#calculation theme

[sapphicautistic]

half the horizon's gone, a skyline of numbers

[stinastar]

Tonight your ghost will ask my ghost

Where is the love?

[lucky-clover-gazette]

tbh i think volo would have been significantly more normal and fine if he hadn’t been hiding so much of his true feelings and personality. like when you deny yourself genuine human connection to that degree you’re probably going to come off as a machiavellian monster who wants to make the world and the lives of others worse, but looking at his actual stated motivations and intentions it’s clear to me at least that the guy is deeply empathetic and idealistic and more than anything disappointed that the world can’t be better

[greenqueenhightower]

I would like your opinion on Rhaenyra's hubris and her portrayal as a godlike figure of authority. I am thinking of Shakespeare (King Lear) and ancient Greek tragedy. Any parallels?

I really do hope you see this analysis, anon from the past, because I squeezed my brain trying to get all this together 💚:

First of all, I think we have to make an important distinction between Shakespeare and ancient Greek tragedy. One can argue, of course, that Shakespeare's plays were influenced by certain elements of ancient Greek tragedy, but there are several differences; the kind of hero in question being a primary one. In ancient Greek tragedies such as Oedipus Rex, Antigone, or Medea, the hero is of noble birth and standing, and their hubris is a result of their own excessive pride combined with their ambitious attempt to challenge the gods and claim some godship for themselves.

Shakespeare's plays are a bit more ambiguous in classifying the hubris. The hero can be of noble birth, sure, but their flaw is in themselves and their defiance of tradition or society’s laws. God or the divine is not featured, challenged, contested, or attacked in any way by their morally ambiguous choices, or at least not to the extent that it is in ancient Greek tragedies. Hubris in Shakespeare's tragedies stems from the debilitating flaws a hero has, which prevent them from making wise, sound, and moral decisions, ultimately leading to their demise. Thus, their "fall" is a natural consequence of their own decisions, unrelated to any claim of godship, and not imposed on them as a punishment by some higher order, as would be the case in an ancient Greek tragedy.

Rhaenyra could be framed as a Shakespearean heroine (if someone has done a similar analysis, please link it below), but the fact that she assumes this godlike status and will soon defy all else for the sake of it screams more ancient Greek hubris than a flawed Shakespearean character to me.

(1) So, breaking her hubris apart, we find excessive pride in her teenage years: even if it becomes apparent that the realm will not concede to having a female ruler that easily, Rhaenyra's overconfidence in her heirdom, and her complete trust that her father's words alone are enough to guarantee her the throne, could be classified as excessive pride. Nevertheless, no one is too noble, and no one ever holds such an unshakable and undeniable claim to the Iron Throne. One must always be on the lookout, forge alliances, and marry into powerful houses, instead of solely relying on blood ties & prophecies.

(2) This display of excessive pride is intertwined with her personality: Rhaenyra flaunts her freedom and disregards courtly protocol, as seen by her choice of lovers. Underestimating the degree of damage her children's parentage can have on her claim, and believing that she can ride out scandal without consequence, is a kind of hubris, and that is why pious and religious Alicent almost screams "blasphemy!" and becomes absolutely deranged when Rhaenyra seems to be getting away with every. single. thing. while she plays by the book (10/10 scene, Driftmark is the gift that keeps on giving).

(3) Rhaenyra's overconfidence in herself or in whatever teenage and childhood bond she shared with Alicent is further feeding on her pride, as she remains so willfully blinded to the Greens' desires and Alicent's own political acumen and willpower.

(4) The peak display of excessive pride, however, has to be Rhaenyra's decision to send her two sons, Lucerys and Jacaerys, as envoys, believing that her reputation and her army of dragons alone will command her respect, safety, and control.

(5) Furthermore, Rhaenyra's hubris is evident in her claim of godship throughout the series as the true heir bearing "the blood of the dragon." Rhaenyra's bloodline is sacred, descended from old Valyria, and that should be enough to validate her claim to the throne, regardless of the massive political risk. Her bond with Syrax (explored in the books in greater detail) further confirms this claim of godship.

(6) Another example of her grasp of divine destiny is her unwavering belief in Aegon's Dream: Viserys' prophecy that she is the Targaryen destined to sit the Iron Throne to safeguard the realm from evil, a prophecy which she takes upon herself to fulfill, even though it isn't attributed to her at that moment or timeline.

(7) Lastly, the way she views Aegon II's crowning not only as a personal challenge but as a contention against fate, confirms both her excessive pride as well as her claim of godship: only Rhaenyra's bloodline can be sacred, and not Aegon's, and she alone can be the heir whose rule is divinely ordained and on whose figure prophecy is fulfilled.

Overall, I would say that Rhaenyra is very much an ancient Greek tragic heroine who displays hubris through her overreliance on her noble birth and godlike status, as well as her excessive pride, which inevitably blinds her to the shifting political winds. Just like any other ancient Greek tragic hero, Rhaenyra is plagued by her own divine ambition and reaps the consequences of her own actions. What I cannot be sure of at the moment is the divine punishment that should follow according to the ancient Greek tragedy model, since I would not categorize Rhaenyra's end as such as per the books.

The above analysis confirms -to me at least- that Rhaenyra is such a complex and well-written character worth studying, loving, and analyzing. I enjoyed writing this and will probably look for more hints of hubris in the future. If that's something you'd like to see, you're welcome to give me ideas. Take this analysis with a grain of salt, and if you don't agree with it, that's ok too.

[crispy-art-on-fire]

About your fic Calculated love is someone important gonna die for angst sake or am I getting too into spoiler territory?

We are a "The narrative isn't going to let you die no matter what you do nor want" fic over here so the answer is: No. There will be angst and people will be hurt but personally I think it's more interesting to explore what happens when complicated people have to live with what they've done.

[mariocki]

The Naked Kiss (1964)

"You know what's different about the first night? Nothing. Nothing... except it lasts forever, that's all. You'll be sleeping on the skin of a nightmare for the rest of your life."

[fakecats]

how have i been a p5 fan for like 5 years but only just now realized that What if the reason joker walks with his hands in his pockets is because hes afraid that he'll end up hitting someone like with what happened with shido which is why he's in tokyo in the first place. i mean theres also the idea he just does it to seem casual but

[halfbaked00q]

ngl. I want a Dom Q flavor that is like. a bit of a sadist. like maybe not necessarily a looot of a sadist. but like at least a bit of one. I want him to like. rly bully Bond. and not just in a cute way. like in a genuinely sadistic for his own haha sickos personal, gleeful pleasure kind of way.

this can include for example things like, playing with Bond (handling dick, tweaking his nipples, continuing to finger him or fuck him) after he's come and while he's like still sensitive and like getting into the overstimulated territory about it. also lmao. ...habe to admit. I found many of @/doll-tamer's posts very like. "ooh what if this for a specific flavor of Dom Q & sub Bond 👀👀👀... 👁👅👁." some examples that uhhh yeah I do gotta admit had me thinking... quite a few thots... (some of them are wow that would be gr8 to see... I want all of this but 00q.... and lowkey a couple are me going "....yea this is kind of Bond-core...." or like this is the-flavor-of-Dom-Q-Im-going-for-here-core....)

to be fair to me tho!!!!!!! I know Im not the only one cuz some of these DO in fact bear similarities to things I have seen in fic!!! So yes this is about me and myyy haha sickos personal tastes. But also I Know it also is Our tastes!!!

But also I want this specific flavorr and also.. if I could get like five more of these little blonde bitches dot meme.........

[lagaans]

throws up & dies....

[cpunkhobie]

Wow i did not realize how bad my blog's color contrast was on mobile, mb everyone. should be fixed now

[midnightwind]

coming to the realization that if I ever properly share my DAV fic, I'm likely going to fall into the trap of writing a few sections twice because I like writing Spite too much, but giving his internal nonsense means writing from Lucanis' POV

[cartyrs]

beabato animatic WIP :))

[pochapal]

revisiting the "bodies with no faces" argument to prop up a faked corpse theory is. hrm.

[ultrakatua]

I like how all videogame composers no matter the time and nationality seem to agree that harpsichord is the ultimate instrument of creepy evil motherfuckers