mental link

[adamance]

WISDOM passing on her legacy, her knowledge, and showing a willingness for more	COMPASSION looking upon her people with care, with hope, and understanding a different layer of strength
STRENGTH strength is more than just mere words or mere actions—it is everything	PURPOSE being born for this

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

Comments

[adamance]

I already made the choice not to get in too deep. [It's typical of Lexa to find some semblance of something to correct him on, but it feels important to her to clarify that. She knows that Bellamy may not have meant to sound as if he was keeping her from drowning in this existence, that he somehow had the ability to do that himself, but it feels important. Specifying that is necessary.

And maybe it is just for her, but it still aligns with how she's managed to maintain her autonomy thus far. She will continue.]

And remember that I'm not alone. I've never been. The previous Commanders have always been with me.

[deployed]

[ Quantifying absorption into the Nest felt like a futile exercise. It might not be as hopeless as Bellamy regards it, but all he has to conflate the nest with is ALIE, and there had been no way to avoid assimilation there. In Bellamy's view, the nest might take hold more slowly, but giving it an inch was only speeding up the process. ]

This isn't like anything either of us have dealt with.

[ But he thinks he understands what underscores Lexa's conditions. Lexa doesn't allow for dependence the way others may. Bellamy's attempting to take that in stride, rather than bristle defensively. ]

The safeguards we both have might not end up being enough.

[adamance]

I once justified my thinking to Clarke. [The words come slowly, like she's processing how to say this to him. There is a part of her that is tired of living in fear, the same way she had been before Clarke had led her to her bed. Those final moments together had felt like a reprieve, but now she knows that they were nothing more than a promise of what would never come. If she stayed or left, her life there would be over regardless.] That we have to be harsh. That we have to be relentless. Do you know what she told me? That life has to be more than just about surviving.

[After saying these words, her eyes meet Bellamy's. It's a lot to carry, but she has to approach a new philosophy here. Otherwise, they will never succeed.]

We will not win if we treat the Nest as our captors and our Enemy the same way. That's how Mount Weather kept my people weak for over fifty years.

[deployed]

[ Bellamy breaks eye contact when she mentions Mount Weather. They've been so far removed from their world that the mention is an unwelcome reminder. Clarke's hand beneath his on the lever passes through his thoughts before he shakes it away. ]

And you think we're stronger with the Nest.

[ At least Lexa's framing this as a strategic move. Bellamy's attachments are all rooted in emotion; it's happened in spite of his best intentions rather than because he saw an advantage. ]

And that Cathaway's an ally? And Prince?

[adamance]

No. But they are tools that we can use, just as the rest of the Nest is full of people that we can form alliances with. We can't afford to see them any other way, and it's apparent that just the two of us will not be strong enough to defeat this Enemy on our own. [She assumes, given their ability to access and attack so many worlds, that their numbers are much, much higher than anything the Nest will (or has had to) offer. Right now, her approach here isn't only based on utilizing those around her.

It's about living, so that they can seem genuine (and so Lexa can avoid another humiliating sequence of events with someone like General Hux ever again).]