#much to think about esp as it relates to power and authority

[sendmyresignation]

thinking about gerard tour fits as mimicking incredibly common visual/characterized archetypes for women in rock and metal again don't text back

[potionwine]

Thinking about Margrace as Joshua's name post-Phoenix Gate.

Mar-grace.

In FFXVI the Undying choose their own names (Cyril explains this in-game), and many of them have names drawn from Final Fantasy XII, including their leader 'Margrace' himself, from Al-Cid Margrace. The page for Al-Cid notes that Margrace is likely an alternate form of the title 'margrave', an old title for military commanders on the border.

That aside. This is the name chosen (by the boy himself?) for the boy who should have rightfully been known henceforth as 'Your Grace', 'His Grace'.

Grace (style of address), from the Oxford English Dictionary:

With a possessive adjective: a title of respect, esp. for a person of royal or noble rank. Frequently (in 'your Grace') as a form of address. Now archaic or historical. Formerly (in England until the reign of Henry VIII and in Scotland until 1707) used for a monarch or prince; now replaced by Majesty or Highness. Even so, "Majesty" for the sovereign of England was not used exclusively; it arbitrarily alternated with both "Highness" and "Grace", even in official documents, until "Majesty" finally became the official style to the exclusion of others (source).

Grace (other meanings):

1. Divine favour, benevolence, or providence bringing about worldly benefit or advantage. 2. A person's lot, destiny, or fate; luck, fortune. 3. The quality of being pleasing; attractiveness, charm; esp. (in later use) refined elegance of manner, expression, form, or movement, esp. regarded as natural or effortless; gracefulness.

Whatever the etymology of margrave, the name Margrace in-game is probably meant to call to mind the meaning of 'mar' as in damaged, spoiled, ruined. All the grace that ever belonged to his family, his home, his birthright—marred, of course.

Mar+Grace, the last heir of the oldest unbroken ruling dynasty in the Twins at the time of the opening events of the game**.

The living ghost, carrying the desecrated corpse of his legacy in his new name. Introducing himself by his humiliation: "Hello, I am Margrace", "Hello, I am the ruined dignity of my house." "Call me Margrace", "Call me the wreckage of one fallen from divine favour." "My name is Margrace", "My name is blemished fortunes and diminished nobility".

It's appropriately brutal and dramatic for such a character, especially since the game is frustratingly silent on how Joshua personally feels about the loss of his duchy which is a rant for next time.

**Footnotes:

In the Year 860 (Prologue year/Phoenix Gate), Rosaria is about 260 years old (est. Y600). Older, if you count from the time of the Rose Alliance (est. Y550). The Rosfields have been on the Rosarian throne since the inception of the duchy in Y600, and prior to that House Rosfield was already known to be the chief of/the preeminent house of the Seven High Houses that united to found the duchy. House Rosfield has held ruling power for 260-310 years at a minimum.

For reference, England's longest-reigning dynasty was the Plantagenets, who held on for 300+ years. Rosfields aren't doing half bad!

Veldemarke would have been older had it not been overthrown by Barnabas; therefore Waloed is the youngest nation state at the time of the prologue (only 17 years old). Also we do not know much about the governance of Veldemarke, although as a 'kingdom' it was likely some type of monarchy.

Sanbreque was formed 100 years after Rosaria, and at any rate is not actually a hereditary monarchy. The Holy Emperor is voted into office by his fellow Cardinals, likely the five who form the Council of Elders. We are also explicitly told that Sylvestre 'won his throne' in 865; there is no indication either way that his predecessor emperor was a Lesage. The wording suggests the throne is not Sylvestre's by lineage or birthright. How this is supposed to relate to the concept of Sanbreque having a 'crown prince' (Dion) is unclear and contradictory, since an emperor by election should probably not have the authority to unilaterally decide on the succession of the throne, and his issue—legitimate or no—should not automatically be in the line of succession.

Dhalmekia is a republic with elected officials.

The Iron Kingdom apparently has a royal family, but nothing else is known apart from it being impotent and sidelined by their state religion.

The Northern Tribes likely do have hereditary rule, and Jill is referred to as a princess, but once again little is known.

Ergo—and I am ceaseless in this propaganda—Clive and Joshua are really, properly posh! Absolutely baffling that Anabella would allow anyone to put down the pedigree of her sons when they are so blue-blooded precisely because she is! For someone with such entrenched ideas of blood purity she should not stand for it, no matter how she feels about her eldest.

[horizon-verizon]

Fire and Blood: Aegon II

[revised, from the older 2022 version]

This is a Headcanon and are subject to change (except the part about him being a rapist). You are welcome to disagree with them.

Before the Dance

Aegon was born to Viserys I (29-30) and Alicent Hightower (18-19) a year after they married. Despite being a boy and Alicent's/Otto’s pressing, he did not replace Rhaenyra as Viserys’ official heir and Viserys even dismissed Otto for "hectoring" him [definition: talk to (someone) in a bullying way.; browbeat; intimidate]:

And unlike Rhaenyra (ten years his senior), aka “The Realm’s Delight”, he never had the blatant or apparent admiration of the courtiers, peasants, etc. Rhaenyra also was definitely Viserys' favorite child (Aegon may or may not have known this, but I think it's primarily bc she came from was the first and only child he ever had during a slew of lost children with Aemma, so Rhaenyra could have been a sort of "miracle" child) and all their lives, they heard and saw Viserys protect Rhaenyra's rights over what they saw as theirs, esp Aegon's.

Early on, he and his brothers developed resentment, then hatred, for Rhaenyra and her first three sons: Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey Velaryon.

The enmity between Queen Alicent and Princess Rhaenyra was passed on to their sons, and the queen’s three boys, the Princes Aegon, Aemond, and Daeron, grew to be bitter rivals of their Velaryon nephews, resentful of them for having stolen what they regarded as their birthright: the Iron Throne itself. Though all six boys attended the same feasts, balls, and revels, and sometimes trained together in the yard under the same master-at-arms and studied under the same maesters, this enforced closeness only served to feed their mutual mislike, rather than binding them together as brothers. (F & B; “A Question of Succession”)

Image Credit: doug wheatley from Fire and Blood

Imagining how Aegon’s Childhood/Development (God, why....)

In a feudal society, individualism (or the way we conceptualize it) as a priority is not a substantial concept shared amongst the different populaces like it is for some societies today. You may come from a noble house with a distinctive history, image and notable deeds that shaped the customs of the land ruled. Or you are the ruled--the peasant that are told to work for the nobles. Of course, it’s way more complicated when put into action and in real life, with rich merchants, illegitimate children, etc. having sometimes influence enough to present an economic and political opposer and negotiations done. But generally, a feudal society is shaped by what role you play in maintaining the hereditary cultural order above most else, with the militant lords owning multiple tracts of k[land the serfs and peasants worked on their entire lives.

Here this kid is learning from a young age that men customarily inherit the final and nearly absolute authority and power over the House and the household, much less an entire country and its inhabitants. He knows about male-preference primogeniture. Sees that aristocratic and royal children learned about their own house’s history--that it is tradition or a precedent for sons to inherit power, and traditions usually define the identity of a house and its members as well as the relations to each other (Brackens vs Blackwoods; “Winter is Coming”).

But aside from a girl being chosen over him, he also learns that his father, Viserys, was able to ascend despite being the son of a second son because the lords were allowed to vote for him based on the principle that a man and those of the male line are the “best” and preferred leaders. Troubling the precedents of both undemocratic succession and male primogeniture. If he even thought about this deeply at all, we don't know.

If we’re going by firstborn male only-primogeniture, Viserys would be undisputed as heir. If by equal primogeniture, it should have been Rhaenys Targaryen who ruled, and then Laena Velayron after her. Viserys’s whole line, in another world, would have been mere secondary princes/princesses, then lords/ladies.

Yet, he was not chosen by the former king, but chosen by his own future subjects. Yeah there were EU elective monarchies, but that this is not a society where you did that to have a new monarch and it reduces the power of a monarch. Neither Jaehaerys nor any Westerosi monarch--Targ or not--wanted that.

So: But isn’t a king supposed to be made by the last king? Even with Jaehaerys' choosing and allowing the lords to choose, they still were those he decided to be the "final" deciders of who would lead them. There is this contradiction or paradox of monarchial leadership and succession: what the king desires then rules and what his subjects want from him and in a king. Even with Jaehaerys' choosing and allowing the lords to choose, they still were those he decided to be the "final" deciders of who would lead them. As if this were some sort of Spartan oligarchy. there is this contradiction or paradox of monarchial leadership and succession: what the king desires then rules and what his subjects want from him and in a king. 

Once again, the bit abt the GC of 101 is all more IF he actually spends time thinking this deep abt Viserys' ascension outside of how it should have made him also Viserys' heir and how it instead made Rhaenyra Viserys's seemingly biggest pride & joy. If he does or has at all thought about this, he's repressed its implications for him if he were to ever rule: that his own claim is vulnerable to circumstance of others’ various and changing desires, that he is vulnerable to others.

He also would have heard the courtiers, Alicent, her ladies-in-waiting, his wet nurse and other nurses, her brother Gwayne and father Otto, and even other servants talk about Rhaenyra, Viserys, the TArgs' state, etc. in whispers or aloud as he went his way around the Red Keep, constantly talking about the succession. Some would say how Rhaenyra is so cool, so beautiful, so precocious (not Alicent or Otto). Others that she doesn’t deserve the crown for her gender or her character, being so hostile to Alicent (his mother).  

Whatever the truth of these allegations, there was never any doubt that King Viserys still meant for his daughter to follow him upon the Iron Throne, and her sons to follow her in turn. By royal decree, each of the Velaryon boys was presented with a dragon’s egg whilst in the cradle. Those who doubted the paternity of Rhaenyra’s sons whispered that the eggs would never hatch, but the birth in turn of three young dragons gave the lie to their words. The hatchlings were named Vermax, Arrax, and Tyraxes. And Septon Eustace tells us that His Grace sat Jace upon his knee atop the Iron Throne as he was holding court, and was heard to say, “One day this will be your seat, lad.” (Fire and Blood; “A Question of Succession”)

Alicent and Otto could have felt that to convince Viserys to change his mind, Aegon will have to be presented as the better option or the "perfect" prince while play at Viserys’ heartstrings or desire for family and harmony. And they'd likely be doing this from babyhood until his more resistant teen years. So they may dress him from the moment he can be in group gatherings to create images suited to the persons they anticipate will see him at particular setting. Parties? Dress him up in intricate colors reminiscent of a king. Alone with the king at breakfast? Dress him up in subdued colors and simple stitching, maybe even have him just wear white to connote innocence and make him that much more attractive to engage with. Let everyone else also see how “bright” and “comely” Aegon seems. (Of course, he never manages to get a moniker like Rhaenyra celebrating his personality, so that would have quickly failed.) Not only with dress him, but instruct his behavior from as early as when he only begins to understand to obey so he may receive positive attention.

You can go into abuse territory like what was hinted at the episode 7 when Otto dragged him & Alicent slapped his face because Aegon, seeing how nothing he does or they do convinces Viserys will get him to change his mind, will just give up and "enjoy" the things that being a prince does entitle on: brothels, drink, food, and in his case, a beautiful dragon that he could rationalize also exudes, in its beauty, what he feels could be or otherwise already in him. It all also speaks to his sense of masculinity, and the SA and rapes he commits could be how he takes back control from his father and Rhaenyra though he may not always consciously think of them. Again, different directions. The more he doesn't allow Alicent or Otto to prince him up, the more profligate and uncaring he will be, and the more abuse they can both try to enforce onto him. He could have felt he was playing a game he never asked for, become a sort of trapped puppet, which in turn will feed into his feeling of victimhood and rage when Rhaenyra doesn't submit to his ascension (as us bk readers know).

Effect

So in all, Aegon, being a child and not being around his father 24/7 (partially also since kings aren’t like other noblemen and peasants, having separate apartments and doing several duties apart form their children), Aegon likely didn’t feel that Viserys truly saw him as worthy to inherit the crown as Rhaenyra, . So Aegon may have felt that his father thought him “worse” than a girl (which is sexist thinking). In spite of the importance that a lot of people around him place on custom, tradition, and precedent. Being a king--or being seen as deserving of it and conflating that with a father's love--speaks to his gender identity as a a trueborn firstborn man in this society because Alicent and Otto both would have impressed on him that it was so both indirectly and verbally. And everything in this world is valued through its given gendered properties: male (active; hard; fast; strong) vs female (passive; soft; slow; weak). Which brings us right back to how he self affirms/distracts himself: his dragon Sunfyre, alcohol, and sex/sexual assault.  

Sexual assaulters and rapists are losers. They rape and SA because it makes them feel more powerful than those they feel should not have power yet they see sometimes do or think they do. Often, when they can’t confront the real contender, they go after those that they can hurt with less consequences to themselves.

So, it’s easy to see that Aegon develops an "interesting" (not a positive connotation) inferiority complex. Everything that he is, it would be compared to Rhaenyra as well as all the other kings that have existed. Even by his mother and Otto. He is not the center of his world, Rhaenyra is.

In other words, he also still enables his own loser-dom.

Ironically, his dependency on only what pleasures his body can give him would not have likely endeared him to others around him (even his own siblings), because he is so emotionally stunted, resentful, and impatient--even with the statues he had commissioned later after his brothers’ deaths.  But I don’t think he was especially close to Aemond, Helaena, or Daeron because of the dissociation and because he himself is a way for Alicent to protect the others, creating another heavy obligation--which is one feature of ASoIaF. His family would have been together more for duty than love.

Duty vs Love

The statues were meant to "pay back" his dead brothers, reduce some of that guilt, and show his subjects how generous to those loyal to him will be treated & paint himself as a good king. It's a claim on the land, that he and his family can do what they want with it, because he is king.

Being made to feel like a device of duty and ambition perhaps wouldn’t encourage his already compromised ego into intimacy, creating an emotional void. Alcoholics are not commonly free with their affection either, especially when they are men. His siblings also might have looked at him as their future, or as an assignment. A duty. Someone to support for the kingship more than a friend. And the emotional voids each of them have would accentuate and affirm this.

The Dance

And what about his coronation? Runicter, Septon Eustace and Mushroom all refer to Aegon being away from the keep when Viserys died and Alicent brought the council members together in the green council. Two of these sources say that he was having sex--Mushroom with a more scandalous claim than Eustace, but actually correct as Eustace. confirms the garlic the girl (12-13) and tries to make it sound better by saying she was a merchant's daughter. (Class rather than the fact that he, a grown man, is fucking a preteen without it "even" being a forced arranged marriage, which just makes it so much the worse!)

Aegon even protested being crowned at first, one of them being that he shouldn’t “steal” from his older sibling--if we were to believe Eustace when he says that he eventually gives in when Criston Cole mentioned how Rhaenyra would not spare him or his family if she wanted her own illegitimate sons to sit safely on the throne.

However, Aegon did a quick switch up after he got his crown, and I think this just shows that he always wanted it (or the validation, really, from it) and didn't actually need much persuading bc it was his time to shine and show how great he could be to his dead father and all those who witnessed his profligacy. Prove how how great he is by showing how well he could protect his family by defeating his enemies.

One could say he accepted becoming king out of fear of Rhaenyra, esp after Alicent & Criston both told him what they did AND they never got along or spent time together. He likely has no idea or real knowledge of this older sister who lives apart from the rest of them for almost his entire life and only comes by for parties or the odd viist to their father, sitting on the table and rarely speaking ot each other. Like a distant aunt rather than a missed sibling. To this argument, Aegon might have felt he had to become king so as to be the King/the military commander before she can become Queen notably so she can't take him off guard and seek to kill or punish him and when Alicent has already the council and imprisoned the courtiers. But what drives me to think Aegon actually welcomed the crown even when he refused at first is because he still had the chance to keep refusing and lock his mother, Otto, & Criston in a protracted stalemate. They'd have to knock him out to really get him to appear before an entire crowd to be crowned, you can't crown a kicking-and-screaming or unconscious person, like they probably did for Daemon to marry Rhea Royce. So, I think he likely bent bc, again, hit was the final temptation, the opportunity to make himself worthy.

Thus Aegon II would have likely felt a strange euphoria after being crowned and “officially” becoming King. The final thing that stands in his way from completely consolidating power, validating himself, fully realizing his role, and affirming his manhood...is his more popular sister. again, they never got along or spent time together, so in this state of him feeling himself he’d be eager to get rid of her and his nephews through violence and dragons. 

Yes, it’s kinslaying, but:

he likely doesn’t feel her to be real kin and he is a character who depends on his sensual experiences as well as those things that symbolize power for self worth--Rhaenyra’s emotional and physical distance is too constant for him to see her as a true sibling

Rhaenyra is openly against Alicent, his mother

Rhaenyra is both a woman and the person keeping him from getting what he’s been owed for all his life

he marries his other sister, Helaena, and wives are not really the type of equal that we modern folks and non Targs would consider our spouse to be--royal siblings are not just siblings -> they are his subjects and if they are women they are also his sexual partner -> he has learned to see more as devices to show power or that which is mostly under his authority---Targaryens do not usually regard their siblings as just siblings. Quite literally, a sibling could be or become everything and anything: lover, enemy, peer/friend, child/dependent, superior, subject, etc. Depends on circumstances. How adaptable 👀.

So with every pushback like how Rhaenyra’s supporters coming out the woodwork, her supporter’s military wins...it’s no wonder he was ecstatic at Lucerys’ death at the hands of Aemond and the claws of Vhagar. Targaryen might seems on his side.

Aemond Targaryen...who would henceforth be known as Aemond the Kinslayer to his foes...returned to King’s Landing, having won the support of Storm’s End for his brother Aegon, and the undying enmity of Queen Rhaenyra. If he thought to receive a hero’s welcome, he was disappointed. Queen Alicent went pale when she heard what he had done, crying, “Mother have mercy on us all.” Nor was Ser Otto pleased. “You only lost one eye,” he is reported to have said. “How could you be so blind?” The king himself did not share their concerns, however. Aegon II welcomed Prince Aemond home with a great feast, hailed him as “the true blood of the dragon,” and announced that he had made “a good beginning.” (F&B; “A Son for a Son”)

Perhaps this is one of the only moments that he actually felt close or obtained intimacy with Aemond. Or feels like he has. Aemond helped him out, so he's praising Aemond for being what Daemon is to Rhaenyra. An enforcer of his own will. Aemond proved himself to be an agent that will “prove” him and his strength and kingly authority. Aegon sees Aemond apart from being this guy who’s better than him in the physical stuff, like a warrior. And with Aemond and seemingly the entire kingdom at his side, Aegon felt he could take on anything.

It's when Dameon takes Harrenhal with barely a scratch and when more people declare for Rhaenyra against him, with the green's total surprise, that this arrogant euphoria starts to diminish and morph into something like the doubt and helplessness he's felt before being crowned. So when he’s butting heads against Otto for what he thinks is inaction, he is showing frustration at Rhaenyra display a seeming competency or luck over him that he can't handle or help to compare to before Viserys died:

AND

"The Red Dragon and the Gold"

With Criston’s encouragement to show his strength and his son Jaehaerys’ murder, it gets to a point where he flagrantly dismisses Otto’s bids at less violent attempts to cow Rhaenyra, and it definitely leads into his decision to put himself in danger and fight with Aemond against Rhaenys and Meleys.

That was the first time he ever used Sunfyre for battle and it came with grevious self harm and harm to his dragon: he got many burns, broke bones and Sunfyre’s wing was incapacitated enough that he had to be left behind for a time in the field to be fed and recover, while Aegon also stayed in bed for the rest of that year. He had to be carried around in a litter when he wasn’t sleeping.

And later, when he finally escapes King’s Landing and reunites with Sunfyre at Dragonstone to recover, he must have generated enough sick anticipation and rage to kill Rhaenyra through his dragon in front of his legitimate nephew’s face. Before then, he had flown Sunfyre again only to be attacked by Baela and her dragon Moondancer. In that altercation, he got even more injuries, shattering both of his legs. 

Both were mistakes that began as him, again, trying to prove himself AS WELL AS revenge after years of being pushed into a more “feminine” passive position. The Rook's Rest fight was also him trying to make Jaehaerys' death mean something, a new motivator of that long, deep desire for affirmation, even though he probably loved his kids...in his way.

Broken and burned both those times, but specifically talking about the first for now--now he’s in an even worse passive position than he had ever been in, where he has to stay put and still be carried in a chair. Now that his body is actually broken, he feels a "crippledom" & uselessness worse than before. Worse and similar to how he’s been told to depend on those he felt in his way and worse/similar to when he was just a prince. When his life meant being a comparison to Rhaenyra.

In his second time getting burnt and broken by Baela & Moondancer, he attempts to mimic his coronation flight on Sunfyre but that affirmation is also denied to him. He is not allowed to land on Dragonstone as its master, or as a dragon (since he'd been hiding and recuperating in the caves on the island...dragons "live" in caves naturally) but a sort of mangled alien.

In all this time, he has, maybe in his eyes, been “disproven” and flouted as the rightful Targaryen heir. But like Rhaenyra with her position as heir for many years and others denying her, he is not going to just give up after having been king and been crowned for some time. Not after gotten the injuries that would have stayed with him for all his life if he had been allowed to continue. He probably felt that he had to hold onto his claim more and give meaning to his losses, despite also feeling like a cripple. Maybe he felt that his father’s dismissal of him came from a real place and he wanted to banish that feeling through cruelty. 

After Rhaenyra’s Death

Image Credit: doug wheatley from Fire and Blood

I believe that by this time, Aegon was so desperate to hold onto the power he had finally “assured” through Rhaenyra’s death. But as proven later, people still fought against him.

He refused to grant clemency to those who had supported Rhaenyra (as Jaehaerys I did w/Maegor's followers) and to even cut off pieces of his nephews to intimidate those still fighting. He wanted all these people, those who will not accept him, dead and when some actually appeared to be close enough to threaten him, he took Alicent’s suggestion to mutilate Aegon III/the Tounger. That, his open distrust of Corlys, AND the plan to later kill Corlys when he's no longer of use to them--divulged by Larys Strong-prompt Corlys and Larys to put their plan to assassinate him in action (“The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II”):

“Your Grace,” the Sea Snake said, when the rump of the once proud green council had assembled, “you must surrender. The city cannot endure another sack. Save your people and save yourself. If you abdicate in favor of Prince Aegon, he will allow you to take the black and live out your life with honor on the Wall.”

“Will he?” King Aegon said. Munkun tells us he sounded hopeful. His mother entertained no such hope.

“You fed his mother to your dragon,” she reminded her son. “The boy saw it all.”

The king turned to her desperately. “What would you have me do?” 

“You have hostages,” the Queen Dowager replied. “Cut off one of the boy’s ears and send it to Lord Tully. Warn them he will lose another part for every mile they advance.”

“Yes,” Aegon II said. “Good. It shall be done.” He summoned Ser Alfred Broome, who had served him so well on Dragonstone. “Go and see to it, ser.” As the knight took his leave, the king turned to Corlys Velaryon. “Tell your bastard to fight bravely, my lord. If he fails me, if any of these Braavosi pass the Gullet, your precious Lady Baela shall lose some parts as well.”

Yeah, he’s a charmer, this one.

Lastly.

None of this is to say that he deserves the throne and it should be given to him or Rhaenyra should just give it to him (fuck that!), that he is a good person, or that he deserves to be allowed to do what he wants--it is to say that he is a perfect example of feudal patriarchal purity and thus a terrible human being who chose to use women’s bodies as if they are toys. 

Going by the trailer alone AND by his given character behavior/traits in F&B, I think Aegon is one of the better adapted and acted characters of the show. Let's hope they will at least continue that with him.

[animalechochamber]

Did another wc design challenge! This time the white cats with blue eyes except I swapped out two cats and added Whitetail bc I love her <3

I feel like rambling on the cats so that’s under the cut for those who want to read my little design ideas and au lol (warning very long esp on mobile. My bad)

For the easier one at the top right is Icewing, current cat in ASC and also a former dark forest trainee who watched her son Beetlewhisker be killed by Brokenstar. Her design is one I’ve had in my brain for awhile and it is based off Swan Lake, with the idea of a white and black swan. Her fluffy belly is meant to sorta read as a tutu and her patches as feathers. I gave her purple eyes too bc it’s a mix of red and blue, which often are the colors for evil vs good. I have so many thoughts on her. Where’s my Icewing novella. Plz authors give us a Icewing’s Nest book (Nest bc her motherhood and in the idea of how swans get over their chicks, only for her own to die in a place she encouraged him to go. It’s also a unique name for a novella)

Now onto the bottom left. With my beloved Snowstorm (Snowfur) and her daughter, Froststorm (Whitestorm/Frostfur). Yes I know Snow didn’t live to see her kit this big but also canon Frosty isn’t transfem so just let it be alright? Transfem Whitestorm is something I thought of in a now scrapped rewrite that I cannot unravel from my brain. And I wanted to draw her momma bc she’s been a favorite of mine forever. Snowstorm has a few blue spots bc I wanted to blue from her father to show in atleast one of the sisters (since I made Blue albino) and I can imagine how she feels about her name. It fits. It’s suiting for her personality and ambitious nature. But it’s her father’s prefix, the one who never even visited them as kits, neglected her momma, left them for a cat just barely older then her- yet in her own self conscious way she can’t help but see himself in her, that same ugly storm of anger brewing in her belly that lead him to his death. In my warrior cats universe Snowstorm doesn’t die and is a spicy elder in TPB who, after his daughter talks to her, becomes a advisor to the young Fireheart. She would be pretty snippy and very much xenophobic to him at the start and probably until Tigerclaw is exiled before she starts realizing how his heart is in the clan, where he came from doesn’t matter, and what he brings to the clans culture. She was the mate of Thistleclaw for the stars sake! And despite how they’re relationship was passionate and aggressive and doomed from the start, the cat he created in that bloodthirsty monster is clear. His ways of thinking were tangled in Tigerclaw’s mind like they were in hers. How had she let him do so much damage? So she turns around. Starts growing. Tears the thorns from her pelt at last.

(Tw for a few transphobic ideas that Froststorm had placed in her by Thistleclaw)

And Froststorm- she was originally Milkkit (after the milk thistle, her dad insisted on her having a name that related to him) but after her mom is out in a coma for her first 9 moons of life she is almost entirely groomed to be her father’s son. But it didn’t feel right. She felt wrong every time he told her what to be. Not only because she had no say at all against her father but because being that warrior meant being… a tom. She wouldn’t come out till after her father died, around half a year after her being named. After her mom finally woke up by some Starclan miracle. She was weak but the cat his father had told her she was wasn’t who woke up. She was a blizzard in a cats body- powerful, swift, covering, but cool and once calmed down soft as a fresh layer of snow. The moment she opened her eyes and saw her how much her small kitten had grown she wouldn’t let go. Thistleclaw was oddly angry when she awoke. He felt the control he and over his kit slip away as she came in a plucked what he’d placed in her pelt. The two would fight. And they could never agree. It was upsetting, especially when Thistle would come to her and tell her how her mother was a stupid, selfish molly who couldn’t hold her tongue. Things he once loved about her were now faults all because they didn’t align with his view. But it also showed her that she could stand up against him. She finally went outside her direct circle and talked to a cat her dad fell out with, her aunt Rosetail. She wasn’t ever allowed to speak to her when her dad was around. He told her she was a confused tom, that she went around with soft bellies, and that she spit on starclan’s place for her. But she was nice, and kind, and so sweet it made her stomach twist. Milkpaw asked her what her father had meant by her being a “molly minded tom”- and she learned something that would change her life forever. Rosetail was originally a tom but found she was a molly at heart. Through herbs and training she was able to change what she was, transitioning. That word made her heart twist so suddenly it made her vision swim, like the stars themselves told her this was it. Her aunt wasn’t going against them, she was just righting what she was meant to be. To her aunt who she had only now gotten to talk to, she came out, and crying there wrapped in Rosetail’s hug felt like the best she had ever felt.

The day of her ceremony to be made a warrior she asked her other aunt Bluestar if maybe she could be renamed… not coming out officially to the whole clan but starting the steps to eventually. Then there at the event she was named Froststorm. Bluestar told everyone it was Starclan’s decree for her to be Frost instead and then added -storm after both her sister, being Frost’s mom, but also for the force she and become. She wasn’t a destructive one but one that would bring great rain, wash away the sick and bring in the spring, and fuel the future. Her father though would blow up, partly publicly and then far worse in private. His sudden loss of control would end with him attacking a peaceful Riverclan patrol that was just coming to discuss an agreement between the warring clans, leading in him being drowned by the enemy warrior. At last with him gone Froststorm comes out as trans. Some are happy for her, others less supportive, some a little hostile. But that didn’t matter at all to her because her family loved her as her.

Anyways transfem Whitestorm is my favorite thing ever I love her so so much <3 she would be partners with Lionheart, and with a dame, they have Cinder, Bracken, Bright, and Thorn. Though I think in this au they’d be Cinder, Bracken, Bright, and Dandelion (cuz no way in the dark forest would she name one of her kits anything CLOSE to Thistle. Nope. Also Dandelionclaw is so long it’s funny I think it’s cute). The Sorrel, Soot, Silt (Rain) litter would instead be kits of Speckletail and some sire (she wouldn’t go outside the clans. Just can’t decided and they wouldn’t be a part of the kits lives).

[marcusrobertobaq]

Comparing Gavin to Hank's hostility towards androids reason is just dumb imo. Hank doesn't like humans and want 'em to learn a lesson, that's why he switches sides. Even in hostile ending dude expected deviants to be different and better than humans (selfish, brutal, ruthless) - so they can teach humans the damn lesson. He ain't afraid of being replaced by androids, he's pissed at androids cuz he think they're the reason his son is dead - and he also got no respect for people replacing other people with androids in personal relationships.

Gavin ain't got this factor, there's no reason for him to come to like androids only to hate 'em even more esp with this whole sentience thing. He pretty much got an issue with obedience and authority, esp regarding to androids (who are supposed to obey), but it's in general - it becomes easier to get when u get he was written as lieutenant, this rank got a weight to it - it's a management role often being the head of a team.

These characters are 2 sides of the same coin, tho.

They got similar mindset: dehumanizing who they ain't consider a real human - criminals, suspects, victims they thought was deserved. Androids just happen to be everything at the same time 🤣

What does it mean? Means in a interrogation room Hank gonna threat the mf and just give up (idk bout his old days tho), Gavin would just wait for things to get difficult so he can beat the shit out the mf. I believe if he went to interrogate Shaolin a "Under Arrest" 2.0 would happen - and the way mfs are so casual i doubt would be the first time they do something like that.

But Gavin seems to be against the idea of scratching people's back - should be one of the reasons he doesn't like Hank. Dude exchange favors, is a lazy mf and still think he got some kinda authority in there just cuz Jeffrey do what he can to keep him in there.

These 2 bitches are similar but would fight against each other if they could.

If we take the gallery seriously Hank is the one that climbs the steps to leadership making connections and contacts even outside the police or with low rank criminals, people he considers inside "everybody is doing what they need to get by, as long as they didn't hurt anyone i don't bother 'em". Man, even Connor calls Hank corrupt in cut dialogues. Gavin climbs it trynna show he can handle everything alone and be at the helm by saying "i'm the boss here" and start giving orders. He would shit on people like Gary and Pedro. "everybody is doing what the-"? Fuck this.

Lt Anderson and Lt Curtis Blake are 2 different types of lieutenant. In the final game happen to Hank be Gavin's superior which makes things far worse for the mf. While Gavin will bow down eventually some force is necessary - like pointing a gun at him or punching his nose, but he won't shut up.

In the police brutality metaphor made by Cage, both gonna treat androids like just another perp (like Hank with Rupert in The Nest), but Gavin gonna feel some pleasure in forcing mfs on the car hood while sayin' some fucked up shit (like that cut dialogue implies). Ain't only about androids but especially about androids, Gavin is worse imo cuz he waits for the moment where he can finally use brute force - even better if justifiable. Hank is just tired of all this bullshit, but if things are personal...damn, this mf gonna def snap and totally against the police - cuz he just doesn't give a fuck for all this anymore, but Gavin does. Gavin already snap constantly cuz he can't shut up and stop trynna show who's boss - fuck, must be the reason he got a scar in his damn nose. If he got an opportunity he gonna get physical to show who's boss. He's ambitious, mf wanna get to the top and have power over all situations he can and esp put people back in 'em place.

Androids just happen to have less paper work related to losing your badge for misconduct.

U can find these type of characters in lotta games where we got police "satirization". It's classic asshole cop, most of 'em are corrupt btw.

[qierxing]

Your latest fic? You never fail to miss. Beautiful prose and intriguing plot as always.

I really felt the same disillusionment and misery of the reader; they just feel so trapped with nowhere to go, well, because they are. They’re stuck in this place that houses an army that was more than willing to see their life get cut short. I also really wanted to just, not see the Heartslabyul boys either because of dear reader over here. the tendency they have of also picking at scabs and whatnot is darkly relatable, but it’s also just a nice way to show that even if they find a moment to heal, somethings going to come and undo that progress. They’ll never really be the same ever again. man’s that they didn’t even know their name????? It makes sense, but it was still so shocking (esp considering it’s technically a yan fic). that camera scene in the hallway was plain unsettling. Could be cater. Could be someone else.

Trey really got the best luck out of all of them though. Can’t say I’m too surprised. Simp. Hehe. But I really don’t want to find out what those candied violets would make. and the ending?????? The Yuu doll?????? I’m so freaked out and I love it I love it I have to know what the hell happened and if the reader finally left this god forsaken place—just. Perfection. Riddle going so far as literally beheading it too.

thank you so much for the food ❤️ I might have nightmares thanks to you (in a good way) ❤️

In the middle of writing the piece, I was like "Hm. Am I making this too much like a horror story?" took a moment to think about it, shrugged my shoulders, and continued writing. I swear, I am just a horror person deep down.

But aaaa gosh thank you, I'm so flattered to see everyone enjoy it! It was something that I've been just sitting on for a long while because I was bit unsure if people would enjoy it because it was very self-indulgent. I really wanted to explore the idea of objects becoming imbued with our spirit/becoming alive through their own ways + the difference of a game character persona vs the player persona. And Shiny's fic really gave me the chance to explore that!

All of Heartslabyul has a place in my heart and I loved trying to go in depth on their reactions and dialogue. Ace and Deuce's desperation of trying to clamber back to their casual friend status like in game. Cater attempting to reinvent his personality to fit player's affections again, afraid of falling out of their favor. Trey navigating unknown territory with food and coaxing, utilizing the friendly older brother warmth that worked on many others. Riddle having to come to terms that he fucked up big time, and that he can't afford to panic freeze and for once he must face the fact he cannot use his authority or highly praised power to get out of the situation. It's just a really fun thing to write about--and I'm hoping to carry that into the second part (although it's still off in the future because of current business)

[chromochaotic]

Reads of 2023 (so far)

I had fun doing my little write ups for the books I read in 2022 so I thought I'd do one for '23! update as of 4/19!

thoughts:

Book of Night

I got this book as a gift from a friend who I think really wanted someone else to talk about it with... 😂 So it was a very fun read! I've heard mixed things about this author, haha, but I do agree that she's SO GOOD at setting a scene—the same friend called her "the queen of ambiance." I think that extends to getting into her characters' heads, too, like she makes the psychology behind the characters' actions another very interesting part of the story.

I think I, personally, found the constant bad fortune raining down on the main character a little overwhelming. It does help emphasize what a survivor Charlie is, but it's interesting comparing it to something like Ninth House, where the MC is both a survivor but also someone who can put her trust in others & has moments of friendship, bonding, and protection to offset some of the doom and gloom.

Still, I was really into the emotional beats of the story... Holly Black had a few lines about longing for someone who's in front of you as if they're already gone that, like, oof. The characters really do shine in their moments (I esp. loved Balthazar and Odette, haha). Plus the prestige reveals of some of the cons that Charlie pulled off? Chef's kiss. (retroactively rating this based solely on my personal enjoyment: 3.5/5)

Ninth House

I already know I love this author's recent stuff, so it was exciting seeing how she handled a more modern setting and tone! One thing I appreciated was how she tackled themes on privilege in a way that felt more nuanced—like, the way magic in this world is just another form of power over others really came across, from a lot of different angles.

There were a few parts where it felt like the author (and editor) knew the setting and world so well, that they might have forgotten the reader is coming into this completely blind, and some of the logical leaps in mystery-solving feel sort of abrupt, haha. (Spoilers) I was also a little disappointed that the "big" mystery and "little" mystery of the story were only like, tangentially related?

But honestly, this world-building was a treat. I actively wanted to be where the characters were, exploring weird rituals and old libraries with them. I think having a main character who's an outsider the way Alex is, makes the dark academia more accessible—I would have been pretty uncomfortable if the story started out from Darlington's perspective right at the start. Also, like I said before, I appreciated the bonds that are featured in this story—Alex's scenes with Mercy and Dawes were maybe my favorite parts to read. (4/5)

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters

Still working my way through these via B&N audio book credits! My thoughts are pretty much the same as the first book—cute story, lots of fun antics and adaptations of old myths for a younger crowd.

Not too much to complain about with this story, since it does what it sets out to do. I guess, there are some parts that didn't age great... There's a character who starts the story homeless and there's one tiny line about that being "good" for him, but that's me like digging for issues.

I will say, I liked how this book added some depth that we didn't get in book 1, with the idea of Hermes wanting to redeem his kid, and Clarisse getting a moment to shine. I'm probably overly-biased toward liking Clarisse, but, let her have her own book! Let her be the key to the whole story! It's what she deserves.

Working my way through Ninth House book 2 right now, and then I think the next TLT book, and maybe a lighter art book somewhere in between. 😅 Done w/ Hellbent & did two art books, one of which was especially short! lmao (3/5)

Hell Bent

On the plus side, this sequel felt like it didn't have to spend as much time on setup as the first book, and got to just dive into the juicy cliffhanger from Ninth House. The strong points are just like before—the captivating setting and shifting relationships between the characters.

Like with the first one, something about the pacing felt rushed now and then. Maybe I've forgotten how action-packed college was! I was also thinking about how like, even though I'm enjoying these stories, the cast of characters won't stick with me quite like the gang from SoC did. That's probably just an effect of SoC being a much more ensemble-based story, while Alex has to "carry" a lot more of this on her own...

So a lot rides on Alex as a character, I guess, and... it's hard to pin down if I like her, honestly! I definitely sympathize with her, and appreciate how the author explores questions around justice and... power dynamics (?) through her. I ATE UP the backstory we got of Dawes, Turner, and Tripp, though—would've loved even more of them getting to shine, instead of it seeming like they were sort of useless. Ohh, the last thing I'll say is, the imagery set up right at the end, between Alex and Darlington? MMMMM chef's KISS (3.5/5)

Chris Schweizer's Drawings & Other Art 2017 - 2021

I'm trying to piece together my thoughts on this art book, other than being intimidated out of my mind by this guy's life and knowledge and skill. Haha. I bought this last year at Dragon Con; I always like seeing what this artist has at his booth, and really love his sense of design. It was cool trying to pick out patterns in how he handles different things, like textures and facial features.

All this book was meant to be was a collection of art... But I would be super interested in something that was more of a deep-dive on a single piece he did, like seeing what references he uses, maybe notes on how he chooses what to simplify and what to render in detail. I guess that's probably on his socials...?

Anyway, I want to like, shrivel up and die with envy over every technique he's honed to perfection, but like... really I just gotta get back into practice! (he's also apparently a huge history buff, and great musician, and I'm just like........... how...... but maybe I could be that way in a decade or two, who knows) (4/5)

Naomi Vandoren's Light through the Pages

Another art book from dragon con! This one was shorter than Chris', but still a nice read. Naomi's work and little write-ups are very soothing to just page through. Since this was the 2020-based collection of art (I also bought the one for 2021, which I'll probably read soon...), it was interesting to read the page about staying inspired in the midst of the ol' Panny Devito.

Again, this book was just meant to be a selection of pieces, and did its job... I'd always like more process exploration, though, haha—I was sort of surprised at how much of this book was just finished pieces. It also kind of felt a little too advertise-y to me.

In any case, love this artist's work, especially her color palettes and way of doing backgrounds/landscapes. Oh, to have the patience to do watercolors... (3/5)

Nona the Ninth

Back at it again with the most heart-breakingly romantic necromancers alive (and dead). I think what I love most about this series and this particular installment is how well it captures that haunting, ephemeral feeling of old, old tragedies and ancient, powerful beings that are still human. I keep thinking of the moment Nona is so gratefully happy to be alive because of the magnanimous love she has for her family, while hunched in the ruins of a decaying city on a polluted, arid planet... and the slow horror of reading the John chapters.

I think my toothpick-sized bone to pick with the series is still the show-don't-tell balance—I heard NtN's simplicity (in the beginning) was possibly due to feedback that the first 2 installments were too hard to follow. I almost ended up thinking this veered too much in the other direction, until the last few chapters hit and everything goes off the rails again. I don't know, they're wild books, and in the end I've enjoyed that aspect of them... plus, there's such a perfect curl of dread whenever you spot an offhand detail that doesn't sit quite right so now you have to Think About it. But also, I'm So Tired All The Time, and when I finally have time to read, I know I'm missing things but just don't have the energy to go back and forth checking details and looking up meta analysis. There's something to be said for books that you don't have to be experienced with graduate level research to enjoy, haha.

Still, these are for sure going to end up being some of my favorite reads. I was wrong before, what I actually love most about the series are the characters. Nona is so right for finding every little mannerism of her friends endearing—I love every little no-nonsense bit of affection from Camilla and humble, brilliant quip from Palamedes, and freaky twin love hate Thing between Corona and Ianthe, and Gideon, Gideon with the "get in line, thou big slut." Queen. King. Perfection. Adoration. I'm a Gideon apologist I guess, oops. (5/5)

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan's Curse

lmao after that long review... Another PJO down! The cross-country/sea travel in each of these is a delight, I'm glad that's stayed consistent. I've actually been to some of the places in this one, like the Smithsonian and Hoover Dam, although we didn't do the whole tour there and now I want to.

My only baby complaint this time is I feel like Dionysus gets done so dirty... It's a creative take, I guess, compared to the more recent trend of making him Chaotic Good Wine Uncle, but stillllllll. On the upside, Apollo in this book? I yelled at his "wait I feel a haiku coming on". King.

I'm kind of excited to see where the author goes with whether or not Percy will be able to forgive/empathize with Luke in the end. The author's done a good job making Percy just a good ol all-american teenage boy, and the jealousy he feels when it comes to Annabeth and Luke, in a normal rom-com, seems like it would just result in some epic feel-good victory for Percy... I'm hoping things go a little differently with this. Also, I was a sucker for the bit with Zoe and the constellation. (3/5)

McMullen Circle

Picked up this book from one of those "blind date with a book" shelves at a cute store in Asheville. The blurb described it as a collection of short stories, set in the late 60s, and "boarding school in the North Georgia Mountains", and I was sold. It turned out a little different than expected... I enjoyed the nature-focused writing, which was very serene and bittersweet. The variety of stories and straightforward way they handle each character's flaws was also refreshing, in a way. There're no perfect characters in this, but that's kind of the point.

I was a little disappointed the collection wasn't the romantic little mix of Appalachia and Dark Academia I was hoping for, but that's more the blind-date-blurb's fault. The only other thing that kind of skeeved me out was that sexuality only got portrayed negatively, and that happens right out of the gate in the first short story, but it only comes up briefly after that.

My favorite piece was "Twilight Song"—literally broke into tears at the final few lines. It's about an elderly lesbian couple caring for each other in their old age, and how they got through dark times to have a sweet life together. A few stories touch on other hardships, like poverty, PTSD, and racism, and always handle it in a way that feels pretty sensitive. (4/5)

Taking a break for work and fanfic for a bit now, I think.

Manywhere

Trying to come up with a good Positive-Negative-Positive sandwich... except I didn't particularly like this one. It was another short story collection, and it focused on queer characters generally in the US south, but only the first one really compelled me thematically. It examined the relationship between presentation and privacy and packed a lot dynamism in that short format.

Most of the stories just felt repetitive, though, even with all the variety in setting and character—like generally dour, mean-spirited takes on people's character, and I probably sound naive in that, but hey this is my review and I am quite unfortunately an optimist at heart. I'm not one to dismiss unpleasant stories outright, but so many of the chapters seemed to make pain and regret and rejection the whole point.

Thinking about it a little more, I guess it could lead to some interesting discussion of the desperation for acceptance that comes with being queer in the communities the book focused on. And I'll give it to the author, again, for including some well-researched, incredible variety in terms of characters and setting. Gave this book away to a friend who might have more skill at parsing meaning from it, and we'll see if that leads to a change of heart on my side. (2/5)

American Born Chinese

I first read this when I bought it back in... high school? This impulse re-read happened after seeing the trailer for a show coming out based on the story (and also, right after the EEAAO Oscars sweep). I've aged out of the target audience, haha, but I still like the balance the author strikes between complex storytelling/themes, and an appealing simplicity.

It'll be interesting to see how the story is adapted... Some of the stereotypes the book tackles were so intentionally offensive, I could totally see the satire being misunderstood if it's not handled carefully.

Anyway, nothing bad to say about this one! Like the other YA stuff I'm reading, it's stood the test of time for a reason. Plus, you can tell how personal this story is to the author, and it means a lot that he's shared it with the world in this way. (4/5, but just bc the YA simplicity keeps it from 5/5)

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth

Still chugging through these... Same pros and cons as before! I do feel like, as the tone gets darker with each of these, the quirky modern twists (Dedalus using a laptop! Sphinxes giving standardized tests!) make the serious moments a little too stark, haha. Like, geez, the stuff with Pan was... sure something.

This book did some odd stuff with the romance plot(s)... It felt to me like Annabeth was done dirty for the sake of keeping Percy/the character dynamics clean. Nothing worse than other YA stories from this time, but, maybe typical of it. Also, while all the PJO books break that Pixar rule of "coincidence can get you into trouble but not out of it" (and again, for this genre it's fine), this installment felt like the worst culprit of it so far.

I did enjoy keeping tabs on my fav characters, though. I've ofc added Nico to my roster of poor little meow meow boys, balancing out Clarisse being added to my Angry Power Fantasy Daughters, and each of them got scenes I really enjoyed this time around. Also, props to these stories for pulling out mythical monsters that seem like very deep cuts—the series started with references I mostly caught, like harpies and the fates, but now we're getting to telekhinese (???) and empusai...?? Hell yeah! (3/5)

Anyway. Thought it'd be fun to note, too, that I caught up on The Lackadaisy Cats comic at this point, which has been a delight. Very tempted to buy some sort of art book or patreon tier, bc that style is to die for.

continued in a part 2 post... to be linked?

[damianbugs]

Hey i just wanted to say, as i think I've worked through almost all of your Batman related fics (I've been trying to pace myself ngl) that you have written some of my favorite pieces for these characters. I really, really love the ways in which you work with everyone's characterization, and how you explore the themes throughout the series as a whole.

You have a really wonderful way of filling in small mundane moments that give a lot of life to characters and their relationships as well! The little gentle things, y'know? My Body's Made of Crushed Little Stars, the Hues in Our Hair Compliment One Another, and Don't You Cry, Dry Your Eyes, are all gonna stick with me for a very long time. There's soooooo much nuance in how responsibility, care, and love are felt (and conveyed).

When it comes to conflict and difficult conversations, you do an excellent job of showing how distinctly different people can handle and think through these sorts of things. And how this is impacted with narrators and POV! I really like how you communicate the depth of interactions and manage to convey the stuff going on behind the scenes in non-narrating characters heads all the while.

I also like the ways in which you write that reflect how people change over the course of their lives - the one you have that's Jason's notebook esp - and how a point of conflict is multifaceted. And how resolution and mutual understanding takes time and work to develop. Things feel earned!

Plus I've really appreciated seeing your thoughts on the metatextual implications of things as well! It's given me lots to think about. Overall i just wanted to say thank you! You're a wonderful author!

oh. oh i'm totally, entirely normal about this and not at all tearing up. not at all.

thank you so much! genuinely. i am eternally grateful you not only read and enjoy my writing but also that you took the time to write such a wonderful comment on it all. i think, as you've said, this will stick with me for a very long time too. i hope you don't mind if i respond to this in equally as much detail to show how thankful i am.

the works you have pointed out coincidentally happen to be some of my favourite ones to ever write, and i am so glad you've felt that through the story too! there's a lot to be forgotten when it comes to these handful of dynamics, but that fact alone means that there are infinite conversations and situations you can pick apart for them. it's so important to me that this is shown in every aspect of the fic, from dialogue to descriptions, so again, can not explain how happy i am that this translated over into your reading experience.

another thing i always try to do is create a story outside of the story, just for the added bonus of realism and empathy i hope to develop in the characters, and!! i'm so so happy you've caught it!! i do not know how to explain how insanely grateful i am to hear your analysis on these aspects of my fics!! totally not tearing up again.

time is another villain in a lot of these characters stories, and regardless of the time of fic or plot, it is a theme i try to incorporate heavily in my writing. it is often the route cause of conflict, but also the most powerful form of healing, for both readers and characters. change can be something so violent, and when it is deconstructed, i find the edges can be softened into something less unbearable and something that allows a story to be told on its own.

oh the meta!!! the meta!!!! you are so wonderful tumblr user bittershins!!! i am so incredibly attached to these characters and the stories they tell by simply existing, and i am surely unbearable in my efforts to make that clear through my writing. thank you for noticing!!!!

thank YOU. sincerely. this means the world to me. i hope you will continue to enjoy reading my works and any pertaining these characters, and i hope you know this has inflated my ego to incredible heights. i am about to make it everyone elses problem. thank you <3 !!!

[biscuitboxer]

I don’t want to cause any trouble but I saw your spiderverse/reader post and I genuinely want to know what you meant by “do you think Hobie Anarchy Brown would be into dom/sub”? Cause I don’t see a correlation there and I’m curious to hear more /gen

'hobie anarchy brown wouldnt be into dom/sub' was a point tangentally related to spiderverse fans being weird abt poc characters. i was annoyed about fans wilfully misinterpreting every character (esp poc, queer, or god forbid queer poc ones) they come across for horny fanfic purposes and didnt want to make seperate posts about both ideas

if there is a genuine correlation between hobie being a poc and fans thinking he'd be into any kink related to a power dynamic (similar to the people that think he doesnt wash his hair because black man with wicks = dirty type of shit that pops up), im not educated enough on the matter to claim its an byproduct of racism and not fandom brainrot becuase it happens to non-poc characters a lot as well. i think that part in particular is mainly just fans liking the aesthetic of hobie's character as a cool edgy punk who steals stuff and argues with adults more than appreciating his actual character of a black guy from a somehow even worse version of england who does everything in his power to help people like a proper spiderman should. thats probably also a result of fans not liking to get deeply invested in the actual personalities of poc characters, especially ones that rage against the status quo as harshly as hobie does. thinking about if the kind black anti-capitalist punk from Even-Worse-England who despises authority would be into dom/sub or see the barbie movie or be a yandere or whatever is apparently too much for half the people in the spiderverse tag to handle

i didnt put much actual thought or planning into the post itself tbh, i was just pissed off at something id seen happen since the first spiderverse came out (like that one miles stealing art supplies headcanon 😒), and wanted to vent it out. im not poc and im not from the US like most spiderverse fans are afaik, so i cant really claim to truly understand why any of this keeps on happening beyond the obvious reason of 'white fans, especially american ones because americans are always weird about this shit, are weird about poc characters'

[mourning-again-in-america]

@centrally-unplanned said: As someone who doesn't follow law too closely I individually hear a lot about his decisions being unsupported and ill-considered, sort of a "just isn't that good at the law" compared to Alito's "he sure has some hot takes", but as someone who only reads opinions as-needed for other non-legal topics I ofc don't hold that opinion myself, just things you hear. I see the distinction you are drawing, which makes sense!

first of all, i am, how you say, crossfaded right now, second of all, i have barely read any of his opinions, third of all, i am extremely not a lawyer, fourth of all i am a known ~will baude simp and he might be characterized as such wrt thomas tho i would not say so. furthermore, some qualifications i would like to make: I am not trying to defend his opinions in the criminal justice sphere, I think he's overreacting to a trend among the Dems that was dead for 20-30 years, was temporarily resurrected, and appears to have been quashed (see: "victimology"); this especially goes for capital cases, I disagree with him on the necessary and proper marijuana case Randy Barnett argued, I also think that he overreaches when he posits the powers of the Presidency (esp the exclusive and *non-overridable* powers of the Presidency) via Article II and welcome much more scholarship on this before various aspects of this are set in stone (see state secrets cases and many many others), as well as the qualifications on the other post, and so many more and yet furthermore, I reject argumentum ad Bostock, textualism before original public meaning and original legal meaning before "original public meaning", and I'm anti-Borkian on the 9th amendment, and probably so many other things AND YET.

i think that he has done a real service to law by demonstrating how one can try to struggle and do originalism. if it had been just him, or just scalia, people would have dismissed it as eccentrism, an odd quirk. but with *both* of them on the court, duelling and concurring to their heart's content, people took it seriously! and now we see gorsuch, kavanaugh, and barrett are each trying to show to the country that *we can do it*. we can *actually* live under constitutional government. i especially appreciate him disagreeing very publicly with the supposedly settled precedent of the Slaughterhouse Cases. i also think that contrasting New York etc. v. Bruen (authored by Thomas) with Dobbs (Alito), one sees a much sharper view of how to provide a determinate view of ascertaining rights, rights supported by text and the history of the founding etc., and less susceptible to the critique by libs that originalism is just "yadda yadda i got five votes, here's some bullshit that's sorta related that happened in the past, here's some social conservative moralizing, fuck you!". There's some more that I could go on, but I'm not sure what would be relevant to you (or any readers of this blog).

If I could offer some hypotheses as to why I think such a belief may have been propagated (and may Allah forgive me for attempting "realism" and possible assertions of bad faith), although this is a bit before my time, I believe a lot of people who are more Democrat inclined were burned hard by Bush v. Gore, and the concurrence by Rehnquist, joined by Scalia and Thomas only rubbed salt on that by suggesting (quite rightfully imo, but thankfully cabined in Moore v. Harper (2023)) that a state legislature could declare by law how that state shall delegate its electors to the Electoral College before the election, superseding the voters, and *possibly* (but now no longer as per Moore v Harper) superseding a state's constitution and the state courts (I shall refrain from speaking as to whether there could be any such emotion from the confirmation hearing and Anita Bryant). Also, I don't think that people really "got" what Alito's deal was like at his confirmation, or until possibly even a decade later when it became so obvious that Alito wasn't just a wingnut libertarian, he was a cranky sonofabitch much further to the right than John Roberts, who I have heard the media focused their fire on much more, allegedly (source: insinuations on FedSoc podcasts) because of his view on the amendments to the Voting RIghts Act during his time in the Reagan admin (I personally think there's a quite humorous analogy between the initial reactions to Gorsuch vs Kavanaugh, Josh Blackman iirc has said that Kav probably wouldn't have gotten in had not the Senate majority leadership felt it had to go "nuclear" for Gorsuch). Also, a lot of my evidence for my respect for Justice Thomas comes from the questions that he would ask during oral arguments, which he only began doing recently, because of, I believe, first the change in argumentative procedure during the remote COVID days, and then the outcry from the general listening public that his questions were much more than welcome -- and I separately respect him for his reason why he didn't ask questions much before: he didn't like interrupting people for his own purposes.

Even beyond this, I have *much* hatred for Alito, who I have never seen an opinion I've liked from, and from listening to 2+ years of oral arguments, I have *very rarely* heard an argument where Alito asked better questions/made better use of his time than Thomas, and based on a frankly very limited sample of opinions and shadow docket stuff, I don't think I've ever found Thomas saying something or agreeing with something that Alito didn't also agree with, when I found it outrageous. Also, Alito just generally strikes me as at least a bit of a political hack (a very broad umbrella that also covers Kagan, Roberts, Kavanaugh, Barrett, and maybe Thomas, Jackson, and Sotomayor, and maybe maybe Gorsuch). Also also, he seems to have very little to say about abstract issues that aren't also political (this being something I quite respect the *actual* originalists, such as they are (Thomas and Gorsuch imo), for), see the previously referred to opinion about the govt acq'd entity that is Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac as a point for Thomas. Also also also, as sort of argued above, his opinion in Dobbs is just so *meh* if not straightforwardly disappointing in Dobbs compared to Bruen. Alsox3.5, I think that he brings "turnabout is fair play" to a harmful level of "tu quoque -- it seems that if you've ever been a hypocrite in a way that he disagrees with, you may be forced, just for that reason, to suffer his wrath! But *really*, putting aside my terrible fears that eventually Alito & Barrett can get the votes endorsing *truly* theocratic rule (and putting aside as well that I think that this has a 0.25-1%ish likelihood of happening, maybe up to 5% if strategical political assassinations are normalized), my vociferous objection to Alito comes from a comment of his during oral argument in either SEC v Cochran or Axon v FTC, where he suggested that the eventual winner, trying to get the ability to challenge the constitutionality of the administrative so-called "judge" (if i'm remembering the cases right) via their allegedly unconstitutional removal restrictions in a federal district court before submitting to/requiring finalization of possibly interminable agency process, could have gotten what they were looking for via a writ of mandamus, which is supposed to be *extraordinary relief* to correct an injury under *clearly established law* (the supposed "clearly established law" that Alito suggested was Seila Law, which was itself suggested as being a drasting break from how things have been, and I think, having not read that opinion, it was not necessarily settled how the decision should impact the SEC and FTC esp given Humphrey's Executor). I could dismiss this as a one-off comment, were he not also similarly arguing on the shadow docket (stays, injunctions, etc.) in either motions granted or the newly-so-called "dissentals" (dissents from denials of X where X may be an injunction, a grant of certiorari, etc.), in a similar way, for such hasty new application of very strong changes to the law, and i have not heard a good theory or explanation for this -- in fact, when i've heard will baude forced to take a position on these things, iirc he has described it as "not great", and I have heard very little/no discussion of this from my feed of FedSoc's YT channel!

To prevent it very simply, I think that Thomas offers a vision of judging that, while ofc susceptible to critique and improvement (like all human reasoning), in my view, offers analytical tools that can be used regardless of partisanship and my main issue with him is that I don't think he goes far enough -- I really cannot wait to hear his ideas on the original meaning of the 14th amendment. Alito, however, what does he have to offer? Fear of being a chump? Advanced game theory? I do not expect to weep if he is easily forgotten.

[baddiedaddy7]

𝗣𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗻 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀🥀🖤

𝗣𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲😎

strong presence. can be charismatic. minds their own business lmao. their mysteriousness makes them sexy. might be pale. observant. can come off as cold or moody. might get tattoos and piercings. might like to “redesign” themselves every now and then. has good intuition. can be too secretive. doesn’t trust easily. can come off sinister. likes it rough. since first rules the head they might be into hair pulling.

celebrities:Beyoncé,Keanu Reeves,Britney Spears,Ryan Reynolds

𝗣𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲🤑

probably great with money. ambitious. practical. can be stingy. hard headed. might be motivated by 💵 lol. good at making plans. try not to indulge excessively. likes sensual and strong scents. dark colored perfumes. sensual ppl in general. might have a thing for ppl with a “dark” style. likes someone they can’t easily read. desires oral sex, and hickeys.

celebrities:Cher,Heidi Klum,Harry Styles,Robert De Niro

𝗣𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲🗣

charming in speech. might be a fan of murder mystery’s. likes to talk abt sex related things a lot. can be manipulative w/words. might have a deep or “sexy” voice. might’ve fought a lot/been bullied a lot in school. witty. over protective when it comes to siblings. the sibling that has mood swings lol. might even have jealousy issues with their siblings. siblings probably have scorpio in personal placements or a prominent pluto in their chart. doesn’t trust ppl easily. might have a knack for psychology. dirty talk, and sweet nothings gets these individuals aroused. anything that deals with hands are also a turn on. might not like sessions to be long, and into nudes lol.

celebrities:Céline Dion,Bella Hadid,Drake,Michael Jordan

𝗣𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲❤️‍🩹

honest. strong-willed. mature, esp emotionally. loyal, and most likely reliable. can be jealous of family members, or just clash with them. mother might keep big secrets away or be abusive. mother might’ve been overly attached or obsessed with you. these ppl might’ve been an unexpected pregnancy. probably quiet and mysterious as a child, kept to themselves. the kid that probably just sat by themselves during recess/could’ve been a loner. moms death can take a great toll on you. parents might’ve been controlling but wanted the best for you. trauma stems from childhood. could’ve went through sexual abuse. mother that’s probably passionate, and can be caring. she might also have a lot of pluto/scorpio energy in her chart. these ppl might be hard to get to know. pragmatic. shouldn’t do one night stands, they might get too attached, so they’re most likely to sleep w/someone they have an intense connection with. touch boobies lmao. might like positions where you stare into eachothers eyes, and have access to hugging lol.

celebrities:Sandra Bullock,Selena Gomez,Kanye West,Ben Affleck

𝗣𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲☀️

can be romantic, yet intense. probably spiritual. might like rock n roll music, or music that talks abt dark subjects like death, drugs, etc. enjoys horror movies, conspiracy theories, and true crime stuff. probably into witchcraft tbh, also probably really likes astrology. your flings might end up becoming very serious or intense. children, esp the first child might be a scorpio or have a lot of scorpio/pluto influence. try to avoid being judgmental. might also be childish. children may be intimidated by you at first, but get too attached later on. sex will be full of passion. positions like the anvil, or doggy, any deep penetration positions might work best for you.

celebrities:Mariah Carey,Lady Gaga,Gordon Ramsey,Will Smith

𝗣𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝘅𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲🫐

can be open minded. might be obsessed with health, and get freaked out over the littlest things. cats would make a great pet for these placements. they also might own unusual pets like spiders, reptiles, etc. workaholic. might have health issues with genitals, so be careful. might have surgery done on genitals at some point. might crave being in control. probably wants to be their own boss. always trying to improve or reinvent themselves. you probably have sex, or masturbate every day. might have sexual relations with co-workers. the shower or bath might be a good setting for sex to these ppl. might like anal lol.

celebrities:Shakira,Demi Moore,Snoop Dogg,Michael Jackson

𝗣𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲🤍

loving. extremely passionate. can be empathetic. might attract scorpio/pluto placements a lot. lovers may be overzealous, overprotective, and/or envious or you might be this way. relationships can be life changing. can be low key aggressive. love, and being vulnerable can terrify these ppl. might keep their personal relationships private. selfless in the bedroom. all abt pleasing their partner. might be into spanking, or butt rubs lmao. face to face positions are a turn on for these folks too.

celebrities:Rihanna,Kourtney Kardashian,Barack Obama,Orlando Bloom

𝗣𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲🪐

the ultimate lol. great intuition, has a knack for conspiracy theories, psychology, astrology, and probably taboo things. likes getting in trouble😈. sensual, and has major sexual appeal. people smart. thinks about sex, mortality, the unknown, and just general dark themes a lot. either fears or embraces death, maybe both. ambitious, and usually actually lives for a long time. experience makes these ppl wise. goes through a lot of transformations in life. understanding. a lot of ppl envy ppl of this placement, mostly bc of their sex appeal/attractiveness. powerful in some way lol. likes that moneyyy. can be possessive, either with possessions or ppl or both lol. sex can be life changing and intense. into or open to bondage, d/s, rough sex, etc but might like it romantic, erotic and sensual too.has an amazing sex drive.

celebrities:Princess Diana,Brigitte Bardot,Marlon Brando,Bruce Lee

𝗣𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲🌺

full of curiosity. analyzes. deep rooted. might be emotionally invested when it comes to the beliefs/beliefs may take over their life lol. when in college, might major in psychology, solving, investigating, etc. justice is important to these individuals. judgement also, and self obsessed. likes big butts w/a side of thighs. sex is fun to these ppl, and they’re probably up to trying new things. lube is your friend. probably has a big penis/fat cat lmao.

celebrities:Nicki Minaj,Winona Ryder,Robin Williams,Frank Sinatra

𝗣𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲🥂

charming, and creative. might come off as standoffish or just disrespectful lol. private reputation, and keeps things in the dark. might be known for being inappropriate. controversial reputation. known for being passionate among peers. may be feared by some lol. can manipulate their way to the top. i can see someone with this screwing their boss/authority lol. into domination and bdsm. leash and whips.

celebrities:Bjork,Taylor Swift,Prince,Eminem

𝗣𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲👩‍🎤

friendship is a priority. friends are really enemies so watch out. friends might have scorpio/pluto energy in chart. kind. probably a good listener. the mysterious or quiet friend. you might not like when your friends bring around other ppl lmao. you don’t give your trust away easily, and prefer a small circle of friends. can be dismissive. might lose virginity to friends tbh or have sex w/their friends. experimental. group sex maybe. might get piercings on genitals

celebrities:Scarlett Johansson,Kylie Jenner,Chris Evans, Albert Einstein

𝗣𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗳𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲🧜‍♀️

selfless. intuitive. past life was full of intensity. might’ve had a public death in the past life. past life could’ve been filled with crime. these individuals can be distracted and very sensitive. wild imagination. dreams can seem so real, and dark. dreams might predict things. may take secrets to the grave. gotta have a strong and emotional connection to want to have sex. won’t sleep with just anyone, unless they need to cope with something. might try to please too much during sex but you should focus on your wants and needs too. foot play is also big here.

celebrities:Marilyn Monroe,Madonna,Steve Jobs,Tom Hanks

[cinnamonest]

THAT FIC WITH RAZOR MISTAKING DARLING FOR A BOY WAS SO GOOD 😭😭 PLEASE MAKE me MORE TOMBOY FICS. It’s super hard to find tomboy fics that are actually good I really like it when reader/darling is strong and can fight back

Ok heads up: from now on I'm gonna put anything involving crossdressing or cross-gender stuff under the forced fem tag (#tw: ff) in addition to the misogyny tag bc I know that can be a sensitive topic for some people and I don't wanna accidentally trigger anyone (・m・ )

I love tomboy darling so much tbh and I know it's very controversial (which is why I tag it) but... I am also a fan of intentionally deceptive crossdressing. Like darling intentionally trying to make people think she's a boy (or the other way around, that's nice too). But just normal tomboyishness is good too tbh. I like hyper-feminine fem darling too, both are very interesting dynamics.

I'll probably get more in detail about individual boys eventually (esp bc I really like this concept with a Zhongli/Childe/Diluc type so I'll make posts for them eventually) BUT a general summary:

I feel like the worst for tomboy/crossdress darling is probably Diluc or Zhongli or Xingqiu bc they're gonna have to Change That(tm). Help you fill the waifu fantasy in their head. Especially Xingqiu/Diluc like... You know you have to fit the rich people trophy wife norms so they can show you off! How can they show you off to their rich visitors and not feel emasculated if you're not hyper submissive?? You might not like it now, maybe fight it even, but eventually you'll see they were right all along and you're a lot happier molded into a waif :) also bc if darling is strong and can protect herself it threatens their poor fragile masculinity which is hilarious tbh. Nooooo you can't protect yourself and kill those monsters that's his job :( You can't have a job that pays a lot how is he supposed to fill his savior complex and impress you with buying you nice things?? How are you gonna respect him as an authority when you have a position of power?? Hence it significantly speeds up how quickly you get... Removed from you original environment.

Also Childe and Kaeya and Scara would be pretty terrible too. Very mocking about it, always pinning you down to remind you how much stronger they are bc you seem to always forget and try to fight. Call you princess and the like just to see you squirm. Force you to say degrading things about yourself. The strength is... Irritating to them. You actually land a few blows and can struggle out of their grasp and that pisses them off and just makes them rougher. But tbh they like it because they like the fire/fight darling has, they enjoy the brat taming process. They also have the "no you can't protect/provide for yourself only I can" complex though.

The best... Probably Bennett or Chongyun or Razor, but Razor's got pros and cons tbh.

The former two, it doesn't really matter, if anything you can go on more adventures with them :) and other guys won't know and will stay away from you, which is great. It relieves a lot of his fears. And if you're a more dominant personality, well, that's fine too, they're pleasers and will do anything you want! I could actually see both of them really being into tomboys actually. They're both nervous boys and feeling like they can relate a bit more helps ease their nerves, whereas they're a lot more stuttery/blushy around a highly femme darling.

Razor... Granted the major con is he still gets irritated if you're not very obedient and has the breeding thing going on, but if you want to dress or carry yourself a certain way, he couldn't care less. He doesn't really get any of that anyway. Him with a highly feminine darling is its own pretty funny dynamic (which I will discuss eventually lol) but with a tomboy it's also kinda funny bc he just *shrug* doesn't care, it's kinda the same idea as a male darling like... Literally no matter what your sex, gender presentation, identity, whatever, literally nothing about that is gonna stop him from breeding you on the forest floor every few hours. Boy does not care.

Notably he is very intrigued by female darling in general bc he does not understand what any of these parts are or how they work and needs to... Explore. Bennett and Chongyun are a bit similar, even, they're the kind of virgins that don't even really know what pussy looks like and get hard at the slightest hint of tiddy or thigh, you know the type.

Venti is similar to Razor, actually. He could not care less about presentation and nothing about your identity or way of dress or demeanor changes anything for him, he has no preference. Some yans are "idealizers," where they have a very specific image of what darling *should* be and forcibly mold them to it, whereas some are "flexible" taste-changers - basically, their own tastes will lean towards or can even be completely transformed based on what their darling is like. He falls into the latter category. He's also very good at laughing off defiance, but he can be pushed to a snapping point more easily than Chongyun/Bennett. And he will fall a bit into the "nooooo you can't protect yourself that's my job" similar to the other boys.

[codenamesazanka]

Since you brought up Tsuyu and/or possibly Shouji up as potentially relating to Spinner, it reminds me of an old ‘Momo and Mr. Compress’ post that I can’t find anymore, where Momo could maybe come to understand class conflict through Compress’s perspective and he could make her supplies more portable. Ring any bell?

I have never seen this post in my life, but man does it sound intriguing as heck. Mr. Compress + Momo + Issues of Wealth in Hero Society??? I’ve been blindsided, and my thoughts are in a frenzy.

It’s an absolute pity Momo’s been essentially forgotten by the plot of BnHA, because she could offer so much from just a worldbuilding perspective, and that’s not even taking into account her world-be development of growing into being a Hero and affecting the system itself. She comes from a wealthy family, with loving supportive parents! She’s a highly educated genius who got into UA through recommendations! Her quirk allows her to produce nearly anything she wants instantly - I know the explanation is that her fat cells are converted into material, but it’s still essentially creating something from nothing. She’s the philosopher’s stone of the modern era.

So this makes Momo incredibly privileged, a member of society’s elite, and she’s only going to move up higher in status as she grows up. Of high birth, powerful and useful quirk, training to be part of the special group of people authorized to use their quirk. She won the life lottery at birth, lacking for nothing. Her quirk is great, but honestly, even taking into account the restriction on its use by the state, she doesn’t need to use it ever when she’s be able to buy whatever she needs.

Now take all that away. All except her innate quirk. A Momo born in poverty, wanting for basic essentials, living a rough life with very limited opportunities, yearning as every human do for things that can make getting through a day easier. So why not use her quirk? Why not make her life better when she has the means to do so right in her hands? Between the maybe future possibility of maybe getting caught for illegal quirk use, and the immediate certainty of survival - it’s not a choice at all.

Of course, that’s assuming she could receive the education and afford the time spent studying atomic structures and composition. Hard to use your quirk that requires in depth knowledge in material and engineering chemistry if you didn’t have the money to buy the textbook that teaches you those things. This Momo might have a powerful Creation quirk, but too bad she doesn’t know how to use it; is unable to use it. In which case she’ll just be another disadvantaged poor kid, nothing special.

What’s that fun quote about how the law equally forbids both the rich and poor from stealing bread or sleeping on the streets? So too does Hero Society Law equally forbids both the rich and poor from using their quirks.

This is the worst case scenario, it’s true. A strawman example to make my point - but canon Momo is already living the Best Case scenario, so like, I think it’s only fair to consider the equal opposite.

If socioeconomic disparity is ever addressed in the story - tho i’m not even going to try holding my breath - I’m assuming this theory has Mr. Compress playing a part because he’s from the Robin Hood-esque Steal-From-The-Rich-And-Powerful-Warrior-Caste-Heroes-To-Give-To-The-Poor/Everyfolk lineage of Harima Oji. Momo’s family is the perfect target esp. with a Hero Momo who is blind to her fortunes and has never questioned the status quo. I would love to see it.

[horizon-verizon]

Having an affair when you are trapped in a arranged or abusive marriage isnt cheating.

*EDITED POST* (12/5/23)

Tell that to tradwives and fundamentalist religious people.

However, notes on the nonabusive arranged marriage deal:

I don't know if Rhaegar was all that tragically "trapped" in a marriage with Elia. Lyanna would have been w/Robert and even Elia doesn't obtain perfect happiness with Rhaegar, but Rhaegar wasn't likely suffering in his marriage.

I think that if there was an established or growing sexual or romantic intimacy where it is felt/talked about the intimacy should not be given to others simultaneously (a "closed" relationship, even if to just feel each other out for a time for a trial period) between the married couple, then it is cheating. Because some sort of romantic-sexual relationship or commitment was made. There needs to be a willing commitment in order for there to be cheating when one/both partners stray.

HOWEVER, it then gets bothersome when we go into societies where infidelity and the social/legal punishments disproportionately affect one spouse over the other AND/OR one spouse, esp according to gender. Elia/Rhea Royce/the wife could suffer her reputation degrading if Rhaegar/Daemon/the husband is seen out with other women because: she loses credibility of attractiveness; she must deal with the fact that her husband can bring in his bastards without her consent or disregarding her feelings (further and public diminishment of her authority that contradicts her duties as the household's "matron" and practical head manager while her husband gives the final orders and outranks her--as married noblewomen are tasked to be--and yet also have the inability to decide who gets to be a part of that household/exclusion from the political maneuvering of family-lineage, which men are given the privilege of); she now has to at least consider how her own legitimate kids will relate (maybe even someday come to conflicts over their father's inheritances and/or affections and favor) and have advantages over their illegitimate siblings, which is more mental and maybe economic work for her bc again she is the practical head manager of the households' needs which now may include her husband's mistress and any and all bastard kids he has with her; she has to now come to terms with how the economic resources and inheritances will be further split after her husabnd dies amongst his children, even when she was the one, again, maintaing the household and some of the family aren't even hers; if a wife was caught cheating (or even if this were an open thing) she'd still be treated much worse than if the roles were reversed. Women in real history have been: imprisoned in their own homes; sent off to nunneries to "wait out" scandals or just to be there forever for their own and their husbands' families to avoid shame in a sort of "exile"; publicly shamed and ridiculed, losing community sympathy or regard; and even outright murdered (stoning) in public punishments or never justified after their relatives or husband's kill them for adultery...because lineage and power runs through the male line, not the woman's, and any doubt of the man's control over her reproduction is taken a lot more seriously than the reverse. The wife, more than her husband, is always the one more at risk of losing some sort of sociopolitical benefit, security, or privilege for either herself or her kids, with either his or her infidelity.

So if and only if Rhaegar and Elia both understood and knew the other understood that their marriage would be open, no he didn't "cheat" on Elia. But it is valid ("correct"? more debatable), for people to dislike Rhaegar for Lyanna IF:

he went off w/Lyanna without having some sort of real understanding with Elia where they acknowledge most/all these things OR if they could prove Rhaegar was responsible for Elia's being taken from Dragonstone by Aerys just by not being there to somehow stop or delay Aerys

if Elia only agreed or mostly agreed bc she wanted Rhaegar to leave her be and survive from here two births AND "that's just what privileged men do"

there was no plan for how Elia would be seen by the court around her in lieu of Rhaegar giving Lyanna the crown of flowers instead of her during the 281 tourney at Harrenhal or just by the fact that there were rumors for this relationship that she'd still have to face regardless of her Dornishness--she is still in a nonDornish court and will have to raise children in such a environment, she doesn't really have an out

Rhaegar actively chose to leave her behind with his father without at least staying by her side so he could just stay by Lyanna's in the Tower of Joy

The first implies that he decided he could risk his wife's reputation and sanity when she was already known to be very ill for most of her adult life and was almost killed in childbirth...for his own happiness of being in love or "just getting p*%$y". Its reverse is the ideal circumstance. But the "ideal" rarely happens consistently in GRRM's stories or real life when we try or want it to.

Tracking Rhaegar's, Elia, and Lyanna's Moves Right Before the Rebellion and During It:

281 A.C. -- Rhaegar gives Lyanna the winter rose crown of love and beauty instead of his wife Elia (presumably bc of many things: he admired her disguised participation as the Knight of the Laughing Tree; wanted the Starks or Baratheons to become more invested through even their outrage [this was a person's theory]; with the said crown he might have seen a vision with winter roses and Lyanna in it and decided to take that risk in that moment to trigger events he thought he needed.)

281-282 A.C. -- Rhaegar leaves Elia and their kids at Dragonstone "with half a dozen of his closest friends and confidants, on a journey that would ultimately lead him back to the riverlands" (TWoIaF -- the Year of the False Spring).

282 A.C. -- around Harrenhal, Rhaegar and Lyanna disappear together, triggering her father and brother to travel to KL by themselves and Brandon (brother) calls out ""come out and die.", not knowing Rhaegar is not in the city -> Aerys tortures and burns both him and his father

(*later, c 282-283 A.C.) Aerys calls back Elia and her kids by his side with -> sometime between Rhaegar leaving and him coming back with his army

c. 283 A.C. -- Aerys King Aerys sent Ser Gerold Hightower (the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard) to retrieve Rhaegar

283 A.C. -- Rhaegar returns to the crownlands and takes command of the Targaryen army after Jon Connington loses in the battle of the Bells

283 -- Battle of the Trident -> Rhaegar dies

283 A.C. -- Aerys sends pregnant Rhaella and Viserys to Dragonstrone but keeps Elia and her kids with him in fear of the Martells betraying him

I still think that with no new information besides Elia & Rhaegar's relationship is "complicated"--as GRRM said--and if Lyanna's family weren't that big of an issue, then Lyanna very well could have been genuinely friendly (not just amicable) with Elia. Again, Elia is from Dorne, the most sexually progressive place in the West of the ASoIaF world except for maybe some freefolk tribes. From the very little we hear of her and her character, she seemed unafraid to let her feelings known and unashamed of herself and what she wanted while still being serene.

Anyone interested can check out this post by dwellordream about infidelity in aristocratic marriages.

[ailuronymy]

do you think every disabled character in wc is handled poorly? i understand theres def some cases of ableism but at the same time when i hear ppl say that its usually bc the disabled cat wasnt able to become a warrior due to their disability. and i feel like ppl forget, that not everyone irl CAN do what they want after they become disabled. ex. someone wants to be an athlete, but their legs have to be amputated. a cat like briarlight esp i feel is p realistic and could be a source of comfort

Hello there, thank you for writing in. I’m going to reply to this question with a series of questions I think are a bit more useful, given what you’re trying to ask me. I hope that’ll clarify what is a deeply complex, multilayered issue. 

Do I think Erin Hunter handles anything in the series “well”? Not really. I don’t have a high opinion of the work of the collective and, broadly speaking, I think every right note they play, metaphorically speaking, is an instance of chance rather than effort, skill, or intention. Stopped clocks are right twice a day, mediocre writers will sometimes do something cool by accident, similar principle. That’s not to say Erin Hunter hasn’t ever done anything on purpose--just that overall the underlying drive of the series isn’t so much quality as it is quantity, and speed of production, and it shows. 

Do I think Erin Hunter puts any significant research into how they portray disability? No. I do not think it is a priority for this series. They’re not trying to make a meaningful work of literature, or capture a realistic experience of disability, or tell especially impactful or thoughtful stories, or even make a particularly good or coherent fantasy world. Warriors is a specifically commercial product that was commissioned by HarperCollins to appeal to a particular demographic of drama-loving, cat-loving kids. It’s not really trying to do anything but sell books, because it’s a business, so the text in many ways reflects that. They’re not going for disability representation, in my opinion. They’re including disability in many cases as a plot-point or an obstacle. 

Do I think this means that people can’t connect to these characters and narratives in meaningful ways? No. Often I say that a work is completed only when it is read. Before that point, it doesn’t have a meaning: a reader finishes the work through the act of reading, and interpretation, and filling in the spaces and resonance of the story with their own values and experiences. When people talk about subjectivity, this is what they are talking about. What this means in the context of disabled characters in Warriors is that these characters and their stories can be multiple, conflicting, even mutually exclusive things at the same time, to different people, for different reasons. 

Do I think characters have to be “good” to be significant to someone? No. I think genuinely “bad” (i.e., not researched or poorly researched, cliche, thoughtlessly written, problematic, etc. etc.) characters can be deeply meaningful, and often are. Ditto above: for many people, and especially marginalised or stigmatised people, reading is almost always an act of translation, wherein the person is reading against the creative work of the dominant culture in a way that the author likely didn’t intend or didn’t even imagine. There’s a long documented history of this in queer culture, but it’s true for just about everyone who is rarely (or unfairly) represented in media. Disabled people often have to read deeply imperfect works of fiction featuring disability and reinterpret them in the process--whether to relate to a kind of disability they don’t experience themselves but which is the closest they’re offered to something familiar, or to turn positive and meaningful what is intended as narrative punishment, or simply to create what’s commonly called headcanon about “non-disabled” characters who echo their personal experiences. 

Do I think everyone has to agree? Extremely no. As I said before, people will actually always disagree, because all people have different needs and different experiences. What can be interpreted as empowering to one person might be very othering and painful for another. There is no “right” answer, because, again, that is how subjectivity works. This is especially true because marginalised communities are often many different kinds of people with different lives and needs brought together over a trait or traits they share due to the need for solidarity as protection and power--but only in a broad sense. It’s why there is often intracommunity fighting over representation: there isn’t enough, there’s only scraps, and so each person’s personal interpretation can feel threatening to people whose needs are different. You can see examples of this especially when it comes to arguments over character sexuality: a queer female character might be interpreted as bisexual by bisexual people who relate to her and want her to be, while being interpreted as lesbian by lesbians who also relate to her and want her to be like them. Who is correct? Often these different interpretations based on different needs are presented as if one interpretation is theft from the other, when in fact the situation is indicative of the huge dearth of options for queer people. It becomes increasingly more intense when it comes to “canon” representations, because of the long history of having to read against the grain I mentioned above: there’s novelty and, for some people, validation in “canon” certainty. And again, all of this is also true for disabled people and other stigmatised groups. 

Do I think this is a problem? Not exactly. It is what it is. It is the expected effect of the circumstances. Enforced scarcity creates both the need for community organising and solidarity and the oppressive pressure to prioritise one’s self first and leave everyone else in the dust (or else it might happen to you). The system will always pit suppressed people against each other constantly, because it actively benefits from intracommunity fighting. Who needs enemies when you have friends like these, and so on. A solution is absolutely for everyone in community to hold space for these different needs and values, and to uplift and support despite these differences, but it’s not anyone’s fault for feeling threatened or upset when you don’t have much and feel like the thing that you do have is being taken away. It’s a normal, if not really helpful, human response. But until people learn and internalised that the media is multifaceted and able to be many things at once, without any of those things being untrue or impacting your truth of the text, then there will be fighting. 

Do I think my opinion on disability on Warriors is all that important? No, not really. I can relate to some characters in some moment through that translation, but my opinion on, say, Jayfeather is nowhere near as worthy of consideration than that of someone who is blind. I don’t have that experience and it’s not something I can bring meaningful thinking about, really. That’s true for all these characters. If you want to learn about disability, prioritise reading work about disabled rights and activism that is done by disabled people, and literary criticism from disabled people. And as I mentioned above, remember that community isn’t a monolith: it’s a survival tactic, that brings together many different people with disparate experiences of the world. So research widely. 

Finally--do I think there’s only one kind of disabled narrative worth telling? No. For some people, a disabled character achieving a specific, ability-focused dream is a good story. For other people, a story that acknowledges and deals with the realities, and limitations, of disability is a good story. The same person might want both of those stories at different times, depending on their mood. That’s okay. Sometimes there’s power and delight in a fantasy of overcoming seemingly impossible obstacles and defying all expectations. Sometimes there’s value and catharsis in a narrative that delves into the challenges and grief and oppression experienced because of disability. There’s no one truth. 

To round all this off, I’m going to give my favourite example of this, which is Cinderella. I think it’s a great and useful tool, since for many it’s familiar and it’s very simple. Not much happens. In the story, she is bullied and tormented, until a fairy godmother gifts her over several nights with the opportunity to go to a royal ball, where she dances with a prince. The prince eventually is able to find Cinderella, due to a shoe left behind, and they are married. In some versions, the family that mistreated her are killed. In others, they’re forgiven. 

Some people hate the story of Cinderella, because she is seen as passive. She tolerates the bullying and never fights back. She does every chore she’s told. She is given an opportunity by a fairy godmother, and she doesn’t help herself go to the ball. She runs from the prince and he does the work to find her again. Eventually, she’s married and the prince, presumably, keeps her in happiness and comfort for the rest of her life. 

For some, this story is infuriating, because Cinderella doesn’t “save herself”: she is largely saved by external forces. She is seen as a quintessential damsel-in-distress, and especially for people who have been bullied, infantalised, or made to feel less capable or weak, that can be a real point of personal pain and discomfort. 

However, for some others, Cinderella is a figure of strength, because she is able to endure such hostile environments and terrible people and never gives up her gentle nature or her hope. She never becomes cruel, or bitter. She is brave in daring to go outside her tiny, trapped world, and she is brave to let the prince find her. She doesn’t have to fight or struggle to earn her reward of happiness and prove her worth, because she was always deserving of love and kindness. The prince recognises at once, narratively speaking, her goodness and virtue, and stops at nothing to deliver her a better life. 

Depending on the version, the wicked family disfigure themselves for their own greed--or are punished, which for some is a revenge fantasy; or Cinderella forgives them and once again shows her tenacious kindness, which for others is a different revenge fantasy. 

The point? Cinderella is the same character in the same story, but these are almost unrecognisable readings when you put them side-by-side. Which one is right? Which one is better? In my opinion, those are the wrong questions. I hope this (long, sorry) reply is a set of more useful ones. 

[jemmo]

no joke i felt like i couldn’t breathe in this ep. like can we just sit down and consider how much stuff just fucking happened in that ep. seanwhite are fucking, they’re being all couple-ey and it’s like so precious??? like sean is so soft it’s such a 180 from how we’ve seen him before and I love it??? yok is continuing his unhinged gay agenda except now dan’s along for the ride. he’s saving yok from whoever’s following him (im guessing tawi’s men??) he met yok’s deaf mom, they kissed, is dan on their team now???? also dan killed sean’s father and he told yok but yok doesn’t know the man he killed was sean’s dad. he’s gonna try and introduce dan to sean but sean isn’t gonna know what dan did that’s a whole can of worms just waiting to be opened. and is the trailer trying to make us sus of dan saying there’s tawi’s ppl in th authorities I just cannot keep track?? also gram and eugene continue to be so fucking confusing ive actually given up on trying to guess what’s going on in grams head it’s too much. and namo is sad bc she likes sean. then we’ve got someone seeing sean and white kiss but who??? bc it wasn’t namo and idk if it was black either??? bc hah yes blacks here he woke up from a coma due to the power of sex and white has found him and black knows that white was pretending to be him and he’s not happy but he doesn’t know the full story esp with what’s happening between white and sean. but how is white supposed to explain this to sean bc idk if he knows (ppl are assuming he does and I think he knows something but not everything he’s doing some sus stuff so I be keeping my eye out. plus did we even get the “I know you have a brother” line from last weeks teaser idk I need to check). oh and todd is evil we all knew but yeah he hurt black but why??? and does it have something to do with this thing blacks mom is calling about???? why do I feel like blacks been up to stuff that no one knows about concerning stuff relating to todd and his mom and I’ll be interested to see if this ties in to tawi in some way bc now it’s like we have two enemies one for black/white and one for sean so are they gonna come together???? idk

tl;dr be things are getting messy and confusing in the best way everyone’s up to stuff and idk who I can feel safe with. peeps i fucking LOVE this and i can’t wait for shit to go down im screaming