#like. again. i don’t even stan them it just feels like people are committed to misunderstanding them

[lizzibennet]

personally the appeal of friends to lovers to me is that i like the idea of a person realizing they’ve always been a little bit in love with that friend, but they needed something to make them aware of it, to point out that that nice, warm feeling that they love about that person isn’t just friendship and perhaps hasn’t been for a long time. i love the idea of “of course i love you, i always have, how stupid of me to not have seen it before.” in that sense, i don’t think it makes sense when people say colin just starts liking penelope in s3/episode 4. the whole point of building up a friendship into a romance is to portray that these characters have deep feelings for each other that may or may not be romantic but that end up melding into a romance in the end. he’s only just understood his feelings but he’s clearly felt them for a long time. the fact he doesn’t understand being a rake doesn’t emotionally fulfill him and processes that through part one is telling, to me, that he’s only now beginning to fully understand what he feels, not only towards pen but also towards himself, towards life in general. so again, i think it makes sense that things become clear to him now, that doesn’t mean they’re just starting to happen now. i think that read of him is really superficial tbh

[eoieopda]

[visual content blog recommendations]

we see fic recs all the time, but i don’t think i’ve ever seen rec lists for visual content (gif/art/gfx/etc.) creators! they’ve been dealing with a bunch of shit lately between reposts, tumblr garbage, etc., so i wanna shout-out some favorites. thank you for keeping us fed!!

disclaimer: this is not an exhaustive list!! if you have recommendations of your own, please feel free to expand on this yourself and/or drop some of your faves in the replies for others to see. self-promo is always welcome here, too ✨ p.s. some of these are recent finds for me, so pls expect to see more of them on my blog. eta: i will be adding more as i go!!

[bts]

@yooboobies — réka’s gif sets are *chef’s kiss* and the ART? omg. the talent!!! 😭 we simply have to simp.

@cordiallyfuturedwight — apart from being one of the coolest/funniest people i’ve found on army tumblr, i am a kayla stan because the niche themes for her gif sets (ex. bangtan turtlenecks series) feel like they’re made 👏🏻 for 👏🏻 me 👏🏻 even though they absolutely aren’t, lmao.

@hopeinthebox — the bts as reductress headline + incorrect bangtan series are probably my favorite pieces of content on the entire internet??? also, lizzy is absolutely gd hilarious. tags are 11/10. a blessing upon my dash.

@kimtaegis — i’m not visually artistic enough to say this in a way that makes sense, but annie’s gifs are just… stunning? like, the colors? idk about the process that goes into that, but i imagine it takes a lot of time/finesse to be this vivid.

@kithtaehyung — ryen is the renaissance man of army tumblr, fr. not only can she write (like!!!) but she’s multi-faceted and insanely creative with her graphic design. i want her to tutor me, lmao.

@raplinenthusiasts — ooohhhhh my god. the coloring of their gifs makes my brain go brrrrtttt. this bts x the office set is on my “always reblog” list; i’ll share it every time i come across it.

@heybaetae — this set in particular is on my “always reblog” list, no matter how many times i’ve done so already. also, idk how to describe this, but kelli’s gifs are just…. crispy 🤌🏻 like, so satisfying with the…. texture? filtering? contrast? i’m an idiot re: editing terms, but go peep them and you’ll know what i’m trying to say.

@kth1 — literally who could ever forget maggie’s 100 days of (member) series??? the amount of work that had to go into that? unfathomable.

@jeurias — i want to wallpaper my house and office with their gfx. i’m deadass.

@jinstronaut — emmeline has been doing her “a jin a day while he’s away” series for OVER 250 DAYS NOW. i have never been nor will i ever be able to commit to anything to this level.

[multi/skz/atz/svt/etc.]

@starryoong — do not get me started on starry’s paintings, sketches, etc. because i will never shut up. ever. j’adore 🫠 is also a five-star human being.

@irlvernon — my queue is probably 80% max gifs at any given time. god-tier, fr. a must-follow for carats, as far as i’m concerned.

@vcrnons — incredible gifs, lovely human, and also the writer of some of my favorite svt fics??? we stan.

@yelhsaart — i don’t have any words for how much i love their art so please imagine guttural screaming instead. asdfghjkl!!!

@hizuillu — ……breathtaking. legitimately stunning skz art. like…… i have heart palpitations.

@snug-gyu — THE USE OF COLORS. i’m always a simp for pantone-inspired sets; they just scratch an itch in the back of my brain, and BOY HOWDY, is my brain satisfied 😵‍💫

@yunwooz — again, i have no idea what i’m talking about when it comes to the gif-making process, but the colors!!! the COLORS!!! like, taking a mv that’s not super vivid/is fairly greyscale and bringing it to life? ya know????

@booskwan — you want incredible gifs? they’ve got em. you want stunning gfx? they’ve got em. seriously, idk what to tell you except “pause right here and go follow immediately”.

@haechannabelle — listen……. annabelle’s art style is 😗🤌🏻 (that’s a chef’s kiss). the use of color, and the technique, and and and — ! ALSO, i must mention that she took, like, 50 hours to compile a boycott-friendly k-pop playlist. their vibes are simply impeccable.

rev. 4/10/24

[cunt-dracula0]

𝐇𝐂𝐒 𝐈 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐁𝐎𝐘𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐊 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 !!

pairing(s): implied randy meeks, billy loomis, mickey altieri + stu macher x gn!reader

warning: none, though some hcs that i have written might be a little modern than others!

RANDY

• Idc what y’all say, this man is OBSESSED with Funko Pops.

• Honestly, I feel that he’s well aware of the fact that he has an interest for collector’s items.

• Bro.. he would squeal if you took him to places like HMV or Hot Topic.

• When he was informed that the Video Store (his workplace) would begin to sell some Funkos of infamous movie characters since that was literally the whole theme of the place, he died off. HE. DIED. OFF.

• Billy and Stu have occasionally dropped by to rent some more horror movies, also teasing him about the pops and telling the whole store it was a.. kink? More Stu’s bad way of putting it, shall we say..

“Can you take their clothes off?” Stu asked curiously.

Randy began to get flustered as Stu proceeded to take the small statue out of the box, knowing he’d get another harsh telling off if his boss found out it was Randy’s “friends” ruining stock.

“They’re plastic dumbass,” Billy remarked. “It’s practically molded onto their figure.”

“Can you guys please sto-”

Stu snorted. “Well you can take the clothes off Barbie dolls and shit like that, can’t you? They even have parts.. uh- you know?”

“Wha- no, these aren’t like that-”

Randy was cut off once again as Billy spoke up and wrinkled his nose in disgust at the taller male. “You really stripped the clothes off of dolls just to investigate when you were a kid?”

Randy and Billy both shared the same look as Stu grinned wickedly.

…

And then it came. “Don’t ask questions you already know the answer to.” Yep. Classic Stu.

• Wherever this mf goes, he always ends up eating a bag of potato chips. Nor you or his friends know where he pulls them from, but he does, he just does..

BILLY

• There is so much I could say about Billy Boy here..

(He’d most likely tell you to go fuck yourself if you called him that. Well, depending on who you are lmao)

• If you are the kind of person who loves that shitty trending pop music, you are probably better off hanging out with Stu for the day. Because Billy HATES it.

• He’s not particularly into heavy metal, i’d say more grunge. Stu bullies him for it but gets an ass whooping later so, eh.

• If he gets woken up in the middle of the night, he’s one cranky fucker about it. This man prioritises his sleep. He almost broke the cable to the house phone after Stu kept calling him one night, complaining on how he couldn’t sleep and that he wanted to go somewhere. After Billy not being able to get back into dreamland, he gave in. Pretty sure Stu ended up choosing the McDonald’s drive thru, much to Billy’s annoyance.

(That shit happens way too often but hey, who doesn’t like late night drives?)

• Billy wants a piercing but at the same time, he doesn’t? He’s not sure if he can really commit to it or not, but he does think people with piercings are cool!

• Plus his Dad would probably kick him out over something as stupid as that. Billy would just tell him to get bent either way lol.

• He can be quite a germaphobe. Sick people scare the living FUCK out of him.

• You have a cold? Aw, pity. DO. NOT. APPROACH. BILLY. LOOMIS.

• Stu accidentally sneezed on him once and Billy literally felt his heart stop. He showered about three times that day.. maybe more? Fuck knows, man.. 😭

MICKEY

• Something about him and the song Paparazzi.. IDK WHAT IT IS BUT IT JUST.. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

• He’s very open about his opinions, as we all know. If you dissed his fav movie or TV show, bam bam bitch he’s gonna answer you and he ain’t gonna be so fucking nice about it.. 🫡

• Literal Beyoncé stan. I swear whenever her music is playing and y’all are at a party, he def wants to have a lil boogie with you.

• Mickey is the one person you know to have a weird, WEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIRRRRRD obsession with black coffee..

HE LOVES IT A LITTLE TOO MUCH, YK?

• You, Mickey and Randy were all out at the mall once and some little girl ran up to him saying he looked like Edward Cullen?

Randy just had no idea how kids had the balls to say whatever the fuck they wanted, meanwhile Mickey didn’t know whether to take it as an insult or not..

“Vampires who sparkle like a fucking Hello Kitty sticker? Wow, new name for ya, Mick..” You giggled.

• Really spoiled, bratty girls with all their designer gear is a big no no for him, he just hates them.. 😭

• You catch him watching all the true crime documentaries. He even has books about America’s most popular serial killers. TONS, of books.

STU

• This man, THIS MAN RIGHT HERE FOLKS!!

• Stu is literally every personality combine. Like a lab experiment gone wild, honestly.

• He asks you the weirdest questions sometimes. They are so random and beyond unexpected lol.

“Wait, do you think clowns can also honk their di-”

• Stu has the most ridiculous obsession with boobs. Randy now calls him the titty monster anytime Jamie Lee Curtis shows up in the horror movies they’re watching.

• He was BORN a dog lover.

• Annoys Billy anytime he gets a new girlfriend.

• I can picture him eating anything blue raspberry flavoured he can find. CANDY GOO, BLUE SOUR PATCH KIDS, YOU NAME IT😭😭

• Has the best snack cupboard no one else can compare to having in their house.

• He’s the kind of guy to stick his tongue out to kids in public just so he can get a giggle out of them!

• Loves it when him and the gang go out to the cinema. Which is more often than you’d expect.

• Has like, the LONGEST list of cinema snacks when y’all are paying to get your food.

these men all have their differences, but all expect one thing. THEY BE FINE AS HELLLLLL (anyways, hope you enjoyed this little list of hcs i have for my favs. HAVE A GOOD DAY!!!!!!! :D

[yuikomorii]

After thinking more deeply about it, people shouldn’t get mad when seeing the majority shipping AyaYui because they are the most perfect for each other…not always in the good way. They are both obsessive weirdos that are unable to communicate properly and end up doing so much dumb shit that not only hurts them but also the ones around them.

Now I’m not saying they are the most problematic characters in the game, but they just are such menaces for whoever is connected to them. They be wondering why Yui wouldn’t make such a good couple with Subaru and Azusa but the reason is that they’re exactly too soft for her. They just want a kind and motherly girl but Yui keeps putting them in uncomfortable situations, doesn’t respect their boundaries and is unable to comprehend their introversion. Ik she was in a dangerous situation at first but that’s over after the second game, isn’t it? They started dating so if that’s what she truly wanted, she has to take responsibility for that and bring her brain to work.

Now about Mr. Yours Truly, he wasn’t irredeemably bad in the first game but he was such an asshole, let’s be frank. After the first game, Yui started treating him poorly or, again , not paying attention to whatever he was going through but I just couldn’t feel bad for him. They both fucked eachother up so bad but in an equal way so I can’t say any of them is better than the other, like some of their individual fans do. I’m not saying this about the Admin but some Yui and Ayato stans must actually hate the characters and only love their fanon version of them. Just because they forgive their abusers and are friendly doesn’t make them the kindest character anyone has ever seen. They did too many bad things to be considered the kindest and I’m not gonna follow the “they went insane” excuse because I really don’t care. All characters are insane and broken but not all of them did as much shit as they did.

I’m not justifying anything from that dick but e.g. when Karlheinz commits a genocide to make ghouls, he is said to have abused his powers and is evil but when Yui commits a genocide because her cute Ayato-kun 〜 died and kills all living things on both worlds, that’s seen as romantic? Like that’s extremely evil and selfish of her too. Or when others complain about the vampires being possessive and jealous, when Yui is the same person that stabbed Shu and threw him in the dungeon afterwards out of jealousy and she also paralysed Ayato then used him as her pleasure slave only because he drank blood from other chicks. Again, I’m not excusing them but she’s just as worse when triggered enough. All the fanwars are stupid when the game only has characters that wouldn’t be perceived as mentally sane or innocent angels in real life.

// Uuh… you kinda worded it a bit too harshly but I do get where you come from.

The thing is Yui, Ayato, Azusa, Subaru and Yuma are characters described by Rejet as either pure or kind-hearted, yet this doesn’t mean they necessarily have to be saints sent from above 24/7. Good people can react horribly under stress, pressure or shock. Yes, they can do wrong stuff and treat others badly as a result, but this doesn’t mean they have a bad soul. Trauma is not the same from person to person and everyone reacts to it differently. It can turn good people into monsters depending on the severity of the circumstances and some might never come back to their original nature. And, even if they do, this will not excuse their actions, but as long as they try to change for the better and take accountability, I believe they deserve a second chance.

Rejet makes Yui go mad in some endings and After stories to demonstrate that she is capable of doing something as awful as the Diaboys if an event hits her hard enough, just like it did to them. And, to be honest, that's realistic. Of course, not the story, but the fact that every person, no matter how strong, has a breaking point.

Speaking of the genocide committed by Yui, the reason why it’s considered romantic is not the deed itself, but the fact Yui created an Ayato ghoul after exterminating everything, only because she wanted to be killed by the man she loved. I think this was the only time Yui seriously used her brain, and the fact she was crazy when doing that, makes it hilarious.

As for the Yandere endings, Yui does that to Shu in MB, if I recall correctly but it was so unexpected because she really didn’t get any vibes throughout the route, therefore I guess it was just random writing. In Ayato’s route, the obsessive tendencies were obvious when she started looking through Ayato’s swimsuit magazines and tried measuring her boobs to the ones of those girls. I was pretty sure she would pull a possessive move on him later on, lol.

Truth be told, I don't mind that in fictional couples as long as they're both obsessed with each other and it's not one-sided. Besides, it’s funny how even Ruki called Yui “Ayato obsessed” in CL.

As a DL fan, I understand that no character is a total green flag because they all display toxic behavior in regular circumstances, no matter if intentional or not. Nonetheless, that shouldn’t stop us from loving them. Some people prefer the softer aspects of DL, while others prefer the darker, but keep in mind that those who prefer talking well about their favs don't want to be always reminded of all the bad things they did, especially if those characters regret them or weren't in the best mental state at the time.

[bohemian-nights]

As a WOC, I will never be able to sympathize with Rhaenyra. She’s such an over privileged and lazy person. I just can’t bring myself to sympathize with her for getting usurped because I feel like that’s mainly her fault for being lazy and thinking she’s entitled to everything.

And then we have nettles. A girl who comes from nothing. She manages to claim a wild dragon, she fights for Rhaenyra’s cause and how does Rhaenyra repay her? By trying to murder her. How can anyone sympathize with Rhaenyra over nettles? This white woman’s trauma and paranoia do not excuse her trying to kill a black woman.

So many of her Stans like to pretend they have the moral high ground while also defending Rhaenyra trying to murder nettles.

Yeah, that’s my main complaint with her and why I get so frustrated when people think I’m being mean, petty, or overly critical about her character.

Yes, she is objectively a victim of the patriarchy, but she’s also a privileged white woman who tried to exercise her privilege by attempting to commit a racially motivated hate crime against a Black woman(Nettles).

And yes she’s a fictional character, but there have been so many women throughout history who have behaved in that same exact manner. Women who despite being discriminated against based on their sex still managed to punch down and ruin real lives, separated families, and got innocents killed all at their command.

I don’t know if this was GRRM's intention, but from my perspective as a Black woman, Rhaenyra is just another reflection of that painful history. She’s not someone I can project onto and see myself in even though she’s a woman. She’s still very much just a part of the machine(just in a feminine form).

Before anyone comes for me, it’s perfectly fine if you like Rhaenyra. Again she’s fictional, but not acknowledging what she represents and how she’s both oppressed and an oppressor means that you don’t acknowledge her victims or see the importance of characters like Nettles.

And if you have a hard time acknowledging and understanding how a fictional Black woman is being victimized by a white woman I doubt you’ll have a much easier time dealing with real life victims of racial violence.

Not to mention the fact that it’s incredibly offensive to see things like Nettles should be cut because there are five other Black-ish people in a mostly white cast and she’s unimportant and people only like her because she’s Black and yet have people swear up and down they don’t have a racist bone in their body.

This isn’t even getting into the people who have literally used the n-word compared Black characters to animals, and mocked Black hair and features. Just know you guys are the same cause racism isn’t limited to spewing out slurs.

Those statements(which are solely focused on her race) are very much rooted in anti-Blackness. Those statements are the epitome of reducing someone down to just their skin color and dismissing them because of that. Nettles may be fictional, but you are using racist tropes that have been pushed on Black(that we somehow aren’t deserving of our positions in life and are only where we are because of quotas and wokeness) to trash her character.

Nettles is an incredibly interesting character. Hell, even George finds her fascinating.

Of all the secondary characters in F&B she’s the one who he wanted to write a novella about. Her story has all the tropes that people usually like. Girl from nothing who despite all odds makes it and thrives. She’s there to teach a lesson, but they don’t see her worth because she’s Black. All they see is a Black face who they think doesn’t belong since she’s not a walking stereotype.

I’m not exactly shocked by this behavior, but it’s still stlrange asf to see people who scream up and down about misogyny(which is valid) then go on and perpetuate misogynoir without blinking an eye.

[emtmercy]

to be clear i do not care if someone stans lestat or whatever i like him myself i know he is pretend <3 but the allergy to even acknowledging his behavior as it is presented to us is just strange! im not saying lestat is an abuser therefore the show is eeeevil for making him a complex/sympathetic character. people who commit abuse are complex and sympathetic in certain circumstances in real ass life! “abuser” is not some ontologically evil category of person destined to do harm forever. “victim” does not mean faultless angel incapable of harm. i think it does the show a disservice to gloss over those themes in favor of well theyre just monsters its not the same. which is once again. literally what santiago (bad guy) says at the trial. also episode five had a domestic violence warning. also louis jumped lestat because he laid hands on claudia. imagine me saying all of this in a spirited but friendly tone of voice by the way i have no beef with you personally

Actually the episode very much premiered without a domestic violence warning and they added it after because people were mad. know your history before being obnoxious online

You’re again still missing what I’m saying

I’m not saying it is only not the same because they are vampires you are unwilling to contend with what I’m actually saying

I am saying harm and abuse aren’t one and the same

Lestat and Louis did great harm to each other. Period. You are interpreting my refusal to incorrectly assign real human labels not represented in this show as a refusal to acknowledge wrong doing on Lestats part and those are entirely separate things

Lestat did bad things to Louis. Louis did bad things to Lestat. They both had to make amends. That is not what abuse is.

Abuse is a cycle of violence with very real specific attributes not present in this narrative

You decided Lestat was an Abuser (TM) in season one because of a fundamental misunderstanding of the material

The show is based around the concept that happens between the first two books which involves the reveal that Louis has been running from his own culpability and thus unable to heal

And again, victims do not share responsibility for their abuse in real life!! I refuse to cede to you that victims are equally responsible for their abuse, and this show is presenting them as equally responsible for this shit show relationship

And I don’t need to argue with you about whether abusers are “ontologically evil” in real life. That’s fully irrelevant. I am saying in real life abuse there isn’t mutual responsibility for the abuse. And the show is very clearly presenting us with the idea that they were equally culpable for what happened hence the reveal with Louis beating his ass

Hence the Louis apology. These writers aren’t stupid.

And yes Louis jumps Lestat for laying hands on Claudia and then lays hands on Claudia himself because in reality it’s not about her it’s about him and Lestat

Not all harm has to be about abuse/victim

I agree that the harm between them was real and not excused because of vampirism. Your desire to slot me into the role of Santiago is not representative of what I am saying despite your commitment to imagining what I am saying. I am saying that not all harm, and yes especially magical harm, is not equal to human ABUSE. Harm can matter and not be an abuse cycle: I truly feel you may not understand that abuse is a cycle of behavior and specific dynamic and not just anytime someone does something cruel or bad

I’m not flattening the show by not applying these very specific real human dynamic labels to this relationship. You are flattening the show by being unwilling to engage with where the story is taking us and the way in which the portrayal from season one has been revisited.

I’m trying to explain to you that they’re not in an abuser victim dynamic in the human sense im not trying to tell you that none of it matters and no one possesses culpability

I don’t believe the writers chose to have the season end with Louis apologizing to his Abuser

It ended with Louis apologizing to a man with whom he had a mutually destructive relationship in which they both harmed each other

I’m not saying a vampire character on IWTV can’t be an abuser in the traditional sense, I’m saying they’ve gone out of their way both to have Lestat and Louis own their behaviors and harms and also not assign them that very real and specific role of Abuser and Victim

When I discuss Louis’ behavior I am not implying victims are angels. Im saying a mutual fight started by Louis isn’t an instance of ABUSE of Louis

Lestat acknowledging his harm is not the same as slotting it into this dynamic you clearly need it to be in

I simply don’t believe the writers are trying to write a story about forgiving and marrying your abuser

Its about mutual forgiveness of two flawed people who mutually harmed each other

Which is not what an abuse dynamic is

Like honestly your interpretation is rly sliding into a place that is offensive to victims and survivors

[finitefall]

That fight between the children probably would have never ended in Aemond losing his eye had he not went on a spiel about bastards but guess who put those ideas in his head ? What normal 10 year old says shit like that “come at me again and I'll feed you to my dragon”/“you will die screaming in flames just as your father did bastards” ?? Even before that, Aemond was speaking about treason, he literally told Aegon that Helaena would be his QUEEN ??? Why was Alicent spreading rumors and causing unnecessary drama in the first place ? Nobody told her to do all of that and now she wants to act surprised because there's consequences to putting the life of the heir and her sons in jeopardy ???

I don’t think that people realise that Viserys sweeping the whole eye situation on the rug saves Alicent's children much more than Rhaenyra’s because no one realistically was going to take Luke’s eye but both of her sons committed treason that night.

And keep in mind that in the previous episode we literally had Alicent telling Viserys “she expects us to ignore her transgressions”, “I have raised this matter before and you forbade me to speak of it, so I held my tongue. To have one child like that is a mistake, to have three is an insult”. Viserys knew damned well it wasn’t Aegon that got that in Aemond’s head.

There are multiple factors to take into account that led to Aemond losing an eye, but Alicent is definitely one of them. Of course, it's easier for Greens stans to blame Jace and Luke because they once took part with Aegon in that cruel pig prank (for which there's no excuse, but they grew up unlike others) than acknowledge the fact Alicent had her part of responsability in what happened.

Alicent has been telling her sons that they're trueborn Targaryens and that Jace, Luke and Joff are bastards. Aemond, conceived between two married people, with a Targaryen father, one of the sons of the King and Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, doesn't have a dragon. Rhaenyra's sons, conceived out of wedlock, with only a Targaryen mother, all have a dragon. Alicent is surprised their dragons' eggs hatched, both because of her religious beliefs (they're the result of adultery) and because of misogyny (since Aegon, Aemond, Helaena, Jace, Luke and Joff both have only one parent with Valyrian blood, the only difference is that her children have a Targaryen father). But somehow, Rhaenyra's bastards as his mother call them are worthy of a dragon while he's not?

So when Aemond manages to claim Vhagar, this is literally the best moment of his life. He's not just worthy, he's better than them because not everyone could claim Vhagar, this legendary dragon. And those bastards had dared to mock him when he's clearly superior to them? Of course he welcomes the opportunity to confront them when he lands. The girls who just lost their mother aren't important either: he's become the bully here and can insult them too. It's his turn. Jace and Luke want to defend them? They're nothing. They're bastards, and he's just proven he is more worthy than them, he is a trueborn Targaryen unlike them. He enjoys the fight, especially since he's still feeling the adrenaline rush after riding Vhagar.

Viserys protected his daughter and her sons when he threatened everyone who would question their legitimacy. Their lives would have been in danger, the four of them, if Viserys had listened to Alicent about Rhaenyra’s children. But when he decides not to punish Luke for the accident and tells Alicent to let it go, he does indeed protect Aemond. As the legitimacy of Rhaenyra’s children isn’t questioned by the King (whose word is law), Aemond attacked Jacaerys Velaryon, next in line after Rhaenyra in the succession for the Iron Throne, and Lucerys Velaryon, Heir to Driftmark. Even being the son of the King and Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, this isn’t something he can do.

And yes, when Aemond talks with Aegon earlier in the same episode, he's already saying Helaena would be Queen:

Aegon: We have nothing in common. Aemond: She’s our sister. Aegon: You marry her, then. Aemond: I would perform my duty, if mother had only betrothed us. Aegon: If only. Aemond: It would strengthen the family. Keep our Valyrian blood pure. Aegon: She’s an idiot. Aemond: She’s your future queen.

If Helaena is Aegon's future queen, it means Aegon is the future King. Which also means that Alicent didn't only tell Aegon he should be the one on the throne after Viserys instead of Rhaenyra, she also told Aemond the same thing. They were indeed already speaking treason.

[paperstorm]

that one anon about ronen only blocking og fans that were harassing him in January was simply not true. a majority of the people I saw LOVED ronen before October 8th or 9th or whenever he started posting pro Israel things. a lot were people who were once fans that he already blocked on insta and yeah maybe they came at him more agressively after that but he also blocked so many more. he blocked people for sharing ceasefire links he blocked people for asking him to please educate himself he blocked people for posting flags he even blocked people that weren't in his quotes or comments just speaking on their own without even tagging him. sure I will say some told him they hope he loses his job ect but to say that a majority were og fans that already hated him is SO SO far from the truth. maybe 1 out of 50 were OG fans just hating to hate but a majority were previous tarlos fans or even previous ronen fans alot who spent money to meet him both virtually and in person. I'd say a good 80% of the people that went to cons for him or paid for his cameos were blocked thay day. I say this as a once ronen fan who's also on Twitter 24/7

(This is not anything that you have done terribly wrong, anon, I’m just taking this message as an opportunity to say something I’ve been thinking about for a few days.) I think I’m going to take a break from talking about this and about him. I’m not saying I never will again but. At the risk of sounding selfish, this is all starting to feel very unfair to me.

I get people confidently telling me one version of events, and then I get someone equally confident as they tell me the complete opposite and both expect me to believe them. Probably there is no objective truth here, just perspectives, but adjudicating the validity of those perspectives isn’t something that feels reasonable to ask of me.

I’ve been as fair and kind and respectful and empathetic as I possibly can be every time I have talked about this, and regardless like clockwork every single time I end up with an inbox full of hateful and hurtful messages from both Ronen stans who want me to shut up and people who don’t like him who want me to loudly condemn him. I keep trying to have grown up conversations about it, because I do genuinely think the nuance of how people of certain backgrounds are reacting to this genocide is important in this moment, but it’s becoming clear grown up conversations aren’t possible here. It’s becoming a waste of my time and a burden on my heart constantly trying to explain myself to people who are committed to misunderstanding me because it suits their narrative.

So for the time being, I’m done. I’m moving on from this topic and I hope that can be respected.

[taylortruther]

sorry to vent but i honestly am just so damn tired atp of having to desperately cover everything in disclaimers and constantly perform outrage just to be allowed to exist in fandom spaces now as a black fan. like my original mindset was just that it’s disappointing but i don’t and can’t expect celebrities to perfectly mirror my values, and with all the actual problems in my life and the world - including racism that actually affects my real life AND things i have the ability to potentially do something about - i wasn’t going to spend my time and energy being furious that a pop star i’ll never meet is fucking an edgelord i’ll never meet either. like i’m sorry but i already compartmentalized all this YEARS ago and have zero expectations of celebrities so it’s just whatever to me. if taylor herself was spewing racist comments or if matty was actually some white supremacist nazi and not just an intentionally provocative edgy douchebag it would be different, but TO ME PERSONALLY the actual situation as it is is just not that serious and not worth my outrage.

but am i, one of those ‘poc fans’ everyone is constantly falling all over themselves to declare themselves supportive of and ‘safe’ for, allowed to feel that way as one of the people actually targeted by that idiot’s dumbass comments? NOPE! you best believe people were FURIOUS that i thought i could get away with not performing Angry Black Woman Rage for them every single time i want to simply engage in my hobby and discuss fun things, or analyze surprise songs, or express empathy for taylor in any circumstance, or just do anything that isn’t ranting 24/7 that she’s terrible and racist and irredeemable. so now every time i want to do any of those things i have to write 6000 disclaimers that yes taylor is awful and no i don’t like matty just so overwhelmingly white fans won’t yell at me that i’m not really black (an accusation i’ve now gotten three separate times), or that i’m hurting other poc by “condoning racism” (which i have not done), or that i’m so far up taylor’s ass i would still stan her even if she personally called me the n-word (the final straw that made me turn anon off probably for good) and idk it’s just…not fun being here anymore now that everyone is just going to treat me like a doll who’s only here for them to virtue signal with (and ‘virtue signaling’ is a terrible term but like that is truly, genuinely what a huge chunk of this fandom is doing rn), claiming to obsessively care about my feelings and fandom experience so they’ll look good but then berating and scolding me every single time i step a toe out of line and try to express my own opinion or commit the grave sin of Enjoying Taylor Swift On My Taylor Swift Blog. like sure taylor disappointed me but it’s other (again, overwhelmingly white) fans who have completely ruined being here and made it a miserable chore to be a black fan, not her. atp I just want her to drop him and everyone to forget not bc he sucks but bc i just want to be allowed to exist peacefully on my own blog again, without having to constantly walk on eggshells so the people who ~care about marginalized fans~ won’t come call me a stupid brainless bitch who lets taylor manipulate me because i’m a self-hating racist. i’m just so tired.

i am tired too and i am really grateful to you for writing all this out (i hope it felt a little cathartic) because i 100% AGREEEEEEEEEE. the way this fandom acts anytime they start talking about uplifting poc will never not be weird to me and i think you explained why perfectly.

[fandomfluffandfuck]

i’m the anon who previously sent the message about the deplorable things alba and her friends have said and done.

i did indeed see your response to my message, and to be completely honest, i thought it was a genuine and well-thought out reply. i know you mentioned you did not want to engage (which is completely fair, considering the scope of your blog), so i understand if you don’t post this. however, i was disappointed to see you continuing to give alba a platform when she has, in fact, not changed or learned from her previous actions. she is still close friends with people who have publicly tweeted statements such as, “fuck me like hitler fucked the jews.” it was revealed that she is heavily antisemitic on set just as recently as last year. she is not sorry for her actions, that much is clear.

it’s your blog - you have final say on what to do with it. but as a part of your previous reply in stating that you could do more in holding racist people accountable, i just thought that you would at least stop giving her a platform to spread such horrible values. because of her antisemitism and racism, her (and now chris’) fans also think it is okay to do so. yes, we cannot control the actions of others. however, as public figures, they do play a part in guiding the narrative and setting an example for those who see them.

i wanted to end off with saying telling you that someone previously asked a fan blog of chris and alba, “is nazism and racism okay if you’re white?” and the response was a resounding, “yes!”

this is who you’re supporting, parasocial or otherwise.

related to this

Thanks, I am surprised that you came back. Also, thank you for not screaming, I've seen way too much "discourse" that is just that online and, unfortunately, in real life.

That's all horrible, and awful to hear, obviously. I knew vaguely of her association to friends with problematic, harmful views through another anon, but no details. The description given certainly paints that she's not learning or growing, yeah. That's shitty. Especially shitty when it's more recent things and not past regrets or ignorance.

It is certainly in my mind whenever an anon sends me something about Alba. She's in a photograph with Chris, I see her in his tag, or whatever. Each time I post something of her, even if it's not really about her and more about Chris, it's consciously something I contemplate. I really hate getting into the real, real relationships and such. I'm not a gossip blog. I have no interest in that side of stanning/supporting a celebrity. So, I very much hesitate to post anything that toes the line. I don't want to, and I shouldn't give people who are racist a platform. You're right, clearly.

Also, I'm sure there are fans of either (or both) Chris and Alba who support racist views or think that they are allowed to because they see their favorite celebrities doing it. I would prefer to think that it is just a very vocal minority, though, in the same way when I see people posting about committing violence toward Alba, death-threat-ing her, making remarks about how they hope Chris divorces her and does horrible things to her because she deserves it, etc. I hope people understand better. Maybe they don't. Maybe I am naive and the outlier by assuming that people compartmentalize their fandom lives from their real lives similarly to me. If so, more should be done to educate them, or push them to educate themselves, on why that isn't okay. Poor behavior examples can be very dangerous, though, I agree.

Anyway, again--for real this time, haha--I'll say that I don't want to get further into this. I can feel a very slippery slope coming, not necessarily from you, but generally about who has reportedly said what and when and to whom, and that's too much for me.

[cellsshapedlikestars]

Don’t worry about answering this is you don’t want to. I know you don’t like fandom wank. But, if you feel like it, do you think someone could make those endpoints work? Bran as king and Jon at the Wall even though there’s a big old hole in it and Dany deliberately burning King’s Landing before Jon or Arya kills her, is that an ending any writer, no matter their skill, could sell to the hardcore fans? I don’t think the fandom would accept it even if GRRM wrote it.

lololol I deleted my post already anon, so for those of you who didn't read it - I was once again whining about how d&d fucked up the last bunch of seasons and every character. it's not a new take, just something I was high thinking in the shower, so I deleted it bc it wasn't productive.

But I'll answer this, because I think it's interesting.

In short - no.

(Beneath the cut for a longer explanation and just a whole bunch of my ranty thoughts. pls remember I am no asoiaf scholar and I haven't studied every aspect of the books or read every meta. These are just my opinions.)

Longer - at this point, too much time has gone by, there is literally no way George can please... probably even half of his fanbase, no matter what he does. From what I can tell, the fandom too divided and there's so much hatred between stan groups (which I do find ridiculous, but it is what it is). People have cemented their own ending in their heads after decades of the fandom existing without an official ending, and I can see a lot of them not liking that they're wrong. Some people have spent 30 years with their theories, it's sunk cost fallacy. Case in point, the show ending being written off as fanfiction by a lot of fans.

which, tangent, I get. I GET why d stans don't believe the ending, because it was so poorly executed. I truly do understand their denial, because the show gaslit the audience for soooooo long that she was the girlboss hero and then seemed to do a 180 at the end. What was that post I just reblogged the other day? I don't hate villains, I hate when the narrative tries to convince you the bad person is actually good.

now, you asked if anyone could make those endpoints work, but I don't actually think most of them are the real endpoints? I think they were D&D giving up and not trying, or going for Shock Value™. But for fun, I'm gonna go by endpoints I think are most to least likely, and my thoughts on how they could happen and how D&D fucked them up.

Bran as king: Confirmed by grrm. How he'll make this work, I have no idea. I genuinely didn't see it coming tbh. I thought the "bittersweet" ending would be Jon being forced to take the crown in KL. like it's a good ending for everyone else, but for him it's misery. I'm sure grrm has his plans, and I'd be interested to see how he pulls it off. This end point does not disappoint me and I'm not mad at being wrong, but I can see a HUGE swath of people HATING it. specifically D stans.

D&D blew this hard. They cut Bran out of an entire season, making him seem to the audience like a lesser character and not important. They made him a robot. Why am I rooting for show!Bran? Also, I will never, ever get over that line - who has a better story than Bran the Broken? I don't know Tyrion, literally everyone else?? JON DIED AND CAME BACK TO LIFE. ahem.

(as far as I'm aware, Bran as king is the only ending grrm has confirmed?? correct me if I'm wrong.)

D as the big bad: I guess grrm hasn't officially confirmed this, but... he's sort of confirmed it, riiiiight? He compared dragons to nuclear weapons. The show has her as the villain (poorly executed or not). When I gave hotd a shot, literally the opening lines were about the Targs bringing themselves down immediately after name dropping her. Seems pretty solid to me. D&D just refused to commit to her villain arc because they didn't want to alienate their audience that they'd gaslit into thinking she was the hero, and they were seemingly obsessed with Shock Value™ twists.

Dany burning KL: I think the burning of KL is going to happen, and it seems like Dany is the only one to really do it? Unclear how it will happen, I'm sure people have theories. What the show didn't have was Aegon, so who knows how he'll factor in.

Arya sailing west: I think there's a lot of foreshadowing for it. It fits her nature. I think this is very likely to happen and I guess D&D handled it ok. They did ruin her character, though, by making her a literal mass murderer. But yayyyyyy feminism I guess.

Theon sacrificing himself for Bran: Theon's was the only arc I think the show did well. They ruined it at the end by having Theon literally throw himself onto the Night King's sword, which was so fucking stupid, but the arc itself is poignant and fits his character. While he can't ever redeem himself to Robb, he can redeem himself to Robb's siblings, and considering he once pretended to kill Bran, I think this is solid.

Cersei and Jaime dying together: this was my theory even before the show ending, and I think it fits their characters. They cannot live without each other, no matter if they hate each other. They're too deeply entwined in each other. Now, I personally wanted Cersei to be taken captive and put in the black cells to be publicly burned later, and then Jaime shows up and mercy kills her and then himself bc he can't live without her.

But I guess getting bonked on the head by some avoidable rocks is also a way to do it

Sansa as QitN: I'll be honest and say I hated this ending because she ended up alone. Sansa, who has wanted nothing more than family and safety since book 1, ends up completely alone. Even Brienne, her sworn shield, leaves her. but she's a queen, so yayyyy feminism I guess.

I can see her as queen, but I can also see her ending up as queen regent for Rickon, because I'm not totally convinced Rickon dies? like in the show he just randomly shows up and gets captured by Ramsay and it just feels like that isn't his arc in the books. Maybe I'm wrong. But I could see D&D having the endpoint of Sansa as regent, but they killed Rickon off already for Shock Value™, and so they went oops! and made her queen.

Now, there is a part of me that thinks she will not be queen or queen regent, because how does one break off and declare independence from their own brother? Feels like that would destabilize his rule and not give people much faith in him. It just seems really strange to me, but I guess it could happen, since Northern Independence is such a huge theme and it would be weird if it didn't happen?? Does Bran just let her secede? And it doesn't make Dorne or the Iron Islands try.... That's the part in the show that literally did not make sense to me. Sansa was like bye, I'm taking the north, and no one else spoke up about that.

I'd be totally fine with her as queen (if she has someone!!) but I can see a gooooood chunk of the fandom absolutely hating this. surprise.

Brienne as Kingsguard: while I like it for narrative purposes, because she deserves it, I just can't see her leaving Sansa, if she becomes as close to Sansa as she does on the show? If Sansa is queen, I could see her as Sansa's Queensguard. But what does she have in KL? The south didn't ever respect her, why would she want to go back. I think D&D put this in so they could have the ending shot of her writing in the book about Jaime for the shippers

Jon at the Wall: the only reason he went to the Wall in the show was because Grey Worm demanded it? And then left. So. You know, real enforceable. So stupid. Genuinely the worst writing of all the endings, I think, the logic made zero sense there. Now, that could be because they'd written themselves into a corner, but knew Jon ended up at the Wall, and had to force it?

But to me, it's like - what was the point of his resurrection, then? In the show, he doesn't even kill the Night King (we'll get to that). He kills D, sure, but... He's also the reason she succeeds in Westeros to begin with. So what, he gets resurrected, causes havoc, fixes the havoc he caused, and then is sent away to a Wall that serves no purpose anymore? WHAT PURPOSE DOES THE WALL SERVE. The Others are defeated, there's a big ol' hole in it, and they've allied with the Free Folk to an extent. How does the Watch continue on?

I guess he could self-banish. I know the show sort of makes the implication that he goes off with the Free Folk, but in the books, he doesn't really like FF culture? He's appalled by a lot of the violence in it. I can't see him wanting to live that way.

Brai.me: don't get me wrong, I like Brai.me. I think it's cute, in fanon. In canon, I think Brienne is too good for him. I don't see their relationship going romantic or sexual. I think Brienne is who Jaime desperately wants to be (but Cersei is who he keeps being pulled back to). Them having sex was 100% for the shippers

Jo/ner.ys: I'm putting all the punctuation in that. don't need them finding me somehow. Anyway. I don't think this happens, at least not as a true romance. They're on opposite continents and there's not a ton of time left, but more than that - and I know I've said this before - I can't see Jon "hates seeing people burned alive" Snow falling in love with D "loves to burn people alive" T. Could it be a political thing? Maybe, but I also could see her having an alliance with Aegon.

I think there's 2 possible reasons for this being in the show and presented as an actual romance. 1) it was supposed to be that pol!Jon theory, but they chickened out (same with jonsa & a love triangle, I think they chickened out bc of the incest. I think now with hotd being incest central and fans loving it, they wouldn't balk anymore). 2) just the spectacle of it? people have been theorizing this for years, why not give it to them? see above, brai.me

Tyrion as Hand: bleh. I know the fandom loves him and he was clearly D&D's fave, but grrm has said Tyrion is the most morally gray character, and I can't see him letting Tyrion get everything he's always wanted, you know? People think asoiaf is grimdark, but I can't imagine grrm punishing Jon with banishment while giving Tyrion a cushy position with lots of power.

I've read the theory that Tyrion ends up at the Wall, which I like thematically, but again, WHAT PURPOSE DOES THE WALL SERVE. Is it just a penal colony at that point?? someone smarter than me, tell me.

Grey Worm & Missandei condoning/encouraging D: hated it. Take the only characters of color to have speaking lines (i'm 99% sure) in the last season and turn them vengeful and murderous (especially grey worm). Throw their characters under the bus to absolve D of blame

Arya killing the Night King: no. he doesn't exist in the books, first, and even in the show it made zero narrative sense. It was just a Shock Value™ twist. You thought it was gonna be hero Jon, hmmmmmm? WRONG. I've said it on here before, but my hope is that it's Sam that brings down the Others in the book somehow.

.

Did I forget anything, anon? This probably veered wildly from the point of the ask, but oh well, it was fun. (I had a jonsa section in here at first, but then I remembered this is show canon ending stuff and that was not canon sorry fellow jonsas. I obvioulsy want it to be the ending bc the shipper brainrot is real, buuuuuut...)

[wizardesquelesbian]

I recently finished The Dark Side quartet by Kristy Cunning (yes I binged all 4 in the middle of finals week. yes I finished them in 24 hours. yes it was an emotional journey) and while I can’t say I was the biggest fan of the series itself,  I want to get into! Ramble ahead ~

Also, spoilers for all four books of The Dark Side by Kristy Cunning!! No holds barred!! You have been warned!!!!!! I think there were elements of the dynamics and relationships between the five that were particularly interesting - I like that, ultimately, the ghost-state was something Paca had done to herself in order to save the world, a cause much bigger than herself and one that she ultimately gave up almost everything to complete! I loved our boy Lamar and how he actually ended up sticking around for a little while (even if it was largely to fulfill the stereotypical gay best friend role), and there were glimpses of the broader relationships between our non-romantic grouping that I really enjoyed, such as the interplay between Paca and her family or even just the family amongst themselves sans-Paca. I also loved certain scenes with her partners and her, specifically the ones where they realized that despite their antagonistic tendencies, they were at least becoming very fond of her. The partners learning to decenter their established dynamic to strive for a new balance between the five of them was fun, and I really loved getting their POVs later in the final book!! I also liked the vibe of the world - it was very contemporary hellish fantasy, and tbh I have never read a four horseman retelling before and I know I would definitely read one again because a lot of the vibes here were fun BUT I had gripes with most of the other elements of the series. Sure, I can deal with and enjoy a bully romance (or at least a dynamic similar to one), but I wish Paca had been given the opportunity to develop as a character outside of her boys a little more. There are glimpses of her that I very much enjoyed - her predilection for ridiculous outfits, her brash confidence, her ability to take life broadly in stride, and her later commitment to “leveling up” all had me rooting for her! I tend to read romance novels largely for the lady leads and Paca is the main reason I finished the series at all - I was just so fond of her by the end there! I’m a sucker for an OP FL and she really hit the nail on the head there - it was so much fun to see her grow into herself and truly take up the mantle she left for herself, I just wish we had been given more time with her The second we began to see her blossom in Hell (when I feel she is, characterization-wise, at her strongest) she (again spoilers) dies!! like, full stop!! some of you might argue that she just loses her memory, that some form of her dies but she’s not really dead but like. okay. the Paca we see in the epilogue of the series is not the one I came to enjoy over the series, much like how our Paca was different from the Paca who came before her. Especially since her partners all remember her as she was, it just felt so upsetting. I finished the series and felt cheated a bit lmao

And I would like to clarify, I have been known to enjoy dark and dark-adjacent romances! I am a horror + romance fan and I have read some intense stuff in my time not only on KU but in fan spaces as well. I mention this because I have seen people rank this as a relatively darker romance, and while I don’t know how technically accurate that label is, I don’t want it to be assumed that I just didn’t like this novel because I don’t “get” darker romances or even just romances with darker themes. I wouldn’t be writing this and I certainly wouldn’t have read all four books if I wasn’t having some sort of fun or if I was genuinely hating reading them, and this is no hate to any Dark Side stans, this just wasn’t for me I don’t think If anyone has any recs that are similar vibe-wise, with maybe some elements of fated romance, OP FLs, or even just funky four horseman retellings (is that an established subgenre??) please throw them my way! even if this series wasn’t my cup of tea precisely, I am interested in taking a look at other similar books because I really did have a good time even if my ultimate opinion wasn’t overwhelmingly positive.

[fumifooms]

I would rather my faves go chaste and NEVER have sex again than have cumfeet, it's so embarassing, it that your ship ???

Girl, why are you bringing me into your embarrassment, your kink opinions? Why are you being a baby about feet? I’m not embarrassed about what my fictional blorbos get up to, why tf should I be?

I watch this show with my family bc we’re all fans of GoT, I’ve been real loud about shipping larycent while they boo it, the only feeling I shall have during that scene is smug pride and I will 100% clown on them about it. 

Ok listen tho, fr? Larycent nation has been like this since footgate was leaked for a second time

Coping

Some are saying they’ll drop the ship, whatever, it’s their life. But the rest of us are just praying to god it’ll be good. WHICH

Listen, some facts: They call it mindblowing. Even one that disliked it (which I suspect to be because of bias against Larys/foot fetish, which, yeah sure whatever) said they came around to it. They made it sound as if they did it regularly. If it was coercive/abusive, you better believe that at this point the leaks would have talked about it, but NO!! It’s consensual!! Life is good to the larycent shippers!! We keep winning fr. We were are really scared that the scene will be 1) bad, 2) abusive, but it seems like we’re in the clear, and it’s Clare directing the episode!! WOO!! Also many of us are scared simply bc we do not want to be hunted down for still shipping it lol.

But ok, you wanna talk about feet? Let’s.

You want them to keep chaste? I’m all for it yesss yes!! They did not need to do this, but they did. I’m asexual, turn 20 in a few months, and it took me a long time to grow comfortable with sexuality at all. I’m still a virgin and have no envy whatsoever to change that. There was a time when I was extremely sex negative, but that’s a shitty thing to be when it affects how you act with other people, I grew the fuck up out of my righteous disapproving disgust. Ya talking to me about CHASTE??! YEAH GIRL GIMME THE ACES GIMME THE NO SMUTTIES I SHALL STAN. My GoT otp was theonsa, do you think I’m scared of that??

But you see the problem is that it’s not because I like chaste ships that I dunk onto horny ships. I don’t ship larycent for the smut, but I embrace the smut, because I am a mature adult that do not wish to take away the complexities of sexuality from these characters. Which, both undoubtedly have complicated relationships to sex.

Alicent has been devoted to the rules of her time, so she committed no adultery nor cheating, and she was a virgin when she married Viserys. That means her experience with sex is very narrow, and very bad. From what we have seen of it, she is not attracted to him (which, there’s something to say about her only partner being unhealthy as all hell, almost decaying, without it being her choice ofc), she does not feel pleasure during it, she dissociates during it. With how she didn’t want to go and everything, it’s marital rape. Alicent’s experience with sex has been bad marital rape. And she considered it her duty. That is that. At least as far as we know. And we know she is against sexual freedom in general.

Alicole also puts a lot of care in the sexual dynamic of their ship, and larycent is no different. Alicent is a character with a lot of sexual trauma, unavoidably. The scope of sexual things she’s comfortable with is probably narrow, and I’d bet that pp in vag missionary is not included in that. Yeah, a sexually traumatized person can choose to simply live the rest of their life chaste, but what if they don’t want that? What if they wanted to explore their sexuality now that they could, in comfort and safety? What if the unconventional sex is part of that healing journey? What if it’s about being in control of it for once, for her? What if it’s freeing?

We don’t know much about Larys, but we know he feels as though he’s “never invited to speak” and presumably feels some resentment for the people around him, as with the fire of Harrenhal & Needham’s thoughts on it show. It’s likely he too, has never had a good relationship to sex. At the end of the day, kinks are a way irl people use and explore to deal with their sexual trauma and have fun, and I think it’s a bad thing to want to erase that fact. Y’all are valid. I support y’all.

Ok, the one thing that’s offputting to me at all about the cumfeet? The one thing? It took me a while to think of the link but, Larys has a clubfoot, and then he has a kink on feet…? Like I said it took me a while to realize the link, so if he just has a random feet kink I’m fine with it, good for him, but how he hates his foot so he fetishizes normal feet…? Nooo I hate that… What tf are ya doing HotD? But I try to think that it’s a warped thing about Larys himself, especially since he does really hate his foot as we know from his death in the books, and not like, how the staff chose to portray/see disabled characters. Because ewww no 😭 Do ppl with, idk, heart diseases fetishize people who have healthy hearts? Longing for not having a disability is normal and valid, but it’s important to be careful about sending messages when it’s media. But yeah, I choose to see it as it being Larys that has a big hang up on his disability and makes a lot about it that didn’t need to be, and it’s a commentary on yadayada and an edgy portrayal of a disabled vilain and, sure. So there ya go, I actually prefer to see it as a random harmless kink than one with deeper reason/meaning.

Why do feet have to be that deep? They’re a part of a body like any other, not unlike hands. It doesn’t have to be weird and filthy. Literally don’t make it weird and then it won’t be weird. But whatever, you don’t even need to accept the cumfeet to ship larycent tbh. Ignore the cumfeet, act as if it never happened, I’ll have your back.

It’s the ASOIAF world… Feet are literally one of the tamest kinks there could be. Would you have preferred idk, knife play? Humiliation kink? Bdsm?? Like idk what to tell you, if you like these ones better then your problem isn’t them having a kink it’s them having a kink you don’t like, which, then the problem is that you’re childish. You refuse to pass beyond your reflexive dislike of it and be rational about it. Good on you…? Like I keep saying, you don’t have to enjoy it, you just have to not let this tiny detail ruin the whole thing for you.

Tbh the fact that they’re comfortable and trusting of the other enough to explore kinks with each other is more beautiful to me than the kink could ever put me off of it. Needham has said this below about them before and this is why I ship larycent. People choose to ignore scenes/things about their ships all the time, go for it. The core of larycent isn’t cumfeet, it’s being seen and being valued.

“It’s a sort of sharing of who you are.”

Larycent is highkey one of the least problematic ships of the show. Minimal age gap, no family ties, they like each other and treat each other good. If engaging in consensual foot fetish is what makes them problematic to you idk what to tell you 😭😂

The anti larycent wave is so funny to me, I’m sipping the haterade and having a good week ngl.

Y’all are fricking hilarious

THE EPISODE ISN’T EVEN OUT. We haven’t even seen the scene…

SO NO I’M NOT DROPPING LARYCENT IF IT HAPPENS. AYYO THAT’S MY SHIP!! THE BIGGEST REASON I CARE ABOUT HOTD LEGIT. MISS ME WITH YOUR BABY SHIT. COWARDS

[dojae-huh]

last year 127central organized a bracket where fans could vote for their favorite title track by donating $1.27 and it was really popular with fans (https://x.com/127central/status/1701043086862716965?s=46&t=rtDww04bg8UG7actgmYBAw) she raised over $2000 i thought it was a really good idea it was fun and engaging and she sent a budget report to each donor at the end (https://x.com/127central/status/1760181966001856935?s=46&t=rtDww04bg8UG7actgmYBAw) idk if the admin changed or if she was just too busy to do something like this again but i was disappointed she gave up on the streaming team a few days before the comeback even if the streaming team is small it’s nice to have a united group working towards a common goal i had a good experience with the streaming team during fact check era it was fun to talk to other fans on discord and feel like i was part of something.

idk why 127 fandom is like this dream fans seem much more united and motivated to support their favorites idk what it is about 127 that attracts such apathetic and defeatist fans. solo stans are present in every fandom and attacks from solo fans usually make group fans feel more motivated to support the group not abandon them it’s not just solo fans and akgaes who are to blame. you’ve been in the fandom longer than me have 127 fans always been like this or when did the change happen? anyway i’ll try to enjoy this comeback by myself and remember to leave positive comments on things i like everyone is very vocal about what they don’t like but quiet about what they like

Link, Link2

Before 2018 and Boss the fandom was small, mostly consisted of old fans of other SM groups and multistans with a long record. Then it started to grow gradually with influx of people after popular releases. The fandom at large was always told to be bad at participation in promotional activities, streaming and voting. Perhaps, 127 coming back once a year doesn't help either. As well as the division between the older fans (working adults) who pay for merch and concert tickets but don't spend time on X, and the younger fans (still in school) who comment a lot but don't have money and don't know how to listen to each other and cooperate, who discourage each other's efforts at streaming or voting.

I regularly see small-scale initiatives ran by country fanclubs or small groups of active fans: streaming of old songs to bring them to 100mln, calling to radio stations to ask for 127 songs, donations in their name. However, there is no big one centre that attracts talented fans with ideas and means. Maybe 127Central was founded with this goal in mind, looking at the name, but it failed somewhere along the way. It is no small task and requires a lot of effort and constant commitment. And admins are humans with their own problems and lives.

Keep in mind that there are successful fanclubs whose work is not seen because they are on other platforms or speak in different languages.

You mentioned that is fun to be a part of a streaming group and talk on discord. Fun and the feeling of doing something together is what drives people to participate, give money. FUN is the key word. The fandom culture and unity is not built overnight. New fans come and bring their own rules and opinions, make a fandom more toxic.

Yes. If you want to see a change in the world, start with yourself. There are two things to do: be positive oneself (as you correctly said, everyone are quick to complain and remember bad things, few comment when they like something or let others know that their actions brightened their day) and get rid of negative people around you (unsubscribe and ban with no mercy, you don't know those people on the i-net even).

Your old discord channel should still exist, no? Maybe try to gather the old participants there yourself? Even if there will be fewer of you, 2-5 people still can form a fun party. A tight circle of online friends is better than masses of anonymous and strangers on X.

Drop the name of the discord channel, maybe someone among the readers will be interested to join. Outline a few rules/what they should expect to interest them.

[euphoricfilter]

I'm kind of tempted to talk you in private, but I know myself as someone who doesn't have commitment to friends, so I'm actually scared. Not that I'm unloyal or the sort, but I've grown numb to seeking friends. From past trauma and everything, I've learnt to be content being alone. Which is why I don't have any friends and I rarely talk to "friends" when it's not about work

Shy baby bean anon

ahh only do what you’re comfortable with! my dms and inbox are always open if you or anyone want to talk. maybe i should link my twitter or something on here because i feel like it’s easier to share stuff… idk that scares me because it has my real name and stuff because i don’t have nickname or anything, even if it is my stan acc… maybe idk i feel like i’ve been pretty anonymous online so far 😭 apart from like little snippets of my life that i share on here but it’s still scary because what if people hate me online, that would be really sad and i care too much about what people think even if they’re faceless people on the internet

it’s okay i understand what you mean, i’m a little similar but my reasoning is different in the sense that i think because i have one close friend that i’ve had since i was small and we’ve been glued to the hip since we were 3 and i love her more than anything it’s a little hard to make other friends because they’re not her? and they’ll never be her. and no matter how many people i try and open myself up to it’s never the same and i’m always scared of what others think about me so i just kinda fake it which sounds really mean now that i say that 😭 but it’s like okay if im truly me around these people i don’t think they’d like me for who i really really am so im kinda just am a muted version of myself around these “friends”

i actually hoped to make friends through this blog though who had similar interests as me because even while i was in school and had “friends” it’s like ‘oh i could totally live without ever talking to any of these people again’ and it all felt very fake and like i had to be friends with them because we were in the same grade and i’m too introverted for my own good so this blog was like a gateway for me to talk to people who liked something as much i do

i quite enjoy my own company as well, like i recently went to london alone and i went to the museum by myself which felt super liberating especially because my anxiety controls my life, but me getting to look at all the exhibits at my own pace, planning my own day out and living for myself rather than what the people around me wanted to do was something i actually liked about the hellish trip.

LMAO BABES I NEVER KNOW WHAT TO TALK ABOUT. my personality consists of bts, crochet, music that im too scared to share with other people and like cute things that make my brain feel nice. before i graduated the only time i would ever message anyone was to ask if they’d finished one of the assignments we had because i was too lazy to finish it myself😭

[wallflowerimagines]

Hi! I looove your posts! Thank you so much for sharing your writing!

I was wondering… could you maybe write about the Four Lords with a shy S/O that gets bold and defensive when someone insults the lords? or calls them names? And the Lord’s reaction to the S/O acting different? Dk if im explaining myself >.<

Again! Love your work! Have a great day!

We stan protective partners on this blog!!

Warnings: uh...insults? They're pretty over the top😅 Also swearing.

Alcina Dimitrescu

Honestly, Alcina is more than able to defend herself.

She's got a tongue like a viper, and the thickest skin imaginable. If you really want to hurt her feelings, you have to be someone whom she already respects to a certain degree, or she won't even be phased.

Still, when she leaves a room, there's always some idiot that thinks it's a smart idea to talk shit.

Maybe it's a maid, maybe it's a guest in the Castle, but either way you're not having it.

"God, you're annoying." There was a pause before they opened their mouth again, and you rolled your eyes. "No please, by all means, continue to share your lack of taste with the rest of us."

You disassemble this dumbass, starting small with comments about their personality (trying to keep it classy), but escalating the more they choose to double down on the comments.

Alcina comes back into the room to find you practically screaming at this asshole.

"Look, all you have accomplished here today is revealing that you are a fundamental disappointment on every possible level. My life is worse now that I've heard you open your mouth, you disrespectful, shit licking worm fucker."

Alcina is stunned. You do not give off "aggressive guard dog" vibes at all, yet here you are defending her tooth and nail. While she had seen brief moments of your inner strength and protective streak (mostly towards her daughters) she just...never thought you would do the same for her.

It's not because she doesn't trust you or love you! But nobody has ever done something like this for her before? Ever? She's never had anyone try to protect her--not physically, and not even verbally. She's been so independent for so long that it's... Strange to see you support her so openly.

She doesn't need you to do this for her, she doesn't even expect it, but you do it anyway for no other reason than the fact that you love her. You want people to give her the respect she deserves.

I'm going to be real here: Alcina has never been closer to swooning before in her life. You're overcoming your shyness because you believe in her so much-- it's not a gesture meant to be romantic, but Alcina can't help but see this as a massive statement of your commitment to her.

Seriously. This is such a massive thing for her that if proposals weren't already on her mind, she is mentally picking out a ring for you the minute this happens.

Then, of course, she glides into the room, kisses you until you're breathless and babbling, and smirks at the unfortunate peon who thought they could get away with insulting House Dimitrescu.

She's in such a good mood that she's considering going easy on the idiot. Maybe removing their tongue would be enough of a warning?

Donna Dimitrescu

You don't really know how it's possible but apparently some people don't like Donna Beneviento? Some people think she's scary and unpleasant????

Wild. Can't imagine what that's like.

The two of you are honestly the sweetest, most toothrottingly adorable couple-- blushing when you hold each other's hands, sneaking glances at each other across rooms, giving each other kisses and forgetting whatever was on your mind...

Honestly, anybody who's critical of your relationship with your girlfriend is just a hater. Fuckers can pound sand😤

Still, you are pretty shy, so it takes a lot for you to defend yourself if someone comments about you. It can take a lot of courage to stand up against rude remarks, and sometimes it's easier to walk away.

Defending Donna, on the other hand?

The minute someone even thinks about dismissing her, you are ready to throw hands.

"My lovely girlfriend already said no, meaning you're either deaf or too stupid to pick up on simple social cues," you purse your lips and give the rude and pushy Villager a patronizing once over. "You and your opinion are equally useless. Get the fuck away from us."

Donna blinks.

She... Was not expecting this??? At all?? You're so nice! You always tell her about your attempts to avoid confrontation! What's going on??? How did you get the guts to say what she's always wanted to say?

Meanwhile, Angie is LIVING.

The little doll chimes in to assist you with the verbal homicide, working as a tag team to absolutely murder this moron. She's half partner, half hype man, and is so excited to do this with you. Normally, she has to protect Donna all by herself, but she's relieved and reassured that you stepped in first.

'USELESS IS TOO NICE, THOUGH! THAT IMPLIES THEY AREN'T A POINTLESS, RANCID, LONELY FREAK. THEY LOOK LIKE THEY CRY WHEN THEY MASTURBATE.'

You high five Angie, still glaring daggers at the unfortunate villager.

The two of you continue to ream into the villager, while Donna hovers nearby.

As surprised as she is, she's also grateful. She's only really ever had Angie to help shield her from insults and disrespect (and occasionally inducing horrifying hallucinations that make people claw off their own skin), but having you in her corner makes her feel safe.

Not to get totally sappy, but you're like her knight in shining armor in a lot of ways. And the fact you two are so similar is really motivating-- She wants to one day be confident enough to return the favor. Until then, she's happy to watch her two favorite people have fun insulting some stranger ❤️

Salvatore Moreau

With you being so shy, Salvatore is surprised how often he takes the lead in your relationship.

He's not normally all that outgoing, but you seem to bring out a side of him that's very protective. Whenever you have a bad day he wants to bundle you up and keep you safe from the world.

If he so much as holds your hand you start stuttering and avert your gaze. It creates a feedback loop where you both get flustered, but Moreau has never felt steadier. Despite your shyness, you make sure he knows how much you love him.

You're sweet as pie and twice as kind--Salvatore is the luckiest man in the world, nobody can convince him otherwise 💕💕

So it comes as a total shock that when a passing fisherman spits in your path and calls him a freak, your entire demeanor does a 180.

Your posture straightens and you look the villager dead in the eye, "I don't believe anyone asked your opinion."

Salvatore: 😳

This is not the time, and he totally knows it, but, uh, something about your tone??? Really does it for him???

While he's attempting to process why exactly he's starting to short circuit, you proceed to verbally shred this person to bits with clinical efficiency-- nothing is off limits.

They might try to defend themselves, but it's useless. You do not let up.

"Ugly? Monster? Bitch your teeth are throwing gang signs, don't throw stones from your shining glass house."

You insult their appearance, what they're holding, their smell-- you get so fucking mean that you might even make them cry.

Moreau is just lost right now, trying hard to figure out how exactly you were able to gain all of this confidence so quickly.

He's not upset! In fact he's very flattered! But, he also doesn't want you to get into a fight with some unimportant stranger. (After all, if they so much as throw a punch, they're straight up dead. Moreau is a patient man, but he's not that patient. You do not hurt his partner and live to tell the tale.)

He may a healer but...

Eventually he steps between you and the fisherman in an attempt to deescalate the situation, but you just kiss him on the cheek and step around him, determined to make your point.

Blushing hard, Moreau lets you do what you want. What can he say? Fish man likes himself a protective partner 💞

Karl Heisenberg

Magnet Man is not the most social guy to begin with, so any opportunities you have to stick up for him are already pretty slim.

He mostly knows you as the shy, sweet, easily flustered partner that lets out a cute squeak every time he sneaks up to hug you from behind.

Karl's honestly happy just to spend time with you all alone in the Factory. It's not the best or healthiest mindset, but he'd be perfectly content to only ever see you for the rest of his life. Spending time with anybody else feels like a boring waste in comparison.

But occasionally, you do head out into town with him. Heisenberg wants you to be safe so he doesn't do it often, but running errands with you is a weakness of his. It's domestic in a way that he's never experienced before.

He likes it ❤️

What he does not like is the shopkeeper starting to give their opinions on the quality of your relationship with him.

Most insults Karl will let slide because he doesn't particularly care. However if anyone makes a comment on how scared (shy) you look around him, how you must be being threatened into being with him, how poorly Lord Heisenberg is treating you...he won't stand for it.

But before his fingers can even twitch towards his hammer, you snap.

"You're clearly the blindest cocksucker I've ever met--so wipe the cum out of eyes and mind your own fucking business."

Karl does a double take.

He's heard you curse before, but quietly. The words coming out of your mouth are WILD right now, he has NEVER seen you so angry. You're defending him with the aggression of a wild animal, and it's simultaneously HILARIOUS, but for some reason he's also getting a warm fuzzy feeling in his chest?

He doesn't need you to protect him like this, but seeing you blatantly argue how much you love and cherish him in public reassures him in a way he didn't know he needed.

Still, hearing you call the shopkeeper "shit for brains" is the funniest thing that's happened in years.

Heisenberg starts laughing, and the more you shout at the idiot, the harder he laughs. Is it weird how hard he wants to kiss you right now?

Eventually, he just has to drag you away, cackling as you continue to shout insults at the unfortunate shopkeep. There's got to be an alley around here for some good old fashioned privacy 💕