#and the scheming of it all only makes her threats have more credibility to the upper trustees she's threatening

[drinkingdeadpeopletea]

i think what's really getting me about kozma claiming to have blown up the moon and also claiming to "be" the breach and basically equating "breach collaborators" and "my allies" in the same speech is that. the breach operative we've known since season one, the person who "is" the breach as far the story's concerned, is saskia. and midst is saskia's HOME! she built the black candle with her own two hands (metaphorically, at the very least), she LOVES it there and she loves those people :( and if we take kozma's story at face value, she just threw the "centerpoint" (according to imelda) of her own operation entirely under the bus and endangered the lives not only of innocent people but also of a bunch of her own operatives without their knowledge just to destabilize the trust and frankly that makes me kind of hope she IS telling the truth simply because that's the kind of betrayal i find absolutely delicious,

#midst spoilers #midst #midst podcast #i DO think she's probably bluffing about all or most of it. i bet she was collaborating with the breach but not as closely or with as much #authority as she just claimed and i no longer think she blew up the moon #but MAN those claims leave a nasty taste in my mouth for the exact reasons outlined above. #and it certainly COULD make sense! it's a smart move to encourage/fund/organize an insurrectionary movement within your political rival! #and easy to sacrifice them--especially when it's not even all of them and you've got bigger plans now--to make an even bolder move! #she's a collector! she can move her pieces around the board! #and the scheming of it all only makes her threats have more credibility to the upper trustees she's threatening #except of course that hieronymous is sitting right there having the full perspective & caring about the breach and about saskia specificall #just one more crazy layer to what must have been going through his head during that dinner #frankly. WEEPE has the full perspective too although whether he cares about any of it remains to be seen #i do think kozma is probably going to get killed by the trust/weepe pretty quickly here. but i would LIKE for saskia to get to confront her #if kozma IS telling the truth #it's nuts even WITHOUT the breach component considering she OWNED midst until literally last week. ma'am those were YOUR people. #like to be very clear blowing up that moon was a callous and fucked up thing to do regardless of personal connection. whoever did it. #but the closer the relationship gets the crazier it feels as a thing to do or to claim to have done #i just think saskia deserves revenge or justice on SOMEONE for her home being used as a piece in this stupid game...

[sincerelystesichorus]

me becoming a gortash apologist apparently

i never thought i'd say this. i am thinking about Enver Gortash. i'm usually not one of his apologists but... i've had brain rot for my Durge lately, and i think a big moment of developing your Durge is how you react to meeting Gortash again, yeah? you may or may not be close with Karlach but the party and Durge especially have all faced similar trauma of betrayal and exploitation nonetheless (and so has Gortash), he's already been introduced vaguely at the end of Act 2 as a threat/main villain, he worships Bane, he has general edge lord vibes (remember that bit where I'm usually not a Gortash apologist djdjdjd); what i'm trying to spit out, is there's a lot to sway you against Gortash in that first meeting. and I'd argue even a little further, as someone that followed Orin's plans of betrayal against him in my first Tav run, (just because her audacity is so damn funny.)

But anyway. Meeting Gortash. Finding out you used to be close. Perhaps homoerotically, perhaps in a strange platonic manner, or some other third thing, but nonetheless, Durge is assumably the only person Gortash has ever truly liked. He just really goes out of his way with praise at meeting again, the use of the word favorite is notable, and if Gortash had anyone worth elevating, he would, right? That was how Ketheric got here, Orin wants more credibility for herself and the Bhaalists, and Gortash... just enslaves his parents in their old home/business. But he liked you. He's really so similar to Astarion (it's nothing, you're just the only person I've ever truly cared for); he's just already a touch too far gone in his power hungry search for security. He's already repeated the cycle, years and years ago with Karlach as the main example and just the inevitability of being Bane's Chosen. And yet - Durge comes marching through the door again with this band of misfits and his old lackey he wronged, and he's willing to make a true bargain.

And I know it's just in Gortash's character to scheme, but l think playing as reformed Durge makes Gortash's potential deal all the more devastating, since he will truly follow through on his word (or, at least he would.)

It's so funny to show up dating Astarion or Shadowheart, and imagine them teasing you later that night, saying they thought you'd have better taste. Or the bitterness of being with Karlach, knowing that you seemed to be in such deep kahoots. And so on. The point is not valuing that past relationship with Gortash. Focusing on the shiny and new.

And like whatever. Gortash isn't ever going to publicly present that his feelings are hurt but like... wouldn't they? Your past lover or at the very least, only close friend struts in, now thinking they're some big shot, so beyond everything you two had ever done... when you always lived in their shadow beforehand, frankly. Gortash adores how this flawless plan was majorly Durge's, critiques Orin's sloppy manner of filling your place, how Ketheric was just a means to an end. But he liked you. The person who helped him raid Mephistopheles' vault, in turn helping him spit not only in the arch devil's face, but his past captor, Raphael's too (since Raph lives chronically in the shadow of his father, imo.) The person who thought they could formulate and enact this whole plot, and the only one he was willing to follow, to be an equal with, now coming to tell him what everyone always does, inevitably.

A final fuck you, or some form of betrayal, the same thing that caused his mess all those years ago when sold off to that warlock.

It would have to hurt, and while it's funny to imagine my little gnome Durge dying inside and cackling to the party about sleeping with an enemy and technically being the enemy... a little obssessed at the angst you could perceive of Gortash somehow falling for any crazy Bhaalspawn, nonetheless Durge, who was never one for morals, coming back renewed and not to come get him or work things out... but to slay him or turn against him. I'd send the Steelwatchers after our asses too.

In conclusion, Gortash, probably:

sigh. my bias against greasy little guys could never truly make me hate you, enver gortash. look at you, the man that you are.

#baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #enver gortash #bg3 gortash #gortash x durge #dark urge x gortash #durgetash #bg3 memes #orin the red #orin did nothing wrong #i would love to have a shapeshifting friend so willing to hand out lobotomies #the dark urge #character analysis #words words words #i hope this makes sense i usually fixate on ketheric i love that sad old man #long post #bg3 spoilers #i love how bg3 wrote their villains theyre sooo good #and they do gortash so dirty tbh #also look at me bg3 posting again wow #qb

[galaxythixf]

@valorheroics​ said: ❝  i don’t really have anything to say,  i just know that i don’t really want to be alone.  ❞  || from Nathan for Max Conversational Sentence / Emotionally Charged Starters || Not Accepting

There were plenty of opportunities that she could find to tease and taunt Nathan. His lack of emotional intelligence for one, clear as day. There wasn't a day that went by where he didn't remind her of it with cheap insults and various threats but lately his threats have been empty or he just hasn't had the chance to act on them when confined to her dorm room. Strangely, having Nathan in here was starting to feel normal.

Remind her to never say that again. Her skin's already crawling.

But ... this was a different side of him that she'd never really seen before. A vulnerable Nathan that didn't seem like the prick she was used to being at ends with. There's a small part of her that's questioning the credibility to his actions, cautiously awaiting some sort of ulterior motive or ploy that never actually comes. Another can't help but wonder, he came here? Why not go bawl his eyes out to Victoria? Didn't those two love to plot and scheme every chance they got? Max couldn't really picture Victoria being anything other than vicious and insensitive but her thoughts about Nathan were almost entirely similar until now. 

What does she even say to that?

Actually, she doesn't say anything. Frozen, she's almost torn between trying to find the right words to respond to whatever turmoil Nathan found himself going through or sitting in silence. Thus far, silence seemed like the more preferable option until her eyes catch sight of the instrument sitting in the corner of her room. Oh, maybe this didn't have to be that awkward after all. Normally, she only played for herself or for Chloe but desperate Max called for desperate measures.

Rising from her bed, Max fetched her guitar before making her way back over wordlessly. She shifted in her position until she sat comfortably, fingers plucking and adjusting the instrument in tune before she actually began to strum something. Hopefully she didn't embarrass herself when it actually counted, but playing something original usually mitigated the number of times she could possibly slip up. She dare not sing. Not now, not ever. Playing was challenging enough with an audience, singing was a whole other beast she was barely ready to tackle in the community showers.

Max didn't glance to see his expression, far too focused on her playing to pay attention but she hoped this was enough.

#✰ — IC ✶ Racing With The Stars #Asks #valorheroics #✰ — Max ✶ An everyday Hero of our Time #✰ — Queued ✶ Traveling Through The Solar System

[theowritesfiction]

Watching ATS has for me really driven home the point of how badly many writers struggle to write evil.

Late in season 4, it has become very easy for me to identify the problems with ATS, and it’s not just about the weak and poorly written protagonists. It’s the absence of a captivating and threatening antagonist that really makes this show suffer.

The closest that ATS has to a central antagonist is the Wolfram & Hart law firm. The trouble with this concept should be obvious. It’s a LAW FIRM. In a show about powerful supernatural demonic creatures, your main antagonist is a LAW FIRM. And they themselves are just puppets in service of mysterious Senior Partners who are never revealed. As a result, the motivations and goals of Wolfram & Hart are… ehhh?! Completely nebulous and unclear. Their motto might as well be ‘Do Unspecified EVIL!’ There’s literally an episode where this massive law firm conspires to steal a few bob from CHILDREN’S CHARITY. Like… could you come up with a more cartoonish portrayal of evil?

The problem with all of this? Wolfram & Hart are completely nonthreatening villains. Even the protagonists never take them seriously. Angel just strolls into their supposedly impenetrable and well secured building and roughs up whoever he pleases whenever he pleases. In a well written show, seeing the villains plot their schemes should leave the viewer tense. In ATS, watching Wolfram & Hart scheme makes me laugh and reach for the popcorn.

Let’s move on to specific characters, starting with Lilah. Three and a half seasons later and after her death, I still fail to understand the point of her character. She was never allowed to be competent, to succeed at any of her schemes or to pose any sort of serious threat to the protagonists. I don’t know anything about her goals, ambitions and motivations other than basic ‘I’m evil, yay!’ But why is she like that? I mean, soulless corporate empty suits exist, but they’re not important characters in TV shows. For her role, Lilah should have had an actual personality, but there was just so little. And that’s disappointing, because if they had only allowed her to be competent and occasionally succeed at thwarting the heroes, she would have been more threatening and a credible villain. As it was, Angel just threatened her whenever he pleased, and she bent over backwards to please him every time. Even her ‘romance’ with Wesley was botched and disappointing. She supposedly seduced Wesley to use him and learn his secrets… except that she failed even at that, and Wesley learned more from her than she did from him. Also, Wesley’s regret at having failed to redeem her was seriously pathetic. I’m sorry, but where was the actual effort to do that? All we saw was them having sex and Wesley talking shit about her. Was he redeeming her with his magic dick? Good grief, this show violates the principle of 'show not tell' ALL THE TIME. How can professional writers be this bad?

Moving on to Cordelia, or should I use air quotes when speaking about Cordelia, because she’s apparently possessed by… the most stupid and ridiculous evil entity ever? Let’s do a resume. First of all, this entity is ostensibly incredibly powerful, and yet for the longest time they don’t actually do anything with this power. The only thing they do is directly speak in the mind of Angelus. And make the cringiest threats ever. Also, this supposedly powerful entity is incredibly incompetent in how they manage to waste an asset in the Beast. Why would you even have Beast confront Angelus? If you wanted Angelus on your side, just go after him yourself… like you literally did an episode later, but only after the Beast was already dead. So moronic. Also, what is even the goal of this evil entity? There is no plan other than just ‘have Beast do unspecific evil things and create chaos’. Like I’m sorry, but antagonists need goals and motivations too, that’s just Writing 101. These hack writers need to hand in their laptops and find a different profession.

And it really would help to make your antagonists feel like credible threats if they actually had a plan, you know? A plan that wasn’t STUPID, I should add. One of the funniest examples is Holtz in season 3. He spends all this time and effort training his vampire slayers to go after Angel. They are all defeated in 15 seconds of screen time. I don’t even… come on you guys! Can professional writers stop making things up as they go, please?

Anyway, that was a really long rant, ATS specific maybe, but I feel like a lot of this applies to writing antagonists in general. I think people who follow my blog for ATLA related reasons can probably apply this to the ATLA comics. I really, really don’t understand why writing evil is so hard for some people. Nothing turns me off a piece of media quicker than only shallow antagonists.

#ats critical #anti angel #bad writing #problems writing evil

[azazelhinders]

Manson Abuse Claims

I am absolutely livid as I am typing this, and completely disgusted at the reactions of other human beings; or lack thereof. The apathy and lack of understanding to survivors of abuse appalls me. (possible trigger warning)

Recently I was reading victim statements about the abuse they underwent while dating Marilyn Manson. The details described are horrendous, along with messages shared from Manson himself, to them. They all shared details that are similar yet not exact, which is a marker of truthfulness in witness statements. On top of previously recorded statements made by Manson stating he wanted to “bash her head in with a meat hammer” after one girl had broken up with him, I find these accusations to be very credible.

Here is where I will disclose my bias. Not only can I sympathize with these women, but I do know what some of this abuse is like. I know what it’s like to fall head-over-heels for a guy who says and does all the right things at the right times but then suddenly turns into a monster. 

I know how hard it is to leave or to speak out when you feel so worn down that you believe him when he says everything is your fault. I understand the gaslighting, the broken feeling that sits in your chest every day, the fear that plagues you at every waking moment. 

I know what it is to have your voice stolen from you, when you no longer even bother fighting back or saying ‘no’ because your choice doesn’t matter anymore and it’s worse for you if you try.

The PTSD, anxiety, depression, unending rage and sadness that live within you. 

And most of all I know the fear, the fear of wondering if you’ll even be alive the next day, of attempting to tell your family and friends, wondering if they’ll believe you because he has all of them fooled too. The fear of backlash, not only from your abuser but from the very people there to protect you. 

The questioning, “do I even bother going to the police? Will anything be done? Will they take his word or mine? Can I even give them enough proof to do anything about it?” 

All too frequently I have seen the answers to those questions. 

When the police came to my house as a child and listened to my mother tell them all the horrible things my step father had just done, and then spoke to him and decided he was telling the truth. They labeled my mother as “hysteric”, and no this wasn’t back in the 1880s, this was in the 2000s.

A woman who was fearing for herself, but also for the well-being of her child, was labeled as hysteric by law enforcement and her husband who had just thrown her on the floor and beat her child was allowed to remain in the household with no consequence. No charges were pressed, no official statement was taken. 

This was the first time I had witnessed the only people I was sure would protect us side with the abuser instead of the victim, and unfortunately it will never be the last.

Now that story may seem irrelevant considering none of the women in this case had gone to the authorities, but I would argue that is why it is relevant.

As a woman in this society we get to see things from a different perspective than men. We get to see how hard work doesn’t always guarantee that promotion at work, how an impressive education and resume won’t mean you get the job in a male dominated field, and how men are more likely to accept the words of other men than they are women.

I am not saying that these things I mentioned above do not go both ways because they most certainly do, but I feel it is important to point out these things to people who are maybe not aware of such things.

Being a woman, in a male centered society, can lead to distrust. And by this I mean, distrust in the ability of authority to keep one safe. Distrust in other human beings to do the right thing. Distrust in others to do their job and look into claims of abuse more closely, instead of just picking a side that makes things easier on you.

Now, let’s imagine for a moment that you are a victim of abuse, that your abuser has funds for the best lawyers, and to pay any amount of bail. To top it all off, this abuser has repeatedly threatened your life, not only by his hands, but also by the hands of a well known gang, with whom he is affiliated.

At this point I would think any rational person would be fearing for their life, not only because of being worried about not being believed, but also because this abuser has already proven to be cruel. To you these threats are not just threats, they are a future you can see clearly.

Would you want to disclose any negative information on this man to people who you don’t think will believe you? Who would go to this man and tell them your name and what you said about him?

Because I wouldn’t.

And this is what leads us to the main issue.

Being scared to come forward, finally dealing with some of the mental trauma left behind, getting over that fear and coming out to the public to try to get someone else to share their story. Because maybe all of you together will be able to stop this man from hurting someone else the way he hurt you.

Accomplishing all of this only to have speculation thrown at you, to be called names like liar, bitch, whore. To be accused of trying to scheme and get money when really all you want is to try and stop this person from ruining more lives.

You spend years being broken over things like this, years just trying to piece yourself back together, only you can never find all the parts because this person steals little pieces of you every time they hurt you.

It takes courage to publicly speak about the horrors you have gone through, it takes great strength, and anyone who says otherwise has had the privilege of not having to do such things. I am not one of those privileged few, and I am not one of the courageous ones, willing to bear my traumas to the world. 

And that is because I do not want more burden laid upon my shoulders. A burden of having people I have never met nor spoken to calling me a liar, asking me why I didn’t say anything to anyone, not being able to understand the pain I have been carrying around with me everyday.

That is a strength I do not yet know and one I wish to have.

For those who are still reading, thank you for taking the time to go through this long post. I don’t wish to spread more hate, I simply wish to shed light on some issues that may not be frequently thought about. 

I am very aware of the laws we have set in place in this country and that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, I just ask that the same courtesy is shared to the accuser as well as the accusee.

We should not condemn the alleged abuse victims to being a liar simply because of the length of time between now and when the abuse happened, or because they came out with the information on social media. All claims of abuse should be thoroughly investigated and taken seriously.

#longpost #triggerwarning #abuse #marilyn manson

[badfauxmance]

Another Royal Family Follow up!

Anon:  The titles are pretty complicated as well. The only ones guaranteed to have prince/princess titles are children and grandchildren of the current monarch (Charles and his siblings, Will and Harry and their cousins) and the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales (William’s eldest son). When Kate was first pregnant in 2012, Britain passed a law saying that the order of succession would be in order of birth, not males first and then females. If Kate had a daughter first, she would be the future Queen, but would only be a Lady, while her younger brother would be a Prince. That’s why the Queen issued a Letter’s Patent that said all the kids of the eldest son of the POW would have a title at birth (all of William’s kids). Harry’s kids are entitled to be prince/ss when Charles becomes King, bc they’ll be the grandchildren of the monarch. Actually, Archie is technically already the Earl of Dumbarton (a lesser title of Harry’s), they just don’t use it! Charles has siblings who turned down titles for their kids, bc they will never be working royals and having a title could make their lives troublesome. When Archie was born, Harry and Meghan said they wouldn’t accept titles on his behalf bc they wanted him to lead a normal life, and many people assumed they would later turn down the Prince title. However after this interview, I’m not sure what they’ll do!

to follow up on your last points regarding Archie’s titles, I’m not quite sure if it matters what his title is tbh. I think that Harry/Meghan thought that a prince title = security. Like I said before, the Met and the Home Office decide who gets security and why. If there was a credible threat to him, they would have given Archie security. It wouldn’t matter to them if he was prince yet, he was a member of the RF. His security would also be his parents and as he lived on palace grounds, he would have that too. As well, a bunch of royals with the Prince/ss title don’t get security, so kind of a moot point. Royals without the prince/ss title can still do things with the RF like Trooping the Color (balcony event) and the Christmas walk. So in the grand scheme of things, he would’ve been protected with or without the title and he would have been “allowed” to do things with the RF.

And can I just say that I came for the Seb drama and it’s funny to end up the british royal family anon haha!

I’ll also add that Canada was paying for Meghan and Harry’s security while they were in Canada for like two months when were first cut off so idk why they were acting like that they were paying for their security with their own money. They left for California and Tyler Perry’s security around the time when Canada said they weren’t paying for their security anymore.

Hm... it does seem like there were some inaccurate statements they made in their interview then. I guess the more interesting thing will be what and how will the Crown ultimately respond. There’s a limited response, which I guess makes sense. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if there are lots of unhappy people behind the scenes who are trying to figure out how to handle it without turning into a Diana situation when the Family looked like the villains and Diana the used upon woman. That’s not to say that I didn’t think Diana was treated poorly, but from a PR perspective they just don’t want to have dirty laundry aired again. This time involving Diana’s son. There’s just too many historical parallels here!

Well we’ve spent LOTS of time talking about Sebastian for months now and we honestly want to expand topics discussed here. There’s only so much of the same kind of thing to repeat on here without boring us and the rest of you readers. So seriously any and all insights some of you have out there we totally encourage.

#royal family #royal couple #prince harry #meghan markle

[ridiculousn3sswrites]

Wednesday - Student Council Pt. 5

*Lafayette x Reader

*Summary: Burr decides to confront the Reader about her scheme.

*Warnings: Swearing. If I missed anything, let me know!

*A/N: I’m thinking about two more parts to close out the series, and I think this’ll actually be like the third series I actually finish.

Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four || Part Five || Part Six || Part Seven

Outfit

**********

When you got to school the next day, you were immediately intercepted by Aaron. You immediately had a bad feeling, knowing he wouldn’t take your and Lafayette’s explanation without questioning things. “(Y/n), I’d like to discuss some things about the upcoming vote with you,” he said, not even telling you good morning or anything.

“Aaron, you know my rule. I don’t discuss ASB before we have class,” you told him, trying to avoid the conversation altogether. You needed time to figure out how to make the whole lie more believable, and you definitely didn’t need Aaron running to Jefferson and Madison with this information. “I’m still going to be in meetings the next couple days, but you have my email and number if you still want to reach out.”

“This is a conversation that’s better had in person,” Aaron insisted. He looked around before leaning in and lowering his voice. “I don’t suppose you’d want Thomas and Alexander to find out you’ve been manipulating them, now would you.”

Immediately you tensed, but you tried not to let Aaron see how his threat affected you. “I suppose I could fit you in for a lunch meeting, but I will have to leave early to meet some people I’m working on a group project with.”

“That will work just fine. It’ll be a quick conversation anyways.” Aaron began walking away then, apparently done with the conversation at hand. “I’ll see you at lunch, (y/n).”

You rolled your eyes, immediately getting annoyed with him despite the panic that was threatening to take over. You didn’t even have a plan for where to meet, and he’d already walked away. You began heading over to your first class, trying to figure out a game plan for all of this. Of course Aaron Burr would be the one to ruin your plans, he was always the snake of the class. You either had to convince him that he was wrong about your intentions (even though he wasn’t), he could benefit more from working with you, or it just completely wasn’t worth it to expose your plan to Jefferson and Alexander. 

You had four periods to come up with a way to outsmart Aaron, and you were really having trouble with it. If you were being honest, you only truly had three periods to come up with a plan since your fourth period was filled with meetings. Damn your plan to avoid Thomas and Alexander. You didn’t want to ask Lafayette for help, knowing he was uncomfortable with lying when it wasn’t completely necessary and not wanting to rope him into your scheme any more than you already had. It was fine if Aaron dragged your name through the mud, but you would be damned if he did the same to Lafayette.

After a meeting with the head custodian, you received a text from Aaron.

From: Burr 10:45 am

Meet in the chemistry lab. Come alone.

Once again, you couldn’t help but roll your eyes. Of course Aaron would send something so ominous about a meeting concerning ASB matters. He always had an affinity for the dramatic, though his reputation would argue otherwise. You figured you could continue with the lie Lafayette had so gracefully started for you, and then say you truly weren’t sure about the budget vote because of the added stresses of planning something for your parents’ anniversary. Even if Burr had a reputation for only looking out for himself, truly he would be able to understand doing something nice for others, even if it added onto your workload.

Oh, who were you kidding? This was Aaron Burr you were talking about. You were sure he came out of the womb already planning how he could work this whole ‘life’ thing in his favor. As much as you wanted to believe there was a human side to Aaron, you knew everything he did was calculated. He wouldn’t approach you with this potential blackmail if he wasn’t sure the allegations were credible. You didn’t know how he’d figured it out just from the little snippet of conversation he’d overheard, but he did it. You were sure he’d do some big reveal where he explained how you’d gone wrong, and you were honestly kind of curious to see what he would come up with.

Once the bell for lunch rang, you quickly excused yourself from your conversation with Laf, saying you needed to go to your group project meeting. He was a little confused since you’d told him before your meeting was during the second half of lunch, but he let you go without much questioning. When you got to the chemistry lab, the door was locked. You looked around the hall, seeing if there was anyone around, before pounding on the door. Within seconds it was opened, a bored looking Aaron on the other side. “You know, a text would have done just as well.”

“Apologies, I do have another meeting in fifteen minutes,” you said, walking into the lab and taking a seat on one of the stools. “Now, what is it you wanted to talk about?”

“I believe you know what I want-”

“Aaron, for once in your life can you cut the bullshit? Please, just get to the point,” you cut him off. Sure, it wasn’t the best option if he was planning on blackmailing you, but you really didn’t have the time for a long, drawn-out confrontation.

“I know you’ve already made your decision, and you’re claiming you haven’t in order to get something out of Thomas and Alexander,” Aaron accused. “Alexander’s obviously already fudged the budget a little to give you more funding for the pep rally, and you’re most likely waiting so you can get approvals from Thomas on everything.”

Damn, Aaron thought you were more devious than you actually were. You had to admit, if you’d come up with what Aaron thought you had, you’d be proud. You just wanted them to not argue and actually work with you instead of just working against each other. “I promise, Aaron, what Lafayette and I told you yesterday was the truth. I’ve been planning for my parents’ anniversary and I genuinely haven’t had the time to fully make my decision.”

“Then why did you get so defensive when John was talking about how you were voting for the budget?” he immediately countered.

“Because I didn’t want false information being spread about me? How would it look if John was saying I was voting for the budget when I actually ended up voting against it?” You questioned instead.

“So you’re planning on voting against the budget?” Aaron tried.

“No, Aaron. I haven’t made my decision yet. I just didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up when I still haven’t made up my mind. The vote is on Friday, I will have my decision made by Friday,” you replied. By the look on Aaron’s face, he still didn’t quite believe you. The thing was, he didn’t actually have any solid evidence on you. All he had was speculation, and you had to admit, that was a little disappointing coming from Aaron. You quickly checked your phone for the time before standing. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have my other meeting to get to. Next time if you want to accuse someone of manipulating others, I suggest you have more solid evidence.”

With that, you left the lab. You don’t know why you threw in that last jab, but it felt good. You knew Aaron would double down on his efforts to find out your plan, but that was something you could worry about later. He only had two days to figure it out, and really only one day when it would really matter. What was the worst he could do?

**********

You pushed your meeting with Aaron to the back of your mind until after school. Lafayette was driving you home as he usually did, but he was uncharacteristically quiet. It was only a few minutes before you decided to break the silence. “Is everything okay?” You asked, turning down the music slightly.

“Kind of? Why didn’t you tell me you had a meeting with Aaron before your group project?” Laf asked, looking at you for a second before turning his attention back to the road.

“I didn’t want you to worry,” you said. Of all the people you lied to, you didn’t want to lie to Laf. “How did you find out?”

“I was walking with Herc and we saw you leave the lab, then Aaron left the lab about a minute later. What did Aaron want to talk to you about? Why would I worry?”

“Burr was trying to blackmail me. He thinks I’m withholding my decision to get things from Alexander and Thomas before the vote, even though I literally just want them to stop fighting for a week. He didn’t have any actual evidence though, so I just stuck with the whole anniversary story.”

“What did he want?” Lafayette asked, the worry evident. This was exactly what you wanted to avoid, but here he was, worrying about Aaron trying to blackmail you. You were kind of surprised Aaron was really pulling the blackmail card in high school, you figured that was a college thing at least.

“I don’t even know, he never got around to saying what he wanted from me,” you explained. “Once he basically admitted it was all just speculation, I just argued that I genuinely haven’t made up my mind yet. He didn’t say anything before I actually needed to go meet with my group.”

“Chérie, you need to tell them you’ve made your decision. You’re playing a dangerous game now, you don’t know what Aaron will do,” Lafayette warned you. Of course he was right. Though you didn’t know if Aaron has done something like this before, you knew he was sneaky enough to actually pose a problem. If he went through with his threat, he’d probably ruin any credibility you had within ASB.

“Yeah, it would be the right thing to do, wouldn’t it.”

“The right thing would’ve been saying you made your decision when you did. You never technically had to tell them what your decision was, they probably would have left you alone if you said your mind was made up,” Laf mused.

You paused, never having considered that. You were in too deep now, but you could still follow Laf’s advice. You didn’t have to say how you were voting, just that there was no chance of changing your vote. You just needed to tell only Alexander and Thomas that you’d made your decision. As far as they knew, you’d barely made your decision. You just needed to get to them before Aaron did.

“Do you think Burr would snitch over text or do you think he’d wait to tell them in person?”

“Aaron didn’t want to threaten you over text, it would leave a trail. He might tell them over text, but he’d probably want to tell them in person. Not at the same time, though, you know how they are,” Lafayette said. “What are you planning now?”

“I’m coming clean. I’m going to tell Alexander and Thomas, I just need to catch them before Aaron does. I’m just going to meet with them before school,” you said.

“Or you could just text them later today so Aaron doesn’t have the chance to tell them.” You hated how Lafayette was really simplifying things for you. He was apparently done with letting you try to figure your way out of this on your own. With the mess you’d managed to make, you weren’t surprised.

“Yeah, you’re right. Why didn’t I go to you for advice in the first place?”

“I have no clue, that’s something to ask yourself,” Lafayette said as he pulled into your driveway. You took a deep breath, looking at your phone. You were going to have to come clean and admit you’d made your decision before Aaron decided to tell everyone for you. You just hoped they’d accept you didn’t want to tell them your decision yet.

**********

Tag List: @snazzydoesthings, @bagpipes606, @a-hopeless-fan

Permanent Tag List: @treatallwithkindness

#lafayette imagine #lafayette x reader #hamilton imagine #reader insert

[archer3-13]

FEH Villains Ranked

from best to worst, excluding book 4 cause its still ongoing

lif: genuinely surprised me by being an alfonse with pathos. well he started book 3 as a kinda generic number 2 type, the revelation of his identity as alfonse (though rather obvious at that point) as well as his goal of essentially destroying other worlds as a penance to restore his own is both suitably threatening and tragic. Creating that sense of pathos i mentioned that works so well for him, especially when hes shown to still be a kind person at heart thats been pushed into such horrific actions because of the devastation he had to endure. Especially when you consider that hes carrying the weapon that could kill hel with him which, although kinda lazy that he just has it, is a) a hel of a lot less contrived then anything book 2 pulled off and b) further deepens that sense of pathos when we consider that not only is it a memento of ‘player san’ and presumably everyone else hes lost but that it can also represent, in a way, a symbol of his own failure of will and bowing the knee to hel. Him prioritizing his own happiness and fulfillment in the form of hel resurrecting his world over the good of the ‘fe multiverse’. Point being, its a complexity of character that I honestly wish we got to see more of, and one I really wasn’t expecting from fe heroes given its track record. you’ll see what i mean down the road.

hel: well not terribly complex in motivation, she basically just wants to kill everything to increase her own power, she gets points for a strong presentation and utilization within the story book 3 creates. The limitations on her insta death power being kinda silly aside, though gustavs gambit to circumvent that i honestly really like more so then alfonses rules lawyering, the overhanging presence she has in the lives of book 3′s characters works really well and the pressure to defeat her because of her effectively endless legions works better as an overhanging threat anyways. When I say presentation though I mean more so in how her words, actions, and motivation intersect because well her words on the face of it have the usual villain posturing, her motivation and actions (such as her relation to eir and her generals, and the world she rules over and created) creates an interesting intersection where one can argue that her posturing words are empty of any true feeling. Shes cold and lifeless like the dead she rules and the world she creates, those around her are simply tools to an end but hardly in a cackling manner and more so in the unthinking manner one treats a toothpick. she gets angry or shocked but even then its in a muted manner, almost performing the emotions rather then truly feeling them. Hel lives in an unchanging world, a stillness brought on by the finality of death, and in a way one can argue that its her unspoken desire to spread that stillness, that perfect unchanging world she controls, to every world. Like lif, its a degree of complexity that I wish we got to see more of, especially in her case, and its something i honestly wasnt expecting from heroes.

helbindi: solely because the man goes through a lot of shit, and is an effective portrayal of a sympathetic villain. Hes effectively a camus if a camus was foul mouthed and more thuggish and that works for him, and is rather endearing in its own way when he acts concerned for his little sister and does the ‘im a thug who hugs kittens when no ones looking’ routine which i like when its done well. point being, he could have been a generic thug but hes a lot more interesting for not being one. However, his general pointlessness to the story, aside from giving us an indication that shock of shocks surtrs a shitty king and an excuse to escort ylgir around places who also does jack shit in the story... heroes is always going to suffer from having to compress its story telling but that fact they waste so much time with helbindi and ylgir and hrud when so much of what they do is either unnecessary to the story or themes present in book 2 or could have been given to other characters and make those characters better for it... helbindi gets to be up here for sympathy points and favoritism, but i am stretching here for ya mate.

thrasir: stronger character wise then helbindi, an interesting relation to lif of enemies turned into close friends over a shared trauma and servitude, plays into some of the same strengths of hel and lif that make them so engaging, yadda, yadda, yadda. So why is she below helbindi? because she doesnt get to do anything, and only starts to get interesting right before her death. If she had been given a bigger role comparable to lif, or just more time to stew in her own motivations she’d easily surpass helbindi. its also not helped that thrasirs own desire to resurrect her brother is similar to veronicas pre established selfishness, which isnt as strong a contrast as lifs selfishness and guilt against alfonses character. Her relation to lif does hint at a stronger sense of kidness and morality instilled within her because of that relation, which is interesting and would make a strong contrast against veronica, but again we get like five seconds of it before shes killed off and then a little more of it again at the end. Deserved more time on screen then she got, and would have probably been number 2 here if she had gotten it. 

veronica: bratty child becomes evil sorcerer emperor, more at 11. I like the concept of veronica, its something fes never really touched on much aside from maybe a little bit with julius with his more childish antics. Veronica however cranks that up a lot more, shes impatient and gets bored easily, she wants more friends but in a selfish ‘friend is someone who does everything I want right?’ way, shes emblas ruler and she has the emotional maturity of an evil 10 year old and i just kinda like it. Especially since she tempers it with an air of sophistication and intelligence, much like the classic evil sorcerers fe loves to utilize in villain roles, and it helps balance out the bratty child from being too annoying in the villain role. It helps lend a sense of her trying to present herself as a grown up for the respect and authority that brings, well simultaneously maintain all the perks of being a kid who gets everything she wants. It’s a shame then that the narrative keeps sidelining her, either by focusing on other villains, her god damn brother getting in the fucking way, or with the overhanging implications of magic dragon possession being the root cause of her behavior. I can forgive the magic dragon possession though since that is an fe staple and could works towards more interesting character aspects rather then undercutting her. Regardless, she sure is great when things are actually about her, and i really wish things would get back to being about her.

Laegjarn: solely here because she loves her sister, shes rather flat as a character otherwise. It would have been one thing if she displayed a sense of brutality instilled in her by a childhood being raised by surtr, only dropping the shell when it came to her sister and reigning herself in for the sake of that one familial bond she treasures... instead shes just kinda nice and loves her sister, and yet still works for surtr for some fucking reason. @agoddamn and @ezralahm mention an aspect of learned helplessness to xanders character in fates that people tend to gloss over (heaven knows why, cause its fairly in your face even in the english translation), and that should be something that comes across in laegjarn, but its doesnt really. not as much as it should anyways. Another victim of book 2′s pointless writing.

loki: evil sexy lady with big boobies and a one leg cutout tights pants thing. heres someone who can transform into anyone, and yet she never really does anything with it. oh she does ‘things’, just not things that have much point to them, or really feel like they fit into some larger scheme. she’d be right at home as a recurring villain in an episodic story, coming up with some inane scheme for todays episode that gets foiled and she gets sent ‘blasting off again’. I dont necessarily hate the sexy seductress character, the noire bombshells and the like, they can be fun when done well. loki just doesnt do it well, coming off as more grating and annoying then tempting honestly, and as a villain she lacks anykind of actual menace. My feelings on her are similar to my feelings on aversa honestly, heres someone who should be so cool and threatening, a real menace to the heroes using their skills and abilities behind the scenes to move threats against the heroes, never taking to the field unless they can benefit from it and have an assured chance of victory or safety... but then they never actually do anything, as any of the actions possibly attributable to them either happen offscreen or probably would have happened without them doing anything. Loki and aversa could have stayed home twiddling their thumbs and nothing would change, and thats the real shame about them. Doesn’t help they aren’t particularly fun or entertaining as villains either due to lackluster writing.

surtr: garon 2.0, but with even less complexity. Well garon may have been a blatantly evil prick, he at least had backstory that provoked some degree of complexity and even sympathy, both to him and those hurt by his evil dragon possession personality change. Surtr lacks even that, acting more like a petty thug given way to much power then an imposing ruler. He garon without the backstory complexity, and in a way hes walhart without the air of regality and charisma that helped elevate walhart from being god awful in his own right. And well it could have been interesting if the story made any attempts to comment on that or work it into a central story theme or flow of some sort, it doesnt really do that and instead treats him as if he has and indeed deserves the same credibility and impression walhart or garon or any of the other fire emblem emperor kings have left. But the game doesnt ever actually work for that with him. Hes the emeperor, so he automatically deserves respect as a villain. and thats... so typical of book 2′s writing.

laevatein: shes boring as sin, even with her relation to her sister and the tragedy of losing her. Like her sister, she would have benefited from an impression of learned helplessness but the game never really bothers with it. moving on because i can barely give a shit about her.

bruno: this mother fucker... an annoying detraction that overtakes veronicas spotlight and screentime, an excuse for alfonse wangst that never really lands, pointless and useless... the benefit of book 2 and 3 so far has been his reduced importance, but i fully expect him to come roaring back to steal veronicas position once the story shifts back to an area she should be the focus of. the only thing he has going for him is the sense of a camus struggling with dragon possession but thats more so used for alfonse wangst then it is for anything constructive. What do i mean by alfonse wangst? I mean angst that really serves no narrative purpose then for the sake of unnecessary melodrama, as opposed to informing us anything about the characters or themes of the story. he makes veronica look worse, his drama with alfonse is a waste of time, and he really provides nothing else then a recurring boss fight and get out of jail free card for the story. I’m putting him below laevatein because well i dont give much of a shit about her, she atleast doesnt actively annoy me and still had the potential for something. Bruno however? the story would be better off without him. So fuck him.

#fire emblem #fire emblem heroes

[theonceoverthinker]

Top 5 GH moments!

You know me too well, buddy!

5. To start off our list, we have a small scene from “Mother” -- the diner scene. After Killian was basically tortured by Rumple for so much of 4A and what with the threat of Emma going dark being a genuine possibility in much of 4B, to see that Rumple’s scheme failed as someone rooting for these two makes me genuinely happy! And so when Killian busts his way into Gold and Isaac’s booth to gloat, it’s really enjoyable! That tenseness is there as Killian remarks on how Rumple will never get to enjoy his happy ending, and the rest of it is GH snark! What more can you want, really?

4. Rumple taking Killian’s hand in “The Crocodile.” Who doesn’t love some good old fashioned mutilation?! Seriously though, Rumple stealing Killian’s hand is just an iconic scene, and for good reason! Everything gets more complex here. Milah goes from being a horrible bitch into being the subject of fandom discourse that persists to this day concerning a mother’s autonomy vs. her responsibilities as a parent. It furthered the painting of the picture that is Killian Jones into a man that like Shrek, has layers. He is just as much a man in love and a victim of his beloved’s murder as he is a horrible bully. And for Rumple, the scene successfully frames him in a tragic, but still villainous light. 

3. Dark One Rumple reunites with Killian Jones in “The Crocodile.” This is the scene that sets up Rumple and Killian’s dynamic for the rest of the series! I know that’s a not at all small thing to say, but really, while the hand scene is important, it’s this scene that first shows the Rumple and Killian we know interacting in the way that they will for the rest of the present timeline, snark, intimidation, and all, something that’s just not present in the initial hand-stealing scene. Here, we see the depths of not only Killian’s personality for the first time, but important reiterations of the depth of Rumple’s. On Killian’s end, this is the first time where we see Killian actually afraid -- not cowardly, just afraid. We see Killian speaking very carefully because he knows that unlike the last time they met, this time, it’s his life on the line, and he has someone he wants to live for. He is willing to suck up his pride to a large extent as to not die, but not at the cost of his honor. Killian never runs away, even as he’s dealt an invitation to a duel that may very well take his life. There’s a sense of self preservation on display. And on Rumple’s end, we see contrasts. On one side, we see the contrast between Rumple the human and Rumple the Dark One, and on the other, it’s Rumple as a victim vs. Killian as a victim. We see how his corruption as the Dark One has made him so similar to the man who once bullied him.

2. Killian getting the jump on Rumple in “Rocky Road.” Let’s face it: Despite Golden Hook being a rivalry, Killian doesn’t win that often, and when he does, it’s usually through a means of karma giving Killian an out more than he and Rumple directly coming at each other in a conflict. And that sucks because Killian balances Rumple out so nicely! Whereas Rumple gets by because of his magic, influence, intimidation, ability to pick up on desperation, and factual intelligence, Killian does so by his charisma, wit, and emotional intelligence. But the thing is, rarely do those aspects of their characters get to bounce off each other. But in this scene, they do. Rumple has most everyone fooled. Belle trusts him, and while Emma doesn’t, she also lacks the means to really challenge his credibility. Killian sticks with his guns though, trusting his instincts to develop a theory as to what’s going on with Rumple and incorporates what is basically a bluff into a win. And he succeeds. That...that is just awesome!

And the number one best GH moment iiiiissssss...

1. Gold stealing Killian’s heart in “Smash the Mirror.” You all KNEW this was going to be number 1! This sole moment had me basically create a whump fic-ematic multiverse! Everything about it is so good! First, there’s the tense, scary atmosphere that surrounds the scene. It comes as almost a bit of a surprise in a sense because of the previous scene’s happy ending, and it takes the viewer on an emotional roller coaster. This is mostly done by the music, but the creepy night time imagery as well as the hellish vines really sell it too! Second, let’s talk about the acting. Robert Carlyle and Colin O’Donoghue really sell this scene. Robert sells the aforementioned atmosphere through his soft, calm voice that holds until the second before the theft, the slow way he walks, and sharp movement of his hand as he plunges it into Killian’s chest. And Colin’s cockiness and the way it shifts to fear and panic are so fantastic. Third, as a payoff to the mystery of the hat and how Rumple’s going to use it, it is perfect! It capitalizes on Rumple enthusiasm over following Ingrid’s instructions, intertwines Rumple and Killian’s rivalry that had already been built into the arc (To varying degrees of quality, imho), and sets up a perfect secondary stake for the rest of the arc now that Emma’s has been resolved! Fuck, what else can I even say?! It’s perfection and I LOVE it!

Ask me my top 5 stuff!

#ouat #golden hook #top 5 #rumple #killian jones #sherlockianwhovian

[subjectsix]

Hitman 2 and 3 theories

OKAY so I’ve been reading about Hitman 2/3 theories and thinking on the ending of the Haven level a lot and decided to make a post about it because analyzing stuff is fun dkfjghdjkfhg

Spoilers for the end of Hitman 2/the Haven level below the cut! (y’all its so much I’m sorry KJLDFHGKJFHG its Hitman Lore And Meta Time)

FIRST lemme just say. Y’all I’m very aware I’m a big Lucas Grey fan dkjgfhkdjhg BUT I did my best to make sure that wasn’t getting into my analyzation too much, I like being as objective/unbiased as possible bc the Hitman storyline is wonderful (and if Lucas is the villain oooo Drama™)

anyway this is gonna be a long ramble so here’s the TL;DR

Big point: I don’t think we can accurately piece together any sort of an answer currently, and IO wants us to doubt everyone and everything for the “hook” into the next game, and they did a lovely job at it! Thank you IO <3

My three running theories with the info we have:

None of the main four are working with the constant, and he is manipulating them all to try and turn them on each other, making them doubt each other to cause dissension among them (see: him telling Diana about the hit on her parents, the concept that he’s making Lucas out to be a traitor) which could result in Lucas’ death (or not)

Lucas is being “held hostage” in a way by the constant-- Edwards has him by some threat or pressure point credible enough to make Lucas work for him

The least likely in my opinion due to evidence and Lucas’ character, but still possible maybe: Lucas made a deal with the constant somehow (when he would’ve found the time, I don’t know) because he’s got it in his head that he and 47 should be the providence leaders-- somewhere along the way he got so obsessed/focused on this all he got his view skewed and genuinely thinks he’s doing a good and helpful thing

So what prompted me was this specific comment on a hitman subreddit theory thread:

So to me, the idea that Lucas has been a traitor from the start doesn’t seem to add up. If you look at everything we've seen from IO about him, it shows that Lucas is on a path of vengeance-- suddenly allowing The Constant off the hook seems like a massive shift in character, especially considering the comic and what we've seen of Lucas and 47 as kids (more on this in a bit)

So the only leap you can make after that to blame Lucas is the second comment on that reddit response, but that seems like such a big cheesy sci-fi stretch to me. If you look at Lucas and 47 knowing they’re clones, you can clearly see the resemblance. They aren’t just brothers, they’re like. They’re near exactly the same in appearance (save for the fact that 47’s in much better shape and like. Bald DFHFDJHG). You could argue that Lucas had his face changed to appear to be a clone, but you have to consider that they both have the hand scars from the pact they made as children, the comic confirms Lucas/6’s existence, Lucas has a lot of Ort-Meyer knowledge others don’t have, and 47 is remembering Lucas

Any leap past that gets wackier, like...

- Maybe 47 has DOUBLE fake memories from his time in the institute and this has been planned from the beginning? Doesn’t seem satisfying nor IO’s style, plus it seems rather out of character for 47.

- Ether antidote somehow gave him fake memories? Also nah, seems just too out there/odd/improbable 

So from here, the only thing that I can personally add up and understand in the vein of Lucas being a traitor is the concept of Lucas maybe having a bent concept of like... morality? I can see him maybe getting a bit too over the edge, too bent and obsessed on Providence and taking them down, and somehow talking himself into thinking he and 47 need to be in control of Providence because they’re the only ones that can make things “right”. From what I’ve seen, he hasn’t exhibited behavior that tells me that in full, but that makes much more sense than him being A Complete Snake™ because if he was a traitor it would defo be in the “he fully thinks he’s doing the right and good thing for 47”

ANYWAY consider this evidence in game:

- Lucas being shown repeatedly to go to great lengths to avoid collateral damage/citizens getting hurt or killed (you can overhear this being talked about on Hawke’s Bay, Columbia (and from Lucas himself in Rico’s office), and I think Colorado, but I’m not sure. I’m sure there’s other locations as well).

- Lucas' genuine concern for Olivia to the point that he gives her her whole own security detail (seen on Colorado, thank u @olliemander for showing me that!!!), as well as the fact that he met her when she was 7 (can somebody say father figure), and she's the only person in the whole militia to have both seen him and know his real name, not even Sean Rose knows his name and those that have seen him have all been killed (Viktor, the Providence member in the cutscene after Sapienza) 

- His seemingly genuine reaction to realizing he killed Diana's parents (seen in the cutscene before Sgáil)

- His seemingly genuine concern over 47's wellbeing after the ether antidote (seen in the cutscene after Whittleton)

- His seemingly genuine reaction to/at the institute (the man is genuinely emotional over it all)

- The Constant's complete bafflement at Lucas' actions-- you can overhear this on Sgáil-- and I suppose you could argue that this is just fake so Edwards and Lucas can play the long con, but that seems unlikely to me

- also this is less of a piece of evidence but still interesting, Lucas’ man on the island that gets him the info on the poison chip and the Washington Sisters comes from a genuine NPC you can listen to, who calls Lucas to give him more info and tell him their debt from their old CICADA days is repaid and to just leave him alone now AKJDLFHGKJDFHG

I mean, yeah, it could all be things to mislead us, but I don’t think so-- his behavior lines up throughout the years of his life that we’ve been shown, and 47 isn’t one to blindly trust people.

This leaves the idea that Lucas has been working with Edwards from the start, but that too seems like a long stretch to me-- Lucas seems to hate what he and 47 had to go through (as seen in the comics and just his behavior we’ve seen), and he carries that weight (like he mentions in the cutscene before Sgáil, and in the Homecoming cutscene). He seems to really struggle with survivor’s guilt over his escape from the institute. Plus Lucas doing a double side switch seems a bit Much™ (but I totally could be wrong akdljfhgkjdgh)

Ultimately tho, here's the thing: I don’t think we can solve this puzzle yet, because IO wants us to wait for Hitman 3. What good is it if we bust it before the game comes out?

They did this with the end of the Sgáil mission-- it was a big ominous cliffhanger but then we just sorta scooted along (so they could keep building the story, it was well done IMO)

My most likely theory at the moment is the idea that Edwards is trying to turn 47, Lucas, Diana, and Olivia on each other because he realizes they’re a threat. Bc If I’m real, I currently don't think any of the core group are working with The Constant, which is terrifying, because it means the constant is way more powerful than we thought and way less helpless than we thought he was in his current position. (So that means the text/phone call/whatever Lucas got in the end cutscene was from Edwards posing as someone else like Olivia). Plus, if Diana gets into contact with 47, she’s going to tell him Edwards is gone. If for some reason 47 can’t contact her, he’s going to be suspicious and on high alert.

Edwards is a scheming, smart dude and I don’t doubt him being able to do that at all. He knows Diana and 47 are close and trust each other (“in his own special way, he cares about you”) and felt the need to mention to her that 47 and Lucas were behind her parents’ deaths-- that’s not just bonus information, he did it for a reason. This also puts his line of “Do you really want to do this to me?” to the Partners in reference to being under scrutiny and needing the poison chip under a SUPER terrifying and ominous light. What sort of power does this man wield?

I would personally love to see Lucas survive these games AKJHSFJGH but I can see the story leading to 47 have to make a call to shoot Lucas (thinking he’s a traitor), playing hard against the emotions of it all, especially with the reveal that this was all a set up by The Constant, making 47 go after him with a vengeance. (also not to be angsty™ but can you imagine Lucas and 47 talking after 47’s shot him? Oof ouchy my heart) 

Another possibility I can see is like my friend Synth suggested-- Lucas wanting to go in violently and take it all out on The Constant, while 47 holds him back for tactics sake 

In terms of Lucas and Edwards working together, sans them planning it from the start, there really would’ve been no time for Lucas to talk to The Constant between his capture and the departure for the bank. I also can’t currently make sense of many reasons why Lucas would side with him and not tell 47 or Olivia

My final idea that plays into the idea of Lucas as a traitor is the idea that, somehow, The Constant is holding Lucas hostage in a way? That if by chance they got to speak to each other, The Constant lorded some threat over Lucas that was serious enough to him to agree to help him (like a threat against 47 or Olivia, etc). I’m not sure though, but the idea is interesting to me :Oc

aNYWAY big ol’ rant over! Here’s some pics of Lucas’ voice actor in Alice and Wonderland enjoy fdjgkhdfkjghkjfh

#hitman 2 #hitman 2016 #lucas grey #agent 47 #the constant #the shadow client #arthur edwards #diana burnwood #olivia hall #this just in: kip goes OFF on theories for hitman #coffee talks #this is okay to reblog and discuss btw!!!!!!!! #long post #hitman

[bayern-moni]

So, given that Fyodor and the Hunting Dogs are more-or-less being the closest, most imminent threat in BSD, does that leave Agatha as the Final Boss? So far, Fyodor's plans have only exempt her organization, wherein every other group is manipulated to some level.

Hello! Sorry for the late reply, I'm very happy for your ask 😁 I warn you, though, I'm not capable of writing a short reply to save my life ahahah. But, as they say in my country "Warned person half saved person"

So, ready to go.

Well, it is a complex situation. Now, the agency's problems seem to be Dostoevskij (and so, the group DotA) and the Government's military of the Hunting Dogs (whose utility I've still many doubts about). But the latter's actions almost certainly are manipulated by Dostoevskij, even if they probably don't know it. They did create problems in Sigma's casino to capture Atsushi and the others, after all, although Sigma is a member of the Decay of the Angels like Fyodor and Gogol. Gogol who recently infiltrated as a spy in the Government's ministry of justice for six months before he revealed himself and did... well, whatever it was the sense of what he did. And absolutely a coincidence, what is the military organization working for the ministry of justice?

Correct, the Hunting Dogs.

So, they are really convinced that capture our protagonists is a just service to the state, but they're playing Fyodor's game. But only his game?

What's the situation? Well, the players on the chessboard are the Agency & the Port Mafia vs the Decay of the Angels. In the middle, there is the ex Guild and Oguri allied with the first party and the Hunting Dogs maneuvered by the latter. And, aside, there is Agatha,who in chapter 12 is seen to be allied with Fitzgerald and Dostoevskij (although their idea of "alliance" is veeery singular, if Fitzgerald's defeat is to say something).

Fitzgerald is betrayed, defeated and definitely out of the alliance, so there remain only Fyodor and Agatha. She seems to not even be present, though. There is really not even a single mention of her in the manga since then, excluding her short appearance in Dead Apple movie, differently from the almost omnipresent Fyodor. Thanks to the movie, we learn that she is in contact with Ango (so Japanese government) who asks for her aid, that of a foreign government association of ability users, to terminate Shibusawa, former ability user protected by Ango himself and then, coincidence, manipulated by Dostoevskij. Situation she was surely well informed about when she accepted (I bet my head) and disappointed when her slightly extreme solution wasn't needed anymore. A solution that could have burned the entire Yokohama to the ground (and maybe even Fyodor himself who was there, too). They were already allied at that point? Yes.

Anyway, wonders of friendship aside, this disappearance is like if Agatha didn't want anyone to know her involvement in the war, maybe in order to have both the alliance with Japanese government and with Fyodor's group to exploit as she sees better fit in the moment. But both Fitzgerald, Mori and Dazai, we absolutely know it, they are aware of her. Anyone else? Idk, sorry, probably not. So...

Will she return? Absolutely

Will she be the final boss? Not sure, probably, but it doesn't convince me.

Not like she's not credible enough to be one, nay, she would be a wonderful final boss to face, but I think it would be too simple this way, too linear for my taste, at least. Why?

As you said, the only organization Fyodor, the current villain, didn't mess with is hers, The Knights of the Clock Tower. And technically, they are still allied, at least for what we know. Both are in search of the Book, "a single novel where everything written becomes the truth". Dostoevskij to exterminate the ability users from earth's face and Agatha ... Boh, nobody knows. By the way, until now, the enemies are come in a linear order: Port Mafia -> Guild -> Dostoevskij (+ Oguri, then Decay of the Angels and Hunting Dogs). Defeated one, another comes (and the defeated one becomes an ally for the protagonists). This scheme has almost no exception until now. And it's boring. We are currently blocked in the last stage of the sequence. So, the problem is still them: Fyodor and Agatha. And this damned book.

To obtain it, we know that are needed: the death of every ability users in Yokohama, Dazai in a way or another, Atsushi's ability. Dazai and Natsume sensei are the ones that know the Book most than the anyone else, probably even its location. Fyodor has done many attempts to obtain it (Shibusawa, the fall of the Guild's aircraft, Pushkin's poisonous ability and the assassin Hawthorne, Oguri's crimes-proof masking ability, Gogol in the Government and finally the Hunting Dogs). To say that he's obsessed with it would be an understatement. But for a so mind-set man, he seems not to care when his attempts are inevitably neutralized. He seems to be even fine with it, as long as he finds it entertaining. He even indirectly gave Dazai the key to his own "failure" in some occasions. And then, he was always like "beh, it was amusing, now we can get to the next step". It is an incoherent behavior for a man regarded as the epitome of logic by both Dazai and Ranpo (and it is surely to say something). We could understand it if we ask if they can really be called failures. And if he's really working for himself.

He's presented to us as a really unbeatable enemy since the beginning. Always. Even Dazai and Ranpo, even Natsume, even Fitzgerald admit that his strategies cannot possibly be defeated or avoided. And indeed he is a step ahead of the others. But for all his capacity, he's behaving like he has all the time in the world to fulfill his goal, not really caring about 1 or 100 failed plans; he knows Dazai and Atsushi are necessary for the Book? Intentionally not kills the former (his nemesis and the main threatening enemy he has) and never makes a serious effort to obtain Atsushi's ability (Shibusawa failed and Gogol only played with him, maybe the Hunting Dogs alone are seriously trying). Then, there is the Decay group. We know that it consists of 5 members (Dostoevskij, Gogol and Sigma, plus the others unfortunately still unknown, that damn lazy mangaka) and one of them has recently obtained a page of the Book. A page which works well as the entire novel, according to the half dead Taneda. So, how and when the fuck do they intend to use it? If my memory doesn't fail me, the use of the page has something to do with the (quite horrible) death of Gogol, but I'm not sure. And who is this mysterious page possessor? It's not Fyodor, that's sure, for he was already put in chains in Meursault prison by then and later he never even mentioned it; Gogol is dead, so he can't be, can he?; Sigma is not very known yet, but he seems too kind and with an air of "wtf is happening now?" for having taken it (but obviously for all we know, it could perfectly have been him). One of the remaining members? Probably. Agatha herself? It would be too soon, I think.

And we're forgetting that Fyodor is a member of the Decay, not the leader. In fact, when in prison, before getting excited like a kid for having descovered his new cell partner, Dostoevskij makes this comment:

They requested him to form a plan, not he planned something and ordered them to execute it. He doesn't seem to be the boss there. He received an order, and he executed it, while probably creating a fault in the plan just to make things more interesting to him. A fault that he surely expects some people to notice. A not perfect plan is still a challenge, isn't it? It'd explain why he can fulfill his goal but seems to having more fun when losing. He knows he can win (the modest bastard), but purposely lets his goal be delayed. And although he has had many occasions to do so (damn, his same touch can kill) he repeatedly avoided to kill his enemies, maybe because doing so would mean to eliminate the only players who can hope to beat him. Him, or a third party. He openly went to the battlefield, attracted everyone's attention to himself for 30 chapters, seems to be the cause of many events in the series, but this behavior could also be a way to lead the protagonists to beat someone else, trough him. A bait. He is quite devilish, after all. And certainly not new to all the ally-exploit-betray strategy, quite the same as Agatha, I bet.

So, he works with the Decay, but the Decay group works alone or for someone? And who are the ones that requested this plan of his, which, I suppose, consists of every manga panel since chapter 42?

Can they work with Agatha, too? Or for her? Both Dostoevskij and Agatha have every interest to get in the way of each other. Could he work with Agatha and, at the same time, lead Dazai (or whoever else) to foul Agatha's plan? A similar way of thinking could be being unraveled now in Agatha's favor: she probably worked with Fyodor on the plan of his own capture, and the prison of Meursault is indeed described as a top secret prison in Europe, whose existence is known only to the highest members of European government. To Fyodor, a way of hiding himself like a proper puppeteer, to Agatha a way of constantly putting a very unstable ally under her most total supervision. So, given that for both the idea of loyalty is fried air, could his plan be a sort of second "mutual destruction" to make his enemies neutralize each other and then, calmly get what he wants? Dazai himself said that he has not the material means to bring his plan to completion. Means that the guild and Agatha do have (so, the alliance).

Sadly, we have still too little information about Agatha and the Decay to be remotely sure of anything. However, I think the reason why her organization is the only exception in the trouble he caused is because they are still formally allied.

When I said that I don't see Agatha as the final boss is because it would be a really too linear sequence of enemies, it would be fun if there were some surprise in the end. But, if she were really the final boss (and there are some probabilities of it happening), I would like it the same. She would be a serious badass boss and her organization members ... Wow! I'm counting the chapters until they join the battlefield since ch. 12! Still, I'm sure it's only a matter of (veeery long) time for their arrival, but I'm not sure if they will be the final boss. Even if they could. Anyway, we still don't know anything about her, her plans or moves. Not theirs. Nothing can be said for sure. Sorry anon 😅

And then, there is also the matter of that strange group of ability users presented in the novels (that I did not read, so I could say idiocies). Rimbaud, Verlaine, perhaps even Hugo, Goethe etc... For what we know, it can also be theirs the role of final boss. Or someone else's entirely. The final boss could be a known character, or someone not appeared yet. Or Agatha. Or whoever you please. Unfortunately, we are all in the reign of imagination, yet. Even possible for Agatha and Fyodor to be part of that group of ability users, given that they are European like the others. Who knows (I'm surely not, too lazy to read the novels ahahah).

I hope to not have bored you, anon 😅😂 I really got myself carried away, but I hopefully answered your questions? I really hope so. I would like to know your thoughts on these characters, now 😉 and feel free to ask something else, if you want. Only then I will try to make it shorter ahahah. Thanks for the ask, anyway!

#It's really tooo long #😱😱 #ask #manga anime #anonymous #bungou stray dogs #bsd #fyodor dostoyevsky bsd #agatha christie bsd #dazai osamu bsd #atsushi nakajima #bsd atsushi #and shibusawa too #Ango #decay of the angels #gogol #Theory #rambling thoughts

[snowstcrm]

I hope we get to see Kinvara/red priestess again after her not so subtle threat to Varys back in mereen and she will outs him to dany (also reveals what he heard in the flames that day *his fear makes me curious*). All his backstabbing/betraying will finally catch up to him - for "the realm" my behind

I know some audience will be kind of irked about a random old character popping up randomly, but I’m so here for Kinvara. She was such an intriguing character and I wanted to see more of her.She would be so beneficial to have right now. She strongly believed that Daenerys was chosen for a certain destiny by the Lord of Light, so wouldn’t the priestess be invested in what Dany does and what her end will be? Also yeah, I’d love to see her freak Varys out. People need to realize that he’s always been a puppeteer and needs to be shaken up a little. What’s wild is that Varys thinks Dany is off her rocker when she says she wants the Iron Throne, but those are Varys’ exact motives as well. The only difference is that he wants to be the shadow behind the spineless king he can bend to his own will.The fact is that Varys has put himself above everybody else and thinks his actions are justified. What makes Varys’ opinions more credible or justified than Littlefinger? A man we recognize as a villain? If we go back to when the writing was actually good, Littlefinger and Varys were eachother’s foils. They had the exact same end goal but their methods were different: Littlefinger wanted to be the man on the throne and Varys wanted to be the master behind it. They both built their webs of deceit and Varys is literally called The Spider.So my question is, when did people think Varys became a good guy that we should all trust what he has to say? He is and has always been just as self-serving as Littlefinger, even if they take different paths to get there.

The thing that is so despicable about Varys is that he justifies his schemes, betrayals and murders “for the good of the realm”. He’s a player in the game but one that takes absolutely no accountability for his actions and pretends he is above everyone else’s desires or emotions because he’s doing it for this abstract thing called a realm.

Varys wants to have complete power. He wants a king that he can sway and bend to HIS will (which is why he was soo concerned about the imagined power imbalance between Jon and Dany since her will is too powerful) and for Westeros to be run the way HE wants it to. Whenever he finds someone he thinks would work for his plans better, he plots his king’s demise and I promise the fools in the fandom that Jon would have his head on a platter the moment Varys found someone he thought was better.

I find peace in the fact that Melisandre said that they would both die, so his clock is ticking.

#i fucking hate varys man #people need to remember he is LITTLEFINGER'S FOIL #he is on the same level as littlefinger #he's just always in the shadows unlike LF who preferred to be a public figure #sorry this is long #i hope i made sense alskfjalksfj #flammafumoestproxima

[yobaba30]

Now that billionaire child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein is back in the news, it seems like a good time to take a closer look at allegations that Donald Trump raped a 13-year-old girl at Epstein's Manhattan home in 1994. Trump is more than overdue for his #MeToo reckoning... Important caveat: I am an activist and an attorney, not a journalist. I strongly encourage journalists to explore this further. These claims got little attention because the accuser has remained anonymous. But new details uncovered by @MiamiHerald on Epstein bolster her story. “Jane Doe” alleges Donald Trump sexually assaulted her on four separate occasions, culminating in a rape when she was just 13 at Jeffrey Epstein’s mansion. Her evidence? Three sworn declarations – from her, a friend she confided in at the time, AND one of Epstein’s recruiters. This case was filed in New York federal court in 2016. You can read her pleading here: politico.com/f/?id=00000158… The case was NOT dismissed. Jane withdrew her complaint on November 4, 2016, saying she was “afraid to show her face” due to “numerous threats” against her. Jane came to New York in June 1994 “in the hope of starting a modeling career.” She soon met "Tiffany," who offered to bring her to parties where she could meet folks in the business - hosted by Epstein. This is eerily similar to tales of recruiters in @MiamiHerald's reporting. Jane claims Trump had “sexual contact" with her at four parties she attended that summer. She understood both Trump and Epstein "knew that [she] was 13 years old.” The fourth time, she says "Trump tied me to a bed, exposed himself to me, and then proceeded to forcibly rape me." Jane claims a 12-year-old named Maria was forced to be involved in the third encounter. She never saw Maria again after that. Following the rape, Jane says Trump threatened to hurt her and her family if she ever told anyone. He suggested he could make her “disappear like Maria.” Jane is not the only witness offered in this filing. A woman using the pseudonym “Joan Doe” attests that she is willing to testify that Jane told her about the sexual encounters with Trump and Epstein “in the 1994-95 school year.” Here is her sworn declaration: Jane also filed a sworn declaration from Tiffany, who says Epstein employed her starting in 1991 “to get attractive adolescent women to attend these parties.” Tiffany corroborates Jane’s story and claims to have “personally witnessed” the four encounters between Jane and Trump. Tiffany also claims she personally witnessed the “one occasion where Mr. Trump forced [Jane] and a 12-year-old female named Maria [to] perform oral sex” on him. She also claims to have witnessed Trump’s later threats against Jane. Tiffany says she worked for Epstein until 2000. Trump admits to a close friendship with Epstein. He told New York magazine in 2002: “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy...it is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”                                                                                                                                                                Jeffrey Epstein: International Moneyman of Mystery - Nymag                        He's pals with a passel of Nobel Prize–winning scientists, CEOs like Leslie Wexner of the Limited, socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, even Donald Trump. But it wasn't until he flew Bill Clinton, Kevin Spac…                        http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/n_7912/                                                             .@MotherJones' description of Trump's modeling agency is eerily similar to parts of Epstein's scheme as well. Though there is less reporting on this, Trump seems to have illegally brought girls as young as 14 to the U.S. to work uncompensated. Sounds a lot like trafficking, no? Flash forward to 2007. Epstein is being prosecuted for “assembling a large, cult-like network of underage girls – with the help of young female recruiters.” The prosecutor? Future Trump Labor Secretary, Alex Acosta. Epstein’s attorney? Future Trump mouthpiece, Alan Dershowitz. According to the @MiamiHerald report this week, Acosta worked with Dershowitz to give Epstein a sweetheart deal - just 13 months in county jail. Perhaps more egregious, Acosta "granted immunity to 'any potential co-conspirators’" in these crimes. miamiherald.com/news/local/art… This unusual move not only exempts Trump from criminal prosecution for raping Jane Doe. It also protects Dershowitz. Virginia Roberts claims Alan had sex with her "six times...the first time was when I was about 16, early on in my servitude to Epstein.’’ miamiherald.com/news/local/art… Ten years after Acosta coddled Epstein and gave immunity to his co-conspirators, Trump appointed Acosta Secretary of Labor. If you recall, Acosta replaced Andrew Puzder, who was charged with serious domestic abuse. Abusive behavior is not the exception here. It is the rule. I have no way of verifying Jane's claims. But three sworn declarations filed in federal court ARE evidence. Congruence with details in the @MiamiHerald and multiple ties to Trumps' inner circle add credibility. At the very least, Jane must be heard. We all deserve the truth. I reviewed the videos released via justiceforkatie.org (the accuser's other pseudonym is Katie Johnson). These only seem to add credibility.

She talks about how she was recruited for Epstein. Notice how the details fit with later @MiamiHerald reporting. There is more on Epstein that matches details in the @MiamiHerald reports: being forced to give him massages, Epstein forcing digital penetration, his irritation at her protests, etc. Listen to her voice. Listen to her story. She recounts her first encounter with Trump when she was 13. Her description matches his known idiosyncrasies and germophobia: He required her to touch him with a glove. "He seemed to take a liking to me because I was so young...he kind of liked things to be his first."   "Donald Trump specifically asked about me because I remind him of his daughter, and she said, 'Well, she's 13 as well.'" I *know* we avoid seriously discussing this because it is disturbing beyond comprehension. But we all know what Trump has said about Ivanka. This. Adds. Up.

You can watch her full recorded testimony at justiceforkatie.com. It is dated February 11, 2016.

[bcllcntynes]

[ task001 ] THE INTERROGATION.

“The price of being misunderstood, he thought. They call you devil or they call you god.” ― Richard Bach

Part One ( you )

Do you have any criminal history? Anything big or small that you want to make us aware of?

Nathaniel hadn’t blinked since the moment he’d entered the interrogation room. His lawyer sat by his side, watching as the academic glared into the eyes of the impish and jumpy junior officer. Nate couldn’t help the reflexive smirk that crawled onto the corner of his lips, taunting the other to extract anything he could. The head detective furrowed her brow as her impatient tapping narrated her need for a response to the question, as Nate’s lawyer answered on his behalf. “As your records will show, my client has never been indicted nor charged with any criminal charges, and has had no run-ins with your department to date.” Nate cocked his head, leaning back in his chair as he found himself analysing every little detail of the room. The reflective glass that no doubt housed a collective of other detectives, the steady blinking light that absorbed his every movement, the leaking roof panel and dirt built into the carpet. For a moment, he felt sick. He then found himself staring at the lens of the camera trained on his taut form from time to time, as if to greet whoever would be reviewing his tapes. And, knowing the prejudices in this town, they’d be reviewing his tapes with frequency. 

Detective Grant then glanced down at a file on the table, the Ballantyne name etched across the front. Nate, again, remained unphased by the heavy volume that the detective was padding underhand. “If that is the case, then what is the sealed record on your file ?” Nathaniel was clearly not a stupid person. He let his lawyer and Detective Grant bicker about the legality of mentioning the file, as Nate pondered his situation. No, it didn’t look great for him. A third of the town already believed he was behind Daisey’s disappearance, and all the others still all viewed him in contempt - he was an easy scapegoat. Still, Nathaniel wanted to thank Daisey, shake her hand and relish in the moment she’d given him, something that no one else ever could - a most simulating mental challenge. 

What is your connection to Daisey? How did you know her? How well did you know her?

Every single movement of Nathaniel was being analysed, and he was conscious to remain like marble as the detective and officer stared him down. However, he couldn’t help but bite the inside of his cheek at the mention of Daisey. His face cemented in a scowl, his temperament unchanging as his lawyer nodded his head and gave him permission to speak. “Ms Rutherford and I have been acquainted since infancy, as our families share close business relations,” Nathaniel deadpanned, his blue eyes deepening on the detective whose stance eagerly hungered for the moment he’d slip up. Say something he wasn’t supposed to. Admit something. Nathaniel was no fool. “Our parents had ordained we be married once she has graduated, for the diversification of our portfolios.” The young, simple and slow, officer looked to the lead detective - almost lost. “You were engaged ?” He parroted, as Nate focused his attentions on him. “If you had the capacity to listen, you’d hear we are arranged. The engagement will be made at the end of Daisey’s senior year.” Nate felt the touch of his lawyer’s stern and unforgiving grasp on his arm, making him jump in his seat. The frosted hair and anchored eyes shackled Nate to silence. He said no more, but was foolishly contented with the confusion painted across the dim-witted cop’s face.

Have you visited the blog site “veritasexposed”? If you have, how credible do you find the information on this site? Do you know who runs the website?

A question that Nathaniel could answer in earnest, he prepared himself to speak before his lawyer interjected. “Pertinence ?” He merely stated, his arrogant and entitled air rivaled even that of Nathaniel himself. Detective Grant let the facade of good cop swirl down the proverbial drain, as she labored on the breath before sounding out her discontent. “This is my investigation, and your client has the privileged to answer this question and absolve himself from reproach.” This answer did not please Nate’s lawyer whatsoever, as he began to rise from his seat - encouraging Nathaniel to do the same. “We are here to assist, Detective. Mr Ballantyne has no obligation to speak to you further, until the time your department should produce a warrant. Nathaniel, do not answer anymore questions.” Nathaniel didn’t move. He found himself cemented to his seat as he looked with ambivalence to the duo of detectives who were entranced by the venomous glare of his lawyer. Nate wanted to start laughing, but he’d become so entrenched in his expressionless mask he found himself unable. He turned swiftly in his chair to his lawyer, a devilish glint in his eye. “I’ll meet you outside, Kenneth. And don’t worry, you’re still getting paid.” His lawyer said nothing more, merely shaking his head as he exited the room. Nathaniel clasped his hands together as he rested them before him on the table. “I have never endevoured to visit an inane blog of petulant and most likely unfounded truths. However, one would have to be impaired to not be cognizant of its’ existence. As for its’ owner, I’m sure a sweep of their IP address will be all you need, as someone so founded in their own narcissism would be foolish enough to remain susceptible to threat.” Nathaniel said no more, as the clock on the wall ticked, punctuating an already unbearable silence.

Part Two ( Daisey )

Do you remember where you were the night Daisey went missing? If so, where were you? What were you doing? Who were you with?

Nathaniel could remember in painstaking detail the second he found out about Daisey being missing, as was the curse for most memories of his own, trapped inside his head with no ability to escape. However, the day of her disappearance was another story. All his days blended into one another, and were it not for the suspension of disbelief that blurred the edges, he’d have no issue anointing with clarity his very whereabouts at the time. “I’d have to check my planner, as I’m currently not aware.” An incredulous expression painted that of the young officer, his hand immediately reaching for pen and paper. “You have no recollection ?” The officer reiterates, as Nate cocks an eyebrow. “My schedule habitually consists of what can be considered a nocturnal cycle. I was most likely in bed when Daisey disappeared, however was not informed of such until much later.” Nate was well aware this wasn’t an answer, and he could see his lawyer quivering in contempt in the waiting room, counting only the minutes to secure his paycheck. 

Where were you the night Daisey’s body was recovered?

A laugh almost spilled from his lips, his calcified features betraying an inch of human emotion. “The carnival, for a brief moment,” Nathaniel uttered, his brows furrowing. “Until the monotony of such an event grew tiresome, as I retreated back home to continue working on my thesis.” He could see that every little piece of the puzzle he provided for the detectives, further into the rabbit warren they would fall. The way they could contort themselves into knots, ordaining him the perpetrator. There’s one crucial piece of evidence however, one that Nathaniel would guard closely to his chest - that would either exonerate or condemn him to the crime. A truth so raw that even Nathaniel couldn’t comprehend it, as thus remained quelled in the furthest recesses of his mind. 

How familiar are you with the Ashmont woods? Have you been there often? Have you recently ventured out here? If so, why?

Despite having lived in Ashmont his entire life, unsurprisingly, Nathaniel wasn’t like most kids. He detested the outdoors, being forced to interact with others, and biding his time doing something with little consequence in the schemes of life. Hiking through the woods, for someone as finicky and pedantic as Nathaniel, did not make sense. However, there was an unspeakable truth - that Nate spent more time out in the woods than anyone. A crested hill right by his family’s opulent dwelling provided the best place for him to scope out the skies and map out the stars, as was a passtime he cherished dearly. “The forests are unseemly places, teaming with filth and muck,” Nathaniel made the disdain clear. “In my life I have only ventured to the tiny pocket behind my house, the exact same spot every time. The gardeners on my estate will affirm as such. I have a permanent telescope affixed there.” 

Part Three ( the Investigation )

Do you have feelings towards the investigation? Any comments?

Nathaniel didn’t have feelings, period. He then gazed at the pair, a penetrating focus on the both of them as he could even see the infallible lead detective grow uncomfortable under his gaze. “No comment,” Nathaniel uttered with finality, unclasping the hands he had rested on the table before returning them to his lap. His eyes once again fell upon the camera, toying with the films’ future observant. 

Do you have any people you feel the police should look into? Please, let us know who and why.

As the final question is uttered, Nathaniel could feel his steely temperament fizzle as the inherent arrogance slowly melted back into his pores and punctuated his features. It was almost over. The mind-games, however, would persist for quite a time - and he knew this was not the last time he’d be speaking with these two detectives. “I am in no position to give anyone away, as no one could truly... be adept enough to... silence Daisey Rutherford.” For a second, he almost felt his throat close over, as a most ardent truth remained quivering on the edge of his tongue. That horrendous, horrid, unutterable and earth-shattering truth ?

Nathaniel, the soulless and heartless, cares for Daisey, and he refuses to admit that she is gone. 

BONUS || Part Four ( the Feedback )

“It had to be him,” the baby-faced junior insisted, standing before Detective Grant’s desk. “It all fits. The motive ? Her money. He seems big enough to move her. Callous enough to lie. Has no alibi for either the murder or the body discovery. Had no emotion whatsoever talking about someone he knew all his life. Surely he’s the one,” the cop remarked, almost distressed. With a slew of other interviews stacked up on her desk, all Detective Grant could do was take a swig of her coffee before meeting the insatiable eyes of an officer hungry for justice. “He’s... a person of interest. But the Rutherford family is not one you want to mess with, and as you know, Mr Ballantyne has very clear connections to them.”

“Are you suggesting we ignore evidence ?” The frustration was clear on the young officer’s face, as he found himself pacing before Detective Grant’s desk. As a detective in training, he did not have such seniority to make leading decisions in a case. But he was sure he had to make the other see what he was trying to say.

Weathered by years of crime that her junior couldn’t even fathom, Detective Grant felt her lips fall into a straight line as she sighed out in response. “I’m suggesting we find evidence. Not bull-head an investigation to where you think it leads.”

“But the kid’s a fucking psycho. His medical records...”

“Yes, I’m aware.”

“The sealed file under his name !”

“Officer Forrester, I’m aware.”

“The fact he still refers to her in the present tense.”

This made Detective Grant stop. Her lips pursed for a moment while trying to articulate a response, fathoming any reason they had not to hold him. The watch adorning the young Ballantyne’s wrist was worth more than her yearly income however, and she’d lived in the town of Ashmont long enough to know what that means. Her fists clenched for a moment, forlorn as she tore her eyes away from Michael as they landed on the window to her office. 

Where they could see one Nathaniel Ballantyne being escorted out of the building by his lawyer, adjusting the cuffs on his perfectly tailored suit. 

With an expression as cold as ice. 

#veritastask001 #what's your verdict veritas ??? innocent or guilty ? >:) #( also i spent too long on this dkjfgdkfjdfk RIP )

[holden-woods]

task 001: the interrogation

Holden was admittedly nervous, and he was sure it was apparent given the constant bobbing of his knee and the amount of times he’d cleared his throat upon entering the room. He felt foolishly out of place in his attire. His mother had insisted upon a neatly pressed blue shirt, tucked into slacks as if giving the appearance of a preppy, rich boy might save him from any stereotypes they might have formulated about him. But sitting there before him, masquerading as someone he was not as proving to be harder than he had anticipated, despite the fact that his father had prepped him in the car ride to the station, filling his head with law jargon and once more demanding to speak with DA on his behalf. The conversation had only nourished the anxiety that had been trickling in his veins since the moment he tore open his letter. He was ready to get this over with, eyes fixated blankly upon the camera recording him, wondering what the audience would think of him. It’s always the boyfriend, current or ex. Fake or real. That’s what they’re thinking, they’re thinking I did it. He swallowed the lump in his throat, and tried his best to look placid but he could feel the sweat gathering within the palms of his hands. And then it began.

Of course it was the first question the police would ask, another thing his father had warned him of. Don’t fucking lie, they already know everything, his fathers words were ringing in his head as he sucked in a deep breath to prepare an answer. The pair of officers were sifting through his record, a manila envelope with his name in neatly typed letters, glancing up at him expectantly, waiting for him to either lie or confess the truth… Not that there was much of a choice. “I mean, kind of? I would get myself into some fuckin— Sorry, I got into trouble a lot as a kid. Caught twice for vandalizing my school property at fifteen and sixteen. Small stuff, like spray-painting over murals, and defiling statues of the founder,” he admitted, his words coming out breathlessly as he focused on a spot on the wall above Officer Grant’s head. A public speaking technique that often allowed him to quell his nerves, though it seemed to be offering no help now. “My parents own an apartment up in Manhattan. I sometimes go there during my breaks. I got… A little intoxicated one night and lost my wallet. Didn’t have cash for a cab so I jumped the turnstile. Charged with theft of services. I got off with a ticket, but I was detained for the night and it’s on my record,” Holden further explained, pants gripping at his knees, wiping the bit of sweat that had accumulated upon the fabric of the soft gray fabric.

“What is your connection to Daisey? How did you know her? How well did you know her?”

Daisey. How does one limit their connection to her within a neat little sentence, simple and kosher enough to be digested by the police department and the public? Holden had known Daisey from the time he’d moved to Ashmont when he was ten. She’d always been a glamorous background character in his life, rich and beautiful. There had been a time when he’d wanted nothing more but to receive her approval, her attention but once he’d gotten he’d realized what a heavy burden it was to bear. Daisey was a world all on her own, and Holden lacked the strength of Altas. In an effort to get her way, she clawed her way into his life and marked him as hers, even if it had been for show. Holden had been one of her trophies, a living breathing one… And he loathed her for it, not only for constraining him but for the havoc she caused upon everyone around him, everyone he’d managed to love.

He hadn’t realized how long it had been since he spoke, and Holden reached out weakly for the cup of water that had been placed before him as a courtesy to take a sip, and fill the silence with some kind of action as their stare burned holes in his skin. “I knew her… Like, I guess almost half my life now? Huh, how weird is that? We went to all the same schools, she did cheer and I did football so we went to all the same parties too. She was beautiful and popular and I guess…” he began to trail off, unsure of how to explain the next bit to them. “I guess you could say we dated for a time. Not seriously or anything, but there was a couple of months where we’d spend a good chunk of time with one another. Dinners, parties, dances, you name it. We were there, together,” Holden licked his lips, as he thought back at the time they had shared together, of how empty it had been. The ploy had been for her to build buzz and interest for herself, and he himself was just the pretty face to get her there. “But I didn’t know her well. Daisey wasn’t someone who opened up and told you what she was thinking. You were always left guessing, it was kind of part of the fun for her, and sometimes for you. She liked being in control in that way,” he added swiftly, eyes dropping down to his lap as he remembered her smile. It was always widest when pulling off a scheme.

“Have you visited the blog site “veritasexposed”? If you have, how credible do you find the information on this site? Do you know who runs the website?”

Holden should have realized that the site was going to be added into evidence eventually, but he certainly was struck with surprise when he was posed the question. He had assumed that everyone was quivering with fear, too intimidated to bring attention to the blog, as if informing the authorities might send this anonymous mad man into a fit of rage, resulting in all of their dirty laundry being aired. Everyone he knew was playing this close to the chest, waiting quietly for their own d-day, thankful when their friends were chosen and not themselves… “Everyone with wifi’s been on that site around here, especially since everyone’s been named. It could all be bullshit, you know? Like empty threats, because I doubt that many people have earth-shattering secrets like this blog claims. As for the information, I really couldn’t tell you if it was true or not. Zephyr and Jonah both seemed to own up to their secrets, so I guess that means there’s some credibility there, right?” he rambled, shoulders coming up half-heartedly up to a shrug as he concentrated on the looks on their faces, the good cop and the bad cop. Their expressions were unreadable, blank. “I wish I knew who ran the site. I think it would cause all my roommates to sleep better. Everyone’s been kind of on edge about it. But no, I really don’t have the slightest of clues.” 

“Do you remember where you were the night Daisey went missing? If so, where were you? What were you doing? Who were you with?”

The night Daisey had vanished was something Holden remembered vividly. Not simply because it was pivotal for the town, but because the events leading up to Daisey’s disappearance had been so painfully kind to him. It was fall, and he’d just received his letterman jacket for the season that very day. Crisp and new he could remember slipping into it, signifying a bright beginning to a brand new season. He could make out the smell of the blueberry pancakes he’d made for himself in quiet anticipation for the football later on that night. He’d even recalled how he found himself drenched with gratitude for his luck when they'd won the first game of the season. It was a small high, the little things he’d lived for. Pulling his helmet off his head at the end of the game, he could clearly remember thinking how he could swim in this day forever, grinning excitedly at his teammates, his arm resting around the shoulders of his best friend. It was all so perfect, even the party. It’d felt exceedingly normal. The loud music, the badly played beer pong, the kisses exchanged with a stranger who’s name he failed to remember. Absolutely perfect… That was until he’d waken up to the news.

“I was at the game, I play on the football team. After that, I drove myself to the party. I didn’t go home that night, I stayed at Cap’s house cause y’know— No drinkin’ and driving, right?” he asked, almost jokingly with a jittery chuckle falling out of him before he could manage to stop it. The officers did not bother cracking a smile at his joke, and Holden’s face grew serious once more. “As for what I was doing, I was mostly drinking. The dude has a pool out in the back, so at one point I went for a night swim with a girl I met that night. Don’t know her name, she went to another school… Dried off, drank some more, passed out on his couch with her and almost everyone else with any kind of social life at St. E’s,” Holden disclosed, hands reaching up to adjust the collar of his shirt which felt a bit too tight, fingers shifting down to pop open a button in a small effort to relax himself.

“Where were you the night Daisey’s body was recovered?”

“I was serving time… But for school, y’know with the curfew and stuff,” Holden responded, leaning back into his seat. “They had those of us who broke the rule work at the carnival. I was assigned to bumper cars, so I was faithfully performing my duties as bumper car minion for the university,” he could feel his knee jump back up under the table. The nervous tick had revisited him at the morbidity of the question. He’d always forget that it was real, that she was dead, until they used the most callous of words. Murdered, body, dead. Hours of binging CSI had not adequately coached Holden enough for this moment, for what the murderer had done to everyone in this town. “I found out pretty quick though. Word travels fast when everyone knows everyone. Kinda put a damper on the carnival and the whole thing seemed inappropriate… So we packed up and left after that.”

“How familiar are you with the Ashmont woods? Have you been there often? Have you recently ventured out here? If so, why?”

The truth of the matter was, Holden had indulged in far too many horror films to ever venture into the woods. Despite being twenty-one years old, he could not fathom why anyone would have the desire to disappear amongst the trees and expose themselves to whatever goblins, ghouls, and ghosts probably lived out there. Plus, he absolutely hated bugs, which the forest was coated in from top to bottom. “Not familiar at all. I was always a chicken-shit. My dad was always telling us these gross campfire stories and my mom is weird, her favorite movie is It and that was always playing in the background at home, god only knows why. I had an over-active imagination as a kid because of it, and the forest just represented everything that could go wrong. Even driving by at night is… Kinda creepy. If I’m going to the supermarket past a certain hour, I usually have to bring my best friend with me, so I have some sort of distraction. Gives me the fucking creeps,” Holden confessed, fidgeting nervously in his seat at the mere thought of the woods, and what every Blair Witch Project shit went down there. “I don’t go often, I don’t go at all. I honestly haven’t made it down there since I was like, maybe eleven.”

“Do you have feelings towards the investigation? Any comments?”

Holden pulled the lukewarm glass of water towards him once more, watching the ripples within the glass fizzle out as he wracked his brain for an any semblance of a comment. Anything that might make him appear as though he were genuinely interested in this trial outside of trying to worm his way off their suspect list. “I hope you catch whoever did it obviously,” he replied dumbly, before taking another swig of water and carefully placing the glass back down upon the table. “And I hope that you catch whoever’s running the fucking blog too. It’s really spooking us out.”

“Do you have any people you feel the police should look into? Please, let us know who and why.”

The final comment felt strange to Holden, almost as if they were encouraging him to throw someone under the bus. He nearly wanted to sit up straighter and act more fearless, ask them why they were insisting he do their job for them. Instead, he remained meek, once more fixated on the spot above Officer Grant’s head, teeth ripping at a piece of dry skin stuck on his lower lip, a familiar metallic taste forming in his mouth. “No. There’s no one I know personally that I think is capable of doing this. I think you should look outside of her circle, or what you think to be her circle. Daisey had friends everywhere. Bet it’s some sick Wall Street fuck or something who got bored of his wife.”

#veritastask001 #tasks #i honest to god don't even know what this is its trash #i wanted him to be FUN but he was just like pls don't JAIL ME I AM AN INNOCENT

[yesterdanereviews]

The Avengers (2012)

Film review #337

SYNOPSIS: While S.H.I.E.L.D. is performing experiments on an object known as the tesseract, a potential source of unlimited energy, it is stolen by Loki, a demi-god who wishes to use it’s power to subjugate the human race. Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., assembles a team of heroes to counter this new threat to Earth, but first they must learn to work together before they can take on Loki...

THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: The Avengers (or Marvel’s The Avengers or Marvel Avengers Assemble) is a 2012 superhero film that is the culmination of the first series of films establishing the marvel cinematic universe. The previous films mostly dealt with the origins of the characters, while also providing hints about how they will fit into the wider universe. This film has the aim of bringing all these different superheroes together, with their own unique presence, powers, and personalities, and devising a way for them to work together as a team. It is certainly an ambitious project to cross-over all these different worlds and stories, requires a balance to get right with regards to using each character effectively.

The film starts off showing the S.H.I.E.L.D. agency conducting experiments on an object called “the tesseract”, which played a part in the Captain America film and briefly shown in the Thor film. They are trying to harness its power to produce a limitless source of energy. It suddenly springs to life and opens up a portal through which Loki, the antagonist from Thor, emerges. He takes control of the minds of a number of personnel, and escapes the facility with the tesseract. Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., recognises the severity of the situation, and calls upon the various heroes to track down Loki and the tesseract. The film introduces each of the characters individually, so they are each explored on their own terms and their personal motivations are established firmly. The story structure is fairly standard, with a clear three-act structure that flows as you would expect, but there’s plenty of humour, action and story packed into them that the film nevertheless gives you everything you need. With a runtime of nearly two and a half hours, it’s a long one, but every scene is worthwhile in some way, and it could have probably got away with being even longer because there is so much potential with these characters and setting.

The characters have already been established through the previous films, primarily dealing with their origins and motivations that make them heroes. Even if you haven’t seen all of them, you get a pretty good idea of who they are and what drives the. Captain America comes across a heroic soldier who comes up with a strategy for battle, Iron Man/Stark is the guy with the resources who deflects criticism with his humour. Banner/The Hulk is the smarts who is also an unpredictable element, and Thor is a demi-God out to stop his Brother. Black Widow/Romanoff and Hawkeye/Barton did not have their own films, but appeared in the others so they are somewhat established, but Romanoff especially gets a lot to do in the film to firmly develop her role in the group. Each of the heroes is a big personality, so initially have a hard time finding their feet working together in a group, and it’s fun watching everything come together. The death of agent Coulson, who played a big part in bringing everyone together, is an emotional scene that gives everyone motivation to work with each other, and gives the team a unifying purpose. I think the only character that could have done with more development is Loki, whose motivations are a bit muddled, and his role in a larger scheme is left very ambiguous. In one sense, it works because Loki has a specific goal (to rule Earth) and is a simple one so that the heroes can do what they do best and stop him without too many complications. Loki being used by a bigger evil is also obviously meant to set up future films, but I felt like it could have done with being a bit more clearer. But again theres a flip side, as developing this background more may have distracted from Loki being a focal point and a credible villain, so there’s a fine balancing act that is being struck here. As a standout performance, I enjoyed the portrayal of Bruce Banner/The Hulk as a skittish scientist who everyone also has to be really careful around so he doesn’t transform and pulverise them.

Even though the story is quite simple, the film as a whole is certainly not lacking in ambition and scope. The final battle covers a significant portion of Manhattan, with a full-scale alien invasion tearing through skyscrapers and the streets of New York City. Superheroes in NYC again is hardly a novel phenomenon (which the film itself pokes fun at with a Stan Lee cameo), but perhaps that’s very much intentional: The Avengers is not attempting to differentiate itself from other superhero films by trying something new and different, but by outdoing every other film in the genre on its home turf; taking all these established tropes and concepts and executing them in such a way that no other film could compete. In short, it becomes the definitive superhero film. The level of destruction is unparalleled, the production makes it feel like a comic book film full of colour and dynamic shots and poses, and there’s some gloriously over-the-tops moments while also retaining plenty of humanity. The film does have some faults as I mentioned, and doesn’t push the envelope in terms of finding a new angle to develop or evolve the genre, but it is an ambitious project that pays off through balancing a colourful cast of characters with large-scale action and an interweaving of stories to create an entertaining tapestry that solidifies itself as the apex of the genre. 

#movie #movie review #the avengers #sci-fi #superhero #marvel #marvel cinematic universe #iron man #the hulk #captain america #thor #film #film review #2012 film