#//I do like that being a reason why Alice in particular wanted to keep an eye out on him over most others in Mond (save Bedo & Klee)

[dutybcrne]

Me, chilling vibing: :)

My brain: So, what if Diluc also had time spent in the Abyss while in his jaunt in Snezhnaya bc he'd fallen to it in trying to escape pursuit by the Fatui/a Harbinger, and thus his particular pursuit of the Abyss Order happened to result of the things he'd seen there and the creatures that tried to prey on his grief/negative emotions, thus wanting to protect the people of Mondstadt from such things. Part of the reason he was able to survive using the Delusion constantly happened to be unwittingly being tainted by it. Though not without price-

[prideprejudce]

Also kind of related to the last alicent ask-- how objectively funny is it that the targaryens pulled alicent kicking and screaming into their weird blood purity incest tangle. For them, having uncle fathers and brother husbands and just generally blurring all the lines between family and romantic interest is sooooo normal. Yes its done massive damage to their psyches as we've seen with daemon in particular- but its passé to them at this point. For Alicent its breaking her BRAIN.

Like, Alicent who's deeply religious in a very westerosi faith and has classic nuclear family adjacent issues in contrast- overbearingly strict father, dead pedestalized mother to emulate, estranged sibling- is just SHOVED into the targaryen familial polycule and told to figure it out.

She keeps trying to bind herself to westerosi gender roles for comfort and safety, but bc of the targs she's now married an father/uncle figure, the girl who was supposed to be her sister growing up is now her daughter AND shes in love with her, her children are basically her siblings, and ALSO she's two of their mother in law(s?). Throw in the desperate parentification of aemond bc its not like viserys is helping her raise these kids-and its fucking her up!!! how is she supposed to have any sense of self when every role she would define herself by in a patriarchal westerosi culture has been fractured into twisted branches!!

It spiders into her other rationships too!! Her father otto has been treating her like both a daughter AND a pseudo wife, criston her lover keeps trying to assert himself over her choices in a very fatherly condescending way, and her brother gwayne is out in oldtown fathering her third son.

I sent an ask a while ago about how the tragedy of the alicent/rhaenyra/aegon triangle is that its an allegory for how targs just cant acclimate to westeros at all and end up breaking their dynasty AND the country by trying to force their culture to fit anyways, and i think you were so right in ur response that its not just rhaenyra/aegon/alicent who are the allegory but its ALL the targs in relation to alicent thats the allegory- they just cannot work with Alicent/westeros while she/its trapped in the current westerosi culture.

its hilarious bc it really is like having ONE catholic nun in an insane echo chamber hedonism cult and then being like 'why are you going insane bc of the incest and sex we're so over it it hasn't effected us whatsoever maybe if you try the kool aid you'll chill out' while she's desperately pretending none of this is happening and she's Not Involved.

this is a great point, and if you also go back to her as a child saying "you targaryens do have very queer customs" with noticeable disgust on face, and flash forward a decade later where she's marrying two of her children together in typical targaryen incest practices. I wish they had explored this more in the show and looked into how she feels about this currently, but I can't imagine she feels too great about it, and it's probably the reason why she went ULTRA religious with a five pound star medallion almost hanging from her neck. she wants at least some repentance for playing along in targaryen incest rituals, which goes against everything she was raised to believe

and like you mentioned, if you look close enough, almost EVERY relationship that alicent has is majorly twisted by either targaryen customs or her own stunted growth from being a child bride. she's now a grown woman who still has the mind of a 15 year old and is trying to navigate a civil war that she helped ignite in her rage and jealousy over her own private hell for last decade. she also swings from a protective parent role to having an almost eldest sibling like relationship with her kids who desperately crave more motherly affection from her that she is just not able to give (because she cant completely seal off her deep down resentment of them)

and to top it off, the purest relationship in her life (rhaenyra) with genuine love was also twisted into a familial one through an arranged marriage. if you also headcanon her possible romantic feelings for rhaenyra, you can times three that trauma on your score card as well

alicent literally was forced into the targaryen world of the snake eating its own tail (reduced to a bargaining chip for otto) with decades of inbreeding and family infighting for power and control and was told to play nice with them. no wonder she's out in the woods wandering around and dissociating lmao

[hotdaemondtargaryen]

TOM GLYNN-CARNEY INTERVIEWED BY VANITY FAIR MAGAZINE.

KING AEGON COULD BE A VERY ONE-NOTE VILLAIN CHARACTER, BUT IN YOUR HANDS IS NOT. HOW DID YOU APPROACH CALIBRATING AEGON?

"I think anybody who has the darker side to them as the more prominent side — the side that people see first —there’s always a reason for that."

"I dug into that and found a lot of his boyish vulnerability, insecurities, and self-hatred — stuff that he’d been drip-fed his entire life."

"He wasn’t even a spare, you know? He was just completely ignored."

"He was invisible to most people, which is why he behaved in such a way — to numb himself."

But also to say: "Hey, I’m here as well."

"Any attention was good attention for Aegon."

"I find him less of a villain and more of a tragic case."

CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHY AEGON DECIDED TO FLY TO ROOK'S REST AT ALL?

"It was that moment — well, it’s an accumulation of moments — but that one in particular where Alicent says, 'Do exactly what is required of you: nothing'."

"That was the final dagger in the heart."

"A real cold reminder that he really is seen as being useless."

"A pawn for Alicent and Otto [Rhys Ifans] to use as a puppet."

"But at the end of the day, the law of the land states that he’s the monarch."

"He’s the king."

"He’s the person to call the shots."

"And no one’s gonna fucking stop him from getting on that dragon if he wants to."

"So he got absolutely obliterated drunk and thought, I’m gonna show them."

WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE LIKE SHOOTING THE BIG DRAGON FIGHT SCENE?

"Cool, man."

"It’s kind of a little boy’s dream."

"It’s just something that you think of when you’re a child as being the coolest thing in the world."

"And it really was."

"They basically build a screen around you so you know where to look: what’s expected, what’s coming at you, what’s leaving you."

"Your entire perspective is quite clear."

"And then amongst that, you’re clad in all this armor that has been expertly crafted by some amazing workmanship."

"But then again, you’re crouched over this big saddle, strapped in, feeling like you can’t move."

"That crane has really got a lot of work to do to make it look like you’re moving."

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON, AEGON SAYS THAT AEMOND IS HIS CLOSEST CONFIDANT, AND BY EPISODE FOUR, AEMOND HAS BASICALLY TRIED TO KILL HIM. WHERE DO THEY STAND NOW? AND WHAT'S YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH EWAN MITCHELL, WHO PLAYS AEMOND?

"Oh, Aegon and Aemond’s relationship is very different to Tom and Ewan’s relationship."

"Let’s put that out there." [laughs]

"Look, that is sibling rivalry on a very intense scale, isn’t it? It’s the flip of the switch that can happen when somebody feels pushed out or somebody feels like there’s been injustice."

"I always felt like Aemond saw himself being in that position of power and dealing with it better than Aegon would deal with it."

"But then again, his birth certificate states otherwise."

"It was bound to happen at some point, wasn’t it?"

WAS THERE A PARTICULAR SCENE THAT YOU FELT EXTRA CHALLENGED BY OR INVIGORATED BY?

"He’s never in the same frame of mind twice in one day."

"He’s all over the place."

"Keeping up with his erratic mood swings was the hard part, and was this thing that I was having to stay really focused on."

"There wasn’t particularly one scene that I thought, Oh God, not this one, because all of them are challenging in different ways."

"Even the ones where he’s still and more focused are difficult, because you’ve got that sort of inner Aegon rhythm that is rapid."

"It’s very different to mine."

"It’s maintaining that, but still keeping the tension of the scene."

"I relished the opportunity to play someone with such range and creative potential from an acting point of view."

OLIVIA COOKE, WHO PLAYS ALICENT, HAS NOTED THAT YOU TWO ARE NOT VERY FAR APART IN AGE AT ALL, AND YET ARE PLAYING MOTHER AND SON. HOW DID YOU GUYS WORK TOGETHER TO CREATE THAT FILIAL DYNAMIC?

"Every scene that I’ve had with Olivia, there is never a moment that isn’t filled."

"Everything is just so complex and deeply entrenched in her."

"She means everything she says."

"It’s a rare skill to have."

"As an actor, she has that in truckloads."

"It’s a gift to be able to work with her, to play her son."

"Yeah, [it’s] hilarious."

"She’s only a year older than me."

"I think we manage it because we get on so well."

"We’re pals as well, you know."

"I love Olivia to bits."

"Trust her wholeheartedly."

"We have a laugh. We don’t take it too seriously."

"We have common ground on that."

"But then in the moments where the work is happening, it’s all we care about."

"We care immensely."

"It’s one of those things where in the downtime, after we wrap, we can go for a drink."

"We can have a laugh."

"We connect on a personal level as well as a professional level."

"I think that’s what sort of breeds a healthy and believable performance thing relationship-wise."

THERE'S AN AMUSING SCENE WHERE AEGON IS SITTING AROUND WITH THE LADS AND TALKING ABOUT WHAT HIS SOBRIQUET SHOULD BE. SHOULD HE BE 'AEGON THE BRAVE,' 'AEGON THE WHATEVER,' ETC. WHAT DO YOU THINK HE SHOULD BE CALLED?

"Aegon Toast, probably."

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

Do you think that book!Alicent was a one dimensional evil stepmother and the show has fixed her by making her a sad victim of the men around her? I don't agree with this take but i see so many people argue in favour of stripping her of her agency in the show in that book!Alicent was nothing but a misogynistic caricature made by the sexist maesters.

Thanks for this question anon! I had actually been meaning to write something about the "evil stepmother" accusations that get thrown at book!Alicent because having recently re-read F&B, I just don't see it.

First of all, and I think most notably, Alicent's relationship with Rhaenyra doesn't really deteriorate completely until Daemon returns to court. Before that, we don't really have much information about the first few years of Viserys' marriage. The fandom likes to claim that Alicent was beefing with a 9 year old but that isn't really backed up with much evidence. After the account that nine year old Rhaenyra poured for her new stepmother at Alicent and Viserys' wedding (and on a seriously wtf note, helped undress her father for the bedding, but that's another topic), the next words we have about Alicent and Rhaenyra are when Alicent quips, about Rhaenyra's relationship with Criston Cole, "Ser Criston protects the princess from her enemies, but who protects the princess from Ser Criston?" And y'all? This is not beefing or bullying. Alicent is pointing out that Rhaenyra, now about 13-ish, is in a vulnerable position as an unmarried young woman. Is she also possibly picking up on some weird predatory vibes with Criston? Perhaps (which is also also interesting, considering Criston later defects to Alicent's camp)! Remember, book!Criston is only a year younger than Daemon, so anything between them would not only be completely off limits because Criston is a kingsguard, but also extremely inappropriate just based on their ages alone. Regardless, Rhaenyra is at this point surrounded by a lot of men ("many lords and knights sought her favor") and Alicent alone seems cognizant of the danger this poses.

After this, the relationship between Alicent and Rhaenyra evidently deteriorates, but we're not told precisely how, only that the "amity between Her Grace and her stepdaughter had proved short lived, for both Rhaenyra and Alicent aspired to be the first lady of the realm..." Keep in mind, this is Gyldayn editorializing without a source, and as for being "first lady of the realm," it's just as likely that Rhaenyra was jealous of her stepmother's position as queen as it was that Alicent had any particular animosity towards Rhaenyra. In any case, the book does not suggest that either of them are at fault for the breakdown.

This is also around the time that Otto gets sent home for bugging Viserys about the succession, so that probably had something to do with it, although this still does not amount to Alicent beefing with a child, as it's doubtful she brought up the situation to Rhaenyra herself, but rather she and Otto brought the issue to Viserys. And although I don't really want to get into the succession weeds here, I do want to make it clear that the expectation that Viserys would make his firstborn son his heir was an entirely reasonable one. Everywhere except for Dorne, sons inherit before daughters, and if Viserys had made it clear before he married Alicent that he had no intention of replacing Rhaenyra as heir, Otto might not have married Alicent to Viserys in the first place. There are multiple examples of men with daughters but no sons remarrying in order to get a male heir. It's the only reason Corlys offered Laena as a bride to Viserys (and, arguably, Corlys would have had the leverage to force the issue, which is perhaps one reason why he did not choose Laena). And it wasn't just Otto and Alicent-- people asked "what of the ruling of the Great Council in 101?" But Viserys basically told naysayers to shut up and stop asking. Okay.

Then we have the dress incident, and at this point Rhaenyra is 14, Daemon is back in town, and there's a tourney on. Alicent wears a green dress, Rhaenyra wears a black and red one. It's interesting that in this chapter, no additional context is given to this event. Much earlier in F&B, we do learn that the High Tower is lit green to call its banners against Maegor the Cruel. The show makes this association clear, but Gyldayn does not say that Alicent did this as a declaration of war on Rhaenyra, only that "the queen wore a green gown, whilst the princess dressed dramatically in Targaryen red and black." If you've read F&B, you know that Gyldayn loves editorializing, so the fact that the association made by the show is completely omitted here suggest that Gyldayn lacked this context, or people at the time of the event simply thought it was a green dress with no additional meaning, or perhaps he expected in-world readers to draw their own conclusions (although it's kind of unlike Gyldayn to resist showing off his knowledge when he can). Regardless, after that, the people gave them the nickname the blacks and the greens, and it stuck.

Anyway, it's clear Alicent and Rhaenyra aren't getting along at this point, and they probably resent each other, but there is no mention of Alicent actually doing anything whatsoever to harm Rhaenyra, much less "bullying a child who has just lost her mother" or "beefing with a nine year old." This seems to be a complete invention. Given that book!Rhaenyra is a spoiled only child, by this point a teenager, accustomed to having her father's undivided attention, and now he has a new wife and at this point three new children in his life, it's equally likely that Rhaenyra was feeling displaced and acting out. However, instead of giving her any helpful guidance or correcting her, the trusted adults in her life reinforce her negative feelings, and as we'll see, even use those insecurities to manipulate her. As for Alicent "poisoning her children against Rhaenyra," there's simply zero evidence to back this up. In fact, what eventually happens would seem to suggest that Alicent was at least somewhat concerned about the hostility between her children and Rhaenyra. And here is when things really break down, because this is where Daemon really starts to stir the pot.

Before the tourney, Daemon had been fighting in the stepstones. He returns to King's Landing a hero, and immediately latches onto Rhaenyra. As for Alicent, "although he treated her with all the courtesy due her station, there was no warmth between them, and men said that the prince was notably cool towards her children, especially his nephews, Aegon and Aemond, whose birth had pushed him still lower in the order of succession." So who is, in fact beefing with children? Daemon Targaryen. At the same time, Daemon starts cozying up to Rhaenyra, giving her extravagant gifts, telling her stories, and doing the one thing that is absolutely sure to win over a teenager, being a hater. Daemon hones in on Rhaenyra's issues with Alicent and together they have a great deal of fun openly mocking Alicent and her children, and what Daemon called the "lickspittles" who were in Alicent's camp. This works very well on Rhaenyra because of course it does! Daemon is the cool dragonriding uncle, the handsome Rogue Prince, and Rhaenyra is eating up the attention. She and Daemon have dragonraces and he tells her she's much prettier than Alicent and strokes that teenage ego. It's also at this point that the rumors about Daemon and Rhaenyra having a sexual relationship begin, and Daemon supposedly asks for Rhaenyra's hand in marriage because "who else would take her now?" Keep in mind, she's fourteen. And whether it's true or not, Viserys exiles Daemon again. He goes back to the Stepstones, and things settle down in King's Landing.

Of course the relationship between between Rhaenyra and her stepmother is bad by this point. Her and Daemon have just spent six months mocking her and her children and their supporters. Aegon is only about four or five years old, so the beef has got to be pretty one sided, although even little kids can tell when they're being given the cold shoulder or laughed at. Rhaenyra even makes a point of always referring to them as her half-brothers, rather than simply as her brothers. Still, a few years pass, Rhaenyra is now sixteen, and it's time for her to get married. Alicent proposes she marry Aegon, and one of the reasons she gives is that they don't get along well. "All the more reason to bind them together in marriage," Alicent says, acknowledging that Rhaenyra hating her now six year old younger brother is in fact a big fucking problem. If Alicent hoped for Rhaenyra and Aegon to marry, why on earth would she poison her children against Rhaenyra? But Viserys shoots this idea down, saying "the boy is Alicent's own blood. She wants him on the throne." And yes, of course she does, but she probably also wants him to stay alive.

So, Rhaenyra marries Laenor, and after that there's really no point in trying to maintain any sort of stepmother relationship, is there? Rhaenyra is now an adult, she's married, and she's made her feelings about Alicent and her siblings very clear. At this point, Alicent has to look out for the safety of her children, who are going to be Rhaenyra's biggest rivals. And if they dislike their older half-sister, who can blame them? Again, this is a girl who spent the better half of six months laughing at them. Rhaenyra did nothing but sabotage that relationship. And if Alicent decides she's going to fight for Aegon's inheritance, she's only doing what any mother in her position would do. There's no evidence she does it for power or greed, she simply does it because she doesn't owe Rhaenyra anything and letting someone who is actively hostile to her children take the throne unchallenged, especially when that person's claim is untraditional to say the least, and seen by many as being weaker than that of her sons, would be taking a huge risk with their lives. There's nothing "evil" in Alicent's actions. Book!Alicent did not bully Rhaenyra, did not "beef with a nine year old," or "poison her children against Rhaenyra," in fact, she did what she could to bind them together, but Rhaenyra, (at least in part taking her cues from Viserys and Daemon), was simply not interested. And you know, that's fine too, Rhaenyra doesn't have to love her stepmother or care about her half-brothers. They're much younger and it's natural that she wouldn't be much interested in them. But as heir to the throne? It sure would have been a much smarter idea to cultivate those relationships.

Book!Alicent isn't an "evil stepmother" though either, after a certain point she she simply prioritizes her own children over someone who has made it abundantly clear she has no use for any of them.

[toneelspeelster]

ethics of motherhood: the jane / charlie spring essay

ever since the release of the second season of heartstopper i've seen so many different opinions on jane spring as a parent; she's the absolute devil, overbearing, completely against understanding charlie and his relationship with nick etc. etc. but i would like to delve into why i think the way alice set up jane spring in s2 is a /great/ gateway into a deeper, nuanced storyline between jane and charlie because, quite honestly - it's clearly long overdue. once again, i'd like to use backstory from the comics to infer what might be happening to jane in the series and how, maybe a bit surprisingly to some - charlie is in some respects a lot more like her than you might think.

please note: this is not an apology, or an excuse to jane's behaviour as a mother to charlie; i just want to give her actions a context and i think, show the room for growth which I think would be a beautiful, very nuanced, storyline between parent and child to take on in charlie's mental health story in s3/4.

(tw for parental abuse, discussion of eating disorder)

one thing that really informs jane spring as a character and as a mother in general is her own mother. we see in the comics that her mother is a. physically abusive and b. does not allow jane to have any criticism against her and uses that as a reason for the abuse.

jane later tells charlie the following on her relationship with her mother, acknowledging the effect that her mother had on her - to an extent. she softens the things that happened to her.

jane knows this of her being a mother: she's overbearing, her mother was too, and she was also hoping to be very different to what her mother was to her.

now what i think is a vital thing to consider is the following: jane grew up in a household where she was physically and emotionally unsafe. she was hit for expressing normal teenage behaviour. it should be okay to sometimes not agree with your parents and pushing back at them. they should provide you with a safe method of communication for doing so but they never taught jane that. as a result, i think it's a very human response of people to try and make sure they deal with things differently when they get older; but that also can result in overcompensating behaviour.

my feeling is that jane is overly focused, i think unconsciously, on keeping in particular charlie safe, and in that sometimes loses sight on making him feel actually (emotionally) safe. because safe means to jane: performing well in school, not doing anything that might be dangerous, but also: keep in line with expected social behaviour. what is the safest thing, jane thinks? that your behaviour is perfect. because if you don't give others any reason to think you're being out of order (in whatever way), you will not get abuse. safe is being perfect, doing everything perfectly. you can and should control your life in such a way that it will be possible for things to be perfect.

and guess who feels that way too?

kids learn a lot more from their parents than they would think (or even like).

one of the most interesting changes from novel to tv series i think, is the change of having jane not being immediately supportive of nick from the get go; as it fits in quite well with jane's character trait of being focused on charlie's safety (and by extension julio's character, but he goes about this differently and quite honestly... can be quite of a wet wipe lol) and exercising control over his behaviour to make him safe in her own eyes. she wants him to be socially presentable ("please change out of your pyjamas to meet guests"), to focus on school work, and for him to listen to her when she says he needs to come home; in a sense i think she wants to be aware of where charlie is at a given time and not too stay out too late, because the night? that might be dangerous.

we have to remember that charlie was severely bullied only a year ago, and julio's constant reminders of charlie in s1 of please calling him when the situation gets out of hand with nick's circle of "friends", indicates to me that his parents were aware of the bullying, maybe being informed by ajayi bc i don't see charlie being able to tell that to his parents himself. so: nick's "sort" (tao mentions his circle as "exactly the sort of people who bullied [charlie]") are in jane's eyes boys to be weary of.

so when charlie tells his parents, jane doesn't totally trust it.

this is worsened when it turns out nick is also going on the paris trip. for charlie, that's not the only reason to on the trip at all, but the way the conversation goes with julio's comment that's the reason why he wants to go, this is where nick gets associated in her mind with charlie as something that she needs to be aware of and perhaps even intervene. to make sure he's safe. she needs to control the situation if it goes wrong.

which she does. almost immediately. when charlie shows behaviour out of the ordinary for him and the only cause she sees is nick; he's the new factor in all of this.

it's like she thinks if she doesn't completely nip this behaviour in the bud in a very hard way, all the bad things imaginable will come immediately. like charlie would flunk school within a few weeks. charlie, who's been a high achiever! julio's response is actually quite appropriate, i personally think: it's not a wonder that you're unfocused bc you have been spending time a lot (which we've seen! on screen!) but also i don't want ban you from seeing him completely, just set some boundaries.

interestingly enough, this is also due to charlie overly focusing his efforts on keeping nick essentially perfectly safe in his coming out as well; unfortunately, in that final scene shown above, he's just realised that he's got no control over nick's coming outs being perfect, as david has shown to be very biphobic and dismissive of nick in a way that neither nick or charlie had any say in or could even prevent from happening. jane has the option of trying to control things because she's his mother and has some authority over his life.

jane disappears in the show after this issue of charlie handing in his course work gets resolved for a while, so it does seem like she very much keeps to her word afterwards.

she comes back in time for some growth. tori rightly mentions that the family dinner is not something that their mum would totally enjoy bc tori has seen the criticism jane has regarding nick. but charlie does know nick, feels emotionally safe with him, especially after their convo in the louvre and nick being open about his dad, so charlie is right in saying nick, as a person not the idea that jane has of him by association, might convince her.

and he does.

nick can be trusted; nick has come out to his neglectful parent, chastised his older brother for being an asshole, mentions he feels happy with his life with charlie and living openly as his boyfriend and apologises to his mother for ruining the dinner (a sign of a well mannered boy!). and when sarah tells jane that this is something that she's never seen nick do and that must be of nick's deep care for charlie, jane thinks..

and comes around (a bit).

unfortunately, her overt focus on charlie's grades slipping being due to nick's influence in his life completely makes her neglect the signs that charlie is not eating well (that's something that is building up so gradually that i don't think she sees it as an option). there are some great metas on here by @ finnicksannie regarding this being one of the biggest reasons why charlie's grades are actually slipping.

all in all, i just want to close by saying this is a deeply traumatised mother parenting a deeply traumatised son and they both need time and therapy for a better understanding of the communication between them.

and i think the end of season 2 sets up a nice storyline about that quite nicely. jane accepts nick in their circle, but her communication with charlie has not been resolved; it's just a little tick towards her needing to trust charlie more. he's got good instincts. she's starting to realise.

this is all not an excuse. it's a set up for a responsibility on jane's part to work to communicate with charlie better. but life is life. and we're humans. sometimes we need to learn to grow.

and in the mean time, in the small moments, maybe with what you would say is the bare minimum, with not agreeing with charlie's self deprecation, jane does show her love of her son.

i don't think it's without reason that this was shown.

--

i have not read the novel solitaire / nick & charlie / this winter. feel free to add in comments if there's something in there too! but i do feel the series might incorporate jane's storyline maybe a little bit differently than from in the books; but it sounds like her controlling behaviour is a throughline to it all.

[akaikali]

also im about to be real honest here, i completely understand why sam is annoyed/angry.

firstly, if im interpreting this correctly, sam and alice seem to have had issues about alice being controlling in the past, possibly when they were still dating. i'm willing to kind of skim over that because i don't know the details, however i can see that being a reason why they broke up, alice kept hiding things and being a bit controlling for sam's sake, but sam doesn't need that and he doesn't like having someone influence his choices.

let me also preface with: as a control freak i also see why alice comes off a bit controlling. its not out of malice its just that she thinks she can keep everyone safe if they just listen to her. telling sam to ignore all the institute stuff just constantly shooting him down on that is just her way of protecting him because it worked for her. the problem is, they're two different people. alice just doesn't have that same need to know that sam does, which is why sam just isn't able to leave it alone and having alice constantly shut him down hurts.

and i guess thats probably also the difference in dynamic between sam and celia vs sam and alice i think? just with the way they talk to sam, it seems like alice wants sam to agree with her, while celia wants sam to express his own feelings (also just to clarify this is not me saying I dislike alice. she's a character with flaws, and that's good. i can still love her but also see her flaws and talk about them and how it affects herself and her relationships).

additionally, alice has a very strong personality and can sometimes come off a bit pushy and as much as i understand that is her character and a lot of her self-defense mechanism, sam has no context of the dangers. alice and the audience do. so to sam, it would have just felt like she's just unnecessarily beating down on him before alice revealed that she didn't actually think sam was losing it and that he was actually onto something.

the deleting files tho is a huge thing for me personally though i HATE it when people do things behind my back even if its for my own good.

i know she really is just trying to protect him but at the same time, if i were in sam's position, i would be a bit annoyed too. this entire time, she's been making fun of him, telling him off, basically doing whatever she can to make him believe that there is nothing to the magnus institute. and now, shes telling him after all of that, he was actually right about something but she STILL wont tell him everything?

she wants to protect him but she's also so far in denial thinking that if he doesn't know anything he will be safe. and sam and i are similar in the sense that we feel like we NEED to know everything so i feel like i understand his overall frustration

again, this is not any hatred or dislike towards alice, I love her. this is just me noticing a particular character flaw of hers and seeing how it affects her relationship with others and herself.

[aspoonofsugar]

A Cat Most Curious And A Caterpillar Most Done

Some thoughts on the episode. Not many original ideas, but it is fun to revisit what we got this week.

CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT, BUT SATISFACTION BROUGHT IT BACK

This saying is the CC in a nutshell:

Curious Cat: Please, please hurry... I have many many questions!

Which in itself is interesting for 2 reasons:

They have a rather peculiar role in the Ever After

They are an embodyment of change

The Curious Cat's Role

What is CC's role in the Ever After? Obviously it is to be curious and to ask questions. Not only that, but they can move freely through the acres, rather than being tied to one, like the Hunters Mice or the Red Prince. Finally, they claim they can easily reach the tree:

Curious Cat: You do not go to the tree. The tree goes to you. Unless of course you are me... you see?

Let's use for a moment our meta-lens and let's recap everyone's probable roles:

RWBY are the protagonists

Neo is the antagonist, who might make herself a writer

Jaune might have lost himself in the role of side-character (The Rusted Knight)

The Tree is the protagonists' final objective

What is CC, then? Which role are we lacking? Who is the one who can jump to the very end of the story and move freely through the pages of a book? Who is the one who keeps asking questions and wants to always get new things and to discover how the story goes on?

CC: There is just so many characters to keep track of! Wait, what was my original question?

Yep, that is the reader (or the viewer in RWBY's case). This might be why CC hilariously embodies the fandom with all the theories, the impatience, the confusion... Their questions and thoughts are our questions and thoughts because like us, the CC can engage with the story freely, with no particular stake. They can follow the protagonists around or jump to other stories, series or characters they like.

Time changes and so do we, when it's our time to change

The CC can't stay put, their questions keep changing and they have the attention span of a goldfish... They are also introduced in an episode where a mysterious butterfly is shown flying around:

Butterflies are symbols of death and rebirth. They represent change and the CC is often shown following them around. Basically, the CC may be linked to change, transformation and evolution. Because of this, it is not surprising they state the theme of the episode out loud at the very beginning:

Curious Cat: So why would I ever want to go back? Not sense in seeing a sight scene.

Younger Yang: You don't have to go forward, you know? You could go back!

At the end of the episodes the protagonists are asked exactly this. Do they want to go back or to push forward? Do they want to keep growing and developing or do they prefer to regress? Like the Red King apparently did?

The Herbalist: This is how a King winds up a Prince

And here we come to the third episode that explores the inner child archetype:

Episode 2 shows us a positive embodyment of the inner child in the form of Little > they are sweet, pure, hopeful and idealistic

Episode 3 shows us a negative embodyment of the inner child in the form of the Red Prince > he is selfish, rude, unable to deal with his feelings

Episode 4 is a synthesis and asks us the question... how can you make use of the inner child without regressing?

In other words, how can Ruby grow up without losing her childhood innocence? How can she push forward without giving up her hope? How can she combine the quick and safe route (pragtmatism) with the beautiful one full of flowers (idealism)?

Can she even do it? Or will she be undone?

I AM THE HERBALIST... UNTIL I AM NOT ANYMORE

The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and addressed her in a languid, sleepy voice.

“Who are you?” said the Caterpillar.

This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, “I—I hardly know, sir, just at present—at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.”

“What do you mean by that?” said the Caterpillar sternly. “Explain yourself!”

“I can’t explain myself, I’m afraid, sir,” said Alice, “because I’m not myself, you see.”

The Herbalist is clearly a revisitation of Alice in Wonderland's Caterpillar. In general, the episode takes several lines and concepts of the Caterpillar's chapter and re-arranges them differently to fit RWBY's story. Just like in the book, WBY want to get back to their normal size. Except their physical problem is clearly a metaphor for a more existentialist one. Alice doesn't know who she is because her size keeps on changing and her thoughts and emotions keep transforming, as well. WBY want to get back to normal, but their size doesn't matter that much:

Curious Cat: I don't see what the fuss is about. Most of my best friends are six inches tall.

What's important is who they are inside:

The Herbalist: We all have our titles, our roles to play, but in order to help you become whatever it is you need to become, you really should have a better understanding of what you are now.

This misunderstanding is why their meeting with the Herbalist doesn't go so well. RWBY want to simply have a remedy for their size, but the Herbalist wants to help them find their role.

The Herbalist themselves, though, are clearly struggling with their purpose. In this, they are a clear foil to Ruby (our girl foils all the Ever After's characters :P). The Herbalist earnestly wants to help RWBY:

Yang: Look, can you help us or not? The Herbalist: I am trying, but you are making it more complicated that it needs to be!

Their role is to help people find their purposes, but it is clear this duty has started to weigh on them. Everybody goes to them for help! And people even refuse to listen, just like the Red Prince! Why can't people understand the process is important? Why won't they answer earnestly to the questions? Why won't they self-reflect a little?

The Herbalist is tired. They keep trying to help, but people are their own worst enemies and so things keep going wrong. Isn't it exactly what is going on with Ruby?

Younger Ruby: It's up to you to make things better, isn't it? Everything... all depends on you! Your sister needs you, your friends need you. The whole world needs you to keep fighting forever and ever against an invincible monster that took your mother!

She has been trying SO hard to help everyone, but people lose hope, they get divided when they should stick together, they are selfish and betray each other. They give in to fear and control...

Ruby is just so done as the Herbalist is. This is why both characters have slowly lost touch with what they should do. With the true essence of their roles:

The Herbalist: And what exactly does a Huntress do? Ruby: Fight monsters, I guess? I'm sorry, I don't understand why this matters...

Huntresses do not fight monsters, but save people. And yet Ruby can't even get this right. Similarly, the Herbalist has forgotten that asking questions makes sense only if one is willing to listen. And they are not clearly. If they did, they would know all RWBY wants is simply to get back to their regular sizes. They don't want an acide trip or a theraphy session.

The Herbalist misunderstands their own purpose and their actions almost lead Ruby to give up on herself. They should help people to find themselves, but they almost had Ruby lose herself. This is why the Curious Cat calls them out:

Curious Cat: Oh Herb... Look at yourself! You are done. You're supposed to be helping others find their way, but you've lost your own. Please, let me help and take a little bit of my heart. You'll feel much better.

And as a result, the Herbalist "falls" and disappears within the Earth:

Are they going to be remade? Has the acre absorbed them because they are not "useful" anymore? Or is there some other explanation? We will see in the next episode.

HUMANITY, PURPOSE AND IDENTITY

Ruby's answer to Little's "What are you?" question sets up 3 thematic axes to explore:

Humanity (I'm a human)

Purpose (I'm a Huntress)

Identity (I'm Ruby Rose)

The Ever After is a more simplistic place than Remnant. Each acre is done for its inhabitants and everyone has a purpose, which is expressed by their name. The question about identity is then simplistic, as well.

It is not who are you, but what are you? So, what are your purpose?

However, for humans the question of identity is more layered and complex.

First of all, there is a question about "humanity" itself. What it means to be humans? Are humans really such good creatures? The Ever After's inhabitants do not seem to think so.

Secondly, there is a question about one's role. What does one do? What is their purpose? The protagonists are Huntresses, but what it means to be a Huntress? Is it about killing monsters or is it about saving people?

Finally, there is a question about who you are as an individual. Who is Ruby Rose without her purpose? Who is she deep down, behind the mask of a hero?

Obviously, these 3 questions are intertwined, but so far it seems we are slowly building up a climax. Last episode, Ruby said they were humans, which sets the Red Prince off. So, this episode, Ruby opts to say they are Huntresses. However, this brings new difficult questions. I wonder if in a later episode, she is simply going to say her name, which will mean she will have to go even deeper within herself.

RWBY'S TRIP

Fittingly, this scene calls back to Mt Glenn, RWBY's first field trip. Well, they go through another kind of trip this episode :P and I loved it!

In general, the scene of RWBY in the smoke makes full use of the weapons' symbolism, which is at the core of this season:

The girls are asked to affirm they are Huntresses, so it is very powerful Yang, Blake and Weiss take out their weapons and point them to their younger selves. Not to hurt them, but to show who they are:

Yang's arc is about accepting asymmetry vs wholeness. So, she shows her younger self her mechanical arm.

Blake's arc is about accepting there are not simple answers to complex problems. This complexity is difficult to deal this, but it also makes Blake rich. Just like her weapon has so many forms.

Weiss's arc is about accepting she is Weiss Schnee no matter what. No matter the SDC, no matter Atlas or her father or her family or her legacy. No matter even if all these things are gone. So, she wields her sword, which is almost empty, just like all the things that made up who she was are gone. And yet, Weiss is still herself.

Ruby is the odd one. She has yet to find her weapon because she has lost her sense of purpose and doesn't even know who she is anymore. So, she can't affirm she is a Huntress. She can't wield her weapon with pride. She doesn't have it anymore.

On another note... each girl's Q&A moment can be commented also through the metaphor of their fairy tales:

Goldilocks is asked if she wants to be whole, if she wants to be "just right" because this fairy tale has no resolution. It lacks a proper conclusion. Yang, however, states she is going to push forward and find herself what she is missing.

Beauty&Beast is asked to give up her duality. Blake can choose to be either beast or beauty, either human or animal, either black or white, either darkness or light. And yet, she chooses this complexity which makes her Blake. Which makes her fairy tale so resonant.

Snowhite is asked to give up being Snowhite. She is asked to leave the title of her story behind. A story which is about a girl growing up. Weiss refuses this and affirms proudly she is and will always be Weiss Schnee.

Once again, Ruby is the one who fails thematically this episode. The point of her allusion is that she is both Little Red Riding Hood and the Hunter. And yet, she is not sure she can call herself a Huntress anymore. And in the end she is tempted to give up even being Little Red (Ruby Rose).

WHAT ABOUT GRIEF?

Does this episode follow the pattern of the Five Stages of Grief? So far we have:

Episode 1 > Denial (maybe)

Episode 2 > Bargaining

Episode 3 > Anger

What about episode 4? I think it may deal with the stage of acceptance, which is embodied by Blake, when it comes to the characters:

This episode our Cat-Girl's foiling with Ruby is especially evident:

Blake: Huntresses are heroes! We protect those, who can't protect themselves.

She is the one who comes up with the right answer to the Herbalist's question. Ruby instead gives a confused and simplistic one. Not only that, but Ruby ends up repeating to her younger self Blake's words in volume 1:

Ruby: But... life isn't like a fairy tale

When it comes to the episode itself, the theme of acceptance is rather evident. RWBY is asked to accept their past selves. They must look their child selves in the eye, aknowledge their mistakes and their losses, accept them and move forward. WBY are ready to do it in a healthy way, while Ruby isn't. Her "acceptance" borders in depression. She isn't ready.

Finally, like in the previous episode, the Curious Cat gives up a little bit of their Heart. As a result, the Herbalist "accepts" their own death, in a sense. They are given comfort, admit they have always been a workhaolic and then they disappear in their acre...

MISCELLANIA

2 random thoughts in the end:

This episode seemed like an attempt to alchemy, which fails because the right process isn't followed. Interestingly, this is evident also when it comes to the colors. RWBY are in the yellow stage and should move to red. So, they wake up on the beach (yellow) and then move to the Red Prince's acre (red). Still, they can't go on with the set-up journey (Alyx's) and take a detour. This leads them to an acre which is rainbow-ish. However, the rainbow phase in alchemy is at the very beginning of the white phase. So, this means they are regressing and losing themselves to chaos.

CC's lines to Yang and Weiss are interesting:

CC to Yang: Well that is your problem. It's a matter of perspective I'm afraid.

CC to Weiss: Looking at you, Wise Huntress...

I think they might hint to important parts of their arcs. Yang's struggle is about learning to see things from multiple sides. So, it is important she gets called for not doing so. Weiss is instead linked to the idea of anima/animus (Knight + Queen). The anima/animus gets refined and reaches its perfect state in the idea of "Sofia" aka Wisdom. So, it is interesting Weiss gets associated to this concept directly.

[yukidragon]

Remember that pic that voltageous Posted of Jack all angey. Do you think Alice would ever be in similar situation like that? Btw I love your character Alice and all the headcanons and stories that make!

Aww! Thank you so much! I'm really happy that you enjoy my writing, ideas, and Alice. 💖

I presume you're talking about this lovely picture, right? Jack's pose is very appealing, but his expression in particular is striking. Between that, the composition of the scene, and the lyrics, a story is being told that has sparked so many thoughts.

I actually made a short thread on twitter discussing Alice and this picture's scenario. I think this is the perfect opportunity to expand on that idea with a bit of a ramble, and maybe do a bit of writing.

Quick reminder that this fandom is for Adults Only. Mature topics will be discussed like sex, cheating, and such.

In that spirit, let's really look at the picture and talk about it, shall we? I think the main thing that really caught my, and a lot of other people's attention is the look Jack is giving the person standing in shadow in the doorway, presumably MC. We've never seen Jack actually show such an angry expression to his sunshine outside of fan art.

I mean look at that face. Jack is glaring daggers, at his sunshine no less! That is the look of a lover betrayed by their cheating partner if I ever saw it. Sauce does great work with their art and expressions. Full credit goes to them as always for their awesome work.

Speaking of which, consider joining the SnaccPop Studios patreon for more cool art that they haven't shared on twitter. Just remember not to share anything that's privately posted there.

Something I actually only noticed when really looking at Jack's face in close up, he has a slight distortion going on similar to what was applied to his sprites earlier in development. You can really see it in the slight blurring of his red marks.

As was mentioned on the official tumblr, Jack can touch and interact with things the more attached he is to his sunshine. In the demo, Jack picking up MC and making food is treated as a new development, showing how close they've become. MC can't touch him anymore when they distance themselves from him in the "no" route. When they could choose to "not make things weird" and keep Jack at arm's length emotionally, he started to feel cold and distant from them even though he was holding them close.

It was mentioned that Jack was given an intentional 3D/VHS distortion in earlier builds, which I think was to further emphasize that he wasn't quite real. MC is the one making him more real with their love and attachment. I suspect that the blur would've lessened and disappeared altogether as he became more real.

So now we see Jack with a hint of that distortion, glaring angrily up at the person casting a shadow over him in a darkened room. I think we can all guess this is supposed to be MC, and the lyrics give us a very strong hint as to what's going on here and why he's so upset.

It would seem that this picture is implying that MC was out all night at another love interest's place, likely having sex with them. They're choosing someone else to love, and Jack is probably barely keeping himself together as their attachment towards him wanes.

Jack has every reason to be pissed off in this scenario. Not only does this put him at risk, but this would make MC a cheater in the "yes" route. It's debatable if they would be one in the "no" route, since they did have sex, but it would no doubt still sting even if MC just regarded him as a friend with benefits.

It can leave Jack feeling hurt and betrayed. Remember how he questioned what more he could be doing in the "no" route? This is even worse. He tries to give MC everything - his love, patience, understanding, acceptance... even physical pleasure if that's what they want. Even still, they chose someone else to have sex with, showing even that wasn't enough to keep them.

So, yeah, this seems to be Jack having trouble remaining in MC's life while also feeling hurt and betrayed by them... and no doubt possessive and dangerous.

The lyrics might ask where MC was last night, but given Jack's supernatural abilities, I suspect that he knows exactly where they were, who they were with, and what they were doing... or rather who they were doing instead of him.

I suspect that Jack can go greater distances than a normal person can by walking while using his supernatural abilities. He might be able to track down MC or others he's targeted even at a distance. After all, he was haunting Nick for a while with those nightmares. If MC didn't come home one night, I'd expect Jack would go out looking for them.

MC probably got swept up with another love interest while Jack was at home waiting for them. They were late, so Jack went looking for them... and found his worst nightmare. He could've confronted them there and then, tried to stop them from what they were doing, but, as we've seen in the demo, when other people are taking MC's attention away from Jack, he has a difficult time bringing it back to him until they're alone or unless he exerts a little more pressure like the yes/no choice.

Given the situation, MC might have been way too distracted by their lover to even notice Jack... and I'm sure that it was emotionally devastating to Jack.

So Jack goes back to the apartment. He waits for MC, tries to figure out what to do, but he's hurt, betrayed, panicked... What more can he give them? What more can he do for them? What more do they want from him? What can that other man give them that he can't? He has to do damage control, make them feel the need to make it up to him and want to be closer to him, but he's also hurt.

Jack can't even confront the rival at that moment while they're with MC. His sunshine might see. Even if his jealousy and betrayal might make him not care, he can't risk them wanting him to go away.

So Jack waits for MC to come back, to confront them. No doubt he'll play his few remaining cards of guilt for leaving him behind and forgetting him for a night, while struggling to keep himself together, both emotionally and metaphysically.

Finally, when MC comes home the next day, it's to the scene in the picture.

Now... with all that said, considering how I've repeatedly stated that Jack and Alice are my OTP and I want to give them a happy ending in Sunshine in Hell... I think you can guess that this cheating scenario isn't going to happen between Alice and Jack, hahaha.

I did a post before about what a fight between Alice and Jack might look like, and how far it might go. It's very unlikely that it's going to go as far as what Jack's face is telling us here with all that anger he's showing, especially for such an implied awful reason.

For one thing, Alice wouldn't cheat. She wouldn't do it even before Ian cheated on her and showed her just how much it hurts to be cheated on. She also wouldn't be having sex outside of a relationship. Alice is on the aro/ace spectrum. On top of that, she has issues when it comes to sex. Between SA trauma and her first and only consenting sexual partner being, shall we say, less than attentive to her needs... she isn't interested in sleeping with people after the breakup with Ian. She needs to take it slow in order to trust a partner enough with that level of physical and emotional intimacy.

For Alice, sex with another person is something she can only do with a partner that she loves with the intention to make them happy and feel good. Sure she enjoys masturbation, but when other people have been involved, the sex has been, well... not great. The primary satisfaction she got from sex with Ian was his pleasure. Sadly, he never managed to make her orgasm, and it was actually uncomfortable and painful for her at times. She really did herself a disservice not advocating for her wants and comfort, but she didn't want to make Ian feel bad for a poor performance when it was too easy to hurt his feelings. Really, their troubled, one-sided sex life and lack of open and honest communication are a couple big reasons why her relationship with Ian deteriorated like it did.

I've mentioned before in some past posts, but the sexual intimacy Alice shares with Jack is going to start off slowly, and only after they're together in a romantic relationship. Because he takes her needs and comfort into account, she's pleasantly surprised to discover that sex with her partner actually can be pleasant, especially with a partner who makes sure she has multiple orgasms, and her libido increases as a result.

However, this newfound interest in having sex only applies to Jack, since Alice falls into the demisexual part of the ace spectrum. She loves him, and he's her partner. He makes her feel safe and good enough to actually want and enjoy sex.

If someone else hit Alice up for a one night stand, that would be a big pile of "NOPE!" from her. Even a friend propositioning her would make her feel wildly uncomfortable. She's just not comfortable with casual sex or sex without romantic attachment. Without that deep emotional connection of love, trust, and intimacy, sex is something intimidating and unwanted for her.

While I did consider a what if scenario where Alice and Shaun get together, that was a slow burn that took a long time for Alice to trust Shaun that intimately, and she never even knew of Jack's existence. How he would be as a lover and how that would affect her relationship with sex would be speculation best left for another post.

Jack isn't about to give Shaun or anyone else a chance to win Alice's heart when he's around, and with how much he fulfils her needs emotionally, she doesn't feel the need to consider getting into a relationship with anyone else.

Would Alice potentially get together with Nick if circumstances were right? No idea. I'd have to see more of how he interacts with others, especially his partner. I do know that him asking her out at work made her wildly uncomfortable and was definitely working against him. It's hard to say if it could work out between the two in an AU, even without Jack around.

Would Alice ever sleep with Ian again, even if just "for old time's sake" or "to say goodbye" and end things between them for good? Oh hell no. The only enjoyment she got out of sex with Ian was making him feel good because she loved him and trusted him with that level of intimacy. Needless to say, the trust is gone. Even after she tried forgiving him for cheating, she couldn't handle sex with him anymore. Ian is never getting into Alice's pants ever again.

That's all to say that even though Alice might improve her relationship with Ian, stay good friends with Shaun, and possibly befriend Nick if things go favorably... she's not going to think about sleeping with any of them, and certainly not with someone she doesn't know at all. Even then, she wouldn't even consider cheating on her partner.

So this situation of Jack waiting for Alice to come home, furious and upset that he caught her cheating, just isn't going to happen.

It would take a lot to make Jack angry with his sunshine, and I can't think of anything Alice would do to provoke that sort of glare from him.

Now, with all that said, would there be a scenario where Alice didn't come home one night and made Jack worry about where she was... maybe even worry about what she might be doing and who she was doing it with? I think so. Some places don't have landline phones, and Alice can't afford a second cell phone for Jack, so if she winds up unable to go home, she can't call him to let him know. It certainly provides some potential for drama... especially when Alice has a chronic illness that sometimes flares up beyond what her medication can handle.

So, as I said in the twitter thread, it sounds like a scenario just begging to be written out in a flashfic, so how about we do that now, shall we? Funny enough, as I was writing it, I wound up with something of a sequel to a previous flashfic I wrote a little while ago. I hope you enjoy this piece of hurt/comfort fluff between Jack and Alice!

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur

...

Alice was late. She should have been home over half an hour ago. The dinner Jack made with love in anticipation of her return had already gone cold.

Jack tried not to let the ticking of the clock get to him. He tried not to overthink what it could mean. He tried to ignore the twisting inside his gut that kept him looking at the clock despite himself. It hadn’t been that long since Alice was supposed to be home. It wasn’t strange to be a little bit late like this. After all, that gosh darn manager of hers was always springing overtime on her after she was supposed to clock out, or she had to stay longer to clean up some mess Carol left behind for her to take care of.

But Alice wasn’t at work. She wasn’t a mere ten minute walk away. She left in her car after lunch, saying that she had errands to do without ever telling him exactly what those errands were.

Like a fool, Jack let her go anyway. He let her kiss distract him from asking questions. Her, “I love you,” left him feeling too happy and flustered to think too much about why she wanted to go alone. She promised to be home in time for dinner, but that promise had been broken half an hour ago.

Jack wished that he could call Alice and check on her, find out what was keeping her and when she was coming home to him. He had her cell phone number memorized, but he didn’t have one of his own that he could use to call her, and the apartment had no landline phone.

Where was Alice? What were the errands that kept her away from him? Why was she late? Jack could kick himself for not getting a straight answer before she left, or for not trying harder to go with her. She could be anywhere by now, be with anyone.

Including that darn Ian.

The nightmare from the night before flashed through his mind. Jack could still vividly remember the helplessness he felt trapped behind the screen as Alice kissed Ian and professed her love for the fake pretending to be him. The memory made his insides twist into knots.

Jack gave himself a hard mental shake. “What am I thinking?” he muttered under his breath, chiding himself for the very thought. It was almost as if he was suspecting Alice of cheating on him. That was absurd. How could he, Sunny Day Jack, think something like that of his sunshine? Sunny Day Jack didn’t get jealous or possessive of anyone, and he certainly wouldn’t suspect his beloved sunshine, the sweetest and kindest person in the world, who loved him just as much as he loved her, on the basis of her simply being out late.

He wasn’t a fake pretending to be Sunny Day Jack like Ian intended to do with that farce of a reboot that lied about being the first and only SunnyTime Crew Show.

Ever since Jack heard about the show and Ian’s part in it, he had been on edge, and the nightmare he experienced didn’t help. The only bright spot in everything was Alice. He still vividly remembered the way she comforted him that night, promising to always be there for him as she held him close and sang the sweetest song to soothe away all his woes and worries.

So why wasn’t she here now?

“I better check to see if she’s okay,” Jack mumbled to himself. He promised to be there when Alice got home, but she also promised to be home forty-five minutes ago, so it was only fair.

…

A rest stop was far from an ideal place for a woman traveling alone to lie down in her car, but at least it beat pulling over at the side of the road in the middle of the desert. Unfortunately, Alice didn’t have a lot of options at the moment. At least the tinted windows blocked prying eyes as effectively as they did the scorching Texas sun.

Pain tore her attention away from potential threats outside the car and turned her attention inward. Alice bit back a whimper, instead hissing ragged breaths through gritted teeth as she did her best to ride through the intensifying sensation of jagged blades cutting and twisting through her insides. The pain rolled in like the tide until it flooded her senses and made her eyes sting with tears, leaving her helpless but to wait for it to recede again to something a little more bearable.

Eventually the pain lessened, at least enough that her breathing came a little more easily. Still, Alice took care to move as little as possible from the reclined front seat while she carefully lifted up the cell phone that she held in a death grip. Through watery eyes she saw that ten minutes had passed since she took her medicine.

Only ten minutes. Fuck. It was going to be at least twenty more before Alice started noticing any real difference. She wished that she had better, faster acting painkillers for these attacks, but there was nothing she could do about that now.

Shit. It had been weeks since Alice last had an attack like this. Why did one have to happen while she was out on her own like this? Why couldn’t it happen at home? At least there she wouldn’t be alone and so vulnerable. At least Jack would be there to take care of her.

Alice was supposed to be home almost an hour ago. If it wasn’t bad enough that things had dragged on way longer than she anticipated, her chronic illness decided to flare up at the worst possible timing - right when she was driving down the middle of the highway. It was all she could do to force herself to keep driving until she was someplace at least relatively safer to park.

“Fuck,” Alice hissed as she carefully lowered the phone, wincing how even speaking made her insides twinge in pain. Jack was probably worried by now, and she couldn’t even call him. She was too used to having him always around; she never considered something like this happening. She could kick herself for taking for granted that it had been so long since her last attack.

Helplessly, Alice couldn’t do anything but wait for the medicine to take the edge off the pain. As another intense wave rolled over her, it was all she could do not to give in to the instinctive urge to double over as pain tore through her insides without mercy. She knew well from experience that any pressure on her abdomen would only make this hell even worse. She clawed instead at the seat’s cushion and her thigh in a desperate attempt to distract herself from the pain as she tried to keep her breathing even.

I wish Jack was here.

“Alice?”

Alice flinched at the sound of her name. For a moment, she thought that she only imagined it, but that unmistakable voice came again from just outside the car.

“Alice?” Jack repeated a little louder this time, his worry only increasing. He could feel Alice’s pain leaking through their connection even before he saw the agony twisted in her expression through the car’s tinted window. “Are you okay? Can you unlock the door?”

Relief washed over Alice almost as intense as the pain as she realized that Jack really was there. She tried to keep her movements minimal as she dropped her phone on the center console beside her car keys before pushing the unlock button.

No sooner than Jack heard the click than he threw the door open and leaned inside, practically covering her like a blanket, though he was careful not to put any of his weight on her. “Don’t worry, sunshine, I’m here.”

“Jack…,” Alice forced out through ragged breaths, her voice cracking with pain. “I-I’m s-sor-”

Jack shushed her gently. “It’s okay.” He touched her cheek delicately, afraid of making things worse. “You don’t have to talk if it’s too hard for you right now. I’m not going anywhere, sunshine. Don’t worry… I’ll take care of you.”

Alice held her fist up and bobbed it up and down, which Jack recognized her as signing, “Yes.”

Jack managed a small but encouraging smile at that. “Is it your illness acting up again?” When Alice nodded her hand again, his heart went out to her. He knew about her chronic illness, particularly that it couldn’t be cured. Her medicine managed it most of the time, but sometimes it wasn’t enough to stop an attack from leaving her debilitated. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Alice grimaced and brought two fingers up before bringing them down on her thumb in a definitive, “No.”

“I see… that’s good at least,” Jack said, the words coming out in nearly a sigh of relief. “Do you need me to bring you any medicine?” Another negative indication. “I see… You took some already, is that right?” A nod of her fist. “Good, good… Then we’ll just wait here until you’re feeling better.” When her fist moved again in the affirmative, he took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Don’t worry, I won’t go anywhere.”

Alice returned the gesture, but her gentle squeeze quickly turned into a crushing grip as the pain intensified again. She forced herself to release him, but Jack refused to let her go and placed his other hand to secure her grip on him.

“It’s okay,” Jack said soothingly. “You can keep squeezing me if you need to. If it helps you deal with the pain, you can squeeze as hard as you like.” He offered her a lopsided smile that would have been more playful if his eyes weren’t so filled with concern for her. “Don’t worry, I can take it.”

Reluctantly, Alice tightened her grip on his hand again until her knuckles turned white as she rode through the latest wave of pain. When she could breathe a little more easily, her hold on him slackened, and her mind began to focus on the situation.

How did Jack find her? How did he get here? She was in the middle of nowhere, miles from home. Was this part of his supernatural abilities too?

Upon remembering where they were, Alice felt a shiver run through her, and her eyes darted to the darkened parking lot. She could see Jack with her, someone big and imposing, but anyone who happened to come by would only see a vulnerable short woman lying down in her car, illuminated by her car light. It was practically an invitation to rob her, steal her car, or worse. Could Jack stop someone if they decided to take advantage of the situation?

Jack caught the frightened thought right away. “Hold on, let me get inside.”

Just like that, the car was soon locked and dark once more, with Jack seated in the now reclined passenger seat so that he could be as close to Alice as possible. He took her hand in his and with the other hand he stroked her forehead, brushing sweat and strands of her hair away from her watery eyes.

“There now,” Jack said, his voice soft and soothing. “You’re safe here with me, Alice. Don’t worry, I won’t let anything bad happen to you. We’ll wait here until the medicine starts working. When you feel ready to go, I’ll drive us home.”

Alice furrowed her brow before deliberately raising her eyebrows as she pointed at Jack.

Jack chuckled as he caught the simple signed question. “Yes me, silly. You’re in no shape to drive, and you need to rest. We’ll switch seats as soon as you’re feeling a little better.”

Alice frowned a little, as what she wanted to say required too much movement for her to accurately convey her meaning without the risk of causing the pain to intensify.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to, as Jack picked up on her fears immediately. “Don’t worry, it’s too dark for anyone to see who’s driving the car.” He paused to chuckle. “Or ‘not’ driving.” He bent down to kiss her forehead and smooth the furrows from her brow. “You don’t need to worry about anything like that. All you need to focus on right now is feeling better.”

Alice sighed at the gentle kisses he pressed upon her flushed skin, though her breathing was still ragged and harsh. She nodded with her fist again as she focused on Jack, his gentle presence soothing her far more than the medicine.

Jack leaned back just enough to see his sunshine’s face. He wanted to hold her close, but he knew about her condition, particularly how pressure on her abdomen, especially in the wrong spot, could make it so much worse. It made him careful how he touched her, softly stroking her brow and letting her squeeze his hand until the pain subsided.

When silence settled in between them, Alice grunted. She wiggled her fingers in front of her mouth before pointing at Jack and raising her eyebrows.

Jack nodded in understanding as he smiled gently at her. “Of course, sunshine. I can talk as much as you want. Don’t worry about needing to respond either. Just focus only on me and my voice. Don’t pay attention to anything else.”

Alice squeezed his hand again, but gently and intentionally this time. His voice, soft and smooth, flowed over her like water on a burn. It didn’t magically make her pain disappear, but hearing him talking to her and feeling his gentle touches grounded her, reminding her that she wasn’t alone and vulnerable. She had Jack with her now.

“That’s right, Alice,” he said. “I’m right here. I won’t let anything happen to you, sunshine.” Gently, he dabbed away at the wetness that still lingered in her eyes. “You don’t have to worry about anything anymore. I promise, I’ll always take care of you… forever.”

As the pain started to ebb again, Alice managed a weak smile. She held up a hand in a particular gesture that made Jack’s heartbeat quicken when he realized what she was signing.

“I love you too, Alice,” Jack said before pressing a soft kiss on her lips, which she weakly returned. “I love you so much, Alice… my sunshine.”

The pain radiating from Alice was horrible, and it took all of his acting skills to make sure that she didn’t realize that Jack felt it too. He could feel it even more clearly with how close they were like this, but he refused to leave his sunshine to suffer alone. The worst part was that he was sure that the pain he felt at that moment was only a fraction of what she was experiencing.

“You’re so strong,” Jack said, his voice hushed with admiration. “You’re doing so well. I’m so proud of you.” He kissed her forehead again and was rewarded with a soft, but pleased sigh from her in return. “That’s it, just focus on me. You don’t have to face this alone anymore. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

Alice squeezed his hand again in gentle affirmation as she closed her eyes to focus on his soothing voice and gentle warmth.

Despite the situation, relief washed over Jack, and he could feel some of the same emotion coming from Alice as well. A small pang of guilt crept in underneath it, but he hid such feelings from her. She didn’t need to worry about the irrational fear he had before, that silly split-second when a part of him feared the worst, no matter how impossible that was. It felt laughable now to think that this precious ray of sunshine in front of him could’ve been doing anything as awful as cheating on him, not when he could practically taste her love and gratitude for him as clearly as the pain that - mercifully - was starting to wane.

Jack knew that it was silly to let some stupid nightmare influence him like this, no matter how awful it was. Alice didn’t deserve to be suspected of such a thing, not even for an instant, and especially not during a time when she was suffering so much. She needed him. For as much as he hated that she was suffering, he couldn’t help but feel relieved by that simple truth.

A flash of inspiration struck Jack, chasing away his gloomy thoughts. “Oh! I know. How about I sing a song for you? Would you like that, sunshine?”

Alice opened her eyes again and answered with a soft smile and another bob of her fist.

“Now how did it go…?” Jack turned his eyes up towards the roof of the car as he thought back to the song Alice sang for him. He didn’t remember the first part, but he could improvise, making up new lyrics for the same sweet melody that she shared for him. It was their song now, in his mind, and he made sure to let his sunshine know with his version of the lyrics that he would be here for her no matter what storms and pain may come to help her shine bright with happiness.

Alice couldn’t help but smile crookedly as Jack changed the song, but somehow she liked his version better. She made a mental note to tell him later when she felt well enough to speak again. For now though, she let his gentle voice cast its soothing spell over her, filling her with love and slowly chasing away the pain.

Jack continued to sing until he was certain that Alice had fallen asleep. He pressed another sweet kiss to her forehead and used his influence to make sure that she wouldn’t wake up until she was safely back home in bed with him.

“Sweet dreams, sunshine.”

[lemonhemlock]

not sure if you've talked about this before, but what do you make of the whole "alicent was wrong to question the boys' parentage because it would mean their deaths"? ive tried considering it but im personally not convinced by it, that is im not convinced that it would automatically mean their deaths if their bastardry was publicly acknowledged by viserys and confessed to by rhaenyra and harwin. another reason why it doesnt really change my mind is that even if it was true... its like ok? therefore you must think viserys is in the wrong for wanting to mutilate anyone, children included btw, who says the boys are harwin's bastards. the thing is though i don't see team black saying that, instead its something they are usually happy about. they also ignore the fact that rhaenyra would have understood that this would happen, and yet she has two more children after jace. the thing is ultimately i dont believe the boys executed for something beyond their control that goes without saying lmao. but the fact of the matter is that alicent trying to have viserys admit the truth before his death, while the boys were young (or younger lol) would have been the kindest and safest thing! because if instead jace had ascended the throne as an adult, and been overthrown, he and his brothers would have been executed for committing treason. the mercy they would have gotten as children wouldn't really apply here.

''

I think that a solution could have been worked out if the truth came out when the boys were little. Death is a very extreme sentence. At the end of the day, Daemon should have been executed or exiled 24 times for his shenanigans, but Viserys always forgave him and nobody said a goddamn thing about it. At least in this particular case, the wrongs could have been rectified (which is more to say than for whatever nonsense Daemon did) - the boys taken out of the line of succession, both of the throne and of Driftmark. If you ask me, it would be only fair to disqualify Rhaenyra from being heir as a result of her attempted treachery, and that would be that. She'd still be a rich lady with a fire-breathing dragon and three alive sons and could have lived out her housewife fantasies in peace - there's no need to boohoohoo her. But, as a more indulgent outcome, it could have also worked if she remained heir, with Aegon (or his children) inheriting after her (since she obviously wasn't interested in producing trueborn children of her own with Laenor).

But, you know what, anything that happens is because of Rhaenyra's own hubris. To give a crude example, it's like saying, I robbed these three banks but I never expected to be caught and go to jail, then asking for sympathy. ?? Why do you keep having these children if you're literally so preoccupied with their safety?

[prettymuchteddy]

The Bastard Boy of Dragonstone

Part 1 Viserys 1

Chapter Summary: Viserys speaks with the newly arrived bastard from Dragonstone

Series Masterlist

Words: 1,161

A/N: Viserys has no idea what he's doing

Viserys straightened himself in his chair. He wiped down his black tunic with the red three-headed dragon. His hand trembled against the armrest of his seat but he tried to stop it. After all, he needed to seem strong. He needed to seem like the king.

A knock came from the chambers’ door. 

“Come in”, he said.

The doors opened from behind them in walked Ser Harrold Westerling and the boy. The commander of the Kingsguard glanced at the young man and then at Viserys. A question hung in the air. Do you want me to leave him alone with you? Or more so, is he dangerous if left alone with you?

Viserys lifted his finger, dismissing the knight. Ser Harrold nodded and closed the doors behind him. 

It was just the two of them now. 

Viserys saw the boy standing there, his hands behind his back with a neutral look on his face. 

“Can sit down”, Viserys stated.

The boy’s eyes bore into him before turning to a chair. Viserys watched as he sat down across from him. His legs were sprawled out, one ankle resting over his knee. His hands hung over the edge of the armrest. He seemed relaxed. Viserys wasn’t sure if this child truly knew why he was there.

“I never got a chance to ask, what’s your name?”

“Gaemon.”

Viserys nodded. “I’m glad we finally get a chance to talk. It’s not often a boy claims a wild dragon.”

“Is it not? Or is it not rare for a lowborn bastard to do it?” The boy asked calmly.

Viserys sucked in through his teeth. “Both actually.”

The boy’s eyes shifted away from Viserys to the fire beside them.

The king swallowed uncomfortably by the silence. “So, did you name your dragon?”

“He came with a name already. Grey Ghost.”

“It’s surprising that you managed to claim him, I’ve heard he is shy around people.”

“Not around me, I guess”, the boy said with no particular enthusiasm.

Viserys leaned forward. “You know, I remember when I first claimed my dragon, Balerion. I was frankly a bit terrified at the prospect of taming him but I swallowed my fear and did it.” 

Gaemon didn’t respond.

“It was also very terrifying because I knew I was carrying such a legacy by being his rider after all he was Aegon’s.”

“Who?”

Viserys stared dumbfounded. “Aegon the Conqueror. The first Targaryen King. He and his sisters, Visenya and Rhaenys conquered and united Westeros over a hundred years ago.”

“Oh, them. Right.” 

“How have you been liking the Red Keep?” Viserys started. “I’m sure it's much bigger than what you’re used to. Still, once you’ve been around it a few times you get used to corridors. We tend to have many pieces of art about my family’s past and customs as well as-”

“-Why did you call me here?” He interrupted. 

Viserys was taken aback.

The boy took note of his confusion. “You ordered me to come here. Is there a reason why or are we going to speak about art?”

Viserys’ brows crinkled together. 

“Everyone here is wondering what you’re going to do with me. The guards whisper it, and so do the maids. I’m no one’s bastard. Not you, not your brother, and definitely not your sons’. I don’t share your blood so everyone is wondering what you’re going to do with me.”

Viserys looked him straight in the eye. “Like I said it’s not every day that someone claims a wild dragon.”

“Especially not someone like me…I don’t come from your line. I don’t hold any land or titles. My family name is one shared by thousands of bastards, Rivers. Yet, you brought me here for one reason. I have a dragon.”

“Exactly.”

“What does your family want you to do with me?”

“They have yet to find out about you.”

“It will be a bit difficult to hide me when I have a dragon waiting outside in the courtyard.”

“I know.”

“So, what do you plan to do?”

Viserys sighed. Gods his life was becoming more difficult than it needed to be. He was already dealing with Rhaenyra and Alicent’s feud, and now this. 

“I can have you fostered in a lord’s household. You can also take up the sword and swear an oath to hold no land and father no children. You can go to the Citadel. Or you can take up the black.”

Gaemon titled his head. “All of these are interesting ideas but they have their flaws. If I stay with a lord, you would essentially be giving that very lucky lord a dragon. After all, I would be serving him. I could take up the sword and become a knight only there is a problem, most knights have already been trained as squires. I have had no such training and if you want to deal with me as quickly as you want that will not work. The Citadel will not work as well since I can’t read. Also, the black? Do you truly want a dragon at the wall? That is what you will get if you send me, Grey Ghost follows me everywhere.”

Viserys observed the boy. “Then what do you suggest?”

“You already legitimized me in the letter you sent to Dragonstone. That was after you heard of me. So, what would be the duties of a Targaryen? I’m not part of your line so in my case, I would simply have to marry and give your house more heirs, right?”

“Those are the duties of a prince.”

“Until then, I’m happy with staying in my chambers. Do we have an agreement?”

Viserys glanced at the fire. “I would need to talk to my Hand first.” 

“Why? You’re the king.”

“He advises me.”

“You already legitimized me; it’s already stated in paper. He’s an advisor, you’re king, what power does he have over your word?”

Viserys nodded after a while. “Very well, when the time is right you will marry and serve House Targaryen.”

The boy blinked. “May I go now?”

“Yes. You are dismissed.”

Viserys watched as he stood from his chair and walked away, never looking back. When the door closed behind him, Viserys slumped into the chair. The boy was a mystery to him. He had the silver hair of Valyria and violet eyes. His hair was messily chopped. When Viserys first saw him, it reminded him of Daemon when he was young. But his age and birthplace made any connection to his immediate family impossible. Still, there was the blood of Valyria in him. However, instead of a fire in his eyes like most Targaryens, he found a coldness brewing beneath them. 

He sighed. The court would gossip. He would never hear the end of it from both Rhaenyra and Alicent. Yet, the old dying king knew it, this boy possessed a dragon and that alone made him one of the most dangerous people in the realm. 

[presidenthades]

Once again, I am doing a series of my behind-the-scenes thoughts for The Golds while I do light edits for formatting, typos, and continuity. Here’s Chapter 4!

For this chapter’s title, I picked the Crone’s lyrics from “The Song of the Seven” because Old Willow—who is a crone, as a wise older woman—is so important to this chapter.

Detective Aegon was one of the things I was most excited about as I wrote this fic. The idea was born when I read that TGC interview where he said Aegon is “intelligent and has a keen eye for the weak spots for others.” I extrapolated that as Aegon being observant about what makes people tick, which made me think about Sherlock, then I realized my version of Aegon would love being a detective. He gets to run around the city, meet interesting people, and feel a bunch of adrenaline/endorphins/dopamine.

I think Aegon is also very driven by the pursuit of dopamine. In canon, this manifests in his heavy dependency on wine and sex. In this verse, he gets tons of dopamine from his interactions with Jace. But since Jace is preoccupied with the pregnancy and governance and court, he’s deprived at the moment. So in this chapter, he explores his newfound detective hobby which makes him a bit less dependent on Jace for gratification—but not much. Still a simp for his wife 🥲.

Aegon is a night owl, Jace is an early bird. This isn’t an issue in the early days of their marriage because…well, they’re pretty much having sex whenever they’re in the bedroom, and sleep is optional 😂. But the honeymoon period tapers off right around when they discover the pregnancy, and it’s also when Jace’s LIWs are getting accustomed to their roles. The LIWs in particular are jarring for Aegon. LIWs are supposed to have lots of access to their mistress’ rooms, which isn’t a big deal in a traditional marriage where the husband and wife keep separate rooms, and the husband usually sends a message in advance if he wants to “visit” his wife at night. But Aegon has moved in with Jace, and whereas he views the LIWs as intruding on his private time with his wife, the LIWs view him as impeding their ability to do their job.

I decided that Arryk likes Aegon more than Erryk does (another reason the twins choose different sides in the Dance), and that’s why Aegon thinks Arryk is more fun. Erryk was more judgmental during Aegon’s debauchery days whereas Arryk was more chill. As a result, Aegon learned to tell the difference between them, because he wanted to be sure which twin he’s been saddled with. But Aegon likes to mess with people, so he deliberately gets Erryk’s name wrong because Erryk is annoying/inconveniencing him by dragging him to Viserys.

In the show, Aegon/TGC throws some truly hateful glares at Viserys, but at the same time his dialogue shows he longs for his father’s approval. Here, Aegon clings to that resentment (simmering not burning) but is much less interested in Viserys’s approval. He has plenty of approval and affection from Jace, so even though it stings that Viserys doesn’t care, Aegon can shrug it off more easily because he has something/someone better.

Viserys’s story in the show about the horses and coloring, and various comments about how he would’ve been happier as a simple country lord than as king, inspired me to give him amateur agricultural interests. He’s never done any actual farming, but he likes to read about it and daydream about his alternate universe life.

As I hope I made clear in the scene, Viserys is having this conversation for Jace’s benefit rather than Aegon’s. His favoritism for Rhaenyra’s line continues to abound in this universe, and he follows the old-fashioned school of thought that pregnant woman should refrain from having sex, ostensibly to protect the fetus.

In an early draft, Alicent was the one who had a similar conversation with Aegon to leave Jace alone. Alicent’s desire for this conversation was born from her own experience of being relieved not to have to continue having sex with her husband while pregnant. But I changed it because a) Alicent already has enough haters and I didn’t want to add fuel to the fire, and b) it was more thematically appropriate for Viserys to have this talk, since this is a story about Aegon’s journey to fatherhood and I always planned for him to have some kind of “confrontation” with Viserys near the end of the fic. So I needed another scene that highlights the friction between Aegon and Viserys…also I had a lot of fun with the agricultural metaphors 😂.

When Aegon wanders the city at the beginning of this chapter, he is content but aimless. Although he thinks this is exactly what he wants—freedom to do nothing of consequence and just run around—deep down he wants something more purposeful. He needs some kind of goal/target or he falls into a bored malaise, as he does later in the chapter. The detective adventures eventually fill this need, then later taking care of Jace after her kidnapping, then eventually assuming a role in the game to protect his family.

House Tyrell has no history of being kings, and they still seem like they’re finding their footing as lord paramount of the Reach at this point in time. House Hightower is a very old and revered house with a history of being kings, so I feel like Aegon and his siblings may have inherited an ancestral disdain of the Tyrells 😂.

Jace loves roses, but I imagine a Tyrell lady at the garden party getting snooty about how “roses are so very Tyrell.” Similar to Jace’s feelings about colors, she feels like sigils—especially something as common as a rose—shouldn’t belong to any one family.

I did a lot of research about pregnancy for this fic. I came across a few stories of pregnant people getting nauseated during sex because of the jostling movements. I thought that would be very unfortunate for Jace and Aegon…so I made it happen 🙈. And it adds to Aegon’s growing feeling that his presence is a burden during Jace’s pregnancy.

The LIWs are there to make Jace’s life easier, not Aegon’s. So Jace views them as very helpful while Aegon (who is actually a “private” person at heart re: how he wants to live his life) sees them as intruders. This change isn’t sudden but gradual, taking place over the span of several weeks, like the frog in boiling water metaphor. It doesn’t occur to Aegon to protest until it’s too late, and even then, he sees how the LIWs are helping her a lot and he doesn’t want to take that from her. So he doesn’t say anything to Jace.

The LIWs have a designated solar they could hang out in, but they’re eager to stay close to Jace while she’s ill and nauseated. I also think they’re following Rhaena’s example, and Rhaena is used to having free rein to Jace’s rooms. And I don’t want to throw even more shade on Elinor, but her crush on Aegon is compelling her to go to Jace’s rooms fairly early in the morning in the hopes of catching him shirtless 🤭.

Overall, the line “there was no room for Aegon in Jacaera’s chambers when her ladies occupied it” encapsulates a lot of his feelings of being squeezed out of Jace’s life while she’s dealing with so many other things.

I read in a fanfic somewhere (no idea which fic) the theory that dragons are assumed male until they show signs of gestation or lay eggs. I like this theory because it helps explain why so many dragons seem to be male, and F&B has a line quibbling about the rumor that Vermax laid eggs at Winterfell (I think it’s Eustace who lambastes the theory that dragons can change sex). If Vermax did lay eggs, the “assumed male until otherwise proven” theory jives with him being called male previously. Also, I don’t know how dragon anatomy works, but one can assume that it’s difficult to tell males and females apart as hatchlings, and by the time they develop reproductive parts, you don’t really want to be examining them too closely.

I also wanted to make Vermax female so she and Sunfyre could parallel Jace and Aegon. Jace’s first pregnancy coincides with Vermax’s first gestation, and there’s some foreshadowing with Vermax’s three eggs later 👀. Also, I make the dragons’ personalities reflective of their riders’. Vermax is very docile and calm, while Sunfyre is a horny daredevil.

In this chapter, Aegon is still struggling to come to terms with impending fatherhood. He can’t help but feel like the pregnancy has been coming in between him and Jace rather than bringing them closer together, he’s got a lot of his own daddy issues to work out, and he’s still in a “I do what a want, no responsibilities” mindset. But even now, he secretly wants to grow and mature out of this; he imagines placing a dragon egg in his child’s cradle, and it gives him some warm fuzzies.

I imagine there’s a lot of conflict between the maesters and Targaryens whether it’s safe for pregnant women to ride dragons. The maesters wouldn’t consider it safe to ride horses, and riding dragons seems even more dangerous. Meanwhile the Targs are confident in their dragon bonds protecting them. My headcanon is that Rhaenyra and other female dragonriders, unless they’re exceptionally bold/reckless, at least spend their first pregnancy on the ground to be safe. But if that pregnancy goes well, they’re a lot more confident about flying during later pregnancies. Jace is already a cautious person by nature, so she would abide by the maesters’ recommendations.

Jace honestly doesn’t need to/shouldn’t do so many Small Council things right now, but she’s an overachiever. In the modern world, she’s the kind of person who volunteers for all the extra projects at work so she can prove herself. Aegon calls himself a lazy person with a skewed sense of what is urgent, but in this case, he’s actually right about Jace doing too much. One of his weaknesses: he thinks Jace is so perfect that he hesitates to tell her when she’s in the wrong.

Ever since the witch shouted at Joff during the wedding parade, Joff has been thinking a lot about her. She’s been trying to research what the witch said but she’s reached a dead end, so now the only avenue is going straight to the source. I dropped hints in Chapter 2 of the Handbook that Aegon was Joff’s curse tablet dealer, so she goes to him for help. Aegon is a skeptic about witchcraft at this point in the story, but we know that changes later.

Joff has a talent for insulting Targ men where it hurts. Daemon bore the brunt of it in the Handbook, but now it’s Aegon’s turn with the “big baby” comments 😂.

I’ll probably come up with more backstory for Old Willow in Joff’s fic. I imagine her to have genuine powers of some sort (foresight/prophecy at the very least). She isn’t super powerful, but the people around her respect/fear her as the real deal. She makes her money mostly by doing non-magic witchy things, like brewing moon tea, which is in higher demand and more affordable than the occasional curse tablet.

Joff has a prickly personality, but she can and will fight people in defense of her sisters 🤺.

The puncture wounds on Old Willow’s body are from the longshoreman hook that the Tyroshi sometimes carries around. Her death is over-the-top because, as is established in later chapters, the Tyroshi is a sadist. He decides to kill her because she supplied the love/beauty charm to the whore Daisy, so he deems Old Willow guilty as an accomplice.

Because Joff has been thinking about Old Willow a lot, she’s also been thinking about the curse tablet she used several years ago. I’ve deliberately been ambiguous in the story text about what exactly Joff did with the tablet, but many readers have pieced together that Laenor’s death was involved somehow. So Joff has been thinking a lot about her father’s death, and the guilt she’s feeling seeps into her reaction to Old Willow’s death. Old Willow’s death does greatly inconvenience Joff’s little quest, but Joff is also feeling a lot of things about murder victims and the loved ones they leave behind.

Old Willow’s murder was very different in early drafts. Originally the Tyroshi wasn’t involved at all, and Daisy was the murderer because she blamed Old Willow for the love/beauty charm wearing off, and the random whore on the street played a bigger role in helping Aegon investigate. But as I reassessed how I wanted the second half of the fic to go, I reorganized the side characters’ roles and reduced the unnecessary minor characters so they didn’t distract too much from the main story.

Aegon sometimes makes questionable decisions (is it really a good idea to bring a 9-year-old princess to Flea Bottom without any guards at night?), but he has a few “eldest sibling” instincts that foretell what he’ll be like as a father. He tries to keep Joff out of actual trouble (don’t anger the locals, don’t open the bottle that might be poison), shows empathy to her (realizes this must be the first dead body she’s seen even though Joff acts dark and morbid), and gives Joff time to sort through her messy emotions about the witch’s death (lets her investigate the hut instead of immediately dragging her out—although he could also be criticized for letting a kid linger around a dead body). Basically, as a big brother/uncle/good-brother, he’s pretty indulgent and lets Joff explore her interests so to speak, but he intervenes if he suspects imminent danger. After Cheeseball is born, Aegon is understandably very protective of him. But when Cheeseball grows old enough, I see Aegon as being willing to let him run around and potentially fall and scrape his knees, because that’s just a natural part of life and relatively harmless—but Aegon would absolutely stop Cheeseball from running off the edge of a cliff.

I made Joff an early bird because I wanted to thwart the trope that dark witchy character = night owl 😄.

Bethany likes teasing Elinor about her crush on Aegon, hence the little exchange about Elinor making a good posset. But if Bethany suspected Elinor actually wanted to seduce Aegon (which she doesn’t), I think Bethany would draw the line and might even tattle on Elinor. We see in Chapter 5 that Bethany takes her duty to Jace seriously when it matters.

Aegon is right about Jace not enjoying gruesome murder stories, and telling her about his and Joff’s adventures right then would’ve kept her awake for a long time. But his quality time with Jace is limited so he doesn’t get a chance to tell her about it before the feast disaster. The miscommunication trope can be tricky because it’s so easy to make the people involve ridiculously stupid for plot reasons, so I was trying my best to lay the foundations for genuine reasons they wouldn’t have the opportunity to talk to each other. And the miscommunication doesn’t last for long. I think it’s a week at most between Aegon and Joff going to Flea Bottom and the feast.

Just like Vermax and Sunfyre parallel Jace and Aegon, I wanted Syrax and Caraxes to parallel their riders. Rhaenyra has plenty of thoughts about Aegon as Jace’s husband, but she views it as a good thing if a couple has a healthy sex life, hence Syrax’s lack of concern. Meanwhile Caraxes shares Daemon’s antipathy toward Aegon/Sunfyre 😂.

Gyles is jittery because the Tyroshi has been increasing his demands for payment, which Gyles can’t fulfill. A little foreshadowing for later in the chapter.

I priced a bottle of moon tea at three pennies because that’s the price of a fresh fruit tart during Robert’s reign. Ignoring things like inflation, I thought that was a good benchmark: affordable for the smallfolk, but for a whore who’s barely making it on the streets, she has to choose between the moon tea or eating that day. Aegon has selfish motivations when he gives her the entire crate in exchange for information, but it’s a huge windfall for her, especially if she can sell or trade the moon tea she isn’t using herself.

Old Willow warns her customers that magic always has a price (a recurring theme in ASOIAF). I’m sure she warned Joff when she first bought the curse tablet, and the consequences of that event led Joff to stop digging as much into magic the last few years. But Joff is tempted when she gets her hands on the glass candle, and she learns that lesson again later in this fic.

Aegon compares the whore to a courtier because he’s realizing that all people are fundamentally the same, they just wear different clothes and have more or less money. No matter what level of society, everyone loves gossip/scandal.

The rumors of Daisy’s death are not entirely true, but they’re not too far off the mark, and you can see how the rumors developed based on the true version (as told by the madam). Usually the rumors are worse than the truth, but in this case, parts of the truth are even worse than the rumors.

The description of the Garden’s building is intended to evoke a sense of lukewarm attempts to prettify something miserable at its core, like the girls who work there. I added the detail of the woman drinking on the roof because if she falls and breaks her neck, oh well, it’s not like her life was that great 😢.

Undercover!Aegon is the obvious next step in the evolution of Detective!Aegon. Other than his hair color, he doesn’t have as striking Valyrian features like Aemond and Daemon, and he’s mingled enough with the commoners that he can imitate their mannerisms. (Just imagine Aemond trying to pull off that disguise 💀.)

Even though Aemond is right there, Daeron chooses to run to Aegon for advice on girls/women instead. Aegon actually managed to marry the woman he wanted while Aemond is stuck in a flirty limbo, so Daeron concludes that Aegon is the more successful brother 😂. S2 might change my mind, but S1 Aemond is NOT a womanizer/smooth talker/expert on the fairer sex. The same applies in this AU, although Aemond is fairly well-versed in one particular woman…but even so, he still puts his foot in his mouth a lot.

Aegon is NOT shy about nudity lmao. He seems pretty content to loaf around in various states of undress in canon, and so is he here.

I love writing parallel scenes. In Chapter 3, we got Jace having sisterly bonding with Joff and Helaena, and now it’s Aegon’s turn to have brotherly bonding with Daeron and Aemond. And again, Aegon’s traits as a brother foretell what he might be like as a father. He caves underneath Daeron’s puppy face and indulges Daeron in a city outing so he can buy presents for Joff, but when they’re about to enter a sticky situation with the investigation, he tries to send Daeron home. Just imagine what Aegon will be like when Cheeseball gets his first crush 🥰.

Aegon’s statement “I never make Jace angry” was the universe setting him up to make her angry 💀. But Aegon was also kinda right about how groveling stops Jace being angry, because we see him talk his way out of the doghouse in Chapter 5.

I am convinced by the Episode 8 last supper scene that Aegon and Aemond have some brotherly telepathy going on, and that telepathy is even stronger in this verse where they’ve spent more time together in the Stepstones. Hence their ten-second silent exchange where they plan what to do about the mysterious noise in the hatch.

Notice that Aegon instinctively reassures Ronnel and cleans him up a bit. Big brother/dad instincts coming in 🥰. Aegon categorically refuses to help Ronnel with the bathroom (Ronnel wasn’t asking for help anyway, he was asking permission to go), but when it comes to his own kid? See Chapter 10 and how Aegon very studiously helps Cheeseball pass gas 😂.

Gyles and Ronnel know who Aegon is, but they call him “milord” because they aren’t used to interacting with highborns and they figure that address is suitable for anyone of noble birth. Aegon isn’t fussy about addresses and titles so he never corrected them.

Aemond has been doing his homework about dockworkers while at Driftmark. He wants to impress his future grandfather-in-law 😆.

Daeron and Ronnel are the same age, but Ronnel looks younger. Daeron has grown up on a rich diet and ample physical training. Ronnel has never gone hungry, but he doesn’t get as much variety in his diet as Daeron does, and the physical labor that Ronnel does (helping his father make pies) isn’t very conducive to body-building.

Daemon followed the Targbros because he’s nosy and curious about what would get all three of them out of the castle on an important day for Aegon. He got bored during the shopping trip and but became intrigued again when they discovered the abduction, and now he’s piecing together why Aegon has been acting so oddly the past week. Daemon is sticking around for the adventure so he can gather more information about Aegon’s doings, and because a kidnapping ring in the city is something that would interest most people. But also I think Daemon has been bored with domesticity and he wanted a bit of adventure 😂.

This is the point when Aegon forgets about the feast. His acquaintance/sort-of-friend has been violently kidnapped. That’s a big deal! And this is the kind of adrenaline rush that he enjoys. If he did remember the feast, I think Aegon would still embark on the rescue mission, but he would’ve at least sent a message back to the castle (or convinced Daeron to bring the message back).

I am sorry (not really), but I couldn’t resist making the pun “a stream of grizzled seamen trickled through” the brothel 🙈.

Yes, the madam got very excited by the prospect of three pretty Targaryen men. Can’t really blame her.

The madam mentions her “halfwit” guard. This is actually the brother she mentions in Chapter 6, whom the Tyroshi kidnaps to force her into helping him. I imagine the brother as a sweet and innocent guy, so I like to think he makes it out of the ordeal just fine and returns to the Garden. All the girls there like him, and he’s a large guy (I keep imagining someone like Hodor), so he can intimidate most customers who get too rowdy.

Currency fluctuates a lot in the ASOIAF universes, but at one point a gold dragon is the price of a horse. So that’s a lot of money Aegon is offering the madam, although of course as a prince, it isn’t much money to him. 100 gold dragons is apparently a reasonable ransom for a younger son of a noble family, so when the madam asks for 50 gold dragons for the building, she’s basically saying two of her building is equivalent to a ransom for Oscar Tully or Garmund Hightower.

Aegon claims not to care about royal titles or privileges, but he can still be a snob about things like carrying around a ridiculous amount of money (he’s got people for that). As Queen Clarisse Renaldi once said, “It’s not appropriate for royalty to jingle.”

“Help me, I’m drunk” was 100% inspired by “Get help” from Thor 3. I feel like all the distraction names are pretty self-explanatory. But in pretty much every variation, Aegon is the distraction because he’s a showboat, while Aemond ninja murders everybody.

One of the warehouse guards uses the phrase “pretty girl,” which is Aegon’s pet name for Jace, so that triggers him in addition to everything else.

The rescue is when Gyles becomes Aegon’s number one hype man. I had to delete some scenes with Gyles later in the fic because they didn’t flow well, but there’s a scene where Gyles says he wants to teach his son good values like loyalty, and he cites his loyalty to Aegon as an example.

The Garden’s girls stick around to watch the arrests. The night’s events improve their opinions of the Targs (Aegon in particular). There are other factors, like Aegon’s chill managerial style and him selling the brothel for almost-free to Liane, but this is part of the good karma that pays off later when Jace needs help.

Aegon does enjoy the gratitude he receives for the rescue, similarly to how in canon he laps up the crowd’s adoration during his coronation. So that dopamine hit adds to the appeal of continuing his detective work.

The Gyles & Ronnel reunion makes an impact on Aegon because it’s the first time he’s really seeing a loving father-son relationship and affection. It’s sort of a turning point that plants a seed in his mind of what sort of father he wants to be to his unborn child, because now he has evidence there’s an alternative to what he grew up with. Also, note how Aegon feels like a voyeur to this emotional intimacy, but he’s entirely unaffected by physical intimacy like what happens at the brothel.

Originally the chapter dragged on longer with a scene where the Targs help Gyles and Ronnel move their stuff into the Red Keep, because Aegon offers Gyles a job on the spot. There was a whole comedic bit where Gyles reveals the giant cheese wheel that got him into trouble with the Tyroshi. But I decided it would be better to end the chapter where it did, with Aegon realizing his mistake 🤭.

Chapter 5 commentary here

[onaslansside]

We finally watched Alice (2009) after seeing the mutuals yell about it for years and. oh. such a good decision. Thank you to @as-dreamers-do, @taleweaver-ramblings and everyone else who insisted on yelling repeatedly about how much they loved this movie. I have a stash of DVDs for movie nights that no one has ever heard of but everyone winds up loving, and this movie is about to go in that stash. After watching, we both dived for our phones to see what all the other liveblog reviews said, so assume we yelled about all the normal things, and please enjoy this list of a few more unique/underappreciated reactions.

Alice is an A+ street smart heroine, love her. Every time we'd yell at the screen, "BAD VIBES, NO" she was also aware of the red flag and doing something about it. I feel as delighted about this as Hoid was about Tress requesting parental assistance/advice.

"Oh this is very Between." "Yeah."

Why does she run like that. I get that the blue dress, half updo, and mincing steps into the unknown are a homage, but SHE IS A BLACK BELT, WHY DOES SHE RUN SO BADLY.

I can't tell what's up with Hatter, every single description everyone has given of his possible motivations doesn't quite match. Like, he does think Alice is pretty, and he does want to help the resistance, and he does want to make money while doing so, but it feels like there's another more consistent reason lurking in his eyes and I have NO IDEA what it is, not even after watching Gen and Athelas for years.

"The decor of this casino is excellently stupid, this place would have Thumb Thumbs- *spots the Ten of Clubs* THERE'S ONE!"

LOVE a fight scene that understands that a gun within lunging range is no longer a particular advantage!!! Was NOT expecting Hatter to step between Alice and the threat with that little hesitation, that brings him up several points in my estimation.

That Jabberwock is so stupid. I love it. The design reminds me of the two-headed dragon in HTTYD.

I'm no film nerd, but the camera work is so good even I keep noticing it. The Scooby Doo chase with the Jabberwock, the focus shifting between Charlie and Hatter, the sliver of light when Alice opens the study door... *chefkiss*

I have known this knight for five seconds and I love him.

I need to rewatch this entire thing already, because the body language of EVERYONE is so good and so detailed that you can't get it all, especially when paying attention to the lines being spoken.

Every single shot of Hatter's reactions to Charlie are so funny.

Love both Hatter and Ten of Clubs doing beautiful sliding halts on the casino floors.

Wait, did the King just rescue not one but two of the clubs from the consequences of the Queen's temper tantrum?? I think he did. Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Is he figuring out he's not okay with this situation? Is he secretly undermining her?

Somewhere in the middle of Jack explaining that Alice's father was being brought to the city, I suddenly began to wonder if he might be the Carpenter, because he'd been shown onscreen an awful lot so far...

"Hatter's going to follow her, isn't he. ISN'T HE? ... oh look, so is Charlie, that's great."

We made identical little sad sympathetic sounds when the explosion knocked Charlie over, but we were both very unconcerned for his safety.

I said, "That can be arranged," at the same moment as Alice and I'm very smug about it.

"YOU BETTER NOT GIVE ME THAT 'IT WAS ALL JUST A DREAM' NONSENSE!! >:(" Melwa smirked very loudly because A) that's canon for the original Alice, and B) she'd already seen spoiler gifsets of the end.

And T_T she flings herself at him before we can see if its like in Wizard of Oz and he just was glimpsed and got into her dreams vs he's real, and then we turn around and he DOES know her T_T, and THE POOR MOM who is cropped out of all the gifsets ajghksjfbfbk

[mintytealfox]

I've been meaning to ask but what are some headcanons for Dragon!Norton?

AWE HEEEELLLLLLZZZZ YEEAAAAA I DO 😈👏👏👏👏

when it comes to the 'lady knight Alice' version of Dragon!Norton this is what I've got~

-He was born a cute wittle dragon baby from an egg so I can have that cute wittle baby dragon content LOL (I need an excuse to draw baby dRAGONS) -His mom was out of the picture but his dad was there until Norton was 8 and could take a human form so he dropped him off with lameo human Benny for protection only for the dad to never make it back. -So Norton spent a LOT of his time human actually. But Benny not being a very good teacher at all and mostly leaving him to his own devices and found he had a knack for finding gemstones and precious minerals. Benny seeing the opportunities here and taking advantage. (Cause I am still sussy about Benny, I am throwing him down the 'he not okay' bin for using Norton -squints at Benny-) -as the years go by Norton is pretty run down from always diggin for gems and such. When 'old enough' he would be 'rented out' to help dig and search for Benny's 'friends' as well. They weren't his friends just people doing business with Benny and to get Norton to go with them he would call them 'friends' and how 'we always help our friends' 😑 and would always caution Norton to 'never ever show what you really are. Keep it all hidden' 🤡 so the main way he can protect himself is not an option, and if he doesn't realize his true worth and potential then he can't rebel 🙃. uhg I hate this Benny so much. -But there comes that time when Norton figures it out and the quiet rebellion begins and he can finally bring a mountain down on all the people who used him and then abandon Benny cause YEA 👏👏👏 -Him a big big dragon by the time of Alice rolls around. And he is causing all sorts of problems for any and all people who happen to live near where he decides to hunker down. He is not too keen on sleeping in caves and prefers laying in groves big enough for him and just out in the plains. But he does have a hoard and keeps it at the very top of a particular mountain so he doesn't have to be underground in any capacity. -His hoard is difficult to get to for peoples, but not impossible so Norton is sure to be aware of his stuffs. -He cannot stand people after the whole Benny fiasco, until Alice pops up and his is like 'she is interesting, not sure if I want to take her armor to gnaw on or if I want to actually know her' lol and that is when he starts using his human form again. -Since he had to spend so much of his growing up life in human form its like his dragon form is rebelling when he returns to human form again. Making his body hurt and feel uncomfortable when he is in human form for too long. And that is why that tail and horns of his keep popping out when his emotions are riled in anyway. -When he is upset steam shoots from his nostrils ppffff. It is so hard for him to hide that he is a dragon now, but if he doesn't feel safe, and can't reveal he is a dragon for whatever reason, then he is on his 'A-game'.

I am sure I have got LOADS more but this is what is on the top of my head 👏👏👏👏🤣

[annwayne]

Writing Interview Tag Game!

Thanks @bagheerita and @chaniis-atlantis atlantis for the tag!! This looks like lots of fun :3 Interesting to see what all everyone says.

(questions w/o answers below the read more.)

About me

When did you start writing?

Sixth grade, otherwise around 10/11? I think that's how old I was in sixth grade lol.

Are there different genres or themes you enjoy reading other than the ones you write?

Absolutely! I write mostly romance and fantasy/sci fi, but I love most genres. Murder mysteries are a particular favorite of mine.

Is there an author you want to emulate, or are compared to often?

Not a clue. I read voraciously as a child until college, and just now I'm starting to pick the habit back up again-which is to say I couldn't tell you what authors inspired me as a kid and I'm not familiar enough with any authors I'm reading now to tell you what I want to emulate. No one has compared my writing to anyone that I know of.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

I mostly write on the pc, which is in our office. The desk is not deep enough to my liking but the chair is comfy. Perry's got a bunch of little knickknacks all around the monitor (since it's his side of the desk technically) and I've got a bunch of shelves full of decorations, collectables, so forth, along the wall/in the shelves that connect to the desk.

What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?

Engage with the material that first sparked inspiration over and over and over again. This keeps the ideas flowing and often brings about dreams of said material, which help greatly.

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and/or places you write about?

Hahahahahaha. Ha. Yeah, you could say that.

Are there any reoccurring themes in your writing? If so, do they surprise you?

Yes and no. See the question above.

Characters

Would you please tell me about your current favorite character?

You're asking me to pick a favorite child 😩 Ok. I'll talk about Alice bc I'm working on the sga bridgerton!au. Alice's backstory isn't fully figured out, I'm debating if she'll be adopted or not. I know for sure her relationship with her family is terrible and that's why she was so willing to join the Atlantis expedition despite no guarantee of return. She never learned how to balance work and life, thus leading to a rather isolated adulthood where she spent most of her time in the lab. But hey, her work was well acclaimed and got her to the Pegasus galaxy. Her personality has really come through while working on this bridgerton!au fic. She's terribly anxious, but aware of that anxiety having little logic behind it, so a lot of her actions are based on being brave despite being terrified. She's very courageous in that sense. I'd say her biggest arc (at least in the bridgerton!au) is learning how to voice her wants. She's good at speaking up for others but not so much for herself. Also genderweird feminine presenting chubby scientist in 2000's woo.

Which of your characters would you be friends with in real life?

I can't deicde if it'd be a "get along swell because they are so similar" or a "so alike they can't stand each other" situation with my fandom ocs tbh. I think I might befriend Anya and Awyn, but Alice might upset me too much lol. I can say, for my Angel and Death characters from an original work of mine, they would be my friends.

Which characters would you dislike the most of you met them?

Again, not sure. Hard to tell.

Tell me about the process of coming up with your characters?

I watch a show I like a character I make a sona/insert/version of myself I think would fit well in that world, make a cool story, and be a good ship with the character I like. Then the character blooms as I write.

Do you notice any reoccurring themes/traits in your characters?

Parental issues, adoption abandonment, cults. Yeah. There's a few.

How do you picture your characters?

I usually draw them! :D

My writing

What’s your reason for writing?

Self expression, I can do it better (fix-it-fics), and entertainment. The process of writing itself is very enjoyable for me.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment from readers that you find particularly motivating?

When readers pick up on foreshadowing and hints I'm putting down, when they leave behind long "book reports," as I call them, detailing narrative devices/thematic beats/etc., and when they tell me outright how excited they are to read more of the story. But literally any comment is like gold to me.

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

Uhh. I've never thought of this before. I hope they enjoy my writing? And my ocs? I wouldn't mind being thought of as the person to go to with oc thoughts-not even about my own but anyones. I love ocs. I love seeing someone new I get to learn all about thrown into a world with all these characters I love. It's such a fun thing.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I'm not insecure with my writing lol. Art school really took the brunt of that one. But for a technical answer, I'd say character dynamics? Like. I'm good at a lot of things, but I think recently my ability to emphasize the emotions two characters have for each other (whatever those may be) has improved immensely.

Have you been told what is your greatest strength as a writer is by others?

I've been told I capture individual character voice's rather well. The trick, imo, is once you have heard the character speak enough that you can hear their voice in your head, you can tell when dialogue fits them or not. (obviously this goes for mediums where there is an aloud voice to hear lol.)

How do you feel about your own writing?

I love it! I'm a good writer and I'm always improving.

If you were the last person on earth, would you still write?

Yep. Re-reading my writing is fun!

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, do you write purely for yourself, or is it a mix of both?

Might be a mix? When I have an audience in mind (like for trades, gifts, and friends who are hype about wips I share with them) I tend to think past myself into bigger ideas. I'm still writing what I want to read, but I'm just giving more thought about the execution lol.

npt: @wolveria @nimata-beroya @silverwings22 @klynnvakarian @the-itzy-bitzy-spider

About me

When did you start writing?

Are there different genres or themes you enjoy reading other than the ones you write?

Is there an author you want to emulate, or are compared to often?

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and/or places you write about?

Are there any reoccurring themes in your writing? If so, do they surprise you?

Characters

Would you please tell me about your current favorite character?

Which of your characters would you be friends with in real life?

Which characters would you dislike the most of you met them?

Tell me about the process of coming up with your characters?

Do you notice any reoccurring themes/traits in your characters?

How do you picture your characters?

My writing

What’s your reason for writing?

Is there any specific comment or type of comment from readers that you find particularly motivating?

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

Have you been told what is your greatest strength as a writer is by others?

How do you feel about your own writing?

If you were the last person on earth, would you still write?

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, do you write purely for yourself, or is it a mix of both?

[shipcestuous]

Any "excuse" to hate Alicent?

Naaah I think there are many valid reasons tbh 🤓

I don't agree with ur&other anon's reading of the scene with Aegon&Ali

If she felt real guilt during That particular scene (I don't mean scenes prior to that but that specific 1)

that she didn't deserve to offer comfort then why would she see Aegon crying over his dead son & choose that moment as the moment to screw Criston cole?

Her dad's gone

(a dad she was Ready to confess to but once he told her not to tell him about what she'd done I feel like she took that as..not permission but an I know that he knows&he hasn't disowned me so it's okay)

&she chooses now to give in to her baser instincts, that's all I see.

She's hacking away at whatever warmth or closeness she showed viewers toward her boys last season, in every scene this season... or the writers are.

Makes me very wary of what's to come.

The only parent-child relationship thriving at the moment is rhae&jace&rhae&the rest of her children which I feel sad&happy about.

Sad because the whole point of alicent&rhae's true division imo in season 1 was their absolute,total&unrepentant love for their children (nonexistent for ali this season... so far 👀)

&happy because I can always depend on rhae to unconditionally love her children&show them that love

(it at least makes me glad that there is no doubt in jace's mind that she loves him 😭

which the writers r of course using to show the juxtaposition between ali&rhae which I again think is odd&out of character tbh,

S1 Ali literally placed her body in front of aegons&towards a Dragon- not because of him being the king but because INSTINCTUALLY&without thought she wanted to keep him safe&risk her own life for his)

Also I don't really ship daemyra tbh (first four episodes of s1 absolutely but felt nothing after that), I tend to ship alicent/her children rhae/her children daemon/his children 😂 or aegond/rhaela/jacegon

But I was kind of peeved that there seems so far to be a lack of romance with them this season.

I'm not expecting 'the notebook' or anything but it's almost as if in s1 the writers kept blowing air into a balloon&by this season they tied it&popped it 2 seconds later.

He ran off on his dragon&left her by herself, like he did with rhea or with vis???? I get it (murder, fire, rage) but still.

Also times deux: I don't like that the writers have Aemond not confide in Ali that the killing of luce was an accident.

I doubt she would have believed him but I feel her thinking her son capable of starting a war in a fit of rage

VS him telling her it wasn't his fault&her 60% doubting it but 40% believing it- are two very different paths to take for this relationship&they chose Rage.

Idk what they're doing with his character this season actually.

He's almost like a background character?

There&gone.

Also the Aegon/Helaena scene really bothered me.

It tracks (to be fair you can sort of make anything track with Aegon cuz he's so unpredictable)

but the way she nodded her head once he passed her as if she was mentally telling herself that she should have expected that reaction was so painful to see,

The throwaway "when he's drunk" line in s1 is the perfect s2 opportunity to show them connect when he's drunk

--Even the way he reacted to her saying she was afraid of the rats in ep1 of s2 was such a step forward for them because he could have (&has) said alot worse--

But I don't know if the writers even want to go there.

They're too busy having alicent/Cole sex scenes

(I'm sorry 😅 I will never be over the ridiculousness of it- when Olivia Cooke said in an interview that she forgot rhae&cole had sex&she probably would have played it differently had she remembered whilst shooting, that's when my alarm bells concerning the pairing of ali/co went off cuz usually directors give notes as to how they want an actor to play it&if they didn't remind her then I'm 99% sure They forgot&if the writers didn't tell the directors then I'm sure They forgot TOO which means the writers pulled this ship directly from their hindquarters which means future unnecessary ali/co sex plot shenanigans)

It's a strange feeling.

I am very much enjoying this season as a viewer of television but am disliking so much of it as a Shipper.

Sidenote: u shipping helaena&aemond reminds me so much of the way you shipped alison/jason in PLL,

I think ur expectations though admirable, r much too high which makes ur disappointment so acute, you know what they say- Expect the Worst&hope for the Best 💜

TGC hating on the helaemond kids theory made me laugh. "Yeah I've heard this one&it pisses me off actually" "Really?!" Such an unnecessarily visceral,instant&possessive reaction from him imo ;-) I wish they could hook him up to a lie detector&ask him if he ships helaegon  I have a feeling he just might. I hope him&phia get a lot of future scenes with just the two of them in the next episodes..... For science.... They have to chat at least one good time before the book happenings begin (😳 iykyk) & disrupts everything &they also have to chat because if they don't ****** **** *****! 😠 Canon can be changed around but not by THAT much, IT'S PIVOTAL PLOT so hopefully the writers weave it in 😭 Book readers raise ur hands if u know what I'm talking about 😂

[x]

I didn't hear about Tom Glynn-Carney being asked about that theory. It makes me cringe that someone asked him, as someone who engages in speculation I would not want to come to actors attention, but it's interesting that he already knew about it, and his reaction definitely gives us something interesting to talk about. I can see why he would resent having something taken away from his character, particularly after the father/son scenes in the first episode of the season, and I like the idea that he might ship Aegon and Helaena.

I agree that Alicent is overdue this season for some loving/motherly scenes with her kids, particularly her sons. And Aemond is feeling almost as distant as Daeron.

And Rhaenyra and Daemon may well spend most of the season apart, which sucks.

Let all of these family members interact, PLEASE. All of them.

[interwebois]

Looking for more other Systems to talk to😊

Some things about Us💙 The body is turning 20 in November 2023 so preferably also other adult body System🧡 It’s also almost 1 year anniversary of knowing that I’m part of a System. 11/29/2022

Most of us already excited but later identified with a body so Semi-Fictive💚

TW:(:Dissociation:Finding about being a System:Denial:Interject Trauma) I remember before knowing about OSDD-1b especially Fictional Interject, I just though I was acting you know, I keep looking like this particular character and keep getting his memories of where he comes from or I act like him or why is that randomly when I watch different series I randomly look like them I guess it is a phase?

Actually the reason I found about DID (I kinda knew about it a little bit) or OSDD-1b is because I watched Moon Knight in October of 2022 (Actually I Alice don’t really remember anything from watching the first time, that typically does happen mostly with another Alters Core memory goes for Fictional Interject or Otherwise.) But I do remember the though process though being like Ummmmmm this is what happens to me all the time, my OCD my trans stuff, it’s just I don’t have amnesia like I remember doing it but don’t feel connect and don’t know why I did it. That made me want to learn more about DID so started watching DID YouTubers and reading articles and every video I watched was like wait a second the weird thing that always happens to me that I can’t explain and I though I only experience theses people also experience but was like I don’t have amnesia so kept searching is it possible to have DID without amnesia and later was watching The CTAD Clinic and found about OSDD-1b but still was in denial for a while, and if I’m being honest I sometimes still get really strong denial even though me knowing OSDD-1b has not changed any of my symptoms just made it more possible to understand it easier.

With Us if there is any Interject that also has there trauma it usually mirrors what we went through in a way. It’s like our mind is trying to process what happened through their source memories.

Current song that keeps playing inside

Also have a YouTube Channel. If anyone wants to collab lets do it.