#I'm just saying that Rory is evidently not one of those people

[stellaluna33]

Thinking about that Birkin Bag again, and how Rory seemed actually kind of freaked out by the way everyone was fawning over it when she and Logan were out... And I think a big part of that is because she's used to gifts from a boyfriend being a kind of secret message between lovers that wouldn't mean anything to anyone else. But the Birkin Bag isn't just between Logan and her. It's to send a message to everyone ELSE too. It's not a sweet secret between the two of them, it's a Public Statement. Just like Logan's proposal was a Public Statement (and she didn't like that either).

[lukolabrainrot]

Calm theory anon here again!! Lord knows I'm exhausted of this little girl but I wanted to touch on what all we have seen since Italy Birthday trip and Lukes recent like. 1. It was reported by someone who took a photo with Luke at the airport that he was alone. Meaning he flew back by himself. Rumor that he left two days before 2. We got radio silence from the group for a while. 3. Rory unfollowed sienna then it was reported on by the fan pages and then he followed her back. 4. Sienna unfollowed Jack Vine (this is the guy that Luke stays with when he didn't have a house) then it was reported on by the fan pages and she followed him back. The last couple days she's unfollowed him again. 5. Charmaine reposted on TikTok about NDA👀 6. Rory takes a trip with his mom. 7. Sienna likes a post of Hannah Dodd and Nicola from fashion week. 8. Sienna hasn't liked any type of photos of A since early August nor did she like that last Luke post. Now with all this information I'm sure we all can come up with some conclusions. I do think that Luke set up some type of NDA which in my opinion was necessary. We have to remember that Luke's management team is actually a very well-known and establish team this was told to me by people in the PR field. He doesn't have newbies. Now I'm sure that pissed a lot of his friends off. It made them keep quiet about things that they might not have wanted to be quiet about. We clearly see something going on. Now Luke liking A stuff. it was 10 1/2 hours after she posted on her grid with a story posted after four hours of the photos being live. Now the posting to her stories of the grid picture is a new thing. That didn't start till after Italy. What does that tell me? She knows that his notifications for her has been probably turned off. So in order for him to see her photos, she would have to post it in her story which he most likely watches those. This particular photo wasn't liked until after Nicola posted at the concert. I don't believe in coincidences. He got a notification that Nicole posted. Then he went online afterwards watching Nicola story. Now who to say it's not part of his NDA that he has with her that. But as I was thinking about all of this today, one of the interviews that Nic and Luke came to mind. When they were discussing red flags. And one of the questions was keeping up with an ex. Nic said something like I feel that how you speak of your ex says a lot about you or something like that. Remember, Luke listens to every single thing that Nikola has said. She's the one person in this world that he remembers how they met down to the chairs they had sat on. So he would remember stuff like this. So it could be an NDA thing or it could be him trying to be civil with his ex. Regardless of the like which does not tell you anything. The only thing that tells me is she is desperate for that like. She has to put it in her story so that he will see it, she wants that like so bad that she's doing something she never had to do before. Why does she want the like so bad? Because she can control the fandom. Every time Luke likes this girls picture people spiral. it's like on a photo. He's not commenting on it. He's not giving her heart eyes. He's not sharing it to his stories. He liked the picture. We don't know the reason why and we will never know. All I'm saying there is a lot going on BTS that's clearly evident by how they're all moving. We just gotta wait for Nicola to speak more. Remember, her voice should always outshine this girl's voice. Nicola has given us all hints that something more is happening. Let's trust her please

As always, love your thoughts and theories!

Here are some additional theories/thoughts I have about the SM events from today. Disclaimer: These are just my thoughts and interpretations based on all the publicly available information I have seen recently. So please do not take this as 100% fact!

N didn't post her Chappell Roan story until almost midnight her time

L THEN preceded to like A's post approximately 30 minutes after N's CR story- which at that point was technically the day AFTER A made her post

So my little delulu theory is that N went home to L after the concert with her besties, they cuddled up and caught up, N posted her story, this made L log on to IG and prompted him to do his obligatory like of miss A's post after seeing A's story

Some additional notes/thoughts:

Even if N DIDN'T go home to L, all of the available information Calm Theory Anon and I have laid out here tells me this. L DOES NOT HAVE NOTIFICATIONS ON FOR A AND IS NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT SHE IS POSTING. L IS DOING THIS WITH N THOUGH.

He also liked A's post within a really short time of N's CR story. Now, the only thing this definitively says is that L/N were on their IG accounts around the same period of time. But this was around 12:30 AM their time. It was pretty late at night, and like it's just an interestingggg coincidence if L/N were separate and just both getting on SM around the same time at that time at night. We also know N tends to go on SM when she is getting ready for bed (N has said this). And she posted the CR story around the time she most likely was getting home from the concert. I think there are just a lot of signs/clues pointing that L/N were together around midnight their time. And L was NOT at the CR concert, so that means she would have met up with L AFTER the concert. And if she was meeting L after the concert at that time at night, they were probably with each other the rest of the night. So this is what leads me to believe that N went home to L OR L got the notification for N's story and got on SM and saw A's story. The timing of it all is just very interestingggg to me 🤔

Lastly, A had to essentially BEG L for this like. Why does L still have to like her posts? I have no definitive answer. My thoughts are it's some sort of contractual agreement. Regardless, these likes have no direct indication of L/A's relationship BTS. If I look at the full picture of EVERYTHING, all the signs indicate that L/N are spending more time together (or just since August decided to start publicly hinting to the fandom that they are spending a lot of time together). And all the signs point to L/A not being on good terms, and that there was some sort of rupture in L's friend group around the Italy bday trip.

These are just my thoughts though. What does everyone else think?

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

I was watching baby reindeer and it struck me how real trauma binding in such situations can be. Which got me thinking .... Did Harry marry his stalker??

We know she orchestrated the meeting with Harry. We know the lowkey stalking-manifesting on her part may have started a couple of years in advance. So many credible theories that they "accidentally" kept meeting again and again, their circles just "coincidentally" coincided over the years.

Various youtubers and Tumblr bloggers have put together very credible evidence of them meeting in -

1. May 2016 in Toronto for an Invictus lunch that Cory was a chef for.

2. In May/June 2015, Soho House Istanbul inauguration. Lots of pictures of Meghan being there, meeting various celebs. And Harry supposedly also attended since he was in Istanbul, with Charles, for a royal engagement. No pictures, but rumour is he landed a day early for the Soho gig.

3. May/June 2014, art Basel Miami, where Meghan met up with Misha, who also introduced her to Eugenie. Early articles mentioned Mm and Misha meeting there, and Misha said this in the interview she did for her store launch that happened with the smartworks thing Meghan did in london 2019. That article has since been edited. There were also mentions of this in Meghan's PR she did pre-harry (I used to follow her superficially). It was also on Tig. I remember this but those articles have also gone now.

Harry was in Miami at that same time for his friends bachelors and pre-wedding party. This is the same thing he broke-up with cressida over, not buying her ticket even though their whole friend circle was going to Miami. (William joined the gang later in another city for the wedding, so no chance of him meeting her).

Anyway, at the time this was covered by some media reports which said Harry spent the evening chatting up a "tanned brunette" in a corner and spent the whole evening with her. There were no photos. It's quite a coincidence that both HnM attended the same party at the same venue, were in the same social circle (misha-eug-harrys aristo group).

So, what I am saying is that it seems that they kept meeting every year around the same time, and that Meghan (or Harry) may have thought this was the universe trying to push them together. So when Meghan found herself in London in June 2016, having already met Harry 2 months back in May, she took her chance and "surprised" him with a blind date. She may as well have deliberately put her pictures with Violet on social media in order to bait Harry.

I know it's far fetched but this kind of orchestrated serendipity isn't unheard of. It's a very teenage, high school behaviour but it does happen. And people fall for this all the time.

This theory also aligns with how and why Meghan suddenly pivoted towards a humanitarian PR in 2014. For Harry, it may have been a forgettable encounter, but for her it was the perfect opportunity.

So, what do you think? Is there any credibility to the rumours that Meghan targetting Harry, and then enmeshed him in some sort of trauma bond?

Old ask from May 9th

To the first question, I don't think so. I think if one wants to believe that Meghan stalked/targeted Harry for two years, one needs to also believe the rumor that Harry met Meghan multiple times before he remembered who she was. And personally, I don't have any evidence of that other than the conflicting stories of when they met and who set them up. Those aren't slam dunks.

I'm not discounting that it couldn't happen, it absolutely can and the internet is chockful of stories about real relationships like this. I just don't think it's likely - primarily because given how messy Meghan is, something like this would've leaked out by now.

I do think Meghan was social climbing and strategizing for a wealthier husband - remember, she was going after athletes (hockey boys post-Trevor, cheating on Cory with Rory McIlroy, sliding into Ashley Cole's DMs) because being a WAG was the ultimate life of luxury - when the opportunity to meet Harry dropped in her lap, and she took full advantage of it. Because to someone like Meghan who's chasing WAG dreams, the only thing better than being a WAG was being a princess.

Which is, I think, the real story: Meghan and Harry hooked up in May 2016 at the Toronto Invictus Dinner behind Cory's back and met up again a few weeks later when she was in London for Wimbledon. The Violet photos could very well have been bait (to catch Harry's attention and let him know she was in town) or a plant (to create a Hallmark meet-cute story to hide how they really met).

But to the second question, absolutely. Meghan definitely set things up so that Harry trauma-bonded to her and she did that with the Toronto break-in claims, which preyed on Harry's paranoia of paparazzi and security.

I couldn't get into Baby Reindeer. I tried several to watch it several times but it wasn't for me.

[crestfallercanyon]

Fic Qs for you!

10. Is there a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

15. How do you come up with titles for your fics/chapters?

22. Do you know how your fic will end before you start writing?

Enjoy :)

Hello!! Thank you so much for asking! (Also I love your icon, I adore Mick Rory so freaking much).

These are neat questions, I'm excited to jump in.

10. A fic that got a different response that I expected, hmmm Lullabies for Little Criminals is definitely the one I think of first. It's a coldflash kid fic; due to Snart's messing with his own timeline trying to do the Emerald heist for his father in Legends of Tomorrow, he ends up back in 2016 with a child that's just ended up in foster care. This was written for the Coldflash Gift Exchange in 2021 and I was given a series of prompts by a wonderful giftee, and I was surprised by myself that I picked the kid fic prompt. Because, in all honesty, I don't love kid fics -- I think I can count on one hand how many I have actually read (Nothing wrong with them! just not my cup of tea), and it's my understanding that many people are like me in that way. And even in the comments on this fic, I get people who say "I don't like kid fics, but..." and they talk to me about they enjoy this fic which is touching. It's launched up to I think be the most high-kudos'd fic I've written for coldflash (or maybe top three). But I was stunned. And I'm glad! It was a fun fic to write, but I was genuinely surprised that it ended up being one of my most read coldflash fics.

15. How do I come up with my titles and chapters?

Most of the time, luckily, it takes only a few tries and they come to me. Those are my favorite ones, too. I like poetic sounding titles, I write poetry too, so usually I try to work something together. I know the tone of the story or the theme and find a rhythm of words I like together and that fit the fic and choose that.

Sometimes it’ll be from songs, and sometimes I’m glad they are (When I Say You Are Killing Me, for example, I’m glad I went with the song for that) or I’ll even have a song that genuinely inspired the fic and thus it fits (Rinse Me Down); however sometimes I truly regret using songs for title (all the chapters in to build a home are from random songs and if I ever finish the fic I’m going back and changing all of them). So sometimes the songs work! Sometimes though I do kind of regret it.

Sometimes there’s a facet to the story though where I am getting titles from a particular source (The Last Eye to Open it was computer programming phrases, Conflicts of Interest it was the US Federal Rules of Evidence)

So it depends! But most of the time I try to just kind of piece them together and make something I like that sounds good, if that makes sense, which I get doesn’t really all that technical but it’s what I’ve got 😂😅

22. Do I know where a fic is going to end when I start?

Ideally... yes. Usually I do have a precise end in mind.

On occasion, when I just kind of knock out a fic from nowhere, then the end is discovered just as I’m writing (a devil, a whiteboard, a bottle of wine went this way because that was just a blitz of a writing session that banged out that fic).

Often when things suddenly stall it’s because I’m rethinking the ending, and that’s when things go off the rails (Leonard Snart’s famous quote here lol)

But yeah, IDEALLY I know where I’m going. If not with a scene I can see in my mind to come to a close, then a general “this happens, the end” at least.

Thank you SO MUCH for asking! These were a lot of fun and hopefully the answers were satisfactory ❤️

[halflingkima]

one thing the video essay didnt touch on – likely because it's very hard to source objective text-based evidence for it, but i'm tempted – is the everyone's beautiful & no one is horny vibe.

bc the video is about feminism and how women are treated within the constraints of the show, a lot of the video focused on how sexualized mft's companions are, and in turn how eleven is "the most sexual doctor to that point." Which isn't incorrect on paper – he's the only one to kiss (for the sake of kissing) multiple companions and strangers, the first to make obscene jokes, the first to flirt & tease.

But it all falls so frustratingly flat in the show. My leading theory is that it's due to the conceit of a "family show." Every relationship must be built on love and everything sexual must be a quick, cheap throwaway joke – and the smaller the sex jokes are, the more you can make.

I hardly believe Amy & Rory have sex and they are the only truly canonical sexually active characters (as far as s8) given that they. You know. Have a child. I believe Amy & Rory are in love; they are in grand, sweeping, wait 2000 years, "I don't wanna live in a world without him" love. There is absolutely love in mft!who. But there is no desire.

There is no Mr. Darcy hand flexing, no mooning looks, no wire of tension waiting to snap when the Doctor's out of the room. Every bit of sexuality in mft!who (so far) is tell not show. They tell us Amy & Rory were having "kinky RP sex" on their honeymoon by revisiting their distinct outfits; they don't show us pieces of those outfits missing or askew. And everything sexual must be relegated to telling rather than showing – because it's a "family show."

NB: that is not to say that a family show is a bad thing; rather to criticize mft for pushing against the very ethos of the show instead of working with it.

In contrast, rtd!who was much more subtle in all things romance but so much more effective – perhaps in part because romance and sexuality were entwined and both kept at a distance. Everyone knows Rose and the Doctor were canonically in love, but the show implies they never acted on it – he doesn't even ever say the words. And despite it never being an actual plotline, we all know this story thread is woven throughout their time together. It's the epitome of showing vs telling. (Other companions have different situations, but the showing techniques still govern.)

((i fully believe everyone in the rtd!who tardis banged.))

++ the video concluded that none of the showrunners treated women right, and that dw needs a woman showrunner to really accomplish that. And I don't necessarily disagree. But the video also shared nothing but positive examples of rtd's era, his only "shortcoming" not having a female doctor – which I personally don't think was entirely in his power at the time. I don't think dw needs a female showrunner, just one who approaches female characters as people, which rtd has always done (and the video essay agrees with me).

[doccywhomst]

I come to you oh wise one... do you know if time lords have the same attachment to monogamy humans do? or are time lords, like, down for polyamory if they do have relationships? :3

this is a really interesting question!!! there's a few different ways to interpret it.

before i start my investigation, i just want to say: you can headcanon anything you want! i'll be showing evidence from a few different sources, but you don't have to agree with it.

marriage

i'll start here, at the most extreme, and then move towards casual relationships. as far as i can tell, there are no mentions of polyamorous marriage between time lords - which is to say, the same incarnation of a time lord being simultaneously married to more than one person (polygamy) and being intimate with them at the same time.

river song isn't a "time lord," so to speak, but i'll mention her here. she's notorious for being married to multiple people. however, her partners don't seem to know each other - it's not that sort of polyamorous marriage. it's more of a "river is legally married to a few different people because she's a spacetime traveler" situation. timey wimey. complicated.

the doctor has also married a few different people (polygamy), but not in a polyamorous fashion, though you could always speculate. ulysses, the doctor's father (in the EU), had a few different relationships/marriages that might be seen as polygamy?? - but again, not polyamory. i haven't been able to find any evidence of polyamorous marriage.

relationships

i also couldn't find much evidence for polyamorous relationships. i've seen people suggest that amy/rory/eleven were poly, but like... no. maybe in headcanons, but that was never suggested in the show - amy and rory even had a rule about the doctor not coming into their bedroom (from the "pond life" short). in the show, they weren't in a romantic or sexual polyamorous relationship.

i haven't been able to dig up any accounts of time lord renegade polyamory either, which- if any time lord or gallifreyan was going to be in a polyamorous relationship, if would probably be them, right? since time lord society is so stuffy? but no. nada. nothin. not even the corsair, which was a surprise.

i can't speak for the gallifrey audios or the benny summerfield audios/books, since i'm still going through those, but i don't think there's any polyamory in those either. again, lots of headcanons and lots of speculation, but nothing concrete, as far as i'm aware. i'm sure that there's a threesome in one sentence of some obscure EU book, but that's not really what you're asking for.

conclusion

i couldn't find any information that suggests time lords were down with polyamory. it seems like they were pretty monogamous, with maybe a few incredibly rare exceptions.

[violetfaust]

I'm interested in hearing more about why you think Margot should've been Rumbelle's daughter. Sounds interesting, but what would that mean for her enchanted forest life? I think her being Robin Hood's daughter would've been fine if not for Zelena

Okay, Nonny, since you sent this a few days before Mother's Day, I'm gonna finally take the opportunity to try to sum up and speed-run the Belle's Daughter Margot feelings that have haunted me for THREE YEARS. Buckle in; this will be more than you or anyone asked for.

Disclaimer 1: It's been, well, three years, so my memory of Curious Archer and their story is not perfect; could be off on some details here. And Disclaimer 2: I really loved Tiera Skovbye as Robin/Margot; she did a lot with not much screen time, and she and Rose had fabulous chemistry. So although she was well cast as Robin Sr.'s kid, Tiera would be perfectly believable as a Rumbelle daughter, too--maybe give her some low-lights and call it a day. We keep Tiera as Margot in this rewrite. Okay: onward.

(Since one of the few things that would have to change about Robin if she were Rumbelle’s daughter is her name, I’ll just mostly use her Hyperion Heights name “Margot” throughout this post for simplicity.)

First and foremost, the foundation of everything: Margot is so like Belle! She is so like her. They have the same love of adventure, a similar sense of humor. She took Alice on a date to a bookstore. Most of all, she has Belle’s ability to see past “the mask of the monster” to a person’s heart. There was a great scene where Tilly explained that she didn’t want Margot to see her “bad days” because she thought it would be “too much,” and Margot said words to the effect that she was there for the bad as well as the good.

Obviously, people don't have to grow up to be exactly like their parents (Belle and Rumple sure didn't)...BUT. In fiction, one of the fun parts of next-gen stories is for the audience to see how their favorites' personalities are passed down. It's just more fun to see a Henry who has parts of Regina/Emma/Neal than one who doesn't; it's fun to see Lucy resemble little Henry. And it would be fun to see Margot be like her parents (she is very like Robin Sr; not so much Zee). Seeing a character who has so many of Belle's traits becomes just more...fun...when she learned them FROM Belle.

The family feud Rumple/Hook angle turns Alice and Margot’s relationship up another roman tic notch. A classic trope! It’s about reconciliation and love remaking and erasing those old grudges. Which is even more important when we’re supposed to believe that the evidence of Rumple’s final redemption is his saving Rook.

On a more macro level: the entire claim that OUAT is "a show about hope" COLLAPSES because it ends with the annihilation of the Stiltskin family. Rumple, Belle, and Neal are all dead; Henry doesn’t acknowledge them as his family; and Gideon is a friendless and forgotten orphan in another world. I did my rants about this three years ago, but long story short: the show’s not about hope unless it’s hopeful for EVERYONE. And having at least one of Rumbelle’s children alive and happy at the end (with her True Love and friends and acknowledged as part of the family) would fix that. My objection has never been that Rumple (and even Belle) die, but the way it happened.

And of course, Rumbelle needed to have at least one other child because Kitsowitz managed to deny them even one single shared happy moment surrounding Belle’s pregnancy with Gideon and his birth. Even if the audience didn’t get to see it (and we could have gotten a glimpse in Beauty), we deserved to know it happened.

Finally: Zelena did not belong in S7, period. I know it was fun for her fans! (Although apparently there weren't enough of them to positively affect the ratings, meow.) I do know! But it was bad storytelling. She served no point in the larger season arc, and the serial witch killer plot that was invented to serve her was one of the worst and most stupid things Kitsowitz came up with in seven years, and ate up time that could/should have gone to develop other characters. (Driz and Ana come immediately to mind, instead of having them shunted off to another universe, but also Henry/Cinda/Lucy and of course Rumple since his plot was coming to a close.) Zelena didn’t even get any significant growth herself, or develop her relationships with Regina or Robin. She still didn’t express regret for the horrible things she did to characters we love (Rumple, Neal, and Robin Sr.); the only result of all that screentime was to give an unrepentant rapist a love story with a person--we barely see and have zero investment in. And even that was ultimately negated at the end of the season, because in the finale Zee’s back in Storybrooke sans Boo Bear.

So, all that said: what would have to change about Margot’s, and Curious Archer’s, FTL storyline to give us Margot Gold?

Her name—but actually very little else. (And frankly it would have been more respectful to have Belle name her daughter after Robin Sr., who was actually her friend, than for Zee to name her kid after the man she raped, manipulated, and ultimately got killed—but that ship had sailed.)

Belle and Rumple could have given their daughter any number of fairytale names after people they know, aka fresh take on a Disney character. My favorite possibilities are Aurora (and then Curious Archer could have been Curious Beauty, and done a riff on the Sleeping Beauty story as part of their FTL backstory, with a built-in TLK) and Merlin (very pretty for a girl, I’ve always thought).

But the character herself would have been very much the same: she could be Rumbelle’s jock daughter, trained in archery and swordsmanship by family friends (Merida/Mulan/Charming), but always feeling out of place in her family of scholars/sorcerers/nerds.

I am SO sorry for the length of this--there's even more under this cut!

Robin/Margot felt insecure about trying to live up to her father’s name; Rory/Merlin/Margot could have similar anxieties trying to live down her father’s Dark One rep. There could even be a similar story where she was born with magic (like Robin was) but loses it or chooses to give it up—something that would estrange her further from her family. Or, if she was Merlin, she could keep her magic but be reluctant to use it, and part of Curious Archer’s Hyperion Heights arc would be both Margot and Tilly discovering and accepting their magic. (Sapphic sorceresses for the win.)

Now, one of the cutest things about Alice/Robin’s FTL dynamic was Robin being a girl from the Land Without Magic finding her feet in an enchanted forest, with Alice’s help. But it would only take a little finessing of S7 Rumbelle’s story to get that for Rory as well. (Of course, any decent story would have a LOT of finessing of Rumbelle’s plot so that Belle didn’t die and put Rumple on a suicide mission, but again—assuming the ship has sailed…)

Say that Rory is five to six years younger than Gideon. The Rumbelle family spend a dozen years or so traveling the realms, but then Rumbelle decide that they want Gideon and Rory to be comfortable in the LWoM with their extended Charming family, so they settle back into the Pink Palace so the kids can get a LWoM education. They still take occasional journeys, often Rumbelle going to save some hapless souls, but Rory grows up primarily in SB with very few, vague memories of all the fascinating places they visited when she was a small child. This feeds her hunger for adventure along with some envy of Gideon for having so many more fairytale experiences—another thing that makes her feel like a misfit in her family. So, presto, when she moves to FTL she and Alice have pretty much the same meeting/adventures.

One of the key notes of Rumple and Alice/Tilly's relationship, showing his growth and making it so special, was how he chose to set her free of being the Guardian or whatever, allowing her to be free and get what he never had, the chance to grow old with the woman she loves. And that would be weakened if Rumple knew that by choosing Alice's happiness over his own, he was also choosing his own daughter's happiness (because we know Rumple picks his kids over himself ever time). But--he doesn't have to know WHO Alice's True Love is when he makes that choice. He could just know that there is someone, or simply realize that Alice deserves her freedom for her own sake. (Rumple's daughter also getting happiness would be a side benefit that he didn't learn about till later, and have the added perk of Rumple actually getting a narrative reward for doing something good. Which almost NEVER happened! Bonus.)

Finally: I do understand that Robin's presence on the canvas was important to fans of Robin Sr.--getting to know he's remembered and having someone carry on his legacy. Of course I get it--Rumbelle and their family not having that is my biggest complaint (of so so many).

But we don't need a grown-up Robin Jr. to be Robin's legacy. Let her stay a cute background kid with perennially baby Prince Neal. There's already a character, one we're invested in, to carry on for the Hoods: Roland. And again, it would be satisfying for the audience to learn that a five-year-old orphan wasn't shunted off from what family he had left (Regina and Henry) into another universe and never heard from again. If Kitsowitz didn't waste time with Zelena, they wouldn't have needed the idiotic Jack-is-Hansel-the-serial-killer twist, and we could have have had Roland filling the role of Henry's best friend/little brother (and therefore Lucy's fake HH dad--God, that plot was bad all the way back in season 1; why Kitsowitz why?). We'd see Roland onscreen, part of the family, at the end of the show, perhaps with his own True Love (Drizella, maybe, or better yet Gideon) and happy future.

So, that's it: the combination of Margot Stiltskin-Gold and Roland Hood tightens and heightens the storytelling throughout S7, closes some plot holes, and actually fulfills some of the show's stated themes. Who knew!

Anyone else want three years of OUAT theory vomit? 😋 Shoot me an ask!

(I actually have another one, god help us all, but I might save it till Father's Day...)

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

Hello! If you don't mind me asking, are you planning on watching House of the Dragon? I'm personally unsure about it. I was cautiously optimistic about it since D&D are not involved, but the recent casting news have been ugh disappointing imo. What do you think?

Hey anon! Sorry to say I kind of mind you asking because my inbox is still closed (to everyone except my secret Santas, which is why the ask page is accessible at all), but then I realized it’s possible if you’re on the mobile app only, you haven’t seen said note in my askbox, or my FAQ, or anything of the sort. And with older metas of mine being reblogged recently, it’s possible you may be confused. (I hope you’re on mobile only and not just ignoring my requests.) So I wanted to inform you of that... but also, y’know, I kind of wanted to make a post about the HotD cast anyway? And this ask is as good a prompt as any... so, you’re lucky, but please don’t push your luck. ;)

So, straight up: I currently have no plans to watch House of the Dragon. HBO is not getting any of my goddamn money, I don’t trust like that. And hunting down illegal livestreaming sites is a pain in the ass and I regret ever doing it for GoT, as well as regretting getting drunk every weekend enough to dampen my senses to ever tolerate that show. Yeah it’s different showrunners and writers, I know. It’s still (mostly) the same executives at HBO and even if the pervert producer is gone (or is he?), you know they still just want to sell sex and violence and dragons to an audience that thinks fantasy is for geeks.

Also, considering that Fire & Blood’s story of Dance of the Dragons has very little actual narrative or dialogue, and the historical record is deliberately untrustworthy, that gives them pretty much full rein to do whatever they like with the story and characterization and words without even being slightly obliged to GRRM at all. Furthermore, since the story is wholly political with virtually none of the magical side of ASOIAF (excepting dragons), and honestly does not have much in the way of themes or depth that main ASOIAF or even D&E has, I think it will be very hard for an adaptation to show even those brief sparks of quality that used to make me wistful GoT couldn’t be that good all the time and eventually just made me frustrated and depressed. Note I do like the history and characters of the Dance despite myself, despite its many many many textual issues, but I don’t need to see an adaptation, I have a very visual imagination. I don’t watch a lot of television to begin with, I don’t see why I should start again with this.

However, I’m not going to avoid spoilers or discussion, and I’ll probably follow the show the tumblr way, through gifsets and video clips and people bitching on their blogs etc. If, somehow, by some miracle of good screenwriting and acting, the show manages to transcend its source material, I’m sure I will be informed. And then, if and only if then, I may try watching. (Without, of course, giving HBO any of my goddamn money.) We shall see.

(Though I certainly don’t know why anyone in Targ standom would ever watch a Dance adaptation considering almost every Targaryen and everyone else in the story is terrible except Helaena and the kids, and considering how the story ends, unless y’all are gluttons for punishment? (I do not comprehend hatewatching, sorry.) It’ll probably be fun at first to see the adventures of those “precious silver douchebags” (to borrow a friend’s tag), but eventually rocks fall, everyone dies, including the girlboss you know you’ll hope the story will be changed enough that she succeeds. Just letting you know now, she won’t.)

That said. I’ve been following the casting news and I think the hate/fear/wild screaming is entirely overblown. Yeah, I know, but wait, just listen. On Friday I officially welcomed @naomimakesart to the “favorite character is now played by an actor who looks nothing like most fanart and is mostly known for wildly different roles” club. I still remember that day in September 2009 when my brother texted me “yarp”... and that right there is the thing. Yeah. Rory McCann looks very little like most pre-GoT Sandor fanart... but many fans grew to love him anyway. (There are some who never did, of course. And yeah the character went off the rails by the end, but truly, who didn’t. Having seen his audition, having spoken to him and heard him wistfully talk about book scenes he loved, I’m convinced if Rory had only been given Sandor’s actual scenes and such, he would’ve killed it. Sigh. Deep, deep sigh.)

And Rory isn’t the only one. Neither of the actors for Jaime and Cersei were considered “beautiful” enough at first. I recall very clearly people bitching about Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (about his nose particularly?) because they had wanted Tarzan-era Travis Fimmel to be Jaime. (Seeing people bitch because current-Fimmel isn’t playing Daemon made me laugh out loud for both BEYONCE?! meme -type “why would you ever cast him omg he doesn’t fit my headcanon Daemon at all”, and amazing amounts of fandom flashbacks.) Lena Headey was “too square-jawed”, “too mean-looking” (since at the beginning you should never be able to guess she’s evil), “too dark-complected”, “too mannish”, not at all attractive enough. (Tricia Helfer was the most common “but I wanted” for Cersei, btw.) And of course “they don’t remotely look like twins, ugh!” Note, there’s receipts for all of this, none of it is made up. (Unfortunately.) Those two actors are just the ones whose casting wank I recall most clearly, particularly because oh how the turn tables.

Also. You know, there’s a post with Matt Smith and Mark Simonetti’s TWOIAF Daemon going around with shrieks of horror... and I’m finding it maddening in a “am I crazy? am I  the crazy one???” way, because Matt looks like the painting. Their features are not that dissimilar.

Same deepset eyes. Same cheekbones of doom. Same thin lips. Same protruding chin. Same high forehead. Same invsible eyebrows ffs. Matt has a squarer jaw, and a longer more rectangular face, and a wider nose, but considering that Daemon’s features are not described in the text, and this is the only official ASOIAF artwork that shows Daemon’s face straight on, I can for sure see why he was probably shortlisted to begin with. And that’s not even getting into to his role in The Crown, which I’ve heard is very well played with politics and palace intrigue... and if you doubt Smith can play seductive/roguish and/or evil (depending on how you LARP as a Westeros historian), or look good with long hair... well. I do not want to watch the movie, but this trailer is disturbingly enlightening.

And as for Rhaenyra... y’all know this show is starting at the beginning of the story, right? When she’s a teenager? Not a voluptuous MILF? Yeah, Emma D’Arcy doesn’t look like a Magali Villeneueve painting (though who does, good lord), but you know who she does look remarkably like? Harry Lloyd.

Same jawline. Same nose. Same thin lips. Same sharp cheekbones. Notably, same kind of sharp cheekbones and deep-set eyes as Matt Smith. HBO evidently has a concept of a “Targaryen look” that’s a little bit quirkier than supermodel-Greek statue-gods on earth, yeah, fine. But it’s consistent, and they look like family, and that-- that is good casting.

And yeah, in a few months to a year or so, you’ll see them in costume and wigs and makeup, you’ll see them in motion and speaking lines, and go Oh. That’s different. Never mind. And while people will make fanart of the show depictions of the characters and those will probalby get popular, they’ll also keep doing fanart of their pre-show headcanons, and those too will be popular. (God knows when I draw or visualize book!Sandor, Rory does not come to mind, lol.) Either way, there’s no reason to panic. We’ll live.

(Though will we live well? Got to wait on the writing and showrunning for that, alas.)

[venofire-moved]

01 03 10 11 15 18 23 25 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 39 (I'm not sorry. I had to stop there though since so many already.)

(fantasy) writer ask meme!

01. which world/region is your favorite? least favorite? why?

   Personally, I really love both Evoles and Hana. My least favorite used to be Vousili until I revamped it. Honestly, there’s not really one I dislike, but I guess if there’s one I’d have to choose it would be between Sindora and Sorestras. 

   Evoles is one of my favorites because it was the first that I made. It’s Tya’s country, and it’s always the one I can most vividly imagine in my head.

   Hana is the other one because it’s just honestly so damn beautiful. I love the dark history of it as well as the customs, the clothes, the buildings, the government.

   Sorestras honestly just hasn’t had a lot of development which puts it low on the list. 

   Sindora isn’t a big problem to me, I just don’t have a whole lot of attachment to the story over all, so I guess it would be low?

03. is there a character without abilities? why are they unique?

   Yup, quite a few! Out of my main characters though, only Leera Fae and Sayka Faire don’t really have abilities. Leera is unique because she’s a pretty powerful lady. She was a part of her country’s forces until she was killed by a shapeshifter. The Matriarch of her country took interest in her ridiculous will power, and sat back to watch what she’d do, which eventually led to allowing her restore completely with the promise of returning a soul back to the Matriarch. 

   Sayka didn’t originally have any abilities at all, but what makes her unique is the fact that she got… so fucked up. In an attempt to help her father, Sayka worked to kill one of the Matriarchs, the collectors of souls, with the Ancient’s Maiske, a sword imbued with the Ancient’s will. In doing so she just displaced the entity that was the Matriarch herself, and ended up possessed as the next host. 

10. what type of clothing do your characters wear?

   That depends on which character it is, where they come from, and their status, honestly. Tya always bundles up in baggy, dark greens, blues, and browns, because those are common fashion in Evoles. Lucien and Sophie kind of wear whatever they find, though they mostly bundle up in cloaks and stuff both to block out the sun and keep warm in Alkais’ freezing temperatures. Rori tends to wear sleeveless things with a low cut that cover her legs and her stomach as well as a lot of gold jewelry just because that was always what she was most comfortable in. Emtirian fashion is a lot of firm fabrics in dark blue, silver, and gold, yet Rori never really wears that stuff. Her attire is closer to what you’d see the Saburan women wearing casually. 

   Anhalia wears things that are kind of like sleeveless vests with light clothing underneath and gloves that cover her arms, as does Veselin because that’s Amaloran fashion. Then Asher and Lacey wear a lot of furs and floral print because those are key points of hannic fashion, as well as flowing fabric. 

11. are there any fancy balls and festivals held in your book?

   I haven’t decided yet whether any of the festivals will actually be present. There’s a gathering present in Tya’s involving the celebration of a new queen but it’s not really a ball or a festival. The only one I know for sure that’s in any of the books is one I haven’t got a specific name for, but in Hana hold a lot to celebrate specific flowers where they harvest them in bulk and make art / clothing out of them.  

    But there are a lot of festivals, like a specific one in each season to celebrate a designated Ancient, and then harvesting festivals are common, then the one where they paint the snow in Alkais. 

15. is any part of your book inspired by fairytales?

    I’m not sure? Maybe unintentionally? But I don’t know a lot about most fairytales, so if it is, it’s subtle or I don’t know it’s there. 

18. what kind of jobs exist in your fantasy world? what is the career of your main character(s)?

   Well there’s a ton. Anything ranging from crate carrier to leader of a country. And it ranges with the characters as well. Tya has had two jobs, both working class, until Lillia named her queen. She was first a stablehand when she was still making her body, occasionally helped on her father’s farm, and then she was essentially an errand runner for Lillia after that. She was supposed to be named Lillia’s first knight but.. that didn’t really get a chance to happen. People in her group all had different jobs- Melody Visser was a hunter that brought fresh game in to restaurants that hired her, Skye Cailbane was an apothecary for the Aikali Queen’s, aka the leaders of Vousili. 

   Lucien and Sophie are both unemployed and find work through flyers mostly. What they do is mostly like the sidequests you’d find in a video game. ‘Go find this in a cave and I’ll pay you’. 

   Anhalia and Leera were both infantry in different countries. Lacey was the Princess of Hana’s body guard.

   Rori wasn’t necessarily employed because the Saburans don’t really do that- they designate jobs to people in the community and if you don’t do the job you’re required to do you don’t get food / shelter. But she was a night guard at the prison. 

   Kiara Razir cut wood and served tables at an Inn as well as occasionally sung. 

   Aspen Varro has a little stall where she sells imported crystals and herbs. 

  There’s a bunch of jobs, I can’t name all of ‘em. 

23. what type of jewelry is typically sold/worn, if any? who would be the one to purchase it?

   All kinds honestly. Again, depends on the country but there are y’know big things and little things, chains, spikes, a whole variety. A lot of my characters wear them. Tya wears a particular fire opal ring, Lucien has a little skeletal hand. 

25. what type of food do people eat in your world/region? is there some only few can afford?

   Evoles is known for really good quality vegetables, Alkais for it’s nice elk / deer meats, Hana for it’s seasonings, Sindora for mushrooms, Amalar for poultry, and Emtiris for rice and bread. Alkais and Evoles are opposites in their food- In Alkais greens are expensive and Evoles meat is expensive. In Amalar, vibrant seasoned meals are the more expensive ones because a lot of the food there is bland and dull colored. 

30. what kind of folklore exists in your world? are there stories people tell their children?   

   There’s a couple myths that are pretty widespread in Arantis- things such as the Matriarchs rise from flames when they collect your souls, and because of that they use ‘flames’ as a curse. 

   There’s also stories such as the Ten Mothers, where it’s said that if you do the thing, and you do it right, and you don’t fuck it up, you can have an absolute mastery in anything you desire. 

   Melborn’s Blood tells of this very precise and difficult ritual that will bring unending happiness, but if you fuck it up you’ll end up crazy. 

   But those are tales. There’s lots of little customs here and there in different counties, like hanging certain herbs outside your home in the fae touched cities in Hana to keep them from messing with your stuff and in Sindora, you never look the snake statues in the eye. 

31. are there prisons in your story? any form of a criminal justice system?

   Yup! The biggest prison in Arantis is called Azenty and it’s in the northern desert of Sorestras. It’s in the middle of nowhere and the only water supply for days on the inside of a massive wall. It harbors the worst of the worst criminals, needless to say. 

    The criminal justice system is different in each country, obviously. In Evoles, the bad crimes are dealt with by the leaders of each city, and generally kept in the dungeons beneath the castles for their terms. Evoles also offers forgiveness systems for example, for Tya after being imprisoned for Arson, she worked off her sentence by helping the High Queen directly, as did Vaisa for his of treason. Of course that’s only really applicable if the High Queen thinks there is something on the same level as the crime to tend to meaning Arson and Treason = saving the country from mass genocide. 

   In Alkais they have trials, and in Vousili, the Court of Queens oversees every decision.

32. how do your characters tell the time of day in your fantasy world/region?

   They tell through the placement of the sun and moon in most places, but clocks are a thing too.

33. do you experiment with government in your story? if so, how?

   Not really. I’m admittedly not overly interested in politics, even if it’s mine. 

34. are there any parts of your world/region that are more industrial than the others? what is produced?

   Yup! In Evoles, the tetranian province is pretty industrial. They work on technology and advancements mostly, and have lately been working on trains. Amalar works on weaponry a lot and glass. Emtiris’ industry is mostly for processing fabric. 

35. are there any laws in your world/region that are important to the plot? any restrictions on magic?

  Well aside from ‘don’t burn down historical monuments’ not really. They aren’t overly fond of teleportation magic and people trying to resurrect other people, but honestly none of them are really illegal.  

36. how do the higher class live? how do the lower class live?

   The upper class have the usual, you know, bigger houses nicer, clothes things like that. There’s also the fact that they can keep food in the house- in Evoles particularly it’s a noticeable thing because the lower classes flock to the Queen’s homes for dinners because they usually have nightly meals to feed the people and things like that. 

    In Hana the upper class is evident in the fact that they’ll live in places like Ashvale, the capital, or Visticaria, the most elaborately beautiful city in all of Hana and possibly the world. The lower classes in Hana travel with the seasons a lot so they can find work wherever the flowers are growing. 

    In Amalar, wealth is really widely shared. Of course not everyone gets it but honestly there’s not really a big differentiation between wealthy and poor aside from those that are really really really poor to the point they don’t even have homes. 

   In Alkais, a biiiiig tell between the classes is the types of furs people keep warm in. Stupidly wealthy people wear more exotic and more embroidered furs whereas poorer people will wear just kind of whatever they can get their hands on. They less money you have, the more likely you are to be bundled up because what you have is thinner. Wealthier people also tend to wear brighter colors. 

   In Sorestras, education is a very big tell. The more intelligent you are, the wealthier you are, and because of this people tend to really really flaunt their degrees, their souvenirs from travels, things like that. Along with that, it’s also a big show of wealth to have a big library in your home. A wealthy Soresean has likely traveled to every country at least once.

   In Emtiris, colors are also a show of wealth, particularly dark blue and silver. It’s worn a lot by the wealthy. Because of Emtiris’ view on people that give birth, the wealthy are generally women which flock together. It’s a really big tell for wealth when you live with a bunch of other women. 

   In Vousili, no one is wealthy- Vousili works primarily under a bartering system and doesn’t accept the world-wide currency at all. You work for what you have or you have nothing- the only people that could be considered wealthy would be the Aikali in the Court of Queens, but really, they are wealthy in respect and power but nothing else. 

    In Sindora, it all depends on the clan you’re under. In the southern clan, wealth is shown in protection and power. Generally those that work for the Sindor militias are more wealthy, so weaponry and muscle is a sign of wealth. Those that are wealthy generally also have more people with them? They live in larger homes with more people, usually lower class, that are willing to defend them and fight for them in exchange for food and shelter.    The northern clan has an elected official and they are the only one that is wealthy. They don’t really have much more than other people- their house has a treasury in it, and is therefore slightly larger than everyone else’s. Mostly the biggest thing that differs in the way they live is the fact that they hold more responsibility as they aim to create complete equality among everyone on their side. 

37. what do people in your fantasy world/region do for entertainment? are there games that children play? do people go to the theatre?

   Of course there are games children play. I don’t know any specifically, the kids make them up as they go rather than having widespread ones, though I don’t doubt there are a couple that are more known than others. 

   As for other forms of entertainment though, reading is a very big one. A lot of people do that, as well as play sports- don’t ask about them I haven’t actually made much of any of them because I know 0 things about sports and have to figure out all the fun gameplay things. 

    And yes, theaters are very popular. Street plays and various sorts of street entertainment, and concerts too. People really enjoy music. 

    Gardening is something people really enjoy, hiking, playing outside in general, swimming, then there’s inside things like card games and board games.  

39. are there any customs followed at important gatherings (e.g., funerals, weddings, birthdays, etc.)?

   Oh yeah. Weddings aren’t REALLY a thing in most countries in Arantis? It’s an elven tradition mostly that means very little in legality and is more a show of love to one another. It’s common to tattoo the inside of the couples hands with specific symbols that the couples have made- one half for each of them so when they put their hands together it’s a full picture. 

   Funerals in Amalar and Evoles are dealt with pretty simply- people bury their loved ones and mourn, you know, the usual basic shit. In Hana, it’s tradition to have your loved ones cremated and ‘fed to the land’. In Emtiris.. they take that same sentiment farther? It’s widespread tradition to have the dead butchered and spread in composting lots. 

   Birthdays are kinda celebrated case by case? They aren’t really a big deal unless the person thinks they are. The only time they are celebrated is for the gods and for people like Sancor The Great, since every birthday he’s had for the past few centuries has been a blessing given by the people themselves.