#and we know that she did have a certain level of involvement with her kids

[thedevilrisen]

Prompt Poll - One

Jack Hughes x sister!Y/N

Prompt: “You don’t have to tell me anything, we can just sit here”

Description: Jack’s sister has relationship troubles, Jack knows what she needs.

A/N: I hope you enjoy! Would be greatly appreciated if you could reblog. I love talking to people so say 'Hi' if you want to. Feel Free to send in requests as well. I'm happy to write for most hockey players.

Warnings: Crying, swearing, thats probably it! Mainly just good brother Jack fluff.

-Sincerely thedevilrisen.

-:-

Wet sniffles and the front door opening and closing with a quiet click an hour before it was suppose to is something that concerns three exceptionally protective brothers very much.

Quinn was the first to launch into action, tearing off the couch and toward the sound that scares them all half to death. Their sister, crying.

Before he could even leave the room in walked a sodden, puffy cheeked, red eyed girl. Her dark hair was plastered to her forehead and across the sides of her neck.

"What the hell happened?" asked Luke, half hysterical. Turning around on the couch, bug-eyed at sight of his normally well-put together sister a wet shivering, mess?

"Nothing Luke."

"Well that's bullshit." the troubled boy shot back.

"Lukey, just calm it for a second." Jack asked, significantly calmer than both of the other boys.

"No, Jack, Luke's completely correct in his statement!" Quinn, normally level headed, fired off. "She's crying and home way too early aren't you meant to be at Jessie's?"

"I'm not crying Quinn! I'm cold and Jessie is at her dad's!" the young girl warbled. "I'm going bed. Goodnight."

"Like hell you are!" the oldest shouted. "You're going to sit and tell us the truth."

She hated the way Quinn spat the word truth like he knew she'd been lying to them. She hadn't been lying per-se, not to all of them and not in great amounts, just leaving out certain details.

"Y/N, it's okay go upstairs and sleep if you would like to." Jack spoke sternly, more so at Quinn then at then now shivering girl standing meekly at the bottom of the staircase.

"Jack! Are you with us or against us?" Luke stated betrayed, the slight recognition in his features as he slowly realises his older brother's nonchalant-ness.

"I'm on neither side. If she doesn't feel comfortable talking then I don't think we need to pry." Jack continued, trying to diffuse the situation.

"What do you know." Luke's eyes narrowed along with his accusatory remark.

"Nothing more than you do." Jack stated calmly. He wasn’t fond of hiding information from his brothers especially when it involved their sister. He had his reasons though.

-

Jack’s Friday night plans did not consist of comforting his devastated sister.

A quiet shuffle of footsteps along the carpet in the hallway was barely noticeable amidst the cacophony of a summer storm. Light crept slowly into Jack’s room.

“Jacky?” an unreasonably timid voice asked into the darkness.

“mh- ompf.” he had grumbled, back digging into his phone which had been lost when he drifted off. “what’s up kid?”

"can i talk to you please?" she had mumbled through the small gap.

"yeah," he hoisted himself up from the bed. "come in kid, what's going on?"

"ihaveaboyfriend." she spoke at lightning speed. standing by the door apprehensively almost like she was ready to run if she needed.

slowly comprehending jack blinked drearily. "im sorry what?"

taking a deep breath she took a few steps and sat on the end of the bed. "i have a boyfriend," she spoke solemnly.

"shouldn't that be a happy thing?"

"he stood me up three nights in a row."

"ah, a not so happy thing." jack mumbled now realising the gravity of the situation.

"no.”

“what can i do to help?” Jack sighed. at this statement the smaller girl launched into his arms.

“don’t tell Quinn or Luke.” she cried into his chest.

“is there something else you need to tell me?”

“I do, but not now.” the girl crawled up closer to the head board with her brother and tucked herself under he arm.

“You don’t have to tell me anything, we can just sit here.”

“Thanks Jacky.”

-:-

This is probably the most half-assed thing ive ever wrote. im terribly sorry. 👍

if anyone cares i will be putting out the next prompt post later today and something about the au im creating!

find the prompt list for requests here.

[navree]

hm.

hm.

[alkhale]

i know it might have been mentioned before, but if it hasn't been touched on already, could we pretty pretty pls see what a marine au for memos would look like? who would Hoku work for? would she ironically make for a good marine?

The following AU takes place in a timeline where Hoku did eventually join the Marines. After spending time on Dawn Island with Luffy, when Hoku sets off on her own journey, reuniting with Ace, meeting Hack, etc, only after fixing up Mayman/meeting Kid, does she seek out Tsuru and decide to take her up on her offer to become "an upstanding marine" and to avoid Luffy

(The scene with Shanks below takes place sometime 3D2Y post-time skip)

Hoku decides to play at being a marine because she (1) finds them constantly in the line of fire and at risk of work hazards (2) believes there's something specific she can do from the inside of the institute she'd like to explore, mainly helping other Pokians and maaaaaybe making things a bit easier for a certain king of pirates (because she knows she can always quit!) (3) it will help her avoid being a pirate with luffy and being involved further in the main story

Despite this plan, she still seems to run into one too many pirates

"What's your relationship with Straw Hat Luffy?" "Who's that?" "Our men saw him trying to kidnap you onto his ship! Was it for ransom?" "He just wanted me to try Sanji's new dish."

"But you're a marine, we're supposed to be capturing pirates?"

"I didn't see that in the handbook."

"But you never read the handbook!"

Hoku underwent rigorous training with Tsuru, mainly under the tough old lady's jurisdiction—this helps her particularly avoid discipline from several other marines. There have often been requests for her to join other commands, some from marines who want to teach her a lesson, others from marines who genuinely have fun working with her

When Tsuru isn't training her, she's being worked to near death by Garp

She has one of the highest disciplinary records in academy history

Some cadets don't understand how she can get away with getting into so much trouble, sometimes a marine grunt will see her being forced to clean out an entire base's cafeteria while someone supervises and they're like?? again??? how is she not in impel down?? tried for mutiny??

Some people eventually get the memo—it's favoritism/abuse of power/strangely good luck in some occasions

Some marines don't like it one bit, they have it out for Hoku, she doesn't really care

Garp never, ever stops talking anyone's ear off about how his beautiful, adorable granddaughter is going to be one of the best marine's the world has ever seen

Tsuru has unofficially officially made herself Hoku's grandmother in a way. She and Garp often have petty fights over Hoku stories. They fight a lot over who's squad Hoku has to be on

Over the years, she's actually made enough contributions and done quite the number of great feats, enough to land her at captain level, (rear admiral candidate at Tsuru and Garp's behest) but Hoku sometimes keeps her petty officer title, keeping the perks that come with captain status and the likes

She doesn't mind abusing her power and shrugging off her responsibilities

Whenever she's assigned missions where she has a whole squad to take care of, the marines assigned to her are usually wary, uncertain and thinking they're unlucky

Until they actually work with Hoku and are like??? we're doing work today? did we just bust this human trafficking ring? did we just liberate an entire island stuck in a pirate tyranny? and other times they come, asking her what their job is for today and she's just like? go home there's nothing to do

If they really bother her, she'll send them off to different islands and countries that need help. "Go distribute these supplies to here." "They asked for someone to help rebuild their village." "Put those dumb ships to use and go delivery this to them."

Hoku has made her way around several different bases, under several different chains of commands, (she is now infamous) usually on a sort of temp job kind of borrowed basis, but officially she's under Tsuru's wing

Smoker has gone through several different stages of mental strife and grief with Hoku, originally being distrustful when the criminal who blew up a base in Tretar became a marine, then becoming somewhat determined to help mold her into a damn good marine, then to becoming strangely fixed (obsessed) with either being in charge of ensuring she receives punishment/is not mistreated for her origins within the lower ranks, and they are even sometimes seen gambling together on occasion. They have a funny relationship these two, Hoku's too lazy to try to understand it.

Her outfit as a marine is a lot like her original, however she wears a black top instead of white and with black pants. Her jacket is white instead with her usual accessories, and the only thing that helps people actually identify her as a marine is the standard issue marine cap she wears

Hoku has also secretly become a huge collector of wanted posters. It originally started small, just taking the wanted posters of people she cared about, but now it's spiraled into a full-on sizable collection where she has different versions of wanted posters, original prints, first roll-outs and etc. She trades with Bradnew and other marines and hangs them all up on her wall or keeps them safe in a minted book

Hoku often abuses any and all of her rights as a marine. She's really, really good at being a bad marine.

"Hey, did you hear the news?"

The petty officer looked up from where they'd been tasked to dust and clean the entire meeting room to perfection. Several other cadets and chore boys had been called from the barracks, each ordered to ensure that the following few rooms that would be in use for the meeting would be ready at a moment's notice.

For what meeting? He had no idea.

"No," he said, because he didn't know. There was so much gossip going around base these days he could hardly keep up. "What was it?"

First there'd been the rumor that one of the Four Emperors of the sea was on the move about the Grand Line, cutting and going as he pleased. Any movement from an Emperor was grounds for mass panic. Then there'd been talk that newly appointed Fleet Admiral Akainu had almost burned another ranking marine alive. Less serious and more on the interesting side, word was floating around that the Vice Admiral Smoker was seeing someone, which was juicy gossip in its own right because Vice Admiral Smoker?

"Apparently he's always following her around," someone said.

"He requests transfers and is always grumbling about them, I think he's worried they're going to end up with someone else—"

"Even Captain Tashigi seems to be aware and they're always—"

For today, however, it seemed something different was brewing amongst headquarters. Other officers were making a ruckus while the upper brass seemed particularly miffed—which usually only happened if it involved someone outside their scope of power influence doing something they didn't like—

"One of the Seven Warlords is visiting HQ!"

The petty officer blinked, opening his mouth before closing it and then finally deciding on his next words, "Well, that's big news, but it's not unheard of news man. They're required to come for summons."

The petty officer shrugged. "Especially people like Bartholomew Kuma or First-Son of the Sea Jimbei. They're always on time."

"No, no, you don't understand," the marine looked around as though someone would hear before motioning for the petty officer to come closer. He rolled his eyes, leaning over the table. "It isn't just any of the Warlords... It's Hawk-Eye Mihawk!"

The petty officer dropped his broom, turning to his fellow marine. The other man looked smug now. "Dracule Mihawk is coming to HQ?"

"That's what I'm saying!"

"You should've said so sooner!" the petty officer scooped up his broom, renewing his cleaning with vigor. "He's not just a regular Warlord—that guy never responds to his summons! Never!"

"See what I mean! This is big news! Why now? What do you think convinced him to come?"

"It must be something big," he said, shaking his head as the two of them not-so-discreetly made their way to the wide windows overlooking the base's dock. They'd get a full view of the elusive swordsman this way. "Do you think they're mobilizing for something?"

"I don't know, man. Think they'll let us sit in on the—"

A loud clamor came from the ground level beneath them. The two marines quickly looked at each other and then pressed their faces up against the glass. Their fellow officers below them were rushing around on the docks, forming into greeting lines and looking sick with nervousness. One man seemed to be praying.

It was understandable behavior, to be honest. Dracule Mihawk was known for being an unknown man and more often then not he'd felled one too many marine ships simply because they'd been in his way.

"I see his ship!" the marine beside him said. They pressed harder to the glass, squinting for the full view. "Always gives me the creeps. Who sails around in a coffin?"

He thought about telling his fellow officer that there was quite the number of weirder ships out there, but the sudden silence below them made the two of them pause. They glanced to each other and then back down.

The dock had gone eerily silent. Marines shook at the knees while hardened captains and a single vice admiral waited to greet the Warlord of the Sea.

One figure, however, suddenly came into view along the dock, sticking out like a sore thumb compared to the rest.

Her bright white hair fluttered absently with the wind, tugged this way and that as she paced up and down the dock, looking out across the ocean. She skirted the edge of the pier, however, just shy of the water with her hands stuffed into her jacket pockets.

"Who the hell is that?" the marine beside him said. "And why isn't she falling into line? What's her rank?"

"That's..." the petty officer caught a full view of the woman's face now, freezing at the infamous half-heart curving around her eye. "Cap—Serga—Lieute—" he paused, uncertain of her current ranking now. "Officer Hoku!"

"Hoku?" the marine looked confused, "who the hell is that?"

"Officer Hoku!" the petty officer repeated, looking at the man in shock. "You haven't heard of her? Vice Admiral Tsuru's right hand woman, the officer who blew up over ten marine bases—"

"She blew up our own bases?"

"It's a long story—the woman who apparently violated the nefarious Trafalgar Law—"

"Violated?"

"I heard what she did to him was so disgusting, even the officers near her threw up themselves! The one who fought Fleet Admiral Akainu's authority multiple times, got caught gambling in Crocodile's casino, vandalized a whole part of Marineford—"

"And she's not in Impel Down?" the man said, aghast. "Are you sure she's on our side?"

"Oh, sure. She's been credited with busting the largest human trafficking rings in history! She's also brought in multiple heinous pirates, and on multiple occasions they say she's been able to deescalate several run-ins with huge bounty pirates like the Straw—"

"I guess it makes sense why they're sending her to meet someone like a shichibukai," the marine said thoughtfully. The petty officer paused, a bit offended he didn't get to finish Hoku's infamous and notorious list. "Need a crazy officer to handle a crazy pirate, right?"

A commotion finally broke out below them. The vice admiral waiting to oversee the whole affair was shouting at Hoku now, lecturing her about her lack of respect. The white haired marine simply took a seat on a wooden crate, picking at her ear and absently flicking off toward the vice admiral's feet.

The marine gaped while the petty officer stiffled a laugh with a cough.

"Look, it's him!"

Hoku seemed to have thought the same thing, turning sharply from the vice admiral and jumping to her feet. A single, haunting figure of a man stepped out from the edge of his coffin. His coat flared out dangerously about his heels, wind catching against the fluffed plume atop his head. Cadets started to shake at the knees at the sight of the man—

"Mihawk!"

The cadets around them went completely pale, jaws growing slack as Hoku flew across the dock, taking off with a flying leap and sailing through the air, arms and legs oustretched.

Dracule Mihawk did not move. He remained, still as a statue as the marine promptly wrapped her arms and legs around his head. The vice admiral's jaw dropped to the floor, one hand reaching for his saber uselessly.

Mihawk remained still, allowing Hoku to situate herself as she rubbed her cheek over the top of his hat, laughing with a sound so sweet with joy, it made the petty officer flush. She turned around, keeping herself wrapped completely over his head.

The rest of the marines continued to stare, waiting for Mihawk to throw her into the water or cut her in half.

"I didn't know you were coming to visit!" Hoku said happily, eyes shining with affection. "What's it for? You get called in by the brass or somethin'?"

"It was a whim." Mihawk neither cut her nor tossed her into the ocean. Instead, the man simply began to walk with perfect ease, toting Hoku along as though she were an added weight to his hat. "I will be departing shortly."

"Already! You've got a stay for at least a bit! Actually, aren't you hear for a meeting?"

"I heard of no such thing."

"Oh, cool then! Why don't we grab something to eat?"

"You mean to spar?"

"I-I never said that! Eat! I said eat!"

"Come, then. We shall take up arms—"

"Wait, wait, wait!"

The petty officer quickly began to add another feat to Hoku's growing list. The marine beside him continued to gape.

- - - - - - - - -

"Hmm," Hoku's brows furrowed in thought, fingers moving in a rhythmic, soothing motion. "This isn't a bad idea, right?"

"It's a bit cramped."

"Right, right, sorry about that. Just give it a few more minutes. Those guys out there are runnin' around like chickens without a head."

"Aye."

Hoku's fingers flexed. Her cheeks flushed a bit as she cleared her throat. As subtly as she could, she pressed herself tighter to the figure squeezed into the armory closet beside her. He made no move in protest, simply shuffling a bit to accommodate her and Hoku felt her cheeks flush.

"Do you need more room?" he asked.

"No, no," Hoku cleared her throat. "Sorry. Mind if I get a bit closer."

"That's okay," he said kindly. "I don't mind."

Hoku sneakily reached her arms more around his waist. He turned again in her arms and she felt her heart hammer wildly now, cheeks flushed as she slowly, carefully pressed her cheek against him.

Hoku shut her eyes in bliss. Soft. Like a cloud. And so warm. So, so warm. Ka. I don't mind staying like this for another hour—

"Shambles."

Hoku let out a squawk of surprise, her and her companion ripped clean from the closet and appearing hovering in the air for a moment. A thin film of blue surrounded the two of them, Hoku's arms and legs wrapped shamefully and scandalously around the other as her eyes went wide and then they both crashed onto cobblestone floors.

Hoku groaned, a second flick of someone's fingers leaving her on her ass before a pair of long legs. She rubbed her tailbone, looking up with a disgruntled frown as dark, brooding eyes gazed directly back at her.

"Traffy," Hoku greeted casually. "I didn't know you were here."

Law gave Hoku one long, withering look before he glanced over to the mound of soft white fur collapsed on the floor still, his fluffy cheeks flushed a soft pink.

"Were you taking advantage of Bepo?"

Hoku coughed. She refused to meet Law's eyes, fiddling instead with the top of his boot.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Captain Hoku!" Hoku blinked, looking around the side of Law's legs as a crowd of marines skidded to a halt before them. "Shall we arrest these fiends?"

"Nah," Hoku sighed, standing up as she dusted herself off. Law tipped his head to the side, regarding her coolly. "No need."

"B-But they're pirates!"

"I didn't see anything." Hoku turned on her heel, giving Bepo a wink. The polar bear's cheeks flushed a brighter pink and she grinned, saunteering off. "Let's head back to the ship—"

Tattooed fingers enclosed smoothly around her wrist. Hoku blinked, once, twice, before she glanced down to the larger hand engulfing hers. She followed it up to a calm, unreadable expression, dark, half-lidded eyes slowly meeting her own.

Something devious flickered, like a dark little shadow across Law's face.

Hoku paled.

"On an island surrounded by marines," Law said slowly, his voice low, curling around her ears. "I suppose we ought to take a hostage for safe passage, right?"

Hoku grinned nervously.

-------- ------ -------

"Cap—Officer Hoku! Officer Hoku!"

Hoku sighed, forcing her eyes to remain shut. Sunlight warmed the exposed skin of her belly, whispering temptingly to urge her into a well-needed nap in a rare moment of peace. The island they'd been called to investigate had seemed to resolved itself, no more terrorizing, plundering pirates and simply happy, cheerful townsfolk.

She didn't know what good luck had helped them out, but she wasn't about to complain over a free chance to kick back on the island before HQ called them back. They weren't expected for another week—this was the perfect chance to slack offcget some rest.

Hurried footsteps still rushed her way. Hoku kept her arms behind her head, lounging over one of her drawn hammocks. Usually ignoring them for awhile did the trick—

"Officer Hoku!" the marine finally panted, wheezing as she skidded to a halt beside Hoku. "Cap—Hoku! It's an emergency!"

Hoku kept silent, turning onto her side.

"The—at the docks," the girl panted. Her eyes were round with fear, knees shaking. "Docks!"

Hoku continued to sway peacefully in the sun.

"A ship, docked!" she inhaled a great breath of air.

"It's one of the Four Emperor's of the Sea—Red Haired Shanks!"

Hoku slipped out of her hammock, slamming face first into the wood below her. The marine jumped, hands flying to her mouth as Hoku quickly shot to her feet, nose red from her fall and eyes wide in disbelief.

"Who?"

"Red Haired Shanks!" the marine cried. Hoku's jaw went slack, eyes round. "O-Our men are currently in a perimeter around him! Apparently he's been spending time on this island for the past few days and—"

"They're doing what?" Hoku squawked. "Our orders are to never engage with Emperors unless ordered—oh for—ka!"

The marine opened her mouth to deliver the most pressing part of the news, but Hoku was already running past her, racing faster than she could ever hope to catch up to.

"And he's..." the marine started weakly. "Asking for you..."

Hoku skidded to a halt before massive blockade of blue and white bodies. She scowled, quickly forcing her way through, barking out quick and concise orders as her men whirled around, eyes widening at her appearance, jumping in and shouting left and right about emperor, what do we do? and Captain Hoku, stay back! This man is—

Hoku let out a screech as she tripped into the clearing, finally pushing past the wall of bodies.

A single arm reached out, a hand wrapping gently around her arm to hold her steady.

Hoku froze, her eyes shooting up.

"Dove," Shanks said, voice thick with fondness. "It's been awhile."

Hoku's traitorous heart fluttered at the sight of that slow, cheerful grin. She pointedly coughed, dusting herself off as Shanks' eyes flickered with amusement, stepping back, fingers lingering slightly on her arm so she could straighten herself.

"Pirate," Hoku said casually, the hint of a tease in her tone. Shanks raised a playful brow in turn. "As... what rank am I right now?"she turned to her men behind her.

"Just an officer, ma'am!"

"As commanding officer," Hoku crossed her arms over her chest. Shanks hand fell back to his side, fingers curling slightly. "I'm obligated to ask what one of the Four Emperors of the Sea is doing in this humble town."

"Well," Shanks glanced over his shoulder, back toward the dock where the Red Force was waiting. He could sense the playful jeers of his crew over the lip of the bow. "Miss Marine... It isn't a crime to be stocking up on some supplies and catching a short break now, is it?"

Hoku pretened to think his words over. Shanks' eyes glimmered with mirth.

The marine surrounded them continued to gape, frozen in disbelief.

"It's interesting timing," Hoku said. Shanks hummed for her to continue. "We were originally here on a distress call, but just as we were about to dock, we found out the issue had already been taken care of..."

"What luck," Shanks said with a grin. "I suppose that leaves you with some time to perhaps... relax yourself, aye?"

Hoku's mouth parted to retort and then she paused. Hoku blinked, looking up at Shanks in stunned surprise as she tried to make the little click of what she'd just heard in her head. But when he says it like that... no, wait. There's no way he'd know—huh?

Shanks watched the gears turn, eyes crinkling at the corners. "I know how hard you marines are always working—"

"Hoku!" Shanks eyes flickered to where a man broke the ranks of the gathered crowd, shoulders squared with whatever confidence he'd mustered. Shanks regarded him easily, expression relaxed as he approached Hoku. "We should retreat! We need to leave immediately and report the situation back to HQ!"

Hoku turned back to the marine. "It's alright. It's... a bit of a long story, but you guys know how it goes these days. He's—"

"Not like one of the other pirates!" the marine continued, gaze fearfully flickering to an amused looking Shanks and back. "With the others we understood, but this is an Emperor of the Sea! Cap—Officer Hoku, we should go!"

"I know, I know," Hoku appeased. "But don't—"

A different marine broke the ranks now, reaching out a grabbing Hoku's elbow. The first marine looked shocked while Hoku remained nonchalant, expression cool.

Shanks' gaze slowly flickered to where his fingers pressed indents into her skin.

The marine scowled viciously. "I ain't gettin' fired because of—

Shanks simply glanced over the top of Hoku's head.

Hoku's knees buckled for a moment, trembling under the sheer force until she quickly rightened herself, looking up at the pirate before her in disbelief.

Left and right the marine officers behind her dropped to the floor like flies, foam spilling out of some of their mouths as they crashed onto the ground. The man who'd grabbed Hoku in particular had been the first to collapse, hacking and clawing at his head before he fell face forward, pale and ashen. Hoku watched all of them, jaw going slack until not a single man was left standing, wiped out in a manner of seconds.

Warily, she turned her gaze back to playfully dark eyes, already watching her in turn.

"...even I have to say," Hoku began slowly, "that was a bit much, don't you think?"

"I never said I was a patient man," Shanks said almost sweetly, but his tone was sly and his eyes crinkled at the corners, shameless. "Now, Dove..."

Shanks offered her his arm, lips curling at the corner into something mischievous. His eyes watched her, half-lidded and almost lazy.

They burned, never leaving her face.

Hoku felt her pulse racing beneath her skin, forcing herself to appear relaxed.

"Shall we catch up a bit?" Shanks said, a slight husk to his tone.

"...I could threaten to make quite the arrest you know," Hoku said, only because she needed time to calm down.

Shanks tipped his head to the side, seeming to humor the thought. He hummed then, shutting his eyes as though going a step further and imagining the scenario. He turned his arm toward her, offering his wrist.

"I suppose I could come willingly," he said lightly, his words curling all about her, "If it were a beautiful woman like you... but I'm afraid I've only got one hand to offer..."

Shanks grinned impishly. "You'd have to cuff me to yourself."

Hoku snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. Shanks laughed, a full, cheerful sound. "You sure that's a good idea?"

"Well, I suppose it could be quite a bit to handle."

"More than you can handle?" Hoku grinned.

Shanks' eyes glittered then, like a ripple, and Hoku felt a thin shiver run down her spine, like the playful drag of a fingertip ghosting along her back.

"I don't know," Shanks murmured into her ear, leaning down. "I'd have to find out for myself."

Weakly, Hoku hooked her arm through his, making the decision for him.

Shanks laughed, a bellowing, heartfelt sound. He pulled her along into his side, his cloak flaring out behind them, almost wrapping around Hoku as they made their way down to the port.

"Aw, dove, don't pout. I promise I won't bite."

"You might lose a tooth or two if you try that."

"Dahaha! I thought you'd be sweeter since it's been so long! Is this any kind of reunion?"

"I was never sweet to you."

"Mmm, what does a man have to do to get a woman out of his league to give him a smile half as sweet as the ones she gives to that brooding—"

"Ten million beli," Hoku said on instinct. She paused then, suddenly growing pale as she half turned to Shanks, stepping a step back but unable to get very far with her arm still hooked through his—Shanks let her go a little ways away.

(But not very far.)

"Actually, wait, I take that—"

"Why, dove," Shanks laughed, grinning almost boyishly. "I suppose that could be easily arranged—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Hoku grumbled, trying to force the embarrassed red crawling up her neck to disappear. Shanks watched the dark flush along the nape of her neck with half-lidded eyes. "I know that amount ain't much these days to an Emperor of the seas—"

"It isn't that," Shanks said lightly, his words curling playfully. Hoku blinked, looking back up at him curiously.

Deep red stood out brightly against the expanse of white. Strands of Shanks' hair tickled against the side of her head as Hoku froze. Shanks leaned down, curling around her, smoothly tucking her against his side—the action forced Hoku to bend a bit, back arching ever so slightly as Shanks' lips brushed against her ear.

Hoku caught a glimpse of dark eyes beneath crimson strands. They curved, playful as always at the corners, but still a shudder threatened to run through her—the light press of Shanks' fingers on the side of her hip—when did he move his hand—

"You're worth much more than that, dove."

Hoku swallowed. She meant to say, "Oh, yeah?" but the sound that came out instead was a soft, slightly shaky, "Mmnh?"

Shanks hummed in affirmation, his eyes absently sliding behind her. "But I suppose it's easy to forget that when you've been surrounded by men who don't quite..." his gaze swept over the passed out, foaming marines at their feet, "Know how to value a woman properly, aye?"

Shanks paused briefly, brows raising slightly in surprise as he glanced down to the slender, scarred fingers now examining Gryphon, slid clean from its sheath. His sword rested with care in Hoku's hands as she inspected the current status of the blade.

Her eyes were half-lidded in faux disinterest, expression cool as she absently met his brightening gaze.

"And a heinous, shameless pirate would know better?"

"Hmm," Shanks grinned, walking the two of them back deeper into port. He remembered there being quite the delicious chef charring food in an open fire pit by the port.

"I suppose we'll have to find out."

-the shanks was too self-indulgent, anytime i think of writing a little bit of this man, he manages to steal another paragraph from me

[festeringfae]

I know it's because the only reason the one exists is because the other doesn't appear in AA4 but the sheer wasted potential of Edgeworth not having to challenge his own self-loathing due to the existence of Kristoph makes me fucking crazy...

Edgeworth insists everything corrupt he did while under Manfred's thumb is his own fault, that the little kid his dad raised died when the court didn't convict anyone for Gregory's murder-- he thinks his "demon prosecutor" identity is forged out of that, his own innate beliefs, and that Manfred just gave him the tools to wield those evil impulses to the best of his ability. By the end of the original trilogy, even though the narrative demonstrates Edgeworth believes he's capable of changing his actions, nothing indicates that he's accepted that he had very limited agency over those actions in the first place as demonstrated by how the one time he tried to do the right thing his guardian immediately tried to get him executed for murder.

Cut to Kristoph. Here's this guy who, on the surface, seems like a prototype of everything Miles Edgeworth would be if Manfred didn't raise him. He's overly formal to cover a bitchy sense of humor, very put-together but rattles easily, gayer than a glory hole on Christopher Street-- and a successful defense attorney. Being confronted with the reality of Kristoph would prompt Edgeworth to question: if Gregory had dropped dead when Edgeworth was an adult starting out as a defense attorney, would he have made comparable choices without the threat of Manfred looming? Would he have done anything to reach an equal level of fame to his father? If Gregory had been unfairly executed by the state, would Edgeworth have defended Matt Engarde in a heartbeat, because fuck it, prosecutors are all evil anyway, and exonerating a beloved celebrity would make him famous and successful?

We can't know that (I mean, we can, but Edgeworth would insist we can't know that.) What we do know for sure is this: once Manfred is dead, Edgeworth does lie to the court-- not to help himself, but at great personal risk, to help a loved one. Even so, when he involves his little sibling in the case, he never coerces her into anything. He takes on the risk of a forged identity himself, and only discloses it to her before the court, where he couldn't hurt her if she didn't want to participate. He gives her all the power in the situation, including the power to expose him, if she wants. When she questions him, he does not lie, or twist the facts in order to persuade her. Hell, he asks the judge to let her keep her weapon.

That is not how a certain devil behaved towards his little sibling. It stands to reason that's not how a demon would behave, either.

SOMEBODY POINT THAT OUT TO EDGEWORTH, PLEASE.

[nostalgicninjas]

2012 Leorai Rant

there’s so much discourse about whether 2012 leorai is considered incest or not and i kinda wanted to throw my two cents in ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

i grew up with the 2012 series, and as a kid, i was a hardcore leorai fan. now as an adult, i’ve become neutral to the ship (though it will always hold a special place in my heart for nostalgic purposes). overall my thoughts/perspective on leorai have changed a lot over the years. i’ve grown to ship them more with other people (‼️ aprinardo and shinirai supremacy ‼️) while still loving and appreciating their canon dynamic. personally, i don’t view their relationship as entirely platonic or romantic. on one hand, i believe leo and karai do love each other like family (the same way all the turtles love april and casey like family) but they also connect on a deeper level that’s too intimate to call them “siblings”. it’s not as black and white as them being either brother/sister or boyfriend/girlfriend. to me, their relationship has so many layers it’s too complex for labels. which is fine because labels are overrated anyway. but that’s just my opinion.

i completely get why some people (especially those with adopted family members) think the relationship is weird, and i also get why some people see no problem with it. at the end of the day, it all depends on an individual’s life experiences or personal preferences.

note: if two people are biologically blood relatives, then an intimate/sexual relationship between them is 100% incest and i do not support or condone such behavior.

in this particular case however, i believe there is a difference between real incest and what society views to be incest. imagine two people have been dating for a while and then their parents fall in love and decide to get married. are they supposed to just turn their feelings off for each other and break up because they are now “technically siblings”? i’m sorry to break it to you but that’s not how emotions work. emotions are complicated. and frankly it seems wrong to try to force two people to think/feel a certain way about each other just because it’s what society excepts. i have always been a firm believer that people should be free to follow their hearts and love who they love. if there is no blood or biological connection involved (or any other illegal factors), then i see no reason why people can’t be free to choose how they get to view a person or how they wish for those relationships to develop. because in this case, love is not a crime.

in a way, the same can be said for leo and karai. first impressions count for something, and leo had already developed feelings for karai long before he found out she was splinter’s daughter. i know most people would disagree, but just because they view the same man as a father figure does not make them obligated to view each other as siblings. just because mikey CHOOSES to view karai as a sister does not mean leo is obligated to view her the same way. same goes for raph and donnie. from what was shown in the series, those two (especially raph) hardly considered karai to be a part of their immediate family, much less considered her a sister. and that’s their right. as much as i’m sure we all wanted to see the turtles and karai come together (and trust me i did too), donnie and raph had valid reasons to dislike/distrust karai and they shouldn’t be forced to brush their justified feelings aside and immediately accept her as a “sister” if they don’t want to. they may view her as an ally/asset to the team, but if they don’t want to view her as family, then they shouldn’t have to (though i’m sure they would eventually accept her in the future; whether or not as a sister or just a distant family member, we’ll never know).

i even once saw someone say that if shipping leorai isn’t incest because they aren’t blood related, then it shouldn’t be considered incest when shipping the turtles with splinter since they also aren’t blood related. that’s a really gross comparison for multiple reasons but mainly;

1.) the turtles are all MINORS and splinter is a grown ass man which is reason enough because W T F

and

2.) splinter has always viewed the turtles as his children and the turtles have always viewed him as their father. for him to suddenly take any kind of sexual interest in them is downright predatory, blood or no blood.

as for the whole “whether or not they share dna” debate, that’s honestly up to interpretation. splinter was never actually seen touching the turtles, so it’s not a canon fact that they actually absorbed any of his human dna when they mutated. and even if they had, the notion that this automatically makes them biological relatives to splinter is actually quite comical. that’s like saying the radioactive spider that gave peter parker superpowers is suddenly his new father. sounds silly, doesn’t it?

overall, i hate it when careless leorai fans make insensitive statements about adopted families, and i also hate it when anti shippers treat leorai fans like freaks just for having a different perspective on their relationship. if you prefer to think of them as brother and sister, then that’s cool. we’re all entitled to our opinions. what’s not cool is constantly harassing fans of the ship and shoving your “sibling” agenda down their throats (and vice versa).

to borrow a paragraph from @orokukarai’s rant:

If the ship makes you uncomfortable, whether it's for personal reasons or you're just not vibing, that's OK. If you personally see it as incestual, that's valid. But going around saying Leorai shippers all like or support incest is not true and there are many valid readings where they're not incestual even if you disagree with them. Some shippers probably do like incest, but then so do many non-Leorai shippers.

in conclusion, respect other people’s opinions. if you stumble across content you don’t like, block or ignore it. no need to comment hate or fill up the ship hashtags with negativity (and that goes for ALL fandoms).

just stay in your lane and keep scrolling ✌️

[mermaidsirennikita]

I think what's often missed in the "why can't we play with genre and not write romance with an HEA?" conversation is that a lot of people defending the HEA are heavy romance readers who are very aware of the amount of money involved, and how the authors who pop off about wanting to be able to label their non-romance books romance are in fact... thinking of money.

Not solely money, of course. And that's not meant to be a critique--I'm a writer, I'd love to write books for a living someday. Money is important. I'm all about getting money for your work, and I've never begrudged anyone for writing to market, writing to catch a trend, whatever. Sometimes it can turn out badly, but if you want to make money it does have to happen (and often writers write to market, get big, and then write what they want... see Ali Hazelwood's Bride) and as long as you are writing a good product and enjoying yourself... I don't see the issue.

BUT. Romance is extremely commercially viable, and it has been especially for the last few years (though that hype has to die down at some point, dude--and I think the shift to romantasy is probably like, the last breath of the current boom, and romance will go back to its normal levels of popularity, which are still more commercially viable than many other genres). So when people (like me) see writers going "but why CAN'T I label my love story that doesn't have an HEA 'romance?"...

I mean. We know why lol. We aren't idiots. Why is it so important that your fantasy novel is placed on the romance shelves, in the romance categories on Amazon? Is it because these authors have a deep and abiding love of romance and just want to sit with the cool kids? Is it because their hearts beat for romance, and even though they wrote something that is not a romance (the thing their hearts beat for) they just are desperate for it to be there? Is it because they are SO DEDICATED TO THE CRAFT OF WRITING and SO EDGY that they MUST change genres, they MUST break CHAINS!!!!

No lol. It's because when you write a romance, you are much more likely to be recommended by the BookTok girlies reading ACOTAR (and say what you will.... those books do by and large, I believe, have HEAs for pretty much all of the core couples). You want that Fourth Wing bread. You are more likely to have access to an audience that spends more than other audiences do. You want access to an audience that also is, let us be real, less likely to be real misogynistic about your book than certain subsets of the fantasy readership.

And the thing is--sure. A lot of readers sincerely don't care. And good for you, why did your book need to be labeled a romance the--oh, wait. I see!

But the readers who do care and spend like, anywhere from $1.99-$35.00 on your book (look dude, I'm thinking about preordering a pretty copy of the next Kerri Mansicalco, and I feel a LOT BETTER about spending that money because she specifically referencing HEA's when announcing her adult titles, and I APPRECIATE THAT A LOT ACTUALLY) only to find out that it's not the thing they expected... It doesn't follow the ONE RULE you expected it to follow because of how it was marketed...

The only time I've kinda come close to having that happen is actually when I read that book the new Anne Hathaway Harry Styles fanfic movie is based on. I was verrrry new to going back into the romance genre, and I read it expecting, based off the premise, that this was a fun, maybe a little silly, sexy book about a woman falling in love with fake Harry Styles. And she does. And guess what? At the end they rather randomly and suddenly break up.

And it kinda sucked.

It's also going to suck to see that book marketed as a romance as the movie comes out, but there you go, I've spoiled you, HORROR OF HORRORS I let you know that the thing you think is gonna be a fun little romance with a happy ending.... is not.

But yeah dude, imagine if I'd spent ACOTAR or Fourth Wing or Princes of Envy money on that book. I already felt kinda dumb for spending what was probably $8ish? It was a kindle copy. I could've gotten a fry-less sandwich with that money, back then!

So yeah. I just think that a lot of people want to be very condescendingly high-minded about PUSHING GENRE BOUNDARIES. And it's like... dude. Do you not think I would get my head bitten off if I went "well, I want to write a fantasy novel, but I don't want there to be magic... I actually want it to be revealed that everything is just run by computers the whole time, and the magical spell was actually a hologram, and I want that to be shelved and sold as fantasy"?

Yeah. Because I'm basically tricking people out of their money, lmao.

[anime-grimmy-art]

Wouldnt be me if I wasnt a day late, huh. Last update! This was a lot of fun, so much to ramble about hahahha. Thanks a lot to @aeoneris for making this questionnaire! Sry tumblr yoinked it from twitter but still glad we got to use it xD

Day 24 - Facade

Zet - Zet would be amazing at lying, but she just doesn’t. She just speaks her mind because to her, that is the most efficient way.

Mei - While she does try a little white lie once in a while, Mei hates lying to people so she really sucks at it. She immediately feels guilty and it’s obvious she’s spewing nonsense. The only thing she can lie well about is how she’s doing, because she’s lying to herself as well. Mei doesn’t know how to handle negative feelings, so she makes herself believe she doesn’t feel them.

Chidori - Girl doesn’t even have to try. No like, she doesn’t even have to lie for people to mis-interpret her. She constantly keeps saying she sucks at certain things and people think she’s just humble, and trying to prove them doesn’t work either cos her luck number is so high, she always stumbles ass backwards into victory.

Day 25 - Change

Zet - If we talk meta-contextually, you can see day 15 for what kinda character she used to be. And as said all throughout this questionnaire, Zet used to be more of a tool, an emotionless hunting machine, than a person. So, yeah, she did change, she gained a sense of self.

As for the other two, they haven’t changed all that much, both in universe and as a character. They grew up from their kid selfes and of course matured and became a better hunter/rider throughout their stories, but other than that, not much, no.

Day 26 -Criticism

Zet - Probably her stoicism and her lone wolf persona. Zet is terrible at communicating her thoughts, even if they’d help on quests and stuff. She’s also prone to just going off and doing stuff on her own without telling anyone, which just causes the others to worry and plan around her impulsiveness.

Mei - Since Mei is bad at confronting negative feelings, she downplays a lot or brushes stuff off, which unfortunately not only hurts herself but others as well, which she often only realises in hindsight. She has to work on understanding that making light of a situation might be hurtful to other people involved.

Chidori - She’s a coward through and through, which makes it hard for herself to say no. Not only does this quickly tire her out, it also puts her in dangerous situations. She also underestimates herself a lot because she does struggle with a lot of hunting stuff, but Chidori has a lot of endurance and strength, and she’s also able to learn on the fly, even if she only manages to retain what she learned for the duration of a hunt. This combo of self-doubt and cowardice not only cripples her improvement, it also makes her freeze up and get stuck in a self-conscious loop of thoughts which can be dangerous on hunts.

Day 27 - Atmosphere

Zet - Zet really enjoys quiet locals. Be that a thick forest or a sandy beach. Being able to just go around a locale and take in its smells and sounds is her favourite thing.

Mei - True to her islander genes, Mei loves the sun and the heat. Beaches and big bodies of water are where she feels most at home.

Chidori - Chidori likes it more cool and rainy. Not cold like in the frost lands or as damp as in the flooded forest, but regions like the Shrine Ruins or the lower levels of the Citadel on cloudy or dribbly days are very much to her liking. Sitting in some ruin as the water prattles on the old structures and foliage gives her a strange sense of peace.

Day 28 - Rest

Zet - Doesn’t really have a preference, will stay up as long as necessary and mostly rest in efficient time frames.

Mei - Doesn’t have a preference either, but because she can sleep anytime, anywhere. Find her a cozy, shadowy patch under a tree and she’ll doze off, be it 12am or 12pm.

Chidori - The moment it gets dark, Chidori’s body decides it’s time for bed. She’s up with the sun but also has to lay down the moment it’s gone. This makes night hunts absolute torture for her.

Day 29 - Dreams

Just gonna throw these three together in one answer again, because in general, their main goal is to keep their homes and families safe. Yes, Mei wants to go explore the world a bit and yes, Zet wants to show the FTL the Old World and mend some old relationships at some point, but it all still boils down to them being with their families and enjoying their lives with them.

Day 30 - Ending Free Space!

Zet - Zet is my oldest MH OC, and technically one of my oldest OCs in general, since she was created back in Monster Hunter Tri. She’s gone through many changes and basically most games from Tri onwards are somehow canonical in her story, and I even have 7-in-universe-years worth of story after Iceborne for her (she battles with her being “allowed” back to Seliana, she loses an arm, it’s a doozy), but I think I’ll retire her for MH6. If there are games that storywise could work with her, I’ll probably use her again, but I’m content with the happy ending she got in Seliana, and I feel like she finally deserves some rest.

Mei - Mei’s parents are actually still alive. Well, probably anyways. Mei’s dad, Red’s son, inexplicably always had a hard time forming kinships with monsters, but, ironically, he found his calling as a hunter. Him and Red had a deal for him to try out being a hunter for a year, and if he didn’t make it, he’d have to come back to Mahana and resume his training as a rider. Little did anyone know that Mei’s dad would meet the love of his life while training as a hunter, a fellow huntress a few years his senior that took him under her wing. Suffice to say, Mei’s dad became a full fledged hunter and was “exiled” from the village. They didn’t part on bad terms, though. Sad, yes, but Red was just happy to find his child happy even if he wasn’t part of Mahana anymore. Red did not expect to see his son a few years later, even less so with a highly pregnant wife. Red’s son and his wife staying in Mahana, and Mei being born, was kept secret from the village, except for chief Gara. Now Red’s son stood before a big decision. Take his daughter with him or leave her in the village, alone. The decision kinda was made for him because both Red and Gara could tell that Mei had an innate link to monsters. Mei’s mom wasn’t happy about the decision to leave her child behind, but did concede after considering they couldn’t travel and work as hunters with a baby in tow. So, tearfully, Mei’s parents left her in Red’s care, with only the fewest ppl knowing the history of Mei’s parents. Mei herself does not know that her father became a hunter, Red never got to tell her and Gara feels it’s not his right, but Gara is sure that at some point in her travels, Mei will come across her parents again, and with her own hunter partner by her side, her parents’ minds can be finally put at ease, knowing that riders and hunters can finally coexist together.

Chidori - Noone from Kamura knows how Chidori got the scar on her lip. She refuses to tell anyone and when pointed out it seems like a scar that SHOULD have healed to the point that it wouldn't be visible, she just doesn’t comment on that. Chidori, in fact, carries that scar as a badge of honour. She got it in an accident while in training at the Guild. Since she was the only kid from a rather recluse community, she didn’t really make many friends there. And since she wasn’t good at hunting, the other kids started to gossip about Kamura as a whole, saying it was a backwater town and the hunters there didn’t have any skill. But Chidori made sure to prove them wrong. When a monster went rogue and attacked the students, Chidori swallowed her fears and managed to protect some of the hurt students until the instructors arrived to save them. The scar on her lip wasn’t deep, and could have been treated pretty quickly, but Chidori refused treatment. She wanted proof to herself and the other students that hunters from Kamura were tough and would stand their ground, despite their lack of skill or fear. Nowadays, though, she doesn’t tell that to anyone because it’s too embarrassing for her, even when her Master makes it really hard for her to keep that secret. XD

[frasier-crane-style]

Since this is an occasional X-Men blog, wanted to give my thoughts on recent Nightcrawler business.

I wouldn't mind it if it were in movieverse or Ultimate continuity, some alternate timeline like that. Mystique is always going to be Kurt's mother and Destiny is her usual love interest, so it makes a certain amount of sense, even though I don't really see what it adds to the plot aside from weirdness for the sake of weirdness.

(And Kurt's origin always has to feature Mystique tossing his baby self off a cliff, so romanticizing his conception just makes Mommy seem more unhinged. That's not only her child, it's the child she had with the love of her life? Why would Destiny ever talk to her again? Does she not give a shit about HER kid?)

Thing is, trying to keep the Azazel stuff in just makes it stupider, a bit like undoing Slut!Gwen by saying that Norman actually banged a very good special effect Mysterio cooked up. And I think in Spider-Man, there's a logic to reversing Sins Past because it's an elephant in the room for any conversation involving Gwen or Norman (or even MJ, since she kept it a secret).

The Azazel business was dumb, but I don't know if it was so dumb as to be worth retconning it but trying to keep it halfway canon. That kind of Xorneto "yes, someone who looked like Professor X did those things, but it wasn't OUR Professor X, but those things still happened..."

It seems dumber than just memory-holing the whole business. Maybe dismissing it in the next soft reboot. And I think they only went there to do some weird trans message for the vocal minority that are obsessed with that shit.

Does make me wonder, if Mystique can turn into Azazel and bang a woman and have a son with Azazel's power, does that mean she can turn into any Omega-level mutant, bang a chick, and have a kid who wins the superpower lottery? Or maybe turn into Storm, get banged as Storm, and pop out a kid with Storm's powers? What's the limit on this? Can she turn into Thor and have an Odin-force baby? We know she's not moral enough to turn her nose up at running a mutant puppy mill...

[bylertruther]

random thought, but i feel like putting all of the blame on karen for the fact tht mike doesn't open up to her is a little ...................... (insert vague hand motion here bc i can't think of a fitting, not-childish eloquent word) ????

yes she's the parent and yes she does have to make the effort to create an environment where he feels welcome to share and talk to her, but karen cannot force mike to open up. mike doesn't respond well to his parents being overbearing and honestly he doesn't react well to ANYONE coming at him head-on no matter how close they are to him.

mike needs to come to people on his own terms when he's ready and collected himself. and karen knows that! she literally says that to ted when ted offers to go talk to him in s1 because they know will's death and disappearance is hard on him. and no i don't think they should've taken away his toys aka doled out a punishment when mike wasn't cooperating in s2, because that's simply Not how you handle such a situation, but they did it because they thought well if us being "soft" isn't working then maybe us putting our foot down will get through to him. it's not like they did it bc they thought to themselves "lmao fuck that guy 🖕".

and even though mike doesn't seek support through verbal means like nancy does, he does seek comfort from her through physical affection! and karen does give it to him! whenever he feels like he's lost will, he goes to her and breaks down in her arms and she drops everything to go hold him.

the point is that when mike does go to her, she's there. they all care about and love each other in that family, including ted. karen and ted are not plot-involved parents like joyce and hopper are, and we're not going to get a deep dive into any of the other families unless it's relevant to the plot. ... as we've literally already seen before?

and ted is the way he is because he's written as the kind of father that spends all day at work to provide for his family and gets home and just wants to watch tv and eat dinner and go to sleep and repeat that ad nauseam for the rest of his life bc tht's just what you do and you only have so much energy (smth smth silly little play). i'm not saying he's father of the year and no one should ever comment on his involvement with his kids, but... that's just his role to play in this story.

he's clueless abt the crazy shit that goes down in hawkins the same way that everyone else is clueless abt it but that doesn't make him a bad guy lol. there's purposeful juxtaposition of him chillin' watching the news cover everything up while joyce and hopper and the kids are out there losing their minds almost dying fighting monsters saving the world etc etc. it's supposed to be comical. he lives here and he has no idea what's really happening, unlike us and the central characters of the show.

not every family has to look or act like the byers or sinclair family to be Good. you can try your best to get someone to talk to you, but they're not going to do it if they don't want to. mike is a hothead that doesn't often share or even totally understand what he's feeling, and if he does, he rarely opens up all the way. he still keeps certain things to himself and only reveals just enough to achieve his goals. it's mainly when he's apologizing over something big that he manages to be open, and that isn't even something that happens often or outside of a situation that necessitates it.

and the whole "not knowing exactly where your kids are, but knowing they're with their friends somewhere and that they'll be home later tonight" isn't a sign of abuse or that they don't care. that's what life was like before the technology that we have now, and that level of freedom was the POINT. it's a big part of WHY the duffers chose the eighties. such a story wouldn't work with our current technology. that isn't even an experience exclusive to those that are 30+ or whatever. i'm in my twenties and i remember my childhood being like that.

like. i don't think it's as black and white of an issue as some people suggest. the wheelers haven't been perfect parents, but they're not malicious and they do love their children, even if they clearly don't always understand them. saying that karen and ted don't care about or love their children and that they're on the same level of neglect as lonnie is just... i mean. what?

[archivalofsins]

So, a friend of mine suprisingly asked me if they could spend the night today. I said yes and we talked about Double. They're the second person in my group of friends since high school not interested or involved heavily with Milgram.

Heads up for those uninterested and those who may not like hearing opinions on certain fandom topics from those not involved. Or basically just anything not in support of the three idea.

Because we were mostly discussing that situation and Kazui in jest. Since I know the idea means a lot to some people, I'm giving a heads up.

This isn't a dig at anyone or other theories by the way it's just a funny convo I had with a friend about Milgram I wanted to share.

This is just a heads up for those who may be bothered by that sort of thing.

Just to prove I'm not just bullshiting about having a friend in this instance and attempting to start trouble-

Okay with that out of the way-

While hanging out I told my friend about the two or three debate going on in the fandom. Because as I've stated it before it irked me for personal reasons and I've literally been talking about it with everyone I know.

This was their immediate response-

Friend: Milgram fans when they hear just the two of us be like-

*Starts playing this over my tv*

Me: Fuck no, but seriously, that's it-

Immediately asks for her to send me a cut version of that instead of the full video we were watching. Then told them this comparison is even more apt because it's referred to as the RGB theory due to the colors.

Friend: *uses legal name* You can't be serious?

Have they ever thought green is a complimentary color to red, and that's why it's being used so much?

My friend was a traditional visual arts major in our high school and has a better memory of technical terminology and color theory than me. So, she very easily recalled this knowledge while I was like huh forgot about that.

Then explained the use of green and red over the course of Milgram and it being related to the innocent or guilty verdicts. Then showing them other songs that use the colors prominently.

Friend: Okay, yeah. Couldn't they be using the color more in response to their verdicts then? Like she's using green a lot because she was innocent (in reference to Mu) and he's using red because he was guilty (in reference to Futa). I mean that kid used every color under the rainbow (in regards to Amane).

All the while still showing clear confusion as to why this is being highlighted here and nowhere else.

We also talked about what Kazui did because she went if that's how they use red and green then what about him pointing to Kazui's very blue thumbnail. Then said wait no don't play it I remember the song snippet and his first one when you played them to me. I liked neither.

Me explaining what I think his crime is and her going damn I really didn't think about his crime because again his songs sucked. Told her he's Innocent and she went good for him I guess it does get better.

Then when I thought about it-

I was like that's an interesting angle I hadn't even considered. I only thought about it on the level of subconsciously trying to have the audience vote a certain way. Not about why the prisoners may personally use it. I hadn't even really thought about why the song extraction machine would even use those colors while extracting their thoughts at all until that exact moment.

The colors are mostly synonymous with the Milgram institution in the framing of innocent or guilty. So, when the characters view themselves as being guilty or innocent the song extraction machine could be interpreting those instances as those colors to allude to how the prisoners view their own actions. Subtly implying that they feel more guilty or less about it.

This would mean the reason there was so much red in MeMe could be because Mikoto did feel incredibly guilty about what had transpired. Not because they were trying to frame him more negatively. It would also explain why even when using green in Double, it's done in a harsher way than with the others as though attempting to vilify him more than less.

It was an interesting thing to think about.

Literally continuing the first don't hug me I'm scared video they found to illustrate their point-

Friend: In a week they're gonna be like this-

Me: No, no, you don't understand they already are! If it's not two, it seems like anything goes.

Friend: I- ah- ugh.

Just sitting on my couch holding her arms out in confusion at this fucking point.

Me: Yeah, this isn't even a mindset specific to this fandom either. I've talked to another friend about it. Someone who doesn't even interact with this series, and they just said,

"Oof that again, I hate that for you." It was that and other things that made me realize that this sort of treatment is apparently common when it comes to a low number of alters.

Friend: Don't you know *my legal name* it's either three or ten. Any more or less than that and of course you're fucking lying for attention and deserve to be scrutinized. It makes perfect sense. Three minimum ten max nothing above or below.

Starts playing an English cover of the Gumi song "Ten Faces" over my television.

Me: Okay after all that what do you think?

Friend: What do I think? I think ya'll need Jesus. And I'm an atheist. So, that's saying a lot.

Ultimately it was a funny exchange that really made me go. Okay, so this is wild. I can seriously stop doubting myself and thinking I'm going insane. It took several discussions with multiple personal friends and one of them randomly deciding hey I want to spend the night for me to go okay I'm not losing my fucking mind.

So, friendly reminder to back away when needed and take breaks when things are getting overwhelming. Because the world isn't fandom and people don't usually behave in such a critical way towards others fictional or real existing in a way different from themselves.

Most people tend to recognize life is a very varied experience and don't make assumptions based on others immutable characteristics. A very comforting thing to remember given how I was feeling earlier this week in regards to this which some people know about and others do not.

[horizon-verizon]

Something that bothers me about DotD is that I feel GRRM doesn't help his case much if he means the reader to sympathize with Rhaenyra's cause despite her shortcomings with the nature of the trajectory he chooses for her downfall. Now I'm not at all saying it's wrong to show her as flawed person, with hints of era-typical bigotry. But her acts against Nettles etc. make a reading that she wasn't good enough to support her after all not uneasy, leading to sexist implications considering the theme.

*EDITED POST* (4/5/24)

Found this lovely post by la-pheacienne HERE, explaining how Rhaenyra's tragedy is an ancient Greek on as well, how Rhaenyra became what she was.

It's strange. The Dance is both very very simple, yet it presents interesting questions.

ESPECIALLY SINCE WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THIS BOOK, IN-WORLD, WAS WRITTEN WITH THE IDEA THAT FEMALE-RULER=BAD RULER=BAD-FOR-THE-REALM!!!

It's a story of two very flawed factions (one still, I think, in the actual wrong) vying for power, but it essentially is the bloody catalyst for the need of sets up the death of the dragons and Daenerys'/Rhaegar's existence in Westeros--Dany's being Azor Ahai!

Rhaenyra unequivocally relied much on on her posiiton and class privilege to carry her through, as many female rulers and nobles would because without it they cannot hope to have the power they often are denied. But bc this privilege comes with the price of some level of compliance with the status quo AND can make one develop forgo looking at things apart from one's survival or dignity, it can also lead us into hurting others like Nettles who would have actually helped us succeed.

"Nature" vs Nurture--Doylist 'nature' vs Watsonian 'nurture'.

What makes a person who they are? Their environment and history (the parameters and foundations for their decision-making), or just their decisions? Where is the line between showing a woman affected by her lack of political training (but still having to self-determine red/black dress moment and her drawing strength from her Valyrian heritage) AND showing her fairly as a person in her own right with many flaws? OR where do we realize that we ourselves are subject to making arguments based on principles we haven't learned are sexist in themselves?

And I am not a mother, so I don't know what it's like to lose not one but two kids in quick succession and under a year. There was a clear choice on GRRM/probably really Gyldayn/the story-teller's, part in making Rhaenyra seemingly "incapacitated" to be involved with politics after KL until Daemon left and she was left with the envious Mysaria (our Iago-figure) to have her fears played on.

We have to remember that this account is the least well-documented in F&B and the one with the most deliberately unreliable narrators with agendas in presenting some characters, esp Rhaenyra, a certain way. Septon Eustace writes Rhaenyra stuffed her face with pies AND that she cut her hand on the throne so the throne must have rejected her after landing in KL. This is most likely a retrospective exaggeration of the real situation out of spite AND plain slander, because:

even if she were eating a lot, it'd most likely be depression/grief/stress-eating and she had a lot to be worried about, her 2 sons died, PLUS she'd maybe eat her fav foods to feel more at the home that always should have been hers

we already heard the writers fat shame her for not putting off her pregnancy weight -- sexist patriarchal body standards ignoring real health & anatomy/medicine to affirm itself -- meanwhile Helaena & Aegon the Elder both were plump-fat, and we hear of no insults or repetitive notes about them?!

Eustace really hated her probably for not using him as he wanted her to or what he was used to as Viserys, Viserys' courtiers, & Alicent most often did PLUS Rhaenyra was ultra-femme, but was not demure nor pretended to be -- again, sexist standards of feminine behavior or presentation

Aegon IV was as unworthy a leader as anything we ever see in Westeros...yet we hear nothing of the throne cutting him...Aenys I? Maegor, and not in his death!; it's a chair made of literal swords...people are going to get cut; OR it never happened bc Rhaenyra was wearing armor at the time -- basically superstition needs to be logically analyzed before we go "that's symbolism!"

A) GRRM Othellos Rhaenyra...Kinda. I just See some Things that Remind Me of the Play

Here, we know Rhaenyra definitely ordered Nettles' death, this isn't a Gyldayn invention or misunderstanding for the "Othello-ing" I name. It is narratively important that Rhaenyra become a tyrant not bc she was an evil person or stupid from the jump, but because she is an example of one who didn't manage to work through her own fear, grief, and paranoia (caused by the system's constant failures against her) to do as Dany did and rely on compassion instead of fear to assure her survival.

1.

Without as much proper or as-much-political/military training as Jaehaerys I's and Baelon and Aemon had--Rhaenyra was that much more vulnerable. BUT she also could have gained a lot of experience in ruling Dragonstone in all thsoe years (15-16, or 20?) alone.

Let's take the first scenario: To not be fully ready or developed enough to put up much of a necessary fight against those that would oppose her and dissolve further than the already shaky bonds between Targ family members that existed since (honestly) either the generation of Aenys' and Maegor or Jaehaerys I.

After adopting much of Andal/Westerosi noble customs and especially male primogeniture, the Targs began betraying its female members and underdeveloping them almost since its dynasty's inception.

So GRRM makes Rhaenyra's flaws a direct result of her generational deprivation and gender discrimination, coming from Maegor and Aenys, but at the same time, it seems he went too hard in the paint to make Rhaenyra a woman without some necessary sense to accentuate her victimhood by making most of the bigger strategic decisions the blacks make come from the men around her BUT he also made sure to clue us in on how Rhaenyra is not like Dany in that she ultimately chooses her class privilege instead of measured compassion to maybe save herself.

A question some may have: Why make your female character so flawed instead of making her more of a great & strategic or very compassionate foe to reckon with, which would further hammer in how unfair it was that she was usurped? However, I mentioned how Rhaenyra serves as a way to re-contextualize Daenerys and the importance of ingenuity & compassion that will really carry one one into both personal and collective success/survival. (HERE is a Tweet by former brideoffires explaining).

Also, they both refuse to bow down to the oppressive standards of their time in their own ways. Even with Rhaenyra fighting for her claim and to protect her kids, she defying patriarchal restrictions of female leadership by refusing to just give up the crown despite the greens' usurpation and crowning Aegon. There is value in that, even with it going to war. Rhaenyra is an aspect of Dany's own struggles. She is where a woman in either position could falter. They share a pride needed to resist against those sociopoilitical circumstances and assert themselves.

Basically, Rhaenyra's most critical mistake and error and moment of self destruction was to accuse Nettles & use her own class privilege against a vulnerable. She relied on a thing that ultimately was set against her (you can't really separate the misogyny of the aristocratic class) to use against her "enemy", in order to feel powerful, even with her having been driven to that state from mainly others' desire for her throne.

After all, male claimants and rulers who are insane, predatory, or just weak are pushed towards the throne (Aegon the Elder, prime example for this story) all the time, so why not have a flawed or "mediocre" woman be the center of this story to accentuate the double standard held against her? To show how people like Cersei get...that, and what Dany as a woman could & has gone up against? Rhaenyra being as she was rather highlights how Misogyny doesn't care if you are a genuinely good person leader, one bad move, you're done. And Rhaenyra--to go back to the scenario abt "training" or if she did obtain "enough" experience, and even then we should wonder how much or if GRRM just wanted her to be that way for plot-sake--wasn't the most strategic, much of it due to her class entitlement. Which the greens share.

Men like Robert Baratheon, Stannis, Ramsay Snow/Bolton, or any of the current male Greyjoys who grew up in the Iron Islands? Even Canon!Jon Snow is better than most men of his time, but he is cruel when he thinks he has to be and has himself executed a child for disobedience and treachery. He also makes emotion-based/involved/inspired decisions (not often, but they exist), and he also makes mistakes. They get to hold positions of power without any added troubles (as Rhaenyra had) to the regular ones of greedy challengers or those resisting their plunder and reaping.

Why should we hold Rhaenyra to a much higher standard than these men, as much censure, as the fandom and canon society does? Especially since it's not really her story (overall), it's Dany's? None of the autonomously ruling female leaders of the story receive half as much censure for character or leadership skills (true or false) as those men I listed. Rhaenyra and Daenerys "Stormborn" Targaryen are usually the subjects, with some other Westerosi women as well, sometimes Catelyn even. All that is obviously due to misogyny, to this idea that because you are not the typical candidate or desired one for the position of power, you need to "prove" yourself to specifically those who get that power without having to fight that hard or experience the doubt of leadership similar to a woman.

In other words, trying to actually 100% buy into what the Westerosi male lords or what we think they'd want in a leader was never going to work for Rhaenyra. She kinda already did, and look where that got her?

2.

How much of her paranoia (actually her breakdown) is understandable and consequential, as GRRM wants us to consider?

Gyldayn would say or think she should have ben better, but considering what she was up against as a woman, does he really think he could do better?

Or rather, how much do we excuse her for in lieu of her victimhood in the face of lifelong concentrated abuse and misogyny at almost every front?

Even if she had somehow quickly overcome her own grief in less than a year after both of her oldest sons died before she took KL, why are we so expectant of that? That's inhumane to me. Or I could be over emotionalizing it, idk & I don't think so.

And with the green having taken the royal coffers before they left, what would someone else have done under the immediate pressures of the lack of money, fear from smallfolk around the executions whose observations are charged and hate against the taxes raised bc of said lost moneys, and then the worst rioting exacerbated/caused by a crazy man most likely sent by the Citadel to turn everyone not just against her but all the Targs and destroy the dragons....

It's a lot all at once and something that not even Jaehaerys had to deal with, since:

Maegor at least was very dead by the time he actually got to KL.

The royal treasury was always intact AND he had Rego Draz (a Pentoshi man) help him develop his strategy of taxation, which encouraged the nobles to spend more....again in totoal PEACETIME.

since he was male, he never had to face widespread and local disfavor or contempt for his abilities (subtle or unsubtle) on account for things he cannot change or of beliefs against his gender, right to occupy a space, etc. as a woman does, esp a woman slotted to rule over other men -- people doubted him for his age/lack of experience, but they gave him more grace than they did Rhaena, his older sister

Finally, Jaehaerys may have lost two brothers (Viserys and Aegon) and a father, but Aenys didn't die by cold murder. His brothers we: A) don't even know he was close to or not, there were big age differences b/t him and them B) they were siblings, not one's children

Even without the losses of her kids, after a lifetime of having to decide how and even if one should try to legitimize oneself as one deserving of the same sort of respect and claims to power that another demographic just gets w/o trying--what does that do to the mind of a person, and under the pressures listed?

For Othello, it was using illusions and misunderstandings of adultery to put his sense of his masculinity in danger (as black masculinity is always put into question as being too "bestial" and inhuman, oversexualized--undeserving of the white chaste woman/high prize/object of white male power/public and political respect or "trust").

For Rhaenyra, it was her gender held against her AND then the betrayals, and she defaulted to feudal classism and misgynoir. Her conformity to that white female chastity of body and mind: what right did she think she had to claim power or herself without doing it in the name of a living "true" male heir/authority? And like Othello, she endured it her entire life, beginning with Alicent. At the same time, enjoying the trappings of a royal dragonrider who grew up believing that Targaryens were awesome beings who quite literally built Westeros the way it is?

That, I think, is what GRRM tries to create, this state of ethical "ambiguity".

It is true that compared to his other female Targ characters, the ambiguity is lacking because Rhaenyra is made too vulnerable to circumstances before her birth without her having quite enough substantial pushback or strategic will.

But Gyladyn wrote this book and we nee dto be careful with how he frames things or describes them.

B)

This will read back and forth, because I think there are other merits in some criticisms of Rhaenyra's character and her characterization.

1. Maybe you can skip this if you have repetition

I think that GRRM does try to write her from that Shakespearean aspect of psychological ambiguity from Othello, but I kinda agree that the symbol of the hysterical woman unfit to decide important matters of community and state fits Rhaenyra too well, whereas Othello actively resisted Iago more than Rhaenyra did Mysaria or her other councilors OR better yet, why not subvert Shakespeare a bit and have Rhaenyra do it better than Othello and last longer?

But that could be bc its' a maester, GYLDAYN, writing this book as propaganda!

And comparing her to Dany, again, "really quick", for a reminder:

Even with Dany still existing and Rhaenyra losing, I'd prefer to see her still be more creative and active--just more engaged before more principal players in her camp betrayed her without her provocation, rather than just two dragonseeds when she had other dragonseeds with her and a full council (even if Celtigar had to go). Again, why not have her make one plan or get inspired once and have others refine that plan/beginnings of a plan? Perhaps make Celtigar the betrayer, so that she is faced with relying more on less conservative mindsets in her council? IDK.

(disagreement w/anon) But then this story would be so much less confrontational, as I have already said above:

the hate against her tells us much about other readers and ourselves as to what expectations we have towards men vs women put into situations like Rhaenyra's, where she's usurped on account of societal sexism AND one of her ancestors (Jaehaerys) making it that much harder for women to be considered fit rulers/inheritors of power.

2.

Aside from her other mistakes:

not keeping close tabs on the greens while at Dragonstone so she'll be alerted to Viserys' worst days so she can travel back to KL and make sure the greens couldn't do anything w/o resistance -> 12/2/23 EDIT: Alicent wasn't planning the gathering the green council so much as improving immediately after Viserys died: her imprisoning Rhaenyra's supporters at court, her gathering the lords for the council, and her keeping it a secret Viserys died were all quieted events that she likely did not share with many people, maybe Otto and that's it. Not even Criston. These movements were what "saved" her the necessary few hours to get the jump on Rhaenyra; she would not have been very vocal or repetitive even if she did share her "plans" that could have been more wishes-turned-into action-in-the-moment than real, detailed, and prepared plans. So it's not that out of possibility to believe that even if Rhaenyra or Mysaria sent spies they'd pick up on this.

*not going to Jeyne Arryn after fleeing KL (this was a very understandable move to make, as she needed dragons & there was nothing left or safe for her back in KL)

Rosby and Stokeworth: for all that we say she was grieving, that Corlys/advisors pressured her, that she felt that the need for supporters around KL for the present dangers outweighed far-reaching ones for her rule later, she was still Queen and it was still a mistake because she needed to shore up female claims for herself and her descendants (two things can be true at once); this I see as Rhaenyra bowing to a real, concerning pressure that you may not think is heavy but is, and one can choose to "forgive" her for it or not and deal with the implications for either scenario because she was b/t having some crownlands close lords on her side while still in KL. Her ability to maintain herself on the throne depended on convincing men like Corlys/as many men as possible on her side. That's just the lot for female rulers of ancient, medieval, early-mod period patriarchal societies.

the dragonseeds & Nettles (nail in the coffin, the actual undisputed wrong)

I think that I can say that Rhaenyra was not the ideal leader in case of temperament or intelligence. She wasn't 100% dumb as hell by "nature" (whatever that is in ASoIaF), indicated by her making fewer mistakes before her sons died, but she still made a pretty dumb one before they died (#3 in the list above). She was purposefully made a bit more shortsighted than Alicent.

And here's another thing. She only started to be hated in KL after the taxes (that needed to be raised after Aegon/Tyland Lannister/the greens stole all the treasury money, even when he himself organized a feast celebrating Aemond and himself for Lucerys' murder and Aemond burned down one of the major suppliers of food in Westeros' "south" regions: the Riverlands and esp their farmer's villages and fields) AND when Larys purposefully spread rumors about her before the Shepherd came along and worsened it with his own misogynist rhetoric. Because all these beleaguered people wanted was to get out of danger and starvation, & when she couldn't immediately provide it, they understandably got riotous.

However, it is also true that with what she dealt with after taking KL--riots incited by Larys and the Shepherd, accusing her of killing Helaena; Larys taking out Maelor in the first place when he was perfectly safe in the Keep; being unsure of how long her followers would follow if she didn't at least comply with the Stokeworth and Rosby incidents.

And her moving to Dragonstone, to me, was not a mistake. She and her family needed their own base, which is psychologically and politically true. But, again...not monitoring her father and waiting for the aftermath of his death at all, if that is in fact what she did? smh.

Why isn't it enough to know that she was unfairly usurped? Why do we look for the ideal leader in the woman during her own disempowerment, and not at how there is a difference in expectation for her versus her male rival in terms of competency?

3.

Let's play a little here. Even if Nettles and Daemon did sleep with each other, it is very clear that the better strategic decision would have been to question her after all her true enemies were defeated and make use of her until then.

But, once more and as I say in this Twitter thread, the deal with Nettles was accompanied and carried by the already existing Targ-Andal sexist paradigm of legitimizing one's rule through blood-purist/sexist principles. In that way, canon!Rhaenyra was not that much more exceptional than other Westerosi women under the condition of pressure looking to shore up their own claims.

AND again, it's a maester, GYLDAYN, writing this book as propaganda against female rulership/autonomy!

The Dance, more than any other account in F&B, is the most unreliably told tale because its sources (Mushroom, Orwyle/Munkun, and Septon Eustace) all seek to besmirch or objectify Rhaenyra for their own ends and are the only ones that provide the "clearest" narrations for Gyldayn, another master, to narrate. And GRRM does it on purpose:

We only get specific events that are told through a hateful gaze; what other traits and behaviors Rhaenyra could have done or said, we do not have access to and sometimes must use context to conclude our best guess. Thus, Rhaenyra also feels, to the reader, as if she could be something more than what's presented. Unlike its male characters, the Dance account gives one-note descriptions of its adult female participants because women already do not occupy or perform the same public activities as their male counterparts and thus are given less attention, unless they are Rhaenys, Alicent, and Rhaenyra. And we aren't privy to their most vulnerable moments (unless they are likely made up to disparage them OR so public as to be noticed). Emphasis on it feeling that way. It is Mushroom who says that Rhaenyra was angry that Daemon disobeyed her about Nettles: "By evenfall, Rhaenyra Targaryen found herself sore beset on every side, her reign in ruins. “The queen wept when they told her how Ser Lorent died,” Mushroom testifies, “but she raged when she learned that Maidenpool had gone over to the foe, that the girl Nettles had escaped, that her own beloved consort had betrayed her ("Rhaenyra Overthrown")". Which I can believe, since it follows her need for backup that she lost in Ser Lorent and the lack of such backup due to Daemon's refusal to follow orders or allow her orders followed. I can see Rhaenyra being angry and feeling betrayed by that. But Mushroom, as ever, also injects himself where it is impossible that he'd even be seriously considered as her companion and confidante: "At dawn, a hundred men attended her in the throne room, but one by one they slipped away or were dismissed, until only her sons and I remained with her. ‘My faithful Mushroom,’ Her Grace called me, ‘would that all men were true as you. I should make you my Hand.’ When I replied that I would sooner be her consort, she laughed. No sound was ever sweeter. It was good to hear her laugh" ("Rhaenyra Overthrown")". So is Mushroom using the hypothetical event where Rhaenyra was angry with Daemon and raged at the defiance, or did he make it all up to aggrandize himself and establish an intimate relationship with Rhaenyra for the audience, what we the readers are faced with? I tend to think the former because my idea of Rhaenyra and her tyranny coming from grief-misogyny follows such.

this is the event (the civil war/the Dance) where the women, the center, the moment of Targ history where the dragons and life-supporting magic were lost and started to die without its matriarch, occurs when the would-be autonomous female heir loses her power? Not a coincidence -> context and ratcheting up the stakes for Dany, bc what would the reception to her be like?

And again, without a closer look at her upbringing, with all these people telling her story in their way and with their own agendas and misogyny....well it's hard for me, the reader, to totally devote myself to writing Rhaenyra's comparative simpleness to just her being her and it not her developing herself to what was available to her.

5.

Another theory is not a theory, it's obvious. Rhaenyra is a character developed after Daenerys was created and Rhaenyra is not meant to surpass Daenerys in military leadership acumen or potential (because she grew up in a context where Targ women lose much power and go untrained) AND he is mean to be her "sword", her "Visenya". Again, GRRM might have gone a bit overboard...but he's not terribly wrong.

Also, once again, they both refuse to bow down to the oppressive standards of their time in their own ways. Even with Rhaenyra fighting for her claim and to protect her kids, she defying patriarchal restrictions of female leadership by refusing to just give up the crown despite the greens' usurpation and crowning Aegon. There is value in that, even with it going to war. Rhaenyra is an aspect of Dany's own struggles. They share a pride needed to resist against those sociopoilitical circumstances and assert themselves.

If Dany didn't exist, I would have preferred to see a more non-motherhood sense of responsibility, a more altruistic side of Rhaenyra (that still doesn't outperform Dany).

6. (inspired by & courtesy of brideoffires's post HERE)

It's not a coincidence that more female Targs display the most pleasure and affinity for dragonriding:

Rhaena (Alyssa's daughter), who after bonding with Dreamfyre came more into herself and bestowed her siblings with dragon eggs so that they themselves would bond with their dragons sooner and thus would be one self-possessed early on to even become rulers

Alysanne, who cried when she couldn't ride Silverwing anymore

Saera, who would have tried to bond with a dragon and ride to freedom

Aerea, who claimed Balerion and also rode to escape her damaged mother

Daenerys Stormborn, who restored dragons to the dynasty with fire and blood (blood magic & bravery)

Rhaenyra, who became a dragonrider at 7 years old

Rhaena (Laena's daughter), who also managed to have her egg hatched when no other dragon existed

Rhaenys (Jocelyn Baratheon's daughter) protested in favor of her unborn child and died with her dragon

Baela, who fight a usurper on behalf of her stepmother and lost her dragon but made sure to give Aegon the Elder much more injuries that turned him inside out enough to be so contemptible to be put down by his own followers

and Rhaenys the Queen, who loved dragon-riding the most of her siblings despite not being a warrior like her sister, yet being the literal mother/direct ancestor of the entire dynasty

Yes, you have male dragonriders but looking at Targ history, who usually has a closer metaphorical relationships with the Targ dragons? And after who, chosen by right, was usurped because she was a woman, and whose kids then continue the line?

Notice how a running theme is motherhood as well? In ASoIaF (all of it, not just the novels) GRRM is fixated on motherhood and a woman bringing forth new/restored things. Or when she's stifled from doing so. Daenerys is a prime example. She brought dragons back when Aegon V tried and failed, when Aegon III tried and failed and when Aegon IV did a mockery of it by trying to take Dorne. Rhaenyra gave birth to accomplished people (Jace, and Viserys II) and became a mother to two more (Baela and Rhaena). Again, it is through her that the Targs can even continue. Yes, Daemon is the father, but he wasn't made heir--Rhaenyra was--and Jace would have been a good king. And she was fertile, having birthed five kids and safely. Unlike Alysanne, who had many miscarriages and stillbirths and infants dying before they got to 3.

Conclusions

Rhaenyra is a good example of a victim who wasn't necessarily a good person or an ideal ruler and neither was she a horrible ruler or an evil person (until Nettles).

GYLDAYN is writing this book as propaganda against female rulers/women having power that men traditionally are granted and have.

Some come away with the feeling that Rhaenyra has less depth because she relies on her heritage and the fact Viserys bestows her: What else, other than her Valyrian heritage and her kids, keeps Rhaenyra going, they may ask? Similar to Dany, Rhaenyra uses the fact that she does come from Valyrian dragonriders and conquering Targs to validate to herself that she deserves to fight for the throne. Differently from Dany, she does this with the fact that her father clearly named her heir and would have given it with his own hands.

Have that in conflict with her motherhood, instead of relying on her motherhood and raiding a capable would-be-monarch being the thing carries the heft of her positive character? I've also felt the frustration with the negligence of some more personal depth that is similar to women like Visenya or Rhaena (the Queen Dowager).

Again, to repeat myself (from point #4), it all comes from the desire for the alternative leader to the conservative type to be morally better than them for the greatest possible change. But we already have that in Dany and Rhaenyra is only mean to serve as to re-contextualize Dany & hammer in how she is so important.

Rhaenyra's one main "flaw" (shaped by society/history) is that she was blinded by her need to self-assert herself above all else in the face of her dissenters...since childhood and never developed past that crutch partly bc that was where she was.

*EDIT* (8/21/23):

THIS is a great post by @mononijikayu about medieval queens, female rulers, the history of how women in leadership positions were made and seen as threats to the very structure of social "order", and contextualizing Rhaenyra thru Empress Matilda. I didn't even know about Matilda's husband being comparable to Rhaneyra's Daemon! PLZ READ!!!!

Excerpt:

just as much, along with these fictitious portrayals, more lies are depicted. these women are considered vixens that cause havoc to men by shifting them into desires and danger. through the written word, we see how women are cast in roles of villains in men’s lives. it is because by their conclusive thoughts, women are the only creatures that are able to turn ‘good honorable men’ into despicable creatures who do shameful, deplorable acts for the sake of women’s pleasures.  [...] it is within this narrative that ancient chroniclers declare that women were in fact the doom of men. if they were not able to control the dangers posed by the wiles of women, then the foundations of the mighty society they had built would be up in flames.  [...] as i mentioned, these factors of community are written down and preserved. and with that, the example of the ancients were the foundations by which medieval society built itself. the same concepts continued to cause the same issue within society and that was the exclusion of women from participating in the bigger picture of community and state, much so with governing states in their own right—without judgment or disapproval. 

[reginaldqueribundus]

I watched Goncharov 2 so you wouldn't have to

I love seeing Goncharov have this weird renaissance on tumblr. It’s like when we all decided to get collectively obsessed with Dracula and the Epic of Gilgamesh. but did you know there's a sequel??

granted it's pretty obscure, like Eighties Bulgarian Treasure Planet levels of obscure, but you can actually watch the whole thing on YouTube for free. I can't even find the original poster, just this shitty DVD cover from Amazon:

FUN FACTS ABOUT GONCHAROV 2

released in 1985, long after anybody would've given a shit about the original

features none of the original cast (except, weirdly enough, the guy playing Andrey's driver, despite Andrey himself being absent)

SOMEHOW passes the Bechdel test

was apparently produced by Benito Mussolini's kid???

the movie starts with a weird, pointless nightclub scene with a ton of characters who get shot dead and are never seen again. it went on for so long I genuinely started thinking this was a Troll 2 situation, where somebody slapped completely unrelated movie's name on this for free clout; but no, this is actually supposed to be a sequel! the plot is that Goncharov's brother, who is also called Goncharov, just wants to sell flowers in Milan but his uncle Vladimir Espinoza (lmao) finds him and drags him off to fight a Galician crime lord named Iago for reasons that aren't clearly explained (and shamelessly rip off the Rocky training montage while they're at it). His Designated Love Interest™ is “Marina”, (imagine a Costco knockoff of Sofia with way more cleavage), whose job is to get kidnapped a lot. She sadly doesn’t get any sapphic undertones aside from a couple weirdly horny scenes with a nameless assassin masseuse who is inexplicably called “the Algerian” despite being portrayed by a Japanese actress (yikes).

The dialogue is so truly awful I strongly suspect English was not the writer's first language. At one point Uncle Vladimir tells his nephew to “gouge out their livers like a beak of the mad kestrel”. I'm 100% certain the guy playing him was hired for his weird resemblance to Al Pacino and not any acting talent; he delivers every line like there's a gun to his head but he also swallowed 30 Ambien. Iago is supposedly Spanish(?) but played by one of the whitest guys I've ever seen (Xander Crane, who has an objectively cooler name than his actual character — dude sounds like a Bond villain). He does a godawful fake accent and keeps accenting the wrong syllables. The part where he screams GON-CHAAAAAA-ROV!! has to be seen to be believed. The mangled English also makes the torture scene unintentionally hilarious, especially when Iago asks “Are you trying to f**k me?” and creates 20x more gay vibes than every Andrey/Goncharov scene combined.

some moments (ex. not-Sofia and Uncle Vlad keep mentioning Katya, but they talk about her like she was this Goncharov's lover) makes me wonder if they started the screenplay before watching Goncharov 1 all the way through, and it was supposed to be about OG Goncharov but they had to quickly rewrite it to be his brother instead. I really hope that's true cuz it would be hilarious and explain why they made a sequel to a movie where most of the characters die at the end.

Aside from (holy shit) Val Kilmer as one of Iago's bodyguards, no one involved with this film has worked on anything else you've ever heard of. The writer isn't even listed on IMDb, and Giuseppe Stromboli's entire filmography consists of this, a kids' cartoon called Spaghetti Briefcase and a bunch of weird Italian chewing gum commercials (which are also on YouTube btw). Matteo JWHJ pops up in the credits as a producer so I can only assume he was desperate for cash.

so yeah. Goncharov 2 is objectively terrible and problematic and lacking in gay vibes or juicy Goncharov lore, but if you want something to get drunk and laugh at with your friends it's got you covered

join me next time and we'll talk about the Goncharov director's cut

[kaybkay8]

Someone asked if there was a sequel series I actually liked. The answer was no. None. Zero . Zilch. Nada. They apparently were expecting me to like Korra. Korra. One of the worst examples of the sequel syndrome I have seen.

Let me phrase it like this. You enjoy a show because of its character growths, interesting world with distinctive cultures. The power systems interwoven with certain ideals and mindsets. The build up excellently done with a sort of comedic timing on point showing the characters being whimsical and fun. Villains powers and ideology making perfect sense in scaling and having major events that impacted these powers. The main antagonists becoming corrupted by said ideals until they are twisted to unrecognizable forms. Character redemption that are powerful and believable.

Now imagine 2 generations go by. The world is unrecognizable. The powers no longer used in innovative ways interwoven eith functionality in favor of technology. The cultures are gone. The mindsets gone. The main character comes from a culture that is all about adapting and using things around you is now impulsive and unaware of her surroundings. The story takes place in various locations but lose the magic that surrounded them in the first series. The lovable characters from the past are unrecognizable. They apparently were awful parents, and are now mainly used for name drop power and dues ex machinas and pulling things out of thin air.

That is what Korra did wrong. In what way is Korra a waterbender? Every other Avatar we know of was distinct. They came from their own cultures and mindsets and had to sacrifice a part of themselves to be Avatar. Kyoshi was an earthbender. She was comfortable with confrontation and cared greatly about her people. She was shown to be stubborn and believe her way was the correct way. Roku was passionate and driven. He spent most of the series steering aang on fixing his mistakes. He was quick to push forward despite aang not being ready.

Aang was first and foremost an Airbender. He didn't like violence and tried fixing things with various angles. He was evasive and had a lot of trouble with letting go of that aspect to face things head on.

And you're telling me, Korras water tribe? Not to mention what they did to the water tribe was offensive on so many levels. Sorry no, korras from earth kingdom. You can't change my mind.

What they did to bending and spirits was even more offensive. If your going to introduce a character who can remove bending there better be a whole lot better of an explanation than oh he's just an amazing waterbender. Excuse you, no, you'd better bring the lion turtle into it. He better have killed the lion turtle and discovered the power or something involving the lion turtle!!

Also the evil spirit vs good spirit was stupid. No that's not how the avatar was created. No I don't want to know how the avatar was created. Spirits aren't good or evil. They are spirits!! The avatars whole shtick is being a bridge between their world and the physical world. Make Korra work on that!!!

I won't even get started on character assassinations because we'd be here all day.

Amon was just ridiculous. Army of chiblockers, yes! He's secretly a waterbender who can bloodbend? Absolutely!! He can take away someone's bending. Wait. What? I've already stated this once, but I'll say it again. If you're bringing spirit powers into it, there had better be a good explanation. There wasn't, so I refuse to accept it.

Also. Korras friends don't feel like friends. At all. I hate tophs kids. I hate aangs kids. Toph and aang may have had faults, but no way would they neglect their kids.(especially with Katara and Sokka right there)

Things weren't built up in a believable way and honestly making the bending just do whatever was infuriating. The ideology of bending was just completely lost and it made me very sad.

[lizhly-writes]

AITA WIP Game

hellloo, @likegemstone! i realize it's been a while, but thank you for the tag! i got stuck in a loop 1) trying to figure out how to write an AITA post 2) trying to find an area where my protag would genuinely wonder if he was an asshole, but! here we are!

Rules: Introduce your WIP in the style of a r/AmItheAsshole inquiry.

tagging! @evanescentdawn @inkstaindusk @juruna-yudja @doksangs and uh, anyone else who wants to take this, i guess!

AITA for asking to open up my relationship?

Look.  I know this already sounds bad.  Let me explain.  

I (M24) have been engaged to my fiancée (F25) for years.  Our parents were friends, so they set this up when we were kids.  We pretty much grew up knowing we were going to get married, but I’d say overall, we get along well and I’m happy enough with it.

I don’t think my fiancée is happy enough with it.

Some more background: we have this former classmate (F24), who I’ll call “Mei” for now.  In university, she took up pretty much all of my fiancée’s attention.  There was a lot of drama involved.  Even when my fiancée was with me, she was always talking about Mei.  Not in a good way, necessarily, but I’ve known my fiancée pretty much my entire life.  She wouldn’t be so invested if she wasn’t at least a little interested. 

Anyway, things happened, we graduated, Mei dropped off the radar, my fiancée stopped obsessing, and I’m still making this post, because they ran into each other maybe six months ago and it’s like we never left university, except worse.  Mei’s always attracted drama, but it’s like her capacity for it has levelled up, and it almost always ends up dragging my fiancée in.   

We didn’t set a date, exactly, but we were going to sit down and start wedding planning this year.  It keeps getting pushed off -- she’s always busy, she’s always dealing with some emergency, half the time, those emergencies have to do with Mei -- and at this rate, I just don’t think it’s going to happen.  

I hear her talk about Mei, and it’s always how she’s annoying but she’s so talented and so smart and so pretty and has so much potential, it’s a waste that Mei doesn’t have any backing and it’s a shame to let someone like that rot, and I could go on, but you get the point, right?  

I want to end the engagement, but for certain reasons I don’t want to get into right now, I can’t do it myself.  My fiancée can, but she never would, she’s very filial to our parents, and also, both our families are invested in this for more than just emotional reasons.  But I feel like if I let things go along this way, it’s just going to be very messy.  She’ll end up discontent for no reason she can put her finger on, maybe resenting me as the drama piles up, and then maybe this situation will implode in our faces and the engagement will end anyway, and, I don’t know, I’ll end up in jail possibly.  

I figured I could stop at least some of this by opening up our relationship a little.  She gets the SO she actually wants, and I stop thinking she’s resenting me for being an obstacle in her whirlwind romance.  I don’t think this is the perfect solution -- I’m not even really sure it’s sustainable? -- but it should at least work better than what’s happening so far.      

I tried to bring this up with her last night, and she… took it more poorly than I thought she would.  She got angry and accused me of trying to get rid of her.  She started talking about my apparently low opinion of her sense of duty and honor, and how could I possibly think that of her and how could I possibly think that she’d cheat on me, what kind of person did I think she was, etc.  It was messy.  

I didn’t think I said anything wrong, but I’m not feeling great about it.  She’s never gotten this mad at me before.  I feel like I need to bring this up again and talk it out, but was I being the AH for bringing it up to begin with?

[ohmytamara]

My favorite dark fantasy is losing a life. Not literally I mean, but having a future and opportunities and dropping them to be a slave thing for an owner. It's a fantasy and it's nice as it is. Thing is, I actually did it, gradually, not knowing how far I'll go with it, for a time until I was able to break out from it. Disclaimer: I am sure it's fun with actual responsible owner.

By now she has me tied financially. I got a huge loan taken for our future together which we will pay back together (cause we will right?), and that keeps me well secured against thoughts of leaving. Lately I was punished severly for writing a tumblr post she did not like, so I know better than to express my opinions. I got some skills - particularly writing and very good English. She reassigns them to her advantage. I wrote her twitter posts. I write descriptions for her vids. I do a bit of SEO for her website. Basically i am her little copywriter. Then things get weird.

Things is, she's a bit paranoid, she can't forget and can't forgive what she considers a slight. She's a divorcee, no need to go into details but it was ugly. She wants revenge. She wants me to find a way to inform my country's government that her ex husband was a spy in Ukraine pretending to be diplomat.

Ok, I chewed and swallowed all the whatthefucks that come at this request, riddiculous for number of reasons. I left hanging the question did she consider, if such info was actually treated seriously by any serious agency, what would be consequences. There she was gleefully looking at me. And I said to myself, fuck. Life is short and meaningless. End is coming with heavy steps of the climate change. Nothing matters but I am owned like I wanted and that matters so why not have that fun ride. So I did find an email address of most paranoid MP, anti commie conservative I could think of, created a fake address and send a message. To make thing funnier for me, I named my fake email after one of well known Polish dead communist. I was certain that bait was way too obvious for anybody to catch on it. Nothing ever happened afterwards. She forgot about the thing. MP never caught any spy as far as I know.

While that was a bit fun, another thing had me shivering. It was first day of school for her kid and she had another amazing idea how to kick her ex, who was guardian of that boy. She had me ride to that school with her and wanted me to pretend I'm from social security, asking around, supposedly reacting to a tip about child's harm.

It was so much too dark and wicked for me. Playing with her child's security like that to fuck with a father. Involving me in it on such level. Expecting me to snoop around primary school, adult among children faking my identity, you know what I mean. I dreaded doing it, lying and meeting a teacher who demands my ID. This was terrible idea but I was too scared of her, soon after recent punishment. I went there with her. Fortunately she changed her mind while we were there. So I just moved around the grounds like pervert until new school year celebration ended and she was ready to return.

That event made me question her, well, everything.

[scxnriography]

Title: Our Love Story

Featuring : Simon Dominic ( Jung Kiseok) and Bae Joohyun

Chapter : Forewords

Genre : Fluff, Angst, Semi Au Verse, Rated18

23 December 2022

Joohyun

"Let me help you with it."

A simple sentence genuinely meant to be helpful turns out to be a regret within a few minutes later. I shouldn't have been nosy. In the new year, my resolution should be listed as:

1) keep your eyes on the ground, no- just close your eyes when you're walking,

2) don't get involved with your surroundings, and

3) talk less, no- offer less.

Might as well start the new resolution now because there is no word slipping past my lips. All I could do was to stand there, handing over the two insanely heavy bags to the elderly couple's son.. My smile is still intact, my pretentious-not-to-be-shocked-smile that is. I avoided eye contact with him, focusing only on the older lady as she introduced her son and thanking me at the same time. Because I was very kind and helpful, she offered containers of side dishes for me to bring home which I initially vehemently rejected but damn, this family and their smooth tongues. I should know that very well since years ago, I did fall in love with their only son.

Despite the thick blanket of snow covering the streets, my day started out bright and positive. I had a nice hot cup of chocolate and warm freshly baked croissant from the nearby bakery which I ended up staying for more than an hour, before making my way back to my new home. A lovely apartment across the street, that I have spent a long time saving for. Because it was a lovely morning, I smiled more to passerby, excused the little kid who was wailing right in my ears while we were waiting for the traffic light, and rushed to help the elderly couple with their big bags. I didn't count how many they had, I simply reached out to lessen their loads. I didn't mind the weight of these bags either, as we three walked into lobby. Turns out their son was staying in the same building as me, only different level. So I offered to walk them to their son's apartment first just like any kind hearted person would.

Because of the damn lovely morning, I am now standing awkwardly at the the doorstep of my ex boy- no he wasn't that. I realize just then I don't even know what to call him except my past, my favourite past. We did not utter a word, did not even look at each other, both simply allowing his mother to marvel at the kindhearted girl, me, who helped them out while shoving the side dishes in my hands. I am certain he too, was pretending that we both didn't know each other at all. And just like any other mothers who over shared, his just had to fill him in the fact that I was staying at the upper level. An information that he didn't need to know, I guarantee.

And just like any other mothers, she urges her son to walk me to the elevator as though I am quite incapable of locating the elevator myself. Once again I politely reject her kind gesture, and yet again, this family never fail to show me that stubborn runs in their blood. Again I remind myself I am very well aware of that particular fact.

"You don't have to wait for the elevator with me," I suggest immediately when it was just the two of us.

"I know."

It shouldn't surprised me that he did not attempt to leave as soon as he said that but it did. The elevator as though intentionally slow, clearly tormentng the two of us, opens after seemingly took forever. I step in, finally taking a good look at him. He appears thinner than before, but that does not make him any less handsome. "Please convey my thanks to your mother. These," I raise the boxes slightly above my chest, "are really appreciated. But... please know that I won't be returning the boxes. Not personally at least."

"I will. And I know."

I gave him a quick nod as a goodbye and curled my lips into a smile, not saying anything else as I press the button to close the door. I stare at the button I have pressed impulsively just seconds ago where I was determined not to let him find out my actual floor.

Fuck my life. Now I have to do a workout up the stairs.