#dug this out of the drafts

[sockeyesoren]

I wrote this at 2AM a while back and now dug it out of my drafts enjoy my ramble I watched Caveat (2020) a while back, right before bed and that movie fucked me up bro. I don't remember everything so this is probably very rambly and dumb but I must scream. Spoiler warning for Caveat (2020)

I've never been that scared of a movie. The scene where Isaac is stuck in the wall with Olga's mom?? Yeah that kept me up dude oh my god. I couldn't get that part out of my head. The mothers face was just etched into my brain or something because I could not stop thinking about that part. Now I'm kind of a wuss but I somehow always end up searching out scary media. First off I loved the setting. Them being stuck on an island and Isaac being put into that harness made it instantly feel claustrophobic. I also just enjoy the aesthetic of it. Like that, gross, abandoned forest feel if you catch my drift. That's what drew me to the movie in the first place. I kind of lump it together with The Blair Witch , The Ritual and The Witch (by Robert Eggers ) in my brain, visuals wise anyway. I don't know if that makes sense but it does to me.

The ritual, The witch and Caveat in order Also the set up where we first hear the fox call during the day and how it's used throughout the movie, I thought that was very clever. I need subtitles so I spoiled the question of "oooh is a person or a fox screaming?" (Since the subtitles go like [FOX CALL]) But I think it worked very well even with subtitles. Just added that extra unsettling ambience.

I don't know if I can call it my favorite horror movie since nearly the whole runtime I wished it would just be over with, I was that afraid of it. But looking back I enjoyed it a lot, though the tension made me literally sick. Very well paced from what I remember. FUCK THE LADY IN THE WALL THOUGH I STILL GET LIKE A STUPID ADRENALINE RUSH WHEN I SEE HER SHE'S SO SCARY BYE I had a weird delusion that she was following me around after watching, like I would imagine her in my wall and watching me from the little window above my door.

[coquelicoq]

how to write a sympathy card

so someone you know recently lost a loved one and you would like to extend your sympathy, but you have no idea what to say. here are some ideas to get the juices flowing. i did not even try to keep this short, so i've broken it up into four sections: general advice, what to include, some example cards i've written, and takeaways.

general advice

first, if you're reading this i'll assume that you have decided to express your sympathy in some way and just don't know how. the thing about doing this is it will always feel inadequate. it will often feel very awkward. you may be worried that everything you say sounds weirdly insincere even if it isn't. i'm here to tell you that that is all okay and normal and to be expected. i've written a lot of sympathy cards and afterwards i've never been like "wow, i nailed it!" and yet i've gotten a lot of comments from people thanking me for showing up even when all i did was send a measly insufficient card, because most people don't do that. it will mean something to the person that you did it at all, even if it's not perfect.

should you send your sympathy in a card or some other method? if you never send mail, if you don't have their address, if you don't even own stamps, maybe sending a card is not for you. but everything below also applies to an email you could send. i personally prefer a card because i like the physicality; it's something they can keep and look at later if they want to, and it's a way of showing a small amount of deliberation and care (i went to the store and picked this out; i sat down and handwrote this). more importantly, i feel like there's less pressure to respond to a card than an email, and a phone call can be overwhelming to someone who is already dealing with a lot of shit, while a card is just there whenever they feel up to looking at it. but that is entirely my own perspective; there are differences culturally as well as personally. you should do what makes sense for you.

do think about what you're trying to accomplish by sending this card. you may not be able to make things better, but you are certainly trying not to make things harder. one example of this might be: if your friend has just lost her mother, you might have a lot of complicated feelings about this that aren't really about your friend or her mother specifically (you also have a mother!), and that's natural and okay, but those feelings would perhaps be best to share with other friends of yours who didn't just lose their mother. another example: it's okay to be worried about your friend and how they're doing, but try not to imply that they owe you updates or that they're causing you a lot of stress by not keeping you in the loop. (of course, if they are instead sharing more with you than you can handle, it's important to set boundaries around that! though probably not through the mechanism of a sympathy card.)

it is okay to keep it really short and generic. again, i think just the act of thinking to get a card, getting a card, writing something in it, and mailing it already means something regardless of what is written in it. if you feel overwhelmed trying to figure out what to say, it is okay to keep it to "I'm thinking of you in this difficult time. I'm so sorry for your loss." i also sometimes add "I don't know what to say, except that [I'm thinking of you, etc.]."

one thing i've learned that makes this harder is that you cannot assume you know how anyone else feels. you may be thinking, "i also lost a parent, so i know how it feels," but you only know how you felt about it. there are infinite ways to feel about losing someone, including:

sadness for the deceased, that their life is over

sadness for themself, that the deceased is gone

sadness for the other people who lost the deceased

fear of their own mortality

fear of dying in the same way

fear of how their life is going to change without the deceased

relief that the deceased is no longer suffering

relief that their caretaking duties are over

relief that the deceased can no longer mistreat them

anger at the deceased for dying or for not doing something before they died

anger at god

anger at others/self for contributing to their death or not saving them

overwhelm from all the logistical things there are to deal with when someone dies

overwhelm from all the emotions

confusion at their own reaction

guilt for outliving the deceased

guilt for not feeling sadder or for feeling other things in addition to sadness (or for being numb/in shock)

this is an incomplete list!!!

i try not to project onto my friend or put words in their mouth, because it can be very isolating to be told how other people think you should feel if that's not exactly how you feel. because you're sending them a sympathy card, there is some baseline assumption that there is something to feel sympathy about. but beyond that i try to be careful not to get super specific about how "you must be feeling" or how hard "this must be". generally i try to avoid the word "must" because it implies that there is a certain way this is supposed to go, when there isn't.

if i know that they are struggling in some way but haven't talked to them much about it, i personally usually feel okay saying "Loss is hard" or "It's hard to lose someone", which might seem similar to "This must be hard", but avoids the word "must" and the direct reference to their situation ("loss" in general vs. "the particular instance of loss you are experiencing"). if i don't know much at all about how they're doing, i might say "Loss can be hard", which presumes even less, or i might not directly mention the difficulty of loss at all.

but also, it's okay to be more specific and personalized if you have been in contact with your friend as they've been processing the situation. it's good to acknowledge specific feelings that they've told you about, but try to also leave room for other feelings and/or ways their feelings might have changed.

what to include

here are some categories of sentiments you may want to include (all optional!):

thinking of you: even though it's kind of self-evident that you're thinking about them, this is something that is always appropriate to say and always nice to hear. examples: You're in my thoughts. I'm thinking of you often.

wishing you comfort/support: comfort and support are very safe things to wish somebody because they don't assume anything very specific about how they're feeling, and they express care for their wellbeing without putting pressure on them to be fine. I hope you can find moments of comfort in the coming days. I hope you're feeling supported by friends and family.

sorry for your loss: this is one of those things everyone knows is a stock phrase, but it's the kind of stock phrase that imo actually communicates something, so i do generally use it. I'm so sorry for your loss.

my heart goes out to you: this stock phrase is a little iffier, meaning it can be kind of a toss-up on whether or not it will sound insincere. it might depend on how close you are to the person. use your discretion. again, even things that sound insincere to you can still mean a lot to the recipient. My heart goes out to you. My heart is with you.

i'm here for you: offer logistical and/or emotional support if you want to and if you're reasonably sure that you could provide it. if you're able to be specific, that can be very helpful; one thing that can be overwhelming in the aftermath of a loss is dealing with lots of people wanting to help and having to come up with ways for them to do that. Please reach out anytime if it would help to talk about it. If you ever need to be distracted, I'm good at that! I'd love to bring over some food/help out with chores and errands; I'll text you to see if that would be helpful and not disruptive.

prayers: if you and the recipient are both religious/spiritual and it feels right to say, you could say "I'm keeping you in my prayers" or similar, in addition to or in lieu of "I'm thinking of you." if you are religious but the recipient isn't (or you're not sure if they are), i suggest not saying this, but use your judgment. some people don't mind hearing that someone is praying for them even if they don't believe in prayer and may in fact expect you to say it if you are known as someone who often expresses care through prayer, but for others, this can be actively offensive. i would say when in doubt, stick to "thoughts" instead of "prayers". You're in my prayers. I'm praying for you.

there are many ways to grieve: this one is harder to describe, but i like to include something that validates whatever the recipient may be feeling, despite not knowing how the recipient is feeling. the downside of a card is that it's not in real time, so you really have no way of knowing how your friend is feeling when they read it, even if you talked to them previously and know how they were feeling during that conversation. so i like to, in addition to not assuming any particular emotions, make space for the fact that their emotions may be shifting in ways that are confusing or distressing. but you have to be kind of vague about it, because you don't even know if that's happening. I hope you have the space to grieve in whatever way you need to/is meaningful for you. I hope you're getting through this time in whatever way is best for you.

you may want to express your own grief over the loss of this person, if you knew them. i think this can be comforting for the recipient to hear, but i suggest keeping it brief and not overwrought. the last thing you want is for your friend to feel they have to manage your emotions in addition to their own. if you can, do the below instead of or in addition to this.

now i will share my LIFE HACK!! for the very best thing to put in a sympathy card. this will not always be possible, because it relies upon a) you yourself having a relationship with the deceased (which is not always the case) and b) you being able to remember things (which i often cannot, especially when i'm sad). but if you can, i highly suggest something along the lines of the following.

say what you will remember the deceased for. (I will remember them for their wry sense of humor. I will remember them as a compassionate/driven/curious person.)

give an example of a memory you have of them in which they exemplified that characteristic.

if you can't do both, it's also good to do just one and not the other. if you have a favorite memory but it's too hard to think of adjectives to attribute to them, just share the memory. if you tend to think of them as [positive adjective] but no specific evidence is coming to mind, that's okay, this isn't a debate. in general it is comforting to people to know that they are not the only ones who will remember their lost loved one.

example cards

i will now give some examples of cards i've written. these all feel really awkward and inadequate to me, and you can see i didn't always stick to my own advice! but they were all deeply appreciated.

[to my coworker. i didn't have much detail except knowing her dad had been in the hospital a lot, and she was sad that he died]

I was so sorry to hear about your father. It seems like the last few years have been hard on your family, and loss is especially hard. I hope you are able to take the time you need to be with your family and cherish your memories of him together.

[to my friend's mother after the passing of her husband. i knew from talking to my friend that her mom was struggling especially with outliving him, because she was sick and had expected for a long time to die before him]

I'm thinking about you and [friend's name] a lot. I'm so sorry for your loss. Losing someone is so hard. Adjusting to their absence is, too. I hope that you're finding moment of comfort and feeling supported by friends and family. He will be missed. I will remember him for his wry sense of humor; I still have a "card" from him on my fridge (he cut out a sample "thank you" card greeting that said "The smallest good deed is better than the grandest intention" from a list of things to write in different kinds of cards (a sample message for a "Get Well Soon" card was on the back, crossed out) and simply added my name at the top and his name at the bottom. It's one of my favorite pieces of mail I've ever received and it's been on my fridge for many years). I am so sorry that he's gone. You are in my thoughts and my heart goes out to you.

[to my close friend and her husband i don't know as well, after a late-term abortion for a baby they had been very excited to raise. in this case i knew some of my friend's feelings, but not her husband's, and while i knew that many things about the pregnancy had been hard (lots of waiting for test results about the viability of the fetus, for one thing), i didn't want to imply that the decision to abort was hard, because my friend said it wasn't]

I'm thinking of you both lots. I'm so sorry for the loss of your baby. It sounds like it's been a difficult and fraught process, and I hope you're getting space and time to grieve and to come to terms with the loss. I hope you're getting whatever kind of support you need. If there's anything I can do to help, whether logistical or emotional, please let me know. I would love to be of service to you. I wish I knew what to say. You've just had such a fantastically shitty year. I do believe that things will get lighter for you both, and I hope that happens soon. Take care, and know you are cherished.

[to my grandmother after the loss of her estranged brother, when i was extremely unsure how she was feeling about it and had my own complicated emotions]

I just wanted to send you a card to say I'm thinking of you. Mom let me know about Uncle [name]. I know things had been strained for many years and I haven't seen him in a long time, but I'm sorry to hear that he's passed. I hope that you and [grandmother's sister] are able to reminisce in whatever way feels appropriate and meaningful to you. I'm not sure what else to say, other than I'm thinking of you, I love you, and I'm sorry. It was really nice to see you at [family member's] graduation the other day. The next time we're together, I look forward to giving you such a big hug! I feel very lucky to be your granddaughter and to have you in my life.

[to my grandmother after the loss of my 38yo cousin, which was hitting me really hard]

I don't know what to say, but I just wanted to tell you that my heart goes out to you and that I'm thinking of you, and [cousin], and [uncle], and [father], every day. It's so hard to lose someone, and I'm so sorry for your loss. My grief is a strange animal that sneaks up on me at the strangest times. I hope you are finding moments of comfort and feeling supported by friends and family. I'm looking forward to the day when I can hug you in person.

[to my close friend on the loss of her father after a long illness. she had been leaning on me for support, as another person who has lost someone after a long illness]

I'm thinking about you lots. I hope you're getting through this time in whatever way is best for you. Loss is hard even when you know it's coming and even when you get to say goodbye. I hope you are finding comfort and feeling how loved you are. He was a special person, and I'm so sorry he's left you. I know part of him will live on in you and the other people who learned from and admired him. It's still so hard to lose him, and grief is a strange animal. Take care. Reach out anytime. I love you so much.

takeaways

it will probably feel inadequate to you, but chances are it will still be appreciated.

remember that though you may not be able to make things better, you are trying not to make things harder.

it is okay to keep it really short and generic.

you cannot assume you know how anyone else feels. there are many ways to grieve. that said, it's nice to acknowledge any specific feelings your friend has expressed to you, while also leaving room for other feelings you may not know about.

if you want to offer support, it can help a lot to be specific in how you are able and willing to help.

it is usually comforting to people to know that they are not the only ones who will remember their lost loved one.

even if you do it awkwardly, just the act of reaching out is meaningful! people don't know you're thinking about them unless you tell them.

and remember to take care of yourself, too! watching friends lose loved ones can be hard for you as well for a variety of reasons. reach out to other friends for support when you need it.

[meowpupp]

uhhhhh....

head empty aside from the thought of simon finding a dating app on your phone. regardless of the fact you're not his, the obvious and sane course of action in simons mind is to record a video of his thick fingers bullying your pretty cunt. he sends each one of your silly little boytoys a personalised video, making you cum once for person you had added. "shhh, lovie, quiet. s'your own fault for having such a greedy little cunt, letting strangers touch what's mine"

[grassbreads]

Pet Shop of Horrors is a manga that asks deep and thought-provoking questions like:

How do you reconcile loving and caring about somebody you think is guilty of horrible crimes?

How culpable are individual people for the crimes of humanity as a whole?

Can humanity learn to care about and protect the environment?

Is it possible to break an intergenerational cycle of vengeance?

What if the guy who ran the Gremlins pet store served cunt?

[warmblanketwhump]

Idea for you. Let’s say we have 5 characters living in one household. They’re all very close. A brings an illness into the house. B catches it while taking care of them. Then C joins the party. Then finally D catches it as well, leaving E to take care of all of them. They start to feel ill, but power through. By the time the others have recovered, E’s fever is bad, and now they have to take care of the caretaker.

this flu season, everyone got sick.

First to fall was A, who came home from work with a pale face and a raspy voice and went straight to bed. When E went up to see them, they found them huddled in bed, blearily staring at the wall.

“I don’t feel good,” they whimper.

Next, C’s nagging cough deepened. It had started a tickle in their throat, but soon moved all the way down into their chest. C was the active type—always going for runs and spending time outdoors—so E knew they were in trouble when a short walk from room to room left C breathless, and soon, they were bedridden as well.

Then, B started complaining about feeling chilled.

“Aren’t you guys freezing?” They sat at the dinner table with D and E, a blanket clutched round their shoulders as they stare blankly at the meal they’ve barely touched.

“No?”

B runs their hands up and down their arms, then hugs themselves tightly with a shudder. “I just can’t get warm.”

D and E exchange a look before D rests a hand on B’s shoulder. “I’ll get the thermometer.”

In the span of 36 hours, three of them had become bedridden.

At first, it’s a bit of a joke between them all, D and E commiserating as they move between rooms with cough syrup, tissues, blankets, and tea.

“We should open up our own hospital,” E cracks as they

But that all changes four days in when E comes downstairs to see D at the kitchen table, ashen-faced and clutching a mug of tea in their hands.

“D, you look awful.”

D hugs the mug closer to their chest and shudders, coughing weakly. “I’ll manage. It’s just the sniffles.”

Before D can move away, E’s got a palm to their too-warm forehead and a sinking feeling in their chest. “Off to bed with you, D. You’re the next victim.”

D groans, slumping over with their head on the kitchen table. “E, I can’t just leave you.”

“Yes, you can and you will. You’re feverish and pale as death.”

D pulls the blanket tighter, a sheepish look on their face. “I thought…I thought it wouldn’t get me too.”

“No one thinks it will. Bed. Now.”

So that’s how D winds up the fourth victim of the flu, and despite their protests, they were arguably the worst hit. What they tried to pass off as a quick rest turned into a six-hour nap. they woke that evening with a 104 fever, having sweat through their clothes and bedsheets.

“It’s going to be a long night,” E whispers under their breath.

——————-

Two days later, E’s standing in the kitchen, fighting to keep their eyes open as the coffee brews, when they feel it.

A chill, prickling between their shoulder blades before it washes over their whole body.

No. I’m just overworked and sleep deprived.

Generously, E had slept for a combined 3 or 4 hours over the past two nights. It was partially their own fault. They’d been sleeping on the hallway floor so they could be equally close to everyone, which meant they heard every whimper, every cough, every quiet plea for help.

C had been up all night with a body-wracking cough, and B’s fever had spiked twice, which meant two changes into dry pajamas. A seemed to be through the worst of it, but they were still so weak they had to be helped to the bathroom. D woke at 2 in the morning, wracked with chills so violent that E gave into their pleas and helped them take a bath to warm up. After being dried off, they spent the rest of the night clutching a hot water bottle.

After that ordeal, E hadn’t even gone to bed—they’d just collapsed on D’s carpet, tugged the nearest blanket around themselves, and passed out.

Until they were woken by C’s coughing a couple hours later, and it all began again.

I'll just finish these dishes and then go sit by the fire. It's probably just this cold snap getting to me.

But as they wash dish after dish, E finds that each one becomes harder and harder to lift. Even the effort of standing makes their knees shake, and goosebumps prickle on E’s arms for no reason at all.

No. No. I can’t get sick.

By midmorning, it’s clear that something is very wrong. E’s chilled to the bone, despite being layered in thermals, a thick sweater and multiple pairs of socks. They resist the urge to wrap up in their bathrobe—the others will know something is wrong if they have that many visible layers on.

So they take A a glass of water, trying to hide how badly their hands are shaking when they hand it off. A must be thirsty enough they don’t notice as they gulp the glass down, but they frown once they’ve finished.

“E, you’re pretty peaked.”

“Hmm?” E snaps to attention, their focus drifting.

“You just look sorta washed out. Have you been sleeping?”

“I’ve been fine. As much sleep as I can with four patients to take care of,” E snaps. They instantly regret their tone as A flinches, then raises their eyebrows. “Sorry. It’s just…it’s been a lot.”

A props themselves up, wrapping their discarded robe around their shoulders. “E, I promise I’m feeling better. I can sit with D for a while—“

“No way. You couldn’t even walk yesterday.”

“And that was yesterday,” A says, patiently. “Give me an hour. If I don’t feel up to it, I’ll tell you.”

“Fine,” E says, too tired to fight with a suddenly chipper A. “But if you even seem slightly faint, it’s back to bed.”

——————

C is the next patient to raise alarms. Though their hacking cough has rendered them voiceless, they seem to be on the mend—vigorously pointing on things and writing messages on their notepad.

E, you look sick. C stabs the pointed message with their finger for emphasis.

E stifles a groan. “You’re one to talk. Drink your cough medicine.”

C accepts the shot of dark red syrup, but their eyes don’t leave B as they take it.

E meets A in the hallway, and before they can ask, A rattles off a report on B. “Fever’s still holding steady at 101.4. They’re miserable, but they’re not going to die. Gave them a cold washcloth, aspirin, and an extra blanket.”

“That’s….good work, A.”

A rolls their eye. “You’re not the only one who can play nurse.”

D is the final stop—they’re still in the roughest shape, feverish and mumbling incoherently, but A manages to soothe them with a cool hand to the forehead and some soft words. E adds another blanket to D’s bed and forces some more medicine into them, and D’s asleep in three minutes.

All patients accounted for, they leave D to rest. E’s about to tell—no, demand—that A goes back to bed, when a sudden dizzy feeling washes over them, and they grab the doorframe.

“E? You alright?”

“I…..I…” Suddenly, E can’t even form words, they just know they’re freezing, and they’re torn between keeping hold of the wall and wrapping their arms around themselves, get warm get warm get warm, and when they choose neither, their knees buckle and they crumple to the floor.

——————

The first thing E realizes, as A and C help them to sit on their bed, is that their sheets are crisp and clean. When was the last time they’d slept a full night in their bed?

“A, go….go to bed,” E rasps weakly through chattering teeth, huddling on the edge of the bed as A helps them into pajamas. “I’ll manage.”

“E, you can’t even keep your head up. Just let us help you change.”

E shudders weakly as their bare, feverish skin hits the chilly air, and A eases them under the covers, rubbing their back. “There you go. Nice and warm.” E leans into the touch, groaning softly, and they feel a thermometer poke under their tongue.

“103.6.”

E groans, pulling the blankets tighter. “I…I can’t be sick.”

“Hush.” A covers them with another blanket. “You took care of us, now let us take care of you.”

E is too feverish and cold and achy to protest, so they let them.

[helenofblackthorns]

in City of Glass its mentioned that Lake Lyn is also sacred to Faeries & called the Mirror of Dreams by them due to the water allowing them to see the future. however this has literally never come up again so chances are its just a piece of lore that CC has forgotten about by now BUT there's a slim chance hasn't and it will come up in twp. like it's entirely possible Ash accidentally consumes a mouthful of lake just like his auntie and instead of dying starts having vision of future, you never know.

[taldigi]

#back 2 inaba (B2I): an alternate timeline to strikers where Ren returns to his hometown of Inaba after the events of Persona 5 Royal. He resolves to get through his final year of High School as quietly as possible so he can finally just go home to Tokyo... but honestly? He should know better at this point. Ren, Morgana, and Nanako discover the Midnight Trains- a shadow world phenomenon where it's riders are forced to confront their life's trajectory and must accept or deny the wanderlust infecting their hearts.

Side stories include: Morgana coping with becoming human, Naoto's investigation into Akechi's disappearance, Yosuke returning home after being released from Maruki's actualization with a daughter in tow, and Ren becoming a Navi and getting real therapy.

#p4: retransmission: a Persona 4 Arcana Swap AU where Chie is the wildcard and moves to Inaba following an accident involving her guardian, Akihiko Sanada. The swaps are pretty intricate and not everything is 1-1. For example: Rise is the Chariot, but largely takes Naoto's role of "investigator" via being a journalist. Yu is the mascot character. His name is Myu Nyarukami and I love him.

#NG+: But a Girl this Time: Despite being able uncover Namatame's innocence, The IT are unable to identify a suspect and Yu is forced to leave Inaba behind in the fog. He gets on the train to only to arrive back in inaba a year prior- with one very crucial change: Yu is now Yui- and Narukami has some very complicated feelings on the matter.

This AU is loosely based off my second NG+ play-through where I used the Femc mod and played izanagi-only on hard difficulty. So even though Yui has the money carryover, Deidra blueprints, and social qualities boost, It also came at the price of the compendium. Some other changes include Aika Nakamura as her strength confidant and other minor changes. It also assumes the first timeline is vanilla and the second is golden- so Marie and other events are new to her. It also focuses a bit on how her gender changes how people interact with her- such as Kanji not being totally comfortable or Nanako opening up way sooner with her ect. ect.

#They Keep Dogging Me: After a very successful and very exhausting dungeon run, Yosuke is given a powerful accessory from the loot- only to have it reveal it's true form as a cursed artifact that slowly warps him into a dog. It's mostly dog jokes at Yosuke's expense, but there's an underlying current of terror as he slowly looses what makes him human.

#Traumatized by the Meat Locker: is something I personally refer to as a "modular" AU. It's a singular concept that can be easily slotted into any story or au. It basically just gives Chie a crazier shadow and a proper dungeon- where said dungeon is meat-locker themed. Instead of beef or pork- it's all the boys who have hit on Yukiko. It has the added bonus of traumatizing Yosuke so badly he can't eat meat anymore (even fake meat) as well as changing the Yosuke-Chie dynamic quite a bit (not even Saki wanted Yosuke dead).

Other "aus" or reoccuring concepts that I dont have tags for are that one himbo yu au, NG+ B-sides, and Mascot Parade

[branwinged]

very curious what your hotd unpopular opinions are  🔥

well i fell for the delusion of 'and I Will Finish fire & blood for real this time before i'm done watching' for a second time and. then i didn't do that. because fire & blood is bad. and as a result i also didn't continue past episode 4 (beginning of 5?). i can probably give you something from the first half, not sure i'm familiar enough with hotd discourse to judge what counts as unpopular. MHM. the white hart scene, right. like genuinely feels like a wilful misreading of the entire episode to interpret it as the narrative bestowing rhaenyra with the divine right of kings. that's not what's happening. the episode opens with a shot of the roasted boar at aegon's name day feast. after that in the carriage rhaenyra tells viserys she doesn't care to join him on the hunt because "the boars squeal like children when they're being slaughtered" and then it cuts to a shot of viserys and aegon. aegon is obviously being associated with the boar she will slaughter later, and it attacked her first, so it's also saying that she Will go to war to defend her life and her rights. she will answer violence with violence.

and then immediately after that she's presented with the white hart. the thing to note here is that the hart isn't a literal portent from the gods, it’s a magical creature to whom the people have assigned meaning and symbolism. so above all this is personal character moment for both viserys and rhaenyra. viserys struggling to kill the red deer is symbolic of his internal struggle/realisation that he's doing the wrong thing by casting aside rhaenyra in favour of aegon. and for rhaenyra seeing the white hart is a moment of self-affirmation because she's just spent the entire day feeling disposable ("nobody's here for me."). now, that she lets it go is also important. i don't care to speculate why exactly she does that beyond a general "it didn't attack her first", but it's very revealing of her character that she doesn't drag it back to camp (agot sansa quote -in the stories the knights never hurt the hart- or something like that). she's presented with a divine portent that would validate her claim to the throne and she does not wield violence against it. i think it's saying that she could've been the good and right choice of ruler (not because she's 'chosen' by the gods, but because of her personal character), but that possibility is only presented as a distant dream, because the reality is that when the time of succession arrives she will have to wield violence and go to war and in time be corrupted by it as she gradually turns into a tyrant.

and i think you can make a good case for a trans reading of daemon's character in conjunction with a trans reading of rhaenyra's. if rhaenyra's quest for absolute authority as westeros's monarch is a transgression of gender norms then daemon pledging service to her and perpetually being her political subordinate also goes against his ordained role of man and husband and patriarch (people already accept a similar reading of rhaegar and lyanna so this isn't exactly a novel interpretation). idk personally i found him to be a sympathetic character shaped by the crushing expectations of westeros's patriarchy, like, almost made in a lab for the feastdance enjoyers. but afaik they don't like him....

oh and the show literally opens with rhaenyra and viserys discussing dragons as a material symbol of and access to regal power, that without them they're just like everybody else. they transparently do not believe in the inherent superiority of their valyrian blood beyond a general degree of self-mythologisation (shared by ALL noble houses). so where exactly is the 'they're all valyrian supremacists' take coming from. it directly contradicts what's there in the text!

[ps-cactus]

[whitherwanderer]

Galena, a Rusty Reforger & Pyrite, a Deliberate Deadeye feat. @shroudandsands

In one of worlds fourteenfold, a hyune reforger scales the crags of Alexandria's cliffs and ruins in search of precious electrope, artifacts, and other reusable materials. A scope is trained on him, a voice in his ear, coolly reminding him to watch his footing (as if it needed to be said).

The spotter is an ex-hunter who keeps the levin-cursed monsters and defective sentries off his back with a careful eye and a dead aim. She's also his wife, which makes it that much harder for her to watch him test his scavenging prowess over the deep canyons and crumbling spires that scar the land. Trust him as she does, she has her reasons to be wary.

Galena's methods are unusual. Instead of combing the ground, he climbs. The old kingdom's ruins hide valuable artifacts and electrope caches that would be out of reach for most, but more worrying is his choice not to wear a regulator despite the many obvious dangers. Among the reforgers, it's not wholly unusual for someone to refuse a regulator, but those who know the two hyune know well: it's not a choice made lightly.

———

Deep in the heart of Everkeep, Pyrite stalks the alleys of Solution Nine with a portion of the materials her husband gleaned from the old kingdom. It's how he can offer his support for the organization Pyrite now dedicates her time and talents to.

And an ex-hunter always finds ways to keep herself sharp; sentries vanish, dismantled and sold for parts in True Vue's less reputable markets. Weapons from the manufactories on the lower floors go missing and wind up in rebel hands. Credits grease the palms of the right people for the right intelligence and the doors of high clearance warehouses are left unlocked—by accident, of course.

As an agent for the rebel group Oblivion, the regulator Pyrite wears is a compromise allowing her to take advantage of Everkeep's systems while avoiding suspicion. But for all its conveniences, the regulator is also a grave reminder. Should Galena's hands ever slip, all she'll have of him is the recordings and images hidden away on encrypted data shards—assurance that they'd keep their promise never to forget again*.

———

No mourning, and yet no relief from the aching holes in their memories. All they have is the hints of a loss whose shape they can identify by feeling around its dark edges: an empty room, a closet full of clothes too small for either of them. A name that Pyrite herself chose, always lingering in the back of her mind but slipping through it like a sieve. An image of shade—a face that Galena chases through dreams and wakes up with no recollection of.

Loss enough to take immortality and toss it into a canyon. Pain enough to use that immortality as a weapon against the system that stole from them something so precious it becomes their reason and their resolve. Something that would be worth dismantling a miracle. *OOC Note: This was drafted before the Arcadion raids came out, which answers a critical question I had about the regulator mechanics. A person wearing a regulator will, in fact, remember someone who does not wear one after their death. So that final bit in Pyrite's section is wrong! Oh well.

[depressedgaywriting]

43

"You're a bad person." Hero whispered.

"So are you." Villain said softly, pressing their face into Hero's hair. "It's neither of our faults."

Hero let their face drift closer to the Villain's neck. They wanted to feel again, so badly. They wanted to throw themselves against them, to fall from their tightrope and just feel the exhilaration of anything other than endlessly balancing. "Villain, please."

Villain hummed into their hair. "You can step back." they said, bending so their lips brushed Hero's ear. "If you like."

Hero felt like they were going to collapse. They might have preferred that, to put some distance between themselves and Villain. "Villain..." They were almost ashamed of how breathy their voice came out sounding. "Please."

"I can leave if you want." they whispered, pulling back to let their eyes meet Hero's. "Just say the word."

Hero let their head fall to rest on Villain's shoulder. "Don't be cruel." They closed their eyes, savouring every breath they took.

"What was that, my love?" Their hands were soft on Hero's waist, holding them carefully, as if they were made of glass.

"I'm yours." they whispered. There was a sort of relief to saying it out loud, even if they felt like their voice was going to shatter with the weight of it. "So please," they drew in a shuddering breath, "don't be cruel."

[gomzdrawfr]

enemies to lovers trope...or bitter ex-lovers my beloved

[chemdisaster]

last life scar being like the plot of “kill all your friends” by mcr and murdering the southlanders one by one just so grian would look at him

[re-mortal]

I wrote a fic for Jeckole week day 4! Forgot to post about it yesterday but it's better late than never!

[abysswalkersknight]

Got some more Bat Lilia!!!!! this was inspired by @llondonfog's post and watching videos of bats eating fruits in their little fluffy burritos, for some reason they always look angry while eating but in the cutest way possible.

Anyways it may be a bit muddled but hopefully still good, enjoy!

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

Oh, look how far you have fallen, laments Lilia Vanrouge as he struggles in his cosy confines, above him the puny human child giggles and once again offers him the banana he benignantly refused earlier (squeaking vulgar insults and curses that the child obviously couldn’t understand) ‘now, now Mr Bat you can’t heal on an empty stomach.’ The silver haired baby chided him, lightly tapping him on the nose, if I were not trapped in this meagre form child I swear I'll… a loud growl echoed throughout the room, Lilia's aggressive squeaks quickly simpered when he realised that the sound came from his own stomach, why stomach? Why?

He was a feared general. Both humans and fae tremble at the mere mention of his name, all he’d need to do is glare at a man to have him crumbling to his knees mewling apologies and begging for his life. Yet here he is, trapped in bat form, bunched up in a fluffy pink wrap and being fed to by this bubbling human brat. And none, none of his intimidation tactics were working on his caretaker, instead of cowering like he was meant to, the child simply giggles and continues trying to feed him that wretched yellow, mushy stuff!

‘Get that away from me you lowly being!’ he squeaked angrily, flapping his wings in an attempt to free them from his prison of fluff. 

The boy could have poisoned the fruit! He probably knows what he is and is trying to take him out while he's injured and trapped in this form! In his brutal fight with the blanket Lilia hadn't noticed the fruit coming closer until the moment he flung his head around and had his mouth stuffed with an excessive amount of banana 'see, isn't it good?' The child chirped, happily watching as Lilia struggled with his mouthful of mushy fruit. 

As he packed the banana in his cheeks to chew better Lilia absently thought back to the time Malenor challenged him to see how many rats he could stuff in his mouth (three so far) even though the banana was much softer his jaw still aches slightly as he chewed, curse this little brat, I… 

oh wait.

He chewed a little slower, savouring the taste, this is actually pretty good. Give me more kid, give me more! 

The child seemed to understand Lilia’s incessant squeaking as he gladly offered more fruit and was surprised with his new bat friend’s change in attitude. It had been rather cold and windy when Silver ventured outside after a terrible storm had passed the night before, as usual his uncle had left him home alone so all he could do was check up on all his animal friends to make sure they had made it out of the storm safe. It was then the little boy came upon a strange looking bat, drenched and thoroughly conked out. Poor Silver nearly had a heart attack when he saw streaks of red on the bat but on further inspection the red seemed to be some weird type of dye or something. After carefully wrapping the injured bat in his cloak, Silver hurried back home to the cabin in the middle of the woods where he and his uncle lived. Once again his uncle wasn't home so no one was there to see Silver crash through the door and rush up the stairs toward his room, surprisingly the bat hadn't stirred at all during all the bumping around. Which brings them three days to now, where Lilia had suddenly woken up in his pink prison, weird stuff on his wing and having fruit shoved in his face. At least he now realises that banana tastes good.

A week passes and now Lilia’s wing is all better, he could’ve flown off and be back to Briar Valley by now (the boy called Silver had released him the morning he was healed) but something would always call him back the next day, and it wasn’t the bananas the boy somehow always had ready whenever Lilia decided to reveal himself, right now he was perched upside down on a branch right outside the boy’s window observing as Silver did his daily chores, his cheerful whistling echoes throughout the empty house which builds a sense of unease in the fae. Lilia doesn’t know much about humans but even then he could tell that Silver was quite young, about eight or nine, that’s far too young to leave a child alone for this long. Lilia’s seen the uncle return only once that whole week only for the brute leave just as quick as he came, not even giving a word of acknowledgement toward the sweet child, the fae may have been repulsed at the sight of children a few centuries ago but after raising the young prince he has discovered what wonders a child could bring, he had revelled in the knowledge that he had been granted the chance to care for Malenoa and Leven’s child and it disgusted him to see this lowly human disregard the little treasure before him, yes, Lilia will admit that he’s grown quite attached to the boy in the short time they’ve been together. Which is why his snout curls into a wicked grin as he sees Silver frown at the front door for the fifth time. 

Soon his carefully planned scheme will soon come to light.

Afterall how could he just let his sweet, adorable saviour go without repaying him?

A few months later

‘Uh, general?’ Baul starts, unsure of how to phrase the sight before him.

‘Yes, Baul?’ Lilia breaks off a piece of banana to give to the tiny human resting in his lap before stuffing the rest of it in his mouth, he shoots his second in command a glare, throwing the peel in a growing pile and daring the fae to question him. Baul gulps.

‘Nevermind sir.’