#but when he starts putting justice over law and order he's also bad

[lord-squiggletits]

Read GI Joe first strike (I skipped most of the human parts again lmao) and I find myself yet again disagreeing with Barber’s attempts to deconstruct Optimus lol.

[thegreenlizard]

Bare beskar

On the eve of marching to war, Obi-Wan makes plans and digs out his old armour. Musings on Mandalorian armour and culture, the ethics of commanding slave soldiers and how that affects one’s self-image.

Could be the same AU as “Not Obi-Wan’s first slave uprising” and “What makes a military genius” (where Obi-Wan is presented with a battalion of slave soldiers, says please and thank you, and starts plotting how to take down the slavers).

Obi-Wan has Mandalorian armour, courtesy of the Kyr’tsad who failed to kill him when he was seventeen and running for his life on Mandalore. The Jedi frown on such soldierly things, so the armour has mostly gathered dust in his closet for the past decade and some. But Obi-Wan has fought in a war before and recognises that no matter how good one is, sometimes armour is all that stands between bleeding out in a ditch and living to fight another day.

So on the eve of marching to war, Obi-Wan digs out his armour to clean and repair and condition every piece. He looks at its light green for peace and green for duty, the order’s wings on one pauldron/over his heart. He strips it all off. He has no right to wear any of it now, and the bare beskar is a statement of its own.

Plus

- Feels about how bare unpainted beskar could be silver for seeking redemption, disavowing all ties (in that there’s no one and nothing to paint his armour for), for being an outcast (which in his heart, he has already decided to become), or all of them. Leading a slave army to war is really really not in the Jedi mission statement. Obi-Wan, having experienced his own stints as a slave, having brought up a padawan who was born a slave, and having already left the order once for an army of child soldiers—well, he has some feels about it.

- Obi-Wan’s closet doesn’t just have armour, it also has a veritable armoury of, ah, useful souvenirs from his various missions. Maybe it makes him a bad Jedi, but Obi-Wan has some difficulty with letting go of possessions that have saved his life. Such as the sniper rifle from Melidaan, a blaster from here, and a vibroblade from there…

- Cody’s/The 212th’s reactions to their Jedi whose luggage apparently includes a full set of arms and armour and little else.

- There’s a story that armour tells for anyone who can read it and I wonder if the clones could. There are only a few things that a completely unpainted beskar’gam could mean. Either it’s completely new and the owner hasn’t had time yet to paint it. But Kenobi’s beskar’gam isn’t new: the metal has scrapes all over it and some fittings are clearly newer than others. It could be second hand, but as the weeks pass, the metal stays bare. And even though some shinies joke about their shiny, very visible general, Kenobi won’t even put on a matte base coat, just thanks the men politely and keeps on shining. It has to be intentional.

- When Obi-Wan eventually repaints his armour, it’s in gold for the 212th and black for justice for the vode.

In the days between accepting his marching orders and shipping out to meet his battalion, Obi-Wan researches, plans, and packs. He sleeps fitfully and dreams of Melida-Daan, of Bandomeer, of Mandalore. He tears through the archives and with echoes of the Young in his ears, downloads anything that might help keep his men alive. With a growing cold like deep sea mines, he reads the clones spec sheets, reviews galactic law, and speed reads his way through the last few years of the senate’s bills.

He pulls out of his closet possessions unbecoming of Jedi—things he has kept because he has been unable to let go of the fear of . There’s his old XX sniper rifle from Melida-Daan. A blaster from here. A vibroblade from there.

And there’s the armour he got from Mandalore. It’s painted in green for duty and erin for peace, the order’s sigil on the pauldron. He can hardly stand to look at it. Standing here, at the eve of marching to war that is to be fought with slave soldiers, he has no right to wear any of it. Not the green of duty, for he has forsaken his duty to protect all sentient life in accepting command of an army of slaves. Not the erin of peace, for he is marching off to fight a war to force worlds to stay in a republic they don’t wish to be a part of. Not the sigil of the Jedi order, for he has already forsaken his vows in these actions—and has already decided to forsake his duty to the republic.

Obi-Wan strips the beskar bare. Before refitting the armour, going through the straps, buckles, replacing worn parts and reconditioning the rest. He spends sleepless nights in the salles relearning to fight in armour.

“Paint? I painted it when I was seventeen. I, ah, stripped it when I accepted the draft.” Kenobi grimaces, but sets his jaw and continues. “I couldn’t keep the paint I had after that.” There’s an odd, bitter clang to his words.

[jpmarvel90]

Don't let me down - Part 9

Y/n's POV:

Masterlist Scarlett Masterlist

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

Relationship: MamaScarlett x 16 yr old Reader

Summary: Whilst Y/n tries to distract herself from the impending court case with Mr Woodstock. She ends up having to face another hurdle she wasn't expecting.

Word count: 6993

Trying to focus on my schoolwork and soccer has been really hard since Danny came around and dropped the bomb that I'm likely going to have to testify against Mr Woodstock. Scarlett and Colin have been great and are supporting me more than I could ask. They're not pushing me, but they are there when I have my moments. I'm glad that I have them to go through this with.

When I told Laura, I've never seen her more angry. She started ranting about how unfair it is to make, not just me, but the other kids have to relive what we went through. She's spent a lot of time with me after school and I'm sure that her and Scarlett have been texting about me. Part of me is a little annoyed as I feel like I'm being watched, but then I'm grateful they care about me enough to check in with each other.

We had a meeting with the DA who is leading the case and he has confirmed that I will be asked a number of questions by himself and then the defence lawyer will have a chance to also question me. The thought of that terrifies me as I know that they are just going to try and prove me wrong or discredit my testimony. I've seen enough Law & Order SUV to know how it goes.

However, both Danny and the DA have assured me that they'll coach me in responding to the questions. I'll already know what they plan to ask me, so I'll be prepared from that point of view. However, we'll have no idea what the defence may say. So, we're going to do some sessions together where they'll prepare me as best they can.

Scarlett has tried to suggest that I do it via video link to give me an extra layer of protection, but I know that I want to be there. I can't bring my parents to justice for the years I spent being abused by them, but I can to Mr Woodstock. It's not just me he hurt and if I had the balls to do this earlier, I could have stopped the other kids getting hurt too.

When we left the DA's office, I felt dread over the upcoming court case. We have a month to prepare before I'll need to testify. Thankfully, I don't need to be there for anything else. It's one day and then hopefully they'll find him guilty, and I'll be able to move on and put my past firmly behind me. Allow me to focus on how my life is going to be better moving forward.

The sessions with Danny have been ok. He's predicted what he believes the defence may ask and then poses the question to me. We then work on how I can approach different elements. He also helps me to control my emotions and focus on breathing. Taking a breather is not a bad thing and will only reflect badly on the defence lawyer if he tries to move me on.

I think the sessions are helping, but I feel drained after every one. I cry in each one and I hate it. Reliving what happened is bad enough, but having to prepare to defend that I'm telling the truth is horrible. I just hope that this is all worth it.

Thankfully, we have our next soccer games this week and it's providing me with something to focus on. It's still hard to give me full attention, but I owe it to the team to still be the best player and captain that I can be. This week, Lizzie is joining Scarlett and Rose to watch. Unfortunately, Colin is working today so can't make it. Scarlett decided to leave Cosmo with Melanie so the three of them can enjoy the afternoon before coming to school to watch the game.

We're so far unbeaten this season. We had two preseason games that gave us a good platform to work from. But we've only play 5 league games. We're playing well and hopefully we'll be able to make it into the playoffs at the end of the year. But today's game will be the biggest test that we've had yet. Rochford High are a tough team and they are aggressive.

I use the warmup to get my mind completely on the game and make sure that I don't let it drift off to everything that is happening in my personal life. Laura is great at keeping me smiling as she jokes around, and we make sure our pre-game warm up doesn't change even though we're playing a tough team.

As we're taking on water, my eyes scan the bleachers, which are bursting tonight. It's like the whole local town has turned up. My eyes quickly land on my little sister who is jumping up and down and waving at me when she sees me looking. I wave back and pull a face at her whilst Lizzie and Scarlett wave to me also.

It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to see them in the stands. I never thought I would have people here to support me. Scarlett has been to every one of my home games. She even rearranged work to come to the one of them. It makes me feel wanted and loved and it's a strange feeling for me. But I like it and I couldn't be more grateful to see them in the crowd.

Coach Saunders calls us into a huddle and gives us an inspiring team talk. I gulp when I have to follow him up, but I make sure to be confident and re-enforce our teamwork and we win together and lose together. With our huddle over, I make my way over to the referee for the coin toss. I shake their captain's hand and internally fist pump when we win the coin toss. I decide to kick off first and we take our places on the pitch waiting for the whistle to blow.

The game is frantic from the first whistle. As expected, they play hard and are hitting us off the ball a lot. We change our tactic to have quick and accurate passing, which works and starts to frustrate them. They end up fouling us a lot more and the ref warns them about their actions.

We take advantage of this when Laura is on the receiving end of a beautiful freekick from Bella. Even though she's tasselling with the defender, she's able to get up higher than her and her head meets the ball. I watch as it flies past the keeper and into the back of the net.

The crowd go wild as we rush around Laura and Bella, cheering the perfect set piece. "I'm proud of you babe." I tell her as we walk back to our side of the pitch for the restart, my arm draped over her shoulder. "I need to keep impressing you." She smirks, nudging me. "Consider me impressed." I return, moving to take my spot.

We manage to dominate the first half but don't get any more goals. We've been able to adapt our play to make their efforts ineffective. We can see that it's just frustrating them more and that carries on into the second half. We're getting so many shots on goal but we're just not getting it in the net.

They manage to catch us on the counterattack, and I rush back to provide support in defence, with a well time sliding tackle I dispossess their striker as she's about to take her shot on goal. I quickly jump to my feet and sprint down the pitch to get myself into an open position.

Seeing I'm in open space, I call for the ball and trap it with my foot. Looking up I see it's just me against two defenders, my team still getting back into position from the counterattack. Not wasting anytime, I take on the first defender, getting around her with ease.

I look up hoping to see someone in the box, but I'm still the furthest up the field. With a swift nudge to the ball, I megs the final defender and run around her, despite her efforts to stop me getting to the ball. Just as she tugs my t-shirt, I manage to get a good connection with the ball and watch as it sails into the top corner. Though I'm now on the floor as a result of the shirt tug.

This doesn't stop the team celebrating with me, bundling on me on the floor. With our celebration over, Laura holds her hand out to me to help me back to my feet. "You just had to one up me didn't you." She teases. "Maybe I want to impress you too." I wink at her as she shakes her head at my antics. As I'm moving back for the restart, I look to the crown and wave to Rose who's still cheering. She really is my biggest fan, and she looks adorable in our team jersey.

With our energy up, we just seem to get better. With our third goal, the pressure seems to disappear and we're playing more freely. When we win a freekick near the corner flag, I'm on the hunt for a second goal. I'm stood on the edge of the box and hold my hands in the air to indicate the play we should go for.

As the ball is crossed into the box, I run in and go to jump to try and get my head on the ball. Their defender goes up with me, but I see her elbow wind back as she jumps. She's not looking at the ball and I'm helpless as I watch her elbow move towards my face. For a split second I feel pain as she makes a connection, but it soon disappears as I fade into darkness.

Scarlett's POV:

This is the best that I've seen the team play. They're working as a cohesive group and seem to be able to counter anything the other team throw at them. I'm so proud when Y/n scores and the three of us cheer along with the rest of the crowd as the team celebrate.

Y/n had talked about how difficult this game was going to be. The opposition are probably one of the only teams that can match their ability, but they just don't seem to be able to break the team down. Instead of regrouping they're just getting more frustrated.

It's great seeing the smile on Y/n's face. I've not seen her smile like that in a while since we learnt about the court case. Soccer has always brought her happiness and I'm glad it's giving her an outlet today.

The team get ready for another freekick, and it seems certain that it's only a matter of time before they score again. My eyes are on my daughter as the anticipation builds. However, when I see an elbow collide with her face, I'm instantly out of my seat shouting for a foul.

However, I instantly freeze when I see Y/n on the floor not moving, her leg bent in an awkward angle. "Lizzie, watch Rose." I call out as I rush down the stairs of the bleachers and jump over the railing. Coach Saunders sees me and waves me over as he's knelt down next to my unconscious daughter.

As I reach her, I can hear the team arguing with the ref and a couple of them scuffling with the other team, mainly the defender that hit her. "Is she ok?" I ask, panic filling my voice as I kneel down next to her. Laura on one side holding her hand tightly. My eyes look over her and I see blood on her face from her nose. My eyes then move down to her leg, and I have to fight back tears. "She fell awkwardly and landed on her leg as she didn't have control over her body." Coach Saunders explains, moving so I can get in closer.

Fear overrides me as I'm desperate for my daughter to wake up. "We've called 911 and they should be here shortly." One of the assistant coaches calls out. "Y/n baby, wake up for me please." I beg her, my hands gently cupping her face. "Come on sweetheart." I encourage her, hoping that she might start to stir. My eyes flick to Laura who's watching on with teary eyes.

I move my hand and place it over hers that is already holding Y/n's. "She's going to be ok right?" Laura asks, looking up to me hopefully. "Of course she is. She's strong." I reassure her, though I'm scared myself. Thankfully, we don't have to wait for long for the ambulance to arrive and almost simultaneously, Y/n starts to stir awake. "Y/n, sweetie. It's Scarlett are you ok?" I ask her as her eyes fill with fear. "Mom?" She whispers, making my heart clench at the name. I don't let it get to me and focus on her. "I'm here baby. You're ok. The paramedics are here." I tell her and she nods.

She obviously starts to feel the pain and she starts to cry out. "It's ok babe. You're going to be fine. They'll get you some good stuff soon." Laura tries to joke through her own tears. The paramedics soon join us, and we reluctantly have to move out of the way as they treat her.

I take a moment to breathe and notice the referee brandish a red card to the defender that hit her. I have to fight from going over to the kid and giving her a piece of my mind. But I have to remember she is just that. A kid. "Mommy! Is Y/n, ok?" Rose calls out to me. I glance to Y/n and see she's being looked after and right now I need to comfort my other daughter.

I walk over to her and pick her up instantly. "She's hurt, but she's being looked after. She's going to have to go the hospital, but she'll be ok." I reassure her as she nods in my neck. "I can take Rose home whilst you're with Y/n." Lizzie offers but Rose instantly argues with that idea. "I don't want to leave Y/n. Please!" She begs. "I can bring her to the hospital?" Lizzie offers and I think for a moment. "You have to understand that it's going to be boring." I explain to Rose, and she nods. "I want to be there to protect Y/n." She responds, making my heart warm at her cuteness.

"How about we go home and grab some things for you both and then we'll come to the hospital." Lizzie suggests. "If you wouldn't mind that would be great." I agree, looking back towards Y/n. "Go, text me where you are, and we'll see you later." Lizzie says when she sees my concern. "Thank you, Lizzie. I love you Rose, and we'll see you later." I say before rushing back to be with Y/n.

They're currently giving her some gas and air when I return, and the paramedic looks to me. "Are you mom?" She asks and I nod. "We're just stabilising her leg and then we'll get her to the hospital. They'll assess her there and give her some additional pain relief." She explains and I nod along, my eyes fixated on Y/n.

Seeing where my eyes are the paramedic continues to reassure me. "This may look scary at the moment, but we need to also to stabilise her head just in case there are any injuries to her neck. We're making sure we take every precaution to prevent further injury." I continue to nod along. Understanding why they're doing what they're doing. It just doesn't make it any easier to watch.

I take my place next to Y/n and provide her any comfort I can whilst she is being seen too. "Can I come with you?" Laura asks, looking from Y/n to me. "No." Y/n jumps in taking Laura by surprise, her eyes showing the hurt. "You need to finish the game." Y/n clarifies. "But..." Laura goes to defend but Y/n cuts her off. "I'll still be broken when the game is over. I'm ok and not going anywhere. Quite literally." She jokes, making us both chuckle. "Please, you need to make sure we win this game and then you can come and see me." She requests. Laura reluctantly agrees but doesn't leave her side until she's guided on to the gurney and moved toward the ambulance. "I'll keep you updated." I promise Laura who nods, reluctant to let go. "I'll see you shortly babe." She smiles, placing a gentle kiss on Y/n's lips, who gives a giddy smile.

I climb in the back of the ambulance and take a seat next to Y/n, reaching out to hold her hand. The paramedics get in and we start on our journey to the hospital. "It hurts mom." Y/n looks to me, tears in her eyes. My heart skips a beat again when she calls me mom. "I know. I'm sorry you're hurt. But I'm here for you." I try to comfort her. "The doctors will be able to get you some morphine when you're in the ER." The paramedic tells Y/n, which seems to appease her for now.

Thankfully, it's not long until we're at the hospital and we're being taking through to the ER where a doctor and some nurses are waiting for us. The potential injury to her neck is their biggest concern right now and they want to confirm there isn't any further injury before properly addressing her leg.

I stand to the side feeling completely helpless as I watch the doctors and nurses move around Y/n, calling out stats and information as they go. The whimpers from Y/n make my heart break. I wish I could take the pain away from here. "Let's get a canula set up and we'll get some pain relief." One of the doctors orders.

Thankfully, the morphine seems to start working quite quickly and Y/n's whimpers start to peter out as the medicine does its job. "Mrs Johansson?" The call of my name tears my eyes away from my daughter and to the doctor who is stood next to me with a kind smile on his face. "Hi, I'm Dr Greenwood. I'm the primary physician for your daughter." He greets me. "On initial examination, it's clear that Y/n has a broken leg and potentially a facial fracture too. We're confident there is no damage to her neck, but we want to be sure before removing the brace. So, we'll be sending her down for some x-rays and scans so we can get a full assessment of her injuries." He explains and I nod along.

"We've given her pain relief and that seems to be working and she's much more comfortable now. I know it's hard to see your kid in pain, but I can assure you we're doing everything that we can to make sure she is comfortable." He assures me, making smile. "Thank you. I appreciate everything you're doing." I respond. "I can get one of the nurses to show you to a private waiting room whilst Y/n is taken for imagery, and we'll come and get you as soon as she's settled in a room." He offers. "Can I see her first?" I request. "Of course. We're just waiting for the porters now." He responds and moves out of the way for me to see Y/n.

The madness around her has died down now and she's just got a couple of nurses monitoring different things. "Hi sweetheart. How are you feeling?" I ask Y/n as I take her hand and gently run my hands through her hair. "Tired and sore." She responds with a croaky voice. Her eye is already starting to swell and bruise, a reminder of the harsh act that led to her being in the hospital. "They're going to take you to get some scans of your leg and neck in a minute. I'll be waiting for you to come back." I explain. "Does that mean I can get this thing off?" She asks, tugging a little at the neck brace. "As long as the scans come back clear you'll be free of the prison." I respond with a smirk, happy that there is a smile on her face.

"We're ready to take her now." One of the nurses tells us. "I'll be right here waiting. I love you ok." I tell her firmly. "I love you too." She responds, taking me by surprise. I don't think she's ever said that to me before. It causes a tear to fall down my cheek as I smile at her lovingly. "Mom, you've got to let me go." She chuckles, just adding to my happiness. I try not to think to much of it, before she was in pain and now, she's on drugs. When she's more with it, we may be going back to Scarlett, but I'll take it for now!

I watch as they roll Y/n away down the corridor, taking a deep breath. I'm then guided to a private waiting room, which I'm very grateful for. I'd rather this not be how news of Y/n gets out. I want it to be on our terms and when she's comfortable. I quickly text Lizzie an update and she confirms they're packing a bag for Y/n as it's likely she'll be in overnight.

Now I just need to call my husband. He's at work today preparing for filming tonight. I hesitate in calling him, but I know that he'd want to be told that she was in the hospital. I hit his contact name and wait for him to answer.

Colin: Hi babe. How was the game? Did they win?

He asks instantly, excitement in his voice. I love how invested he is in Y/n's soccer games.

Scarlett: Uh I'm not actually sure. Y/n got hurt during the game and we're currently at the hospital.

Colin: WHAT?! Is she ok? What happened? How badly is she hurt?

He rambles down the phone, panic lacing his voice.

Scarlett: She was elbowed in the face by a defender when she jumped to head a ball. It knocked her out and as she fell, she landed on her leg awkwardly.

Colin: Oh my God. Was it deliberate? Actually, never mind. I'm leaving work now and I'm coming to the hospital. What did the doctor say?

Scarlett: Col, you don't need to do that. Y/n understands you're working and she's doing ok? She's currently having scans to see how badly her leg is broken and to rule out a neck injury.

Colin: Of course, I'm coming. She's my daughter. Family always comes first, you know that.

I smile down the phone when he refers to Y/n as his daughter. He did it so easily. I really need to bring up the whole adoption thing again. I don't think I can go much longer without having her legal be my daughter. I want her to know that she has a loving mom and dad who will be there for her no matter what.

As he's on the phone I can hear him explaining the situation to someone, I'm assuming the director, who easily agrees for him to leave. He then starts to rush around to get to the car.

Colin: "Ok. I'm about to drive. I'll see you in about 30 minutes. I love you.

Scarlett: I love you too. Drive safely.

And with that he hangs up. I wait nervously to hear that Y/n is back. I'm still worried she's going to have further damage to her neck. I know they said they don't think there is anything to untoward about it, but I can't get the worrying sick feeling out of my stomach.

"Mrs Johansson?" I look up and see Laura waiting hesitantly in the doorway. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me Scarlett." I smile at her, opening my arms to her. She instantly moves forward and melts into my hug. "How is she?" She questions as we move to sit. I fill her in on everything the doctor said, and she listens intently.

"Do you know how hard it was not to go and punch that bitch in the face." She fumes after I explain the extent of her injuries. "I probably shouldn't admit this as the adult in this situation, but I feel the same." I admit to chuckles. "Did you win?" I ask and a smile grows on her face. "We scored two more goals. It was 4-0 in the end." She responds proudly. "Y/n will be happy." I say and Laura nods. "Turns out playing for a teammate helped us to play even better. We wanted to do our best for our captain." She explains.

Not too long later, Colin comes bursting through the door, giving both Laura and I a heart attack. "Jeeze Colin!" I scold, my hand clutching my chest as my racing heart starts to calm. "S-sorry. I was just worried." He apologises. "How is she?" He asks. "We've not heard anything more since I called you. They said it could be a little while whilst she has the different scans and x-rays." I reply.

"Where's Rose?" Colin asks when he notices it's just me and Laura in the waiting room. "With Lizzie. They're getting a bag together, so Y/n has some things with her. Rose is adamant about being here for her big sister." I explain, earning an aw from Laura. "I can ask your mom to come and collect her later and keep the kids over night until we know more." Colin suggests. "I think that'll be wise. Rose can see how Y/n is doing and head to mom's before bedtime." I agree.

Colin places a kiss to my head and moves to the other side of the room to call my mom and explain what has happened. She already has Cosmo today, so she's happy to take Rose too. Though she's concerned for her granddaughter too. I think Y/n is going to be spoilt when she's home.

When Colin joins us again, he takes the seat next to me and wraps a supportive arm around me. I move to rest my head on his shoulder, taking in his comfort. "She called me mom." I say quietly. "What was that?" Colin asks. "She called me mom. When she was on the field, she called me mom and then again in the ambulance and here in the hospital." I explain in more detail. "I'm sure it's just because she's in pain and on drugs but hearing her call me that, it made my heart almost burst." I share, my emotions building once again.

"She means it." Laura speaks up from beside me. Both Colin and I turn to look at her. "Yes, she's in pain and high right now. But she means it. This has just given her the outlet to be able to say it. You've given her a safe and loving environment. Yes, it's taken her a while to be able get to this point. But you never pushed her. I don't think you realise how much that means to her." She explains with a soft smile on her face.

"All I have wanted is to be the mother she deserves. I never thought that she would forgive me, let alone get to a point she could call me mom." I admit, tears welling up in my eyes. "Family of Miss Y/l/n?" A nurse enters the room and calls for us. The sound of Y/n's surname bringing me down for a moment. "You need to work on changing her name." Laura smirks at me as we stand and follow the nurse.

She takes us to a private ward where Y/n is laid in bed, her neck brace off. I breath a sigh of relief knowing there is no injury there. Laura rushes in first and carefully hugs Y/n, pressing a kiss to her lips. "I'm so glad you're ok. It was horrible seeing you out cold." She tells her, cupping her cheeks and gently rubbing her thumb over her cheek. "Did you win?" Y/n asks, making us laugh. "I see you have your priorities right." Laura chuckles. "And yes, we won 4-0." She adds on. "See you don't need me on the team." Y/n responds with a sad smile.

We all get comfortable and wait for the doctor to come in and tell us the severity of Y/n's injury. Laura sits on one side, holding Y/n's hand tightly, whilst Colin and I flank her on the other side. "Aren't you filming tonight?" Y/n asks Colin. "Not anymore, I have to been here for my daughter." He responds, his words causing a wide smile to appear on Y/n's face. "Thanks dad." Y/n responds, her eyes glossed over. "D-did you. Did you just..." Colin stutters in shock. Y/n nods, smiling nervously. "I hope you both don't mind me calling your mom and dad. My experience of parents hasn't a good one. I don't really know what a good mom and dad looks like. But I'm pretty sure it's the both of you. I've not been easy yet you've both been there for me, supporting me and loving me. Especially these last couple of weeks with the court case. To me you are my mom and dad." Y/n shares, making both Colin and I cry.

"Oh, my sweet girl. I have been waiting, hoping, you may one day see me as your mother. Hearing you call me mom, it's everything I could ask for." I reassure her as I hug her gently, placing a kiss to her head. Y/n then looks to Colin who's a blubbering mess, making us all laugh. "Like I said, I've seen you as my daughter from the beginning. Being your dad is an honour I'm glad you've allowed me to have." He expresses, getting up and hugging her also.

A clearing of a voice gets all of our attention, and our heads snap to see the doctor in the doorway a file in his hand. "Sorry to interrupt this moment, but I have Y/n's results." He explains. "Please come on in." Colin composes himself and moves back to his seat as the doctor enters the room.

"Ok, Y/n, having examined your scans, I'm happy to say there is no injury to your neck. Though you probably know that as we removed your brace." He starts off. "However, you do have a fractured eye socket, so that is going to look pretty nasty for a few weeks. There's not much we can do other than provide you pain relief and wait for it to heal." He explains and Y/n nods in understanding.

"Now, on to your leg." I feel Y/n's hand tense in my own as we wait to hear the damage. "You have a displaced transverse fracture to your tibia. This means that it's a complete break of the bone and the two parts are not aligned. In this instance, we will need to surgically realign your leg and put in some pins to secure the fracture, allowing it to heal effectively." The doctor explains, showing us the x-rays of Y/n's clearly broken leg.

Y/n's breath hitches at the news, tears filling her eyes. "Will I be able to play soccer again?" She asks, fear lacing her voice. At the vocalisation of her worries, Laura sits forward and holds her other hand tightly. "I have every confidence that with a successful surgery and physio, you'll be playing again." He responds with a smile. Y/n's whole body relaxes at the confirmation, but I know there is still one question on her mind. "How long until I can play again?" She asks him.

"You'll be in a cast for about 6 weeks and from there you'll start physio. I would guess that you could be back into light training within 8 weeks and playing within 10." He replies. "Wow, that's a long time." Y/n whispers, her head dropping. "You'd be back in time for playoffs." Laura tries to comfort her. "And we'll still need our captain. You're more than the player on the pitch Y/n." Laura reassures her, placing a kiss to her hand. She nods unsurely before the doctor goes into more detail about surgery and recovery.

She'll be going in for surgery in the morning as it's already late this evening. She has a temporary brace on her leg which will stop any more damage happening before they're able to surgically fix her leg. We thank the doctor who leaves us to it. "How are you feeling kiddo?" Colin asks, placing a hand on her uninjured leg. "10 weeks is a long time." She replies emotionlessly.

Soccer has been her saving grace these last two years. It's been an outlet whilst she's been going through so much, and it's suddenly taken away from her. I just hope that now she has a stable home, a loving girlfriend and family, that she won't lose herself.

A knock on the door gains our attention as we all giggle as we see Rose on her tiptoes trying to look through the window. I wave them in and Rose rushes to her sister's side. "Sissy! Are you ok?" Rose asks worriedly, trying to climb up onto the bed. Y/n leans forward to pick her up, but I tap her hand away and do it for her.

Rose is really careful as she sits next to Y/n staring at her now closed up eye. "I'm much better now my sister is here." She responds happily, a smile plastered on her face to hide her pain. "Auntie Lizzie told me that we can't bring your flowers, so I brought you chocolate instead. It's you're favourite." Rose shares, turning to Lizzie holding her hand out expectantly.

Lizzie chuckles and pulls out the chocolate bar from her bag and hands it's to Rose. "Yummy. Thank you, Rosie." Y/n responds, placing a kiss to her head. "That girl was mean. I hope she got told off and grounded for hurting you." Rose huffs snuggling into her sister. "Well, she was sent off and I can't imagine she'll get away without the ban being extended." Laura explains with an angry look on her face. I notice that Y/n reaches out and squeezes her hand in comfort, instantly calming down her fuming girlfriend.

"When can you come home?" Rose now asks as Lizzie makes herself comfortable. "We're not sure yet sweetie. Y/n has to have surgery tomorrow so probably a couple of nights." I explain, making Rose pout. "But I have school tomorrow." She complains. "That's ok Rosie. When I'm home we can have a movie day. Mom, dad, and Cosmo could join us too. What do you think?" Y/n suggests to help placate the 7 year old. "Can Laura come too?" Rose asks shyly. "Of course!" Y/n replies happily.

Lizzie's eyes go wide when she hears what Y/n called us as both Colin and I smile. Lizzie looks to me and I nod to confirm she heard correctly. "I'm happy for you." She mouths to me, not wanting to disturb the kids who are rambling about what movies to watch.

We spend the evening together, chatting and laughing. It's really nice, considering we're sat in a hospital room with my injured daughter laid up in bed. But as it hits 8pm, the nurse comes in and tells us that visiting hours are over. "Are you sure you're going to be ok on your own?" I ask Y/n, worried to leave her. "I can always talk to them about letting me stay." I offer but she shakes her head. "I'll be ok mom. I'm pretty tired so I'll probably get some sleep." She reassures me. "Ok, I'll have my phone on loud so if you need anything, just call or text ok. I can be here in 20 minutes." I tell her and she nods.

I bid her goodnight, leaving a soft kiss to her head, reminding her how much I love her. Colin does the same before picking up a sleepy Rose. We leave Y/n and Laura to have a moment before we all leave together. "Do you want me to drop Rose at your moms?" Lizzie offers, but I shake my head. "Thanks, but we'll go. I'd like to see Cosmo." I respond and she nods. "How about I drive you home. That way this lot can get back." Lizzie suggests turning to Laura.

She blushes at the attention making me smirk. She's totally fangirling right now! "Oh, you don't need to do that Ms Olsen." She declines. "Don't me stupid, come on. Besides it gives me a chance to get to know my niece's girlfriend." Lizzie insists, making Laura gulp a little. "Oh, and don't call me Ms Olsen. I'm not old. Please just call me Lizzie." She adds on, earning a slow nod from the teenager. We all walk out to the car park together and say our goodbyes before heading home.

__________

The next morning, Colin and I are at the hospital as soon as we're allowed so we can be with Y/n before she heads into surgery. She's in a lot of pain this morning and had a bad night sleep, which is horrible to see. I think she's grateful that she's going to be unconscious for a few hours whilst they fix her leg.

The surgeon comes in and talks through the procedure, though most of it goes over my head. I'm just grateful that it seems to be helping Y/n. The nurses are then in to prepare her before we walk with them as they wheel her to the operating floor. "We'll be right here when you wake. Rose and Laura will be here after school too, so you've got that to look forward to." I tell Y/n, hoping to comfort her when I see worry in her eyes. "We both love you very much. Everything is going to be just fine." Colin says, pressing a kiss to Y/n's head. "I love you both too. See you in a few hours." She smiles. I hold her close one last time and watch as they take her away. Colin wraps his arm around me to comfort me as we begin waiting for her to return.

Instead of waiting around in a cold room, we head to the cafeteria and have some breakfast. We both skipped it this morning, worried about Y/n. We talk about what we can do to make things easier for Y/n when she gets home. She's going to be reliant on us for a while and I want everything to be as easy as possible for her.

"Shit, we need to call Danny?" I suddenly say. "Why? You're not planning on suing the kid are you?" Colin jokes, making me roll my eyes. "No. But it's the court case in 9 days." I point out and he lets out a quiet "oh." I know she'll still be able to testify, but she's not exactly going to be very mobile and it's just something else to add on to a stressful period for her. "Danny will know what to do. He's always got Y/n's interests at heart. I'll call him when Y/n is out of surgery, and we'll leave him to deal with anything that needs doing." Colin reassures me.

After about three hours, we move back to Y/n's room to wait. They said surgery will be around 4 hours, and I we don't want to miss her coming back. We settle in and I makes sure her pyjamas are out as I know she'll want to change as soon as she can.

Half an our later a nurse comes by to say that surgery went well and she's just in post op now before they bring her back. I let out a sigh of relief knowing that everything is ok. We can focus on recovery.

Colin and I both crowd around Y/n when they bring her back in. She's still unconscious but the doctor said she should wake shortly. We take our seats either side of our daughter, holding her hands and taking comfort that she's back with us. When she starts to stir, I move to gently run my hands through her hair. "M-mom." She stutters at a whisper. "I'm here sweetheart. Colin is too." I greet her as her eyes flutter open.

I give her the biggest smile I can which she tries to return. Her head then flops to the side to see Colin. "Hey kiddo. Glad you're awake." Colin smiles to her. "Hi dad." She returns. I don't think either Colin or I are going to get used to that, but I will love hearing it every time. I will never take for granted any of my kids calling me mom.

The doctor comes in when Y/n is more with it, confirming that surgery went really well and that he's confident of a full and complete recovery. This relaxes Y/n and I notice that she's become determined to get fit so she can be ready for playoffs when they come around.

That afternoon Laura and Rose come to visit. Laura kindly picked Rose up from school for us. Mom is going to bring Cosmo around dinner time so we can have some family time together. But thankfully, the doctor confirmed that Y/n can come home with us tomorrow. I'm grateful that she won't be in this hospital for longer. I want my daughter home with us so we can all look after her. She's got a stressful few weeks ahead and we want to be by her side, supporting her, through all of it.

Part 10

[seraphtrevs]

I'm going to go roll the rock away from Nacho's tomb in a minute to see if he's better yet, but before I do, I feel like talking about why we got Nacho Christ in the first place.

Both BrBa and BCS are heavily thematic. They have a point beyond things just happening. BrBa is about toxic masculinity and its life-destroying effects. Walt insists over and over that he turned to crime for the sake of his family, but in the final episode, he confesses to Skyler that he did it for himself. He “protected” and “provided” for his family not for their sake, but in order to feel powerful. That quest for power destroys Walt, his family, Jesse, and a shit-ton of other people, from the addicts he supplied with dangerous drugs to the people he killed (both on purpose and by accident).  Toxic masculinity, says Vince Gilligan, is bad.

So what is BCS trying to say? I don’t think the premise is as explicit as BrBa, partly because I’m pretty sure they didn’t start the series with this intention. But as they found their identity, it slowly started to take shape. BCS is about the folly of vengeance.

BCS 6x09 is in many ways the real finale of BCS—the end of Jimmy’s pre-Saul life. And just like BrBa made its premise explicit in its finale, BCS has the characters reference its theme directly, too. When Mike promises Manuel justice for Nacho, Manuel looks at him in disgust and tells him, “What you talk about is not justice. What you talk of is revenge.” The next scene finds Gus trying to make a human connection before realizing that his quest for revenge endangers anyone close to him, and he will lose them just like he lost Max. His life will always be empty of love and companionship. And Jimmy and Kim have lost each other, their lives and marriage torn apart, all because they wanted to get back at Howard. Revenge, says Peter Gould, is bad.

(courtesy cut for the tl;dr)

There were a lot of things that sent Jimmy down the slippery slope into becoming Saul, but two acts in particular turbo-charged his downfall. Even after Jimmy defeats Chuck’s attempt to kick him out of the law, he’s still angry. Humiliating Chuck at the hearing was a means to an end, but manipulating the insurance agent to hike HHM’s rates was pure vengeance, done solely to hurt Chuck. That action indirectly leads not only to Chuck’s suicide, but also to their final conversation when Chuck advises him to let go of his guilt and accept that he’s a bad person deep down inside and will never be anything else.

Jimmy’s big second act of vengeance is against Howard, which ends with him losing the love of his life. And once Kim leaves, Jimmy embraces the worst parts of himself, which leads to him enabling Walt’s reign of terror. Revenge has poisoned his life.

Mike’s story also illustrates the anti-vengeance theme. Before the show even begins, Mike had taken his revenge by murdering his sons’ killers. It made him feel better temporarily, but ultimately it did not give him peace. Instead, he chases more vengeance, against Hector this time, which ultimately leads to his downfall.

Even Chuck’s story ties in with revenge. Chuck wanted to punish Jimmy—for stealing from their parents, but also for being more loved than him (in his warped perception). This obsession with taking down Jimmy leads to his disgrace and death.

So what does this have to do with Nacho Christ? A lot, because Christ symbolism is often used around themes of forgiveness—the opposite of revenge. But BCS has a more nuanced point of view than turn the other cheek. BCS’s Christ figure dies cursing the people who wronged him. Clearly the point isn’t that Nacho should have forgiven Gus, or Gus should have forgiven Hector, or Mike should have forgiven his son’s murderers.

Instead, BCS says the alternative to revenge is to forgive yourself. But forgiving yourself is not an easy action, because to truly be at peace, you have to make amends where you can. Nacho’s crimes put his father’s life in danger. He made amends by sacrificing his life to save his father. Jimmy makes amends by publicly admitting to his lies and telling the truth at last, which leads to the loss of his freedom.

An important point is that neither Jimmy nor Nacho made their sacrifices just to punish themselves. Self-punishment does not lead to forgiveness, although the price of truly being able to forgive yourself is sometimes steep.

Nacho was backed into a corner. He could have instead gone down the path of revenge by letting Gus kill his dad and then swearing vengeance on Gus. But that would have been pointless and not given him any relief from his guilt. Instead, he chose to sacrifice his life in order to get his dad out of the danger his action put him in. Nacho’s death wasn’t a punishment—it was just the natural outcome of the action he had to take to make amends.

Likewise, Jimmy going to prison wasn’t the point. In order to be an honest person, Jimmy had to start telling the truth, not just to himself but to the rest of the world. A consequence of telling that truth was prison time.

The show goes out of its way to demonstrate that point with Kim’s story. Her Floridian exile is a punishment she concocted for herself, thinking that suffering would make her feel less guilty. But it doesn’t. Inflicting pain on herself does nothing to make up for what she did to Howard.

In order to forgive herself, Kim must make amends. What does finally help is confessing to Cheryl in order to help restore Howard’s reputation. The consequence of her confession is that she’s put herself in legal jeopardy, but that isn’t the point. The point is she's doing what she can to make up for her actions, which allows her space to forgive herself.

At the same time, self-forgiveness doesn’t always involve a high cost. Mike’s path to self-forgiveness was to be a supportive presence in Kaylee and Stacey's lives—to take on the role Matty would have played if he had lived. He didn't need to buy them a house with dirty money. He just needed to be there. But ultimately, facing his demons and taking on the hard work of processing his grief was too painful for Mike. Instead, he took refuge in revenge and became even more lost.

So that's why we needed Nacho Christ. He is the negation of the cycle of vengeance.

[nehswritesstuffs]

fly little seagull, the world awaits - Part 2 of 4

So, like, I wrote an ending for this, right? The very next day I read ch.1079. Now there’s... complications. Let’s see how this goes.

Chapter 1 on [tumblr] - [FFN] - [AO3]

With Nauja now a fixture on the ship, Law and the rest of the Hearts adjust to having a child in-tow. [8344 words; AU where Law accidentally lets the adoption cycle continues]

“Captain! Captain! You have a message from the Marines!”

Law scowled as he accepted the letter from his crewmate and opened it, trying to keep Nauja from reading over his shoulder. It was a job from the Government. “Looks like we’re getting put to work.”

“What do they want this time?” Jean Bart glowered. What a way to ruin a day lazing about atop deck. “I am sick of hiding every time we need to report.”

“You’re in luck—it looks like I just have to take care of some business in Gallandria. That’s not too far from this point. Might not even need to get the rest of you involved.” Law raised both eyebrows slightly as he continued reading—intriguing. “Some low-bountied pirates got past Fish-man Island on a fluke and are causing havoc…”

“…but not enough to warrant the Marines to investigate?”

“What would you rather do? Stop rebuilding your headquarters to deal with small pickings, or let your lapdogs take care of the pickings for you?”

“Why do you let them tell you what to do?” Nauja asked curiously. “Bart-ya says we are pirates because we are free! Isn’t free not being told what to do?”

“It is, but it also isn’t,” Law said. He thought for a moment, considering  his words carefully. “Freedoms always come with prices. Pirates don’t do lots of many things that the Marines like, but I’m one of the pirates the Marines ignore as long as I do things for them now and then. Sometimes it involves going after other pirates. It’s not ideal, but it works for the time being.”

“Would all the pirates be free if the Marines disappeared?”

“No—although they try to keep what they call order and justice by fighting pirates, if the Marines were gone, then the Government would be gone, and as much as I hate them, some of them are good people who protect other good people… there’s just not as many of them as there should be. Besides, not all pirates are like us and do things like take care of children.”

“They’re not…?”

“No. Many pirates are murderers and destroy for no reason. We simply have our own goals and don’t want to get involved with civilian matters—the specifics are complicated—and becoming pirates is the price we pay.” He felt bad for the amount of misdirecting about himself he was doing, but knew he’d clarify everything one day. “We’re able to sail the seas, but we do so without our families or a home on dry land. We are ‘free’ because we gave up so many things in return… things that normal people might call freedom, such as social supports and rules to keep them safe.”

“Oh…” Nauja went quiet as she thought. “I don’t get it.”

“That’s alright—you go and make sure your backpack’s ready for a quick getaway, okay?”

“Okay!” Nauja scurried down below deck, which allowed Jean Bart to scoff once she was out of earshot.

“You loathe the Government as much as I do,” he noted curiously. “Why would you tell her anything less?”

“…because I don’t know when I’m going to have to leave her or why or where,” Law said. “She’s young enough to learn to not hate everyone, but old enough to start learning what nuance is. If I can prepare her for that…”

“You needn’t say more,” Jean Bart said, patting his captain on the shoulder. “To see the world through the eyes of a child again… to no longer know the pain… there is so much I would give, and yet…”

“…the knowledge you have is worth more than anyone can fathom.” Both men nodded at one another. “C’mon; let’s make sure she stays out of the boiler room before Ikkaku-ya pops a gasket.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“What’cha doing?”

Law looked over to find Nauja staring up at him as he sat hunched over his desk. His eyes flicked over towards the door—still shut—and wondered how the fuck she got in there without him realizing.

“Reading,” he said plainly.

“…but it’s not one of the textbooks,” she noted. Ah, yes, it was built much differently than his other books, wasn’t it?

“It’s a comic,” he said. “I’ve been reading it since I was your age.”

“Oh! What’s it called?!” she asked, climbing into his lap. “Sora, Warrior of the Sea… sounds cool! What’s it about?”

“A Marine that fights on the side for Justice in the North Blue against the evil army Germa 66, which is led by a family of super-powered villains,” he explained. Stars formed in her eyes and he tried not to laugh—he had yet to meet a small child immune to Sora. “Even though the main character is a Marine, it inspired a lot of kids from the North to become pirates when they grew up.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. A lot of what Sora does in his fight against Germa 66 is tough for Marines to do, because he just does what he thinks is necessary. Any good person who becomes a Marine has to do a lot more paperwork and appeasing bad coworkers than the story shows. It would be very difficult to fight the real Germa 66 like he does.”

“Wait… the bad guys are real?!”

“Very real.” He gave her a gentle hug with one arm. “The comic book might be fantasy and a way for the Marines to look better, but Germa 66 is a group no one wants to tangle with. They’re assassins for hire; mercenaries; powerful rented soldiers; monsters of science and technology.”

“Whoa… can I read it too?!” Nauja asked. Law plucked another volume from the shelf above his desk and handed it to her.

“This is the first one—I have all the volumes so far.”

“Thanks, Law-san!” She hugged him tightly before sliding off his lap and scurrying out of the room.

“Just ask if you need me to explain anything!” he called out after her. She did not respond, being halfway to her room already. He shook his head and went back to the volume on his desk, wondering when it was she was going to catch up to where he was.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Taking a deep breath, Law steadied himself as he prepared to go through another round of his practice katas. It had been a while since he legitimately trained with just Kikoku, and he could feel it in the way his muscles were on fire. He needed to be sharp with his sword as well as his Devil Fruit, and it was frankly appalling how rusty he’d become. Now, atop the uppermost deck of the Polar Tang, he at least had some peace and quiet as the rest of the crew played on the beach nearby. He took off his soaked shirt and drew Kikoku once again, letting it sing as he went through the motions, alone in his pursuit.

“Law-san! What are you doing?!”

Well, nearly alone.

“I’m going through my katas.” He tried to not look at the girl who was standing just out of reach, feeling her presence with his Haki instead. “It’s been too long since I’ve done them.”

“Why’s that?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I use a pretty big sword. That takes constant practice to maintain.”

“Can I try?”

Law had to stop mid-set to stare at her.

“Nauja-ya, my sword is taller than you are on your tiptoes and holding your hands up. No.”

“If I’m a pirate, I’m gonna need to know how to fight! Your sword is super-cool! Can’t I learn how to use something like that?”

“Any sword demands more height from its wielder than you currently posses,” he scowled. She pouted in response—she did not want to budge. “If you’re that set on it, let me see how you fare with a knife. Go bother Uni—he has some.”

Nauja stomped away in clear irritation. Thinking that was that, Law went back to his katas, only for her to return fifteen minutes later with one of Uni’s sheathed knives in her hands.

“Teach me!” she demanded.

“No.”

“Teach me, please! Uni said we can use his dull knife for practice!”

“I said no.”

“…but you’re good with swords! I want to use a sword when I’m older!” Law tried glaring at her in an attempt to make her back down, only for it to feel like Kikoku was mocking him for her refusal to leave.

He had to hand it to her—she was stubborn. Familiarly stubborn.

“Fine, fine; get over here,” he muttered. Nauja gasped happily and bounced over to his side as he sheathed Kikoku and rested it against the wall. He took the knife and inspected it—too dull for fighting purposes, certainly, but still too sharp—and temporarily blunted the edges by shaving off parts of the blade with his Devil Fruit. It was still heavy when he handed it back to her, but it was still less likely to injure someone.

“When I’m bigger, will a sword feel as heavy as this knife?”

“That would depend on how comparative a full sword would be to your growth rate. If you’re serious about this, we’ll need to work on your strength and endurance. The blade might feel fine now, but in a fight, it can become heavy quickly when you’re tired.”

“I promise I’ll work hard, Law-san!” Nauja beamed. Something swelled in him as he eased her through katas, concentrating on the movements involved in slashing someone’s hamstrings or stabbing up into a groin. Was it pride? Fear? Something else entirely? He wasn’t certain.

Later on, away from the captain’s prying eyes, two of the Heart Pirates gave their youngest member her very first real knife: a dirk with a seagull emblazoned on the sheath. Her eyes lit up and she hugged them excitedly, feeling like she was a real pirate. She showed it to Law-san immediately, which made him both  glad she had a weapon of her own, and furious at exactly the same.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Law-san, I have a question.”

“I am a little busy,” he replied. Nauja of course had to come into the infirmary while he was running bloodwork to see what sort of antibodies his crewmates now possessed after half of them came down with a cold that hadn’t responded to the usual medication. He and Clione were going through all the samples one by one, taking as detailed of notes as possible.

“…but, you said I can always ask you a question,” she reminded him.

“She’s got a point, Cap,” Clione said idly. Law grunted sourly and looked at Nauja, who was holding a Sora compilation book.

“Yes, you can borrow it,” he said in an attempt to anticipate her question.

“Oh, I know that,” she replied. “I just wanted to know who those people were.”

Law’s stomach dropped. “Which people?”

“The ones in the photos by your desk. I saw them when I was getting this.” She held up the book as evidence. “You’re in some of them, so I figure you know.”

“I’ll, uh, be back,” Law muttered. Clione waved him off nonchalantly—the kid did ultimately come first. He went back to his room with the girl and watched as she climbed into the desk chair and pointed at the worn photos held to the wall by magnets.

“Who are these people?” Nauja wondered. “I’ve never seen them before!”

Fuck… of course.

“Do you remember when I explained that you were staying with us?” He watched as she nodded in affirmation. “This is my sister Lami.”

“Oh…” she realized quietly. “Does that mean this is your mom and dad?”

“Yeah. Maybe your Oma and Opa, in another life. They were both well-known, amazing, talented doctors. They are what steered me towards medicine to begin with.”

“Does that mean then that this is… uh…?” She pointed at the blond in another photo, trying to reach for the name.

“Cora-jiisan,” he confirmed. “I know they all would have loved you, if they got the chance.”

“How did they die?”

“Poison. The World Government poisoned them.” He watched her nose scrunch in confusion as she tried to process why a little family would be treated that way. “There was a mineral that was mined in our hometown that the Government knew was dangerous when disturbed, but ignored the danger because it made them a lot of money. No one where I grew up knew about the poison until the whole country became sick at once after generations of exposure. Whoever didn’t die of the poisoning like Lami did, were killed by soldiers sent in by the Government to stop the spread of what they said was an infectious disease. That’s how my parents died.”

“Why did they kill everyone?”

“To cover up the source of why everyone was sick.” He pointed to a photo of him and Cora-san. “See those white patches on my skin there? That was one of the symptoms. He passed it off as a harmless skin condition while we were going from hospital to hospital.”

“So, you found a cure?”

“I ate my Devil Fruit,” Law took off his lab coat and laid it on the bed so that he could roll his sleeve up to his elbow. “Do you see something here on my skin? Hiding in my tattoo?” She hesitated before putting her fingers on his forearm, right over an old scar. “That’s one of the places my Devil Fruit couldn’t fix, so I had to cut it out. There are bits like that all over my body and most of them are covered by my tattoos. If the wrong people found out that’s what my scars were from, it would mean the whole crew would be in danger.”

“That’s… scary.”

“It is, but it is also the truth.” She clutched the Sora complication to her chest, biting her lower lip in thought. “Does it make you feel sad? Uncomfortable? Angry?”

“…yeah…”

“That’s good, because I guess you also feel like you never want something like that to happen again. Am I right?”

She nodded.

“That’s how you’re supposed to feel,” he explained. “Penguin, Shachi, and Bepo know about it in detail, but no one else. I mean, the rest of the crew have an idea, know bits and pieces, but they don’t know the full extent of what happened.”

“So, I can’t talk about it to the crew?”

“I’d prefer you not. The more people talk about it, the more likely it is I’ll get targeted by people who will want to finish the job. We think that part of my former bounty is purely because I survived.”

“That’s… wrong.”

“It is, but that doesn’t change the fact it happened.”

“Can you… tell me about them? About your home?”

“…I can. Knowing about them is dangerous, though. Are you sure?”

“They’d be my family if they were here. It would be home if it still existed. I should know, shouldn’t I?”

“Then yes, you should.” Law sniffled slightly as he nodded, trying to recall some of the better stories to tell her. “How about the time my sister stole all my Sora comics and used them as coloring books?”

“What?! No way!”

While it didn’t surprise him in the slightest, Clione had to finish the bloodwork by himself. He brought the results to Law, who was still in his cabin, Nauja curled up on his bed napping while he stared at old photographs procured from an old boot-box. He took it, croaked out a thanks, and kept shuffling through the memories in a way his crewmate had never really seen before.

Maybe, just maybe, this was how it was meant to be.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Alright everyone, new calendar!” Penguin shouted over the din of the mess hall. He held up a spiral-bound booklet and a pen high enough for everyone to see. “New calendar—write your shit on it before this one gets tossed in the furnace too!”

“It was a fucking accident!” groaned the guilty party, sinking in his seat. Some chuckles came from his crewmates and they all began to pass around the booklet.

“What do we write on it?” Nauja asked as the calendar inched down the table towards her. Ikkaku raised an eyebrow.

“Anything we want,” she replied. “Most of us write down our birthday and the day we joined up. Sometimes any holidays we think are important. Most of the time it gets transferred one year to the next by someone else, but an accident happened to the old one.”

“Oh…” The little girl watched as the mechanic was passed the calendar. “Can I write on it?”

“I don’t see why not.” Ikkaku finished marking her birthday and join date and flipped to a specific month, pointing out a day. “We got you then.”

“Thanks!” Nauja then went and carefully wrote her name in prim, careful block letters. “Nauja, joined!” She then found a different month, putting down her name and a heart in one of the squares. “That’s my birthday!”

“Is that so?” Ikkaku nodded. She took note of the day and noticed how close it was. “Does the captain know?”

“He asked me my birthday when I first got here, so he should.” Nauja then passed the calendar to Uni, who proceeded to take care of his business. “Why?”

“Just wondering,” Ikkaku shrugged. She watched as the little girl across the table from her nonchalantly went back to her lunch. Something told her that it was something she was going to need to bring up to the only adult not currently in the room, the sooner the better.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“I don’t understand how that’s my problem and not the committee’s. Why even have a ‘birthday committee’ if you’re not going to let it do its job?”

Ikkaku scowled sourly, folding her arms over her chest as her captain attempted to ignore her presence. Seas, he was so fucking dense sometimes that it made her want to scream as she knocked the fucking test tubes all over the infirmary floor.

“Her birthday’s coming up and we almost missed it,” she reiterated. “She is very attached to you and I think that, at least this first time, it would mean the world if you were the one to throw her first birthday party on the Tang.”

“That would be favoritism,” he claimed.

“She’s going to be seven—I think the rest of the adults on the ship can deal.”

“Which ones?”

Why did he insist on being so fucking difficult?

“Listen, Cap: the kid you’re letting stay on the ship has her birthday soon and she’s going to want to celebrate it. I know you’re a fucking spoilsport who hasn’t celebrated his birthday since you were her age or something stupid like that, but if you ruin this for her then you are going to be in a world of trouble.”

“What’s the worst you can do?” he wondered idly. “I’m too scary to mutiny against, so… leave the crew…? Not that strong a threat.”

“You forget, o-insular-one, that I know what blackmail is.”

Law finally glanced over from his microscope, more of a glare than anything else. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“1519, Zeferia Harvest Festival; how many tankards of beer did you have again? Twelve?”

“Eleven.”

“Same difference.” She grinned devilishly. “No matter how you shake it, you were extremely drunk and so were those twins. I was not drunk, but I was in possession of a Photo Den Den.”

“I hate you.”

“Mmhmm… no you don’t. Someone’s got to keep you in line, and it sure as fuck isn’t any of the other idiots.”

Groaning in frustration, Law stomped over to where he kept the crew’s medical records and pulled out Nauja’s, immediately finding her birthday. Fuck, it was soon, wasn’t it? He showed it to Ikkaku and she nodded in confirmation.

If ghosts were real, he needed to consult with Lami’s, and quickly.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Oh, what a lovely little girl! What are you doing out without your mommy and daddy?”

Nauja looked up at the middle-aged lady and crinkled her nose. The crew had stopped on an island and were now wandering around the market in an effort to stretch their legs and take in some of the local color while stocking up on supplies. Nauja was no different, as she had gotten her own spending money from Law-san like everyone else and was told to get herself supplies. She was outside a stationary store and looking at the many pens on display when the woman approached her.

“I’m with them,” she said plainly, pointing across the street. There were a few other Heart Pirates, trying to haggle over the prices of some produce. The woman raised her eyebrow; the Hearts were still in their boilersuits, while the little girl had on a t-shirt and shorts.

“Those are pirates, dear. I want to know where your parents are.”

“Close enough,” Nauja replied casually. “My mom and dad were mean and ditched me, so now I’m with them. It’s an upgrade.”

“Is it now…?” the woman grimaced. She then noticed the knife at the girl’s side. “Did they give you that?”

“Not them across the street,” Nauja said, getting irritated. “Penguin-ya and Shachi-ya gave me this. They’re not here.”

“…and why aren’t they with you?”

“They’re going that way, to see if they can do some sex.” Nauja pointed towards the less savory of the taverns, where there were already individuals for hourly hire milling about outside. The woman stared, completely aghast at the words coming from the child’s mouth.

“They told you that?! It’s very inappropriate for a girl your age to know!”

“They didn’t tell me that—Ikka-ya told me that. She’s finding some sex too.”

“Why’s she doing that instead of taking care of this kid?” the woman mused aloud. “How irresponsible!”

“Law-san’s responsible for me—he’s the captain. It kinda means he’s responsible for all of us, but mostly me because I’m still little.”

“Then I think I might want to speak with this captain, so I can tell him you should be in a better environment,” the woman scowled. “Now where is this idiot who thinks a bunch of filthy pirates can raise a little girl when they’re clearly more interested in whores than her wellbeing?”

“Behind you.”

A chill went down the woman’s spine and Nauja brightened at Law inserting himself into the conversation. The woman turned around to see Law towering over her, his glare intense and harsh.

“I… uh… I mean…”

“Nauja-ya, I have some books I think will be able to help your reading and maths, as well as some simpler volumes on chemistry and biology than what I have in the ship,” he said, gesturing to the bag in his hand. “Clione-ya also is looking for you; there’s some fabric at the shop that he is considering using for a boilersuit for you, but he wants your opinion first.”

“He knows as long as it’s not flowers or pink or red!” she scowled. A grin then crept across her face, terrifying the woman. “Law-san? Why is it inappropriate that I know some of the crew are finding people to have sex with?”

“It’s only inappropriate if we’re keeping you from understanding what that is,” he explained. “Lots of kids don’t learn about it until much later, but since you are studying medicine and live on a pirate ship with almost two dozen sexually-frustrated adults, it’s necessary that you know.”

“So I don’t interrupt private time?”

“Exactly.” He then looked at the woman, who was nearly frozen in shock. “You have a problem with how we’re raising her, take it up with the Government. I’m sure they’ll step in. Send a social worker. Tell me how I’m a bad, terrible parent when I’m the reason she’s cared for to begin with. Go on. Do it.”

Sufficiently cowed, the woman left the pavement in front of the stationary store and escaped from the wrath of the pirate captain and his ward. The little girl giggled and looked up at her adult, whose stoic expression quieted her quickly.

“Not a word of this to the rest of the crew, you hear?” he mentioned. “Last thing we need is them getting bent out of shape because of some nosy old auntie who doesn’t mean anything.”

“That’s fair,” she nodded. She then turned back to the pens and frowned. “Is it okay that I stay with you? That no one on the crew is my mom or my dad?”

“I think you have something a little better than that,” Law assured. “Now let’s finish here so we can get back to Clione. You know how grumpy he gets.”

“He does,” she smirked, voice lightening considerably. She then had him help her pick some pens and a couple notebooks inside, because yes… she did have something better, didn’t she?

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Laying on her stomach while she read, Nauja kicked her feet idly as she went through the medical textbook that Law-san had left her with. He had left for a Warlord summons a week beforehand and had assigned her homework. Well, everything she did for studying was technically homework, but at the same time, it was something to keep her occupied while he was gone. She would thus take her work all around the Polar Tang and study in the varying rooms alongside the other Heart Pirates.

“What do you think is for dinner tonight?” she wondered aloud. She was in the bunkroom, humming happily on Jean Bart’s bunk while the large man in question sat on the floor knitting.

“Something good, I imagine,” Jean Bart replied. He kept his eyes on the yarn and needles in his hands, the metal clacking nearly echoing in the otherwise-empty bunkroom. “Something else is on your mind, isn’t it?”

“No…”

“Are you sure?”

Nauja hesitated, looking over at Jean Bart before frowning. “I guess I miss Law-san.”

“Do you now?”

“Yeah. He’d be able to tell me more about what’s in the book I’m reading.” She folded her arms and let her forehead sink down to them, her voice muffled. “I kind of also wanted him here for my birthday.”

“You know he can’t control when he is summoned.”

“I know… but still!” She lifted her head again in a pout. “I don’t know if he even knows when it is. He didn’t mention anything about it.”

“He reads the calendar just like everyone else.”

“…but the Government doesn’t.”

Jean Bart nodded at that. “Not our calendar, at the least.” He then held up his project for the girl to see. “What do you think?”

“Oooh, it’s cute,” she replied. He then began to go through the motions to secure the yarn and finish it off. “Why do you do that?”

“Knit? It’s calming. I learned how to do it before I came to travel on the Tang. It reminds me of my first crew.”

“It looks more boring to me.”

“That’s why I’m not making you do it,” he chuckled. He finished tying off the end and handed the hat to Nauja, who immediately jammed it on her head. “Think that will keep you warm on the next winter island?”

“Yes, thank you!” She gave him a hug and went back to her studying, keeping him company as he started on another project, this one a crocheted blanket. They stayed like that for a while before Uni popped his head in nearly an hour later.

“Hey, dinner!” He watched as Nauja rolled off the bunk and Jean Bart put his cushion and crocheting away. “Ah, finished with another project?”

“Now I get a hat!” Nauja grinned. She allowed Uni to carry her on his shoulders as they went to the mess hall, where Penguin was already serving dinner to the rest of the crew. “Oh! Onigiri!”

“That’s right, kiddo,” Penguin chuckled. Uni put Nauja down and she bounced over to the other man’s side. “Got some special umeboshi-filled ones for you right here.”

“You’re the best, Penguin-ya!” She hugged his legs before grabbing her plate and a juicebox. “This is the best birthday dinner! Thank you so much!”

“Alright, alright; way to boost a guy’s ego,” Penguin laughed. “Now go sit down and eat before it gets cold.”

Nauja happily brought her dinner to her special spot—the one with old manuals for her to sit on—and sat down. Everyone was so happy as they ate that it almost didn’t feel as though the captain was missing. She wanted Law-san to be there, but she knew that sometimes adults had to do stuff like not be around for things. It sucked, but at the same time, she knew that when it came to Law-san, it was something he did not enjoy.

What was enjoyable, however, was when everyone was done with their food, Bepo brought out a cake! It had seven candles, which took her a few puffs to extinguish. The crew cheered and they began the party proper—it was her birthday, after all!

After only a few bites of cake, however, the entire room went silent. Nauja saw that the crew was all staring at the entrance to the mess hall and her eyes followed their gaze, only for her to gasp.

Law-san.

He looked like he had recently been in a fight, and that he probably should have been in the infirmary first, but he instead was there, standing in the doorway, his bag still slung over his shoulder and looking at her with a relieved sense of fondness. The girl slid from her seat and ran up to him; just enough time for him to go down on a knee and open his arms before she tackled him in a hug.

“Happy birthday, Nauja-ya,” he whispered in her ear. She hugged him tighter, her small arms around his neck. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

“This is the best birthday present,” she squeaked.

At that, the crew cheered once again and they cut another slice of cake for their captain, who was back an entire week earlier than expected from Shichibukai Shit. Now the party could truly begin, much to everyone’s delight. Presents started after the cake, as did the passing around of alcohol, and singing and dancing and other things to distract the rest of the crew from the child’s delight as she opened the packages passed to her.

A new blanket. A child-sized Sora mug. Books. Paper and pens. A sword-care kit. A new backpack.

Except, nothing really compared to the fact she had Law-san sitting next to her, eating his not-umeboshi-filled onigiri as he watched her open presents. He even slipped a hand into his bag and pulled out a small stack of unwrapped books, passing them to her unnoticed in the din of the party.

Books on Flevance, the language, a dictionary, a photobook… all things he would have had to hunt for in order to acquire.

It really was the best birthday ever.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It was the middle of the night and Law was wide awake in his room, reading the latest medical journal he picked up while in port. Most of the articles were standard enough, but he did find a couple statements and findings that piqued his interest beyond what the articles could provide. He was taking notes on them when he heard a soft thudding noise against his door. Reaching out with his Haki, he could sense that Nauja was there…

…and she was scared…?

Cautiously, Law opened the door to see a pajama-clad Nauja standing there, tears and snot streaming down her face and Professor Nanuk’s arm clutched tightly in one hand.

“What’s this?” he asked. Soon as the girl noticed that the door was open, she stumbled her way into the room and crashed into Law’s long legs. She was mumbling incoherently and her whole body shook as she sucked in shaky breaths. Sighing, Law picked her up and closed the door, making it so that they had some privacy as he held her close. “Come on, Nauja-ya; tell me what’s wrong.”

She trembled in his arms and whimpered, curling into a ball around Professor Nanuk.

“Alright then,” he decided, “I’m going to go back to my studying and you’re going to stay with me. Talk when you’re ready.” She nodded into his chest and he sat down, keeping one arm securely around her as she stayed in his lap. The child slowly uncurled and one hand went to clutch his shirt in spite of her trembling fingers.

“Can… can you do the thing…?” she croaked, tapping on her face with Professor Nanuk’s paw. Law put down his pen and activated a Room.

“Hold still,” he said. Seconds later and all her snot was in the wastebasket, the girl finally able to breathe properly again. “Better?”

“Yeah…” She clung closer to him, her voice quiet. “I had a bad dream.”

“What sort of bad dream?”

“I was… I was running, and there was fighting and fire all around me. Scary people were everywhere. People were dying.”

“Is that something you read in a book?” he asked, trying to think of all the Sora storylines over the years. “You know those are pretend, right?”

“It wasn’t from a book—it looked real,” Nauja insisted. “I don’t know where I was or who was fighting, but that’s what my dream was. Why did I dream that?”

Possibly some form of Haki, Law thought, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. “The brain is a very curious thing. We don’t know why it does a lot of the things it does, like give us strange dreams or make us think in certain ways. Maybe the how, the mechanics of it, but not the why. I think maybe you just had a dream to make us ask why… if that makes sense.”

“I guess,” she muttered. They were silent for a moment, with him stroking her hair as he allowed her to burrow in as close as she could. “Uh… Law-san…?”

“Nauja-ya…?”

“Can I… uh…?”

“Of course you can,” he replied. He kissed the top of her head and she squeaked happily. “Now go wash your face and drink a little bit of water, okay? That will make you feel much better.”

Nodding, Nauja left Professor Nanuk in Law’s lap while she went into his bathroom to wash and drink some water. While she did that, he saved his place in the journal and placed the stuffed toy on his pillow. He waited until she scurried over to his bed and crawled in before he turned off the lights and joined her. Once he was sure the blankets were in place, Law tucked her head beneath his chin and put an arm around her in an effort to make her feel safe.

“Thank you, Law-san.”

“Get some sleep, Nauja-ya; we’re going to make landfall tomorrow.”

Within moments the girl was asleep, leaving her adult to lay there in the dark, brow furrowed as he glared at the metal wall across from him. If that was Observation Haki, then it was extremely advanced. She was only seven years old; to sense a nearby war, to see images of said place, even look slightly into the future… it was all highly advanced stuff even for adults… again, if that was it and not some bizarre dream.

He felt the small hand tighten around his shirt and he exhaled heavily; just another thing to worry over, he supposed.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Nauja’s hair was getting long.

It had been over a year since it had last been cut and it was getting to be long enough to braid. The girl looked at herself in the washroom mirror and frowned—she wasn’t sure if she liked it now that it was longer again. She finished brushing her hair and placed it in pigtails before bringing her bathroom stuff back to her room. After grabbing a book, she went into the galley and saw Law, Penguin, Shachi, and Bepo sitting around, talking quietly to each other over some coffee.

“Well, well, don’t you look cute today, Nauja-chan,” Shachi teased. “You get any cuter and we’re going to have to watch out.”

“I don’t like it,” she huffed. She saw that Law was staring at her and she knew why. “Can you fix it?”

“It’s hair that you take care of,” Penguin said. “There’s nothing to fix.” He was then cut off from saying more by the scrape of Law’s chair against the floor. “Captain…?”

Wordlessly, Law walked out of the mess hall and made his way down to the infirmary, with Nauja trailing not far behind. He found a high stool and sat her on it before securing a cloth around her neck to  shield her lavender coveralls from stray hair.

“I liked how it looked before,” she claimed as he searched through the cupboards.

“Before it was uneven and patchy because Ikkaku-ya couldn’t get an even cut.”

“Then like it but better.” She pouted as the box of barber supplies was shoved in her hands despite the sheet that was in the way. “I look too much like her.”

“Like who?”

“You know. In the photo.”

Law nodded at the confirmation, gently taking the ties out of her hair. He then started combing it, making sure the tangles we all out properly, before taking the spray bottle from the box and spritzed her hair until it was damp. He then ran the comb through it again and repeated the process.

“You’re not her, you know,” he reminded her. “It wouldn’t matter if you had the same hair.”

“I know… I just liked it better before when it was short because it was easier.”

“It is easier, but you can also do less with it. There’s more than one of us that can put in braids, or make it fancy.”

“Nuh-uh,” Nauja said, shaking her head. “I don’t like it long or fancy.”

“As you wish.” He replaced the spray bottle and took the scissors from the box, snipping off her hair with the even, steady precision he used when giving the rest of the crew a trim. By the time he was done, it definitely looked like much nicer of a cut than it had been the first go-around. He handed her the mirror and let her look. “Better?”

“Yeah!” She kicked her feet happily as she was divested of the supply box and sheet. “Now I look like myself again! Thank you!”

“Now back to your studies—go on.” Law shooed her out of the infirmary and began to clean up, making a mental note to hunt her down the next time everyone was getting a trim on the top deck.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Granted, they never should have disembarked the Tang to begin with. Those on the crew with Observational Haki could feel the chaotic, murderous intent pouring from the island. Even Nauja could tell, which should have been the biggest warning sign of all, yet they went ashore anyhow because they were in need serious of supplies and didn’t know if they could last until the next port.

Should they have expected an ambush? Yeah, they really should’ve.

“I could really do without the fucking welcome committee on every other fucking island,” Law grunted. He was wrapped up in causing a distraction in one part of town while the rest of the crew concentrated on getting supplies in the other. It looked as though the main belligerent (someone who could manipulate metal as though it was clay or water, which was both annoying and unnerving) was nearly completely out of commission, which was good considering the Heart Captain was running very low on patience.

“Could be worse,” Penguin shrugged. “We could be fighting at sea.”

“True.” Law watched as the Devil Fruit user’s friends tried to piece her back together and others were in some version of retreat. “The fact I’m a Shichibukai means nothing to them.”

“If anything, it means that they want to take down one of the Government’s dogs,” Penguin reminded him. He tried to flick the blood off the tip of his spear; it didn’t work. “The comics make this seem easy.”

“If only,” Law scowled. A sense of dread then tugged at the edge of his consciousness, alerting him to… he wasn’t certain. “Something’s wrong.”

“Well, yeah, something’s wrong,” Penguin scoffed. “We don’t exactly get a lot of receptions like this…” The transponder snail in his boilersuit pocket began to chirp at him. “It better be fucking good…”

“She’s gone!” Shachi panted via the snail. “The group that took Nauja into town in plainclothes was surprise-attacked! The undercover tourists plan didn’t work!”

“Shit!” Penguin hissed. He turned to tell their captain of the development, only to find that the other man was already gone. “Oh, fuck, Papa Law’s been activated. Evac to the Tang. Now!”

“Wha… oh. Copy that.”

The Heart Pirates all began to retreat towards the Polar Tang, trusting that the situation was going to be under control in a matter of moments. They didn’t have to chase after Nauja to know that their captain was going to descend upon her captors with all the bloodlust and fury that he was technically saving for one specific man. His amber eyes would glint in rage and he would bleed the kidnappers until they were barely alive, anger nearly uncontrolled as he held Nauja in one arm while he vivisected with the other. There was nothing that they wouldn’t give to stay away from the captain in that mode.

By the time the crew had nearly finished loading up the supplies, Law and Nauja popped onto the wharf, the latter hiding her face in the former’s shoulder in the safety of soft feathers. The amount of blood and viscera on them both not only confirmed their suspicions, but posed plenty of questions as well. Nauja was trembling, Law was two shades from complete madness, and a chill swept through the crew as their captain spoke three simple words:

“Burn it. Now.”

Oh… oh shit.

“With pleasure, Captain,” Jean Bart replied gravely. He took some of the crew with him back into port, while the rest continued to load supplies and avoid their captain.

By the time the Polar Tang left the dock, the entire town was engulfed in flames and screams of terror; fitting for a visit from the Surgeon of Death.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Law couldn’t remember the last time he saw Bepo so happy.

None of them could, actually, and it was all while they were stuck in a port with a particularly finicky Pose reset. It was taking much longer than the usual New World Half Day, and that meant they had more time to wander the town, which led to…

“Guys! I want you to meet my cousin! This is Fred!”

Fred, as it turned out, was a giraffe. An incredibly stocky and built giraffe. That fact turned into an impromptu lesson in their corner of a dingy bar about Mink biology and how it both mimicked and was different from Fish-men and Humans. Fred was also a woman, as evident by the feminine voice and pronouns Bepo kept using.

Most members of the Heart Pirates were just glad to have Bepo so excited.

Ikkaku felt slightly betrayed having not known about this cousin beforehand.

Penguin and Shachi decided that if they met a Human like Fred, then they were definitely getting stepped on.

Nauja kept staring at the Mink with stars in her eyes, completely enamored by the concept of crewmates’ family.

Law, on the other hand, was making a valiant effort to be pragmatic about the entire ordeal.

“So you really never passed by other Minks while on the seas?” Fred wondered. She took a sip of her drink and raised an eyebrow at her cousin. “I would think that they’d be everywhere, given how many come and go.”

“It’s usually not understood what a willing migrant has truly lost until their children’s children start asking questions, not unless they ask the questions themselves,” Law stated gravely. “They don’t know garachu and live in fear of Sulong for the wrong reasons. Trust me when I say we’ve been trying to get your cousin back home for over a decade now.”

“I believe it,” she nodded. “Our people generally do not cling to Lesser Minks that are working against our best interests. Even a rocky start can lead to a true friendship.”

Law tried not to laugh as he felt embarrassment radiate off Penguin and Shachi—they all knew that any amount of inquiring and they were caught. “This leads to a very interesting question, Fred-ya: are you also a migrant, or just a traveler?”

“If this is you asking if I intend to return to Zou, then by all means.” She took a piece of paper from her inner jacket pocket and ripped off a piece, handing it to Bepo. “This is Gran’s Vivre Card. Her hip is not doing well, so she guarantees that she won’t be leaving anytime soon, not without warning.”

“What about Mom and Dad?”

“Uncle Yepo and Aunt Alana are doing fine—they’ll be overjoyed to hear from you.” Fred stared at her cousin, unable to keep her eyes off him, as though she wasn’t entirely sure she was dreaming or not. “We had funerals for you.”

“Minks have a second mourning period?” Clione wondered. Fred shook her head.

“His elder brother, Zepo, was amongst a Mink exploration crew that was branded pirate by the Government and slowly vanished,” she replied solemnly. “Few came back; he was not one of them.”

A few moments of awkward silence settled over the group before Law cleared his throat. “I think it’s time for Nauja-ya to get ready for bed. Can I trust you all to take care of it for me?”

Everyone took the hint and left Law and Bepo with Fred. Even Nauja herself knew that they needed privacy, stopping only long enough to give the polar bear a tight hug and a kiss to the cheek. Law waited until the rest of the crew was out of the bar before placing a hand on Bepo’s shoulder, letting him know it was okay to cry.

Bepo sobbed.

While there had always been the chance that Zepo had already died, there had still been the concept of hope attached to it. After all he had been through, after all that happened, he couldn’t even achieve his original goal. He cried and cried until he could no longer shed tears, instead squeaking out a request for some strong alcohol.

“Not until we get some water in you first,” Law stated. He got a large tankard of water for his navigator and set it down in front of him. “Now drink all of it. Slowly.”

Bepo nodded silently and began to nurse down the water, sniffles still overpowering his ability to do anything. Fred rubbed his back, assuring him that everything was fine.

“Fred-ya, I have a question for you.”

“Is now really the time?” she asked, gesturing at her cousin. “The bear is having a crisis.”

“This is the only time, because I doubt I’m going to get another shot of just the three of us again,” he replied. “What is your people’s policy on visitors?”

“We love visitors,” Fred said. “The reason we are taken as isolationist is due to the fact our home is difficult to access, but that doesn’t mean we turn away peaceful travelers who happen upon us. You and your crew are more than welcome, especially after you’ve taken such good care of one of our own. A warm reception waits you in Zou, Trafalgar Law.”

“Not me, but the rest of the crew,” Law said. “I have a plan that needs to be put into motion soon, but I need to get certain parties in safer surroundings.”

“We shall foster the cub for you, without a doubt.”

“I need all of them to be safe.” He scratched behind Bepo’s ears, which made the Mink whine. “There is something I need to do alone, but if I fail, I don’t want my crew to suffer retaliation.”

“How soon?”

“Soon—there’s a planned public event I’m basing this operation on, and I’d like to have them hidden before then.”

“I have some things to deliver and it shall take about two weeks’ time,” Fred said. “You can have them go ahead. With Bepo within their number, they shall not be turned away.”

“Don’t tell me you’re really thinking of doing it alone, Captain!” Bepo pouted. “You know we support you on this! We can help!”

“You’re the best fighter amongst them,” Law reminded him, “and I am not deliberately putting anyone in more danger than I think necessary. You all can handle a lot, but that doesn’t mean Doflamingo is anything but an easy warmup. It’s him I don’t trust.”

“You wish to face off against the Royal Shichibukai Donquixote Doflamingo? As a fellow Warlord, isn’t he your ally?”

“That man is no one’s ally but his own,” Law scowled. “You are certain that Zou is safe?”

“You need a Vivre Card of someone on Zunesha’s back in order to access Zou and the Momoko Dukedom; no one gives those without reason.” Fred regarded Law with a sort of stoicism that he didn’t think was possible in one of Bepo’s relatives. “Your cub and crew will be protected beyond a doubt.”

“It’s a kid, not a cub,” Bepo sniffled, the congestion starting to get to him. “Lesser Minks are really weird and picky about it.”

“Noted,” Fred acknowledged. She saw the look of resolve in her cousin’s captain’s eyes and felt a chill go down her neck and back.

This was a man who did not expect to live very long and was going to make his time left count.

[recreancyrpg]

BASICS.

NAME. John Dawlish AGE. 22 ALUMNI HOUSE. Hufflepuff BLOOD STATUS. Half-blood FACECLAIM. John Boyega

HISTORY.

Nobody in John’s family expected him to be an Auror. The Dawlishes were solid, dependable, sensible middle-class wix. They lived solid, dependable, sensible lives. They weren’t flashy people who went around doing silly, reckless things like Curse Breaking or flying sport professionally or taming dragons... or joining the Auror Department. But John had always had a keen sense of right and wrong, and an urge to stop the latter. It had made him a good prefect in school, and to the surprise of everyone except perhaps Professor Sprout when he’d been looking over career literatures in his fifth year, he’d found himself irresistibly drawn to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Even that wouldn’t have been too bad by his family’s standards: a career in the Magical Law Enforcement Career wasn’t common for Dawlishes, but there had been a few M.L.E.P. wix over the years. 

But that wasn’t what John wanted. He didn’t want to just keep the peace. He wanted to stop the bad guys. He wanted to be an Auror. It took a lot of hard work, but John had never been afraid of that. He put his head down, studied hard, and got to work. Maybe that was usually viewed as the Ravenclaw way, but John knew better. Ravenclaws were intelligent, but half of them were stuck with their heads in the clouds, envisioning pretty dreams and using their imaginations to be creative. Hufflepuff was where it was truly at if you wanted to get something done. When a Hufflepuff committed to something, then they were loyal. And John was loyal to his future - and to a world where justice prevailed. 

He got accepted into the program and started his three years in training. He learned about the rules that Aurors had to follow, but John was never afraid of rules. He liked rules, in fact; good, fair, clearly defined rules were what a healthy society was built on. It was perhaps little wonder that he excelled at his training. As difficult as some of it was, it also made sense. There was a bright clear line from point A to point B, and all John had to do was buckle down and work hard and get there. Whenever he had a goal in mind and a clearly-defined set of parameters to work within, there wasn’t much that John Dawlish couldn’t do. The problems started after he’d finally earned that badge.

The Auror Department wasn’t as just as he’d expected. Some of the officials were corrupt - following orders in a Ministry full of people that were probably Death Eaters themselves. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was out of control and the Aurors, with their strict rules and guidelines, were hardly making any leeway. It was that vigilante group that was truly doing the fighting, John realized. But joining something so illegal was not in his plan. He spent the first half of his first year as an Auror mostly doing paperwork and being the office runaround boy to older, more experienced colleagues. He didn’t get much fieldwork as he witnessed the destruction that continued to happen every day. So he fell into the trap that was the Order of the Phoenix with Alastor Moody bringing him into the fold. He’s only been part of the Order for the last six months - one of the newest members - and in that amount of time, the purebloods have been returned, the Order flipped on it’s head. And, despite his training and experience, he’s considered a rookie to people here, too. People like Peter Pettigrew or even the young kid Edgar Bones. It’s maddening and John is determined to prove himself.

CONNECTIONS.

ALASTOR MOODY. Moody’s methods as an Auror aren’t exactly John’s favorite, but there’s no doubt that the wizard has experience. John looks up to him in a way, while being slightly afraid of him in other ways. Moody isn’t reckless, though, which is something John can appreciate. Alastor’s the one who got him involved in the Order, as well. That must mean something, even if they wouldn’t classify as friends. Maybe a mentor is the better word. FELICITY PEMBLETON. Felicity is the kind of person that John feels compelled to fight for. That justice that is always powering his motives. Because she’d been accepted - until she wasn’t. If there’s anything important to a Hufflepuff, it’s fairness, and how is what happened to her fair at all? All due to the discovery of her blood-status and she’d been shut out, just like that. John is proud to fight for someone like her. MARLENE MCKINNON. What happened to her was awful - of course it was! John hadn’t been there at the time, but he’d joined the Order before her return. And he’s sympathetic, but he still doesn’t approve of the way she’s throwing caution to the wind since her return. He remembers her from school - they were in the same year, same house! - and she’d never been so reckless before. He’s afraid she’s only making things worse for herself.

JOHN IS OPEN.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“TORONTO YOUTHS ADMIT GUILT IN CAR THEFT CASE,” Hamilton Spectator. March 25, 1931. Page 7. ---- Leniency Sought is Up To the Attorney-General --- Albert Bziriwa May Face Charge of Perjury --- Man Greeted His Brother-in-Law Strangely ---- Fred Woodward and Fred Holle, the two Toronto lads who were found in Montreal at the end of a trail of stolen cars, were brought before Magistrate Burbidge in police court to-day on three charges. The lads were charged with the theft of a car in Hamilton, the theft of one in Toronto and breaking and entering a gasoline station in Hamilton. The jurisdiction of the Toronto case was transferred here by arrangement between the local and Toronto police and the accused boys.

The lads pleaded guilty to all charges and Joseph Sweet made an eloquent plea on behalf of Hoile, his client. Hoile has no previous record and Sweet asked for leniency in his care. The magistrate said that the attorney-general was the only one able to grant suspended sentence in a car-theft charge, so the case was laid over for one week. In the meantime the attorney-general will be communicated with and the views of the Toronto police will be learned.

May Face Perjury Charge Albert Bziriva, 16 Albemarle street, who, it is alleged, tried to obstruct justice by telling a false tale of planting alcohol in the ex- cise charge heard against Mrs. Fredorak last week, was remanded to-day for one week. At present a charge of fabricating evidence is laid against Bziriva. but acting Crown Attorney Alex MxFarlane intimated that more serious charges might be laid as a result of his actions

Acted Disorderly James Olcott, 494 Burlington street east, went to the address where his wife lived and made a disturbance after the magistrate had ordered him to stay away. A disorderly conduct charge was read against Olcott, but he contended that Detective Reg Hagen had given him permission to go and get his clothes and that was how the row started. The case was laid over for one day to allow Detective Hagen to appear.

A Strange Salute Apparently the accepted way to greet a brother-in-law on Albemarie street is very quaint. Steve Tomljanovich, 41 Albemarie street. acknowledged a visit from his brother-in-law, Krusmir Jaricia, by hitting him over the head with milk bottle, Jaricia stated. Both men denied that there was any previous bad feeling between the two and Jaricia said he had only been in the house a matter of seconds when he was knocked unconscious by a lusty blow from behind. Neither could explain the sudden attack and a black eye sported by the accused man also proved to be an unsolvable mystery. Steve was placed on probation for two years and fined $60.

Cases Adjourned Frank Lotocki, 18 Wilson street, was granted an adjournment of one week on an L.C.A. count. 

Lawrence Ferguson, 83 Ferrie street west, and John Williams, no address, held on vagraney charges, were remanded until March 30 for investigation.

 A traffic charge against Morgan Howell, Detroit, was laid over un- til the traffic court this afternoon. 

A breach of the Hoisting Engineers' act, laid against A. Cope Sons was put off until Friday. 

Minor Cases Alex. Saedden. 1173 King street east, paid $10 for a breach of the Power act, and Annie Kusowski, 7 Leeds streets, donated a century note for having liquor illegally. 

Theft Charge Luke Madigan, 191 Hess street north, was convicted of the theft of lead cable from the Canadian National Telegraph company and remanded one day for sentence. Inspector Thomas Brown found the accused on Park street with two long lengths of cable over his shoulder and asked him where they came from. When Luke couldn't tell the inspector satisfactorily, the man was taken to the station. The accused asked the police official if he thought a man who had stolen. the cable would carry it over his shoulder through the streets. Inspector Brown said he had never been in the business, so be wasn't acquainted with the ethics of the transportation of stolen cable.

Another Raid Frank Burd, 51 Caroline street, south, was convicted of keeping a disorderly house at that address and remanded one week for sentence. A liquor charge against Burd was laid over for one week also. An intensive drive by Morality Officers Boecker and Preston in recent weeks has cleaned out eight immoral dives in the city since January 1. On the witness stand Charlie Boecker stated this place, was the filthiest and the worst joint he ever stepped into in his years as a member of the morality squad.

Marion Hannaford, 30 Inchbury street, was convicted of being an inmate and remanded one week for sentence. Mrs. Nora Briscoe, step-daughter of Burd, was convicted of being found in the place and remanded for sentence until Friday.

[firebettercallnct]

petitions to sign. it only takes a minute.

Ahmaud Arbery

on february 23rd 2020, ahmaud arbery, an unarmed, 25-year-old black man, was shot to death while jogging in a neighborhood outside brunswick, georgia, after being pursued by two white men in a pickup truck. neither of his pursuers, a father and son named gregory and travis mcmichael, were arrested or charged with a crime until may, even though gregory admitted to police that travis was responsible for the shooting. 

Emerald Black

on june 7th, 2019, emerald black a pregnant, black woman, and her fiance were pulled over by police officers after coming from a doctors appointment. the reason for being pulled over was for bad registration tags. the officers spoke to ms. black's fiance while she stayed in the car. the officers began to order her out of the car. ms. black was clearly pregnant and she had let them know  that she had just gotten back from a doctors appointment where she was also informed that she was at a high risk for a miscarriage. despite this, the officers yanked ms. black, still in her hospital clothes, and threw her to the ground. they taunted her, piled on top of her, and stomped on her stomach causing her to miscarry. the stomp had also left a shoe mark. because of the abhorrent attacks done by the police, ms. black suffered not only physical, but emotional injuries. she lost her unborn child. 

Julius Jones

julius jones was 19-years-old, he was convicted of a murder he says he did not commit. Julius has lived on death row for almost 20 years, and is held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. he is allowed one hour of sunlight a day, and three showers a week. at the time of the crime for which he was convicted, julius was a 19-year-old student athlete with a promising future, attending the university of oklahoma on an academic scholarship.  eyewitnesses place mr. jones at his parents’ home at the time of the murder, miles away from the crime scene. 

Chrystul Kizer

chrystul kizer is an incarcerated trafficking survivor who is being charged with life in prison for acting in self-defense against her trafficker. 

Regis Korchinski-Paquet

regis korchinski-paquet was murdered by toronto police. a call was made for a domestic incident and toronto police officers were present on the 24th floor in a high park apartment building to "observe" 29-year old, regis. shortly after, she allegedly fell off the balcony. 

James Scurlock

on may 30, 2020 james scurlock, 22 years old, was shot by jacob gardner, while protesting for justice and equality in omaha, ne. no charges are being filed because "there was consensus among law enforcement that gardner's actions were justified". the citizens of omaha, are demanding the grand jury needs to decide if charges will be filed, not don kleine or his office.

Tony McDade

tony mcdade was a transgender black man who got killed by police in tallahassee.

João Pedro

14-year-old joāo pedro was killed by the rio de janeiro police. joāo was shot at his home and his body was taken by the rio de janeiro police. his family waited 17 hours until receiving news of his whereabouts. they finally found his dead body at a medical examiner’s office. the family counted 72 bullet marks on the walls of the house. cops say joāo died in a shootout started by criminals. neighbors say that is a lie.

Tamir Rice

more than a year after police shot and killed 12-year-old tamir rice as he played in a park with a toy gun, a grand jury declined to charge the officers who opened fire on tamir in less than 2 seconds of arriving to the scene.

George Floyd

george floyd was murdered by a minneapolis police officer. george was handcuffed and restrained and being completely cooperative when this all went down. the officer put his knee on george’s neck choking him for minutes on minutes while george screamed that he could not breathe. bystanders beg for the police officer to take his knee off george’s neck, but the officer didn’t listen and continued to choke him. not that it would matter at all, but george was not even wanted for a violent crime. 

Willie Simmons

in 1982, army veteran willie simmons, was prosecuted under alabama's habitual offender law. mr. simmons he had three prior convictions, one of which was for grand larceny. he told reporter beth shellbure the other two were for receiving stolen property. at the time mr. simmons had become addicted to drugs while stationed overseas. he was convicted of 1st-degree robbery and sentenced to life without parole for stealing $9. 

Darrius Stewart

darrius stewart, an unarmed 19-year-old, was gunned down by a white cop in a case of mistaken identity. 

Breonna Taylor

breonna was asleep at home when a rogue task-force of the louisville police broke down her door in the middle of the night and murdered her. they were attempting an illegal drug raid in the wrong neighborhood for a suspect that they'd already arrested earlier that day. the police officers have yet to be arrested or charged.

Zinedine Karabo Gioia

on her 21st birthday, july 21st 2018, she was date raped by brendan rundle in gaborone, botswana. nothing was done. forensic evidence went missing, she was told that because she was drugged and had no clear story that it was unlikely he would be charged. 

Slave Market House in Center of Downtown Fayetteville NC

the market house as it is known is in the middle of downtown fayetteville. it has a troubled past in the african american community. though it is admired by the city and used as a trophy for the city’s “business of the year” award, the history of this building and area is lynching and selling of african american slaves. the city of fayetteville has known that most african americans in the city wish for it to be taken down and replaced with something more positive about african american history. the market house building is a reminder of slavery and fuels white supremacy. it should be replaced with a beautiful landmark funded by an annual city or state grant and remain a historic site. 

Get rid of Rubber Bullets

rubber bullets can be extremely lethal. they may cause bone fractures, injuries to internal organs, or even death. it’s been proven that rubber and plastic bullets are too dangerous for crowd control.

Shukri Abdi

a 12-year-old girl was drowned in the river irwell in greater manchester. police had suggested shukri drowned after going into the water to "cool off" – despite the fact she couldn’t swim and her family reported that she was terrified of water. a group of children were with her at the river in the period before she died and one of them was reported to be laughing as it watched the girl drown.

petition for a bullying investigation regarding shukri abdi's school

[blackwoolncrown]

”This essay has been kicking around in my head for years now and I’ve never felt confident enough to write it. It’s a time in my life I’m ashamed of. It’s a time that I hurt people and, through inaction, allowed others to be hurt. It’s a time that I acted as a violent agent of capitalism and white supremacy. Under the guise of public safety, I personally ruined people’s lives but in so doing, made the public no safer… so did the family members and close friends of mine who also bore the badge alongside me.

But enough is enough.

The reforms aren’t working. Incrementalism isn’t happening. Unarmed Black, indigenous, and people of color are being killed by cops in the streets and the police are savagely attacking the people protesting these murders.

American policing is a thick blue tumor strangling the life from our communities and if you don’t believe it when the poor and the marginalized say it, if you don’t believe it when you see cops across the country shooting journalists with less-lethal bullets and caustic chemicals, maybe you’ll believe it when you hear it straight from the pig’s mouth.”

>>Copied here in case anyone gets paywalled when they click the above. The full article is...a lot.<<

WHY AM I WRITING THIS

As someone who went through the training, hiring, and socialization of a career in law enforcement, I wanted to give a first-hand account of why I believe police officers are the way they are. Not to excuse their behavior, but to explain it and to indict the structures that perpetuate it.

I believe that if everyone understood how we’re trained and brought up in the profession, it would inform the demands our communities should be making of a new way of community safety. If I tell you how we were made, I hope it will empower you to unmake us.

One of the other reasons I’ve struggled to write this essay is that I don’t want to center the conversation on myself and my big salty boo-hoo feelings about my bad choices. It’s a toxic white impulse to see atrocities and think “How can I make this about me?” So, I hope you’ll take me at my word that this account isn’t meant to highlight me, but rather the hundred thousand of me in every city in the country. It’s about the structure that made me (that I chose to pollute myself with) and it’s my meager contribution to the cause of radical justice.

YES, ALL COPS ARE BASTARDS

I was a police officer in a major metropolitan area in California with a predominantly poor, non-white population (with a large proportion of first-generation immigrants). One night during briefing, our watch commander told us that the city council had requested a new zero tolerance policy. Against murderers, drug dealers, or child predators?

No, against homeless people collecting cans from recycling bins.

See, the city had some kickback deal with the waste management company where waste management got paid by the government for our expected tonnage of recycling. When homeless people “stole” that recycling from the waste management company, they were putting that cheaper contract in peril. So, we were to arrest as many recyclers as we could find.

Even for me, this was a stupid policy and I promptly blew Sarge off. But a few hours later, Sarge called me over to assist him. He was detaining a 70 year old immigrant who spoke no English, who he’d seen picking a coke can out of a trash bin. He ordered me to arrest her for stealing trash. I said, “Sarge, c’mon, she’s an old lady.” He said, “I don’t give a shit. Hook her up, that’s an order.” And… I did. She cried the entire way to the station and all through the booking process. I couldn’t even comfort her because I didn’t speak Spanish. I felt disgusting but I was ordered to make this arrest and I wasn’t willing to lose my job for her.

If you’re tempted to feel sympathy for me, don’t. I used to happily hassle the homeless under other circumstances. I researched obscure penal codes so I could arrest people in homeless encampments for lesser known crimes like “remaining too close to railroad property” (369i of the California Penal Code). I used to call it “planting warrant seeds” since I knew they wouldn’t make their court dates and we could arrest them again and again for warrant violations.

We used to have informal contests for who could cite or arrest someone for the weirdest law. DUI on a bicycle, non-regulation number of brooms on your tow truck (27700(a)(1) of the California Vehicle Code)… shit like that. For me, police work was a logic puzzle for arresting people, regardless of their actual threat to the community. As ashamed as I am to admit it, it needs to be said: stripping people of their freedom felt like a game to me for many years.

I know what you’re going to ask: did I ever plant drugs? Did I ever plant a gun on someone? Did I ever make a false arrest or file a false report? Believe it or not, the answer is no. Cheating was no fun, I liked to get my stats the “legitimate” way. But I knew officers who kept a little baggie of whatever or maybe a pocket knife that was a little too big in their war bags (yeah, we called our dufflebags “war bags”…). Did I ever tell anybody about it? No I did not. Did I ever confess my suspicions when cocaine suddenly showed up in a gang member’s jacket? No I did not.

In fact, let me tell you about an extremely formative experience: in my police academy class, we had a clique of around six trainees who routinely bullied and harassed other students: intentionally scuffing another trainee’s shoes to get them in trouble during inspection, sexually harassing female trainees, cracking racist jokes, and so on. Every quarter, we were to write anonymous evaluations of our squadmates. I wrote scathing accounts of their behavior, thinking I was helping keep bad apples out of law enforcement and believing I would be protected. Instead, the academy staff read my complaints to them out loud and outed me to them and never punished them, causing me to get harassed for the rest of my academy class. That’s how I learned that even police leadership hates rats. That’s why no one is “changing things from the inside.” They can’t, the structure won’t allow it.

And that’s the point of what I’m telling you. Whether you were my sergeant, legally harassing an old woman, me, legally harassing our residents, my fellow trainees bullying the rest of us, or “the bad apples” illegally harassing “shitbags”, we were all in it together. I knew cops that pulled women over to flirt with them. I knew cops who would pepper spray sleeping bags so that homeless people would have to throw them away. I knew cops that intentionally provoked anger in suspects so they could claim they were assaulted. I was particularly good at winding people up verbally until they lashed out so I could fight them. Nobody spoke out. Nobody stood up. Nobody betrayed the code.

None of us protected the people (you) from bad cops.

This is why “All cops are bastards.” Even your uncle, even your cousin, even your mom, even your brother, even your best friend, even your spouse, even me. Because even if they wouldn’t Do The Thing themselves, they will almost never rat out another officer who Does The Thing, much less stop it from happening.

BASTARD 101

I could write an entire book of the awful things I’ve done, seen done, and heard others bragging about doing. But, to me, the bigger question is “How did it get this way?”. While I was a police officer in a city 30 miles from where I lived, many of my fellow officers were from the community and treated their neighbors just as badly as I did. While every cop’s individual biases come into play, it’s the profession itself that is toxic, and it starts from day 1 of training.

Every police academy is different but all of them share certain features: taught by old cops, run like a paramilitary bootcamp, strong emphasis on protecting yourself more than anyone else. The majority of my time in the academy was spent doing aggressive physical training and watching video after video after video of police officers being murdered on duty.

I want to highlight this: nearly everyone coming into law enforcement is bombarded with dash cam footage of police officers being ambushed and killed. Over and over and over. Colorless VHS mortality plays, cops screaming for help over their radios, their bodies going limp as a pair of tail lights speed away into a grainy black horizon. In my case, with commentary from an old racist cop who used to brag about assaulting Black Panthers.

To understand why all cops are bastards, you need to understand one of the things almost every training officer told me when it came to using force:

“I’d rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6.”

Meaning, “I’ll take my chances in court rather than risk getting hurt”. We’re able to think that way because police unions are extremely overpowered and because of the generous concept of Qualified Immunity, a legal theory which says a cop generally can’t be held personally liable for mistakes they make doing their job in an official capacity.

When you look at the actions of the officers who killed George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, David McAtee, Mike Brown, Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, or Freddie Gray, remember that they, like me, were trained to recite “I’d rather be judged by 12” as a mantra. Even if Mistakes Were Made™, the city (meaning the taxpayers, meaning you) pays the settlement, not the officer.

Once police training has - through repetition, indoctrination, and violent spectacle - promised officers that everyone in the world is out to kill them, the next lesson is that your partners are the only people protecting you. Occasionally, this is even true: I’ve had encounters turn on me rapidly to the point I legitimately thought I was going to die, only to have other officers come and turn the tables.

One of the most important thought leaders in law enforcement is Col. Dave Grossman, a “killologist” who wrote an essay called “Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs”. Cops are the sheepdogs, bad guys are the wolves, and the citizens are the sheep (!). Col. Grossman makes sure to mention that to a stupid sheep, sheepdogs look more like wolves than sheep, and that’s why they dislike you.

This “they hate you for protecting them and only I love you, only I can protect you” tactic is familiar to students of abuse. It’s what abusers do to coerce their victims into isolation, pulling them away from friends and family and ensnaring them in the abuser’s toxic web. Law enforcement does this too, pitting the officer against civilians. “They don’t understand what you do, they don’t respect your sacrifice, they just want to get away with crimes. You’re only safe with us.”

I think the Wolves vs. Sheepdogs dynamic is one of the most important elements as to why officers behave the way they do. Every single second of my training, I was told that criminals were not a legitimate part of their community, that they were individual bad actors, and that their bad actions were solely the result of their inherent criminality. Any concept of systemic trauma, generational poverty, or white supremacist oppression was either never mentioned or simply dismissed. After all, most people don’t steal, so anyone who does isn’t “most people,” right? To us, anyone committing a crime deserved anything that happened to them because they broke the “social contract.” And yet, it was never even a question as to whether the power structure above them was honoring any sort of contract back.

Understand: Police officers are part of the state monopoly on violence and all police training reinforces this monopoly as a cornerstone of police work, a source of honor and pride. Many cops fantasize about getting to kill someone in the line of duty, egged on by others that have. One of my training officers told me about the time he shot and killed a mentally ill homeless man wielding a big stick. He bragged that he “slept like a baby” that night. Official training teaches you how to be violent effectively and when you’re legally allowed to deploy that violence, but “unofficial training” teaches you to desire violence, to expand the breadth of your violence without getting caught, and to erode your own compassion for desperate people so you can justify punitive violence against them.

HOW TO BE A BASTARD

I have participated in some of these activities personally, others are ones I either witnessed personally or heard officers brag about openly. Very, very occasionally, I knew an officer who was disciplined or fired for one of these things.

Police officers will lie about the law, about what’s illegal, or about what they can legally do to you in order to manipulate you into doing what they want.

Police officers will lie about feeling afraid for their life to justify a use of force after the fact.

Police officers will lie and tell you they’ll file a police report just to get you off their back.

Police officers will lie that your cooperation will “look good for you” in court, or that they will “put in a good word for you with the DA.” The police will never help you look good in court.

Police officers will lie about what they see and hear to access private property to conduct unlawful searches.

Police officers will lie and say your friend already ratted you out, so you might as well rat them back out. This is almost never true.

Police officers will lie and say you’re not in trouble in order to get you to exit a location or otherwise make an arrest more convenient for them.

Police officers will lie and say that they won’t arrest you if you’ll just “be honest with them” so they know what really happened.

Police officers will lie about their ability to seize the property of friends and family members to coerce a confession.

Police officers will write obviously bullshit tickets so that they get time-and-a-half overtime fighting them in court.

Police officers will search places and containers you didn’t consent to and later claim they were open or “smelled like marijuana”.

Police officers will threaten you with a more serious crime they can’t prove in order to convince you to confess to the lesser crime they really want you for.

Police officers will employ zero tolerance on races and ethnicities they dislike and show favor and lenience to members of their own group.

Police officers will use intentionally extra-painful maneuvers and holds during an arrest to provoke “resistance” so they can further assault the suspect.

Some police officers will plant drugs and weapons on you, sometimes to teach you a lesson, sometimes if they kill you somewhere away from public view.

Some police officers will assault you to intimidate you and threaten to arrest you if you tell anyone.

A non-trivial number of police officers will steal from your house or vehicle during a search.

A non-trivial number of police officers commit intimate partner violence and use their status to get away with it.

A non-trivial number of police officers use their position to entice, coerce, or force sexual favors from vulnerable people.

If you take nothing else away from this essay, I want you to tattoo this onto your brain forever: if a police officer is telling you something, it is probably a lie designed to gain your compliance.

Do not talk to cops and never, ever believe them. Do not “try to be helpful” with cops. Do not assume they are trying to catch someone else instead of you. Do not assume what they are doing is “important” or even legal. Under no circumstances assume any police officer is acting in good faith.

Also, and this is important, do not talk to cops.

I just remembered something, do not talk to cops.

Checking my notes real quick, something jumped out at me:

Do

not

fucking

talk

to

cops.

Ever.

Say, “I don’t answer questions,” and ask if you’re free to leave; if so, leave. If not, tell them you want your lawyer and that, per the Supreme Court, they must terminate questioning. If they don’t, file a complaint and collect some badges for your mantle.

DO THE BASTARDS EVER HELP?

Reading the above, you may be tempted to ask whether cops ever do anything good. And the answer is, sure, sometimes. In fact, most officers I worked with thought they were usually helping the helpless and protecting the safety of innocent people.

During my tenure in law enforcement, I protected women from domestic abusers, arrested cold-blooded murderers and child molesters, and comforted families who lost children to car accidents and other tragedies. I helped connect struggling people in my community with local resources for food, shelter, and counseling. I deescalated situations that could have turned violent and talked a lot of people down from making the biggest mistake of their lives. I worked with plenty of officers who were individually kind, bought food for homeless residents, or otherwise showed care for their community.

The question is this: did I need a gun and sweeping police powers to help the average person on the average night? The answer is no. When I was doing my best work as a cop, I was doing mediocre work as a therapist or a social worker. My good deeds were listening to people failed by the system and trying to unite them with any crumbs of resources the structure was currently denying them.

It’s also important to note that well over 90% of the calls for service I handled were reactive, showing up well after a crime had taken place. We would arrive, take a statement, collect evidence (if any), file the report, and onto the next caper. Most “active” crimes we stopped were someone harmless possessing or selling a small amount of drugs. Very, very rarely would we stop something dangerous in progress or stop something from happening entirely. The closest we could usually get was seeing someone running away from the scene of a crime, but the damage was still done.

And consider this: my job as a police officer required me to be a marriage counselor, a mental health crisis professional, a conflict negotiator, a social worker, a child advocate, a traffic safety expert, a sexual assault specialist, and, every once in awhile, a public safety officer authorized to use force, all after only a 1000 hours of training at a police academy. Does the person we send to catch a robber also need to be the person we send to interview a rape victim or document a fender bender? Should one profession be expected to do all that important community care (with very little training) all at the same time?

To put this another way: I made double the salary most social workers made to do a fraction of what they could do to mitigate the causes of crimes and desperation. I can count very few times my monopoly on state violence actually made our citizens safer, and even then, it’s hard to say better-funded social safety nets and dozens of other community care specialists wouldn’t have prevented a problem before it started.

Armed, indoctrinated (and dare I say, traumatized) cops do not make you safer; community mutual aid networks who can unite other people with the resources they need to stay fed, clothed, and housed make you safer. I really want to hammer this home: every cop in your neighborhood is damaged by their training, emboldened by their immunity, and they have a gun and the ability to take your life with near-impunity. This does not make you safer, even if you’re white.

HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE A BASTARD?

So what do we do about it? Even though I’m an expert on bastardism, I am not a public policy expert nor an expert in organizing a post-police society. So, before I give some suggestions, let me tell you what probably won’t solve the problem of bastard cops:

Increased “bias” training. A quarterly or even monthly training session is not capable of covering over years of trauma-based camaraderie in police forces. I can tell you from experience, we don’t take it seriously, the proctors let us cheat on whatever “tests” there are, and we all made fun of it later over coffee.

Tougher laws. I hope you understand by now, cops do not follow the law and will not hold each other accountable to the law. Tougher laws are all the more reason to circle the wagons and protect your brothers and sisters.

More community policing programs. Yes, there is a marginal effect when a few cops get to know members of the community, but look at the protests of 2020: many of the cops pepper-spraying journalists were probably the nice school cop a month ago.

Police officers do not protect and serve people, they protect and serve the status quo, “polite society”, and private property. Using the incremental mechanisms of the status quo will never reform the police because the status quo relies on police violence to exist. Capitalism requires a permanent underclass to exploit for cheap labor and it requires the cops to bring that underclass to heel.

Instead of wasting time with minor tweaks, I recommend exploring the following ideas:

No more qualified immunity. Police officers should be personally liable for all decisions they make in the line of duty.

No more civil asset forfeiture. Did you know that every year, citizens like you lose more cash and property to unaccountable civil asset forfeiture than to all burglaries combined? The police can steal your stuff without charging you with a crime and it makes some police departments very rich.

Break the power of police unions. Police unions make it nearly impossible to fire bad cops and incentivize protecting them to protect the power of the union. A police union is not a labor union; police officers are powerful state agents, not exploited workers.

Require malpractice insurance. Doctors must pay for insurance in case they botch a surgery, police officers should do the same for botching a police raid or other use of force. If human decency won’t motivate police to respect human life, perhaps hitting their wallet might.

Defund, demilitarize, and disarm cops. Thousands of police departments own assault rifles, armored personnel carriers, and stuff you’d see in a warzone. Police officers have grants and huge budgets to spend on guns, ammo, body armor, and combat training. 99% of calls for service require no armed response, yet when all you have is a gun, every problem feels like target practice. Cities are not safer when unaccountable bullies have a monopoly on state violence and the equipment to execute that monopoly.

One final idea: consider abolishing the police.

I know what you’re thinking, “What? We need the police! They protect us!” As someone who did it for nearly a decade, I need you to understand that by and large, police protection is marginal, incidental. It’s an illusion created by decades of copaganda designed to fool you into thinking these brave men and women are holding back the barbarians at the gates.

I alluded to this above: the vast majority of calls for service I handled were theft reports, burglary reports, domestic arguments that hadn’t escalated into violence, loud parties, (houseless) people loitering, traffic collisions, very minor drug possession, and arguments between neighbors. Mostly the mundane ups and downs of life in the community, with little inherent danger. And, like I mentioned, the vast majority of crimes I responded to (even violent ones) had already happened; my unaccountable license to kill was irrelevant.

What I mainly provided was an “objective” third party with the authority to document property damage, ask people to chill out or disperse, or counsel people not to beat each other up. A trained counselor or conflict resolution specialist would be ten times more effective than someone with a gun strapped to his hip wondering if anyone would try to kill him when he showed up. There are many models for community safety that can be explored if we get away from the idea that the only way to be safe is to have a man with a M4 rifle prowling your neighborhood ready at a moment’s notice to write down your name and birthday after you’ve been robbed and beaten.

You might be asking, “What about the armed robbers, the gangsters, the drug dealers, the serial killers?” And yes, in the city I worked, I regularly broke up gang parties, found gang members carrying guns, and handled homicides. I’ve seen some tragic things, from a reformed gangster shot in the head with his brains oozing out to a fifteen year old boy taking his last breath in his screaming mother’s arms thanks to a gang member’s bullet. I know the wages of violence.

This is where we have to have the courage to ask: why do people rob? Why do they join gangs? Why do they get addicted to drugs or sell them? It’s not because they are inherently evil. I submit to you that these are the results of living in a capitalist system that grinds people down and denies them housing, medical care, human dignity, and a say in their government. These are the results of white supremacy pushing people to the margins, excluding them, disrespecting them, and treating their bodies as disposable.

Equally important to remember: disabled and mentally ill people are frequently killed by police officers not trained to recognize and react to disabilities or mental health crises. Some of the people we picture as “violent offenders” are often people struggling with untreated mental illness, often due to economic hardships. Very frequently, the officers sent to “protect the community” escalate this crisis and ultimately wound or kill the person. Your community was not made safer by police violence; a sick member of your community was killed because it was cheaper than treating them. Are you extremely confident you’ll never get sick one day too?

Wrestle with this for a minute: if all of someone’s material needs were met and all the members of their community were fed, clothed, housed, and dignified, why would they need to join a gang? Why would they need to risk their lives selling drugs or breaking into buildings? If mental healthcare was free and was not stigmatized, how many lives would that save?

Would there still be a few bad actors in the world? Sure, probably. What’s my solution for them, you’re no doubt asking. I’ll tell you what: generational poverty, food insecurity, houselessness, and for-profit medical care are all problems that can be solved in our lifetimes by rejecting the dehumanizing meat grinder of capitalism and white supremacy. Once that’s done, we can work on the edge cases together, with clearer hearts not clouded by a corrupt system.

Police abolition is closely related to the idea of prison abolition and the entire concept of banishing the carceral state, meaning, creating a society focused on reconciliation and restorative justice instead of punishment, pain, and suffering — a system that sees people in crisis as humans, not monsters. People who want to abolish the police typically also want to abolish prisons, and the same questions get asked: “What about the bad guys? Where do we put them?” I bring this up because abolitionists don’t want to simply replace cops with armed social workers or prisons with casual detention centers full of puffy leather couches and Playstations. We imagine a world not divided into good guys and bad guys, but rather a world where people’s needs are met and those in crisis receive care, not dehumanization.

Here’s legendary activist and thinker Angela Y. Davis putting it better than I ever could:

“An abolitionist approach that seeks to answer questions such as these would require us to imagine a constellation of alternative strategies and institutions, with the ultimate aim of removing the prison from the social and ideological landscapes of our society. In other words, we would not be looking for prisonlike substitutes for the prison, such as house arrest safeguarded by electronic surveillance bracelets. Rather, positing decarceration as our overarching strategy, we would try to envision a continuum of alternatives to imprisonment-demilitarization of schools, revitalization of education at all levels, a health system that provides free physical and mental care to all, and a justice system based on reparation and reconciliation rather than retribution and vengeance.”

(Are Prisons Obsolete, pg. 107)

I’m not telling you I have the blueprint for a beautiful new world. What I’m telling you is that the system we have right now is broken beyond repair and that it’s time to consider new ways of doing community together. Those new ways need to be negotiated by members of those communities, particularly Black, indigenous, disabled, houseless, and citizens of color historically shoved into the margins of society. Instead of letting Fox News fill your head with nightmares about Hispanic gangs, ask the Hispanic community what they need to thrive. Instead of letting racist politicians scaremonger about pro-Black demonstrators, ask the Black community what they need to meet the needs of the most vulnerable. If you truly desire safety, ask not what your most vulnerable can do for the community, ask what the community can do for the most vulnerable.

A WORLD WITH FEWER BASTARDS IS POSSIBLE

If you take only one thing away from this essay, I hope it’s this: do not talk to cops. But if you only take two things away, I hope the second one is that it’s possible to imagine a different world where unarmed black people, indigenous people, poor people, disabled people, and people of color are not routinely gunned down by unaccountable police officers. It doesn’t have to be this way. Yes, this requires a leap of faith into community models that might feel unfamiliar, but I ask you:

When you see a man dying in the street begging for breath, don’t you want to leap away from that world?

When you see a mother or a daughter shot to death sleeping in their beds, don’t you want to leap away from that world?

When you see a twelve year old boy executed in a public park for the crime of playing with a toy, jesus fucking christ, can you really just stand there and think “This is normal”?

And to any cops who made it this far down, is this really the world you want to live in? Aren’t you tired of the trauma? Aren’t you tired of the soul sickness inherent to the badge? Aren’t you tired of looking the other way when your partners break the law? Are you really willing to kill the next George Floyd, the next Breonna Taylor, the next Tamir Rice? How confident are you that your next use of force will be something you’re proud of? I’m writing this for you too: it’s wrong what our training did to us, it’s wrong that they hardened our hearts to our communities, and it’s wrong to pretend this is normal.

Look, I wouldn’t have been able to hear any of this for much of my life. You reading this now may not be able to hear this yet either. But do me this one favor: just think about it. Just turn it over in your mind for a couple minutes. “Yes, And” me for a minute. Look around you and think about the kind of world you want to live in. Is it one where an all-powerful stranger with a gun keeps you and your neighbors in line with the fear of death, or can you picture a world where, as a community, we embrace our most vulnerable, meet their needs, heal their wounds, honor their dignity, and make them family instead of desperate outsiders?

If you take only three things away from this essay, I hope the third is this: you and your community don’t need bastards to thrive.

RESOURCES TO YES-AND WITH

Achele Mbembe — Necropolitics

Angela Y. Davis — Are Prisons Obsolete?

CriticalResistance.org — Abolition Toolkit

Joe Macaré, Maya Schenwar, and Alana Yu-lan Price — Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect?

Ruth Wilson Gilmore — COVID-19, Decarceration, Abolition [video]

[holykillercake]

FRIED EGGS

KOBY x Pirate!Reader

word count: 2k

summary: Being infiltrated as a Marine and keeping your feelings under control was easy until you were assigned to work with Marine Captain Koby. How you wished he was a jerk.

highlight: ¨I am kissing you... but I am angry, Y/N-san...¨

warnings: read under the risk of developing diabetes.

notes: Hey, guys! This was a lovely request from @pure-kirarin! <3 I had to stop other projects to make this one because Koby threw me out of my comfort zone hahaha I really hope you like!! ALSO 1) Happy Birthday Sabo-kun! ALSO 2) In order to add more dept to the story, the main character is part of a Yonkos´crew, but I wrote in a way that all fit, so choose your favorite! ALSO 3) ART ALERT!

Leave comments, hearts and love!

¨You have been doing a remarkable job in such little time, Commander L/N. We all have great expectations regarding your transference to our Marine Headquarters.¨ 

The words of the Rear Admiral barely scratched your mind as you discreetly observed the pink-haired boy´s reflection on the crystal clear window. 

He maintained a similar posture to yours: chin up, chest out, shoulders back, and stomach in. However, while your fingers remained paralleled to your trousers, you took a glimpse of his clenched fist, thumb fidgeting the side of his index finger. 

¨Vice Admiral Tsuru was reluctant to sign your transfer. She said you remind her of herself in the past, which is always an excellent compliment to hear.¨ you nodded, acknowledging his words  ¨We´re glad we convinced her.¨

Your heart warmed with his words, and you almost felt bad because you knew the disappointing outcome O-Tsuru-san would have at the end of this. She trained you with the iron face of a merciless soldier, and the elegance that resembled the animal of her name.

It has been three years since you received the green card from your captain to part ways in a long-term solo mission. A journey to excavate the putrid secrets of the so-called defenders of the law. You learned after a short time that justice is not so black and white.

Not that you planned to reveal the dirt, no. That intel your captain could sell to the Revolutionary Army and keep the capital running. You were interested in the arms race, the corrupt diplomacy, and more importantly, the dark pipes where traitors flowed.

Someone from inside the Yonkos was feeding the Marines with crucial information about the Emperors´ activities. And in such a close fight, you could not take those risks.

All other Emperors must have their own undercover agents within the Marines, but even that was a dispute. You could point some names to your boss, who confirmed what was suspected. Those would usually be the best of the best, extravagant and loud.

But not you. You didn't have to make that much noise. You slid between the floors of New Marineford like a snake swimming with the current. Earning the respect of your superiors and being promoted without ringing any bells. You accepted each medal with a firm salutation and relentless performance. 

¨The trip must have been displeasing. Submerging ten thousand meters underwater and rising to these fiendish waters require a good rest. Our Marine Captain Koby will escort you to your quarters, Commander Y/N. The remaining instructions shall be presented tomorrow.¨

You saluted the Rear Admiral in front of you and turned to the exit, passing by Koby, who waited for you to leave first.  When your paths crossed, the pace of your heartbeats quickened, pumping more blood through your body and leaving a burning sensation on your cheeks. 

The involuntary response was instantly interpreted as alertness to danger, which needed to be handled with caution. 

Can´t let my guard down around this one, you thought.

In fact, you planned to keep as much distance as you could from him. An officer let slip that he has been gaining incredible control over his Observation Haki since the Paramount War. 

But the wind seemed to change direction, and you began to swim against the current. When the morning came, you were assigned to be his partner for an undetermined time, and he would act as your superior. The idea of being bossed around by a younger marine got your temper sparked. 

Only he was not like the others, treating you in a patronizing and condescending way. He spoke to you with the same cordiality and politeness he addressed everybody else. 

Slowly, your concrete cold expression began to soothe. You would still remind yourself how annoying his good manners were, though. So annoying, seriously!

¨Good morning, Y/N-san!¨ he greeted as you joined him for breakfast. 

¨Good morning, Koby.¨ 

¨Our Border Force correspondent sent his report early in the morning with information about possible Yonkos´ alliances in the Wano Country. We are arranging a meeting as soon as possible.¨ 

You didn´t like to handle work so early, but this subject, in particular, raised your spirits. ¨Good. It was about time.¨

You noticed that he wore a different headband. ¨What happened?¨ 

¨Hm?¨ he brought the soup bowl close to his mouth. 

¨The bandana. Green, with the fried eggs.¨ he choked on the miso soup, coughing like he had swallowed poison. 

You reached for a paper tissue and handed it to him. ¨K-Koby, are you ok?¨

¨Y-Y/N... Y/N-san...¨ he coughed some more ¨They´re not... fried eggs...¨

¨Oh...¨ your brows raised slightly ¨What are they?¨

A depressive aura grew around him ¨They are flowers, YN-san...¨

The edge of your lips contorted as you tried to hide a smile. You haven´t felt like smiling genuinely for years. Annoying boy!

From that moment on, ignoring him became more difficult. He started to ask you to train with him or invite you to spend some time with him and Helmeppo whenever you had free time. Eventually, he began to ask you how he looked before an important meeting. 

Most of the time, you would reply something like ¨ok¨. But sometimes, the mouth was quicker than the brain, and you would let an ¨impeccable¨ slip out, followed by an awkward throat clearing and blushed cheeks. 

From both sides.

•

¨Oh my-¨ you stopped yourself from finishing the sentence. 

You were chosen to complete this mission due to your excellent skills in hiding emotions and acting calm under stressful situations. No one could break you. 

Within the Marines, no joke could make you crack a smile, and no torture could make you spill secrets. 

Why did you want to ask if he was ok?

Koby had entered his office with bumps and bloody bruises over his face. His always neat uniform was blotchy, and he carried a first aid kit. 

¨Garp-san paid a visit.¨ He sat on the couch and opened the white box, throwing everything on the coffee table. ¨I bet it wasn't like this with Tsuru-san.¨ he chuckled. 

¨No. She would beat me up, wash me and hang me up to dry.¨ 

You shot from the chair, moving towards the clumsy pinkette, who struggled to attend to his injuries. He tried to hold the mirror with one hand and suture his gash with the other. 

¨Thank yo-¨

¨Shh. Don´t move.¨

You leaned closer to have a better look, giving Koby the same chance. Your delicate perfume smelled like it was tailor-made for you. Your breathing was slightly irregular, and your lip twitched with every given stitch. Your fingers felt like feathers on his skin, so much that he didn´t even feel a sting. 

The job was fast and efficient, making Koby wish Garp had put more effort into his Love Fist. Grabbing a piece of wet cotton, you cleaned the dried blood.  

¨Alright...¨ you whispered.

¨Alright...¨ he whispered back.

You were inches apart from his face, your eyes traveling across the scar on his forehead, the pink locks, and kind features. Your mind traced back all the way to the Paramount War. You had very little knowledge about him, but the words he spoke that day have always made your heart pound like cannonballs. 

You will make an excellent Admiral one day, Koby. 

I hope you don´t hate me. 

¨Y-Y/N-san...¨

¨Hm?¨

¨Your smile is beautiful.¨

¨What?¨ The stupid scene of yours was interrupted like a DJ stopping the record player. 

With cheeks getting pinker than his hair, you shot up and marched back to the chair and your newspaper. ¨You clean this up.¨ 

He left a low chuckle out and began gathering the mess. 

Oh, no, Y/N. You have got to be kidding me. 

He is a freaking marine. Breathe. 

There were a vast number of reasons why you couldn´t like him: from him being a Marine Captain and you being a pirate to the fact that your mission was coming to a conclusion.

Meaning that your journey as his partner would be very soon reaching its end. The meeting with this mysterious correspondent regarding the Yonkos´ operations in the New World would be the last move in this chess game. You would be going home. Mission completed. Everything perfect, right? 

Right, perfect. Impeccable! Ugh!

•

¨... confirm secure line.¨

¨This is Border Officer code 404890. Secure line confirmed.¨ you spoke with a low but clear voice through the nail transponder. 

¨What´s the status on our birdie?¨

¨Positive. The birdie is located at 03:24:01.¨ you gave your boss a coordinate to the name of the Marine informant. The answer you took three years to find out remained on file number one, third page, suspect number twenty-four. 

An amused laugh echoed on your end, and you buried the speaker on your jacket to muffled the sound. 

¨At least he is not one of ours.¨ a chuckle ¨Great job, Y/N.¨

¨Thank you, boss.¨

¨I know this mustn't have been easy, but you were impeccable as always.¨

Yeah, impeccable. 

¨You know the protocol now. We´ll see each other in a few days. You´ll have a party waiting for you, kid.¨

¨Aye, aye, boss. But I want the good booze.¨  Both of you laughed. 

You finished the call, and the smile on your lips died as the image of a pink-haired boy invaded your mind. You wished he was a jerk like everybody else. 

It would have been so easy. 

¨Who were you talking to?¨ your chest contracted, pushing the air out of your lungs and sending extra blood supply to your muscles. 

You hid the transponder into your jacket and turned, facing your Marine Captain. 

¨Eavesdropping, Koby?¨

What should I do?

¨Y/N-san, who were you talking to?¨ he repeated himself, offering the benefit of the doubt. You sighed.

¨My captain.¨ 

Why the need to be honest with him?

¨Y/N-san, please don´t tell me-¨

¨I´m sorry, Koby. I wish I didn´t have to do this.¨ you couldn´t bring yourself to face him.

¨A-Are you a pirate? Why?¨

You chuckled ¨Why am I a pirate?¨

¨Why did you do this?¨ his face was pale, making your guts twitch in guilt.

¨I´m on a mission. But I´ll leave soon.¨

¨You are like... Vergo-san.¨ he sounded disappointed.

¨I am nothing like Vergo. You know this.¨ or at least you hoped he did. 

He closed the door slowly, eyes fixed on your figure. The bright light from the window made him look like an ethereal painting.

While you tried to predict his next move, whether he was going to interrogate you or kick your ass, Koby acted calm and collected, not hesitating. He trusted his Observation Haki to guide his next move. Or maybe his heart.

You saw a pink blur closing distance like a missile, and before you could dodge, his hands pulled you by the waist, connecting your bodies and lips. 

He forced your back to meet the thick window with a gasp that was muffled by the kiss. His touch was rough upon the fabric of your uniform, but his mouth felt soft against yours.

Your hands moved to his hair, removing the round pair of glasses and the green bandana so you could get lost in his locks. His grip was harsh under the fabric of your uniform, but his hair felt soft on your fingertips. 

A moan escaped your lips when he parted the kiss with a loud snap and struck the glass with both hands, keeping you trapped in the middle. You let go of his hair and grabbed him by the collar, not letting him go away.

¨I am kissing you... but I am angry, Y/N-san...¨ his breath was heavy and carried with a myriad of emotions. 

¨I know... I am sorry.¨

¨Why?¨

¨Because I like you, Koby. A lot.¨ he paused for a second, fighting the urge to admit the same.

¨What was your mission?¨

This is the last lie, I promise, Koby. ¨The Marines possessed vital information about something my boss wants. I needed to get it.¨

¨Now that I know that you´re a pirate and that you stole Marine´s assets, I´m gonna have to hunt you down.¨

¨I´ll be waiting for you.¨ 

You stared him in the eyes, and he kissed you to stop himself from saying what he really wanted. 

I love you, Y/N-san.

Diary of Koby-Meppo: The Fried Egg Life Crisis.

💕 @vemuabhi

[lewis-winters]

Hi but I actually really want your detailed character analysis for each guy in the Craver interrogation scene 👀

Oh anon, the monster you have unleashed.

Ok so like. This is only one of many of my (often contradicting, bc if I am anything I am a flip-flopping bitch #taurus-gemini cusp) readings of this scene. But it certainly is the most interesting:

Ok, so let's start with the three boys outside of the beating room. Namely, Floyd Talbert, Ron Speirs, and George Luz.

There is only one agitated fella in this frame, and it's not George Luz. George is very secure in himself here-- there's tension lining him and making him stiff and his attempts at humor fall flat, but the fact that he is making attempts at all is a sign that he knows who he is in this moment and he knows what he is being called to do. And that's to distract Tab.

Tab, on the other hand, is struggling with two sides of him. One is the vindictive side that wants to be in the room with the other guys. But that side is largely trumped by his very rational, very Company 1st Sergeant side. He isn't agitated because he wants to join in. He's agitated because he knows he should stop them, and he's right. He should. Though the beating is "justified", the Military Police will most likely not think so. He's 1st Sergeant, he's in charge of most, if not all of the men in there. If the MPs investigate this incident, he will have to be the one to answer for them. And also I just think he doesn't want to see anybody get into trouble. Except he can't go in there and stop them because they have a point, or at least, they think they do. Craver hurt one of their own, and now there is no reasoning with them. Look at who's inside: Bull and Martin and Malarkey. NCOs, just like Tab. None of them outrank him, but they are still leaders in their own right. And if Tab were to go in there and stop them, they'd chew him out for it.

Tab is waiting for someone like Ron to come in and stop it. Because Tab knows he himself can't.

Except. Except. Except.

Ron doesn't stop it. Ron, in fact, enables it.

And this is where we also see Tab start to lose respect for Speirs.

IRL, Winters said that Tab resigned as 1st Sergeant because he kept comparing Speirs' leadership to Winters' leadership, and though the show itself doesn't actually make that the official reason for Tab's resignation in the next scene ("I miss being back amongst the men"), there are traces of it in this scene.

When Ron enters the room, the first thing Tab asks him is "How's Grant? Is he dead?" Speirs bypasses that question entirely for the sake of joining in on the beating, gun drawn.

From Tab's point of view, that means Ron has every intention to kill Craver.

And, of course, if we apply what we know from what IRL Winters told us, that means Tab is also thinking, in that moment; "No, Dick would never do this. Dick would never let it get this far."

And you can actually see that moment of clarity + subsequent disappointment (as well as relief at finding out Grant will live and disbelief that this just fucking happened) on his face here:

Furthermore, this is also the moment Tab (and, by extension, every body else in the room) finds out that Grant is going to make it after Ron tells them.

So not only is Tab thinking; "Dick would never do this. Dick would never let it get this far," he is also thinking "Why the fuck didn't he tell us that in the first place?! If Dick had been handling the situation, we would have gotten the news immediately! He wouldn't have allowed something as risky as this happen!"

And he's right.

But in fairness to Ron, this is probably the first time any of Easy has seen him lose his cool.

Because Ron is actually losing his cool here. This is his "it's my dog!" moment. He let the anger get to him, and therefore he made a terrible miscalculation.

I've already talked about this in this Grant/Speirs ask, but let me reiterate it here:

We (and Easy Company) are very used to thinking that Ron acts without compassion, mercy, or remorse, therefore when we first view this scene, we think that what is out of character for him is not shooting the replacement. We (and Easy, but especially Tab) are wrong. That is probably the most in character thing about Ron in this scene. What is truly out of character for him here is him drawing out the gun with the intention of shooting this motherfucker in the face.

See, one of the reasons why we think he doesn’t act with compassion, mercy, or remorse is because in the first half of the series, we don’t see him outside of the glimpses Easy company gets or the stories they exchange. But after episode 7, he’s suddenly with us all the time, and we see that his advice to Blithe was more of a… miscommunication, in a way.

Act with no compassion, no mercy, and no remorse toward the people you want to protect your men from. But this is where this scene gets complicated. At first glance, we think "ah, yes, he's protecting his men from this replacement."

Except-- there is literally 1 replacement vs. at least 1 squad of men (roughly 9 to 11 men). Why the fuck does a squad of soldiers (veterans too!) need protection against 1 replacement who has not had the same training and combat experience as them? They don't need protection here, they can handle themselves.

Oh, and another thing that adds to this predicament: Ron knows that Chuck is going to live.

Out of everyone in that room, Ron is the only one who knows that Chuck is actually going to live. So his internal struggle isn’t so much “oh I should act with no compassion, mercy, or remorse– but easy company has ~changed~ me.” In my opinion, his internal struggle in this moment, the reason why his hand trembles as he's preparing to shoot Craver, is this: “If I shoot him, I'm not protecting my men. I'm taking revenge.”

Which isn’t in his moral code.

Ron acts with no compassion, no mercy, and no remorse, yes, but there’s a certain level-headedness to him that keeps him in line at all times: only against those he's protecting his men from. Sure, he’s prone to bouts of petty anger sometimes (see in the next scene: More and his photo album), but he never lets that get in the way of his judgement (see: More didn’t back down, but neither did he do so in a disrespectful way and Ron recognized that, therefore he conceded his own defeat and didn’t punish More). He does what is necessary in the moment and never takes it beyond that.

But Chuck’s shooting drives him to the point of wanting to take revenge. He enters that room, gun drawn, with all the intention of shooting this motherfucker in the face. He knows it's a bad move. But he does it anyway. And him entering the room with his gun drawn enables everybody else. We, as an audience, have to remember that what they are doing is illegal and is very, very punishable by military law. Also: beating someone up like this, no matter how fucking vile, isn't the right thing to do, either. But sure, the MPs might be gracious enough (or if a certain Nixon is generous enough to tip them to look the other way), to let them probably get away with it on account of saying that the replacement tried to fight them and they simply fought back (yes, that does sound like rhetoric used to excuse police brutality; isn't that what this is in a way?). But if Ron pulled the trigger? If Ron had actually killed him? That would have been fucking bad.

It's not a Captain's job to enable his soldiers to do something illegal that'll most likely get them court martialled and/or killed. It's a Captain's job to protect his men. From their opponents, as well as from themselves.

In this moment, Ron is not doing that.

I know we like to get all vindictive and be all like "yeah that's what he deserves, this is justice!" but this isn't justice. This is revenge. And, again, revenge is not part of Ron's moral code. If only because revenge, more often than not, gets people killed instead of keeping them protected. If he shoots Craver, that will not only implicate him. It will implicate everyone else in the room.

He realizes it here:

Ron only comes to his senses when he already has the gun trained on Craver's face. Portrayed beautifully by Settle, might I add.

... This is a reach on my part, but I think his next movement is very powerful-- idk if it was written into the script or if this is just something Settle decided to do, but after he wipes the blood off and he turns away, Ron then takes his hat off. Which to me invokes in me the image of a king taking off his crown, or an executioner taking off his hood. It's almost as if he's relinquishing his authority in this moment-- not over Easy (since he does give them an order literally seconds after he takes it off), but over the right to be judge, jury, and executioner.

He recognizes that he did a whoopsie.

You know who I think also recognizes it?

George fucking Luz.

Look at his face. Look at his fucking expression here:

This is the face of a man who knows the what ifs and the could haves. He's put two and two together and he's pissed.

That's why I think another layer of him staying outside isn't just to comfort Tab. It was self-preservation. He still had his wits around him at this time-- arguably he and Tab are the only ones thinking straight in this moment; it's no coincidence that it looks like he's looking at Tab here-- and a part of him believed that Ron would, too. Except, he didn't. That's why he's angry. Ron came up short.

Or idk, I could be projecting, I mean I would be pretty pissed off in his position. Pissed at Craver, but also pissed at Speirs-- if my Captain, my leader, the guy I trusted decided to do something reckless like that and put all the lives of my fellow soldiers on the line simply because he wanted revenge or simply because he wanted to scare people and therefore get a grip over the situation, I would be angry, too. Remember, Speirs has a layer of protection, somewhat. Probably wealthy family, some wealth squirreled away. Not to mention he's a commissioned officer less likely to be used as a scapegoat. These men, everyone in that room, are enlisted working class men. Most likely, they don't get the luxury of a scapegoat or a tip off or bail. Had Speirs gone through with it, they'd have a body on their hands. And if the family of this replacement pushed, the MPs will no doubt pick someone in this room and pin it on them. Or hell, they'll take everyone, punish all of them, and then execute several. They were just lucky this replacement didn't actually have anybody on his side.

This was dangerous. But Ron let it happen. He didn't protect them like he promised he would. And to some degree, George and Tab know that.

Although, I can argue, everybody in this room realizes that. Except, they realize it too late.

They realize it the second Ron pulls the gun.

I've said it before, in this ask right here, that Liebgott flinches in this scene. Which is funny, considering when Ron enters the room, he's the one who's most in Craver's face. Him and Babe. Which is understandable, considering the three of them were close, as can be gleaned from the Last Patrol. Of course Lieb and Babe would get dibs on Carver's face. Of course they're the ones who get to bloody them up good. Carver shot their best friend-- of course they're angry. Liebgott especially-- I feel like this is the episode where he lets all his anger out. For ep 1 - 9, he's fine. He's funny and jovial-- a little irritable, especially in the Last Patrol, but only at Web, really. And not even by that much. What he mostly is, is tired. And that's it.

But this is after Landsberg and after the mountain top, too. He's angry and he has no outlet. So of course he's the one getting the most hits on Craver. And when Speirs enters the picture, he's delighted in some way. But it doesn't last.

At first he's watching Speirs (as beautifully depicted in this gif set), he is the only one watching Speirs. Then, Craver is pistol whipped and held at gun point and what does Joe do?

He flinches. Babe also flinches. And then they, and the rest of the room, look away. They all look away. From Bull to Babe to Johnny to even Pat and Popeye. Frank physically steps back. Malarkey literally closes his eyes. The only one looking is More. It's almost like the weight of what they have done has finally sunk in for all of them.

But, it's not enough to spur them to stop Speirs. In fact, except for Malarkey, they turn back to look.

Because, like Speirs, the need for revenge is pulling them toward this need to see this replacement die. But unlike Speirs, they don't know if Chuck is alive or not.

And that's where it gets Yikes. And in a way, maybe Tab is right. If Dick had been in Ron's position, 1) this replacement would have been given to the MPs immediately, and; 2) Grant's safety and the news of Grant's safety would have been the top priority. And though that would have not quelled their anger, they would have at least been comforted by the knowledge that Grant was going to live.

Listen, Ron abides by the same code of honor Dick and all the other officers abide by, and he has held up that same code of honor many times. In different ways and through different methods, yes, but always with the same goal in mind: protect. Always protect.

But not here.

Ron did not give them the comfort of knowing Grant's status and he put them in a dangerous situation. He did not think of them first. No doubt spurred on by his own trauma and his own simmering anger and lack of a proper outlet, a proper enemy to take it out on, he was blinded by his rage and simply thought of himself and his revenge. Not his men.

Ron slipped up. They're just lucky he caught himself before it got any worse.

[silkling]

This is part two of an ask box fic. For part one, click below.

Part 1

———————————————————————————————————

Cody had been expecting to see Blades sitting in front of the TV when he and the others returned. He had not been expecting to see the large bot the team had rescued holding the copter while said copter made a sharp, painful sounding noise. When he, his siblings, and the other three bots had returned to the firehouse, they’d been chatting and teasing Heatwave about his increasing frustration with his difficulty at contacting Optimus. Then when they’d gotten down to the bunker, the three Cybertronians had abruptly stopped talking, before they’d looked concerned and panicked and rushed ahead. The humans had followed as quickly as they could, and the group arrived to see Blades in the large bot’s grasp, making that noise that Cody didn’t know the meaning behind.

The large bot noticed the, first, and a sharp, red gaze snapped to the group. “More younglings, little one? I suppose I should not be surprised, the Rescue Force did tend to match teams within the same age bracket.” he remarked.

Cody didn’t know what a “youngling” was by Cybertronian standards, but to human ears it sounded like the new bot was calling Sigma-17 kids. Or at the very least, younger than adults.

Heatwave clearly didn’t care about what the bot had to say. “You let Blades go!” he snarled, stepping forward and looking ready to tackle the larger bot.

Blades had startled and gone silent when the bigger flyer spoke, but at Heatwave’s words he jumped and pulled himself free, gathering his pedes under him and standing between his team and the larger bot. “Wait!” he protested. “He wasn’t hurting me. I was kinda…collapsing, and he kept me front falling.”

Cody frowned. “Why were you collapsing?”

“He told me something that Optimus should have told us a long time ago. Something very bad.”

“And what was that?” Kade snipped, eyes narrowed.

“I’d be curious to know too.” Dad’s voice came from behind them. Cody turned to see his father stepping out of the elevator. “But first, maybe we should sit down. Something tells me this news isn’t going to be pretty.”

“You are a clever human.” The stranger rumbled. “I believe that would indeed be best.”

Heatwave growled, but nodded stiffly. “This way.”

He led them to the lounge area, where everyone got settled and comfortable. The stranger sat on the floor, Blades and Boulder took the couch, and Dani and Graham sat beside their respective partners. Heatwave sat leaning against the couch, and Kade sat leaning against him. Chase pulled over a Cybertronian sized beanbag Graham and Boulder had made, and Dad squished in next to him. Cody, after a moment of consideration, stepped in and sat in front of the newcomer. The large bot shot him an arched brow, and the human just smiled and waved in response.

“So.” Heatwave grunted. “What’s this news?”

“We’re the last Rescue Bots.” Blades cut in, voice quiet.

Chase was frowning. “That is not entirely news. Optimus implied as much when we asked him about the rest of the Rescue Force. I assume the rest of the Rescue Teams were folded into the Autobot ranks when the War began.”

Boulder frowned. “That would make sense, though I have a hard time believing the others would just….abandon in the oaths of neutrality we all took.”

“They did not.” The stranger cut in. “When the War began, the Rescue Force remained neutral. They aided and rescued mechs from both factions. Megatron offered them the chance to join the Decepticons, and they refused. They wished to hold true to their oaths to serve and protect all who needed it. Megatron did not take kindly to the refusal. In order to make an example of them, and also to remove a faction that would aid his enemies, he destroyed the Rescue Force Headquarters and offlined every Rescue Team there. Survivors of the initial attack, as well as those who were simply not present, were subsequently hunted down and slaughtered.” he said bluntly.

There was dead silence in the bunker, with horror growing palpable in the air.

“Dreadwing.” Blades’s voice was weak. “Maybe that was a bit blunt.” He glanced at his teammates. “I think he’s right. I found a mention of the “end of the Rescue Force” in one of High Tide’s data pads. Plus…remember what Optimus said when he first saw us? “I was not aware Rescue Teams were still active.” That’s what he told us.”

Dreadwing. So that was the stranger’s name. Still, he was more worried about the bots. Boulder looked horrified and increasingly sick. Heatwave looked stunned and angry and grief-stricken all at once. Chase looked disbelieving. None of them seemed to be able to protest what they’d been told.

“Dreadwing, is it?” Dad’s voice rose in the silence. “You seem to know a lot about the topic.”

“Any Cybertronian who was alive at the time knows about the Fall of the Rescue Force. It was a great tragedy.”

“That’s why Optimus is so adamant about keeping us here.” Blades whispered. “He knew. He probably thought we’d be in danger if any other bot knew what we are.”

“You would be.” Dreadwing agreed. “If Lord Megatron were to discover your existence, he would send his forces to see you slain, even if it meant razing this island to the ground to do so. Perhaps he would even keep you alive long enough to force Optimus Prime and his team watch your destruction.” He stated, blunt and hard.

Everyone collectively flinched at that, looking sick and horrified at the prospect. Cody could relate. The way Dreadwing discussed such violence and such horrors…it was so casual. He didn’t know what to make of it. The Rescue Bots didn’t speak so bluntly about that sort of thing, but he knew that was due to lack of exposure to that level of violence. Optimus and High Tide were both also very…sanitized, in the way they spoke of the War. It wasn’t necessarily bad that Dreadwing didn’t care to censor himself, but Cody certainly wasn’t used to it. Just the idea of his friends being stolen away and killed to make a point made him sick.

Graham’s voice broke the silence. “Lord Megatron.” he sound, sounding strained. “You called him “Lord Megatron”. I can’t imagine any Autobot calling the leader of their enemy something like “lord”. Which means you’re not an Autobot. You’re a Decepticon.”

There was a second of silence, and then Heatwave surged forward and yanked Cody away from Dreadwing. As one, the Rescue Bots, baring Blades for some reason, lowered the windshields in their chests to let their partners climb in to safety. As for Blades…he just stood, carefully maneuvering Dani out of range of danger and stepping forward before anyone else could do anything. Cody, still dazed and now strapped into Heatwave’s passenger seat, could only watch in confusion.

“Everybody stop and calm down!” The copter snapped, his rotors rattling against his back. The other bots were still, and Dreadwing hadn’t moved from his seat on the floor.

The large bot shifted his gaze to Boulder, or rather, Boulder’s chest where Graham was tucked away. “You are correct.” he said, voice somber. “I am a Decepticon. Or rather, I was. It was Megatron himself who gave me the wound that nearly offlined me.” He paused. “I am afraid I am still teaching myself to shed the loyalty that once bound me to him. I spent many millennia calling him my Lord, and it is a habit that is very difficult to break.” He tilted his head. “Regardless, I assure you I have no desire to return to the Decepticons. I would be destroyed if I were to return.”

That seemed to calm the bots down, and Dani frowned from where Blades had stashed her. “You knew, didn’t you partner?”

Blades sighed. “I suspected.” he admitted. “I read in the data pads that Optimus left for us that after the fall of Vos, most Seekers joined the Deceptions. Dreadwing is a Seeker. I put the pieces together.”

Dreadwing bristled at the mention of “Vos”, though Cody didn’t know what that was. “Vos was destroyed and razed to the ground by Autobot forces, little flyer.” he rumbled. “Seekers did not join the Autobots when the War began because most of those who did were the same who had spent generations abusing and ostracizing any and all flight-frames.” he said bluntly. “It is why most flyers joined the Deceptions. They did not wish to be treated as lesser simply because of a different vehicle mode.”

Dani blinked. “Huh. So bigots exist on all planets, then.” she sighed. “The War…are you saying it started as a social revolution?”

“Just so.” Dreadwing nodded at her. “In the beginning, it was not Optimus Prime who led the Autobots. It was his predecessor, a mech called Sentinel. Sentinel was backed by the Senate. The same Senate that had created laws to force mechs to live only by the function of their frame types, and the same Senate that allowed flight-frames to be treated as filth. When Megatron rose up initially, it was to fight for justice and put an end to the caste system.”

This was news to all the humans. They’d heard about the War, of course, but hearing about how it started and why it had began put new context on things.

“The Senate refused to listen, and thus the War began. Megatron initially led as non-violently as possible, but then any who harbored even slight anti-Senate mentalities began to be culled by Autobot Enforcers. Flyers were confined to the ground by force when not in Vos, and in Vos they were not permitted to leave the city.” The Seeker continued. “What started as a fight for equality turned into Decepticons fighting for their right simply to live. And then the Senate was assassinated, and Sentinel destroyed, and Optimus Prime took his place. By then, it was too late for things to return to peace. Too many Decepticons feared they would be killed for the crime of wanting a better life and fighting for it, and too many Autobots were bitter and angry towards the chaos the Decepticon had wrought. And so, the War continued.” he sighed.

There was silence for a long moment, and the Rescue Bots finally returned to their previous positions, though they didn’t let the humans out just yet. Blades sat on the couch, and Dani shifted over to perch on his shoulder. Everyone present was silent for a moment, taking in what they had been told. This…changed things. Certainly, the Decepticons had done horrible things. The fact that they had slaughtered the Rescue Bots was a prime example. But to learn why they had risen and where they had come from…it put a lot into perspective.

“Blades.” Dani spoke up. “You’re a flyer. Did you run into any of that sort of thing Dreadwing was talking about, before your stasis nap?” she asked.

Blades sputtered. “Well, no.” he seemed embarrassed. “You know I wasn’t always a flyer. I was a ground-frame, on Cybertron. Sure, I’d heard about the anti-flyer and anti-Seeker stuff but I never experienced it. Dreadwing is telling the truth, though. Cybertron…didn’t have the best social system. I did know about the civil unrest, thought it hadn’t grown to a revolution quite yet the last time I was on Cybertron.” he said, sheepish.

Before one of the humans could ask for an elaboration, Dreadwing was straightening up. “Youngling. You mean to tell me you were able to shift from a ground-frame to a flight-frame by scanning a new vehicle mode?”

Blades paused. “Yes?”

Dreadwing was quiet, before uttering what Cody was very sure was a curse. “You do realize that is an extraordinarily rare ability? Even triple changers are more common than that.”

“Really?” Blades, and even all the other bots, seemed stunned by this revelation.

“Yes.” Dreadwing was frowning. “Most Cybertronian t-cogs will only allow for scanning and transformation into a vehicle mode that is compatible with your root mode. To be able to change from a grounder to a flyer by simply scanning a new vehicle mode…it speaks of a highly malleable and adaptable base frame type. The kind one expects from the tales of the Shifters of old.”

That made the Bots perk up, and Cody made a note to ask about that later. For now, he opted to stay quiet and let the Cybertronians figure this out. And it seemed his family had the same idea. Even Kade, for once.

“Are you saying I’m a Shifter?” Blades seemed frantic at the idea.

“No.” Dreadwing shook his head. “But perhaps you have coding descended from them.” He sighed. “Your ability, little one, is one I have only ever heard of on Cybertron. Many would be jealous of you. I know many flyers would not give up their flight for anything, but I know of many more who would have wanted your ability desperately in order to change to a ground-frame and escape the derision.”

Blades blinked, then looked down. “Oh.” he whispered.

Heatwave growled. “Look, it’s all well and good that we’ve figured this out, but now what? You were a Decepticon! You could hurt us or someone else on the island!”

Dreadwing looked unimpressed. “I have no intentions of doing any such thing, though I will leave if you prefer.”

“But won’t Megatron kill you?” Boulder asked.

“He will try. I will simply have to avoid him.”

“Then why not join the Autobots?” Chase asked.

The Seeker’s expression went dark. “No. While Optimus Prime is honorable, the Autobots have not always been such. I have lost too much to their regime to submit myself to the brand, even if it is different now.”

No one seemed to know what to say to that. After a long moment, the humans were finally let out of the cabs of their respective partners, and Cody saw an odd look in his Dad’s eye.

“Hoe about this, then.” Dad said. “We don’t feel right about sending you off where you might be killed. You don’t want to fight the Autobots, you don’t want to fight for the Decepticons. Am I right so far?”

Dreadwing simply bowed his head.

“Do you even want to fight in the War at all, anymore?”

Dreadwing paused. “The Decepticons committed a crime which I must put right. But other than that, no.” There was a pause. “Even with my end goal, it is not the Decepticons at large I wish to see defeated. It is only one mech among their ranks.”

Dad hummed slowly, then nodded. “I’m guessing you’re not ready to tell us the details, so I won’t even ask.” he said. “Here’s what I propose: you stay here on Griffin Rock. You don’t let yourself be seen by the humans here, we do have a cover to maintain after all. You can think and plan your next steps here. That lets us keep an eye on you, and keeps our minds at ease that you’re not out there running for your life from a tyrant. You just can’t destroy anything or hurt anyone or cause trouble.”

Cody was surprised by the offer, and clearly Dreadwing was too. What did his Dad see in this large bot that was making him take a chance like this? Cody wasn’t against it, but it was a little unusual.

Dreadwing seemed to think over the offer, before he nodded. “I will accept your terms.”

Dad relaxed, and before Kade could protest he waved his children along. “Now come on, everyone. It’s late and we humans need our rest.” he said. “Kade, not here. We can discuss this more later. Let’s go, everyone.”

Cody hopped off Heatwave’s knee, and followed his siblings and father to the lift. The last thing he saw before the doors closed was the Rescue Bots turning to their newest addition, and heard the start of a question before the doors shutting cut it off.

“So what else do you know that Optimus isn’t-“

——————————

Everything came to a head a week after Dreadwing had settled into the bunker. The Seeker had taken over one back corner of the large room, converting it into a small space for himself. None of the other bots or humans had raised a fuss at that. But Kade was getting increasingly agitated. It was clear that he didn’t understand why Blades and his team were so calm about letting a Decepticon live peacefully with them. Personally, the copter bot attributed that to the fact that the firefighter was human, so he probably didn’t understand the Cybertronian cultural or societal intricacies that had allowed the five bots to come to an understanding. That day, Kade had been particularly snarly. Even Boulder was starting to get put off by it.

They had gathered in the bunker. Blades was watching TV with Dreadwing and Chase, trying to explain the allure of his favorite show to the two bots. Boulder was painting, and Heatwave was on his little sparring platform. The humans had come down in time to see Dreadwing pinch one of Blade’s finials when the little copter bot’s rotors had straightened and extended, threatening to start spinning right there on his back due to his excitement. It had pulled Blades back to himself, and he’d sheepishly tucked his rotors back along his spinal strut while shooting the older mech an apologetic grin.

To a Cybertronian, such a gesture from an older mech to a youngling would not have raised any attention. The gentle tweak hadn’t even hurt his sensitive finials. But to a human, especially one who didn’t have or understand the context of Cybertronian culture, the gesture and lack of reaction from the bots could easily be misunderstood.

So really, Blades wasn’t surprised that Kade had finally snapped. As soon as he’d seen the interaction, he’d roared a demand to know what was going on, questioning how the bots could live with someone who had been part of the same team that had wiped out all the other Rescue Bots. That was when Chief Burns had sighed and suggested they all get settled in the lounge to talk again. They had, taking up the same positions as the previous time, though this time Boulder also dragged over a large beanbag for himself and Graham, while Dani perched on Blade’s shoulder and Dreadwing took the free spot on the couch. Which was where they were now.

“Alright.” Kade spat. “So I’m not getting something here, obviously. Why are you four so comfortable around him? He literally admitted that he used to be a Decepticon! The same guys that destroyed your Rescue Force!”

“But he wasn’t there.” Blades chimed in. “We talked when you went to bed that night. He joined the ‘Cons after the Autobots destroyed Vos, which happened after the fall of the Rescue Force.”

“And that changes anything?” Kade sputtered.

“It changes everything.” Heatwave grunted. “He wasn’t part of the group that destroyed the Rescue Force. And even though he joined them later, it wasn’t to inflict violence, it was in response to his home and people being destroyed. That may be hard to understand, based on what I know of your human culture, but for us Cybertronians that’s enough.”

Kade crossed his arms, scowling fiercely. “Fine. I guess I can accept that, even if I don’t get it. What I don’t get is why you’d defect.” he directed the last part at Dreadwing. “You hinted last time we talked that you served Megatron for thousands and thousands of years, and joined him because he was fighting for a just cause, one you believed in. What changed?”

Dreadwing frowned, staring hard at the human. “You are correct, Skyquake and I did originally join Megatron because we believed him to be honorable and just.” he tilted his head. “As the War progressed and left Cybertron, Megatron gradually became more…mad. However, we still followed him because we had sworn an oath of loyalty, and to break that oath would be dishonorable.” he rumbled. “And we did not fully agree with the Autobots either, even after Optimus Prime took command.”

“Hold on.” Graham cut in. “Skyquake?”

Dreadwing blinked, and something odd entered his gaze. Blades felt the flash of grief in his EM afield before it abruptly cut off. “Yes. Skyquake. He was my brother. We were split spark twins.”

“I thought you said you guys don’t have families like humans!” Kade said to Heatwave, eyes narrowed.

The fire truck scowled. “We don’t! Not usually! There’s only really one exception, and that’s so rare I didn’t think it mattered!”

“Two exceptions.” Blades intervened quickly. “There’s actually two exceptions, two ways for Cybertronians to have siblings.”

Looks were directed at him, and he squirmed under the attention. Slag, he hadn’t meant to say that. They’d want to know how he knew and that was something he wanted to keep to himself. It was his burden to bare.

Dreadwing sensed his discomfort, cutting in before the questions could start and drawing the attention back to himself. “Yes. The first exception is that of split spark twins.” He glanced at the humans. “We Cybertronians are not created like you organics. On Cybertron, our source of life is called the Well of All Sparks. It is where all sparks are created, and where all sparks return upon deactivation.”

“A spark is like…your soul, right? It’s what gives you guys life and makes you who you are.” Dani questioned.

Dreadwing dipped his helm towards her. “Indeed. When a new Cybertronian comes into be, their spark is created in the Well. It goes through several layers of the Well’s energy, the spark refining and becoming more defined as it progresses to the edge of the Well from the center. Often, the sparks will not maintain their form in this process, and their energy will dissipate and return to the Well.” Noting the human’s looks, he shook his head. “The spark has no life or sentience at that time, it is merely a small collection of energy. It is if the spark holds its form past the final layer of shaping that it gains sentience and life. At that point, the energy of the Well pulls resources from Cybertron itself to create a protoform, a physical body, around the spark. Then, the protoform is pushed from the Well, and thus a new Cybertronian is created.” the Seeker explained.

“That doesn’t explain how you guys can have siblings.” Graham pointed out.

Dreadwing dipped his head. “Twins like myself are a rarity. They occur when, just before a protoform is formed around the spark, a surge of energy from the Well causes the spark to split into two. When that happens, most sparks to not survive and dissipate. If they do survive, the Well forms two protoforms around the two halves. The two halves of the spark can function on their own, and are fully formed in their own right, but due to the fact they were one a singular spark those two halves are forever bound.” he explained it carefully.

“Two halves, one whole.” Graham said, eyes lighting up with understanding.

Dreadwing nodded. “Yes. That is how split spark twins are created. Due to the bond, twins are very close to one another. A spark bond is a precious thing, little human.” His optics went distant, and Blades’s own spark ached with painful remembrance. “Through a spark bond, you are always and forever aware of the one who you share the bond with. You know what they feel, how they think, you know them in every way that they in turn know you. You can talk and communicate using the bond, and it can never be detected or listened in on. Distance can dampen a bond, and the further one gets from those they are bonded to the more muted it becomes. At one point, the bond becomes too muted to talk in words, and you can share only base thoughts and emotions.” he rumbled. “But even so, the bond persists, and it allows you to know your bonded is still living.”

“And…this Skyquake. He’s your twin? Where is he?” Kade asked.

“Gone.” Dreadwing said, his EM field flaring with that sharp agony, and even the humans could hear the grief in his tone. “Offlined before I even arrived on Earth.”

“How did it happen?” Chief asked, voice somber.

Dreadwing stared at him for a long moment, and Blades could see the grief in the angle at which he held his wings, even if he had reigned in his EM field. “Centuries ago, Megatron stationed my brother here in stasis in order to guard over Deception energon deposits. I was aware of his mission, but I was sent to far off star systems to fight in the War.” he sighed. “Recently, Skyquake was awoken, and in an ensuing confrontation with the Autobots he was slain by Optimus Prime and his scout.”

Blades flinched, optics wide. Bumblebee had killed Dreadwing’s twin? He supposed he couldn’t really judge a situation in which he didn’t have all the information, but he still had a hard time imagining the friendly yellow bit he knew actually killing someone else.

“How did you survive?” he blurted out. Looks were directed to him again, confused, but Dreadwing understood.

“Distance.” he rumbled. “I was so far away at from my brother at the time of his death that the bond was too strained for me to even feel his strongest emotions. I could only barely tell he was still living, and even then only when I focused on the link between our shared spark.” His gaze went sad. “I felt his death. The surge of energy that came from the bond breaking did reach me, but by the time it did it had had to travel so great a distance that it had dulled too much to overwhelm and gutter out my own spark. All I felt was a very faint sting. It didn’t even hurt to feel him perish.” he said, and he sounded bitter at it.

Blades could understand. “I’m sorry.” he said honestly.

Dreadwing sighed. “He died an honorable death. For that much, I am grateful.”

Kade cleared his throat, frowning. “Okay.” he said carefully. “But that doesn’t explain why you left the ‘Cons. Shouldn’t you have more reason to stay with the, if the Autobots killed your twin?”

Dreadwing growled lowly here. “No.” he denied. “The Autobots gave my brother a good death, a death I know Skyquake would not have been ashamed of. For all I resent the Autobots from taking my brother from me, it is War, and I cannot find fault in them removing an enemy from the battlefield.” He turned a sharp look to Kade. “It was the Starscream, however, who is a Decepticon, who desecrated my brother’s rest by defiling his corpse and turning him into a Terrorcon.”

Blades inhaled sharply, rage clouding his processor. He seethed, his rotors clamping tight to his spinal strut, his optics going dark and angry, and his hands curling into fists. Dani was the only one to notice, and she didn’t want to draw attention to him just yet.

“Terrorcon? Cody asked.

“A zombie.” Boulder offered, looking sick. Actually, all the bots look sick. “Or the closest equivalent to it there is for Cybertronians.”

And now the humans all looked sick. “Oh.” Kade said. “That’s why you left.”

“Yes.” Dreadwing said darkly. “I learned the truth, and when I attempted to avenge my bother Megatron attempted to destroy me. It did not matter to him that Starscream had attempted to assassinate and betray him on countless occasions. He sought my death in order to protect a known traitor.” he growled. “Starscream turned my brother into something twisted and abhorrent. That is why I left.” he finished.

“I’m surprised you didn’t rip his spark out.” Blades hissed. Stunned gazes turned to the copter, and everyone was alarmed to see just how angry he looked. “I’d have tried to, in your place.”

The only one who wasn’t surprised was Dreadwing. “I did try, and I was almost killed for it. I will avenge Skyquake one day, little one. But for now, calm yourself.”

Blades actually snarled at that. His rotors rattled aggressively, the smaller ones in his pedes whirling to life with a loud buzzing, and his engine all but roared with fury. “Just the idea of someone doing that-!” he cut himself off, snarling again. Dreadwing was quick to pick Dani off the youngling’s shoulder and set her down.

“Blades.” he snapped. The others were too frozen in shock at the sight of the usually bubbly copter so aggressive.

“No!” Blades snapped. “If someone did that to ‘Aid, or Groove, or Streetwise, or Hot Spot, or any of them, I’d rip them apart myself!”

Dreadwing narrowed his optics, his processor working quickly. There was no reason for the youngling to get so upset at the idea of a spark sibling being so badly defiled, no reason for him to take it so personally. And those names…

“You are gestalt, aren’t you, little one?”

That was enough to snap Blades out of his angry haze, and his optics shot wide. Fear swamped his field, and his rotors abruptly silenced and clamped back against his spine while the rotors in his pedes cut off with a sharp grinding noise. “What?”

“Given your reaction, and those names you said….it is the only conclusion that makes sense.”

“Wait, Blades…you’re part of a gestalt?” Boulder asked, his own optics blown wide.

“That…would explain your reaction.” Chase offered hesitantly.

“Blades.” Heatwave prompted at the copter’s continued silence.

“Uh, hello? Clueless humans here!” Dani called. “Blades, put me back up. Also, what’s a gestalt?”

The youngling bent down, allowing his partner to climb her way back up to his shoulder before he sat up. He sagged, looking defeated,

“A gestalt is the other way Cybertronians can have siblings.” he said quietly. “It happens in the Well. Most of the time, the Well creates on spark at a time. Creating a living spark is a complex process, so it can’t afford to create too many at once. Every once in a while though, the Well has an excess of energy, undetectable to any technology. When that happens, it creates multiple sparks at once. If all those sparks survive to the edge of the Well, then the excess energy pulls them together into one large, massive spark. Many sparks, becoming one. They remain combined until the energy stabilizes, and then split into the original number again and that’s when the protoforms are created around the sparks.” He sighed. “When that happens, all the bots in that group are linked. They were created by the Well together, and they were merged together by the Well to bind their sparks. That’s a gestalt. Because of the spark merge that occurred in the Well, gestalt can actually merge themselves again outside of it. They can push together their sparks and processors and very beings to become a singular bot. Gestalt frames are even adapted to that they can physically combine, each member becoming a different body part, in order to form the body of a new, larger mech while their sparks combine to form the mech’s own spark. Many, becoming one.” Blades looked down. “My brothers and I are that. We can combine to form Defensor. I’m the arm.” he said weakly.

——————————

Part 3

[fanfictasia]

Yiu know what's the difference between the clones and Anakin? Anakin CHOSE to start killing the Jedi. The entire point of the chips is that the clones had no CHOICE. As for the alleged treason of the Jedi, Anakin had just learned Palpatine orchestrated the civil war. The Jedi knew the Sith were leading the Separatists because of Dooku. That isn't treason against the Republic?! Anakin literally yells that Palpatine has to live because Anakin NEEDS him (to save Padmé from.... something).

You clearly lack the most basic understanding of treason, so I’ll feel free to explain to you what it means. Treason is “the crime of betraying one’s country, especially by attempting to kill the sovereign or overthrow the government.”

And since you’re an idiot, I had better go ahead and define the word “sovereign” for you, so you don’t get confused again. Sovereign means “one possessing or held to possess supreme political power or sovereignty.” Okay, so I think we can both agree that Palpatine fits that definition, since he was the Chancellor and the head of the Republic.

What were the Jedi doing when they instructed Anakin to spy on him? They were committing treason. Palpatine is the head of the Republic as well as the head of the military. The Jedi are all military officers serving underneath him. The fact that Palpatine had the ability to request the Council put Anakin on it is, I think, proof enough that he had a great deal of control over them. Why do you think the Council didn’t want Anakin’s assignment to be on record?! It’s because if he was discovered, then there’s no proof that the Council was involved. Anakin would have taken the fall for it alone, and he would have been executed. Can you even imagine how horrible of a thing that was? The Council was literally setting Anakin up to take the fall for their choices! Why do you think he was so upset at being given those instructions from Obi-Wan? Anakin is literally married to a Senator, and he’s spent much time with the Chancellor. He would have definitely been well aware of many laws, especially those about treason, given what happened with Ahsoka.

It’s so convenient to pretend that there are no laws that have to be followed in Star Wars, but it’s not reality. There are laws, and whether good or bad, Palpatine was the elected head of the Republic. If he’s guilty or suspected of being guilty of a crime, there are appropriate courses of action which can be taken. The Jedi do not have the authority to get involved. It’s a Senate matter. It’s something that the Senate would have to investigate. Not the Jedi. By trying to arrest Palpatine without any evidence of his guilt, the Jedi again committed treason against the Republic by “attempting to kill the sovereign.”

See, Palpatine never said “I am the Sith Lord who orchestrated the Clone Wars.” No, he said that he knows the ways of the Dark Side. It’s not illegal to be a Dark Sider. Palpatine was clever, and everything he did, he did legally. Was it immoral or unethical? Oh yes. Absolutely. Was it illegal? No. When the Jedi tried to kill him, they were committing treason, and as such, he had the authority to take whatever actions he deemed necessary to protect the security of the Republic. It might be hard for you to grasp the idea that your precious Jedi Council who Can Do No Wrong could have messed up so badly, but they did. They acted without thinking of the consequences or the legality. And they committed treason.

Anakin was trying not to commit any crimes akin to treason all throughout ROTS, and he was successful. Yes, he had a personal motivation in wanting Palpatine to be alive, but so what? Windu was still committing a crime for which he would likely have been executed regardless of whether or not he was successful in killing the Chancellor. It’s all good and well to think that Anakin is Bad because he stopped Windu from killing Palpatine, but you’re not thinking realistically. Maybe if the Jedi had listened to the Force the way Anakin did, they would never have made so many mistakes.

And you also mentioned that Anakin chose to kill the Jedi, unlike the clones. But did he? Did he? He had no way of knowing what Palpatine would ask of him when he agreed to join him. The Jedi were already doomed, and nothing he did would have changed that. Anakin had two choices: follow orders or don’t follow orders. He, with his own eyes, saw the Jedi committing a major crime, and as a military officer, it was Anakin’s duty to mete out justice. If he didn’t follow orders, he would have been killed, and Padme and their child would have met the same fate if they were lucky. In a worst-case scenario, Palpatine would have adopted and raised the twins as Sith, but let’s not get into that, shall we?

You are also conveniently ignoring the fact that despite the fact that Anakin’s choices were practically non-existent, Palpatine has been grooming him to kill the Jedi for years. Victims who face this type of abuse generally feel as if they have no choice but to comply with their abuser, even if they hate themselves for it. I’m sure @englishlady wouldn’t mind expanding on this if you really need the clarification, though I suspect you’re just being ornery, since there’s no way you haven’t already seen what she’s said about Anakin being groomed.

Even if I was answering a rather inane question… at least you were polite about it. Lol.

[gpsoftun]

Respect for life, specifically how there's no real sign of it, is one of the most frequent grievances I have against the X-Men movies. I'm not referring to Batman's no-kill rule- that's a whole other discussion. I mean the way certain works depict death with no gravity or realistic consequences.

From x2 on, the X-movies entered their moral descent. Magneto tried to kill the entire homo sapien population out of petty revenge. As the FC sequels would eventually prove, whenever he's given the chance to be the better man, the moron of magnetism goes out of his way to be the worst one instead. Never does the narrative hold him accountable for his misdeeds. In fact, he's usually painted as sympathetic, even when he treats fellow mutants as disposable cannon fodder.

Meanwhile, Professor X suffers at every turn when he commits even the smallest error in judgement. Worse, his kindness gets thrown im his face as he's tormented and betrayed by almost everyone he loves.

There's also the ongoing theme of mutant lives being superior to homo sapiens. For a franchise that is supposed to tackle real world issues, it has so many horrible messages. I stand by my belief that the franchise is one long assault on mental health.

Now, let's look at how the MSU handles this.

As a half vampire, Blade's story can be interpreted as an allegory for children conceived in rape. I realize I am the only person on the planet to assert such a notion, but hear me out. Like the rest of us, Blade had no  control over his parentage. Still, he's such an outsider and stigmatized for his paternity. Instead of imitating his evil origins, he takes on a mission to exterminate vampires. While his human half might never truly accept him, he still risks himself for their protection. Children from rape are similarly reviled and dehumanized with many advocating for their termination before they even take their first breaths. In actuality, their lives are just as sacred as everyone else's- deal with it.

There is an attempt made at a respect for life message in Daredevil, but the execution mishandled it. Matt Murdock started off as willing to kill rapists and murderers who rig the court system. After his persona frightens a little boy, he comes to the conclusion that he doesn't want to be the bad guy. But he picked the worst possible time to put this epiphany into practice. Want to be merciful to petty hoods-for-hire? Fine. Want to be merciful to the ruthless, Machiavellian Kingpin? NOOOO! I love Matt, but I didn't like the implication that he was going to play the revolving door of the prison system the way Batman does with his random roaming psyche patients. Ironically, Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne handled the respect for life message better- more on that another time. Still, I give Daredevil a point for the attempt, thus keeping him ahead of the X-madness.

Here's another heaping helping of irony. The Punisher has a pretty well done respect for life theme going. Yes, Frank goes on a personal vengeance quest. But only because his so-called brothers in law enforcement let mafia intimidation prevent them from getting justice for the massacred Castle family. During his mission, he stays focused on who the real enemy is. Whatever money he comes into, he shares it with civilians. Even though he only knew his housemates for a short time, he expresses and demonstrates his gratitude for their loyalty and kindness. These are three borderline impoverished youths we're talking about. Society might not consider them valuable, but an angry, heartbroken, vigilante widower certainly did.

After returning from death by the power of- what the freakin' heck, Sticks??!- Elektra pursues the assassin career path. She's compelled to do this by reason of- dang boo, you okay??!  But when she's ordered to kill a single father and his teenage daughter Abby, Elektra not only refuses but takes it upon herself to do whatever it takes to protect Abby and her dad. Throughout the movie, Elektra struggled with rage from childhood trauma. It is not until Abby is killed that Elektra is able to put her anger aside so she can use her new powers to revive the girl. The script might not have been great, but Elektra's story arc with Abby crushes modern Marvel maidens. The superheroine acts not out of ego and glory seeking but due to the natural feminine instinct to safeguard young ones in leonine fashion. Love and life ultimately win the day against anger and death.

Funny enough, respect for life is actually what sent the Fantastic Four into outer space. Reed sought to use the cosmic storm as a means of curing diseases and extending the human life span. Compare this to NASA who use countless tax dollars to go to space.... cuz it's there. After the cosmic rays alter their DNA, Ben's body is mutated and his fiancee is repulsed by him. Despite being at his lowest point, when Ben sees a man attempting suicide, he immediately urges him not to. Said man was ready to jump off a bridge, but the compassionate orange rocky guy somehow scared him into causing severe vehicle mayhem. Reed, Sue, and Johnny go to find Ben and all Four wind up using their unstable powers to save everyone on the bridge. Being superheroes has not crossed any of their minds, but because they're needed, they jump in and do everything they can to prevent casualties. Most initial hero fights are all about showing off the protagonists' special effect powers, but the Four felt as human and vulnerable as anyone else. It shows that nature already existed inside of them without them realizing it.

Be still my heart for the Amazing and Definitive Spider-Man. Similar to his darling of an actor, Peter doesn't carry himself like some sort of duty-bound demi-god unable to interact with the mere but helpless mortals. Even though this Peter is more handsome and masculine, he still sees himself as a regular guy. He nonchalantly removes his mask to emphasize this to members of his protectorate. He reveals himself to Gwen so early and confides in her instead of believing her to be an overly fragile damsel. Peter also pushes through his own fear and injury all to put others at ease. These are not only traits critical to respecting life, but also the qualities of a real man.

This has been an excerpt from

MSU Moments 💛

[phantoms-lair]

Hero's Spirit Snippet

A red bolt of plasma interrupted the fight and pinned the Hero Killer to the wall. "Izuku Midoriya what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Sorry Valerie," Izuku said weakly, the white ring signifying his return to normal forming along his middle.

"Don't you dare! Your living form actually has organs where those holes are and...you used the Wail didn't you?"

"Sorry," Izuku said weakly.

"You two," Valerie ordered Iida and Todoroki, "Get him out of here. Make sure he doesn't use his powers or changes back until those stab wounds have mostly filled in."

"What about Stain?" Iida asked, even as he moved to support his friend.

"He won't be able to hurt me or escape my tech. I'll keep an eye on him till reinforcements come."

"So you'll take all the credit?" Todoroki said dryly.

Valerie's eyes flared red. "I'm getting myself listed as a vigilante so Midoriya doesn't have to face the consequences of this. You realize if word gets out you fought a villain your protection is gone right?"

Neither Todoroki nor Iida knew what she meant, but the soft explative coming from their injured friend said volumes.

"Go." She ordered, and none of the three questioned it.

~

Iida had so many questions. Why had Midoroya referred to himself as undead and 'Valerie' called his normal state his 'living form'? Why had he said he'd been murdered by a villain? What 'protection' did he have and why would he lose it?

And yet he didn't think he could ask any of them. His idiocy was the reason Midoriya had been hurt so badly and them all put at risk. How could he face his friends, much less ask deeply personal questions?

"I guess I owe you guys an explanation?" Izuku asked weakly. The ring formed around his waist, but he banished it.

"No you don't." Todoroki said bluntly. "Personal stuff, especially the hard stuff, isn't owed to anyone. When I shared my past with you, it was because I wanted to."

Izuku was quiet a moment. "Maybe I should anyway. I thought I was okay with stuff, but obviously not if I lost it like that."

They ducked into an alcove, allowing him to rest and giving them a modicum of privacy. "Okay, so you know my quirk was latent and I only unlocked it last spring, right?"

Iida and Todoroki nodded. It was common knowledge that was why he had so much trouble controlling his quirk at the start of the year.

"Turns out that wasn't the case. Like, to be fair I thought it was. Most latent quirks emerge in times of high stress and being the victim of a villain attack fit. But All Might saved me at the last moment and it was fine." The hysterical note in his voice showed it very much was not fine.

"And then the ghosts. showed up. Which sounds stupid, but that's what happened. They were calling me 'The Great One' and -"

Todoroki sat up straight. "The Yeti-person who stopped the villain attacking the school. She apologized to 'The Great One'. I thought she meant All Might but-"

"It was me. " Izuku said dryly. "I wasn't keen to advertise the fact. And I also didn't want to explain she and the person she captured were ghosts."

Iida bit his tongue. Ghosts seemed beyond far fetched, but it didn't feel right questioning his friend on the matter.

"The dog is too?" Todoroki guessed. "That's why it can disappear and go through walls. And all those reports of people with similar powers breaking quirk regulation laws..."

"Ghosts." Izuku confirmed. "The Honor Guard try to keep as many as they can from getting through."

"Who?" Iida finally asked.

Izuku huffed. "Right, I guess I have to explain about him. Danny, hero name Phantom. He's from long ago. Before...before quirks, really. His parents were experimenting with a portal to the Underworld and he got caught in it. Changed him. Basically made him undead. And he decided to become a hero with it. He did a pretty good job, up until..."

Izuku swallowed. "Up until some fanatics backed by the American Government decided to basically blow up the Underworld to destroy all the unnatural things in it. But the Land of the Living and the Land of the Dead are connected, destroying one would destroy both."

"Danny sacrificed himself to save both worlds, destroying his parents gate in the process. He was mostly forgotten in the land of the living, as part of a cover up for the government to hide their involvement, but in the Land of the Dead he's like their All Might. This Legend that saved them all. He's got a gigantic following of people trying to live up to his ideals. The Honor Guard is a part of that. So is Valerie."

"He sounds like a true hero." Iida observed. "But you sounded upset when you first mentioned him."

Izuku left out a puff of breath. "Because I am him."

The other two just stared at him.

"Reincarnated." Izuku amended. "I was him in a past life. That's how I got his powers. It wasn't a close call, my body died and that triggered the undead powers from my past life. That also triggered the portal reopening, which is why the ghosts are coming through now. And it should be cool knowing I was a real hero in a past life, but I don't know if I can ever live up to everyone's expectations of me. And it's great I have so many people who want to help, but I also know each and every one of them would rather I be him instead."

"Midoriya, did you...see a councilor after the villain attack." Iida asked lenitively.

"Yeah," He shrugged. "New quirk, gotta figure it out and register it. Drove me crazy because it made no sense since, you know, turned out it wasn't a quirk at all."

"Not a quirk councilor." Todoroki clarified. "A trauma councilor." Izuku blinked at them.

"That's a no." Iida sighed, feeling another spark on anger in him. Thankfully not the maddening rage of before, but...he'd hated hearing Izuku talk of his treatment before he got his quirk and hated that even afterwards he still fell through the cracks. "You should have received some aid for dealing with such a horrible experience. Especially one bad enough you...are you entirely sure that you....?"

"I felt my lungs give out and my brain shut down." Izuku said simply. "I was fine after I transformed, though. I went home after the villain was captured."

"You didn't even go to a hospital?" Todoroki and Iida shared a look. They'd have to have a talk with All Might after this.

"I was fine."

"You were not." Iida insisted. "No wonder you reacted so poorly to Stain. You must think me a monster too." He had gone into that alley with the intent to kill for Justice. How could he be any different from Stain in Midoriya's mind.

"You're not a monster you just...weren't thinking straight," Izuku winced.

"What did she mean by protections?" Todoroki asked, steering the topic back.

"Okay, so Danny was a regular opponent to a lot of ghosts trying to break into the Land of the Living and a large amount started fighting him because they liked the challenge. It's been explained that I won't fight them until I get my Hero License, so that's been keeping them back. Some of the Honor Guard focus on keeping the more stubborn ones away from me, and Valerie acts as a bodyguard against those who make it through so they don't get their way after all. But if word gets out I fought a villain, that means I would be willing to fight, so they'll come after me in droves."

Another pang of guilt stabbed Iida. He'd screwed things up worse than he knew.

Todoroki reached into Izuku's oversized sleeve and grabbed his hand. A silent show of support. Just like Iida, the fact that Izuku had died and no one seemed to have noticed infuriated him. Izuku took the support and ran with it, grabbing Todoroki and sobbing his characteristic stream of tears. Todoroki shot Iida a glare demanding he join in the group hug.

Iida was unsure he was welcome, but complied. Izuku grabbed onto him too.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm crying,"

"You went through a terrible thing and weren't allowed to deal with it. Maybe now you can?" Iida suggested.

"You died. You're allowed to cry over it."

Izuku took that advice to heart, sobbing harder. He changed back partially through the cry and apologized for getting his blood (now red) on their costumes.

As they separated, Todoroki brushed some of the red off and stared at his fingers. The villain who'd attacked him, the hero who just left him, the ghosts who'd offered him guidance but no comfort, the system that ignored him. How many others had Izuku's blood on their hands as much as he did now and never even realized.

[hope-grace-serenity]

In Defense of the Deputy: Morals and Ethics in Far Cry 5

The narratives of recent Far Cry installments have been framed in a way that make the player question whether or not they’re truly playing as the “good guy.” In Far Cry 3, Jason slowly embraces the violent lifestyle on Rook Island, gradually finding the killing to be a fun power trip instead of the horrifying reality that it is. In Far Cry 4, Ajay topples a ruthless dictator, only to replace him with a revolutionary that is either a religious extremist or a person who has children kidnapped in order to make them into soldiers/slaves. In Far Cry 5, the Deputy goes up against a professed prophet in an attempt to subdue him and his cult, only to find in the end that the prophet was right about the end of the world. It is logical to think that if the Deputy would have just left the cult well enough alone, then that would have been the right choice, as it would have avoided the war between Eden’s Gate and the rest of Hope County, as possibly the Collapse itself. However, there is a different way to view it.

The purpose of this post is to convey that Joseph being accurate regarding the Collapse does not necessarily mean that avoiding confrontation with Eden’s Gate or joining them would have been the “right” thing to do. In fact, it will suggest the opposite: that the Deputy has a moral and ethical obligation to fight *against* Eden’s Gate and that the actions of the cult are firmly wrong despite the Collapse happening. While we as players can certainly feel empathy for the Seeds, their actions within the game make them the clear villains in this scenario, in my opinion. The Deputy deserves no blame for attempting to subdue the cult, and I will explain why by focusing on both in-universe rationale and looking at the narrative from a broader perspective.

The Warrant

First, we need to examine the idea of morality and ethics. Morality refers to a person’s principles of right and wrong--this is something that can be influenced by a person’s culture, religion, family, experiences, etc. Ethics refers to rules of conduct given by some kind of external source. In Far Cry 5, the protagonist is a law enforcement official with an ethical obligation to uphold the law and confront those who break it. Furthermore, from the perspective of a 21st century American--which we can assume the Deputy is, based on the setting of the game--Eden’s Gate commits several acts that cause harm and remove the personal agency of others, which provides the Deputy with a moral motivation for stopping them, as opposed to solely an ethical one.

An arrest warrant is made for Joseph Seed due to suspicion of kidnapping with an intent to harm. The Deputy choosing not to go through with the arrest would be bad from both a moral and ethical perspective. “Kidnapping with an intent to harm” is a serious charge, and can be a matter of life or death for the victim. Imagine if you were the parent or sibling of the kidnapping victim, and you found out that the law enforcement officials chose not to go through with the arrest of the suspect because they were afraid of rocking the boat. If that information was made public, the law enforcement officials would be rightly criticized for not doing their jobs, and for prioritizing their own desire for convenience over bringing justice to the victim. By arresting Joseph Seed, the Deputy made the moral and ethical decision.

As we see from the main game, the “suspicions” listed in the arrest warrant are later proven to be correct. Alex is killed, and his body is mutilated and put on public display as a warning. Hannah is tortured physically and psychologically, and is also killed due to her forced participation in Jacob’s trials. Joseph and several members of Eden’s Gate knew that they kidnapped the film crew. They knew in advance that Law Enforcement was coming. So, how do they decide to handle this? In a way befitting for characters who are meant to be viewed as villains.

Before the Reaping

Before we get into what the Deputy actually sees in-game, one thing needs to be made clear: Eden’s Gate always had an underlying darkness surrounding them. Regardless of what they looked like on the surface, they were never some peaceful hippie commune that was minding its own business before the Deputy came along. They’ve been committing crimes and getting away with them for years. They didn’t suddenly snap once the Deputy arrived--the Deputy’s arrival simply peeled back and revealed what was already there.

We know from the “Grieving Note” that Angels have been with Eden’s Gate for several years, longer than the current Faith has been with the group. Angels are humans who are exposed to an extreme amount of the Bliss drug, which causes them to lose their capacity for human thought and essentially act as a literal mindless follower. Their loss of identity and individuality is furthered by Eden’s Gate shaving the heads of the Angels and surgically removing their ability to speak. They act as slave labor--described as "beasts of burden"--and are fed dog food and garbage. The idea of becoming an angel is used as a threat to fellow cultists in the “Cult Note” in the King’s Hot Springs Hotel. The fact that Eden's Gate creates and condones the existence of these Angels is truly disturbing from a moral perspective, due to the inherent exploitation and dehumanization. When Angels die, their bodies are tossed in a pit of “boiling muck” in Horned Serpent Cave to disintegrate.

Angels aren’t the only ones thrown in the pit to disintegrate: Joseph threw the body of Lana, a previous Faith, in there as well, despite being told by him that she was “special.” There is a reason the writers chose to highlight that the bodies were disposed of in here, as opposed to the cult simply burying them. Bodies are disintegrated if you want to hide evidence, and by tossing the bodies in a location with properties dangerous enough to require a bio-hazard sign, any crimes are easily covered up. We don’t find the bodies of Selena or the other previous Faiths who were "used up and thrown away" by Joseph, but considering there are hints that point to foul play (disintegration of Lana’s body, Megan leaving out of fear of what Joseph could do after seeing that there was a new Faith, the way the position itself is dehumanized, the fact that Joseph has a designated corpse disposal spot in the first place, etc.) and absolutely zero evidence towards any kind of alternate fate for the previous Faiths, it’s easy to put two and two together and conclude that the previous Faiths met a grisly fate that was covered up as well.

Eden’s Gate was also involved in animal abuse through the creation of Judges, which were unleashed after the reaping. These animals were kidnapped and forcibly exposed to an obscene amount of the Bliss drug, which purposely causes them to act like rabid killers in the service of Eden’s Gate. According to NPCs, they were trained to hunt humans.

Let’s also not forget that Joseph personally gorged a guy’s eyes out for being a traitor. If the developers didn’t want us to view Joseph as someone who was capable of doing that, then they would have removed it from the introductory video, but they didn’t. Also, the fact that Eden’s Gate has been planning for the Reaping for a while now shows that this group had the intent to launch a large-scale attack from before the Deputy even arrived at the compound.

And last but certainly not least, YEARS before the events of FC5, Jacob sent the Cook to kidnap Jess’s family. The Cook starved the family for days before torturing the parents and children by playing sick mind games and feeding the parents' flesh to their children. After all their toes were cut off, the parents were set on fire in front of their kids. The fact that this happened years ago, and this Cook is still with the group, is quite telling and reveals a lot about the morality and priorities of Eden’s Gate. If they wanted to get rid of him, they would have.

So as we can see, Eden’s Gate has no moral high ground to stand on at the start of the game. Not only is Joseph guilty of the crime he is accused of, but he and his organization are guilty of so much more, and have been for years. These actions committed by Eden’s Gate violate numerous laws and are morally wrong, as they bring severe harm to others and/or forcibly remove another’s personal agency for the convenience of the cult. The Deputy uncovers all of this throughout the course of the game.

During the Reaping

Knowledge of Eden’s Gate’s past crimes would be reason enough to take down this cult, but the Deputy also sees the current horrors firsthand. During the Reaping, cultists kidnap, torture, mutilate, and murder numerous unwilling participants. They steal supplies and were willing to kidnap a beloved pet dog in order to perform experiments on him and turn the poor dog into a savage killer, after killing his owners. Defaced corpses are decorated and strung up as warnings. Some citizens of Hope County are fed to Judges, while others are turned into Angels or are forced to leap off a giant statue. If someone doesn’t convert to the religion of Eden’s Gate, then they are either tortured or drugged until they give in, or murdered.

The Deputy has zero incentive to walk away from this conflict. Why would they? As a deputy of Hope County, they have a moral and ethical obligation to protect the county’s citizens, and those citizens are under attack by Eden’s Gate. Eden’s Gate are the aggressors in this scenario. *They* are the ones who are kidnapping, murdering, torturing, and brainwashing the Hope County citizens. As far as the Deputy is aware at the beginning of the game, they are the only remaining police officer and only person in a position of authority to fight against the cult. It is their responsibility to fight against the people causing grievous harm to the county.

Throughout the game, the Deputy’s personal encounters with the heralds further reinforce the idea that Eden’s Gate is dangerous and beyond reason. While confessions can and should be voluntary, John does not approach it in that way. John kidnaps, terrorizes, and tortures the hardened Joey Hudson to the point of tears, and brings the Deputy to his torture dungeon where he once pried confessions under duress from prior individuals of the county. He kidnapped the Deputy in order to forcibly baptize them to the point where they might have drowned without Joseph’s interference, and captures them in order to make them confess, using the presence of Hudson as leverage (Hudson’s misery was also used as incentive on the video to draw the Deputy to the Holland region). He lures the Deputy to the church in the same way (by kidnapping their friends) and then permanently modifies their body against their will. Despite his proclaimed desire to have the Deputy atone, John also expresses desire to see the Deputy dead on occasion, such as after they destroy his sign.

While it might be easier for the player to sympathize with John due to his backstory and dynamic with Joseph, from the Deputy’s in-universe perspective, his instability represents a very real, tangible threat not only to them, but to the people of Hope County as a whole. At every turn, John has either imposed his will onto the Deputy by removing opportunities for agency and/or harming others. The Deputy owes John nothing. Any "choice" he gives of saying "Yes" is undermined by the massive amount of strings attached. It is difficult to envision a reason why the Deputy would decide to give into John’s philosophy, aside from faking it in order to protect their allies. This is a failing on John's part, not the Deputy.

Like John, Faith also expresses a desire for the Deputy to give in to Eden's Gate. But unlike John, she initially appears to the Deputy in a more pacifistic, less confrontational way. Despite this, the Deputy is still able to see her darker side due to her views on the Angels and fate of the unfortunate souls who walk the path whipping themselves and take a literal leap off of the statue of Joseph. Furthermore, she overrides the Deputy’s agency through the use of Bliss, which drastically warps one’s perception of reality. The Bliss that she now controls makes the horrific creation of Angels possible, and this Bliss is also used during baptisms, which muddles the issue of personal agency and consent to John’s process in addition to her own conversion process. The dangers of the Bliss and how it affects one’s thought process become highlighted in the Henbane region, and letters, voicemails, and NPC chatter show that Faith is not one to be trifled with. This comes to a head when Faith brainwashes the Sheriff and manipulates the Marshall into killing Virgil before killing himself. While it’s easy to have sympathy for Faith and her experiences, from the Deputy’s perspective, Faith is still a potential danger, which is why they step back when she leaned toward them during her death scene.

Jacob too removes the Deputy’s personal agency by literally brainwashing them and turning them into a tool that he can command, which eventually results in the Deputy being forced to kill a friend. He forced captives into competing against each other in life or death trials. He keeps the Deputy in a cage with a dead body and feeds them “mystery meat” after seven days of starving them while telling them a story about how he cannibalized his friend. The Judges are his brainchild that he sends to attack and kill others. Like John, Jacob also kidnapped and tortured a fellow police officer, to the point where they act like a slave to Jacob’s whims. Jacob has not done anything other than convincing the Deputy that he is a threat.

It is not the Deputy's job to fix the Seeds' personal issues--it's their job to protect Hope County. Throughout their journey, the Deputy sees various atrocities being committed, both to strangers and to themselves and the people they care about. There is zero reason for the Deputy to genuinely give in to the Seeds and join Eden's Gate, considering the horrible way they were treated and how they saw others being treated.

Joseph and the Voice

The Deputy’s presence did not *force* Eden’s Gate to start the Reaping. *Joseph* was the one to initiate it as a reaction to the Deputy’s presence, and all of Eden’s Gate followed him lockstep. When given the opportunity to finally confront and arrest the man responsible or walk away, it almost feels laughable that it’s even a choice at this point.

As leader of Eden’s Gate, Joseph oversees all parts of the Project. The buck stops with him. If he had any issues with Faith’s Angels, or Jacob’s trials, or John’s torture, he could have and would have said something--such as when he intervenes during the baptism--but he doesn’t. Because it furthers the goal of the Project, he doesn’t see any issue with these actions and feels they are justified.

Joseph’s vision of the Collapse coming true doesn’t mean that his actions throughout the game have greater inherent morality than the Deputy. It just means that he’s right about the Collapse. Regarding the Reaping, I do not believe that Joseph was motivated by a sense of cruelty, but that doesn’t change how many of the actions he participated in and oversaw *were* cruel. In real life, we see various examples of some people (not just in religious institutions, but in positions of authority in general) who commit harmful acts for the sake of a perceived “greater good.” And many of those people genuinely believe in what they are doing, believe they are in the right. But that doesn’t mean they actually are.

Which brings us to the elephant in the room: the Voice. If the Voice of God supports Joseph, then surely the deputy is automatically the “bad guy” for opposing him, right?

Wrong.

First, we have to be willing to admit that we know next to nothing about the Voice. The only things we know about it is what is conveyed to us by Joseph. We do not know the exact wording of what the Voice says, the level of detail it gives him regarding expectations (if any), or even what it is. Is it the voice of God? Satan? A real angel? Some kind of eldritch entity from another dimension? How accurate is Joseph's reiteration or interpretation? Sometimes it seems to directly tell Joseph things (hence the title, “the Voice”), other times it shows him visions. Clearly, there is some kind of supernatural component, as it allows Joseph to see the future, but since we don’t know much about it specifically, we can’t automatically assume or attribute inherent benevolence or morality to it.

Second, it’s entirely possible for a genuine prophet of God (assuming the Voice does indeed belong to a benevolent creator), or those who have/had God’s favor, to engage in morally questionable behavior, both in the eyes of God and/or in the eyes of 21st century readers. While the Project at Eden’s Gate is its own distinct religion, it takes most of its cues from Christianity, both in terms of practices and beliefs. In the Bible, King David had a man murdered so he could sleep with that man’s wife. Jonah wanted the entire population of a city to be killed off instead of having them repent. Jacob (the Biblical figure) deceives his father into giving him a birthright that belonged to his brother, and shows blatant favoritism to one son which ends up causing a lot of internal strife within the family. It’s fully within the realm of possibility that Joseph’s actions are not meant to be endorsed, either by the Voice itself or by the narrative in a broader sense.

In New Dawn, Joseph alludes to his own personal failings by saying, “My soul has become a cancer. I am a monster. I only spread suffering and death in the name of God.” The death of his son and the destruction of New Eden act as a moment of awakening for Joseph, as he finally realizes the harsh reality of his actions and how they affect others. He then expresses a desire for death and says, “There is only the justice of God’s hand.” The implication of “justice” being done indicates that the Voice (“God”) would not be happy with some of the actions that Joseph did. So while Joseph’s actions in FC5 were done with the intent of serving the Voice, his execution of these ideas was something that Joseph feels God would not like, as his actions spread death and suffering.

And thirdly, we have to remember that the Deputy and the player are viewing the idea of morality from the perspective of a 21st century human. Let’s say that, hypothetically, the Voice specifically instructed and condoned the erasure of free will/murders/kidnappings/etc. for whatever reason, and by enacting them, Joseph and Eden’s Gate were “just following orders.” Does this absolve Joseph and Eden's Gate of responsibility? No. Willing participation in the crimes committed, even if it wasn’t “their idea,” can still have legal consequences and can still be viewed as “bad” from a moral perspective because of the results of those actions.

The Collapse

It has been discussed elsewhere (on this site and in outside articles/discussions about the game) that the actions of the deputy correspond with the role of the Lamb in Revelations, and by breaking the seals, the Deputy’s actions supernaturally trigger the Collapse. This interpretation is fairly popular, and is one I personally support. However, I do not feel as though this interpretation lessens the morality of the Deputy's actions. Their decision to fight the Seeds is still the right one, regardless of whether or not their actions resulted in some kind of cosmic game of dominos.

First off, when the Deputy is attempting to take down the Seeds and protect the people of Hope County, they are not doing this with the intent of playing a role in a cosmic prophecy that will result in the death of millions. They’re looking at the situation from a human perspective, and acting accordingly and sensibly. The Seeds, on the other hand, were willingly harming innocents both before and during the Reaping.

Second, if there's a need to assign blame to a human for starting the Collapse (and I personally don't think there needs to be), it would be the Seeds, not the Deputy. The Sheriff and the deputies wouldn’t have arrived with the arrest warrant if the Seeds were not kidnapping and doing other illegal actions.

And thirdly, if one does attribute blame of the Collapse to the Deputy, then one also must attribute the birth of the new world to them as well. Following along with the idea that the events of FC5 are a fulfillment of Revelations, then the Collapse is ultimately viewed as a Good Thing within in the context of the Book of Revelations, even if the player might not personally share the sentiment. The Book of Revelations describes how the new world that is supposed to emerge from the ashes of the old is meant to be much better than the one before. And if we look at the world of New Dawn--and I’m going to copy and paste something I wrote previously here---Nature is allowed to flourish, people work together and support each other in a tight community, all the social ills mentioned in the Book of Joseph (and by the characters in-game) no longer exist. The only “snakes in the garden” would be the Highwaymen, and they are abolished by the Captain, who Joseph prophesizes to be some kind of Messiah-like figure. The final scene of New Dawn is one of hope, where the characters talk about building a better future. The way Joseph and Ethan’s storyline ends also connects to the whole idea of breaking away from the past and moving forward. If one believes that the Deputy is responsible for the Collapse, then this new world shown in New Dawn and the context of Revelations complicates the idea of viewing the Deputy's actions as being inherently bad.

Some might also argue that the Deputy has responsibility for not taking Joseph's warnings more seriously. Why though? Why should the Deputy attribute more credibility to Joseph's claims than, say, those of Marshall Applewhite or David Koresh? As players who know the ending, it’s easy for us to say that the Deputy should have listened to Joseph's warning about the Collapse, but there’s no in-universe rationale for the Deputy to do so. Issues of belief aside, Eden’s Gate’s actions alone are enough to paint an extremely negative picture of the group and would be enough to make any regular person not want to associate with them.

Under the framework of the Revelations prophecy being the intended interpretation of the game events though, I personally don't feel that any character "deserves" blame for the Collapse happening, not even the Seeds. I blame the Seeds for what they do to people within the game and before the events of FC5. And my perception of the Deputy is based on what we see in the game as well. But again, the Revelations prophecy idea is simply one way to view the game. Regardless of whether or not this interpretation is the correct one, the deputy still has the moral high ground in their fight against the Seeds.

Conclusion

Joseph being right about the Collapse does not mean that his (and by extension, Eden’s Gate’s) actions during FC5 were justified, and the Deputy should not be blamed for fighting against them. Just as the Deputy made a choice to arrest Joseph, Joseph made the choice to react in the worst way possible with the Reaping. Eden’s Gate were the aggressors who were kidnapping, torturing, and murdering people throughout the county. The Deputy fights against Eden’s Gate as a direct result of *Eden's Gate's* actions. The Deputy deserves no blame or guilt for killing the Seeds and destroying their bases of operations, as they reacted in a logical way based on the quality of information they had at the time.

In New Dawn, the Deputy expresses an extreme amount of guilt, which transforms them into the Judge. This guilt is misplaced and should be attributed to the other resident of the bunker, which is something Joseph himself even alludes to during his final speech in New Dawn when he criticizes his own actions. If Eden’s Gate did not start attacking the people of Hope County, the bunkers would still be standing, and the Seeds and many other cultists would still be alive. But they did, so they’re not.

While I adore all four of the Seeds as characters and have varying degrees of sympathy for them, they are firmly villains within the context of the story due to their actions. The deputy is not a bad guy for trying to stop them. The fact the Seeds sided with a guy who kidnapped and starved a family, then fed the parents' flesh to their children while playing “this little piggy” with the parents’ toes, and then murdered said parents in front of their children should speak for itself.

TL;DR: The deputy’s decision to confront Joseph instead of walking away was the right one.