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rapid-as-sass-in-nation-team · 5 months

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OOC thoughts on Striker's Mental State, And my hopes for his Recovery

(Long post)

I've seen a lot of people say this guys going on his joker arc now, which I completely get, but it also made me realize something with Striker that to me works with that. Plenty of people have criticized characters like the Joker for dramaticizing and demonizing (lol) mentally ill people, and there right. Instead of getting help to process and cope with their problems and trauma, there beaten senseless and carted off to a place where the average neurotypical citizen doesn't have to deal with them.

So what does this have to with Striker? Well anyone who saw Oops can tell he's not well in the head, his ego keeps getting beaten down, and here he snaps, fully ready to kill someone he barely knows to get back at Blitz, and then loses again, which may even scar him as some people have suspected, he was set on fire after all.

Thing is the ego he seems to put a lot of stake in has beaten into the dirt and the nervous and fragile wreck of a man is coming to show itself, and you know what? I don't want him to die

I understand this show is very much not his story, he's not a main character, he's is by every definition an antagonist, and if Viv kills him off I won't be all that surprised, its a completely fair writing choice to make the guy who goes up against the main crew of murderers to run out of luck and get offed, it makes sense to do that.

But at the same time, he's not all that far gone, his hate for royals is not for hate's sake, he's clearly been hurt before and that shaped him into what he is, his offer to Blitz during Harvest Moon, it does seem like he means it, he sees the relationship between him and Stolas as restrictive and offers him a chance to break free and get back at the system.

In fact him and Blitz seem to have a lot in common, as my friend @rodeoblitz pointed out, Striker almost seems like how Blitz would be without his friends, alone and vengeful. Like a dark mirror almost. and that especially makes me hope Striker gets help, he can be more then a cautionary tale to Blitz or "Whew, glad I didn't turn out like that guy!"

This show is very brutally honest with mental illness and trauma, Blitz and Moxxie especially show this. So I really hope they are more tactful with Striker, cause there is still a person under there, all that pain and hurt, and I really hope I.M.P and especially Blitz sees that.

Maybe after a rough fight, Blitz sees Striker desperately trying to get up, and realizes just how desperate he is, how sad and hurt and for once, he pities him, kicking and tossing their guns away and just proceeding to tell him that this needs to stop, and that what Striker is doing is helping noone, least of all himself. That there is hope for happiness for him, but this struggle isn't it, cause when Blitz spent so many years, hopelessly alone and miserable, maybe when he sees an oppurtunity to give someone the hope he never had in that situation he takes it.

I don't know, I know I'm bad at laying it out but I just hope Striker gets help, noone owes him anything for sure but I just hope his story ends well, cause he's clearly hurting, and despite all that he's done, I'd really love for the show make it clear he can be happy despite how unhinged his life has made him. Plus having a redeemed Striker pop up on occasion would be awesome, plus would love I.M.P roasting him for everything and he just grumbles as he helps out.

Any way that's my thoughts, no hate on whatever actually happens, Vivs story after all, but, personal feelings on a character I've grown to love, despite him being against most of the others I love XP

(TLDR I'd really like if Striker gets some help with his mental state, instead of just being an iredeemable villain, high hopes but still.)

#ooc thoughts #helluva striker #helluva boss striker #helluva boss

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elia-de-silentio · 3 years

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The overarching themes of Vanitas no Carte: Identity

The Case Study of Vanitas is a very good, too little known manga (I hope the anime changes something), with some central themes than are exposed in different ways through different characters. In this meta, I want to explore one that was brought to my attention pretty recently: here a little examination on the various ways to face one's own identity in The Case Study of Vanitas.

The Stable Identity( Noè)

Let's start off with the positives, shall we? Noè has probably the most secure personal identity of all the bunch.

And this is pretty amazing, considering everything he went through. He has no memory of his birth family, but gets adopted by some nice people - who die shortly afterwards. Right at their graves, he is kidnapped by slaves, in an accident that left him injured. Then he is bought by someone who actually treats him nicely and is a good mentor for him, he finds many friends his age - and then one of them, the one he was closest to, turns out to be a cursebearer, kills all of the others and then tries to kill him; he is saved by the mentor, who beheads the friend right in front of him. The most immediate emotion is relief for being alive, and he will always feel terrible for that. Then, he has to witness his surviving friend try to cope very badly with her mourning by repressing her identity and try to substitute it with that of her dead twin. That's a lot.

And Noé reacted to all of this by becoming a confident person, kind and attentive to others, but not to the point of being a pushover. I'm not saying he walked away unscathed from the events of his childhood: he regrets the way he handled things with Louis, the way he didn't understand him, and has developed quite the savior complex as a result.

What I'm saying is that he is probably one of the very few well-adjusted people in the psychiatric ward that is Vanitas no Carte. He is still questioning himself, but in a normal way for a nineteen-years-old that has just left a sheltered environment for the big wide world. He is aware of some of his strenghts (his naivete) and is realizing others (putting unfair expectations on other people, underestimating other people due to racial biases); but most importantly, when he realizes these mistakes, he doesn't run away from them or obsess over them believing they make him a horrible person: he recognizes them, apologizes to the wronged person if necessary, and works on improving them.

This isn't to say he's completely happy-go-lucky with no regrets; he feels guilty about being relieved that he lived while Louis died, and he has a lot of uncertainties regarding his identity as an Archiviste and the impact his powers can have on other people. But he managed not to tie his entire identity to that guilt; and as for the second point, Teacher helped him rationalise that and figure out a conduit that didn't undermine him and at the same time showed respect for others. Noè went through several traumas, but received one thing most of the cast didn't: guidance and support from his environment. Whatever Teacher's actual motives are, he shaped a well-balanced person.

The Group Identity (The dhamps, appearently 99% of vampirekind)

"Us dhams are only loyal to each other!" This is what Dante says in one of the first chapters, giving us the first clues to their status as outcasts.

The war between humans and vampires ended up with each deciding to keep to themselves, but dhampires are the living exception to that silent agreement. So, both societies decide to reject them, and they can't find a place in the world unless they stick to others of their own kind. This common history of traumatic experiences of abandonment and subsequent resentment of both human and vampire society for it goes on to create a very strong group identity: the only ones they give a damn about are those like them, everyone else is a potential enemy and is only good to be exploited.

Then, we have the vampire culture. I mean ... it might be because insofar we have met almost exclusively aristocrats obsessed with their respectability ... but they have a lot of prejudices.

You're born under a uncommon moon? You're a pariah. You're mixed race? You're a pariah. Your parents committed a crime? You're a pariah, and are used as a tool. You're born as part of a set of twins? Either you or your sibling are killed at birth, because of something that is SAID, not even a certified element of vampire biology. You're stuck with a curse? You're executed, no attempts to heal you.

Their society seems to run on an ideal model of person which depends on factors outside the individual's control, and whoever doesn't fit this description and deviates from the group in any shape or form gets ridiculously fierce punishment. They make the freaking Church look good by comparison, at least their repressive and racist side is composed of extremists instead of everymen.

The Clan Identity (Chloé, and partially Noé again)

Chloé identifies with a group of people too; but it's not a race, it's a family. The D'Apchier family, the nobles who are responsible for Gevaudan. Her father made sure she had this idea in her right from the start, and she interiorized it.

And this had mixed results: while on the one hand she was chained to self-loathing by the guilt of having accidentally caused the massacre of the family and was only saved by Jeanne and Jean-Jacques reclaiming her as part of theirs, on the other she was able to resist to Naenia because of the love and responsibility she felt towards the people of Gevaudan. Chloé is, at this point, the only curse-bearer who managed to trick and attempted to fight directly against Charlatan.

Then there is Noé in relation to his Archiviste identity. He seems to think of it mainly in negative terms, very conscious of the living invasion of privacy it turns him into ... and nothing else. We have never seen him wonder about who his birth parents were, ask himself why he doesn't remember anything, why was the clan exterminated, or how he feels about being a survivor, one of the only ones if not outright the only. He sees his heritage as a burden,and hasn't thought of it in any different term. I wonder how a change in perspective could impact the above 'stable identity'.

The Someone Else's Identity (Vanitas, Dominique)

I already dedicated a whole post to this trait they share, so I'll be short: both Vanitas and Dominique hate themselves and try to become something worthy by taking elements of people they admire: Louis for Dominique, a combination of his birth father and Luna for Vanitas.

The Object Identity (Jeanne)

The very first thing Jeanne was said in her whole life was that she was an object. A vessel for something (or someone?) else, who mustn't have feelings or desires of her own. Encouraging, isn't it?

Luckily, this wasn't all she got in life. Soon afterwards, she was adopted by Eric and Louise, who loved her a lot, received kindness by Ruthven, met Chloé who became an older sister to her. Unluckily, all of this was taken away from her in the most cruel way possible.

She couldn't make any sense of her parents's betrayal and death, and the way her life suddenly changed; she rationalised it by telling herself that it was her fault, if she had been just the good object everyone told her to be nothing would have happened. So she accepts the Object Identity: she is a tool, so she doesn't feel, she exists only to obey orders, and as long as she is nobody else will ever suffer. It gets even worse after she fails to kill Chloè: she couldn't fulfill her duties, and both her and her big sis suffered for it. This mindset traps her in a world of pain, but also prevents her from facing the fact that she is subject to a senseless injustice, one she has no control over.

Vanitas managed to help her with that. He validated her feelings, and showed her that nobody had to die if she had them, solving the situation with Chloé and Jean-Jacques. This gave her a nice confidence boost, returning her to the cheerful attitude she had as a young girl; the consequences of this change remain to be seen.

The Unknown Identity (Luna)

This one is interesting because Luna themselves is pretty explicit about it. They see themselves as something 'other', who is outside commonly used categorization; starting with 'male or female' (and here I am left wondering if they had specific sexual characteristics but didn't feel like they 'fit', or were intersex and nonbinary, or had an entirely different biology from both vampires and humans).

Luna doesn't like this condition: they said they tried to figure out what they were, to understand themselves, and they regret doing so now. Why? Maybe they didn't find any answer and were left perpetually unsatisfied, or they found an answer, and they found it to be awful?

Still, this indicates Luna has never been particularly happy with themselves, and this found no resolution. And then they died. Nice, uh?

Well, I think this was all. There are other characters I would like to know more about in regard to this, like Ruthven, Marquis Machina, and Mikhail, but there is still time.

All in all, I'd say Vanitas no Carte explores the theme of identity pretty throughly; many character arcs are still in progress, and I'm interested about how things will develope especially for Vanitas, Dominique and Jeanne.

Thanks to anyone who bothered to read my ramblings!

#vnc #vanitas no carte #the case study of vanitas #vnc meta #vnc analysis #vnc noe #vnc chloé #vnc vanitas #vnc dominique #vnc jeanne #vnc luna #elia's recaps

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the-trashy-phoenix · 3 years

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Supernatural season 2 review (part 2)

Link to part 1:

Irene and I have finished watching Supernatural season 2 (we're already on season 3), so here it comes my review on it. I like this season more than the first one: we already know this supernatural world and have learnt to love the brothers, and since the big bad guy isn't dead yet we want to see what happens next. The plot evolves from the first season, we understand many things we didn't before and it is all suddenly way more interesting (meanwhile I feel like the most interesting thing in the first season were the single episodes). Sam's psychics abilities have a purpose and we learn there's sort of a pattern involving other people, the same age as Sam, who have all the same destiny: to become warriors for an upcoming war. In this season we have the chance to see more of Azazel (the yellow-eyed demon), what he's capable of and what he has done to Sam (and the consequences of it, including how Dean has to deal with all of this, meanwhile being in a terrible position). At the end of the season, even if he's been defeated by John himself, we know Sam is not back to normal (and we also know the truth about Azazel is not totally revealed, since we now know Mary had already met the demon before the night she died).

Season 1 ends with the car accident, so the first thing we see in the first episode of the second season is the brothers and John in the hospital. Dean is almost dead and has no chance of surviving, but John makes a deal with Azazel and dies instead of Dean (sacrificing the colt too). I understand why John would do that (one of the not-many-things I understand about his behaviour), but I also think this is one of the many things he has done that leads to Dean suffering and blaming it all over himself. No wonder why this boy behaves the way he behaves: he has all of this emotional pain he carries with him since he was basically four years old. Of course Dean doesn't talk about his father's death and acts like it's not affecting him, although it does, a lot. Sam's reaction is different, but I think it was very appropriate: the thing is most upset about is the fact that he and his father had never actually gotten along very well and that they had a fight right before John's death. I also think that both brothers haven't had quite the opportunity to grief from their father's death (just be sad for his absence and think about their true feelings for him), because they were to focus on bigger events involving John's last moments with them. Another thing that keeps them occupied is the main problem in this season, Azazel and all that he causes.

There's a thing I forgot about and that, as I rewatched the season, surprised me: Dean already wants to quit hunting. The fact that he is even more fed up than Sam shows us that in reality, as much as he wanted to be like his father and behave like John told him to, he doesn't want to live the life he is supposed to live (and we can also see it in episode 02x20, in which Dean sees what his life could have been without the death of his mother and demonstrates lots of courage by choosing to return to his normal life anyway). Knowing both what Dean wants and all that things that happen later in the other seasons, this makes me very sad.

Since we're speaking of Dean, I was left a bit shocked by his lack of hesitance on killing the people with the Croatoan virus (02x09). I get that he wanted to stop the virus, but they remained people, and of course when Sam gets the virus he doesn't kill him, which is more than understandable, but it also means that he could've at least waited a bit more before killing the others.

Since I've seen all of the other seasons rewatching 02x13 has been pretty funny, especially because of Dean. He keeps telling he doesn't believe in the angels’ crap and, well, we all know he's gonna change his mind. I also like that Sam is still faithful after all he's been through and especially since he's in this position of supernatural-slightly-demonic powers.

Speaking of which, John leaves a message to Dean before dying: if he can't save Sam from his powers he has to kill him instead of letting him become evil. This leads Dean to have two big thoughts hunting him, his supposed duty to kill his brother and his guilt for his father's death. I always feel like all the responsibilities grow on him and I would love it if he could have a way to release these feelings in some ways, but of course he never does it properly. It turns out Sam agrees with his father and tells Dean to kill him, but Dean has no intention of doing it (reasonably). In this season we can see how much Sam is scared of his psychic abilities, almost as if he's scared of turning in a monster (and we can see it clearly in what I think is the saddest episode of the season, 02x17, in which Sam has to kill the girl who turned out to be a werewolf).

I like how the writers have developed the jail theme, having episodes 02x07, 02x12, 02x19, in which the brothers have to face justice for what they've apparently done. The thing I like the most about these episodes is the fact that we know the Winchester have been in trouble with the law for good reasons, it is frustrating (but in a good way) to see the other people mistaking them for the bad guys (till a point they're even called monsters) and we can't even be mad at the cops, because they don't know the truth.

In this season there are introduced some new characters. First of all, I have to mention the trickster, not just because he provides the most senseless episode of the season (02x15, which I love), but also because I know his time on Supernatural is not over yet, fortunately. We also meet Ellen and Jo Harvelle, a mother and her daughter who own and manage the Roadhouse, a bar attended mostly by hunters, in which we find another character, Ash. I like all three of them for different reasons. Ash, the one with less screen time, is not as important as the other two, but he gives some funny moments and he's a smart guy (and I like the scene where Dean compliments his hairstyle). Ellen is a sweet and strong woman hurt by the death of her husband and a caring mother who doesn't want her daughter to have the same faith as her father. Jo, my favourite, is a passionate young girl who wants to follow her father's footprints and become a hunter. I honestly like her character a lot and the dynamic she has with dean in season two (end especially how they don't make out the second Dean enter the bar), they care about each other (Jo probably more than Dean does for now) and I love the fact that he has a girl in his life he doesn't just want to fuck (or viceversa), but who he can also kinda rely on. The only thing I don’t really get is the way she treats him after she finds out her father was with John when he died during a hunt (and that John was probably a part of what caused his death). I understand that she probably thinks (like her mother) that Dean would do the same thing with her, but it’s not like he has already done it, and he actually doesn’t know anything about what happened to her father.

There is also another character who's introduced in the first seasons but who has much more screen time in this one: Bobby Singer. He's one of my favourite characters on Supernatural ever and, I mean, who doesn't think it the same way? He's a loving, but also grumpy, old man who can perfectly sostituite John in his father role, indeed he's much better than him. He doesn't treat Sam and Dean as soldiers, but as his children first, and he cares about what troubles them and what inner thoughts they're facing. And that leads us at the end of the season, when Dean has already made the deal with a demon to bring his brother back to life (a thing Dean has condemned before, especially because his father did the same for him, which demonstrated a bit of hypocrisy, even if it's comprehensible). Bobby is mad at him and for good reasons: he understands Dean wanting Sam back and doesn't blame him for it, but what worries Bobby the most is the little (almost non-existent) care Dean reserves for himself. His self esteem (which is talked about more in the third season) seems so low he doesn't even care if he ends up in hell (and that he will in about a year). All he's been good at is being a good soldier and keeping his brother safe, protecting him, so when he faces the fact he hasn't saved Sam he can't live without bringing him back to life, even if that means sacrificing himself in the most terrible way. Sam now has to live with the weight of his brother's death and trip to hell (beside worrying about the upcoming war with the demons who escaped hell), but these are the main themes of season 3.

- Carly 💚

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iammultifandomaf · 3 years

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Chapter 9 - The Prophecy Has Come To Pass

BROTHERHOOD

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/12211562/9/

The morning went by rather fast and Stolos found himself already craving for lunch. He walked to the kitchen with the intention to steal some food but before he could've crept inside the small room, someone grabbed him by the shoulder. Stolos turned around, already making up a few lies for the person who caught him. It wasn't necessary, though.

"We need to go. Elyana is with the general right now," Michendros said with an urging tone.

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know but we can't let them kill her," the older brother whispered and began walking towards the big hall. Stolos quickly caught up and asked: "She wanted to die for us anyways, though. Isn't it the same outcome?"

"Stolos! There's a diference. She wants to sacrifice herself for us, it's probably some magical thing with some meaning. If they kill her it will be painful and for her it will be senseless."

"You care about her, don't you?"

"That doesn't matter. Come."

Michendros opened one part of a huge metalic door, trying to be as quiet as possible. The room was filled with the leaders of the army and several soldiers who stood by Elyana who was sitting on her knees in front of the general.

Stolos and Michendros went by the wall silently so they wouldn't disrupt them. Stolos noticed that Elyana was whispering something but it seemed more like to herself than to the general. She was working on the spell.

"I think we should burn her, gentlemen," one of the leaders with a bald head said.

"She obviously has no excuse for her actions and only blabbers in her strange tounge. She had a chance," other one said.

"Should we make it public? the general asked.

"I don't think so. We wouldn't want to give her the satisfaction of getting more attention," the bald-headed shared his concern and the others nodded in agreement.

"With this, we sentence you to die by burning," the general said. The brothers looked at each other, not sure what to do. But before Stolos had the chance to say something, Michendros was already standing in the middle of the room in front of the leaders.

"And you boy are doing here what?" one of the leaders asked, raising his dark eyebrow.

"You can't execute her!" Michendros said loudly.

"Why is that?" the bald one asked.

"You just... can't. She is innocent."

"She is guilty of sorcery and I believe it is our decision. Not yours," the general said. Michendros looked around, his gaze stopping first at Stolos, then on her. She was still mumbling something strange to them. He again raised his eyes to the leaders and said: "I know that she is innocent. Just look at her. She is so young."

"Maybe you should think more with your head, son. She's been talking to herself like a lunatic, she is of no use."

"She might be only praying. She has to be scared," Michendros said almost sadly.

"Nonsense! Guards, take her outside and begin gathering wood," the general exclaimed and the two soldiers standing by Elyana's sides grabbed her and picked her up from the floor. Michendros didn't see any other option but jumping at them and making them let go of her.

"Stop this immediately! If you are so enchanted by her looks, you should be helped. Guards, blind him."

At this command, Stolos shot out from his hiding spot to stand before his older brother. He spread his arms wide, being a human shield for Michendros. But even though he was one of the best among his peers, Stolos wasn't able to fight of two armed men with more years of training than Stolos had. Within seconds, Stolos was lying a few feet away from his brother. He got to his feet quickly but it was too late. His eyes fell on his brother's face which was now covered in blood. The scream of agony sounded through the room like an echo, paralysing Stolos at the spot.

When the soldier withdrew the blade from Michendros' left eye, he looked back at the leaders who nodded at him, making the soldier stab Michendros into the right eye as well.

Michendros didn't cry out this time. He placed his shaking hand on his face, covering the two terrifying bleeding holes where the eyes used to be.

"How could you?!" Stolos yelled and jumped to his brother, gently putting his arm around the shoulders and giving a hateful gaze to the leaders.

"You should learn how to be quiet, young man. Otherwise you'll lose something, too."

Stolos felt how his sight was getting blurry. He didn't shed a tear for years now so it was quite a surprise for Stolos when he had to dry his cheeks with his sleeve. He tried to help his brother to stand up and bring him to the physician but Michendros didn't move an inch.

"Michendros, come on," Stolos whispered and tried to pull his brother up from his knees. Michendros only shook his head and said quietly: "Help her."

Stolos glanced at Elyana who was still muttering something for herself, not even acknowledging what had just happened to Michendros.

"Are you crazy? She doesn't give a damn about us, just stand up," Stolos said, being a little annoyed by his brother's loyalty for this girl. Suddenly, Elyana's muttering became louder. It sounded like an omen for Stolos' ears. He finally managed to pick his brother up and began walking towards the exit.

"No, Stolos. Don't make me leave," he mumbled.

"We have to, she's going to get us in more trouble than we already are."

Stolos grabbed the handle on the door but it couldn't be opened. He tried again but nothing came out of his effort. "What the hell...," he said for himself. He turned around, still holding Michendros tightly to his body, making sure he was safe.

"What's happening?" Michendros asked quietly, slowly realizing that he will be asking this question rather often from this moment.

"Elyana seems to be in pain I guess. Nobody is touching her, though," Stolos said, himself wondering why does it look as if the girl was in agony.

"Help her," Michendros begged and clasped Stolos' tunic into his fingers. Stolos looked down at his brother. It was the first time he directly looked at Michendros' face which now lacked his usual dark brown irises.

"Are you insane?" Stolos asked with a gentle tone, "I need to take care of you, not her."

"I am just blind, Stolos. I'll survive that."

"Just blind-" Stolos scoffed at this ridiculous statement and wanted to say something more but the walls around them started to shake at once.

"An earthquake?" Stolos said outloud, looking around the now unstable stones which were pilled up, creating the walls in which they were now trapped. Everyone in the room started to look for the cause of this sudden concerning state of the building and their eyes ended up on Elyana.

"It's the witch! Kill her!" the general yelled out towards the guards who didn't hesitate and pierced the young girl with a sword. The moment he withdrew the sword from her guts, she fell to the floor as well as some of the walls began to fall down. Michendros wanted to get onto his feet but Stolos held him tightly, ready to protect him with his own body.

"Stolos, let go of off me," Michendros commanded but his younger brother didn't listen. "I must be heavy anyways," he tried again but Stolos' didn't even listen. He stared at the limp body in front of him and decided to walk over to it.

"We are trapped here," Stolos stated, "the doors won't open. She did something to it."

He lowered his brother on the floor next to Elyana and began examining the body.

"Don't go anywhere," he told to his older brother whose hand found Elyana's wound.

"She's dead."

"And we are too. The ceiling will bury us here," Stolos answered, ignoring the other Romans trying resentfully to get out of the room which was falling down at them.

"Take my hand," Michendros said and stretched out his fingers in the air, searching for his brother. Stolos laid his eyes on the hand which was now covered in blood and took it into his own.

"Funny. We gave her ours for some miracle to happen and the only thing what she gave us in return was her blood. Seems fair, I suppose," Stolos said, still holding Michendros' hand tightly. It didn't take long. The walls crushed down and weren't able to support the ceiling which inevitably fell down too. The building buried all the people inside of the room. Suddenly, it was so quiet. Nobody talked, the birds were silent, not even the wind blew. Silence.

...

Dentorons was just a few blocks away and heard the building crushing down. His peers were at first as confused as Den was but then one of the boys pointed somewhere into the air.

"Look! There!"

Everyone turned their heads towards the direction where he was poiting to see a big cloud of dust. Dentorons didn't wait for the others and run towards the cloud. When he came closer, he saw a bunch of people already gathering around the ruins and some of them tried to find survivals.

Dentorons couldn't get nearer because the adults didn't even acknowledge him standing there. Suddenly, a drop of rain fell on his cheek and then another one and an other. Within seconds, it rained heavily and thunder was heard from the distance. Everyone around including Den wondered about such a sudden change of weather but the strong men trying to drag away the stones continued searching even under these circumstances. Dentorons wasn't sure why but he felt very odd and he could tell that the others standing around him felt also peculiar.

Remembering his older friend, Den began asking the people standing next to him: "Who was there? Who died there?"

"I believe that the leaders were there," somebody said.

"No! I've heard that a witch was in there! She has cursed us! Just look at the sky!" another voice said.

"Nonsense, at least it will rain and we can grow some food."

"Exactly, you are being paranoid."

"I am not paranoid! Look up!"

Dentorons obeyed the man's order and noticed a weirdly shaped dark cloud which was now haning above them. Den gulped at its sight and backed away from the crowd a little.

And then it happened. Lighting bolts hitting the ground around the building, scorching some of the citizens standing there. Dentorons watched it with wide eyes open, unable to move. More lighting, just now they struck the ruins. Once, then once again.

The crowd quickly disappeared as people run away to hide, that meant that Den had a clear view on the ruins now and how shocked he was when suddenly, next to the fire which the lighting started, two figures arose. Dentorons wanted to make a step closer to see but was stopped by a woman who screamed: "They are the witches accomplices. I am certain! I've seen them with her before! And that is why they survived this."

The cloud of dust cleared out as wind started to blow a little more and the young soldier could now make out the two figures in the distance.

"Stolos...," Den whispered.

...

"It kind of reminded me of... well, you know, the walls shaking and everything," Stiles said while his restrains were taken down.

"You are safe now. Nothing else matters. You should go to your girlfriend. She's worried sick."

"You are this John she's been mentioning, aren't you?" Stiles said and stood up.

"Go to her, Stiles. Live your life," he said and started turning away but was stopped by Stiles grabbing him by the hand.

"No, wait..."

"Why?" he turned back and looked him in the eyes which he regretted right away.

"Um," Stiles scratched the back of his neck and finally said, "first of all, I have no idea where I am, secondly..."

"Don't-"

"-I want you to stay," Stiles said squeezing his hand a little and then letting go.

"What would you do with me around? I don't want to even entertain the idea," he scoffed, "how would you explain her? It would ruin everything you built."

"So, the better option is going to her workplace to ask about me discreetly?" Stiles asked and folded his arms on his chest, watching the guilty expression which was quickly washed away by the usual calmness.

"I won't do that again, I promise. I didn't want to scare her..."

"You actually did the exact opposite. Apparently, you are sympathetic."

"Come, I'll show you the way back," he said and started walking away from Stiles.

"Michendros, please," Stiles said almost with a begging tone in his voice.

#brotherhood #stiles stilinski #stolos #john mitchell #michendros #chapter 9 #the prophecy has come to pass #fanfic #fanfiction

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cricket-and-merry · 4 years

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Merry's Thoughts: Mean Snape

As much as I love Snape from the very bottom of my lil Slytherin heart... Let's be real. He's a massive prick.

Maybe this is a controversial statement? But I've spent literally over a decade (!!! where has the time gone) thinking about & developing headcanons for Severus Snape, and I know for a fact that if I met him in real life he'd come off as a huge asshole, and he'd probably be perfectly content to pretend I don't exist.

From my perspective, writing Snape is interesting because I really do have to get into this headspace where I'm critical of everything. Literally everything. There's a nihilism at the heart of him that informs his every action. Tradition? Ugh. Social norms? Shallow. Politeness? Pointless. Hope for the future? We don't know her.

He just doesn't enjoy life, in general. Even people/things he does like are subject to his scrutiny & disdain from time to time. And while that can be interesting to write about, that level of cynicism in a person just creates... pain. Severus Snape is a deeply unhappy man who finds fault with everything and everyone. Not just people he hates, but even those he likes or respects. Even you and me.

Even himself.

And it's in that mental environment that he somehow manages to pick himself up and fight for the greater good, despite not feeling like the world he's preserving has a place for him at all. That's what makes him a heroic figure-- Not the manner of his death, but the fact that he willingly dedicated his life to a thankless cause for no other reason than it was the right thing to do. Say what you will about his attachment to Lily, but by the time he made this decision she was dead and gone: meaning he stood to gain absolutely nothing from this arrangement. Defecting from the Death Eaters was a death sentence, but he went to Dumbledore not to ask for forgiveness, but to ask for a second chance to right the wrongs he had done. This man had endured heartache, tragedy, abuse and vitriol for the entirety of his life both before and after this critical choice, and yet... He still pressed on.

But, I fell in love with Severus Snape because I was interested in why he became the sort of man he was, not because I found absolutely everything about him to be admirable. And a lot of my headcanons with Cricket are related to the origins of this man's bitterness, and the work he would have to do to improve himself. A change of job or scenery won't do the trick; he'll be just as bitter elsewhere because his circumstances aren't the reason for his unhappiness, they're just a side effect. He hurts people because he's been hurt. That nasty streak of his may have been taught -- he wasn't born bad -- but that doesn't change the harm he's caused with it, and it certainly doesn't shift blame. If Snape had outlived Voldemort, he'd still have a lot of work to do to make up for the damage he's done.

It's that very aspect of him that I find most fascinating. Not his wit and sarcasm, not his intellect and magical prowess, not his determination to protect a boy he hates, not his petty and vindictive demeanor, not his ability to love, not his stern pride nor his flair for the dramatic. But the simple fact that this man who embodies all those things and more, a man who has grown weary of life's many artifices and senseless tragedies, still retains the strength and courage to change for the better.

And, honestly, that's someone I'd like to meet.

... Even if the feeling isn't mutual, haha.

#merry #snape feels #LOTS OF EM #snape #merry's thoughts

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