#'handling a world ending prophecy better than their own feelings' husbands

[lyss-sketchbox]

Some historians may say they were best friends

[franki-lew-yo]

The Romantic (2009, R, Gothic Fantasy/Horror), aka the most forgotten animated film in the world

What if I told you there was a movie under serious threat of becoming lost media with no clear reason as to WHY it's been lost other than no one has apparently watched it besides me and a few people on Reddit? What if I told you that movie wasn't half bad and would no doubt have some interest peeked if anyone DID know about it?

The name of that movie is The Romantic.

It was released in 2009 and it's Rated R for nudity and sex scenes [insert Robbie Rotten meme here], though none of it too graphic. It was a pet project created by animator Michael P. Heneghan, originally starting as a flash project for his animation class before he expanded it into a feature film. The film was inspired by movies such as The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, but what I see every time I look at it is a touch of Jhonen Vasquez, Tim Burton, and Roman Dirge- the guy behind Lenore the Cute Little Dead Girl. It's flash animation especially remind me of the puppet-rigged toons of the 2000s (again like Salad Fingers or Lenore). It's not bad, it's just not inherently 'feature film' quality flash, nor is it exceptionally artistic like Sita Sings the Blues in it's simplicity. Like, really, if you happen to find this thing it's not the worst animated project at all it's just amateur for a professional production. I've seen worse flash movies. Heck, if The Romantic were released in separate parts on youtube or Newgrounds as a series (ala Homestuck) I'm sure it would have been really successful and totally in it's element. But it wasn't.

Because next to no one has seen it and I'm lucky to have not only ever seen it when it was available for free but have also found it recently (hush hush, I ain't telling you how) I'm going to actually give you all a plot synopsis under the cut. There will be some details I leave out and I think I've spelled some characters names wrong. It's a bit of a surrealist film as well, so you might need some things explained.

Spoilers ahead:

The Romantic is set in an autumnal, surrealist world inhabited by humans and monsters and ruled by three gods; Po the goddess of love; Pik the god of Hate; and Pjorrc the god of time though Pjorrc was made to live inside a pumpkin moon as everything he touched rabidly aged and died.

((Tapestry art featuring the main three gods of the film.))

A young man (called “Romance” or “The Romantic” by the other characters) performs a bull sacrifice in order to summon Abbledepopa, the unseen creator of the other gods and ‘storyteller’ of the world. The sacrifice does not conjure Abbledepopa but, when Romance spares a monster that was ready to eat him, the monster tells him of a profit named Patience. Patience is a foul-mouthed dwarf living alone with an army of babies who points Romance in the direction of Po.

((Romance outside of Patience's house.))

Romance wants the god’s help because he has fallen out of love with his girlfriend. Po grants him his desire and restores his love only for Romance to return home and find his girlfriend with another man. Blinded by heartache and rage, Romance kills her. He then swears vengeance on the gods for ‘making’ him do it. In the midst of this vow, a corrupt prophet called Fat Daddy kills the queen of Vauxhaul (Romance's home) and her guards, and forges a new body for his newborn son with their bodies. Fat Daddy rallies the townsfolk behind him in supposedly finding the Queen’s murder into follow a new religion called "The Poetic End".

((Romance (right) besides the monster he spared at the beginning of the movie.))

Patience accompanies Romance on his quest and tells him to take Po’s mask, which hides her true face, once he kills her. Romance buys Po’s trust by weaving her a tapestry that tells her story: in the dawn of time Po and Pjorrc were in love. However, Pjorrc gradually became distant and Po became resentful when their daughter, Love, earned Po's original title as the god of romance and love.

In the present day, Romance sleeps with Po for over a year before finally killing her and taking her mask. He and Patience return to his home of Vauxhul only to be chased out by Fat Daddy’s personal army. They flee to Marshallton, the town nearest to the god Pik.

((Romance's hometown of Vauxhul. ))

The king of Marshallton, King Crookie, tells Romance of a prophecy he, Patience, Fat Daddy and all the gods are a part of and that the world is soon to change. Romance then fights and successfully kills Pik when he shows the god of hate his reflection in a mirror King Crookie gave him, but not before losing his hand to Pik.

When Romance comes down the mountain he learns from Patience that nine years have passed since his fight with Pik began. Patience reveals to Romance what Pik saw in the mirror that allowed Romance to take the killing blow; after Love had grown up and married, Po asked Pik to tell her where her husband was always running off to. Pik reluctantly revealed Pjorrc was disguising himself as a human and married a mortal woman. Po found Pjorrc and his pregnant second wife, forcing Pjorrc to leave his human family behind, but not before asking his wife to name their son “Patience”. In retaliation for his treachery, Po proceeded to sleep with fifty men and produce the fifty bastard children in Patience’s house.

((Fat Daddy, the main villain.))

Marshallton and the entire rest of the world has fallen to the rule of Fat Daddy, who captures Romance and Patience. Fat Daddy tortures Patience into telling him how to get to Pjorrc but is unable to convince Romance to take part in his ‘new world’ or give him Po’s mask. Romance and Patience escape and leave the village to be torn apart by the fifty babies Po had, now transformed into veracious monsters after Patience didn’t feed them for the past ten years. Romance confronts Patience when he realizes the latter is Pjorrc’s son. Patience calls Romance out on his mantra of vengeance and points out that all his decisions are his own, not the gods, and instructs him to seek Love herself in Po’s basement. Patience then attempts to confront Pjorrc but is cornered and killed by Fat Daddy before he can do so.

In Po’s basement, Romance finds Love nailed to a wall, her face torn off and half eaten by her deformed husband. Love tells Romance that Po ripped off her daughter’s face in rage over Pjorrc’s infidelity and Pjorrc did not intervene fast enough. Po then threw Love into her basement, turned Love’s husband into a monster, and wore her daughter’s face as a mask - which Romance had broken into pieces moments ago after Patience had shown him his face in King Crookie’s mirror. Romance then finds Pjorrc hanging himself. As he dies, Pjorrc tells Romance to take the hand Fat Daddy had cut off and sew it onto himself, which will in turn help Romance defeat Abbledepopa.

Romance traverses the wasteland and does not find Abbledepopa, but instead a golden loom. Having seen all the destruction he and others had caused, Romance sits upon the loom and accepts his fate as the new ‘storyteller’ of the world, as he begins weaving a new one...

---

I mentioned before the animation quality of the film and why maybe that caused people to overlook it. The only other thing I could complain about on a technical level with The Romantic is it's sound design. Some of the voices and music is a little too quiet and so all these key details I had to go through the film a few times to really piece together. But that leads me to the thing I like about this movie and I'm sure others would to: the lore.

It's very hard to create a new fantasy world w it's own customs, religions, history and rules out of the blue as any YA Harry Potter/Hunger Games ripoff book could tell you. The Romantic is so unique in how it handles the pantheon and culture of these three gods and their kin; really only four or five characters throughout the entire story aren't connected to the gods or prophecy in some way, as there's the main three gods, Abbeldepappa, and the prophets Patience, Love and Fat Daddy, who make up your main cast besides Romance. There's a lot that's intentionally left unexplained and other info that must be explained, like Pjorrc and Po's marriage and Romance's feelings towards the gods, if we want to understand the former. The movie is paced pretty well and knows when to follow up on what, it's just that again some of those animation and editting shortcomings might make it hard to understand...but I don't think THAT hard. Look, if someone can enjoy Starchaser: The Legend of Orin or even better surrealist world-building films ((Fantastic Planet comes to mind)), then I say there's no reason The Romantic wouldn't have a following. There's no other way I can articulate why and what doesn't work about the story except just to recommend you watch it yourselves, but before I get into that I want to talk themes...because I love the themes and tone of The Romantic.

I revisited The Romantic a week before I made myself watch Centaurworld and The Owl House for the first time...and what a week that was~! The Romantic has the vibe of those kinds of shows along with Adventure Time and Infinity Train ((so I hear, I haven't watched the latter)). It's surreal and you'll only marvel at 'woooah wut an acid trip' for so long before you get into the vibe of the universe. It also reminded me substantially of the Broadway musical Hadestown and not just because this movie is also a self-contained, somewhat self aware fable about the relationships between humans and gods - it's very raw in how the characters talk. It's very emotional and blunt in how kind and how cruel they can be, and it doesn't make excuses or really worships any one of them. Romance himself is the world's most likable Incel: he murders a woman he thought he needed to love and blames his emotions on the gods of those passions...except the gods AREN'T the manifestations of love, time, and hate - they simply dictate and oversee it in the lives of men. It's a dynamic I really like in religious works where Gods are powerful but not all knowing or puppet masters to everyone's design- they have morality too and there is only so much you can blame and get from them.

"You made your gods into excuses and your excuses into gods!"

-Patience. This here is a cool quote. I like this quote.

No matter what, The Romantic is not gonna be a film for everyone. We all have our tastes - I think I'm drawn to it and accepting because I've come to love these kind of worlds that used to keep me up at night - these trippy 70s inspired fantasy landscapes given a whole Avatar: The Last Airbender degree of worldbuilding and character worth. It also doesn't feel exploitive in it's violence, it's sexuality, it's grimmness - it doesn't feel like it's trying to hard or going over the top because it happens to be an adult animated film, something that I love in movies like 9 or Hair High but really turns me off in stuff like Sausage Party or Wizards. Whatever go watch The Romantic...

if you can.

-----

When I first saw this film in 2016 it was actually very accessible and was even uploaded to youtube by the creator himself. I don't know WHAT happened to Michael P. Heneghan, but simply put, the man's disappeared...like...REALLY disappeared.

Lookit his IMDB. He has The Romantic and a wapping two other projects to his name. His Twitter isn't very helpful either. He last updated in early 2020 and he says next to nothing about The Romantic. It's so odd that he would one day be happy with the film enough to host it on Vimeo and Youtube but then just cop out.

According to a Reddit user: "On Valentines Day 2011, Heneghan released the film for free online through all kinds of platforms including direct download, bittorrent, Vimeo, and even directly through Archive.org. He even joked about releasing a 300 gig uncompressed version.

I know I watched it on Vimeo probably as recently as 2016. Now I can't find it anywhere. The website is dead, the Vimeo video went private, even the archive.org version has been taken down. It really looks like he wanted to wipe it off the face of the internet. His newer website mentions it, but again, the Vimeo link is dead and even that website is closed for business."

It's weeeird. What happened Michael?

And yes, obviously, other people worked on the movie.

No - I can't find out anything about them either.

I'm betting on three theories at the moment: 1) this film is an SCP or some Candle Cove weirdness with only me and a handful of people ANYWHERE remembering it, 2) something weird is going on w Michael Heneghan and it involves too something about this film. It was a scam or a scheme or a hidden agenda weirdness, 3) Heneghan's doing okay he just doesn't like this film anymore and wants it hidden while he takes a break.

Look, I get it Michael! What was once our life's worth can become cringe as you improve as an artist - you're not the person making the stuff you were ten years ago...but you should still have the film kept alive somehow. Someway.

I'm seriously the only person to have ever made fan art of this movie on the internet. That just doesn't happen, and I don't think I like being in a fandom of one. The Romantic is a testament to the power of design and storytelling > animation quality itself. Too often I see people equate good animation with smooth animation, with a budget with squash and stretch. These animations are good but art is diverse and there's so many kinds of films out there, the value of the medium can't just be in one style/form. There's a lot of honestly wonderful pieces of art out there if you know where to look and you're willing to see where it leads you.

Don't let The Romantic be the most forgotten movie of all time. Reblog this post. Show it to your friends. PM the animation community reviewer people like Saberspark and someone who isn't Saberspark and smuggle them a copy.

Keep telling the story...

[lifeofroos]

Masterlist of retellings/fanworks:

This list is seperated by category, with a short summary of each story beneath the title. The older the story, the higher it is listed in the category. So for the newest, probably best stories, look at the very end! 

Greek Mythology:

Much too lovely a night for commitment: 

Apollo got himself drunk (Or, as he calls it, ‘a little tipsy’). Dionysus decides its time for him to take a break and they end up talking.  

I am not necesserialy asking for your blessing (But I'd love to get it):

Artemis' afternoon rest is disrupted by Ariadne, who has something to say. Artemis doesn't necessarily disagree, but...

The Night:

Ariadne wandered far into the forest at night. It makes Dionysus nervous, but she can't help but feel calm and in love.

Vultures:

Vultures, Athena called them. Enyo and Ares take a break from battle in the encampment. They have to kindly disagree with their sister.

Ghost Story:

Ariadne is awoken one night by a ghost girl named Cora. They keep meeting again and again, through different stages in their lives.

The girl who likes dogs: 

Hades needs someone to walk his dog a few days per week. He asks Persephone to do it, as she walks more people's dogs. Yet, that might not be the only reason he asked her...

Back: 

Dionysus thought it would be impossible to get his beloved Ariadne back. When she is there again, in front of him, he thinks it can't be real. There is no way he can just hold her now, and love her again...

The Queenly Ghost:

Ariadne raises the spirit of Pasiphae, her mother. Although she isn't sure exactly what to say, she knows she has to say something.

I Hope For The Future:

Hades comes to the surface for a moment to have a chat with Demeter. They are still new to their domains and it is unsure who their allies will be. They hope it'll be each other.

The Story Of Tonight:

They should have held back Artemis, Apollo and Hermes before they climbed onto the buffet table. Now that they are already drunkenly singing, it is a little too late, don't you think?

I’ve Got A Proposal:

Usually, Dionysus tends to be quite smooth. Not when asking the woman he finds the best if she wants to marry him, though.

Test Of Courage: 

Dionysus and Hephaestus are nearing Olympus, meaning the end of their quest is in sight. Hephaestus wonders whether he'll dare to complete the mission when the time is there. Dionysus tries to show him he probably will.

I Told Him To Try A Little Harder:

Zeus wants Hera as his queen. Hera wants Zeus to prove he really thinks she is worth his efforts, with something big. Something unexpected.

Hide (Just a little longer):

Hera will be the queen of the universe, with her husband Zeus as the king. There is no denying it. Yet, she would like to keep it under the covers for a little longer - until she knows she finds the courage to tell her mother.

Give Me Anything But The Giraffes:

During his meanderings, Dionysus came to Africa, too. Without his army, he trecks further south into the country. A guide helps him over the savanah, where they meet some creatures Dionysus hopes he'll never encounter again.

The Walk: 

Aglaia loves Hephaestus and the other way around. Yet, so shortly after Aphrodite left, they don't know what to do about it. Maybe it's better that way. It means they can slowly discover their love instead of crashing into it.

Right Hand Men:

In order to create a destructive power the world has never seen before, Ares and Enyo decide to get married. Right now, at this very moment.

Kiss Me Not (Yet):

Ariadne wants to kiss Dionysus, she really does. Yet when she tries, all she can do is recoil. All Dionysus wants is for her to feel comfortable.

Mind and Matter:

Hephaestus never expected Athena to show up to his forge ever again. When she is there anyway, it takes little for the tears to come out.

For I Am Not A Weapon To Be Wielded:

Phaedra can hardly accept the feelings she got for Hippolytus. She starts to wonder why she has them and soon enough, she decides she doesn't want to be a weapon of the gods anymore. A retelling of Phaedra's story. Because I stuck to the source material, I can only advise viewer discression. Contains themes of suicide.

Mom Isn’t That Angry:

After Dionysus hasn't been seen on Olympus for a long time, Athena is send out to find him. She does, in a sleeping bag somewhere in the middle of nowhere, healing from injury. She decides to sit by and hold his hand until he feels better. Sometimes, it's the wisest thing a person can do.

I wish I could keep him:

Due to the danger on Olympus, Zeus gives Dionysus to Persephone, so she can raise him in secret for some time. When spring comes, he needs to come with her. She can't help but hope that she can keep him, just slightly longer, even though she knows the danger makes her hope idle.

Egyptian Mythology:

Two-faced:

Set killed Osiris. When Isis left to search for him, she left her son Horus drifting down the Nile. How big is the chance that Sets' wife Nephthys finds him? She takes him in, but whenever Sets' with her, she can't tell: Does he know, or not? And what does this mean for the baby, or more importantly, for them?

Riordanverse:

Hotel Walhalla’s weird activities to the death:

We all know of sword-fighting, spear-throwing, and yoga to the death. Yet, what other weird, totally peaceful activities have they managed to make dangerous in hotel Valhalla?

Percy Jackson one-shots: 

In this book, I write Percy Jackson one-shots. Most of them were previously uploaded on my FanFiction and Wattpad account, but I decided to transfer them here as well! ! I write romance, random headcannons and ideas, cute stuff and funny ideas (No angst, very bloody stuff or anything like that). The One-shots get better in quality further in the book. The first ones are not amazing, but I added them to be complete. Update: I have decided to stop writig one-shots, but all of these stay right where they are!

At Least He Got The Minotaur:

Percy has just arrived in camp. A camper runs to Chiron and Dionysus to tell them. The camp directors are more than a little surprised at the news that a new, young camper could defeat a minotaur. It couldn't be the prophecy, could it?

There are always reasons: 

Percy is in camp to meet with some friends. He seizes a chance to ask Dionysus about why the god released him from the Chrysler building, all those years ago. He gets a more profound answer than expected.

This Might Be Crazy:

Nico has some issues and needs help - even he agrees. He is just not really sure if Dionysus of all people will be able to help him. Or: A fic in which Nico gets therapy from Dionysus, learns to live again and regains control of his life, inspired by what was said in Tower of Nero. Updates every three days! This fic was nominated for the Solangelo awards 2021.

Elevators and Boys keep me awake:

Nico is going through a tough time. Luckily, he has his upstairs neighbour Dionysus to help him. Or: A Nico-gets-therapy-from-Dionysus-story, but in a mortal AU.

The Biters:

Short stories about Clarisse, told via those around her, ranging from when she was a little girl to getting claimed to getting a boyfriend and becoming a hero.

A Question:

Nico figures out Will went to Dionysus a couple of times, with questions about how to make his boyfriend feel more comfortable. Nico finds it adorable, really.

 Loki (2021):

Maltesers: 

Loki notices Mobius carrying a bag with a sweet scent coming off of it. Perhaps he would like to try some of that, too.

See You later, Alligator: 

Loki is bored on Asgard. On a wim, he decided to transform a few things in his room into animals. After all, what can come from that except for some harmless fun?

Bohemian Rhapsody, or: Misschief on ice

Finding out that Loki can figure skate is one. Finding out that he has qualified himself for a world championship is in a whole other ballpark. Still, Mobius and Sylvie support him to the best of their abilities. Even when Loki decides to skate by his own rules.

Whoever you are:

Loki is gender fluid. Before they knew Mobius, they casually slipped in and out of different looks, whatever felt right at the moment. When they began dating, it suddenly felt so weird. Mobius tells them he'll love them, no matter who they are.

Rangers’ Apprentice:

High school could go many ways:  

 For a group of five orphans, the time for high school has come. Will is determined to get onto a sports team. Yet, is that truly what he wants, or has he been putting up an act for himself?

During all of this I have one question: 

Crowley has an idea and plays a prank on Gilan and Halt. They handle the situation quite well, I would say.

KoFi - AO3 

[hecohansen31]

Michael Langdon One Shots (Masterlist)

“Heavy Is The Heart Of A King” (Hades! Michael+Persephone! Reader) (*).

SUMMARY: Your husband lately has seemed distant and you are unable to stop yourself from goin anything but pushing away. Not everything is easy when you are the ruler of the Underworld…

WARNINGS: OOC! Michael, Not Based Onto Actual Myths, Hadestown! Inspired, Anger Outbursts, Mention of Explotaition and Sex.

“Reaching Ecstasy” (Art Teacher! Michael+Student! Reader) (*).

SUMMARY: When the times come for your interview with Mr. Langdon, your art teacher, you can’t help but be rather confused by his requests.

WARNINGS: Oral Sex (Female Receiving), Compromising Situation and Slight Dub-Con (Michael using his position of power over Reader, although she is consensual to the entire thing) (also Reader is absolutely legal, since she is 20, in this fic!), Blasphemous talk about Ecstasy.

“Shameless” (Dance Instructor! Michael+Prima Ballerina! Reader) (*).

SUMMARY: Your dance instructor has always been an enigma to you, till a lone night in the dance-room, where dance and secrets ends up tangled together (exactly as you and Michael).

WARNINGS: Unprotected (WRAP IT UP KIDS) Sex, Dom-Sub dynamics (with change of powers), Fingering, Guided Masturbation, slightly Dub-Con, Vulgarities, Mention of Satanism and Supernatural Themes, Slight Angst, Slut-Shaming and Religious Fanatism.

(Kinktober: (17th) Breeding Kink) (Supreme! Michael+Alpha! Reader) (*).

SUMMARY: Michael’s desire for you is suddenly so unhibited and strange and you can’t help but wonder what has caused it… although you are not complaining about it

WARNINGS: Oral Sex (Female Receiving), Unprotected Sex, Breeding Kink/Creampie.

“Little Love Notes” (Outpost! Michael+ Ex-Secretary! Reader): (*).

SUMMARY: You have grown accostumed to leaving little cute notes on your boss’ desk, and this got you fired, as soon as Mr Langdon discovered the identity of his secret admirer… but appreantly it does’t end here…

WARNINGS: Rough (Unprotected: guys… please don’t do it withouth a condom, it does not only protect from unwanted pregnancies, but also it is against STDs) Sex (with things such as spanking and a lot of rough handling), Oral Sec (Female Receiving), Semi-Public Sex (Reader is on the phone at a certain point). “Sir” Kink, but generally BDSM relationship going on!

“Those Worlds” (Outpost! Michael+Reader) (*).

SUMMARY: When anything fails, Michael has to resort to those words..

WARNINGS: Just Michael Threateing People… and Mention of Depression and Anxiety.

“A Change Of (H)air & Other Things” (Outpost! Michael+Short Haired! Reader) 

SUMMARY: Life at the Outpost is pretty boring, mosty when you are separated from your love and waiting for him… and this prompts a little change with the help of a fellow survivor…

WARNING: Mention of Sex, and Hair Pulling… (also just Outpost! Michael being a little shit).

“The Magic Word Is” (Fire & Reign! Michael+Secretary! Reader) (*).

SUMMARY: Although you might be Michael’s submissive, he is completely wrapped around your little finger.

WARNINGS: Dom-Sub Relationship, Spanking, Punishment, Sexual Themes, Mention of Sexual SItuations, Nudity, Mention of Self-Harm.

“Preying On You” (Vampire Sojourn! Michael+Human! Reader) (*).

SUMMARY: What was supposed to be a girls’ night out turn out much more bloody than what ou expected, but there might be some advantages to meeting a vampire…

WARNINGS: Unprotected (DON’T FORGET CONDOMS, KIDS), Rough Sex, Dub-Con, Blood Consumption and Blood Kink (THERE WILL BE BLOOD, KIDS!), Oral Sex (Female Receiving), Kidnapping (and mention of sexual trafficking, alongside use of drugs to kidnap), Michael being a bit of a stalker…

“My Burning Sun Will Someday Raise” (Vampire Crimeboss! Michael+Human! Reader) (*).

SUMMARY: Your Michael Langdon’s little mouse: costantly searching for secrets for him, but once the truth is out, you might become more and more important to the cold-hearted man.

WARNINGS: Unprotected (WRAP IT UP, PLEASE!) Sex, Oral Sex (Female Receiving), Blood (drinking and blood play), Mention of Violence, of Slut-Shaming, and Usage of Vulgar Terms.

“In The Garden of Evil” (Borgia! MIchael+Servant! Reader) (*). 

SUMMARY: The oldest story of all, the little mouse caugh in its own trap, as she spies something much juicier than any apple.

WARNINGS: Male Masturbation, Voyeurism, Exhibitionism, Mention of Sex and Incest, Blasphemy and Renainssance mentions.

“Only Destiny Can Judge Us” (Supreme! Michael+Alpha! Reader) (*)

SUMMARY: The cycle that the prophecy spoke about is going to start again, and your nightmares are only the proof of how horrid it will all be again.

WARNINGS: Resurrection Talk, Violence, Non-Sexual Choking, Prophecy, AU; Unprotected (DO IT WITH PROTECTION, BABES!) Sex, Oral (Female Receiving) Sex, Fingering, Hate-To-Love.

“I Know The Science of The Ancient Flame” (Michael+Reader, Modern AU).

SUMMARY: Stuck in a tiny elevator with your ex-boyfriend, you suddenly discover that your story might be more classical than you thought.

WARNINGS: Angst, Past Trauma, Break-Up, Classical Annoying Things, Claustrophobia, Claustrophobic Spaces.

(Kinktober: (28th) Master/Mistress) (*).

SUMMARY: Your jealousy sometimes just gets the best of you

(Also this is inspired by a conversation I had with @/dyns33, so thank you, sweetie I hope you’ll like it, and alongside this… I have another idea for them).

Also this is based onto this.

WARNINGS: Bloody (I didn’t have a blood kink before this pairing…), Fingering, Oral Sex (Female Receiving), Squirting, Slightly Dub-Con (Vampire Mind Tricks), Master, Vulgarities, Mention of Drugs.

“A Cure For Unrequited Love” (Hawthorne Michael+Witch! Reader+Cordelia) (*).

SUMMARY; When your crush for the headmistress of Robinchaux, ends up badly, Michael decides to help you get over with it, with a rather “unorthodox” method…

WARNINGS: Rough Unprotected (as always wrap it up before doing the dirty; it will protect you from both unwanted pregnancy and STDs, be smart and safe, lovelies of mine) Sex (specifically we are talking about Hate-Sex, so be aware of that), Spanking, Slapping, Sir Kink, Degradation through harsh words, Oral Sex (Female-Male receiving) and  Magic involved in the bedroom (because that’s what I would do with magic, I am a hoe…). Also Angst, Heartbreak and Unrequited Love.

(Kinktober: (19th) Double Penetration) (Fuckboy! Michael+Reader+Incubus! Michael) (*)

SUMMARY: Michael can’t help but love your devilish mind, sometimes.

WARNINGS: Vaginal/Anal Sex, Unprotected (USE A PROTECTION KIDS, I LOVE YOU AND STAY SAFE)/Oral Sex (Female Receiving)/Incubus involved in sex/Double Penetretation.

“Terrible Thing” (Hawthorne! Michael+Scorned! Reader): (*)

SUMMARY: Boys will be boys, but then girls shall be girls and take their revenge and when one specific warlock we all know decides to do prank another witch… well he is about to learn that a scorned woman is the most dangerous beast of them all (Also, little suggestions: if you want to feel the full extense of this…listen meanwhile reading to “Terrible Things” by AG & Brad Gordon).

WARNING: There is no sex, but there is a bit foreplay and dirty talk, alongside a good amount of nudity so… you better read this in your room, alone…

“The Tomboy & The Model” (Model Michael+Tomboyish! Reader) (*)

SUMMARY: You and shy model Michael could be the most different people in the world, but somehow you end up working quite well together.

WARNINGS: Sub! Michael, Dom! Reader (also brief mention of Dom! Michael and Sub! Reader), Spanking, Oral Sex (Male and Female Receiving), Orgasm Denial, A Bit Of Dirty Talk, Use of the F-word, and Drunken Assault.

(Kinktober: (23rd) Model! Michael+Tomboy! Reader) (*).

SUMMARY: On a particular hard day Michael shows you how beautiful you truly are.

WARNINGS: Fingering (Female Receiving), Body Worship, In Front of A Mirror, Stress and Anxiety Mentions.

[macangelih]

emmaus

It’s been three days now since the murder of our leader, Jesus Christ, my husband and I are at lost for words. It seemed that the world is no longer a place for us --- we have been rejected from the world – and so we lived hidden lives, we tried as best as we could to serve others – and to survive. But when we heard of Him, we went to see his sermons – oh, how wonderful it felt to be accepted and not judged – we were welcomed into his community, and from then we became his disciples – but then he was suddenly taken away from us, it happened after our last gathering together – apparently he was taken when he was praying in the garden. One of his disciples betrayed him – I knew that the priests of the temple went after him. The way he was preaching the Gospel – was just too much to handle. I was surprised that Jesus was able to speak so openly for months – it was only time that they took him.

It all happened so fast – after his death, the community was dispersed – my husband and I feared for our lives, and so we decided to slip away and return to our small hamlet outside of Emmaus.

On our way back, a stranger appeared from behind us – it seemed that he was unaware of what happened.. at first, I was afraid that he might have been one of those secret agents employed by the temple priests to hunt us down.. My husband however began speaking to him of what had happened. Among the two of us, I always found him to be the naïve one – he had this innocence to see the good in others.. Regardless, I had lost the energy to stop him from talking --- if this were to be the end of us, so then be it. I didn’t care much about the world anymore – If the Heaven Jesus spoke of was real, I’d rather follow him there. I felt that, death at the hand of our oppressors is better than living in constant fear. I would rather spend eternity in the Heaven promised by him. I just hoped that our deaths would be instantaneous and that we would die together.

Oddly enough, the stranger was well versed in Jesus’ teachings, for a second there – it was as if he was Jesus. My heart that was cold and dead began to warm itself after hearing again Jesus’ teachings. He reminded me on what it was to be human, he reminded me that people like my husband and I have dignity and are worthy – and that we are not cursed, but blessed and loved by God– despite of the condition we found ourselves to be in – one that was deemed as evil by the majority, even by our own families..

Even so, my heart still felt heavy as the hope that I once had was crucified and removed from the grave. As we were approaching our hamlet, my husband invited the stranger to spend the night with us – for it was getting dark. I didn’t even bother asking where he was going or not --- I just was relieved that we’ve made it so far to our small abode away from the city – a place where my husband and I build our lives together.

It was small, but it was home, and we were together. I managed our home, he managed the livestock – we fell in love as teenagers but soon realized that what we had was forbidden.. we, decided to live a life true to our love – and although we were disowned by our families, we had each other, we had our friends.. and the feelings we have are mutual. Unlike me, however, he is the optimist.

Thankfully, our house was still standing, so I began to prepare a simple meal of bread and dried fruit.. As my hands began to feel the warmth of the hearth – I started to notice that our guest felt familiar.. from the way he spoke, to the way he walked – Was it Jesus? It can’t be… but I felt a spark of excitement in my heart at the slightest thought of the possibility that Our Lord is here with us.

Then it happened.

The shroud of desolation was raised when I saw him broke bread between us – I couldn’t believe my eyes! But he vanished between us, when I looked to my husband, he too realize that it’s him – Was it a ghost? It couldn’t be – the bread that he broke lay on the plate between by husband and I. It was him! He lives, and death did not take him from us. His prophecies rang true. He lives.

[pileontheyears]

Misty Playlist for Misty Day

A Character Study in Insecurity and Self-Love

Green Eyes, Red Hair - Gaelic Storm

She's a cup of tea, she's a Jaegerbomb She's an angel, she's an Amazon She's a poem, she's an alphabet She's a violin with a bayonet She's a revolution, she's a peace accord She's a grain of sand, she's the Cliffs of Moher She's Friday night, she's Sunday Morning She's a fair wind, she's a sailor's warning

I think one of the main reasons I love Misty so much is she’s a bit of an oxymoron. She has so many contradicting personality traits which fleshes her character out. She’s tough but she’s vulnerable, she’s romantic but she’s abrasive, she’s outspoken but she’s insecure. Oftentimes characters and people are put into boxes, if you act one way all the others traits should act accordingly. But Misty represents how that’s not how people work, you can have completely opposite traits existing in you and that’s ok.

Insecurities - LOVA

Meet my insecurities Let’s count in one two three Not smart, not pretty like a star Not weak, not tough, not nearly good enough Meet my insecurities  Let’s count in one two three Not small, not skinny like a doll Not sleak, not rough, not nearly good enough

Misty’s childhood has shaped her into an insecure young girl. From what we know, her older sisters constantly tell her how she isn’t pretty, calling her a runt. This would be reinforced as everyone in Cerulean City would come to see them perform leaving Misty to be ignored and alone. We don’t have any information about her parents, but Misty’s sisters would be given gifts that she would later get on as hand-me-downs. It could be assumed those presents were given by their parents, so not only would Misty be left out of playing with her sisters, but her parents probably never bought her a gift of her own. All of this reinforces the negative message that Misty is not worth anything. She feels she isn’t pretty and she’s not as good as her sisters. So when anyone like Ash brings up how she isn’t pretty, it obviously brings up those insecurities that she already has. 

How Far I’ll Go - Auli’i Cravalho

I’ve been staring at the edge of the water Long as I can remember, never really knowing why I wish I could be the perfect daughter But I come back to the water, no matter how hard I try Every turn I take, every trail I track Every path I make, every road leads back To the place I know, where I can not go, where I long to be

As Misty grows up, she has this longing to go out and explore the world. Part of it comes from her insecurities, perhaps she thought she can’t be as pretty as her sisters but maybe she could become a stronger trainer. She wants to be able to prove to them and to herself that she can be worth something. Deep down, she has a genuine love for water and Pokemon and a desire to travel.

Oh No! - Marina and the Diamonds

I know exactly what I want and who I wanna be I know exactly why I walk and talk like a machine I’m now becoming my own self-fulfilled prophecy  Oh, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh! One track mind, one track heart If I fail, I’ll fall apartMaybe it is all a test Cause I feel like I’m the worst, so I always act like I’m the best

Misty’s insecurity begins to take form in a superiority complex. Throughout her entire life, no one has told Misty she is good enough, so she gathers that if no one else will talk her up then she will. Of course, just because she says how great and beautiful she is, does not mean she actually believes it. In fact, just the opposite. Because she receives no outside validation, all of her confidence has no real meaning, her self-compliments just leave her empty. 

Dear Future Husband - Meghan Trainer

Dear future husband Here’s a few things You’ll need to know if you wanna be My one and only all my life Dear future husband If you wanna get that special loving Tell me I’m beautiful each and every night

This next portion of the playlist focuses on Misty’s outlook on romance. Misty is a huge romantic, she loves love and wants her own happily ever after. Misty’s ideal romance is full of cliches, she wants a knight in shining armor, a prince charming who will sweep her off her feet with extravagant gifts and big romantic gestures. Misty’s ideal romantic partner is just that though, he has no name or personality, he’s just someone she wants to have shower her with affection. Again this could stem from her lack of affection in her childhood, she wants someone who will tell her she’s pretty and give her the love she never got as a kid.

Use Somebody - Laura Jansen 

I’ve been roaming around Always looking down at all I see Painted faces, fill the places I can’t reach You know that I could use somebody You know that I could use somebody Someone like you, and all you know, and how you speak

The switch in Misty’s feelings, she no longer is looking for love, love has found her. We see this change when Misty could have the romantic ideal with Rudy, he’s charming, suave, and definitely would be the one to fill the role of her dream guy showering her with gifts and compliments- but that’s not what she wants anymore. Instead, she wants someone like Ash, who Misty absolutely did not picture as her ideal at all. However,  she accepts and wants him because of who he is, and isn’t that what love is all about?

Tangled Up In Me - Skye Sweetnam

You wanna know more, more, more about me Gotta know reverse psychology I’m the reason why you can’t get to sleep I’m the girl you never get just quite what you see

For all the sentimental songs on this playlist, there still is Misty’s harsh attitude towards Ash. Misty has always acted this way around him, even before realizing her feelings. Misty’s rude behavior definitely isn’t going to go away, especially when Ash is just as guilty insulting her any chance he gets. While Misty could be trying to push his buttons to get under his skin for fun, or to see how he’d react, maybe it’s just from being scared. She’s acted horribly to him, and now that she feels something more, she doesn’t want him to know. So she decides she’ll keep up appearances by just being the hot-tempered friend following him for her bike.

Things I’ll Never Say - Avril Lavigne

It don’t do me any good It’s just a waste of time What use is it to you What’s on my mind If it ain’t coming out We’re not going anywhere So why can’t I just tell you that I care

Following that same theme, this is Misty’s more vulnerable side that she’d never voice (the “Misty’s Song” of the playlist). Misty might feel like she could tell Ash how she feels about him but of course does not. Part of her feels angry and annoyed that he doesn’t seem as concerned about her as she is with him, but because of that insecurity she has it makes sense she’d think it’s no use, she has no chance. After all, he pokes fun at her appearance a lot, she feels like she already knows how he feels about her, and it’s not positive.

Better Place - Rachael Platten

But it feels like I’ve opened my eyes again And the colors are golden and bright again There’s a song in my heart, I feel like I belong It’s a better place since you came along It’s a better place since you came along

Switching from romance, Misty does feel like she’s found a family with Ash and Brock. After a childhood of not fitting in, she finally has people who love her for who she is. She can finally be herself, she doesn’t feel like she needs to measure up to anyone, she finally feels like she belongs. 

“So you’ve been traveling with Ash and Brock for a long time?" “They’re like my new family.”

Black Hole - She & Him

And it just gets so foggy It’s nowhere in here And it’s everywhere else That I don’t want to be But I’m stuck here Getting misty over you I’m alone, on a bicycle for two

The journey has to come to an end, though. Misty’s family feels like it’s breaking up, and is understandably upset when Ash seems unfazed by her upcoming departure. She doesn’t want to leave, she wants to stay with the people she’s grown to love, the people who were more like family to her than her own sisters. She rides off on her bike, alone.

Head Above Water - Avril Lavigne

And I can’t see in the stormy weather I can’t seem to keep it all together And I can’t swim the ocean like this forever And I can’t breathe God, keep my head above water I lose my breath at the bottom Come rescue me, I’ll be waiting I’m too young to fall asleep

Misty finds herself in over her head as she takes over the Cerulean Gym. Not only does she struggle with her fear of Gyarados and the possibility of the gym being shut down, but she’s also still struggling with her own insecurities. Without Ash and Brock, she doesn’t think she can be the Cerulean Gym Leader, she’s terrified of not being good enough. She nearly dies twice trying to keep the gym afloat, she literally and figuratively is drowning.

Woman - Kesha

I do what I want, say what you say I work real hard every day I’m a motherfucking woman, baby, alright I don’t need a man to be holding me too tight I’m just having fun with my ladies here tonight I’m a motherfucker

After Misty is able to handle the issues at the Cerulean Gym, she finally has a sense of validation that came from her. She was able to save the gym, not her sisters, not Ash and Brock, her. Her insecurities will never go away, but she has a sense of self-confidence that she never had. Now when she talks about herself being beautiful and strong, she means it. She doesn’t need anyone to tell her that she's worthy of love, she knows it. She’s worked hard and sees she has value, whether others see it or not.

[takaraphoenix]

Can I just say something, Hazel is not v. realistic. Like I'm 13 and i can't say the same for all 13yolds but neither me nor my friends dream of growing old w/ a husband and like rick makes her and sammy to be soulmates and that's not how a 13yo's mind functions. Also, she shouldn't be completely dependant on her. And as someone who has experienced racism its v wierd that she only experiences in her schooling rather than also w/ her mum and even in new rome. 1/2

2/2 : And Rick just randomly makes the chracters diverse but then he forgets that race is a part of character. I mean Hazel was living in the 40s as an African American and now when she’s resurrected we hardly hear anything about her experiences w/ racism. It’s not realistic. I’d expect her to maybe have some centering as a character on that. I just think that Rick cannot display characters out of his perspecitve at all and im just very annoyed. idk what do u think on this all

When I was thirteen, we all didn’t quite think past the point of high school graduation - our life was in the now. We definitely did not think about growing old and picket fences.

But yeah, I said it in a post before - many posts by now - but Riordan writes only what he himself experiences. And that is the life of a fifty year old white CIS het man. And while I can’t attest for the CIS part because I’m not reading that one series that features the genderfluid character, you can feel every other aspect of that list very strongly.

You can feel the “fifty year old” when you read about literally every single teenager dreaming about the white picket fence.

You fan feel the “white” when you read Hazel, Reyna, Piper and Leo.

You can feel the “hetero” when you read the clumsy coming out of Nico at the end of Heroes of Olympus. And actually also in Will’s flippant attitude when talking to Nico about it, because in my experience as a fledgling lesbian, older and more experienced gays and lesbians were being very gentle and welcoming and not like “LOL that’s why I was trying to talk to you for so long because I’m gay too!”. That was just to retcon in that Will was also gay; had Riordan actually cared about the gay sub-plot before, then we would have had interactions between Will and Nico in PJatO.

You can feel the “man” at every female POV in the Heroes of Olympus series. Every. Single. One.

Gotta admit, as a white girl from Germany, I do not know how things are for black people in the US (you know, beyond the generic news coverage online and the police propaganda in cop shows), but nowadays with things like Black Panther, Black Lightning, Dear White People, Timeless (seriously, the part that I adore most about that show is how it dives into the female and black history, the kind that’s brushed under the rug), also gotta mention One Day at a Time here for the Latinx representation, I realized just how very… white-author the Heroes of Olympus characters feel.

Especially with Hazel it infuriates me because she comes from a different time and to include how her experience is, how things have changed - and worse yet, how things haven’t changed - would be so incredibly interesting. How she experiences everything.

I mean, seriously, Percy got shunned for being a son of Neptune because Neptune was feared - but so was Pluto. Just how awful must it have been for the black daughter of Pluto in New Rome…?

But oh no, worry not, the black girl from the 40s with no knowledge of the modern world perfectly integrated into New Rome in 2010. No issues here at all.

We live in a time and age where not everyone can be straight and white.

We live in a time and age where representation isn’t just asked for, we demand it, because the world isn’t straight and white.

So the author of the book series where every single major character was white started sweating. (Beckendorf and Ethan were the only non-white characters and oh look, both got killed off.)

So he… he literally just looked around what there is to represent and just slapped a label on each of his characters, like a check-list.

We need A Black Character - Hazel, check.

We need An Asian Character - Frank, check.

We need A Gay Character - Nico, check.

We need A Native American Character - Piper, check.

We need A Latinx Character - oh, let’s be generous on that one; Leo and Reyna, double check.

I didn’t notice that back then, when I first read the books. But by now…?

I’m not saying I could do better - heck, unlike Riordan I also have the disadvantage of living in Europe and thus not even second-hand witnessing what the American Experience might be like for people of color - but if you decide to write a major book series and represent something you are not familiar with - may it be being gay, or from a different cultural background, or being a woman - then you should at the very least put the research into it to back it up.

Or, the easier cop-out, stick to what you did before.

And I don’t mean that as “just write whites”.

It really would be less of an issue if Heroes of Olympus had still been only from Percy’s perspective. Because we would have only gotten to meet the characters through Percy’s eyes - and not their own.

Because then we wouldn’t have had those flashbacks to Hazel’s past, we wouldn’t have to question how it came that those characters didn’t think about certain things or complain how they all seemed to think about other things collectively. And literally no one would have complained about a lack of POV changes, because PJatO didn’t have those - it was all Percy, so no one would have questioned if the sequel had also all been Percy.

It’s one thing writing about characters, but it’s different writing as characters. And in my personal opinion, Riordan shot himself in the foot by making HoO a POV split between this very diverse cast of characters, without having the actual background knowledge to flesh them fully out.

Not to mention the part where I generally think that going from one POV up to three and then to seven and nine different POVs had already been too much of a jump, but if you do that with so many different characters, who should also all have a different feeling to them, that only makes a difficult task that much more difficult.

Now, obviously, having the Seven all be white males would have been a disaster and also the wrong choice.

There are different things that could have been done though.

Like I mentioned, keeping it Percy’s POV, which we all would have been used to and no one would have questioned (heck, even if he had just done it a Jason and Percy POV due to Lost Hero).

Doing actual research for the things you write about. Also an option.

Or dialing down on the unknown. Let’s not forget, he wasn’t just juggling seven characters who represented something he wasn’t personally familiar with (also including Annabeth, because girl), out of the total of nine main characters all but three were completely new and had to be introduced.

In my personal opinion, he should have carried more characters than just Percy and Annabeth (and then later on also Nico, but not important enough to be one of the Seven) over into this book-series.

Clarisse, for example - she is over twenty, she is an experienced fighter and hero. That’d be a female character to be fully explored, but who has already been introduced (and would have made more sense than Frank, Hazel, Leo and Piper on terms of them literally having been introduced to the demigod world barely months prior with a total of one quest of experience before going to war).

Chris Rodriguez, who while never explicitely stated to be Latino as far as I remember, the name does imply and Riordan could have doubled down on that and included him. Hermes is a very diverse god, considering how much Riordan played with the powers of not overly powerful gods like Bellona or Aphrodite or Hephaestus, he could have done the same with Chris. It’d also have been fascinating to see the former traitor work hard to earn back his place at camp and to explore the mental strain put on him in the Labyrinth.

You would not have to start from scratch if you take characters you already have established. It makes everything easier, both for you as the writer and also for the readers, who don’t have to familiarize themselves with half a dozen completely new main characters.

And it takes away that edge of it being utterly ridiculous that, despite both camps having veteran heroes who fought in the Titan War and are around 20 years of age, they decided to send four kids who are essentially total newbies and of whom one is 13 and two are 15.

But yeah, those are just… personal picks on how he could have handled it better. Me, I simply wouldn’t have written about a prophecy of seven because this is a damn war. Seriously, the quest for Atlas, a minor stepping-stone on the way to the Titan War, already featured five main players with Percy, Thalia, Grover, Bianca and Zoe, only two less than this entire freaking war needed according to the prophecy.

Have it be the Giant War. Feature all of those new characters, but also your already established ones. Keep it first person Percy POV and show them fighting together, instead of singling only seven demigods out in something that is supposed to be an all out war against Mother Earth.

Neither of those are be all end all kind of answers to the problem, but suggestions on how it could have been handled differently.

The important thing would be growth and as someone for whom HoO was just too much, I can not judge that. Because everyone makes mistakes and everyone grows as a writer. So if Riordan saw what he did and learned from it - I know one of the Magnus Chase mains is a Muslima, another is mute, I think, and one is genderfluid, so if all of those are handled with more respect, research and dedication and it shows that he learned from the past, then that’s good and okay, because nobody is perfect and it’s all a learning curve, but if those are also just cardboard cut-outs put in place to be Representation, then that’d be… sad, I guess. And disappointing.

But, well, due to not having read that - and not planning on reading that - I can’t attest to it. I can just hope for the best for the readers who seek representation and got giddy about the prospect. I hope they didn’t get disappointed in that.

And I hope he will continue to learn from mistakes and grow as a writer, because yeah I generally don’t wish anyone anything bad and I truly, truly loved Percy Jackson and the Olympians. He hurt himself by trying too many new things in the sequels and if he learns to handle that and return the writing to the quality of PJatO, that’d be pretty amazing.

[ayllriadayne]

Women in Ice Cells: The Mother of Dragons

So far in the Women in Ice Cells series, I’ve examined the characters of Elia Nymeros Martell and Joanna Lannister, both notable members of the Dead Ladies Club. Today I’m going to be tackling another member: Rhaella Targaryen, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, mother of Rhaegar, Viserys and Daenerys. While Aerys is often talked about by a number of characters, Rhaella is rarely mentioned in comparison. Aerys’ name appears 165 times throughout the books. Meanwhile, Rhaella is mentioned, by name, a grand total of five times. For such a major character, in-universe and out--a queen, and mother to one of the main characters in the series--that’s frankly shameful. In light of that, I’m going to take a look at what we know about her, and what this could tell us about her character.

Warning: this essay talks about rape and abuse. Please stay safe and don’t read it if you think this will trigger or upset you. 

Rhaella was born in either 245 or 246 AC, the second and youngest child of King Jaehaerys II Targaryen and his sister-wife, Queen Shaera (another DLC member! Look at that). Despite Aegon V’s intent to end dynastic incest, Jaehaerys was all about that Prince that was Promised prophecy, and forced Aerys and Rhaella to marry against their wishes. So here’s Rhaella, unwillingly married to her own brother by her father--but, as Barristan tells Dany, Rhaella was always mindful of her duty. Perhaps that implies that, unhappy as she was about the wedding, Rhaella grinned and bore it, seeing it as her duty as a daughter and a princess.

Rhaella had a number of ladies-in-waiting during her time as princess, and later queen, including the nameless Princess of Dorne, mother of Doran, Elia and Oberyn, and Joanna Lannister (dead ladies. Dead ladies everywhere). As I discussed in Joanna’s essay, Aerys had a creepy crush on Joanna, and it seems Rhaella put up with this for a long time. The straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back appears to have been Aerys’ drunken leering and groping at Joanna during Joanna and Tywin’s wedding feast. According to The World of Ice and Fire, Rhaella was generally willing to turn a blind eye to Aerys’ infidelities, but it was another matter when it concerned her own ladies.

This is interesting to me, but unfortunately not elaborated on, so I have to speculate. We know that Rhaella didn’t want to marry Aerys, and she doesn’t seem to have been particularly fond of him. When we’re told she refused to have Aerys lusting after her own ladies, was this because of her own pride in being snubbed and shamed by her husband right under her own nose? Or was it defiance and compassion--in sending Joanna away, was she trying to protect her from Aerys? It could be one, or the other, or, more likely, a bit of both. We have to bear in mind that at the beginning of Joanna’s tenure at King’s Landing, Rhaella would have been thirteen or fourteen (ugh, Westeros. Actually, ugh, GRRM. I’m writing an essay about this too, mark my words). Imagine being a child and having to deal with this. Poor Rhaella.

We know that after Rhaella gave birth to Rhaegar during the Tragedy of Summerhall, she suffered a number of miscarriages. We’re told, briefly, that she grieved for her lost children, but, in true DLC fashion, the real emphasis is on Aerys’ reaction. He confined Rhaella to Maegor’s Holdfast and had two septas sleep in her bed every night, to make sure she stayed faithful. What was Rhaella’s reaction to all this? We don’t know. GRRM never sees fit to tell us. But, as Barristan says, Rhaella was always mindful of her duty. Also, her husband was a psychotic asshole. I can’t imagine her putting up too much resistance.

So, here she is, after a traumatic first birth and a string of devastating miscarriages and stillbirths, locked in a holdfast, suspected of infidelity--basically being blamed for the deaths of her own children. When Prince Jaehaerys died, Aerys began to suspect others, and accused his wetnurse of poisoning him, and had her beheaded. First of all, imagine being this poor wetnurse, executed because the king is a paranoid tyrant when you were just doing your goddamn job, trying to survive in this toxically masculine disaster of a world. Secondly, imagine being Rhaella, witnessing this. Imagine thinking that if you continue to lose your children, your head might be the next one on the chopping block. Then Viserys was born, and everything was golden again, in theory.

Aerys went to Casterly Rock (home of Joanna Lannister) a lot, leaving Rhaella and baby Viserys in King’s Landing. I have to wonder how Rhaella felt about that. Relieved, presumably, that her abusive husband is leaving her alone for once. Hurt at the infidelity and disrespect, one has to assume. Guilty, for what he might possibly do to Joanna while there? Rhaella had so many burdens to shoulder, and this was before Aerys went full-on Aegon IV. In the later years of their marriage, Aerys succumbed to the Targaryen madness. Barristan says that Rhaella did her best to keep Viserys innocent and oblivious of his father’s madness, and shielded him from his cruelty; but Jaime tells us that by the time Aerys ordered the wildfire caches placed around the city, Rhaella’s eyes had been closed for years.

This is such a tragic picture we have of her. A mother desperately trying to protect her child from his father, her husband, her brother, presumably putting herself in between Aerys and Viserys, and doing what Jaime describes as “going away inside” to handle the trauma. Aerys began sexually abusing her, violently raping her every time her burned someone, and the Kingsguard outside the door stood and listened and did nothing. It’s a wonder she wasn’t completely broken by this point.

Then Rhaegar died, and with Robert bearing down on the city, a now pregnant Rhaella fled to Dragonstone with Viserys to escape the storm. Her son and husband had started a war; the former was dead, and she had to know the latter would soon follow. I wonder how she felt, that morning, as she travelled to the docks and sailed across Blackwater Bay. Grief, for her son; fear, for her living children; maybe a tinge of relief, for finally being able to escape from Aerys. And, I would have to imagine, anger. It would be hard to blame her for that.

While she was on Dragonstone, her husband, her grandchildren and her daughter-in-law were murdered, leaving Viserys as rightful king of Westeros. Rhaella, always mindful of her duty, crowned her son, using the same crown she herself had worn as queen. Sometime in between then and her death, she made a choice I find interesting: the decision to name her unborn daughter Daenerys.

For those who aren’t familiar, there was a first Daenerys Targaryen--the daughter of Aegon IV Targaryen and his sister-wife Naerys. Daeron II arranged for her to marry Maron Nymeros Martell of Dorne, thus finally securing peace with Dorne and bringing them into the Seven Kingdoms. It was Daenerys who started the tradition of children of all social classes bathing in the water gardens, and she advised her son to remember his realm in everything he did. Rhaegar is presumably a masculine form of Rhaenys, and the same with Viserys and Visenya. Yet Rhaella didn’t follow the precedent Aerys had set, and name her daughter for war; instead, she named her for peace. I think that, after the life she had lived, that said it all, really.

And then, nine months after her flight from King’s Landing, Rhaella gave birth to Daenerys while a wild storm raged, strong enough to shake the walls of Dragonstone. Daenerys was called Stormborn, and shortly afterwards, Rhaella died from complications of childbirth. Willem Darry took Viserys and Dany across the narrow sea to Braavos, and for them and us, the rest is history.

Overall, I think Rhaella is much harder to pin down than Joanna and Elia (as is probably evident by how much longer this part is). A loving, protective mother; a dutiful princess and queen; a survivor of horrific abuse who, despite having every right to be angry and vengeful, chose to name her daughter for peace. Rhaella Targaryen deserved better.

For the next installment, it’s a tossup between Lyanna Stark and Ashara Dayne. Feel free to drop me a message and tell me which you’d prefer I cover first. As always, I hope you enjoyed!

[billowsandsmoke]

Do you think James Potter changed and grew up in school? He was nasty as ever to Snape, and Lily didn't know the full extent of what happened in the Werewolf Incident. It seemed like that growing up happened after he was married and in the Order.

tl;dr: James Potter was always moral and didn’t need to “grow up” according to to the way his society categorizes and assigns morality

It’s a bit of a tricky subject, becausewe really know so little about James and Lily as young adults, both duringschool and after. On one hand, I’d like to think that James became a betterperson (I won’t say “grew up,” as I feel that implies that his bullyingwas simply “childish”/”boys will be boys” behavior) before he and Lily starteddating, since I’d like to think that Lily wouldn’t want to be with someone likethat. On the other hand, we also see her stifling a laugh during Snape’s WorstMemory, which isn’t an instance of her protecting herself against bigotry orhandling a situation like a teenager–she’s laughing at her supposed friend’spain and humiliation. Is it possible that feeling hurt/betrayed by Snape’ssocial decisions made her a little more callous towards Slytherins?Is it possible that she became harsher, rather than that James became kinder?Of course, even if this were the case (and I’m only using that one detail as abasis for that), this doesn’t mean that Remus’ comments about Lily’s kindnessare untrue. We have every reason to believe that she showed Remus a great dealof compassion, and was similarly a faithful friend and ally to everyone in theOrder. Yet, this is within an insular, like-minded group. By also looking atSirius, who would die for his friends but wouldn’t mind murdering anotherstudent because “Slytherins are Death Eaters,” we can see a pattern of howmorality and political affiliation are both linked and set in stark contrastwith one another. Within this mindset, there is a strong “us versus them”/”goodversus evil” mentality—of course a “good” person would want to fight peoplelike Bellatrix and Greyback—but the problem lies in the wide brushstroke thatgroups together Bellatrix/Greyback with people like Snape and Regulus. Even thefour of them have vastly different backgrounds, motivations, and moral codes,yet the Order and “good”-coded students are made blind to this in part by theway that Dumbledore’s primes the Gryffindors for the Order and allows Slytherinstudents to be alienated and absorbed into the Death Eater fold. By usingpolitics to erase the potential for bipartisan understanding and compassion, Dumbledorecreates what seems to be a morally unambiguous conflict, which encourages thepeople coded as “good” to take up the fight without question. Interestinglyenough, this is the exact opposite of Sirius’ “there aren’t just goodpeople and Death Eaters” quote, though JKR has commented on this inconsistency:

“Sirius is very good at spouting bits of excellent personalphilosophy, but he does not always live up to them. For instance, he says in“Goblet of Fire” that if you want to know what a man is really like,‘look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.’ But Sirius loathesKreacher, the house-elf he has inherited, and treats him with nothing butcontempt. Similarly, Sirius claims that nobody is wholly good or wholly evil,and yet the way he acts towards Snape suggests that he cannot conceive of anylatent good qualities there. Of course, these double standards exist in most ofus; we might know how we ought to behave, but actually doing it is a differentmatter.”But I’ve gotten away from the question somewhat. People seemconvinced that James must have changed, but I don’t see any more evidence ofthat than of the contrary. In fact, now that I’m thinking of it, it may havebeen James’ environment that changed, rather than his behavior. During school,he makes it his business to torment Snape, who he codes as “bad/DeathEater” (in a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy), and then after school,he joins a group that fights Death Eaters. His “fighting” Snape at schoolis nothing more than practice for the real world, where this behavior isno longer “bullying” but “heroism.” (And at times rightfully so—thereis no question that Voldemort is evil and must be stopped.) However, it’s alsovery interesting that this transition happens so seamlessly, which again, issomething that I believe can be laid at Dumbledore’s feet due to the way heencourages the polarization of the student body and refuses to address the waythat Voldemort has manipulated the definition of Slytherin values in order tobuild his following. In other words, this political environment turns Hogwartsinto a kind of training ground in which certain moral categories areestablished and children are taught who is “the enemy.” We see this in ThePrince’s Tale before they are even sorted, as I’ve pointed out in a previousdiscussion:

“James immediately establishes that hesubscribes to the idea that all Slytherins are evil: he says to Sirius, afterhe admits that his whole family has been in Slytherin, “I thought you seemedalright!” Neither Snape nor Sirius have voiced any opinions on blood purity orDark magic, but James already categorizes them on a moral level based on theiraffiliation to Slytherin. When Snape sneers at James’ desire to be inGryffindor (to be fair, he is just dishing out what James just served him), healso categorizes James based on house stereotypes: Gryffindor as “brawny ratherthan brainy.” In the next moment, we see Sirius weigh his knowledge of hisfamily with this Slytherin reputation and then throw his weight behind the boyin the car who is clearly going to win this fight: “Where’re you planning togo, seeing as you’re neither?” Sirius has no idea whether Snape is clever ornot, and clearly the comment is just his way of announcing his allegiance. (Asif to say, “I don’t want to be a bad guy like those Slytherins; I’m going to beas nasty as possible to anyone with that affiliation to prove to my new friendthat I’m not one of them.”) Lily, of course, has no dialogue through thisentire altercation, because she doesn’t know what it “means” to be a Gryffindoror a Slytherin.

With this in mind, it actually makes lesssense for James to have changed between school and his time in the Order, becauseagain, according to this moral structure, he was never doing anything wrong. Hisbehavior went from going unchecked (at school) to being rewarded (in theOrder). In fact, the only person who ever criticizes this behavior is Lily,because as I’ve pointed out, she was raised outside the system and (for awhile) judges people based only on their moral or immoral decisions—notaccording to whatever their house categorizes them as. Of course, onemuggleborn and a low-class half-blood are no match for the system, and so thesecategorizations appear to be substantiated by the end of their friendship,leaving Lily to confirm that “Slytherins are bad” and Snape to question, “Am Ibad?”There remains the question of James saving Snape during thewerewolf incident, but I’ve written before about how that “prank” could’vemeant death for Remus as much as it meant death for Snape. I believe James wassaving the former rather than the latter, judging by both that context and thefact that SWM happens after thewerewolf incident, showing that James has not developed any sense of compassionor morality in this regard. (This also makes Dumbledore’s insistence that Snapeowes James a life debt even more infuriating to Snape, and adds to his sense ofbeing unsupported and demonized by the Gryffindor-coded administration.)Though, going back to my last point, I use the term “morality” veryloosely, because what’s the difference between fighting evil Death Eaters atschool or out of school?Again, I’m not convinced that this line of reasoning hasenough textual evidence to say that it’s for certain, but I do think it firmlyholds its own when viewed through this political lens. Though, even if all thiscould be argued with certainty, it still doesn’t make either James orLily “bad” people any more than Snape, Sirius, or Regulus are “bad”people, so much as victims of a highly divisive war in which the opposing sidesuse the structure of an education system to prime their recruits. If Jamesnever changed, this does not mean that he wasn’t a good, loving husband andfather. It doesn’t change the fact that he was prepared to face Voldemortwandless and selflessly accept death in the hope that his wife and child couldescape. To reiterate, if James never changed, then it was likely because hisenvironment wasn’t conducive to that change, and because his behavior wasn’t calledinto question or deemed immoral. Snape, Sirius, Remus, and even Dumbledore fallinto that category even more readily—they remain stagnant because they areemotionally isolated, and because their various flawed and destructive mindsetsfall into the status quo of this system.

If you noticed an evolution of opinionfrom my first comment to now, it’s because I hadn’t quite thought of thequestion through this particular lens. Perhaps we assume that James changedbecause we also struggle to cast off this strict paradigm of “good” versus“bad,” and to accept that his changing or not changing does not make him one orthe other. As always, I am firmly against being “anti-Marauders” or “anti-Snape”or “anti-Dumbledore,” and instead in favor of grasping at the kind ofinterpersonal empathy that this generation was deprived of—and deeply harmedby.please ask me more questions. like there went my afternoon but also wow look atthat developing nuance

thank you~

[djrelentless]

“Bamboozled: A Study In Race”

August 10, 2011 at 2:47pm

Last night, my husband and I sat up really late and watched Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled”. Not one of his more popular or successful films, but actually one of my favorites. Probably because like most Spike Lee films they really make you examine your own personal thoughts on the subject matter. They never really give you a solution or resolution. Instead you are left with a sense of “that was fucked up....what just happened here?”

If you have not seen “Bamboozled” I totally reccomend you do. Especially for all the folks out there who think they have a handle on race relations. The story line follows an African-American TV producer who comes up with an idea of recreating minstrel shows in order to be fired from his job. But to his surprise the show is a huge success and where the problems start for his character and the ones around him.

What’s really interesting is the fact that this movie from the year 2000 predates “The Dave Chapelle Show”. Looking at this film gives us a prophecy of what was to come. Ever wondered why Dave walked away from his very successful television show after only 2 seasons? Watch this film and you may have your answer. Often in my music reviews, I refer to a lot of the Hp Hop artists such as Lil' Wayne as the new minstrel show. Mainly because they don't realize that the industry is basically using them to show what the African-American experience is or what they'd like it to be: a thuggish black man whose only interests are sex, drugs and material things. They give this kid from the projects a lot of money and then act surprised when they get arrested on possession or weapons charges. It's all part of the puppet show to keep you from concentrating on the things that are important. Where are the Hip Hop artists like Public Enemy who actually had a message and an agenda? They don't exist today.

“Bamboozled” works on so many levels to deconstruct what we all think about race. Although it is about “black-face” and stereotypes of the African-American, it could be applied to any race. Spike always shows the full range of racism and discrimination. There are references to the obvious racist views, but there are also deeper looks into the divisions  of dark skin and light skin blacks. He really gives us a great look at this subject matter in“School Daze” with the musical number “Good And Bad Hair”.

And after sleeping on it, I started asking myself “why is there racism within a race?”

I’ll tell you why......because no matter where you are in the world, someone or some group of people want to feel better than another. In every race, be it White, Black, Asian, Middle Eastern or whatever......there is always one group that wants to be superior to another. Which is really silly since at the end of the day we all bleed red blood.

My first memory of realizing there was a difference between races goes back to the first grade. I sat at a round table with a little white girl named Christine, a little black boy named Bernard and a little latina girl named Maria. One day, I asked Chrstine if I could use her crayons and she said okay. Bernard asked and she told him “No, because you’re black”. Confused, I said “But I’m black too”. She said “No you’re not. You’re brown. He’s black!”

Until that moment, I had never really given color a thought when it came to people. And in actuality I was of Black, White and Puerto Rican descent, but have always considered myself just Black. Apparently, Christine had been taught that black people were bad and everyone else was okay. A very sad commentary on the state of race relations back in the early 1970’s. Especially right after all the civil rights movements that happened in the previous decade.

I guess the other reason I appreciate this film is because it pays homage to the black actors that never got recognition or fame like Paul Robeson or Sydney Poitier. Actors like Mantan Moreland and Steppin’ Fletcher were considered the “Uncle Tom(s)” of the industry. But like Louis Armstrong they played an important part in the struggle for equality of African-Americans. For all the butlers and maids played by black actors, it was still a step in the right direction to be visible in Hollywood. Remember... out of sight, out of mind. And like Harvey Fierstein says in “The Celluloid Closet” on the subject of the “sissy character” - “I’d rather some visibility than none at all.”