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makeste · 4 years

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BnHA Chapter 302: As the Todoroki Turns

Previously on BnHA:

Today on BnHA: We have a very fun chapter in which (1) Shouto grows up lonely on account of his parents being worried that his siblings will literally try to kill him, (2) Natsu and Fuyu grow up neglected on account of not being special and/or self-destructive enough to attract attention, (3) we get to revisit all of that exciting spousal abuse from chapter 39, and (4) Touya burns to death right on cue, pretty much exactly like we expected it to happen. Thankfully since this is a shounen manga, Horikoshi finds some hope in all this misery as the Todoroki family rallies together, with Shouto getting his long-overdue credit for being a perfect sweet angel who put up with all of this shit for sixteen years and somehow came out of it strong and kind and empathetic and determined. Anyway, so that flashback was a barrel of laughs. But now that it’s over, we can put all of that angst behind us, and move on to... well I guess, probably, more angst. Look, we’re short on variety at the moment. Bear with it.

ouch. we knew this was coming, but still

A+ parenting move there. “ho boy, our eldest just tried to murder our youngest, now what? hmm how about we isolate our youngest from all human contact”

though in their defense, we probably shouldn’t have expected this rabidly strength-obsessed fire man and his wife who was groomed since childhood to obey her family’s whims to have any idea of how to raise stable, well-adjusted offspring

SERIOUSLY YOU GUYS

this is a perfect example of Enji’s tragically self-revolving viewpoint right here. just because being a hero is your entire world doesn’t mean you can just excuse yourself from anything outside of that and act like it’s out of your control. “alas, all I care about is hero stuff and my son can’t be a hero, we are doomed to inhabit two different worlds” no you jackass, it’s called having more than one hobby?? figuring out how to spend some time with your son that doesn’t involve training?? the same exact thing you were telling him to do last week, while ignoring that you’ve never done that yourself in your life??

that said, yet again we have that complexity though because it’s obvious that Enji at least on some level is aware of his own flaws, even though he seems unwilling or unable to confront them. honestly, from what we’ve seen so far, Enji’s obsession with surpassing All Might might be more accurately called an addiction. he literally can’t let go of it even though he’s fully aware of how it’s slowly destroying his life. and so in the same way that a lifelong smoker or alcoholic might tell their child to stay away from cigarettes and booze, Enji tells Touya not to follow down the same path as him, even though he himself doesn’t know how to leave that path. so yes, it’s hypocritical as fuck, but there’s also an element of helplessness there as well because Enji literally doesn’t know how not to be like this

though all the same he sure could stand to put in more than just a token effort. but it is what it is, and we already know how much he’ll come to regret it

and meanwhile Baby Shouto has frozen his sleep bubble with his quirk lmao. so I guess his quirk did come in early. that’s a recipe for chaos right there

once again Shouto is ruining every single dramatic panel in this flashback

this was so dark and intense... and then I spotted the lil bubs in the corner. Horikoshi please control yourself

“some hero you are, running away” and then all of a sudden, “FIVE YEARS LATER” lol what. OKAY THEN

(ETA: love the confirmation that eight-year-old Natsu comes from the Iida school of puberty and is basically a fully grown man, and meanwhile Touya comes from the hobbit school of puberty and has been perpetually eight for the past five years.)

“HEY BIG BRO WANNA COME RECREATE AN ICONIC FLASHBACK SCENE WITH US. WE’VE GOT THE SOCCER BALL RIGHT HERE, BUT HURRY UP OR WE’LL BE TOO LATE FOR SHOUTO TO WALK ON BY AND STOP TO LOOK”

lol and that’s literally the next three panels. but Horikoshi did add this extra bit after Endeavor starts to drag Shouto away

seriously Enji what the hell did you expect was going to happen here. “Touya went nuts and tried to kill his little brother out of jealousy, so let’s make it clearer than ever that Shouto is the important child and all the other children are just rejects. this will definitely not make the problem 100x worse, and will surely lead to Touya giving up and living a happy life, having been emotionally abandoned by the person he admired more than anyone.” good for you pal you figured it all out. no need for that plan b, “we all just go to therapy”

anyway so he’s telling Shouto he can’t play because he needs more endurance training. and meanwhile Touya’s patented Todoroki Drama Genes are going through puberty as well

definitely the face of a happy, emotionally stable child who’s not still plotting to murder his younger brother in his sleep

“WELL ACTUALLY MAKESTE” lol I stand corrected??

apparently during the five year interim Touya actually stopped blaming Shouto and realized Enji was the one at fault. good for him! a bit inconsistent, given what we know happens later, but I assume we’ll get to that in good time

anyway. “yeah man I agree that dad sucks, but it’s the middle of the night and I’m only eight and you’ve been monologuing for the past two hours bro”

LMAO

the manga is making my jokes for me, only better. fine then

looks like someone’s still miffed about that disagreement he had with his baby sister back when she was like four

“Fuyu doesn’t get properly riled up like I want her to so ranting to her is annoying.” okay but having been in Fuyu’s shoes, it really is just a different way of coping, and I can guarantee she’s not as fine with the whole situation as Touya might think. but making your peace with something is often a decision that’s made for emotional self-preservation reasons. and I sure as hell don’t fault her for trying to shut out a situation that she had no control over, and trying to make the best of it, and scrape together as normal a childhood as she could manage

and now in Touya’s defense as well, that is of course easier said than done, and I’m sure if there was a “push this button and instantly get over all of the trauma in your life” switch readily available for Touya then he would have pushed it too. unfortunately it’s not always that simple

so now Rei is pleading with Touya not to go train up on his little emo hill again, but it doesn’t seem like much has changed since he was eight

I don’t think he gives two figs about being a hero; he just wants his father to look at him again with pride. fucking hell, stop doing this to me you damn Todorokis

guh, they keep telling him the same thing over and over again

even if we hadn’t already known he was gonna go melt his jawbone off soon, I wouldn’t have expected a line like that to go over well

yep. fuck

that Todoroki puberty angst, though. nothing else quite like it

“you have a part in this too, Mom” ooooooh man

okay but look, he’s not entirely wrong. like, I’m not saying any of this is Rei’s fault at all! she’s in an impossible situation where she’s afraid to stand up to Enji (who by this point has shown that he’s willing to physically attack her if things get too heated, which is terrifying), and doesn’t really have anywhere to turn for support. her parents aren’t helping much if at all, and Japan in general is just a terrible country to be in when you’re in a domestic abuse situation. everyone’s expected to put on a brave face and deal with their problems all on their own in private. Rei is basically completely isolated at this point, and she doesn’t know what else to do, and so she’s just trying to keep the situation as stable as possible for the kids

but on the other hand, “for the kids” is also where that argument starts to break down a bit, because at this point Shouto is also being physically abused by his father, and the other kids are continuing to be neglected (emotionally if not physically), as they have been for years. so the situation really isn’t stable at all for them. and as a kid, what you end up learning in that type of situation is that you can’t rely on either parent. not the abusive one, certainly, but also not the other one who can’t protect you from any of it. even if they love you and they’re trying, they’re just as helpless as you. Rei is struggling to deal with all of this with one hand tied behind her back, and I get it, and I’m not blaming her at all. but all the same, particularly given that she’s (understandably) putting almost all her focus on Shouto, the end result is that the other kids have basically been left to fend for themselves

so yeah! a shitty situation all around. and one of those cases where it’s not really anyone’s fault (aside from Enji’s), but I can understand the resentment Touya is feeling all the same. and I’m so glad Horikoshi is acknowledging this, because it’s something I probably would have been too uncomfortable to bring up otherwise. as it is it’s still an incredibly heavy subject, and one that I probably have too many personal feelings about

anyway, so once again the whole “we’ll try talking to him and then just shrug our shoulders when it doesn’t work” parenting strategy doesn’t really pan out for the Todoroki fam

sob this boy is Anakin Skywalkering before our very eyes. all that’s missing is AFO to come and start whispering in his ear. any minute now...

“anyway so then he got taller and his fire changed from red to blue”

guess we’re getting pretty close then huh. this is the part of the flashback that I really don’t want to see, but also unfortunately the part that I’m most curious about :/

oh for fuck’s --

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN IGNORING HIM FOR FIVE YEARS DIDN’T ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM” sob. back to the drawing board I guess

I thought he got taller, why is he still only like a third of Enji’s height here

oh fuck me these are armor-piercing feels. this is the heavy artillery right here

ENJI I’M BEGGING YOU PLEASE STOP AND THINK FOR ONE MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE BEFORE DOING SOMETHING YOU’LL REGRET FOR THE REST OF ALL TIME. your child just told you that he still thinks beating All Might is the only thing you care about, and that he believes his existence is a mistake unless he finds some way of doing that for you. please stop for a moment to contemplate that and choose your next words with care and grace and oh who the hell am I kidding

-- OR WE COULD JUST BLAME REI

go on and blame everyone but yourself then!! that’s a great solution!! jesus christ man I know this is Endeavor at his literal worst but still this is fucking hard to watch

POOR BABY SHOUTO IS YELLING AT HIS DAD NOT TO HIT HIS MOMMY THIS LITTLE BRAVE BOY NEEDS SO MANY HUGS OH MY GOD

AND MEANWHILE THE OTHERS ARE HUDDLED IN THE NEXT ROOM TRYING NOT TO CRY AH FUCK

(ETA: Fuyu covering Natsu’s ears cuts RIGHT TO THE CORE OF ME. Horikoshi if you’re really not gonna get these kids some therapy then at least consider giving your readers some. what is this.)

you know it’s bad when you’re starting to think the part where the kid burns to death might actually be a less traumatic thing to cut to right now

holy shit, actual Rei thoughts

“I was the one who ultimately made that choice” well there we go, wonder if that’ll put that whole argument to bed at last. I doubt it, but you never know. actually who am I kidding it’s not gonna settle jack shit lol

oh thank god, they decided it was getting too intense and cut away back to the present to narrate this next (final?) part

get ready to cue up that Alicia Keys. THIS BOY IS ON FIREEEEEEE

yeah I think that’s one thing we can mostly all agree on. neither of them had any clue what the fuck they were doing pretty much at any point. though I will say that the hypocrisy of him being all “WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP HIM” followed by him IMMEDIATELY DOING THE EXACT SAME THING is a bit rich

(ETA: and he still has this problem, doesn’t he? he froze up when Ending snatched Natsuo, and again when Dabi was attacking Shouto. he’s so afraid of doing the wrong thing that he ends up not doing anything, which of course is exactly what led to Touya’s death. damn Enji I guess you’ve still got some additional character development to unlock.)

and of course neither of them could possibly have known how badly it was going to turn out. like, the consequences here were WAY disproportionate even for the shittiest of parenting. no one expects “I didn’t know how to talk to my son” to snowball into “my son burned to death and then somehow came back as a villain and murdered thirty people”

ohhhhhhhh fuck me

LITERALLY INCINERATED THE ENTIRE HILLSIDE. fuck. and I am so not ready for the scene of Enji finding the remains of his jawbone afterwards. at least we were spared anything super-graphic (for now at least)

I feel like the timeline here is off, btw?? wasn’t Touya’s death supposed to happen after Rei got hospitalized? this might be the first actual retcon of the entire flashback. although I think it makes more sense this way tbh

I do appreciate that ten years later Enji is finally reflecting on the fact that if he’d just given up his stupid obsession he could have stopped his family from crumbling apart. that probably sounds sarcastic as fuck, but it’s not. there are countless jerks out there who would have still managed to find a way to blame literally everyone and everything under the sun except for themselves. at least he finally figured out how to take responsibility, even if it came too late to stop his son from dying and being radicalized into a villain terrorist organization

and speaking of, it seems to me we’re missing a third and final part to this little tale of woe, and one which only Touya himself will be able to shed any light on. so we’ll see how that goes

oh man seeing the other kids blaming themselves even though none of it was their fault hits hard af. Rei wasn’t kidding when she said they’d been bearing that burden of guilt far longer than Enji

SHOUTO I SWEAR TO GOD IF THE NEXT PANEL IS YOU APOLOGIZING FOR BEING BORN, I WILL... WELL I’LL BE VERY SAD, I GUESS. SO DON’T DO IT

oh good he’s just being quiet. good. it absolutely is not your fault lil bean. it’s not theirs either, but feeling guilty about things that aren’t your fault is a time-honored shounen tradition

goddammit I braced myself for the angsty Shouto panel a page too early. gotta do it all over again now lol. okay here goes

;_;

well well well would you look at that

imagine that. talking things out with your child before they make a rash decision. looks like the Todorokis’ parenting skills are finally leveling up

OH MY GOD

holy shit. this is the most quintessential moment of father/son Todoroki bonding in the entire series. for me it even tops the “nice scar” scene lol. Enji sobbing at the fact that he still has a chance to set things right. and Shouto offering his hand in what is actually the most mature and selfless gesture I’ve ever seen, and being all “we’ll stop him together” to his dad who he hates, but also doesn’t really entirely hate anymore. and all of that is incredibly moving... BUT ALSO HE STILL REFUSES TO MAKE EYE CONTACT WITH HIM AND HE WOULD LIKE HIM TO STOP BEING SO FUCKING DRAMATIC ALREADY IF YOU DON’T MIND. “WHEN YOU’RE DONE CRYING...” fkjldsk

OH MY FUCKING LORD

(ETA: wouldn’t be a Todoroki drama fest if there wasn’t somebody listening in on the whole thing in secret just around the corner lmao.)

“you think we should have waited somewhere else?” “yeah, probably.” “are you feeling a lot of secondhand embarrassment too?” “god, you have no idea.” STFU HAWKS IT’S NOT EMBARASSING TO BE MOVED TO TEARS BY YOUR FAMILY ALL COMING TOGETHER IN YOUR DARKEST HOUR TO GIVE YOU HOPE THAT YOU PROBABLY DON’T DESERVE BUT ARE NONETHELESS INDESCRIBABLY GRATEFUL FOR

and anyway you chose these guys as your found family, bucko. too late to back out now. next time go get yourself adopted by the Iidas then

AND MEANWHILE NO WORD ON THE WHOLE “HOW DID A THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD SURVIVE A FIRE THAT COVERED HIS BODY WITH HORRIFIC SCARS AND MELTED HIS JAW OFF, AND HOW DID HE SOMEHOW THEN MANAGE TO GO INTO HIDING FOR TEN WHOLE YEARS, AND WHAT HAPPENED IN THAT INTERIM TO CHANGE HIS GOAL FROM ‘SURPASS ALL MIGHT TO IMPRESS MY DAD’ TO ‘KILL ALL HEROES TO MAKE MY DAD SUFFER’.” as if we don’t know the answer to that. but still, would it kill Horikoshi to just confirm AFO’s involvement in all of this already. at this point it’s basically just a formality

so here’s hoping next week we’ll either get that, or more Hawks action, or (DARE I EVEN SUGGEST, I’M AFRAID TO JINX IT) finally cut back to Bakugou and Deku and All Might omg. either way I’m hyped

#bnha 302 #todoroki touya #dabi #todoroki enji #endeavor #todoroki rei #todoroki shouto #todoroki natsuo #todoroki fuyumi #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #my sincerest apologies for this absurdly long recap which is barely funny at all!#THERE WAS VERY LITTLE HUMOROUS CONTENT IN THIS CHAPTER #congratulations horikoshi you win this round

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theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin · 4 years

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After that gorgeous sequel rant, would you be willing to share your thoughts on reylo?

Ugh.

Once again, that is the most succinct, easiest, answer I can supply. But it's so short, and that just won't do.

I mentioned in a recent post that Dramione comes in a myriad of disguises. Every fandom usually has at least one Dramione ship, you can usually guess which characters the ship will consist of, and while you might not be able to articulate exactly what about it makes it so damn similar to Dramione you will recognize it on sight.

Usually, to me, a Dramione ship features a strong, independent, female lead who may be varying levels of sexually empowered, varying levels of intelligent (Hermione loves to tell us how smart she is but it's not the heart of the ship), is strong, courageous, and noble who depending on the story du jour might slide into depravity. The real give away is her love interest, always a man, usually a young man of comparable age, who has the bad boy appeal that's not too bad boy where he often is redeemed to the good side for 'reasons' in the course of the story.

Reylo is such a Dramione pairing.

You don't believe me? Look at the authors who write it, I haven't done this too often myself, but I guarantee you that a not small majority of them will either write Draco/Hermione or will have it all over their favorites and bookmarks. It's the same damn pairing.

But worse.

Because Kylo-Ren and Rey aren't really characters.

"Whoa, hold up!", you say, "That's just slander and uncalled for!" Well, change my mind. Rey Palpatine and Kylo-Ren are a series of character tropes and archetypes thrown to us by Disney screaming "LOVE MY CHARACTERS".

Rey is our noble, very Luke like, hero who is a scrappy desert rat with overwhelming mystical powers only acknowledged when the movies feel like acknowledging them (guys, admit Rey kicked Kylo-Ren's ass every time they fought with 0 training, come on, it's not hard).

However, there is nothing underneath her surface. Her hero worship of the resistance feels dull and given to her because it's expected. Of course Rey likes the resistance! The resistance is great! Sign her up! Rey has been living in the desert at the edge of nowhere for presumably 15 years, I'm shocked she's even heard of the new republic let alone the resistance. Despite essentially starving and only having a home that's a broken down old fighter, Rey saves a random droid. We're not really given a compelling reason of why she would do this, that she has a deep respect for droids/is horrified by their use, really really really hates the random trader she sells things to, or really really really hates the empire (if she even realizes it's them behind the bounty). She does it just so that a) the plot keeps moving b) to show Rey is... noble... I guess?

Remember that even Luke (who I have some problems with as a character) started his journey with more backstory and personality than this. Luke loved the empire and desperately wanted to become a pilot. He was very put out that his aunt and uncle kept saying, "Uh, no, bad idea." Luke was ready to skip town and sign on up for flight academy, he just got distracted by pretty women, er, his sister.

So, Rey is never given a compelling reason to do any of the things she does in the series. Just vague feelings of hero worship. And, of course, the drama over her parents. Just... I feel like Disney took out a hat, put a bunch of pieces of paper with words on them, and drew out the one that said "orphan angst about parents" and said "See, now she's conflicted! What a character!"

So yeah, Rey is your cardboard generic hero who is so generic she's not even a person. She has no hopes, no dreams, no fears, just these vague things we're told as an audience she cares about but never shown in any legitimate manner. Rey likes the resistance and rando droids, Rey imprints on Han Solo as the father she never had, Rey has this thing about her parents, Rey is attracted to Kylo Ren.

And that last one, oh boy that last one. It sold me less on the attraction to Kylo Ren than... oh... I don't know... Palpatine's secret Sith planet of doom. I mean, we all saw it coming, The Last Jedi it was very clear where that was going and then Abrams went for it even harder. But what we had was a series of skype conversations where Rey went from "Gr, you killed my pseudo father!" and Kylo-Ren responding, "Yeah, well he was my real father AND HE WAS SO MEAN" to "Oh Ben, I will fly to you through space and we shall save the galaxy together!"

I am given no reason to believe Rey's change of heart. Han Solo's death just suddenly... doesn't really mean much to her anymore (the man was murdered by his son in cold blood so that his son could feel better about himself). She believes Ben Solo is good now because Luke is a dick (never mind that, no matter what a dick Luke is, Ben Solo still murdered dozens of children and then went on to gleefully massacre his way through the galaxy). We're told there's a Force Dyad, which is um... not this thing the writer's made up because they were too lazy to convince me that Kylo-Ren and Rey would end up together in any organic way.

So, yeah, why does Rey like Kylo-Ren? Because the Force told her too? Because it was somehow all Snoke's fault in a way that's never properly described? (Indeed despite us spending quite a bit of time on Kylo-Ren's decision to remain Kylo-Ren being a very internalized thing) Because we saw him shirtless in yoga pants this one time?

It's bad when that last is actually the most legitimate reason I can think of out of the whole lot.

Now let's go to Kylo-Ren. If Rey is boring and nonsensical then Kylo-Ren is a dumpster fire and non-sensical. The guy reminds me a lot of Commodus from the film "Gladiator", the man is cowardly, vile, and murders his father in despair that his father never will be capable of loving him/passes him over for the throne. Kylo-Ren's murder of Han Solo is extremely similar to the murder of Marcus Aurelius in "Gladiator". Han Solo is a flawed father, trying to make his peace with his son, who approaches him unarmed and Kylo-Ren decides to murder him in order to solidify his place in the dark side.

Only, the films never acknowledge that every action Kylo-Ren takes is horrifying.

We're told "oh, Kylo-Ren exists because evil Snoke corrupted him" but also shown repeatedly that Kylo-Ren chooses the darkest path again and again and again. He "struggles with the light" but I don't see it. His opening scene, he has massacred a village and is torturing a man for information (this is presumably a daily routine for him). In the same film he later tortures Rey for information. He serves on a Death Star which wipes out billions in an instant. He murders his father to feel good about himself. He dresses as a man who was reviled and feared throughout the galaxy, a man who murdered countless children, and a man who dressed the way he did because he was barely hanging onto life, because Kylo-Ren thinks it makes him look like a badass. Think about it, this is like if a fully abled Kylo-Ren is wheeling around in a wheel chair, perfectly capable of walking, because he thinks that Professor X is so cool. Now, replace Professor X with Hitler, this is what the movies gave us.

Yet, the films seem to take it for granted that Kylo-Ren is a redeemable character. He's just lost and misguided, he's really struggling with the light and dark side! They don't just tell us this over and over again (which they do) but also just assume we know it.

And base the entire Reylo pairing off of it. Reylo believed Kylo-Ren could be redeemed, they battle Snoke together, then Kylo-Ren stabs her in the back and continues the assault on the Resistance and asks her to be his Dark Queen (TM). Reylo is shocked and appalled, I'm just wondering what movie she thought she was watching, because that was coming a mile away.

Later, when Kylo-Ren is redeemed, we're never given a reason why it happens. Leia just gives him a nagging, one word, phone call and then Han Solo shows up to go, "Ben, are you going to do the right thing?" and Ben goes, "Mumble, grumble, fine" because there's only an hour left in the last film.

Kylo-Ren, like Rey, is the writers' desperate attempt to create a compelling anti-hero with all the anti-hero sauce we love. They just won't admit they made an overgrown genocidal toddler.

Wow, this turned into why I hate both Rey and Kylo Ren, but, uh, back to the ship. Basically, the films give me 0 reason to ever believe it, and even if I wanted to, even if I said "Alright brain, let's make these characters real people for once", I still wouldn't like it. Because the ship itself is just as flat as the characters. It's spicy but not too spicy bad boy gets together with strong female lead.

I know a lot of people enjoy this, and I won't say it's any less legitimate than any of the weirdness I ship, but I'm not one of them. And the whole thing just makes me go "ugh".

#ask #anon #anti reylo #anti kylo ren #anti rey #anti star wars sequels

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amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines · 4 years

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FP//you are summer, to my winter heart

Request: if requests are open can i request a fp/reader where you show up once Gladys leaves cause he asks you to help take care of jughead and you two end up together?

hey! i decided to do this as a headcanon because i thought it would be easier to show the development. i hope you still like it!! title is from a poet called gemma troy! i liked it (even though winter is the superior season)

- ‘she’s gone’

- It was the first words you heard when you walked through the front door.

- But you didn’t really need to be told

- You could just tell

- You’ve been in and out of the Jones household countless of times

- And every time you’ve walked in before...its been loud

- On good days when Jughead and Jellybean are playing

- Or bad days when Gladys has called you over to talk some sense into FP.

- You and Fred usually take it in turns to go over

- Either to talk to FP or to take the kids out for a few hours

- But on the 24th of February 2009, for the first time ever, the trailer was silent.

- You looked around, noticing the lack of kids toys, shoes and just general mess

- The lights were off, the curtains drawn and FP leaned against the kitchen counter, barely able to stand up properly.

- As soon as you saw him your heart dropped

- Your arms were around him instantly and he just let go

- His fingers gripping your jacket so tightly you thought he was going to rip a hole in it

- And he just cried

- He cried for what seemed like hours and you just stood there and held him

- Because what else where you supposed to do?

- He was your best friend

- Even if he did have his flaws

- Even if he did scream and shout for no reason

- Or pushed people away when he was too drunk to realize what he was doing

- You were always going to be there for him

- Because who else would be?

- Especially now

- When Jughead emerged from his bedroom, he smiled as soon as he saw you

- And you untangled yourself from FP

- ‘hey jug’ You’d said as cheerily as you could and he sent you a toothy grin back

- ‘y/n, what are you doing here?’

- ‘i came over to hang out with you’

- ‘can we go to the park’

- ‘of course we can. but you need your breakfast first...so what do you want?’

- ‘...pancakes?’ He’d asked nervously and you’d smiled and ruffled his hair

- ‘sure. why don’t you go watch some tv’

- He’d ran off before you even had the chance to finish your sentence

- And the action made you smile a little.

- It seemed he hadn’t noticed yet

- His family had fallen apart and he was worried about missing the Ninja Turtles

- Or if he had noticed it, it hadn’t sunk it properly

- ‘have you told him?’ You’d whispered to FP who just looked at the floor. ‘so no?’

- ‘no.’

- ‘okay.’ You nodded. ‘we’ll tell him together. later on.’

- ‘you don’t have to.’ He’d argued but you just sent him a look

- He’d grown used to that look, and by now he knew not to argue with it.

- ‘thank you’ The sincerity in his voice made you smile softly at him

- ‘but you have to do something for me’

- ‘what?’

- ‘sort your life out’

- And he did

- It took him a while

- And there were a few bumps mountains in the road

- But he eventually did it

- Nothing is ever as easy as they say though

- It was difficult at first

- What isn’t difficult about raising an 8 year old that isn’t yours

- And keeping one of your best friends sober after his wife left and took their daughter with her

- There was a lot of tears, shouting and slamming of doors

- And that was just from FP

- ‘you’re not my mom’ - jughead jones every single time he saw you for a week

- ‘we don’t need your fucking help y/n’ - fp jones every single time he saw you for a week

- But eventually you got the hang of things

- A routine was formed

- You’d drop Jughead off at school before going to work

- FP would pick him up on the way home

- Dinner would be timed perfectly for you coming home

- You’d help Jughead with his homework, always finding a way to make it fun

- You’d spend your evening watching movies either at home or at the drive in

- Or you’d spend hours arguing about what to watch

- Weekends would be spent at Pop’s, or the park or at the river

- And sometimes you’d drive to the beach and have a picnic

- Jughead would always insist that you had to tell him a story before sleep

- ‘because you do the best voices y/n’

- Sometimes you’d read them from books

- Other times they were made up (mostly)

- And FP would always stop outside of the room to listen in for a few minutes

- And when Jughead said he didn’t need a story anymore he was able to quickly put him to bed while you cried on the sofa

- He’d hugged you until the two of you fell asleep

- Only woken up by Jughead asking what was for breakfast

- Some stories he’d recognize from the years before Jughead and Jellybean were born

- They’d be from summers spent together going on adventures despite being in your twenties and thirties

- Others would have just elements of truth in them

- Like when you’d found a suitcase by the river

- But you managed to leave out the fact that it was empty apart from the blood splatter

- You replaced the blood with a portal to another world

- And all of them you made sound magic

- To both Jughead and FP

- And he’d be left wondering what he would ever do without you

- So he would come up with a plan to show just how much they appreciate you

- And so the 7th November was officially made Y/n’s day

- It was kind of like mothers day

- But not

- Jughead would make a Y/n’s day card

- FP would make breakfast for you and then you got to chose what to do for the rest of the day

- You’d also always get a present

- One made by Jughead and another bought by FP

- It was usually always small, but you loved it anyway

- And even after almost ten years, Jughead always still got you a card and FP always bought you a present.

- You’d practically moved in with them within the first year of it all happening

- Sleeping on the pull out sofa in the living room

- It wasn’t that bad after a while

- Although you will always blame it for the permanent sore back you have now

- And eventually everything felt semi-normal

- You were like a little family

- You’d go to parties of friends together

- And you and FP would rarely be seen apart

- Always sat or stood together, talking or laughing at something

- Sometimes and arm would be slung around your shoulder or waist

- New friends or neighbours of the trailer park assumed you to be a proper family

- Assumptions would always be met by awkward laughs and quick mutters of ‘we’re not a couple’

- Over time though you started to notice a change in the way they made you feel

- At first it was sort of funny and a little awkward

- But the more it happened the more you felt your chest tighten when you or FP denied it

- Until you found yourself not denying it, letting FP laugh it off every time

- But despite that small detail

- You worked well together

- Everything seemed to be going well

- Until it happened

- Until FP spiraled and you were left to pick up the pieces

- Looking after a now 15 years old Jughead while his father was in prison and his mom and sister were god knows where.

- Jughead was lost and you could tell

- What 15 year old wouldn’t be

- So you made sure he knew you weren’t going anywhere

- You were always there when he woke up in the morning or came home from school

- You listened when he talked

- Whether it was about his novel or his friends

- And you reassured him his dad would be okay

- Even if he had been arrested for murder

- You’re still there for FP too

- Visiting as often as possible

- Even if you do give him the look every time you see him

- But you promise to help him

- And when he eventually gets out

- Your the first one to hug him

- Wrapping him up in a giant hug that makes both of you feel like you’re home

- Even more so when he hugs you back just as tightly

- Jughead coughs awkwardly and you pull apart

- You shuffle away from him

- Letting them have their own moment before taking them both to Pop’s

- Again it took a while

- But you got your routine back

- And everything went back to normal

- As normal as you can be when you live in Riverdale

- You supported Jughead when he wanted to join the serpents

- And you helped FP get his job so he could support the three of you

- Before his arrest there had been talk of you moving out

- Its not like Jughead needed you anymore

- Not really

- And FP was doing great

- But now, it looks like you were stuck sleeping in the living room still

- Jughead needed stability

- And you and FP needed each other

- It was never said out loud

- Never discussed

- Never so much as briefly mentioned

- But everyone knew the two of you needed each other

- The thought of moving out may have made your back happy

- But that was the only part of you that wanted to

- The rest of you didn’t know what you’d do without him

- And FP was absolutely terrified of the idea of not seeing you every day

- It made his chest tight and his head hurt

- So you stayed

- Until she came back

- Jughead went looking for his mom and sister

- Something you don’t blame him for

- You’d probably do the exact same thing

- But whenever Gladys is around

- There’s trouble

- She may be your friend but it doesn’t mean she doesn’t bring chaos wherever she goes

- Yes, she might have had her reasons to leave

- You don’t blame her for that

- What you do blame her is leaving one child while taking the other

- ‘well isn’t this cozy’

- The familiar voice makes you jump and you watch as FP stands up, eyes wide as he stares at his daughter and estranged wife

- Jughead is also just as shocked, hugging Jellybean tightly

- The ache in your chest returns, and this time no matter how hard you try it stays

- It stays all through the night

- And its still there by morning

- It follows you around wherever you go

- It seems no matter where you are in Riverdale

- Gladys and FP are there

- They both make your heart ache

- But both of them for different reasons

- And its not until you’re lying in bed

- Two weeks after Gladys turned up and essentially kicked you out

- Leaving you to quickly find a trailer to rent

- That you realize whats happened

- You’re in love

- But there’s nothing happy about it

- There’s no magic, sweetness or joy to it

- Its all yearning looks and gloomy thoughts

- Watching a family you used to be apart of from the outside

- She does what you used to

- She should, she is their mom and his wife

- But she’s missed 7 years of their lives

- Seven years that you’ve been there

- You held together, looked after and cleaned up the mess that she left behind

- And the worst thing is

- You know you’ll do exactly the same when she inventively leaves again

- You tried telling FP

- ‘you and gladys together does not work’

- But he just brushed it off

- Happy that his family was back together

- But he couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that something was missing

- Like when a photograph has been folded over

- He knows something’s not right

- He just can’t figure out what it is

- He can

- He knows exactly whats missing

- Its you

- But what’s he supposed to do?

- He can’t bring you back

- Gladys and Jellybean have come back

- They’re happy

- Or at least thats what they’re trying to be

- But there’s a massive crack down the middle of this family

- And there’s not enough glue to fix it

- Its just a matter of waiting

- Waiting for the inevitable to happen

- No matter how much he wills it not to

- Jughead and Jellybean are happy

- Gladys is happy

- But he isn’t so sure its because of him

- And to an extent he’s happy too

- He has his kids back

- He’s got a great job

- And eventually a house

- Even if it is the Coopers

- But he can see you’re unhappy

- And he hates that

- He only ever wants to see you smile

- Its one of his favourite things

- Always has been now he thinks about it

- But he saw you at his party

- You were smiling

- But it wasn’t real

- And every time you see each other you send each other smiles

- But they never reach your eyes.

- Riverdale being Riverdale

- Crazy things always happen

- You hear of a Griffins and Gargoyles being played again

- And remember when you would play

- Remember what happened to your friends

- And to The Midnight Club

- FP telling you all about it one night after Jughead had gone to bed

- Those nights seem so far away

- You suppose they are really

- You make sure to tell Jughead to stay away from it

- Not wanting him to have to go through anything that you or his parents did.

- And then there’s the robbery at Pop’s

- And suddenly FP’s in hospital and you find yourself giving him the look when you visit him

- He smiles

- Despite the trouble and pain he’s in

- Because you being here eases both of those things

- It doesn’t last long though

- FP is arrested and you’re sent home

- Its not until a few days later do you find yourself walking into the Jones’ residence again

- ‘she’s gone’ FP says, sat at the dining table with his head in his hands

- ‘i know’ You say, sitting beside him and grabbing his hand.

- ‘have you come to say i told you so?’ He looks at you sadly and you just shake.

- ‘no. i’m here to help.’

- ‘thank you.’

- ‘what are friends for?’

- The word stings, but it needs to be said

- No matter how you feel about him

- You’re still his friend

- So you do what you do best

- You fix

- And after a while you have a routine again

- It takes a while

- But eventually everyone gets used to each other

- And its normal-ish

- You still listen to Jughead talk about his novel

- You’re the only person he really talks about it with

- And you help Jellybean with her homework

- You take her shopping at the weekend

- And listen to her when she tells you about whatever drama is going on in her class

- You and FP take it in turns to cook dinner

- The other one always washes up

- You still feel the ache in your chest every so often

- But it’s not as strong

- Because you see each other every day

- You’re back together

- Where you should be

- Even if it is platonic

- Well, up until he kisses you before you go home

- He walks you to the front door as usual

- Offering you a lift which you always politely decline

- And just as you’re about to leave

- He grabs your arm gently, spinning you around and kissing you softly

- It takes you by surprise

- Your eyes widen at first and he panics, starting to pull away

- But when you fingers grip his arms

- The dark fabric bunching together as you pull him closer

- And you kiss him back

- A lot more force that he had

- He knows he hasn’t messed up

- He knows he made the first right decision in about 7 years

- Because when your arms wrap around him he knows he’s home

#fp #fp imagine #fp x reader #fp x you #fp jones #fp jones imagine #fp jones x reader #fp jones x y/n #riverdale #riverdale imagine

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con-fection · 4 years

Text

ASHES TO ASHES | jim moriarty x reader | part 1/13

Summary:

Jim Moriarty has always loved fairytales. In particular, grim, macabre ones that end in bloodshed. You've been abused by your step-family for years - in every meaningful way, you embody the story of Cinderella. Except, in your version, Cinderella murders her family and burns the house down. When Sherlock Holmes is assigned to find the killers of your step-family, he inadvertently becomes obsessed with you. And when Sherlock is obsessed, Jim Moriarty becomes a man intrigued.Word Count: 4k

Most fairy tales follow the same format. A lovely, picturesque life, subsequently followed by a tragedy, a period of hardship, all of which is solved by the power of love. The dashing prince saves the damsel in distress, and they remain happy and in love forever, having easily recovered from the trauma of the tragedy and hardship.

Originally, fairy tales did not end quite so nicely. They were macabre, morbid and horrifying. Just as real-life has a tendency to be. They weren't an idyllic escape from everyday life. They were nightmarish stories that reflected the fears of society.

By 1815, The Brothers Grimm had compiled several stories, among them The Frog Prince, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel... and Cinderella.

The latter had always, always been your favourite. You had memorised every line, every word, every single mark of punctuation. You could recite every single version of the story off-by-heart. All of the variations sparked a deep-rooted curiosity in you.

How could the same story end so differently?

All that changed was the person reciting the story - and they would chip away at it, changing it piece by piece, passing it down orally, until it was barely recognisable. In some versions, the characters got their happy ending. Cinderella would marry her Prince Charming with the help of her Fairy Godmother. In others, they didn't. One of her vile step-sisters will hack off parts of their feet and marry Prince Charming, and Cinderella would be left alone.

Sometimes minor aspects of the story would change. Different variations would feature doves, her dead Mother, fairies, and occasionally, the glass slipper would be golden.

Your version was entirely different to anything imagined before.

...unbeknownst to you, however, was the fact that you weren't the only person that liked grim fairytales.

---

Your mother's battle with her myriad of diseases had been one that had defined your childhood. She had been ever-so frail, perpetually in and out of hospitals, constantly deteriorating. There was more than one occasion where you had watched her drop to the floor, her body entirely limp, and you had to be the one to call the ambulance. There were always, always, blood-soaked handkerchiefs strewn around the house.

She was plagued by illness, and in some ways you were suffering just as much as she was. Most children were afforded the luxury of not having to confront the idea of death - often they simply could not even comprehend it. You weren't so lucky as to experience that naivety.

There had been no play-dates for you, there was no time to entertain any other children when each moment had the potential to be her last. Every single waking moment was occupied with the crippling, gut-wrenching fear that one day she might fall down and that the paramedics wouldn't be able to find a pulse.

Every night you would go to bed praying that she would be there in the morning, that she would get her happy ending, that she could read your favourite fairy-tale to you night after night.

"And Cinderella and Prince Charming lived happily ever after, the end!" She would say, smiling brightly as if she hadn't read this to you so many times that she was bored of it. Your mother could probably recite it by heart now, too.

"Do we get a happily ever after, Mommy?" You had asked one night, right after your mother had set the book of fairy-tales down on your bedside table.

"If you pray, God will answer." She replied, ever-so-vaguely, fiddling with the little golden cross necklace dangling between her collarbones. Now you can recognise that she didn't look surprised by your question, rather, she was in the throes of longing for that happily ever after.

You liked 'happily ever after'. It was a comforting lie that you would willingly believe. In 'happily ever after' there was no pain - in your idea of a happy ending, your mother would recover and you wouldn't burst into tears the moment she staggered out of the room.

But 'happily ever after' had to come after years of torment and misery. It always did. There was no story in which the protagonist began happy and remained that way for all eternity. That would be dreadfully boring, and yet it was what you yearned for the most. Boring and happy would be good.

Her death was a mercy - quick and painless, in her sleep. Her funeral was equally as brief as her life, a bleak affair that you can hardly recall. You had been so, so young then, and the tears just wouldn't stop coming, rolling down your face as your chest wracked with sobs. You can't remember much about it, other than the feeling of your father's hand on your shoulder and the awful, almighty bitterness that threatened to send you to your knees.

Naturally, your mother's funeral had been one of the worst days of your life. She looked so small, so ashen in her casket. Her lips were completely unmoving, drawn into a thin line. Never again would she recite your favourite bedtime story. She didn't look like she was sleeping, not when all vibrancy had been removed from her skin, to the point where it was practically grey and she smelled like a chemical preservative that made you wrinkle your nose and sob even harder.

But, even worse than the funeral had been the wedding.

It had been horrifically easy for your father to move on, and to find comfort in your step-mother, Verona. You had only met her once before they were married.

"Honey, I want you to meet somebody." Your father had said. He looked so happy, smiling in a way that you hadn't seen him do since before your mother died, his lips curved upwards and a strange look in his eyes. "This is Verona, and she means a lot to me."

He looked at Verona the same way that you looked at your fairy-tales. They were an escape, a place where you could pretend that things were different and that you were happy. Verona, with her perfectly curled hair and pearly-white teeth, was his escape, his happy ending. You wanted so badly for her to be yours, as well. It wasn't to be.

"Hello," She cooed down at you. She could smile so sweetly, her peach-pink lips drawn upwards to reveal just a flash of white teeth. It was so saccharine, so lovely. Her voice could take on this mellow, melodic tone. It reminded you terribly of a siren's call - beautiful, and so, so alluring, but it wasn't something that you should put your trust in unless you wanted to drown. Verona always looked down at you - there never came a point where you were to be considered an equal. Never.

There was something about her that made your skin crawl. She was a vile lady, with a wicked grin, honey-blonde hair and long nails that looked like talons. To you as a child, you came to view her as practically a witch, clawing her way into your life just to destroy it for her own amusement. Your father was completely and utterly blind, incapable of seeing any flaw within her.

Now that you were older, you could see her as more than a one-dimensional figure that was simply labelled 'the villain'. She wasn't a nice person, not by your account, but she was complex. Verona was always distant from you, eternally glacial and condescending whenever nobody was watching. She wasn't like that to everybody, though.

Along with the step-mother came two of what you had assumed to be Satan's most accomplished demons. They had inherited a fascinating ability from their mother. The instant your father was in the room, all torment would cease. Whether it be pulling your hair, or vandalising your possessions, they had an innate ability to tell whenever your father was close by.

Verona loved them. It was the only time where she seemed to be genuine in her affection. She would dote on them constantly, cooing at them and reading them stories in the same way that your mother had once done for you. She could pretend to tolerate you in public, and at first, you had lapped it up, basking in her siren's call voice and gazing upon her like she could be your escape, too, like she was something to be cherished, to be worshipped.

She bombarded you with an eternal cycle of love - so much love that you couldn't even feel the pain of losing your mother. She would treat you like you were her own daughter. She would pat you on the head and speak to you so sweetly. And after, would always come the abuse. The screaming, the slapping, the hissed remarks, the threats.

It was hard to deify her after that. So, Verona became the villain, the terrible step-mother who was always there to hold you down.

The wedding itself had been hosted at the very same church your parents had been married in. Their vows were exchanged between what you remembered to be Verona's awful giggles, and you yourself had been a flower girl, along with your step-sisters.

Somehow you managed to feel even worse than you had at your mother's funeral. It wasn't really acceptable to scream and cry at a wedding, so you did your best to look at the very least neutral.

You had spent most of the day staring at the gaudy paper garlands strung from the ceiling, doing your best to avoid thinking about the three women joining the family.

Everybody seemed to adore your step-sisters. They were perfect when they had to be, blonde angels with blue eyes and the sweetest disposition. Aubrey and Alora - twins that were identical in every sense of the word. Your father loved these girls, and he loved his new wife. It was like his previous one, and his first, biological daughter had simply been discarded and pushed to the periphery.

There were no more blood-speckled handkerchiefs strewn about the house, no more pills stashed above the sink, and no more quick trips to the hospital. Instead, there were Verona's lipsticks, and your step-sisters' toys. Pictures of them dominated the mantle place. Their achievements were the ones to be celebrated.

"Well done, Alora. We're so proud of you."

"Oh, Aubrey, you're so smart!"

Any incidents of your step-family's cruelty that you did manage to complain to your father about were either dismissed as the lies of a girl acting out as a result of her grief, or as some minor sibling rivalry that you would get over in time. In fact, your father seemed delighted when he interpreted it as the latter. Sibling rivalry meant that you were coming to see each other as sisters.

"You know, one day, when you grow up, I bet you're doing to be so glad to have Aubrey and Alora. I know that you girls don't always get along, but this is a good thing. They're your sisters." Your father had said, so gently, so softly that you wished for a moment you could believe it - that it was true and you could bring yourself to be thankful.

It flooded you with some kind of resentment - that he could be so passive, so enchanted by Verona and her perfect daughters, that you could become practically irrelevant. That of all of them, your concerns were the ones to be disregarded.

That resentment didn't fade when he died.

It had been an accident - a car-crash. It hadn't even been his fault. He had been on his way home to you, and some maniac had run him off the road. It could have happened to anybody. It should have happened to somebody else. It should have been something you saw on the news and thought about briefly. Instead, you were left an orphan.

His body was far too mangled for any kind of open-casket funeral. By the age of twelve, you had been to two funerals - one for each parent. What most children would do is to hope they were happy together, reunited in heaven. That's what you should have hoped for. Instead, you would pray, over and over again, every single fucking night, that they were burning. That they were being roasted in the flames of hell, and that they were screaming out for your forgiveness.

God hadn't listened when you had asked for your mother to get well and recover from her illnesses, nor when you asked for her to come back to you. Life had been so cruel, and so, you reasoned that its creator must be cruel, too. Perhaps God would listen if you wanted to inflict pain, instead.

The resentment didn't fade - rather, it intensified. After that, you really didn't need anybody to read Cinderella to you.

You had lived it.

---

The first person to rise was always you. It had been that way for years, the beginning of your well-established daily routine.

It was so cold, down in the basement. It wasn't given the same insulation as the rest of the house - and why would it have been? Your parents had mostly used it for storage, primarily for things like your bike, tools, and those family picture albums that you couldn't even bring yourself to open. At the time, there was nothing down there that had really deserved to be kept warm.

It was in rather poor condition. The bricks that comprised the walls were all cracked, and the black paint covering them was chipped and unevenly applied, the shelves looked liable to fall down any minute, and there were piles and piles of things everywhere. There is a saw lying on the ground, next to a few planks of wood that your father had never had an opportunity to use for anything and a stack of cannisters of gasoline that you eye affectionately.

There was always a breeze blowing through the basement, too. Your parents had discarded what they didn't need and stored it in the basement, and once they were both dead and buried, your step-mother had done the same to you.

Your old bedroom, where your mother used to read you bedtime stories and you would fret over her health, had been stripped bare and subsequently turned into Verona's walk-in wardrobe. You had been relegated to the basement, left to freeze whilst fur-coats and cocktail dresses got to enjoy central heating.

To keep warm, you would bundle yourself up in whatever shoddy blankets you could find. They would scratch at your skin and you would shiver against them, grinding your teeth together and hissing at the cold, silently cursing at Verona. It wasn't entirely uncommon for you to wake up and discover your lips had turned blue. It would worry you sometimes, that if it got too cold, you would simply die in the night and there would be nobody to notice.

It was early enough that you could hear the birds cooing sweetly outside, singing to one another as they flit through the branches in the trees outside. It was such a lovely thing to watch, and even lovelier to hear. It's such a pretty sound. You're not entirely sure that your step-family have ever woken early enough to hear it. If they hadn't before, then by now they had certainly missed their chance.

This was meant to be when you would start your chores. Your step-mother had left you to take on a maid role in the house, cooking and cleaning for them, waiting on them hand and foot, scrubbing the floors and surfaces until they shined. It filled you with rage.

Of the four of you, you were by far the best in every measurable way. Verona and her daughters were harpies, beasts with perfect faces that managed to fool just about everybody they came into contact with. Your father had been just one of many that was too naive to see it. They didn't bother with the pretenses around you - you had always seen them for what they were.

By now, you should be starting to sweep the bottom floor of the house, and making breakfast. But today would be different.

You creep up the stairs, your eyes constantly darting around the house, searching for any sign of the other inhabitants. They aren't awake, and you don't expect them to be, but it's always good to check, just in case.

Verona's left her purse on the countertop, next to a wine glass with a pink smudge on its rim and a pair of black elbow-length gloves she'd worn to a dinner the night before. The mere sight of it makes your lips curve up into a sneer. It's the ugliest shade of pink lipstick - vibrant and bold in all the wrong ways, but she somehow makes it look good. Of course she does - it's a talent of hers, really, to make the worst things seem not simply palatable, but also tempting.

You leave the wine glass, there will be no need to clean it today. With a sharp intake of breath, you open the purse, snatching all the money you can from it. Fortunately, Verona likes to keep most of her money in cash, so there's a decent amount. There's enough, at the very least.

The kitchen is obsessively cleaned - every surface shines from your efforts. It's clinical, sterile even, and the smell of cleaning products still permeates the air. There's a broom in the parlour, but you won't be using it.

Never before had you done anything like this. Today was a day that you had fantasised about for years, exploring and navigating different variations of it before constructing the master plan. These steps you were taking had been carefully considered, each and every action poured over obsessively, to the point of madness. All aspects of the plan were to be treated with reverence - they had practically become holy, and you recited them more often than you would prayers.

Already, you were breathing too quickly. There was adrenaline in your system, and your hands were slightly clammy. Nerves - but you weren't nervous. Not really. This was a burning, scalding anticipation that writhed around in your gut and clawed at your insides.

You allow yourself a brief moment to try and relax, letting your eyes flutter shut and letting your shoulders drop. There is a need to be tense - everything hinges on today, on whether or not you accomplish the plan.

When your eyes open, you immediately gravitate towards the knives. Before you select one, you go for Verona's black silk gloves, putting them on and admiring the way they look against your skin, and how smooth they are. They're the kind that's awfully expensive, but they look glamorous. She had worn them just the night prior, when she went to some fancy dinner.

They're hauntingly elegant, a mark of sophistication that contrasts so nicely with what you're about to do. They're a rather lovely way of ensuring that there's no fingerprints left in the house.

It's then that you pick a knife - a weighty silver meat cleaver with dark grey indentations on the handle. They make it look almost porous, and you know that the knife had been part of a set, a gift from one of Verona's friends who was into the culinary arts.

It's heavy, and you test the weight, passing it between your hands, looking at it reverently. The birds are still singing, chirping in harmony, nature's soundtrack to what is about to become a horrific crime. Whether the birdsong will harmonise with screams has yet to be determined. It has the potential to sound like a symphony - a completely lovely cacophony of everything you enjoy.

The meat cleaver shines in the soft sunlight - simply holding it makes you feel assured.

---

You create your own version of Cinderella. One where the house burns down.

The evil step-mother and bratty step-sisters are already dead when the match hits the gasoline that's long-since soaked into the floors. They had been hacked to pieces, their throats split open, almost to the point of decapitation. The blood would seep from the gaping wounds, spilling onto the bed sheets and staining their blonde hair red. They had looked so human in their sleep, so unsuspecting.

There wasn't even any time for them to awake and feel terror, or shock. That, at the very least, is a mercy. You had never really intended for it to be - it was more of a practicality than a fantasy. In the fantasies, the executions had lasted far, far longer.

As a child, experiencing the pains of loss, you had prayed for your parents to burn, so that they may feel as much pain as you. There was no way of knowing whether or not God would come to answer your prayers, so you decide instead to burn the people you can reach.

The meat cleaver is placed back into the kitchen - there's a chance that the wooden knife block may burn and char it and obscure the fact that it was the murder weapon. You keep Verona's gloves and you keep the cash.

There's something so beautiful, so incredibly vindicating about watching it all go up in smoke.

The house burns so beautifully. Flames dance in the windows, consuming the lacey white curtains, creeping their way up the ceiling until the roof catches fire and slowly caves in on itself, the slate-grey tiles becoming charred, crumbling and sliding over one another.

The birds stop singing. They squawk in agitation, fleeing from the nearby trees and taking to the skies. They, much like you, evacuate and watch the show from afar. They start their birdsong afresh once they're out of danger, singing proudly.

Plumes of smoke take to the air, contaminating and invading the morning sky. It's so dark, so thick that it's liable to block out the sun. The smoke's descending to the ground, too, sweeping over the grass like a terrible, ominous fog, rolling over the street and barrelling towards you in waves.

Your eyes and throat burn - you can feel the heat, even from a distance. You're breathing in wisps of the smoke - it's so strong that you feel simultaneously feel like you're choking, juxtaposed with this great, overwhelming sense of freedom. It smells so horrible you want to gag - it's not like the comforting smell from whenever your father would barbeque. It's stifling, oppressive, even.

And yet, despite your eyes watering and the feeling of nausea that the smell inspires within you, you doubt there has ever been a sweeter smell.

The flames flicker so brightly, swaying in tandem in a variety of oranges, reds, yellows and even a flash of white. They're so bright you can see it reflected on your skin.

The plan has been completed. You're entirely satisfied, and yet you're left directionless. Everything has amounted to this moment - to the burning of the monsters. This is your happy ever after, you think.

You stand there, bathed in an orange hue, simply watching, for as long as you're able.

Inevitably, you have to leave. You're rather tempted to dash back across the street and take Verona's car, if only to steal away another thing she loved. Her daughters, her life, her car. But you don't, as much as you would like to. It's another whim, another fleeting fantasy that has to be sacrificed for the sake of your freedom. Perhaps the car would burn, too. It's relatively close to the house.

Getting caught would simply transfer you from one life of imprisonment to another. The inner city of London seems as good a destination as any - it's not too far, and there nobody will know your name.

#jim moriarty #jim moriarty x reader #bbc sherlock

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ziracona · 4 years

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What do you see happening after Josh is being rescued? Does he meet everyone of his friend eventually or some of them keep their distance? I read one of your answers about them abandoning him and honestly I don't think they didn't care at all about him, but the events were so traumatic and scary that they probably had a hard time taking into consideration that small possibility of him being alive. Plus I guess it's also part of the smooth flow of the game if it makes sense, Mike doesn't go after Jess either after he sees her falling into the mines and accuses Josh of killing her without being 100% sure that she is dead and without seeing Josh around when shit happened to her. But if I were Josh maybe I would be upset knowing they didn't come for me at all. So how would a reunion go?

That’s valid! You can interpret the lack of an interest in rescuing Josh to multiple things—that they are very sure he’s dead, if you want to be as generous as possible to them. That they think he’s probably dead and are afraid of dying too more than willing to save him, that they’re (sans Chris) too mad about the prank he pulled, etc. And I can see why people would go for any number of them. I think to me it has always read like they think he is probably dead, and the whatever he has, 30%, 20% chance? Of still being alive just isn’t enough for them to feel motivated to face very likely death to go hunting for him, especially with flamethrower dude just dead doing the same. Which makes /me/ angry, because Mike went batshit after seeing Jess wounded and dragged through a window and more trying to save her, multiple characters can kill themselves trying to save the others in the finale, etc, and I just think if you /can/ save someone who is your friend—or like, you have a shot anyway—you don’t know it is too late. You should. (& true Jess can still be alive and Mike will assume she is dead, but in his defense, so do basically all blind playthroughs she looks like she falls four stories or something while already almost dead I can’t fault Mike for assuming that was a 100% death there. Boy really tried. Whereas Josh’s vanishing from the shed is much less confirmed. There is no ‘I watched him fall’ here. Just a neither he nor his dead body were still in the shed so /something/ happened). Like I do get it, that’s a terrifying situation and not helping doesn’t = not caring, but I will hold it against characters if they don’t risk themselves to save their friends and I will be unhappy with them. Loyalty is very important to me. But it is a truly terrifying situation.

But I also get why they’d be terrified to go out there. I don’t think it makes them evil to not want to risk it till they have to, it just makes me disappointed in them. I don’t think I said I think they didn’t care about him—typo if I did, because I certainly don’t think that at all! I think Chris was traumatized and felt very sure he was dead, Ashley didn’t care (she explicitly says she thinks he deserves it and tries to stop Chris from saving him the first time), Emily doesn’t care a lot one way or another and is mostly on her own trauma right now and thinking about Matt and the awful shit she saw, that Sam does care but thinks he is probably dead and is in team mom mode and cares more about trying to keep as many friends alive as possible right now than anything else and doesn’t want to lose the others, and Mike is still pissed but also feels very bad and would prefer for Josh to make it but is also more focused on group survival and not losing anyone else since he just lost someone he loves horribly (based largely on how his reaction to the safe room scenario is either to kill Emily and feel awful but do it because he very vocally and visibly doesn’t want the others to be killed and she won’t go peacefully, and he’s terrified of losing them, or to try but not be able to because he loves Emily, and instead give the gun to the others to try to save themselves with in the event she /does/ turn). And although he’s a right coward bastard for leaving Josh if Josh gets grabbed instead of killed, down in the mines, I do think he cared about Josh. He seems truly sorry to some extent when he finds him, and does /try/ to lead him out of the mines. At the point they make the decision to go for the cable car key, I don’t think they don’t care at all, except Ashley. I just think they should care more. Although I tend to give Chris a pass because he just watched a man get beheaded, has strong reason to think Josh is dead, is injured, and spends the entire rest of the game more or less in traumatized mode quiet in the corner.

But that said I can also see why people would interpret the reactions to mean they all believe he is very dead, and mean they’re going after his corpse! I can see lots of basis in-game to interpret in quite a number of ways. And be generous to the fool kids if you want to! I /super/ hold abandoning Josh in the mines wildly against Mike, but Mike is still one of my favorite characters in the whole game. I love how flawed the cast is and that you go in hating most of them and only slowly grow to care because you don’t want them dead-dead, which keeps you there long enough to see some of their good sides. *cheff’s kiss* the great ability of the horror genre. The bar to initially invest is so low, it lets you have such a multi-faceted cast.

Okay anyway, original question! What do I see happening after Josh gets rescued and exorcised.

I think he meets up with all of them again eventually. Interesting to think from Josh’s pov how he’s going to feel. I expect to some degree he does feel abandoned, and fairly, and in RoB it is very clear he is afraid to some extent of Mike and Chris after being dragged off and tied up and left in the shed, and the things they said to him. He also /definitely/ feels massively guilty and self-blaming about all of it. He’s telling himself through Hill that no one will come for him and it’s his own fault by the final chapter. And mostly he’s just afraid of Mike and in ptsd dissociating mode by the time Sam and Mike find him. So, mixed feelings on his part I expect. Lots of fear and pain and hurt at being abandoned and so universally believed capable of murder, hurt, left to die alone in the mines. Pretty damn betrayed, and that on top of the hurt from what happened to his sisters and the inherent paranoia of paranoid schizophrenia. Hurt that they just left him. Hurt they didn’t believe him. Hurt nobody came for him until it was too late. Hurt he got betrayed again. Probably pretty miserable overall. But with that, also feels really bad about going too far and hates and blames himself intensely for everything, and I expect is also kind of not just traumatized but ashamed of what happens to him, and everyone knowing about the possession and the cannibalism. Probably he wants to lock himself in a room in the corner of a big house and never come out. But also is intensely and miserably and hopelessly lonely. Probably feels all of his friendships are likely broken beyond repair.

I don’t think they are though. Chris “I’m not your bro” six seconds later “bro are you for real?” Hartley almost dies trying to save him and wouldn’t care about the possession stuff except to be worried about him. Sam is angry and harboring some resentment, but clearly reacts to Mike reporting he is gone with regret. Mike would probably feel very guilty for leaving him and be hesitant to reconnect and then defensive doing it, but I think he cares. Jess wasn’t even there for this shit so probably she does. Same for Matt maybe? Ashley and Emily are harder to guess for. I think Ashley would be incredibly angry and resentful—I mean she wants him dead in-game, but might eventually join the others if the others got over stuff? Bc she’s also kinda a joiner? Really it’s hard to say she is a very...hair-trigger character. Volatile and intensely and massively changeable. Probably the least predictable of all. That kind of person scares me deeply in real life because I have been very backstabbed by them before. >.> But anyway hard to say. Also a lot of this depends on what ending, even assuming they all live. But I usually assume that like, Mike almost shot Em, didn’t, Matt tried to save her, Sam saw the workshop, etc ending. Emily I really don’t know. She’s a very self-reliant and hard person. She didn’t have anything very specifically for or against Josh with her experience, but wasn’t that close to him before, so I think she just kinda falls wherever she falls.

I think mostly though that they’d reconnect. Definitely Chris would jump to it, and I think Sam would too—she’s a well educated, empathetic and understanding person. She’d know he needs her. And Chris is his childhood best friend and cares the whole game. I think Mike would try to go too because of guilt, and because he’s a decent guy. Probably so would after not much time those least effected by what Josh did. I think Josh would be alone while being exorcised and probably reocvering in a hospital some after, and Chris would be the first, or Chris and Sam possibly. I think he’d be afraid to see them, and it would be complicated and messy and painful for them all, but it would be okay and sort itself out and they’d find old ground quickly. And having them there would be /incredibly/ vital to helping him recover. I think eventually he’d get back on his feet, and a lot of his old friends would be around and stay in his life. I think things would get better. I’d say the OG ExorJosh comic writer I think did a good job of guessing about what a lot of it would be like. Hard, and slow, and messy. But a lot of them care for him, and I think that would matter enough to help things get okay between them again.

#ask #anonymous #until dawn #long post #Josh Washington #spoilers #exorjosh #exor-Josh

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silvershewolf247 · 4 years

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Honestly it seems like some fans have trouble seem outside of Malcolm's pov, which is understandable given he is the show's protagonist and very sympathetic one at that. That being said regardless of how well intended Malcolm was he did make Ainsley doubt her own sense of reality and was projecting by assuming she wouldn't want to know or couldn't handle knowing. Yes the way Ainsley went about making that point was completely messed up but she did have a point to make.

Okay first things first, sorry it took me so long to get to this, I had a lot of thoughts to put together before I responded because I need to talk about Ainsley.

I’ll start with the fact that I seem to emphasize with Ainsley more than a lot of people. Maybe it’s because I am the youngest sibling, with older brothers. Maybe it’s because I have “easier mental illnesses” like OCD and ADHD in comparison to others. Maybe it’s the fact that one of my older brothers has much more severe mental health issues and I’ve been reminded how lucky I am in comparison to him and others. Maybe it’s because my mother has been my best friend since I was a teenager. Or maybe it’s because I try to be someone else's emotional support while neglecting my own mental health until I eventually snap. Maybe it’s the fact that supportive figures in my childhood have turned out to be less than ideal as of late. Bottom line, Ainsley is someone I care a lot about, and I need to talk about what is going on with her. And why she isn’t evil or abusive.

Let’s start out by debunking one argument. That being Ainsley’s lack of remorse over what she has done. Now this argument bothers me for a few reasons. Firstly, because Nicholas Endicott was a monster who deserved what he got and everyone on the show acknowledges that. Like Jessica and Malcolm do not morally disagree with killing him, Malcolm says flat out that he deserves to die. He’s just scared of being like his father and scared of losing his friends, this is an important distinction between him and Ainsley that I will get into. Secondly, we don’t see Ainsley’s initial reaction aside from her nearly crying in Malcolm’s flashback. According to Halston, she found out at some point around episode 4. Martin might have told her during their visit, she might have figured it out reading his journal, it could have been the nightmare she tells her mother about. We don’t know, we just know that by this point she has dealt with it.

Going back to Malcolm’s fear of losing his friends. Malcolm’s guilt is from having to lie to his found family at the precinct. That is what makes him feel awful. This is something Ainsley does not have. She does not have any found family to lose. Malcolm has to keep lying, Ainsley doesn’t have to. Obviously it eats her up less. Speaking of Ainsley’s support system, or lack thereof, let’s go through it. Starting up, Jessica, mother of the year, diminishes her daughter's career, blatantly insults her, emotionally neglects her for twenty years and snaps at her whenever she expresses her problems, undermines her issues, this only changes after she murders a man. Next we have Martin Whitly, out of her life for twenty years, literal serial killer, and yet somehow the most emotionally supportive member of her family. Then there’s John Watkins, Mr. Boots, childhood bestie, possible paternal figure, child groomer, who ultimately tries to murder her in favor of her brother. Gil Arroyo, Malcolm’s adopted dad who seems to find her incredibly annoying and only talks with her when somethings wrong. That leaves us with Malcolm, emotionally broken older brother and the only person Ainsley feels she can trust. Yeah, that’s destroyed. Malcolm shattered that trust with his actions. Malcolm is afraid of losing everything, Ainsley already did.

Now we’re up to Ainsley’s actions in this episode. No they weren’t gaslighting. Malcolm was not forced to question his own sanity or memories due to her actions, he was just scared of her and for her. She just lied to him, an incredibly shitty lie that horrified him, but it was just that, a lie. He also wasn’t breaking down due to it, he was scared for his sister, but he honestly seemed pretty kept together throughout the episode until the end. At which point his frustration seems to stem more from the situation he’s in and what he’s “had” to do for her. Now I fully admit that what Ainsley did was shitty. But it doesn’t make her toxic. If it does, then Malcolm is as well because he does the exact same to the people he investigates. Was it abusive, maybe, but so’s gaslighting your sister, slapping your son, and punching your friend. But these aren’t patterns of behavior, they’re one time things that happened during highly stressful and emotional situations. Speaking of which.

Yes, Malcolm did gaslight her. Gaslighting is a technique used by a lot of awful people, Malcolm doing it does not make him awful, but he lied to his sister about her memories and perception of the world and it made her emotionally spiral for months. In comparison, Ainsley let this go on for maybe two or three days, a week at most. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention that Ainsley gave Malcolm several opportunities to tell the truth. He had the entirety of Bad Manners and Head Case, during both of which she gives him reasons to come out with it and tries to get him to do it. She was trying to make him prove that she could still trust him, he failed to do that until he got a concussion and Ainsley decided to make sure that he never did it again.

Now Ainsley did something horrible, I fully admit that. That being said, don’t act like Malcolm would have just listened if she told him not to lie to her again. She’s already told him and her mother to stop shielding her. Now there were definitely better ways to do this. Or if she was going to scare him, scaring him and then telling him the truth the next minute, hour, morning, which would still be bad, but less so. But Malcolm is someone who learns a lot better by experiencing than listening. She was trying to show him what consequences his actions could have had. Scaring him straight. She took it way too far, but the motive was understandable.

Finally I want to dispute this idea that Ainsley is being ungrateful towards Malcolm. Firstly, she thanks him profusely in the first episode of the season. Secondly, she didn’t ask him to do this for her, and the show fully implies he might have screwed them both over by doing this instead of immediately going to the police and claiming self defense. Finally, Ainsley killing Endicott has been thanked by no one. Remember how he was going to have Malcolm sent to prison and only by getting rid of him was Malcolm able to get the DNA evidence properly refuted. One could argue Ainsley took a great risk and saved him too. Ainsley saved Malcolm from prison just as much as Malcolm saved Ainsley.

Look Ainsley is flawed, I wouldn’t love her if she wasn’t. But let’s not act like she’s crossed the moral event horizon with this. Or that she did this completely unprovoked and everything she said towards Malcolm was invalid. Both of them are broken and in pain and I hope by the end of this they can grow even closer than before.

#prodigal son spoilers #ainsley whitly #malcolm bright #prodigal son

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idkwhoiamanymorebutwtf · 4 years

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People are so quick to blame literally everything that happened in Mapleshade’s Vengeance on Mapleshade and nobody else without even suggesting that any sort of blame could be pinned on literally any of the other characters or even that some of the bad things that happened were tragic accidents while also complaining about how none of the villains ever have any moral complexity or gray area and it’s baffling.

Like.

You even suggest that Darkstar, Oakstar, Frecklewish, Ravenwing, and Appledusk were all shitty and played a significant part in the events of the book, that the general society or even warrior code itself being flawed may have contributed to making Mapleshade a villain, or even suggest that the kits dying wasn’t Mapleshade’s fault and people jump at you. Because they cannot fathom that a villain isn’t always just pure evil for no reason with no question or blame on anyone else. Like. The same people who are annoyed at Tigerstar being such a villain stereotype down to literally being born evil.

That book is incredibly interesting because it shines a light on just how fucked up clan loyalism and biases can be as well as showing a cast of characters who all do awful things and all end up suffering in the end because of the society in which they live.

The warrior code and Starclan in of itself is incredibly flawed and this fact easily lent itself to creating this story. It’s easy to say that Mapleshade was horrible and wrong for lying about the father of her kits, however there’s no doubt in my mind on why she would have seen this as necessary. Clan rivalry was at a high at the moment, the book opening up with Mapleshade noting the blind rage and hostility her clanmates showed towards Riverclan cats after their recent battle, now, very clearly clan rivalry to the extent it’s displayed throughout the books is a flawed thing in of itself, think back to the Dawn Of The Clans books and how Clear Sky was regarded for bringing bloodshed into the forest. Think of that battle, of two siblings laying dead, having murdered one another over borders that aren’t really necessary. Think of warriors letting kits of other clans drown because they don’t see it as their own problem. Even now in present time, think about how a cat can lay dying in Thunderclan camp and be ignored completely because they aren’t one of them. Clan loyalism is incredibly dangerous. It leads to death and hatred. Constantly. Even in times of relative peace there’s so much resentment for other clans so evidently present. And during the time of Mapleshade’s Vengeance, tensions between Riverclan and Thunderclan were particularly high. To pretend that Mapleshade had no reason to be terrified for her own safety and that of her kits is ludicrous given the climate in which clan cats live. Lying was not the moral thing to do, and it’s not as if Mapleshade had nothing to do with her own downfall, but do not pretend for a second that the decision would have been easy or clear cut. Do not even pretend telling the truth from the start would have been the right choice to make. Clan loyalism is dangerous. It’s a terrible thing that’s lead to the deaths of countless cats over the years. Cats who didn’t deserve it. The warrior code and Starclan facilitating this is a terrifying, awful thing. Mapleshade lived in an incredibly flawed system that would have persecuted her for falling in love and hated her kits for who their father is, Mapleshade lying in an act of self preservation and protection over her kits was a direct result of the corrupt system she was raised into forcing her hand. What’s more, Starclan choosing to out the kits to Ravenwing and his subsequent decision to tell Oakstar- because the will of Starclan comes before the lives of warriors, every single time- was a further example of this. That small, innocent kittens be punished for a woman daring to love somebody outside her boarders is ludicrous. And Starclan’s wrath did not come from the lies Mapleshade told, but rather the Riverclan blood in her kits veins. This disdain her culture held for Mapleshade and her “half-breed” kits was exactly what forced her to lie in the first place.

I’m going to handle Frecklewish and Oakstar in a different paragraph to my discussion on how the warrior code, starclan, and clan society in general were to blame, because they did have more personal motivations as well and I would like to address that fact. In the end, they were both incredibly upset that Mapleshade lied (or, well, more like omitted the truth, but same principal) about the father of her kits. This was fair. I do not fully blame Mapleshade for this lie. As I said before, I do not dislike Mapleshade for choosing to lie. Certainly it can be said that her decision was morally wrong, however a mother of three choosing to prioritize her and her children’s safety and security over morals in a society that would see them exiled and left to fend for themselves....well, it’s just human, to be quite frank. She was in a desperate situation and people will never be their best selves when placed in a desperate situation, especially when their children are involved. It’s the same reason I don’t blame Leafpool for giving her kits to her sister, even if it meant lying to Bramblestar and the rest of the clan (honestly mapleshade’s lie may arguably even be more understandable than leafpool’s because she didn’t have nepotism on her side like leafpool, mapleshade lived in a time of war against her mate’s clan unlike leafpool, and, well, mapleshade was going to tell the truth eventually once she was sue her kits wouldn’t be thrown out to fend for themselves...unlike leafpool). Frecklewish and Oakstar’s anger was understandable, but that doesn’t make Mapleshade a bad person for the lie. And, well, to be honest, both Oakstar and Frecklewish cross the line into cruelty. And that line is crossed...where their personal anger against Mapleshade meets their clan biases. Oakstar was quick to throw out a young mother and her three small children with nowhere to go. And he did it because she fell in love with a tom across the boarder. A tom who’s clan Oakstar had a bias against. Yes, his personal rage against Mapleshade fueled this decision, but had the real father of these kits been Thunderclan, she never would have been exiled for her lie alone. And his decision to exile the kits as well. Three innocent children who hadn’t done anything wrong. Who he couldn’t be certain would survive with only Mapleshade to care for them. It was because once it was revealed they were half clan, they became other to him. They weren’t people like him. The clans have an us vs them mentality. Oakstar’s decision to throw out three helpless children was because they stopped being ‘us’ and started being ‘them’ as soon as they were revealed as half clan. Not because of his grudge against Mapleshade. The exile of the kits, even as Mapleshade begged for them to be allowed to stay because they were innocent even if she wasn’t, can easily be traced back to, once again, that dangerous sense of loyalism clans have. And then there’s Frecklewish. A lot of what was said about Oakstar can go for her too, except with the added layer of her standing at that riverside and letting the kits drown. Now, she could have stepped in to try and help them. It’s not like she was incapable. In no place during her confrontation with Mapleshade did she say “I can’t swim, idiot”. No. It was “I assumed the Riverclan cats would help them!” and other such statements to imply it wasn’t her business. There’s no doubt in my mind that if those kits really had been Birchface’s she would have jumped in to help them. There’s no doubt in my mind that if those kits had been any Thunderclan cat’s she would have jumped in to help them weather or not there were other cats nearby. Because the lives of Thunderclan kits are her business. And the lives of other kits...well...aren’t. Especially not half breeds. If they were alone, maybe she would have begrudgingly helped out of obligation to the warrior code, maybe she wouldn’t have. Weather or not she would have done the bare minimum doesn’t change the fact that she was less willing to help these kits than she would have been if they were Thunderclan.

Even the actions of cats like Appledusk and Darkstar are in some way related to the unhealthy clan loyalism and biases. Mapleshade was instantly cast out of Riverclan and not even allowed to take her kits to bury while Appledusk was allowed to stay and given another chance. To be honest, Darkstar was harder on her because she was Thunderclan. You can argue that the choice to cross the river was stupid and risky, but honestly, I completely disagree with blaming her for a natural disaster. She was thrown out. Homeless. She didn’t really have anywhere to go. Her only hope was to make it to Appledusk in Riverclan where she could hopefully be offered refuge. Crossing the river, to her, seemed like the only choice she had. Her only option for the salvation of herself and her kits. I don’t blame her for it. I don’t know how anyone can. She was frantic, she was homeless, she was under threat of attack if she stayed in the wild, she didn’t know how to provide for herself, how to provide for her kits. She needed to get to Riverclan, she was panicked in her attempts to do so. I cannot blame her for it. Had the kits survived or had Mapleshade already been a member of Riverclan, Darkstar would have been compassionate as well. Would have shown empathy. As she did for Appledusk. However Mapleshade was other. She was one of them, not one of us. Her blood, her scent, her posture, Darkstar loathed it in the way any loyalist Riverclan cat loathes a Thunderclan cat. Disdain, contempt, apathy at best, that was how a Riverclan cat regards a Thunderclan cat, and that was how Darkstar regarded this grieving terrified young mother, so easily dismissing her. Even Appledusk was deeply influenced by this attitude that’s always infected clan life. I have no doubt he once cared for Mapleshade. I have no doubt he killed off the part of himself that loved her for the sake of self preservation. That he latched onto his clanmates’ perceptions of Thunderclan cats as inhuman enemies. That he chose to love a she-cat within his own clan instead because love beyond boarders is forbidden in every sense of the word. Appledusk was horrible. He was a cheater, he showed no empathy for Mapleshade, he was just awful. However it’s clear to me that this, like everybody else’s actions within this book, was a result of the horrifically flawed values of the clans, the warrior code, and Starclan. That Appledusk was able to dehumanize Mapleshade in his mind because clan cats dehumanize those who they see as other. That he was able to justify his behavior to himself and other’s due to clan loyalism and bias. That he would have had a chance to be better had his love not been forbidden in the first place. Had his children not been a sin he felt the need to atone for in order to be deserving of salvation from his ancestors and his leader.

Almost every bad thing within this story was a direct result of clan culture and biases. Everyone did horrible things. Oakstar, Darkstar, Frecklewish, Appledusk, Ravenwing, and Mapleshade herself all did bad things during the first half of this book weather it be out of discrimination against the other or self preservation in a world that sees them as the other. Every other clan cat who watched this happen and Starclan itself who facilitated this were just as bad. Mapleshade’s breakdown and the subsequent deaths of Frecklewish, Ravenwing, and Appledusk can all be blamed on this. Mapleshade, even when she killed, did not act selfishly. She was not a true villain until after her death. Mapleshade suffered from a psychotic break in which she became convinced her kits could not enter Starclan until the cats who caused their deaths were dead. This breakdown was completely the fault of the cats mentioned above who allowed their loyalism and biases to cause the horrific deaths of Patchkit, Petalkit, and Larchkit. Obviously murder isn’t okay, however i’d be lying if I said that within the fictional story it wasn’t thematically satisfying that these cats die. It was also incredibly satisfying that Mapleshade go to the dark forest while the other cats involved went to starclan, not because Mapleshade deserved the dark forest more (usually murder would be much worse than what the others did, however since she was suffering a psychotic break at the time circumstances are different than they’d be if she hadn’t been vividly hallucinating that her children weren’t allowed into heaven). Starclan watched this messy, horrific event unfold. And they picked one person to blame for it. They did not reevaluate their rules and systems, they did not even choose to punish everybody else involved for what they’d done (let three innocent kits die and turn away a desperate terrified grieving young mother in need). Starclan chose one cat, the cat who they decided had committed the worst crime, and they said she is objectively to blame for all of this, punish her and we never speak of this again (which is ironically also what a lot of fans try to do, say mapleshade was to blame, nobody else is, punish her and lets move on). People want to blame everything on a single entity they can fight, not on a complex system of societal biases that can make two clans commit atrocities with Starclan’s full support. And the brilliant part of this is that this didn’t fucking work. Mapleshade came back. Again. And again. And again. Progressively getting worse and worse and worse, more vengeful and more dangerous as time went on. Because that’s what HAPPENS when you ignore the bigger picture and pin everything on one person without trying to give it a second thought. The problem isn’t solved. Things get worse and worse and worse. Mapleshade is a bad person now because she was victimized by society and starclan in life, then swept under the rug. She became more angry, less rational, completely focused on revenge. Not because she was always bad, but because pinning big complex issues on one person isn’t helpful. Because that’s always going to end in disaster. Nobody in the clans were innocent and in the end the corruption of the society in which they live ruined everybody and everything. There were no happy endings, not for anyone, and once it was all over it was all blamed on one person and swept under the rug to be a problem for future generations instead without anything actually being solved.

Don’t believe me? Which big characters were fully innocent in the main plotline of the book, then?

Patchkit, Petalkit, Larchkit, and Mylar. Three exiled half clan kits and a loner. The only fully good, kind, innocent cats weren’t part of the larger clan culture and system of beliefs.

Stop blaming everything on Mapleshade, i’m almost certain the exact reason this book is so good is that it’s not all her fault and that her future character arc of actually becoming a bad person and becoming dangerous to the clans is actually only farther proof of that. Clan society is fucked up, we’ve known that for a while but this book does such a good job of portraying it. The way the system makes it so that nobody’s hands are ever clean as long as they exist within the main system and how the cruelty or apathy of Starclan, The Warrior Code, and Clan Society will corrupt even those who could have been otherwise innocent.

Mapleshade’s story is impressive and probably the only villain I can think of that’s...actually super complex and is bad for reasons other than “am selfish want power am cartoon villain stereotype”.

#warrior cats #mapleshade #mapleshade's vengeance

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popculturebuffet · 4 years

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The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck: The Buckaroo of the Badlands “It’s the Glory of Achievement that Counts”

Hello you beautiful people and WELCOME BACK. It’s been a LONG time since I returned to this series hasn’t it? But I couldn’t put it off any longer especailly with a LOT of projects to do in February, so i’m pleased as punch to bring this series back for another round. And since like last time a lot of the behind the scene’s for this one can be dolled out as we go, join me under the cut as we get into some cowboy adventures with Srooge.. and President Teddy Rosevelt. Bully!

When we last left Scrooge almost a month ago, He’d decided, after bottoming out in riverboating, like many young men of his generation to Go West and seek his fortune and took up work on the Wabash Cannonball to do so. So via letter we find out Scrooge eventually made enough money and has now afforded enough to take a train west, as a passenger. He’s also 15 at this point.. had to look that up because again, the comic dosen’t tell us the date.. and it’s you know been two months. He runs into a man selling square eggs who was SUPPOSED to be the professor from the Barks Story Lost in the Andes.. but he apparnelty died or something like that, and Barks was left to use another minor character in a way that didn’t make sense either it turned out and I don’t really feel like getting into. Point is the square eggs from that story make a cameo and Scrooge gets square egg all over his face after assuming the guy was just full of square chicken shit. It’s then Scrooge runs into Jesse James, pre assasination by the coward robert ford, who shows up to the train to rob it.. but Scrooge tricks him when he and his crony take stock of Scrooge’s valuables, claming theirs jewels in the teeth of the golden dentures.. before slamming hard on them and giving the guy a bite and with their guns jammed and Scrooge prepared to beat them senseless, Jesse and goon wisely flee. Scrooge yells after them.. but the train speeds up to make distance between them and the bandits.. and accidenlty dumps Scrooge off, leaving him lost and alone in Montana.

Thankfully it dosen’t take him long before he runs into people, specifically a cattle drive and wants to join them as a rootin tootin cowboy. Turns out the Cattle Baron and head of the drive, Murdo Mckenzie a real life cattle baron, is a fellow Scot and a nice enough guy to take Scrooge on, especially because Scrooge, due to his time on the cattle boat to get to america, has cattle experince. He just needs to ride a horse and he’s set.. but Scrooge never has.. and is put on their roughest horse the windowmaker

Thankfully in a really funny sequence, Scrooge’s money belt is clipped, so he stays on and while he looses his other clothes. So Murdo hires the naked 15 year old on a horse....

Thankfully this isn’t nearly as horrifying as it sounds as Murdo makes him put his clothes back on first, and let’s him keep the horse as he needs him for a special job. Also Scrooge calls himself Buck McDuck because it’s more of a cowboy name and not everyone can pull of cowboying without one on their first day. What i’m saying is the creed i live by every day.. not everyone can be Droopy. All you can do is try to be that cool.

The job is to guard his prized angus steer he imported for a fortune from Scotland, which it’s current handlers the McViper brothers object to, though Murdo shrugs them off. Naturally with a name like McViper they were planning on stealing it. Seriously who hires someone with the name McViper unless your planning to try and murder batman with a nest of vipers or a viper shaped tank or a buzzsaw shaped to look like your dad who never loved you enough.

So we then get a time passing montage via a letter Scrooge wrote. Originally this was supposed to be the majority of the story.. but Rosa’s editor rightly pointed out that while showing Scrooge as inexpericed and still not quite to his full strength yet was fine.. Rosa overdid it with his gags and made him look like a moron. So the finished product wisely dialed it back to just the horse riding gag. Honeslty it was the right call as his excitment to be a cowboy and episodes with the horse show he’s still got a ways to go and is far from the duck we know now, while the earlier fight on the train shows he’s still plenty badass. he’s just not properly seasoned yet. It’s how he is for the first third of the story: an idealisic teen who is slowly learning the ways of the world and finding good reason to do what he does and learning his morals. It’s the middle part that breaks him into the man he is today and the last one is the early days of that man and the horrible mistakes that cost him quite a bit: his family, his love for adventuring and nearly his soul. We get a few gags about crossing the planes and the reveal Donald renamed his horse after his sister hortense due to his horse’s bad temper. Hortense takes it as you’d expect.. by snapping off part of her mother’s chair with her bare beak in a rage and grumbling.

Scrooge is finishing up another letter by the time we cut back to him, the drive having almost reach the ranch in Montana... only for the McViper’s to conk scrogoe on the head and take the steer towards the Dakota territory and the real life Dakota Badlands, because now as ever Rosa loved to set his stories in cool real life locations. After Murdo finds him and wakes him up, and fully buys his story since the McViper’s were acting suspcious.. which is kinda like saying water is wet or Rudy Guliani is a moron but regardless buck mcduck rides again and eventually makes his way to the badlands. Which are awesomely rendered and really do look like that.

As you can see our hero finds someone in need.. and it’s Teddy Fucking Roosevelt!

As you can tell I love the guy. Really need to look into him more, but eveyr time I read his trope page or hear something about the man i’m in awe. He’s not without flaws, he was man of the 1800′s and 1900′s, he supported eugenics.. but he was also the first “accidental” President (I.e. a vp who got the role) to formally win despite being given the roll soley to keep him out of the chair due to being a boisterous loveable maniac, invited Booker T. Washington, who I also need to look into, to the white house as the first African American to get invited to dinner there, founded so many parks they had to make the national park service, and supported women’s rights his whole political career. The man is larger than life and respecte din fiction and I intend to make a story with him as a cybernetic frankenstein one day because i’m kinda nuts too and relate to him. He also has a quote I find endlessly relevant after the last 4 years of misery.

"This country has nothing to fear from the crooked man who fails. We put him in jail. It is the crooked man who succeeds who is a threat to this country." So yeah on top of everything else.. he’s smarter than pretty much the entirety of the modern republican party on top of that, not a HIGH bar to clear mind you but still. He cleared it.

So naturally someone who was basically a real life Scrooge who, while not having earned his money, used it well and never stopped explorin, and also named his son Kermit for some reason, Rosa was not only a huge fan but couldn’t resisit putting him in the story as Scrooge’s mentor once he found out they were in the same area at the same time. He’s also the first one I feel changes him as a person.. his parents set down the foundation and Pothole was.. there I guess.. I mean he ran his first buiness thanks to him and had his first feelings that being rich isn’t an endgoal, But it’s Teddy who helps him realize one of his most important and lasting charactert traits: his love of adventure for the experince of it just as much as the prize.

And we quickly get to that as Scrooge, after running into a dinosaur skeleton and then letting Teddy free, takes him along with him and finds out Teddy is rich, college graduate and former poltician too, and is out here simply because cattle ranching is way more exciting. Scrooge questions this as .. why do this? He’s rich, he dosen’t need to and Scrooge honestly wishes he was born rich instead. But Teddy shoots that down: He missed being born poor like Scrooge.. because being born wealthy is no acomplishment. You just get handed money to do whatever... but earning it with your own hands, the experinces that lead there.. that’s the real treasure and that’s why he’ll never stop. And he sees that in Scrooge, pointing out someone who didn’t LOVE adventure.. wouldn’t of leaped at a dinosaur skeleton without a second thought, all to save someone he just met. It’s what makes Scrooge likable: Sure he’s a greedy dick.. but he’s one who will never be satisfied, and who only stopped when he was close to death accoridng to Rosa, and even then i’m sure his and Goldie’s retirment wasn’t ENTIRELY peaceful or event free. HIs love of adventure and finding new discoveries and new worlds and ones lost to time... that’s infectious and what makes his stories, and the character work so well. And Rosa has him discover it beautifully, realizing that he never would’ve been satisfied even with cushy family money and that he truly does like this.. he still wants to be rich and understandably so, but he can have some fun along the way and afterwords.

So truly changed by this Scrooge gets back to tracking and TR helps by... asking some local Native American Buffallo Hunters since he knows their expert trackers and while they haven’t seen the mcvipers they can SMELL them, and with a location , and his first apprication for other cultures, Scrooge and TR head up top to lasso em up... and while Scrooge grabs one.> TR grabs a bear and the insuing chaos, including Scrooge refusing to use up his bullets because “Do you know how much bullets cost”

So in short the mcvipers end up chased by the bear, the native americans end up chased by a buffalo with a skull on it’s head and Scrooge ends up on the Angus. Teddy sums it up best.

It’s a great comedic set piece.. and leads to Murdo arriving and our heroes emerging, with the angus and tow and victorious. For his help and bravery, Scrooge is awarded the job as manager of the land, and while he plans to leave in a few years to find his fortune, it’s a good steady job he can help his family with and learn some skills so why not. TR leaves him with some last words of ecnouragment and says “There’s the makings of a great man” as he rides off into the susnset.. and his clothes once agian head the other way.

Final Thoughts: Buckaroo of the Badlands is a solid chapter. After the overly long Master of the Missippi, this is a welcome return to form, with a hell of a guest star, an intresting setting and some fun slapstick. It also reminded me not EVERY chapter is super long, as most are only 13 pages but Rosa packs a LOT into them, and uses each one wisely. Overall an excellent return to the series and I hope to pick it up eveyr now and again between whatever I have scheduled for the day.. and to look into Teddy. Seriously what a man, what a man what a mighty good man. Next Time Scrooge meets another mentor, a future foe, and the lonliness of being rich Teddy warns him about here in “Raider of the Copper Hill” Until the next Rainbow, it’s been a pleasure.

#the life and times of scrooge mcduck #scrooge mcduck #buckaroo of the badlands #hortense mcduck #teddy roosevelt #western #cowboy #montana #don rosa #disney #disney comics

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razorblade180 · 4 years

Text

Cold confrontation

Strength is all that matters in a fight. Physical, mental, emotional, and intellectual. All of these were classified as strength. To have them all would make you a true threat. It’s what made Carmine a true threat, yet here she was, on death’s door. She gripped her pounding head and gritted her teeth from the sharp pain going through her pain, her body curled up on the numbingly cold marshlands that robbed her the pleasure of a warm end. Just the bitter cold and two pairs of eyes watching with interest. One set was the foe she so foolishly tried conquering, Shiva. It was a tall order. Carmine thought she had worked it all out. Apparently not. The proof was in the second set of eyes watching die. Her eyes. The cold warped eyes of a rose clone watching the original perish. A rose clone made from Diamond Dust.

xxxx

Warmth invaded her body like a wave. Carmine’s nerves jolted all at once and the girl sat up quickly, gasping as if she almost drowned. Her headache was replaced with haze as she her mind came to grips with the fact she was no longer in danger. She was on a couches. A warm one at that, wool covers and all. A fire place glowed nicely inside of a log cabin where several of her Interdimensional friends and siblings stayed. The ones that didn’t leave or was forced to not intervene anyways. Footsteps made Carmine look behind the couch to see Lucas walking with two mugs. He handed one to her and sat on a warm rug safely away from the fire, but close enough to give him warmth from the blizzard outside. He took a sip of his tea and looked at their girl, who was still a little blue.

Lucas:So....how does it feel to freeze to death?

Carmine:Never again.

Lucas:Yeah? Sounds about right. What happened out there?

Carmine:Your future vision didn’t show you?

Lucas:I wasn’t there. All I saw was me dragging your body through the door and when you’d wake up. Whatever went down in those marshlands is your story to tell.

Carmine:Then I rather keep it unspoken. Just know making a clone out of the dust Shiva creates when she conjures ice is a very stupid move. I guess that’s a given. Using an unknown weapon against a foe who clearly knows how it works was doomed to blow up in my face. *holds head* Ugh....crap...

Lucas:You okay? I found you holding your head.

Carmine:Did you see a clone of me with white hair and eyes with a light blue glint?

Lucas:No, Just you. Shiva saw me but didn’t seem bothered that I showed up or left with you. Didn’t hear anyone else besides her either.

Carmine:The clone must’ve vanished then. I can’t sense it. Good. Looking through their eyes and sharing info in more or less real time has always been seamless, effortless too.

Lucas:But?

Carmine:I...don’t know. That clone, it wasn’t me mentally linking with myself. There was feedback or something. It was more Shiva than me, and then traced that mental link backwards to me. Shiva, she got in my head. H..how the hell did she do that? How does Summer cope with that?!

Lucas:Discovering a new found respect for the girl? Wouldn’t blame you, but I think “cope” would be giving too much credit. Whatever the case, did you find anything else worthwhile? Watching you go off to die or comeback empty handed is very discouraging for Yujin and Tenzen.

Carmine:Not you?

Lucas:Oh you know me. I’m pretty good at knowing what’s a good attempt and what is a bust.

Carmine:So why do ask?

Lucas:Had to get the topic rolling somehow. Knowing the answer doesn’t do much without discussing the actual fruit of your labors.

The front door opened and Jacquelyn came walking in with her daughters. All three of them shook snow off their clothes and immediately went to the fire. Tenzen and Yujin must’ve heard the door open because they came from upstairs a few seconds later. Now the entire Lasting Embers crew was here. People from Shiva’s world were strictly forbidden from interacting with the beast and Carmine had sent her people away for their own safety. Between Lucas being a loner and everyone else, Carmine had no ground to stand on when it came to giving orders. They didn’t want to leave, so they didn’t.

Sienna:So how’s dying?

Carmine:Better then repeating myself.

Lucas:She didn’t enjoy the experience.

Jael:I would hope not.

Yujin:You all we’re out awhile. Learn anything?

Jacquelyn:Nothing I didn’t know before. The longer Shiva stays, the colder it gets. It either ends eventually, or we have to make it end. A test if there ever was one.

Tenzen:Shiva is like the main problem in a universe, right? How are we suppose to deal with a problem that grand? With no help from the residents either. Nick must know tricks.

Jael:He would’ve said so before leaving, or hinted. The fact that he doesn’t must mean he’s stumped. Like you said, grand problem.

Sienna:In his case maybe. Here, murder is a viable option. Killing her long enough to revert her back to Summer is an option.

Yujin:Ummm killing a friend-

Sienna:She’ll live.

Yujin:Yeah, and I’ll feel disgusted. I’m positive Summer wouldn’t appreciate being killed either. I wouldn’t.

Jael:Yeah but you’re soft and emotional about every-ow!

Jacquelyn:*pinching her arm* Be nice. Even if we down that route, whose to say we’d succeed? The Void has the benefit of allowing us to go all out but it might not be enough.

Carmine:It wouldn’t. You don’t think I tried a more lethal approach to Shiva. If I attacked to observe movement, then she did the same. It’s clear this is entertainment for her and allowing her opponent to learn what they’re doing is a flaw she happily lets show. However, murderous intent is met with more murderous intent. Her power is used to overwhelm, until you’re left helpless.

Sienna:Isn’t that you’re forte? Your style is based on overwhelming power and visual overload.

Carmine:Completely different. I am a high quality fighter that can create a quantity that doesn’t sacrifice the performance grade. Shiva’s power is based on raw nature. You ever hear of an army beating an avalanche? Some things just don’t scale.

Lucas:If that’s how we’re looking at this then that would mean to beat her would mean to endure. Running or prevention isn’t an option for this avalanche.

Tenzen:Enduring doesn’t sound like one either! Does anyone have the stamina?

Jacquelyn:Doesn’t matter. Her attacks more often than not will bypass aura because of the cold. Then there’s the actual environment. We’ll be cold while she’s barefoot on freezing water. A battle of attrition is the last thing we want.

Yujin:So the goal is speed and power. Okay, we have those in spades. Not to mention I stand the best chance when it comes to taking a hit if it comes down to it, so endurance isn’t completely out of the wheelhouse.

Lucas:We also have knowledge, current and future, to be accurate. Though acting on the the future events is another thing entirely.

Jael:How the hell is this chick contained!? Who’s putting her back in the metaphorical bod in her world? Nick survives this, regularly?

Sienna:Temperature is a factor. As well as the time she’s free. We unfortunately have her out for a long time and in constant frigid weather. We do however have a magical person to help. None of the technology though. Frankly our resources are limited.

Lucas:Talk about a troublesome situation. I’m not made for situations like this. *lays down* Insane odds, all of them pointing to ruin. It’s ridiculous. Nick sure is the real deal, smiling with a looming threat like that never far. Sibling or not, he must be terrified.

Jael:Really, I don’t think so. So what if he has a sister that’s dangerous, life threatening even? That doesn’t erase the love. It makes you wanna reach out more.

Sienna:Is that so? *smiles*

Jael:Don’t get a big head and assume things. *nudges her* Back to the matter at hand...

Carmine:What the hell is our plan exactly?

Yujin:You’re the one who said she’s a force of nature. I mean what beats that, besides a natural disaster?

She chuckled at her own words. For some reason she found them more than a little crazy, so it can as a shock to Yujin when she realized everyone was looking at her with wide eyes, like she’d solve the problem. Then, it clicked. She did provide an answer. All eyes shifted to their own force of nature, Jacquelyn, who was a little unsettled by the attention.

Jacquelyn:Hey now, don’t go getting any wild ideas.

Yujin:But can’t you literally change landscapes? Instead of of focusing on Shiva as an individual, we should focus attention on what’s around her. You can change that!

Carmine:No problem for a full fledged maiden right?

Jacquelyn:Is everyone forgetting the part where y’all are also participating the fight? You’d get swept up in whatever chaos I bring. Not only that, but doing something grand takes effort and concentration. I doubt I’d be able to back you all up faithfully, or protect myself well if Shiva puts her sights on me.

Lucas:Oh that won’t be a problem.

Jacquelyn:What?

Lucas:It won’t be a problem. *stares at fire* I have ideas. No idea how they’ll end, and I’m trying to see for once.

Carmine:That’s concerning.

Lucas:No, it’s perfect. Knowing would mean the plan is either to simple, or not chaotic enough.

Tenzen:Or you’re having performance anxiety and actually aren’t using your semblance.

Lucas:That’s neither here nor there. Alright, everyone listen carefully.

xxxxx

Snow blew ferociously around Shiva’s humble domain. The girl herself sat comfortably to watch a frog hop by. The little creature casually hopped in the cold water and then hopped onto her leg. Shiva gave it a gentle smile, then put nudged back to ground. The approaching body heat behind her gave her no sense of unease, even as a bullet flew passed her head and into a tree. In fact, Shiva found it a bit humorous. She finally rose up to lock eyes with Carmine, who stood with seven clones made from flame dust.

Shiva:Wow, you are a different breed entirely, aren’t ya? I think it’s roughly been a day at best, yet here you are, ready to scrap. Freezing to death would make a regular person filled with fear and think harder about preservation. Or least that’s what I would assume if you know, a person lived through freezing to death. Can’t till if you’re fortitude is immaculate, or your mind isn’t all there.

Carmine:I’ve been known to be a little on the intense and hardheaded side. You’ll have to do more than kill me to keep me down. That being said, no way in hell am I experiencing that ever again.

Shiva:Well good to know it fazed you. I was beginning to wonder who was the real beast here. Carmine Rose, an entertaining individual for sure. Not to mention clever. So....what’s the trick here? *looking around* is it hidden among the trees, or below my feet I wonder?

Carmine:Not sure what you mean. What you see is what you get. (I’m not only Clever one here apparently....)

Shiva:Tsk tsk, let’s not insult intelligence here. We’ve fought to often to do that. I studied you in the same way you’ve done me. Fire clones, obviously I’d sense them along with you, but you know this. You want me sensing them, focusing on it intently. If I had to make a wager, then I’d bet there’s more clones I can’t since from body heat, ice clones. Perhaps rock as well if they dig far enough. No different from slight of hand.

Carmine:Can’t you be dimwitted like a majority of people who love the sound of their own voice? Even if you are right, knowing slight of hand is happening doesn’t mean you can find what’s hidden right before you. Ice, rock, five, or maybe one, you don’t know scope of the plan, or that it’s already accomplished.

Carmine’s words left an air of mysterious. What was already accomplished? Shiva had no time to ask when the ground began to shake and a thunderous boom rattled the air again and again. Explosions throughout the marshlands were set off in sequence. The fire clones around Carmine darted into the trees at breakneck speed, leaving the original to run full force at Shiva.

Shiva conjured a pike of ice to run Carmine through. The attack was pointless however. Before making contact, Carmine bursted into petals. Yet another clone. The real one was never around to begin with. Somehow, the huntress managed sneak explosives around, most likely fire dust, undetected through the marshlands. The assumption about ice or rock clones was beginning to become fact. Not that it mattered at this point. Puny flames in blizzard didn’t bother her. It would take far more heat to hinder any of her moves. Still, Shiva now understood her opponent’s move.

“Her clones are among the flames, but I can’t sense where.” Shiva thought, realizing the heat from the flames was a smoke screen, masking the body heat movements. “Clever, but useless. Snuff the flames and-” a sudden surge of heat made Shiva turn around and get hit right in the face, knocking her to the ground out of nowhere. Shiva sprang up and looked around. Nothing, then boom! A strike against her spine. Again, she did not see it coming. Just a flash of heat before a strike. She sensed it from the left and put up an ice wall. The heat rushed at her, then made a sharp turn around the wall, hitting her gut. It wa still fast, but the detour not only lessened the blow, but was slow enough for Shiva to see the pink electricity left in its wake.

“Tenzen.” She growled, “Why didn’t I sense him before? It was just Carmine’s clones earlier.” The boy landed another blow to her head and tripped her before darting back into the distant trees. He was also using the flames to hide, choosing to attack from seemingly random locations. “He must’ve waited from afar entered after the explosions.” Shiva froze the water around with a stomp of her foot into the soaked ground. Tenzen would be in for a rude awakening on his next run by. That was the plan anyways.

Shiva felt the heat speed by again but from above this time. Back and forth, left and righ, Tenzen bounced the tree to tree. The speed of his movement brought a wind with him that spread the flames from tree to tree. Shiva sent out a wave of frost from a swat of her hand to put them out , but Tenzen was quick to light another. Shiva had to change tactics. She stomped her foot again which caused the ice to spread all throughout and up the trees near by. The ice then stook out like jagged spears.

Tenzen let out an auditable gasp before diving to the ground to avoid getting impaled. “Gotcha!” Shiva shouted, firing shards of ice from her hand in his direction.” The achievement was short lived when Yujin dropped in from above enveloped in her trade mark white flames, sword ready to strike.

“Sun slice!” An intense white flame flew at Shiva’s ice, making it weaker and hitting her directly. Yujin immediately took Tenzen’s hand then was sped off to hide.

Shiva waved of the bother attack. While hotter than the rest, Yujiin’s flames were only agitating. Still... “Okay, now I’m pissed.” Hot and run wasn’t her idea of fun. Neither was not knowing anything. At this point it was smarter to believe everyone was in the forest. Only one way to know for sure. Shiva started running to towards flames and blew them out with a breath. More were to her right from above and below. Weak or not, the flames had to go.

She raised her right hand out to send another blast of ice until a chain wrapped itself around her wrist and yanked her away. Shiva recognized it as Sienna’s and sent ice up it. “Bad move kitty!” She pulled hard once the chain went rigged, a heat signature still on the other hand. Long ice nails formed around her free hand for a counter attack. However, Sienna was not who she pulled in. It was flame clone of Carmine. “What?”

“Surprise...” the clone blew up in a fiery explosion that sent Shiva sliding into a tree. At the same time, dozens of chains shot from the flames to restrain Shiva against the tree; followed by the force of gravity to make it harder to move.

Yujin appeared once again from the flames. This time with a Carmine that held an identical flaming weapon. “Once more with feeling! Sun slice times two!” They both set flames that washed over the ground and set the trees ablaze before they rushed away from Shiva’s building anger.

Shiva’s body naturally froze the chains until they snapped, setting her free. Weighed down by gravity, Shiva grit her teeth and unleashed an immense pressure of sheer cold that would’ve frost bitten and freeze anything living within several feet. Even the white flames went out like candles. More chains came flying out to meet their end by Shiva. A mighty scream let a beam of ice fly from her mouth, shattering the attack.

“Carmine didn’t just clone herself. She cloned herself with her friend’s weapons!” Gravity around began to go back to normal. The flames on the marsh had spread in greater range, giving more room for everyone to attack. Shiva double backed to where she froze the trees. Quickly she conjured more ice and created pillars that were as cold as glaciers. Flames still only remained on the ouskirts and barely moved in. Shiva smiled and created Nick’s blade from diamond dust. “If this is the game you want to play then come on, try your luck!”

They must’ve been waiting for the invitation, because Lucas and Carmine appeared in a flash of pink lightning before her, charging with their blades ready. Ice particles built up to form shards that Shiva fired head at the duo. Carmine slowed her pace to get behind Lucas. “See this coming?”

Lucas chuckled, “Duh.” His eyes darted at every shared coming his way. Each position, distance, speed, target, nothing was unknown from his eyes. He brought his sword up to shatter two aiming at his forehead, then swung down to intercept four at his chest. He spun his katana left to block another seven and then tossed it his right hand, blocking another eight. He swung his blade forward as he transformed it into a blade whip that he used to hook a pillar. “All clear.” His blade reeled him up at out of Carmine’s way.

Carmine smiled, “Show off.” Her body lunged forward. Stamen was swung down to meet Shiva. An ice wall shoot up between them but was cleaned into by Carmine’s attack. Her blade met Shiva’s and th two looked at each other with a shared sense of anger and excitement.

“Awwww, someone needed help?” Shiva mocked. “I guess I should feel honored.”

“No need. Just feel pain...” Their swords separated briefly before clashing again. Carmine refused lose ground. Her blade countered a strike to the face, then returned the attack with a strike to the torso that was blocked as well. The slightest raise of Shiva’s foot made Carmine back step, striking the ground to send a shockwave that met forming ice spikes. A raise of her hand made Carmine grab Pistil and fired a slug shot before an icicle could spear her.

The recoil slid her back because of the ice. Range was the last thing Shiva needed to have. Another, more charged icicle was fired. Carmine shot the ground to launch swiftly into the air. The air around her became colder until ice itself formed into thin sheets as sharp as knives around her. “Lucas!” Carmine shouted. “I know!” The boy sent his whip her to grab and yanked her out of harms way and back to the ground. “Stay close!” He swung her at Shiva.

Carmine used the whip as a tether to slide herself back within melee range of Shiva. Her weapons merged to form her scythe and then was sent right at Shiva’s legs. Carmine overreached to shoot the scythe, causing it to pull backwards, sweeping both feet. Shiva was crafty though. The witch made a platform of ice that raised her just in time.

“Your mother loves that move.” Shiva looked up at Lucas and jumped at him. “Can’t leave you to your devices either!”

Lucas clicked his tongue and jumped as well. The two clashed blades midair with Lucas using his leverage to knock her back to the ground towards Carmine. They had to keep the pressure up a little longer, and Lucas knew just how to do it. He dropped to the ground and bolted towards Shiva. “Carmine! LADYBUG!”

Carmine immediately launched her forward and the two rapidly slashed against Shiva’s defenses by hitting her from both sides with alternating lunge attacks. Carmine would be lying if she didn’t think using this team was cool. She had to remember to try it with Kovu potentially.

Again and again, ice and Shiva’s blade barely deflected the onslaught of slashes. She made the mistake of jumping back to escape and was met with a pull of gravity that tugged her back into the blades, giving her opponents two clean strikes that made her knees buckled. “Gah! Son of a-” she hit the ground. Ice shot up like spikes that ended the team attack. A deep breath calmed her senses, focusing them on the heat. Her eyes locked on to a spot in front of her. “There...” Shiva channeled a large amount of diamond dust and shot it in that direction, causing an explosion of ice. The attack forced none other than Jael to fly up and out of the way.

“Shit, she found me.” Jael could sense the atmosphere around her become lethal and quickly dove back into the tree line. It didn’t stop ice daggers from forming inches from her and getting closer. She was finall met with no choice but to face them head on with her blade. It was by the grace of luck that a chain got her, yanking her up out of serious danger. And of course, it was her sister’s.

“What would you do without me?” Sienna smirked.

Jael smirked back. “Have less hair to clean out of the shower. Now let’s keep going!” They both went their separate ways and continued with the plan. Jael continued watching from the shadows with her sister and the ice clones while Yujin, Tenzen, and fire clones spread the flames as far as possible. “Just a little longer, then it’s all on you mom.”

Lucas was being put through his paces. Micromanaging every event was beginning to wear on his mind and it was starting to show when Shiva bombarded him with a flurry of attacks until one slash to his stomach sent him flying towards a tree. Fortunately, Jael’s semblance made the impact way softer than it should’ve been.

“Lucas!” Carmine shouted. She trued to run to his aid but was cut off by a wall of ice. “Damn!”

“You should keep your focus on me!” Shiva took Carmine head on with overpowering sword swings that cascaded ice shrapnel and air pressure that sent the huntress’s feet sliding back. Carmine’s eyes remained locked onto Shiva like a predator hunting prey. Her teeth were clenched and stance was solid, blocking with all her strength. Still, Carmine was only human. Lucas watched from the other side, stumbling up. His semblance reared its dual sided nature again, showing a glimpse of the silver eyed warrior falling to Shiva’s sword running her through.

He gripped his frost bitten stomach in pain. “Come on body, don’t fail me yet!” Adrenaline and an unknown passion to continue fighting pushed him forward as he ran towards the ice wall. Without having to ask, Lucas felt Jael make his body lighter right as jumped. He went right over the wall and was sent downward in front of Carmine as her block gave out; just in time to block a lightning quick thrust. Lucas slid his blade under Shiva’s at the handle then swung it up, separating the weapon from wielder.

Carmine didn’t squander the opening and made a b-line for it. She reverted her scythe back to a sword and put all of her strength into swinging it down on the ice blade, shattering it. Carmine then whipped her body around and blitzed Shiva, practically vanishing from sight before reappearing behind her to deliver a crushing hit against her ribs that sent her airborne.

Shiva rolled into her landing, head raised with anger. Blue dust flowed from her pores being like steam. The bone white color of her hair glowed with her eyes and her breath shudder out like a final breath. “Die...”

It was instant. One second there was nothing, then a moment later, the ground beneath them glowed with the pillars. Without hesitating, Lucas kicked Carmine outside of the pillars before ice enclosed it like a dome. Inside, hundreds of ice shards formed from every possible angle around him. How could power like this exist? It was too much, Shiva was too much. His eyes couldn’t find a way out, or a way to survive.

“I...can’t escape this.” Fear began to settle in, but before it could consume him, a miracle happenend. A rose, right at his feet. A clone burst into existence with its sword at the ready and back against his. What was once inescapable death in his eyes was changed the pattern of attacks shifted. The fear inside of him gave way to relief as he smiled. “You are just full of surprises. You knew I’d get you outta harm?”

“Don’t need future vision to know you’re the sacrificing type. Can’t have you saving my butt all the time. Better keep up.”

“That’s my line.”

Without another word, hell began to rain down on them. Lucas’s blade switched to whip mode for only a second to perfectly deflect eight before switching back to a blade. There wasn’t a moment his sword wasn’t carving through the and his feet pivoting in a small radius as Carmine swung her her blade just as fast, to the point the both of them became a blur of colors. The constant shattering of ice against steel echoed like broken glass. Neither Shiva or Jael could understand what they were witnessing. It was almost like a dance.

With every ice deflect they saw, there was at least fifteen they didn’t. Lucas and Carmine, constantly flipping and pivoting around each other to block an attack the other couldn’t. The relentless assault chipped their blades to the point of cracking, but they were not worried. At the same time, their hands reached for baton and sheath respectfully and continued their absolute defense. Silver and gold eyes never lost pace. Carmine’s pure athleticism protected Lucas while he did the same for her with his semblance. Seeing and predicting an attack like this was impossible, so he didn’t. Lucas was only looking at one future event, Carmine. Her moves, position, even what way she looked. All of this in just under a second, until, finally...

“She’s distracted...” He muttered.

“Yeah... just catching my breath. You kick hard.” Carmine took a glimpse at Shiva and smirked. A second later the real Carmine dashed by and swung her blade like a bat right into Shiva. The girl’s entire body was sent rolling across the ground and through several trees. Finally, the rain of ice stopped and the clone caught a fatigued Lucas that was rightfully out of breath. They had survived just long enough for Tenzen to come back with good news.

“We’re done!!!!!”

“Get us out then!” Lucas gasped. He was then swept away away along with the real Carmine to outside of the marsh. Yujin and Sienna awaited them. They were covered and ash and drenched in sweat. The sight of Jael flying straight up and out meant they were all clear.

The girl flew as fast as possible out of range towards her mother, who was also in the sky. They looked down at the blazing inferno that engulfed almost the entire marsh

Jacquelyn’s eyes glowed intensely, “she in the middle?”

“Several feet to the right of those pillars. That good enough?”

“Perfect, let’s see her snuff these flames.” Jacquelyn let a rather menacing smile show as she let the wind rage and swirl around the marsh stoking the fires. “Burn!” The wind transform the fire into vortex as wide as Amnity itself, and as tall as communication tower. “Jael, you’re up sweetie”

She nods, “right!” Jael extends her arms forward. Taking a deep breath, she exhales slowly as she focuses on pulling gravity to a single point above the vortex. Jael soars a bit closer to gain more control to the point where a small, dense orb forms. She then lowers it carefully along with her, drawing the down towards it like water rushing to fill a hole. She keeps lowering the point of gravity until the mass of flames have been compressed down to a closed sphere around Shiva.

Everyone begins to close in on the spot, ignoring the crushing hit and terrible ash of the incinerated forest. It didn’t take long to follow the heat of a contained wildlife fire. Somehow, they had done it. Shiva stood inside, firing ice in vain. Nothing was coming out, then she dropped to her knees with her hands pressed on her chest as she tried to breathe.

“H-How is...what is...?” She gasped, not understanding. The flames were indeed hot, but not enough to do this much this fast. It wasn’t the flames at all hurting her. Shiva couldn’t simply breathe.

Carmine sighed, “As much as I would love to explain this like it was my idea, I’m not the one with an A in science.” She looked at Lucas, but jealous.

He had finally caught his own breath and more than willing to pay himself on the back. “It’s not that amazing. The flames might not be hot enough to hinder Shiva directly, but they’re more than enough to mess with Summer, or anybody. It doesn’t matter how strong anybody is if they can’t breathe. That fire prison you’re in? It’s burned all the oxygen and moisture inside. No air. No ice. No problem.”

Shiva fell completely on the ground. Her vision began blurring the faces of her proud opponents. With the last of her strength, she sighed. “Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. About time I leave anyways. ”

xxxxx

“Summer?” A voice called through darkness, bringing light. The girl’s eyes opened to see many ash covered faces and tired eyes blinking at her. She sat up and looked around, confused. “Ummmm why are you all filthy and smell like smoke.” She caught whiff of herself. “Ugh, why do I smell like nature hobo who lit on fire?”

Carmine could and the others could only smile on relief as they fell to ground from exhaustion. “It’s been a long month....”

#rwby #the void #my ocs #summer schnee #carmine arc rose #lucas belladonna #jael frost #sienna frost #lie tenzen #yujin xiao long #jacquelyn frost #rwbabies

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for-peace-war · 4 years

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No, really. Lovecraft Country sucks.

These are spoilers, but I also don’t give a shit because it’s a bad show and I hope you skim enough to fucking skip it. I took a few days to decide if I hated it enough to write this and well, I do.

I will try my best not to say “X is a bad actor,” but instead stick with the characters as they’re intended save for one particular issue.

The Story

It isn’t very Lovecraftian. And don’t take this as me saying Lovecraft was some kind of master of his craft. I think he was an absurd racist that used xenophobia as his guise for what truly horrified the sane mind. That being said, the element of the unknown is definitely the hallmark of his world and that in no way is represented in this show. It could easily be called “Goosebumps: The Black Version” and it’d be just as authentic--if not more so, really.

The story deals with the Bible (?) and magic that comes from uh, knowing the names of things. You speak a made up language and then you do some kind of confusing magic that has no real purpose or point. I sound dismissive of this because I am, to be clear. They could have just as easily had this language be something whites stole from Africans and then perverted into their own means of power (it’d be a pretty easy parralel to any number of imperialist issues left behind in Africa, huh.)

But anyway, it has a tentacle monster. I think we see a big scary octopus at one point. But the monsters are often in your face and it’s probably less scary than Stranger Things S1.

Honestly, the characters repeat “autumnal equinox” so much that I felt I was going to have a fucking breakdown. Just the writing is very empty and no one seems to really care about anyone else on the screen except for in a rare moment between the only two characters that make it far and matter.

Characters

They aren’t very good. There are tropes present, which isn’t bad at all, but the way the characters interact, speak, and in general move us through the story feels stilted, often nonsensical, and entirely reliant on the viewer assuming that the latest sentence spoken is the only one that matters.

Atticus “Tic” Freeman

A war criminal that derives his power from the white blood inside of him. Again, dismissive but true. We see this man struggle to connect pieces to a puzzle and eventually he pays the price for it, but not in the way Lovecraft would have someone pay for endeavoring beyond their realm. Rather, something about fate and a book. Look, honestly? Who gives a shit. Tic murders a woman in coldblood and it’s never really touched on. There’s a lot that could be said about militaries, oppression, etc, but we often see these characters enact violence and then the story skips merrily beyond it. So yeah, he summarily executes a Korean woman and then is later shown torturing another, but it’s okay because he feels a little bad and fucks the Korean sex demon woman. More on that later. I felt nothing for him. He didn’t have some deep animus over being a torturing war criminal. He was just kind of moving through scenes and having confusing fights with his girlfriend/baby mama.

Letitia “Leti” Lewis

This is what empowerment shouldn’t look like. It amuses me that the show claimed to subvert some kind of norms when the primary love interest (and ultimate heroine) remains the lightest skinned sister in the room. She is able to maintain the appeal of the ingenue while at the same time having the understood attractiveness of her complexion. As far as Leti is concerned as a character, she too seems to be a pretty shitty person. We hear that she has “transactional” friendships and she seems pretty much all about self-survival and rarely if ever puts up where others do. She’s a heroine in the sense that the story makes her be heroic, but it never addresses how her flaws are ultimately all self-inflicted and unnecessary. She could just not be a shitty person.

Hippolyta Freeman

Well. Hidden Figures was an excellent film, and I think that’s where Hippolyta came from. In a more serious series, perhaps she and her daughter could have had a very touching arc that would deal with survival and exceptionalism in a world that maligns you for your very being. Unfortunately, in reality she just comes off as a character that’s quirky in a world that’s also quirky and she doesn’t get to harness her power. There’s an entire episode dedicated to how she discovers who she is and the result is well, her hair turns blue and she makes robots? I think the character TYPE is great, but they misused her here in all ways.

George Freeman

Well, well. If the series had remained about George, Tic, and Leti adventuring through America and encountering sundown towns and monsters both human and otherwise, I think it’d have been okay. The issue is, they wrote this series by the numbers so George is immediately thrown away. He’s a wise and circumspect guy that has his own flaws (he has patrarchical notions built around protecting/babying his genius wife, clearly), but the flaws he has are understandable and well reasoned. George dies early on. Then he sort of doesn’t, I guess? But the fact he did was really the nail in the coffin for this series. The moment they did that, the rest just became empty strokes. A story where George witnessed the others dying and going back to his wife and daughter would have had so much more heart to it, but well. Uncle George is literally one of the few bright spots.

Ruby Baptise

Much like her sister, Leti, Ruby is a terrible attempt at showing empowerent on the one hand, and a masterwork on the other. The bad first: she’s a rapist. I’ve been called a nigger before and while it didn’t feel great, I don’t think I’d have been justified in just sodomizing the person that did it. That entire sequence was weird and they tried to hype it as her reclaiming something, when really it spoke to a disgusting and gratuitous tendency toward Ruby: she’s always too much. Ruby, IMO, should have been Tic’s love interest. In a sense. First, because Wunmi Mosaku was a very attractive woman with impressive acting chops (she’s where I’ll break my moratirum, sorry), but also because it wouldn’t be what you’d see in every other show now: light-skinned pretty sister, dark-skinned sexual eikon. And that’s the issue with Ruby there: she’s always too much. She’s sexual by existing and that isn’t necessarily to her benefit since Leti, the good one, is an actual virgin before her sudden period sex. So the narrative has already spoken as to how it views sex. Yet, because they tried to give Ruby these strange strokes, she comes out as an interesting character. She has feelings, aspirations, and dreams that she’s kept from and that’s very real. In a story about the absurd, a sense of realness is a familiar handhold to gather your wits. She’s all that, really. It’s why she has the best relationships in the show, which is AGAIN an issue, but well. I’ll say Ruby was never bad to have on screen though I was disgusted with how often her blackess (and Blackness in general!) became the source of grotesque horror.

Christina Braithewaite

This is where I get annoyed. My issue with Christina is that she should have easily been the most hated character, but they overplayed their hand with not showing how nefarious she was. In fact? Christina and Ruby’s relationship is the only meaningful, real, and understandable one in the entire series. I felt no joy during her downfall, because I didn’t really get to see her doing anything bad? Just, consider what the show is. It’s about Lovecraft’s lore, ostensibly, which treats all non (specific types of) white men like dogs. So Christina comes at it from the “white” but “woman” perspective and you know, she has moments of duality that you can say is she more white or woman here. But they don’t execute on how sinister she should be. She’s a little rude at times? Yet she is the only person to treat Ruby like she should be treated and she’s the only person that seems to have a goal outside of “the quest.” It really bothered me that she came out so well done, because either they needed to have her for two seasons and make her far more nefarious after the first, or to just make her less a force for good. She saves the characters more than a few times and pays for it by being killed when she’s at her lowest. Yeah, it’s... a weird take.

Ji-Ah

What can I say? There are depictions of sex in the series, and they’re all negative: most of Ji-Ah’s scenes, Montrose’s angry self-loathing sex with his boyfriend, Ruby’s morphic horror scenes. In the case of most of those, there’s something being said. Ji-Ah is a monster, literally, that could be seen as Lovecraftian in the sense she’s an exotic Asian woman that kills men that sleep with her. So, HBO was like “we’ll blow our tits and ass budget on her,” and she exists for a series of sex scenes and vague, inscrutable... shit, maybe SHE is the most Lovecraft of all the characters! Anyway at some point she joins the party after confusing drama with Leti because they both fucked Tic. It’s okay though, because Ji-Ah isn’t here for any of that now. She’s the one who had the best friend that had her teeth yanked out by Tic, and also who was there when he shot her other friend in cold blood, but they get over that and she’s now their friendly red panda pal or some shit. It’s fucking trash.�� Much like the Freemans (sans Tic), I think she’d have done great in another show. But they rushed her story and it felt less Ghost Nation (Westworld) and more Masturbation (Jordan Peele).

Diana Freeman

Confusing. A stock character (quirky kid that does art, is impetuous, and won’t take no for an answer) that is given a lot of screen time. When she sort of hijacks an episode when two ragamuffin girls chase her down and infest her or something because racist cops. Well, the story veers to her direction. What can I say? If you like 11 from Stranger Things but wanted her to have Mike’s attitude, well. Here you go.

Montrose Freeman

He could have been a good character, I guess. He seemed unnecessary and often was there purely for an x-factor of “uh?” Like, his infamous scene where he slits a two-spirit Native American’s throat after we learn that this indigenous person had just been restored after being raped by bad guys. So there’s that. Also I guess he was self-loathing so he beat his son (that may not be his son???) and also liked fucking dudes, which was I think where we were supposed to care about him. It’s like someone saw Omar was a gun-wielding desperado of drug theft and decided, “Well what made him okay is he’s gay!” But it didn’t add much. I get he was angsty but other than Tic calling him a “faggot” (one of the few good scenes between them in terms of emotion), it all seemed empty and kind of meandering. At no point does Montrose seem a part of the team. He just half-mumbles, gets angry, cries, and falls apart.

Captain Seamus Lancaster

He’s barely a character, but I need to include him for another point. He’s the “bad guy.” I guess? He uses the bodies of black men to stay alive, which is actually a really smart reference to black bodies fueling the American system, but it comes off as cheesy because it just never comes up. He’s cartoonishly bad in a way that he’s less sinister than a meme. Compare him to say, Ridgeway from Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad. One’s a sinister representation of an oppressive system and the other’s well, a joke.

Racism

How could this not be a theme? The issue, as was shown with Lancaster, is that it isn’t even remotely handled with seriousness. The best scene of racism is in the first episode when Tic, George, and Leti are forced to leave a Sundown county before they’re lynched by the racist sheriff. The anticipation and animosity lead to some serious anxiety and it was a nailbiter.

But after that? White people say “nigger.” Then they get, I don’t know, raped or spit on or who knows. A lot of black people talk back to the cops anyway in the 50′s and that’s cool.

But the real monsters of the series are all black people. Let’s go through it:

Tic brutalized women in the Korean War.

Montrose killed the two-spirit person.

Ruby rapes the shop owner.

Diane crushes Christina’s throat.

Ruby literally sheds her flesh in repeatedly gratuitous acts of the grotesque.

Even Ji-Ah, who’s not black, is a monster in the literal sense. We do see the doctor that experimented on black people, but that’s about 5 minutes at the end of an episode that has a baby’s head on a man’s body so I was too busy laughing at the absurdity to take any real meaning from it.

The truth is, in Lovecraft Country, white people always should do their best to kill or keep black people down. It definitely doesn’t speak at all to any togetherness or what have you. Just, well. Magical negroes doing bad stuff because nothing can stop them.

The show misses the chances to show real horror in race. Hell, the Tulsa Riots are reduced to a backdrop for a confusing book scene. But then again, Emmett Till becomes a kind of empty reference point that we then see a white woman act out... for some reason?

Again, the only characters with any chemistry are Ruby and Christina, which is very unfortunate for any number of reasons. As far as a statement that racism is bad goes, I mean. I barely saw it. If I was a racist I’d be like hell yeah, Lovecraft was right they are dangerous.

Even when people try to indicate the horrors of it like, “Oh, the Korean War scenes are bad because we see how men are forced into the military complex!” We didn’t see a white officer say “Shoot her, boy,” it was just two black guys killing women with no care at all. And no compeuppance, so that’s cool.

The Music

Sucks. Thanks Peaky Blinders for making modern music over gif sets a thing.

Conclusion

I sure as hell would never watch it again. If I can get one other person not to, then maybe it’d be worth it. It’s not a good show. It’s not “smart,” and there’s no secret subversion in it. It’s just... bad.

I won’t post on it anymore. Please, in true Lovecraft fashion, trust me when I say that this show is so bad it cannot be comprehended.

#lovecraft country

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rosecorcoranwrites · 4 years

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September Reading Roundup

It's time for this month's reading roundup, but first, a little announcement that no one but me will care about: I'm staying off the internet until the election. Well, mostly. I'll still post to Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram when the mood strikes me or when I have a writing update. I'll still post Rant Rave Reviews on here and Youtube (the theme this month is spooky stories, of course). But I won't be interacting much (ie, I won't be spending hours reading through Twitter and Tumblr and watching random Youtube videos I've already seen). If you @ me or retweet or reblog a post, I'll probably respond in a day or two, but other than that, I'm becoming a recluse.

The reason for this is twofold. First, I'm offering it up. For those of you who aren't Catholic, "offering it up" is sort of like giving up something for Lent. You discipline yourself by enduring some deprivation (either natural, like pain, or of your own choosing, like not watching hours of Youtube). At the same time, you offer up your (albeit, in this case, slight) suffering as a sacrifice for some good. I'm offering it up for America. Not the election, America. Because, not to get political or anything, but no matter who wins the garbage fire that is the 2020 election, America is doomed unless our culture changes. As I said to a friend recently, if this was the 90s, we could weather whatever storm Trump or Biden brings, but people hate each other so much right now that our country is pretty much over. Unless...

I don't know what I'm praying for, but I'm praying, praying that come what may, God in his Providence will drag something good out of all of it, kicking and screaming if need be. I will also be doing a rosary novena with my diocese October 14th through October 22, and then another one with the USCCB October 26th to November 3rd. Join me if you would like.

On a lighter note, I'm a volunteer writer-in-residence again at my hometown library, so I'm obligated to focus on writing this month, and need write, research, and workshop without distraction. I have two Forensics and Fiction books all tabbed and ready to read, plus a book about army nurses in the Vietnam War. The plot of book one in the alternate-history/fantasy/mystery trilogy is fast congealing, and I want to strike while the iron is hot. I need to focus! My ultimate goal is to be ready to write a little each day in November, returning to my heretical NaNoWriMo ways.

I'll let you know how it all turns out in my first Novemebr post, which will be a reading roundup of October. Until then, let's take a look at what I read this month:

Two Six Shooters Beat Four Aces: Stories of a Young Arizona by Barbara Marriott Ph.D

Genre: History - Anecdotes

Why I read it: Arizona book club pic

What I thought of it: While it's clear that Marriott is an excellent researcher, she is either a bad writer or in serious need of an editor. Individual paragraphs proved internally repetitive, and the overall structure of each chapter was slapdash. It needed smoother transitions from anecdote to anecdote or more section breaks and section headers.

Would I recommend it: No, everyone in my book club, including myself, hated it.

7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Genre: Supernatural Mystery

Why I read it: I'd been wanting to for a while; the premise caught my eye

What I thought of it: The body-hopping time-loop stuff was brilliant, the characters likable, and the story delightfully twisty. The last twist and conclusion were unsatisfying, though.

Would I recommend it: Yes!! Despite it's flaws, it was an exciting, fun, and original book. I will definitely be reading Turton's next book (which involves a closed circle of suspects and, possibly, demons!?).

The Exorcist by William Blatty

Genre: Horror

Why I read it: I'd been meaning to for a while, and writing research gave me an excuse to do so

What I thought of it: I like that it doesn't pull it's punches; I'm kind of shocked that it's only been censored a couple times, actually. It presents demons as they are: hateful, grotesque jerks who get off on picking on humans. I also liked that there was a murder mystery subplot. I'm not sure I approve 100% of the ending, theologically speaking, but that's a pretty minor quibble.

Would I recommend it: Yes, but it is not for the feint of heart. Trigger warnings for child sexual abuse, adult sexual abuse, language, violence, the works.

How to Destroy America in Three Easy Steps by Ben Shapiro

Genre: Nonfiction - politics

Why I read it: It's a long story that I shall tell about in my memoir of library life, but not here. Also the cover is 10/10

What I thought of it: It was ok. I already knew most of what he said. I disagreed with some of it, like seeing the constant moving of people from town to town in 1950s as a positive thing; in actuality, "company men" in the 50s were moved around so they wouldn't have community ties but instead ties to the company, which is anti-human to the extreme. I did think it was interesting that he combatted the idea of America's greatness being built off the backs of slaves by pointing out that slavery was actually terrible for the south, as reliance on slavery retarded their economic system well after the Civil War.

Would I recommend it: If you're into political books, sure.

American Sherlock: Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI by Kate Winkler Dawson

Genre: True Crime - forensic history

Why I read it: I love historical true crime

What I thought of it: It was ok, but kind of didn't make the case for him being "The American Sherlock Holmes" (even though people really did call him that back in the day), in that a lot of his conclusions ended up being a little dubious. Still, from a research perspective, it did establish when various forensic practices started being used in the USA.

Would I recommend it: Maybe? I personally liked Father of Forensics more. I'd say this book is, like, 3/5 stars, just because it could have been tightened up a bit.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Genre: Horror

Why I read it: It's spooky season!

What I thought of it: Having already seen the movie, I knew pretty much what was going to happen, but I love Gaiman's turn of phrase.

Would I recommend it: Yes, especially for children who are too young for scarier fair but still want a creepy story.

The Horror at Red Hook by H.P. Lovecraft

Genre: Horror

Why I read it: It's still spooky season!

What I thought of it: I honestly liked this a lot more than the Cthulhu mythos stuff. Rather than vague demoniac blasphemies or black cyclopean gulfs, there's a real tangible cult that sacrifices (reanimated?) corpses to a pale, dancing, snickering Thing on a golden pedestal. I dig it.

Would I recommend it: Yes. Just... ignore the racism. That goes for all of Lovecraft's stuff, by the by.

Herbert West: Reanimator by H.P. Lovecraft

Genre: Horror

Why I read it: Turns out I like HP Lovecraft. Who knew?

What I thought of it: You gotta love mad scientists who try to reanimate the dead, right? I think this one would make an excellent mini-series.

Would I recommend it: Yes.

Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

Genre: Essay - illustration/comics

Why I read it: I loved Hyperbole and a Half, and was excited when I saw Brosh was coming out with another book.

What I thought of it: It was okay. Not as good as her first book, but for an understandable reason: medical complications and her sister's suicide (that's not a spoiler, as the book is dedicated to her sister). Thus, the book had a heaviness to it that the first one didn't. Still there were some parts that made me laugh so hard I cried.

Would I recommend it: Maybe? I'd say borrow it from the library, but don't buy it, unless you are also suffering a loss. It might be really relatable and cathartic in that case.

The Rats in the Walls by H.P. Lovecraft

Genre: Horror

Why I read it: I like HP Lovecraft

What I thought of it: Not as scary as I had been led to believe by my brother, but still a good story. I plan on reading Lovecraft Country at some point, which supposedly flips Lovecraft's racism on it's head, and so help me, if it doesn't make reference to this story and chattel slavery, I'll throw a fit.

Would I recommend it: Yes. I like that the cat didn't die. :)

The Shadow Over Innsmouth by H.P. Lovecraft

Genre: Horror

Why I read it: I just... I just really like Lovecraft, okay?

What I thought of it: I find the sea inherently creepy, so when you have a decrepit backwater filled with a fishy stench and secrets, it's gotta be good.

Would I recommend it: Yes, especially if you liked the Fishing Hamlet part of the Bloodborne DLC (which I could not help but think of the whole time reading this novella).

The Thing on the Doorstep by H.P. Lovecraft

Genre: Horror

Why I read it: You know why.

What I thought of it: So if you've read enough Lovecraft, especially Dunwich Horror and Shadow Over Innsmouth, you already know what's coming... or do you? Right away, HP establishes that there is a special knock the guy uses with his friend, so I assumed the twist end would involve the Thing appearing in the guy's body but not using the knock, thus revealing itself to be (redacted for slight spoilers). I was wrong. That's not how it played out, and the way it played out was so much creepier!!!

Would I recommend it: Yeah! I really liked this one!

Haunter of the Dark by H.P. Lovecraft

Genre: Horror

Why I read it: Yup

What I thought of it: Same ol', same ol, but what I thought was cool in this one was that the supposedly superstitious Italian Catholic immigrants totally know what's up and spend their stormy nights keeping the Haunter at bay with nothing but candles and flashlights. What a neat detail!

Would I recommend it: Yup. :)

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toxkeepxbreathing · 4 years

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@imxaxmage said: ⚖ - Opinions on the fandom your muse belong to? (DRV3 & Until Dawn)

Honestly, Imma answer this for both because honestly my opinions for any fandom seem to always coalesce. For the most part, I really love and appreciate and enjoy how intensely the fandoms I invest in in turn invest in the shows and characters. Tumblr wouldn't exist if not for people to fangasm about all their favorite shit. And everyone who engages in those labors of love from fanart to fan animations to fanfiction to memes and memelists, the RPC, cosplayers, EVERYTHING -- Is just truly mindblowing and heartwarming. That being said... I do wish people would be more open minded to differing opinions and try to keep a balanced perspective on characters. Especially when it comes to characters they like versus characters they don't. Cause I do feel, well, humanity in general, is strongly biased by looks. Or they assume that because a character doesn't wear their heart on their sleeve and reach out or seek attention that they don't care/have feelings/struggle. And it's just frustrating.

I was watching an LP of Danganronpa and the LPer said that Angie deserved to die because she was "too positive" and "not taking anything seriously" and that was in Chapter 1 before anyone even died. He didn't give her a chance to reach Chapter 3 where she legit takes so many actions to try and end the killing game and it becomes apparent that Atua is a major coping mechanism for her and the entire council -- Especially Himiko. But then, yeah, Kiyo murders nearly 100 innocent women and he's a poor innocent boy that got abused by his sister. Which I've not been able to find evidence that it's even hard canon that either him or his sister abused each other. It's just headcanons based on Kiyo's tulpa and the stories of how Kiyo got his tulpa don't even match up. (He claims she came to him in a seance, but the game itself says she manifested while he was being tortured. I imagine the truth is in between those two, and he performed the seance to convince himself that his split personality/tulpa was actually his sister.)

And it's like. It's fine to like characters like that. And to dislike characters like Angie. But it'd be nice to have that be based on equal perspective. I like Mukuro, Kyosuke, Junko, Jack, Mikan and plenty of messed up characters. But I don't try and justify or excuse their behaviours because they still exist and should be recognized as character flaws that those characters need to responsibility for. Not have them excuses and forgiven. Hell, I don't excuse Angie blaming Himiko for Ryoma's murder. And yeah, her actions, good intentions or otherwise, born of abuse or otherwise, whether she has a severe case of God-fearing or God-complex or feeling like a Prophet. Are questionable and take the choice away from other people. (It's why Kaito, Tenko, Maki and Shuichi oppose her.) Anyway, I'm rambling.

I guess the Tl;dr is: I love all fandoms, especially the ones that truly care and deeply analyse their shows/things/characters. But I also feel like human nature invites bias that I wish more people could look beyond to place themselves not just in the shoes of the people they like, but also in the shoes of the people they don't like. Because unless you do that, it becomes hard to fairly judge every character. You miss things. Or don't let yourself hear them. Hell, I was watching Persona 5 Strikers and Futaba, a character I don't particularly care for personality-wise, said something about being unable to sleep in the camper van because she didn't have her usual pillow. My initial reaction was to just not pay attention and jokingly tell her to shut up. But then I stopped to think about that line and the implications, and that line alone gave me at least SOMETHING to appreciate in Futaba. She has obsessive compulsive tendencies. Same when she froze up in public.

I appreciated the game more, and her character a little more, to see how well they delivered on her social anxiety after spending so long hermiting in her room, struggling with PTSD. Granted, I still don't like her. Especially the way she seems to trivialize the trauma, obsessive compulsive behaviours and special interests of others. But I wouldn't even appreciate what I do appreciate of her character if I just shut her down/ignored her based on past judgments. I just don't think it costs anything to keep an open myself and place yourself in their shoes and keep hoping for the best for characters. Maybe that's why Kaito is one of my favorite characters in DRV3. Maybe that's why Tenko and Himiko initially resonated so much. Maybe that's why I like Ryoma, too. And maybe that's why I like Persona IN GENERAL. Because I really do like to see the best in people.

Oh, and don't wish harm upon characters in any meaningful way just because you don't like their personality. Sure, if they're genuinely god-awful criminals, I'd get it. In The Vampire Diaries, I find the actions of characters like Stefan, Damon, Klaus, Katherine, Hayley, and even Tyler, Jeremy and Elena to be very morally fucked up. Those first five moreso than the last three. And I truly believe that a lot of their actions; which for Damon and Katherine include rape and murder and Klaus and Tyler include attempted rape (and murder and brainwashing and a shit tonne of familial abuse and gaslighting for Klaus) and Elena and Jeremy essentially committing a mass genocide on thousands of vampires. They really do highlight how fucked up the vampire's mentality is and explains why characters like Matt Donovan want RID of them from Mystic Falls. (Especially because Matt's sister died because of them.) But to say someone should die because they're too bitchy or too cheery really does disturb me.

Characters like Hiyoko and Angie and Himiko don't deserve to die JUST BECAUSE of how they carry themselves. If you don't like the way they carry themselves. FINE. I don't wish death upon Futaba, either. Hell, I don't even wish death upon characters like Miu, Saiyaka or Kirumi in DRV3, though I disagree with their moral values and motives. I even RP Miu lmao. Note: I also wouldn't wish DEATH upon Tyler, Eleanor and Jeremy based on what I've seen so far. (I'm rewatching the series from scratch for like the fifth time.) And maybe not Hayley, either. And I don't believe the rest of them deserve to be harmed for their personalities. It's the actions and lack of responsibility they take within their own character arcs. It's fine to be jaded and problematic and bitchy and cruel and a fucking asshole to an EXTENT. But only if you're actually trying to improve. We're all human. Mistakes happen. We all hit rock bottom eventually. I just... I don't know... I wish there was less bias and judgment and more open minds and fair perspectives given to all characters in any given fandom.

. . . . .

(So much for that Tl;dr)

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miyudabi · 4 years

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𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒆~||𝔻𝕒𝕓𝕚 𝕏 𝕆ℂ

𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒆

Ahem, the prolouge of my story, which is also on Wattpad.

Word Count;644

______________________

Ever since I was a young child,mommy never cared for me.She was always in Paris,with some new job of the sorts.Ignoring me and my elder brother.He always tried to make me happy the best he could but it never worked.Daddy was always too busy with work to spend much time with us.Being a doctor and owning 5 hositals took up a lot of his spare time.Though,when he was there,I didn't think he cared at.He barley showed any signs of emotions.Though he cared enough to have a third and final child with my mother,a little sister born when I was ten,and Kosuke eleven or twelve.We tried our best to make her happy and we did.Though she and Kosuke ended up as spoiled brats.

Constant.That's how the bullying was.Constant and non-stop.Akari and her friends just couldn't...couldn't leave me alone...it was like they enjoyed, the pain they inflicted upon me.As though I was a doll without feelings they could just push around,hurt,kick and make fun of.I was nothing more than their play thing.I constantly wondered why,what I ever did to deserve the treatment they gave me..then as I got older and the bullying coutiued,I realized that mother never wanted us to be anything less than perfect,and the girls names would constantly make me look at my flaws as well as mother's constant criticism.

Nothing changed till I was 15 and in highschool.It was my first day,I was stumbling through the hallways,and I collided into someone.Toya Todoroki.He...was...absouletly perfect.Flawless.His hair,his eyes,his tone of voice,his perfect facial structure.I fell for him then and there.I watched him..observed him,from then on.That only uncovered he was more flawless than I thought.No one but him even mattered to me anymore,I wanted him..I needed him...someone so perfect,was meant to be with someone so incredibly flawed.

Then girls started to go after him.They wanted him but they were all...incredible.None of them had flaws,not a single one.They couldn't take him from me,they weren't meant for him...they..didn't..need him.I needed to make sure he was mine And that no one else could have him.I wanted him as mine and mine alone.So..I found ways to get them out of the picture.I would make sure they got expelled..'disapered',fell for someone else,rejected,anything to get them out of the picture.Then I wouldn't need to worry about him.

Year two.That's when I met the best friend I would ever have.Akuma Mochizuki.A girl who didn't have a a care in the world,except...protecting people.I was being made fun of by the normal people and then she stepped in.She stopped them..the first time anyone stood up for me..she taught me how to stand up for myself.Eventually..how to get away with things such as murder,and almost none of my victims were found after that.She knew of my crush on Toya,though she didn't exactly understand what I found so incredible about him.She remained my friend the rest of highschool and after that.Akuma taught me a lot,and some things I didn't exactly want to know-but I suppose they were useful enough...

Year three.I had kept up what I was doing for a good while,got rid of anyone in my way,and...I had finally worked up the coruage the speak to him,longer than three sentences!I was going to confess...I had assumed he was sick,as he had been absent,and assumed he would be back but..I got the news he was gone...disapeared.It broke me.The only thing I wanted to do,was find him,he meant EVERYTHING to me,I would find him and I WOULD make him mine.I had to find him.He would be...

Forever mine.

#my hero fanfic #my hero academia #boku no academia #boku no hero oc #dabi my hero academia #dabi fanfic #dabi is touya #leauge of villains #bnha oc

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bullshittierlists · 4 years

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I see no god up here other than me

Ty Lee- Ty Lee is best girl and I find it hard to argue with that statement. She’s just so bouncy and cute and honestly really powerful for not being a bender. I mean, the ability to paralyze someone on contact, much less being able to pinpoint specific parts of the body to paralyze, it’s just incredible. She was so cute in that beach episode because all the guys hit on her, which of course they do, have you seen how cute she is? I’m not super on board with her backstory, but it wasn’t a huge part of her character, so it’s fine.

Sokka- The man, the myth, the legend. It’s been said before, but the only reason Sokka couldn’t bend is because the creators knew he’d be too powerful. That’s the same reason he has to put his hair up. Also, he’s totally bi, change my mind.

Jet- I have several friends that watch this show and that watched the show before me. They all knew that I’d like Jet because he’s a “backstabbing traitor” despite their hatred of him and I guess I have a trend of liking those characters. I jokingly agreed with them and was excited to meet him. Little did I know just how much I would fall in love with him. A lot of my friends say that it’s just because he’s cute or he’s a sad boy, but there are honestly so many reasons to love him. I absolutely adore psychology and deep-diving into the minds of characters and his mentality is so intriguing. You would think this would lean me more towards Zuko, then. But Zuko gets so much focus that his psychology is always precedent, right front and center. But Jet doesn’t get that spotlight. I originally liked him more because he was under-appreciated, but now I realize just how amazing he is. At a very surface level, his actions are bad. He’s trying to murder innocent people for the sake of getting rid of a few fire nation soldiers. But as soon as you look deeper into his intentions, you can clearly see how badly he wanted to do good. These types of characters are always the saddest, the characters who think they are helping the world by destroying it. They legitimately think that the actions they are taking are the right ones even when everyone around them thinks otherwise. Other examples of this type of character are JD from Heathers and even Hector from Castlevania to some extent. Yes, he acknowledges that he will be sacrificing innocent lives. But he also knows that he will be saving lives in the future by going through with the dam plan. There’s so much more I could say about him, but I’ve been rambling for long enough.

Zuko- There’s nothing I could say about Zuko that hasn’t been said before. I already gushed about Jet for entirely too long, so have this instead: Sokka and Zuko have a wonderful relationship and I think that both parties could have benefitted greatly from being together romantically. Thank you.

You’re the best

Iroh- What can I say? He’s a good old man with lots of wisdom that we should all take to heart.

Momo- Some of my favorite parts of the entire show were scenes with Sokka and Momo just vibing. There should’ve been more emphasis on Sokka’s relationship with the animals in general.

Appa- I was really excited when Sokka started flying on Appa without Aang the first time, because I thought that meant that Sokka had created a really unique bond with Appa and was the only other one that could fly him. I was mistaken and incredibly upset.

Teo- He’s just a cute boy. I like his goggles.

Hey, I think you’re pretty cool, I like you a lot

Azula- Oh boy. There’s so much here to say, but she’s been analyzed to death, so I won’t go on for too long. As much as I would’ve loved to see Azula on the “good guy” team, I’m really glad she didn’t get a redemption. Not her, specifically, but more the villains in general. Zuko’s redemption was marvelous and there’s nothing that will ever top it, but if Azula had also gotten that redemption, his would’ve been downcast. It would’ve showed that anyone’s capable of a redemption and that he wasn’t special, he was just lucky to have that change of heart. Which maybe that’s still true, but at least with the ending we got, we give Zuko that spotlight. But back to Azula, she’s pretty cool, as the category would suggest. The Girl Gang (Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee) were a treat to watch and I instantly fell in love with all three of them as soon as they were introduced. Then they had to change to the Gayng once Zuko joined and I still loved all of them.

Longshot- It was super powerful when he spoke for the first time in Jet’s “death” scene. That was the first time he had said anything and he made it count. He helped show how even thought Jet is a “bad guy” at the surface level, he was still good enough of a leader and a friend for his group to stay with him in his ultimate time of need.

Suki- She’s badass. That’s about it. All parts of The Boiling Rock were my favorite episodes and they featured her pretty heavily in the back half. And I was not complaining.

Toph- Again, badass.

Aang- He’s the main character. I don’t have any super negative things to say or any super positive things to say. So he’s just here.

Kuei- I know he doesn’t do anything, like at all, but I can’t get over him and his bear.

Yue- When I started watching this show, I knew about some of the ships and I wasn’t super into it. Which was weird, because I’m always super into shipping. I wouldn’t have watched some of my favorite shows if it weren’t for the shipping aspect. But I just couldn’t get on board with it in this show. Aang and Katara felt kinda forced and weird, Sokka and Suki was alright, but I couldn’t quite get into it. But when I first saw Sokka and Yue interacting, I was enthralled. I was in love with their relationship and I thought it was so cute. I was genuinely excited to see where their relationship would go. But you know what happened next.

Mai- When I first met Mai, I loved her. She was an emo girl that just didn’t want anything to do with anything. Obviously, I still love her, but just slightly less. Something happened to her in the third season, and though I can’t pinpoint quite what, I have a feeling it was Zuko. I’m not a huge fan of Mai and Zuko’s relationship and I’ll possibly elaborate on that in a future post, but it really felt like the worst possible scenario for both of their characters. I do like Mai and Ty Lee together, but the shipping doesn’t really have anything major to do with it. She just dropped in quality a little in the third season and became a love interest instead of a character.

Kyoshi- Peace was never an option.

I remember you

Cabbage guy- This is normally the type of character I’d put at the top of the list and use as a joke to pretend like I especially enjoy the joke characters. Sometimes I do, but this list’s tone was a little different than usual, so I figured I’d put him where I really thought he should go. He was funny, sure, but I don’t religiously follow him like I do Ty Lee and everyone else in the top tier.

The other characters in this tier are in no particular order. Most of them are here just because I remember seeing them a little bit, but I don’t really remember much about them or I remember just not caring.

You are literally the worst. Actual scum. Leave this planet and never return.

Haru- This is more directed towards his newly-grown facial hair. He was so cute in his first appearance and then he had to do that. Even Sokka’s “I flirt with everyone” bisexual ass thought it was grody.

Hama- Nothing against her, personally, bloodbending’s just gross.

Zhao- He’s a typical villain. I can appreciate that, I just don’t like him.

Katara- This will take some explaining. It’s unpopular, but so is everything I say. I think of Katara in about the same way I do Allura. She was bearable in the first season, annoying in the second, and flat-out awful in the third. I understand that characters should have flaws, and I appreciate when they do, but her flaws aren’t necessarily treated as such. The worst offender I can think of with her is when she accused Sokka of not missing their mom as much as she did. This broke my heart. Seeing Sokka’s depressed face as he realized what his sister thought of him. He had been seeing her as sort of a replacement for their mom, but she accuses him of moving on without a second thought despite how much effort he puts into remembering her. This obviously isn’t the only bad thing she’s done. Another huge offender is when she assumed losing her mom was worse than Aang losing his entire nation. And then the show just keeps moving like she’s justified in thinking that. She’s done so many other things that caused other characters to halt in their development or causing the plot to just stop completely. Most of her actions are nonsensical at best and harmful at worst, but the show portrays her as always being a caring motherly figure. She does act like that at times, but we still need to acknowledge when she doesn’t.

Ozai- Literally the same as Zhao except he hurt Zuko physically AND emotionally.

#bullshittierlists #atla #avatar the last airbender #was a little confused why I wasn’t getting any notes and then I realized I didn’t leave any tags #sorry to everyone who likes Katara #but it needed to be said #tier lists #ty lee

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littlemisssquiggles · 5 years

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Itsclydebitches recently answered a question concerning the worldwide and personal ramifications of James telling the world about Salem. Areas like Patch and Menagerie might to be high on the list to protect and the Arcs outside of Argus would be in danger as well. Yet the show nor the characters have addressed this. What do you think?

Hiyaagain Miki-chan.Well since Jaune mentioned that he and Saphron were the only two Arc childrento have left home, before I originally pegged Jaune to have hailed from eitherAtlas (since he mentioned hearing Weiss sing before which I assumed was at oneof her concerts on behalf of the Schnee Dust Company) or perhapssomewhere in Saunus near Vale Kingdom. But since V7 have zero indicationto Jaune coming from the Solitas side of the world, this leaves Anima.

So it’ssafe to assume now that the Arc Family live somewhere in Anima continent sinceI do recall Jaune saying that he and his family used to camp near a certain villageon the path to Mistral. And since Argus is the northern city of Anima, itdefinitely places the peg with Jaune being from Anima side just like Ren andPyrhha.

Huh,with the exception of Nora (yet), it’s pretty interesting how Anima seems to bethe home continent to most JNPR members. Ren from Kunoyuri. Pyrrha from Argus.Jaune potentially from other unknown village somewhere in what’s left of Anima’sunexplored continent and Oscar too.

Thisbrings me to my real point; it’s not just Jaune’s family outside of Argus thatcould potentially be in danger of the ramifications of the world learning ofSalem, what about Oscar’s family especially?

Atleast Jaunecame from a family of huntsmen sinceI do remember him mentioning previously that his one of his ancestors fought inthe Great War. Not to mention that I think Jaune also said that the men in hisfamily were warriors or something along the lines of him coming from a longline of great warriors.

I’mmostly paraphrasing here. But either way, if push came to shove, Jaune's familycould probably defend themselves given their warrior bloodline.

Butwhat ofOscar's family? Since Oscarmentioned never meeting huntsmen before, that would mean that, unlike Jaune, Oscarhas no huntsmen or know warriors in his family tree.

Notto mention that Oscar seemed to have grown up on a side of Anima that was faraway from the protection of the huntsmen who all mostly seemed to have worked withinthe main kingdom citadel.

Notto mention that Mistral still be deep shit in the event of chaos since didn'tSalems’ forces not murder most---if not ALL ofMistral's known huntsmen? This is why Qrow was so livid at Lionheart’s betrayalback in V5. He never found any of the Mistrali huntsmen he had tried to recruitfor the Battle of Haven since they were all killed by Salem’s minions (probablyTyrion) under Lionheart's watch.

Withthat in mind, this means that outside of the students of Haven Academy, Mistralkingdom will be left unprotected in the event of anything Grimm happening.While Mistral didn’t lost its great huntmen academy like Vale, it still lostsome of its best known huntsmen.

Iactually think Menagerie might be able to hold their own due to the securityand guidance of the New Faunus Militia formed by Ghira Belladona whichtook in the remaining soliders who originally fought for the White Fang untilAdam fell from reign.

SinceBlake and Sun convinced the Faunus of Menagerie to go to Mistral to fight theirbrothers and sisters in the White Fang, it wouldn't surprise me if Ghira andhis forces had continued this influence since that time, especially since hegot past trained soldiers of the White Fang on his side according to Illia inV6.

SoI think Menageriemight have a fighting chance. I think the kingdom to really look tofor aid will be Vacuo.

It'sthe only kingdom that hasn't been targeted or hit by the enemy. Then again, Ihaven't read Afterthe Fall so I don't know any ofthe nitty gritty details details of what Vacuo kingdom is going throughcurrently that were outlined in that story.

Howeversince Tyrianmentioned the significance of Ironwood coming to his senses and seeking aid fromVacuo last season, I have a feeling that's what it might come downto.

Whenthe world descends into chaos, Ironwood getting word to whoever is in charge ofVacuo---possibly HeadmasterTheodore---to send aid will make a difference going forward into thenext act of RWBY.

WhileIronwood may have planned for Atlas to be the one to assist the other kingdoms,I think it's safe for all of us to definitely assume that this will not be thecase. Atlasis doomed to fall along with Mantle. And I feel like onceword of Remnant's mightiest, most technologically advancedkingdoms crumbling gets out to the rest of the world, it'll shake thepeople just as much as the reveal of the Salem’s existence.

Likeimagine how devastating it would be for Amity Tower tocome online, reconnecting Remnant as Ironwood had intended.

However rather than Ironwood revealing Salem, imagine if… Salem reveals herself in acomplete power move that turns the tides in her favour?

Imagine if… it's a case where Salem forcesthe hand of the rulers of the remaining kingdoms meaning the Councils of Vale,Mistral and Vacuo? Either the other kingdoms surrender to Salem or face complete destruction or to prove herpoint, Salem once again uses Atlas as a martyr, using the fall of their kingdomto frighten the rest of the world---particular the kingdom rulers--- intosubmitting to her out of fear.

Imagineif…rather than have her minions snope around to find the Maidens, Salem turnsthe entire world on its head revealing the existence of the Maidens and theRelics, offering mercy to anyone who finds the Maidens for her and gets theRelics especially if she reveals they are in the huntsmen schools. So not evenShade Academy or what’s left of Beacon would be safe havens.

Salemcould easily turn the world against the huntsmen academies; their founders andperhaps even the huntsmen as well with the truth alone.

Thisis one way I can see Ironwood's plan completely backfiring horrifically on him.Rather than uniting the people of Remnant against Salem, what if… he sends them rightinto her hands with the very truth.

ThusRemnant will be plunged into chaos with the possibility of certain kingdomsturning heads and swearing their loyalty to Salem for their own safety. Theremaining Maidens, whoever they are will be forced to be extra vigilant sinceit won’t be just Salems’ forces after them but the rest of the world.

AsI’ve theorized before, I picture Mistral being one of the kingdoms that turnimmediately to Salem's side and that's going to be tough since characters likeOscar and Jaune have family around that continent.

Imagineif Mistral becomes an enemy kingdom siding with Salem to fight against theremaining kingdoms. Imagine if it’s a case where Argus turns against Mistralfor choosing to side with the enemy with the People of Argus, including Jaune’sfamily fighting against their traitorous main kingdom trying to move in andforce them to submit to Salem’s whim or something like that?

Andthere’s this big question. When Atlas falls, who do you think will come to theiraid?

It'sactually pretty ironic when you think about it. Here was Ironwood arrogantly believingthat Atlas will be the world’s saviours; offeringhelp the other kingdoms but should they fall, who would come to help them?

Not Vale since according to Atlasdestroyed their Huntsmen Academy and it wouldn’t surprise me if the Council ofVale would be salty to extend any aid to Atlas after the damage to theirkingdom that they and their people hold them responsible for.

NotMistral. Sincethey might side with Salem and/or might even take advantage of Atlas'invulnerability to conquer it.

Ithink it would pretty interesting if Menagerie and Vacuoare the ones to lend a hand to everyone in the end. Especially Menageriesince who would expect the Faunus to fight to save the world when they believedthem to have given them a dirty hand. Who would think the Faunus wouldwant to help Atlas particularly when their kingdom has been known to abusetheir kind?

It'dactually be pretty cool if Menagerie ends up setting itself as a civilizationto look at on the brink of this second Great War. Who knows? Perhaps once thiswar has settled, it might potentially lead to Menagerie being established asits own kingdom recognized by the Remnant.

That’snot a bad idea. Butwhat do you think?

Goingback to the last point, @itsclydebitches and you are definitely correct in regards to theshow nor the character acknowledging how badly this can affect the people,especially people connected to our heroes. As a matter of fact, this was one ofthe reasons why I pegged Ironwood’s plan to be a foolish move. While unitingthe world against Salem isn’t a bad idea---I think what’s bothersome is hisapproach and the fact that he didn’t really take much thought into the peopleaffected. Same of our heroes not even thinking about their loved ones who will get caught up in all of this mess once it’s out.

Thenagain, we must also remember that RWBY is a PLOT-driven show. While we as theaudience might notice this key flaw in Ironwood’s plan, the characters haven’t and probably won’t until thePLOT decides it’s time for them to think about this…probably after the worldhas already descended into chaos.

Andwith Amity Tower airborne, Remnant willbe indeed be united…under the shared screams from people all around the world and pleads for help when the Grimm descendupon them once the cat is out of the bag and Great War II is on the horizon thus sparking the beginning of apotential WarWorld Arc with our heroes experiencing what Oz had tried the keep from going through---surviving in a worldplagued by war and chaos with everyone against each other. But that’s just my thoughts on this.

~LittleMissSquiggles(2020)

#squiggles answers: rwby #jaune arc #oscar pine #rwby theories #general ironwood #rwby volume 7 theories #miki-13 #squiggles answers

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