i think this is a good conversation for the characters to have, and I think from Redās perspective it does sort of make sense. However, I feel like Redās complaints arenāt entirely accurate here?
(Note: points 1 and 2 are basically one giant combined point but oh well)
1. Sheās acting like Annie forced her friends to do this, as if they dont have any free will of their own. Now, the two fairies were last minute recruits for the mission, but the other four were all pretty personally invested in the mission. It wasnāt just Annieās mission at this point; it was also Katās, and Smittyās, and Parleyās. Most of them had pretty personal attachments to this mission as well; Parley after the whole Coward Heart incident, and Kat because of the whole Diego/creator angle. I canāt think of one for Smitty, but he likes to help people out and heās a medium himself, Iām sure this was something he WANTED to do as well. And I keep forgetting Robot was there with them since he only showed up for a brief period of time, but obviously we all know heās invested in Jeanne. Theyāve all been planning this for years, and they knew the dangers. We donāt really know at this point how well Annie warned the fairies how dangerous it would be, but Iām sure she gave them some warning, plus they HAVE met Jeanne before back when they met Annie for the first time. Also, if weāre going to blame whoever got everyone else involved in the mission, then along that line of thinking the blame should be on the Psychopomps, who asked Annie (a CHILD) to help.
2. The others chose to participate, had been helping to plan this mission for YEARS, and most had personal investments in the mission: Yeah, maybe the others getting involved was Annieās doing, but like I said, most of them had a personal investment in the mission, and they all CHOSE to participate. Plus, weāve already had a chapter about how Annie shouldnāt keep everything to herself, and that it can be good to get other peopleās help (her convo with Jones during the control tower arc). Maybe she shouldāve told the adults, but like Iāll say in another point down below, the Court is the reason Jeanne is down there in the first place. To tell someone loyal to the Court wouldāve compromised the whole mission, and I think everyoneās agreed that itās not right for Jeanne to be trapped down there against her will. There are a couple people they could trust, like Katās parents, Jones, and Eglamore, but I doubt any of them would've been okay with the kids doing this. I guess you could argue about whether or not they shouldāve done this whole mission in the first place, and maybe they shouldnāt have, but 1) this IS a story, and theyāve been setting this up for a while, of course theyāre gonna do it lol, 2) theyāre trying to do what they think is right, and although we donāt know what the consequences of freeing Jeanne are just yet, I think we can all agree that it wasnāt right or fair what the Court did to Jeanne
3. Redās acting like Annie wasnāt taking the mission seriously or something, when RED was the one messing around the most. She wasnāt even invited along, she just came cause Ayilu went. Ayilu almost got stabbed in the face because Red was the one distracting her. I feel like part of the root of why sheās saying all this is because she might not have reapplied just how dangerous the mission was, even if they had tried to explain it to her beforehand. Knowing her personality, she comes across as the kind of person who doesnāt realize somethings dangerous until its happening. I do however like that she's bringing this up, as I donāt like the idea of the faeries being these complete naive idiots who would be completely fine being put in danger cause they never realize the seriousness of a satiation.
4. Annie focused on Jeanne because she was dangerous and to complete their mission: Red says Annie just left Smitty there to bleed to death, but 1) leading Jeanne into the aether was their whole mission, and thatās what she was doing, and 2) Jeanne was the whole reason they were in danger. By getting her out of the way as quickly as possible, she removed the danger from her friends. Itās hard to care for someone whoās injured while youāre still getting attacked.
5. Even if they had gotten Smitty to a doctor, thereās no guarantee they wouldāve been able to save him, plus he wouldāve had to go into surgery and wouldāve taken a while to recover. With the Psychopomps power, it was a guaranteed save with zero recovery time and no permanent injuries. Red says Annie made him wait in pain, but the psychopomps method was easily the quickest way to get rid of both the pain and the injury.
6. The group prepared as well as they could have, they canāt account for everything that could happen: Red could try and argue that maybe they didnāt prepare well enough for the mission, but honestly? They were pretty well prepared. Iām not sure they couldāve been much more prepared than they were. They canāt account for everything that couldāve happened, they just had to prepare their best and do what they could.
7. Getting in trouble with the Court couldāve compromised ALL of their safeties: Red says Annie didn't want to get in trouble, and while I donāt doubt some of Annieās reluctance to take Smitty to the doctor was rooted in selfish reasons, sheās not the only one who wouldāve gotten in trouble. And knowing the Court, the people who TRAPPED JEANNE DOWN THERE in the first place, it wouldāve been more than just a week of detention. They couldāve all gotten kicked out (including Red and Ayilu!), plus the court probably didn't want Jeanne to be removed. They mightāve chosen someone else to replace her, and that someone couldāve easily come from Annieās group. We know how capable the Court is of making inhumane and unethical decisions. Yes, Smittyās safety (and everyone elseās safety as well) was the most important thing to this mission, and compromising it in order to save someone was definitely something they should do. However, like I said, letting the Court find out probably wouldāve compromised ALL of their safeties.
8. Ayilu needs to speak up: i also really want Ayilu to say something? Redās the one getting angry on her behalf, while Ayiluās standing RIGHT THERE. I feel like she needs to speak up on her view of things. Sheās her own person, she doesnāt need Red to speak for her. I want her to say something, regardless of whether sheās going to defend or attack Annie.
9. Annie is a bit selfish, but sheās also been put on the spot: I DO feel like Annieās not making as good of an argument that she could, which could be a result of being put on the spot, but it also kind of shows that she mightāve been making her decisions based more on selfish reasons that truly logical ones. Which I do think is a good thing to be called out on; even though I mostly agree with what she did I agree for different reasons that than the ones sheās giving, and if she was only thinking about herself in these situations then it could lead to her making selfish decisions that I DONT agree with and that are objectively bad decisions. Even though I donāt agree with everything Redās saying, I do think this is good for Annie to hear. I just donāt want it to end like this, I want some legitimate rebuttal to Redās points.
I dont want the conclusion for this chapter to be that Annieās a perfect, flawless angel that did nothing wrong, but I ALSO donāt want it to be that the entire mission was Annieās fault and that she did everything wrong and sheās completely selfish, etc. I want her to grow and learn from it, and for her to realize what was at stake here, but I donāt want her to walk away form it thinking that sheās a terrible person, or for the others to think she's a terrible person. This situation is more complex than just āAnnieās perfect vs Annieās terribleā, yāknow? She might notāve made all the best decisions, but she tried her best, and yes she has flaws but so do all the other characters. I donāt want Annie to leave this conversation thinking that she should never ask others for help ever again.
It was very dangerous, tough mission they were all taking part in, against a ghost who has literally killed not only multiple creatures, but multiple escorts of the dead. And they, a group of teenagers, managed to complete the mission (one that more powerful, adult creatures failed at) without anyone actually dying or anyone becoming permanently injured from it. Iād say they did a pretty damn good job, Red.
- At least Annie did manage to point out that Parley was personally invested in facing Jeanne, but Red didnāt really react to it.
-Annieā¦Katās been working with you on this whole Jeanne thing for as long as you have. She was invested in it just like you, and sheās your best friend who loves you with her whole heart. Youāre really gonna believe that you forced her to do this now? (Though I understand that itās more of a guilt/self-doubt sort of thing going on here)
-Ayilu still hasnāt said anything??
-At the very least, it seems like Red isnāt really acting super mad (based on her body language and facial expressions on this a page) so hopefully this wonāt turn into a big fight or anything
-And again with the whole āthis was only what YOU wanted Annieā shtick. Nevermind the fact that she, a CHILD, was personally asked by the magical escorts of the dead to help with this, or the fact that her friends have been working with her on this for years, or the fact that she doesnāt personally get anything out of this and really mainly did it because she thought it was the right thing to do. Nope, this was entirely Annieās fault. Geez.
