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the-lone-witch-and-secret-room · 3 years

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Camila Noceda and Flawed Parenting

A perspective by a flawed person with loving but extremely flawed parents

I’m genuinely baffled at some people’s hostile reaction towards Camila. Like… do any of you have flawless parents that always know the best solution instantly, make no mistakes and never get emotional?

My parents are great. They’re super supportive and I love them very, very much. Overall I think I got very lucky in the parents department.

But god, they are far from flawless. I still live at home, and despite all the good, there’s moments when I can’t take my dad anymore. He’s the kind of dad that stayed up until two am to help me with homework when I was in school, and he does so, so many things to make sure I’m happy. I know that. But despite all of this, I have told my mom in emotional moments before that I’m not sure if I can keep living with him, because for all his good sides, he has a couple of fatal flaws that sometimes make him unbearable.

My mom listens to me and is very open to being educated on certain topics, but she has her flaws, too. She hates when I fight with my dad, and gets so torn up about it that I’ve once apologized to my dad out of fear of her getting into a car crash otherwise. She’s very vocal about certain flaws of mine, and sometimes uses the things she does for me as leverage against me when she gets very emotional.

And both of my parents pay a lot more attention to my brother because he needs it more, because he’s more of a “problem child” while I “seem so capable” even when I’m not.

And guess what? I’m not a perfect child. I make mistakes sometimes, some of them pretty severe. Just like Luz, I’m the kind of person that struggles to communicate certain issues of mine to her parents. I’m stubborn, and when I get emotional, I say very hurtful things sometimes. So do they.

And this has nothing to do with my parents being horrible or abusive. They’re neither of those things.

The takeaway from this should not be that my entire family is made up of terrible people, but that we’re all flawed in our own ways, despite loving each other and trying our best. There’s things about my parents I wish I could change, and there are things about me that my parents wish they could change. And to an extent, that’s perfectly normal.

In our strengths and flaws and frustration with each other, we’re all human.

Specific, spoiler-y Camila and Luz things under the cut since this got very long.

We have no indication that Camila has a pattern of emotionally manipulating Luz. Her “emotional manipulation” as I’ve seen some people put it, is people for some reason thinking that the second you become an adult, you’re suddenly perfect and can no longer make mistakes, lest you’ll be dubbed horrible and abusive.

The whole concept is absurd to me. There is no perfect way to parent. There simply isn’t. Of course, there’s some genuinely abusive patterns that are horrible and inexcusable. But out of the parenting styles that aren’t, which one works depends on a number of factors, one of which absolutely includes that every child is different and has different needs. Camila is an amazing parent for Vee, giving the kid everything she’s ever longed for. She’s not an ideal parent for Luz. And that’s because Luz and Vee have fundamentally different needs.

Likewise, Luz is a pretty great child for Eda, but not a perfect fit for Camila. Luz relates to Eda a lot more than she relates to her mom, and that’s why the two of them have an easier time understanding each other. Both of these mother-child relationships exist, and one is not more doomed to fail than the other, but I think you’ll agree that the better you understand someone and where they’re coming from, the easier it is to communicate, pick up on certain signs, etc.

As mom and daughter, Camila and Luz are both flawed and have issues seeing the other’s perspective because of how different they are. And we should simultaneously acknowledge both of their roles in the issue and give both of them the space to learn and grow past those issues.

Luz struggles to communicate her problems. She doesn’t want to burden people in the demon realm, and it’s a given that this started out as not wanting to burden her mom. So she keeps quiet about her issues. Camila tries hard but can’t read her daughter’s mind, so there’s only so much she can do to understand and help the way Luz needs her to. Hell, Eda, who Luz is a lot more open with than her mom, struggles to help her, because Luz doesn’t tell her what’s wrong. I don’t see anyone calling Eda a terrible mom for that.

Camila tries her best, but she struggles to understand her daughter because of this, and because of how fundamentally different they are. She loves Luz’s creativity, we actively see her supporting it in the new episode—she keeps the weird stuff Luz made because she thinks Luz will regret throwing it away, and even plays along in what she assumes to be some elaborate role play because “she’s glad Luz kept her creativity even though it’s not made things easy for her at school”. But at the beginning of the show, said creativity got out of hand and people got hurt. Luz could’ve gotten hurt. So of course Camila had to interfere. I love Luz dearly, but she thought it was okay to bring snakes to school and set off fireworks inside a school building. Creativity is great. Doing reckless stuff that causes people to get hurt is not.

In sending Luz to camp, Camila tried to have someone else fix her issue because she didn’t know how to help Luz. That was a mistake, and a bad one at that, but she’s realizing that. She looks disheartened when Vee tries to throw out Luz’s stuff, because she never meant to change her daughter or take that part of her away. She just thought Luz needed a reality check—which, for the record, is something the narrative actually agrees with.

Luz spends her time in the demon realm getting reality check after reality check, realizing that even her ideal fantasy world where she has everything she always wanted doesn’t mean she’s free of consequences. She goes overboard constantly, causing:

-Eda to be forced to fly into a trap because Luz is chasing a fantasy (Witches before Wizards)

-Eda to almost be branded by her sister because Luz doesn’t think through why Eda doesn’t use magic to publicly announce her presence constantly (Once Upon a Swap)

-Eda and the twins to get kidnapped by a Slitherbeast because Luz stole Amity’s wand (Adventures in the Elements)

-Her friends to get hurt when she goes overboard trying to help Willow (Wing it like Witches)

-Eda to be captured and almost petrified because Luz thought she could just steal from the Emperor with no consequences in an attempt to help (Agony of a Witch)

I’m like 90% sure these aren’t even all. None of those make her a terrible person, for the record, but as all humans are, she is flawed and makes bad choices. She learns from these experiences and matures, just like her mom had hoped she would at camp. She’s also made friends there, which was another thing Camila wanted for her daughter.

You’ll probably realize that a lot of Luz’s behaviors I mentioned follow one of two patterns: 1. Luz’s idealized fantasy world causing problems, when she walks around with rose tinted glasses and gets people in trouble in the process because she hasn’t thought about the consequences, and 2. Luz trying to help someone she loves, but instead making things worse in the progress. The issue with this one is often that she doesn’t communicate her ideas/listen to the people she’s trying to help—like when Willow and Gus said they’ve had enough of Grudgby, or how she never actually talks to Eda about the healing hat idea before doing something reckless.

…does the latter one sound familiar to you at all? No? Because it’s the exact same thing that Camila did.

Some of the things Luz does are reckless and actively endanger others and herself, and that’s something that I think we need to acknowledge before judging Camila. As Luz’s mom, it’s Camila’s job to interfere in those situations. That she made a mistake while trying to protect Luz doesn’t make her a terrible person, especially as, again, the narrative proves her right to an extent.

I’m not saying her making Luz promise to come back and stay isn’t something that hurt Luz—it absolutely is. But it was born out of desperation. She’s emotional and in shock. She’s so full of pain and regret. She just wants her fourteen year old daughter home safe, and there’s nothing abusive or even morally ambiguous about that.

From Luz’s perspective, what she says is absolutely heartbreaking, but from Camila’s, it’s perfectly reasonable. I doubt Camila has the full picture, but even if she does, she’s had a full fifteen seconds to process that her daughter has not only been lying to her for months, but chose to leave her, and is in the demon realm of all places. Of course she’d be emotional and upset about that! Who wouldn’t? Camila isn’t a robot. If she’d been calm about this I’d be way more concerned, honestly.

My parents don’t get mad that easily, but if I would lie to them for weeks on end, they’d be pissed off too, not even taking the running away from home part into account. That’s a normal thing. People don’t like being lied to. Camila is absolutely devastated in that moment because she’s scared that Luz left because she hates her, when Luz actively states that her leaving wasn’t about her mom—which is another thing we should really be acknowledging.

Abusive parents suck and abuse should obviously never be apologized or trivialized, but saying something hurtful in the heat of the moment isn’t the same thing as being an abusive parent. My parents have done this. I’ve done this. And yes, those things can be emotionally manipulative, but there’s a huge difference in whether that’s a habit or a person speaking out of hurt and desperation in a very specific context. I doubt there’s anyone on the entire planet that hasn’t had a bad moment where they’ve said something like this because they were hurting. People lash out when they hurt, and they beg for reassurance when they’re scared. That’s something we all do.

The whole mindset of “all parents have to be perfect and can never get upset or make any mistakes” is harmful as hell, and honestly also very unrealistic. No parent is perfect, and especially people like me who have a relationship with their parents that’s very good overall should know that.

Once you have a child, parenting is a non-stop learning process, every day for the rest of your life. Taking away that room to grow and expecting perfection isn’t helping anyone, especially not struggling single parents.

And I see Camila as someone who is very willing to learn, because at the end of the day, all she wants is for Luz to be happy. Let’s give her some time to wrap her head around this whole situation. Let’s see what she says once she sees for herself how happy Luz is in that world, may it be via the videos eventually coming through or Camila visiting and meeting Luz’s found family, her friends and her girlfriend.

Ultimately, I don’t think Camila will force Luz to stay at home, but we have to give her some time. She wants what’s best for Luz, and she’s gonna need some convincing that a dangerous magical world is what’s best. I feel like that’s very normal considering the circumstances.

Her and Luz need to work on their communication on both ends, they both have things to learn, but I’m certain they’ll manage to fix their relationship in the long run.

If the bunk bed is any indication, I think Vee is gonna stay in the human realm permanently while Luz sleeps at home but keeps attending Hexside in the daytime. That feels like a solution that keeps everyone happy, and allows Luz to spend time with all the people she loves. I can’t see her being forced to choose at the end.

As a closing statement: Eda isn’t an ideal mom, Amity isn’t an ideal friend or girlfriend and neither is Luz, Lilith isn’t an ideal sister… but that’s because no one is ever an ideal anything. Being flawed is a big part of being human. Everyone has different facets to their personality. Their flaws are what makes them such great, relatable, believable characters.

And I feel the same way about Camila. She’s an extremely believable character that reminds me of my own parents, flawed but very loving nonetheless.

(Also honestly, I think it’s pretty telling that some of you guys immediately bash the black single mom that’s obviously trying her hardest while giving the benefit of the doubt to Alador, who has been portrayed as neglecting and threatened his six year old daughter on screen. This was already a thing before we knew much about either of them, and I’m disappointed but unfortunately not very surprised that it still is.)

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redrobin-detective · 3 years

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The 101 Deaths of Danny Phantom

AO3 link

One of the first things people learned about dealing with ghosts, other than not to try and date them, is to never asks about their death or obsessions. That doesn’t mean the citizens of Amity Park aren’t curious though, especially about their resident ghostly hero and the confusing and concerning comments he sometimes makes.

“Are you okay?” Phantom asked Maisie as she shook and tried to hold back tears after that car had almost slammed into her. She sometimes joked about getting hit crossing the street of her college campus to pay her obnoxious loans but it was another thing entirely to almost experience it herself. Maisie was nearly twenty, she shouldn’t be comforted by someone younger than her little step sister but here she was, shaking like a lead and leaning into Phantom’s comforting, chilly touch.

“Sorry,” she stuttered, “thank you, I’m sorry I’m just-”

“Hey, it’s okay to be upset that was very scary. The thought of dying is very scary.” Through her adrenaline and her tears, she took in the ghost’s unnatural glow, his faded, barely visible appearance and the fact that he was floating a foot off the ground. Maisie knows this ghost, this boy, knows more than she ever could about death.

“And getting run over by a car sure is a bad way to go,” the ghost kid chuckled awkwardly, taking his cold hand off her shoulder to scratch at the back of his neck. “You should see how my dad drives or my mom or my sister if she’s running late enough,” Phantom paused in thought. “No one in my family should have a license now that I think about it. Anyway,” he dismissed with a wave.

“My sister and I were getting ready to head out to school and my dad was backing out of driveway too fast and didn’t see us and uh, luckily I got my sister out of the way in time haha,” Phantom trailed off awkwardly. Was it because of the uncomfortable conversation or because he noticed her dawning horror.

Her best friend ran the community college’s Phan club so Maisie was a member by default. Phantom’s death was sometimes talked about late at night, everything from wrongful murder to a freak accident. She never in her worst nightmares imagined being him being runover in front of his own house by parental ignorance. It was so normal, a quick mistake and a life lost.

“Oh my god,” he said with an adorable little green blush. “Why am I babbling about that? You almost got hit by a car, I’m probably retraumatizing you or something. I should probably go get the jerk who almost hit you,” he said before disappearing into thin air.

“Tia is not going to believe this,” she whispered to no one. All she knew is that for the rest of her damned life she was going to look both ways when crossing the street. She’d seen first hand what a single moment of reckless driving could cause.

XxX

Matthew, not Matt or Matty or Hughie, Matthew shivered from the cold. He was only in his boxers with little Pacman on them. It had been fine when he’d gone to bed considering it was mid-August but Phantom and this stupid flaming mecha ghost had tussled outside the summer camp he was working at. He could see some of the kids snickering at his state of undress though he was just extremely glad they were alive enough to disrespect him like this.

“Oh man, I’m sorry,” the ghost kid said with big, sad eyes that looked so human despite the fact that they were literally glowing. He looked around at all the snow and ice left over from his fight. “Jeez you guys must be freezing, I wish I could warm you all up but all I can do is make things colder.”

“S’okay,” Matthew said through his chattering teeth. “Teaching the kids how to start a fire was supposed to be next week but we can get a jump on it.” That got a smile out of the ghost and within a half hour, the other counselors were distributing blankets and hot beverages to the kids clustered around multiple fires. They didn’t seem particularly upset by the potentially fatal attack, Matthew will breakdown about that at a later time when he was alone. For now, he just smiled as the children chattered happily with the ghost while he cleaned up as much of the damage as possible.

“So you spend all day fighting ghosts?” Zoe asked with stars in her eyes.

“A lot of the nights too,” Phantom nodded, “I do other stuff but yeah it seems ghost fighting takes up most of my time.”

“Where’d you learn those cool powers?” Zuri asked, miming a punch.

“Comes with being a ghost,” Phantom shrugged, “my ice powers came in later though so I still struggle a bit with them but I’m getting better every day.”

“Why ice though?” Morris said with his cocked curiously to the side. “I see some ghosts use fire or shadows, why do you have ice?”

“Ah that’s a little personal,” Phantom chuckled but his posture was easy despite the invasive question. “Specialty powers like my ice require special circumstances and a certain uh connection to the ghost. Someone like me couldn’t use fire or electricity or plants, ice is in my soul, it’s who I am.”

Matthew paused in drinking his lukewarm coffee as a horrible thought came to mind. He’s been an outdoorsman all his life, practically from the time he could walk. He’d been a deep woods camping guide for a decade before switching to working at summer camps. But the years working in the relative comfort of a stable camp didn’t erase his knowledge of how unforgiving and deadly the woods in the winter could be. A grown man, much less a young teen, would freeze to death in 20 minutes if it was cold enough.

It made sense for ghosts to develop powers related to their deaths. Had Phantom been one of the dozens of unfortunate kids he read about every year who ran away in the middle of winter only to found later as a frozen corpse. He eyed the boy’s snow white hair and frigid aura he exuded with mournful trepidation. God, what a horrible way to die.

“I’d get chilly with ice powers,” Tabby said with a shudder, she held out her cup of cocoa. “You want some of my cocoa to warm you up?”

“No thanks,” Phantom said with a soft smile that was warm despite everything. “The cold hasn’t bothered me for a while.”

XxX

Ghost attacks may be the norm but, if there was one good thing that came out of whole mess it was the fact that violent human crimes went down drastically. So when the rare murder did happen, the shock and fear rippled through the whole town.

Stanford Newton had only been sheriff of Amity Park for eight months after the last guy had gone gray overnight and moved to Florida the next day. It was a daunting position but one he bore proudly. This wouldn’t be his first murder investigation having initially cut his teeth as a beat cop in Chicago but it would be the first in Amity. And it certainly was the first in which the dead served in an active capacity.

“Amanda Chastain, 27. Officially she was a waitress down at Spengler’s Diner but she’s been picked up for prostitution twice in the last year,” Stan said calmly, ignoring the cold, angry presence over his shoulder. “History of polysubstance abuse as well, not that either of those things mean she deserved this.” Used, beaten to death and then dumped in the trash like yesterday’s paper.

He wondered if she’d come back a ghost or if she’d finally get some peace this world hadn’t offered her. “We don’t have many leads right now, I’m afraid. Acting illegally as they are, there’s not a lot of resources these poor girls have to turn to.”

“I’ll find them,” The Phantom said with blazing conviction, his voice thick and sharp as ice. “I’ll find and bring them to justice and make sure no one else is hurt again.”

“I believe you,” Stan nodded, shutting his notebook as he finally turned to face the teenage superhero haunting his town. He can’t say he liked what he saw. The Phantom looked even less human than usual, his aura flaring and flickering like the foggy mist before a heavy snowstorm. His unnatural green eyes glowered, painting his too young face in a terrifying light.

The kid looked furious, clearly taking this death to heart. He’d read the Fenton’s memos about obsessions and such but this seemed beyond that. “But don’t hurt anyone to do it, or yourself while you’re at it.”

“I won’t, I’ll make sure they’ll face human justice and don’t worry,” Phantom gave a snarling smile. “No mortal can hurt me, not like this,” he growled causing the hairs on Stan’s arms and neck to stand on end. He flew off after that, presumably to track down Amanda’s killer.

“Not like this,” Stan mumbled to him, pulling out his handkerchief and wiping his brow where a cold sweat had broken out. “Jesus Christ that poor kid.” Stan had seen plenty of murdered and mutilated bodies in his lifetime, some of them even kids. He just never got to talk to them after they’d had their life forcibly snatched away. It would explain the ghost’s near fanatical determination to save others, why he took a stranger’s murder so personally.

“I hope your own murderer is behind bars,” Stan said as he tucked his handkerchief back into his coat pocket. “Or even six feet under, for killing a good kid like you.” Stan made his way back to his squad car so he could head back to the station and move forward with the official investigation. But he’d eat his hat if there wasn’t a stammering lowlife there by tomorrow ready to turn themselves in.

Maybe after all this was settled down, he’d delve into some of the cold cases stacked in the cellar. Maybe in there he’ll find a picture of a smiling, carefree teen who’d disappeared and returned with the power now to ensure no one else suffered as he had.

XxX

“Yes, I know about the Phantom,” Luis Oliveira will say to anyone who so much as brings up the ghost kid. Locals know better by now but the tourists eat it up every time. He twists his finely combed mustache and gestures to the floor where his audience is standing. “He died right there oh ten or eleven years ago.”

Luis has worked his way all across the the United States since he emigrated from Brazil in the 70s. He finally settled in Amity Park about twelve years ago. He’d never intended to stay in the small Midwest town but the fatal shooting of a young customer kept his little corner market open.

“He was a nice kid, always said hi to me and paid in exact change. Was big fan of the snacks I made, would stop by after school and take half my inventory. He had big brown eyes and a crooked nose,” Luis would smile at the memory before closing his eyes and frowning sadly. “One day, he came late. His teacher made him stay after to go over a failed test, I remember he complained. He was pulling out his money when robber burst in, demanding my money. I fumbled for the register key, dropped it. I bent down to grab it and I hear shots going off. Two over my head, another right into the boy’s throat.”

Luis will hear the sound of that sweet boy’s guttural choking sounds as he drowned in his own blood until the day he himself died. The robber left after the shot, Luis called the police and held the young man’s hand as he died. The would be thief were never found and Luis never did learn anything about the boy who’d died on his floor for getting hungry after school.

“As soon as I saw Phantom on the TV,” Luis would say, perking up after his moment of somber grief, “I knew it was that boy come back. Those kind eyes, I’d recognize them anywhere. He’s never come here but one day he will and I will be able to pass on my regret on not being able to save his life that day.”

XxX

“I think he killed himself,” Mikey whispered to Lester during lunch period, angling his voice low. “The jocks may love Phantom for his powers but I just know he was one of us, an unwanted nerd. I’ve seen him chatting up a ghost I’m pretty sure is Poindexter, Casper’s suicide kid. They’re probably bonding over their similar deaths and the circumstances that led to it.”

“That’s pretty dark,” Lester whispered back. “I also get unpopular vibes from him but I don’t think he’s the time do uh do that to himself; he’s too stubborn and protective. But I bet he was the victim of a prank gone wrong. Dash locked Fenton in the Janitor’s closet last Wednesday, he got out okay somehow but maybe something like that happened to Phantom. He always looks kind of annoyed at the A-listers, maybe they remind him of old bullies.”

“Nuh-uh,” Clara said, pushing up her glasses with her middle finger. “The ghost kid totally got electrocuted or something. He was fighting that weather ghost and he sent lightning bolts his way and Phantom flinched. He fought the Ghost King and yet a little electricity scares him? It might not’ve even been a lightning strike but something manmade like a machine backfiring or something.”

“Get real,” Mikey scoffed, sipping his milk with an eyeroll. “I’m sure we’d have heard about some poor kid getting zapped to death; this town isn’t that big.”

“We’d have heard about a suicide too,” Lester noted with a wry grin.

“Shut up Mr. I base my theories around Fenton who’s a known weirdo”.

XxX

“I’m telling you, the ghost kid died of some debilitating illness,” Abbie McMillian, retired school teacher and three year reigning champ at the Tristate area’s Daylily Competition. She sipped her tea and spoke with as much confidence as she had back in the day wrangling Amity’s impressionable youths. “The superhero thing is clear wish childhood fulfillment, a chance to live and be free like he never got to in life. You see how happy and carefree that young man looks while flying? Clearly he spent his formative years sick and weak.”

“No way,” Greta von Martin frowned as she aggressively stirred her own tea to show her displeasure. “I worked in a hospital for close to 30 years and I know what chronically sick kids look like and Phantom doesn’t fit the bill. I will agree he’s carefree when he’s not battling spooks but he acts like a stupid teen. I’m telling you, the boy got into his parent’s liquor cabinet or took a few too many of whatever pill was going around his school. Tragic but something that happens every day.”

“Greta, dearie,” Abbie said with a pinched frown. “We’ve been friends since grade school and I love you like a sister but you are wrong and until you admit it, I won’t share anymore of my recipes.”

“You’re just being stubborn because you can’t see what’s right in front of you even after working with kids half of your life, Abbie, love,” Greta sniffed. “And you can kiss my grandson’s help weeding you garden goodbye until you relent.”

XxX

Perhaps one of the most human traits is curiosity, especially about what comes after death. Now the good people of Amity Park know a great deal about the dead so the lives before is what attracts their attention and none so more than the ghost boy. Maybe it’s because he’s their hero or maybe it’s because he’s so young. Or perhaps it’s because Phantom is such a mess of contradictions that it’s very hard to guess how the unfortunate boy met his end. But everyone has their own theories, from the mundane to the fantastic, some with evidence backing them up and others pure poppycock.

But for all their curiosity, as much as it burns them to know, they’ll never ask. They don’t want to risk the powerful ghost’s wrath but, moreover, it seemed in poor taste. The boy risked his afterlife to keep them safe, they couldn’t ask what traumatic and miserable circumstances had led to this point.

And besides, it was so much more fun to look up at ghostly figure as he sped through the skies and wonder.

#danny phantom #my writing #i made a headcanon post and immeaditly said 'i have to write this'#and then I did #tw: suicide mention #there is a non described background death of an OC #opinions are like assholes #everyone has one #and *everyone* has an opinion on how phantom died #some are reasonably close and some are waaaay far off #but they wonder and gossip and argue when the kid cant hear #its human nature

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calliecat93 · 3 years

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Top 5 Things I Liked About RWBY Volume 7

(Top Dislikes)

Gosh, we are so close to Volume 8 now, and it’s driving me crazy! But we’re not there yet. So let’s continue to remember what Volume 7 delivered upon us. Last time I did the Dislikes post, so now it’s time for the Top 5 Likes post! Which this was so, SO much easier to come up with than the Dislikes list! Like I said there, this volume is so well-written and jam-packed full-on content. It was a rollercoaster of a ride where even though I didn’t want to get back on for a while, that thrill was everlasting. Whether V8 will give the same result will be determined soon, but for now let’s go over the Top 5 Likes of RWBY Volume 7. As always, just my opinion, so take with a grain of salt~

Okay, let’s go!

#5. Oscar Development

By far one of the biggest criticisms against Volume 6 was how it handled Oscar. There was a LOT of good setup concerning his identity crisis as he struggled with keeping control, maintaining his own identity, and the potential burden of just being another of Oz’s wasted lives. While he DID reach a new confidence by the end which was nice, it... was more or less offscreen. To many, myself included, Oscar felt wasted and I specifically criticized how the execution made it feel like depite what Ruby said and what the narrative is trying to say, it DOES feel like Oscar’s viewed as just Oz’s vessel and that’s all his importance amounted to. I was hoping that Volume 7 was going to rectify this like they did with Ruby in Volume 6. Did they do so?

Absolutely yes.

While they still have a bad habit of setting up Oscar in trouble but it turning out to be a fake-out (his disappearance due to Neo), the volume did a LOT to improve his position. With Oz gone, Oscar has to be diplomatic on his own. He’s in a position where he can get close to Ironwood in a way that the others can’t and see him actually vulnerable. Unlike the others, who keep just pointing out to Ironwood how his actions are problematic to varying degrees, Oscar can see what’s really causing it: fear. Which is something that Oscar can relate to. After all, he was terrified when his quest began, but he always faced it and went forward everything to do what was right. Even when it meant leaving home, even when it meant facing unjust anger from others, he did so.

Oscar tries to reason with Ironwood. He tries to have him realize that it’s okay to be afraid. That it’s okay to be honest with those around him. That it’s okay to be vulnerable. Ironwood isn’t the only one either. In the beginning, he’s worried about Ruby’s lie because of how much it reminds him of what Oz did to them. You could argue that he’s developed into the conscious of the group, but he knows how to reason with these matters in a peaceful way. He’s becoming more of a diplomat similar to Ozpin, which even Ironwood points out in Chapter 9.

Then there’s the finale. Sadly, despite all of his pleas and how much he reached out to him, Ironwood ultimately rejected him and Oz. He rejected the route of trust and embraced fear, sealing the deal by shooting Oscar. But while he couldn’t help Ironwood, he did help someone else: Ozpin. His words convinced the former headmaster to at last return and face his own fears, saving them both. It also allowed Oscar to gain more of Oz’s power and memories. The boy has gone form a scared teenager entering a world he doesn’t truly understand, to becoming a courageous young man filled with compassion and hope for those around him. And this time, we got to actually see that growth unfold. He’s still got a long path ahead of him, but this greatly amended Oscar’s character and I am grateful for it.

#4. Penny Polendina

SHE CAME BACK! YAY!!! I MISSED HER SO MUCH!!!

Every since hr death in V3, I fully expected Penny to come back at some point. And indeed, she did! And with her memory intact, thank goodness! While I do wish we got some more exploration in how she felt about dying and such, her role int his volume was so well done I can forgive it. She has more screentime in this volume than Volumes 1-3 combined, and I love it! A cute new design, her struggling between duty and her own wants, trying to understand feelings and finding them to be a beautiful thing, there is SO MUCH going on with her here.

Penny is part of Ironwood’s inner circle, having been assigned as he Protector of Mantle. She takes her job seriously and does her best to protect the citizens. She’s elated to see Ruby and the others again and tries to assist them as much as she can. But as the volume goes, we see how much she struggles between her dedication to Mantle and Ironwood’s orders. It’s especially clear fter she is framed for the massacre during the elections. The poor girl is mortified, everyone viewing her as just another of Ironwood’s robots. Even Ironwood feels this way with his insensitive comment bout her being ‘under his control’ during the Council Meeting. The poor girl just needs a hug.

But this helps set Penny apart from Atlas. Unlike the others, who are following orders, Penny is trying to follow her heart. She tries to encourage Winter to do the same when she snapped at Jaques, even saying that all she did was speak form the heart and has no reason to feel ashamed of it. After Ironwood declares martial law, she is clearly upset and outright says that it’s wrong. She even asks Winter if this bothers her, and isn’t very convinced by her argument about the general taking on the burden. Penny chooses to embrace her feelings, not reject them as Winter, the Ace-Ops, and Ironwood have done.

It ends with Penny comforting Fria as her Maiden powers go out of control. How does she do this? She simply goes up to her and gently asks her if she’s okay. She shows the old woman more compassion and care than she’s probably had in quite a while. As a result, Fria ultimately transfers the Winter Maiden powers ot her. It proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that despite being a robot, Penny is a real girl. Hell, she is by far the most human of the Atlesian characters in this volume. She ultimately feels disheartened by Fria’s death, but still goes with Ruby and the others because that’s the right thing.

Penny’s character arc was a delight. There were so many expectations with her return, and I am so happy with the result! Penny feels so much more three-dimensional now. She still has the sweetness that made us love her before, but she also grew as a character. She embraced her feelings, she made choices for herself after having to abide by Ironwood’s rules for so long, she even managed to get some payback on Cinder for her death. Her good-heart and kindness was rewarded at the end. I do worry for her, especially since Salem’s Whale Grimm is absolutely a Montstro reference, but I’m still so happy with her in this volume~

3. The Atlas/Mantle Conflict

I am... not good at talking about this kind of thing, so I apologize if this seems rambly or all over the place. The big conflict pf the volume was the division between Atlas and Mantle. We knew going in how Atlas was seen as a bastion of civilization, but also full of snobs and an army leader who doesn’t exactly have his priorities straight. We knew that Mantle was the former capital and it was easy to assume that it probably wasn’t in the best state... and HO BOY were we right.

While Atlas looks futuristic and pristine, Mantle is run-down and out-of-date. The former capital and it’s people have not been treated well and worse, Atlas controls everything including their heating system. Ironwood has forced the city to be without essential provisions for Amity, and has therefore left them vulnerable to the Grimm. It’s easy to see why Mantle would resent Ironwood and Atlas as a whole, and why it was easy for Watts and Tyrian to widen the divide. It’s like the Chorus conflict in the Chorus Trilogy in RvB, only we’re there to see the division outright instead of coming in many years later. Our heroes are trying to mend the divide, but it’s so much easier said than done when neither side will budge.

There’s a lot of contrast with the two sides. Ironwood is a seemingly cold man with an authoritarian streak. Robyn is more laid-back, if a little cocky but her heart is very much set on helping Mantle. Both can be very brash and place trust above all else. But they both run their respective groups very differently. Robyn views the Happy Huntresses as her friends, while Ironwood trained the Ace-Ops to be his loyal attack dogs. Robyn is willing to give her trust until it gets broken, while Ironwood is wrapped by his own paranoia. We see how these two groups function. They have similarities, but are also very different especially when it comes to how their leaders treat their respective groups.

There is a HUGE class issue between Atlas and Mantle. It’s not helped by Ironwood’s plans causing further suffering, and of course in the end he chooses to leave it open to Salem in favor of saving Atlas. The fandom has fought back and forth for months over if this was right or not, which only proves the point of the division. You can see where each side is coming from, and we care for the people on each side. The conflict was presented throughout the volume with the heroes trying to help, but they sadly fail. The moment Tyrian’s slaughter happens in Chapter 6, you can break the tension with a butter knife and it doesn’t let up. We’ll probably only see more of it with Volume 8 now that Mantle has no protection. But as far as this volume goes, it was presented very well and very strongly.

#2. The Fall of James Ironwood

Love him or hate him, Ironwood is by far one of the strongest written characters in the show. Ever since his intro in Volume 2, we have been building up to this moment. The man has a LO of flaws. He’s arrogant, brash, favors military might over being discreet, and has a bad tendency to not learn form his missteps. These flaws contributed to the Fall of Beacon. But we also saw a man who was honest, righteous, respected Ozpin, and for all had flaws seemed to have good intentions. He was always willing to put himself on the front lines and took none of Jaques’ elitist shit. Sure he caused the Dust Embargo and closed Atlas down, but he also defended Weiss in Volume 4 and was clearly upset about the Fall fo Beacon. We saw a flawed, but still good man and if he could just embrace his flaws and open his heart, he could have been the great hero that he appeared to be.

Sadly thought, that wasn’t meant to be.

Ironwood is shown to be dishelved and plagued by paranoia, but he HAS created a plan to re-establish communications and expose Salem. But his police state with Mantle has the heroes concerned, so they lie to him about Oz and the lamp. The man continues to make questionable decisions, like I already said about his treatment of Mantle. But he still seems devoted tot he cause and like despite these calls, his intentions are still good and it will pay off even with the bad press. Heck, after Robyn tells him to trust her in Chapter 9 and with a push form Oscar, he seemed to FINALLY be doing the right thing. he revealed the truth about Salem to everyone, he worked alongside Mantle, and he faced Watts in the same place where his greatest failure had occurred. It seemed like all the begging and pleading had worked.

Sadly though, it all fell apart once Ironwood saw the glass chess piece.

Ironwood’s greatest enemy isn’t Salem. It’s not Robyn. It’s not he council. No, it’s himself. He has closed up his emotions and his hear to everyone around him. He has buried himself in his paranoia and his pursuit in defeating Salem. With every mistake, Ironwood failed to learn and move forward. He just became more and more consumed by his own fear. He wanted to be a strong leader. To be like Oz. But like Oz, he ended up losing himself and unlike Oz, he couldn’t acknowledge where he went wrong. In many ways you can sympathize with him because of the bleak situation and him trying to do what he can with what he has. But sadly, none of that can justify the path that he ended up taking.

Ironwood is angry at Team RWBYs lies. This and Salem’s approach pretty much causes him to snap. He’s going to let Fria die so that Winter had the Maiden powers. He's going to abandon Mantle to their demise in a futile plan to raise Atlas into orbit. When RWBY opposes this, he orders them to be arrested. He even coldly confirms that he’s leaving Mantle to die. However one feels about this choice, as a cruel but necessary choice to save what can be saved, or a needless sacrifice made by a fascist dictator, one can at least make an argument about either point that makes it hard to say who was right. Him snapping at Oscar and knowingly shooting the kid to his demise? No. That one cannot be justified at all, especially since he was as cold as steel when he did it.

This moment has been built-up since we met him all those years ago. We wanted Ironwood to do the right thing. We all hoped that he would. But he didn’t, and it isn’t shocking at all. We saw enough to like Ironwood, but to also be very much aware of his faults that he just never seemed able to conquer. His fall form grace is tragic, yet done in such a satisfying way as well. I felt for him, but there was no justifying his actions. I kept hoping that he’d pull through, but once Chapter 11 hit, I knew we were at the point of no return. The James Ironwood we once knew is no more, consumed by his fear. What will happen to him next? Will he manage to realize his wrongs? Or will he continue to fall until there’s nothing left to salvage? It’s hard to say. But for now, the tin man has lost his heart,. A very sad, but very well done, character arc for sure.

1. The Theme of Trust and Fear

When I first heart this volume’s opening, Trust Love, I liked it... but the more the volume went, the more the optimistic song felt out of place for the dark volume. Considering this IS an anime, that’s probably intentional. But the more I examined the lyrics, especially after the full version came out, the more I truly realized how it fits with this volume. The song speaks of one trying to live in their dream world, but they need to face reality and trust those around them. They need to stop waiting for a miracle, they need to take control of their life now and move forward. hey need to... well, trust in love. Then you have the finale song, Fear, which outright asks ‘who will you be when you are faced with fear? Will you see the person you hope to see? Or will you see a stranger?” Will you feel proud? Or will you feel betrayed?

This is the theme of the volume. The theme of trust and the right thing against fear. Ironwood claims to trust the heroes, yet he can’t trust anyone else and his own fear is slowly consuming him. The heroes are mistrustful of Ironwood, but they trust each other and want to help mend the divide between Ironwood and Mantle. But at every turn, fear gets ii n he way. Tyrian’s slaughter makes Mantle afraid and enraged. Ironwood’s fear keeps him from opening up and it leads to his downfall as I already described. The Ace-Ops don’t fight together as a team, which leads to Team RWBY who DO trust each other to defeat them. Clover is blinded by his loyalty to Ironwood to recognize that he’s doing the wrong thing, and it leads to his death. Not to mention the mistrust between him, Qrow, and Robyn lead tot he crash to begin with.

As Oz says in his monologue, fear is the greatest thing that everyone shares. We see everyone afraid. Ironwood is afraid. Ruby is afraid. Ozpin is afraid. Even Cinder is afraid. It’s all for different reasons. Ironwood is afraid of Salem. Ruby is afraid of the uncertainty ahead. Ren is afraid of failing Nora and the others. Cinder is afraid of failing to achieve her foals. Qrow is afraid of bonding with others, especially considering what happened to Clover. Ozpin...d o I even need to elaborate on him? The title to Chapter 13 is ‘The Enemy of Trust’. What is that enemy? Fear. Recently, I’ve been feeling that same fear of trust. Fear of being hurt. Fear of being betrayed. Fear of the unknown. It’s a VERY powerful force, and a tempting one at that.

The message of the volume ultimately si that it’s okay to be afraid. It’s perfectly human to feel that way. You don’t need to get over it. It doesn’t matter if you’re afraid, it’s what you do in the face of it that matters. Will you face it? Will you do what’s right? Will you find it in yourself to trust and love again? Or will you succumb to it? Will you end up repeating your mistakes because of your fear? Will you make the wrong choice? What will that say about the person you are? One way or another, we all will find out the answer to that question. We may not know the answers for a long time, but you ultimately need to try and do what’s right. You can’t let the fear control you. You need to decide who you will be when ti comes, and if in the end you will be happy with who you are left with.

Ironwood chose to repeat his mistakes, and is now a heartless tin soldier. Ozpin ultimately chose to return and face it and while only time will determine how that goes, it’s a step in the right direction. People like Ruby and Oscar still tried to do what thy knew was right. Weiss was afraid of her father, but faced him to gain her freedom. Blake feared Adam and the White Fang and chose to run, but eventually decided to fight back and ultimately won. Yang was afraid after losing her arm and of being abandoned, and while she struggled she ultimately faced it, proving herself stronger than her cowardly mother. Even after Ruby broke down when it became clear that Salem killed her mother, she still faced the wicked witch, told her off to her face, and pulled herself together enough to warn everyone about Ironwood and stand her ground. And there’s so any other examples that I could list.

I think considering the times right now, this message is incredibly important. It’s been a major part of the series since the start, but Volume 7 especially made it prominent. We need to trust in love. We need to be courageous enough to do the right thing. We need to be able to express our fear and doubts with others to become better. In a world where everything 9si uncertain and everyone is on edge, I think that the themes here are more relevant than ever, and was handled very well. Especially with that monologue in Chapter 13. As such, this is my favorite part of RWBY Volume 7 without a doubt.

Well, that’s it folks! It was nice to revisit Volume 7 again after so long~ But as we close the book, we’re about to open another for Volume Eight. What’s gonna happen? I don’t know. Am I scared? Oh big time. But I’ve come this far, I’m not backing out until the very end. So I hope that you all enjoy Volume 8, and as always I look forward to reviewing it all~ See you all on premiere day~!

#rwby #rwby reviews #rwby musings #callie reviews #top likes/dislikes

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five-rivers · 5 years

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Hey, there. I’m still working on this! Again, I am using @charcoalhawk and @thecommrade ‘s prompts!

Collateral

Chapter 4

Youngblood was bored. Super bored. Mega bored. Ginormously bored. Bored to infinity. So bored that even Bones couldn't un-bore him. Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored. He didn't like being bored.

So he decided to go bother Phantom.

Phantom was a lot older than him (or a lot younger than him, depending on how he counted), and could be kind of weird sometimes (though Youngblood understood that was because he was a halfa, and therefore kind of sick, like Youngblood used to be), but he was good for a game or two, or a laugh, or a straight-up fight. It really depended on how polite Youngblood was feeling, and how patient Phantom was feeling. Or, from another angle, how bratty Youngblood was, and how territorial Phantom was. No matter which way it played out, Phantom was never boring. Unlike some people.

Youngblood flew to Phantom's portal, giggling madly, already planning out his next game. Giggling madly. Like a mad scientist. Ooh, that was a good idea. He could be a mad scientist and Bones could be Frankenstein! Or maybe Bones would be Igor, and they could make a Frankenstein!

“Hey, Bones, do you think you're more a Frankenstein or an Igor?”

Bones sighed, already shifting into a bony hunchback. “I assume you're speaking of Frakenstein's monster, so I would have to say Igor, master.”

“Isn't Frankenstein the monster?”

“No, Frankenstein was the scientist, master. The monster wasn't named.”

“Well, that's stupid,” complained Youngblood. “Why didn't anyone ever name him? He was the coolest ever! Or he should have named himself, like ghosts do!”

“That's part of the book,” started Bones.

“The book!? Boring!”

They had reached the portal. Phantom's portal itself wasn't safe to go through. His parents had sealed it tight, and had stuck a lot of guns and junk onto it. Not to mention the house itself. On the other hand, smaller, temporary, natural portals to Amity Park spawned near it literally all the time. Bones and Youngblood didn't have to wait long for one to appear.

“Maybe I won't be a mad scientist,” said Youngblood, after they had gone through. “Maybe I'll paint on the walls. I always wanted to be an artist, you know.” Youngblood had always wanted to be lots of things. He vaguely remembered wanting to be a dinosaur when he grew up, but growing up was for losers. “But the adults didn't recognize my genius. Whenever I drew they were all like 'oh, no, you can't draw on the walls!'”

“I see,” said Bones, returning to his favorite parrot shape.

Two cans of spray paint popped into Youngblood's hands, his outfit transmuting into a childish image of an artist, complete with a beret. A too-wide, too sharp smile spread over Youngblood's face. He couldn't wait until Phantom showed up, so that he could spray the teenager in the face. He could just imagine the look on Phantom's face. It would be hilarious.

Two hours later, and Phantom still hadn't shown up. Neither had his weirdo parents, or his friends. Which was weird, and also bleh. Boring. He'd entertained himself with painting for a while, and with avoiding the coppers, who couldn't see him, and that red girl with the hoverboard who also couldn't see him even though she was obviously a teenager, but those games had limited utility.

He wanted to play with Phantom. That's why he had come in the first place.

He floated in the air over a building that was now tastefully decorated in dinosaurs and superheros, pouting. There had been fewer policemen than there usually were, too, and the red girl had seemed especially upset (and incompetent), now that he thought about it. His eyes narrowed. Youngblood might have been immature, but he wasn't stupid.

He floated higher, scanning the town.

“Hey, Bones, help me find where all the police are.”

“The police?” asked the skeletal parrot. “Aye aye, captain.” He spiraled up even further than Youngblood, his circles growing ever wider as Youngblood spun beneath.

“Thar she is!” said Bones.

“You don't have to do that,” said Youngblood, flying in the indicated direction. “We're not playing pirates right now.”

“If you say so,” said Bones, swooping down alongside Youngblood.

They reached the part of the town that had the tallest and fanciest buildings. Police and cameramen were swarming all over them. There was yellow tape everywhere, especially in front of a stately building with columns.

It was very exciting.

But it wasn't terribly informative. Most of the police officers and detectives were only talking about what was going on right then, about what they were doing, or what they had found. They weren't talking about what had happened, which was what Youngblood was interested in. Because this had to be related to why Phantom wasn't showing up. It didn't look like it had been a ghost fight, at least not a typical one. There wasn't enough damage, and Youngblood remembered enough about the human world to know that its buildings and structures didn't repair themselves. In fact, as far as Youngblood could tell, there wasn't any damage at all. But then, what ghost fight was typical, especially when Phantom was involved? When was anything involving Phantom typical? He was a weirdo from a family of weirdos in a town of weirdos.

What a weirdo.

“Perhaps we should listen in on one of the reporters,” suggested Bones.

“What? You think that they'd know something the cops don't?”

“Unlikely, but they will be talking about what they do know. That's their job, after all.”

“Ooh. Good idea!”

They zoomed over to a nearby reporter, whose crew was just starting to get ready to film. They waited impatiently. At least, Youngblood did. He jiggled and bounced and made faces at the reporter.

“Hello!” said the reporter, finally. “I'm Harriet Chin for Amity News, reporting from the site of the attempted assassination of our own mayor, Vlad Masters by a sniper in one of these buildings. Mr Masters was not hit, thanks to the swift and heroic actions of Daniel Fenton, who had been receiving a scholarship from Mr Masters at the time. Mr Fenton, however, was shot, and brought to South Mercy Hospital. We are currently waiting for word on his condition...”

Youngblood floated off, no longer particularly interested in what the reporter had to say. No longer wanting to hear what the reporter had to say. She had said the forbidden, most hated word. Hospital. Youngblood hated hospitals. He wasn't scared of them, he had spent too much time in them to be scared, but he hated them.

And Phantom had been sent to one? He'd been hurt that badly?

Youngblood barred his teeth. He didn't like that, didn't like the idea of that. But it couldn't be that bad, right? He had to see.

South Mercy. He knew where South was, right?

“Come on!” he said, zooming away.

The hospital, to Youngblood's dismay, was surrounded by minor and not-so-minor ghosts shrouded by low-level invisibility. Phantom must really be hurt, for them to be acting like this. There weren't any children among the ghosts that he could see, though, so it wasn't like he could just ask what was going on. No one would be able to see him, and he wasn't interested in talking to humans right now.

Flying through the crowd of ghosts was like flying through a sea of whispers. They were angry. No, they were furious.

“Their lord has been wounded,” said Bones, voice low.

“Their lord?” asked Youngblood, curling his lip. “Phantom's a lord?”

“It's a technical term. He is the lord, and they are the vassals, although they might call themselves something else. It's a relationship, not entirely unlike what you and I have.” Bones settled on Youngblood's shoulder. “He protects them, lets them stay in his haunt. There are certain obligations that go along with that, even if Phantom does not demand them.”

“Obligations?”

“Duties, commitments.”

“Heh, you said 'duty.'”

They located the room around which the most ghosts were located, and slipped in. Phantom was there, in a bed, trapped beneath tubes and wires, just like-

Youngblood fled the hospital. It wasn't because he was scared. It wasn't. But he couldn't be there anymore. He had to leave. He had to.

He didn't know what to do. He had to talk to someone about this. Someone other than Bones.

Ember. He'd talk to Ember.

The ghosts of Amity Park swirled around the hospital in a ghostly analogue of human pacing. There were all kinds of ghosts there. Blobs and will-o-the-wisps. Ghosts of dogs, cats, birds, tigers, rats, foxes, bats. Ghosts of men and women. Ghosts that had been born ghosts, or who had never been born at all. Little goblins. Pixie people. Elves and fae things. Monsters of myth and legend. None of them were particularly strong on their own. In fact, most of them were on the weak side for ghosts. Even the very strongest was only on par with the Box Ghost. Many of them struggled to make themselves seen or felt by humans. That's why they had sought protection from Phantom in the first place, why they chose to reside in Amity Park.

But that wasn't why they loved him. They loved him because he cared. Because he loved them first. Because he deserved it. Because he was precious, and soft, and lovely. Because he needed love. Because he belonged to them, as much as he belonged to the humans of Amity Park.

That someone hurt him... That someone here hurt him... Hurt him this badly, and not even in a proper fight...

It didn't just make them furious. It made them incandescent.

One of Vlad's duplicates glanced out a window, and all of him froze.

He had known of the other ghosts that called Amity Park home. Being one of them, how could he not? He usually paid little attention to them. They were weak. Nonentities, like the Dairy King, who nonetheless managed to avoid Vlad's attempts to evict him. Annoyances. True, Vlad could have put them to use, great use, had they been loyal to him, and he was the most powerful ghost in Amity Park, but they favored Daniel for some incomprehensible reason.

Well, maybe not so incomprehensible. Daniel had never understood power, had never bothered to learn how to exert it, how to use it for his benefit. Daniel never asked anything from them, despite the traditional obligations he was owed.

But just because Daniel didn't ask, didn't mean he didn't receive. Vlad, unlike Daniel, was very aware of what had happened to the missing GIW agents. Weak these ghosts might be on their own, but when they acted together...

Vlad's mouth felt very dry. Surely, they wouldn't blame him for this. He had been the intended victim! He would have stopped this if he had known!

He shook himself. He had nothing to fear. Even together, these ghosts wouldn't be able to hurt him. Still.

But perhaps... Perhaps he could use this. Yes. The ghosts circling angrily around the hospital were out for blood, yes, but the blood of the ones responsible for Daniel's injury. Not Vlad's. Well, as it so happened, Vlad had a bone to pick with the perpetrator himself, and he doubtless had more information than the pathetic specters outside.

A thin smile spread across his face.

#danny phantom #phandom #phic phight #phic phight 2019 #phanfiction #my writing

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lunaschild2016 · 6 years

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Belief: Part 6

A/N: Sorry for the wait between chapters! Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: ‘Mother is the name for God on the lips and hearts of all children.’ (James O'Barr, The Crow) V Roth is still Mother to this world and I am just one of the children singing my own tune into the night.

Rating M ( Language, Violence, There will be smut, Angst, Tragedy, Romance, Fluff)

@kenzieam @pathybo @jaihardy @every-jai @ericdauntless @beautifulramblingbrains @bookgirlthings @jojuarez26 @oddsnendsfanfics @offroadinjandals @singingpeople @iammarylastar @irasancti @captstefanbrandt @clublulu333 @fuckthatfeeling @tigpooh67 @ex-bookjunky @jughead-wuz-here @badassbaker @beanzjellly @beltz2016 @meganbee15 @affabletimelady @scorpio2009 @gylisaa @geekybeyondallreason @violetsonthelam @kyloswarstars @emmysrandomthoughts @kgurew @beltzboys2015-blog @slytherin-princess-25273 @whatwouldbuffydo666 @jaiboomer11 @holamor @wealwayskeepfighting

**I promise I have put the read more option in but it has been glitching.**

Part 6

From the start, I knew I was going to be seeing another side to Eric while at Erudite.

For one, they sent cars to the Dauntless leaders and other members that were going to be visiting. The drivers were all deferential to the Dauntless leaders, but Eric more than the others. There was a Dauntless truck that followed with guards and I could tell it made them nervous but it was expected. It had been just under two years since everything settled after the shake-up but things were still tense.

Granted, I had never seen for myself this rumored tension between any of the factions personally. The only times I had left Dauntless was at the beginning of my time in the clinic when I had to go out to assist a few patrols as a medic. Once I did my training and assumed the Head Nurse position and duties, I was compound bound.

I know enough to know that Erudite had always acted superior to all factions, even Dauntless, who was supposed to be their greatest ally. In the past, cars being sent to pick up other faction leaders would never have happened.

Eric and I didn’t talk much during the ride to Erudite. He barely acknowledged me other than making sure to pull me to the same car as he was riding in. Eric is normally stiff and scowling but today he is taking it to a new level.

The car ride is silent with only a slight and almost imperceptible rustle of fabric when Eric shifts beside me. I don’t turn to fully look at him as I try to distract myself with my tablet, preparing myself for the day. I am pouting and I know it even if I don’t like it. I am not that kind of girl that will get upset if someone doesn’t notice a new hairdo or even to care how I look normally. I realize that with Eric, he is bringing out all kinds of things in me. I wanted to know he saw me and more importantly that he liked what he saw. The driver had certainly noticed how I looked and even appreciated it until Eric stepped in front of me to usher me into the backseat of the car.

We pull up to Erudite sooner than I had been expecting considering all I have to go by is how long the train usually takes to get anywhere. I had been able to do what I intended and forget about the unwelcome feelings at the start of the drive by going over everything Elijah and I had spoken about and some points I had thought of in the days since.

Eric is the one to help me out of the car after the driver was given a glare. It is the first and only indication so far that I am anything to him than just another faction member. The second is his hand at the small of my back, ghosting close enough that I can feel the heat from his hand that never actually makes contact.

I glance up to see the set of his jaw firm and his eyes narrowed as he glances ahead of him at the welcoming party to greet us.

Cara, the newly elected main leader of Erudite, and Elijah were the only ones that didn’t look their faces were frozen and in danger of cracking should they show any kind of emotion. Elijah sent a smile my way from the back of the group and I felt Eric move closer to me. It was a slight shift that would be barely noticeable.

Tori was the one returning the greetings, her irritation for the entire deal was clear to me. I was parts amused, impatient and fascinated by the entire thing. Dauntless don’t really have formalities with visitors. There are few times when the expected procedures are held to within the compound but I have heard from others that outside of it, the rigid structure and military preciseness is expected and adhered too. Which might explain the bearing and demeanor of all the Dauntless around me.

The lower floor of the Erudite tower seems to be made completely of a slight blue-tinged glass. Walls of the colored glass separate the different areas. Apparently, when the Erudite responsible for planning the coup of the government had discovered that they were going to be ousted and brought in for justice, they had barricaded themselves inside the tower along with the Dauntless traitors that followed the leaders. It had taken an assault to end it. The tower had gotten damaged but luckily there weren’t many losses in Erudite besides those that fought back or were executed for their crimes. Because of this, the tower and from what I understand Erudite itself, has undergone major renovation and rebuilding.

We are given a tour of this new Erudite.

In an effort to at least seem more open, the entire first floor is constructed of rooms done mainly in that glass. The library, or at least a good portion of Erudite’s library, is now open for display and use to all factions. A vast room with shelf after shelf of paper books can be browsed through. As we walk through it seems more people wearing blue occupy the room that is part library and part museum. There are quite a few Candor and the odd Abnegation. The same is found in the newest addition to the faction, a room dedicated to providing technological access to all factions. Computer terminals set up on sleek tables that are open for the public to come in and use for various things. Research, contacting others in the city, and school-aged kids to complete projects that require devices they might not have access to at home; these are just some of the things that can now be done freely. In this room, there are more of the last and all wearing the colors to signify a variety of different factions.

A few Dauntless are seen there. I couldn’t help but to notice and say my observation out loud that they were all most likely there watching movies or accessing old archived sites instead of doing anything school related. The smirks and quiet chuckles of the other Dauntless around me let their agreement be known.

Maybe it is my Amity upbringing that I don’t even bother to try and mask my emotions as we arrive in each new area. I am sure my face shows it plainly as I smile or my eyes widen. I make comments here or there and don’t hold back when I have something snarky or sarcastic to say. I am mindful of how loud and obnoxious I can be though, so my volume has been greatly tamed. I also keep to the back of the group and Elijah keeps me company. At least he seems to be enjoying my breaking from the stuffiness that has infected everyone else.

Eric is at the front of the group but he glances our way often. Constantly shooting glares and annoyed squints at the two of us. At this point, I am not sure if it is because I fell back and away from him, that Elijah is with me, my behavior, or all of the above. I know that I am not trying to make him jealous or anything, though the thought of him feeling jealous does make a bit happy, I am just truly enjoying myself at the moment.

It wasn’t something I thought would happen for my day in Erudite. I didn’t think it was possible to use the word ‘fun’ at all in conjunction with Erudite. I think that if I were with anyone besides Elijah then I wouldn’t be having the experience I am now. I am struck by how handsome Elijah is, especially when he smiles. There is a level of comfort with him, almost a familiarity as well. There are things about him that both draw me in and make me feel comfortable with him but also has me curious.

For instance, he is really built for someone in Erudite. It might just be natural but I think it is part genetics and part maintenance. He is by no means as built as someone in Dauntless, but for a doctor in Erudite he stands out. Then there is his personality. It is clear that he is intelligent, highly intelligent at that, but for all of that he doesn’t lord it over me like any Erudite I have met before. He is free with his smiles and laughter. When I make what would be considered a crude joke considering where I am, he doesn’t cringe or look offended, instead, he gives a deep chuckle.

We progressed from the main floor up to the third where offices and research stations were. No longer were the walls made of glass as they had been upon first entering. Cara gave explanations of why this was and I could understand the need for it to be able to provide the proper environment for the research being done. To aid in the spirit of being open there was a vid screen built into the wall that serviced as a security panel and to display a live feed of whatever is going on in those rooms.

This was where I realized that this tour was really something else.

Erudite was being inspected.

With each room we came too Cara would look to Eric with some unspoken question. He would either give a small nod or make no moves at all. It was random and you never knew which one he would pick. When he gave the signal, the security panel would be accessed and the image would be displayed of whatever was going on inside. The higher we got, the more top priority or important the things inside were. This was where it hit home to me how much sway Eric has at Erudite right now. Considering he was the one to put his hand on the Erudite security screen to access what has to be highly guarded projects.

I had never found out what exactly had Eric turn against the leaders and Erudite. I had always assumed it was because of the things that had occurred with divergents and what they wanted to do to the city. Seeing this and how another faction was treating him as if he was their leader or with as much respect as their leader, had me wondering if that had been the reason at all.

“There is a place that would be perfect to grab some lunch before we have to take the tram to where the medical offices are,” Elijah said with a smile when I had grumbled under my breath after the inspection seemed bound to be going right through lunch.

We had been going for what seemed like hours already and I knew I was headed towards a category five ‘bitchicanne’ if I didn’t get food in me soon. His suggestion was music to my ears. I was about to agree wholeheartedly before I felt a hand on my arm and knew instantly who it was even before he spoke.

“Elijah, you will not mind that I’m stepping away with Devi,” Eric said even as he was already guiding me away.

I caught Elijah’s raised eyebrow that had to match my own. The words Eric said were usually put in the form of a question but, of course, not with Eric. That was all order or warning. Maybe both. Either way, it doesn’t sit right with me at all especially since I really just want to sit somewhere and eat.

What was I thinking wearing these damn heels! I guess I didn’t really think about all the walking I would be doing in them.

“Eric. I really am not in the mood for this.” I hiss to him as he leads me into a room and then flicks on the light after he lets go of my arm.

I turn to face him, my arms crossed over my chest and am trying to glare at him. He locks the door without ever taking his off of me and a smile slithers across his face while he walks towards me. I drop my arms and take try to take a step back when he reaches out for me. My legs are no match for the reach of his arms and his finger grip my hips then jerk me towards him. My hands go to his chest as I look at him. The smile is gone and is replaced with that look I am coming to think is one he doesn’t get often. Frustrated and on the verge of losing it.

“Do you have any idea…” he starts out speaking slowly, drawing out every word as if he is trying to reign himself in, “...how…” one of his hands moves to allow the backs of his fingers to drag along the side of neck, “..distracting you are to me?”

Eric stopped after he had moved his fingers to just under my chin, his eyes boring into mine. His forehead scrunched up in his obvious frustration along with his strained admission. I would be laughing at my apparent ability to unsettle the man that almost all of Dauntless fears; I would laugh if I didn’t feel exactly the same.

I do feel some smug pleasure at the fact that a little of what I had hoped for actually panned out today. I try not to let that show as I arch an eyebrow and get out a breathless question while Eric decided to use his lips on the skin of my neck he had just been teasing with his hand.

“How exactly am I being a distraction, Eric?”

His chest rumbles and I feel a huff of hot air on my neck but he doesn't move away. In fact, he begins to suck and nip at my neck while he pulls me tight against his body. I cry out and dig my nails into his shoulders when he nips and sucks just a little too hard, then glare at him when he pulls back with a satisfied grin on his face.

“You know exactly how you are distracting me, Devi. That was why you dressed how you did.”

Heat from my temper felt like it might explode out of me, I could only hope it would knock the conceited asshole on his ass.

“I dress for me, Eric Coulter. What is it with you men thinking the world revolves around you? That anything and everything a woman might do has to be about you? Get over yourself because that is just not who I am.”

I cringe a little because that is usually the case, but damn if he didn’t hit the nail on the head about what happened today.

He lifts a disbelieving eyebrow at me and hips lips tilt in amusement. “So you dressing like this and getting all buddy buddy with Elijah wasn’t to make me jealous?”

Screw waiting for the ability to knock him back with some imaginary power, my foot comes down on his hard.

“Pendejo!” I scream as he grunts and releases me a little, enough for me to shove him away from me. I take the opportunity and start towards the door. “I don’t play with people like that, Eric. But I am not going to apologize for actually getting along with someone and enjoying myself. You don’t own me. If that is how things are going to be you can just forget it.”

Eric catches me around the waist and pulls me against his chest, locking me in and I can barely hear the words he is saying against my hair.

“Fucked up past relationships, Devi. I...I am glad the two of you are getting along. No matter how I may seem right now...that is important to me.”

The tension leaves me a little as I realize that is about as close to an apology I am going to get. “Do you two...I mean are you friends or something?”

Eric chuckles and squeezes me briefly before he moves us towards the door. “Something like that.”

He lets go of me to open the door and looks back at me. “Something like that? No other explanation?”

He shrugs with a smirk. “Oh, I am sure he will get to it during your time together.” Then he gets serious and cups the side of my face briefly. “If he doesn’t, or actually even if he does, I promise I will talk more about it later. We need to get back out there now.”

With a sigh of frustration, I nod and follow him out. Elijah isn’t far away and is on his tablet, leaning against the wall. He looks up when we come out and his eyes flicker between the two of us.

Eric stops in front of him briefly and leans in to whisper something to him. Elijah just looks at me and nods with a smile. Before he moves off, Eric looks back at me and winks. Elijah pushes away from the wall and I watch with a little smile as Eric is slightly limping.

I can’t help the small chuckle at that. I look over to Elijah who is looking at me oddly. His eyes are on my neck and for a second I am confused as to why he would be focused there. Then I remember and it makes me want to run after Eric and do him more damage. I grit my teeth though and countdown trying to reign my temper in.

“You mentioned food?” I try to ask brightly after I open my eyes again. He is looking down at me, his blue eyes showing amusement and nods.

“Yes. I was thinking of a place that would be perfect for you.” He has that smirk again that just seems so familiar but I just can’t place it. It is making me feel like when I do I will feel like an idiot for not seeing it before.

“Really?” I groan when I catch the name of the establishment stamped in silver on the fancy blue menus. I look at Elijah and see him fighting laughter.

“I believe they thought rather hilarious.” He says with a shrug.

I shake my head and open the menu. “Well, it failed. Completely. Utterly. Just fail. I thought Erudite aren’t even supposed to know what a joke is?”

Elijah pretends to be offended. “Hey, some of us have excellent senses of humor. And I believe it wasn’t so much a joke as extreme sarcasm.”

I chuckle along with him and eye the menu.

The name of the modern and sleek restaurant is called The Meating Place. And despite the spelling, it is actually entirely vegetarian.

As bad as the name is I cannot fault the items on the menu and my mouth is already watering as I try to narrow down my choice.

“Now my only issue is what do I not want to try,” I mutter but still loud enough for Elijah to hear.

He gives a nod of agreement from behind his menu. “Well, we could order a few items and share. They also do a few family-style platters.”

I smile and shut the menu. “That sounds good. I’ll let you pick then.”

A server materializes just seconds after I say this and Elijah smoothly gives our order. I take the opportunity to take in everything around me while sipping from the water that is in a fairly large wine glass. It is all so fancy for somewhere to eat in my opinion. A little cold feeling but I guess that is just Erudite.

I look back to Elijah and see he is watching me take everything in. He lifts his own water to take a drink, looking completely at ease, lounging back into his chair even. Polished masculinity with the carefree smile of an amity. It hits me so hard that I just blurt it out.

“You look like you would fit right in at Amity.” I almost slap my hand over my mouth. It takes us both by surprise but he just chuckles at my horrified expression.

He nods as he sets his water glass down. “That might be because my test indicated Amity was where I should go.”

“Oh,” I say dumbly, not sure how else to respond then give in to curiosity. “Why did you stay?”

Here the smile fades and he looks intently at his water glass, his long fingers turning the glass by the short glass stem. “Has Eric told you anything of his life before he transferred?”

The question startles me and I am relieved when the server comes back with the first course Elijah ordered for us. He nodded to the young man as he placed before each of us a bowl of a gazpacho soup using what was advertised on the menu as a ‘bright summer vegetable medley’.

I waited for the server to step away before answering.

“Eric is not exactly forthcoming in anything regarding himself. He is a master at bullying my entire life history out of me though.” I grumble and pick up my spoon, dipping it into the bowl.

Despite where the conversation is going I can’t resist giving in to my stomachs loud request to fill it.

I look up and see Elijah has a small smile playing around his lips. “That isn’t anything new with my brother.”

The declaration, so sudden but also so fucking obvious given all the hints and similarities, knocks the breath from me, causing me to swallow the soup incorrectly. I cough and tap my hand to my chest a few times, drawing a few eyes to us before I finally get my breath back again.

“Your….” I clear my throat, grab the water and take a big gulp. Swallowing I look back to him, his eyes are full of apology and understanding as he looks at me. Looks at me with those same piercing damn blue eyes that Eric has. “Your brother. Well, that certainly explains why you looked vaguely familiar.”

“I apologize. I thought he had told you that much at least.”

I shook my head with my lips pursed. “Nope. Sure didn’t.” I say shortly. Then I take a breath and get a grip. I remember his words about how my getting along with Elijah was important to him. “He did say it was important we got along though.”

Elijah nods and smiles sadly before he takes a breath. “Eric and I were raised to be very private. I am older by four years and with our parents absent much of our lives, I also became more than a brother. Sometimes this rubbed him the wrong way, me being both a brother and parent, but overall we have always been close. There were a few times that relationship was strained, to the point that I wasn’t sure we would ever be able to return to it again.”

I stayed quiet as he spoke softly. I could sense he was wanting to get it out and if I interrupted him with questions, I ruin this chance to know Eric better.

“It isn’t hard to see that Erudite have completely different ideals about most everything, including family. Maybe it was always the Amity in me but I did not and could not hold to that. When we were younger, we were often left with other children of our age whose parents had a close connection to our own. Very few of those children became close to us, but there was one.”

Here he paused and there was something about the pause that had my stomach churning. He was collecting himself. So I let him as we finished our soup in silence. The bowls were taken away and he cleared his throat.

He smiled at me, genuine but with grief and regret in those blue eyes. “Her name was Julietta and she was just a year younger than Eric. We were together so often, she became family to us. As we all got older and entered school, our activities always seemed to be intertwined. More often than not she was at our apartment, her parents were just as absent as ours but she didn’t have an older brother to look after her.”

The next hour was spent in spurts of Elijah telling me the story in between eating. I could tell this was hard for Elijah and felt horrible for letting him continue but I couldn’t help myself. I needed to know even though before he finished I had long ago guessed the ending.

Or at least I thought I had guessed at everything.

I was staring at Elijah with tears burning behind my eyes but trying not to break down. Trying to register the words that he had just said. Julietta, Jules as he lovingly called her, hadn’t left Eric broken hearted like I had assumed she had. It wasn’t the love triangle that ended with the girl choosing one brother and riding off into the sunset with him while leaving the other in tatters.

Yes, she had chosen Elijah. They had always loved each other but it grew deeper than either could have imagined. Enough for Elijah to know he couldn’t possibly leave Jules and stayed in Erudite, knowing she was meant for the faction and that he would never ask her to sacrifice that herself.

Yes, the choice of one brother over the other had greatly strained the two, to the point where it had gotten physical at one point. But Eric, Elijah said, had come to realize that he loved Jules; they just weren’t meant to be together. Eric admitted himself when he came to Elijah one night to give his blessing to the two of them, that he wouldn’t have stayed for her. Eric recognized that if he had truly felt so deeply about her, then he would have at least considered it, but he never did.

Before Eric even left Erudite, the three had been able to heal and reconnect. Elijah and Jules planned to wait to move beyond being more than good friends and get married until things were more settled. She still had to choose herself, and Erudite frowned heavily on any kind of relationships between members and dependents. Elijah had also wanted Jules to have time to explore and grow if that is what she wanted. He talked of the plans Jules had, brushing off his insistence that she needed to spread her own wings.

She never got to see those plans carried out. Shortly after Eric had chosen Dauntless, she passed away to an illness she had been secretly fighting for almost two years.

There had been experimental treatments, of course. Elijah made a veiled reference to an offer from the old leadership to get her into those treatments but Jules had told him she wasn’t going to accept.

The second time the brothers almost came to blows, and the time Elijah thought Eric would never forgive him, was the day Julietta passed away. It was during Eric’s initiation. He had gone to Dauntless with the assurance from both that she would be taking the treatments offered.

Neither wanted Eric to worry and to do his best to reach his goal of becoming a leader. Julietta passed away the day Eric finished training. Elijah had gotten word from contacts in leadership there that he had also been offered leadership. He said that it was almost as if she waited, just for that, to know he made it and was happy.

Our lunch had long been cleared away. I am sure that the wild mushroom with extra virgin olive oil drizzle flatbread and eggplant parmigiana were amazing, but I couldn’t say for sure. It had all tasted like cardboard to me.

I am trying hard not to break down and make a scene when I feel Elijah cover my hand with is own. His eyes showing his own tears threatening. He smiles at me and pats my hand.

“How did you get past it all?” I ask finally in a faint whisper.

“It is amazing how children can bring families back together.” He replies and the smile becomes genuine but the answer just confuses the hell out of me. “He won’t tell you this, Devi. Maybe because he doesn’t like the thought of what he thinks was him failing Jules, but before he transferred he was approached by leadership to recruit him. Their first attempt was a promise of power in the new regime.”

He gratefully let me catch my breath and bearings with this new twist and I nodded to him when I felt like he could go on. He truly was Amity, to be comforting me in all this.

“That was actually pretty laughable, to both Eric and anyone that knew him. Eric saw through all the bullshit and knew that whatever promises they made could be taken with a grain of salt. The whole divergent thing, in Eric’s words, was bullshit. We never believed in any of that.”

I nodded in understanding as he continued. “The second attempt, now that...that wasn’t so easily turned down. Jules had hidden it at first but we both knew something was off. We just didn’t know what. Jeanine knew just where to hit Eric. That was how we found out she was sick, was through Jeanine and she was anything but tactful in her estimation that Jules would survive. Jeanine offered every resource and treatment available to Julietta. Nothing else could have gotten him on board.”

“Why then? Why did she refuse it?” I gasped out in agony.

“The chances of any of that actually working were so very small, Devi. Jeanine was desperate to offer it but Eric was just as desperate to grasp at it. The thing about experimental treatments is that they are just that, experiments. As a doctor, I recognize the need for these trials. But as the person who loved that girl with every breath, no matter that there was a small chance it would work, I couldn’t watch her go through that. She didn’t want to go through that. Jules…..” He stopped and looked wistfully at me. “You know you actually remind me of her in some ways.”

He stopped and blushed and then went on. “Not physically.” He hurried to reassure me. “You might have both been what one would call, a latina, you are both very different from each other. There is the same vibrancy though. The same strength and independence. I can admit I don’t know you well yet, just what Eric has told me, but you seem comfortable in who you are. Jules was a quiet kind of strong. She was kind and loved to laugh but she wouldn’t back down from what she felt was right. Jules could not and would not be the thing that was held over Eric’s head. She would not be leverage for the horrible things we all knew were being planned. We both knew that the chances of those treatments curing her were so small as to be non-existent. The side effects would have left her in a worse state than the actual disease she was dying from. She made the decision and I supported her. We kept it from Eric and I knew there would be fallout from that. Her last request was to find a way to make things right, but to make sure I told Eric to never let himself be controlled again.”

“You said that…” I trailed off in confusion.

“After informing Eric of her death and her message to him, I didn’t hear from Eric for several months. I heard reports around the faction that he was seen often with Jeanine. There were whispers that something was brewing. I had thought that instead of freeing him like we had hoped, it had wounded him and made him so angry, that he went all in with the plans. It shocked me when I received a message from Eric asking to meet. It shocked me, even more, to know that he not only found a way to bring them down and had been working towards that; but he had a way to give us...me...back a part of Julietta.”

“It seems that when she first got sick, she had gone through all the options of treatment and determined that almost all of those would leave her unable to have children. It would either leave her sterile or her body too weak to carry. So one of the first things she did was to have some of her eggs harvested. I can only guess that it was done when she was still trying to come to terms with things, that she forgot to tell anyone in the hard months that followed. Eric found out and once again, it was from Jeanine. She realized she lost her hold on Eric the minute Julietta passed away and had been scrambling for something to bring him back. The old promises of power in Dauntless and Erudite weren’t doing it. She combed through the records and found that Julietta had preserved several viable eggs, then she held them for ransom, as they would say.”

I couldn’t help the low growl that escaped me and Elijah chuckled darkly. “For being supposedly the smartest person in the city, the bitch was stupid.” I snarled out.

“Indeed. She couldn’t have made a worse move. He played along for a little while, got the ball rolling for me. The instant we knew the surrogate had moved past the danger zone and Eric had gotten her to a secure location, he unleashed hell on Jeanine and Erudite. After that, our relationship was still strained. He made it clear it was only for Jules. That he still hadn’t forgiven me and I understood. I was grateful. When Karen, the surrogate, went into labor, he rushed to be with me at the birth. He was there when Olivia was born and when he held her for the first time, I think it was the first step in us being able to move past things, or at least forward..”

“How old is she now?” I ask with a small smile at his beaming one.

“She is twenty months old going on sixteen.” He laughs and shakes his head. “Not even two and already running the house.”

Elijah’s phone goes off and he stops to take it out then look at it. He smirks and shakes his head.

“It’s good to see that he found someone, Devi.” Then he slips his phone back into the inner lining of his suit jacket and looks at me. I am blushing, at his last comment. “You are going to have to be patient with him I am afraid. He never was the best at being social or having social graces and I am sure he has already made a million mistakes by now. I can say without a doubt that he wouldn’t even make an effort if he didn’t truly want to be with you. He especially wouldn’t be inviting just anyone to have dinner with Olivia and I.”

That last bombshell is dropped on me as he stands and offers me his hand. I take it but I can still feel the shockwave hovering on me.

#divergent #divergent au #divergent fanfiction #eric coulter fanfiction #romance #fluff #smut #tragedy #eric coulter x oc #eric coulter #oc #jai courtney #diane guerrero

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