#Grandson killed grandmother

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

I meet my newly assigned therapist today so frankly you should all wish her luck because lord only knows she's not feeling great walking into this and probably asked for supervision before even meeting me lmao

[puppyeared]

Thank you for the Spirit tracks content. I will cherish this for the rest of my life

YW!!!!

[mohntilyet]

illario as the grandchild that is most like caterina is something i'm loving to chew on. the grandson that took her lessons to heart the most. kill anyone who sees your face and knows your name, "we are not revolutionaries", the first out of the two to prioritise the contract. power at any cost, and the only one to lean into the unnecessary abuse that their grandmother told them was tradition. why is anyone surprised he allied with the venatori? and then there's illario's considerable skill in infiltration and manipulating any mark, he has always had the charisma that lucanis lacked. illario isn't attached, he has/can/will use someone and immediately drop them; "that does free me from promises i don't intend to keep". he can lie about how much he cares so well that he fools a magister into believing he loves her. he kills zara without hesitation to cover his own tracks, meanwhile lucanis blindly promises a young girl in the middle of a siege that he will help her find her father. even the lessons about family stick with him, and in this entire messy power struggle, he never actually orders anyone to directly kill caterina or lucanis, not until he's backed into a corner.

and even after all that. despite even lucanis believing illario should be first talon, lucanis is still the better killer. illario is not strong enough to be the brutal assassin caterina needs him to be. so when lucanis seems to fill the role his mother left, grief and love for her dead heir apparent remains, and any of the other qualities caterina needs in her next talon doesn't matter. whatever his mother was, lucanis has to be. what illario does doesn't matter, because he will always be second best to caterina's memory of her favored daughter.

[jewish-vents]

When my mom was 8 she broke a 15 year old boy's arm when he would not stop bullying her siblings for being Jewish, including trying to drown my uncle. Not as a joke, he was actively trying to kill him. Being 19 and on my second year of jiujitsu and breaking my antisemitic instructor's shoulder because his dumb ass thought he could thrash me with illegal moves repeatedly without consequences feels like a defining moment in my life. I really am my mother's son. My 5"3 ass can and will beat your 6"4 one despite the 100 lb weight differential. And I don't even need to make illegal moves to do it.

This is what it's like to be Jewish. You deal with people twice your size who don't play by the rules and you fight fairly and yet even when you're defending yourself, eyewitnesses get antisemitic and say your response was disproportionate. He had me in a lethal chokehold. I'm the one who had to talk to police for assault. He doesn't even get a reprimand from the university even though he's employed by them and murder on the campus is, even now, a bad look.

The police were, fortunately, swayed by the video footage. They said my lack of guilt was disturbing. I stared at them in disbelief. "I'm not going to feel guilty for not wanting to die," I told them incredulously, "I have elderly parents to support, a girlfriend to propose to and a dog to take care of. I'm 20, I have shit left to live for!"

I'm being forced into therapy by the university. I look forward to it. Sure would be a shame if I'd, I don't know, hypothetically, scoured the internet to find other accounts of people he'd used illegal moves on. It'd sure suck if I brought those up and had those entered into the school record. Sure would be awful if those accounts found their way into his RateMyProfessor listing in addition to, say, theoretically, being sent to local dojos and other dojos throughout the state, thus ruining his ability to find work or fight competitively.

All sarcasm aside I am not afraid to nuke his career. I am my mother's son but I am also my grandmother's grandson. When a KKK member tried to kill her dad, my great-granddad, she wrestled the man's gun off of him and shot him in the knee. He never walked again.

Nobody in my family starts fights. But I don't mind finishing them.

This is what it's like to be Jewish. Someone tries to kill you. You do exactly what's required to get out alive. They get angry at you. They want you to feel guilty for wanting to live. You get up and go to class hours later with bruises on your neck and refuse to feel guilty. I have as much of a right to be alive as anyone else. I will not be gaslit into thinking I don't deserve to live.

The school said I wouldn't have to do therapy if I apologized. I will not apologize for surviving or defending myself.

I have as much of a right to be alive as anyone else.

.

[fallstaticexit]

Prev / Next / Beginning / Pillowfort

AN: As a heads up, I do not have anything scheduled for the rest of the week. I could post but I'll give a notice :) otherwise, we will return Monday 8-14 (if you know me, I probably won't even wait that long lolol)

Transcript under the cut

Nancy Narrates: [I never felt more terrified in my entire life. I could hardly look at him at first. I almost couldn’t bare to hold him, I thought I would break him]

Geoffrey: He’s beautiful. I can’t believe we made something so perfect.

Nancy: [voice wobbles] He’s so tiny... innocent. I don’t want to ruin him.

Geoffrey: You won’t. You’ll be an amazing mother.

Nancy: It’s not like I grew up with the best example of one. What if he hates me?

Geoffrey: Look at how he’s already looking at you. He’s 3 hours old and he’s looking at you like you’re the love of his life. You’ll be great, Nance. We’re going to love him together, our Zachary.

Nancy: I was thinking. I’d like to name him after my brother.

Geoffrey: Oh yeah? Nathan?

Nancy: [hums] Jonathan.

Geoffrey: [smiles] Jonathan Landgraab. I love it.

-

Geoffrey: Hello Mrs. Landgraab. Thank you for coming.

Queenie: I wouldn’t miss the birth of my first grandson. Chester, however, sends his regards; he had a last minute meeting with a client.

Queenie: My, he is stunning. He looks just like my Nathan.

Geoffrey: We’ve named him after him. His name is Jonathan.

Queenie: [softly] I see.

Queenie: [to herself] I’ll do right by you, Jonathan.

-

Nancy Narrates: [When I did look at him, I couldn’t stop. He was beautiful. I counted nearly every eyelash. I kissed every single little toe on each foot. I was mesmerized]

Nancy Narrates: [How did I create something so utterly perfect]

Nancy: [whispers] I don’t know what I’m doing, Jonathan but I’ll figure it out. Bare with me.

-

Nancy Narrates: [ Turns out, I had alot to learn. Motherhood did not come to me as easily as fatherhood did to Geoffrey]

Nancy Narrates: [Jonathan was always regarding me so curiously, and I him. I’ve never interacted with children until I had one of my own. I hardly knew how to talk to them]

Nancy: Oh. Hello. So, what would you add to this lobby to make it look less sterile?

Jonathan: [coos]

Nancy: Natural materials? What are we thinking, wood or stone?

Jonathan: [gurgles]

Nancy: Can I tell you a secret? Your grandmother drives me crazy. Can you believe she mocked my blueprints in front of the entire department? What would she know anyway, she went to school for journalism for fuc- for flip sake.

Jonathan: [babbles wildly]

Nancy: [scoffs] Exactly!

Nancy: Goodness, you’re greedy. You’re like your father. You’re actually a lot like him. You’re sweet; you’re silly. You’re nothing like me, are you? That’s a good thing. I want you to be more like Geoffrey. That’s your father’s name, by the way. I don’t know if you knew that.

Nancy Narrates: [When it came to fatherhood, Geoffrey was a natural]

-

Nancy Narrates: [They were made for each other]

Nancy Narrates: [And began to feel softer every time I looked at them]

Nancy: What did I say about dressing him?

Geoffrey: Heh. Don’t. Don’t dress him.

Nancy: Exactly. He can’t go with my mother dressed like this. I’ll never hear the end of it.

Geoffrey: But he looks so cute.

Nancy: He does but that’s besides that point.

Nancy Narrates: [I was smitten. Everything felt perfect just the way it was. This was certainly the life I signed up for-]

Nancy: [retching, coughing]

Jonathan: Mommy?

Geoffrey: Yeah bud, sounds like Mommy’s not feeling too good. Hey, Nancy? Are you ok in there?

Jonathan: Mommy kay?

Nancy: Oh, for the love for fucking-

Nancy: GOD!!

Nancy: RAAHH! If you get me pregnant again I will kill you, Geoffrey! I swear to god I’ll kill you!

Geoffrey: [nervous chuckles] No Nancy Jr. then, huh?

Nancy: Shut up, shut up, shut up!!

Nancy Narrates: [And before I knew it, we were a family of 4]

Malcolm: [wails]

Nancy: What’s wrong? Why is he still crying?

Queenie: Well, he’s certainly your son, Nancy. You drove your father and I mad with your colicky cries.

Nancy: I did this to him?

Geoffrey: [softly] No, someone’s just having a rough time adjusting to the outside world, that’s all. Hey, Malcolm! It’s mommy and daddy! Your big brother is here! You two are going to be the best of pals, I just know it.

Nancy: Look, Jonathan. This is your brother, Malcolm.

Jonathan: Ew!

Geoffrey: [chuckles] He’s not ew, son. He’s a baby. He’s just a little fussy right now.

Nancy: Do you really think we can handle two children under 2 years old?

Geoffrey: Hey, if there’s anyone who can do it, it’s us. It’s me and you.

Nancy: [sighs] Ok. Me and you.

Jonathan: [screeching] EW!

Malcolm: [screams]

Nancy: Geoffrey do something!!

Geoffrey: Oh! Oh, damn it- Hey! That’s enough!

[thedinanshiral]

In preparation for The Veilguard i'll be exploring some of the companions we already have information on from other Dragon Age media. I'l start with Lucanis Dellamorte, who already had an impressive introduction in the story The Wigmaker's job from Tevinter Nights, and an implicit silent role in the short story The Wake.

Lucanis Dellamorte, Master Assassin of the Antivan Crows. Grandson of Caterina Dellamorte, First Talon of the Antivan Crows, and chosen by her to succeed her.

His cousin Illario Dellamorte whom he often works with might resent him a little for being the favourite but Illario is Lucanis' favourite to succeed as First Talon, as he's got the "silver tongue" required for the politics of it Lucanis does not.

Both of them are described as lean with dark hair and umber eyes; Lucanis is described as "the kind of man you couldn't look away from- until he looked at you".

Despite the abuse from his grandmother during training that caused him to hate her, now in his adult years he understands her motivation was preparing him for this life, and while on the job still recites to himself the same nursery rhyme she did when they were children. It goes:

One for silence Two for surprise Three for good measure Four's excercise Five for a slaughter Six for the thrill Seven means more sovereigns Eight marks the final kill

Seems it's a rhyme reminding how many extra kills are necessary/acceptable in a mission that didn't call for them? But while Illario also remembers it they don't make any other comments on it.

Focused, centered on duty, Lucanis never misses the mark. He carries multiple knives, daggers and blades he takes care of personally and carefully. Mostly seems to take contracts on Venatori and Tevinter mages to the point he's grown acostumed to their magic and can sense them pulling at/tunning into the Fade. Yes, he can sense where the Veil is thin. The way in which he senses a mage using magic is as an itch behind his eyes, or as an annoying headache. The worse the headache the more magic is being used. He can track Venatori mages by headache alone.

He's not just a killing machine, he also knows his enemy's ways, in this case knowing such a corrupt mage would have to have an artifact in use to keep demons at bay. When he found and destroyed said artifact demons crossed the Veil and destroyed the wigmaker's party. This event is what earns him the nickname "the Demon".

As good as he normally is in this contract he let his personal feelings and morals interfere and rather than fulfilling the contract he prioritized the slaves escaping and the victims getting justice in the form of vengeance, considering what the wigmaker Ambrose had done didn't make him deserving of an easy death. A Magister named Zara Renata ends the story deciding, since the Crow is now a Demon, that since demons can't be killed but controled, and Lucanis showed his weakness -having a heart - , she'll find a way to manipulate him to her benefit.

In the short story The Wake Crows Viago and Teia drag a drunken Illario back to his room after someone's funeral and by Illario's comments seems the deceased was Lucanis. Illario says they were brothers more than cousins, and now in his absence he has no one to follow. He mentions as a child one time Lucanis read a book about wyverns and became obssessed with wyverns, took him hunting and both returned to their grandmother made an absolute muddy mess. It's curious how as affected as Illario is the other two Crows seem very much not, so an alternative intepretation could be the one who passed is Caterina, their grandmother, and now Lucanis is First Talon so Illario is lamenting their relationship won't be the same, at the same time he's lamenting he wasn't the chosen one, when he bitterly says "It should have been me".

Some colorful notes sprinkled here and there: when asked by Illario what he'd do if someone sees his face and talks, Lucanis says he'd just grow a beard. Seems he did:

In The Wigmaker's job when Illario complains about not having being told the specifics of the contract it's revealed Lucanis did inform him via a dossier he wrote himself. This coupled with his childhood wyvern obssession and the rest of his personality presented in Tevinter Nights tells me he's very possibly ND on some level.

During The Veilguard reveals we learn from devs that Lucanis likes coffee and is a good cook. His writer Mary Kirby confirmed on Twitter his VA is good and Lucanis will have an accent like previous Antivan characters did (Zevran, Josephine), said he is "the sole dumpster fire of the crew" and that she wrote him "specifically to be a bisexual disaster of a human" (source). In Tevinter Nights Lucanis recalls he once found himself walking into an orgy during a contract at a party and i quote, italics included "Getting out of that had been interesting", implying he may have joined in some capacity in order to get out of it.

In his companion tarot card we see his colors are black and purple, the backdrop is a stylized design of crows and behind and around Lucanis there's a purple design that looks like a wing made of eyes.

The pauldrons on his outfit also have a design of many eyes.

The back of his outfit has a bird -crow?- design as well, with a bigger single red eye

And it's not known yet how but during combat that part of his outfit projects a pair of purple wings.

This is likely how that ability looks in combat menu

Because of the purple and the eyes motif plus learning he's known as "the Demon" has made some very excited at the possibility he turns out to be possessed by a Pride demon. But as it turns out, knowing how this Demon nickname came to be, and that he's a Crow, spies and assassins who have "eyes everywhere", plus this wings combat ability i think it's safe enough to say no, he's not possessed, he's not another Anders, if there's a Pride demon walking around looking like a man that's more likely to be Solas than this Antivan handsome man.

Another detail is the other crow motif on his clothes, i think these are rather cute

Because of The Wake some propose Lucanis died and a demon rose him back from the dead or that he's possessed by a Pride demon because purple and eyes and all that, but as i proposed back in 2020 chances are Lucanis faked his death to escape his fate as successor to a position he had zero interest in, a role that was being pushed and forced on him with absolutely no consideration to his feelings or thoughts on the matter, or he is now First Talon, reluctanctly. Considering he thinks simply growing a beard is disguise enough and now in The Veilguard we see him with a beard tells me he is in fact hiding his identity to some, either because people think he's dead or because he doesn't want to be identified as the current First Talon.

[lucky13cat]

Honestly the one thing I wish HOTD hadn't done above all else (and I wish they hadn't done a lot) are the multiple times jumps in season 1.

I wish we had kept the younger actors and the story going after Rhaenyra's wedding until at least episode 8 or 9 of the first season. Rather then jumping 10 years and then 6 years the show could have built up what was to come and shown characters and stories that were missed. They could have done many, many things to fill in the time to build up the later plotlines. Have the writers show us how inevitable the Dance would be without skipping ahead.

Show us Rhaenyra's reaction to Criston becoming Alicent's sworn shield. Show us Aemond and Daeron's births (or at least Alicent's wedding to the king well before rhat). Show us how Daemon and Laena were wed and him killing her original betrothed.

Show us Rhaenyra facing the whispers of the court as she and Laenor remain childless. Show us Rhaenyra deciding to go to Dragonstone with her husband, her retinue, and Harwin Strong (who in the book is her sworn shield). Show us how Rhaenyra sees traces of Daemon all over Dragonstone as well as her learning to rule and manage a castle. Show us Rhaenyra and Laenor discussing how they will have kids and scenes with her and Harwin. Show us her first pregnancy as she thinks about Aemma's many pregnancies, especially the last one.

Show us Jace's birth and the court coming to celebrate on Dragonstone. Show us Daemon's reaction to such an event even as Laena announces she is pregnant. Show us the first seeds of the bastard rumors as Rhaenyra and Laenor claim Jace has inherited the Baratheon looks from his grandmother Rhaenys, a defense that is quickly destroyed later on with two more sons bearing the traits of Harwin Strong rather than Laenor Velaryon. Show us the king acknowledging his grandson in a way he never does his own sons.

Show us Aegon bonding with Sunfyre. The deep bond between them and Alicent's worry about dragons and her continued rejection of the "queer customs" of the Targaryens until Otto forces her to realize that these are weapons to help Aegon when he becomes king. Show us Helaena bonding with Dreamfyre and more of her dragon dreams. Show how Aemond remains dragonless as all his other siblings bond with dragons. Then turn and show how indifferent, potentially even hostile, Rhaenyra is towards her younger half siblings, particularly the boys who have a claim to the throne as the whole court whispers.

Show us Rhaenyra's return to court with her gaining a seat on the Small Council and how much Laenor hates it in Kings Landing. Show Viserys announcing that his grandsons will all take lessons with his sons and Alicent's reaction to that and then Daeron being sent away to Oldtown. Show how Aegon grows up under the pressure of being the unnamed heir and unloved son. Show us the wedding between Aegon and Helaena. Show the plotting of Otto behind the scenes rather than just telling us the Small Council has been plotting for years.

Just show the audience something.

The season can end on a time jump to show the older actors and can even continue as it did from Joffrey's birth. The parallels from Jace's own would be quite interesting as it would show how Rhaenyra has faced what her mother called their battlefield before. Then let the season end with Rhaenyra going back to Dragonstone as more than the girl she was the first time. Let season 2 start with the funeral at Driftmark and show the actual aftermath of that event. Then show us Daemon and Rhaenyra's wedding and the aftermath of that with Viserys enraged and telling both of them not to come to court until he sends for them. Corlys can be shown once more going to war in the Stepstones instead of facing his grief as Rhaenys waits on Driftmark where she decides to foster Baela but ignores Rhaenyra's children. Show the twins and Maelor as a parallel to Rhaenyra's young children and how the Greens are a family just as much as the Blacks. Give us Helaena and Aegon interacting and how Aemond tries to be everything an heir should be even when he's a second son. Viserys' failing health can be shown as well as Otto's own time presiding over the court and tasting the power of the king, the thing he has spent years desperate for. Then jump to the succession of Driftmark crisis and Rhaenyra's return to court. Show more of Jace and Luke's struggles with their heritage as their younger half brothers inherit the Valyrian traits that highlight their own different features.

Give us more scenes of Aegon, Aemond, and Helaena among the court and interacting with the Blacks. There could even be a few scenes of Daeron mixed throughout the season though they'd less important, but still season 2 could build a base for who every Green child is as they build up to war. Give equal time to both sides of the war to come.

Let season 2 be built on these added scenes and plots from season 1 to truly show how the Dance was inevitable. This will then in turn fuel season 3 where the Dance truly hits as characters and dragons begin to die in this conflict. The deaths will hit harder and actually haunt the narrative the way they should because they've been given depth and built up in the previous seasons.

The show could have done so much to add depth to each of the characters and each of the different plots, but it didn't. The time jumps of season 1, in my opinion, weakened the story and left us with fairly shallow characters. There were so many things that could have added to the show and sowed the seeds of the Dance, but we saw none of it.

[simpforboys]

sail across the ocean

neteyam x fem!omatikaya!pregnant!reader

summary: in which you must follow your mate to the metkayina village

warnings: pregnancy, fluff, mentions of sickness/illness

you and neteyam are 20.

find part two here

going from learning to be a strong tsahìk to leaving your clan in just a few days was something you would have never imagined.

mo’at was a very wise soul. she immediately took you under her wing when you and neteyam had officially mated, wanting to train her grandson’s mate to become a good spiritual leader.

so as you sat in the healing tent with the older lady, you heard commotion coming from outside. tuk had opened the tent and said, “the war party has returned!”

being seven months pregnant, it was getting harder for you to be as active as you used to.

you carefully stood up, mo’at going to help you but you smiled at the woman. you waddled out of the tent, seeing jake scolding your mate and lo’ak.

neytiri stood behind her sons, her eyes hard as she stared at her husband. neteyam’s eyes met yours and he smiled, despite his father’s harsh words.

your face fell when you realized your mate was bleeding. the four sullys watched as you approached, neteyam taking your hand to help steady you.

“your mate almost died today.” jake told you firmly.

you looked at neteyam, a frown on your lips.

“my jake, stop. your son is actually bleeding. let y/n clean up neteyam.” neytiri said to her husband.

“dismissed.” jake said.

you lead your mate to the healing tent as he held the small of your back in his hand.

“what happened out there, my neteyam?”

“lo’ak wanted to go onto the battle field despite our orders of being spotters. skxawng (idiot) almost got me killed.”

mo’at gasped when she saw her grandson and ushered him into the tent. neteyam sat on a little pad as his grandmother began to tend to his wounds, you and kiri helping the woman.

you stroked neteyam’s head in a soothing way, the way he absolutely loved. he nuzzled his head into your hand, his tail coming up to connect with yours.

“you must be careful, grandson. with a prrnen (baby) on the way, you have to stay alive.”

“grandmother, you should really try this root. it will sting less.” kiri suggested to the woman as neteyam hissed.

“mawey (calm), my neteyam.”

the next few days seemed to pass by in a blur. with more frequent attacks from the sky people, neteyam’s stress was affecting you.

his father was getting harder on him, on you. the stress was causing your pregnancy to become more difficult, often having your son kick and give you constant pain.

but when jake approached you, the future tsahìk of the omatikayas, about joining his family to the metkayina village in order to keep them safe, it truly shocked you.

leave your people?

you knew that mating with neteyam, the future olo’eyktan, came some sacrifices that you were willing to make.

so, you helped neteyam pack up your little tent. his hand tightly gripped yours as you softly cried, jake’s title of olo’eyktan being given away.

you rubbed your belly with your free hand as your mate guided you to his ikran, where he helped you onto the banshee.

“hold on to me, my y/n.” neteyam grabbed your hands. you sat facing him, your pregnant belly resting against his stomach as you held him tightly against you.

neteyam hated leaving his clan, but knew going to awa’atlu would make you and your future child safe.

neytiri began a leaving call as neteyam and lo’ak followed, the drifting sound of the omatikayas getting further and further away as the family road.

the wind blew both your’s and neteyam’s braids softly, his ikran gliding through the air with such peace.

he communicated with the banshee to be as smooth as possible since you were on the ikran with him, his hand coming down to hold your hip.

➽─────────────────❥

“what if they don’t like us?” you asked your mate.

it had been a few hours into the flight and your tired mind had begun to wonder. you babbled all the thoughts and neteyam loved listening to every one.

that was something he loved most about you. you never cared to speak your mind or voice your opinion, even though sometimes it may get you into trouble.

“i am sure they will accept us when they see you are with child.” neteyam comforted. you looked into his yellow eyes, the eclipse illuminating them.

“your child.” you said matter-of-factly.

neteyam grinned.

“my child.” he placed his big hands onto your belly, feeling the way your son kicked against him.

you sat with your back against neteyam’s chest, leaning your head onto his shoulder as he rubbed your belly.

neytiri smiled when she saw the scene. it reminded her of when she was pregnant with neteyam.

the closer you guys approached the ocean the rougher the wind became.

ikrans shifting left and right, quick winds that were cold, rain mixing within splashing waves.

you were miserable, and on top of that, your pregnancy was making you feel ill. neteyam had given you his piece of fabric and tried to use his body heat to keep you warm, but you were still looking sick.

“how much longer?” you heard tuk ask neytiri in a whine.

you smiled weakly, still using your mate as a back rest. he made sure you were secure as you fell asleep, trying to get rid of the sickness eywa has put upon you.

the next time your eyes opened you were flying over awa’atlu, a conch shell being used to make an announcement of your arrival.

your eyes marveled at the clear ocean, seeing all the animals that filled the atmosphere along with the metkayina people themselves.

jake landed his ikran, bob, on a shore as the family followed. your body felt achy and weak as neteyam helped you, a gasp coming from the metkayinas from your wobbly legs.

tonowari, the clan leader, approached your family. his eyes gazed upon your belly as he began to speak with jake.

“please, my family needs shelter.”

neteyam rubbed your back, trying to soothe you against all the stares people were giving you. the judgement on your arms, legs, tail, and pregnant belly was driving you insane.

but as the tsahìk, ronal, approached with her own pregnant belly, the crowd began to back off.

she was feisty and although also pregnant, seemed to give your family no remorse.

“my husband was toruk makto. he led the clans to victory against the sky people.” neytiri said suddenly.

“this is what you call victory? running to strangers?” ronal hissed, causing neytiri to hiss back.

“please, my mate is pregnant and we need a place to stay. she fell ill from the travels.” neteyam spoke up.

ronal eyed you curiously, now approaching your shaking body. she pursed her lips, looking at her husband.

“come.” ronal spoke, guiding you to a marui pod as her daughter, tsireya, showed the other sully’s their own pod.

neteyam helped you walk as ronal guided you to lay down. the tsahìk began to perform a spiritual ritual, whooping into the air as she hummed and prayed to the great mother.

you let out a deep breath as eywa’s grace made you feel better, your body now at ease as your mate kissed your forehead.

“irayo (thank you).” neteyam lifted his hand to his eye, lowering it to show ronal his appreciation. she hummed back as neteyam helped you up.

“it is so beautiful.” you gasped, now feeling a million times better.

you ran your hand gently in the water, awing at the fish-like creatures.

neteyam smirked when he saw lo’ak blushing at tsireya. “i think little brother has a crush.”

you smiled at your mate’s antics.

“imagine lo’ak having a child with someone one day.”

neteyam’s nose scrunched in disgust at the thought of his brother, or any of his siblings, growing older.

“gross. for now, we are the only ones allowed to be with child.”

neteyam held your tummy once again, pressing kisses to your neck and shoulder as you giggled.

“i love you, my neteyam.”

“i love you, my y/n.”

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Am I the asshole for not wanting to go out for dinner with Granddaddy?

CW: long post

My (43, FtM) husband's (39,M) family experienced several very grievous losses, including my husband's stepdad and his maternal grandmother, in 2022. MIL is not taking things well, which is to be expected, but she has a tendency to use hubby's deceased dad against him if he can't or does not wish to do something (e.g. bursting into tears and going "I wish your dad was still here, he would have known how to fix the chainsaw and trimmed the trees!" "I wish your dad was still here, HE wouldn't have told me to call a plumber for the toilet!" Also going on utterly unrelated rants that upset everyone in our home and blaming it on her grief.) Worth noting she hasn't ever pulled these tricks with hubby's younger brother (27M) despite him living with her. Also worth noting that she has said some really nasty things about me, my gender and sexuality over the last few years simply because I encourage him to stand up for himself, and has apologised to him but never to me. Nonetheless, we are family and we abide. (This is relevant backstory, I do not need to be told she sucks, we been knew.)

PRESENT! Since Grandmother (hubby's grandmother, who hated me even more openly than MIL does for being trans and turning her grandson gay, and always played her kids, grandkids and great grandkids against each other) died, Granddaddy (84M, hubby's grandfather) has been a bit at sea. "NTA!" i can hear you shouting, but Granddaddy is actually a solid dude-- has never misgendered me, is unfailingly kind to me and has always made me feel like part of the family in a way *no one else* in hubby's family does. He's lovely, funny, intelligent-- used to work in aeronautics and loves that i love his sci fi books, and adores exchanging silly cheesy jokes with me when we hang out. He's *great!* 10/10 Granddaddy.

MIL is of the opinion that Graddaddy needs to be taken out to dinner *every night*. He can never have a night alone; he can never call an uber to go out by himself; and we certainly cannot make a meal and take it to his home to eat in. He MUST be taken out to dinner EVERY night because it's the only social interaction he gets.

It's killing our wallet, y'all-- we aren't poor, but we have three kids. We've whittled it down to us taking him out twice a week, but he doesn't want to go to McDonald's, he wants to go to the local Italian or fish place, and it's *not* cheap, especially when paying for six! MIL "takes him out" five times a week (which usually means dropping him off and going to the gym while he makes waitresses uncomfortable because he's from a different generation), but she has decided two days a week are on us (we aren't just going to drop him for play dates because that doesn't make him OR the waitstaff happy!). Mind, we never agreed to this-- she just decided it, and if we argue against it we get hysterics about hubby's dad.

I am autistic and truly do not like going out more than a couple times a month at most. I have urgently suggested that I could make dinner at Granddaddy's a couple times a month, but this is NOT acceptable according to MIL. We HAVE to go out, he's GRIEVING and LONELY, isn't he?

No, no one has actually asked Granddaddy how he would feel about this, and I am a monster for even asking them to.

AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[dreamyyesenia]

Always Keep Simming - Magic, Science, Alien Powers vs. Evil Spellcaster Sage

Jenna Blackburn, the sage of mischief magic, the master sage of the Realm of Magic, was beaten. It took the combined powers of science (Aileen & her freeze ray), magic (Colin, Raven, Deanna) and alien powers (manipulating her mind, Blurb & Pandora). Colin didn't want to kill her though, so they decided to discuss the matter together, as a group. But first, it was time to celebrate!

Lenore and Deanna?? Decided to celebrate privately 🔥

⬇️ Full Story below

Jenna Blackburn, the sage of mischief magic and master sage of the Realm of Magic, had tried breaking into the Blackburn’s estate to kidnap Colin's family but Aileen and Colin had been alarmed early by the specter’s guarding their street. The aliens had worked on her mind so that she was led into the Goth’s estate instead - where Aileen happily freezed the evil spellcaster to ice. Confused, frozen and furious, Jenna had been too slow to defend herself. Colin had arrived with his spellcaster friend Raven and the sage of practical magic, Deanna, right on time. He’d fired off an electricity spell at his grandmother. The aliens needed a short break afterwards though, so Lenore took over. She used her vampire powers and ordered Jenna to go outside, into the snow, so that she wouldn’t be able to remove the ice. Ice and fire were the only elements affecting spellcasters. It weakened them and made them unable to use their magic properly. The group “Operation Deathify a sage” were really trying to work with everything they got.

Colin joined Jenna outside. Lenore was exhausted so he’d have to be ready to defend them. In fact, Jenna freed herself from her trance temporarily and managed to fire off a very powerful spell at Colin, who ducked and sent off a shielding spell. “You already helped me kill the other sages. Let’s see what we’ll achieve next! Stop this nonsense and just surrender to me, boy!”, she yelled. "Never. And I didn’t kill anyone. That’s all on you!", Colin yelled back, staying focused. "We are family. This is our legacy. Come to your senses and claim your destiny. I already apologized for the way I treated you. You want to be treated like a prince? You shall be. Just come with me and leave this nonsense behind", Jenna tried again. "My destiny is, to be a good husband and father to my family. My destiny is, to research the occults. It's not ruling the Magical Realm with you. I don’t want to see you ever again. Ever, you hear me?", Colin retorted. Jenna lowered her wand for a moment and looked at him, her eyes filling with tears. "Don’t you feel bad talking to an old woman like this? I’m your father’s mother. I’m your blood. You are so much like me, my stubborn brilliant grandson. I just want you to be the best version you can be. I want to spend eternity with my family. I already lost everyone else I ever loved...", Jenna cried. Colin was taken aback for a moment. Was she for real? He lowered his want and started to walk towards his grandmother. Maybe he could solve this issue without using violence? Maybe?

Faster than he could react, Jenna swung her wand and fired off a blinding spell. It was a powerful one that could erase his mind and memories and make him be completely dependent on her. Just as it was about to hit him in the chest, Deanna was able to block Jenna’s spell from behind her! The spell was reversed and hit Jenna, instead. Pandora and Blurb were already working on her mind again but it seemed that Jenna had fulfilled their task for them. Jenna was helpless. Aileen had seen enough though and just wanted to throw in something extra. She was getting more and more anxious something could go wrong. So, she used her freeze ray to order Jenna to change into her swimwear… in the snow. And promptly, already freezing Jenna turned into ice by herself… And stayed frozen. As her mind was wiped off clean, she didn’t know how to free herself from the ice. She was trapped. She had lost!

Breathing hard but relieved, everyone gathered inside to think about the next steps. And, of course, celebrating their victory! Lenore Goth approached Aileen, happy and smiling. “How do you feel?”, Aileen asked. “Hungry”, Lenore retorted, licking her lips. She then noticed Deanna who’d just entered the living room too, scanning her from top to bottom. “Oh my, don’t you look quite delicious.” Lenore licked her protruding canines this time. Deanna stepped closer to Lenore. “As do you.” Aileen looked between the two females, visibly drawn to each other. Wasn’t Lenore flirting with Guidry?

Blurb stayed outside, guarding Jenna the ice cube. Colin looked at Aileen, then turned to Pandora. “How much of her mind did you manage to manipulate?”, he asked.

Pandora giggled. “I don’t know, really. I ate a Bizarre Fruit before coming here, Blurby too. So we managed to manipulate quite a bit!”, she exclaimed raising her fist in victory. She then explained: “The Fruit kinda gives us a boost in powers for a few hours. Us two combined are like 20 aliens right now. That's how we could rebuild Sixam. We took the Fruit you gave us and starting cloning it and planting Bizarre Trees. It's a fine business, too.” Colin was stunned. Aileen laughed. “I'm glad! But her mind is gone now, right?” Pandora nodded. “There’s nothing inside that egghead. Just a big black hole. She honestly finished the job herself, what a remarkable achievement!”, Pandora sighed. Aileen grinned. “Honestly, if you want to test stuff on her, you can have her. We don't want her on earth anymore."

On that, Lenore finally looked away from Deanna and asked: “But I thought I’d get a taste of her!? Spellcaster blood is said to be very delicious.” Deanna came close to Lenore, exposing her neck to her. “You can have a taste of mine, if you’re up for it.” Deanna and Lenore were not to be seen for the rest of the day (and night). 🔥

-

A few hours later, the group (most of them anyway) sat by the fire, enjoying the warmth. After a long discussion, they had agreed to allow the aliens to take Jenna the ice cube with them to space. She was never to return, never to be impregnated but they were free to use her as a test subject in all other ways. If they chose to present her to the MOTHER - for judgment or, possibly, as a “gift” - that would be their choice. Colin was not a murderer. Neither was Aileen. They loved anything wicked and mischievous, but it was all for fun, wasn’t it? They were mad, maddeningly brilliant, but not evil. They just wanted to enjoy their lives with their family, make memories and go on adventures and discover unknown secrets. Most importantly, they wanted their lives to be filled with love and peace, for the time they had left. 🩷

[sansacherie]

while obviously wrong, i really dislike how alicent trying to convince jaehaera to kill aegon is dismissed as her just being a bitter, grieving woman who desires bloody vengeance over reconciliation. when in reality it's also not really that difficult to see her also as a desperate woman willingly to go to any lengths to protect her grandchild. the fact is a consort is more easily replaceable than a monarch. aegon iii needed to marry jaehaera to help strengthen his claim as aegon ii heir and to bring peace between the green and black factions. however aegon's claim does not disappear if jaehaera were to die. he is still king, but he would need a new queen. alicent would have been painfully aware of this. there would be black loyalists determined that no grandson of the "usurper" sits the throne, and there would be ambitious men eager to see their daughters rise. and i know a lot of people see unwin peake's rumoured involvement in jaehaera's death as "karma" because apparently he's no different than otto hightower when it came to alicents own marriage - a schemer who plotted to crown his daughter. but like otto hightower's plans never involved the murder of a child so im not sure they can be compared personally but what do i know.

but anyway it's really not that hard to see why alicent would think jaehaera is safer with aegon dead. of course, killing aegon wouldn't make jae completely safe, but it would eliminate what alicent would see as a threat to jaehaera. furthermore, of course such an action would only put jaehaera in danger as it would be an act of kinslaying and kingslaying. this is meant to show that on one level alicent is not in her own right mind. her desperation to protect jaehaera makes her blind to such things. however, a part of me also wonders if the actual truth was that when alicent gave the knife to jaehaera, she only meant it to be used as defense against the king in his presence, and that got twisted against her as her wanting the king harmed, rather than her simply wanting jaehaera to be able to defend herself. and because alicent had already been "refusing to reconcile" it was easier to believe that of her and preferable for those who would want to see jaehaera further isolated by having her grandmother the dowager queen removed

[creme-meme]

it’s very funny to me that Dylan Hollis is exactly the type of man who a grandmother would LOVE. like traditionally speaking she would kill to have her granddaughter bring him back as her boyfriend

but alas. it’ll be her grandson.

[captainjacklyn]

Hi! :D Can you do a follow up with the Great Seven descendants but with Leona, Idia, and Malleus? Thank you!

Sure comrade ! However, I'm going to exclude Idia because he technically is the descendant of Hades (based off of what I know, I may be wrong)- BESIDES THAT, your wish is my command. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it !

Pairings : Leona Kingscholar x reader, Malleus Draconia x reader

Warnings : gn!reader, other than that I have no idea what could be triggering, if anything makes you uncomfortable alert me and I will see what I can do to fix it.

Malleus and Leona reacting to their s/o being the descendant of one of the great Sevens :

Leona Kingscholar

To be Scar's descendant means being a beast man or beast woman. Wether you keep your royal heritage depends on you but I'm going to assume you didn't considering the fact that he's- a traitor...quite literally disowned-

You're rather cunning and sometimes almost cruel. There have been several moments where you bashed Savannaclaw for lazing about or picking on others for no reason.

Technically that dorm's second parent, leona being the first. Don't be surprised if they start calling you 'dad' or 'mom'.

Whenever the both of you get into an argument they just start screaming : "PLEASE DON'T GET A DIVORCE"

meanwhile we got Ruggie acting as the poor ass aunt. Cause rich auntie isn't happening anytime soon.

The one thing he notices about you is the fact that whenever he talks about the king of beasts, you groan out of pure irritation.

"Mmh..? What are you frowning about ?"

"..Why are you talking about him ?"

"What's wrong with that ? He's one of the Great Sevens-"

"I don't understand why you constantly have to bring him up all the time. That idiot practically destroyed his descendants' chances of remaining royalty. All cause he wanted the damn throne..killing his brother doing so- It's disgusting."

"..."

"You're related to that guy ?"

"Do not-"

"Yes Ma'am/Sir."

He's glad that you have no idea about the incident for the magift incident cause he feels like he would lose his tail if you did find out.

Pussy. Captain ? Miss Orchidia is back. She got beef with you.

Malleus Draconia

You have horns, you are a fae.

....

"are you my sibling- ?"

"what."

Very similar personalities, both of you are elegant and poised until you don't receive an invitation. He's glad that you understand his feelings however he feels bad that you also do since it means others are afraid of you.

His s/o is ruthless, dark, devious, and will do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. As the partner of the prince of Briar valley you are highly respected by Sebek and the entirety of Diasomnia.

Hell everyone respects you and will kiss your feet when you order them to do so.

slay

His grandmother loves you too and often invites you to come discuss or eat with her. Much to her grandson's embarrassment.

"To think that you'd be the great-great-great-great daughter of the witch of thorns herself ! My mother was good friends with her in the past~" *insert malleus choking on his tea then crying because he burned his tongue in the process*

"My lady I didn't tell him yet." "Oh. my bad."

"Sigh. I'm sorry for not revealing that fact to you sooner malleus-" "marry me." "oh what the hell-"

Thank you, have a good day/evening.

I hope you choke on your salad Orchidia get the fuck out of here.

[whencyclopedia]

The Dun Horse

The Dun Horse is a Pawnee tale about a poor boy and his grandmother, who find an old horse and take it in. The horse turns out to be magical, however, and improves their fortunes considerably. Like many Pawnee legends – and Native American tales generally – the story highlights the importance of kindness and of following instructions.

In Pawnee spiritual belief, the Great Spirit was the Creator God Ti-ra'wa ("Father Above"), who, despite any evidence to the contrary, was always in control of the created world. Aspects of the world that one judged to be "good" or "bad" were only so in one's opinion as no "bad" thing could come from Ti-ra'wa. The wisdom of the elders, and of the natural world, was understood to come from this same source, and so there are many stories of talking animals, or of elder characters, providing instruction which one ignored at one's peril.

In many stories, including the Wihio tales of the Cheyenne and the Iktomi tales of the Sioux, failing to follow instructions leads to failure – or even death – while, in The Dun Horse, the central character is given a second chance by Ti-ra'wa after his failure, learns from his mistake, and is rewarded for his kindness, faithfulness, and courage.

Text

The following is taken from Pawnee Hero Stories and Folk-Tales (1889) by George Bird Grinnell. As in many Native American tales, the number four is repeated as it is understood as sacred, representing the cardinal points of the compass and the spirits who preside over the directions.

I.

Many years ago, there lived in the Pawnee tribe an old woman and her grandson, a boy about sixteen years old. These people had no relations and were very poor. They were so poor that they were despised by the rest of the tribe. They had nothing of their own; and always, after the village started to move the camp from one place to another, these two would stay behind the rest, to look over the old camp, and pick up anything that the other Indians had thrown away, as worn out or useless. In this way they would sometimes get pieces of robes, worn out moccasins with holes in them, and bits of meat.

Now, it happened one day, after the tribe had moved away from the camp, that this old woman and her boy were following along the trail behind the rest, when they came to a miserable old worn-out dun horse, which they supposed had been abandoned by some Indians. He was thin and exhausted, was blind of one eye, had a bad sore back, and one of his forelegs was very much swollen. In fact, he was so worthless that none of the Pawnees had been willing to take the trouble to try to drive him along with them. But when the old woman and her boy came along, the boy said, "Come now, we will take this old horse, for we can make him carry our pack." So, the old woman put her pack on the horse, and drove him along, but he limped and could only go very slowly.

II.

The tribe moved up on the North Platte, until they came to Court House Rock. The two poor Indians followed them and camped with the others. One day while they were here, the young men who had been sent out to look for buffalo, came hurrying into camp and told the chiefs that a large herd of buffalo were near, and that among them was a spotted calf.

The Head Chief of the Pawnees had a very beautiful daughter, and when he heard about the spotted calf, he ordered his old crier to go about through the village and call out that the man who killed the spotted calf should have his daughter for his wife. For a spotted robe is ti-war´-uks-ti—big medicine .

The buffalo were feeding about four miles from the village, and the chiefs decided that the charge should be made from there. In this way, the man who had the fastest horse would be the most likely to kill the calf. Then all the warriors and the young men picked out their best and fastest horses and made ready to start. Among those who prepared for the charge was the poor boy on the old dun horse. But when they saw him, all the rich young braves on their fast horses pointed at him, and said, "Oh, see; there is the horse that is going to catch the spotted calf;" and they laughed at him, so that the poor boy was ashamed, and rode off to one side of the crowd, where he could not hear their jokes and laughter.

When he had ridden off some little way, the horse stopped, and turned his head round, and spoke to the boy. He said, "Take me down to the creek, and plaster me all over with mud. Cover my head and neck and body and legs." When the boy heard the horse speak, he was afraid; but he did as he was told. Then the horse said, "Now mount, but do not ride back to the warriors, who laugh at you because you have such a poor horse. Stay right here, until the word is given to charge." So, the boy stayed there.

And presently all the fine horses were drawn up in line and pranced about and were so eager to go that their riders could hardly hold them in; and at last, the old crier gave the word, "Loo-ah"—Go! Then the Pawnees all leaned forward on their horses and yelled, and away they went. Suddenly, away off to the right, was seen the old dun horse. He did not seem to run. He seemed to sail along like a bird. He passed all the fastest horses, and in a moment, he was among the buffalo. First, he picked out the spotted calf, and charging up alongside of it, U-ra-rish! straight flew the arrow. The calf fell. The boy drew another arrow and killed a fat cow that was running by. Then he dismounted and began to skin the calf before any of the other warriors had come up. But when the rider got off the old dun horse, how changed he was! He pranced about and would hardly stand still near the dead buffalo. His back was all right again; his legs were well and fine; and both his eyes were clear and bright.

The boy skinned the calf and the cow that he had killed, and then he packed all the meat on the horse and put the spotted robe on top of the load, and started back to the camp on foot, leading the dun horse. But even with this heavy load the horse pranced all the time and was no longer scared at everything he saw. On the way to camp, one of the rich young chiefs of the tribe rode up by the boy and offered him twelve good horses for the spotted robe, so that he could marry the Head Chief's beautiful daughter; but the boy laughed at him and would not sell the robe.

Now, while the boy walked to the camp leading the dun horse, most of the warriors rode back, and one of those that came first to the village, went to the old woman, and said to her, "Your grandson has killed the spotted calf." And the old woman said, "Why do you come to tell me this? You ought to be ashamed to make fun of my boy because he is poor." The warrior said, "What I have told you is true," and then he rode away. After a little while another brave rode up to the old woman, and said to her, "Your grandson has killed the spotted calf." Then the old woman began to cry, she felt so badly because everyone made fun of her boy, because he was poor.

Pretty soon the boy came along, leading the horse up to the lodge where he and his grandmother lived. It was a little lodge, just big enough for two, and was made of old pieces of skin that the old woman had picked up and was tied together with strings of rawhide and sinew. It was the meanest and worst lodge in the village. When the old woman saw her boy leading the dun horse with the load of meat and the robes on it, she was very much surprised. The boy said to her, "Here, I have brought you plenty of meat to eat, and here is a robe, that you may have for yourself. Take the meat off the horse." Then the old woman laughed, for her heart was glad. But when she went to take the meat from the horse's back, he snorted and jumped about, and acted like a wild horse. The old woman looked at him in wonder and could hardly believe that it was the same horse. So, the boy had to take off the meat, for the horse would not let the old woman come near him.

III.

That night the horse spoke again to the boy and said, "Wa-ti-hes Chah´-ra-rat wa-ta. To-morrow the Sioux are coming—a large war party. They will attack the village, and you will have a great battle. Now, when the Sioux are drawn up in line of battle, and are all ready to fight, you jump on to me, and ride as hard as you can, right into the middle of the Sioux, and up to their Head Chief, their greatest warrior, and count coup on him, and kill him, and then ride back. Do this four times, and count coup on four of the bravest Sioux, and kill them, but don't go again. If you go the fifth time, maybe you will be killed, or else you will lose me. La-ku´-ta-chix—remember." So, the boy promised.

The next day it happened as the horse had said, and the Sioux came down and formed a line of battle. Then the boy took his bow and arrows, and jumped on the dun horse, and charged into the midst of them. And when the Sioux saw that he was going to strike their Head Chief, they all shot their arrows at him, and the arrows flew so thickly across each other that the sky became dark, but none of them hit the boy. And he counted coup on the Chief, and killed him, and then rode back. After that he charged again among the Sioux, where they were gathered thickest, and counted coup on their bravest warrior, and killed him. And then twice more, until he had gone four times as the horse had told him.

But the Sioux and the Pawnees kept on fighting, and the boy stood around and watched the battle. And at last, he said to himself, "I have been four times and have killed four Sioux, and I am all right, I am not hurt anywhere; why may I not go again?" So, he jumped on the dun horse, and charged again. But when he got among the Sioux, one Sioux warrior drew an arrow and shot. The arrow struck the dun horse behind the forelegs and pierced him through. And the horse fell down dead. But the boy jumped off, and fought his way through the Sioux, and ran away as fast as he could to the Pawnees. Now, as soon as the horse was killed, the Sioux said to each other, "This horse was like a man. He was brave. He was not like a horse." And they took their knives and hatchets, and hacked the dun horse and gashed his flesh, and cut him into small pieces.

The Pawnees and Sioux fought all day long, but toward night the Sioux broke and fled.

IV.

The boy felt very badly that he had lost his horse; and, after the fight was over, he went out from the village to where it had taken place, to mourn for his horse. He went to the spot where the horse lay, and gathered up all the pieces of flesh, which the Sioux had cut off, and the legs and the hoofs, and put them all together in a pile. Then he went off to the top of a hill nearby and sat down and drew his robe over his head and began to mourn for his horse.

As he sat there, he heard a great windstorm coming up, and it passed over him with a loud rushing sound, and after the wind came a rain. The boy looked down from where he sat to the pile of flesh and bones, which was all that was left of his horse, and he could just see it through the rain. And the rain passed by, and his heart was very heavy, and he kept on mourning.

And pretty soon, came another rushing wind, and after it a rain; and as he looked through the driving rain toward the spot where the pieces lay, he thought that they seemed to come together and take shape, and that the pile looked like a horse lying down, but he could not see well for the thick rain.

After this, came a third storm like the others; and now when he looked toward the horse, he thought he saw its tail move from side to side two or three times, and that it lifted its head from the ground. The boy was afraid, and wanted to run away, but he stayed.

And as he waited, there came another storm. And while the rain fell, looking through the rain, the boy saw the horse raise himself up on his forelegs and look about. Then the dun horse stood up.

V.

The boy left the place where he had been sitting on the hilltop and went down to him. When the boy had come near to him, the horse spoke and said, "You have seen how it has been this day; and from this you may know how it will be after this. But Ti-ra´-wa has been good and has let me come back to you. After this, do what I tell you; not any more, not any less." Then the horse said, "Now lead me off, far away from the camp, behind that big hill, and leave me there to-night, and in the morning come for me;" and the boy did as he was told.

And when he went for the horse in the morning, he found with him a beautiful white gelding, much more handsome than any horse in the tribe. That night the dun horse told the boy to take him again to the place behind the big hill, and to come for him the next morning; and when the boy went for him again, he found with him a beautiful black gelding. And so for ten nights, he left the horse among the hills, and each morning he found a different colored horse, a bay, a roan, a gray, a blue, a spotted horse, and all of them finer than any horses that the Pawnees had ever had in their tribe before.

Now the boy was rich, and he married the beautiful daughter of the Head Chief, and when he became older, he was made Head Chief himself. He had many children by his beautiful wife, and one day when his oldest boy died, he wrapped him in the spotted calf robe and buried him in it. He always took good care of his old grandmother and kept her in his own lodge until she died. The dun horse was never ridden except at feasts, and when they were going to have a doctors' dance, but he was always led about with the Chief, wherever he went. The horse lived in the village for many years, until he became very old. And at last, he died.

Continue reading...

[gavillain]

My thoughts and theories after Agatha All Along episode 3. Read no further if you haven't seen the episode yet.

SHARON NOOOOOOO :'( Honestly, with the way Agatha brought her along essentially to be a meat shield, it's not surprising that she died so early on the journey down the Witches' Road, but I was still surprised that they killed off the comic relief this early. But I caught that they didn't add Sharon's hair to the antidote when brewing the potion, and I think that'll be discussed next episode. The show definitely had to establish the stakes of the Road as life or death early on, and Sharon was the only character who they COULD kill off since she was the only one without a mystery to solve. Still, sad to see her go.

In more important news, though, MEPHISTO GOT NAME DROPPED. HE'S COMING ASDFGHJKL; Listen, after all the speculation we were all doing during WandaVision about Mephisto showing up, to hear him get referenced makes me EXCITED to see if that's just going to be a world building detail or if he's going to be relevant in the story.

Agatha giving up her son, Nicholas Scratch, for the Darkhold was established as a part of her reputation in this episode. The trailers confirm that it's a bit more complicated than that, so I'm curious to know the full story. Right now, I'm theorizing that the hair in the locket is Nicholas's, and, if you remember from WandaVision, she plucked that locket off of her mother's corpse after stealing mommy's powers. So, I'm fairly certain Agatha sacrificing Nicholas is tied in with why her mother tried to have her executed back in the 1600s, and maybe Mama Harkness did something that resulted in her grandson's death? I dunno, but I wanna know! I think Nicholas Scratch IS still alive, though, and I think he's going to be the twist Big Bad of the show.

Teen is pretty obviously Billy Kaplan, and it's so obvious in fact that I wonder if it's going to be a bait and switch and he's somehow Nicholas? But like... maybe I'm overthinking it and it's only obvious that he's Billy to us comics fans. For normies watching this with only WandaVision and Multiverse of Madness for context, him being Billy WOULD be a really interesting twist, so we'll see! Regardless, he's the only person on the Road who I am reasonably certain is going to make it out alive.

The hallucinations for Lilia, Jennifer, and Alice were all interesting, though they left more questions than answers: *Lilia saw what looked like Russian royalty taunting her saying "they're all dead" as they took on more decayed and corpselike forms. I joked to my boyfriend that it was the Romanovs, but that's honestly not necessarily out of the question. Lilia in the comics is the "queen of the gypsies" in Scarlet Witch's childhood, so maybe in this verse, she was a part of the Sokovian royal family before their dynasty was killed off by revolutionaries that led to the political turmoil of Sokovia that we saw in Age of Ultron. Being a psychic, I'm willing to bet Lilia survived because she saw the massacre coming but no one else believed her, sort of a Cassandra figure. I could be WAY off base, but I like my theory.

*Jennifer is the one who I have the least read on her hallucination with the weird man trying to drown her. We know that she is bound, unable to use her powers, so is this man maybe the one who bound her? Or is he someone else tied to the events that led to her being bound? She's been bound for a little over a hundred years, and the man's clothes seemed to be from that time period. In the comics, she's from Florida and was an ally of Man-Thing, so maybe something in her story is going to tie back into Werewolf by Night? We'll have to see!

*Alice's hallucinations are the most straight forward, she saw her mother weeping because her grandmother had passed away and the mother felt it. We know her mom was a witch, and we can pretty safely assume that the grandmother was one too, I think. The mother mentions that since whatever killed the grandmother got her, now it's after her, and since we know Alice's mom is dead in the present day, that would mean that this mysterious force is now after Alice too. What is this force, though? Alice tells Teen that she has a tattoo that wards off a curse that plagues her family bloodline that her mother made her get, so is it just this curse that's after her or is it connected to something else? In the trailer, we see Alice exploding with fire as a demonic entity emerges from her. I doubt this is Mephisto, since I think if Mephisto has ties to anyone here, it'll be Teen or Rio, but maybe some subordinate of his? In the comics, she and Wanda worked together to defeat a being called Dark Tongji. I think it's likely that he's the being hunting her bloodline.

Then a few notes from earlier:

1. The Salem Seven - I went back to WandaVision for a refresher, and, not counting Agatha's mom, the coven that Agatha murders and drains of their magic in her backstory numbers at seven and they were in Salem... I'm putting money that the Salem Seven is what's left of Agatha's old coven hunting her down, or at least their descendants.

2. Rio keeps getting hints that keep lining up to hint that she's a genderbent version of Blackheart, which has me excited! I don't know if they're actually going to go this route, and her being a "Green Witch" kinda makes it a bit weird. But they keep reiterating "black heart" in relation to her and now they've referenced Mephisto, his father. So I think if Rio isn't literally Blackheart, she's at least possessed by him. We'll have to see. But I do love the crackship of Agatha Harkness/genderbent Blackheart for lesbian Marvel villain lovers. That tickles me XD

Overall, SUPER into this show thus far, and I LOVE that there's so much mystery and intrigue to piece together! I CAN'T WAIT FOR EPISODE FOUR, I NEED IT NOOWWWWWWWWWW

[regalileo]

River Harkness brought up in the cold, grows into a man in the darkness of a cellar with only a candle for warmth, where pain is a lesson and a gift and scars replace mothers kisses on injuries. River Harkness sent to be a double agent, to keep an eye on the man who could ruin everything, to become that mans son so that he loves him too much to suspect the truth of why Isobel keeps River throughout the year. River Harkness is sent as a little boy and knows this may be a man he one day has to shoot, to murder but he's a little boy and his Grandmother presses a kiss to his knee when he hurts it and his Grandfather teaches him by the fire. River Cartwright becomes comfortable and familiar and someone he likes being and someone who doesn't want to kill the people he loves. Someone who unquestionably loves both of his families.

Then on a walk one day Jonathan Cartwright asks his grandson to shoot him if he ever gets too old, too sick and where River Cartwright struggles and wrestles with it River Harkness can make both of his fathers proud when that day comes.

River Harkness who has been brought up on preventative measures, on the ideology of stopping things before they get bad and putting rabid dogs down before they can do harm. River Cartwright who was brought up on garden picnics and fireside wisdom and compassion but both are sons of their fathers and both are unquestionably loyal.

River Harkness points the gun and River Cartwright pulls the trigger.