#does he have HORRIBLE GREAT NIECES?

[ellynneversweet]

Mercy Thompson books: magic is leeching out of the world and the various supernatural creatures have lost a lot of power. Ariana is one of the last surviving great fae.

Silver (set in something like 300CE?, featuring Bran’s horrible mother/Samuel’s horrible grandmother and Ariana’s awful father making a brief, unholy alliance):

“What it holds someone can take,” the hobgoblin agreed. “Can you stop that?”

“No.” She was powerful but not as powerful as some. To lay such locks on the artifact that no one could break it open was beyond her. And it would be unwise, even if she could. If it did nothing but sit in the cottage and steal magic from the fae that passed near it—eventually it would eat all magic and concentrate it in the lump of silver that fit into her hand. She didn’t know how much the metal could hold—but an explosive release more would be destructive on a scale she could almost not comprehend. Not as horrible as what would happen if it was able to hold all of the magic indefinitely—without magic, all life would cease.

“But I can make it so the magic it collects dissipates back to the Heart of Magic.” The Heart of Magic was the center of the world. Magic held in the Heart did not come readily to anyone’s hand but caused the wind to blow and the rain to fall. Ariana smiled fiercely at her little friend.

…that seems to me like Ariana was the person what did it (the magic fading). No wonder the [REDACTED] in Wild Sign is a big deal.

[barrenclan]

i think rainhaze is one of my favorites characters ever genuinely, issue 37 was AMAZING and i really loved how rainhazes arc finally ended. I feel rlly happy bc this was a very poingant way of putting that rabid dog down but also i mean. I am a little sad. I pity rainhaze but in a way you pity a cocroach or something... He had it coming, his death was soooo well executed!! rain and all of defiance see killing as a divine right, and seeing that turn on rainhaze was very cathartic.

The casual way he spoke about asphodels murder was genuinely sickening. As if it was all a favor to HER, instead of rainhazes cowardice and trauma and brainwashing and selfishness making him kill his niece im cold blood. The way his own death dragged on and on, how painful and terryfying and gruesome it was - this is what asphodelpaw went through. Her death was not like falling asleep and neither was his. It was scary and painful and cold. So cold.

The way this comic completely subverted audience expectations with rainhazes character is sooo so good... At first he was just a chilli dead guy. then he turned into a classic winter solider type - morally dubious but still symphatetic, a 'poor little meow meow' who was stuck in a horrible situation he had no way of leaving. and then he killed asphodelpaw in cold blood. That moment, when he chose to embrace the violence, the damned coward, was such a delicious and twisted reaveal - forcing the reader to reconsider the whole story and character from an entirely new perspective.

i think we as people well versed in fandom tend to woobify and water down characters like rainhaze and make them into 'poor little meow meows' - removing their agency in the situation entirely to make them more personable and toned down - and rain feels to me like a purposful dissection of that. he IS sympathetic, to a degree. the shit he want through was undeniably awful - and it broke him and molded him into a monster.

rainhazes character was always about choice, i think. about decisions you make and the decisions made for you, and how you respond to the latter... about the question of autonomy. where does your choices end and other peoples influence begin? and does it really matter, in the end? does it matter whether or not rainhaze did what he did out of his own will or under rangers influence? he still did it. even if he were sorry, and hes not, would that matter? he killed her. there is no bringing her back and he had to deal with the consequences himself. abandoned by his family and his tormentor alike.

his death was pathetic and slow and pitiful, and above all disturbing - just like rainhaze himself. i think thats the word that describes him best - pathetic. rest in pieces, you cold bastard. ill miss you.

sorry this is so long..... i tried to put my thoughts into words here and i still fell short, i hope at least some of it makes sense

So, so many people have wonderful, intricate and moving thoughts about Rainhaze in my inbox, and I want to share them all with you. So here is the first one.

Rainhaze really did make for a great deconstruction of the "poor little guy" trope that I was interested in exploring. Shellspring also did, to an extent, but with Rainhaze I wanted to get really deep into it. How much of this is his fault? What could he have done differently? Is his death cathartic, satisfying, triumphant, painful, tragic, or anything else? It was a lot of fun to write and I'm glad so many people seem to have enjoyed it.

[gaybananabread]

Can you do Stan, Ford, and Bill (gravity falls) headcanons? If not that’s completely fine! Take your time!!

☆⑅Felony Trio Headcanons⑅⁠☆

(Stan, Ford & Bill)

~No idea if these three have an actual group name or not, but this is what I'm going with. You can't tell me they haven't committed at least one a piece, accidentally and/or on purpose. These sillies will always have a special place in my heart as one of my earlier obsessions. Thank you for requesting!~

❓Stanley💵

General:

Silly con-man gives me ler-leaning switch vibes. Loves wrecking his family, but wouldn’t mind the occasional giggle-fest.

Over the years, he’s developed the elusive “can say the t-word whenever” power, though it definitely didn’t used to be that way. Ford reminds him of that whenever it’s most annoying.

Can easily admit that he likes tickling others, but receiving it? Yeah, good luck. He’s willing to die on that hill.

Lee:

A bit rare, but he will get lee moods. He’s a “ride it out in silence” kinda guy, but Ford can sometimes catch onto his bullshit (definitely not bc he does it too what-)

If he DOES try and solve his problem, it’ll be in the most roundabout way possible. Provoking his brother, teasing his great niece and nephew until they try something, you name it. If it works, it works.

Worst spots are his armpits and the area right beneath his belly button. Enjoy watching him lose his mind if you target either one ♡

Melt spot is his ears. You can’t tell me his goofy ears wouldn’t make him giggle his heart out; he’d love every second of it.

Very gruff, choppy giggles. Sounds kinda like he’s been chain smoking, then saw the funniest thing in his life. When you really get him going, deep and rough belly laughter. Occasional snorts if you wanna kill him.

Ler:

When he gets in a ler mood, he’ll either bother his overworking brother or mess with one of the kids. Sometimes his family can tell, though he won’t normally admit anything.

Such a wonderful asshole of a ler-

Teases, smart-ass comments, horrible dad jokes, and more! Definitely the one to go to if you want a shameless wrecking.

“You’re a lil’ squeak toy, huh? I just squeeze your side and- yup, just like that.”

“Ya know, you could’ve just pushed me away by now. Don’t worry, I noticed.”

“You sure squirm a lot, don'tcha? Like a lil’ worm, could use you as fishing bait!”

“It tickles? Wow, that must really suck for you.”

Pretty good with aftercare. He'll ruffle your hair and tease you, of course, but he lets you lay on him while the TV plays. Fair trade, honestly.

👓Stanford🖋️

General:

Can you really tell me he isn't at least a little lee? After all those years with little to no comforting contact, he loves a good giggle fest.

Making his great niece and nephew laugh, though? Even better.

He doesn't always get that feeling, so I'm going lee-leaning switch.

Lee:

If you even mention it around him, he'll blush, no matter his mood. It's real bad when he's lee.

You can kinda gauge if he's in a mood by just saying the t-word (if you can, that is)

If you don't have that magic, then he's still pretty obvious in other ways.

Extra stuttering, constantly adjusting his glasses, eyes lingering on your hands, wobbly smiles. If you've got eyes, you'll be able to tell.

Will deny it at first, but it's pretty flimsy.

“I-I don't know what you're talking about. I survived the roughest interdimensional plane there is. I don't need…that.”

He falls apart the minute you wiggle your fingers at him.

Worst spots are his hips, followed by his ribs. A few squeezes to either will have him snorting up a storm.

Melt spots are his ears and the tops of his thighs. Like his brother, his ears are lovely to run a feather across for both him and the ler. He loves gentle traces on his thighs, though. Have him a melted, giggling puddle in seconds.

He loses tickle fights on purpose at least 76.4% of the time. Don’t ask me how I got that number: I just know.

Ler:

His ler moods are rare, but if he’s feeling a bit distant from his family, he’ll try and piece things with some giggles.

Soft, playful ler. He never wants to go too far, but he isn’t afraid to goof around and tease while he’s at it.

“I think I’ve got a leg up here, huh? Thanks to my extra fingers, this has gotta be at least 20% more ticklish~”

“You really do blush quite a lot. It’s pretty cute to watch.”

“As a scientist, it’s my job to conduct experiments. Let’s try now. Hypothesis: if I get your worst spot, you’ll laugh at least twice as loud as you are now. Time for the experiment~”

The moment you say stop, even if you don’t mean it, he pulls away. If you want more, you’ll have to ask him.

Pretty great with aftercare. Will absolutely cuddle you, maybe even tell some stories if you’re interested. He’s got plenty from his time in the portal, though he keeps the angstier ones to himself. Any tale he tells is almost guaranteed to make you smile.

🎩Bill💛

General:

Believe it or not, the chaotic dorito does like tickling. In fact, after him and Mabel’s interaction, they seem to randomly plague his thoughts at the most inopportune times. It goes in either direction, his moods as random as his personality.

Considering this, we’re gonna go straight-up switch.

Lee:

These moods are especially hard for the demon to satiate. His friends are insane, but none completely batshit enough to try something like tickling him. When he needs a fix, he usually has to outsource it or suffer until it goes away.

On the off chance he does outsource, he goes for one of the Pines twins. They’re hesitant to let him in, but he’s a sweet-talker. Once he’s inside, it barely takes an hour for him to provoke someone into wrecking him.

His spots vary based on the body he’s inhabiting. The one time he was tickled in his own (Weirdmageddon incident, don’t ask), he found that his hat and feet got him laughing the most.

(don’t come at me, his hat re-grew flesh when he got shot in it)

He doesn’t really have a distinct melt spot, though he loves being tickled right beneath his bowtie. It makes him kick and squirm, but it also makes him incredibly giddy.

Ler:

I’d tell you to run for your life, but it won’t do you much good.

Evil, sarcastic and rough ler. Good luck breathing o7

The kinda dude to go for all your worst spots first, and only explore the softer side if he’s wanting to spice things up.

Can and will generate any tool he feels like to wreck you (surprisingly enough, he’ll ask first)

Boundaries really need to be set before anything happens. Otherwise he’ll just go until he feels like stopping. If you look on the brink of passing out, he’ll quit, but other than that nah.

VERY teasy, with a large handful of sarcasm and sass.

“Geez, you laugh really loud when I get ya here. Mind dialing it down? I don’t wanna go deaf before I’m 20 million.”

“Ha! You snort? I’ve gotta hear that again, c’mon!”

“You’re confusing. You say ‘no, go away,’ but you haven’t even tried escaping. I’m supposed to be the crazy one here; mind explaining?”

“Wow, this is driving you nuts, huh? We’re gonna match!”

Not super great at aftercare unless you ask. He can make any snack or drink you want by snapping, and he knows some great rom-coms to doze off to (don’t ask why unless you wanna go for round two).

[darkestspring]

The night Aemond lost an eye, what if Lucerys twin sister had sided with him. Claiming Vhagar chose Aemond just as much as he chose her and it wasnt right for him to be beaten up for it.

The only one in the room besides his mother to back him and make him feel validated.

Then at Storms End she offers her own eye in replacement of Lukes.

You had always thought their bullying (it was just that, no matter how many times luke and jace told you they were just playing with him, friendly teasing they caught it) of aemond was vile, it was horrible.

You had formed a friendship with over shared secrets in the secluded areas of the library.

Your dragon was bigger than normal. When your egg hadn't hatched, your mother had brought you to dragonstone and you had bonded with silverwing, your great-great grandmother's dragon.

"Silverwing is big enough to saddle two." You had told Aemond one day, a smile on your face. "I want to take you for a ride." You had, in secrecy. No one knew but the giddy smiles you shared in seclusion mean everything to you.

So, how? You had thought to yourself in horror, seeing Aemond's bloody face and his right eye stitched up. How could this have happened? Why did jace have a blade? Why did luke hurt him? How could they have taken it so far? From bullying to maiming... Are these really my brothers?

You had ran to him, forsaking your secrecy with him. "Aemond, Aemond. You're hurt. You're-" Sobs came out of your mouth, ignoring everyone else.

"Don't cry." He, who was injured, had comforted you.

You had been angrier than ever, screaming at your mother, sobbing at the injustice of it all, unaware of Aemond's awed gaze on your or the victorious look that alicent had given to your mother.

You had refused to talk to anyone for almost a year afterwards, something that had torn your brothers and mother to pieces.

but it had been years since then and so much had changed. You had remained the same. Loving and defensive. No one understood the care you held towards Aemond and it angered you. You didn’t want to think of how your mother would react if she found out that you had given yourself to Aemond when you had returned to the driftmark claim.

But your grandfather was dead and aegon was made king in front of the crowds, stealing your mother’s birthright. You and Luke had headed towards Storm’s End, only to be met by Aemond.

His stance softened as he saw you but hardened at the sight of your twin.

“I want your eye.” Aemond had claimed. “One will do. I will make it a gift to my mother, for all the pain of that night.”

“I came as a messenger.” Luke refused, stepping back as his hand clutched at yours.

“Luke, leave us.” You demanded, bringing both his and Aemond’s attention to you. You gave your twin a stern look and he nodded, leaving to go to Arrax. “Luke’s eye would not suit you, Uncle.” You commented. “It is a purple eye you need, like mine. Shall I pluck it out for you?”

“Sweet niece.” He murmured, his gaze neevr leaving yours as he walked closer to you in slow, steady steps. “It is not your eye I want.” He refused gently, his hand reaching out for your cheek. “I remember your tears that night. It was only you and my mother that defended me.”

“And yet, i fear it has not been enough. You still crave revenge and we are on opposite sides.” You fought against the urge to melt into his warmth.

“I wonder, does your mother know that I took you for my own. How you screamed and sobbed. How you came apart for me.” His thumb brushed over your cheekbone as your cheeks went red.

“Take my eye  and be done with it.” You pulled back, staring at him with a hard look in your eyes. “Or take me and make me your wife.”

[pilferingapples]

An Impromptu Ranking of Hugolian Adoptive Parental Figures

Ursus,The Man Who Laughs : I know everyone's going to want Valjean to be first place, but he's not. Ursus takes the lead not only because he's got two adopted kids, but because he does what no other dad-mom-general-adoptive-parent on the list does, and actually does the grubby hands-on work of Raising Kids. He doesn't have maids or nannies or nuns or any help; he's just a guy living in his traveling van and raising up a couple kids (who arrived at his door horribly sick and injured, even, which he manages to treat?? ) with zero support except for a literal wolf. He's honest with them and openly loving and teaches them how to survive in their own time and society. Too bad about the kids existing in a really bleak Hugo novel, but you did great, Ursus. 10/10.

Jean Valjean, Les Miserables: He loves Cosette SO much and tries SO hard! Second place only because (1) during the convent years, he sees Cosette for one hour a day , and while that limitation is definitely not his ideal choice,it does mean he's just not the constant primary caregiver the way Ursus is and (3) More Trauma means More Problems, and especially So Many Communications Issues. Plus a really really misguided faith in the importance of attaining bourgeoisdom. IDEK , man. Heroic efforts, heroic failures, 18/18 Napoleonic Antithesis Points maybe?

Lethierry, Toilers of the Sea: a decent normal guy raising his niece, who has very normal 19C Dad Faults-- too much trust in stereotyped gender roles, and too much focus on his job at the expense of his domestic life. Absolute middle of the road, not heroic as a parent but also doesn't do anything that makes me go "holy shit NO , dude" . He's just a humanly flawed but caring parental figure. 5/10 complete middle of the road

Cimourdain, Ninety-Three: Listen I LIKE Cimourdain. I respect his whole narrative arc. I think he's probably the most interesting character in the novel. But he loses Parenting Points for (1) not being the primary hands-on caregiver for large chunks of his adopted kid's life and (2) uh. the whole. the thing where he kills his adopted kid. There are circumstances yes I know but still . If you are directly responsible for the death of your kid you are going to lose points in the parenting games. That's just how it is. 4/4 with full symbolic meaning of the number.

Frollo, Notre Dame de Paris: HOLY SHIT NO, DUDE.

Semi-adopted THREE kids and TWO died horribly and he directly threatened the life of the last one. Even before then he's not a GREAT parent, largely leaving the raising of his sort-of sons up to others, locking one up in a single building, letting another fall into addiction, and the third go starving and homeless on the streets. So it's already not doin' great but arguably he's Trying?

But then he wants to bang a teenager, and decides they're all expendable. Absolute worst reason for the absolute worst parenting decisions. 8/8 you ARE the Fatalité , dude, look within and quit blaming your issues on teenagers.

Honorable Mentions: Radoub, Ninety-Three: gets the "like a mother" comparison, goes through a firefight for his adopted kids, stays sweet and cheerful and soft around the babies to the end. Gets set here because he's NOT an adoptive single parent, he's actually co-parenting with the kids' birth mom and they are delightful platonic parenting partners. We wish you, Michelle, and the kids all the best , Radoub! Good job getting out of your novel without killing anyone you love!

Gavroche, Les Miserables: OK he only manages to adopt the momes for an evening, and for an adult I'd be docking All The Points for that, but for an unparented 12 year old he is doing GREAT. He even kept looking for them afterwards! The biggest and most sincere You Tried star for you, Gavroche, it's not your fault you're all getting atomized hard enough to explode a barricade.

Dishonorable Mentions:

Gillenormand, Les Miserables : If you're gonna hold a kid as a financial hostage and destroy his dad's life because the kid's soooooo important to you, you might also try making sure that kid has any way to know that you actually give a damn about him? Maybe at least don't beat him with sticks? Legos be under your feet forever, Gillenormand!

The Slaveowner Uncle in Bug Jargal : absolutely perish

[five-rivers]

Prompt idea: Undergrowth wants his Daughter back. Whatever it takes

This got way off track, but... here you go.

.

A vast and nameless rainforest spread itself over several islands in the warmer regions of the Ghost Zone, reaching out hungrily in all directions. Although the rainforest of the mortal plane shrunk, this forest only grew.

Many ghosts made their homes in this rainforest, and civilizations, too, empires, kingdoms, and tribes driven to extinction on Earth finding a second life among spectral branches and vines. Of course, one could say the same of nearly anywhere in the Ghost Zone. It was, after all, an afterlife.

Undergrowth also resided here. Along with his family.

"Why is he sulking this time?" asked Silvagenitus, lying along a reaching upper branch and peering down through the understory to the depths Undergrowth lurked in.

"What is he always sulking about?" asked Liana rhetorically. "As if those skyscrapers won't be trellises in another few hundred years or so. This is the ice age all over again."

"I don't know," said Canopy. "This seems different. And he isn't wrong that humans have destroyed a lot of forests the past few centuries."

"Here, let's ask Mycorrhiza," said Liana. "Oi! Mycorrhiza! What's Undergrowth sulking about?"

"I'M NOT SULKING!" rasped Undergrowth, clawing his way halfway up the nearest tree trunk.

"He won't say," said Mycorrhiza, quietly. "Something about humans."

Undergrowth snarled.

"Well," said Silvagenitus, reasonably, "we can't help you if you don't tell us what's going on."

Undergrowth snarled and grumbled some more. "My children–" he started.

"Oh, here we go again," said Liana. "They aren't children if they don't think."

"My daughter–"

"Your what?" chorused the other ghosts.

Undergrowth sneered. "It's not like you care."

"It's hard to care if you don't tell us anything," said Canopy. "But a daughter, really?"

"A precious seed among human refuse," said Undergrowth with a sniff. "We only had a brief time together before she was unfairly lured away by that horrible boy, but I would do anything to get her back."

"Anything but ask your family for help," commented Liana.

"I will win her back–"

"Has your daughter actually been taken, or did she just leave?" asked Liana.

"It's that boy's fault. He's no good for her, that cold-hearted little weed."

"I hate to be the one to bring this up," said Mycorrhiza, "but did you actually ask her if she wanted to be your daughter? Or talk to her at any point? You do have to do that with real children, you know."

"You do have a bit of a consent problem," agreed Liana.

"I don't want to hear that from the two of you parasites."

"Excuse you, I'm symbiotic."

"Okay, so you'll do anything but ask for our help or actually talk to your daughter, is that right?" asked Liana. "What actually was your plan here? Because I don't get it."

"It would be helpful to know what you intended to do about this," said Canopy.

"I will unmake that pestilent city–"

"Ah, there isn't a plan, then," said Liana.

"You should have a better plan," agreed Silvagenitus. "Maybe a gift. What does she like? Any hobbies?"

"She has a great love of all things green and growing," said Undergrowth. "And I am not apologizing."

"We don't expect you to, honestly," said Liana.

"But we will help you, won't we?" said Silvagenitus, graciously.

"Of course," said Liana. "We are family, after all. I want to meet my niece, too!"

.

Mycorrhiza went first. They were more subtle than their siblings, better able to sink into the ground and sneak. Humans didn't often pay heed to what lay within the soil, and neither did their ghosts.

Also, the seasons were beginning to turn, and Mycorrhiza's siblings didn't deal well with cold. They could prepare the way for them.

.

"There are a lot of mushrooms this year, huh," said Danny, leaning over an indigo and orange toadstool. "I've never seen one like this before."

"It's because of global warming," said Sam confidently. "All these oil and coal companies pumping chemicals into the air with no thought to how that's going to affect the ecosystem."

"You might as well blame something closer to home," said Tucker with a scoff. "Like, you know, Undergrowth, Vortex, the portal to hell in Danny’s basement…"

"Don't call the Ghost Zone hell," said Danny. "We've got friends there."

"Yeah, and Danny's parents should have been way more careful. Like, who knows what kind of crap the portal lets out into the environment? I mean, beyond the ghosts."

"Yeah, they could have tried a little harder to make things safe," said Danny with a sigh. "You don't have to tell me that."

.

Pamela Manson looked out her dining roo. window and scowled. "How much do we pay that gardener?" she asked.

"I don't remember offhand," said Jeremy Manson. "I'm sure it's reasonable. Why, dear?"

"Well, if they can't keep those awful mushrooms off our lawn, it's obviously too much."

"I think they're great," said Sam. "Weren't you the one complaining about how there isn't any color in the garden in the fall? This'll change things, won't it?"

"Samantha Analise Manson, if I find out you seeded our lawn with those weeds–"

"Mushrooms don't even work like that! They aren't plants!"

"I don't care what they are. They're ugly, and– Where are you going, young lady?"

"School!" Sam shouted angrily over her shoulder before slamming the door behind her. And good riddance!

.

"So," said Silvagenitus, clearly in a good mood, "what's your verdict? Our niece? This mysterious boy?"

"Our niece is lovely, and her human parents are awful. If Undergrowth hadn't already claimed her, I'd be tempted. As for the boy… Being angry with him is like being angry at winter. It's ridiculous."

"Undergrowth is a little ridiculous at times, isn't he? I suppose that is what little brothers are like."

.

Danny frowned up at the cloud of fog over the trees in the park. "Is it just me," he said, "or do those clouds look a little green?"

"Could be," said Tucker. He took off his glasses and cleaned them on his shirt. "Hard to tell with the light. Do you think it's 'cause ectoplasm's gotten into the water cycle or something?"

"It wouldn't surprise me, but I hope not," said Sam.

"Yeah," said Danny, shuddering. "Can you imagine? The hot dogs are bad enough, but what if all the roadkill in the city came to life? Or whatever is dead in the sewers and rain drains? Or you're eating a sandwich outside and it starts to rain, and now you've got to fight off bologna on rye… I'm going to check it out. You guys go ahead without me."

"Don't forget the English homework!" shouted Tucker after him as he flew up and towards the park.

.

"Ugh," said Pamela Manson, "why has there been so much fog lately? It's so dreary."

"The weather doesn't exist to please you, Mom," said Sam, rolling her eyes.

Although… Danny had called her last night and said that he'd felt something in the clouds, although he hadn't found a ghost. So maybe her mother had a right to complain after all. The fog had been thick in their neighborhood. On the other hand, the weather really was just like that, sometimes.

.

"How is it?" asked Canopy.

"What's 'it'?" asked Mycorrhiza, playfully.

"The girl, the boy, the city, the soil, the… artificiality. The pollution."

"Oh, it's not so bad as all that," said Silvagenitus. "Much better than… When was it? Fifty years ago? When were we last on this side of the veil?"

.

"Okay," muttered Danny, "I can accept the mushrooms, and the green clouds, but this? This isn't natural."

He and Tucker stared down the street, Danny floating a few feet in the air. Yesterday, the street had been an entirely unremarkable one, only of interest to Danny and Tucker because it led into Sam's neighborhood. Yesterday, it had a few normal trees - just barely past the sapling stage - and today, each of those trees had grown dozens of feet, tall upper branches reaching into the sky.

Those new branches dwarfed the original trees, and also had massively different leaves, each one dark, thick, broad, and waxy, unlike the smaller leaves of the trees they grew from.

"Yeah, I don't think this is structurally sound," said Tucker, gently pushing on a slender tree trunk. The whole tree swayed. "Undergrowth?"

"No," said Danny. "It feels different. It all feels different." He shook himself. "Ugh, my skin feels all prickly. It's like whatever it is has been here for a while, but I haven't been able to find them. Come on, let's go find Sam."

.

"So, your neighborhood's turned into a jungle," said Danny.

Sam rolled her eyes. "My parents consider it a personal attack. Figure out what ghost did this?"

"Not yet. I'm sure I'll get attacked sooner or later, though. What about you? How are you holding up? After all, you know, the whole thing with Undergrowth…"

"Come on, I'm not letting one bad week dictate my life and keep me away from the things I like. You guys haven't, after all."

"I still have nightmares," pointed out Danny.

"And you don't let them stop you. Besides, this is kind of cool, and also not hurting anything yet, right?"

"Yeah," said Danny. "That's true."

.

"Okay, you've got everything ready for me over here? Because I'm so tired of Undergrowth's whining."

"Yes, Liana, we're ready for you," said Silvagenitus, tiredly. "We've been ready for you for a month at least."

"Hey, no need to get snippy."

"Hey! Hey! Liana, you're here. Guess what? She thinks I'm cool."

"Wow, that's a first for you, huh?"

.

"Yeah," said Danny, glaring at the curtains of flowering, glowing vines. "I'm drawing the line here. Yoohoo! Ghosts! Ghosts! I'm talking to you! Come on out! I'm sick of waiting for the other shoe to drop! If it's Undergrowth– well, you'd better bet I'll be kicking your butt for coming back out here after what you did to Sam!"

"Hey, what about me?" asked Tucker. "I got one of those vines plugged into my neck, too."

"And Tucker!"

"I don't know if this is a good idea, Danny…"

"I don't care! I've been stressing about this since the mushrooms, and you'd better believe I'm ready to fight!"

"Well," said Mycorrhiza, "if you put it like that…"

A circle of mushrooms sprung up around the three teens, and a glowing green portal opened inside of it. Two fell through, and the third dove after them.

They landed among ghostly branches, and four large ghosts grinned at them.

"So," said Canopy, "humans. Let's talk."

.

"Let me get this straight," said Tucker. "You're Undergrowth's siblings, and he recruited you to hold some kind of… family intervention so Sam will join him on his take over the world mission again?"

"Well, it's more that he complained so much that we got curious, but, yes, essentially," said Silvagenitus. He passed Danny a cup-sized and shaped flower full of nectar. Danny held it loosely, as if he was afraid it'd bite him.

"Who does he think he is?" demanded Sam. "He has no right to talk to me at all– He doesn't have the right to be anywhere near me, and he somehow thinks he's my father? Is he crazy?"

"What about the conquering the world thing?" said Danny, who looked vaguely ill. "Shouldn't we focus on that?"

Sam waved him off. "They've been here for over a month and haven't hurt anyone or anything except for my parents' sense of aesthetics. Besides, they've been great for the local ecosystem. Where was I? Right. That jerk Undergrowth–"

.

Liana sidled up to Undergrowth. "Hey," she said, smugly. "You'll be happy to know our plan worked. She's coming to talk to you."

Undergrowth brightened. "She is?"

"Well. It's more that she's coming to yell at you, and bringing her friends to beat you up, but baby steps. After all, you did start your relationship with mind control."

"I hate you."

"Sorry, I'm too busy for you to hate me. I'm too busy thinking up birthday presents for my niece– oh, but you don't even know when that is. Ha ha."

.

"Do you think sending Liana to tell him was the right choice?" asked Silvagenitus.

"Eh," said Mycorrhiza, "better to get it out of the way, now. Consider it softening him up for Sam."

[nico-drawings]

You know, you start seeing a lot of reels and posts and shorts about a series and so you start to watch it. And you see how a lot of people like one character and it is really common to see this: men relating a lot to a male character that is badass and kicks ass and them looking up to him and wanting to be like him. And 90% of the time that character is a fucking piece of shit.

Well nothing could have preprared me for the gigantic asshole that is Daemon Targaryen. It is honestly impressive how many good things I have seen said about him AND HOW MUCH OF A HORRIBLE PERSON HE IS. OH MY GOD. I have heard so much stuff about how much Daemon is a great warrior and how much he loves his brother Viserys and how much he DOESN'T want the throne. And. No. For fuck's sake no. How can people look up to this absolute garbage of a man. I can make a LONG list of the awful things Daemon has done to people.

Season 1:

Episode 1:

- Sitting on Viserys' throne (not that bad, but it shows how much he respects his brother's title)

- Called his wife both ugly AND a bitch (sexist piece of shit)

- Made fun of the death of Otto's wife (Otto is a bastard that deserves it, but he's still an asshole to make fun of someone's mourning)

- Making Otto's knight trip after asking for Alicent's blessing just to humiliate the Hightowers even more (doing so by making the horse trip, fighting dirty is a dick move)

- Made a toast celebrating the death of Viserys' death, even calling him "Heir for a day" to mock him

Episode 2:

- Stole the egg of Viserys' dead son, basically spitting on his death again

Episode 3:

- Beat the shit out of a messanger because the little brat couldn't accept the fact that he was sucking so much at a war that his big brother had to send him reinforcements (yeah he won before they arrived, doesn't change the fact that it was quite literally a reaction at the level of a tantrum)

Episode 4:

- Called his wife a bitch AGAIN and joked about her being probably infertile due to being harsh and stuff like that

- Bringing his teen niece to a brothel, grooming her and having sex with her (hey, it does not matter if morality is different in Westeros and Rhaenera is technically an adult, THAT'S HIS NIECE THAT IS HALF HIS AGE. THERE'S A POWER INBALANCE HERE. AND NO, BECAUSE OTHER CHARACTERS DO IT, IT DOESN'T MAKE IT BETTER. VISERYS CAN GO DIE IN A DITCH AS WELL FOR HIS RELANTIONSHIP WITH ALICENT FOR ALL I CARE)

- Boosting about fucking his niece to her FATHER and then proposing a marriage with her, acting like she's a prize for his success in battle

Episode 5:

- Killing his wife (of course she wasn't manipulable so she had to die)

- Mocking the cousin of his wife about having her inheritance

- Almost started to make out with Rhaenyra in front of everyone at the banquet before her marriage

Episode 6:

Wow, actually nothing in this one. They even kept him from making the same choice Viserys made with Aemma.

Episode 7:

- Fucking his niece again, he just doesn't learn I see. Oh yeah and he marries her. I'm sure they won't be toxic.

Episode 8:

Wow nothing again. Unbelievable, I am surprised. Did his two wives help him become a decent person? It has been like more than 10 years between the start of episode 6 and the end of episode 8 so it could be.

Episode 9:

Nothing again, but he wasn't in it so.

Episode 10:

- HERE HE COMES BACK WITH THE STEELCHAIR! Calling Alicent a whore and telling Rhaenys what she should have done.

- Ignoring his wife screaming for him, what a great husband (god that birthing scene, why jesus christ)

- Basically commanding Rhaenyra's council of war like it's his, just like the conversation with Otto. This doesn't make him an asshole per se, but it is a great showing of not being able to read the room. If the entire conflict hinges upon the fact that her legitimacy is being discussed you shouldn't really talk like YOU are the boss instead of HER.

- Basically saying that Vyseris and Rhaenyra aren't good leaders in front of EVERYONE. This man is not smart. At ALL.

- Chocking Rhaenyra and saying Vyseris' reign was useless. He is pathetic beyond belief.

Season 2:

Episode1:

- Wow less than 5 minutes into season 2 and he's already kicking. Giving Rhaenis orders, undermining Rhaenyra's authority and basically telling Rhaenis that Luke's death is her fault.

- Treating both Mysaria and Erryk like shit.

- Not trying to be there for Rhaenyra for Luke's death not even for a second, not one word, nothing. I understand, Rhaenyra's pain doesn't help in a war, but the war in question hasn't been going on for not even a MONTH. And with the naval blockade and the loyalty of some of the clans they already struck back. You CAN hug your wife for 5 seconds due to the death of her son, you won't lose the war if you do.

- I know some people try to defend him by saying stuff like "Oh he just ordered to kill Aemond". Why would they kill the kid then. I'm not joking, why the kid ESPECIALLY? Do people really think a random rat killer would be smart enough to kill the prince because he, one day, would get on the throne? Why would he even care? Even the guard loyal to Daemon wouldn't care about that. Hell, Haelena would be more straightforward and reasonable for a random person, since she's an adult and she saw them. But no, the MALE child specifically to destroy the bloodline. Come on, Daemon ordered it, "a son for a son", he doesn't care if it's a child. And even if he didn't, and it's a huge if, it just shows how little in control he is. He is not able to do anything right.

Episode 2:

- Throws a tantrum, lashing out to Rhaenyra, insults Vyseris in front of her and basically tells her "You're only on the throne so that I wouldn't, you don't deserve it".

Episode 3:

- Taking an offense in being called "Prince" instead of "King". You are not the king boy, pipe down. The crown isn't yours. Ego piercing the clouds, seriously.

Episode 4:

- I'll give him the benefit of the doubt because he was tripping balls, but seriously? Killing young Rhaenyra? Yeah that's not a good look.

- He told a teen to kill his grandfather, and then said to his face that his family is shit.

- So you DO know that that Psycho of Aemond is basically you but 30 years younger.

Episode 5:

- "Daemon never wanted the crown!" His literal subconscious in the form of his mother (that he was fucking) told him he deserved it more than his brother. What else do you need?

- He scoofs anytime he is remembered that the crown isn't his.

- "The true heir of Viserys" he calls himself, he seems SO loyal to Rhaenyra (that's sarcasm)

Episode 6:

- The allucination with the Viserys conversation due to the "heir for a day" comment made me realize that he never apologized for it. Not once.

Episode 7:

Surprisingly nothing, I mean yeah he killed the Lord of the rivers with Alyn's help, but the man was to going to die anyway so. I don't know if it counts.

Episode 8:

Nothing again, not denying the treason proposal was fishy but at the end he bent the knee so all good.

Now that season 2 has ended and season 3 won't come out for a year or more, the list by episodes is over. I will use this to elaborate my thoughts.

Watching Daemon Targaryen in the series and seeing his reception by the fandom made me realize how the "media literacy is dead" is yes wrong but is also very justifiable as an opinion. Because the Daemon situation is really the last installment of this behaviour, especially from men: Walter White, the guy from American Psycho, hell even Ken from the Barbie movie. How much can these characters been latched onto, been seen as incredible and as a goal, while their entire purpose in the story is to have a giant glowing sign that reads "this is a bad person and this how they fit into our messed up society" or maybe they are part of a story and they are not there to be an omen, but they are very openly written to be bad people. Daemon falls into the second category. He has a very distinct role in the series and that's to be the ambigous guy with a giant ego, always understimating everyone around him, while constantly being punished for such way of thinking and arriving, at the end, at finding purpose in being under someone and serving them. Daemon is constantly dismissive towards other people: he thinks he's beneath everyone and everything. That he can do and say anything he likes. And he gets fucked every single time for it. He thought he could insult Vyseris' child, he got sent away. He thought he could steal his egg, he had soldiers and a dragon at his doorstep to take it back. He thought he could start a war at sea and win easily and he had to use Laenor's tactic to win or use Vyseris' troops, otherwise he would have lost horribly. He thought he could have his way with Rhaenyra, he was banished for it. He thought he could command his second wife, ignore her desires and choose for her, she made her own dragon burn her alive in order to make a choice for herself. He thought he could take revenge for Rhaenyra and hurt the greens, he not only gave an order so shallow that it could have been misinterpreted but Rhaenyra was disgusted by it and it ruined her reputation throught the seven kingdoms. He thought he could make the Blackwoods kill their rivals without a problem, if the young Tally hadn't grew balls the size of Caraxes the entirety of the River people wouldn't have followed him even if the dragon was about to burn them all alive.

THAT is who Daemon is: an incompetent, egomaniac that is constantly needed to be reminded that he ain't shit.

And yet so many people think he's the most badass character in the show. They think he's a loving brother, a great husband, a genius when it comes to war and a great warrior. All of those things, Daemon Targaryen is not.

And if you enjoy him as a character, well I only have one thing to say to you: that's fine. Because Daemon is written BEAUTIFULLY. He is coherent to a fault.

You can see that he loves Vyseris, but he's a psycho that has never respected him so he constantly hurts him because he's a piece of shit.

He doesn't respect Rhaenyra because to him she's always gonna be a child because Daemon is a groomer. She is also not fit to be queen because she's like Vyseris, someone that Daemon never thought to be a good king, and he wasn't entirely wrong. Because, mind you, if Vyseris had a backbone, Daemon would have lost his head. He got too many chances.

Daemon will always envy Rhaenyra because in a way he was always seeking Vyseris' attention, he always wanted to be praised by him, but he always wanted to be praised for being HIMSELF, hence why he never tried to act as Vyseris would have liked. He wanted Vyseris to like Daemon, not the Daemon that acted like Vyseris would have wanted.

Daemon could never be in a good relantionship because he can't respect anyone else outside of himself. His first wife was his equal. In no way that woman would have bent to his will. His second wife was more accomodating, but she had pride in herself and at the end choose for herself. And Rhaenyra? She's supposed to be BENEATH him, he could never accept that.

Daemon can never shut his mouth because to him, being himself is more important than reason. My brother is mad at me for maybe having fucked his daughter? Well I'll double down, I have every right to get her- oh he banished me. The entirery of the conflict revolves around my wife's claim being questioned? Well I want to fight this war in this way, so I'll give orders, go to Harrenal to build an army and win by myself- oh one of her council members has come here to ask me to betray her and lead the war because he doesn't believe she's good enough to lead.

You can almost always predict Daemon before he speaks or acts, that's how well he was written. And it is also very EASY to see how he was written. Seriously, his actions are up there, they have been documented episode by episode, if you still don't see it I don't know what to tell you. Anyone that has seen him throw a fit for not being called King is seriously still trying to say that he didn't want the crown? HIS FIRST SCENE IN THE ENTIRE SERIES WAS HIM ON THE IRON THRONE.

ONLY. And I repeat, ONLY in the last episode Daemon has let go. Only then. Because he finally realized, due to the visions: "Okay I need to get my shit together, this is bigger than me" and it took a vision of quite literally zombies killing a dragon and marching towards the world of the living to make Daemon Targaryen lower his head.

I repeat: this is not a post about Daemon being a shitty character and me saying that his fans are dumb. It is, however, a post about how men have, once again, latched onto a toxic and objectively bad male character in a show and ignored 90% of how he was written in order to have a cool character to kin. It is also about people not being able to. Understand writing because saying "Daemon never wanted the crown" is like saying "Aegon always wanted the crown" and I think we all know he never wanted it.

Also also, this post, about making a list of all the bad things a character has done, can be done about a lot of other characters, I am aware. But no other character in this show has been read as wrongly and has been lifted so high as Daemon has.

[kaliade]

Twisted Wonderland Headcanon- The Villains Were Right

  I’m really, really into Twisted Wonderland right now and you all have you suffer for it.  If you don’t know what Twisted Wonderland is, it’s a gacha style Disney game with Twisted versions of the Classic Disney Movie villains all attending an all boys college called Night Raven College (herein referred to as NRC).  There the Great Seven (the Disney villains) are revered.  There are 2 different ways of interpreting NRC’s reverenace of the Seven that I’ve seen so far. 

1. The Villains were villains and this is a school for villains so no one cares 2.  The Villains won instead of failing in their respective movies and thus are still respected.

I propose a 3rd option.  The Villains were in the right even if their actions were seen as extreme.  Allow me to elaborate.  Beware, Spoilers ahead!

The Queen of Hearts In my re-telling/re-imagining, the Queen of Hearts is the uniter of her kingdom.  The Rose Queendom did not always follow a single ruler, instead being made up of a bunch of smaller kingdoms that were in a near constant state of war.  This war state would represent the madness that keeps getting brought up in regards to her.  The Queen of Hearts managed to untie the entire area of what would become the Rose Queendom under her banner.  The 800+ odd rules of hers were her way of uniting several cultures.  Feeding the flamingos while wearing pink?  That’s from one group who believed the similar colors would make the animals stronger.  No eating hamburgers on Tuesday?  One group had a religious observance on that day that forbid it.  And yes, the Queen did sentence many who broke her rules to be beheaded, but that was mostly because those breaking the rules were rebelling against her in an attempt to break the kingdom apart.  This is the main part where I think the Queen’s a bit extreme in her punishments, but my version of the Queen of Hearts was a traumatized general who definitely had PTSD as well as other mental health issues.

Scar United the hyenas and other downtodden folk against his brother King Mufasa.  Mufasa was giving positions based on blood ties and, in essence, racism by not allowing certain animal species to hold rank or even employment.  The hyenas were banished.  Scar saw that things were going to go bad with the spark of rebellion just waiting to be lit.  Wanting to save his kingdom, he allied with those who the Lion King scorned and banished.  Scar was successful in defeating his brother and took over as king, even saving his nephew Simba from being kidnapped by Mufasa’s loyal retainers to make the prince a puppet ruler.  He was aided in this by a meerkat and a warthog that had found the injured cub and taken him in.  Both meerkat and warthog were rewarded for their actions.  Scar ruled fairly over the Savanna until Simba, who had been taught how to be a ruler by his Uncle, was ready to take over.  Scar then retired and enjoyed the life where he didn’t have to make decisions that could affect the whole country, even if he did stay in the palace to act as a source of wisdom for his young nephew.  His extremeness comes from being the killer of his brother.

Ursula Triton’s sister who left after being treated horribly by the tailed merfolk (Basically like Azul was)  She does learn her magic and to create contracts and, yes, did start out as she is in her movie.  A scam artist, power seeking, etc.  Then her sister-in-law dies at the hands of humans (see the Little Mermaid prequel for details)  As much as she despises her brother, her nieces need a female role model.  Triton is busy and grieving and takes little notice of his sister’s return until he eventually does and she’s banished again, but now the mermaid princesses know her and have heard stories about what she can do. This is also a turning point of Ursula.  She’s been bitter this entire time and being treated kindly by her nieces and getting respect for the other merfolk with how she was helping the princesses made her change her tune, slightly.  She still makes deals, but the consequences of the deals are less eternal servitude and more indentured servitude with a stated end date.  This brings us to the Little Mermaid movie events.  Ariel still falls for a human prince but this time she knows her aunt has the power to give her legs and there’s less screaming all around from Sebastian and Flounder.  Ursula is hesitant on giving Ariel what she wants.  She remembers how her sister-in-law died.  So, in order to keep the existence of merfolk quiet, her price in her niece’s voice, which she also uses to test the human boy her niece is in love with.  Triton does find out, but the man has mellowed over the years, especially with his many daughters asking why he’d so mean to their aunt.  He is angry, but the siblings do talk it out and he appreciates Ursula looking out for his daughter on land.  There is no stabbing of the giant cecaelia or any stealing of a trident and Ariel eventually works out a treaty between the merfolk and the humans after getting her voice back form her aunt after Eric proves he loves her.

Jafar Took over Agrahbah because the sultan was an  idiot and the princess nearly caused a war with having her pet tiger attack her suitors.  It was the only way to keep his home safe.  After the princess was nearly tricked into marrying a street rat with a genie at his side, Jafar deposed the sultan and his daughter.  Life in Agrhabah grew better under his rule as he made several advances using magic to bring comforts to his people.

Beautiful/Evil Queen (Trigger Warning:  Rape allusions, Abuse, Assisted Suicide) Married to the king less than a month after his first wife died of mysterious circumstance,  Grimhild age age 17 became the new Queen and stepmother to a 5 year old Snow White.  While she didn’t spend much time with the girl, leaving her rearing to nannies and tutors, the Queen did not have any animosity toward the girl.  No, her hatred was focused on the King, who liked his women beautiful and young, the younger the better and they didn’t necessarily have to be willing.  Grimhild put up with this, trying to help the girls as much as she could with her potions but having no actual power to stop her husband.  Then Snow turned 14... Before the king’s eye could turn to his daughter, a prince from a nearby kingdom visited and was besotted by Snow.  Grimhild became enraged, not because he did not look at her like that, but because the man was in his 30s!  The king agreed to betroth Snow and the prince.  Fearing for the girl, the Queen sent her loyal huntsman to take the girl out to the woods to gather wildflowers for a gift for the prince.  In truth, she ordered her huntsman to take her into the wood and get the girl to run away on her own or make her.  After scaring the poor child with tales of what awaited her and what her mother and stepmother had suffered through, Snow fled into the forest and came upon the dwarves, who took her in and protected her in exchange for some housework and cooking.  The Queen would later, after events, give them royal fiat to mine magestones and sell them at high profit with the royal seal.  Unfortunately, Snow fell ill one day from the plague and never recovered, dying at the age of 18.  Nothing her stepmother or the dwarves did could save her.  Grimhild, taking pity on the girl’s suffering and inability to heal her, offered Snow poison to make her miserable death easier, which Snow accepted.  (Meaning assisted suicide) Now, while Snow was safe with the dwarves, the Queen decided enough was enough and with the help of the castle staff, who were also sick of the king’s ways, poisoned the king and took over the kingdom.  Snow came back home after a year, but she missed the dwarves home and would visit when she could.  The prince that was courting her never made it home and no one (save for an eagle eyed huntsman and a viciously protective queen) know what happened to him...

Hades (Admittedly my weakest of these) The Titan Class Phantoms are phantoms of half-gods that attacked Olympus.  Hades, being the only god who didn’t have residence of Olympus, was the only survivor and managed to trap them in Tartarus.  He set himself, and his descendants, to watch over the gate, which did eventually come to be more like a curse than a true calling.  Due to his connection to death, it was very difficult for him or his descendants to accumulate Blot.  Their magic tended to have a life draining effect which is why the family prefers to use tech over magic.

Maleficent The only one out of the whole bunch that I do not blame her canon counterpart for her reaction.  Listen, you are dealing with the Fae, a ruling Fae to be precise.  THat shit of not inviting her to a christening (which  for the sake of TWST i’m renaming a Naming Ceremony), which for a royal is a very big, public event, is just asking for a curse.  Seriously.  And if we take the fact they invited 3 light aligned fae to the party but not the dark fae, then that adds another layer to the situation.  In short, that could have been cause for war with a human nation, let alone a fae one.   So yeah, not much change in this one for me personally.  Maleficent was in the right. 

[mandaloriandragontrainer]

Since Callum is a mage and Moonshadows even over 100 years don't seem to live that much more (maybe 120? Kim had to expand her life span after all and she was like 300) I like to think the end of their lives aren't that dramatic so maybe something like this:

When they are both really old like 90 and one of them passes away first (I asume Callum) the other quickly follows (The Notebook movie style). They spend the afterlife together‚ young forever watching over their descendants. I refuse to believe one has to see the other die and live without each other ok? If not‚ the other option is that they get the dragon balls and become immortal 👿

You made me think about this and now I'm sad blocked blocked you are blocked forever

You basically nailed my personal headcanon (no, it is definitely not that evil thing I posted earlier about Callum living for centuries after his family is gone. That was meant only to cause pain.) Moonshadow elves naturally live 120-130 years, which is actually the shortest lifespan among the six races of elf (since the moon herself lives and "dies" so quickly). A Moonshadow elf dying in their 90s is still seen as rather tragic, much like a human dying in their 60s. They aren't young persay, but they still should've lived another decade or two.

Callum passes away when he's around 90 years old, and it's peaceful. He has lived a long, full life, and when he passes he has long been considered among the most revered archmages in history. More important to him, however, is that he lived to meet several of his great-grandchildren. When it becomes apparent the end is near, all his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and many friends come to visit and say their final goodbyes. But only Rayla is at his side when, come night, beneath a full moon, his spirit departs to reunite with his mother and father at last. She is holding him, and kissing him, and whispering of her eternal love. And she feels him breathe his last.

Despite Rayla's excellent health, she falls ill only a few days after her husband's death and does not recover. One night a month or so later, Callum appears beside her bed, young and strong and vibrant once again. And her gathers her up in his warm, glossy wings and takes her away to be with him forever. And when they find her come morning, her still form is still softly smiling.

To fellow Moonshadow elves, it is horrible, unexpected news. Rayla ought to have lived another 30 or 40 years. But her children, though heartbroken to lose both their father and their mother so close together, understand.

Neither could ever live without the other.

[horizon-verizon]

I stopped thinking about B&C = red wedding because it seems like a ...Misinterpretation? because I don't think that would have ever happened on the show. What made RW so terrible how was it?

Emotional component: Helaena's pain and desperation, the brutality of the election and that the children have to present that.That component is gained with a. Screen time and/or. b. memorable scenes

hotD has already mostly failed in that aspect unlike Robb and Cat who we knew for three seasons and followed their story that already had a good emotional baggage . It's also not the first time they've failed in that regard, despite having enough "character-establishing" scenes I personally didn't feel invested enough in Luke to care about Luke's death. Helaena's children had even less than that and it took away some of the trauma that happens around

-scenography: HotD has a SERIOUS pacing problem since the first season and even when I think the music choices are well made to build tension it gets lost because the rest of the scene is not up to scratch. They take things from point a to point b without time for it to build and have weight for the viewer and the characters.We don't get to "live" the feelings of the scene, it's flat.

All good, but those are problems due to the script and direction, does that mean that being better written would be what the fans wanted?

I don't think either

If you see TG's posts, the comparison comes from that moment of great horror and pain, they were preparing to recreate how horrible the death of an innocent person was, the beginning of the war and that they were attacked in an environment that is considered safe. That level of horror is surely comparable to TRW?!

except that... No

This horror that comes from the loss of customs and traditions that should have kept the characters safe and that leads to a massacre... It is the death of Lucerys. It is Lucerys who was protected by his role as envoy just as Robb and his men were protected by guest rights.

There is also a deletion of the aspects that canon!book attributed to the death of Luke/visenya to give them to the death of Jaehaerys :

The war begins with the death of Luke, not Jaehaerys, no matter what the new trailer/Aegon wants to try to say.The first child victim of the war was Lucerys/Visenya, not Jaehaerys (and it must have been more obvious because Elliott was actually old enough to look like a child).The first mother to feel the pain and loss is Rhaenyra, not Helaena and Alicent. Luke's death doesn't justify B&C, but Jaehaerys' death justifies Rhaenys' death (just as Maelor's death apparently justifies a massacre). Somehow they (TG) end up writing in a way that makes me just hear Book!Alicent saying that bastard blood doesn't matter, because instead of judging both events as the tragedies they were (because neither was good) they want the justification to be victims and have the moral ground to attack and massacre (the same way TRW's brutality justified the whole "the north remembers" plot or Lady Stoneheart/Arya's massacre).

Everything that turned TRW into the horror that it was, fails in HotD both because of the script and accumulated flaws and because of a misunderstanding of what made the scene so horrible.I'm not saying that B&C wasn't horrible, but in the case of the fan analysis I'm looking askance because, once again, I see an erasure of the pain and history of the black to give it to the greens.

This horror that comes from the loss of customs and traditions that should have kept the characters safe and that leads to a massacre... It is the death of Lucerys. It is Lucerys who was protected by his role as envoy just as Robb and his men were protected by guest rights.

You make a great catch. One small reminder: Jaehaerys' death is arguably kinslaying (another taboo act that is a break of customary protections), as he's Daemon's grand nephew, unless kin slaying is only about first cousins, child, parent, sibling, uncle, niece? IDK how far kinslaying in Westeros extends.

The first mother to feel the pain and loss is Rhaenyra, not Helaena and Alicent. Luke's death doesn't justify B&C, but Jaehaerys' death justifies Rhaenys' death (just as Maelor's death apparently justifies a massacre). Somehow they (TG) end up writing in a way that makes me just hear Book!Alicent saying that bastard blood doesn't matter, because instead of judging both events as the tragedies they were (because neither was good) they want the justification to be victims and have the moral ground to attack and massacre.

--AND--

I see an erasure of the pain and history of the black to give it to the greens.

EXACTLY! That is what it is and has been.

[hippodamoi]

A friend said she read Crime & Punishment but wasn't impressed by it. All she recalled was an entitled man killing an old woman and pity party for the murderer's poor tortured soul. This was my response to her, I thought others might enjoy it too.

"It is a staunch criticism, not a pity party. There was this idea of a cosmopolitan man, a Nietzschean übermensch was someone capable of transcending social and moral codes. Prime example being Napoleon, a man without parallel. Them being 'great' would make them invincible to guilt because all actions they took would be something considered beneficial to society - Raskolnikov thought he was one of these men, and by devolving throughout the narrative he realizes he is not one of these "great" men, he is just like any other citizen and there is no excuse for thinking morals and laws don't apply to you. It's a direct message to the students and academic men of the time. The old woman is a horrible loanshark and abuses the woman she lives with, her niece, and he tries to convince himself that killing her would be excusable since he considers her a cancer on society. But he also ends up killing the niece to cover up his crime as she returns and witnesses it - removing even that sliver of argument or defense for his actions. He hoped to 'serve humanity' by eradicating the mean-spirited moneylender, but also had the utilitarian idea that he would steal her money and use said money to further his education, so that he could become a great man and have positive influence and help more people. The whole murder has the spirit of a psychological experiment which fits the theme and craft of the novel. Raskolnikov has delusions of godhood and this is after Dostovyevsky has been in a gulag for 10+ years, so he knows that the young think themselves immortal and anointed, a common misconception of the youth in western education at the time and even to this day,

After killing her he realizes just how much he is not beyond good and evil. Something he previously thought was petty, something for plebians.

It has three dimensions, his biography, his christian faith (there's several references to the bible and lazarus who he symbolizes) and criticism/exploration of philosophical ideas. Its a direct response to utopian socialism and rational nihilism. He even foresaw many of the horrors of the russian revolution.

The epilogue is not just redemption, but sanctification. Raskolnikov has become a saint. Russian religion at the time was very orthodox and process-oriented, so we follow the steps of his redemption in the narrative. He confessed his sin out of weakness instead of strength, his transformation from the snivelling arrogant youth to a saint is not verbal, its a lived out experience and process. even the title in russian refers to the carrying of a cross, the very first scene is him crossing a bridge from the dirty streets of Skt. Petersburg to fresh clean air of the pastoral. Both foreshadowing and commentary on the squalor most of the citizens live in. as well as the moral degradation of the cosmopolitan cities. Skt. Petersburg was usually described as extravagant and beautiful in literature, while he describes it as smelly, dirty and sort of a wasteland - a hell, you might say.

There's also this dominating motif of christian authenticity that is typical of russian lit. A christian heart will react in a christian way - meaning it will recognize good and evil in a way that a rationally educated mind does not. (especially in reference to that horrible scene with the horse)

Raskolnikov is described as a misanthrope, and alienated from both religion and other people, leading him to commit same sin as Cain, not killing his brother per se, but a fellow human being. that very act transforms him. something in him dies with the moneylender - his common humanity.

out of that death comes a different life, drawing parallel to Lazarus as I mentioned before. It's like a whole hermeneutic event, his return to common humanity starts with Sonia telling him the very story of Lazarus. anyway, enough of me writing novels about novels! It's so convoluted and deep and I genuinely love it. Its a prime example of literature being an educating, moralizing element capable of engendering empathy and inspiring positive social progress."

[xsweetcatastrophe]

You Broke Me First

Part 8

After about 10 minutes of back and forth, Zoe agreed to have him come up. The conversation was comical, looking back on it. If people weren't around, they very easily would of gotten louder and louder, but because the photographers were on the other of the street they were loudly whispering... on top of cheesy smiles so the photographers wouldn't know what they were arguing over. All Zoe wanted to do was go inside and maybe have another beer and go to sleep and forget this is currently her life for the next could of months.

Yet here she finds herself, standing on a curb whisper-shouting at Cillian Murphy on a Monday evening. That alone sounds like a messed up game of Mad-Libs.

Cillian followed her inside, up the 2 story walk-up. The stairs were narrow and the air was hot and sticky, there was no air ventilation in the common hallways. Hope he's not expecting to walk into cool air, Zoe thought, arriving at her door and sliding the key into the lock.

"I warned you" Zoe said, opening the door.

The apartment wasn't as hot as she thought it would be. the AC was working when she left, but it has a habit of shutting off if it's left on for any longer than 5-6 hours. It was still going, so it was a somewhat cooler temperature.

The bra however, was still on the floor.

And guess what the first thing Cillian went for was?

"Do you just get undressed and throw your clothes around?" He said, picking up the bra off the floor. Zoe snatched it out of his hands and walked to the bathroom, throwing it in the hamper.

She re-entered the living room to Cillian looking at the pictures she had on the wall.

Fuck, she thought.

"is this your niece? and sister?" Cillian said, pointing to a picture of the three of them together. Zoe nodded. "You and your sister are twins. and your niece looks just like you," Cillian said, turning back to the picture.

Cillian made his way down the wall of pictures, stopping at the final black and white one. It was a picture of Zoe and her dad, back to the camera, just sitting next to each other on a bench. It was Zoe's favorite picture. She missed him more than anything. She remembers people saying "He'll always be with you" when he died. She hoped that if that was true, he really was right by her side, much like how he was in this picture.

"That's a really nice picture, Zoe" Cillian said, turning around and looking at her. Zoe smiled and said thank you, however she felt somewhat confused. Zoe didn't tell Cillian about her dad, she left that out of their lunch conversation. For all he knew, she could of never MET her dad. How would he know if he was dead or not?

"What did you want to talk about?" Zoe said, sitting on the couch changing the subject.

Cillian sighed and sat down at the other end of the couch.

"It was Inception that changed everything." He said, looking down at the floor.

Zoe stared at him, confused. Why does this man speak in riddles?

"Don't get me wrong. I'm proud of all my work. But that one was... life changing. and not for the best. I felt like I had everything. I had a great job, stable income, the chance to have work come to ME instead of having to ask to audition... and I had a partner who I did everything with. When I tell you she was my other half, I meant it. But once Inception came out... the press was relentless. I told her it would let up, and to just be patient. But it never did. We couldn't go out to our normal places for brunch of a glass of wine without being mobbed. People were coming up to her in the streets while food shopping asking about me or saying just downright horrible things to her, making up lies that I'm cheating or she didn't deserve me. We couldn't go for a walk without being stopped and asked for a picture. Everything changed and everything was different. We started fighting, a lot. I could tell she started to resent me. She asked me to quit, at least for a couple of years. But I couldn't.. how could I? I thought she would understand. I thought we would get through it... isn't that was marriage is? For better or for worse? I never knew my life could come together while simultaneously fall apart at the same time. I put on a smile in all the interviews, all the panels, etc. but I was dying on the inside. One day I came home and her stuff was gone. She just left. She couldn't take it anymore. To say I was shocked wouldn't be fair. It was a year of bickering, sleeping in separate rooms, shouting matches, tears, all of it. I guess a part of me never really thought she would leave for good." Cillian said, never breaking eye contact with the floor.

"I'm... so sorry" Zoe said, shocked. Cillian waived his hand at her, as if to say don't apologize.

"She left years ago, and we've been living separately almost as long as we lived together."

".... but you're just getting divorced now?" Zoe said, confused. She did quick math in her head - Inception came out in 2010, so lets say she moved out 2011.... that was 13 years ago.

"Well... she met someone who proposed to her" Cillian said, lifting his head and looking out the window.

yikes.

"I made my peace with it, trust me. If I look upset it's because I'm mourning the life I had for a short while. It's very confusing... I'm not in love with her anymore... but I can't help but feel like a failure and I let her down."

It was starting to make sense. That's why he's private. The media essentially ruined his marriage and ripped the rug out from under him and turned his life upside down.

And now he's stuck in a contract to date a girl who's in the very industry who caused all this pain.

"I don't think you're a failure. At all. Don't look at it like that" Zoe started, but Cillian waved his hand at her again.

"It's fine. Don't worry. I'm working through it. But that's why I snapped at you earlier. And that wasn't fair. I'm not saying this is an excuse but I felt you deserved an explanation" Cillian said, finally looking at him.

Were his eyes glassy? she couldn't tell.

"There's so much resentment between the two of us I feel like" He continued. "And... I really can't handle that right now. Can we please try and just get through this civilly as friends?"

Zoe was not only anxious, but she felt like shit.

"Cillian, I'm sorry that this all happened. I know we don't remember much, but I have the recording and I feel like I've done nothing but ask respectful questions during our interview, however if I crossed a line and was too invasive I apologize." Zoe stated. Why the fuck did she have to have the job she had right now?

"I don't remember either, and I didn't listen to the recording, but I don't think i would of slept with you if you asked uncomfortable questions" Cillian said, smiling.

"Twice" Zoe blurted out.

They both laughed. It felt good to laugh.

Just then, the AC shut off.

"Welp, there goes that" Zoe mumbled, standing up and turning on the fans.

"What you mean?"

"the AC only works for a couple of hours, then shuts off"

"what happens when it's hot?"

"...I sweat"

Cillian stared at her, confused. He shook his head and stood up.

"Well, I'll get out of your hair. The damn photographers are still outside, they're probably waiting because John is still outside"

"I'll walk you down" Zoe said, and they made their way to the door.

They walked down the stairs, and they both stepped out into the summer air. It cooled down a bit, maybe Zoe will open the windows to have the breeze come through the apartment.

"Well, thank you again for listening" Cillian said, turning around to face her.

Zoe heard the clicks of the cameras across the street.

"Thank you for telling me everything, it's good to know. I appreciate it" Zoe responded.

Cillian stared at her, small smiling.

"I think I should kiss you," He said softly. "Give them something to hopefully make them back off for a couple of days"

Zoe stared at him like a deer stuck in headlights.

"Come on, just a small kiss... we already slept together" Cillian said, laughing. "I won't force you. Just trying to make this look believable."

"oh.. um.. yea. i guess you're right" Zoe said, heart pounding.

Cillian smiled and stepped closer to her. He took his one hand on placed it on her hip, the other on her cheek, thumb caressing her lips.

He pressed his lips to hers. She kissed him back, cursing herself mentally for not remembering kissing him the night of the interview. Because he was good. And it gave her butterflies and calmed her at the same time.

He pulled away but stayed close, nose nudging hers. She opened her eyes to him looking at her, small smile on his lips.

"I'll text you later. Sleep good" Cillian said, pecking her lips one final time and breaking away.

For the first time in 24 hours, Zoe didn't have anxiety. She felt light as a feather. Free. She felt a smile plastered on her face as he walked to John waiting patiently. He got in and sped away. She looked at the car as it slowly pulled away from the curb and down the street, slowly disappearing.

Zoe looked towards the other side of the street. The sun was setting, and the sky was a pretty orange/pink color. How beautiful! she thought. She heard children playing in the courtyard of the apartment. Normally she would be annoyed for having to turn her TV louder to drown out their screams, but today they didn't bother her. They were laughing, and it made her happy. I love seeing kids play outside, she thought. Zoe's neighbor, Mr. Collins, walked past her with his dog, a Golden doodle. The golden doodle stopped and sniffed her leg as they passed. "Hi Mr. Collins - Hi Fang!" Zoe said, smiling at the neighbor and patting the dog on the head. He was so fluffy, and so doofy. How could you look at this fluff and not smile?

Zoe took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The air smelled fresher, like how it smells after it rains. Everything smelled clean and new, if that made sense. It was cooler as the time went on and Zoe decided that when she went back upstairs, she would open all the windows to feel the breeze as she slept. Maybe I'll walk to the corner store and buy fresh cut flowers tomorrow morning, she thought. Spruce up the apartment.

Life without being anxious was.... nice. She felt good.Life was good. Cillian somehow hit the reset button on everything. She saw everything through rose-colored glasses and she never wanted to take them off.

She heard clicks and saw bright flashes across the street.

She was brought back to reality by the photographers across the street, still there taking her picture.

And just like that, she was brought back to the reality that the man who brought her such peace to her chaos was just a contract and not real. Her feelings, however, were very real. She shouldn't feel anything. He didn't feel anything towards her. He's an actor. That's what she was to him - another job. Except she's not getting paid and her heart was most definitely going to get broken in the end.

Welcome back, panic attack.

tags: @lau219 @wolfieellsworld 

[billdecker]

So it's after 6am and I've had barely any sleep because my mind is racing so here's why my party went to shit. Hopefully getting this out somewhere will make me feel better. I'm sorry this is so long.

It started off feeling a bit ahhhh because my dress was a scratchy sensory nightmare. I also wore make-up. I never wear make-up because I hate how it feels on my skin so I was already feeling a bit horrible. So i changed out of my dress and felt a bit better.

Also, I invited my sister and she never showed up. I asked her to just pop in for an hour because she deserves a break (my eldest niece is going through some terrible puberty emotional stuff; been expelled from school; sister has a very misogynistic bf who does nothing to help her in the house so she's balancing everything and close to breakdown herself). So I felt upset about that but got over it and I completely understood why. It's a good job she didn't come along after all.

Things changed when alcohol happened (obvs). We had a couple of drinks and were singing along to some angry 90s girly pop and I felt really happy. I decided I didn't want any more drink for a while which BFF didn't like and kept trying to pressure me to drink more. I think that's when I started to kinda disconnect??

Anyway, she then spent wayyyyy over an hour (probably two hours tbh) just talking to my husband about her boyfriend. Telling D her bf's entire life story including really intimate details. Her bf is a musician in his spare time and he's currently working on an album. She wanted to end my playlist so we could listen to his youtube back catalogue of black metal songs. D is an expert on dealing with people who have drunk a lot (sadly; his dad was an alcoholic) so he was kinda handling all of this while I was sitting there feeling like a billy no mates at my own party. Honestly, she didn't look at me once. I'm sitting on the other settee on the other side of the room like that fucking John Travolta staring around meme.

Then when she did involve me (like, over an hour later) she starts comments about mine and D's intimate life and she's showing me all of these photos she's taken of me and saying how sexy I look in them all and I have to change them to my profile pic. I did not look great in them. I hated every single photo. Then she grabs the glowstick dick (this is a long story, it's a tradition that we make a dick out of glowsticks when we meet up) and starts rubbing it against me telling me to do stuff to the dick and pretend it's D, and if I don't wanna pretend it's D then pretend it's a couple of the men I've talked to online. I used to chat to blokes online for a bit of fun. D knew about it and never had a problem with it. It was all consensual fun stuff. I told her in confidence and didn't expect it to be brought up. I was just slowly feeling humiliated. By this point she's drunk a bottle and a half of rum (I KNOW. I only got the second bottle in bc I'd had the first for a while, sealed, but was worried about it) and I've had three drinks that I've slowly sipped over five or so hours so I'm still very sober. But I could feel myself spiralling. Like, my social battery is running out and I can't socially mask any longer so I said I was going to sit in the bedroom for five minutes because it's cooler and I'm gonna take off my make-up.

And I knew right then I just won't be able to go for the tattoo on Thursday. I don't have enough social energy left to do it. My mood has only started to get better after getting pierced. I know my own limits and I know I can't do it. Thankfully my other BFF is on the other end of Whatsapp. She's wise and really helps me to put things in a logic way when I'm spiralling. So she said to just be firm and say I'm going to bed because I'm tired and I need some rest.

So when I calmed down I did that and I thought I'd be honest about not being able to go to get the tattoo. Then things just got worse. She started saying I have to go and get it; that she, D, and my dad will practically drag me outside to do it. That we can make a whole day of it by visiting the park and then the pub (this is literally the worst thing I can do). And I'm trying to be firm and assertive and not mask and lay down my boundaries. I said no, I can't do it. I know a couple of days before I need to do something if I can do it or not. Like when I've been to the dentist or I got pierced, I might have been an anxious wreck but I knew deep down inside that I could do it. I know I can't do this. My mind won't change. She started arguing that I'll feel different on Thursday and I'm letting myself down (the other worst thing to say to me). She starts saying we should get some more rum tomorrow and have the party again because I've ended it early and it's not a proper party. Also that if I'm still drunk I'll get through the tattoo easier (wtf no). And I'm no fun, and I've been planning this for a year only to end it early by basically being a boring old fart.

By this point, I'm crying. I'm sitting there feeling like I'm being told off by my mum. She's saying all the stuff my mum would when I'd have a meltdown about having to go to family parties or if I just didn't want to go sit outside. BFF is completely ratarsed just having a go at me. She hasn't even noticed I'm crying. So I just stood and announced I was going to bed. I texted D from the bedroom to ask him if he could tidy up all of the buffet food and decorations. I lay on the bed and just silently sobbed until I kinda passed out.

I woke up when D came to bed and then I cried some more. I asked if she'd said anything about the tattoo or me coming to bed and she said she wanted to hatch a plan with him to force me to go outside. Then she started to talk more about her bf and their life and stuff that made D feel very uncomfortable. I'm going to have to do something nice for D or buy him something nice as a thank you for dealing with it all like an absolute pro. I cried into him and then had a really good chat with my other BFF about everything which made me feel better. I thought maybe I'd feel better after some sleep and I do, but in the way that it's just given me even more clarity that I definitely can go do on Thursday. My mood is still terrible and all I want to do is cry.

Tbh I just wanna stay in my room. She's here til Friday and I don't know how I'm gonna face her. D is going to cancel the tattoo for me later today and say I have covid. I might reschedule at some point and get a different tattoo just for me to celebrate my birthday. I'm so mentally drained I don't know how I'm going to get through my actual birthday on Saturday. I wanted to visit my parents but I can't even see myself leaving the flat. I feel crushed tbh. I hadn't seen her for five years. She hasn't changed. She's always been this loud and gone on and on about the men she's seeing (on my wedding day she spent 12 hours on myspace chatting to a boy she fancied, so she has form) but I think since realising I'm potentially autistic, my understanding of my behaviours has changed so I have boundaries now to prevent further mental breakdowns being worse in the long run. So I've really changed. I'm not just willingly going along with shit. I don't want to mask and I don't want to people please.

If you read this, thank you. She's here til Friday and I don't know how I'm gonna get through it because now I just wanna stay in bed, watch comfort TV, and do some work on my writing. I'm 40 years old in three days time. I'm too old for this sort of stuff to be happening. This stuff is shit that should happen 20 years ago. I just wanted a cute day where I listened to all of my favourite songs, had a beige buffet, and it was all good vibes.

Thank you all for your very sweet comments too. I kept coming to check on here to give my anxious hands something to do and reading them really made me smile while all of this stuff was going down. I have some of the best followers xxxx

[catierambles]

so I had a conversation with my mom. putting it under a Keep Reading because it touches on some subjects that might upset people

My mom called me crying yesterday saying that she had to leave a vacation with my nieces and their dad early because my eldest niece, Kaylynn, is turning into a carbon copy of her mother. Their mother who refuses to go to their track meets because she doesn't want to be bored. Who made my life a living hell growing up and told me to kill myself. Who none of us want anything to do with because of how much of a manipulative (but bad at it) rabid cunt she is. Who my parents completely disowned to the point where my mom gathered up every picture she had of her from baby onwards and burned them.

Apparently their mother has been telling Kaylynn that their grandma was a horrible mother and abused her and everything that's happened to her (Amanda) is her fault. It's bullshit. Amanda (their mom) takes absolutely no accountability for her own actions. It's all everyone else's fault, not hers.

My mom then asked me if she was a terrible mother and she told me to be honest. If you all know me, I have no problems with honesty if I believe the person needs to hear the truth. I won't lie to people, but as I've said many times before, I believe everyone should be honest, but there's a fine line between being an asshole and being honest and that is how you word things.

For example: If my room mate comes to me wearing a new dress or outfit and asks me how she looks, but it doesn't look good, I'm not going to tell her "You look like shit." I'm going to say "Not really your style, I'd go with something else." I still told her that I didn't think it looked good, but I wasn't an asshole about it.

Back to mom.

She asked me if she was a horrible mother and she told me to be honest. Now, in the past, whenever she asked me to be honest about something and then I was, I would get punished because I told her something she didn't actually want to hear. But I'm 1500miles away so fuck it.

I told her she wasn't terrible all the time. She had moments when she was a great mom, but there were a lot of moments when she wasn't. I told her that the reason why I hate asking for help, with anything, is because whenever I did I was yelled at, called stupid, and made to feel like an annoyance and a burden for asking.

Me: Hey, mom, what does this word mean?

Mom: OH MY GOD CATE JUST LOOK IT UP

She doesn't remember any of this.

I told her that she didn't want children. She wanted fully-formed mini-adults who she didn't have to raise and teach and guide because that was all done before, but she got children who she did have to put that effort into and it pissed her off.

My mom was physically abused when she was growing up, by her father and her step-father, beaten severely many times. She had to grow up and be an adult very quickly because that was expected of her as the eldest girl (my mom has 5 brothers and sisters, she's the oldest out of 3 girls, Wilhelm (Billy) is the oldest out of 3 boys). She wasn't allowed to be a child. So when she had children, she didn't know what to do so she fell back on how she was raised.

Now, before you reach for the pitchforks, my mom never laid a hand on us. That was my dads job But it's as if she thought that if she didn't hit us, she wasn't abusing us, but there are many different kinds of abuse. My mom was emotionally and mentally abusive. She was overbearing and overprotective. I didn't need anyone in my life, I just needed her. I didn't need friends, I just needed her. Then there were moments when I was honestly terrified of her. When she would scream at me over the little things until she was red in the face and I was crying, and then she would yell at me for "fake" crying.

My sister lied and said that I swore, she lied a lot to try to get me into trouble and it nearly always worked. My mom yelled at me to admit it, kept saying that I was lying when I said I didn't (because I didn't) and that would make her yell at me more for lying. It culminated in her pushing me to the ground. I told her she pushed me and she said "I didn't push you, you tripped." (gaslighting) My sister eventually fessed up that she only thought I swore and my mom dropped it. I never got an apology. I was 5.

Growing up, she would come into my room in the middle of the night to "check on me" but when she would step on something because my room was messy because I was a child, she would scream at me to wake up and make me clean my room. In the middle of night. Regardless if I had school the next day. This happened many times until she finally got sick of it and threw all my stuff away, ripping posters off the walls, throwing away books and stuffed animals. I tried to hide books in between my mattress and box spring so I would at least have something, my sister who was helping her found them, asked why I had books there and mom responded with "She's a slob, why wouldn't she have them there." She never stopped to think that maybe I was hiding them so they wouldn't get destroyed and why would I have to hide them to begin with.

When I was older and had a drivers license, she would ask me to go to the store, or do this or that, but it was okay if I told her no. If I did tell her no because I was tired from school or work, she would yell at me, calling me lazy and ungrateful, and then she would call my dad to tell him how lazy and ungrateful I was. I had the choice to say no, but god forbid I actually did, so I didn't really have a choice. I had the illusion of a choice.

When I told her that I was moving to Texas, she broke down into tears and begged me to stay because if I moved that far away, she wouldn't be able to visit me. I reminded her that when I was with my ex, living 15minutes away, she didn't visit me.

"But I could have!"

But you didn't.

"I'm not dying, mom, I'm just moving away."

"But it feels like you are!"

She tried to manipulate me into staying to spare her feelings, when being in that house with her was going to kill me. She wanted me to stay because she wanted someone to rely on her, when I haven't relied on her in years at that point. She tried to keep be close, but the more she tightened her grip, the more I pushed her away.

I left anyway because I needed to.

I told her all of this. Every last bit of it. Her response?

"I don't remember any of this."

"Well of course you don't, mom. For you it was Tuesday, for me it's a core memory."

"We were always such great friends when you were growing up."

"Yeah, when I wasn't terrified of you."

She had moments when she was honestly awesome, but then there were moments when she very much wasn't and I didn't think there was anything wrong with that because she wasn't horrible all the time, so that must be normal, right? Spoiler alert, no it isn't. It's not normal. You should never be terrified of your parents. You should never have to walk on eggshells around them for fear of them turning their anger on you. You shouldn't have to think about what you say to them and how you say it for every interaction because you know if you say it a certain way, you'll get screamed at.

Now before you say "Well maybe Amanda has a point." I want you to realize that I didn't turn out like she did. Nature vs Nurture. And also, Amanda was also incredibly abusive to me growing up and was one of my main tormentors (again, she told me to kill myself because no one would miss me anyway).

"Well, she was being bullied, so she bullied you. It's only natural."

Bullshit.

I was bullied. At home and at school and I never treated anyone how I was treated. I know what it's like so I make damn sure no one else feels that way because of me. I don't make other people suffer just because I suffered. I take accountability for my actions. If I fuck up, I own up to it and I make sure I don't do it again. With Amanda everything is everyone else's fault. She has never done anything wrong ever, never will, and if you say she has, it was someone else. No one else has ever experienced what she has in the history of the world and never will. She told our parents they didn't know what it was like to raise two girls and how difficult it was. I'm sorry, what? She said this to our parents who raised us (regardless of how) that they don't understand because they've never done it.

Amanda has some kind of psychopathy. She's malignantly narcissistic to the point where she hurts everyone around her to make everything all about her. She carefully crafts different personas depending on who she's talking to so she appears to be the best most wonderful person they've ever met in their entire life and when she's got their hooks in them and they're dependent on her, the real Amanda comes out.

She tries to manipulate people in her life, but again, she's bad at it, so it's pretty fucking easy to see through it if you know her. It's why we want nothing to do with her. It's why my parents disowned her. She fucks up and she tries to twist it around so it's actually someone else's fault and we should all hate them. They're the horrible person, not her, never her. She's perfect in every way, and if you try to say anything against her, you're evil and everyone should hate you too and she will try to get everyone to hate you.

But I digress

I told mom all of this (before the Amanda bit) and she thanked me for being honest with her. For not sugarcoating it. For straight up telling her "Yeah, you did your best, but your best was shit and it hurt us."

She asked me to forgive her, that she hoped that one day I would be able to forgive her for what she's done.

I'm not Amanda. I got down off that cross years ago, used the wood to build a bridge, and got over it.

I forgave her a long time ago and I told her that. She thanked me again, we talked for a few more minutes on some other things, and that was that.

If you made it this far, have a cookie.

[aella-targaryen]

DAEMON AND RHAENYRA. WHY WOULD DAEMON TRY TO CONVINCE RAHENYRA TO GO TO WAR? SPOILERS, THEORIES AND ANALYSIS.

Among the spoilers for Episode 10 of hotd there is one that I found very interesting:

"Daemon is the one who urges Rhaenyra to go to war, while Rhaenyra prefers to surrender to keep the peace"

I want to write this short analysis and my predictions of this spoiler because I know that many people will believe that this scene (if it happens) will discredit Daemon and Rhaenyra's love.

When, from my point of view, it will be totally the opposite:

1.- Daemon respects Rhaenyra's decisions more than anything in the world.

Daemon is Rhaenyra's main advisor and it seems that he has been her whole life. He is the one who points out what he considers the most appropriate path, but it is SHE who decides whether to take it or not.

And so far Daemon has accepted all of Rhaenyra's decisions and even orders.

What is reason?

Well, so far I've only seen one: Daemon loves Rhaenyra more than anyone, more (in my opinion) than his own children and his brother.

And from his love comes his loyalty and her faith in her.

Daemon was able to start the war without consulting Rhaenyra or even trying to convince her.

But he did not.

For any reason, Daemon will always want to listen to Rhaenyra's opinion and he will adhere to her decisions. At least in these first 10 episodes.

For example.

Do you think it would not have been easier to kill Laenor? Wouldn't it have been safer for Daemon and Rhaenyra and their children if Laenor had died? What if something had gone wrong or they had been betrayed? Wouldn't it have been easier just to kill a man? So what stopped Daemon?

Rhaenyra.

She loved Laenor like a brother and Daemon instead of doing what was most logical and efficient acted as Rhaenyra wanted.

In fact, even the spoiler tells us that Daemon doesn't start the war because Rhaenyra hasn't made up her mind to do so. He gets mad at her and even calls her "weak".

But he doesn't do anything else. As always until now Daemon follows Rhaenyra's wishes and orders.

Many may be surprised or offended that Daemon calls Rhaenyra weak. But I don't . They are simply words that show Daemon's frustration and surprise because Rhaenyra for the first time does not seem to have the same intentions as him.

Remember that Daemon called Viserys weak too.

and do we question Daemon's love for Viserys?

2.- The death of Visenya.

The death of Visenya, a babygirl who only existed in the dreams of the people who loved her, will definitely change Daemon and Rhaenyra's relationship.

The death of a child changes a couple relationship. Always. Sometimes it makes the relationship stronger and sometimes it makes it weaker. That does not mean that the parents did not love each other. It just means that pain can transform people's hearts almost beyond recognition.

I have no idea if Daemon and Rhaenyra's romantic relationship will last despite losing their daughter in such a horrible way. But what I have no doubt about is that their love will remain intact. Remember what I've always said:

For Daemon, Rhaenyra is not just the woman he loves romantically nor is she just the mother of his sons, she is the woman he recognizes as his wife (even though their marriage is totally illegal), she is his niece, she is his favorite relative, she is Viserys's favorite child, she is literally the only living part of Viserys that Daemon has been able to keep, she keeps the last will of her brother and also Rhaenyra is his best friend and his most loyal confidant.

Even if their entire romantic relationship goes to hell, Daemon and Rhaenyra will never stop loving each other.

3.- The reason why Daemon wants to go to war.

In my opinion, Daemon wants to go to war to protect Rhaenyra and their children. As simple as that.

Demon has a dream. "Make the house of the Dragon glorious again" and in his dream Rhaenyra is always by his side.

Why does Daemon want the house of the dragon to be great again? I think it's because for Daemon it is the only way for his family to have a safe place to live, with all the necessary power to defend themselves against future threats. He doesn't want to live in constant fear that Otto will one day decide to kill his children, himself, or Rahenyra.

He knows that the house of the dragon will always have enemies and to guarantee the strength of his family to face those enemies it is necessary that it be a Targaryen who reigns over all the Westeros.

4 .- Daemon knows that Rhaenyra "is more than this."

Daemon is Rhaenyra and Rhaenyra is Daemon.

Probably if Rhaenyra had died before Daemon, he would have gone to great lengths to make one of Rhaenyra's sons King.

If he hadn't died in the process I seriously believe that, without Viserys and Rhaenyra, he would have killed himself.

Daemon is Rhaenyra's soulmate and he knows her as well as himself. That's why Daemon's willingness to go to war is simply a reflection of Rhaenyra's will to fight. A will that is inside her but numb by the pain of the death of her father and her daughter, by her fear of losing the only family she has left and by the enormous responsibility of fulfilling the prophecy of Aegon I.

Amidst all the pain, fear and responsibility, Rhaenyra is losing herself.

But who is there to remind her who she is?

Deamon.

A lifetime ago, when Daemon lost himself, who was the person who reminded him of who he was? Who was the person who fueled in him the will to live and fight?

Rhaenyra

Rhaenyra was the one who reminded him who he was:

A man who was born to live and die for love and loyalty.

Daemon trying to convince Rhaenyra to go to war is reminding her who is she :

A woman who faces her life living on her own terms, without allowing anyone to impose their will on hers.

Daemon knows that Rhaenyra is much more than a woman who stays at home waiting for the storm to pass. He knows that she is a Dragon.

In our life it is important to always remember who we are or to have someone by our side to remind us. Because there is no amount of love, happiness, peace and abundance that can diminish the pain that losing our identity would cause us. Daemon showed us that when he lived in Pentos.

[sayruq]

Is it just me, or is HOTD trying to paint the Greens as the “villains?” In a span of 2-3 episodes, they’ve done the most to make Aegon II as unlikable as possible. Which I’m not arguing against because he’s nasty in the show. But Daemon can groom his niece, kill his wife, kill a lord (Vaemond) and gets praised for it because he’s Daemon. I thought they would show how both sides can be horrible, but it seems like they’re very pro Team Black for some reason.

It's hard to explain because it's difficult to distinguish between:

the writers focusing on the consequences of one group's actions in order to paint them as terrible people compared to a different group (protagonist-centered morality)

the writers being uninterested in one group and thus spending little effort in their scenes but taking their time with a different group and trying to show who they are

Personally, I believe it's the second case. The main problem with this show is that the writers are incompetent. The choice to have time jumps instead of working with flashbacks or having the characters explain themselves is a dumb one but with good writers, it wouldn't impact the story much. They just aren't good writers. All the characters are two-dimensional at best but the Greens have more development than the Blacks. This is why it's hard to see if they're biased against the Greens or more interested in writing Green scenes.

Daemon killed his first wife and it was glossed over simply because they wanted to explain how he got married a second time. Why he did it and what problems it could cause don't interest the writers because Daemon doesn't interest the writers. He's just there, he does things because Rhaenyra has to be passive and blameless in the name of critiquing the patriarchy.

Same with Viserys. Once the rest of the Greens (except Daeron) showed up, he just became a walking plot device. No more scenes in front of a bonfire explaining his thought process. He now exists for the sake of Alicent and Rhaenyra's toothless conflict.

Aemond could have just taken the dragon but first we saw how he was treated by his uncle and nephews for not having a dragon. Then we saw him have a borderline Disney moment taming the dragon but he was ambushed and maimed. This caused his mother a great deal of pain, it highlighted how much Viserys doesn't care about his children, it even included Aegon who helped Aemond lie about where he heard the Strong rumors. In comparison, we don't see why Daemon hates his wife before he kills her, we don't see why Rhaenyra chose to have children with Harwin (they barely shared scenes and has she even mentioned him since his death?), we barely get a glimpse of Jace's issues with his parentage, etc.

So it's not the writers are glossing over everything team Black does because they want them to be heroes, I'm sure if you ask them, they'll tell you they made Team Black morally grey. For example, when Vaemond died the showrunner said he acted with honor. It's clear the character was meant to be sympathetic but since the show was eager to move on to the dinner party, no time was spent on the aftermath of Vaemond's death.

I could be wrong tho.