eyes turned cold as he accepted that he didn’t know the person standing in front of him.

And seeing that scared Momo more than any mission she had ever been on.

“I can’t tell you here.” She corrected, onyx eyes lifting to gage the room as she slipped the gun back into her purse, and from the corner of her eye she saw Shouto look away from her. “I need to finish this and then when we get home- I’ll explain everything.”

“Will you really.” Shouto asked plainly, his voice not betraying any of his emotions as he looked back at her unbelieving. “You won’t just come home and pretend none of this happened?”

“I promise I-”

Someone was watching them. Her eyes fell onto a mop of indigo hair standing far off across the hall, his figure only barely visible through the crowd but his piercing gaze she could feel even through the crowd of people.

She didn’t know who he was, but he was suspicious. Her well trained warning bells were giving her all the signals about him, and her mind was quickly going through all the possible things she could do to throw off his suspicion.

The answer jumped into her brain as Shouto’s expectant voice called out to her.

“Momo, you’ll promise what?”

Pivoting on her heels, Momo swiftly was in front of him- her mind replacing the worry brought from the conversation with only the thoughts of throwing the indigo haired man off their tracks. He looked down at her with his arms still folded, hair in disarray from all the times he had swept through it with his fingers.

Eyes glancing back towards the man, Momo spoke urgently, stepping forward as she did so they were toe to toe.

“Shouto quick kiss me!”

Surprise flashed through his features- though Momo did not witness all of them as she stepped forward even more and brought their mouths together, eyes closing on instinct as the familiar feeling of kissing him took over.

She knew in the back of her mind that she was on a time limit- that the clock was soon going to strike midnight and she would have to release herself from Shouto’s arms that had wrapped around her waist and traced down her back, and that she would have to keep her promise and tell him everything about her secret life.

And that would most likely change their relationship forever.

After all, this would make Shouto question everything she tells him. Even her explanation he will question, forever the little thought in the back of his head reminding him that she lied once, she could always lie again.

Though as they broke apart, Shouto with his arms still around her and Momo not letting her interlocked fingers keeping her arms around his neck release just yet, she made a decision.

“Shouto…” She whispered, focusing on putting all the emotions she could allow herself for this one, one moment of openness during work. “I promise, that I will never lie to you again.” He looked unbelieving, though Momo supposed she should have expected that. She had no time to ease his worries however, as the clock above struck twelve, and its announcement of the new night rang out around them. Signifying, she had to go.

Leaning forward one last time, Momo gave him a short peck on the lips, lingering a moment longer then she should.

She ran her fingers through his hair, fixing them back neatly again, and she whispered into his lips.

“Go home and wait for me Shouto, please.”

And then she released herself from him and remerged herself back into the crowd, leaving a numb Shouto to lean back against the pillar and gaze up at the ceiling, lips pursed slightly as a small sigh left them.

And after a few minutes, he got up from the pillar, and also rejoined the crowd.

No sign of Momo anywhere.

[thunderstaruniversalenterprises]

Ch 1 Once Upon a Time

Have you ever had one of those days when your past and present lives end up colliding and intertwining somewhere along the way?  I know it may sound crazy but hear me out.  I guess to fully understand how crazy things can get when your true love and soulmate are involved is to start at the beginning.  We all have three personalities, our royal form which in his case is Karyson Gabriel Wolfe of Thaddea, his human and present form Tristan Michael Llewellyn, and his hero form Knight Wolf.  But somehow his royal side got separated from the other two parts of his personality and landed back in Thaddea with no memories of our past together. This is the story of how through a crazy case of mistaken identity, lies, deceit, rivals, hidden agendas, conspiracy, invasion of privacy, blackmail, and manipulation my true love and I as Reimeiko Thunderis made it back to each other and full circle.  I am known as Reimeiko Christyne Amaryllis Thunderis Wolfe by royal standards, Queen of Thunderia and Thaddea thanks to my getting married to Karyson before the last battle with Darcien’s forces. My father, his Knights and fellow royals had to use their combined powers to send us here to be reborn and find each other again.  The problem was none of us had any memory of our pasts until our respective guardians found us and reunited us.  But that is another story for another time.  Anyway, when we were all reborn here, I was born Jamison Logan McKagan the eldest daughter of Robert and Veronica McKagan also known as Thor and Kyiandra Thunderis of Thunderia.  But you already know that, if you know my story.  Anyway, I am getting outrageously off track.  But when this all started, I had no doubt how it would end because of Karyson and our past together.  But boy was I wrong.  I had never felt so betrayed in my life.  How I came into this as Reimeiko Thunderis instead of who I am in the human form?  Well I will tell you.  It all starts here at the Coronation Ball.  On this night, not only will Garyson be taking his place as king, but he will also be choosing his future bride.  At the doors of the grand ballroom stood Jamison Logan McKagan Llewellyn also known as Reimeiko Christyne Amaryllis Thunderis Wolfe of Thunderia and Thaddea.  The Lady Knight of Thunder was getting ready to make a grand entrance.  Tonight was the night for her.  As she entered the ballroom, the herald announced her.

        "Lady Reimeiko Christyne Thunderis." the herald announced. She walked further into the ballroom spotting her friends and Knights from back home as well as some of the friends she had made along the way or so she thought.  Her brother and sister in their Knight forms showed up close to her speaking telepathically.

     (I know that the connection between Karyson and Reimeiko is solid.) Knight Shadow said. (But you might want to take the connection between Jamison McKagan and Tristan Llewellyn into consideration.)

      (Tristan is Karyson’s human form though, remember brother?) Knight Nova replied. (They were separated into their own individual personas somehow and we must figure out how to reunite them, but now is not the time.  The Knights are all stationed throughout the palace grounds, fully powered but dressed for this ball.)

      (Do you not think that you are overdoing it just a bit?) She asked. (How are all the background checks into the key players going?  One cannot know how to play the game without a scorecard and details on everyone involved especially who gains and loses the most.  There are a lot of secrets here and I want to know all of it.  Not just the key players but the background players too.  Leave no stone unturned, leave no passage unexplored.  We had orders to do that before we left.)

(Our wisdom knights are taking care of that and have been since before Dad debriefed us.) Shadow replied. (Anyway, we will keep in close contact with you as the night progresses)

Shadow and Nova made their way into the crowd to check in with the other Knights as Jamison glided over to talk to two other suitors in the competition.  For some reason, she suddenly felt uneasy, why, she did not know.  Granted, she had seen and dealt with her share of evil tyrants, love rivals, band rivals, and threatened hostile takeovers, but she and her Knights had always made it through almost unscathed.

    “Reimeiko, you look so beautiful.” Elenia Zhang gushed. “The prince will not be able to take his eyes off of you all night in that gown.” Jamison drifted back and forth between the first debriefing and present day.

    “First off we have Elenia Zhang.” Marco said. “There is not much known about her and her family except that they are Thaddean nobles who live outside the typical line.  In addition to being a Thaddean noble, Elenia is multi-talented which will be one of her strengths and make her a good ally as well.  Knowing you Jamie, you would have her and everyone else won over in no time.”

    “Hah, he might like the way she looks,” Lamani Evander sneered. “But when it comes to choosing his future queen, he knows who will be able to rule by his side and that woman will be me and me alone.” Back to the debriefing.

   Lamani Evander, she was so evil that she made Dariana Lanoson look and act like an angel, but even though she could scare or intimidate others, she did not scare or intimidate Jamison or Reimeiko.  Long before, Jamison had faced off with the Federation of Evil’s many different factors, love rivals, rival bands, threatened hostile take-overs and she knew how to fight dirty if she had to.  In her royal form of Reimeiko Thunderis, she fought like a man although she was a woman.  Along with her siblings and fellow Knights, she trained from the time she was young to be able to take down and fight the forces of evil who continued relentlessly to take them down and take over the universe.  Reimeiko and Jamison were rejoined or reunited when Jamison was fifteen and was discovered being Princess Reimeiko Thunderis while in her hero form of Knight Thunder and her boyfriend Tristan Llewellyn in his hero form of Knight Wolf was discovered as being Prince Karyson Wolfe of Thaddea which was who Jamison and the others were vying for.  She knew something about Karyson, his true siblings Corydon and Racine, and Samuel and Francine that the other people present did not know.  Samuel, Francine, and the Thaddean Trio were immortal like Reimeiko, her siblings, and Knights; and no matter what the other ladies of court thought, Karyson was Reimeiko’s eternal soulmate.

“Well I can say this without any conviction.” Jamison said. “It will be his choice who rules by his side not yours, and may the best woman win.” To herself she said. “I know it will be me because I have been to the future, I am the Queen in it and none of you are there.”

“I am sure that I will win because I have known him all his life.” Lamani replied.

Jamison rolled her eyes and shook her head as Lamani walked away.  The only other woman in the running so-to-speak was a woman by the name of Almeda Fitzgerald who was being sponsored by the present queen Alyssa Candelaria.  No one had really seen her through the competition because she had been staying close to the queen.  Just then a trumpet sounded, and a herald announced the arrival of Karyson Tristan Michael Llewellyn Wolfe Prince of Thaddea and he was heading right in the direction of Jamison and Elenia.  He took her hand and bowed. “Princess Reimeiko, may I have the pleasure of the next dance with you?” Prince Karyson asked.

“You want to dance with me?” Jamison asked. “I am ready to do much more than just dance with you, but I would love to.”

“I was hoping you would say that.” Karyson replied. He took her hand and whisked her away to the dance floor of the grand ballroom.  As the orchestra plays, he leads her into a waltz around the room her gown swirling as they glide through the steps.

“To think a few months ago as Jamison McKagan,” Jamison acknowledged. “I did not even know the first steps to the waltz.”

“And now no one would ever know that your human form was not born into this life.” Karyson replied. “I hope you never have cause to regret coming here.”

“What do you mean?  Why would you say that?” Jamison asked. “You and Tristan will be reunited before this crazy adventure is over, then so will we be.”

“So much has happened.” he said pausing as the song winds, his hands lingering on her waist and his eyes searched hers which were filled with uncertainty, fear, and confusion. “I need to speak with you.”

“Is something wrong?” Jamison asked, fearful of what the answer would be.  Despite the soulmate connection between them, she knew that something was not right.

“There is nothing really wrong per se.” he replied. “It has been nearly impossible to even get a moment alone with you these last few days, but I need to know--”

“Prince Garyson, may I be so bold as to cut in?” Duchess Lamani Evander asked.

“Oh yes of course.” Karyson replied. “Do not worry, Reimeiko, we will talk later.”

[Yeah right] Jamison thought sourly.  As Lamani and Karyson glided away, Jamison found herself wandering off the dance floor and running into a familiar face in the crowd. “Derrick? I did not know that you would be here tonight.  You look so handsome in your formal uniform instead of your usual mix of clothes.”

“Karyson insisted.” Derrick replied. “I guess I should congratulate you.  You look exactly like one of them.  I guess you are one of them now in these days.”

“Please do not lump me in with those two-faced, hypocritical, narcissistic fleet of bozos and bimbos.” Jamison pleaded. “Real people like you are more fun to be around.  You and I are cut from the same cloth.  We do not fit into their world of snobby losers and I thank God that we do not.”

“This time tomorrow, you might be queen and then our lives are going to go in very different directions.” he said.

“If I am chosen to be his bride, but I have a sick feeling that I will not be,” Jamison said. “I will still be me.  Titles do not make me who I am or who I will be.  Nothing will take me over.”

“Looking at you right now, it is hard to believe that.” Derrick said with a sad look. “This place has a tendency of changing people, and some of us like the woman you used to be.  You know, that right?”

“I promise, I am the same person I was from the beginning, even under this fancy, hard to breathe in a ball gown.” Jamison replied. “Despite everything that has happened, I have not changed.  I am the same Reimeiko Christyne Amaryllis Thunderis, Jamison Logan McKagan Llewellyn.  If there is ever a time you feel that I get too cocky, just remind me of the first time we met, I was taking out the garbage to the big dumpster outside and waiting tables at Russo’s bar and grill.”

“It does feel like it was so long ago.” Derrick acknowledged. “I cannot believe that it has only been a few months since this all began, and it feels more like once upon a time now more than ever after everything.”

[v3-killing-harmony-imagines]

V3 cast as Traitors

this hurts me to write because I remember the second game traitor :((

-mod Saihara 

IMPORTANT!:  I wrote this as if the reader((y/n))was part of the killing game, and may or may not the the s/o. It’s up to the reader 

this is way too long , so for the anon who asked, imagine is under the cut

Kaede:

she’s the what?

the traitor?

no... how 

how is it that the girl standing in front of you betrayed each and every one of you 

Angie, Himiko, Ouma, even Saihara 

everyone 

she helped everyone of them die 

all this time she was telling everyone to not give up.. and now this?

she’s been found out...now what’s going to happen to the remaining students?

the remaining students just stand there, in horror 

and the bright look in Kaede’s eyes are gone, every hint her previous self gone as she talks about how naive everyone was

“Too bad, this is the ending Shuichi died for.”

your numb, monokuma is laughing-he’s won and he knows it 

then a piano starts to play- but it’s different. Its as if the entire piano is set to a minor scale, making everything sound dark

its a mix of flats and sharps you hear at the end, and then your world goes dark

Saihara: 

he’s smiling 

smiling as he betrays everyone 

smiling as he kills Amami 

smiling when everyone find out how he really is 

he’s disappointed of course, but he’s glad he could pull of a trick of that caliber!

and your left screaming 

he promised 

he promised

he promised

he promised that he’d protect everyone, he promised Kaede that she wouldn’t have died in vain

he promised 

and he lied 

you ask him why.why.why.why.why.why

and he gives you a look of pain

“I just wanted to feel alive.”

and monokuma is beginning the execution.

he’s not the same detective that you met in the gym.

he’s not the Saihara you knew

he takes his hat off, and looks at you.

 he’s smiling 

and then its over 

Maki: 

her hair is flowing in the night sky as you find out.

and she frowns

how very,very bad of you to figure it out 

who tipped Angie off

who knew about Korekiyo’s past

she was a caregiver

loved by kids

not very sociable 

and has a bad personality 

she’s sighing as she knows what needs to be done 

dispose

she can’t be found out

she needs to stay alive 

“You’re a pain, y/n. I knew you were going to be a hassle eventually.”

And she hits you and you go down

you realize that you passed out when you wake up

but something’s different 

your tied up

and she’s the only one here

she brings you food. And even reads to you.

She keeps you safe.

She trains you until you follow her every command.

even if that means dying 

she lets you see other people now, a smile on your face as you cant feel anything

looks like Maki has a trump card up her sleeve 

Kaito:

He’s the fourth murderer  

he didn’t plan on being the traitor, of course but he had no choice 

he was blackmailed

that’s why he had to tell Mokokuma about the plan

Mokokuma would have killed the person he loved

He couldn’t let that happen 

he had to 

Everyone is voting for him, what do you do?

you suddenly realize why the trial-room is this big

why the murder was the only one that knocked the victim out before hand 

You can’t look at him when everyone votes correctly 

But he’s desperate to look at you

you can tell he’s trying so hard to get your attention

but you know what?

you’re not about to give it to him.

so when he finally speeds over to you as monokuma calls time up, you brush him off

“Get away.”

and he’s so hurt 

his eyes are as deep as the night sky, every twinkle of stars gone

finally with choking breaths he manages:

“I just wanted to protect you.”

You keep your composure until you get back to your room

then you break down

because he knew someone had to die, and he chose himself over you.

and you couldn’t even comfort him in his last moments. 

It hurts you sosososo much

almost enough to die

But also enough to get revenge

Iruma:

It makes sense, she’s the ultimate inventor 

She’s the only one who could have upgraded those machines monokuma controls 

she’s the only one who could have helped plan the new motive 

she’s shaking on her podium when you finally figure it out

but you cant do anything about it? can you?

she isn’t the killer and no one can trust her now 

so what’s the point ?

she says she did it because she just wanted to get out of here alive.

she didn’t like anyone here at all. She just wanted herself to live.

and now your whole world is shimmering 

and you realize you’re crying 

what was it then? your yelling now. 

why did she spend time with you then? When she hated everyone in the first place?

she tries to defend herself, saying she doesn’t hate you guys...

“But you’d let us die to save your fucking life.”

your voice is full of malice 

She Told you that she enjoyed being with you

how could have been so stupid?

And then Monokuma steps in.

What good is a spy that’s been found out?

and then she realizes whats going to happen 

she’s going to die anyways.

and shes crying and pleading for someone so save her.

no one will

you watch as the light drain out of her eyes, just like she watched the light from Angie’s eyes fade.

and your glad she got what was coming for her. 

but now there’s an even bigger question 

Who killed Iruma Mui?

Kiibo:

The first thing monokuma does when you find out is to laugh

Kiibo-Hope,Huh. How ironic 

he forced Kiibo to kill

he forced Kiibo to gather information 

and now he’s forcing Kiibo to kill the remaining students, in front of their eyes

Kiibo’s ares are glowing a deadly red color as he blows up Katio 

No emotion 

and then he takes down Shirogane with a blade 

You want to run, but you can’t

no one can defeat an AI

you cant move. its impossible 

your trying to remember the shy robot you met the first day

and now he’s choking Tenko

The doors are locked, everyone is trapped in this arena 

Gonta throws Kiibo to the other side of the room

there’s the crunching of rocks and metal before Kiibo gets up again

and he cuts Gonta, blood spraying like snow

and now he’s coming after you

and you just.cant.move. 

Kiibo lifts the blade for the final strike 

but you don’t feel anything.

reason being Ouma took the blade for you.

Ouma. Of all people.

He’s been impaled through the stomach. 

You can see the fear in his eyes as coughs blood, some of it dribbling down his chin 

He falls. 

You’re the last one alive, covered in blood and forced to look into the killer’s eyes.

Ouma saved you. But that only extended your lifetime by seconds 

You don’t have the energy to cry.

Kiibo brings the blade up, covered in different layers of blood.

“Any last words.”

he states it in a monotone voice.

You don’t really have your thoughts straight enough, so you just tell him what you’ve wanted to tell him. 

“I still believe you can be human.”

He actually falters

and then your world goes red.

but you wouldn’t doubt it that Monokuma will be able to control Kiibo for the next killing game 

Himiko:

She did it for you

You were always the one to find food when you two were hungry 

You and her were the only family to each-other

You made sure she got enough to eat

Even if that meant giving all your food to her

You were both together ever since both of you were abandoned 

and you survived 

and now you, the SHSL scavenger, has to watch as your sister is found out to be the traitor

Now people are saying that you could possibly be the traitor 

“NO!STOP! I’m the one who’s the traitor here! Leave y/n out of it!”

some people still look skeptical but they watch as you approach Himiko

“why?”

“I had to pay you back for all those days where you made sure I was safe, even if that meant putting your life at risk.”

Tears started to well up in her eyes

“ I didn’t want to do it. But it was either me or you. I needed to, i’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.”

and then your crying, and crying and crying.

she’s not your real sister but hell, she’s the been more of a family then your real family ever was.

and you don’t want her to leave you. nonononono.

who’s going to keep you company on cold nights when the only thing you can think of is how cold and hungry you are?

who’s going to preform magic tricks to help earn money?

the only member of your family is going to die. Your terrified 

You cant let go of her, if you do then it’ll be the last time you ever see her.

Your yelling at Mokokuma to please,please please please please please don’t kill her. Anyone but her.

But she knows that she has to go.

It takes both Tenko and Gonta to pry you away.

Himiko gives you one last look as monokuma is yelling that its punishment time 

She places her your hands, giving a weak smile.

Your being pulled away, your throat is raw but you couldn’t care less.

She’s just about to be dragged off when her face contorts and tears fall 

“No...I don’t want to die.”

And that’s the final strike for you.

everything goes dark

you don’t come out of your room for days, Tojo brings you food and water but your not hungry 

It takes you weeks to realize she would want you to get out here.

Make the mastermind suffer.

so you finally go out.

You can deal with the grief for now.

Until you can get out of this game.

Korekiyo: 

he’s bored by the time you find out

I mean come on, it took you that long to put the pieces together 

everyone is yelling at him that they won’t trust him anymore,that he’s going to be suspected of every single murder now.

“Really, when did I ever said that I cared.”

He tells a story

A story about how he was always a pawn

how he worked for his mother, obeyed every command 

he sharpened his talents. He obeys his owner 

He was bought, and was put into this killing game to make notes for his master.

He doesn’t care if he dies or lives, he’s even working with the mastermind.

he confesses all of this at once, leaving everyone speechless 

the only truth he ever told was that he loved humans 

He’s been intrigued since day 1

And that’s why he’s in here

To study their behavior 

To know them better than they would know themselves

And if people die, the better.

Because it shows humans their true personality  

His eyes cloud over as he talks about his master, he won’t ever ever ever ever eeeeverrr betray them.

And that’s why the mastermind is letting him say this, because they know he wont say anything, even if they torture him.

‘Ahhh, but alas, it seams as if my master doesn’t even remember me. You see, they also decided to join this game, how wonderful of them.”

And the room drops a few degrees.

because now even monokuma is confirming it, one of these people alive is the mastermind.

.......

and you wonder.....

just mayyyyyyybe....

that your part of something that you can’t remember.....

Angie: 

nihahah!

your right! Its! Angie!

she jumps up in down in various poses as she is convicted of being the traitor. 

Angie?

How is she, the most energetic person in this entire game... the traitor?

She’s laughing, as if someone said something funny

“ Angie told allllllll of your secrets!”

but..why?

what would she get out of betraying everyone?

“you are are so silly!Angie didn’t betray you!”

she sold everyone out she told the mastermind everything that they were planing. She sabotaged the escape plan.

“You DIRTY LITTLE SON OF A-”

thwack

and Kaito is down  

“neh heh heh! Don’t get too close Momota-kun~”

She didn’t kill him, of course. But he’s injured.

“Hey... Angie-san... what do you get out of going this?”

and now she tilts her head like you’ve just asked her why humans need air 

“Isn’t it obvious? God has made it this way!”

God?

“It’s God’s will for Angie to be the traitor! So Angie trusts in God!”

everyone is shoring her glares, because really?’ she’s going to use that excuse?

you might as well ask...

“ Hey Angie, what is God’s will for us?”

She gives you a darkened smile.

“God can’t hear you.”

And she leaves the courtroom.

Gonta:

h...how? How could someone like him be the traitor?

In fact, he doesn’t know it himself

what! He...... he....betrayed everyone...

Oh no..oh no oh no oh no.....

Because he didn’t mean to

he didn’t know that saying that would help Monokuma... he really didn’t 

And then he’s crying because he never ever meant to hurt anyone.

and just because he accidentally told monokuma about the hidden hallway..

now all the information about the outside is gone

everything that would tell them how to get out is gone 

and of course, people are angry

they yell at how he messed up

how he’s useless 

how no one’s going to trust him now 

and it makes your angry 

everyone is yelling and Gonta is crying and shaking 

and its when someone calls him dumb, you snap

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!”

well that got everyone's attention. 

“I DON’T SEE ANY OF YOU BRINGING UP THE FACT THAT ALL OF YOU WERE TOO PANSY TO KEEP STALLING FOR TIME. OR MAYBE THE FACT THAT GONTA WAS TERRIFIED TO TALK TO MONOKUMA. OR THE FACT THAT HE MANAGED TO KEEP TALKING FOR A FULL 20 MINUTES.”

your breath is coming in raged inhalations

“AND THE FACT IS THAT  YOU CAN’T JUST BLAME HIM. EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU WERE TOO GREEDY TO WAIT YOUR TURN TO GO ONE BY ONE IN THAT HALL. YOU JUST ALL WANTED TO GET OUT OF HERE.”

your dragging Gonta away now, away from these sick people 

“If you need us, then too bad, we’re not giving anyone help now.”

There were people that didn’t blame Gonta of course, but they still didn’t stand up for him did they?

he thanks you as you get him something to drink and some tissues.

everyone eventually apologies, Gonta 100% forgives them 

you, on the other hand are a different story 

looks like everyone is back at square one.

Tenko:

she’s the traitor 

the reality of the situation finally gets to you when you see her dead body

she just wanted to protect her family 

Monokuma had forced her to be the traitor

 her akido master, her parents her family.

They were all being tortured 

she heard them scream 

she had to 

she had to 

she had invited you over to talk the night before her death 

she asks what you think of her

“Tenko, it’s OK... I don’t blame you. I know that you had no choice.”

she’s crying 

thank you, she’s saying.

Thank you thank you thank you 

she’s so happy.

your don’t hate her. you don’t hate her 

you take her hands and tell her that you’ll always be here for her 

and then she tells you that she likes you

she’s grown to like the things you do, the way your hair is, the way you smile 

she likes you

but then she tells you that she needs to go... that she can’t be with her for much longer

You tell her to please, please please please be safe.

and she takes her choker off.

she hands it to you, saying that you can give it back to her in the morning, and that she’ll make sure that she can see it you again

you tell her that you want o be with her, you want to take her out for coffee once you get out of here

and then she asks to kiss you.

its soft and is too short, and when she pulls away she’s trying to be cheerful

that was just a goodnight kiss, she says, there’ll be more to come.

and then she waves you goodbye 

the next time you see her is the next morning, dead

and she lied 

you plant a goodbye kiss on her cheek before you leave for the trial, when no one is looking

and now your hanging onto the ribbon with the bell as tightly as you can 

she lied

with trembling hands, you put it around your neck and fasten it on

and the trial begins 

Hoshi: 

He warned you.

he warned each and every one of you to not get close to him

yet you still did 

how does it feel? To have hoped so hard only to fall into despair ?

Well, you can’t say he didn’t warn you

he’s done bad things in the past, why would he stop now ?

and now your crying 

because you should have known better 

everyone else did, so why didn’t you?

he asks you this as your sobbing 

“B-because I believe in everyone! that includes you!”

Believe?

that’s stupid 

“I Know that even the worst of people can change so that’s why-”

“Shut up!”

your’re punched in the face and go down

you feel a searing pain on your head, hot liquid trickles down your face

he just wants you to shut up.

you should be hating him, contorting beneath the despair 

but you’re not

because you have hope 

you tell him that he can change, you get punched again

and again

and again

he does it over and over

wanting you to hate him

wanting you to say mercy, just once 

but you refuse 

finally, your not moving

he’s done it 

he thinks

and then you move 

and now he’s crying 

because why

why wont you let him win?

and you refuse to fight back

and he can’t take it 

he runs away, like a coward 

he’s found the next day, hanging from the ceiling 

Toujo:

the first thing she does is apologize. 

apologize fore all that she’s done

she just needed to save herself 

she needed to return to the place where she has worked hard for everything 

she needed to do whatever it took to not get killed 

w h a t e v e r i t t o o k 

she’s sad yes, because she knows what failure means 

and she has failed

and she’s addressing everyone, and she’s not looking in your eye 

she’s not the type of person to loose 

so she must do everything she can to not loose 

she needs to do this, she says 

she’s sorry

and she runs away

your following her before you even know whats going on

and now you’ve lost her 

no,please no.

You run around, looking in the library, the kitchen, the dormitories. 

you can’t find her

finally, Shirogane tells you to take a break

you tell her to fuck off

more searching, more searching 

and finally you find her

she’s ditched the maid outfit 

it looks as if she;s been waiting for you

“I hope you didn’t have to come.”

and you can’t hold it in any longer 

you tell her she doesn’t need to do this, she can survive with everyone 

she tells you that it’s impossible, that Monokuma doesn’t like useless pawns 

it’s kill or be killed for her 

you won’t let her leave

so you call monokuma, after a while you two work out a deal

Toujo lives if you become the traitor 

you tell her that she doesn’t need to kill, your going to get her out alive

and maybe it’s because of the time you two have spent together, but she trusts you. 

she won’t tell anyone about the new predicament 

so you two make up a lie

about how she was being controlled

she has to act completely different now, but only around everyone else

they believe you

you keep her by your side 24/7

your going to make sure she lives. no matter what 

even if you have to taint your soul

Amami:

“It was a bit obvious, wasn’t it?”

He was the SHSL ??? After all

he was very much suspicious from the start 

and yet, everyone trusted him with open eyes

they even saw how his demeanor would change, how he somehow knew that it wouldn’t be as easy to leave the school

and now he’s the one left standing 

you yell why

he investigated with you

you two ate meals together 

you had eachother’s backs for the trials 

and he’s the traitor?

he... he helped kill everyone?

you just don’t want to believe it.

he tells the remaining students that they’re all going to die

that his ruler will kill them all

people ask him if this ‘ruler’ is Ouma..

he laughs 

“ As if someone of that level could ever compare to my ruler!”

He goes on, about how his ruler takes care of all his subjects who do as they are told

they are loved, they get food and drink

he tells them that he was offered the chance to help his ruler with one of their blissful killing games.

and of course he just couldn't say no.

he belongs to his ruler, that’s why he is here in the first place

he looks directly at you 

“ Now don’t worry, I don’t intend on killing anyone myself...I just might... help a little bit.”

he’s smiling the same carefree smile 

and then you notice that he’s wearing a mask

and the room is starting to get warmer 

now your friends are collapsing 

 and it hurts to breath 

and your eyes are on fire

now someone is dragging you 

...........................

you wake up in a white room

you cant move

And then a girl is above you

she introduces herself as.... mu...kro?

you can’t really tell, your hearing isn’t really that good

she tells you that you won.

the game ends when 2 people are left standing

you just happened to get lucky and not die until last 

Your going be soo happy

it’ll be you and Amami, the great leader has ordered that you two carry on another killing game in another country

you two will be lovers

partners in crime 

And you want to object, 

Maki, Kiibo... everyone 

they’re nobody anymore

you don’t have a choice

You either die a hero, or live to see yourself be the villain 

and you were forced to live.

Shirogane:

She denies it, of course

 it takes multiple pieces of hard evidence in order to make her confess 

and boy is it ever hard

your yelling at her, noticing the holes in her facts adn pointing out when she slips up

it takes both you and Saihara most of the afternoon in the trial room to get a conviction

she’s starting to sweat, and her hair is gradualy getting messier and messier 

and she starts pulling at it when you call her out on another thing

it hurts you, to see the person you thought you knew act like this 

but you keep going on

pressing further and further 

come on, come on

just one more thing 

one more and you could crack this entire case 

“kaede didn’t see the cloth becasue the body was covering it!”

oh no

it’s over 

“Shirogane... how did you know that the body was moved?”

“Isn’t that obvious, the killer stabbed the victim in the back, they would have either fell forward or landed on their side.”

“No. That’s wrong, you can clearly see that there was a hole for the knife to go into, the killer simply had to knock the victim down!”

and then it hits her 

shit 

she shouldn’t have said that 

and now she’s cornered

she snaps in the blink of an eye

her eyes glassy, reflecting a sea-blue spirals in her eyes

“I’ve been found out.”

She’s not talking to anyone, she’s just stating it for herself 

she doesn’t say much after that, and the voting goes smoothly

but now you realize the reality of what’s going to happen 

Shirogane, knocked students out and took them to the mastermind 

she was given protection

a fair trade 

but one of her plans went wrong

she did’t even realize what had happened until she had killed them

you sadly don’t feel bad

your sad that your friend is about to die, it hurts you so much

but she tortured you

for hours and hours and hours

you watch as the guillotine comes down on her head. 

and then you start to cry.

 Ouma:

the SHSL supreme ruler, is a sidekick.

the though by itself is enough to make you laugh

combined with the fact that he is working with the mastermind of the killing game that you’re in, it’s less comforting 

people had suspected him of being the mastermind, many many people 

and he turns out to just be a traitor 

but then as more people died, and everyone grew closer and closer to confronting the mastermind, Ouma began to act strangely 

he would have dark circles under his eyes when you saw him

he rarely showed up for the morning meet up in the cafeteria

he looked more panicked 

and then it was the final trial  

it’s just you, Saihara and kiibo that are still alive when you find out 

and instead of laughing in your faces, he starts crying 

the room is dead silent 

you can’t think straight, the idea alone of Ouma breaking down is enough for tears to start rolling down your face 

your gripping the poduim for dear life as saihara says the mastermind’s name in a shaky breath 

 it’s Kaede

saihara is devastated, of course

and as she pops up in a dramatic entrance and begins ranting on about something to do with hope,Ouma is still sniffling 

you can tell by the way he’s shaking that he’s trying his hardest to keep composed 

“OI, Shut up will you!”

as Kaede’s voice echos throughout the room, Ouma gives a small wimpier and shuts up

and hell, now you’re angry 

because how dare she 

you’ve been the one to protect him from the other accusing students, you always held onto that hope that he was a good person all along 

and she killed them all

amami, Tenko, Angie, Maki, Kaito, Tsumigi and everyone else 

they’re dead because of her 

and now your tears are gone

you’re filled to the brim with rage 

and you ask her why? Why would you do this?

she tells it all,she did it because she likes too

and Ouma?

he’s her slave

Ouma goes rigid at her words, you can see he’s scared 

you don’t want to believe it, but Kaede has evidence

and then she talks about her talent 

she’s not really the SHSL pianist

she’s got Ouma’s talent, she just let him ‘borrow’ it 

 Ouma is the SHSL slave

no no no no no

you don’t want to even think about that 

“Ouma, take off your scarf.”

he has to, he has no choice

and sure enough, there’s a collar there.

it’s not one of those old fashion ones, it resembles a shock collar

there’s red welts and purple bruises where it’s been pulled at

you want o cry out as Ouma begins to shake, because you just wanted to protect everyone, and you failed

Saihara and Kiibo have to both work against the mastermind, but you know it’s pointless

you are all found guilty for a non-existent murder 

Ouma saying sorry over and over and over

but what’s the point

this game was meant to kill everyone 

you’re sitting under a crusher when Ouma locks eyes with you

eyes full of fear and pain and the wright of the world in those deep orbs

“I tried.”

the press comes down in a quick motion

and you don’t realize anything 

[jhathaway71]

Rebecca White: A Bexit Story

Faith Dingle recently responded to Sarah regarding sarcasm, “It is the lowest form of wit.” Only she left off the rest of Oscar Wilde’s quote, “but the highest form of intelligence.” 

I’m not claiming to be an intelligent individual, and while sarcasm is an unkind type of humour it is one of the way I find myself communicating lately when it comes to Iain MacLeod and the characters Robert and Aaron. 

Disclaimer: I do NOT hate Iain MacLeod. As the showrunner for Emmerdale, he has a responsibility for the lives of fifty or so fictitious characters. He cannot devote his career to any one person (Aaron or Robert or even Rebecca) or couple (Robert & Aaron) that reside in Emmerdale. On the other side, he cannot ensure any one person (ME) or faction with the viewing audience will always be happy with his decisions. 

More importantly, he has an awesome responsibility to ensure Emmerdale is successful, not only for his own personal and financial wellbeing, but that of the entire production staff. My snarky and sometimes bitter commentary aside, I do NOT believe he is actively trying to destroy any characters, couples, or the show itself. 

In prior posts I made comments about Iain MacLeod and the production staff’s failure of bringing the character Rebecca White to life. Setting aside my sarcastic and bitter personal opinions of why he felt the need to defend her, I revisited the article titled “Emmerdale Boss Defends Rebecca White Over Robron Chaos: “I Feel Sorry For Her.” 

Now, with this post I will explain my critical reasoning and analysis as a viewer as to my opinion on why I find her character development a failure, why I do not sympathize with her or even find her remotely redeemable. 

From the article:

He explained: ‘I feel a bit sorry for Rebecca and I might be in the minority there, but if you examine what’s gone on in her life and put aside for a moment that we all love Aaron to the point where we just want to squeeze him and think about Rebecca’s story… 

‘She met Robert some years ago, before he’d met Aaron, fell in love with him, he got her pregnant, forced her into an abortion, he dumped her and married her sister, then he tricked her to Emmerdale and led her into believing there was hope for them when there wasn’t, got her pregnant again, she tried to move on with her life with Ross and just at the point she was doing that Robert got drunk, rang her up and seduced her again. Objectively speaking Robert’s put her through the mill, badly!’ 

Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2017/04/28/emmerdale-boss-defends-rebecca-white-over-robron-chaos-i-feel-sorry-for-her-6602256/#ixzz4fhvYxynt

Notwithstanding my snarky comment about his “revisionist” history of Rebecca White, I would hope that it was unintended at the press event. Again, Iain MacLeod is responsible for upwards of fifty characters in the Emmerdale universe and it should not be expected for him to know and recite all of the finite details of all of them individually, including the ones he introduced. 

Saying that, I do want to correct the order of events he provided and supply additional details on the potential inconsistency and evolution of Robert and Rebecca’s relationship to support the “revisionist” direction their story has taken recently on screen. 

The Robert & Rebecca Backstory as told through conversations: 

Lawrence was the one who brought Robert into his daughter’s lives by choosing to employ him (25-October-2016 Lachlyn confronts Rebecca about having an affair with Robert while he was engaged to his mother. Her response, “He used me”. Lachlyn outs the affair spectacularly in the Woolpack.) 

Robert met Rebecca at a garden party when he came onto her behind her boyfriend’s back (Robert and Rebecca’s discussion from 16-March-2017 episode) 

Robert forced Rebecca to have an abortion to cover his mistake and make sure Chrissie doesn’t find out, not wanting it to ruining his plans. (11-April-2017 Robert/Rebecca conversation in the Mill) 

Robert convinced Rebecca if he was to get her pregnant again, they would be together and start a family (12-Apr-2017 Robert/Rebecca conversation outside the clinic) 

Robert explains when question by Rebecca he chose Chrissie because “she always seemed to get her own way” after it was revealed Robert was over 4 hours late to Chrissie’s birthday party where she was going to show off her new toy (him) because he had been with Rebecca in a hotel room (15-Nov-2016 Robert/Rebecca conversation in Woolie backroom) 

Robert convinces Rebecca into coming to Emmerdale under guise Chrissie had Lawrence’s will changed and then he got shot (11-October-2016 conversation in Woolie vestibule) Robert bringing Rebecca to Emmerdale was to exonerate Andy. (12-October-2016 Aaron/Robert conversation in back room) 

Actual Onscreen Evolution of Robert/Rebecca’s relationship:

[While Robert strings Rebecca along dangling the possibility of a relationship with her, he also rejects her advances professing his love for Aaron from arrival to end of November. It’s not necessary to cover each individual incident, only those that have bearing on the current situation] 

15-November-2016 Robert stops a kiss initiated by Rebecca. He states “Now is not the time”. 

29-November-2016 Rebecca blackmails Robert to help with plan to break Lachlyn out of custody at court by threatening to tell Aaron about their kiss. After he backs out, he admits to her he used her to help Andy. He proved his point that he could have had her at any time after leaning in to kiss her only to stop suddenly when she started to accept his advance. He reiterates his love for Aaron and when she asks, “You and me, it’s over then?” He honestly tells her it never even started. Later, Chrissie consoles a heartbroken Rebecca in the Home Farm office. Her response to Chrissie, “He let me down” and then later “He was using me.” 

30-November-2016 Rebecca betrays her promise to Robert telling Aaron about the kiss. Aaron lies to Rebecca telling her he already knew, that Robert told him. During this conversation Aaron told her she had been “played” by Robert. 

[December 2016-March 2017:  Rebecca admits she has accepted she will never be Robert’s other half, accepting the role of friend instead. She also plays nice appearing friendly to Aaron and Liv. Rebecca begins a relationship with Ross.] 

16-March-2017 Robert tells Rebecca he doesn’t know how much more he can take after not being able to see Aaron and not knowing the reason why 

16-March-2017 While meeting Ross for a date, Rebecca overhears Adam tell Vic he threw him out of the Mill. Later, she receives the text from Robert “Are you around anywhere?” She lies to Ross making her exit to see him at the Mill. She listens to her drunk “friend” and attempts to convince him not to give up on Aaron. 

Robert: Why are you here?

Rebecca: You texted me.

Robert: I didn’t expect you’d come.

Rebecca: Yes, you did.

And then he attempts to seduce her again getting knocked back two times before she finally gives in to his advances. 

17-March-2017 Rebecca is non-committed to any of Ross’s date ideas after she left Robert the voicemail. Ross ditches Rebecca in an attempt to save face. 

17-March-2017 When Robert comes clean with her about the previous evening being a mistake. Her response is “You used me.” She complains about how cheap he made her feel. After asking to spare Aaron the details, she doesn’t have a problem telling anyone. 

17-March-2017 When Chas later confronts her in the Home Farm office, “I bet you thought Christmas had come early when Aaron got sent down. Didn’t you, because you could finally get your claws into Robert.” Rebecca response “He used me.” with Chas’ rebuttal “He used you because you let him!” 

21-March-2017 She blames Robert for the deed, telling Robert she felt she betrayed her friend Aaron a nice guy. Rebecca promises Robert she won’t tell anyone about their one-night stand because she “hardly comes out good in this.” Before leaving she says, “I can’t believe I let you take advantage of me.” 

21-March-2017 Rebecca talks with Ross. Later they enter the Woolpack being all flirty talking about “working up quite an appetite.” She plants a kiss on Ross, then watches as Robert walks out. 

6-April-2017 Rebecca takes a home pregnancy test which comes back positive. She seems visibly upset about the results. 

10-April-2017 Rebecca tells Robert he is the father after confronting her about her pregnancy. 

11-April-2017 Robert confronts Rebecca demanding she get an abortion. We get part of the backstory of the previous abortion. Later during the argument, after Robert told Rebecca her keeping the baby would not cause him to fall in love with her, she stated “Get over yourself. I don’t want you back.” His response, “Back? You make it sound like we had a relationship, which we never did. The only time I ever slept with you was when something went wrong with my life or I was bored.” 

12-April-2017 Outside the abortion clinic, Rebecca states she has to wait one month before she can proceed with the abortion. Robert apologized forcing Rebecca to get another abortion, with her stating he had said the same thing the last time. She followed this up with “It wasn’t the right time for us, but maybe in the future. Do you remember? You actually convinced me that if it was to happen again (the pregnancy), we would be together and starting a family.” to which Robert agreed saying he meant it at the time. 

12-April-2017 After seeing Robert/Rebecca outside the clinic arguing, Ross breaks it off with Rebecca stating “Never looking for anything serious, just a bit of fun, and this has stopped being.” 

13-April-2017 Robert leaves the voicemail for Rebecca telling her to sort out Ross and his blackmailing him over the pregnancy. 

Why do I feel Rebecca’s character development a failure? I started saying I’m not claiming to be an intelligent person, but I do not think I’m so obtuse that after 7 months I wouldn’t understand her as character or question her character motives. 

Before the 29-November-2016 episode where Rebecca blackmailed Robert, I believed she was a free spirited woman madly in love with Robert Sugden. Her love was so deep, that she was comfortable to wait until Robert finally chose her. Her many attempts to seduce him while he led her to believe they could have a future failing but not discouraging her from her goal. 

During the 29 & 30 -November-2016 episode, she was a woman comfortable blackmailing the man she loved, then struggling to accept his motivation when the plan/blackmail fail, to a vindictive woman scorned as she outed the kiss to Aaron (revenge plan with Chrissie) and finally appearing unstable and slightly delusional about Robert’s feelings for her when she says “No, he wanted me.” then Aaron throws it back in her face with “He was using you. Get over yourself. He did!” 

December 2016- 15-March 2017:  Mostly, Rebecca appears to be a self-confident and balance woman wanting to be friends with Robert, Aaron and Liv. She admits she still loves Robert openly to both Robert and Aaron, but accepts she won’t have him and “moves on with Ross”. I say mostly, because there are a few scenes scattered about where she appears questionable in her motivations. 

Her friendship with Robert and Aaron nothing more than a disguise while she plays innocent for whatever motivates her. Is she purposely feeding into Aaron’s insecurities by running to Robert her friend for help? Is she playing on Aaron’s insecurities in an attempt to drive a wedge between Robert and him? Is she waiting for a moment she can exact revenge on the pair for Robert using her and Aaron getting the man she wanted? 

16-March-2017 I do NOT believe she was innocently seduced by Robert at the end of this episode, regardless of what she says in all of the episodes after this one.

Knowing Robert was struggling with the situation with Aaron and Liv, as soon as he texted she lied to and ditched the man she was moving on with (using until Robert was in a position that she might have a chance with now that Aaron was potentially out of the picture). She rushed to the man she has pined after for years, playing the friend card only to determine where Robert’s frame of mind was. Believing she has a chance now that Aaron is out of the picture, she gives Robert the idea she is available for him by flirting and suggestively saying “Yes you did” when he states he didn’t think she would come when he texted. Robert takes the bait making several attempts to get with her all the while he disparages what he had/has with Aaron. She continues to knock him back as she prompts him to say what she has wanted to hear since arriving in Emmerdale (Chrissie was a mistake, Aaron and him are over, they should make a go of it, etc). She “lets” herself be taken advantage of ignoring the RED FLAG in his response of “Stop trying to” when asking him if she can trust him. 

Rebecca is now a calculating vixen who was playing the long game in her effort to finally get Robert. 

After the 17 & 21-March-2017 episodes we now have a woman who was delusional, vindictive, calculating that is comfortable playing the “He used me” card when things do not go her way, meaning Robert doesn’t choose her. (Her admission to both Lachlyn & Chrissie). She ignored the fact that Robert and Aaron both told her Robert was only using her since her arrival. Rebecca disregarded Robert lamenting about how everyone thinks he uses people tossing them aside. He suggests to her that maybe that is the way he should be. 

After episodes leading up to and including the 12-April-2017 episode Rebecca becomes a calculating woman so delusional and desperate in her love of Robert Sugden, part of the long game outlined previously to get Robert includes her trapping him with a pregnancy that promised her a future together by starting a family. 

*As a man not intimately knowledgeable, I am aware of a woman’s cycle from just basic health education and would think Rebecca would be also. 

The backstory revealed in April 2017 changes the narrative how Robert Sugden became involved with the Whites, and his originally having a relationship with Rebecca before Chrissie unknown to the White clan. 

I wholeheartedly agree with Iain MacLeod that Rebecca’s story is tragic. But, Robert admitting that he has used her and apologizing to her several times before the one-night stand shows he took some responsibility for his actions. Rebecca has not. 

But who is Rebecca White? 

Is she the strong independent woman who arrived in Emmerdale because the man she has carried a torch for years contacted her? 

Or, is she a woman so in love with someone she allowed herself to be victimized accepting whatever scraps of attention Robert gives her while repeatedly being used and rejected by him as their backstory is laid out? 

Or, is she a woman so obsessed with loving a man that she has become mentally unstable to the point she is desperate and calculating? She will take whatever steps necessary to trap him in a relationship (playing innocent and allowing herself to be seduced when the opposite is true in the hopes she would get pregnant). 

Or is she a woman that is none or even a combination of all of the above? 

Or, as Rebecca’s story continues to air with the potential for more revelations of her past is she someone entirely different? 

The current pregnancy storyline Robert and Rebecca are in with the newly revealed backstory in April 2017 may have been intended to put a human face to Rebecca plight for the viewer to sympathize with her. The consequence of these added details though probably unintended paint a picture of Rebecca White that is not complimentary to the point I would offer she be put up for Villain of the Year. 

We do not know who Rebecca White is. As new facets of her backstory were revealed (especially with the previous forced abortion) it brings into question her character and motivations since arriving in Emmerdale. 

But maybe we should listen to Robert Sugden who knows her better than anyone with maybe the exception of her family. He said it himself about Rebecca White at the end of November, only he and Aaron didn’t heed his own prophetic warning. 

Rebecca White is the “Bride of Chucky”.

[toyfrog]

Yes I watched The Kaplan Episode.

Daniel Cerone in my opinion is one of the best character writers in the biz…. I loved Kate Kaplan as a character. But I don’t feel she should’ve been the baddie. And I resent Red shooting her because in my opinion he never would have. He abhorred violence. In Marvin Gerard, spousal abuse crossed the line. So now Kate is a survivor but she’s a bad person?

It does not compute. It’s a heartbreaking twist that will lead Kaplan to join Annie at last. And for what?

To give Tom a story. It is unforgivable to lie to your audience. It’s worse to have others do damage control inyour place because you can’t admit you lied to your viewers.

So, be that as it may..,I’m being asked about Red/Katarina Is he The Dad?

“The Appearance of Truth” is the theme and it’s a cop out. When it comes down to canon these writers are stingy. (Basically because they cannot agree on soul creative rights and Sony wants money off it.) Do they make it up as they go along? Yes. A lot of us do, but most show runners have the arc completed before, even next season halfway complete. This season they had no arc, and it shows through execution, lack of continuity, imbalance to character screen time, overabundance of cheap marketing, it goes on and on.

What you watched last night was a culmination of season 3’s Knauf arc infused into season 4.

If you recall in the Vehm by Vincent Angelli:

“I’m a bad man. I kill people. And every time I do, a piece of me dies with them.”

“I always wanted to be a boyscout.”

Recall those hints? Dembe saying, “that’s enough”

Ok.

Well that’s what you’re seeing now. Everyone question Raymond, even the task force.“

"Don’t fret Harold. I’ll be the declarer you be the dummy and together we’ll win the hand.”

Well last season Cooper, Aram, Ressler, and Samar were tired of being the “dummy.”

“Just because you’ve been bumped up to first chair in an orchestra doesn’t mean you can compose a symphony.”

Last season Ressler *was* the mastermind of who betrayed Red and why. Red knew in Dawn Denoon he could not search and do a moral inventory of himself without Donald.

This Season? Oh it was “Tom”

I loathe agenda driven behind the scenes back stabbing garbage. Professional sets do not engage in such foolery but this circus really…

A mess.

This is no different they just changed Kaplan to the bad blacklister because they did not have one. I think it’s a mistake personally, because the hype on turning victim Kaplan into the baddest of the bad scorned means last season when they had her betray Red, according to Ryan Eggold who said Bokenkamp boasted, “it was Tom’s plan., is just deceptive.

No it was originally Ressler’s plan with a happy ending at S3 with Red leaving the task force and Liz life to let her have that normal life. Then all hell breaks loose. Instead, they fractured an intelligent plot, dumbed down every character and then in Season 4 never gave them a voice to express their betrayal. Its why Diego has had no storyline for 15 months, and probably, is on his last five weeks unless viewers don’t speak up. This show will change things on a dime. They did last season. They did in Season 2. They did in Season 1.

The only character that deserves to die after this fallout are Tom, Kaplan, and Hitchin.

The rest is about cutting the budget and supplying serious shockudrama to get the ratings up, go into a new direction…. and add two new Sony actors to the show…

And purge the rest.

But I digress.

Anyhoo….

Last season.

"Why because I didn’t get Daddy’s permission?”

Yes, Tom knows.

“Preparing for war.”

“What War?”

“Ours.”

All that is from S3.

Now this season:

“Yes, Elizabeth is my daughter.”

She’s his daughter, but he’s not her father.

Do we get this play on words?

When Katarina gave birth, she never got a paternity test. She only knew one thing she loved Masha so “the truth doesn’t matter. It is the appearance of truth” that does.

Bokenkamp said last season “is it safe to assume Tom is the father of Liz baby?”

“I don’t think it’s safe to assume that I think it’s good to anticipate that.”

Yes so what is it that Liz said in the Vehm?

“I assume Tom is the father.”

“I haven’t told him.”

Liz has never said if Tom *is* and with Megan’s hint about Liz being unfaithful, that connects to Eli Matchett in S3 and it’s not Nick. So, now we see her mother fogging up the windows in the back of a car with….Raymond.

In Philomena you will see two forbidden lovers fogging up the windows kissing inna parked car.

In the Apothecary, the theme (don’t you guys read the transcripts?) is Marriage, betrayal, the appearance of truth and infidelity.

Escaping to motels, and celebrating anniversaries and birthdays. Raising a family from prison.

In Natalie Luca you had forbidden love-the most romantic scene Samar ever seen. Watching the person you love die in your arms. They fell for each other at work, talk about forbidden love. It even explains how they could love each other without touching….

Significant to Liz life and her parents.👇🏻

Kirk was her husband. He was out of town a lot. On business. While he was away, Katarina wasn’t faithful. She was having sex with other men.

Mainly, “the American.” He was her mark, but their affair did not stop afterward it kept going.

But the paternity is down to three men. Two Americans, and Kirk. Both Red and Kat knew Sam. He was a grifter, a criminal trying to get his life straight.

What was Liz father?

“My real father was a criminal.” Her mother died from weakness and shame.

In S1.

“Everything about me is a lie.”

“Criminals are notorious liars.”

“You will always be her father Sam.”

“Are you my father?”

“No your father is dead.”

“And I know what happened that night to my father. I shot him.”

“Yea.”

“That’s why you erased my memory. You’re my sin eater.”

Right here the story should’ve shifted. Liz trust for Red should’ve grown not regressed.

“I never wanted you [Beat] to grow up like me.”

“Is he her father?”

“I don’t know Kate I never found out.”

“It’s Raymond. He took Masha because he thinks she’s his.”

Lady Ambrosia:

“Your mother was ever the same after that. The man she loved killed by the child she adored it was too much.”

“So I killed both of my parents.”

“You were a child. None of this was you fault. There never should’ve been a gun around for you to grab.”

“I ran out of gas.”-Madeline Pratt

Katarina and Kaplan left the Summer Palace for America after Masha. Because Red took her.

But Liz lives in Summer Palace again because she’s young in the yard with her mother in Mato.

Ressler and Red are the only men that have been to Summer Palace.

Liz will go back in these final episodes.

Lady Ambrosia:

“Your parents loved each other very much. The Cold War was hard– too hard for your father. When the Soviet Union was collapsing, he took you from her. She gave up everything to follow him, to follow you.”

“The night of the fire– that’s what they were arguing about?”

Nope it was the fulcrum. Liz lived in Summer Palace when she wasn’t a baby because the night of the fire is five years into the future.

Red was married, had Carla and Jennifer. And Liz. Red took Liz as an infant.

Katarina gets Masha to Kaplan night of the fire because of “the dead man on the floor.” She’s looking for a new place for them to live.

A week later she can’t go home she calls from a payphone. She wants Kaplan to give Masha up to Sam.

Go back to Cape May: the arson Katarina had. The dead man on the floor.

“He’s coming.” “Who’s coming.”?

US intelligence and KGB. They know about her affair with Raymond.

“Your mother, despite what he’d done, she wanted him back. She wanted them to be a family. As much as it pains me to say it, he was probably… the only man she ever really loved.”

And I shot him.

“It was an accident.”

Liz accidentally shot “the bad man.”

Stewmaker

“You’re a monster.”

“Yes.”

“How can you live with yourself?”

“By saving your life.”

Katarina and Red at that point were enemies. He wanted the fulcrum he needed it to blackmail US intelligence so to leave them alone otherwise they’d kill him and her. It’s why he sold secrets to North Korea and Soviet Union:

Katarina set the fire. But it was Red who pulled Liz from the flames.

“Tell me. I need to know. Your mother was never the same after that. The man she loved killed by the child she adored– it was… just too much. Two months later, she went to Cape May and left her clothes on the beach, walked into the ocean, and was never seen again.”

“So, that night, I killed both my parents.”

“You were a child. There should never have been a gun for you to grab. Looking back, I’m not sure I shouldn’t have raised you myself. I don’t want you looking back with that kind of regret.”

All that played out.

Now liz’ regret is coming.

Agnes.

But focus on the man Liz shot. The scars on Red’s back. He and his family were to die in that fire.

“There was so much blood.”

But he survived.

His family. Carla and Jennifer are in WITSEC

Red was gone all this time recuperating. Where he was is the next leg of the mystery. He knew after stealing secrets, he was safer dead than alive. So you have him blackmailing, building an organized criminal empire for 25 years through Russian Oligarchs, collapse of Soviet Union, the cartels-burning down the earth in order to one day walk back into her life but this time with ammunition to protect her.

In the farmer parable Red explains when he comes home from work one day…crops are burned, his children gone, “it is now he who burns, he who slaughters, and in the end he knows that he must pay.”

He also mentions children. Two.

Red wasn’t a good man. He had affairs on Carla, abandoned his other daughter to appease Liz, and keep her safe. He wanted to raise her but if it got out about who she is, who her “father is,” the danger was too immense. To protect Jennifer and Carla he abandons them and turns the other way.

In Mako Tanida, Red warns Ressler to stay in the light, “go home!” Red didn’t after the fire. He wanted revenge and Justice. He became a criminal. Stole secrets betrayed his country.

What is Ressler about to do?

Hitchin cannot be arrested, she runs the courts. She will pay off judges. So now Ressler like Red knows, once he crosses over, there’s no turning back.

Back to Liz and why the mystery s being revealed aside from the fact that they dismantled a fine piece of television just to do a spin off nobody wanted for a character audience feels is worse than Mr. Kaplan because he hurt Liz the most.

That logic right there doesn’t make any sense.

Liz is the target because of who and what she saw happen in that house. The Fulcrum was only part of the story. Who wanted it besides Red and Katarina *Is* the story. Red wanted to know what happened the night of the fire. Diane Fowler knew. Fitch knew. The Director knew.

“I know who you really are, Raymond. Who you are to her. And I know why you did this. Does she?”

“I know what happened, that night, Red. To your family.” Mr. Kaplan cleaned up Diane Fowler. Her body is about to be revealed…the task force has no idea about this.

Cooper suspects.

Kaplan does.

So is he her father?

Legally, no. Her father is dead. “You will always be her father Sam.”

But yes, Elizabeth is his daughter.

He had no legal claim to her when she was a child. She was Kirk’s.

Now: liz and Katarina are similar.

Both are known to be unfaithful. Liz was seeing someone when she first met Tom. Liz was also seeing someone after Tom re entered her life in S2.

“He worked, I didn’t.”

“How did that work out for ya?”

“Not so great.”

Liz too, is keeping a secret. Like her mother.

And Kaplan knows. It’s why she can gain access to Liz apartment. She knows everything.

Hold on to this because I’m not doing another.

The point is.

Red believed Liz was his child. Red wanted Liz to be his child. Red loves Liz like a father. Red fell in love with her mother a Russian sleeper agent. Red had a longtime affair with Katarina.

You cannot do Red/Liz in the romantic sense after that. Period.

So….

Even if he turns out Red to *not* be her bio dad-It never mattered to Raymond. He loved Liz that much. In his mind, “you will always be her father Sam.”

But Yes, Elizabeth is his daughter.

Okay done.

[justanotherdumpingground]

Chapter Reviews: February 5-9, 2019

Desire & Decorum Chapter 8:

Okay, the part where I get to joke about Duke Richards and Gideon being closet lovers is funny. I know it's supposed to be a joke, but I have no problems entertaining the possibility. Imagine the scandal it could cause.

Playing nice with the duke while acting snarky at the same time has always been my favorite part of this story, and the hunting season is no exception.

The love declaration with Hamid was really sweet, and I can't wait to see what kinds of challenges await them. But first, I need Duke Richards taken care of. This duel is making me nervous because they're life and death situations, though I'm confident Hamid will make out alive.

The Heist: Monaco Chapter 10:

The MC's disguise is so paper-thin that it shouldn't be a surprise Ansel will catch up to him. I couldn't afford the option to talk to Ansel about our time together, so not sure what to say. And why didn't Ansel off the MC when given the opportunity he has here? That would've been easy, right.

What Ansel said about Rye betraying was supposed to shake the heist crew's confidence, but I'm confident Rye was tricked, just as Myra and Tucker were blackmailed. However, I still need time to recover from all this.

Shame hanging out with Eris costs diamonds, and I couldn't afford them. Thoguh given the misunderstanding around Rye, I'm glad this crew knows how to stick together.

So Ansel has a private army, eh? Well, two can play the game. I'll just use the cooperation in my crew to beat that army.

America's Most Eligible Chapter 4:

I kinda wish the premium outfit for male MC consists of a tank top and short shorts because I think my MC would look good at them. I guess I shouldn't expect everything I want to happen.

Anyway, I paid for the premium option to get Vince to open himself to me, and I find it worth it. He talks about how a ruthless mindset is needed to win at all costs, allowing me to learn about his perspective. On the other hand, I still think his motives are shallow because he doesn't talk about what he would do with the money. It could be possible I missed a dialogue choice that reveals this, but still.

Anyway, Vince and I won, and I love the sandcastle. Even better, I sent my MC to spend some private time with his boyfriend Adam. They need to spend some time together. However, I'm pissed off that Bianca's not an option for the private moment. I may not be pursuing her, but it seems that PB is treating her as a secondary love interest again, which is a disservice to her character.

Speaking of Bianca, I'm so ecstatic she's my ally. It's been a long time coming.

Eden and Kiana are enamored with each other? I am so helping them together.

As for the elimination announcement on Bianca, Yvette, Ronan, and Kiana, that was really suspicious on Slater's part. I first thought he was cool for backing me up for standing up to Ivy, but now with his quick accusations of Ivy, he's becoming too fishy to my liking. Of course I could be wrong, considering Ivy's shadowy collaboration with Vince, but there's still room for suspicion.

Anyway, can't wait for the snorkeling date.

A Courtesan of Rome Chapter 14:

Honestly, I find Cassius too idealistic to my liking. All his talk about saving the Republic despite the selfishness of his fellow senators comes across as willfully blind to the reality of government. At least Antony sees things pragmatically despite the fact that the real Antony was much crueler than this one.

The scene where Aquila was forcing himself on the MC made me nervous. I though she won't survive the ordeal, considering what he did to her tribe and wife. It was a relief Sabina showed up and stood up to him by threatening to tell all this to Marc Antony.

On a side note, I kinda want to see Victus and Delphinia again. However, how will Delphinia reunite with her family when she's in Macedonia instead of Rome?

The Elementalists Chapter 17:

Holy cow! This is an exciting chapter! The fight against Raife is highly brutal that he essentially beats Griffin, Shreya, Beckett, Zeph, and Tim with little effort after his shadow minions have been defeated. This guys shows how much of a threat he is. Fortunately, I have all spells mastered and fought him with barely a scratch, even though I didn't grab the mace. Now it's just a matter of bracing myself and Atlast against the blood moon.

As for Dean Goeffe being his accomplice in the last chapter, I did not expect that, though I expect Raife to not keep his end of the bargain with her by killing her.

Despite my excitement over this chapter, I'm still concerned over two things. One: Aster is sidelined again, though with a somewhat justified reason because of the significant amount of energy branching consumes. It still annoys me that the writers still find a way to sideline her just because they wasted a lot of resources on more unnecessary scenes with Beckett. Two: While I acknowledge the significant threat Raife poses, his motives are... lacking. I mean, what is his end goal aside from wanting attunement to all elements? That just makes him no better than Rourke, whom I openly despise for his short-sightedness and utter blandness.

Anyway, thank goodness this chapter is released because it just reignited my appreciation for The Elementalists again.

Ride or Die Chapter 4:

Honestly, Colt and Logan's argument comes across as way more immature than Seth and Teja's in RCD Book 2. The difference is that Seth and Teja aren't supposed to behave this way because the writers decided to mess them up as part of their blatant ploy to set up Thomas Hunt as a forced love interest. In the case of Colt and Logan, their argument is consistent with their personalities, which I don't like.

As for Mona, I actually find her eh. I wish I could consider her okay compared to Logan and Colt, but her lack of personality makes me accept her out of pity. As for Ximena and Toby, they should've been somewhere else instead of hanging out with those bunch of losers that's the Mercy Park Crew. And why are we helping them escape, especially that creepy stalker that is Logan?

For this book, I'm focusing on my MC's studies and staying away from Logan as much as possible. Seriously, screw him. I bet he's gonna overtake Nick Peralta's spot as worst Choices LI ever. Not to mention Logan's creepy attitude towards the MC puts him dangerously close to the cesspit that includes Rourke, Duke Richards, Mallory, Markus von Groot, Viktor Montmartre, Nick Peralta, Lester, Priya, the Baron, and the Crandalls minus Skye.

You know, if I were the MC, I would team up with her dad and Jason Shaw to take down MPC. All their talk of being screwed by the system only to screw it again with their street racing makes them dumber than bricks.

Thoughts on Open Heart: This book has slipped from my radar since it was first hinted at. Now that the trailer is released, I need to keep a cautious eye on it, especially with the deteriorating quality of some series as of late. Hopefully it'll be much better than Ride or Die, and the ability to pick the protagonist's gender is a start.