#spoiler alert: game of thrones

[tonyloom]

Spoilers TWOW

“Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” she sang sadly. A foolish, giddy girl she’d been, but good hearted. She would miss her, and she would miss Daena and the Snapper and the rest, even Izembaro and Bobono. This would make trouble for the Sealord and the envoy with the chicken on his chest, she did not doubt. She would think about that later, though. Just now, there was no time. I had best run. Mercy still had some lines to say, her first lines and her last, and Izembaro would have her pretty little empty head if she were late for her own rape.

A study of Charles-Alexandre Coessin De La Fosse (French, 1829-1910)

[dipperscavern]

Yk what we haven’t got enough of??

Ned stark smut.

Like we’re not about to play in mr Ned’s face bc his face card NEVERRR declined

ohhhh shit. i’m afraid you might be right….. idk how u guys keep doing this but i was literally JUST thinking about dad (ned) n a younger reader. does that make me grotesque 😞

also his face card NEVER declined. NEVAAA!!!

[leupagus]

Selyse is not a "who's this bitch" kind of person but honestly, she should be forgiven for meeting Sansa like this and going "who's this bitch"

Just then there was a call from outside the tent, asking for the king. Davos opened the flap and a young solder ducked inside, bowing low to the king first, then to Lady Melisandre, then to Selyse. "Your Grace," he said, "riders were just spotted on the pass below, making their way up to our camp."

"Spotted on the pass?" snorted Davos. "Are they riding snow bears? Or elks?"

As though in answer, an horn sounded in the distance. The king started, his expression as queer as any Selyse had seen on his face in their near twenty years of marriage. It seemed almost...hopeful. "That call," he said, as though to himself.

Davos shook his head. "I don't recognize it, Your Grace. Do you?"

"Oh, yes," said Stannis softly. "I remember it very well."

The party climbing up the pass was small — a hundred men at most — in two long rows, the banners of all of Stark's promised houses unfurled. They were mounted on the great lumbering beasts that passed for horses in the North. In the pearl-grey of dawn, Selyse could see the front pair dragging behind them a curious leather-and plate device. It was shaped for all the world like the prow of a ship and it cut through the snow with ease. The party moved only slightly slower than a full canter; even as she watched, the two horses affixed to the contraption slowed and stopped, their riders giving them full rein to blow out great puffs of air into the snow. The whole party halted in an orderly queue behind them, and the two mounted soldiers directly behind circled round to unhook the lead pair (without bothering to dismount) and attaching their own horses. The party then resumed its swift pace up the mountain pass. The two who had been in the lead rejoined smoothly at the end, where the snow been packed down to a tidy path.

"Ingenious," remarked Davos. Lady Melisandre said nothing, only quirked an eyebrow. Shireen asked some imbecilic question about something, and the king made a patient response.

"Perhaps these men of the North will bring you the miracle you seek, Your Grace," said Lady Melisandre, as the riders at last drew level.

"Certainly they seem to have performed the miracle of moving in this snow," Stannis observed.

Most of the riders remained at the foot of the camp, but a small group began to make their way toward them, their behemoth horses even more ridiculous as they drew closer, with their hoofs near as wide as platters and their tails cut short as a broomstick. As they halted before their king, the riders dismounted. Despite the bitter cold, not one of them showed any sign of discomfort, their thick boots and cloaks making them appear almost as outsized as their horses.

The king took a breath, as if to ask for their leader, when a hooded figure on a great chestnut beast came out from the midst of them. Her cloak and skirts were dirty from the road and snows, her copper-bright hair in a simple peasant's braid as she pushed back her hood. A half-dozen young men surged forward to hand her from her horse, but it was a giantess in armor who helped her down and followed closely behind as she approached them.

It took Selyse a long moment to realize who the girl was: Sansa, Catelyn's eldest daughter. (Eldest child, now that the usurper Robb Stark was dead — and Catelyn too, and Lord Stark before them.) She had more of her mother's look to her than her father's, which must have pleased the Imp when he married her; Tyrion had always liked his whores pretty and clever. There was something in the way that she carried herself, however, that made Selyse suspect Sansa might be rather too clever.

The girl made no move to bow to the king, merely drew within a length as her retinue fanned out behind her. "Your Grace," she greeted Stannis. At least she had the good sense to recognize her rightful king. "I am Lady Sansa, of House Stark."

"Lady Stark," the king replied, or began to, because at that moment the damned direwolf, that unnatural creature the Lord Commander had foisted upon them, came hurtling in from wherever the devils he'd been and lunged for the girl, sending her sprawling to the ground with a scream more chilling than Shireen's, horrifyingly cut off as she—

As she laughed, the creature licking frantically at her face with its great tail wagging. The girl brought her arms around its monstrous neck and hugged it closer to her, burying her face in its fur, unconcerned entirely by the spectacle. Her Northern lords looked well pleased, in fact, nodding and smiling at one another in shared understanding. He'll recognize her, Jon had told Shireen when she'd asked how Ghost would know who Sansa was. The pack knows its own. It seemed the whole of the North knew.

The king's people were nearly as susceptible. Davos was smiling like a dolt and Shireen looked as though she wanted nothing more than to join in the undignified affair. Lady Melisandre, at least, showed little sign of being moved; she was watching with an air of interest but no warmth. Only the king was truly inscrutable, as he stared down at the tangle of girl and dog with another expression she had never seen before. This time, she could not guess as to what it meant.

At long last, the beast allowed Sansa Stark to rise, once again accepting help only from her giantess. "My apologies, Your Grace," she said. Her smile was broad and bright even as she wiped at a streak of mud across her nose. "But as you might guess, Stark reunions are rare these days."

[redrabbitkreations]

[braime-won]

Was at Walmart doing the shopping and what does my little eye spy? Love being randomly reminded of the Jaime/Brienne fandom hehe.

First Barnes and Noble and now Walmart.

J/B fandom stay famous.✨

[msmorningstaarr]

Spoiler from Chapter 9

Hey! It’s been a while since I don’t post anything related to Holy and Heathen but I have to be honest with you guys and confess that I feel not so motivated writing it because just how I was talking to @martellspear and @sunsetstarrogue I don’t like where the story’s going, but these two helped me not giving up on the story and for this I must be thankful for you, sweet ladies 💕 I hope you enjoy this little sneak peek I prepared for you because I had an inspiration moment and started working on more chapters for this fanfic. Indulge yourselves 💕

———

Melara slumbered peacefully on his arms as the glimpses of sunshine made its way throughout his private quarters. Her blonde hair was messy and wild in a way he only saw on their first night.

The warmth of her body innocently rubbing against his caused a sensation of comfort and relaxation. He had to admit that his life seemed too different and full of guilt as deeper he dived into marital life, but the little lady had nothing to do with it. His fingers traced where he assaulted her. The bruises were disappearing, although still visible. No man should ever be cruel towards a lady, especially when the lady in question was his own lady wife and the day they fought still haunted him until this day, even after her forgiveness.

Last night, he left that tavern adamant on his decision to make that feast as chaotic as possible. Wine had taken control over his head and he wanted to torment his mother, Melara, the drunk ones in the dance floor or simply anyone who would cross his path. He was angry at the world that Elia seemed so happy without him around. Jealousy screamed in his ears as he imagined dragon seed sowing inside of Elia instead of his own. As he rode back to the castle that night, he wanted everyone to feel at least a small part of everything he felt regarding Elia’s pregnancy… until he saw those scared eyes of Melara, not blinking for a moment once Oberyn extended his hand at her for a dance.

The memory of his lady wife’s frightened gaze made his mind go on a spiral of turmoil and he realised that he had no right to interfere and ruin one more thing for her, not that night. The more he would talk to her, the more he could see the vulnerability through her eyes and how scared of him she was, it struck a chord within him, awakening a sense of responsibility and remorse. As the prince gently ran his fingers over the fading bruises, he couldn't shake the guilt that gnawed at him. No matter how much he tried to justify his actions as a means to cope with his own frustrations, he knew he had crossed a line.

Oberyn could not upgrade his feelings towards Lady Melara from one day to another swiftly. However, after being inside her walls - beyond fucking her, the dornish prince could see more and more of her human side. He noticed her fingers intertwining on his every time she wished to speak. He noticed her eyes narrowing as her cheeks blushed once he spoke some explicit sentence. He grinned at how clumsy she could be at times when she would dance with him. He could finally appreciate how soft her lips were every time his own lips encountered hers. Maybe it was still the fear and suspicion over him, but Oberyn finally would feel like his lonely star was falling from the sky and being nearer to him, to become human.

[odditycircus-2002]

Medusa! Reader and Shang Tsung in MK 1 (Part 1)

NEXT

SPOILER ALERT FOR MK 1 STORYMODE

A/N: I hope y'all like this as I've been hyped for this game since I heard its release!!! I was so excited for the possibilities that I watched the full storymode cut as soon as it came out to take notes! Be aware, given this is a new timeline, there ARE gonna be some changes from the other hc/s you've known, but rest assured that doesn't mean I have forgotten. Please enjoy!

You were born around the same northern canton as Shang Tsung, yet you would come to know him in adulthood. You were born as the second eldest to your village's apothecary during your childhood. You never knew your eldest sister, who was taken at infancy to become Umgadi; despite this, your mother always spoke highly of the daughter she never got to know. To the point of being grating to everyone around you, including yourself. On the other hand, your father had high hopes for you to someday take over the apothecary of your village, having seen your innate talent and intrigue for medicine from an early age.

You reveled in the pride your father expressed for you. Although, your mother gave you a different time of day despite your best efforts. Because of your frustrations, you would come across to others as prickly and shrewish. Although deep down, you just wanted a chance to make BOTH your parents proud.

That day came, but not in the way you truly hoped, when a plague struck your village from another nearby canton. Thankfully, it wasn't Tarkat, but that didn't make the one that came any less deadly.

You and your father worked day and night to help treat your village, giving them depleting medicine to ease their symptoms. However, that doesn't mean you didn't have your fair share of corpses you had to help burn to stifle the plague from spreading.

When your father became ill from overworking, you took it upon yourself to search for a cure. It took weeks of secretly digging corpses out of the burn puts and cutting them open (something that wasn't so hard for you to stomach, oddly) to find which combinations of elixirs were the most effective before you found a cure. Even then, it took weeks of trials and tribulations before you finally succeeded. However, to others, you seemed to have cured your village overnight by some miracle, making both your parents proud.

From then on, through the grapevine, it wasn't hard for the newly crowned rulers of Outworld, Sindel and Jerrod, to hear the word of an upcoming healer making a name for herself around the northern cantons by healing most ailments and diseases. Eventually, they would invite you to study at the palace to further your knowledge of medicine.

You were already stunned to hear of Outworld's rulers inviting YOU, of all people, to study at their palace. Imagine your amazement when you first saw the luscious and lively city of Sun Do. Yet the city seemed pale compared to the crown jewel of Sun Do Palace.

When you were escorted into the palace, instead of immediately heading into the throne room as instructed, you slipped away from Li Mei's watch to head toward the legendary Hanging Gardens. While exploring the garden's flora, you took the time to sketch out the plant life you've never seen to look up later. In fact, you were so caught up in what you were doing you didn't immediately acknowledge Empress Sindel when she entered. When she invited you inside for tea, did you finally look up from what you were doing and realize who you had spoken to the entire time.

You quickly bowed as you started to ramble out apologies for not properly greeting your Empress, stating how you meant no offense or disrespect. Sindel only gave a small chuckle and brushed it off, stating it was a relief to know the healer they invited to study here had so much potential. From there, after getting berated by Li Mei about how there won't be a next time for you to slip from her, you meet Jerrod.

Jerrod and Sindel watched you flourish into a benevolent and dedicated healer, eventually the Head Healer for the Palace, often treating the royal family, Imperial Guard, or Umgadi. While there, you were also trained by Li Mei herself to defend yourself, to prove that every member of the Imperial House is capable of defending Outworld.

You and Sindel grew to have a close friendship. In fact, you treated Sindel the most when she was pregnant with twins and watched as both came into the world. You, too, helped with the upbringing of Mileena and Kitana after Jerrod's death. Sindel found she could confide in you, knowing any secret with you is safe, assured in your loyalty to her and the royal house.

However, that's not to say your friendship with Sindel didn't get into trouble occasionally, specifically in matters concerning Tarkat and those afflicted with it, as your role as a Healer conflicts with Sindel's policies.

You took it upon yourself to become one of the lead researchers into Tarkat, including going to the colony of those afflicted in the Wastes. What you saw appalled you and sickened every part of you that is a Healer.

Yet, as Sindel continues to ignore your suggestions on improving Tarkatan's life, a wedge forms between you. That doesn't stop you from advocating giving Tarkatans better treatment than what they currently have. You and Sindel's skirmish reaches a crescendo when Mileena, infected with Tarkart, one day approaches you.

You tried everything you could to treat her in secret from Sindel, fearing the Empress would banish her own daughter. Yet neither of your efforts would be successful as Sindel and Kitana eventually learned about Mileena's affliction. You and Sindel argued about how Mileena's illness should be dealt with, with you calling Sindel a hypocrite for protecting Mileena when she doesn't do the same for the rest of her sick subjects.

Thanks to the new sorcerer, Shang Tsung, that Mileena found, she was temporarily cured before she could go on a bloody rampage. Immediately, you asked Shang how he figured out how to treat Mileena's symptoms. To which he answered by offering a partnership, stating that together, you both had a real chance to cure the princess and all of Outworld. An invitation you were not going to turn down, much to the Sorcerer's delight.

Thanks to Shang Tsung backing your argument, Sindel had a laboratory built near the Tarkatan camp so you could further your studies for a cure. Although, secretly, it may have also been a way for you to put some distance between you and Sindel since you felt you needed time away from her and the city.

Shang Tsung introduced you to Syzoth, who he claimed would work as an assistant. You were unaware of his enslavement to Shang. Although more at ease in your presence, you couldn't help but notice how twitchy Syzoth can be, especially whenever Shang is in the room.

You recognize Shang's mannerisms, dialect, and choice of clothing to be from the same area you're from. Despite the familiarity you two connected with, you were wary of Shang when he refused to indulge in what he used to be. While he finds your caution understandable, that would not stop him from trying to woo you.

At first, he wasn't quite successful in using honeyed words and shiny trinkets since you were too caught up in your work to care for them. Frustratingly for him, you struck a faster friendship with Syzoth over your interests in each other's cultures. Yet, it didn't escape Shang's notice that Syzoth would cringe at your dark humor and be unable to fully understand the theories you would share with him.

Shang Tsung changed his approach to you after taking note of you and Syzoth's interactions (and punishing Syzoth in private). He got this chance when you let slip a dark joke that some would say is in bad humor. You slap a hand over your mouth when you realize what you said. Yet, to your surprise, the sorcerer you saw as pretentious and full of himself let out a genuine laugh to the point he had to step back from his worktable to reorient himself.

Shang Tsung didn't fake finding you humorous especially when it meant seeing you direct your smile toward him. One small but genuine one he scarcely ever saw directed at him. He found himself wanting more.

Such a small moment led to a friendship that intertwined with your partnership. Shang got you talking about your work and what you hope to accomplish with it, occasionally encouraging you. You would find him sometimes jotting down notes when you share with him theories you developed about Tarkat, including how its mutative properties cause an excessive amount of bone to grow from a person and could probably strengthen a person if used right.

"Yet, I would never actually see if that's true. Not only would it be incredibly painful, but it would be an act against nature.

"Of course, yet shouldn't progress be something healers should strive for?

"Indeed we do, but not at the cost of lives."

Syzoth watched as your relationship with Shang Tsung flourished, thus leading you to share a few apothecary secrets your father taught you. The Zatteran wishes he could've told you about the man you looked fondly at, yet he kept his mouth shut.

Unbeknownst to you, Shang Tsung would take some of your ideas and theories with Tarkat and then make them into a horrid reality, all right under your nose. For all you knew, the basement level of the lab would eventually be used to treat patients.

Yet, you didn't think Shang Tsung could ever be so depraved. Not from the charming and intelligent man you came to know through long discussions and walks near the lab. However, you started to grow suspicious since you saw Syzoth often head downstairs, but Shang Tsung discouraged you from looking around below. This eventually spiraled into a confrontation between the two of you.

You argued that both of you are partners and thus are equals. Just, what was he hiding down there? However, when you confronted the Sorcercer and gave him a piece of your mind, that's when disaster struck.

Fed up with Shang Tsung dancing around the answer and his secretiveness, you marched right to the door leading to the lower levels of the Laboratory. Out of desperation, Shang Tsung then ran to your side to push you away from the door.

He only meant to push you hard enough to get you away from the door, but it was enough to push you directly into a shelf containing a glass jar containing proto-type Anti-Tarkat serum that fell directly on your head, followed by more unknown serums. You screamed at the searing pain of glass and the liquids entering your eyes.

Your skin started to peel away, leaving your entire body in patches of red rashes, and your hair fell out in clumps. Your screams filled the entire laboratory as you collapsed to the ground. You didn't see the panicked look on Shang's face as he instructed Syzoth (who saw the whole thing) to carry you.

A/N: Sorry, that's all for now, folks. I reached the word count limit.😅 Don't worry, part 2 is coming out real soon!

[cinderkaliningrad]

Targtower family and the cost of war.

Listen to this with the Sabaton song - Lifetime of War. and 1916 (Another Sabaton song).

Aemond: Should not now us prevail?

Alicent: Not like this.

Okay, Alicent. "Not like this?" I ask for the VAR. ⬇

Let us remember the famous phrase: "I wish to believe that honor and decency will prevail." - A hypocritical phrase said from the mouth of a person manipulated by her father, who is trying to survive as a woman in a man's world. (We are talking about the hypocrisy of the Greens, not the crimes of the Blacks.)

Alicent blames Aemond for starting the war by killing Lucerys. But it was Otto Hightower (the series' ultimate villain) who manipulated her into marrying Viserys. The House of the Dragon, aka "the place where those who are at fault never pay what they owe."

LET'S START.

Otto Hightower starts it all off by drooling over the Iron Throne and plotting to dethrone Rahenyra.

Otto manipulates Alicent into believing that Rahenyra is ruthless enough to kill her children. Something that seems to be corroborated when Rahenyra asks that Aemond (her younger half-brother) be tortured to find out where she got that her children are bastards.

Cole kills a lovely grandpa council member and no body gives a fuck. Nothing new, because he killed Laenor's lover in his wedding (Laenor and Rahenyra) in front the whole nobility of the realm.

We all have recorded the multiple payments that Alicent makes to her allies by offering her body. Very much like Cercey: "Tears are not a woman's only weapon. We have the best one between our legs." We talk about her walking by the sword of Ser Criston Cole and showing her feet to the depraved Larys.

The use of the death of a child prince to win over the people. Causing great suffering to the parents of the child Jaehearys, Kings Aegon II and Helaena. The two characterized by not being the most mentally stable people in the world, let us also remember that they are 22 and 20 years old at the time of the boy's death. (They are literally, in today's terms: university students).

No shame in using a boy who is barely two decades old from birth for their own selfish plans. - Poor Aegon, he just wanted to get away and live in peace.

Espionage, the elimination of witnesses. Shatter the minds of three generations for a throne. (Queen Alicent, her children the princes and the princess, and their children). - Alicent has not hesitated when it comes to using them for its benefit. For "honor and dignity."

Queen Alicent wants to crown her son Aegon, after her dying and senile husband talks about some King Aegon guy and a weird prophecy. When we know 3 Aegon so far: Aegon the Conqueror, Aegon the drunk prince, and Aegon the Young (son of Rahenyra). Did anyone thought that maybe the words of the dying king weren't too logical? Aegon (the drunk one) was right about not being the chosen one.

A long etc.

How do you want to win, Alicent? Your son Aemond is little nothing more than a child trying to fulfill the desires that have been imposed on him all his life: to keep his brother on the throne no matter what the cost.

How are wars won, Alicent? Sending people like Aemond to die: children who have grown up with the wrong ideas, who have grown into fanatical men for a cause. People forced to grow up fast and therefore die young. And of course, dirty game. A lot of dirty game. So that? Alicent (spoiler alert) will spend the rest of her life crying for her children. And the realm will never recover. The saddest thing is that Aemond and Aegon will die thinking they did the right thing.

What was the cost of your greed, House Hightower? If you are not prepared for war, don't do it. You could have stopped it, Alicent, too late to regret it. No? War is like lighting a fire, once it starts, it will destroy everything in its path without control. And it is foolish and naive to think that you can enter a war without dirtying your hands and everyone around you.

WHERE THE 7 HELLS IS HONOUR AND DECENCY, HIGHTOWERS!?

[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

chapter i – gust & flame

Eris Vanserra x Reader

Eris Vanserra has been a prisoner in his own home since the day he was born. He has done what he had to in order to survive and protect the few he loves. And he is playing the long game. Waiting, waiting, and waiting for the right time to make his move, to usurp his wicked father and become High Lord of Autumn Court. But things become even more complicated when a human girl drops into his life. Perhaps Eris can wait no longer to take his throne.

Word Count: 2,600+

Warnings: violence, mentions of human trafficking, spoilers for entire ACOTAR series

masterlist

Another war was just around the corner, and Eris swore he could feel it in the air. An evil waited to pounce, to force Prythian to choose sides once more. Only this time, his father was exhorting such evils to break out.

Eris was quiet as he rode his horse through the forest he knew like the back of his hand. These days, the forests in Autumn Court felt like the only escape from his father and all the vileness that he brought with him. 

His sentries surrounded him while still staying just a couple paces behind him, so he could easily direct them where he saw fit. 

The only sounds they brought to the forest were the gentle steps of their horses’ hooves and his hounds sniffing about. 

The troop was surveying their borders. Eris had his duties and this was one of the few that he did not mind. Because he’d find any excuse to get out of the suffocating Forest House. He was good at playing games – probably too good. But it did weigh on him after awhile. 

Suddenly his hounds stopped abruptly and became alert. 

All their snouts pointed in the same direction and their tales were pointed, signaling to their master. 

Without hesitating, Eris jumped off his steed and stepped forward, looking into the direction his hounds watched while growling. 

Suddenly, a gust of wind hit them. It was far too powerful for the woods, usually the trees blocked such wind due to their density in this area. 

It was unnatural, that much Eris was sure of. 

He clicked his tongue, signaling to both his dogs and his men to follow his lead. 

His dogs went into the hunting formation that had been trained into them since they were puppies. But one hound sprinted forward to see what dangers laid ahead for his master. 

And Eris’ men flanked him, weapons at the ready. 

With a clench of his fists, both of Eris’ hands were covered in flames. 

It was only seconds of stepping forward when the hound returned to his master. But Eris was confused to hear the dog whining desperately and sitting down, looking up as if trying to plead with him. 

More confident now, Eris marched forward, silently maneuvering around the thick branches to still maintain the element of surprise. 

But he didn’t expect what he found on the other side. 

There was a small break in the trees, offering an opening. It was covered in fallen leaves that were bright red and orange. 

The sun filtered through, lighting up the intruder as if she were some sort of sprite. 

A female.

No, a young woman. A human. 

And around her were three dead male fae, two still groaning in pain as their blood escaped from their bodies and stained the forest floor. 

The woman was covered in blood, gasping as if she couldn’t catch her breath. And there was a dagger in her right hand, still dripping with blood. 

One of the hounds whined, and Eris' neck snapped down to scold his pet for giving away their presence. This behavior was most unlike the dogs. 

The girl turned. No, she swayed. But slowly faced Eris. 

She looked exhausted by the mere sight of him. As if she just saw him as another male she must kill. 

And she was beautiful, even by fae standards. 

But as soon as their eyes met, Eris felt it. His heart was beating heavily as if it gained size and was trying to burst from his chest. 

“No,” Eris gasped at the feeling. 

At the same moment, the woman took a step, but her body swayed before taking another. The dagger slipped from her hand just before Eris watched her eyes roll to the back of her neck and she fell to the ground unconscious. 

Without even realizing he had started moving, Eris rushed to her side. 

She was breathing, though it was shallow. 

“My Lord?” One of his sentry asked. 

“I’m fine,” Eris snapped. 

“Oi, the lots done it now,” another groaned as he studied the mess before him after also emerging from the line of trees. 

“Explain,” Eris demanded. 

“The merchants, I’ve heard rumblings about them before.”

“Merchants?” Eris repeated. 

He managed all trade in and out of Autumn Court. Clearly these men were hiding something, for they’d taken an unbeaten path in a dangerous forest. This was not the route of any merchant that he had approved. 

“Of…unsavory goods.” The sentry cleared his throat awkwardly. “These males are in the business of selling humans, My Lord. Women and children, usually. Taken from their homes in the mortal lands and sold to fae.” 

Eris’ eyes shot down to the girl who was unconscious before him. He hissed, “And why is this the first I am hearing of it?” 

“The High Lord is more than aware of it. He allows these males to travel through Autumn…for a price.”

Eris ground his teeth. Of course his father would have no issue with such trading. As long as he gets a bit of coin, he’d pretend he had no hand in it. He needed money to finance an upcoming war, after all.

To all of his sentries surprise, Eris picked up the girl in his arms gently. 

“What do you mean to do with her?” One asked. 

Eris looked into the gaze of every single male. “You are to never speak of this. To anyone. Is that understood?”

They all nodded. 

These males were loyal to Eris and Eris alone. Whatever he wished would be granted. 

“Bury the bodies. I shall return by tonight.”

He caught the questions in their eyes, but they knew better than to question him for details. 

And then Eris winnowed out of the forest. 

————

Eris arrived at the House of Wind's entryway, but could go no further due to the protective barriers. 

“Rhysand!” He bellowed. 

Eris knew there was another place the High Lord and Lady – and their friends – lived, that was not the House of Wind. But he was not trusted enough to know where that was – and he figured he never would be. 

“RHYSAND!” Eris yelled again. 

“I don’t believe I invited you…” a voice spoke from the shadows. 

The High Lord of the Night Court walked out into the light. Then its High Lady also came storming around the corner. Followed by their precious inner circle. 

Good. They were all already here. 

“What’s this about, Eris?” Feyre asked harshly, moving to her mate’s side. 

Then her eyes caught sight of the human girl in his arms and her eyes widened ever so slightly, but she quickly composed herself. 

“I come asking for your help,” Eris looked at both Rhysand and Feyre.

Then his eyes switched to his brother's mate.

“Help her,” Eris demanded, locking eyes with Elain. He knew very little of her, but still recognized she was the softest of them all. 

Elaine stepped forward, hypnotized. Her eyes looked at the girl with sympathy, as if she was looking at her old self, before she had been turned fae against her will. 

“She’s covered in blood,” Elain pointed out in a whisper. 

“It is not her own,” Eris answered. 

“How comforting,” Nesta huffed as she followed Elain.

“Who is this woman to you?” Azriel finally asked, glaring at him. 

“She is no one,” Eris answered evenly. 

“What have you done to her?” Cassian asked, arms crossed and giving Eris a look of rage. 

“None of it was my doing. I found her in this state,” Eris sounded even colder than usual. 

But Cassian still stepped forward and carefully took the human from Eris’ arms. And it took every ounce of control for Eris not to snap at Cassian for touching the girl. 

His eyes snapped back to the High Lord and Lady. “May I speak with you alone?” 

“What trickery is this?” Azriel interrupted. 

But Rhysand held up a hand, and Azriel knew to say no more. 

“You have interrupted our dinner. Whatever this is, you better explain,” Rhysand warned, but both he and Feyre still led him to a study. 

They waited for Eris to speak. 

“Keep her in Velaris. Safe. It is all I ask.”

Rhysand and Feyre shared a look. Eris knew they were speaking to each other. It was expected. But he purposely addressed Feyre equally, because he knew he would need her sympathy on this particular matter. 

Rhysand finally cleared his throat. “Humans do not bode well in fae lands. You know this.”

“She is not safe in the moral lands any longer. And Autumn Court is no place for her.” 

“Eris,” Feyre said carefully, “Who is she?” 

“No one,” Eris answered callously. Then he stood straighter, putting his hands behind his back, looking like he was about to share an official report with them. “It was brought to my attention that my father has been allowing fae merchants to move human slaves through my court.”

“For a cut, I can only presume,” Rhysand added. 

“Unfortunately,” Eris confirmed. “While patrolling the border, I fell across those merchants. I found them dead by – from what I presume – the hands of that girl.” 

“And why is she our problem now?” Rhysand asked. 

Eris knew he cared. He knew of the High Lord’s mask. Rhysand tried so hard to appear cold and even sometimes evil. But Eris knew, despite having no connection to the human, Rhysand had an interest in making sure she was alright. 

“If I leave her in Autumn, she will either die trying to survive on her own or my father will find her and kill her so no one can know about his little side trade.”

“And why do you care?” Feyre asked. “When did you get such a heart of gold, Eris?”

“I do not wish to tolerate such trading in my court. She is innocent and I am simply trying to right the wrongs of my father.” 

Rhysand tilted his head slightly. “Careful, Eris. Some might start to think you have a moral compass.”

Eris scoffed, but he was running out of reasons excuses and lies. 

So, he would just give them what they wanted. 

Eris took in a shallow breath. “When I become High Lord of Autumn Court, I promise an unbreakable alliance between our courts. Whatever course the Night Court may take, I swear loyalty and support from Autumn – no matter what. The only thing I ask for in return is that you give her refuge and keep her safe.”

And to prove how serious he was, Eris held out his hand. 

Feyre’s eyes widened as she looked at his open palm, offering it to Rhysand. 

A bargain. That will be sealed with a tattoo on both Eris and Rhysand’s skin. If either of them broke their oath, they would die. 

Now, both Rhysand and Feyre were digging in Eris’ head. He could feel them scraping against the walls. But he had trained diligently on protecting himself from such attacks. And so they found nothing. 

Rhysand lost all amusement now. He stepped closer to Eris, staring into his sharp, amber eyes with nothing but sympathy. 

“Who is this woman to you?” Rhysand said so quietly it was almost a whisper. 

And Eris swore for a second, the High Lord understood. That he saw through Eris' facade of apathy.

“She is no one,” Eris repeated his earlier lie. “I do not even know her name.” 

“How do we know she is not a danger?” Feyre asked carefully. 

“I would say, ‘What human girl could ever be a danger to our kind?’” Eris began and then he sneered at her. “But we all know the damage you did before you became fae, dear Feyre.” 

“We agree to your terms. For as long as she resides in Night Court, she shall be safe,” Rhysand finally answered. 

Clearly the two of them had settled it telepathically. 

Eris bowed his head and tried not to show his relief. 

The two men grasped each other’s right forearms. 

Feyre watched as a tiny maple leaf etched onto the back of her mate's thumb, right between the two knuckles. Meanwhile, a similar one appeared on the inside of Eris’ right wrist. 

“She will be safe here,” Rhysand vowed. 

“Thank you,” Eris told them both. “I must get back to my court.”

And just before he was going to winnow away, Feyre stepped toward him quickly. “Will you be back? To visit her?”

Eris looked torn. 

“No." And he vanished. 

Feyre and Rhysand shared an open and honest look with one another now that they were alone. 

“She can’t be,” Feyre answered his suspicion. 

“There was something so familiar about his desperation, Feyre. And then I realized… I saw myself in him.”

“But she is human,” Feyre argued gently. 

“I think Cassian is proof that it does not matter.” 

“That was the most civil I have ever seen Eris. He said, ‘Thank you.’ It took all of my power not to let my jaw drop when I heard the words drop from his lips.” 

Rhysand chuckled. “Let us go check on our new guest, shall we?” 

They found Elaine, Nesta, Azriel, and Cassian waiting outside the door of one of the many guest rooms in the House of Wind. 

“Madja’s in there with her,” Nesta told the two of them. “I don’t think she had any injuries. Just exhaustion, and clearly she’s malnourished.”

“She will be staying here,” Rhysand clarified. 

“For how long?” Nesta spat out. 

“Until it is safe in Autumn Court, I suspect,” Rhysand answered. “She can stay here or at the River House. It’s up to you, Nesta. This is your home after all.” 

“Why did you agree to this?” Azriel asked. 

“Eris promised Autumn Court’s loyalty and allyship to the Night Court – when he becomes High Lord, that is,” Feyre answered. 

Rhysand raised his thumb, showing the group his new tattoo as further proof. 

Azriel stepped forward, “She could be dangerous.”

Before Rhysand or Feyre could respond, Madja exited the guest room. 

“How is she?” Elaine asked softly. 

“She will be quite alright – physically, that is. But I fear she has seen a great deal. The damage to her mind and heart is surely far greater.” Then she gave a warning look to Feyre and Rhysand. “I advise the two of you do not go snooping around in her head. She has already been violated in so many other ways. Her mind needs just as much rest as her body.” 

The High Lord and Lady nodded in understanding. 

“Let her rest. When she wakes, only give her small portions of food to begin with. Some broth and maybe a piece of bread. And plenty of water. Human bodies are feeble. Too much food too quickly, and she’ll be sick after being deprived of it for what seems to be weeks.”

Nesta looked up at the ceiling, “Hear that?” 

“Thank you, Madja.” Feyre told the healer. 

But her face turned serious then. “I sensed there is something more to the child.” ‘Child’ because every human seemed like a baby compared to Madja. “There is power inside her.” 

“Power?” Rhysand asked with the raise of an eyebrow. 

“Nothing like fae magic. But it’s something no human should possess.”

“A witch?” Cassian asked. 

Madja turned to him with a thoughtful look. “Perhaps.” She pat Rhysand on the shoulder. “I shall retire for now. If anything changes, please let me know.”

“Thank you, Madja.” Rhysand answered. 

“A witch? Why make such a bargain?” Azriel asked. “She could be a plant, someone to destroy Night from the inside. Eris promised loyalty, but what if his intentions were to have the Night Court for himself?” 

“His desperation was not political,” Rhysand corrected. “It was personal.” 

“How?” Cassian asked. 

“We believe she is his mate,” Feyre told the group. 

“If Beron would kill one of his son’s lovers for being a lesser fae,” Rhysand began. “What do you think he would do to a human girl who was his heir’s mate?” 

“Well, I pity her, being stuck with that bastard for the rest of her life,” Nesta thought aloud. Then she cleared her throat, “To answer your earlier question, she may stay here at the House of Wind. If she does have ulterior motives, it’s better to keep her contained all the way up here. I don’t want her anywhere near my nephew.” 

Rhysand smirked at the subtle protectiveness Nesta often showed for Nyx. 

“I shall be back in the morning,” Rhysand told her. “Hopefully she’ll be awake by then and I can speak with her.”  

----

Let me know what ya'll think. This is my first fic in the ACOTAR fandom and I truly don't know how of many of there are out there on tumblr. I could be just throwing shit into a void for all I know.

chapter ii

[physalian]

On Grimdark (Or conditioning your audience for cynicism)

Because Game of Thrones is on my mind again for the Hardhome sequence. Everyone has their two cents about the grimdark genre but one thing I don’t see discussed at much length, or widely enough, is how wrapping up a grimdark story has one unique challenge: If you establish a world where everything is miserable and characters are selfish and honorless and there’s no hope for heroism or selflessness, you will not be able to sell your audience on a satisfying ending unless everyone is dead.

What I mean by this is if you have your one little flicker of hope in your protagonist or even a side character, the odds of them having a happy ending in a world that you’ve written to consistently show the worst in people, that ending becomes too unrealistic to feel earned.

In other words, Game of Thrones, but also The Walking Dead and on some level, The Boys. In all three of these (have not caught up to The Boys past Jensen Ackles’ season), the threat of doom is so insurmountable that every victory is consistently one step forward, three steps back.

In GoT it’s corruption and the infallible nefarious ways of the villains and their villainous agenda that keep winning while the good guys keep dying. In The Walking Dead every beacon of hope for a cooperative society for humanity dug out of this zombie hellscape is squandered by organized sadism. In The Boys, the hero propaganda machine and institutionalized living weapons where even the good guys are bad guys, there is no way to win aside from nuking the planet and starting over.

—

I don’t mind grimdark academically. I think it’s interesting to explore as a way to interpret the psychology of the author and what compels someone to both write and enjoy content that’s just misery porn. Grimdark has its place in the cultural zeitgeist as a controlled dose of suffering to help us feel better about the world we live in, like watching horror movies for a controlled dose of terror.

It has its (not as deep as it thinks it is) cultural commentary about the human nature or the political landscape or how we treat our heroes or the tragedy of war, etc and tends to feel more gritty and realistic to what these fantasy worlds could be like without all the hope and optimism. There is a place for it.

However, constantly hammering your audience over and over again with a message of hopelessness and that chivalry is dead and that anyone smiling is naive, dumb, or lying Pavlovs your audience into expecting it all the way to the end.

Meaning: The ending of GoT was a dumpster fire, and it was always going to be. If this is the reason the author hasn’t finished writing it, I wouldn’t be surprised. This is a universe where (spoiler alert):

Sexism, racism, rape, assault, slavery, abuse, torture, child murder, and animal abuse are the law of the land.

Pedophiles walk among us and continue to get away with it (specifically Littlefinger) for far too long.

Even when the good guys take the bad guys down with them, the other bad guys resurrect the corpses of the defeated bad guys to continue carrying out their evil schemes, or Oberyn and The Mountain.

Children are burned at the stake for what amounts to be a pointless ritual, because her mother hangs herself and her father loses catastrophically in battle and then dies, or Shireen.

Sansa’s entire arc. All of it. She gets no reprieve for five whole seasons.

So when you’re staring at the mess you’ve made trying to come up with a satisfying ending for so many arcs, you find yourself with a problem: This world doesn’t run on happy endings. You’ve spent 7 seasons proving happy endings are childish and stupid. You have no way to end this cathartically, because by the rules of your world, all your heroes will end up murdered in gruesome ways. Congrats.

But maybe I’m just bitter.

Like this whole iron throne business. Melting it was the only course of action. Why? No matter who sits on it, the life expectancy of those who do is criminally short. Bran probably died choking on a chicken bone shortly after the end credits.

There is no evidence given in-universe for anyone disappointed that they didn’t end up king or queen to just sit back and take it without continuing to scheme and plot and get a lot of people killed.

There is no evidence to suggest that any of these people would realistically rally together to fight a common enemy without stabbing each other in the back once the threat is handled.

There is no evidence that these people would let bygones be and cheer for the new and just ruler to take the throne indisputably.

While the show does have its bright moments of camaraderie, loyalty, and trust, they are vastly outnumbered by the so-called “realistic” nature of the rest of Westeros. In no reality in the current canon would any leader be able to rule because they’re loved more than they’re feared. That’s not how this show operates, thus there is no way to end the series with your audience confident that Bran or Sansa or Jon or whoever would have actually led the kingdom into brighter futures. They’d just be dead just like their naive, dumb, dad.

—

The Walking Dead is no different. The unofficial motto of the show was that the walkers are bad, but the true enemy of humanity is other humans. Every new group of people either got murdered for being too weak, or did the murdering. In a world where the mortality rate vastly outpaces the birthrate and every group has become jaded and cynical enough to shoot first and ask later, anything less than humanity going out on a bitter and cynical end wouldn’t fit the established tone.

I didn’t watch past the season where Carl was killed off in the conspiracy of the year, but I didn’t think I had to. Killing off Carl was the beginning of the end—they symbolically and literally killed the future of humanity. Judith exists, but Carl is just old enough to remember what the world was like before, to have context for how humanity should be, where Judith doesn’t.

They never made any significant efforts to find a cure or more substantial means of eradicating the walkers. There was no overarching goal of the characters beyond Just Survive Somehow. It just wasn’t sustainable to ever have a satisfying ending, especially when no matter if you get bit or not, you become a walker when you die. So even if they all packed up and sailed to a remote island free from walkers, one unseen death could wipe out their entire camp.

It was always going to be a Sysyphisian task to end that show in a meaningful way, and I don’t think they even tried.

—

The Boys… man, I hate this show. It’s not bad, it’s just not as smart as it thinks it is with all its commentary on the political landscape, as the events they’re criticizing continue to unfold around us. Season two has neo nazis… as real neo nazis are still running amok.

It has the same preaching pitfall that so much liberal content does—if you get too preachy, those who already agree with you will feel talked down to and bludgeoned with your unsubtle message, and those who don’t agree with you won’t feel at all compelled to change sides if you spend every waking second of your show insulting them.

The supers in this show are so omnipresent, so powerful, so staggeringly OP that there is no solution beyond attempting genocide on all of them. There’s no legal avenue to pursue, because you can’t imprison them and they don’t care about petty attempts at enacting justice. You can’t arm the regular humans with basic guns and army gear when the main villain can just laser-eye them all in seconds. You can’t mount a peaceful protest movement or a resistance of any kind when telepaths walk among them and can literally stomp out any signs of nonconformity.

You’ve written yourself an unsolvable problem while trying to write a well-constructed criticism of politics and hero worship. If we can’t solve it in the real world in a single cohesive and satisfying narrative, what makes you think you can?

Anything that tries to kneecap the threat would look weak and cheap, because this show has stuck so close to the ongoing real world narrative. The supers aren’t all robot minions of a hive mind where one bomb that takes out the brain disables the entire hoard. Kill the main bad guy and another will just take his place. There is no winning The Boys, at least the story of it that I’ve seen, and I wasn’t impressed.

—

So no, I don’t like grimdark in application, in settings where you have long-running series with audiences dedicated to following arcs and expecting satisfying endings, because grimdark demands enemies and forces of evil that are just too insurmountable to write a cathartic ending that isn’t cheap or unrealistic.

In both GoT and TWD, since those have finished, they didn’t have to end as disasters. If both had sat down in the writers' room around season 4 of both shows and planned out their five-season step plan to shift the narrative away from grimdark and let their characters actually pursue a viable plan for fixing their miserable worlds, you can still kill off all the characters you want in the name of the end goal of whatever utopia they dream of. But the characters still have to work for it and sacrifice for it and maybe they do lose hope but they keep on keepin’ on despite it.

Grimdark sucks, in my opinion, because as a storytelling convention, it never ends. “Hey what if the world was miserable,” is all well and good, but if your goal is to entertain, how do you tell an entertaining story when the miserable world your characters live in will chew them up and spit out something unrecognizable? I don’t even need a happy ending, but the only convincing ending that grimdark allows is dead heroes and “life sucks get over it”.

—

I don’t know how The Boys is doing or how it will end and I don’t care. I hated it for a lot more reasons than its attempts at sounding smart, like Huey as the most annoying modern Everyman I have seen, and that they didn’t even try to redeem Soldier Boy or stick him in therapy to be an actual better alternative to Homelander, which is what they sought him out for in the first place.

So yeah. Grimdark. Maybe it’s just the late capitalist hellscape we find ourselves in, but why would I read it when I am living it, following characters who don’t have solutions, while watching real leaders who also don’t have solutions?

If you want to write in this genre, more power to you, just think about the long term, overarching goals of your heroes before you get too far in so you can start them on the long road to victory in a believable and satisfying way, otherwise you end up buried in a ditch like the endings of two television juggernauts.

[magnorious]

The Reveal that Changed Percy Jackson

*Spoiler Alert*

I’m talking about the Nico vs Cupid scene in book 8, House of Hades. I picked this scene, even though there were a great many in the original series that defined Percy Jackson as a story far more meaningful than just “cool tweenage demigods with magic and superpowers who fight evil”.

When this book came out, Nico vs Cupid was almost all anyone talked about. Why? Because Nico came out. Nico, an explicitly gay character in a book published by Disney, in a rather high profile series. Nico, the little angsty brat displaced from the timeline, comes out of nowhere with a world-shattering reveal.

House of Hades is already the darkest book in the series and, I think, the most polished and successful with this tone and how it feels so complete. While Percy and Annabeth are in Tartarus, the constant clever and horrific callbacks to quests from prior books quite literally come back to haunt them. The others trying to carry on without them, the ridiculously high personal stakes, the drama, the storytelling, it spares no expense in this book.

The Nico vs Cupid scene was something else, though, and all these years later… I’m not so sure it was done for the better.

—

Independent of the Big Reveal, this scene does a lot of things we’d never seen before in this series, namely this: Cupid is scary, and no one expected him to be.

Percy Jackson, though it does have its serious moments, is the series where the god of wine wears leopard print shirts and the god of the seas has a fishing chair for a throne. These characters quip and joke even when they’re trying to be intimidating and Percy’s personality, snarky and sassy and very rarely shooting straight, undercuts a lot of the attempts at looking competent and threatening (and we love him for it).

They’ve fought gods and monsters and demigods and characters have died really tragic deaths, but for the most part, these serious moments all come when we expect them to.

This scene comes out of nowhere and for anyone who hasn’t read the book in a while, here’s the context: Percy and Annabeth are in Tartarus and Nico is kind of the de-facto leader in their absence, knowing the most about Tartarus of the remaining crew. He and Jason are sent on a side quest to go retrieve the Staff of Diocletian from Cupid and Nico is not at all happy about this venture, but we don’t know why beyond that he’s Nico and he’s never happy.

Right out of the gate, Cupid is not at all who we expect him to be and this fight scene, absent of Percy, is suddenly very serious. Cupid doesn’t quip, he doesn’t show himself, and he fights dirty. The god of love, not the god of war or anything we expect to be violent and dangerous.

He’s whispering in characters’ heads, throwing them around like ragdolls, and taunting Nico ceaselessly all in Jason’s POV. Cupid gets some seriously badass lines, too.

“I’ve been to Tartarus and back,” Nico snarled. “You don’t scare me.” I scare you very, very much. Face me. Be honest.

Love is no game! It is no flowery softness! It is hard work—a quest that never ends. It demands everything from you—especially the truth. Only then does it yield rewards.

“Oh, I wouldn’t say Love always makes you happy.” [Cupid's] voice sounded smaller, much more human. “Sometimes it makes you incredibly sad. But at least you’ve faced it now. That’s the only way to conquer me.”

In all this, unfortunately in Jason POV, we’re primed only once by a previous god finally acknowledging that gays exist in this universe. This universe, based on Greek Mythology, famous for its not-straightness. Even then, audiences have spent 7 and a half books accepting that there won’t be any gays. No one is expecting this from Nico.

So when it comes, when Nico reveals he has a crush on Percy… the fandom lost our minds.

—

And I’m not so sure that’s a good thing, looking back. On the one hand, obligatory “we need representation,” but on the other, there was this one reviewer who knew what was up long before anyone else did.

She’d said something along the lines of raising damning concerns that Nico’s entire character arc was now defined by his homosexuality, that this scene frames all his anger, all his hate, all his rage and depression, about this one aspect of his character, and diminishes him because of it.

All these years later, I’m disappointed to say I agree with her.

This book series’ only major canonical gay (so far) is forced out of the closet with a proverbial gun to his head

Now, Nico likely never would have come out without that gun, but the way it happened, especially in front of Jason who he’s not friends with, showing Jason his memories because it’s not Nico’s POV and Jason has to see somehow because Nico sure won’t detail those scenes himself is... not good?

Jason handles it well, as well as he can given that this is Nico, and Cupid is an explicit villain so him forcing Nico out is in-character and not my problem. The narrative forcing Nico out is the problem—that this is a big reveal both to Jason and the audience is the problem.

The book isn’t new and with respect to when it was written and who wrote it, it’s not a terrible scene or terrible representation. But it’s not just forcing Nico out of the closet, either.

All of Nico’s character development is retroactively pinned on his sexuality

I get it. Nico’s… 14? 14 and from an era where being who he is was a death sentence, with zero education on the matter. Internalized homophobia is a thing (though Nico doesn’t actually seem to hate himself for being gay, he hates himself for crushing on Percy. Nor does he hate other gays or the concept).

Nico, though, is the one demigod who can summon any ghost he could dream up to teach him to hate himself a little less. He could have summoned the ghost of Freddie Mercury and what a dazzling mentorship that would have been.

The way the scene is framed makes it look like all of Nico’s rage comes from this one relationship, when it comes from so much more. He’s a son of Hades, a god no one trusts or likes and is synonymous with death, evil, and deceit. His sister, his last living relative, died on a quest as just a teenager. He has no friends at camp, powers that scare people, and is almost a century removed from everything and everyone he knew in his old life.

And he went and left camp *only* because of his crush on Percy? Not for any other reason?

When he does get his crush on Will, that only makes it worse. Nico did have friends, even if he didn’t believe it. He did have Percy and he’d earned the respect of his fellow campers after the Battle of Manhattan. He back-slid in HOH for this reveal, as if a romance is the only thing that could make him happy.

Cupid’s message is the narrative’s message: The only way to conquer love is to face it [in combat]

With a gun to his head, in front of a veritable stranger, instead of in, I don’t know, therapy with Apollo? There couldn’t have been any other way to fit this reveal in? He couldn’t have made his own group therapy session with other ghosts? Persephone or Demeter never sat this boy down for The Talk with a literal captive audience?

And that it’s a “reveal” at all, in incredibly dramatic fashion, a plot twist for shock value. The book couldn’t drop hints in Nico POV? Couldn’t casually state it anywhere at any time in the previous 3 books? Couldn’t treat it at all like this is normal and not a life-or-death situation?

I just feel bad for the kid. Nico can’t be the only demigod who has a guilty, unrequited crush. Cupid is forcing this out of him because that crush happens to be on another boy.

It’s in Jason’s POV

This world shattering, deeply personal reveal, and the character who’s having it isn’t even the narrator. Jason is a fine character and I know why it’s him out of everyone who could have gone with Nico, but this should have been solely Nico’s moment, not Jason’s commentary about Nico’s moment, being a non-consenting voyeur into Nico’s very personal memories about Percy.

Even if it’s not Jason’s POV to retain the surprise, it certainly starts to feel like Jason’s POV to retain the surprise. Jason can still be present, but even then—Cupid needed Nico to face Cupid, not Cupid and Jason.

—

It sucks because the scene as a whole, removed from the context, is incredible. The choreography, the pacing, the intensity of the battle, Cupid as a villain and Nico and Jason’s desperation to just stay alive.

Its impact on the series can’t be ignored. Blood of Olympus is no one’s favorite. It’s a terrible last book and not all that great as a book, period, but the ending?

Among other travesties, Nico confronts Percy, tells him he had a crush on him, and then *immediately* starts pining after Will. Percy doesn’t get the chance to talk to him, stunned at this reveal. They never have a heartfelt conversation about it, what this means for their friendship, how Percy never noticed or how this makes him feel, if he’s at all guilty for potentially leading Nico on and being a bad friend.

We get none of that. Nico just finds a pretty blond boy after, what, four years pining after Percy? One awful confrontation with Cupid and a few lines of dialogue traded with Jason and all his angst and moodiness is cured off-screen.

Can’t Nico go five minutes where he figures out who he is before he’s trading one crush for another? Can he not define himself independently of who he likes for just a couple chapters? He tells Jason after the Cupid fight that he’s over it, but… c’mon, he’s absolutely lying there, or he wouldn’t have been so hurt and upset and hesitant to reveal himself.

I love that he’s popular now, I love that he does have a healthy relationship (one that eclipsed the whole fandom for better or for worse), but the way he went about becoming popular still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Nico did walk so the rest of the series' extended universe could run. We did get Solangelo, we got Apollo being Apollo, we got a world based off Greek Mythology that stops straight-washing history. It's just a shame that he had to be forced out the way he did, and that his whole character is now defined by his relationship with Will.

[corneille-moisie]

I wanna talk about this twin eagles statue in the entrance of the Kingsbarrow (There are potential spoilers in this post ! It's indicated where they are, but you might want to avoid this post all together if you don't want anything spoiled at all. This being said, hurry ! Play the game ! XD)

There's a lot of imagery going here, but let's begin by the beginning.

The twin eagles is the symbol of Heliodor, right ? It's on its banners, it's a huge golden statue, in the castle, at the bottom of the staircase leading to the throne room, it's on King Carnelian's brooch, it's on the heliodoran guards' capes, and it's on the armour of both Hendrik and Jasper, amongst other things :

Hendrik and Jasper, at this point in the early story, are considered heroes, according to the book found in the house in the far eastern part of town (yes, the one some tourist is looking for, for a side quest), and inseparable, to some extent. I always assumed that the twin eagles were symbolizing the two of them.

But that's also pretty easy to assume, so let's dig a little more.

Mild spoiler alert for Act I after this sentence, as I mention why you're in the Kingsbarrow, what you're fighting in there.

So, two eagles, right ? With weapons. Sitting on an orb.

You get to the Kingsbarrow to retrieve an orb, and to get this orb, you'll need to fight two grim gryphons.

Let's take a look at the weapons on that statue.

A sword, an ax, and a torch. While these can be found in Dragon Quest games since the very first game, I want to point out something else that is going to be a tad bit more spoilerific as I'm going to refer to Act II of the game and your 8th party member. (like... it's weird to only have 7 party members, don't you think ? ;) )

The obvious part here is that both swords and axes are weapons Hendrik can be equipped with, and, sure, you just used a torch to get out of the sewers with Erik, so here's that for direct references, but...

A torch is a symbol for light (duh). Not only is the Luminary someone who can bring the light back to Erdrea after Yggdrasil fell, but he can't do it without the spark of light that Hendrik figuratively becomes by turning Cobblestone into Last Bastion. ("spark of light" being used verbatim by Queen Marina to refer to Hendrik, and again, by (actually) King Carnelian to refer to both Hendrik and the Luminary, both in early Act II)

Then again, and this time, spoilers alert for Act III, after Yggdrasil fell and it is revealed that Jasper is on the bad guy team, Hendrik kind of loses his "twin" knight fellow. But do you know who also turns out to be a knight ? Sylvando. In Act III, Don Rodrigo sends your party to the Kingsbarrow to bring to light that friendship is a very strong weapon. Ultimately, it unlocks a pep power that involves both Hendrik and his ax, and Sylvando and his sword, and which also unlocks the last part of both their skill trees : Fraternity for Hendrik, Chivalry for Sylvando. Friendship/torch + Hendrik/ax + Sylvando/sword = Twin Eagle Statue in the Kingsbarrow lol.

But THEN AGAIN, the whole thing might also be a symbol strictly for Hendrik, as, still in act III (SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER ->), he feels like it's his duty to fight the ghost of Jasper, so his soul can be put to rest. As a result, Hendrik gets the Twin Eagle Armour, as his old companion's soul is now cleansed from Mordegon's influence, now that they finally shed light on what actually happened.

Now, I think that wraps up this info dump that I didn't realize i would do when I first set foot in the Kingsbarrow... I'm gonna go back to the game lmao. Time to go to Hotto :)

[dipperscavern]

idk what’s gotten into me lately. but robb stark & theon greyjoys relationship is genuinely just everything to me. it builds me up and breaks me down in every way shape and form.

the very depiction of brotherhood. growing up side by side, & the show really does their relationship justice.

“It’s your duty to represent your house when your father can’t.”

i always see them in the small scenes. like when robb made the joke about jon never liking a girl better than his own hair, it was theon he turned to first to share laughter. when lord glover (or wtv his name is) started to pull out his sword it was theon who jumped up first, knife out.

& when they find out about his betrayal. when catelyn says “i told you never to trust a greyjoy!”, & robb is just utterly defeated. it’s like you can hear what he doesn’t say out loud.

“i wasn’t trusting a greyjoy, i was trusting theon.”

robb, lord of winterfell, the head of a war he doesn’t want to be in, not having anyone he can trust. catelyn, freeing his biggest advantage in the war behind his back. theon, capturing the home they both grew up in, in the name of a man who sat on his ass at the iron islands while ned stark raised him as his own.

& i know jon tells theon he’s angry because he betrayed ned’s memory. he did, & i’m glad he said it, but nobody ever told him how much he betrayed robb’s memory. he allowed robb to die thinking he burnt winterfell with bran & rickon inside of it.

and because theon took winterfell, robb is called the king who lost the north. it caused robb’s men to lose faith in him, & it set the red wedding up perfectly.

& honestly, it just hurts my heart. so so so bad. i have an ache in my chest whenever i think about it. & i can’t even watch the episode where theon took winterfell. bran & theon in that scene killed me.

“theon. did you hate us the whole time?”

and just like that my face is on the news.

[theofficialpresidentofmars]

been thinking about a less serious totally campy 2000-2010s teen movie adaptation of Hamlet in my spare time (female lead Hamlet and not word-for-word... bite me) after listening to Nirvana's Nevermind on repeat and it was all coming together up until Act 3 Scene 2: The Mousetrap.

Now this one's an interesting one, as seeing as there aren't many travelling actor troupes around these days, often modern takes tend to modernise this performance, with Ethan Hawke's Hamlet utilising the art of indie film and perhaps my all-time favourite take on it, Ryan North's To Be Or Not To Be A Choosable Adventure Book that has Claudius play a Choose Your Own Adventure book within the Choose Your Own Adventure book (spoiler alert- he chooses the kill-your-brother path). In this way I am a fan of when the play-within-a-play is changed to suit the medium of adaptation, but I wasn't really feeling a movie for the characterisation vibes I was going for.

Until I had possibly the greatest idea ever. While travelling theatre troupes that perform edited renditions of well known plays just out and about are less common, there's another and often more mobile theatre form, close to my heart, that could be utilised to fit this scene well: comedy improv.

Hamlet, hearing word her old theatre group is back in town, inviting her mother and uncle along to an improv night, with a secret plan to reveal her uncle's guilt through the art of theatresports.

It'll probably go either one of two ways: she pulls aside her old teammate, asks for a favour- she knows that it's improv, and the whole point is that it's Not planned ahead, but if just this once she could get a certain scene to play out in front of her parents. and while reluctant, they agree, and on the night, announce a game of New Choice, asking Hamlet to be their caller.

It goes a little something like this:

'I shall now pour the deadly poison down his throat-'

'New Choice!'

'Into his eyes-'

'New Choice!'

'Into his ears!'

'Wow, that's crazy. Poisoned by his own brother. Would be a real shame if he were to go and marry his wife now, wouldn't it be, Claudius?'

Alternatively, instead of asking to rig a game (which is a cardinal sin anyway), Hamlet asks if she can join them for a special round, like old times. She offers to write for a game of Typewriter. Her teammate agrees, then jokingly implies that she's grown rusty, asking if she remembers the most important rule of improv. Rolling her eyes, of course she remembers to yes-and, she says.

She does not yes-and.

She flat out refuses the first two offers from the audience on the ask of 'interesting relationship between two people' until her plant Horatio eventually pipes up with 'wife and brother-in-law', she prefaces her scene with a lengthy disclaimer that it may cover some morbid topics but they shouldn't bother anyone (unless they have something to hide), and proceeds to run the scene with an iron fist, shutting down any offers that don't suit her purpose. Her teammate is making plans to chew her out afterwards when she shuts down their fifth offer to do ANYTHING but keep talking about how great a wife they are and how much they're not going to cheat etc etc. Eventually they get somewhere, and someone's getting poisoned, but then a bell rings and they get the '30 seconds, wrap it up' (about time, the pacing's gone to shit). but instead of wrapping it up in any manner that might salvage the scene, Hamlet takes it as an invitation to suddenly start typing quicker than normal, like she HAS to get all these words out before her time is up, and is ignoring everyone to go on this tangent about the king's death and how the brother takes the throne and she's just started to talk about how he marries the late king's wife (bit weird innit) when her uncle stands up and storms out of the room.

Anyway it would just be fun, methinks.

[vazaha-tya]

One reoccuring concept that is never talked about in depth in Slytherin politics stories that involve a lot of duels (like "ex nihilo" and "hope blooms in the darkest hours" as far as my fics are concerned but also a lot of other writers' works) is that wizards do not feel or understand pain the way muggles do. Why would they, when they can literally vanish and regrow bones? It comes from canon, from the fact that Neville admits his great-uncle threw him out a fucking window, and people just,, accept that.

Weirdly enough, these fics don't do it either, mine included. We accept that the stories are dark and that's what explains the violence and borderline psychopathy of the schoolchildren but we don't necessarily link that to canon and how detached the characters could be with their own pain and others'. The (spoiler alert) amputation scene in ex nihilo isn't more gruesome than many things that happen in canon, but it's been described as Game of Thrones levels of violence and someone asked me to put my fic up for Teens And Up audiences -- which I did, it makes sense. But the framing is different and the lack of reaction to violence is more evident in Slytherin Politics stories than in canon even if it's more or less on the same level. And it's not addressed in either. It's interesting, I think.

Or maybe I'm just rambling about nonsense again, in which case please ignore me.

[thecomfywriter]

📽️Clickbait Title Tag Game 📽️

Heyyo! I'm a bit late sorrryyyyy

Anyway! I got tagged in this by a few people. Shoutout to @the-letterbox-archives @the-golden-comet @drchenquill and @theink-stainedfolk. I'm finally on it. And boy oh boy... yall better buckle in for this. I'm going to do ALL my wips. Even the ones that are still in the hiatus drafts

So, without further ado... Let's get into it

·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙

Throne of Vengeance (ToV):

Volume 1:

getting emotionally attached to a literal mass murderer (oopsies! 🥰)

Volume 2:

watch me enter my villain arc 😀 (these are the consequences of my actions)

Light of the Flame Series (LotF):

CoS:

accidentally becoming an accomplice to murders i (technically) didn't commit (SOS)

GotN:

emotionally neglected child goes rogue and conquers an entire enemy territory

EoJ:

spiralling into my ✨insanity era ✨ because a serial killer killed my mother and now i want revenge

MotT:

oops! i accidentally stole the throne from my older sisters

SoC:

oh no! the nation i abandoned ended up as a warzone!

LotF:

literally gambling with the gods to save my best-friend-who-im-totally-not-in-love-with (trust me)

The Chronicles of Elayza (CoE):

tSS:

STORYTIME! i got drunk and ended up in the middle of a pirate conspiracy

tLW:

help! i'm stuck in the middle of the monster-ridden ocean (they made me WALK the PLANK)

tAV:

washing up on an island filled with beautiful women... what could go wrong (spoiler alert: EVERYTHING)

tBC:

getting eaten by a whale and kidnapped by a bunch of mermen (life hates me)

tHC:

escape a hospital with me! (i have 32 stab wounds and should be on bed rest)

tFO:

reuniting with my ex-best friend who stabbed me 32 times (EMOTIONAL)

P:

watch me get an exorcism! (i'm being possessed by the god of chaos)

The Inkarnyus Series (TIS):

E1:

i'm technically a tyrant, but i've brainwashed everyone int thinking i'm a good person

E2V1:

help! i've been isekai'd into a literal hellhole nation right before my finals!

E2V2:

my older sister's sexy bodyguard might like me back-- what should i do? 😜

E3V1:

embarrassing myself on live television so no one can foce me to become a princess

E3V2:

so... i'm a princess. now what?

E3V3:

someone pissed me off so not only did i wage war against them, but i... got engaged?

E4V1:

yup. i knew it was too good to be true

E4V2:

waging war on my fiancé because he fumbled the bag

E5V1:

i lost... the battle! but i won the WARRRR, BITCHESSS

E5V2:

all my exes in a ballroom together-- who do i dance with (btw, i'm married)

E5V3:

my sister-in-law might hate me... idk (she tried to kill me 4 times now)

The Adventures of Neha and Serina (AoNaS):

B1:

bullying a supervillain and gaslighting a sailor into thinking i'm a mermaid

B2:

enacting my plan for reverse-colonization (it actually worked???)

B3:

STORYTIME! my sister got abducted by a sadistic octopus! 💀🐙

B4:

trying to escape a time loop (HARD MODE)

·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙

Okay phew! that was long, but fun :)

Bro, i should've been a 2016 youtuber frfr. LOOK AT THOSE TITLES

Gorgeous.

ANYWAY... Per usual, i'll be tagging the TCW crew and the last 10 people that interacted with my posts. If you want to be added to the TCW tag list, interact with this post here.

TCW Tags List:

@lunaeuphternal @the-golden-comet @renasdoodles

@drchenquill @zackprincebooks @wyked-ao3 @satohqbanana

@toragay-writing @the-letterbox-archives @kind-lion

@mysticstarlightduck @agirlandherquill @storyteller-kara

@dahliaontherun

Last 10 people to interact: *

*i really hope yall are actually writeblrs. something, i can't tell because there is a lot of writing reblogs, but not a lot of wip content??? so ignore this if you're not actually a writer who wants to share their own work! :)

@lortar @willtheweaver @finickyfelix

@empressxmachina

@saturnshai @waterdeeparchivist @teenageanimepositivitycookie

@iriscottage @sizzlingpaperlover @the-galaxy-aint-green

Happy Writing!