#{and i think that was father's issue with catherine too}

[nightacquainted]

Fanvid of Beauty and the Beast set to "Right Here Waiting" by Richard Marx

[bethanydelleman]

My opinion below the jump, as to not bias:

I find it very hard to believe that Lady Catherine would tell lies about her dead sister unopposed, so I tend to think that there was at least some truth to her assertion that Lady Anne, her sister, wanted an alliance between her son and niece. It is also a super common rich people thing to want money to stay in the family, so it's a normal enough plan.

I think there are several possible explanations, none of which make Lady Catherine into a delusional person. It easily could have been the wish of a young mother Lady Anne to see her son marry his cousin, how perfect it seemed that they were opposite genders! I could see Lady Catherine holding onto the plan as a form of mourning her sister and honouring her wishes. It also may be a plan that formed before Anne was sickly, there are so many childhood vaccine-preventable illnesses. If Lady Anne was already dead at this point, the plan would carry on.

What we do know is that the marriage plan was known enough that Wickham is aware of it, but informal enough that Darcy, who takes family duty seriously, doesn't seem compelled to act on it. This could be because his father opposed the plan or because circumstances significantly changed since his mother agreed. I think he is doing what he can to put Lady Catherine off, given her excitement about his extended visit, it seems he's doing the very bare minimum in a hope that she'll take the hint.

I think in the end, it's unknowable. We just don't have that much information about Lady Anne, except that she doesn't seem to have been as admired as her husband. She could have certainly been a lot like Lady Catherine, which would make sense given her son's initial issues with snobbery. But I do think that most people who deny that Lady Anne agreed to this plan just want Lady Catherine to be a worse villain than she really is in the novel.

[v-tired-queer]

Low-key I think a really good plot point for RWRB2 would be Henry's mom suddenly showing up because he and Alex are getting married. Henry working through his issues regarding his mom not being there for him after the loss of his father and having to go about life with a far too controlling grandfather and an emotionally and mentally abusive brother with only his sister and best friend for support. Like, having Princess Catherine in the movie would be awesome. Catherine thinking that what Henry had--unlimited wealth, the ultimate public status, anything he could ask for being his in seconds--would be enough, but it wasn't because he didn't have her, and she's who he needed.

(Whatever you do, do not imagine Catherine and Henry in the music room, in the middle of a very loud argument and the both of them getting more emotional by the minute, Catherine yelling, "I thought you had everything you needed here, Henry!" and Henry, with tears spilling from his eyes yelling back, "I needed my mum!")

Like, I'm very sure I'm going to love whatever the plot for the second film will be, or at the very least the execution of it, but like, just imagine.

[reginalusus]

out of curiosity, how do you imagine jasons robin origin? I know sometimes twoface is the reason his mother or father dies, does that tie into dynamics between them or is it different for your own interpretation of them?

My Jason's origin isn't too far off what actually happens...

The only differences are the intricacies of what's going on with Willis and Harvey, and how Jason actually dies. I don't go with the explosion death, I tend to go by the Arkhamverse in this case because the blorbos must suffer.

Basically, after his year-long torture in the abandoned Arkham ward, he DOES die when Joker shoots him. (In the actual Arkhamverse, Jason doesn't actually die, he manages to escape but YAWN. BORING!) So when this happens, the LOA quietly retrieves his body and revives him, thus begins his years of training. He returns to Gotham six years later as a powerhouse.

And yes, Harvey is still the reason Jason's dad is dead. I could go into detail about the complexities of the situation, especially between Harvey and Willis, but I'll save it for now methinks (it's not actually that complex, I just add a few things that doesn't make it as simple as 'big, bad Crime Lord murders poor man who betrayed him in cold blood'.)

So, essentially, Willis's death is still a sore spot for Jason, despite him having done his grievance and not having any good memories of him, really.

The tension more comes from the fact that, after Harvey killed him, it left Jason to sort of helplessly care for Catherine, his drug-addicted mother who he loved very much. Obviously, Jason can't care for her, so she passes away, leaving Jason to fend for himself. Then the Robin shenanigans happen, including Jason's canon encounters with Harvey.

Very important to note that, canonically, even after Jason discovered Harvey killed his father, Jason ended up letting go of his rage towards him and began feeling sorry for him instead... Jason, even as a child, sort of understood Harvey. Perhaps, sadly, he saw a bit of Willis in him.

Jumping to present, Harvey and Jason can't really help but get along because they share similar trauma, similar betrayals, similar morals and have both been rotted by Gotham and cast aside by it. Jason yearns for a father figure. He never really had it with Willis, he loves Bruce but can't bring himself to be under his wing anymore - their morals clash too wickedly - so naturally, so he finds it with Harvey, though he'd never tell Harvey this.

Bruce stares at Jason with disappointment, guilt, like he's still mourning him, while Harvey simply sees a young man who, like he, crawled out of what fate had in store for him. He's quietly proud of him - something I think Jason would cling to.

Buuut, they still fight and argue a lot, what do you expect when you have a bisexual disaster dad and an emo thot son, both with daddy issues, trying to run a crime/vigilante organisation together.

[lu-is-not-ok]

I see! I see! then in turn, envy probably does fit better, but I'm going to give an alternate viewpoint on these sins that I think you'll find interesting.

personally, I don't think the sins involved are the primary lessons of the sinners, but can be interpreted as the failings of the antagonist. Don is more obvious, given the first kindered's "ingenious" ideas that led to his children suffering. his pride blocking the idea that this dream wouldn't work.

while for heathcliff... I doubt he'd have this much of an issue if more than one person in his life gave enough of a damn, its clear cut that the butlers didn't even bother to feed him if he weren't nelly, slothful neglect.

It's an... interesting viewpoint, I'll admit.

I can definitely see what you mean with the First Kindred's main failing being Pride. Him having excessive confidence in his plans and not pausing to hear out the grievances of his Kindreds more closely is what eventually led to everything falling apart, as he was unable to account for his own flaws and did not foresee the consequences of his actions. That is, very much, a classic Pride move for sure.

...However, I think your assessment for Heathcliff and Canto 6 has some flaws in it. Mainly because saying that "the butlers" are the antagonist of Heathcliff's story is... Did we read the same Canto?

Let's dissect this Chapter a bit to get to the bottom of this and see if there is any way for Sloth to come from a Canto 6 antagonist. For the Canto itself, there are three notable antagonists (-ish). Hindley, Nelly, and Erlking Heathcliff (with a bonus Every Catherine as part of the same archetype).

Hindley's all about bullying and hurting Heathcliff out of his own feelings of inadequacy, he feels as though his father cares more for a random kid found on the street than he cares about him, his own son. His Sins could be read as somewhere between Envy (his lack of self-worth being the core of why he lashes out) and Wrath (him feeling cornered and unloved cause him to try to change it by doing everything he can to get Heathcliff out of the picture).

Nelly is... interesting. Her colluding with Hermann is caused by her feeling like she's trapped, helpless to change her fate of being hurt by the fall-out of whatever happens between Heathcliff and Cathy in every Mirror World. This is, also, a very Wrath-coded action. However... she does accuse Heathcliff and Catherine of being too Slothful to actually communicate their feelings for each other and in the process causing harm to everyone around them. Put a pin in that, I'll come back to this later.

Then there's Erlking Heathcliff and Every Catherine, which have fairly simple motivations. They both independently came to the conclusion that they themselves are the reason why the other can never be truly happy, and so decided that the only way to fix that is to kill every Mirror version of themselves. This can be read as many things Sin-wise, primarily Gloom (sinking into the self-destructive hopelessness of being unable to find a World where they can be happy together) and Envy (lacking a sense of self-worth to the point they fully blame themselves for everything going wrong in every World).

However, while these three are the antagonists of Canto 6, they're not really antagonists of Heathcliff's past. It's... a lot harder to say if there is an exact culprit for the suffering Heathcliff went through during his time at Wuthering Heights, but I'll try.

One culprit I'd like to define as more so the environment itself rather than any specific people. Not just the butlers of the manor, but the whole Earnshaw family and the classist system they all live in. All of that in one way or another contributed to the abuse Heathcliff had to endure.

...Could you define all that Sloth? Kind of, maybe, since it's blind acceptance of the system that led to the abuse. But you could also make a strong case for Pride, since a lot of the abuse came from the people around Heathcliff treating him as a lesser being, as someone who isn't worth as much as they themselves are.

So if not any of the Canto 6 antagonists, and if not the Wuthering Heights itself, then who else could be the source of the Sloth?

This is where I'd like to take out that pin from how Nelly described both Heathcliff and Catherine as Slothful. Because, yes, I believe our Heathcliff and Catherine are in a way antagonists to their own pasts as well. Let me explain.

The miscommunication between Heathcliff and Catherine, their inability to share their feelings with each other, them resigning themselves to never be able to do so. Not only is it one of the main sources of a lot of suffering both they and people around them go through, but it's also, just as Nelly commented, very Slothful behavior.

...Which is. What I would like to say. But unfortunately, Nelly can only describe what Heathcliff and Cathy's actions seem like on the surface - in reality, the Sins that are actually on display are not Sloth.

For Heathcliff, it's Envy - he feels like he's not good enough for Cathy, and so feels like he's not worth it to confess his feelings to her.

For Catherine, it's Pride - she feels like she and Heathcliff aren't on the same level, and so feels the need to help Heathcliff become a better person and reach her level before she can even consider confesshing her feelings to him.

I really, really tried to find a way to make this theory work, cause it is a very interesting one that I think could work considering what we've learned about the Golden Boughs in Canto 7. If they feed on people's desires, it would make sense that the Sins they take on as Saplings are of those they fed from. After all, the Bough stabbed into the First Kindred very clearly sapped him of all his Pride, leading him to lose all of his confidence and belief in his dream. Like, it's too perfect for there to not be an in-universe connection!

Unless... we're looking at this all wrong. While narratively, it makes sense for Heathcliff to be the one unlocking Hokma, in-universe it could be a coincidence. After all, there was no Bough able to feed on anyone's desires in Canto 6. One got obliterated, and one got stolen.

So then what other Bough could have fed on Sloth...

...

AH FUCK YI SANG AND DONGBAEK-

IF THERE'S ANYONE WHO COULD HAVE FED A BOUGH WITH SLOTH IT WOULD BE THOSE TWO GOD FUCKING DAMNIT.

[suzukiblu]

Mother, Pet , Shock

Jesus, what in actual hell is Jason gonna do if he ends up whelping a half-alien kid in "no metas allowed" Gotham? Or if he has to explain to Lian that she's not her daddy's only pup anymore? Or if–

Jason pictures a sweet little redheaded newborn all nestled up to his chest, maybe softly glowing and floating or adorably stupid and wickedly clever or just ridiculously tiny and defenseless and all those other things all at once, and feels far, far too many feelings about the idea.

His heart fucking hurts with how many feelings he feels about that idea, in fact.

Alright. Ruled out sneaking out to get an abortion, apparently.

Jason can't actually be a real mom, though. He can't protect a pup with his lifestyle, much less properly raise one. Catherine tried, at least, but Sheila was an absolute piece of shit, and those are his only examples so far as "mothering" behavior goes because he is just not emotionally prepared to ever count Selina, and not even because of her actually being an alpha and therefore more the "fathering" type or all the times he tried to get her arrested back in the day. So just–just how would he ever know how to be a mom for some poor stupid kid who'd probably be just as much of a mouthy, difficult brat as he'd always been? How would he know how to be a mom for a kid genetically crazy enough to jack the fucking Batmobile's tires? How?!

Maybe . . . maybe Roy would want them, though, or . . . or something. He wants Lian even though she's Cheshire's, after all. And Jason couldn't put any pup up for adoption unless he was absolutely sure they weren't Kori's because of the whole alien superpowers issue, obviously, but that's what DNA tests are for, right? And who knows, maybe Kori would want them herself, if they were hers.

Jason would have to actually ask to know if either of them would even want a pup that was half him, of course, which just sounds like some fresh fucking hell right there.

.

.

.

"Mr. Luthor? You with us?"

"Not at the moment, no," Luthor mutters from the pavement, pushing himself up carefully and dusting his suit off with a mildly annoyed expression, like they're not currently in the middle of a half-destroyed city block while innumerable robot minions and Kal and Kara are all throwing down in the sky overhead. "Hn. Is there a reason the two of you are perched on one of Superman's pet teenagers? The more annoying one, even?"

"Convenient bullet-catcher," Mercy replies dismissively, shooting down a couple more of the aerial robots.

"Also surprisingly obedient," Hope muses.

"Asshole, I literally just saved your life and fucked up half an army of shitty robots to keep it saved, and as for you two, I did your fucking jobs for you, and all three of you are all gonna be shitheads to me about it?" Kon demands in exasperation. "Seriously?"

"Seems like a reasonable source of entertainment for the afternoon," Luthor says, idly watching Mercy shoot down a few more of the airborne robots. "Given that Superman's being inconsiderately dull and not getting himself punched nearly hard enough."

"Let me the fuck up already," Kon says flatly.

.

.

.

Clark wakes up.

Clark didn't even know he wasn't awake.

"Superman," Bruce says with absolute neutrality. He's wearing the cowl. Standing in rubble. Clark is . . . not standing in rubble.

Laying in rubble. That's what Clark is doing.

Bruce is looking down at him very, very carefully, and seems . . . reserved.

Reserved for Bruce, even.

"What happened?" Clark asks, trying not to concentrate on the little seed of dread that the sight of that reservation invokes in him. He can hear the heartbeats of other League members, here and there in the wreckage of the street around them. Hear civilians and city noise. Hear Lois and Jon, distantly, and Ma and Pa, even more distant. And . . . Kara–both of her–and . . .

"We'll go with 'electrocution', but I think we can safely say just about anyone else would've been virtually incinerated," Bruce informs him, distracting Clark from his mental rundown of people he's currently worried about. "Or just exploded."

"Ah," Clark says with a grimace. Well, that explains why his head hurts so damn bad, he guesses.

At least it was him, then, and not any "anyone else"s.

[marythequeen]

let's start with my first issue here. "mary kept her distance or treated outright HORRIBLY."

did she though? or is that just what you want to believe?

how exactly did mary treat elizabeth horribly? before her reign, she invited elizabeth to her home (probably she was aware of the situation in the seymour household) and elizabeth refused it. she may have had reasons that we don't quite know. (i'm not victim blaming here. just trying to brainstorm) maybe she was too afraid of thomas seymour or catherine parr? maybe she suffered from a stockholm syndrome? or maybe she feared mary more than she did them? the last one is highly unlikely considering nothing happened between two sisters that could lead to such a thing. (if you think otherwise, let's discuss it) but someone who is interested in elizabeth more than i am could answer the first two questions a lot better than i can.

we know mary spent her time taking care of her half-sister even after she was no longer her maid. after anne boleyn's death, not even boleyn's remaining close relatives bothered to look after elizabeth.

except for her older half sister mary who actually was there for her when henry put her aside.

"She was, though, keen to remind her father that he had another child: ‘My sister Elizabeth is well and such a child toward as I doubt not but your highness shall have cause to rejoice of in time coming.' It was a sweet tribute to a little girl whose precedence she had resented but who was now as abandoned as she herself had once been. Mary felt sorry for her and may have hoped to jolt Henry’s conscience about Elizabeth’s treatment." says linda porter in her biography book on mary.

and even when mary took her throne back she didn't turn her back on her half sister that wasn't bothered to help her in times of need. elizabeth didn't speak behalf of mary when she was usurped nor she spoke to her until it was sure that mary was the victor.

and let's not even talk about wyatt's rebellion. elizabeth's imprisonment (whether it was deserved or not) was in much better condition than mary's time in hatfield. elizabeth wasn't abused or physically punished because of her supposed crimes against the crown.

my second issue

why would mary legitimatize elizabeth? i'm genuinely asking this. why would mary do this when legitimating elizabeth meant that mary herself was a bastard? also elizabeth herself never legitimized her parents's marriage anyway.

but of course, this is also mary's fault.

both mary and elizabeth played the game very well but one is not like the other after all. and the main difference is tolerance. wouldn't elizabeth, if she were in mary's shoes, imprison mary or even execute her as soon as she took the throne? i think we all know the answer of this question considering the grey sisters and mary stuart.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Gods Jason just going around collecting parents is so funny, especially cos he cannot be normnal about them, like going off nominally original canon (IE pre classist retcons that made Willis abusive)

Jason's issues with Willis was that he was absent when Catherine and Jason needed him. He was unaware at the time Willis had been killed by Two Face and was genuinely aggrieved to find out the truth. By all accounts Willis prior to retcons was a good dad trying to get by in a rough area but who ultimately died as a result of the lifestyle.

He had zero issues with Catherine and largely held himself responsible for her problems. Though if I recall her addiction was also tied with a physical sickness she couldn't get treated properly.

He was instantly adoring and understanding of Sheila and even after she revealed herself to be helping the Joker and sold him out he still tried to save her and said he loved her as he shielded her body.

The comics never let his relationship with Talia quite work that way (Cos of bigotry and character assassin reasons; even the author of Lost Days thinks that ending was bad) but he's basically willing to give Talia a pass on anything. Though again if she's written well he wouldn't need to, but still a nice thought.

His entire encounter with Bruce is sort of a passive suicide, or murder suicide attempt but he straight up gives Bruce permission to kill him (Jason is probably one of the more passively suicidal Bats, not quite as Cassandra's level prior to her actual murder by Shiva, but up there) & while definitely willing to confront Bruce is also like, still utterly obsessed with him. Though I think the fact Bruce & Batman, father and hero got conflated in Jason's head is part of why that is the case.

Which is a rather long form way of saying if he found out he had another parent and they were like, cool and chill and nice, he'd probably be like, quite happy! If subtly paranoid something was going to go wrong, but I imagine he'd be in his "Polite young man" mode.

Also Tom being bigger than Bruce also means Jason is likely bigger than Bruce (Early UTRH showed them as comparable in size so this fits seeing as Jason was like 18 when that went down)

Basically Jason has a lot of parents & a lot of feelings about parents but is by default incredibly ride or die and likely a little too passively suicidal for anyone's good.

Honestly I'm living for the idea of Jason getting bigger than Bruce

But also yeah ya boy really wants parental figures but GOD does he keep running into ones who have many flaws.

So with this whole crossover it's just. He keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop. Something about the Dupain-Chengs that is 'wrong' and can hurt him. At this point he's not optimistic enough to hold out hope that they're entirely normal people, but he is still hoping that it's a minor issue on the sliding scale and something that can be dealt with

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

The thing is while Philip and Elizabeth were in a happy relationship, Charles and Diana were not. Elizabeth was monarch & Philip was the consort and it’s known that they hated that when Elizabeth’s father died that it meant they’d not be able to raise their children how they envisioned & life at Clarence House with them.

Charles was a post war baby boom baby in 1948, and child rearing especially with boys was much different than what it is now and while Charles loved the outdoors and the wilderness, he didn’t like it for sports like Philip, he loved the nature etc.

Diana was insistent on William and Harry always being treated the same and pushed them to go to Eton like her family had done for generations - just like Philip did having Charles go to Gordonstoun.

The thing is that boarding school helped an exiled prince like Philip find a home whether at Salem Schloss or Gordonstoun and helped him become who he was. Eton however seems to be a school that has boys graduating who are not emotionally stable or are easily manipulated.

William had the weekly meetings with the Queen and Queen Mother which seemed to have helped. Boarding school isn’t something I see in the future of the Wales kids and I think it’s why they moved to Berkshire and so did Pippa & James with their families so they could be there for the Wales kids alongside Carole & Michael when William & Catherine are away.

The quality of the marriages doesn't matter. Nor does it matter what generations or times someone was born and lived in or where they live now or what their interests were or what the parenting philosophy of the day was.

The crux of the issue here is that Charles complained about his parents in a very specific way. Then he turned around and behaved in a very similar manner towards his own children, according to the complaints of an aggreived child. The who, what, where, when, why, how details of it doesn't matter.

What does matter is that someone had complaints. They said "my children will be treated better" and they weren't. They were given different opportunities, but the result is the same: the child is unhappy because the parent did what was best for the parent because of the broader family's expectations, not the child. And we see now for the second time - for the third generation - the same thing happening in the Sussex family.

That's where William appears to be breaking the curse. He's prioritizing his children's needs over the parents'' requirements and extended family's expectations. Will it work, though?

Honestly though - you can't pin the boys going to Eton exclusively on Diana. Charles had an equal say in it. He wanted the boys to go to Eton too because it's where he had wanted to go to school.

[yanderes-galore]

Hello! I'd like to ask for a Miranda Keyes concept, if that's okay? Thank you!

I can try, sure. I don't know much of her character well so I'll try my best. Sorry for the long wait, I hope it's at least vaguely yandere. I get worried when a yandere doesn't show classic traits that it isn't intense enough- She's subtle in this.

Yandere! Miranda Keyes Concept

Pairing: Platonic -> Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Clingy, Manipulation, Overprotective behavior, Controlling behavior, Abuse of rank/power, Slight stalking, Lucid yandere, Jealousy/Possessive behavior implied, Dubious companionship/relationship.

Miranda Keyes is the daughter of Captain Jacob Keyes and Catherine Halsey.

She was mostly neglected by her mother and often wanted to follow in her father's footsteps.

Despite her mother wanting to keep her out of UNSC affairs, Miranda had an adventurous and determined spirit.

She's brave and has fought in the Covenant War just like her father.

Not much is said in her wiki personality-wise other than her being brave and taking after her father, despite being with her mother most of the time.

Although she has proven herself to be a skilled Commander, obtaining the title at a young age.

I like to imagine an AU where the obsession starts on her ship In Amber Clad.

The ship is large with a big crew and she has proven herself a worthy Commander for it.

Maybe you knew her a little before working on In Amber Clad, that or you just began getting to know her after being assigned onto her ship.

Either way I like to think you work close/under her on the ship.

Which allows you both to talk.

Despite her important role, I imagine Miranda likes a good chat when not busy.

Imagine if Miranda found good company in you, often feeling less stressed when she speaks with you.

It can be anything from battle plans or other tasks on the ship to casual conversation.

She isn't usually very casual but she does her best to let loose with you.

Johnson can be heard commenting on how well you two get along.

Miranda has had allies... But not many close friends.

Most likely due to her busy past.

Miranda was much more interested in training to lead a ship than companionship.

A trait she most likely inherited from both her mother and father.

So she's surprised she gets along so well with a subordinate, especially one who is so insistent on making her relax more.

It's hard to relax during war....

Then again... Too much stress leads to an unclear head.

Even when In Amber Clad is attacked and the Battle for Earth commences, Miranda is impressed that you are able to keep your head unlike most of her crew.

Miranda is another subtle yandere who likes to prioritize her work.

After all, you're both already dealing with a war going on.

Miranda may even experience a bit of annoyance when she's distracted by you.

You really are one of the closest connections she has.

All she's really known is protecting humanity, so she finds herself concerned about you when Covenant start to become a bigger issue.

Now I don't expect her to be murderous or all that overbearing.

She's good at hiding those more intense emotions and is overall busy.

Maybe you two end up going through the events of Halo 2 together.

You stick close to her and Johnson during all the events, even when your group is picked off and you're all kidnapped.

I think the events of Halo 2 would kick her obsession into a higher intensity by the start of Halo 3.

Maybe she almost lost you to The Flood Covenant.

You're no Spartan, even if you are an ODST or Marine... These threats are too much for you alone.

Even if she feels embarrassed to admit it, you mean a lot to her.

It can be through friendship... Or more than that.

I feel her obsession starts as friendship in Halo 2 and transitions to romance in Halo 3.

She originally thinks she's so close to you because she's new to the whole friendship thing.

Yet as you two fight through this war, Miranda finds herself constantly worried about you.

She often thinks of you and nearly wanted to kill the Covenant herself for touching you.

By the time you two set up in the Crow's Nest, she's constantly having you screened for signs of Flood infection or injuries.

She often watches you train and thinks... Maybe there's more to this than the thought?

No... Friends wouldn't be this close, right?

No... And when she sleeps, she thinks of you and what you're doing.

She's normally not one to break composure, although ends up feeling her face heat when you're so close.

When she realizes she's in love, she's worried.

This could jeopardize things in her mind.

Yet she keeps finding herself drawn to you... To the point of pulling you aside one day to tell you such a thing in the Crow's Nest.

If you refuse, she understands and waits for you.

If you accept, then she's less intense but still concerned about your well-being.

She often keeps track of you through others or even visiting you herself.

When you leave your quarters, she investigates a bit out of... Curiosity.

She often finds her obsession troubling.

She's lucid, often catching herself on odd mistakes and tendencies.

For example, she finds herself threatening someone under her for allowing you to be harmed.

That or she finds her nails digging into her palm when you're focused on someone else.

It's... Concerning and she knows it.

However, she tries to blame it on her just being worried for you.

Miranda may use her rank to dictate what you can or can't do.

If she wants you to sit out on a mission, she orders it.

She seems like she struggles on affection, yet would adore her partner to kiss her in private.

She knows you probably deserve better.

You don't deserve to be in war, you don't deserve her being controlling...

But she can't let you go.

No, she care far too much to let you leave her.

If you point out what she's doing wrong, she acknowledges it, but doesn't entirely fix it.

She still feels her grip tighten around you when you try to pull away.

Sometimes she wishes she wasn't in the middle of war...

She just wants to focus on you.

No matter what you say, Miranda may drag you to stay close to her.

She apologizes if she comes off as controlling or paranoid...

But she'd do anything to keep you beside her, hopefully you'll understand she's looking out for you in exchange for your love.

"I need you to listen to me, I don't need you on any missions. I just need you with me... That's an order. I'm sorry I had to do this... You'll understand, won't you, love?"

[bforbetterthanyou]

I’m curious…what is your opinion of Henry’s relationship with each of his wves?

Oh my goodness gracious, thank you for this, Anon! (This got ridiculously long so I’m putting it under a cut)

Okay I guess I’ll start with Catherine of Aragon since she never gets to go first…

Hot take (not really) but I don’t think she and Henry had this great romantic love. And, for the record, I think it was mutual. I don’t think either of them loved each other in a romantic way. However, I also don’t think that Henry married her because he was forced to…because who forced him? His father? Yeah, Henry claimed later on that he only married Catherine because it was his father’s “dying wish” (or something to that effect) but we don’t know if that’s actually true and also, Henry denounced the betrothal in 1505 and no one forced him to go through with it regardless. And, certainly, none of the naysayers were forcing him to go through with it. Catherine apologists make so much of Henry uses the “brother’s widow” excuse during the Great Matter and completely gloss over the fact that there were multiple people also citing this as a reason during the period of Catherine’s widowhood.

I think, what it came down to, was that Henry knew that Catherine had been living in wealthy poverty and was maybe not being treated very kindly by his father, and Henry was also dealing with his own poor treatment by his father, and so Henry saw himself as this knight in shining armor rescuing the damsel in distress. Of course, Henry and Catherine had also known each other for almost a decade—it’s hard to know exactly what their relationship was like during those years because I doubt they really interacted much, but if Catherine was kind to him then that would add to why Henry was so okay with ignoring the naysayers. And then, in the early years of their marriage, Henry came to admire and respect her.

Where things get complicated is the issue of their children. I remember once seeing this article Suzannah Lipscomb wrote where she speculated how their marriage would be if Henry, Duke of Cornwall had lived and Suzannah made it out to be that everything was all rainbows and sunshine and she was his beloved wife forever etc etc. That’s great, Suzy, but I really don’t think it’s, at all, realistic. Certainly, if Catherine had had a healthy son who survived, Henry wouldn’t have divorced her even after she hit menopause. But Ithink it’s very optimistic to say their marriage would’ve been perfect. Obviously, losing so many children didn’t help. But, like I said, I don’t think Henry was deeply in love with her, so I think it’s inevitable that he would’ve strayed (I guess is the right word?).

On to Anne (strap in y’all this already way too long answer is gonna get even longer).

So I mentioned how I don’t think Henry was really romantically in love with Catherine. I think that Anne was the first time (and the last time actually) that Henry genuinely, properly, fell in love with someone (sorry Bessie stans…do those exist? Probably…somewhere…I definitely feel like I’ve seen at least one person try to argue that Bessie was the great love of his life). Anyway, yeah I think Henry had all of these grand romantic ideas about himself and he believed himself to be in love with every pretty girl…and then he met Anne and his brain just short-circuited. (And, who can blame him, I mean Anne Boleyn is obviously the most perfect woman whose ever existed, I’m in love with her 😂). In all seriousness, Henry didn’t have the great passionate love with Catherine but he definitely had it with Anne. We could talk about what went wrong in that relationship, but I’ve already stated my opinion on that and almost got run off of Tumblr for it.

So moving on to Jane…

Oh dear. It amazes me how many people still believe Henry’s own propaganda. So, unfortunately, for those of you, it’s very clear to me that Henry never loved Jane at all. He treated her pretty poorly while she was alive. I think she appealed to him because she wasn’t Anne. After she died, he fell head over heels with the idea of her. But that’s about it.

Now, lucky number 4.

I feel like I don’t really need to say much about this one. Henry made his feelings about Anna pretty clear.

I guess I could talk about their post-divorce relationship. What’s sad is that I think Anna could’ve actually been good for him. She comes across as a pretty chill person, but she also enjoyed a lot of the same things that he enjoyed. I think, if Henry had just not done that stupid thing of thinking that he was still 20 years old and that Anna would magically recognize him somehow, then I think they could’ve been brilliant together.

Onto Katheryn number 2.

I feel like this one is pretty self-explanatory. Henry was getting old, he couldn’t exercise like he used to, he had mobility issues, he was becoming obese…and Katheryn made him feel young again. What’s interesting comparing Katheryn and Anne’s downfall—Anne died because she was powerful, Katheryn died because she was powerless.I mean, it’s not insignificant that Katheryn’s downfall took months while Anne’s took just a few weeks. Obviously, the suspicion of Katheryn committing adultery was embarrassing for him, but she stuck around so long under house arrest because the only real threat Katheryn posed was to Henry’s ego.

Yee-haw, it’s Kathryn Parr (any Rex Factor fans out there?)

This one I also feel like is pretty self-explanatory. By this point, Henry has alienated and killed everyone who ever cared about him so, naturally, he’s feeling pretty lonely. What I find most interesting is that Kathryn was older and more mature and, obviously learned. I think with Jane, especially, and to a lesser-extent, Katheryn, Henry was kind of over intelligent women who could stand up to him. But I get the sense that, after Katheryn’s execution, he kind of got tired of the subservient wife. I think Henry actually preferred intelligent, feisty women, but things had gone so horribly wrong with Anne that he wanted the opposite. But then he quickly got bored of the opposite. Obviously, at this point in Henry’s life he’s really not interested in anyone standing up to him or trying to impose their opinions on him, but he still wanted someone he could have a conversation with. And Kathryn, bless her, was clever enough to match him intellectually without pushing the boundaries too much.

Wow, this got so insanely long. I’ll put it under a cut so it doesn’t clog up anyone’s feed.

But, you know, when I really spell it out like this, it just emphasizes how frustrating it is when all the wives get lumped together and the last few even get largely ignored. Because, for all of them, their circumstances for becoming Henry’s wife were completely different, and all of their relationships with him are completely different. People act like him having six wves was inevitable or that his choices were completely random. On one level, I can understand why people lump them together in this neat “Six Wives” package but doing that completely ignores the fact that they were individuals, not just a part of this rotating door of arbitrarily chosen women.

[doeeyeddyke]

post Lazarus transfem Jay, where no one knows shit about her coming back until completely accidentally, partly bc she's not even the (sole) center of attention

Damian is sent to Gotham and is one day like btw I have some sisters and Bruce is like..... "Are They Mine" (Wait I Might Have Girls 🥺) (secret girldad Bruce for the win) and Damian is like.... Jane will be displeased if I say anything.... but I think Athanasia biologically is Father's..... but I don't want to lie..... hmmm...... "idk anyway look at the time doot di doot...."

Talia doesn't pick up when Bruce calls she's just like "girls go check if it's anything important or if he's just having a meltdown"

So now 2 sisters start popping up around more often to keep and eye out and check on Damian and one is super tall and buff and the other is much shorter and slighter but they call themselves twins even if short one says she's older and tall one is like "barely!! it doesn't count!!" which honestly yea they're sisters alright

That's how Black Swan and White Dove come to be known, Black Swan is quiet and seemingly ambivalent about the bats but White Dove sounds like she's about to beat the shit out of Batman and to a lesser degree Nightwing and seems vaguely displeased being around Tim's Robin but is cool with Spoiler/Batgirl (esp since she's gotten close to Black Swan and treats her well) and distantly polite to young Duke the very few times they meet

Tim's Robin: hey what's up with that

Damian:

Robin:

Damian: she has Issues With Men don't you know anything Drake smh leave her alone

Robin:

Robin: Oh. Yea ok that makes sense ig sorry man

Damian: don't tell her I said anything tho

(Damian to himself later: it's not Untrue but that's not exactly what's- wait ok that's kinda exactly what's going on here isn't it)

Btw Damian calls her Jane but her full name is Catherine Jane Columba (Mom's name + Jane Austen + Mom's hc maiden name) and she uses Jane with league sibs but CJ in general for everyone else

Anyway I imagine that Cass and Jane start hanging around more and are eventually considered neutral to friendly extension of batfam via Damian (and Athanasia and Mara when they're sent over) (Athanasia is sweet if a lil awkward and much younger than everyone else, Mara is very "You're Not My Dad just a sort of step uncle at best" but Bruce is like "omg,,, daughters,,,,")

Cass might even eventually come over for dinner or smth maybe as Steph's plus one and Dick would be like "omg I am going to big brother you so hard" and Bruce is like "are you sure you don't want to be my daughter" and Tim is trying to figure out if he can do his stalking out of affection and respect thing without getting his butt kicked and the Al Ghul kids are being absolute demons fighting for Cass' attention and trying to find out what Jane is upto

The Jane identity reveal can be totally anticlimactic (Damian says Jane wants to meet them and then at a scheduled dinnerthey meet a buff tall older female lookalike of the dead second Robin and they think "omg 😱 surprise older Todd sister no one knew about??" and Jane doesn't let anyone say anything bc she wants to see how long this lasts)

Or maybe there's some big fight or whatever or fear toxin is involved and a league sib is hurt and Jane unmasks to comfort and tend to them and Bruce or Dick (or even Alfred!) see her face and have a bit of an aneurysm and Jane's too distracted with big sister-ing to be too explicitly angry with the bats at the moment but makes a snappy remark or smth that gives her away ("miss me old man" /sarcastic and /derogatory if it's Bruce)

And uh yea anyway don't take this too seriously I'm half delirious and keep dissociating in turns and I just wanted an excuse for transfem Jason and ended up really loving CJ/Jane

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Five Little Ducks

Fandom: DC Comics, Batman

Summary: Bruce finds a magically de-aged Jason.

Chapters: 6/13

Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown, Duke Thomas, Zatanna Zatara

Additional Tags: De-Aged Jason Todd, Magic, Babysitting, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff and Angst, POV Third Person, Bruce Wayne is Not Okay, Bruce Wayne Tries, Jason Todd Has Issues, Childhood Trauma

Chapter Six: When I Grow Up

When Bruce woke up, Jason was gone. He had no idea how old Jason was, so he rushed to Jason's old apartment in his pajamas. Bruce didn't take the time to get dressed out of fear that something had happened to Jason. When he arrived, Jason sat in the apartment, shaking from the cold and smoking a cigarette. His pajamas still had the tags on them. Jason's eyes were half-closed as he mumbled something to himself. "Jason," Bruce called

"I won't be small forever... And by then, he'll be old," Jason mumbled. He hadn't heard Bruce at all.

"Jason, put that cigarette-."

Jason looked at the ceiling. His hair was cut in an entirely different style, and his bangs were unkempt, hanging in his eyes, nearly obscuring the bruises and cuts that covered his face. "How old are you?" Bruce questioned. Jason took another puff of his cigarette and blew smoke out his mouth and nose. He winced and coughed. Bruce crouched down, tapped Jason's foot, and jerked backward, blocking a punch. "How old are you?" Bruce raised his voice.

"I'm eight," Jason answered as he stepped on his cigarette. "Sorry... My hearing's not that great right now. I got out of the ER yesterday."

Jason looked like he hadn't slept in days. "Jason, can I get a good look at your face?" Bruce asked. Jason nodded, and Bruce pushed Jason's bangs out of the way. The only other time Jason looked that terrible was when he died. Jason wrung his hands to stop the shaking. "Shaken up?"

"My dad's in jail... What do you think?" Jason snapped. "What are you doing here? Aren't you rich?"

"I'm visiting a friend," Bruce replied as he examined each cut and bruise. They were starting to heal, so it'd been a few days since he was beaten. "Is Catherine here?" Bruce had to lie to convince Jason that he was safe.

Jason shook his head. "She's hurting... Bad... So, she's gone to get better at a friend's," Jason replied. He turned his face away. Bruce sighed. "So, you know my mom?"

Bruce nodded. "She wanted me to come and get you while she's away. She was worried about you being alone," Bruce lied. Bruce stood up and offered Jason a hand. Jason winced and stumbled forward into Bruce's arm. "It's okay... I got you." Jason held onto Bruce's arm, trying to steady himself. He gave in, making a soft noise of defeat.

"I'm sorry... I need to sit down," Jason mumbled. Bruce helped him down, making sure he didn't hit his head. "I wanted to find my mom... I haven't-. I can't-. I'm too dizzy."

"What happened?" Bruce asked.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Jason mumbled.

"I thought you said you got out of the ER yesterday. They shouldn't have-."

"They didn't release me... I said I got out," Jason mumbled. Bruce sighed.

"Wanna ride on my back? I'm gonna take you to get something to eat," Bruce offered. Jason nodded. Bruce carried Jason on his back to the car, and they went through the drive-thru. "Jason? I'm not with the police or anything... I genuinely want to know what happened to you."

"Everybody thinks my dad did this to my face... Dad didn't do this," Jason defended, "He's in jail because of what he did to the guy that did this..."

Jason was being honest. "I'm sorry for assuming the same thing... Jason, who did that to your face?" Bruce asked as Jason dug into his fries. "Actually, I have a more pressing question. When's the last time you had a full meal?"

"I dunno... I woke up somewhere weird this morning, so it could've been a day... Maybe two?" Jason answered. Bruce frowned. "Did I say thank you?"

"It's alright," Bruce whispered. Jason stopped eating and turned to Bruce.

"No, no... It's not okay. I-. Thank you," Jason whispered.

"You're very welcome. Jason, can we go back to my first question? Who hurt you?" Bruce asked.

"Some guy said my parents owed him money, and he started beating me up... Then, my dad showed up and started hitting the guy with a baseball bat," Jason explained, "My dad coulda taken the guy's head off, but he didn't. And we can't bail him out because he was already on parole for something else... And his PO's a real doofus."

"A doofus?" Bruce grinned. Jason nodded. "Guess there are worse things you could've called him. Do you and your dad typically get on alright?"

"Sure... I mean, he's not perfect... Nobody is, but he loves me a whole lot. I know he can be mean sometimes, but he woulda left a long time ago if he didn't want me," Jason replied, "He didn't have a dad around growing up. He promised me it'd be different."

"So, you love him?" Bruce asked.

"Of course I do," Jason replied.

Bruce rustled a hand through Jason's curls while Jason ate. "Are you still hungry?" Bruce asked. Jason nodded. Bruce could tell Jason wanted to cry but wouldn't allow himself to. "It's okay to be upset, Jason."

Jason turned his head. "Stop it," Jason warned as he screwed up his face. "Stop it." He hit the heel of his palms against his legs as he tried to stop his tears from falling. Bruce realized those words were self-directed.

"Hey, c'mere," Bruce whispered. Jason shook his head. "It's okay... No one's mad at you for crying." Jason wiped his tears away.

"If I keep crying like this, he's not gonna wanna come home," Jason mumbled, "I gotta be tougher."

"Sometimes the toughest thing you can do is let yourself cry it out," Bruce whispered as tears streamed down his cheeks. Jason hugged him.

"Why are you crying?" Jason muttered.

"Because I might've been too hard on my little boy," Bruce whispered. Jason let go and wiped his eyes. "You okay?"

"Mhm... Can I still have another burger?" Jason mumbled. Bruce chuckled and nodded.

"You can have whatever you want," Bruce smiled.

[boyfridged]

yutro i need to hear more abt ur canon oc willis todd. please.

oh the pleasure is mine! (i feel like i have waited for this question my whole life though so it will be long. and won't even cover all of it.)

obviously, willis todd was born in the crime alley. he was raised by struggling parents and an assembly of aunts and uncles, not all blood related. his family broke down due to financial trouble. there's a whole background here i have in mind: the area used to be more dominated by heavy metal industry workers, but the companies started seeking cheap labour abroad, throwing the community into an almost decade old crisis and causing them to disperse while also trying to gentrify the area (partly by exploiting the queer & artistic spots in the area that are also often found in districts with high immigrant & working class areas. that's a thing that happens in many cities) (that's offtopic but hence the fancy cinema in the area!). when willis was very young, his father was a victim of aggressive lay-offs and was soon found dead. his mother left gotham with another man when willis was 17. he did not blame her for it.

he is also a 2nd/3rd gen immigrant. i do not have a "set" ethnicity for him (although in thursday night and my other wip he is vietnamese.) it's also important to me that he speaks the language.

he's never been exceptionally good at school but he's smart and knows his way around plenty things. he spent his adolescence working many odd jobs, involving the less-legal ones mentioned in canon - "running numbers" and boosting cars, but not only. he managed to get the GED despite and enrolls into a scholarship LPN programme provided by the wayne foundation (nothing to do with bruce btw, who at the time is not involved neither in the company nor in the philantropy. it's probably based on late thomas wayne's project.) it's not his dream job but this is what is available, it's honest work and he's good enough at it. this is also how he meets sheila.

willis does fall in love with sheila, but she takes interest in him first and tbh willis also falls a bit in love with pretty much anyone and everyone he meets. he sees the best in people. they are never serious though, but when pregnancy comes into play, willis is determined to work something out. maybe sheila thinks she can be a mother for a moment too, and she is vaguely around for the first 2-3 months, except she's not being a mother anyway. and also soon she looses her freshly obtained license as a result of medical malpractice, and willis loses his scholarship because of the association with her too.

he meets shiva by accident and performs first aid on her. sandra gives him her contact details "in case he ever needs anyone gone." willis being willis thinks absolutely nothing of it.

on that note. willis just has what i'd call middle mannered boyish charm, good-spirited sense of humour and the tiniest amount of shyness/awkwardness that makes people (women especially) like him a lot. and he doesn't mind casual romance himself so his address book (or whatever the contemporary equivalent would be) grows to be quite a weird list.

he's briefly a single dad to jay before he meets catherine. they manage just fine for a while, he gets a job as a mechanic, and he is home enough for jay to speak the language too (jay does not speak it later in life though. but jay's relation to willis is a whole another topic i could write hundreds of words about). when catherine gets sick and the financial issues follow, he gets much more absent and depressed. still, every decision he takes is always motivated by the love for his family. he might not have time nor energy to entertain jay as much as he'd like to, so their past-time becomes taking naps together. and willis likes music so he sings him to sleep.

i talked about willis' parenting and his attitude irt violence here so i will not repeat myself but i do think he was relentlessly patient and that this kindness in the eyes of many made him a bit naive. but he would also stop at nothing for his family. love drives men like him into paradoxical points of no return sometimes. &he is convinced he's getting his hands bloody so that jay's never ought to be.

i think he goes on blackgate on a murder charge, because blackgate is blackgate. if he did it or not is a whole another matter; and he surely knows too much for two-face to get rid of him. perhaps contrarily to the charge, his "crime" was actually trying to take a step back and this is what got him in trouble.

[twochildreninamoteldemo]

Hi Maven!! Same q to everyone this week: what are your top 3 wincest episodes, and why?

ok im gonna cheat and do this in 2 ways hehe

a) top 3 sam/dean episodes

3. A Very Supernatural Christmas: has the samulet (their engagement ring, obviously!), you can palpably feel the isolation, the neglect, it's very two-children-in-a-motel-esque. and of course, the final scene, where i think, if there was any point in the series aside from the barn scene in which they would have said "i love you," it would have been there. the deep long stare, the watery eyes, the fact that they both know dean will be gone within the year, and then... "do you feel like watching the game?" ahhhhhhh drives me nuts

2. Swan Song: their love literally!!!!! saves the world, i mean come on. it has the whole wincest montage that you could literally set a richard siken poem to, or a taylor swift song to (look i know those are vastly different things but. bear with me), and it would just feel right. dean finally lets sam do things on his own. he lives because sam tells him to. sam manages to revoke his possession consent because of how much he's in love with dean, even as his fist is smashing dean's face into a pulp. ok i have to stop or i'm going to start crying in this goddamn airport.

Playthings: obviously. gothic horror episode of all time. picture-perfect family in the outside, secret sibling hidden upstairs. the way sam and dean's codependency is paired with that of the grandmother and her ghostly sister. the face-stroking. the almost kiss. god i swear it always looks like they're gonna kiss. sam writhing on the bed. dean staring at him like that. the subtext was about to bust through the screen, what with the acting and the way the plot and the meta-plot fit together perfectly. catherine tosenberger said it much better than i can, go read her article in TWC about wincest if you haven't!

b) top 3 family-horror-what-the-incestuous-freudian-fuck-is-going-on-here episodes

2. Devil's Trap: azazel uses john's body in a sexual manner against both sam and dean--primarily the latter but sam gets it, too. it's a chilling scene and really cements that this is what spn is about: never being able to escape the family. sam learns partly of azazel's plot, dean gets his daddy issues flayed onto him, and all through the eyes of the father. it's so well done.

3. Skin: imo the most damning thing the shifter says is, "i will be sorry to lose this skin. your brother's got a lot of great qualities. you should appreciate him more than you do." uh...what? the way he ties up sam and plans on torturing him also aligns with the shifter's pattern of turning into the husband and beating up the wife. another HMM moment actually comes from dean himself, when he tells sam that none of his friends will ever understand him and that dean's the only one who can...it's very isolating, kind of abuser tactics, and just. whew. this was episode SIX!!

In the Beginning: come on you knew i was gonna say this. aside from the obvious moments of "mom is a babe" (and remember, dean invokes sam into this moment as well..."sammy, wherever you are..."), samuel!azazel leaning over dean and smelling him, and samuel!azazel kissing mary--passionately returned(?), may i add, the plot itself sets up the winchester family as this enclosed, inbred unit. mary's kiss with her possessed father seal's sam's fate as part of azazel's army. the sexuality she shares with her father makes her son's blood diseased and cursed. the family line is tainted by incest. her kiss is what allows sam and dean to grow up that way, to become so codependent, what allows the moments of avsc, swan song, and playthings to happen! in the beginning. this begins the cycle of selling and saving souls--mary for john, john for dean, dean for sam. it's literally THEE spn episode, perhaps even more than playthings. even though sam's barely in it, his fate hangs over the whole episode, and this is full house of wincest at its finest.

[horizon-verizon]

Elizabeth I's equivalences with Rhaenyra and Dany are not 1:1. For example, Elizabeth's success was due in part to her own insight and cunning (Dany) and knowing how to choose good advisors (I think they both chose well with the information they had).

What I find a little strange is the way they are trying to present Elizabeth's level of education. Daenerys has hardly been educated, everything he knows is based on observation and intuition, but like Rhaenyra Elizabeth also received good education.

"Elizabeth did not enjoy a happy family home until her father's sixth and final marriage, in July 1543, to Catherine Parr (ca. 1512-1548), who took charge of the welfare and education of her stepchildren, which for Isabel included the study of French, Italian, Latin and Greek, as well as theology, music, moral philosophy and rhetoric (which would later be useful for her speeches as queen, written by herself)."Mark Cartwright, 2020

She was separated from her during her brother's reign and imprisoned during much of her sister's, yes but it is not fair to Dany to compare her to Elizabeth. because although she was not raised with the intention that she would govern in the future, she had a very, very good foundation.

The glorious thing about Elizabeth's speech is as the other anon pointed out the way she empowers herself, I can think of other women who gave speeches during battles But they were fighting not for themselves but for their fathers or children, because part of their duties was to give these speeches. They may not have been expected to lead on their own, but most expected these women to be eloquent.

Anon talks about this anon/post.

Elizabeth I's equivalences with Rhaenyra and Dany are not 1:1. For example, Elizabeth's success was due in part to her own insight and cunning (Dany) and knowing how to choose good advisors (I think they both chose well with the information they had).

Hmmm, yes this was niggling at my head but I didn't put it into words. Thanks. I wasn't trying to make as if Dany was the exact same sort of person as to Elizabeth, bec as you said, different available resources, diff values even with the a good level of cunning is shared between them. I was thinking more Rhaenyra vs Elizabeth, how Elizabeth follows through with her words through her own actions whereas Rhaenyra "I will have my throne or I will have his head" does not build onto her own words with her own actions. Elizabeth at least presented herself in armor at the back of the battle and stirred her followers. Rhaenyra? As this anon states:

There’s no sense of balance to her, she does basically nothing but the wrong political moves, when she’s supposed to be the protagonist of this story.

And this anon:

GRRM in part wrote Rhaenyra as a litmus test for the readers’s misogyny but in my opinion it falls flat because he gets caught up in doing that and forgets to give Rhaenyra some dignity or respect as an individual character. And it’s honestly the same issue he has in the main series. Pathologizing motherhood in particular, esp. in relation to women who are also in politics while being mothers. Fathers are never “too mad with grief” to rule competently or make good decisions; only mothers are.

And it's GRRM's fault. The presence and loss of kids do not preclude women from militant projects or being, to be repetitive, active in their own campaigns.

So yeah, I don't have or blame people for not liking Rhaenyra even taking into account how F&B is written to discourage female rule. Because even with that being true, we know about histograhpies about Queens (of all kinds) like Olga of Kiev, Urraca of Castile, etc. who were both praised and reviled and had probable truths twisted about them but a few of both interpreters of their lives and actions still included and explained how these women were beginning wars, leading armies, or were heavily involved for their own interests. GRRM definitely could have had an imperfect victim who also did impactful logistical or strategic or tactical moments as she is also having to face the pressures of having her kids killed. They don't even have to always succeed, but be there!

(And some kind of can't bc again Rhaenrya has to die & for it to be a little her own fault [Nettles] for this story to work.)

Letters, journal entries, etc. just as Daemon and Otto did in the Rogue Prince--those letters, or their excerpts rather, were also included/referenced by Gyldayn in F&B. GRRM had his options. He chose otherwise.