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quirkwizard · 1 year

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Vigilante Pursuit: Looking at the Villain Hunt Arc

So for anyone who has followed my blog for any period of time, you know that I dislike the Stars and Stripes arc. However, that isn't the only arc that I take issue with. When I was first reading this arc, I had my issues with it, but I did my best to try and move past them. Unfortunately, my opinion of it has only soured as time has gone on and I have had more time to reread and process everything that happened in it. That being the Villain Hunt Arc.

Yes, I know its official title is the Dark Hero Arc, but that name is dumb, so I'm sticking with the Villain Hunt Arc. To be pretty clear, I don't hate this arc, and I still think that there are some good qualities to it. The fight with Lady Nagant is a dramatic challenge to Izuku's perception of heroes, the confrontation between All Might and Stain was a strong beat for their characters, and the Uraraka's speech is one of the highlights of the later arcs of the series. It is not without its problems, and I do feel a lot of frustration with those problems. So, after reaching nine thousand posts, I thought I would reflect on them and try to figure out how to fix this arc.

Unlike the Star and Stripes Arc though, the problems aren't exactly fundamental to the arc itself, more that there are issues in execution. Even then, it's more of one consistent problem throughout the arc and a few other bits with how things play out. So a lot of this will be more of the rewrite than me simply complaining about it. For the sake of this, I'm going to try to stick to as much of the canon structure and this arc as possible with the rewrites. I may have a lot of issues with Izuku's power progression, which is probably the worst in this arc, but such a thing would require changing whole other arcs or making new ones. And when I am writing this, the most recent Chapter 387. So if anything happens to counter my points, know that it hasn't happened yet.

Just Watch Us

Whenever I think back on this arc, I always think about the lack of character moments that weren't for the usual ensemble. The ones that stand out most to me are Hawks and Endeavor. I can understand why the characters would want to brush past that given their personalities and their circumstances, but it feels unsatisfying to not see them react to what happened to them or have the world change as a result. Endeavor says that he will keep pushing forward and tells people to watch him. Even though he has nothing to show for except his words after one of the worst debacles in hero history. And what he did has no real effect or reaction on anyone outside of the family. There isn't any pushback or reflection on Hawks either. Hawks murdered someone on live television, and the most we get is during the press conference. There's no time to think about Twice or the regret he has for killing. He's an optimist, after all.

And don't think that they are the only ones. So many of the students are barely given any time to process or talk about what happened to them. Mina and Kirsihima saw the brutalized corpse of their teacher. And we barely get anything on that. They just got out of a war, and all of them seem a bit bummed out. This is the worst day for most, if not all, of the characters involved. Why can't we see that tragedy and turmoil in them? This isn't only a thing with the war, either. Uraraka and Iida find out their best friend has lied to them for the better part of a year and has left them behind, with the two having no idea where Izuku is or what's happening to him. There isn't any time to reflect on how they're dealing with any of this. We simply have to assume that all this happened off screen in the month-long time jump, if it happened at all.

Near Miss

So when I said that I didn't dislike the Lady Nagant fight, there were a few asterixis next to it. I know it's a minor point, but it has constantly bothered me: why is Kai here? Now I understand why Kai is around. It's to set up everything with Lady Nagant and Izuku trying to save and help the villains, pairing him up with the most hateable villain that isn't part of the League of Villains. However, that doesn't explain why Kai is here from an in universe perspective. Lady Nagant seemingly brings him out of Tatarus on a whim. She says she wants to use him, but what use is a gibbering ex-convict with no arms? And when they get out, she wants him around to identify Izuku. Why on Earth would she need that? Are you telling me All For One didn't even give her any information on Izuku? Nothing like a photo or a basic description of her target?

My biggest issue with it is the introduction of "Fa Jin". Aside from the pacing issues of introducing so many of his new Quirks in such a short time span, "Fa Jin" is easily the worst of all the "One For All" Quirks. As an actual Quirk, it's fine. Nothing special, but has a unique gimmick. My problems lie in making it a Quirk for Izuku because it doesn't really add anything to his power set. It isn't an interesting expansion on Izuku's arsenal, basically doing exactly what "One For All" was doing before. It's obviously only there as a crutch to get Izuku to One Hundred Percent as fast as possible in the shortest amount of time. What's more is that it ruins the fun cat-and-mouse dynamic the fight had before. It's not something we've seen in the series before and would have given us a chance to see Izuku as the intelligent planner he's supposed to be. Instead, Izuku didn't win through some clever strategy, he won by making his number bigger.

Then there is how the fight ends. Lady Nagant blows up as a part of a cruel tactic by All For One. I understand what the story is going for, having all of Izuku's efforts destroyed to mentally break him, but there are some questions raised. Like how exactly did All For One use a Quirk that wasn't his? Why make it a Quirk he snuck onto her then? Why not simply be the effect of a Quirk he already had? How did Lady Nagant handle three Quirks when even two Quirks are considered extreme and potentially life-threatening? How was Lady Nagant not aware of this? Then following up with Izuku going to the mansion, which only results in All For One reinforcing what we already know and another egregious explosion fake out, just feels like such a limp and pointless way to end this entire segment. It's another symptom of All For One worming his way into every single plot as the big villain. You can't have a moment between a hero and villain without All For One twirling his IV tubes in the background.

How it All Stops

I know I have played up in the past how much I liked this moment. I did feel catharsis when Bakugou finally owned up to how awful he was to Izuku and apologized. But looking back at it with a critical eye, I'm finding a major problem with it: it's all about Bakugou. Don't get me wrong, this is supposed to be a big moment for Bakugou and how he's grown. But the other half of the equation is simply missing. There isn't accountability of what he did to Izuku. It's all justification about why he treated Izuku so poorly, only to then turn it over to how he has been acting in the past. There isn't any kind of acknowledgement or punishment for what he's done to Izuku. It comes across that Bakugou effectively Houdinied his way out of the actual consequences of his actions.

What's more is that there's nothing about how Izuku is processing this. Izuku, the guy who was hurt most by Bakugou's constant bullying and actions, doesn't say or think anything about this. Which is such a massive problem throughout the whole of the arc. There is so little time to give Izuku any moments to himself or thoughts on how he's feeling about everything. This should be a huge surge of emotions and the culmination of everything that's been building up with Izuku. But everything is more focused on the other characters, either through Izuku's own thoughts or writing focusing on them more. All that happens is that he collapses and apologizes to everyone else for insulting them. And this ends Rogue Izuku portion of the story. Did you enjoy the handful of chapters you got? I hope you did, because that is the end of that part of his character. One we barely got to actually see.

After all of that, there's barely anything following up on it. All the building emotions he had about himself and the arc over the years? Gone. A serious talk between Izuku and All Might about everything that has happened? Nothing. Any sort of real connection or follow-up with Uraraka and Iida? Not really. The most we get is simply in service of Toga and Uraraka's plot dozens of chapters later. There isn't anything personal about this arc that carries forward. As far as developing the characters, it may as well not have even happened. Bakugou still acts like a tool to Izuku, making it seem like he didn't really learn anything from all of this. We don't even get any proper follow-up with All Might. He apologizes to Izuku and then they move onto more plot beats. Which is so off the mark that it's downright insulting to both characters' stories. Take a bath and a nap, Izuku. It's clearly what you needed.

I know I keep harping on this part of it, but you need there to be a proper middle ground and payoff in order for the conclusion to feel satisfying. It feels like I'm watching a DVD with scratches on it, constantly skipping between major scenes, and the characters acting like they came to a conclusion without us seeing it. It's what attributed to a lot of rushed feeling for the last few arcs. While I always believed that these rapid plot points began back during the MLA War Arc, they have become so prevalent here. All the characters are being moved to their conclusion faster than the manga can handle in the number of chapters they are given. So a lot of them either feel forgotten in the sweep or have their characters and stories shorthanded to reach the end. Now, how would I fix all this?

Heroes of the Past

To start things off, Gran Torino will die in the hospital, potentially while talking to Izuku. I'm not one for suddenly killing off characters, but he really shouldn't have survived such a massive attack from Tomura and I think this would be a good point for him to bite it. More could be added from his death than from his life, especially if he's just going to sit in the hospital for the rest of the series. It would actually have Tomura kill someone that we know and care about, adding some more stakes and threat to this arc, but it would also start Izuku's spiral during this entire situation. From there, I would change the vestiges role as well for this arc. I would have them put more pressure on Izuku. He is there last shot at stopping All For One and they would try to push him more and more. Having the manifestations act as the voices of overwhelming responsibility would be a really interesting way to represent Izuku's thought process and the doubts he has. It's literally Izuku's power and the ghosts of the previous user wearing down on him.

With Hawks and Endeavor, I would certainly have them both interact on their own as characters away from the plot. Maybe Hawks could see some parallels between himself and Shoto as two young kids who were weapons for the sake of others because of their strong Quirks. Maybe Endeavor could talk about how much he had similar thoughts to Hawks, yet was always able to hold back in the end. You could give some more depth to their histories, like Hawk's life in the Hero Commission or who Endeavor was outside of hero work. And if nothing else, we need Endeavor's reaction to "One For All". The cornerstone of Endeavor's entire character was wanting to surpass All Might. After everything that happened over the past year for him, from becoming the Number One to finding out about Dabi, there should be something to him finding out just how truly futile that goal was this entire time. How much of his life was destroyed for less than nothing.

After that, there should be some external pushback and problems for them. Endeavor could be confronted by civilians and heroes, saying that they don't want to look at him and constantly throwing what Dabi did in his face. You could even have former heroes attack him, believing that someone like him does not deserve to be a hero and is simply a villain corrupting their role. Hawks could come across a scene where he finds a group of minor, but recognizable villains, like the Reservoir Dogs, all strung up on the streets. This could either be done by civilians or rogue heroes, finding Hawk's actions justifiable in killing villains, only exasperated by the extreme circumstances. How could those two possibly confront those circumstances? It'd give us some actual weight and consequence to their actions while fitting with the idea of how the actions of major heroes can trickle down into the rest of society.

vs Lady Nagant

This time around, Lady Nagant will bring Kai out of a sense of empathy for him given his condition, though she will hide it from All For One with the same excuse of thinking he'd be useful, which is technically true. Once she gets her mission, she will bring him along out of a need for information about Izuku. Not he knows what Izuku looks like, but because he knows about Izuku and how he fights. It could help explain why Lady Nagant is doing so well, aside from her simply being that good and give Kai more of a purpose. Instead of using "Fa Jin", just have Izuku uses the benefits of his other Quirks. Let him use his other powers and show off the benefits that "Black Whip", "Float", "Danger Sense", and "Smokescreen" provide for him. This provides a unique chance to have Izuku fight smarter and not harder.

And when the fight is over, don't make Lady Nagant the bomb. Make Overhaul the bomb. All For One could have attempted to take "Overhaul", but failed to do so since Kai's Quirk Factor is gone, which well say works that way for this rewrite, only to then sneak the bomb on him. Then you could have Lady Nagant make a move to save Izuku at the cost of herself. That still has the same kind of tragedy to it. The person he'd tried to save is dead or dying, depending on what Hori wants to do with him, and reigniting those heroic values in someone puts her in critical condition. Plus, I think if Hori wants to do any kind of redemption for Overhaul, people are going to want to see him suffer a little bit more for all the stuff he did to everyone in the Overhaul Arc. And skip All For One taunting Izuku, that simply wasn't needed.

After this fight, we are going to cut away from that part of the story. In order to get some breathing room for the rest of the characters, we need to push Izuku away from the spotlight for a little while. What's more is that gives the audience some tension and concern over what's happening with Izuku. Ideally, we start with Izuku and cut away once the Lady Nagant fight is over. It helps put us into Izuku's headspace some, focusing so much on everything that all the other characters feel so distant, only to cut back to them and feel the worry with them since we know how bad of a place Izuku is in. And could you imagine the reveal when we see Izuku and his monstrous vigilante look? Then, when that happens, we flashback to what Izuku has been doing before all of this happened. Plus, with UA, we could get a look at some of the other civilian reactions to what's been happening.

Back at UA

As for what this would be filled with, the first thing to come to mind would be Kirishima, Mina, and Momo. Look, I don't like how they handled Midnight's death. I think it was an incredibly cheap death, throwing a named character to the wolves to give the deaths on the hero's side some artificial weight without giving her any depth or connections outside of a side manga. But if you are going to kill her, at least do something with the characters it's supposed to affect. Have Mina bring up how much Midnight's classes meant to her, or have Momo think about some advice Midnight taught her. Sure, it's a retroactive fill-in for what should have been actual moments in the story, but it's better than nothing. Maybe let Aizawa come in and talk about her as well. Show us that the death of his friend and colleague of over a decade actually affected him and break down his walls some. Show us he is emotionally invested in someone other than Oboro, the Friendly Dust Cloud. You could even have it tie back into Aizawa's own experiences with Momo and how much they believe in her as a leader.

Then there are Iida and Uraraka. I swear, these two have been pushed so far to the back of the manga for what should be major supporting characters that it's insane. You could have Iida running around UA, trying to help everyone he can, wherever he can. It's all that Iida knows to do when he's stressed. It's all that's keeping him from trying to go against the school and looking for his friend. He needs to be here as the person who bears the name Ingenium, one of the oldest families in heroics, and the successor to his brother. Uraraka is helping as well, but clearly isn't as present. She keeps going back to everything with Toga and what she said. You could then have them both talk to each other, realizing how difficult it is to cope with all this, especially when their best friend is gone. It could play off the traits we know about them and set up stuff for later.

Finally, there is Bakugou. There is a lot that could be covered with him, though I do think that it would help a lot if he had a character to bounce off of. And while there could be a lot of characters to do that, I think that All Might would be the best option. Give the two another scene together, paralleling the one after the first fight between Izuku and Bakugou. With them together, they talk about what was going on with Bakugou and why he did what he did. It could do a lot to help build the bridge between everything that happened during the war and his apology to Deku. This could be where the card scene comes into play during Bakugou's death as well, or at least the set-up for it, like Bakugou holding the card in his hand before cutting away or him stifling his words. Once it's all done, All Might could be the one to spill the beans that they actually lost contact with Deku, prompting the class to want to go after him.

Viglinate Izuku

So with the Final War Arc, there are a lot of issues with society broguht up. Some of which are not as fleshed out as they could have been. Want to know what would help with that? Seeing it in action. We get a few montages of this, but I believe that it needs more time to convey how bad things have gotten. While Izuku is running around as a vigilante, he could be dealing with crisis situations that relate to all of the problems brought up throughout the season. Heck, the whole thing with the giant fox/shark lady is some of the most development we got for the Mutant Plotline in the story. Why not shore up some of the other issues with more evidence of that coming forward? The country degrades as all the nasty sides of society come up as the chapters go on. Izuku's goal of trying to understand only brings him more stress and heartache. Have him deal with something like Wash and Yo Shindo did. Carry over some of the issues that Endeavor and Hawks are dealing with. Have him let someone slide when they are committing survival crimes for their family.

Then we cut back to Izuku after the Lady Nagant fight and meet up with All Might after beating another assassin. He sees the damage done to Toshinori's windshield, realizing that he was attacked and nearly killed by more of All For One's goons. Before he can explain, Deku brings up Sir Nighteye and Gran Torino and how much he's learned from them, but that he's learned the most from All Might. He says that he doesn't need him as his mentor any more, implying that he's doing this so All Might doesn't die as well. After that, it's going to be more of Izuku trying to solve people's problems, and it's only going to get worse from here. It's going to be more difficult situations with less obvious answers, stressing Izuku out more and more, made even worse by the lack of self-care he has been doing.

The final point of this will be at the Hero Commission Building. You know that recording where Lady Nagant talked about everything she did? Well, that got out to the public somehow, maybe by All For One to sow more chaos and distrust. Now people want blood for everything that happened with Lady Nagant. Izuku wants to stop the rioters because there are still innocent people in that building, but the rioters aren't villains. They're civilians who have been hurt by the Commissions attempts to keep the peace. Then we come to the big dilemma: Izuku is stuck between protecting the epicenter of all the corruption in hero work and the people who have been hurt by them. A major moral conflict to punctuate everything Izuku has been dealing with.

It all comes to a head when the Commission demands he help, and the crowd accuses Izuku of not being a real hero. Just another goon of the Hero Commission. Izuku breaks and unleashes "Black Whip" to make a massive webby wall between the rioters and the building, telling the rioters to go home. This is when we get the reveal of the monstrous hero costume in all its glory. And the rioters are terrified, looking on in utter fear and running away. Before the Hero Commission has a chance to thank him, we see the cold eyes of the broken Izuku we see later before he leaves as well. Not only could this show the other dangers of Izuku not taking care of himself and taking on the burden, but his appearance only inspires fear in the people he wants to help, but it also works to punctuate everything that has happened thus far with the various problems.

Izuku vs Class 1-A

Before this fight starts, we are given a bit in the world of "One For All". This is where I would flesh out the vestiges some more and how they view things, something that would have been hinted at through their brief appearances in the rest of the arc. Like we have the Second User saying that what Izuku is doing is fine, but why not have something like the Fourth User saying they should hide while Nana tries to act as the voice of reason? When it comes to the Despot fight, I would add a few more high profile villains to the scene. In the manga, this doesn't feel like a situation that Izuku needed help with, which is the whole point of this scenario. It feels like there should have been more ways for him to deal with this given the tools he had, but he gave up because that's what Hori needed to happen. So between the massive number of civilians and the other villains making it all at risk to do anything, I think that would cement more how screwed Izuku is without other people around him.

And when the students show up, I would give some more time to them to show off their abilities some more. Something that can show both Izuku and the audience that they have grown some over the skip. Maybe show off some new techniques without making a big deal out of it or changing their costumes around to give them a new edge. And with more villains, it gives us more chances to see that. Once the fight is over, the students will then try to ask Izuku to come back. The fight will play out mostly the same, but I would add the bit about how "Danger Sense" doesn't detect certain entities as threats since the students are doing this to help him. I think it explains how they are doing so well in spite of Izuku having a power like that and makes the bit with Toga later seem like less of a contrivance.

After the fight, I would pass off the speech Bakugou gave about returning home to Iida. I think it just works better for him. As for the apology, while you could easily rewrite it, I think it would be better to keep it as is and then build off of it. Just because he's a better person now doesn't mean that he can say sorry and have everything be okay. I think we need some catharsis on Izuku's side and some atonement on Bakugou's part. Regardless, when Bakugou finally apologizes, Izuku isn't going to take it, at least not at first. You could say that's out of character for him, but between Bakugou's self-focused apology and how much Izuku has gone through in the past few chapters, I think you could justify it. This would give Izuku some time to talk about his own problems and how much suffering Bakugou put him through. Heck, a lot of Izuku's self-sacrificing mindset is because of Bakugou and that's what's killing him now.

Izuku is going to lay into Bakugou, verbally and potentially physically, as he tries to let out all of his emotions, as shown by "Black Whip" striking out and wrapping up around Izuku. He tells Bakugou to take everyone and go, saying that they aren't strong enough to keep up and are only going to get in the way. It's basically here to play up everything that Izuku had in his mind as a result of his role and insecurities. But because of the development he's gone through, that doesn't matter to Bakugou. He only wants to help Izuku and reach out to him. Before he acted on instinct, now he's reaching out with the express purpose of trying to save Izuku breaking through the "Black Whips" in order to make it to Izuku and remove his cowl. It's meant to reverse their relationship at the start of the series, both in their positions in dynamic as Bakugou is saving Izuku from something threatening to envelop his whole body.

Returning to UA

Once Izuku gets back, it will mostly be the same, only now the ensemble will be made up of the people who Izuku has helped so far in the arc. I would want a moment between him and Inko as well. Just something sweet and nice, like her using her Quirk to pull the cowl off him to see his face. After this, we'll get some breather chapters and spend more time on Izuku mentally recovering and slowly becoming more and more accepting of himself. How many? As many as we can get, frankly. Seriously, this is such an important time for Izuku and the rest of the cast that they're going to need all the time they can get. Now, while the other characters will play a role, it will fall more to Izuku to evaluate and heal. Like staying on his own some more before slowly coming back into the fold after a period of time.

As for any character interactions, there should certainly be a moment between Izuku and Uraraka. Uraraka stuck her neck out and poured her heart out in order to get him into UA. There should be at least be a thank you from him to her. Then some time with Shoto and Iida as well, with possibly each of them reflecting on their own arcs, like Shoto telling him to take his time with this or Iida saying that he always wanted to go out looking for Izuku since that's what he would do. Maybe would could squeeze in something with Aizawa as well. Who, maybe after scolding from, Aizawa tries to connect his own feelings with Izuku's predicament. How Aizawa kept trying to push himself so hard after Oboro's death and how that affected his life. And while he always wants Izuku to push himself, he never wants Izuku to end up like him.

There will be attempts by Bakugou to make things better, and there will be a notable change in how he acts around Izuku, acting more like equals rather than Bakugou barely tolerating him. However, Izuku is still working through it and makes it clear he isn't ready to truly accept him as a friend. Not only would this be more realistic, but it would also add some more tragedy to Bakugou's "death", making it seem like he died without ever making proper amends to Izuku. And if we go with the idea that the "One For All" visages are less helpful and more confrontational, then maybe we could have a scene with him confronting the vestiges as well. You could have Izuku tearing off the black covering around his body and fully speaking his mind, making it clear that he is certain of how he wants to be a hero and how things have changed since they were around.

Then there is Mirio. Not only would this give us some time to catch up with Mirio, someone who we have barely gotten to see outside of a fight scene since he got his power back, but it would also finish up the comparisons between the two. Now that "One For All" is out in the open, we could settle Izuku's doubts on whether or not he was the right heir. Maybe Mirio could say something about how it was a blessing Izuku got it instead of him because now there are two great heroes, or that him taking it on would have been pointless since it would have only killed him before he had the real chance to be a hero. Maybe even throw something with Eri in here as well. Just something that confirms that, no, Izuku's being chosen was never a mistake and helps on his journey to self-worth.

Finally, I really want there to be a moment with Toshinori and Izuku. The two people who would be most affected by this situation and understand each other the most. This would be a follow-up to the confrontation Toshinori had with Stain. Toshinori simply being there and helping the students is more than enough. He needs to assure Izuku that he is proud of who he is and that he never once doubted his decision. It would be a genuine moment between the two. Not as the Eighth and Ninth Users of "One For All", not as the once or future Pillars of Society, but as Izuku Midoriya and Toshinori Yagi. A fine young man with a good heart, and an old man who did well in rebuilding his life. It would be a good punctuation to both Izuku's journey to rediscovering his own personal worth and Toshinori figuring out how to live a life outside of All Might.

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jazzmckay · 26 days

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after much discussion with friends, a lot of wiki and codex reading, throwing spaghetti at the wall, and arranging details in spreadsheet format, i have some up with an approximate headcanon for everything that happened in thedas' ancient history. some aspects im still on the fence about / don't have a strong enough inclination one way or the other to be steadfast in my thoughts, so there's definitely room for adjustment.

spoilers for just about everything, as what little we know canonically is sprinkled throughout. since we know so little and almost none of it comes from a 100% reliable source, all of this is purely headcanon and what i personally think seems viable AND cool. it's not intended to be a hard statement for what i think is the truth

in as close to a coherent order as i can manage:

the titans, the evanuris, and the forgotten ones all come into existence close enough together that there isn't much hierarchy in who was first

the titans are the denizens of the physical world, the others are denizens of the spiritual. the evanuris and the forgotten ones are all spirits of some nature to start with, then make physical forms for themselves -- much like cole did. they have features of both spirits and (im)mortals, and are capable of shapeshifting

magic is EVERYWHERE, including below the ground, where the titans reside, their blood acting as a magical foci

the titans create dwarves. the dwarves have magic

solas is a spirit of wisdom and pride, simultaneously

mythal is a spirit of justice and vengeance, simultaneously

the evanuris lean towards the "spirit" side, while the forgotten ones lean towards the "demon" side, which is not a dichotomy of good and bad, as the evanuris can be corrupted, and the forgotten ones can be righteous. an individual is more balanced when tapping into both aspects. solas is the most balanced, his wisdom and pride tempering and guiding each other

the evanuris are the most powerful elvhen as they were formed from spirit essence itself, while those descended from them have magic but are not usually so attuned to the source of it (ghilan'nain has a remarkably unique power that eventually earns her a place among the evanuris)

there is conflict between the evanuris and the titans, because the titans cause earthquakes that destroy elvhen settlements. the evanuris and the forgotten ones disagree on how to handle this, about the evanuris wanting to dominate all others, and potentially about what applications of magic are "acceptable"

the forgotten ones release their physical forms to become fully spirits again and descend into the void

solas remains somewhat neutral in the conflict. he agrees with the forgotten ones that the evanuris have no right to exert their will over other beings, but he does not agree with some of the practices of the forgotten ones either. he remains, determined to show the evanuris the error of their ways. the forgotten ones still respect him as one of them, and solas gains mythal's favour. he can walk among both groups

mythal strikes down the titans. the evanuris decide to harvest titan blood for their magical use. this has a drastic effect on the dwarves -- losing close contact with the titans muffles the stone and silences their magic. the evanuris use the dwarves to harvest lyrium

(jumping forward a loooot of time, the breach in the veil awakens a titan as it feels its magical connection strengthening. valta comes into contact with this titan and gains magic)

solas tries and fails to sway the evanuris entirely. mythal hears him, and a couple others go back and forth, but it isn't nearly enough to change things for the better, which leads to the all-out war and rebellion. during this, andruil has been hunting the forgotten ones in the void, becoming more fractured from it, and other members of the evanuris have been becoming more corrupt, adding tension especially between mythal and the others as she has to temper them

the last straw: the evanuris "kill" mythal, and solas loses his balance. he puts up the veil, trapping the evanuris in the fade, and the forgotten ones in the void. arlathan -- the golden city -- falls into the void and becomes corrupted with the taint. the elves on the other side of the veil become mortal and no longer inherently magical, experiencing something similar to what happened to the dwarves.

solas goes into uthenera, disappearing from the world

in time, the chantry will claim that the maker raised the veil because he was disappointed in the spirits, but ended up disappointed in mortals too, and turned away from the world

mythal fuses with flemeth -- i don't have a solid opinion on when exactly in the timeline this happened

the forgotten ones manage to call out to human mages, who summon them out of the fade/void. those who become the dragon gods tevinter worship are now referred to as "old gods" and the rest are "the forbidden ones". the magisters learn blood magic from them, and eventually enter the fade/void to seek out the golden city. it leaves them tainted, and brings about the darkspawn and the blight

additional theory i am still toying with and hammering out: some of the forgotten ones also manage to take physical, elvhen form again, and become the kossith, who create the qunari through blood magic involving either dragon blood and/or archdemon blood once the blights start

andraste's magic is either the cause of or triggered by a traumatic experience with her sister that her sister doesn't survive. from then on, she dreams of the fade, and interprets memories of solas' rebellion against the evanuris as guidance to fight against tevinter -- both the evanuris and the magisters are powerful mages and the leaders of a society with slavery. seeing her 'maker' in elvhen form inspires her to ally with shartan. both the orlesian and the imperial chantries are formed

eventually, solas wakes up to a fucking nightmare ✨

#dragon age #da meta #this is..... a lot

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casterlygldcs · 4 months

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who: @tiriusrowan when and where: kings landing, the night the reach council were made aware of the murder of lord garland hightower. at this point, tyland lannister has come across both of the rogares as they remain close with jaehaerys: he is contemplating what they could want, considering their tensions with the riverlands.

the lion king had not noticed the way in which members of the reach had quietly spread themselves throughout the celebrations of the hall, each of them crossing to another one by one as the news was uttered quietly. there was no way any in the room would have any depth of understanding as to the shocking events that had unfolded within the hightower some nights prior, ending in shattered glass and crimson seeping on marble floor.

"and have you come across either of the rogare siblings, my lord?" tyland asked, in his natural tone: commanding, the voice that had become his own for every subject and for everyone conversation. he had not noticed the way in which the hand of king cedric tyrell had moved to the other members of the court, watching a domino effect of sorts begin; only, he knew he had found himself beside the hand and multiple other members of the reach court, as well as his own. the lefford brothers remained silent in such company, no doubt a reflection of what had happened in previous months.

"it appears as though they are somehow friends of both the dragons and the vipers alike." the lyseni duo were the talk of the evening; renowned guests of king jaehaerys targaryen, representative of a new power that had consolidated across the narrow sea - an emerging class of merchants and bankers that could even threaten the might of the iron bank itself.

the riverlander associates were no doubt more on edge than their westerland or reach counterparts, considering the history of tensions that had boiled over between the two realms - one strike of a match was all it would take for violence that threaten to boil over the situation at hand. and tyland lannister only watched, as the lyseni made their discussions between the targaryens and the martells. how was it this valyrian breed were able to settle themselves between the two powers, despite the incessant anger and tensions between the two?

how was it the lyseni became the peacemakers between the targaryen and the dornish faction? truthfully, tyland lannister did not entirely know nor understand what level of importance the rogares held - to them individually, as well as a whole.

he would not speak on what he did not fully know nor understand yet; as he was still watching. still, their position as peacemaker put them at an advantage: not drawing blades against either side, but benefiting from both realms nonetheless. "it would be of great benefit to our own established alliance should dorne develop increasing indifference to the bank of lys. there is opportunity for the reach to hold a constant trade partner, especially as the demand for grain is constant." tyland lannister did not speak out of genuine care or respect for dorne. he spoke as though they were all figurines on a board, and he needed to ensure the emerging choices and factions were clear.

tyland lannister would not agree to shifting his alliance, and his influence on the riverlands, for the sake of bankers that were only now emerging as a major power. such matters could easily shift and change, and banks based on trade and commerce were not as stable at their core as banks built on natural resources. the westerlands, was the only bank in the continent based on natural resources. "tensions between your realms remain tense. as do ours, considering my involvement with the blackmont turned traitor. we know the dornish are prideful people. aggression at sea, even targeted against the summer isles, could push them into engaging closer with the lyseni rather than continental connections."

#c: tirius #tirius 001 #surprise thread one

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mail-forwarding · 1 year

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Something I've been thinking on a lot is the exact start of the loops. We know from the main quest and from Ryota's dungeon quest that, while the Game might not officially start prior to MC's arrival, the loop certainly begins beforehand. And that what happens within this time segment can have a huge effect on how the loop itself turns out (case in point, Ryota's importance as the first person/friend MC meets).

Oniwaka was summoned as a baby and he's likely 18-19 by the time the loop starts. I might be wrong, but I think he is the transient who's been summoned the longest (we don't know how long Sitri's mom/clan has stayed in Tokyo). True, the existence of transients predate him by generations (Toji's "ancestors" come to mind), but those Transients don't seem to have as strong a link to either the Game or to MC.

Do we assume the loops begin with the arrival of first Transient and/or the birth of the first person to play a role in the Game? Perhaps it's then a free-for-all, where luck determines whether you get a chair at the table. Oniwaka's timeline gives about 20 years' worth of grace period, which gives plenty of time for certain events to develop (the App, the Fujimi experiments, etc).

This might explain why some Transients seem to be completely absent from the world in certain events, even though logically they should at least be in the background (even if they go unmentioned). This would also explain Infinity Tangaroa's summoning and memories, which predate Current Loop MC's arrival.

(Of course, it's still possible that the loop does in fact include the very first Transient period, and require the entirety of Tokyo to progress through those decades (centuries?) of history first; I find this unlikely for the simple reason that it's inexpedient and inefficient, and leaves too many uncontrolled variables.)

On the other hand, is it possible the loops began sometime after a specific number/set of Transients are summoned and/or certain players are born, or perhaps they simply begin a set amount of time before MC's arrival? Putting Nightglows aside (I'm not done reading, but I think it looks like an anomaly, possibly a dream) there are certain things that never seem to change no matter how the loop turns out. The main Summoners tokyoites all have the same backgrounds throughout; Oniwaka is always summoned as a baby and raised in a temple. I'd have to double-check if Fujimi Academy's experiments and the App developers have remained constant, but my instinct is no, even if they've always been present in the loops, particularly the latter (since we know the App's gone through changes over time). Perhaps the idea of both predates the loops, but the development or the midpoint/endpoint is subject to the looping; if this is so, then it makes sense that nearly every single loop features the App. This theory would also explain why some things seem to evolve over time (experience from previous loops) while others don't (Shiro and Kengo's childhood).

(A theory I find highly unlikely is that the loops begin only after the major players have assembled. Tangaroa Infinity's very existence makes this hard to believe; his original form is summoned after MC's arrival, thus after the Game's already begun.)

My preference is for the latter theory, which sets a stable foundation for the loop to build on, while allowing for a grace period for participants to "sign up" before the Game begins. I don't think this grace period lasts more than a couple years; in fact, I highly doubt it lasts more than one, and personally think it amounts to a few months at most. Enough for major changes to finish setting up, but not so much that the initial start of each loop will noticeably differ all that much. (This might seem incongruent to Ryota's dungeon quest, but again, it certainly would explain why negotiations between the 3 True Guilds come across so stilted and disorganized.)

#housamo #lore trivia/speculation

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meefy · 2 years

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The good and the bad of privilege + thoughts on Prince Raji...

I was so humbled and touched by all the reblogs and nice words in the tags of my Ryuu analysis, which prompted me to post some more of my rambling thoughts. Tonight we're talking about Prince Raji (probably my favourite character in the series)! Please no spoilers for the manga as I slowly catch up, but this post contains anime spoilers. Thank you all for your kindness!

Raji is introduced straight away as the villain of the story. His first scene is literally him insulting his advisor and his informant, before proceeding to force Shirayuki into being his mistress against her will. He tries to poison and threaten her into staying at his side, until Zen saves the day and the rest, it seemed, was history.

But that's not what happened, and I'm beyond glad that it didn't!

Raji, in meeting Shirayuki once again, is confronted with the first person who ever tells him "no". And when he tries to invoke his status as a prince on her, he finds it has no effect. Shirayuki is the first person who sets and enforces a boundary with him, and treats him as she treats Zen - as a person first, not a royal. His privilege has no influence on her - and Raji finds that he doesn't know what to make of it.

Shirayuki is without a doubt immensely forgiving and empathetic. She tries desperately to form a bond with Raji during her return to Tanbarun. And we see he is completely unable to speak to her as a person - everything he says reflects his wealth and royalty. It is as though he is reciting something from a book - going on about the palace's amenities and riches. His privilege has brought him material goods, but nothing more. He is the laughing stock of his kingdom, his own father considers him an idiot, and his siblings are sick and tired of him - indeed, they don't want Shirayuki to fall in love with Raji because they like her, they want her to fall in love with him because she makes him tolerable.

It's not until Shirayuki tells Raji that she is relying on him, and shows that she values and trusts his input, that things start to change. Nobody has put any faith in him before; he has never had a single friend. But he sees the effort she puts into her hobbies and education and is motivated to do the same. Having someone to speak with as an equal, and who is willing to be honest and down to earth with him, profoundly affects him - and undoubtedly pushes him when Shirayuki is kidnapped and he needs to rely on the help of the commoners in his kingdom.

Right off the bat we see Raji has internalized a ton of the privilege has has been given. Even Sakaki admits later that Raji has been spoiled and coddled, without anyone to ever tell him "no" - before Shirayuki. Rather than privilege here being portrayed as a positive, or as an advantage, it's anything but for Raji throughout the first season until Shirayuki sets him straight.

One thing I particularly enjoyed was the scene where Raji shows off his violin playing. Look how happy he is that he has a useful skill that he can finally share with someone, someone who isn't being paid to tolerate him! A skill that isn't related to his being the Prince of Tanbarun - he doesn't need to brag about what tea he's serving or all the rooms in the palace. Raji earns her approval and awe at his own hand - something he continues to do through the anime's second season throughout her rescue. He pushes through his fear of asking for help and avoiding danger because he finally has someone he cares about to protect!

It's not every day we get to see a character profoundly blinded by privilege who is also actually confronted by the problematic nature of that privilege. And at the end, in Raji's final anime appearance, he finally uses that privilege for good - and to benefit his first true friend at that. "Friend of the Crown" indeed! I'm so grateful his character was given a chance to learn and grow rather than being thrown away as another pompous villain. Flawed characters changing their toxic mindsets for the better? Here for it!

#akagami no shirayukihime #ans #prince raji #raji shenazard #snow white with the red hair #swwtrh #meefymeta

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revlyncox · 2 years

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The Same River

This is about what to hold firmly, what to hold lightly, and what to let go as a community coping with change. This Platform address was delivered to the Washington Ethical Society by Rev. Lyn Cox on June 5, 2022.

T. S. Eliot wrote:

What we call the beginning is often the end

And to make an end is to make a beginning.

The end is where we start from.

We are nearing the end of the Interim period. It is also a beginning for WES. My last Platform will be in two weeks. After that, you will look across the expanse of a summer that will be both long and short in anticipation of the arrival of your new Senior Leader. You will again make a beginning as a congregation; a new chapter for bold action, tender mutual support, invigorating growth and learning, and meaningful celebration. As you emerge into a COVID normalized world, you will begin again to discover and to shape what it means to be congregational humanists in your own time and place. Things will be both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. When you hold your ingathering at the beginning of the next program year, you will arrive where you started and will know the place for the first time.

We are told that the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus said that you cannot step in the same river twice, for other waters are continually flowing on. Daniel Graham, writing for The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, says that it’s more likely that Heraclitus wrote something akin to, “On those stepping into rivers staying the same other and other waters flow.” The more popular version comes from Plato paraphrasing Heraclitus. In Plato’s version, the river is never the same river. The Heraclitus version is not only poetic and lovely in Greek (or so I am told by people who speak ancient Greek), but points to a more subtle paradox. The river as an entity has something constant about it, while the waters of the river are continually changing. Indeed, if the waters did not change, it wouldn’t be a river. Some things stay the same only by changing. Graham goes on to explain that the philosophy of Heraclitus has a lot to say about flux and about the unity of opposites, “pointing to the way things are both the same and not the same over time.”

Both T.S. Eliot and Heraclitus are reminding us that change is part of life, that we hold opposites within us and move through those opposites throughout our days and years. Change can be overwhelming, and it might seem like a modern thing, but there are strong philosophical resources to remind us that the earth has been turning and orbiting for all of human history.

As we move into a COVID normalized world, many people feel a longing to go back. There is a longing to live in a world where we can keep each other safe without masks. There is a longing to go back to gathering in large numbers without fear or worry, without a need to think about inclusion or risk mitigation. There is a longing to return to a world that was never affected by the economic impact of the pandemic, never affected by the changes in staffing in every industry, never affected by challenges in the supply chain. There is a longing to act as if COVID never happened. Those waters have moved on. How we do things has changed, and will continue to change. It is natural to want to hold on to something, to give a name and a shape to that which is constant, or at least that which can be constant for a month or so. As our Buddhist friends tell us, grasping for permanence where it doesn’t exist has some negative consequences. I believe we can bring out our best by practicing reflection and wisdom in terms of what we hold more firmly, what we hold lightly, and what we let go.

A few weeks ago, I spoke about cherishing the present moment and choosing to act with love, resetting our compass points when perseverating on the past or the future is keeping us stuck. I said we can learn from the past and set goals for the future, yet the present moment is when we can most effectively make ethical choices. I hope it didn’t sound like I was saying that we should stop making plans, or that we should stop building, one deed at a time, toward larger hope. I am a big fan of making plans. This pandemic has taught me that all plans are tentative. We hold them lightly. Our values and our practice of right relationship both take precedence over plans, agendas, and timetables. People are more important than schedules. Boundaries of time can help us to coordinate needs and wants and collective action. That being said, when I start getting anxious about getting off topic or off schedule, it is helpful for me to ask myself where that anxiety comes from. If it comes from perfectionism or a need to control, maybe it’s OK to adjust the timetable. If the anxiety is coming from worrying that someone will be hurt, that’s the thing to explore, not the objective value of a schedule.

Perhaps that comes naturally to many of you, but holding plans lightly is hard for me. I have been leading congregations since 2003, earlier if you count field work during graduate school. In almost twenty years of clergy work, I have always created schedules and spreadsheets to track Sunday morning plans. Even before themes of the month were fashionable, I was creating themes of the month ten months in advance and choosing to speak on topics accordingly. These past two years, I have had to find a balance between planning and flexibility.

Sunday Platform happens because of the coordination of an enormous team of dedicated, talented, hardworking staff and volunteers. None of the people on that team except me are paid full time to do this. So to accommodate the needs of that whole team, to help our team to be our best, it is helpful if I provide information as soon as I can, so that volunteers and part-time staff can act on that information in the time that is available to them. And yet. The world keeps changing out from under us. The way Platform works has evolved; every week is a little different thanks to COVID mitigation strategies and technology updates and new people joining the team and great ideas coming forward. Topics that seemed like a good idea when I put them in the spreadsheet are out of date thanks to current events by the time I’m ready to give an outline to the tech team. So, we make plans and we hold them lightly. We communicate abundantly, so many emails and text messages throughout the week. We start with a plan and then we adapt it. Having complete control and predictability sounds pretty tempting, but being in relationship and staying true to our values are more important. We choose what to hold firmly, what to hold lightly, and what to let go.

Flow is part of what it means to be a river. If you try to cement something else, like the exact shape of the riverbank or the particular pattern of fish in the water, you will lose the things that make it a healthy river. Similarly, when people hold firmly to what is not essential in their personal growth or their community, there can be consequences for the health and life of what is essential. We aspire to choose with wisdom.

In the metaphor, Heraclitus implies that there is such a thing as a river. A person can visit its banks, go home, and return again to still find the river in about the same place. With the waters of the river constantly flowing, the lives that depend on and infuse the river constantly beginning and ending, the stones in the riverbed constantly being worn down, something about it retains its river-ness. I would argue that two of the things that make it roughly the same river from one day to the next are the mutual agreement of the people who name bodies of water, and the direction of the flow.

The animals and plants might not care if it’s a river or a stream or a creek. They care if there is drinkable or swimmable water, maybe a place to hide from predators or a place to find some tasty prey to eat, and the company of compatible life. The beings who care if it’s the same river are the beings who name things, which includes but may or may not be limited to humans. So, humans, people who name things, agree that there is such a body as a river, and that its constantly moving waters are part of what make it a river. Their agreement that they understand the river and the riverbank and the meadows and forests beyond to be separate things figures into the way those humans speak. Those of us who perceive a river as a persistent entity have mutually agreed on a classification system, a way of relating to each other and our environment. That’s one thing that makes the river the same river from one day to the next.

Another quality that makes it the same river is the direction of the flow. Rivers run toward the sea. That doesn’t mean every drop gets there directly. Waters are drunk and absorbed and evaporated. But, generally, the collective moves together. It would be a stretch to say that’s what a river is for, as if there is a mover and a premeditated purpose to its existence, but once we’ve defined what a river is, we can observe its movements from the source to the place where it becomes part of something larger like a bay or an ocean.

This is how I understand communities. A community is not alive unless there is change. People within a community grow and change, and a living community celebrates and encourages personal growth. A healthy multigenerational community holds people in care from generation to generation. A living community adapts to the times, letting go of the methods of pursuing its mission that were more appropriate to another time, and taking up new methods as they are needed. What gives the community an identity is the mutual agreement of the beings in relationship, an agreement on values and on how the beings treat each other, an agreement to be A PEOPLE. Not just people as individuals, but A PEOPLE. The members of a community don’t have to think alike to love alike–and indeed, loving differences can be the water that wears down our sharp edges–yet by mutual agreement, a people comprise a unified whole.

The mutual agreement at WES that comes immediately to mind is the Community Relations Pact. This agreement is the outcome of deep reflection, conversation, and collaboration across the membership, led by the Community Relations Committee. It is not written in stone, you can certainly revise it when you are ready, yet it is a comprehensive description of how you understand your values and how you aspire to treat each other. Your values and relational practices as described by the pact are part of what makes WES who you are and not some other community, let alone some club or retail establishment. Don’t try to be another community. Be WES. The Community Relations Pact gives you a common language, just like the people who agree on such a body of water as a river give it a definition.

I have watched you hold on to your values as a community. Nobody is perfect, no human community is perfect, yet in a time of great challenge over these past two years, WES members have been mindful of your values and your shared agreements. I have witnessed active listening skills, apologies and reconciliation, and a growing understanding of boundaries. With the work of the Widening the Anti Racism Lens team and the Community Relations Committee, among other efforts, I have witnessed a growing understanding at WES about how to build healthy community, nurturing an inclusive, multiracial, multicultural congregation. There is always more to learn about how to be human together, yet through these tough times WES remembered the way you intend to be a community. Aspirations for racial justice are rooted in the founding of this congregation, and those aspirations still infuse the direction of your learning and growth.

Like a river, living communities move together toward something. In the case of a community like this one, that direction is described by a purpose or mission. One of the things that gives a community coherence and continuity is its mission. People might come and go, and moving together toward the mission is part of how you know you are a community, a unified whole. WES strives to be welcoming to people across wide ranges of age, race, background, disability, economic status, gender, and other aspects of human diversity. Anyone who is ready to support the mission, as expressed in your Statement of Purpose, is welcome. Someone whose deeds undermine that purpose, someone who shows by their behavior that they don’t support justice or equity or human worth and dignity, would not be able to truly find a home here. Your purpose is foundational to who you are and to the definition of this community.

Here again, you have remembered the direction you are going together, even when times were tough over these past two years. You had faith in each other, and appreciated each other’s unique capacities, even as each person’s capacities shifted during the pandemic. You supported each other by dropping off casseroles and following up on Caring News updates and wearing your masks. We’ll hear from the Pastoral Care Associates a little later this week. Their lay leadership is vital, and taking care of each other is something for everyone to do. The Statement of Purpose recalls how you nurture a sense of reverence and responsibility for each other and the earth. The Earth Ethics Action Team kept leading us to care for the stream along Portal Run and for our little corner of the planet with the insect garden and planting native trees. The Immigration Justice Team, Global Connections Team, and Afghan Welcome Team reminded us of reverence and respect for all of our neighbors. Through these difficult times, as WES, you kept working for a world where love and justice cross all borders. The methods of pursuing your mission are transient, you can hold them lightly. Your mission, the sea to which the collective heart of this community is flowing, you hold in strength.

It hasn’t been easy, yet the mission and values of this congregation have been as persistent as a rushing river. You have had to give up a lot of illusions of control, a lot of familiar touchstones, to prioritize those two things. And you have done it.

T.S. Eliot wrote:

A condition of complete simplicity

(Costing not less than everything)

And all shall be well and

All manner of things shall be well

The waters of the river of life might be rough at this bend. There might be white-cap waves. There might be rocks. It is understandable to want that other river, the calm one with the happy ducks and the gently swaying river reeds. This river also has beauty and abundant life. Adapting to the time and place where you are is hard, but you are not alone, because you have decided to be this river of community. What makes a river are the collective understanding of its beings and the direction of its flow. Hold on to your pact and your purpose. Hold everything else lightly or not at all. Be persistent in your values and your mission. I have confidence that you can, because you already have.

May it be so.

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elisemcarlucci · 2 months

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Global Awareness Initiative

For my global awareness initiative, I am campaigning for women's equality. All throughout history, there has been unequal rights and opportunities for women. Despite the protests and speaking out, for many years there was no change. In this day and age, social media has had an incredible effect on spreading information and news. Millions of women of the past have stood up, and women are still fighting. For my campaign, I made sure to utilize the tool of technology that we have in the year 2024.

Online Campaigns

There is no doubt that the fastest way to spread information is online, through social media, news articles, podcasts, and more. Instagram, for example, is a great social media platform for spreading information and awareness. Sharing posts that can be seen by billions of people, using hashtags that push the posts in the algorithm, and the easy-to-share mechanisms of this app are why online campaigns can work so well. Another social media platform that would be very effective would be TikTok. There is definitely a huge audience in the TikTok community, ages ranging. By using trending sounds, this is one way that I could help women have a voice and show that inequality needs to come to an end. Viewers can repost, stitch, duet, and share TikTok videos and that happens all in an instant. The last example I have is a podcast, such as on Spotify. Podcasts are super popular for people to listen to when they are driving, working out, cleaning, and doing other activities. During a podcast 2 or more people can discuss current events, gossip, stories, and so much more. I think that a podcast where women share their stories, share their voices, and share their ideas is a way to stand up and bring awareness to this ongoing issue.

Community Engagement

As a current sophomore in college, I am a part of many communities, including dance, my school, my dorm building, my major, my clubs, my hometown, and many more. By starting smaller in my own communities, my initiative can eventually reach bigger communities. For example, taping flyers in the hallway of my dorm building to events can help advertise and bring awareness to my campaign. For dance and clubs, we have a GroupMe, which is a perfect way to send a message to a large group of people. I can send flyers, information, and more in these GroupMe chats and be able to directly communicate effectively with many people. Since I am in college, this campaign would lead me to starting a club with the mission of fighting for women's equality. We would be active on campus, striving for everyone to be educated on the women that still need help and what we can do to help share our voices and take a stand.

Educational Outreach

As for an educational outreach, I believe that there should be a discussion about how there is unequal opportunities for women in the work force and how women are constantly overlooked in the work environment. By starting a discussion, this brings to light the problems that women all over the world are continuing to face. Some women are not even able to attend school, but the women that can need to be educating others on what we can do to help take initiative. Throughout college, there needs to be equal opportunities for men and women, and as part of my campaign, I would take the initiative to call out any inappropriate behavior. At Sacred Heart University, we have colloquia, which I believe to be another opportunity for an educational approach of my campaign. By having this presentation, it opens people's eyes to issues, events, and what needs to happen next. By becoming educated, we can gather what we need to, to take action and fight for what is right.

#women #womensequality #genderequality #equalrights #takeaction #awareness

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annabreaksthings · 2 months

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For sure! I love the series as a whole because it's not near as sugar coated as a lot of other war-based books. You get to hear about the good, the bad, and the ugly. Granted, there's still some glossing over of details, but overall it's very tastefully done. And I really appreciate how it mirrors real life events and people. This adds quite a bit of credibility to the alternative timeline of the book, just because it did happen historically and we know the outcome. Now we just added a female presence.

As for the characters, they are really well done, especially the badass female leads. Rio richlin is just *chef's kiss* and by far my favorite. Rainy is a close second. I also appreciate the character development in this series, both individually and within their interpersonal relationships. It's very realistic and believable based on what the characters are going through. I'm especially impressed with Geer's development, as a person learning how to work in a group and how not to be a general ass all the time. Then there's the relationship he has with Pang throughout the series, going from being very racist, to having a great working relationship/friendship, to becoming a huge advocate after the war and Pang's death. I liked seeing Rio herself and her relationship with Castain develop too as the war progressed. I could go on about that quite a bit. And of course I wish there was more Rio/Jack and that she had dumped Strand's ass to the curb as soon as he couldn't handle her success. But, that also speaks a bit to Rio's people pleasing nature (and the social standards at the time), even though being in the war/command positions should have given her some more confidence.

Other than that, this just makes me realize how much I'm due for a reread lol

First of all, I'm so sorry this took a month to answer 😓 My computer has been out of commission and the thought of typing up (and then probably reorganizing) a long, semi-coherent response on my phone made me want to chuck it in a lake. Please know I've been thinking of this every day because I'm so excited to talk about these books with someone again!!

Anyway.

My friend, you've taken the words right out of my head with everything you wrote here. I'm with you 100% on all of this. (putting the rest of this under a cut to spare the masses)

You're so right on the realism - I feel like so many other historical fiction books are either sanitized for younger (or squeamish) audiences, or they swing to the complete opposite direction and become a bit dry with the level of detail unless you're a super history buff. Purple Hearts in particular was hard to read at times, but I think maybe it should be. There were a lot of ugly things that really happened, and I'm glad to find an author that doesn't shy away from it for the sake of a squeaky clean image of the allies.

I think I said it in another post a long time ago, but I'm so fascinated by the butterfly effect possibilities this story presents. Obviously the women in canon have proven that they're highly effective in all kinds of roles previously restricted to men, but does that continue after the war? Would it change anything for women in the workforce during peacetime? Or would there still be regression to "traditional" gender norms similar to what we saw in the 40's and 50's? I wish there was more fic or meta for these books because I would love to hear tons more ideas on this.

I could go on about Rio for hours, too. The way she goes from only signing up because Jenou did (and she would follow Jenou off a cliff if asked, I think) to being a highly respected, highly decorated NCO and figuring out she's good at this is one of my favorite things. The section with Strand telling her she's just "playing soldier" is so interesting because if I remember correctly (I'm due for a reread too, it's been a while), she does fight back on that idea at first, but I can see her start to believe it assuming he keeps it up back home.

And Strand. Strand. I too wish he would have been kicked to the curb for the sake of truth, justice, and the American Way, but at the same time, as a piece of fiction, I'm kind of glad he didn't. Most people don't walk away from unhealthy relationships at the first red flag (or second... or third...), and I think there's a fine line to be walked here between normalizing this kind of behavior in relationships and helping people to feel less alone in their own struggles. Unfortunately for our characters, I feel like staying with him fits Rio's MO and realities of the day just as you said. There's something to be said for nostalgia, too, especially when they keep meeting up during the war. He's a little slice of home when she's knee deep in mud and gore, and maybe a little glimpse of the girl she would have been without a war. Who wouldn't want that? Again, there are 1000 fics to write on this... what was the final straw to get her to leave?

But what I would give to see the Strands of the world get what's coming to them....

On the other side, Jack is definitely one of my favorites. He's hilarious in the first book, and I so wish he would have gotten more screentime in the 3rd. But again, for historical accuracy, I can see why he's not when he's reporting to Rio, and why she shoots him down. (Even though it's so painful to read 😭)

What I really love about this though, along with the epilogue, is the theme of relationships and professional success coming later in life. Frangie's married and has kids (teenagers even!) before she becomes a doctor, but she's a doctor nonetheless!! And Rio's been divorced for years and has been in a long relationship-free spell before Jack walks back into her life (presumably with Rainy's meddling). It's so refreshing to see characters who don't have it all figured out at 22, or settle down with their first love, or reach their wildest dreams on the first try. But they keep growing and changing and living, and I think we could all stand to do a little more of that.

#this was so much fun to write and I will gladly talk Front Lines with anyone at any time #front lines anon #michael grant #front lines #books #my TBR really doesn't need to grow right now but a person's gotta do what she's gotta do (i.e. reread)

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magicinaframe-part2 · 5 months

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A Movie Dedicated To The People Of Italy

The movie that I'm thinking about on this Sunday evening is one that was written about extensively by many different writers -- first, throughout Europe, starting when it debuted at the Cannes International Film Festival in May of 1964 -- and then, here, in the U.S., when it played in theaters, starting on July 16, 1965.

Interest in this movie has continued through the decades to the present, because of the main thread of the plot. The movie is called in Italian, PRIMA DELLA RIVOLUZIONE, which translates into English as BEFORE THE REVOLUTION...

Fabrizio (Francisco Barilli), a young adult male who appears to be in his late teens, lives in the city of Parma, Italy, with his father, mother, and little brother. He is tormented by the injustices of Italian society and by corruption that too many Italians accept.

Fabrizio is a member of the Communist Party and reveres an older man named Cesare (Morando Morandini) who has taught him history, literature, and political theory, for a number of years.

Fabrizio is upset about the fact that the Party does not seem to be making any progress in bringing about a Revolution.

At the beginning of PRIMA DELLA RIVOLUZIONE, Fabrizio is urging a friend of his, another young man named Agostino (Allen Midgette), to join the Party and to introduce himself to Cesare, so that he -- Agostino -- can also learn from the older teacher who believes in the need for Revolution.

Shortly after Fabrizio and Agostino argue over what Fabrizio says are mistakes in judgment that Agostino is making, Fabrizio learns that his friend has drowned in an accident. The news affects Fabrizio deeply; he tells himself that Agostino took his life.

Fabrizio is also conflicted about two women with whom he wants to have a relationship. There's Clelia who is from Parma and there's also his Aunt, Gina (Adriana Asti), who has been living in Milan -- until recently, when she arrived in Parma.

The bulk of the plot of this 105-minute movie details Fabrizio's attempts at figuring out what his priorities are supposed to be. For me to disclose how the movie ends would be a mistake, because writer-director Bernard Bertolucci is serious about the personality details of his main characters; i.e., the way that they relate to each other, the way that they think. These details are important to Mr. Bertolucci; he wants the audience to discover these details on their own, for themselves, as they happen on-screen.

And when you -- you who are reading my words -- get to the end of the movie, I'm reasonably certain that you'll figure out that the movie is criticizing the Communist Party. The Party has no plan of action and is not communicating effectively with Fabrizio's generation.

Some sixty years later, some sixty years after PRIMA DELLA RIVOLUZIONE debuted, Italian society has changed greatly. It has become more complicated. The world, in general, has also changed, as well as Italy's relationships with other countries throughout the world; relationships between countries have become more complicated. Would an Italian man or woman in his or her 70's have any coherent advice about what the Italian government should stand for, what the government's priorities should be? Would a young man or woman in his or her 20's agree with that advice?

If any of this sounds interesting, PRIMA DELLA RIVOLUZIONE is available on DVD with English subtitles.

-- Drew Simels

#Foreign Language Movies from the 1960's

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reviews-by-shelby · 2 years

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White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson is a horror young adult novel that focuses on Marigold “Mari” Anderson, a teenaged girl who is moving with her blended family from their California beach town to middle-of-nowhere Cedarville. She sees this move as a fresh new start after running into trouble with drugs and mental health in the months before. As she, her brother, mom, step-dad Alec, and step-sister Piper settle into their new, free home (paid for by the Sterling Foundation, who hired her mom to write a book), they soon find out that things are not what they seem. Mari learns that something sinister is living in her home, and it leaves her family in constant fear. As she works to understand what is going on, she figures out that things in her new town are not what they seem. She uncovers years’ worth of racial divide, drug problems, and the fact that the Sterling Foundation has their hand in all of it. Mari must work against the clock to bring these issues to light, or else the Foundation will erase the town’s history and rebuild it with their own agenda in mind.

This book serves the Black community and highlights the importance of standing up for one’s race and community. When Mari moves to Cedarwood and begins attending her new high school, she finds that a majority of the population is Black and makes a few friends who are the same race. She feels a sense of belonging that she didn’t feel in California and felt more of a connection to her neighbors when it came time to do something about the racial divide that had been happening for years thanks to the Sterling Foundation. This book also made me feel more empathy for people involved in drugs. A couple of characters named Yusef and Erika were mentioned as children of drug lords. Their fathers were put in prison because of their involvement with selling weed, which left their son and daughter without parental figures. The effects of their absence are evident as the two characters describe how hard it is to go through an important stage in their life, their teenage years, without their fathers. I’ve always thought of drugs as a bad situation for people to get involved with them, but I’ve honestly never given much thought on the effect they can have on the sellers’ family.

This book also addresses one thing that I find to be very important, and that is second chances. Mari is looking to turn over a new leaf in Cedarville after getting involved in drugs after an ex-boyfriend led her down the wrong path. Throughout the story she is constantly struggling with herself internally, telling herself that she’s messed up too badly and there’s no turning back. She learns the important lesson that everyone deserves a second chance, no matter how serious their actions were. With the right outlook and support, anyone can become stronger and learn from their mistakes, which is exactly what Mari does with the help of those closest to her. Overall, I thought this book was entertaining and focused on great themes of family, standing up for what you believe in, and learning from your mistakes. For most the story, Mari is very self-centered and harsh towards her family, mainly lashing out because of the negative feelings she harbors due to her past mistakes, but it’s rewarding to witness her change for the better.

I chose this genre of young adult writing because it was October when I was making my choices for the second round of blogging. I wanted to fit the Halloween atmosphere and read something that would be a little scary. Admittedly, I don’t think I found the most reputable list when I chose this book. There is not really an award that recognizes young adult horror novels, so I ended up doing a Google search to find some popular titles in this genre. Tiffany D. Jackson’s name came up in a lot different lists I found on reading blogs, and I thought the book synopsis sounded interesting. I also liked the fact that it featured characters of color and focused on the struggles of racial division. At first, I was afraid the book would be a little too scary for me (because I’m a baby when it comes to things like that), but I found it to be very enjoyable and suspenseful. I give this book four out of five stars.

Jackson, T. D. (2021). White Smoke. HarperCollins.

#yabooks

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hotpinkarticles · 2 years

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Mayor of Leimert: SIX.SEV

By Marchon Benjamin

“SIX.SEV IS YOU!”. Entrepreneur, rapper, activist, and, most of all, a role model to the youth; I have had the honor and pleasure to sit down with The Mayor of Leimert Park himself, Six.Sev, whose aura and energy is truly genuine.

Much inspired by Crenshaw's very own Nipsey Hussle, Six.Sev is determined to make a difference and make his mark for his city and the younger generation. “I represent black excellence, progression, innovation, and breaking generational cycles.” Early into our conversation, he mentions LA Bridges, an afterschool program that impacted his earlier years of life. How the program leader would have the students perform daily positive affirmations and how the influence of that uplifting behavior has encouraged a progressive effect on Six.Sev’s life.

Progressive communities and unity are what Six.Sev stands for and much more. “You have to be the change you want to see.” As it does all start with self.

From writing raps in school to freestyling on instrumentals, telling his story creatively has always been the underlining mission.

What do you hope listeners gain out of listening to your music?

“I want people to feel inspired and persevere and to be yourself.”

SevShaw, his latest album, soulful and melodic, is filled with inspiring lyrics, history lessons, and messages to feed the mind. Throughout the album, a story is being told from the point of view of Six.Sev's life, growing up in the Crenshaw, Los Angeles area, which is relatable to all Crenshaw natives and those who face struggle beyond Los Angeles. You can hear his passion in every lyric to educate, uplift, and remedy the pain of the youth. "Music is medicine."

Gentrification is currently happening in Leimert Park/Crenshaw area; how does this make you feel? And how do you think we can stop this and or spread more awareness of the problem?

“Being proactive through gentrification comes opportunity.”

Being able to afford a life where you grew up is essential to most, but in reality, primary life goals as such aren't a reality for most in Los Angeles because of our "hoods" being gentrified. Not just "hoods," but cultures and ways of life are being bought and sold to the highest bidder. "They don't care about the culture; it's about money." Six.Sev also states through some aspects of gentrification comes diversity, which can be positive. "We have time to buy property now." Investing in real estate can help our communities and provide longevity.

From a Morris Gardner song to a t-shirt brand, the inspiration behind and the founding of Every Niggas A Star has been a motivating experience for Six.Sev. The meaning behind this brand he has created can be summed up from the title, but the passion behind it goes beyond. Inspiration from his friends, Every Niggas A Star is about knowing your power, understanding your greatness, and uplifting your people with that, so that your circle is not bound by society and social norms. Doing what you believe.

In your rolling stones interview, you say my mission is to make Crenshaw great again; in your opinion, when was Crenshaw great, and what is included in your mission to make Crenshaw great again or better than before?

“I want to take the great things that happened and refurbish them…There was greatness that came out of Crenshaw and being an extension and teaching people that history so they can know that they’re part of that lineage of greatness.”

#journalism #motivation #journal #leimertpark #writers on tumblr #female writers #marchonbenjamin

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krakenartificer · 4 years

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So my therapist and I were talking today about ADHD brains, and what "executive function" means, and we discovered a really interesting thing about how my brain works. I don't know how much it will extend to other people, but I'm throwing it out there in case it's useful for anyone else.

Usually it takes me about 1.5 - 2 hours each morning, to go from "booting up my computer" to "actually starting on my first task". This is true whether I work from home or work in the office, whether it's a coding day or a meeting day, whether I jump out of bed when the alarm goes off or if I'm very seriously giving consideration to sleeping under my desk while my computer boots. I don't want it to take that long, but extensive experimentation has shown that it definitely does.

Today I decided to try an experiment. Instead of my normal morning routine (where I check email, IMs, to-do list, and self-care list, and compile that into an enormous to-do list for the day, then sort that list in order of "if everything goes sideways and I get to only one thing, what thing will be the most painful if it happens tomorrow instead of today", and then set up multiple desktops on my macbook so that each task -- including "brush teeth" has its own desktop, and then put the desktops in the assigned priority-order), I decided I'd just jump right into my first task, and see if I could get myself a hyper-focused hour of work before someone came into the office to bug me.

It. Was. Terrible.

I mean, I got the task done, in record time. Then I checked Tumblr. Then I checked Facebook. Then I composed a summary of David Graeber's argument that the European Age of Exploitation cannot be understood without knowing why the Chinese decided to abandon paper money. Then I replied to all my Facebook messages. Then I helped Jessica at work set up her code. There followed a relatively productive afternoon where I helped my boss sort out a personnel problem, set priorities for our department, contributed to one meeting, ran yet another meeting, got consensus on a project, and helped Jessica again -- but I didn't eat my midmorning snack until 1pm, I never did brush my teeth, and my knees are killing me because all through the second meeting my body was sending "This posture hurts! Change position! Get! Up!" signals, and I couldn't summon the focus to actually move from the floor to the couch. By the time my therapist called, my phone was on 3% and I couldn't find my bluetooth headphones. I'm still 400 calories under my target for the day, because I missed 900 calories during my workday and I couldn't figure out how to add more than 500 calories to my dinner.

So my therapist and I talked about this strange mix of symptoms: knocking out task after task of helping people at work, but unable to feed myself; incredibly highly effective code debugging, but also getting lost in Tumblr for an hour. I wasn't under-stimulated, but I also didn't get to pick what I focused on. And he talked about how executive function isn't just one thing, which I knew, but mentioned specifically that one element of executive function is taking your own initiative, deciding your actions for yourself, rather than just reacting to stimuli. And it hit me ---

I can't do that.

I thrive in hyper-focused development environments, where I react to each compiler error by debugging the error ... but I break down when the compiler runs without error; I don't know what to do if I don't have the error-stimulus deciding my actions.

I thrive in high-multi-tasking environments like running a retail store at Christmas, where I do a task, and then look around and see which notification is the highest priority, and then do that task. But I struggle in January and February, when all the customers are gone and I don't know what to do.

And today, I was entirely stimulus-driven. Jessica asked for help, and I helped her. Kathy commented on Facebook, and I replied to her. Ryan asked about a report, and I explained it to him. Mark brought up something that reminded me of David Graeber, and I typed up a history essay. Anything that didn't have a notification -- brushing my teeth, eating my snack, charging my phone -- didn't get done.

And that's when it hit me. My usual morning routing isn't a waste of 2 hours. It's setting up my environment so that I will be stimulated to do the things I want to do.

I have barely any initiative-decide-for-myself at all. I get one (1) intitiativon each morning, and I have to spend it wisely. And what I do with it, each day, is set up the stimuli I will experience throughout the day.

I finish a task and close that desktop: the next desktop pops up with a note that says "Meditate."

I finish meditating and close the desktop: the next desktop pops up with an email I need to reply to.

I finish that email and close that desktop: the next one pops up with a note that says "Order groceries."

I don't have any initiative left by that point, but I don't need to: I get the stimulus to do my work, maintain my health, connect with friends, and clean my house, and I'm too executive-dysfunction-deprived to do anything but respond to stimulus, and so I do all those things. This explains why I need to leave such specific directions to myself: not “write chapter 5″, but “Open C:/Documents/Writing/NovelTitle/Chapter5.doc”. The first one isn’t a stimulus to action; the second one is.

It's also why I have such a hard time with "leisure", and why my "randomized leisure activity" deck helped me so much; because by the time I get to the end of the day, and I'm out of spoons and I have earned a fun and relaxing evening.... I cannot -- by definition -- decide what would be fun and relaxing.

Like I say, I have no idea whether that will be any good for anyone else, but it prompted some interesting introspection, and I wanted to share. Now if you’ll excuse me, I still need to go brush my teeth

#ADHD #executive dysfunction cw #coping strategies #gpoy #how to life #long post #unsolicited advice #neurodivergence #tips #how to adult

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puttingherinhistory · 3 years

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“Covid has unleashed the most severe setback to women’s liberation in my lifetime. While watching this happen, I have started to think we are witnessing an outbreak of disaster patriarchy.

Naomi Klein was the first to identify “disaster capitalism”, when capitalists use a disaster to impose measures they couldn’t possibly get away with in normal times, generating more profit for themselves. Disaster patriarchy is a parallel and complementary process, where men exploit a crisis to reassert control and dominance, and rapidly erase hard-earned women’s rights. (The term “racialized disaster patriarchy” was used by Rachel E Luft in writing about an intersectional model for understanding disaster 10 years after Hurricane Katrina.) All over the world, patriarchy has taken full advantage of the virus to reclaim power – on the one hand, escalating the danger and violence to women, and on the other, stepping in as their supposed controller and protector.

I have spent months interviewing activists and grassroots leaders around the world, from Kenya to France to India, to find out how this process is affecting them, and how they are fighting back. In very different contexts, five key factors come up again and again. In disaster patriarchy, women lose their safety, their economic power, their autonomy, their education, and they are pushed on to the frontlines, unprotected, to be sacrificed.

Part of me hesitates to use the word “patriarchy”, because some people feel confused by it, and others feel it’s archaic. I have tried to imagine a newer, more contemporary phrase for it, but I have watched how we keep changing language, updating and modernising our descriptions in an attempt to meet the horror of the moment. I think, for example, of all the names we have given to the act of women being beaten by their partner. First, it was battery, then domestic violence, then intimate partner violence, and most recently intimate terrorism. We are forever doing the painstaking work of refining and illuminating, rather than insisting the patriarchs work harder to deepen their understanding of a system that is eviscerating the planet. So, I’m sticking with the word.

In this devastating time of Covid we have seen an explosion of violence towards women, whether they are cisgender or gender-diverse. Intimate terrorism in lockdown has turned the home into a kind of torture chamber for millions of women. We have seen the spread of revenge porn as lockdown has pushed the world online; such digital sexual abuse is now central to domestic violence as intimate partners threaten to share sexually explicit images without victims’ consent.

The conditions of lockdown – confinement, economic insecurity, fear of illness, excess of alcohol – were a perfect storm for abuse. It is hard to determine what is more disturbing: the fact that in 2021 thousands of men still feel willing and entitled to control, torture and beat their wives, girlfriends and children, or that no government appears to have thought about this in their planning for lockdown.

In Peru, hundreds of women and girls have gone missing since lockdown was imposed, and are feared dead. According to official figures reported by Al Jazeera, 606 girls and 309 women went missing between 16 March and 30 June last year. Worldwide, the closure of schools has increased the likelihood of various forms of violence. The US Rape Abuse and Incest National Network says its helpline for survivors of sexual assault has never been in such demand in its 26-year history, as children are locked in with abusers with no ability to alert their teachers or friends. In Italy, calls to the national anti-violence toll-free number increased by 73% between 1 March and 16 April 2020, according to the activist Luisa Rizzitelli. In Mexico, emergency call handlers received the highest number of calls in the country’s history, and the number of women who sought domestic violence shelters quadrupled.

To add outrage to outrage, many governments reduced funding for these shelters at the exact moment they were most needed. This seems to be true throughout Europe. In the UK, providers told Human Rights Watch that the Covid-19 crisis has exacerbated a lack of access to services for migrant and Black, Asian and minority ethnic women. The organisations working with these communities say that persistent inequality leads to additional difficulties in accessing services such as education, healthcare and disaster relief remotely.

In the US, more than 5 million women’s jobs were lost between the start of the pandemic and November 2020. Because much of women’s work requires physical contact with the public – restaurants, stores, childcare, healthcare settings – theirs were some of the first to go. Those who were able to keep their jobs were often frontline workers whose positions have put them in great danger; some 77% of hospital workers and 74% percent of school staff are women. Even then, the lack of childcare options left many women unable to return to their jobs. Having children does not have this effect for men. The rate of unemployment for Black and Latina women was higher before the virus, and now it is even worse.

The situation is more severe for women in other parts of the world. Shabnam Hashmi, a leading women’s activist from India, tells me that by April 2020 a staggering 39.5% of women there had lost their jobs. “Work from home is very taxing on women as their personal space has disappeared, and workload increased threefold,” Hashmi says. In Italy, existing inequalities have been amplified by the health emergency. Rizzitelli points out that women already face lower employment, poorer salaries and more precarious contracts, and are rarely employed in “safe” corporate roles; they have been the first to suffer the effects of the crisis. “Pre-existing economic, social, racial and gender inequalities have been accentuated, and all of this risks having longer-term consequences than the virus itself,” Rizzitelli says.

When women are put under greater financial pressure, their rights rapidly erode. With the economic crisis created by Covid, sex- and labour-trafficking are again on the rise. Young women who struggle to pay their rent are being preyed on by landlords, in a process known as “sextortion”.

I don’t think we can overstate the level of exhaustion, anxiety and fear that women are suffering from taking care of families, with no break or time for themselves. It’s a subtle form of madness. As women take care of the sick, the needy and the dying, who takes care of them? Colani Hlatjwako, an activist leader from the Kingdom of Eswatini, sums it up: “Social norms that put a heavy caregiving burden on women and girls remain likely to make their physical and mental health suffer.” These structures also impede access to education, damage livelihoods, and strip away sources of support.

Unesco estimates that upward of 11 million girls may not return to school once the Covid pandemic subsides. The Malala Fund estimates an even bigger number: 20 million. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, from UN Women, says her organisation has been fighting for girls’ education since the Beijing UN women’s summit in 1995. “Girls make up the majority of the schoolchildren who are not going back,” she says. “We had been making progress – not perfect, but we were keeping them at school for longer. And now, to have these girls just dropping out in one year, is quite devastating.”

Of all these setbacks, this will be the most significant. When girls are educated, they know their rights, and what to demand. They have the possibility of getting jobs and taking care of their families. When they can’t access education, they become a financial strain to their families and are often forced into early marriages.

This has particular implications for female genital mutilation (FGM). Often, fathers will accept not subjecting their daughters to this process because their daughters can become breadwinners through being educated. If there is no education, then the traditional practices resume, so that daughters can be sold for dowries. As Agnes Pareyio, chairwoman of the Kenyan Anti-Female Genital Mutilation Board, tells me: “Covid closed our schools and brought our girls back home. No one knew what was going on in the houses. We know that if you educate a girl, FGM will not happen. And now, sadly the reverse is true.”

In the early months of the pandemic, I had a front-row seat to the situation of nurses in the US, most of whom are women. I worked with National Nurses United, the biggest and most radical nurses’ union, and interviewed many nurses working on the frontline. I watched as for months they worked gruelling 12-hour shifts filled with agonising choices and trauma, acting as midwives to death. On their short lunch breaks, they had to protest over their own lack of personal protective equipment, which put them in even greater danger. In the same way that no one thought what it would mean to lock women and children in houses with abusers, no one thought what it would be like to send nurses into an extremely contagious pandemic without proper PPE. In some US hospitals, nurses were wearing garbage bags instead of gowns, and reusing single-use masks many times. They were being forced to stay on the job even if they had fevers.

The treatment of nurses who were risking their lives to save ours was a shocking kind of violence and disrespect. But there are many other areas of work where women have been left unprotected, from the warehouse workers who are packing and shipping our goods, to women who work in poultry and meat plants who are crammed together in dangerous proximity and forced to stay on the job even when they are sick. One of the more stunning developments has been with “tipped” restaurant workers in the US, already allowed to be paid the shockingly low wage of $2.13 (£1.50) an hour, which has remained the same for the past 22 years. Not only has work declined, tips have also declined greatly for those women, and now a new degradation called “maskular harassment” has emerged, where male customers insist waitresses take off their masks so they can determine if and how much to tip them based on their looks.

Women farm workers in the US have seen their protections diminished while no one was looking. Mily Treviño-Sauceda, executive director of Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, tells me how pressures have increased on campesinas, or female farm workers: “There have been more incidents of pesticides poisonings, sexual abuse and heat stress issues, and there is less monitoring from governmental agencies or law enforcement due to Covid-19.”

Covid has revealed the fact that we live with two incompatible ideas when it comes to women. The first is that women are essential to every aspect of life and our survival as a species. The second is that women can easily be violated, sacrificed and erased. This is the duality that patriarchy has slashed into the fabric of existence, and that Covid has laid bare. If we are to continue as a species, this contradiction needs to be healed and made whole.

To be clear, the problem is not the lockdowns, but what the lockdowns, and the pandemic that required them, have made clear. Covid has revealed that patriarchy is alive and well; that it will reassert itself in times of crisis because it has never been truly deconstructed, and like an untreated virus it will return with a vengeance when the conditions are ripe.

The truth is that unless the culture changes, unless patriarchy is dismantled, we will forever be spinning our wheels. Coming out of Covid, we need to be bold, daring, outrageous and to imagine a more radical way of existing on the Earth. We need to continue to build and spread activist movements. We need progressive grassroots women and women of colour in positions of power. We need a global initiative on the scale of a Marshall Plan or larger, to deconstruct and exorcise patriarchy – which is the root of so many other forms of oppression, from imperialism to racism, from transphobia to the denigration of the Earth.

There would first be a public acknowledgment, and education, about the nature of patriarchy and an understanding that it is driving us to our end. There would be ongoing education, public forums and processes studying how patriarchy leads to various forms of oppression. Art would help expunge trauma, grief, aggression, sorrow and anger in the culture and help heal and make people whole. We would understand that a culture that has diabolical amnesia and refuses to address its past can only repeat its misfortunes and abuses. Community and religious centres would help members deal with trauma. We would study the high arts of listening and empathy. Reparations and apologies would be done in public forums and in private meetings. Learning the art of apology would be as important as prayer.

The feminist author Gerda Lerner wrote in 1986: “The system of patriarchy in a historic construct has a beginning and it will have an end. Its time seems to have nearly run its course. It no longer serves the needs of men and women, and its intractable linkage to militarism, hierarchy and racism has threatened the very existence of life on Earth.”

As powerful as patriarchy is, it’s just a story. As the post-pandemic era unfolds, can we imagine another system, one that is not based on hierarchy, violence, domination, colonialisation and occupation? Do we see the connection between the devaluing, harming and oppression of all women and the destruction of the Earth itself? What if we lived as if we were kin? What if we treated each person as sacred and essential to the unfolding story of humanity?

What if rather than exploiting, dominating and hurting women and girls during a crisis, we designed a world that valued them, educated them, paid them, listened to them, cared for them and centred them?“

#women #coronavirus #life and style #world news #inequality #Covid 19 #COVID-19 #feminism #womanism #gender inequality #gender equality #corona virus

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ladyartemesia · 3 years

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The Luna

◐ PART VII of THE ALPHA ◐

◐ Series Masterlist ◐

◐ Part I ◐ Part II ◐ Part III ◐ Part IV ◐ Part V ◐ Part VI ◐

Pairing: Alpha Werewolf Jimin x Omega Reader

Rating: Hard Mature 18+ (for this installment)

Warnings: this one is a little darker... implied violence, mentions of blood, ABO sexual dynamics including discussion of scenting, marking, mating, and claiming, sexual innuendo, discussion of violence relating to ritual combat, possessive behavior, injuries and discussion of injuries, discussions or ruts, (non-explicit) kidnapping and drugging, its not as bad as it sounds, but it is definitely a bit darker...

Word Count: 4200

Author’s Note: You have no idea what your support has meant to me. After getting the dreaded Covid it was awhile before I had the energy to work on this. Truly your asks and your messages and comments...they made me so happy. You made me believe that people wouldn’t forget about this story. I am so grateful you were able to wait. As always, my angels @ppersonna @xjoonchildx @untaemedqueen and @underthejoon were the best betas and the best friends anyone could ask for. My thanks to ALL of you for helping me bring this story to life! I don’t know what I would do without your daily encouragement and your daily support. You guys are the heartbeat of this story.

———◐———

Fifteen Years Ago...

———◐———

“It can’t be-”

“Run for the elders! Quickly!

“Red smoke rises from the Luna’s hearth!”

The red smoke was invented by the first wolf known to mate a witch. Legend has it that their bond lent him some of her magic and with it he created a mystical powder that unleashed bloody plumes like knife slashes in the clouds.

It was a distress call.

A wolf in danger or in need could throw the powder (usually into their fireplace) and the red smoke would rise - drawing others to their aid.

No fire was needed and the strange shimmering clouds it produced could even be seen on a moonless night.

“What happened? Where is the Luna?”

The chief elder was still out of breath, having charged over from his chambers to find Isa in hysterics.

“She’s gone! Something scared her! It triggered a half-shift!”

His eyes widened in fear and alarm.

“She’s too young to half-shift. The energy it would take-”

Isa broke into sobs again.

The girl was only five years old. She and her wolf were too volatile to merge safely. The wolf would be frightened - it would run.

Eventually the child might regain control, but she would have no way of knowing where she was or how she got there…

And she would be weak. The effects of the shift were too much for a pup that age.

The chief elder felt true terror grip his heart.

“Call for the alphas - immediately!”

Although they were technically one of the oldest bloodlines in the village, Park Clan had only five families to its name - all betas.

Except for one.

Park Jimin was the first alpha ever born to the Parks and as such he became the head of his family on the day of his birth - officially the youngest clan leader in history.

When the call for alphas spread through the village, nine year-old Jimin was roused from his bed to serve on behalf of his people.

Clan alphas were required to report, regardless of their age.

“I don’t have to tell any of you what is at stake. Our pack has been entrusted with the Luna’s bloodline. Her safety is our sacred commission.”

The woods were no place for a child. If fluctuating temperatures and possible starvation weren’t bad enough, there were wild bears, packless ferals, rogue witches, snakes, and worst of all-

Unblessed wolves—animals without a human heart. They were by far the most pressing danger to the little girl.

“Surely young Park can remain at home for this,” Jeon Jinseok pressed. The boy was barely older than his grandson, Jungkook, and he was reluctant to endanger another pup needlessly.

Some quiet murmurs of assent could be heard around the elder’s chambers, however the chief elder himself shook his head sadly.

“I understand your concern… but the law is the law. Every clan alpha is sworn to such a task. He took an oath after his first transformation-”

“He was seven-”

“An oath is still an oath.”

All eyes turned to the gentle voice in the corner. The Park alpha looked impossibly small and soft.

But his gaze burned with determination.

“It is my right and duty to seek the Luna alongside all of you.” His round little jaw clenched stubbornly. “I’m not afraid.”

The sound of bones and sinew shifting filled the air as one by one the clan alphas fell to their wolf forms and took off into the forest.

Until only a small silver wolf remained.

The chief elder sighed.

The boy would not undergo the Change for another six years. The mental link between his wolf and human forms was not yet complete. It was difficult for information to pass from one to the other.

“You are the wolf force of Park Jimin.”

After a moment the wolf nodded.

“You were called here because the Luna has gone missing and you must find her if you can. Search the woods until your wolf force can endure no longer and then return. If you find the child, bring her home as soon as possible.”

The young wolf nodded again and then disappeared into the night.

It was cold.

The last thing you remembered was a loud noise. It was too close - you panicked-

Then there was heat and pain and running and now this-

Darkness and barren trees looming over you as far as your frightened eyes could see.

“...Hello?”

Your hands were bleeding. Tears began to slide softly down your cheek as your lips trembled.

“H-Hello?”

Jimin had never been allowed into the forest alone. A myriad of new shapes and odd smells assaulted his senses as he ran.

He had only seen you a handful of times.

Bright silver eyes with a smile that could set even the coldest heart into bloom.

Now you needed him.

And he was going to save you.

It was not a question or a matter of chance in his mind. He was meant to find you. It was as if a thread from his chest was bound to a thread from yours and his wolf knew to follow it without question or thought for its significance.

I’m coming, little Luna. Hold on.

Your nose was not yet fully developed, but the stench creeping through the air toward you was unmistakable.

Unblessed.

A soulless wolf.

The last time you encountered it was after a hunt. Your father killed one who attacked him and he brought it home for you to scent.

So you could recognize the smell of danger.

Gradually two shining eyes emerged from the darkness, yet unlike the wolves of your village, these were dark and fathomless-

Hungry.

You couldn’t tell much about its age or coloring, it was too thin - too dirty, but the bared teeth and steady progress closer signaled its intent clearly.

“Please,” you whispered, as it crouched back on its hind legs, preparing to strike.

Tears blurred your vision as you heard it leap forward.

But the strike never came.

Another wolf tackled it to the ground before it could reach you. The two of them tangled viciously in the moonlight; a terrifying mass of snarling and claws.

The smaller fighter was already bleeding, but he clamped down on his opponent’s throat in the first hit and hung on to it even as the animal snapped and scratched brutally at his skin.

Jimin could feel his strength beginning to fail him. The pain was excruciating, but he had to endure. If he let go, he was lost-

You were lost.

So he held.

And at last the soulless wolf collapsed on top of him.

For a moment, all was quiet.

Jimin felt the wounds over his hide begin to tug at the edge of his consciousness. Accelerated healing could only do so much... He was hurt badly.

Then two small hands began to push at the unblessed corpse. Small huffs and heaves poured from you as you worked to free him from beneath his defeated foe.

“Don’t be afraid, Silver,” you grunted, “Momma says the healing works best if you can get warm.”

With one final heave you disposed of the beast as best you could, then moved to wrap your body around your injured champion.

“I can help,” you whispered, letting the tears fall freely. His soft whimpers were the only reply you received as you snuggled in closer, running your hands gently over the soft fur.

The young wolf’s eyes were already beginning to lose focus.

“Please goddess,” you begged into the night. “Please save him.”

Then the two of you drifted into a heavy sleep.

Jimin opened his eyes again just as the dawn broke.

He was still in wolf form, but the pain of his injuries had lessened considerably.

Either that or he was becoming numb.

His eyes dropped to the figure curled up next to him and his heart stirred. You were so pale… and he could feel your small body shivering violently against his chest.

She will not last much longer...

It took nearly everything he had to stand to his feet and nudge you awake.

“Will you bring me back, Silver?” you asked weakly.

Jimin nodded and the two of you stumbled forward into the forest, trusting the vague recollections of his wolf instincts to lead you home.

Isa was beside herself with worry. Wolves came and went throughout the night-

But there was still no sign of you.

And the odds of a child surviving the woods alone with no heat and no protection were slim at best.

Her hands shook as she gathered feed for the horses from the storeroom near the back of the house. She willed herself to complete the task - any task - in an effort to busy her mind and perhaps achieve a moment of respite.

Her hand closed around the back door handle and she started forward - only to nearly lose her balance over something lying on the porch.

The bucket of feed dropped from her grasp, sending kernels of grain in all directions.

Two bodies lay in a heap at her feet, clutching one another desperately. The Luna and her silver wolf were covered in matted blood and dirt.

But they were alive.

Isa began to scream, drawing out the other two occupants of the house; her husband Roojin and his younger sister, a beta healer named Ryn.

“Oh my goddess,” Ryn gasped, “that’s the Park alpha! I heard some of the elders saying that he hadn’t checked in last night!”

“Get them inside. If we don’t act quickly we could lose them.”

Roojin tried to lift you away from the wolf, but the action was enough to rouse you and you immediately began to kick and scream frantically.

“No! I won’t leave him!” you sobbed, wrapping your body even tighter around the injured pup. “Silver, wake up! Please wake up!”

“Baby you need to let him go! We have to treat him!”

But you were frantic, refusing - violently - to be separated from your rescuer.

Ryn was eventually forced to grab a syringe from her field kit to sedate you.

Isa carried your limp body to the fireplace and began to peel off your wet clothes while Ryn and Roojin dealt with Jimin’s injuries in the kitchen. Blood dripped over the tabletop and puddled ominously on the floor while they worked.

“It looks like he was attacked.” Ryn’s eyes began to water. “What a brave little boy.”

“How the hell did he survive this?”

“I don’t know, but without a healing touch he’ll die.” She ripped her gloves off and rolled up her sleeves. “Stand back.”

Twenty minutes later Isa and Roojin caught the young healer as her legs gave out from under her. She had poured the majority of her energy into restoring the young Park alpha - perhaps more than was strictly safe-

But he would survive and that was all that mattered.

“I must contact the elders,” Isa murmured as she helped Ryn to a seat near the hearth. “In all the chaos I forgot to tell them that we found her.”

Roojin sighed, letting his eyes drift back to the table.

“That pup brought her back, but I wonder if they’ll even believe it. I wouldn’t - not if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”

“No...” Ryn whispered from the chair. “You can’t tell them about the boy.”

“Why not? He’s the only reason she’s still alive. He deserves to be recognized.”

“You don’t understand,” she shook her head weakly. “His clan is nothing. They have no power - no other alphas. This will make him a target. The alpha pups will challenge him and the stronger clans will see him as a threat to their influence…”

She pulled herself upright and limped over to the table where the young wolf slept.

“But he's just a child….and small for his age at that. He has no powerful clansmen to protect him from the ramifications of this.”

Her hands clenched to fists.

“When his human form returns, he won’t remember saving the Luna. We’ll take him to his mother’s home at nightfall - make it seem like he wandered back. He may garner some respect for surviving the woods, but then they’ll leave him alone… and he can go on living his life in peace.”

Ryn turned to face them both with a determined expression.

“We owe him that.”

“Where is the silver wolf? Where have you taken him?”

As soon as the sedative wore off you reached for the boy once again, only to find that he was gone.

“The silver wolf was hurt very badly, sweetheart. Your aunt carried him away to be treated.”

“I have to go with him! He needs me!”

“No, honey - you can’t-”

Isa pulled you into her arms and you collapsed into helpless sobs. The last twenty-four hours had finally caught up with you.

You were too weak to fight back.

“Luna… the silver wolf is in danger. Are you willing to keep him safe?”

You nodded fiercely, letting the flow of your tears soak through your mother’s sleeves.

“Then you must never tell another soul that the silver wolf saved you. No one can know that he was with you in the forest.”

Your eyes narrowed in confusion.

“But-”

“You will tell everyone that you found the way back alone. Do not mention the silver wolf.”

Isa lifted your chin till your eyes met hers.

“Promise me, Luna.”

Your heart squeezed painfully in your chest as you thought of your champion. He had spared you from a gruesome fate and you did not even know his name.

You wanted so desperately to thank him.

Last night, you were so cold - so afraid - that you hadn’t said it...

Now you never could.

So instead you would protect him - no matter what it cost.

“I promise.”

———◐———

Today...

———◐———

“I don’t like him.”

Jimin tilted his head slightly toward his best friend.

“Who?”

Taehyung took a long sip of water then moved his hand to cover his mouth. To an outside observer he would appear to be wiping excess liquid from his lips.

“The senior envoy from the Iron Claw pack.” He shook his head. “Something about him is off. He’s ill at ease.”

All the major packs of the mountain nations dispatched representatives to greet and solidify their relations with the new Alpha.

Any pack who failed to send a proper delegation risked a diplomatic incident.

The first twenty-four hours held great significance when it came to the transfer of power. The official term for the tradition-packed period between the revelation of the Alpha and his ultimate reunion with the Luna was called “The King’s New Moon.”

The new moon was the darkest phase of the lunar cycle and the immediate separation from his mate was meant to be a test of the Alpha’s restraint and bearing.

Jimin wanted to put his fist through a wall.

He missed you.

Fighting Namjoon was nothing compared to the torture of this bureaucratic circus.

As the day progressed he was extremely grateful to have Yoongi and Taehyung at his side. Yoongi agreed to act as interim Praetor while Namjoon recovered and he and Taehyung were quick to fill in any knowledge gaps Jimin had with regards to protocol.

The first round of ceremonial greetings between packs dragged on more than an hour before the bell struck for a brief recess. In fact, until Taehyung’s rather strange pronouncement, nearly every moment played out with boring predictability.

Though there was one notable surprise.

Apparently the Iron Claw pack had just undergone a change of leadership and was now under the command of a female alpha named Azira Kai.

Authority in the Iron Claw pack was traditionally decided through combat, and Azira beat nearly thirty-five challengers to ascend as queen.

Female alphas were extraordinarily rare. Jimin knew they existed, but Azira was the first one he’d ever heard of.

Iron Claw’s senior envoy delivered the news himself at the start of the ceremony and personally conveyed the queen’s well wishes.

Jimin eyed the representative in question speculatively from his corner of the table. At first glance the man seemed much like every other emissary gathered in the crowded hall to fulfil centuries old obligations. But Taehyung had always possessed a strange sense about people.

His instincts could not be easily dismissed.

“I will keep that in mind,” he whispered as he sent the young man a courteous nod.

The sun had already begun to set when a messenger from the chief elder’s chambers arrived at your door. At long last the ceremonial requirements were drawing to a close and soon the elder’s council would be sending you instructions.

However...‘soon’ could mean anything from twenty minutes to five hours.

“You might as well rest while you can,” Jin teased with a salacious wiggle of his brows. “Who knows what strenuous activity you might find yourself involved in when they finally let that boy loose.”

You rolled your eyes, trying to pretend that your cheeks weren’t burning with embarrassment.

“I will rest, but not for any reason you’re thinking.”

Truth be told, your nerves were a bit… frayed.

A frustration was building within you and nothing seemed to satisfy it. You weren’t even sure what you were wanting, but you definitely wanted it.

“Of course not,” your cousin chuckled as you gathered your gloves and wandered back to the bedroom.

An hour later Jin’s boredom found him snuggled up on the couch near the fireplace reading over an old cookbook from your mother’s pantry.

“Heavens… no wonder Aunt Isa’s kimchi is so dry. This is a disgrace.”

Suddenly the front door began to shake and pound violently. Strange smells carried through the air and his eyes widened.

Foreign wolves.

He drew in a deep breath and immediately growled in frustration.

Foreign alphas.

A small bowl of red powder sat on the mantle above the hearth. Jin just barely managed to toss it into the flames before the door splintered off its hinges.

“Hello boys,” he drawled, unleashing a massive dose of pheromones while the knives strapped to his forearms slid smoothly to his hands. “What brings you here?”

“I just heard the strangest news,” Min Yoongi narrowed his eyes at the small scrap of paper passed to him by one of the council aides.

“Oh?”

The next set of guild masters were making their way to Jimin at a snail’s pace. It would be several seconds before he needed to greet them.

“One of the healers sent word that Namjoon has disappeared from his assigned recovery room.” He shook his head curiously. “Where do you suppose he’s gone?”

Jimin’s eyes widened.

That mangy mutt. He’s probably bent Yunli over every surface of her brother’s house by now. Goddess above! He couldn’t hold out for six more days?

“I’m sure I have no idea.”

I should have killed him. This is a disaster. He can barely walk, how does he expect to-

“The Miner’s Guild is honored to serve at the pleasure of the Alpha.”

Jimin nodded regally and forced up a pleasant smile.

“The honor is entirely mine, Master Lee. I look forward to-”

A loud crash split the solemn hush of the room as a young member of the council guard burst through the heavy wooden doors.

“Red smoke! Red smoke rises from the Luna’s hearth!”

Jimin felt his heart plummet into his stomach.

Chaos erupted immediately.

“Call for the guards!”

“We must notify the healers.”

“The messengers just spoke to her-”

“Is it an attack?”

“ENOUGH!”

The Alpha’s voice cut across the assembly with authoritative resonance.

Every eye turned to him in expectation.

But he could only think of you.

“Jung, lock the building down. Take your clansmen and seal off every entrance.”

Murmurs began to stir through the hall as Hoseok directed his people toward the access points, but he ignored them.

“Choi. Make for the healers. Have a dozen of them meet us there.”

Jimin was already heading for the door. The deadly length of his claws flashed ominously in the firelight.

“Kim, Min, Jeon - with me.”

The three alphas in question fell in step behind him without a word.

The scene at the Luna’s home was nightmarish.

Jimin ran to your room immediately, but all he found was a broken window and the lingering scent of your fear.

His wolf howled in anguish as he fell to his knees and screamed in rage.

At the front of the house four badly beaten bodies lay strewn about the kitchen and living room area. Most of the furniture was destroyed and the scent of carnage soaked the air.

“Jin!”

The omega stood at the center of the rubble. There was a nasty slash running up his right leg and another grievous wound near his ribs.

But his arms were wrapped around a massive foriegn wolf with the thin blade of his favorite knife pressed against the intruders throat.

“What happened here?” Yoongi gasped. “And that smell-” he moved his hand to cover his nose.

“Pheromones,” Taehyung nearly gagged.

His eyes fell to the corpses - examining their injuries with a critical gaze.

“Jin, you dangerous bastard.”

The omega simply smiled and forced the prisoner onto his knees.

“I don’t understand…” Jungkook shook his head.

“He flooded them with omega pheromones... These four were unmated.” The Kim alpha let out a cold chuckle. “He triggered their ruts… and they killed each other over him.”

Jungkook’s eyes widened.

Male omegas really were terrifying.

Taehyung’s eyes narrowed and he considered the scene.

“None of this makes sense. The scent markers are clearly from the Iron Claw pack. They didn’t even bother to mask…”

Jungkook and Yoongi began to search the bodies for any hint of their motives or identity when Jimin returned from your room. His fury was palpable in the air around him.

“Why would anyone kidnap a Luna?” he snarled. “The divine bloodline is sacred to all wolves. Who would be so reckless?”

Jin shook his head.

“I don’t know.” His knife twisted into the prisoner’s neck. “But he does.”

Jimin crouched down in front of the foreigner, fighting every urge in his soul to tear the mountains apart for his mate.

“Where is she?”

The prisoner sneered.

“You may be a powerful Alpha, but you are not of my pack or my blood. I’ll never tell you anything.”

“Oh,” Jimin’s eyes flashed with golden fire, “I think you will.”

Heavy.

That was how you felt.

Your body was sore (like it had been tossed and carried a long distance) and your mind was out of focus (as if everything around you was moving either too quickly or too slowly - honestly you couldn’t quite tell).

You remembered being drugged; some sort of compound pressed against your nose and mouth.

Glass from the window shattered onto your face…

Then unfamiliar scents and unfamiliar hands closed in on all sides.

Too fast for you to react.

Too shocking for anyone to have predicted.

Nothing like this had ever happened and there was no reason to believe it would.

To harm a Luna was sacrilege.

It was simply not done.

What could drive men to such a course of action?

You should be afraid; terrified even.

But you weren’t.

Your eyes fluttered open to take your new surroundings. You could vaguely see the shape of seven or eight wolves - alphas by the smell of them-

And then you smiled.

It wasn’t your usual impish grin or anything close to soft or inviting.

It was a cold twist that crept over your lips as you watched your abductors set up their camp.

After a moment, one of them noticed your strange expression.

“Looks like the little Luna hit her head on the way here,” he called out to his comrades with an amused snort. “You should have been more careful with her, Mac.”

He shook his head and made his way over to where you were tied up. The young alpha reeked so heavily of sweat and self-importance, you almost gagged.

“What’s got you so amused, Miss Luna?”

It was more of a taunt than a question, but your smile widened nonetheless.

“My mate is going to kill you.”

Shock flickered over his features for just a second before he threw his head back and laughed.

“We’ll be long gone before your sweet little alpha even knows we’re here.” He gripped your chin between his fingers and you snarled. “We masked our scent as soon as we got you - and there isn’t a wolf alive that could track our crew through the woods.”

“You’re wrong,” you whispered.

Jimin’s face flashed through your mind - followed immediately by another memory, buried deeply, but never forgotten—

of a frightened little girl and the silver wolf who braved the forest and fought a monster to save her.

“He’ll come for me - no matter what precautions you’ve taken.” You leaned forward a bit, letting the conviction in your gaze blaze through to the depths of your captor’s soul. “And then - he’ll come for you.”

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