#Ned Stark under the lens

[lemonhemlock]

Any thoughts on what would happen if stannis was there during dance of dragons? Green or black? (I know he didn't have a great opinion on rhaenyra but if he lived during that time?)Do u think he would like any of them ? He cares about honor and stuff so i feel like if he can tolerate targs he would be a green. Also him and otto feels like they could be buds against daemon atleast to me.

Shireen was smart enough to realise that both of them egg and rhae were terrible. Do u think stannis would want to betroth his child to one of their teams?

Just weirdly thought of him since I agree with u that got starks and green/black targs won't really mesh well.

One more thing do you think any of got starks would like rhaenyra? Arya, jon, ned etc

The thing is, anon, Stannis already makes his opinion on Rhaenyra abundantly clear in the text; there is no reason for us to make guessing games.

"Rise, Ser Davos," Stannis commanded. "I have missed you, ser. I have need of good counsel, and you never gave me less. So tell me true—what is the penalty for treason?"

The word hung in the air. A frightful word, thought Davos. Was he being asked to condemn his cellmate? Or himself, perchance? Kings know the penalty for treason better than any man. "Treason?" he finally managed, weakly.

"What else would you call it, to deny your king and seek to steal his rightful throne. I ask you again—what is the penalty for treason under the law?"

Davos had no choice but to answer. "Death," he said. "The penalty is death, Your Grace."

"It has always been so. I am not . . . I am not a cruel man, Ser Davos. You know me. Have known me long. This is not my decree. It has always been so, since Aegon's day and before. Daemon Blackfyre, the brothers Toyne, the Vulture King, Grand Maester Hareth . . . traitors have always paid with their lives . . . even Rhaenyra Targaryen. She was daughter to one king and mother to two more, yet she died a traitor's death for trying to usurp her brother's crown. It is law. Law, Davos. Not cruelty."

"Yes, Your Grace." He does not speak of me. Davos felt a moment's pity for his cellmate down in the dark. He knew he should keep silent, but he was tired and sick of heart, and he heard himself say, "Sire, Lord Florent meant no treason." (A Storm of Swords, Davos IV)

Stannis is a legalist if there ever was one. He follows the letter of the law; that is why he spares Davos' life, but cuts off his fingers for being a smuggler. Rhaenyra is legally in the wrong here, so Stannis would never support her, since Aegon has the better claim in accordance with the laws of the time, King Viserys' whims notwithstanding. Stannis obviously doesn't interpret oaths taken before Aegon's birth as having legal value.

Furthermore, the second reason why Stannis would never support Rhaenyra is because she is trying to place her bastard children in the line of succession. Stannis' entire war for the Iron Throne is predicated on Cersei's children being bastards and, thus, very much not Robert's heirs. To think that Stannis would accept Jacaerys as King is preposterous.

Shireen was smart enough to realise that both of them egg and rhae were terrible.

Shireen, as sweet as she is, interprets the civil war through the lens of human suffering. However, the unfortunate practicalities warrant that one can't not choose a side, since someone has to occupy the hollow of the crown, as the very foundations of society demand it. Leadership vacuum leads to political instability leads to lawlessness and violent conflict. The breakdown of the state is never a peaceful time, as so many failed/fragile states in our own history have demonstrated. "Not choosing" would not spare Westeros from the suffering of its most disadvantaged.

This is a much more complicated discussion and people can choose to disagree with me on this but I personally and philosophically do not believe that societies can prosper outside of the social contract and for that you need a structure in place to enforce it. Call me a white bitch brainwashed by the European conceptualization of the state, if you want, but I'm not going to be suggesting that the answer to Westeros' problems is to transform overnight into an anarchical utopian society.

Therefore, IMO, an alternative universe in which neither Rhaenyra, nor Aegon make a play for the throne is a foolish scenario. When in history did that ever happen? When has that ever been believable in the slightest? So how do we make the transition of power if we do not follow the law? The answer is seizing the throne by conquest. If Rhaenyra wants it so much, she'd better come and get it with fire & blood.

All of this, of course, begs the question of how do we achieve a better, more egalitarian society, when the law clearly isn't the fairest it can be? Well, how did it happen in real life in the first place? The answer that nobody wants to hear is through incremental progress, slowly, with difficulty and constant struggle.

Do u think stannis would want to betroth his child to one of their teams?

IMO if Stannis would have been Lord of Storm's End during the Dance, he'd probably accept Aemond's betrothal to Shireen.

One more thing do you think any of got starks would like rhaenyra? Arya, jon, ned etc

Rhaenyra's rule is predicated on a dozen norm-transgressions, so no. :))

[loyalannister]

UNDER THE LENS : Eddard I, A Game of Thrones

Eddard I, A Game of Thrones, starts with the arrival of King Robert Baratheon and his retinue to Winterfell and ends in the crypts where the dead Lords of the castle stare with disapproving eyes as Robert asks Ned Stark to be his Hand.

• Tyrion is present in the King's party and not lingering in a brothel when we see him for the first time in the series. Tyrion is in the Winterfell library when we first see him in his own PoV. Book! Tyrion does frequent brothels often but it speaks volumes about what the author wanted the reader's first impression of Tyrion to be in contrast to how the writers of Thrones wanted to present Tyrion to the viewers for the first time.

• I know that this excerpt is often considered as foreshadowing for Jon Snow becoming King:

Ned jested [...] “Kings are a rare sight in the north.”

Robert snorted. “More likely they were hiding under the snow. Snow, Ned!”

But also it's ironic that Ned says Kings are a rare sight in the North when his own son Robb will soon be declared King in the North although Ned himself wouldn't be alive to see it :(

• This PoV is rich in imagery/references to the dead Starks, the crypts, the Others but also it provides hope : hope that the Starks will eventually triumph against against all odds :

“The Others take your mild snows,” Robert swore. “What will this place be like in winter? I shudder to think.”

“The winters are hard,” Ned admitted. “But the Starks will endure. We always have.”

Unbeknownst to Robert, his words will come true - the Others will take away the mild snows and bring a much harsher & fiercer winter which the readers will shudder to read about in A Dream of Spring.

Later when Ned tells Robert to return to the castle from the crypts as his wife would surely be waiting, Robert says, “The Others take my wife,” - will this come true as well? (This actually reminds me of a favorite personal theory of mine which I was lowkey hoping to see in the show - Jaime would kill Cersei after being converted to a wight, thereby fulfilling the prophecy of the valonqar making it seem less like a heroic deed on Jaime's part and more like a gruesome one!)

• George does an excellent job of giving the crypts of Winterfell a very horror filled mystical vibe in this PoV - the crypts are almost personified in every other line starting from the very stairs leading down to them :

He could feel the chill coming up the stairs, a cold breath from deep within the earth.

[...]

He swept the lantern in a wide semicircle. Shadows moved and lurched.

The stone statues in the crypts seem to come alive eerily as the light from Ned's lantern illuminate them:

The shifting shadows made the stone figures seem to stir as the living passed by.

When Robert laughs uproariously at a joke, his laughter echoes through the darkness and :

[...] all around them the dead of Winterfell seemed to watch with cold and disapproving eyes.

In fact, George chooses to end the chapter on a very ominous note, as if the inhabitants of the crypt know the fate of Ned if he fulfils Robert's wish to be his Hand:

He looked at the stone figures all around them, breathed deep in the chill silence of the crypt. He could feel the eyes of the dead. They were all listening, he knew. And winter was coming.

• Jon Snow's parentage has long been a subject of discussion and debate in the fandom. Although it's widely believed that he is Rhaegar's son, other theories claim that he is Ned and Ashara's son.

Robert Baratheon had always been a man of huge appetites, a man who knew how to take his pleasures. That was not a charge anyone could lay at the door of Eddard Stark.

If Ned had really been with Ashara and birthed Jon as a bastard, it's unlikely that he would think along these lines. Although the events occuring at the Tower of Joy unfold later as a part of Ned's fever dream, in this PoV, he distinctly recalls Lyanna in his full senses beseeching him to promise her something (it might not be about a son, some might argue, but then what is the 'promise' all about? It definitely seems like a dead end if it's not about Jon.)

• Aside from their beauty and wildness, one Arya/Lyanna parallel I always really liked was when Arya searched for some purple and green flowers & brought them to Ned while they were crossing the Neck on their way to King's Landing. This would have undoubtedly reminded Ned of Lyanna:

“I bring her flowers when I can,” he said. “Lyanna was…fond of flowers.”

• The long dead lords of Winterfell are associated with further ominous symbolism:

By ancient custom an iron longsword had been laid across the lap of each who had been Lord of Winterfell, to keep the vengeful spirits in their crypts. The oldest had long ago rusted away to nothing, leaving only a few red stains where the metal had rested on stone. Ned wondered if that meant those ghosts were free to roam the castle now.

Not only would the iron longswords keep the dead Lords at bay, they would protect any possible people hiding in the crypts from the Others as well! As Old Nan puts it:

“They [the Others] were cold things, dead things, that hated iron and fire and the touch of the sun...”

Interestingly, some swords are missing from the stone statues currently as they were taken by Bran and his companions while fleeing from the ruined castle.

• Early on in the series, it becomes evident that Rhaegar did not rape Lyanna; Ned doesn't harbour any ill thoughts about Rhaegar when Robert speaks about him. Furthermore, he remains silent & his inner monologue provides no ill feelings about the silver prince :

“In my dreams, I kill him every night,” Robert admitted. “A thousand deaths will still be less than he deserves.”

There was nothing Ned could say to that.

• Rhaegar's rubies are brought up time and again in the series with various people actively seeking them out:

When Ned had finally come on the scene, Rhaegar lay dead in the stream, while men of both armies scrabbled in the swirling waters for rubies knocked free of his armor.

Arya and Mycah later team up to look for Rhaegar's rubies on the ford and later in A Feast for Crows, the Elder Brother informs Brienne that six rubies have been washed up with the water. Might these rubies have any significance in the future? Can they be used as a glamour by someone to appear as Rhaegar?

• The Starks belong to Winterfell and Winterfell belongs to the Starks:

For a moment Eddard Stark was filled with a terrible sense of foreboding. This was his place, here in the north.

This is why, I feel extremely skeptical whenever I hear of King Bran endgame in the books. Bran is a Stark through and through, he is connected to Winterfell & the North like no one else. All signs point to him being King in the North rather than of entire Westeros. This is also why Sansa as Lady of the Vale in the end seems unlikely unless she marries someone from the Vale, given that Sansa herself has no claim to the Vale.

TRIVIA :

• Cersei Lannister rode to Winterfell in a wheelhouse pulled by forty (40) horses. It was too wide to pass through the gates of Winterfell.

• King Robert brought fruits from Highgarden for Ned to taste.

[esther-dot]

I understand the antipathy and suspicion about Rhaegar and Lyanna when its viewed through a modern lens. But at the same time I can totally see the two of them enthralled by each other when Rhaegar discovers Lyanna is the KOTLT. If these two had not gotten together, there would be no Jon Snow or the aura of destiny and prophecy around him which GRRM created for the books. Also we can't forget that the TOJ was likely so well guarded because Jon was the rightful Targ heir by Westorosi standards.

(continued) I think R+L is meant to be read as a tragedy. There is not a lot of value narratively for him to go from being a Stark bastard to a Targaryen bastard.

(I edited out a part that I think would have been misinterpreted)

I was pretty amused to get so many Rhaegar fans yelling at me recently (not you, you’re fine) when I’ve said repeatedly, I really don’t know what Martin is doing there. Personally I hate Rhaegar, but I do entertain the idea that Martin would go for Lyanna being infatuated and running away rather than a kidnapping. I don’t like that, but in addition to learning how she was moved by Rhaegar’s singing (which serves as a parallel to Sansa and Jon who are also moved by singing), we’re told that she is willful. That’s something Ned connects to her premature death which to me is significant because if he is under the impression she was kidnapped and raped, that’s an odd thing to say? I think it indicates Ned’s perspective on what happened? Also, something we know about Lyanna, she takes matters into her own hands to right wrongs (as the Knight of the Laughing Tree), and she didn’t want to marry Robert, could have definitely viewed it as a wrong against herself that she was expected to marry him anyway, so the running away idea is a real possibility.

To me, there are a lot of reasons to believe that she would have entertained running away. Obviously, we have no idea what she knew or felt about Rhaegar’s plans, and, even if she did choose to go with him, we don’t know that she loved him or that she wanted to have a child with him. I tend to think she was enamored because of the singing, but agreeing to run away to escape an unwanted marriage doesn’t necessarily mean she agreed to the rest of it.

I mentioned why I don’t dismiss the possibility that Rhaegar either a) convinced her he could take her as a second wife or b) actually did marry her in secret in this ask (link). I have a hard time believing he had the good fortune to fall in love with the person he needed for the prophecy baby. Like, the fact that we’re given the scene where he says he needs another child puts a very dark twist on his interest in Lyanna. Also, considering how preoccupied he is with the prophecy, the idea of his head being turned so entirely that he throws away everything (I mean, he was meant to be king one day and how was that going to work after he offended so many people?) is a hard sell to me. So an impassioned choice seems ooc for him, but it makes no sense as a planned action either.

So, that’s why I say I’m confused. As for the purpose/destiny around Jon....I suppose that’s where another one of my issues with R/L comes in. Do we believe that Martin is saying ends justify the means? Is he saying do the bad thing because it’s worth it? Or is he examining the consequences of the bad thing? Just because women have no recourse, is it acceptable that men treat them badly? Is it worth it for a man to treat his wife in a horrible way if it’s for the greater good? Is it worth it for a man to abandon his wife and impregnate a teenager for the greater good? What is the greater good? Is the idea that we are not to judge men who allow prophecy to override all decency and morals? Or is it, look how these forces shape and destroy people if you do not adhere to basic concepts of good?

“what is the life of one bastard boy against a kingdom?”

"Everything," said Davos, softly.

(ASOS, Davos V)

To me, we already know what Martin’s answer is to that, so I don’t see how he can present Rhaegar as being in the right. I would think the proper subversion of the idea that Rhaegar needed to have another child is that Jon isn’t the key in defeating the Others, he is the one who ends the Targs.

And, a big problem I have with romanticizing R/L is it means we ignore the true victims, the people who had no hand in the events, no power to stop them, but had to endure the consequences: Elia and her children. In your second message you mention that R/L should be read as a tragedy, and I think Lyanna’s fate certainly is, but I don’t know that it’s a bad thing Rhaegar died. If we look at his decisions, I don’t see how he would have been a good king. He wronged his future subjects when he ran off with Lyanna. Of course he’s preferable to Aerys, but even if Rhaegar didn’t know the worst about his dad, he did know enough that he admitted he should have done something before. Also, I’m not sure that there were any lines about this, but I think he likely knew what his father did to his mother? And while we don’t know exactly what went on in his marriage, I’ve seen people run the timelines and it looks like he impregnated Elia very quickly after she gave birth which may be a “Mr Martin, so bad at math!” thing, or it might indicate something even worse about how he viewed women, and how he may not have ended up being that much better than his father. That’s totally speculation, and maybe we were never intended to focus on that stuff, but I do wonder. 

Anyway, I find the characterization very odd, what Martin is saying there is confusing to me. I still think this post is the best explanation for it which isn’t as romanticized as your view, but isn’t the kidnap/rape version either.

[chispas-and-broken-bindings]

When I was new to fandom I was bored by Dany and Jon story. Dany for me was typical fantasy heroine who was winning and getting everything and Jon has basically underdog story which wasn't that new. When I saw the so hyped boatsex I was like eh? I found Arya more interesting and Sansa started to grow on me. It's through jonsa I started admiring Jon and loving Sansa. Also through Sansa and jonsa fandom I realised Dany is a villain which is better than savior of world.

Hi nonny, well you were not alone in seeing Dany as a fantasy heroine (lots and lots and lots of people saw her this way). I suppose I’d disagree with the idea that she is typical...mainly because she isn’t the heroine, and her story is one fantastic inversion of the hero’s journey. I love Dany’s storyline for what it’s doing. Unfortunately, many people don’t see it. I also love Jon’s story, especially as this wonderful parallel to Dany’s, except where Dany’s experiences only heighten her sense of “specialness”, Jon’s experiences are constantly forcing him to see and even “live in” other people’s perspectives. Dany’s arc is about hubris and upholding this idea that she alone deserves unbridled power, while Jon’s is about humility and seeing the inherent value in other people’s lives. He pays dearly for his mistakes, especially when he tries to push his friends away and take on the burden of leadership alone (but that’s getting way ahead of what I want to talk about today). 

Almost immediately, Dany’s chapters are infused with the language of “specialness”. She is the “blood of the dragon”, she is the khaleesi, a princess, a queen...and almost immediately, Jon Snow is disabused about any such notions he may have had, even as a bastard. 

Jon stared sullenly at the smoke rising from the brazier, until Noye took him under the chin, thick fingers twisting his head around. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, boy."

Jon looked. The armorer had a chest like a keg of ale and a gut to match. His nose was flat and broad, and he always seemed in need of a shave. The left sleeve of his black wool tunic was fastened at the shoulder with a silver pin in the shape of a longsword. "Words won't make your mother a whore. She was what she was, and nothing Toad says can change that. You know, we have men on the Wall whose mothers were whores."

Not my mother, Jon thought stubbornly. He knew nothing of his mother; Eddard Stark would not talk of her. Yet he dreamed of her at times, so often that he could almost see her face. In his dreams, she was beautiful, and highborn, and her eyes were kind.

"You think you had it hard, being a high lord's bastard?" the armorer went on. "That boy Jeren is a septon's get, and Cotter Pyke is the baseborn son of a tavern wench. Now he commands Eastwatch by the Sea."

"I don't care," Jon said. "I don't care about them and I don't care about you or Thorne or Benjen Stark or any of it. I hate it here. It's too … it's cold."

"Yes. Cold and hard and mean, that's the Wall, and the men who walk it. Not like the stories your wet nurse told you. Well, piss on the stories and piss on your wet nurse. This is the way it is, and you're here for life, same as the rest of us." 

A Game of Thrones - Jon III

As soon as Jon arrives at the Wall, his uncle gives him the cold shoulder and goes so far as to verbally reprimand Jon for believing he’d get special favor for being Ned Stark’s son, and then Donal Noye also knocks him down a few more pegs, calling him boy and reminding him that he is no better than anyone else at the Wall. 

"Yes, life," Noye said. "A long life or a short one, it's up to you, Snow. The road you're walking, one of your brothers will slit your throat for you one night."

"They're not my brothers," Jon snapped. "They hate me because I'm better than they are."

"No. They hate you because you act like you're better than they are. They look at you and see a castle-bred bastard who thinks he's a lordling." The armorer leaned close. “You're no lordling. Remember that. You're a Snow, not a Stark. You're a bastard and a bully."

A Game of Thrones - Jon III

Two chapters later, Dany is a married woman and riding in Khal Drogo’s khalasar. While she is miserable at the start (and rightly so. She is sold and raped. I’m in no way pretending that Dany’s life doesn’t start out horrible. It’s far more horrible than Jon’s start to life), she is in a position of power for the first time ever, and lets just say she takes to it just fine. 

Jorah tells her about ghost grass (that passage deserves its own meta - the writing was on the wall from book one, people), and Dany doesn’t want to hear it: 

"I don't want to talk about that now," she said. "It's so beautiful here, I don't want to think about everything dying."

"As you will, Khaleesi," Ser Jorah said respectfully.

A Game of Thrones - Daenerys III

Jon doesn’t want to hear people calling his mother a whore = Tough luck kid, your mother was who she was. Face reality. 

Dany doesn’t want to hear about ghost grass murdering all life = conversation ends and Dany gets to enjoy the beautiful day without others spoiling it. 

"Wait here," Dany told Ser Jorah. "Tell them all to stay. Tell them I command it."

The knight smiled. Ser Jorah was not a handsome man. He had a neck and shoulders like a bull, and coarse black hair covered his arms and chest so thickly that there was none left for his head. Yet his smiles gave Dany comfort. "You are learning to talk like a queen, Daenerys."

"Not a queen," said Dany. "A khaleesi." She wheeled her horse about and galloped down the ridge alone.

The descent was steep and rocky, but Dany rode fearlessly, and the joy and the danger of it were a song in her heart. All her life Viserys had told her she was a princess, but not until she rode her silver had Daenerys Targaryen ever felt like one.

A Game of Thrones - Daenerys III

Their stories are inversions of each other from their very first pages in AGOT and it culminates in ADWD which is this wonderful deep dive into how these divergent viewpoints color their leadership styles. 

I don’t have time to go on and on about this, but I find Dany and Jon’s stories fascinating and I love them as foils. They just don’t make any sense from a shipping perspective. 

That being said, for the show, I totally bought into the pol!jon theory. That was the only thing that made season 7 fit any kind of narrative sense, and with that lens I didn’t mind the season or the boat sex scene, because I thought the lack of chemistry was the point. LOL. I’m a clown. 

However you came to Jonsa, I’m glad you did! I agree. Dany makes a much more interesting villain than she does a heroine. We don’t need any more white savior stories. Blech. 

[justgottafinishthischapter]

Deciding on a POV

There are many ways to tell a story, and each one comes with a benefit or a downside. Still, I figured it’s worth going over the different ways each can be effective.

First Person

Reliable Narrator: A story with a reliable First Person narrator is one of the most common narrative styles. What this means is that the reader can trust what the narrator is telling them is the truth as it actually happened. Think Percy Jackson in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series.The reliable narrator is far more common than the unreliable variety. The benefit of this narrative style is that it mirrors how we tell stories verbally. If something happened to me, and I tell my friend what happened, I am going to use First Person narration to explain the events that transpired. Thus, this can feel like the most organic option. It also allows for total access to the POV character’s thoughts, allowing readers to see how they reached a conclusion, or why they’re acting a certain way. However, this can come with the problem of not being able to get inside the head of anyone except for the narrator. Now, while it’s standard for the First Person narrator to be the main character, it isn’t always the case. If the narrator is some sort of omniscient, bystander, or divine presence, whether they interact with the characters or not, it technically falls under First Person if they voice their opinion using I statements. The figure of Death in The Book Thief is a good example of this, as Death uses I and me in the narrative of the story. Because the story is set in Germany during World War II, the narrator of Death sees the protagonist, Liesel, frequently, and thus we’re able to get a narrator who is observing a protagonist from outside of her immediate story.

Unreliable Narrator: An Unreliable narrator is going to be the exact opposite. They tell the story, but take their story with a grain of salt. Whether their perception of reality is distorted, they’re using metaphors and symbolic imagery to tell the story, or they’re telling the story from a very narrow viewpoint, the unreliable narrator can be a good choice to get the reader to engage with the story and think critically about the work. Rugrats is a good example of this type of storytelling, as the main characters are babies, and therefore often mistake things for something else, making them unreliable narrators. This type works well if you want to tell a more abstract story. For instance, an entire story is about a boy chasing after a red balloon, but that red balloon itself represents accepting his mother’s death. Suddenly everything experienced becomes unreliable, leaving the reader wondering if the foes he defeated or the desert he crossed was literal, and he went on an actual journey to come to terms with his mother’s death, or was everything figurative, and the journey was more symbolic and allegorical? An unreliable narrator can play with these questions, blur the lines between reality and fiction, and leave their readers asking questions.

Third Person

Omniscient: Lemony Snicket is a perfect example of a great omniscient narrator. Mr. Snicket knows everything about every character, knows what’s going to happen before it happens, and comments on everything. Lemony Snicket himself is not a character in the story. Rather he recounts the story much like the First Person style, but from an outside perspective. Instead of being part of the story, Lemony Snicket is telling us about the Baudelaire children through the lens of the all-knowing and opinionated narrator. It’s not entirely uncommon for this type of narrator to be some supernatural force, a wise old sage, or someone who lived through an experience recounting the tale many years later. In fact it could be rather fun to play with this last one, having the story almost be told like a myth or legend, but having the narrator constantly side track to discuss how historians know and gathered the information for this story, only to reveal the narrator isn’t some omniscient being, but just a docent in a museum giving a tour and explaining an old myth to the patrons.

Limited: With a Limited POV, the reader learns things as the narrator does. Even though the narrator is the one telling the story, their information is only up to date with whatever is currently happening on the page. This and First Person are the two POV types most likely to appear in a mystery novel, or any novel where a mystery or unanswered questions drives the plot. Harry Potter is a series written in Limited Third Person. The story follows Harry, and the reader only learns information as Harry does. And every year, Harry is faced with the recurring mystery element of figuring out what’s going on, and stopping whatever their plan was. However, because the narrator only knows what the protagonist knows, this can allow you to play around with giving the narrator a personality, and having them comment or react to things as they happen, perhaps even mirroring the way you hope the readers are responding.

Objective: Think of Objective Point of View as watching a tv show. Anyone who’s into shipping has to read into objective romantic coding. Two characters held eye contact for five seconds? You the reader have to interpret that as you will. Objective is strangely both the most human and the most robotic point of view. At its most human, Objective treats the narration like a normal person. They can’t read the thoughts of other characters, they don’t know more than the hero or reader, and you’re effectively just a bystander in the crowd watching things happen with no context clues about what’s happening inside a character’s head. On the opposite end, it can also be the most robotic because it is the most lacking in human connection, as it leaves the reader detached from the characters themselves. However, a liberating or perhaps crippling aspect of this POV style is that it frees the author of show don’t tell because this type of POV can’t enter anyone’s minds or go on a rant about a character’s feelings about someone else. You just have to take what you get at face value and all information has to be conveyed through your characters and story, whether directly through dialogue, or subtly through background details.

Switching POVs

Most stories tend to stick with a single narrator. Stories can be complicated when one person is giving an opinion, but when multiple people are talking, it can be hard to find a voice and plot for each of them. And if you’re planning on writing a series, you may run into the problem of some characters having meatier plots than others. It’s for this reason that when it comes to watching Game of Thrones, I always groan internally whenver the story cuts back to Bran or Jon at the Wall. It’s a scene or two of people standing around being cold or talking about being cold and something something three-eyed raven and then we finally get back to the part I’m more interested in: the political games of manipulation and intrigue. But that’s also a strength of changing POVs. With something like Game of Thrones, you might not necessarily like every storyline happening, but you’re more likely to enjoy one. In a sense, Game of Thrones is like 11 novels stitched together, and because each is so different, you’re more likely to find something in the series that speaks to you. Conversely, when there’s multiple POVs experiencing the same thing, such as with the Heroes of Olympus series, having shifting POVs can be a good way of exploring each character. In The Lost Hero, Piper knows more about the giant waiting to fight them than either Jason or Leo, and because we have shifting POVs, we the reader get access to this otherwise Limited Third Person information from the character who already knows it, thus building dramatic tension of when the others will find out. Another benefit to this is giving unique encounters to the characters. Percy has already met Aphrodite in the past, but through Piper, Aphrodite’s daughter, we’re able to see a different side of this goddess, the goddess as a mother to someone else. This could also manifest in differing opinions of the same things. This is also part of why it works so well in Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones is a civil war story with multiple sides all vying for the same end goal. Because there are so many sides and players in the game, having so many different points of view is valueable to the story being told. If Eddard Stark was the sole protagonist, the only thing that we would know is whatever he knows. Everything Danny is doing across the narrow sea would need to be told to Ned for it to matter. And the same with Jon at the Wall. And if Jon or Danny was the sole narrator, the reader would miss out on everything happening in King’s Landing because neither Danny nor Jon are connected to that part of the plot. An entire element to the story is lost when a major POV character is dropped, which goes to show how strong George RR Martin’s writing really is. Something I like doing with multiple POVs is describing the same character in two different ways from two characters who would see them in a drastically different way. One description might paint a character as dark, alluring, and attractive, while another person might describe them as a rat-faced shifty-eyed snake that stinks of booze and dead fish. It’s the same character, but two different people see that character in entirely different ways. However, this also comes with a major backlash. It can be an absolute nightmare juggling not only so many plots, but trying to make them fit together nicely. You’ll notice this a lot with shows that emphasize drama and interconnecting storylines. They’ll be really strong in their earlier seasons, then peter out once they’ve hit the creative brick wall. It happened to Once Upon a Time and to a lesser extent, Glee. Both shows had tightly knit and compelling drama in season 1, but by season 4, both shows felt like they were just going through the motions and had lost the edge that made them interesting. Even with something as well-written as Game of Thrones, it’s still possible to have someone’s story be weaker than everyone else’s. Arya Stark for instance spent the first couple of seasons focused on learning to sword fighting, then once the Hound died, she went to Braavos, but it always kind of felt more like a detour than really what Arya’s story was supposed to be about. She was a little girl out for vengeance, she went to Braavos for a season or two, didn’t really learn much, and then she came back to Westeros and pretty much went right back to exactly who she was before going to Braavos. Now granted, I’m going by the TV show, but it always felt to me at least that Arya’s vacation in Braavos was just kind of George not knowing what to do with her as he built up to the big climactic battle. So if you’re going to use shifting POVs, it’s important to weigh the pros and the cons carefully.

[supero1726-mcu]

Avengers in Lockdown

Avengers in Lockdown was one of my first fanfictions, and it (unsurprisingly) follows Tony, Peter and the gang. I really enjoyed writing this, and hope you enjoy this as much as me!

Prologue 

Peter Parker lent back in his chair and watched as his Spanish teacher droned on about something he should be listening to. Leaning down, he grabbed his half-bitten biro from the corner of his desk and scribbled a new formula in the corner of his notebook. Finally, his spurt of inspiration died, and he was reduced to doodling a small spider in the corner of his book, which muddled into MJ. Everything seemed to muddle into MJ nowadays, be it his formulas or his lab session with Tony. Sometimes he couldn’t tell if she liked him, knew if he was Spider-Man or both. It was MJ, she was always unpredictable. Looking up, he found his teacher leaning over his desk with a threatening expression on his face. “Mr Parker, what have I told you about…” he was saved by the crackling of Tannoy and a stern voiced Principal Morita. He had been wondering when this would come, the news had been full of it. May had been worried that Ellis would bring this in – and that the WHO would start to ask the US to join the regulations that had been implemented across the globe. Of course the new Ross, who was still standing staunchly in Tony’s way of everything possible, was in the process of ignoring everything he said, especially about the possibility of a vaccine being created by him and Bruce (with a little help from Peter of course!), and had decided to plough ahead. So, it was really no surprise when Morita had said that Ellis was to give a briefing at 5, and that they were all welcome to stay and watch with their friends, after all, it might be the last time. The briefings had been going for a while, but they had all had the feeling that there was going to be the last normal day for a while, and so he grabbed his phone to say that he was staying.

Pepper stormed out of the meeting, eyes firmly on the door to her office. If one more person tried to catch her and ask her about something she had no idea about, she was going to scream. The board wanted to know about PPE, Tony wanted to know what Ellis was saying about a vaccine, Ellis wanted to know what Tony was doing about a vaccine. Added to the fact the constantly had to deal with incessant Avengers business when her Fiancé messed up, it was all a bit too much. Shutting the door behind her and leaning on the table, she picked up a pile of papers asking what she was going to do if they were put in lockdown. Sometimes she wondered about all of this. When she had first started being the CEO of a trans-national company it had been electrifying, once she had got over the fact it was not one of Tony’s jokes, but she was approaching her 50’s, and she had no time left, and with Tony being Tony… things could go anywhere. The pressure was getting to her. The press where picking up on their every move, guessing on the destination, the dress, best man, flower girl… anything that could be predicted by means of sheer will and brute force. She was used to having no private life, but since she announced her engagement, she had not been left alone. Grabbing a receiver, she muttered for some poor assistant to take the meeting, she was done.

Ellis sat on his chair, surveying the rows of press sitting in 2m distance and watching as he took a sip from a glass of water. The press clicked a feverishly with cameras and notebooks, some clutched laptops. “Hello. We have come to the point in time where there are two options, two sides to the same, I admit frightening coin. With tangible threats, the Avengers can field it with ease, they are recruiting new members, and we do have an army. However, this is a war with something that has no body, nothing that we can punch or watch as it crumbles under a wave of gunfire. This is no war for an army, this is a war for science. We have advanced scientists; Dr Banner is a notable example of one that is involved with both the physical and scientific battles, but even the great Dr Banner does not have a miracle vaccine, although I am assured by both him and Stark that they have a team on both a vaccine and manufacture of PPE.” He stops and looks out into the audience; someone clears their throat and most of the auditorium turn to stare at the poor man. “This,” He states with an ashen face and red rimmed eyes. “is a war, and so we will have to treat it as such. Our weapons are the PPE, our help is to stay home. As such I am recommending that all governors suspend schools indefinitely starting on Friday. We will issue guidelines on whom is considered essential, and who needs to work from home. Ladies and Gentlemen.” He stares at the camera, watching as the lens focuses in on him. “This is the single defining moment of our generation. I will endeavour to ensure the safety of our nation. That will be all. I will not be answering questions.” He stalked behind the curtain, hoping the press hadn’t noticed his trembling hand.

Peter was not patrolling anymore. He had agreed to stop since the evidence suggested that, even if he was immune, he could still be a carrier. So now he spent his nights learning how to cook, playing board games and chatting to Ned over the phone. He almost wished he had a little more time like this, where he felt he had a life outside of school and swinging round New York. He was half expecting May to be at the door waiting for him, but she was at the table, clutching her phone. “Honey…” “What is it.” Peter looked worriedly into her eyes, not catching the glint that had been a solitary tear running down her face. “I’ve been classified Essential.” “Well then… why are you crying.” “Sweetie, I don’t want you in the house with me. I’m going to be around people who are at risk of being infected, or worse. Pete. I can’t let you stay here. I morally can’t do it. Call him.” “What.” Peter caught May’s eye. “Who.” “Call Tony. Please Pete. I can’t do it. You have somewhere safe to go, someone safe to be with, and I can’t watch you. We’ll call and chat and face time, but if I came home and got you sick…” “I can’t get…” “We don’t know that.” She was crying now, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I want this to be over. Call him.” So, Peter Parker walked to the sofa where he had put his phone and pressed the button for Tony Stark on his interface. He would never answer, but sure as luck would have it, Tony’s voice rang sure and clear down the line. “Hey Kiddo. What do you need?”

Tony Stark was having a shitty day. On Cho and Bruce’s orders he had suspended being Iron Man for the time being, and due to him still having problems where the ARC reactor was extracted, ha was now tower locked. He had told the public to do their bit, he had told Steve Rogers to “fuck off.”. Steve was immune to most things, being a super soldier and all. Since he had pardoned the rogues and brought back the tower after the disastrous incident with the vulture, he had let them stay, equipped with everything he could provide. And they were happy in a sense, no mass fighting breaking out, no notable divides, and then Steve bought Bucky back… and everything changed. Tony knew that it hadn’t been Bucky that killed his parents but there was something in him that hated the thought of housing his mother’s murderer, whether conscious or not. His wrench clattered to the ground, and he surveyed his handy work. DUM-E was now sporting a stronger, more durable arm, and a new fire extinguisher. He was going soft and when Friday’s voice rang “Call from Peter Parker.”, he snatched it up.

Sam had long wanted to learn the guitar, and now him and Clint were sitting back to back, each clutching identical acoustic guitars. It was one thing to be a bad guitarist at home alone, but now they were in quarantine, and now everyone in the tower and surrounding area could hear him and Clint strumming clumsily. Bucky leaned against the door, a shit-eating grin on his face. “I was lured up here by the sounds of Sam in pain.” Crossing the room, he deftly snatched a pluck out of Sam’s clumsy fingers, walking out of the room. “Hey, maybe a break will do you good.”

Dinner at the tower was seldom easy. For one thing, living with more than 6 people in the same house at once made them more than flatmates, it made them almost family. For another they all wanted different things, and the select cooks could only rustle up a few dishes, which meant a lot of bewildered Pizza and Indian vans drawing up at Stark Tower at least once a day. The only competent chefs in the building had quickly turned out to be Steve, Bucky and Tony (who as we all know can make good pasta!), with both Nat and Clint setting fire to the Stove, and scaring the life out of someone who had taken Clint’s space in the vents. Tonight, sitting at the long table was Steve, Sam, Clint, Wanda, Bucky and Nat. There was no sign of Tony; who had been seen practically running to one of his discreet cars not an hour earlier, Pepper, who rarely had time to spare, Bruce had been in the lab on a bender with the vaccine issue, Scott and Hope were away, and Thor was ‘off world’ – whatever that meant. “Miss me.” Steve turned to the door, and saw a dishevelled looking Tony standing there, clutching a battered suitcase and an impossibly wide smile. “Why are you so late?” “Had some things to pick up.” “What do you mean.” A boy stepped out behind him. He couldn’t have been than 16, in fact he looked younger, but he bore a small resemblance to Tony, with wide intelligent eyes, and hands that seemed to be fiddling with something. “Avengers meet Peter… again. Peter meet the Avengers.” “Hi.” Sam stared at him, taking in his proportions. “Hello Spider-kid.” Said Nat.

[ncfan-1]

I feel like the fallout of the events of her paralogue are something I’m going to come back to a lot when I write about Ingrid, because I feel like it must have been such a defining (on top of traumatizing) moment in her life.

Like, by this point in time, I feel like most of the fandom knows about what happened to Hanneman’s sister: she had no Crest of her own, but since she came from a family with a bunch of people with Crests in it, people saw “potential” in her, and her husband got her pregnant over and over again, with no regard for her well-being, until she died, with the strong implication that her repeated pregnancies had weakened her health to a dire extent. This is probably not the only such time something has happened in Fódlan, and gives us a potentially quite grim insight into the level of bodily and reproductive autonomy married noblewomen have in the Empire, if not the whole of the continent. I don’t think I need to tell any of you how fraught an issue those two things have been in our own world—most of us know how difficult it is for any woman, even in this day and age, to achieve true reproductive autonomy with the powers that be convinced that it’s their God-given right to interfere with women’s reproductive affairs, and I think most of us know something of how ill-understood the concept of marital rape is by a lot of people. It’s not too hard to imagine that Fódlan is a place where women, especially married women, especially married noblewomen whose reproductive affairs are also dynastic affairs, have very little reproductive autonomy. It’s easy to imagine that in Fódlan, if you are a woman, especially a noblewoman, your reproductive decisions are being made for you by other people, primarily by men—first, by your father or by whatever relative has guardianship over you, then, by your husband, and only if you outlive your husband and you yourself aren’t still able to bear children when he dies are the odds of your being able to make your own reproductive choices in your favor.

And even before the events of Ingrid’s paralogue, I have no doubt that she’s aware of all of this. She doesn’t come off as having been especially sheltered, and certainly doesn’t come off as being especially happy with the fact that her primary value to her noble house is as a marriage pawn. I’ve no doubt that she felt the unease that comes with the dissonance between what she wants for herself and what her family and society expect of her.

But then comes along her paralogue and this scumbag, and everything changes. Ingrid has a brush with kidnapping, a brush with forced marriage, a brush with a life of domestic abuse, of being raped repeatedly and indefinitely, of being used as a broodmare until either she can’t bear children any longer, or until she just dies. That’s what he wanted her for, after all—Ingrid surmises that he wants her Crest for his bloodline, and there aren’t too many ways that the layperson is going to get a Crest that isn’t already part of their bloodline into their bloodline.

We have the example of Hanneman’s sister (it would be really nice if the game had given the poor woman a name) to tell us what happens to women when people want them for Crests they bear, or Crests they can potentially pass on to their children. And going back further, the Elites won their Crests through an act of bodily violation. I would hardly call it a stretch to assume that we can see that theme perpetuated throughout the generations that follow them, if ever we get any insight into those generations—Crests won for a bloodline through further acts of violation.

This happens, and it changes Ingrid. She always knew on an intellectual level what the men pressing for her hand wanted from her, but now, it all solidifies. It’s all too real, that in the eyes of so many, she’s not a person nearly so much as she’s an empty vessel for other people’s desires, a vehicle for other people’s rise in power and prestige. She’s forced to see herself distorted through the dehumanizing lens of those who consider her only as an object, possession of which can benefit them. You think the experience didn’t traumatize her? You think something like this wouldn’t change her?

And her father, too…

I think of Ingrid and her father, and what springs most clearly to mind is nine-year-old Arya Stark asking her father if she can be a king’s councilor and build castles and be the High Septon, and Ned telling her that she will marry a king and that her sons will be knights and lords and maybe the High Septon. I think of Ned employing Syrio Forel to teach his nine-year-old daughter swordplay not because he’s had a turnaround and now supports her desire to be something other than what society demands, but because he is indulging what he considers a childish whim that she will no doubt outgrow. And don’t get me wrong, Ned Stark is not a bad father; in terms of fathers in ASOIAF of whom we know anything at all, he’s easily one of the best. But while he is a loving father, his views of what his daughters can be is ultimately very conventional for the culture he inhabits, and very restrictive.

This is how I view Count Galatea, as well. He lets his daughter train as a warrior not because he is especially supportive of her desire to be a knight, but because he either considers it a whim she’ll outgrow, or because the harsh life enjoyed by the people of Faerghus means that even married noblewomen who would normally never be out on the battlefield may have occasion to defend themselves often enough that Count Galatea thinks that his daughter will need to be able to defend herself as a married noblewoman. His vision for Ingrid is not that of a knight serving her liege lord. His vision for Ingrid is of her becoming wife to a man who will make their family rich, and mother to that man’s children. Very conventional for the culture they inhabit, and very restrictive.

And speaking of money, I think Count Galatea let visions of it blind him to what should have been glaringly obvious. Because if a bunch of teenaged sleuths and their twenty-one-year-old professor can uncover compelling evidence of Ingrid’s would-be suitor’s wrongdoings over the course of a single weekend, I think that Count Galatea could easily have unearthed that evidence himself while he was vetting this suitor, as is his duty as Ingrid’s father in the culture he inhabits. And he didn’t, pretty clearly because the amount of money he was offered for her hand in marriage banished all such concerns from his mind.

I doubt he’s proud of it. What Ingrid tells us of her father’s reaction in the closing cutscene of her paralogue suggests that he’s just as mortified as he is horrified over what occurred at Ailell. But Ingrid now has to live with the fact that she nearly wound up married to a complete scumbag who also happens to be a Schrödinger’s Rapist because her dad got distracted by all the money this guy waved under his nose. And no matter just how badly House Galatea needs a fresh influx of cash in order to survive, that has to sting. It really has to sting, being reminded in such a stark fashion just how much your father arranging potential marriages for you really is you being sold off to the highest bidder like a cow at market, and that your dad isn’t always thinking too hard about what that bidder will do with you once he has you.

And now Ingrid has to live with it. After all of this, I doubt she’ll be able to look at her father quite the same way as she did before, ever again. There’s always going to be that slight hitch in her confidence, in her trust in him, because while she’s always known on some level that most of the men vying for her hand in marriage regard her more as an object by which they will attain greater power and prestige, now she’s wondering if maybe, on some level, her father doesn’t regard her the same way.

[nicole-lynne]

Lockscreen Tells All

Summary: Peter gets a glimpse of how you see him through the lens and it opens up how you both truly feel. 

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

This is a part of @blissfulparker‘s writing challenge to celebrate 5k! 

The bell rang and the class around you transformed from dutiful students to heathens fighting to get out the door first. Patiently, you and your best friend MJ waited for the rest of your classmates to leave before gathering your belongings.

“Are you still cool with sleeping over this weekend, Y/N?” MJ asked as you two walked up to your side-by-side lockers.

“Absolutely! I’ve been so busy lately. It’s like all of the school events happen in the last month of school. Principal Morita has had me booked solid taking pictures.” You were shoving books in your locker aimlessly as tiredness was settling in your bones.

MJ slammed her locker and looked at you with excitement. “Well we’re not going to worry about that this weekend. We’re going to stock up on junk food, the guys are going to come over, and forget all about anything school related!”

Your heart picked up slightly at the thought of seeing Peter tonight. You hadn’t seen him all day so it made you even more excited. But you kept your face devoid of emotion in order to keep your crush on Peter Parker to yourself. You hadn’t told MJ and you weren’t planning on letting it slip in the school hallway.

MJ didn’t seem to notice your change in demeanor, instead she snatched your hand and shook it, squealing with you for a minute. Then she stopped and looked around, making sure no one had seen her. You giggled energetically and tangled your arm with hers.

“Let’s go, you dork!”

~~~

The windows were wide open to let the breeze flow through the room and MJ had the music cranked to an ungodly level. The two of you had changed into your pajamas and were dancing around the room, a thin layer of sweat on your skin.

It felt amazing to escape the strain of your current lifestyle even for just a few hours. MJ had forced you to promise that you wouldn’t use your camera for anything professional for the whole weekend and it hadn’t taken much to accept that stipulation.

Knock knock. MJ was lost in the music so you swayed your way to the front door, half expecting the pizza delivery boy. You swung the door open and froze in your spot as you came face to face with chocolate brown eyes, messy curls, and perfectly pouty lips. He looked adorable in a Stark Industries t-shirt that fit him wonderfully.

Instinctively, you reached up to tame your hair that had tangled into a hornets nest during your dance session. It was evident that it was a lost cause so you diverted to straightening your tank top and shorts instead.

Peter watched you with fascination and your stomach was erupting with butterflies as his gaze traveled along your face. Ned kept looking back and forth between the two of you, unaware of what was going on.

“Hi, Y/N. What have you and MJ been up too?” Ned broke in at last.

You turned your focus to Ned, remembering that he was here too. “Hey, Ned. Um, just been listening to some music while we waited for the pizza.” You gave Peter a small smile. “I got extra pepperoni for you.” 

“Ah, awesome! Thanks, Y/N/N, you’re the best.” Peter exclaimed and you beamed from being praised.

The boys crowded their way into the living room and plopped down onto the couch in their usual places. Trying to act as casual as possible, you sank into the place right next to Peter and tucked your feet under you. It was impossible to ignore that his hand was just inches from your knee. One little bump and his long fingers could be on your skin.

“What movie do you guys want to start with?” MJ asked from the floor, her body turned just enough to acknowledge the group.

Ned bounced slightly, “Let’s watch a scary movie!”

The rest of the group agreed easily but you groaned loudly. “Not another scary movie, you guys. I’ll be up all night.”

Peter leaned over, his shoulder bumping into yours. You were hyper-sensitive to the feeling of his shoulder against yours. “I promise I won’t let anything get you. You can hold my hand if you get scared.”

Goosebumps speckled your skin in an instant. He was watching you with that comforting gaze that always made you feel protected. You slowly nodded and his eyes glistened with delight. You bit your lip nervously, dying to press your mouth to his, instead you fell backwards against the fluffy pillow beside you.

Another knock at the door interrupted the chatter and MJ jumped up to answer it.

“Someone get the drinks, I’ll get the pizza.” She called as she ran out of the room. You moved to get up at the same time as Peter.

“I’ll help you get everything.” He offered when you gave him a weird look. A small flutter went through your body as he motioned for you to lead the way.

Your head was buried in the fridge when you recognized the faint tune of your cell alarm. You glanced around to see it lying on the kitchen counter.

“Can you get that, Pete? It’s probably just my alarm.” And you returned to pulling out different sodas from the rack.

“Sure, no problem...” His voice trailed off.

Silence hung over the room like a blanket and you looked up to find him staring at your phone screen. “Um, are you okay? Pete?”

“Am I your lockscreen?”

You swallowed thickly. It had completely slipped your mind that you had made him your lock screen a few weeks ago. You had been on your way to take pictures for the Robotics Competition when you had seen him in the hallway talking to a classmate. He just looked so happy and free that you couldn’t stop yourself from capturing the moment.

Now, he was standing in front of you, barely more than a step away, waiting for an answer. You wondered if he could hear the blood rushing in your ears or the thudding of your heart inside your chest.

“Um. Well, yes. I just love the picture and I like to have things I like for my wallpaper...” Your feet had suddenly become more interesting to you in the last 15 seconds.

“And you like me?” His voice was soft.

All you could do was nod like a child who was scared to be scolded.

You were surprised by a hand tilting your chin up, and you lifted your eyes to meet his. Shivers were running down your spine as Peter smiled sweetly down at you. He leaned forward, his nose brushing against yours, and your breath was caught in your throat. Was this really happening?

He hesitated in that spot, “I like you too.” Lips rubbing against each other as he said the words.

You lost all sensibility in that moment. You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him the rest of the way. He made a little oof of surprise and placed his hands on your waist instantaneously.

You and Peter were pushing and pulling against each other like fuel to a fire. His hands were pressed to the low spot of your back and you were playing with the small curls at the base of his neck. His lips felt calming and electric as they moved against yours.

Peter had turned and pinned you against the counter, deepening the kiss, and the thumping of his heart was echoing in your chest. His body was flush against yours and the heat was rushing to your head. The primal instinct within you was dying to keep going, unrelenting to let Peter out of your grasp. But the practical side of you was telling you that this was only your first kiss. The first of many, you hoped.

The need for air overtook the need for passion and you broke away. Peter was panting heavily, his breath washing over you. Without thinking, you stood on your tiptoes and pulled his lower lip in between your teeth and then let it snap back. Peter groaned and rested his forehead against yours.

“You are so beautiful. God, I could kiss you all night.” The words were husky with adoration.

You giggled like a schoolgirl and rubbed your nose against his. “I think MJ and Ned might think something was up.”

Peter’s eyes flicked to the doorway and laughed an airy laugh. “I think they may already know.”

You turned your head quickly to see MJ and Ned standing in the doorway, knowing smirks on their face. A blush tipped your cheeks and you tucked in closer to Peter’s body, your cheek placed against his neck.

“You owe me five bucks, Ned.” MJ held her hand and Ned grumbled as he dug around in his pockets.

“Ah man, you two couldn’t have waited two more weeks. I needed that.” Ned hung his head and headed back into the living room. MJ shot you an annoyingly smug grin and disappeared to follow Ned.

Peter squeezed his arms around you and you melted into his touch. “Ya know, I really like that picture you took of me. You’re so freakin talented.”

You smiled against his neck. “Thanks, Pete. But it’s just a hobby, nothing special.”

“Trust me when I say, everything about you is special. And I hope I’m allowed to show you every day just how special you are to me.” He looked down at you, his chocolate brown were tinted with want. You could tell that he was nervous to be this open with someone.

You bent forward and kissed his lips sweetly. “Only if I get to do the same thing for you, Peter Parker.”

Peter embraced you tightly and lifted you off your feet and you could feel his face pressed into your hair. Your heart was soaring with excitement. The last thing you had expected from this weekend was catching the guy you’d been pining after for so long. It was an amazing feeling.

Finally, Peter reluctantly put you down but held your hand up against his heart. “I’ll be your lockscreen for as long as you’ll have me.”

“COME ON, YOU LOVEBIRDS.” You both burst out laughing as MJ screamed from the living room, snapping you out of your trance. You locked your hand with Peter and started gathering the sodas for your friends.

“You promised I could hold your hand if I got scared, right?” You quipped and Peter’s grin told you all you needed to know.

[momentofmemory]

fictober - day twenty

Prompt #20: “You could talk about it, you know.”

Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe - Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Netflix Marvel (Daredevil)

Warnings: Religious Imagery

Characters: Peter Parker & Matt Murdock, Quentin Beck (mentioned)

Words: 2177

Author’s Note: set immediately post the spider-man: far from home mid credits scene (so, spoilers). this is a stand alone, but assumes peter & matt have met before and so could live in the same universe as my day 16 fill.

>>Heartbeats on Pier 81

Peter’s face is broadcasted over all of New York, and losing his secret must feel a lot like dying to his mind because Peter sees his life flash before his eyes. Unlike death—and he would know—it’s not the past that he sees, but all the futures he’d hoped for disappearing.

He doesn’t remember much of what happens next. MJ tells him to run, so he does; Happy texts him that May is safe, so she is; a man throws a rotten tomato at his face, so he swings higher. He keeps swinging, as fast and as high as he can, until he leaves Queens and its familiarity behind. He doesn’t stop until he reaches the edge of Hell’s Kitchen, and only then because when he drops onto Pier 81 he runs out of buildings to leap on.

Peter walks all the way to the end, anyway, then hops over the chain rope fence that separates the walking area from the edge. With nowhere further to go, Peter slumps down and lets his legs trail over the side, greyish water snapping at his feet.

The pier’s not in the shape it once was, thanks to the Blip. The wood creaks ominously under the force of the river’s tides, chains hang limply on the deck instead of around cargo or attached to moored boats, and warehouse-sized shipping containers sit in various stages of rust and disrepair. The important feature in Peter’s mind, however, is that there’s no one around.

He hasn’t had a chance to install Karen in his new suit yet, so it’s quiet as he checks his phone and discovers seventy-three missed calls, one of which is from the New York Times, and a notification informing him that #SpideyParker is trending on Twitter.

Peter looks out over the Hudson and drops his phone into his lap without unlocking it. After a moment, he pulls his mask off and breathes in the unique smell of algae, salt, and diesel oil that only a river running through New York can create.

The tide is high, so the river is flowing out to the north. In a couple of hours the tide will lower and start flowing south, and then a few hours after that, back to the north again. The Hudson’s weird like that: consistent only in that you know it will change.

Peter’s always identified with it in that respect.

He’s not sure how long he stares at the water, thinking about everything and nothing, but it’s still not quite dusk when a lithe shadow drops down behind him. His Peter Tingle doesn’t so much as fizzle, so he doesn’t bother turning around or reaching for his mask.

Not that the last part matters anymore.

It’s probably not healthy, but after Mysterio he’s started relying on sight less and less, so he knows who his visitor is from the sound alone.

“I didn’t know it was legal for Daredevil to be out in the daytime,” he says, the crinkle of leather in Matt’s costume instantly recognizable. “There goes the internet conspiracy that you’re actually a vampire.”

Daredevil hums noncommittally, then lowers himself to the ground beside Peter.

“Spider-Man’s in Hell’s Kitchen, so it seems like a lot of theories are being broken today.” He drops one leg over the edge, bending the other in front of him and resting his elbow against it. “Thought I’d join in on the fun.”

“If you’re looking for fun, you could definitely do better.”

“True, but I’m guessing you can’t.” Matt hesitates. “If you want, I thought you could… Talk. About it.”

Peter leans his head back against a wooden post and closes his eyes. “You know?”

“I’m blind, not deaf.”

It’s stupid, because he knows the news is everywhere by now, but hearing it from another super hero makes it feel so impossibly real.

Matt shifts beside him. “Even if I were both, though, Foggy contacted me the second the broadcast went live. He’s pretty determined we’re going to be your legal team.”

Peter huffs out a laugh, running his hands through his hair. “Isn’t that a conflict of interest?”

“His best friend’s a lawyer that spends his nights bloodying his fists on criminals’ faces. I think our firm crossed that line long before you came along.” Matt tilts his head, probably listening to something seven blocks away or something, then carefully takes off his own mask. “But legally speaking, no. None of us have any reason to oppose your case. If anything, you could argue I have a vested interest.”

“Oh.” Peter bites his lip. “Even after…”

He trails off, looking at Matt’s face. He’s seen it before, of course, during the many times he dragged Ned down to the firm to get help with civics homework, but there’s something different about seeing him fully suited up without mask.

It feels honest, somehow—like all of him is on display, but in a good way.

Peter’s own exposure doesn’t feel so good.

He doesn’t know if Matt can tell he’s been staring, but the other man clears his throat. “After what, Peter?”

There are so many things Peter could say about what he means by after. The all-consuming terror he feels for the safety of his family and friends, now that his identity is exposed. How he’d thought he finally had his life back together, only for it to be ripped away so completely and utterly he no longer knows whether he can even go home anymore. The way people looked at him with naked fear or unbridled anger, and how he’s so afraid he’ll never be their Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man ever again. That he never asked for it, but he technically really does have access to a billion dollar surveillance network, and it’s probably super illegal and wildly unethical.

But it’s Daredevil he’s talking to, not May or Ned or Happy or even Tony, so he says the one thing that’s been eating away at him for days: the one thing only another vigilante could understand.

“I killed him.”

The words feel disgusting sliding out of his mouth, like his throat and lungs are coated in tar instead of air.

“I didn’t mean to,” he adds, suddenly desperate to let Matt know he didn’t, he didn’t, “but the drones were firing everywhere and I had to stop them, and I—I wasn’t paying attention to where the blasts were going as long as they weren’t hitting me.”

He chokes off, unable to continue. He’s terrified to look at Matt’s face now, afraid of the horror he’ll see.

But Matt just turns the Daredevil mask over in his hands, fingers running almost reverently across the seams. “I think it would be helpful if you started over from the beginning.”

It feels like sucking mud out of his chest at first, but slowly Peter reveals everything that had happened in Europe: Nick Fury showing up in his hotel room, the glasses and Stark’s legacy, the mind screw he’d gone through in Berlin. The train, the fight in London, the fake story Mysterio had created—the one he’d told to Peter, and then the one he’d told to Times Square. Quentin Beck’s body lying on the bridge, pupils constricted and lungs frozen and heart silent.

“…I can’t even bring myself be sad that he’s gone,” Peter finishes, staring into the lens of the mask in his hands so he doesn’t have to look at Matt. “I just feel guilty it had to be me.”

Daredevil doesn’t say anything at first, and Peter thinks he might drown in shame.

Finally, the other man clears his throat.

“As a lawyer,” Matt says, placing his mask on the pier between them, “I can say unquestionably that what you’re describing would be considered self-defense in a court of law. Any jury worth its salt would clear you of charges in under an hour.”

Peter swallows. “And as a fellow vigilante?”

Matt turns his head towards the river, tongue darting out briefly as if to taste it. “Did I ever tell you about the time I threw myself into the Hudson?”

Peter blinks at the apparent non sequitur. “You went in there willingly?”

Matt snorts. “Not exactly. It was early in my career, before I even had a suit. It was the first time I took on Fisk.”

Peter stills—Matt didn’t usually like talking about anything to do with the ex-mob boss.

“I was… angry. Stupid,” Matt says. “Fisk killed someone I cared about, but I wasn’t really interested in justice. I just wanted something to punch. So I tore through a bunch of his men until I found one that knew something; got directions to a pier where he might be at. Pier 81.”

Peter starts in surprise, and suddenly the abandoned shipping containers he’d passed seemed to have a lot more weight to them.

“It was a trap, of course.” Matt’s fingers ghost across his lower abdomen, so lightly Peter thinks he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it.

“And that’s when you jumped in the river?”

“No.” A sigh, and Matt’s hand drifts back down to the wooden slats. “No, that’s when I killed Nobu.”

Peter—Peter doesn’t understand.

Everyone in the New York super hero circle knows that Daredevil doesn’t kill, and Spider-Man more than most. It’s the one thing Matt’s warned him about constantly; always telling him to be wary of his strength and his temper, of the immense importance of giving someone a second chance, and that no matter how evil a person may seem, there’s still a spark of hope in there that he has no right to stamp out.

It’s one of the reasons Peter looks up to Matt so much, despite his brutality, because it’s a mindset none of the other vigilantes or even Avengers share.

“No—no who?” he says, voice strangled.

“Nobu. Nobu Yoshioka.” Matt ran his teeth over his lower lip. “He was a member of Murakami’s faction of the Hand. He also had a kyoketsu-shoge that he was very good at using. …I should probably be dead because of it.”

Peter pales, thinking of all the scars he’d seen on Matt’s torso in the past. He doesn’t like where this is going. “…Why aren’t you?”

“It was a lot like what happened with you and Mysterio, actually.” Peter flinches and looks down at his hands, red in the light of the sunset. “We were fighting; well, at that point I was mostly just trying to survive. I deflected one of his blades without paying attention to where it would ricochet, and it shattered a lamp above him. The sparks caught his robes on fire.”

A shudder runs through Peter, equal parts sympathy and horror. “You couldn’t have known.”

“No, I couldn’t have,” Matt agrees. “I also found out later that he came back to life, making it a moot point.”

Peter’s stomach attempts to turn itself inside out at the thought of having to face Mysterio again, but Matt seems to notice his discomfort.

“Don’t worry. My priest says I can’t recommend that method as a standard way of finding absolution.”

Peter offers him a shaky laugh, and Matt continues.

“I didn’t murder Nobu by any legal definition that night,” he says, “but I went into the situation with a lot of hate, and with the intention of killing someone else. I think that made me more of a murderer than any physical action I could’ve taken.”

He turns towards Peter, his eyes staring vacantly just over Peter’s shoulder. “I don’t think that’s a sin you’re carrying.”

Peter bites his lip, wanting to believe him but unsure how. “But I didn’t try to save him.”

“Clinton Church has confession hours right about now if you’re seeking penance.” There’s a smirk in Matt’s voice, and Peter can’t help but roll his eyes at the man’s persistence. “But if not…”

Peter looks up expectantly.

“If not, then I would ask you this: why don’t you want to kill?”

“Because that’s not my call.” Peter doesn’t have to think about it. “And because I think there’s always the possibility of redemption, for anyone.”

“Anyone, huh?” Matt tilts his head, then smiles. “Your heartbeat is steady.”

Peter frowns, then his mouth widens into an oh.

Anyone means him, too.

Peter pulls his legs up and rests his head on his knees. “Is using your human lie detector skills to make a point really all that ethical?”

“Foggy’s not here to stop me, so yes.” Matt picks his mask up. “But I don’t need it to prove your heart’s in the right place.”

Peter stares at him, expression suddenly so fishlike he’d blend right in with the Hudson.

Then he rapidly yanks his own mask over his face to hide the blush creeping up his neck. He coughs and blinks as the eye lenses readjust to the fading light. “Is that uh, is that your advice as a lawyer or as a vigilante?”

Matt laughs and shakes his head, sliding his mask into place. He stands and offers Peter his hand.

“It’s as a friend.”

[roseduroi]

a Film by Peter Parker 2

This is so not what I usually write but I saw this post by @peachyhollands 

[this is basically a summary]

i feel like someone has already said this but what if spider-man: far from home started (or ended) with “a film by peter parker 2” and it’s him documenting like the space ship and showing us titan then at the end it’s just static then it cuts to tony (who found the footage and edited it) and he stares into the camera and says “i’m sorry kid”

And I just really had to write it off my chest.

English isn’t my native language, I’m so sorry for the mistakes.

a Film by Peter Parker 2

The white letters fade and the black screen slowly turns into a fresh New York view. The view shakes as if one holding the camera is swinging from one building to another, but that’s how it really is. It stops at a sight of a giant round spaceship and there’s a small inhalation of air and astonishment behind the camera following soon after.  

“That’s one of a hell big spaceship!” The lens zooms in, taking in all the details even as the view is blurry for the spaceship took all the space of the screen. But then just as out of nowhere as before, the view is back to normal as it’s suddenly shifted to the left and it fluctuates that way for a moment or two before it’s dropped to the ground with a perfect angle to view. 

There’s Mr Stark in the air in his Iron Man suit. He circles a giant lizard-look-alike monster with a weapon bigger than its head and armour covering its body; he shoots the monster a few times but fails to notice a hit coming down his way and is knocked to the ground right on his belly. Iron Man grunts from the sudden impact he hadn’t been expecting and struggles to get up, but the creature doesn’t wait and strikes its weapon towards Stark to finish what was started.

But an abrupt force stops the attack, startling the lizard-look-alike which freezes in its posture. Iron Man jolts his head to see what’s going on, rolling onto his side. “Hey, man,” Spider-Man nods to the creature before he greets his mentor. “What’s up, Mr Stark?”

“Kid, where’d you come from?” Tony leans on his elbows, his voice out of breath – he’s surprised, but there’s always a hint of worry in the way he words his mind when it comes to the kid.

“A field trip to MOMA;“ Peter’s voice gets higher as a hand roughly wraps itself around his waist and throws him away to the front, out of the camera’s view. A crash and groan of pain can be heard and Tony’s head seen following the kid’s landing as the lens is still focused on him and lizard-look-alike.

Iron Man shoots again and again; using the opportunity that the creature’s distracted. There’s a THWIP sound once then twice and Peter’s heard saying: “What is this guy’s problem, Mr Stark?”

“He's from space. He came here to steal a necklace from a wizard.” Tony explains and Spider-Man grunts again as he’s caught and tossed into the trees.

The camera view almost never changes, sometimes it slightly moves when the ground shakes underneath but never is it taken or noticed by one’s eyes. There’re more punches and more impacts, grunts, and groans of pain, and even more talking. Then there’s silence, lack of movements, actions, and changes until finally there’s nothing but darkness.

The video ends.

-

Peter throws the camera away from himself like it’d burned his hands. It lands on the ground, it cracks and it slides few more inches further from him. Good. He thinks. Let it be broken. 

He is angry.

He is lost.

He is broken.

And it only hurts. He can’t eat; he can’t sleep; he can’t breathe without feeling the hurt in his lungs. He inhales but knows he shouldn’t. It’s not his to breathe anymore; he shouldn’t feel the air fill his lungs and the heartbeat in his chest. 

His muscles are sore; his feet are aching and lungs burning with fire. Bruises linger on his battered body longer than normal. Peter tugs on his hair; he pulls on it hard, because he’s angry, lost and feels broken. He is weak and doesn’t know how to get up.

He sits on his bed, it’s uncomfortable and too soft, his head is in his hands and he feels like carrying the world is easier than this. He waits but does not know what for.

Everybody keeps telling him everything will fall to its places; time will take care of the wounds and he will heal. Baby steps; he knows they’re trying – his Aunt, Pepper, even Happy! They give him a small pep talk; say how much he would be [is] proud. Tell him their arms are always open ‘just come and lay your heart open to’

What goes after ‘to’ is always left wordless;

Sometimes Peter feels better when he’s distracted and the air no longer burns his lungs when he inhales. When he puts on his mask and flies out of the window, while his body’s still aching and muscles still sore, there’s no hurt that he actually feels. It’s spontaneous, and he would say reckless, but it gives Peter relief. And if recklessness is all it takes to forget, so let it be it.

He’d rather forget.

So some days he feels better and smiles to the world. It never took much to fool it at all. He puts on a mask but never faces the truth. How can he, when he is six feet under?

But even the mask fails to do its task.

It’s always the small things that hit the hardest;

Peter would be walking the old lady down the street or rescuing the kitten from a super tall tree when he’d feel the sting in his eyes. He’d be talking to Ned or eating with May who had insisted they went out and he’d see the world mourning. He’d pull out his phone to tell about his day or send that funny meme he found on the internet that morning only to realize that he couldn’t even do that anymore.        

Peter wonders if it can hurt more, but never dares to question it; the answer is simple.

He’s been through so much, he lost his parents, he lost Ben, and he lost so much already that it’d seem it couldn’t hurt worse because things had been falling back to its places after already so much time of it being broken. Peter had settled down with May and learned to live with the loss... they both had. Then the bite happened – the spider bit him and suddenly he came into his life and flipped it all around.  

Peter didn’t need to look away from that boy watching the game with his dad without feeling jealousy, that green monster creeping up in his chest anymore. Peter didn’t need to feel his heart aching when Ned talked about that cool stuff he did with his dad. Peter didn’t need to watch stupid YouTube tutorials on how to shave [and to do things fathers taught their sons] because he had him and for once in his life, Peter really felt like he wasn’t really missing out.

But now he’s gone too.

Why give and then take? Is it more fun? To see someone get back on their feet, spot gloss of hope in their eyes and then break them once more? To see if this time they didn’t get up as their eyes dulled and never shone more?

Peter almost laughed that cold, heartless laugh as his whole body shook, his head still in his hands and tugging on his hair from anger and perhaps desperation. He wouldn’t understand why Bruce would give him back the camera that holds the painful memories Peter never wants to unfold. But he had insisted and made Peter promise he would watch it till the very end.

He did, and so what? Did Bruce want him to look back at what’s already happened, what was going inevitably happen? What no one knew was coming and what? Make him feel more helpless, guiltier? What’s the point to watch it again and again and again and know what will happen and never have a chance to prevent it, to change it, but suffer knowing the truth? he’s gone 

Peter growls.

Tony Stark is. dead. And the world mourns because they’ve lost their best defender. Iron Man is dead because he was never good enough to save him. Because he wasn’t fast enough to stop him. He was supposed to be six feet under.

Peter pulls his hair harder, squeezes his eyes shut. Everything aches, everything hurts, everything is falling apart. The noises, the cracks, the bustle; it’s hard to breathe, it’s hard to focus, it’s ringing in his ears... Make it stop, make it stop... it’s too much, too much, it’s –

“Hi, kid.”

Gone

The kid’s breath hitches. His body goes numb, his face pales and he stills, his heart hammers in his chest. Peter’s arms fall to his sides, but he doesn’t look up – he lets out a shaky breath.  Then silence.

“You know, your camera was in dire need of an upgrade. That’s a real big insult to me AND turns out Bruce found it roaming in New York streets, dusty and lonely. Stop losing stuff, kid, they feel ya.”

Peter blinks, but he looks up because he thinks he’s hallucinating, his hearing’s fooling him, and he holds in his breath as he lifts up his chin, no matter how scared he’s feeling. In the corner of his room, he sees Mr Stark and almost flinches backward when the hologram moves.

His hands start shaking.

“So I put a few tricks here and there and voilà! Just like new if not better.”

Peter stares at the broken camera in the corner of his room and questions if it’s him or device that really needs fixing. Then he stares at Mr Stark and listens to him speak; how long has it already been? But it’s him – his voice, his face – Peter would never forget. He’s sitting in front of him, right in front of his eyes, leaning on the backrest of the chair and it feels so real. But is it really?

Peter blinks away the sting in his eyes. It’s the little things he misses the most. How much he wants to run into the man’s arms if he only didn’t know he wouldn’t just run through; hide in his embrace so that the truth would never approach, but were they there yet already or was it just Peter imagining things?

He would go to the lab after a normal school day, and there would be just Peter and Tony, and Friday of course. But weren’t the two of them already gone?

He wishes he could go to the field trip they were going that day and talk Mr Stark’s ear off about what he had seen. But weren’t he 5 years already late?

And oh, how he wishes the things weren’t this way and the truth had never caught up, the smile from Mr Stark’s lips would never be gone.

“Hope you don’t mind I fixed it without you. You know I’d never miss the occasion to listen to you ramble.”

There’s a heaviness in his voice and tiredness in his eyes. Peter’s heart cracks at the sight.    

There were days when they fixed things together, constructed stuff or upgraded Spider-Man’s suit. Peter would ramble on how cool was this or that or ‘is that web fluid version 3.03??’ those days in the lab and Mr Stark would tell him he talks his ear off, but Peter had always assumed he secretly enjoyed it, why else would Mr Stark let it happen then? Friday would order some food (mostly pizza with pineapples on top – Peter’s favourite) and Mr Stark would ask how his day went at school.

Peter misses that too. There’s a sigh and Mr Stark’s voice has gotten quiet.

“It’s been five years, Pete. Five years have gone by and there was nothing we could do... So I moved on, I got a second chance. I knew you’d want me to.”

The boy smiles a smile that never reaches his eyes, but it’s true, he would’ve wanted for Mr Stark to move on, to live a life he’d always wanted but never had. He’s glad he did.

“It’s quiet here, peaceful, but that’s the thing. Guilt and remorse don’t settle down with peace. It’s those ramblings that are still missing.

I tried, kid, not to give up. There weren’t a day I wouldn’t think of a way how to get everyone back... you. But at the end of the day, everyone was still gone and you weren’t here... and time? It still went by. 

There was never a way to put a suit of armour around the world, shelter it or undo what’s done, not completely at least, so I settled down with Pepper... and Morgan, and went with the flow. As one once said, I looked out for the little guy.”

There is a smile on Mr Stark’s face, small and fragile, but still there and Peter can’t help but smile a little too. His eyes water but he never lets the tears roll down and Mr Stark’s eyes drop. There’s a pause.

“Only it was never enough.

If you’re seeing this then it means this is goodbye. Or maybe we’re both sitting on the couch, half-eaten pizza on the coffee table, and having a good belly laugh at my silliness... just like in the good old days, you know?

I hope it’s the latter.”

How much Peter wishes it too. There are tears streaming his cheeks.

“But if it’s not the case then...

I’m sorry, kid. I’d never meant for you to get hurt, Pete, or for everything to end this way. Sometimes I wonder, if I’d never got you involved, stepped away when everything was over, would things have been easier that way? But then I look back and...

I know I did the right thing. 

If things rolled different way and good old days were back, the world didn’t need saving... but what am I kidding? It’ll always need saving, just this time I won’t be there to watch it fall. But I’m not afraid, not for the world, not for the universe, or the people in it. For I know this time the world will have a Peter Parker in it and can’t you see? It’ll already be better. 

I have a chance to get you back, kid, and this is my decision.   

 Maybe in another universe, in another timeline, there’s an end where we both come home.  

But until then,

This is goodbye, kid

And stop losing your stuff, I’m dead serious – I won’t be able to fix it. There’re some cool memories you’ve captured and so I thought I’d put something in there too. It’s always the little things, in the end, right kid?

-

“Mr Stark, you really don’t have to do this. It’s alright,”

“Right, kid, because bullying is tolerable,”

“No, but-“

“So shut up and stand beside me.”

“Say cheese, kid.”

Snap

 -

There’s a picture in the corner of his room, a hologram of them, Mr. Stark and Peter. They‘re smiling, standing next to each other. The memory is beautiful, but why this Peter who sits on his bed, cheeks red and all wet, can‘t smile too?

[potteresque-ire]

Daenerys Stormborn, First of Her Name

Here’s my first review post on Game of Thrones! Thank you so much for asking about Daenerys, @bixgirl1, @kikibluemay and @oceaxe-ifdawn. She was fascinating and tragic, and I couldn’t really stop talking about her... as in, I ended up writing a 4k+ word essay on her character.

Due to the length, I’ve crossed-posted to AO3 for those who prefer to read it there: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19119595 . As usual, never feel obliged to do anything! Fandom is a happy, carefree place for me :) .

Before I start, I’d like to say this—I’ve never expected GoT to be progressive. Its medieval aesthetics aside, the gratuitous violence and nudity really seal the deal. Therefore, this review is written decidedly without a social justice lens; I shall not argue if the showrunners were feminists, racists, imperialists etc. Also, I haven’t read the books and have read few metas and reviews; so these are my unfiltered thoughts and of course, my personal opinion. I got interested in Game of Thrones because the snippets I knew of it reminded me of ancient Chinese history, which I loved for its twists, its very blurred lines between truths and myths, its cynical record of human nature, clever strategies and bloodshed. Along this vein, I was, and still am, the most interested in how each contender of the Iron Throne got there, and as the theme of the story emerged (“the lies we spin, our fates they weave” is my way of describing it), the things they told for motivation—the lies and truths that, should they win, would become history.

Of all the contenders and their stories, Daenerys’ rise was the most…mythical and uplifting. She was easy to root for, partly because we’re conditioned to root for heroes like her. The last descendant of a dynasty. Orphan. Exiled, abused, went through her personal journey from little better than a slave to become queen. She even birthed dragons and rode them to war. I really enjoyed the part of her story as the Khaleesi. She grew into a queen in every way, and an ideal one, by the time led her small group of followers across the desert. I loved her—she was strong, resilient, intelligent, righteous. And she understood and respected a culture that was supposedly far below her (as her brother Viserys frequently reminded everyone). 

But then came Astapor, then Yunkai, then Meereen. She became a true ruler, without a Khal by her side… 

I started feeling a little uncomfortable. I was puzzled by that. Her cause was emancipation, one I believe was absolutely correct. Her stance was uncompromising. She walked the walk. Every single one of these traits was beyond admirable, and precious among rulers. Nailing 163 slave masters for 163 children might seem brutal, but the world of GoT *was* brutal. 

And yet, something felt...off.

Then I realized: after all the screen time in Meereen, I remained very much ignorant of the place, other than it practiced slavery. Slavery—and the barbaric practices surrounding it, such as the fighting pits—was presented as the only thing that defined her new constituents in her eyes. This could be by design, to show Daenerys’ “style” as a ruler. This can also be a reflection of the showrunners’ perspectives, their disquiet about tackling slavery for a larger audience.  But if I must judge the show by its own merits and ignore the hands behind it, the repeated shots of Daenerys sitting high in the Great Pyramid, she and her advisors donned in their foreign attire, telling the locals who looked nothing like them, over and over again, that they were wrong… 

She looked like a coloniser. My radars were beeping for that reason. I grew up in a colony, a well cared for one (ie, it would’ve fared far worse if it hadn’t been colonised). Colonialism is therefore an integral part of my life, and my views of it are coloured and educated by the experience. Controversial point: far from a general rule, but I recognise that colonizers can do great good. I’m a beneficiary of that myself. However, I’ve also learned that there’s an art to bringing these great goods to the colonised. One lesson: defining these people, especially when they’re foreign to the ruler, with anything that the ruler is seeking to eradicate — a habit, a tradition, a set of beliefs… —is not a recipe for success. It’s a matter of human pride—the pride of, in this case, the people who’d just suffered defeat. The former ruling class needs to feel some respect, which translates to a sense of security, for any transition of power to be smooth. One may say, the slave masters deserved neither pride nor respect nor security; this is very true, but there was a very practical consideration, one that Daenerys acknowledged: the ultimate goal of conquest is to rule. An un-governable colony won’t change for the better, because it won’t remain a colony for long. In Meereen, as in many real-world colonies, colonisers were few and their constituents were many. Revolts would favour the latter, in particular, the former ruling class who often had both financial and geographical advantages. The Sons of Harpy’s revolt did address that, albeit weakly.

No, I don’t mean Daenerys should yield on the issue of slavery. Lives were at stake and the emancipation had to be immediate. But then, merely insisting this was the right thing to do and punishing offenders with increasing severity, while reinforcing the segregation between the ruling class and the ruled (Daenerys pretty much sequestered herself in the Great Pyramid), was not a direction to take to render the emancipation permanent. Daenerys had to be out there. She had to make serious effort to find common grounds in the 3-way between herself, the former slaves and former slave owners, especially after she’d removed one of the pillars of Meereen’s sociopolitical structure. It didn't matter that the latter were despicable; she had to find a connection. And being a nation that had stood thousands of years, with its wealth and fine architecture, Meereen had got to have something benign and beautiful that Queen Daenerys could embrace, that she could use as a bridge to endear her to her constituents and at the same time, de-emphasize the role of slavery in defining what Meereen was. Wear their clothes. Visit the temples. Whether she actually believed in their gods didn’t matter. Join their festivities—if she did it enough it would matter much less if she skipped the fighting pits. Go to their Flea’s Bottom equivalent (as Margaery Tyrell did in King’s Landing; she would’ve made a good colonial governor). Talk to their craftsman and ask about their traditional crafts. Never for once did Daenerys consider these strategies. She could’ve used Tyrion as her ambassador—his stature and broken language skills, if utilized correctly, could loosen people’s defense, and the parties he’d attend would give him access to the good wines he craved and the setting for him to establish alliances with small talks. If governing foreign lands is indeed an art form, Daenerys didn’t pursue it in Meereen, even though from her time with the Dothrakis, it seemed unlikely that she was ignorant of its necessity (She did eat a horse heart for her Khal and her unborn child).

Again, assuming that the writers were merely following GRRM’s guideposts on her character arc, I had to contend with these possibilities that inform me about Daenerys the Ruler: 1) somewhere in her journey in Essos, she’d lost her ability to empathize with the cultures under her rule. This seemed unlikely. Or, 2) she no longer felt the need to do it, her power no longer derived from a Khal. Either way, with Westeros also being foreign to Daenerys, I started to wonder the kind of ruler she would end up being … 

… and it looked rather similar to the Daenerys in her final scenes, asserting that her moral compass should make the entire Westeros bent their knees. I started to wonder if the show intended this to be a good or bad thing, or something more nuanced, as it should be. My hopes weren’t high—after all, our own western world still retains much of its colonial sensibilities, which would’ve (rightly) praised Daenerys’ role as a Liberator, but would also (sub)consciously downplay her … colonising tendencies. 

Does it mean I see Daenerys as a bad person, or going mad? Not at all. Conflating character and ability to rule is, IMO, one of the major weaknesses of her ending (more on that later); it was also, perhaps ironically, Daenerys’ own fatal mistake. My question is merely one about her fitness to rule, which is itself a fluid thing. War-time rulers require different skills compared to peace-time rulers, conquerors to defenders. The serious contenders of the Iron Throne each had their own strengths, some better suited for rulership and some better for rulership at different times. Stannis was a strong general but was too easily swayed as a ruler. Daenerys was a conqueror. Jon Snow was a diplomat. 

One thing, however, is true and consistent in the world of GoT: to gain power, being morally righteous is not enough. Ned Stark’s detached head brought this point across all too well. Rulers win the hearts of their people. Not the brains, not the logic that decides what is right or wrong. Humans are inherently passionate about power, whether it’s theirs to own or not.

And this is, perhaps, Daenerys Stormborn’s greatest tragedy. She assumed her strict moral compass, along with her birthright and strong will, would be sufficient to take her to the Iron Throne. Her dragons further misguided her in that regard—punishments by Dracarys lent an extra mythical weight and poetry to her judgments, as if she had a higher power, like God, on her side. When she asked Jon Snow if she was to rule with love or fear, she asked as if the two were a dichotomy, seemingly blind to the fact that she had always treaded the line between the two. Love got her the Unsullied, the talents who came far and wide to advise her; fear got her the Dothrakis, the fragile peace in Essos. 

If you’ve read till here (thank you), you may assume I’d defend Daenerys’ decision to burn King’s Landing, or suggest it was foreshadowed. I’d say this: I find it to be within the realms of possibility, but only given my personal opinion about her rule in Meereen. I don’t see it as a botched coin-flip by the Gods, because nothing in her prior judgment suggested madness. Yes, she’d ignored advice before, but no more than, say, Robert Baratheon or Joffrey (Cersei simply killed those who gave her advice she didn’t like). Daenerys’ decision to march to King’s Landing immediately after the Battle of Winterfell—the last major decision she made before the sacking—might not be wise to some but was logically sound. I’d also venture to say this, perhaps in defence of the show’s writers: I’m also not quite sure if the show intended her decision to be a proof of madness. 

Because I’m not sure if the madness told in this show was real at all. 

Because curiously, while the coin flip had been mentioned several times, the show never offered us any concrete, visual evidence that Daenerys had suffered a loss of reason, which defines madness for us who live on Earth in the 21st century. The destruction of King’s Landing was portrayed at the ground level; we didn’t exactly see Daenerys cackling, or enjoying the carnage. Making a terrible decision does not a mad person make. She was seen to be sure of herself in her final scene with Jon Snow—but why shouldn’t she be, when she’d just emerged victorious and achieved her life’s goal, her revenge? If cockiness had been the mark of madness, half of the characters in the show would’ve been mad. 

Even more curious to me is this: people like Ramsey or Joffrey or Cersei, who’d done seriously mad things in our perspective, were never once described as “mad”. The adjective “Mad” had always been reserved for the Mad King. 

How was the Mad King mad then? This is important, because Daenerys supposedly inherited his madness. But the audience hadn’t been given much information. We know The Mad King killed his dissidents, but that seemed to fall within standard monarch behaviour. We know he and his advisors—including, notably, Varys—were at increasing odds with each other, but put a bunch of power-hungry men with immense power imbalance in the same room and that would happen more likely than not. He killed Ned Stark’s father and brother in a confrontation—so he was vengeful, distrustful, and brutal, yes, just like Joffrey or Cersei, but still, nothing that spoke particularly of madness. He was said to want King’s Landing destroyed, but the act was never realized; we only learned of his intentions via Jaimie. He set up the network of wildfires, which were terrible weapons but also … traditional in the Targaryen dynasty, if wildfires had indeed been invented as replacements of Dracarys. So how mad was actually the Mad King then, compared to his ancestors? Or was he called Mad only because he lost his game of thrones, and history was written by victors? When Varys claimed to be worried about Daenerys’ state—when he hinted at her madness and being a bad coin flip—was he merely repeating the same lies that had been told about her father, with the purpose of setting up a chain reaction that would propel Jon Snow to the Iron Throne, as the same lies had helped justify and cement Robert Baratheon’s reign? Varys might have been trying to feed Daenerys something. A “crazy potion”, maybe?  

Yes, I know. I’m probably reading too much into this. It’s my wishful thinking, perhaps, to not see Daenerys as mad (or the writers writing her as mad) because that would’ve taken away her agency. Because Daenerys’ character arc doesn’t deserve an ending equivalent to death by a falling flowerpot. Because, if her sacking of King’s Landing was meant to be the Shock of Season 8, she must retain her agency. It’s shocking because a good person did it. A good person is good only when she has the agency to make terrible mistakes.

So how am I reading Daenerys’ decision to sack King’s Landing? If I were to ignore all inputs outside the show—I don’t know if the showrunners had commented on anything—this is how I would “bridge the gap”, so to speak; how I’d imagine the thoughts running through Daenery’s mind as the bells rang, behind the few seconds the camera focused on Emilia Clark’s face in the show. I believe the series of tragedies Daenerys had suffered (losing Jorah, Missandei, a dragon son) had only made her more determined to wipe out, as Greyworm told Jon, everyone who’d served Cersei. But while this sounded like a simple task, carrying it out was much more complicated. Cersei’s armies were dispersed all over the city; they could easily remove their armour and feign innocence. Moreover, every resident in King’s Landing could be seen as an accomplice to Cersei’s reign; even the people in Flea’s Bottom, like Gendry, used to make weapons for the Lannisters. Were they to be wiped out as well? If not, where to draw the line? This order nonetheless confirmed Daenerys’ world view that the morally corrupt should perish without mercy, and Cersei was, indeed, corruption defined. Daenerys had seen Cersei’s treachery herself, and the sheer scale of it must be as foreign to her as Westeros itself. Her closest friends and followers, Greyworm and Missandei, didn’t even know how to tell a joke—the smallest, most benign form of treachery. Daenerys knew what treachery was, of course, she’d suffered greatly from it, but treachery in the game of thrones was a different beast and she wasn’t yet equipped to handle it, to make correct assessments of the kind of behaviours it’d instigate—unlike Cersei and Tyrion, who as Lannisters had been breathing it in since birth, or Varys, who’d been both an observer of multiple reigns and a ruthless Kingmaker himself. King’s Landing, the city itself, had also signified little but treachery to Daenerys—her father had been murdered there by someone who’d sworn to protect him; men had been sent from there to murder her since she’d been born. 

While Tyrion had told said that Cersei’s armies were serving only out of fear, Daenerys, who’d only had the most faithful / honest armies, the Unsullies and Dothrakis, probably couldn’t truly appreciate what that meant. She had every cause to be terrified then when the bells rang, especially when they rang so early, without her or her army and allies even close to the Red Keep. Ironically, perhaps, her own moral righteousness became her blind spot; she might have assumed Cersei’s forces had something far more sinister waiting for her—because how could they abandon their duties, their queen so easily?

And if they did abandon their duties and their queen so easily, what would stop them from committing the same treachery when Daenerys becomes queen herself? How could she vet the innocent and the treacherous and if she couldn’t—and she couldn’t, not with one dragon, a small army and no geographical advantage—what could she do? What could she do, when she was Daenerys Stormborn, who would never compromise to treachery?

I can see her feeling cornered. I can see her feeling she was left with one option: take the innocents out with the treachery. Do it like removing a tumour. Cut out a ring of good flesh around the bad. 

The ring of good flesh was King’s Landing.

Plausible? Maybe? That tragically, both the rise and fall of Daenerys Targaryen could be attributed to her moral code? That she didn’t lose this game of thrones because she was evil, but because war and politics have always been amoral and she was a misfit? People in Westeros change allegiance all the time; morals are fluid and carry a price tag. Appropriately then, the man who understood and lived by these rules, whose loyalty could always be bought—Bronn—was also the biggest winner of this game of thrones.

I’d say this though:  a plot point as significant, and as close to the finale as the sacking of King’s Landing, shouldn’t require the audience twisting their minds into pretzels to make it feel plausible, and my brain feels a bit pretzly at a moment. No matter what the writers intended, there remained too many holes for the watchers to fill with their imagination. I’ve read some who said the final season was too rushed; I’m not sure that was the issue. The issue, I think, is that even if given enough screen time, the writers didn’t quite know how to drive the characters without the books’ guidance—an issue that had become apparent by Season 6. The last three seasons felt…derivative, like fanfics of the first four. This isn’t a slight (well, not a big one)—Benioff and Weiss had managed what GRRM hasn’t been able to—but I felt a sense that their visions of the world had evolved to conflict with GRRM’s over the course of the show. Meanwhile, they still needed to hit the goal posts GRRM provided, while they wanted to focus on / believe in something else. The result was the later seasons that felt …schizophrenic at times. GoT had highly implausible moments since Season 1, but the first four seasons sold them because the showrunners believed in them. S8 Ep5&6, meanwhile, offered enough for me to logically agree that the sacking of King’s Landing and Daenerys’ downfall can be canon, but not enough for me to believe emotionally because…I didn’t feel the showrunners believed in them. The events felt written to serve a purpose other than storytelling—maybe to match GRRM’s notes, or satisfy the perceived need to shock; in all cases, I felt the hearts of the writers were somewhere else, somewhere perhaps more spectacular than dissecting the motivations of a fallen queen. The shift towards visual storytelling in the later seasons, perhaps to mitigate the difficulty of writing dialogues for an ensemble of deeply complex and intertwined characters, furthered exposed the incoherence of the show’s focus. While I love the visuals, GoT had its origins as a political show and politics is 99% talk. Similarly, the increased reliance on the actors to convey their characters via facial expressions and body language might work for someone like Brienne, who was taciturn and largely consistent personality wise, but insufficient for characters who used talking as a weapon (Tyrion) or underwent major transformations (Daenerys). 

Anyway, back to Dany. If there was one thing I truly, truly dislike about the close of her story arc, it was the very end, when Jon Snow drove that dagger into her. Painfully cliche aside (I’ll leave Cersei’s baby to another day), it also unfairly cemented Daenery’s highly un-rightful place as the villain of the story, given that Jon Snow, the uncontested Good Human of the show, committed the murder. The show pitted two sympathetic characters against each other just to let one … leech the sympathy out of the other, when neither of their characters deserved the treatment (yes, I found this decision to be as unfair to Jon Snow as it was to Daenerys). As much as I had reservations about Daenery’s ability to govern, I never doubted the heart that Jon stabbed, the desire in it to do good for the people. Yes, I said it isn’t enough, and yes, I believe that too inflexible a moral code forcibly imposed upon others can do great damage, but this is very different from saying that Daenerys Stormborn was a villain. Conflating character and ability is human, but I expected this show to know enough nuance to avoid this mistake. Having the heart, the desire to rule well, is a start. A great and important start. A start seen in few others in the whole series. The early seasons of GoT were particularly strong in depicting characters in the grey but Daenerys, sadly, was robbed of that; she swung violently from white to black.

And what was so disappointing is that it needn’t be that way. Daenerys could have caused the destruction to King’s Landing and still be sympathetic. Queen Cersei was still in the Red Keep, and the Wildfires buried by the Mad King remained all over the city. Innocents die in wars, there’s never an exception to that, even if the wars are waged with the best intentions. I’m no show writer, but this is what I could come up with to spare Daenery’s fate as a villain after a few walking trips around my city, while keeping most major plot points intact. Show writers can do (much) better. 

Just for the fun of it, below is the alternative ending for Daenerys I came up with, and I will end my very, very long thesis here :) . Thank you so, so much for reading! ❤️❤️❤️

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1) Start of the episode. Qyburn teaching his little birds a nursery rhyme about a Mad King and his Wildfires, and an Evil Queen who will set them all burning. He tells them to sing far and wide. (This is just an excuse to get another song from Ramin Djawadi)

2) Long shots of combustibles being laid in the same tunnels Lancel Lannister crawled through back in Season 6 Ep 10, before the explosion of the Sept of Baelor. That 10-minute sequence was so classic that the audience would likely remember the place. Piles of wood connect the stores of barrels that we know contain the Wildfires. Black tar flows down the sewers of the Red Keep, down the alleys in Flea Bottom, slicking everything, staining the innocents there with (Queen Cersei’s) muck. This sequence can be done entirely through visuals.

3) The Bell rings. Daenerys attacks the Red Keep with Dracarys. The tar and wood catch fire and carry the flames to the Wildfires around the city. As Wildfire is Dracarys’ substitute, the two augments each other and the city soon turns into an Inferno. Daenerys watches, horrified and unable to do a thing. The nursery rhyme becomes a prophecy: as much as a Lannister laid the grounds, the Targaryens are solely responsible for the King’s Landing destruction. Woods and tar are, after all, harmless without fire. And Daenerys Stormborn, who swore to protect and liberate the weak, ends up killing more innocents than Cersei ever had. 

4) Tyrion advises Daenerys that for now, she has no choice but to rule by fear. A reign cannot start with apologies, and what good will it do? So Daenerys gives the same speech to her armies on the steps of the ruined Red Keep, but noticeably distraught.

5) Daenerys must also restrain Drogon. She can’t afford him accidentally setting more fires in the city, while her armies scour every tunnel to make sure all Wildfires have been consumed. So the Breaker of Chains is forced to chain down her son, the symbol of her power.

6) Drogon, being intelligent but still a beast, maims Daenerys badly in his struggle to be free. Jon finds Daenerys, but she’s beyond saving. She tells Jon to keep what he saw secret, and if he can’t—she knows he can’t—to please lie for her, for once, that Drogon did it to avenge for the innocents she killed; that Drogon, and their family name he represents, knows justice above the fire and blood. When honest Jon reacts…honestly, she asks him to ask Tyrion for advice. She struggles to stand, says she wants to try the Iron Throne before she goes. She refuses Jon’s help; she walks, head high, blood trailing like a cape behind her, as she crosses the ruins. She won’t make it. Only her finger will get to touch the Iron Throne, as in her prophecy in the House of the Undying. Jon kneels behind her as she falls on her own knees. She will always be his queen. Drogon carries her away.

7) The waiting period can be a mourning period for all who have perished. Tyrion will still recommend Bran to be their King, as his proposal will be accepted as he remains the Hand. Jon would’ve asked Tyrion about the lying, and the issue can be brought up when “A Song of Ice and Fire” is presented in the small council. King Bran can then offer his wisdom as the Three-Eyed Raven, the Living History. What does he think, when he sees both the truth in history and the lies and prophecies told about it, that propel it? Does he approve of them? Disapprove? This will also wrap up the theme of the show, about the stories that make history, the history that makes us. Ser Davos can ask about the legend of Azor Ahai that cost Stannis Baratheon everything. Is it true? Does it matter? Also, how many swords actually make up the Iron Throne? Thousands, as the legends and Daenarys had believed? No more than two hundred, as Little Finger said in Season One? How many more swords have been buried for these thousands or hundreds?

[naylar-draws]

so like could you tell us why strickler deserved to die

Lol I was not expecting someone to ask about that tag!

Boy oh boy ask and you shall recieve

(I did not intend for the reply to be this long but like here’s another essay length meta)

I don’t think Strickler as a character deserved to die, he’s far from the most heinous character in TH. But from a storytelling standpoint, I think killing him off in the s3 finale would have improved Trollhunters as a whole. For that point to make sense I’m gonna need to explain a few things first:

~1700 words under the cut

1) It is more or less an unspoken rule that if an action/adventure oriented story (be it a show, film, book, etc) wants to feel like it has real stakes, a character needs to die. Not just any character, but a main character or an important side character. This isn’t always the case, and I personally don’t think that there needs to be a death to make a story feel more real (No one died in ATLA’s finale), but that’s the trend and is often the easiest, most basic way to things. If utilized right, it can have a huge impact (Ned Stark in game of thrones, Boromir in fellowship)

2) A good finale/climax of a story wraps up the story’s themes and emotional core. It emphasizes it in some way, or offers commentary on it. IMHO a lot of TV and comic book finales can fall short because this. And its not necessarily the creators’ faults, its simply the structure of the industry. Often times a tv finale will be made before the creative team knows whether or not there will be a next season, or they’ll only be given a handful of episodes to wrap up the series. Same with comics. Good climaxes that incorporate a story’s theme off the top of my head are TAZ Balance, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Rocky.

3) A character death needs to mean something, either as a way to complete their character arc, or to comment on some overarching theme, or even to further another character’s development. (Boromir again, Gamora in Infinity War - yes I know she’s coming back - all the fucks that die in Last Stand of the Wreckers)

4) Positive actions should have payoffs. This is kind of cynical, but narratively, if a story wants to say that something is good, there should be a tangential positive effect for that action. For example, in TAZ balance, the theme is that you should choose love and that the bonds we build in life are just like really awesome man, and in the finale those bonds were actively used as a positive game mechanic which helped the heroes to defeat the enemy. Even if the story’s message is that we should do good even if it doesn’t benefit us, there’s still a positive effect to doing good that needs to be portrayed, for instance it could be “gets you into heaven” “makes you happy“ or “helps other people”.

Okay so that out of the way, I’m going to look at all of this through the lens of Trollhunters as a standalone series, instead of a trilogy. I know that there might be reasons the creative team decided to kill off some characters and not others that’ll be made apparent in Wizards. But since Wizards is a separate tv show from TH, its quality and the quality of Trollhunters should be looked at both individually as well as together. And since Wizards ain’t out I’m looking at TH on its own.

Oki Doki so, onto the meat of it. Trollhunters doesn’t really have any overarching theme or message. Bravery and becoming a hero could be contenders but imo that’s kinda lukewarm. I think an unrealized theme that could’ve been is that of redemption, and the idea that people can change if motivated to do so or offered a chance. One of the things that makes Tollhunters interesting and unique is its sheer amount of redeemed villains. We have Draal in the first six episodes, then Strickler, NotEnrique, Nomura, and Angor Rot. Not to mention Steve, and Aaarrrgghh, whose redemption arc happened before the show started. There are more redeemed villains than villains that stay villains.

And then there’s the people that change but not for the better, like Merlin, who apparently was once a pure and ideal heart, and potentially Morgana.

And then there’s Jim, who is remarkable because of his heart. He gives people chances, offers them friendship where other Trollhunters would have antagonized them. The theme would be basically give people a chance/the benefit of the doubt, reach out an olive branch, it might just make them friends. (And if they don’t take the opportunity to improve murder their faces.)

The TH climax was adequate, it wrapped up the plot, set up for a sequel, and had a decent escalation of action. But honestly, I personally thought the build up to the finale was much better than the finale itself. Though this is just like my opinion man, and if anyone thought it was great, cool.

The character that dies in the finale is Angor Rot. He changes sides and sacrifices himself helping the team battle Morgana. And, like, I always found it just kind of… meh? Like I’m sad that he died he was a great character but his death scene seems so pointless (like Draal’s). As I mentioned on point 3, Angor’s death doesn’t really mean anything. It doesn’t further another character, comment on a theme, and it’s an okay I guess conclusion to his redemption arc. The issue I have with it is that it’s not the natural conclusion to an arc for a character like him to have. We are never told that Angor Rot fears death. He died once and was miffed about it, but we never see an aversion to dying again. No, we see that Angor’s greatest fears are Morgana, and fading away or some shit. If the creators wanted to really write Angor off the show what they should have done was have him be the one to tackle Morgana into the shadow realm and never come back, thus facing an eternity with the one he fears most, the person who stole his soul and turned him into a slave.

BUT IF SOMEONE HAS TO DIE I think an even better death that would have been even better for the show, would be if Strickler sacrificed himself instead and Angor Rot was used to parallel Draal at the beginning of season 1. This would ultimately bring the show full circle and tie the finale in with the rest of the show, and helped realize a theme about redemption.

Strickler would have to sacrifice himself at some other conveniently point that relates to his character more, and the whole finale would have to be restructured, but here’s why I think it would’ve been better:

Strickler is a character who is introduced in the very beginning of the show and remains a constant throughout. He has the most nuanced and prolonged redemption arc of all the characters. He starts out as a self-serving Starscream trope who looks out for himself above all else. Throughout the show, he falls in love with someone and forms a father/son bond with Jim. If you follow the sort of character arc of someone who starts off cowardly and selfish and then learns to care about others to its logical conclusion, you find yourself at the point where the character must sacrifice something in order to prove their change, usually what they originally value most. Throughout the show we see Strickler try so hard and do so much to preserve his own life. What Strickler at the beginning of TH values most is obviously his own life. This is a man who greatly fears death. I’m sure you see where I’m going with this.

It would have been a great conclusion to his character if he sacrificed himself in order to save Barbara and/or Jim. Also it would show that positive payoff to Jim choosing to trust Strickler. If Jim hypothetically didn’t trust Strickler and give him a chance to redeem himself, then hypothetically Strickler wouldn’t be able to sacrifice himself and thus Barbara would hypothetically die.

But who knows, Strickler could die in wizards ;)

Strickler dying would also leave room for Angor Rot surviving. And Angor Rot surviving if done right, could be used to further development with Jim and reinforce that he still has his heart despite sacrificing his humanity. It could also give a reason to Draal’s pointless death (further Jim’s and Angor’s developement).

Here’s what I propose could’ve been done with Angor Rot if he didn’t die: He can turn on Morgana and maybe even appear like he’s going to die. Jim is given a choice of whether or not to save Angor Rot, and maybe at this point or sometime previous in the finale reiterate that Angor killed Draal and Jim’s mad about it. Jim is half troll now, he’s different, angrier and less forgiving, maybe all of its getting to him and the audience is made to wonder if Jim might become more like Merlin (who was once like Jim but became crueler) or if he still has the heart that made him so great in the first place. He’s at a crossroads deciding which path he’s going to go down. And then Jim saves Angor. Have it mirror in some way when Jim spared Draal that first time. Have Angor react similarly, being confused about it and be like “but I killed your buddy, you should let me die as revenge”, and maybe have Jim say something about how that’s not how he does it.

And then, and now I’m just going off and doing that whole “what I would’ve done” thing, but like and then as positive payoff to the good action of choosing to save Angor what if there’s one last scene at the end and it’s in Merlin’s tomb. We see Draal’s stony corpse, and then before it is a cauldron like how we saw with Aaarrrgghh, and it’s all steaming. And Angor’s hand stirs it. Then there’s a wide shot and we see Angor Rot standing before Draal’s corpse as it starts to fade back to living stone. Then Draal opens his eyes. And then cut to black credits role.

But like all of this just my opinion man. My rambling overly critical opinion that would get me weird looks if I talked about it irl lol

[fallxnprxnce]

You are such a talented writer especially in terms of exploring a character's personality, may we know the "origin story" between you and this character? Like, how did it go? What did you feel the first time you watched Hellboy II? We all always feel more interested in a certain type of characters, what made you feel so interested in Nuada? The way you explore his personality is great because he is more complex than most people think.

{out of exile} What a great question this is! I actually haven’t thought about it in a long time, heh. So... the very first time I saw Nuada was sometime in 2006 when I first saw this Hellboy II trailer in the movies. I was with my ex-boyfriend at the time, and I remember the first thing I took notice of was the creature in Nuada’s hand at 0:54. Me and my ex looked at each other at the same time and were like, “It’s a shilke!” I had been working on a short story as part of a world I’d been building for about a year (it is now my most developed fictional world), and I had created an original creature called a shilke that looked 95% like whatever that little guy was that Nuada tossed on the auctioneer’s face. I say 95% because mine didn’t have a big eyeball in the center of its back, heh, but otherwise, the size, shape, color, and even how it attacks (it sucks onto your face/head) was exactly the same. I felt kinda cool for a second, but that was quickly forgotten because as the trailer went on, I was just glued to whoever this white-haired dude was. my ex thought he was Drizzt, haha. I haven’t ever read those books, so I didn’t know who the hell he was... but I really wanted to know. I remember I wanted to know so badly, I actually turned my phone back on so I could text myself the name of the movie and look it up later. XD

I was fascinated with his appearance, his actions, his words... but most of all his voice. He seems like an angry violent sort, and Luke Goss’ softspoken, almost gentle-sounding voice is not what you would expect to come out of such a person. Plus, I recognized his voice right away because I was already a fan of his from seeing him in Blade II. So once I realized it was him I definitely wanted to find out more about the character, because LG always adds a lot of emotional depth to his characters, whether they are main characters or not, and I really love that. That’s my strength as a writer as well, character development and emotional writing, so actors like him tend to inspire me.

When I finally saw the movie, once wasn’t enough. I saw it two more times in the movies and bought the DVD as soon as it came out, heh. But my initial impression watching the movie wasn’t what I expected. I expected a fun fantasy film. I did not expect to cry as much as I did, to think as much as I did, and I certainly didn’t expect to walk out angry. I loved the movie, I really did... but at the time I was knee-deep in working through graduate school to get my PhD in environmental microbiology, in an environmental sciences department, and I had always been an environmentally conscious person. Over the years I’ve done my best to reduce my carbon footprint and to educate others on what they can do to do the same. I’ve always been passionate about environmental issues, and it takes the forefront a lot of times for me when I am voting for a political candidate or considering whether or not to work for a particular industry. And... from my specific point of view, having come through all of that and being where I was at the time, I left the theater angry and ashamed. Angry because I understood where Nuada was coming from and I agreed 100% with him (as far as environmental issues, not about the whole wiping out humans thing, heh), and ashamed because I was one of the humans he wanted to kill, essentially. I’m part of the problem, part of this misguided race, and while I realize this is fiction and there are no elves dying out because of us humans, there are tree frogs, tigers, sequoias, butterflies, polar bears, honey bees, and lots of other creatures that are slowly getting dangerously close to extinction because we over-harvest or over-hunt them, because we improperly dispose of and release chemicals into the environment that kills them, and because our industrialization habits are changing the world climate to the point of these creatures losing their habitats. So... I felt this sense of loss almost, watching the movie... as if I had just quit the BPRD myself like the rest of them at the end because I was pissed off at “our” collective behavior as a race up until that point. I found myself really mulling over what Nuada did in the movie, what was done to him, what he intended to do, what others ended up doing, and what the greater message for real life was among all of that.

My immediate response to “meeting” Nuada and seeing this movie for the first time, was to work through my thoughts in my writing. Years ago when I had more time, was happier, and felt a lot more creative than I do now for a number of personal reasons, my first response to anything I loved, hated, laughed about, cried about, etc. was to put it into writing. Not literally, and not directly... but I would let these sights, sounds, and experiences inspire me to write my own original stories and characters. Hellboy II and Nuada will forever be etched in my mind as one of the movies and characters that inspired me the most and produced the most incarnations of me thinking about this character, world, and situation. (Other characters on the same level as this are Ned Stark of ASoIaF/Game of Thrones and Karon of The Bridge of D’Arnath series.)

So what made me so interested in Nuada was how he made me feel and emote, and the sheer amount of writing that just flowed out of me after encountering him and his world. Nuada ended up inspiring five original characters of mine in three different worlds. I would like to summarize them for you, just to share a little about what he fueled for me, and I’ll try to pinpoint what aspects of Nuada or his situation inspired me to write them. Under the cut, though, because LONG:

Au’duin (in a series of short stories entitled The Ulaeri Chronicles completed in 2010, meant to be companions to an epic fantasy novel The Mask of Truth, unfinished since 2012) - His name means “elegance” in the Ulaeri language, a fictional language I created for this world. With this character, I chose to focus on my thoughts surrounding Nuada’s identity as a warrior and how he sees life through that lens, in addition to him dealing with social and racial prejudices, even among his own people. So the character of Au’duin grows up a male warrior who relies on his own body instead of magic in a matriarchal magical society that looks down on physical activity. I don’t want to get into plot and all that because long post, but he ends up getting arrested and being imprisoned in the royal palace during an assassination attempt that wipes out almost the entire royal family except for one of the princesses. He actually enlists in the help of a shilke and a sidekick of his, Jix (my leafling muse, @xleafyheartx), to rescue her from enemies that are largely magical in nature, so he is out of his element but also willing to go the distance for this one princess who had been willing to listen to him and talk to him like he was a person instead of treating him like this abhorrent warrior society hated. So I suppose I also explored some Nuada/Nuala thoughts of mine with this relationship as well.

Miennan (in The Ulaeri Chronicles) - His name means “strong one” in the Ulaeri tongue. This character was definitely meant to help me work through my Nuada/Nuala feelings and also Nuada’s anger and possessiveness towards his father/sister. This one has kindof a complicated plot, but Miennan is a twin brother to Arienne but does not know he was adopted. Basically, the Ulaeri queen never wants to admit she has a son, it’s an evil-aligned matriarchal society, so sons end up uh... disappearing, heh. But the queen’s mate at the time didn’t want anything to happen to his son, so he is able to hide him with another couple having a single child, and they just said they were twins. The problem with this is that Miennan grows up being far more powerful than his sister magically, he falls in love with her which is seen as taboo even though they are not related by blood, and his power is way out of line with his caste, so that draws attention. So with this character I explored not only the dynamics of Nuada and Nuala’s relationship, but also what Nuada was feeling as far as being alienated within his own family. Miennan ends up giving his life to save Arienne and their child, so he changes from a selfish and possessive youth to someone willing to live and die for others.

Sri’hen (in both The Ulaeri Chronicles and The Mask of Truth) - His name means “the weaver” in the Ulaeri tongue. He is Miennan’s older brother, the firstborn, in fact, but he was given away outside the Ulaeri community and never met any of his siblings. With this character (who is the ex of Channe, @fxcelessqueen), I really chose to explore some of the worst attributes about Nuada. Violence, anger, possessiveness, sexism, defensiveness, and a desire for power for all the wrong reasons. Sri’hen becomes one of the most prominent villains in the story, but he changes into actually a rather honorable character with age and with changing relationships. His relationship with Channe was utterly toxic and fueled the worst things about both of them. Being misunderstood and misguided and too arrogant to ask for help, Sri’hen stewed for decades after Channe betrays and leaves him, and he ends up becoming very evil. But as time went on, he was able to mature and to find someone else with whom he had a much more positive relationship that changed him for the better. It’s a long journey for him, about 300 years, but his is one of the most complex and detailed character arcs I’ve ever written, so I’m pretty proud of it.

Caden Ostyrian (inan epic fantasy novel called Blood is Thicker, completed in 2012) - With this character, I wanted to explore Nuada’s feelings of exclusion, abandonment, betrayal, and oppression within his own family, how an individual like him would respond, and how it might come to be resolved in a positive way. Caden was born Ashen in a world where simply being Ashen is pretty much a crime. Females are killed and males are suffered to exist until age ten and then they are sent to the Divide, a 300 ft. wall that basically walls in the country of Astvar on its peninsula. Below it is hundreds of miles of marshlands and dangerous creatures. So... Ashen people just pop up randomly in society. It’s not genetic, and I’m not going to get into what it actually is because this post is already super long, but ashen people have pale skin, white or gray hair, and blue or gray eyes, hence being called “ashen.” So all the boys are sent to live on the Divide because the wall needs to be manned to keep the rest of the country safe and of course “normal” people don’t want to do this themselves, so they force the Ashen population to do it. It’s a pretty grim setup for them. They’re basically prisoners there. Caden... was born a prince, the second oldest son of three of the king of Astvar. He was supposed to go to the Divide at age ten, but the king hypocritically didn’t send him until he was 25. Caden, like Nuada, is a natural warrior with a serious wild streak in him, so to suddenly be sent to the Divide at age 25 and have this pompous attitude like “I’m a prince, I shouldn’t be here,” really pissed off all the other people there, haha. But he ends up, after a long time of having his ego beaten down and maturing emotionally, uniting the Ashen on all three sections of the Divide and basically turns them into a very capable army that goes on to fight for their rights against the northern country. So with this character I mulled over my thoughts about Nuada’s arrogance and level of maturity, his identity as a warrior, and his ability to be an actual leader instead of a lone, pissed-off force, heh.

Aerahdlanion “Adanion” for short (in a fantasy novel called Journey, unfinished since 2015) - I honestly forget what his name means in the language of the Purplewood Elves, heh... it’s been a while... XD I never finished this book and I was really sorry that I didn’t, but certain things going on in my life at the time caused me to lose my inspiration for it. But Adanion was a very gentle and selfless elf who makes a journey by himself that he knows he’s not going to be able to complete. Basically, his people are dying from an illness, and most of them believe this is happening for a reason and that it’s their time to fade. Others, like Adanion, are not so sure. He loses his wife to the illness and then becomes afflicted himself, and although he’s starting to lose his faculties and he’s in a lot of pain, he volunteers to make the trek to the mountains where it is believed that the essence of an ancient goddess his people pray to is stored in a large crystal. His people believe this because they have a piece of the crystal, and the legend basically says that when the crystal is mended, the goddess will awaken and either save them in their hour of need, or help them all pass over into the Afterplane. Adanion ends up dying of his illness very early on in the story, but not before he stops at a human inn and meets several other characters who are moved by his cause and want to help him make this journey. After he dies, they continue on, taking the piece of the crystal to the location he specified. Adanion seems very central to the story, but really it’s about the relationships between the very different humans (some use magic, some don’t, some have conflicting religions, some have disabilities of their own, some are tolerant, some are intolerant, etc.), what they all think of Adanion’s sacrifice and the plight of his people, and how much they’re willing to do for this race of people they didn’t even know existed until they met Adanion. So with this character and story, I wanted to explore everything outside of Nuada and his people and go more into how humans looking in on his story and plight (as I was watching the movie) would feel about what was happening to them, and how that might change their thinking going forward.

Aaaaaaaand that is enough blabbing for this post, holy cow, haha. Sorry for the length. But yeah, my initial response to Nuada was to be very emotionally moved, engaged by his plight, interested in his psychology, and motivated to write characters with similar pieces-parts and explore different situations with them. And then by the end of 2015, I was looking to get into rping on Tumblr, and at that time I remember thinking okay, what is a character that is easy for me to write, that I’m comfortable with, that I know like the back of my hand, but that there’s also plenty left for me to explore and expand upon? And the first one I thought of was Nuada, heh. So he was just a natural fit for me as far as getting started. Now I have way too many muses, hahaha. XD

[damn-stark]

Lost legacy ch.10

A/N- I know this chapter isn’t as good but it’s just a filler chapter. The next couple chapters should be good though!! Hope you guys liked this chapter though :)

Warning- none

Pairing- Tony Stark x Daughter Stark!reader, Peter Parker x Stark!reader

Spotify playlist

Tagged- @ellaorelizabeth , @camu-winchester , @reinyrei , @remakethestars , @euphoniumpets , @moonbearmeliox , @endgameendsme , @misswritingintherain

(Lemme know if you wanted to be tagged)

Chapter 9 -

—

School was...school nothing new and nothing exciting. The movies lied about the extent that is high school, theirs no girls covered in blood trying to seek revenge or a group of kids sliding down hallways theirs just homework and exams and nothing but time you could be doing else thrown in the trash along with your exciment. Your exciment though lasted longer then you had expected mainly because of your secert mission.

Building a friendship relationship with Peter was harder then you had initially thought. Half of the time it was because he was nowhere to be seen, and you still persisted to get close to said boy. At first it was hard for you to be his friend mainly because before this you really didn’t have friends your age. So the process to know who was under the mask was slow. So in order to get faster results you had to join things he was in like the Decalthon. You had also joined because MJ was in it and she was one of the first friends you had made at school.

The practice buzzer went off and you were brought back inside the room. You looked at the clock and counted the few minutes that were left until practice was over. You had a photography assignment to do after school with Peter and Ned and this was going to be a great opportunity for you to get to talk to him more. But it seemed that time couldn’t pass by any slower. The only reason why Tony had not told happy to pick you inmediatly after practice was because of the assigement or else you would be making a bee line to the car and not doing after school activities.

“Last question In a place of rhyme in “passage to India” Walt Whitman primarily establishes continuity by means of?” Before someone could press the practice buzzer you saw Mr. Harrington turn to you. “I’ll let our new added team member answer this question.” All of the teams eyes landed on you as they waited for the answer to the question. Mr Harrington had called on you because he thought you weren’t paying attention to the questions at today’s practice but you were a fast learner.

“Walt Whitman uses repition of words, also called anaphora, for emphasis.” You answer and you see Mj smile behind her book as you had answered the question that Mr. Harrington thought you wouldn’t know the answer to.

“Okay team practice is done for today don’t forget to practice!” Mr. Harrington said as you all stood up and went for the library exit.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Mj.” You say to the curly haired girl as she begins to walk the opposite way from you.

“Yes I’ll look froward to you showing Mr. Harrington wrong more often.” She said making you grin before she completely disappeared from your eye sight. You stay in front of the library waiting for Peter and Ned to finally walk out.

“We better head out before the rain gets worse out there.” You say as you begin to walk, you noticed that Ned was following behind but you noticed a certain brown haired boy missing. You turn and see he’s to preoccupied looking at something or rather someone. “Peter!” You say catching his attention. He then looked away and made his way towards Ned and you. “Who were you gushing over Parker?” You ask and you see that Peters cheeks immediately turn a shade of pink. Ned laughs silently to himself and that didn’t take you long to catch on that Peter was crushing over the girl he was looking at before.

“That’s Liz. Peter has a thing for her.” Ned says queitly to you.

“Ned!” Peter complaines and you couldn’t help but laugh.

“What she already knew you made it super obvious.” Ned said as he continued smiling at his friends failed attempts to keep his crush a secert.

“Don’t worry I won’t tell.” You say as you finally made your way out of the school doors. The day was gloomy and it looked like it was going to rain at any moment. You enjoyed the rain unlike the others who ran to hide undercover or hid under umbrellas.

The photography assignment that you had been assigned to was an “easy one” according to the teacher but it was harder then you had expected. You couldn’t find the right thing to capture and it was beginning to frustrate the three of you.

As you walked their would be small conversations here and there, jokes but the assignment was weighing all of you down. Not only that but Peter was often somewhere else. He was always looking over his shoulder and paying to much attention to what was happening around him. You couldn’t lie to yourself either though, you too were a little paranoid but his and your reasons differed.

“I’m hungry now I can’t go on any longer this stupid assignment is hard.” Ned complained as he grabbed onto his stomach. You nodded your head at his words and the way he began to drag his feet.

“Fine we can go eat but we have to finish this assignment today. It’s due tomorrow Ned.” Peter said.

“Yeah well we would have finished it if you would have done it when we first told you to.” Ned kept complaining.

“Yeah yeah I’m sorry I’ve just been...busy” he says and you turn slightly to look at him knowing exactly what he had been doing. On your way to get something to eat a distant sound in the sky was heard. Peter inmediatly turned his head and you didn’t take long to follow his actions. The sound, sounded like that of a jet, your heart began to speed up as you began to feel anxious on what it was going to be. Soon the distant sound began to take form and you saw the bright red colors and that it was not a jet but a person. Your anxiety then disappeared as you recognized who it was. You rolled your eyes as you realized what it was or rather who it was. Iron man.

Peter without looking away from the fast approaching iron man began to pull on the camera that was around Neds neck. They both weren’t thinking clearly that they couldn’t get the camera off. “Ned come on! Before he flies off.” Peter shouted in a frantic way. Ned finally managed to get it off his neck and almost dropped it in the process. Peter quickly took the camera and aimed it at Iron man. You three were to busy on Iron man that you had no idea of what was going on around you or the bus that began to loose control.

It was not until you heard screeching and the screaming when you finally knew of the fast approaching bus. Peter managed to push Ned out of the way and then grabbed on to you and jumped out of the way. You both landed on the concrete floor hard but Peter had his arms around you so your fall wasn’t as bad as his had been. You expected to hear the bus crash into the building but instead their was nothing but the sound of bus tires hitting the ground. Peter let go and you both looked and saw Iron Man had stopped the bus. You saw Peters eyes go wide at the sight of iron man a few feet away from him. He slowly reached for the camera that now had a shattered lens but still somehow worked.

Peter quickly took a picture of iron man before he turned to face you. “Are you okay?” He asked with big concerned eyes.

“Yeah yeah I’m okay are you?” You asked as you saw the scrapes on the side of his arm and leg.

“Nothing to worry about it just a few small cuts.” He said. Ned made his way to the two of you with a big smile. His life was just in danger but he still somehow was smiling. But you also knew the reason why, you looked over his shoulder and saw Iron making his way over. Peter saw him too and made a not so secert signal to Ned.

“Nice saving kid.” Iron man said to Peter. Ned began to pat Peters shoulder and with another hand took his phone out and took a picture. Iron man looked over at you before flying off.

Peter and Ned began to fanboy their after as you had to wait for paramedics to come. They cleaned Peter and Neds wounds and when they got you cleared you had to wait for your parents to come and pick you up. Neds came first and it left Peter and you. “Thank you for saving me from turning into a flat pancake.” You said to Peter. He smiled at your attempts to make a joke.

“You welcome...we got a good picture of iron man I think that will win us big points in class.” Peter said and you nodded in agreement remembering that the teacher had a picture of iron man in class.

“You a big fan of his?” You asked him and he nodded with a small smile.

“Yeah I am he’s my favorite.” He said, you looked to your side to see that his smile was bigger now.

“Really why?” You asked to try and get more from him.

“The way he’s risked his life to save the world more then once...and I don’t know... theirs many other reasons.” You know he stopped himself from going on because he was afraid that if he did go on he wouldn’t stop and just scare you off. But you saw it and the admiration he had for iron man, he hadn’t talked about him long but you could still see it and it made you smile. “What about you? Is he your favorite?” He asked.

“I personally think Iron man is overrated.” You joked, Peter though didn’t seem to catch your sarcasm making his smile drop and he look at you confused. “Joking....yeah he’s one of my favorites along with Black widow .” Peter then laughed at the revelation and relief that things had not gotten awkaward, you then joined him.

After the laughter died down you continued talking as you waited to get picked up. You got to know Peter more in that small talk. In that instant it felt like you both had known eachother for ages and not just for a couple weeks. You managed to discreetly dance around the questions he would ask about your life and cover them up with a small lie so you wouldn’t give yourself away. “I finally managed to download music onto this thing do you uhm want to hear while we wait?” You asked Peter. He looked at the earbud you offered him and he nodded and took it. You both listened to music while you waited. In some odd way you knew this felt right, being here with Peter.

You both listened to music a while longer until you saw a familiar black car approach. At the same time a young women came in a rush and wrapped Peter into a tight hug.

“Come on May I’m okay.” Peter said as he had his arms around the women.

“Y/N...oh thank god you’re alright you know when your da- I mean when you called me that a bus almost crashed into you I was worried.” You heard happy say as he walked towards you.

“Yeah I’m fine thanks.” You told happy. You were better at keeping an act than he was and it was painfully obvious to anyone who knew of your real situation. “Let me just say bye to my friend I’ll meet you in the car.” You then turned around to face Peter.

“Well thanks once again Peter, I’ll talk to you tomorrow at school.” You said with a warm smile.

“Yeah, yeah it was no problem and yeah I’ll—”

“Are you okay?” She asked with the the same concerned eyes as Peters had been before.“You’re Peters friend that has been working with him and Ned in the assignment?” The lady who was with Peter asked. You nodded and your eyes shifted from Peters back to hers.

“I’m okay, Peter managed to push both of us out of the way before the bus could hit us.” You explained to her. She had her hand on her chest as she sighed in relief.

“Y/N, this is my aunt May. May this is y/n.” Peter said presenting the both of you to one another. A big smile grew on her face as she looked over at you.

“Peters mentioned you before it’s nice to finally meet you.” She said as she extended her hand out so you could shake it.

“May.” Peter hissed under his breath. You laughed and shook her hand. Peters cheeks turned into a soft pink as he turned around hiding the fact that he was flustered.

“Nice to meet you too.” You said with a smile. The honk that came from Happys car reminded you that you didn’t have more time to talk to aunt may or Peter. “Well I have to go now it was nice to meet you...and Peter I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye.” Aunt May said to you.

“Bye y/n I’ll see you tomorrow.” Peter said before you turned to leave.

When you got into the car you weren’t surprised that your dad was in there waiting for you. As you drove away he began to ask multiple times if you were really okay and you multiple times assured him that you were. You knew that him passing by as iron man earlier today wasn’t a coincidence but something done on purpose to keep an eye on you without making it obvious to everyone else. But you didn’t push on that subject and left it alone.

When you had gotten home you couldn’t stop thinking of what had happened today and how Peter had saved you. You could’ve saved yourself or he could’ve not done anything but he risked his life to save yours. You knew that it was probably because of what he could do but he still saved you as Peter and not Spider-Man. And that only proved that he wasn’t a bad person behind either mask.

Theirs was also something else you had felt today, something Peter and you both felt. You two were oblivious to the feeling but you had felt it. It was like a spark. You two had gotten closer today and were no longer strangers but friends. The feeling you both had felt though was not one you would know how to express or act on because of how oblivious you both were to it and how you both ignored it, and just thought it was a feeling of friends.

.

.

.

.

[phosphorescent-naidheachd]

_____ said:

on one level i will always enjoy watching a cool lady ride jon's face or w/e so i am not anti-dany getting some of the old King In The North. otoh - the whole epic meet cute destined thing is too grand for me. it's like an archetype? i prefer how rooted and grounded and layered jon/sansa is as a ship - everything has resonance and a kind of unexpected joy, like Persuasion, where neither person thought they could repair the past and find happiness and yet happiness is there for them. it's just more my jam. i hope jonsa shippers have enough to work with for fic purposes after the show ends

another thing - i wish dany could have a male family member who doesn't want to bang her, especially given that monster of a brother she had... jon is a wonderful family member. i wish they could have been that to each other 

^^^

I’m not inherently against J0n3rys -- written as an epic ‘our fates were written in the stars long before our birth’ archetypical relationship or not -- as long as it’s executed in such a fashion that feels true to the characters and that resonates emotionally with me... but I highly doubt D&D are going to manage to do that. I have approximately 0.12% trust in them as writers/directors and that’s a generous estimate. Add in the fact that D&D have a fairly limited amount of screen time to build a J0n3rys relationship up from nothing, and the chances of D&D sacrificing true character/relationship development on the altar of expediency rise considerably... as do the chances for an increased amount of ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing’. Just my opinion, though.

GRRM isn’t perfect, but -- partially because of the medium, partially due to his own skills -- his writing of the J0n3rys relationship will doubtless be a lot more nuanced and believable when the characters finally meet in the books.

Actually, one thing that’s really neat about Jon’s relationship with Dany (and with Sansa, among a few other characters!) is all of the narrative parallels and contrasts drawn between their individual experiences. I recently read a piece that argued that GRRM isn’t just deconstructing fantasy tropes with ASOIAF, he’s also very much reconstructing them -- “not tearing the genre apart so much as reminding readers of why it was worth falling in love with in the first place” -- and that really struck me. I like to think that if J0n3rys does end up being endgame in the books, GRRM will use his particular “existential brand of romanticism” to make that archetype feel fresh and real and worthwhile.

Ughhh, I feel you there. Dany deserves kind, platonic, supportive family members. Like Jon, she’s always had a strong longing for a home and family and belonging, and Jon (and through him, perhaps some of the other Starks too) could really fill that role well under the right circumstances. Which isn’t to say that he couldn’t still fill that familial role in a romantic/sexual capacity, but it’s not quite the same thing, y’know? As you said, Dany has never really had someone love her who doesn’t want to bang her (maybe Missandei, but I always thought there was a faintly femslashy subtext between the two of them on the show), and I think it would be good for her to have that kind of relationship in her life.

My feelings re: show!J0n3rys are a lot more complicated than my feelings re: book!J0n3rys, mainly because my feelings re: show!Dany herself are very conflicted. I think most of the criticisms leveled at Dany by the fandom contain validity, but I also think that most of those criticisms are also strongly influenced by fandom’s sexism/misogyny and its attendant double standards. I think that Dany -- both in the books and on the show -- is a very complex character, and frankly I don’t think D&D really get that; I think they see her purely as The Once Underdog, Now Conquering Heroine(TM), and that the GOT narrative is going to reflect this sadly limited viewpoint.

I have a lot of sympathy for Dany’s position and understand why she acts as she does; her traumatic past and the culture(s) in which she was brought up have absolutely shaped who she is today: her fears, her desires, and her methods of achieving those desires. I would also argue that although show!Dany is pretty self-centered, she generally has good intentions. Nonetheless, I’ve become less and less a fan of show!Dany over the years. I have issues with some of the choices she’s made, with her frequent (albeit unintentional on her part) hypocrisy, and with the racist undertones both GRRM and D&D have (accidentally?) inserted into some of her major story arcs (indeed, to the point where I have a hard time mentally separating her from said arcs). If Dany undergoes further character growth that positively alters how she acts going forward, my feelings towards her may change again, but in the meantime… I don’t know. As I said: it’s complicated, and my thoughts about her sometimes even vary from episode to episode. (Heaven knows my thoughts & feelings re: Tyrion and Jaime often shift depending on the episode lol. But that’s a topic for another time.)

I don’t want to see Dany humiliated and humbled, the way many antis do, but I also don’t want to see her as she currently is on the Iron Throne, the way most stans do. I don’t believe she’s insane or currently in danger of becoming insane, as many antis think, nor do I believe that she’s an unusually cruel/terrible/[insert negative term here] ruler and warrior for the society in which she lives. However, none of this makes her inherently the best person to rule Westeros, either. 

Although it isn’t entirely Dany’s fault, she knows almost nothing about Westeros -- past or present -- and what little she does know was understandably given to her through a pretty pro-Targaryen lens; this lack of understanding of facts -- and more crucially, of attitudes -- will serve her (and more importantly Westeros) very poorly if she ever becomes Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Yes, having Westerosi advisors can help, but only so much. The monarchy of Westeros doesn’t seem to have much in the way of checks and balances, after all, outside of ‘it’s probably not a good idea to offend any of the major Houses too badly and definitely not multiple Houses at the same time’. Dany is still relatively inexperienced at ruling and is certainly more than capable of learning and improving... the question is whether she’ll allow herself to. Especially now that she has the ultimate power in the form of fully-grown dragons, which makes it even more difficult and dangerous to question or challenge her actions than it would a dragonless monarch like Robert Baratheon.

(Although, since we’re mentioning Robert Baratheon... I get the sense that Dany, like Robert, much prefers the fighting and ceremonial parts of being monarch over the day-to-day administrative parts. YMMV.)

It’s my opinion that Dany has gotten increasingly good at convincing herself that her personal desires are actually selfless and/or inevitable, that her way is the Right Way, that too much compromise is weakness, and that an increased volume and degree of violence on her part is both justified and necessary. This is an excellent piece of meta on the subject; although it’s about book!Dany, it’s still by and large applicable to show!Dany too... in fact, I would argue that in many ways, it’s even more applicable to show!Dany. Dany isn’t the only “good” character in ASOIAF/GOT to harden herself to violence or to make some of these sorts of mistakes, of course -- Jon probably would have been an even bigger disaster if he’d somehow wound up as the ruler of Meereen, for instance -- but that doesn’t remove the validity of these criticisms towards her, either.

Actually, speaking of Jon and Dany, there’s one argument that antis make that really bugs me: that Jon was chosen by his people, while Dany chose herself; meritocratic monarchy vs. hereditary monarchy, if you will. It’s not entirely wrong, but it’s not the full story either. Davos falls prey to this same trap when talking to Dany on Dragonstone, in fact: "He's not King in the North because of his birthright, he has no birthright, he's a damn bastard. He's King in the North because those hard sons of bitches believe in him."

I mean, yes, Jon was chosen by his nobles to be their king, and they do believe in him, but you can’t act like his heredity didn’t play a significant role in that decision. If Jon hadn’t been the ostensible son of Ned Stark, do you really think all the nobles of the North would have called for him to be King, no matter how worthy he was or how much they believed in him? Just look at part of Lyanna Mormont’s speech, for crying out loud [italics my own]: “I don’t care if he’s a bastard. Ned Stark’s blood runs through his veins. He’s my king, from this day until his last day!” *rolls eyes* But I digress. 

Moving on to address your comments on Jon/Sansa:

Unlike many J0nsa shippers here on tumblr, I don’t think J0nsa is ever going to be canon. Definitely not on the show, and probably not in the books either. And I’m mainly OK with that; that’s what fanfiction is for, after all. (Which isn’t to say I wouldn’t be delighted to be proved wrong re: canon lol.) 

I’m very much a multi-shipper in GOT/ASOIAF, and my main fannish wish is that my favorite characters survive to the end of the series. Ideally, none of them irrevocably betray other characters I care about and they all survive and they’re all at least marginally happy, but that’s probably way too much to ask. As I said, I’ll take ‘alive’. Because as long as they’re still alive, a happier ending is still a possibility somewhere ‘off-screen’ after the series ends. Dead, on the other hand, is dead. Sure, I can create AU ‘so-and-so-lives’ headcanons, but I’m still acutely aware that they’re AUs, y’know? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yessss, Persuasion is such a great comparison! There’s something very bittersweet and healing about that kind of ship. Shades of a shared past paired with hope for a better shared present and future. The gradual realization that it isn’t too late to find/create happiness. idk, I just have a lot of feelings about this dynamic.

[gorrathorra]

Catelyn II

Thoughts on the chapter under the cut LET’S GO

The Starks were made for the cold, he would tell her, and she would laugh and tell him in that case they had certainly built their castle in the wrong place.

I love Cat

Cat’s already had five kids and she wants another one - she’s a far braver woman that me.

Now they’re arguing.

I like how passionate this marriage is.

Maester Luwin’s here. I love him and his huge sleeves. Why is that never a detail I see in fanfic?

Ooh the intrigue over the mysterious lens and note.

This is another scene where Cat, like, believes in things and trusts her instincts, while Ned is all practical.

Cat’s just wandering about naked now.

Presumably Maester Luwin hasn’t delivered all of Cat’s children? Wasn’t Robb born in Riverrun? Maybe he travelled down for the birth of the heir?

Catelyn and Maester Luwin convincing Ned to go south is pretty heart-breaking.

And Cat’s so upset at being left behind. :(

And her family (excepting Robb and Rickon) going away

All the talk of Bran going south noooo.

"What of Jon Snow, my lord?" Maester Luwin asked.

WHY DON’T YOU KEEP YOUR BIG MOUTH SHUT

I lied, I don’t love him

(I do)

(I do, I’m sorry)

His was the perfect solution. Benjen Stark was a Sworn Brother. Jon would be a son to him, the child he would never have.

If anything, Cat’s assumptions about what Jon’s time in the Night’s Watch will be like are even more naive than Jon’s.

It’s kind of sweet that she would wish such a fate on him though?

Maybe?

I’m sorry to keeping harking back to Theon

But I find it odd that he’s not discussed here?

All the kids are discussed: whether they should stay, or go south, or north

And I know Theon’s not a child, but surely where he is and who with is pretty important, if he’s meant to be a hostage?

Surely he’s Ned’s hostage, rather than Winterfell’s?

If the Geyjoys had rebelled when Ned was in the south, what would have happened? Would Theon have been taken south to be beheaded? Would he have been kept prisoner until Ned could make it north for the execution (or until Asha rescued him)? Would Robb have had to do it?