#a song of ice and foils

[ride-thedragon]

NETTLES AND RHAENYRA, CHARACTER FOILS.

Because I'm not an English teacher

So the question is, How is Nettles Rhaenyra's foil?

1. Appearance .

Rhaenyra is a pretty standard Valyrian beauty. Silver locks, purple eyes, quite pretty, later on in life we get the change that she didn't lose the wait after giving birth to her kids and becùase of misogyny, her beauty has faded. Features like her long hair worn in the style of Visenya and so on are also mentioned. It's giving the Realm's delight in a real sense (not the weird sense).

Nettles, on the other hand, is juxtaposed as 'ugly'. She's brown, is skinny, has crooked teeth, a nose scar, and has short hair.

The maesters like to play to damn much, basically. But they are described as almost exact opposites. Short and long hair, skinny and fat, white and brown skin, purple and brown eyes, etc.

The narrative purpose is to ultimately show their different upbringing and places in this society.

2. Status

Rhaenyra is shown to be the princess, heir to the throne and queen throughout the book. No matter what happens with her, the security and privilege she has almost always goes over what other women have. Her only real threat is the men (and book Alicent) who have personal stake in her not ascending her throne. She's also entirely spoilt as princess and heir by her father and more so her uncle.

Nettles, on the other hand, is introduced to us as an orphan from Driftmark. We're told she could've been a thief and a sex worker by the time we met her. She has no name, lands, titles, or family that we are presented with in the narrative and her backstory for better or less is a patchwork of what her life was possibly like on Driftmark.

Unlike Rhaenyra, we don't follow every salacious rumour and really don't know much about her past.

3. Dragons

Rhaenyra’s dragon Syrax was a cradle egg hatched to her, a Targaryen custom. She's also the youngest dragonrider at 7 I believe.

Nettles claims her dragon at no older than 16 years old. He is a wild dragon (a distinction given to hatched Targaryen dragons that haven't been riden and live away from the keep) and slaughters many before she claims him.

4. Virtue

The notion of virtue in asoiaf is extremely complex, especially with these two women and the vastly different backgrounds. But virginity and speculation also develops both their characterizations in the narrative.

Rhaenyra allegedly "sleeps" with Daemon to practise what she wants to do with Criston (she's 15-). In the show, it becomes obvious that she almost sleeps with Daemon and officially sleeps with Criston. Either way, promiscuity and naivety are written into her character. The only point of conflict is who is involved with what happened in these instances less than what happened. Later on her promiscuity is brought up when Ser Harwin Strong is said to be the father of her first three children.

On the other hand, Nettles' sexual promiscuity is given to her in the narrative. The claims of her being a whore or sleeping around with shepherds are claims made by men who don't know what she was doing at that time. Men who made similar claims about Rhaenyra and their involvement in her loss of virtue as well. Where these stories differ is in Maidenpool, where the assumption of promiscuity is given a different voice.

This time, maids are alluding to an inappropriately close relationship between Daemon and Nettles (yet again, he finds himself here).

5. Daemon

Speak of the devil, and he will appear.

His dynamic is important to these women and their place in the narrative. Saving one dooms the other, leaving with one isolated the other. His decisions ultimately affect one while benefiting the other.

The cruellest example of this dynamic is him letting Nettles go after being the reason she is trapped in the narrative and ultimately dooming Rhaenyra by choosing to kill Aemond instead of going back to her.

His dynamic with both was also comparable with gift giving and quality time and even inappropriate relationship he developed with both of them, notably around similar ages. ( Both these relationships have significant power imbalances).

Between them both, his affection to one affects the other detrimentally.

6. Jace

Specifically in reference to his death, it's notable that within the narrative, while Nettles is described as crying by herself in response to his death, Rhaenyra is hardened by it.

Also, as symbols for legitimacy and legacy, Jace is the reason Nettles is recognised as a dragonseed, and Rhaenyra's line is secured as her first born, but in his absence, Nettles is delegitimised and said to be not a dragonseed. Around that time, Rhaenyra is beginning to be questioned by all the men around her as well, whereas before, Jace was a notable voice in decisions.

7. Dragons in the End.

They both meet their 'end' in the narrative with Dragons. Rhaenyra is killed by her brother's dragon Sunfyre burns and eats her, killing her in front of her son.

Nettles, however, escapes the narrative on dragonback, with the stories that follow explicitly explaining how dragon fire protects her and leads her to become a deity for the burned men.

8. Children

In the narrative, Nettles has no children. Children would explicitly be a burden in her described circumstances as a mouth to feed and someone else to care for. Effectively, children would trap Nettles in a cycle of poverty and inability to experience ethe freedom presented in the narrative.

Rhaenyra is expected to have children to secure her legacy and reign. Children, especially sons, would be her greatest benefit to ensure her ascension to the throne. They are her biggest strategy and losses throughout the war because of that reason.

This dynamic carries out to a head with the death decree for Nettles. The possibility that she would have a child by Daemon is a definitive reason that her 'treason' calls for her head. A child would give her a claimant but also be proof of infidelity by Daemon. It would be a slight to Rhaenyra’s pride and grief as she at this point has lost 4 children during the war.

9. Loyalty of men

This is one of the most interesting for me because the disloyalty of men for Rhaenyra meant the loyalty of men to Nettles. When the Mootons decide not to kill her, they are traitors to Rhaenyra. When Daemon lets her leave, he's a traitor to Rhaenyra. When Corlys stands up for both her and Addam, he's treated like a traitor. Furthermore, the Mootons turn to Aegon’s side directly after because they did not obey her for two reasons, Nettles being accused and sentenced without trial, and Rhaenyra wanting them to break guest right.

Within the narrative, at that point, loyalty to Rhaenyra was a sentence on Nettles' life, and loyalty to Nettles was treason to Rhaenyra.

Conclusion.

In other ways, like the impact of their legacy, the symbols of their identity (dragons), other ways that their narratives with Daemon (the stories) play out and so on juxtapose these women against each other in the narrative. Age and innocence in both a meta and narrative sense also play into Nettles being a foil for Rhaenyra’s character. Personally I think the reason ts written that way is for Nettles to cause a Stark difference in behaviour with men like Daemon and the Mootons as well as to show the contrast of what is expected and what is to be done and what actually happens.

Hope this helps 🩷🤎

[loveisbreathinghere]

i don't think it was talked enough about how much jon's "but what i can forgive, i do" was so important to theon's arc. like he has spent all this time drowning in self-hatred and repentance, refusing to let sansa absolve him of his past actions, and struggling to reconcile these warring identifies of his. then to come face-to-face with the person who was essentially his only equal in winterfell and to hear that blatant forgiveness is so healing. who better than jon to understand the struggle to find a place for yourself in a world where your family name is the most important aspect of who you are?

jon and theon are arguably the two characters most alike to one another yet their intense dislike and competition with one another prevented any understanding or camaraderie with one another. it's such a tragedy.

for that reason, the show's lack of faithfulness to the source material is always a disappointment, but theon and jon's meeting will forever be one of my favorite moments.

[fromtheseventhhell]

Renly had seemed anxious to know if the girl reminded him of anyone, and when Ned had no answer but a shrug, he had seemed disappointed. The maid was Loras Tyrell's sister Margaery, he'd confessed, but there were those who said she looked like Lyanna. "No," Ned had told him, bemused. (Eddard VI, AGOT)

This is literally people in fandom trying to make shallow connections between Lyanna and [X character] and presenting them as equally important as parallels drawn directly in the text. In fact, this coming after Ned tells Arya she reminds him of Lyanna (in looks and behavior) feels like George cementing the importance of their likeness. Other characters might have passing similarities to Lyanna, but Arya's parallels are much more meaningful than that and are being highlighted for a reason.

[befooremoonrisee]

thinking about jon and daenerys as foils and how aemon said that he needed to help the last targaryen and died in misery because of that, but he actually was helping and guiding his family all along. how jon and dany first allies were mormonts, but jon's was a good man (except craster, never forgiving him for that) and dany's a slaver and traitor. how jon and tyrion became friends when tyrion was decent and how daenerys is gonna met him in his nietzsche era.

[horizon-verizon]

I meant the show wants to potray Aemond as Daemon's foil. Based on that, what characterization will show aemond have?

They are already foils in the show, but they are bad ones.

Aemond is just a terrible character in of himself so the entire balance and contrast that a real foil situation provides to a story.

If we want Aemond to be a better foil, then he must be like he is in the book -- openly volatile (not calm) bitter, snappy, openly disdainful, misogynist words all around, solitary, etc etc. You can have your NuAnCe by watching how he interacts with Viserys and Alicent, how Alicent tries to compliment him or defend his violence as being like a "fierce" warrior instead of the crazy bitch he is. How Viserys doesn't really pay him mind, epically with their opposing personalities and Aemond's disdain for him.

And Daemon must be shown as more of a family-only dude through us seeing him at Dragonstone with Rhaenyra and their kids. Show him with Mysaria, go back to the very beginning of the show and fix that moment with him and Mysaria so that Viserys causes her actual miscarriage. Or show us how exactly he argues with his lovers. If not the miscarriage. Just anything.

[alonetimelover]

Hey! Hope I’m not too late for the blurb weekend requests - could you please do 29 from the six word as fluff and just banter between y/n and H? ❤️

"Where are my manners, my dear."

pairing: Harry Styles x polish!reader

summary: “I can’t believe you,” she laughed, shaking her head in amusement. “Out of all the days in a year you chose this one to be like this?” “Like what?” He teased, moving his right hand up to her cheek. He held her face in place so she couldn’t look away from him. “Like I would really like to just take you right he-”

word count: 0,7k

blurb#1 blurb#2 blurb#3

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“You’re stepping on thin ice, Harry,” YN warned Harry, eyes flexed on him. 

“How thin?” 

Harry smirked at her, feeding from how frustrated she was. They were celebrating with her family some Polish holiday Harry couldn't remember even if his life depended on it. And he was insufferable. From the minute he woke up, stealing the blanket, waking her up two hours earlier than needed, making his coffee in her mug, overseasoning the breakfast, making it inedible and to top it off, being very, and YN thought, very provoking not to leave the house. 

“It’s starting to crack, that thin.” 

YN moved to the fridge and took out all the premade snacks that she knew her grandma would be looking for in moments. She unwrapped the foil from the plates and put them on the counter. When she reached for some fresh basil and parsley to decorate the dishes with, she felt Harry’s hands on her hips, his breath tickling the skin on her neck. 

“Good thing I know how to swim.”

“You think?” She wiggled her body around to face him. “Fancy a swim?”

“With you? Always, my baby.”

“I can’t believe you,” she laughed, shaking her head in amusement. “Out of all the days in a year you chose this one to be like this?”

“Like what?” He teased, moving his right hand up to her cheek. He held her face in place so she couldn’t look away from him. “Like I would really like to just take you right he-”

“Oh, there you two are!” Interrupted the heavy accented voice from behind Harry’s back. 

YN cleared her throat and pushed Harry away. Still smirking, Harry turned around to face his best friend. 

“Babcia (granny)! There you are. I was just about to look for you.” 

“I know I’m old, but I’m not stupid, Harry.” Now it was granny’s turn to smirk. “You are a naughty boy, keeping my granddaughter all to yourself!” 

Harry blushed, just like that losing all his wit and adventurousness. Behind him, YN was grinning at her granny. Of course, it was quite embarrassing to be caught in a somehow compromised position, but at the same time, granny knew that all of Harry’s songs were about her granddaughter. And yes, she knew the meanings. 

“Yeah, tell him, granny.”

Harry turned around, glaring at YN with an open mouth and thespian shock painted all over his face. “You both against me? I’m used to YN being like this, but you, granny? My heart is breaking right here.” 

“You really are an actor,” granny laughed, patting Harry’s cheek. “Go back to the party. Out of my kitchen. Now. Shush, shush.” 

After some bickering from Harry and YN that they wanted to help her prepare everything, they flew out of the kitchen being chased off with a kitchen cloth. 

Harry wrapped his arm around YN and led them to the terrace where the party was in full swing. The grill was smoking with YN’s two uncles arguing about the rawness of the steaks above it. Her younger cousins were running around the garden, playing catch and destroying too many flowers. 

“Harry, YN! Come here, come!” Called the family’s friend - Anna, waving her hand towards the table near the middle of the deck. “We’re discussing whether or not we should go canoeing.” 

After briefly looking at each other, they moved to the older part of the family, ready to discuss whatever was worth of so much noise and outtalking. Nearing the two empty chairs, YN went for the one near her mother. 

“Where are my manners, my dear,” Harry quickly interrupted YN’s actions and moved the chair for her, wiping it from the imaginary dust, blowing the air on it to finish the act. 

The table laughed at his antics, making Harry’s smirk grow deeper in the right side of his face, dimples daring its presence there. Oh, he loved attention and the look on YN’s face. 

When the commotion cooled down and the conversation came back on its tracks, YN leaned towards Harry’s ear, whispering “I hope you know that you’re gonna pay for all of this.” 

“Oh, I’m counting on it, baby.” 

[mintydotdoodle]

spoilers up to the most recent events of riptide (ep115)

I don't know what possessed me (the spirit of Meryl Streep maybe???) but "The Winner Takes it All" works so well with the current state of Chip in the black sea. Like the idea of Chip eventually just coming to accept his loss and losing this inherit hope he's been holding so close. (which I don't think we would fully reach in cannon, but possibly something similar to how he broke down post Gillion drawing the card in the feywild with him talking about giving up in pirating to Jay) BUT LIKE STICK WITH ME HERE BC IM GONNA CONNECT TO SOME LYRICS first off : The winner takes it all The loser's standing small (Chip being physically smaller or emotionally smaller due to literally losing part of his body and some of his sanity from the black sea) Beside the victory That's her destiny (as a foil to Gillion beginning to move away from his destiny thing, him coming to accept that he was meant to lose himself in the black sea)

I was in your arms Thinking I belonged there I figured it made sense Building me a fence

Building me a home (home being both the black rose ship and albatross) Thinking I'd be strong there (Thinking is the key word here I feel, because every time Chip thinks he finds a home it can't help be swept away from him both in losing physical home and people) But I was a fool Playing by the rules

The gods may throw a dice (concepts of the whole group being pushed around by the supposed destiny and will of the gods) Their minds as cold as ice And someone way down here Loses someone dear (THIS SPECIFIC PART LIKE WOAH because it could work as both Chip's loss of his first family in the form of Arlin and Capt. Rose, and Jay and Gill losing Chip to the black sea)

The winner takes it all (takes it all) The loser has to fall (has to fall) It's simple and it's plain (it's so plain) Why should I complain? (Why complain?) (this is where those feelings of hopelessness and helplessness would come in)

But tell me, does she kiss Like I used to kiss you? Does it feel the same When she calls your name?

Somewhere deep inside You must know I miss you (Chip opening up for this moment of absolute unabashed sincerity about missing so much. Missing Arlin, missing who he once was, who he could've been, missing the life he could have with Jay and Gill) But what can I say? Rules must be obeyed

The judges will decide (will decide) The likes of me abide (me abide) (could possibly connect to Niklaus and his heart) Spectators of the show (of the show) Always staying low (staying low)

The game is on again (on again) A lover or a friend (or a friend) A big thing or a small (big or small) The winner takes it all (takes it all)

I don't wanna talk If it makes you feel sad And I understand You've come to shake my hand (i supposed final goodbye for Chip [Which I can't see actually happening])

I apologize If it makes you feel bad Seeing me so tense No self-confidence But you see (just this whole section in this self pitying apology to Gillion that he isn't who he once was, especially after Jay leaves)

The winner takes it all The winner takes it all (this part in the song and the way it's sung is so heart wrenching and I just get massive Chip vibes I cannot explain)

So the winner takes it all And the loser has to fall Throw the dice, cold as ice Way down here, someone dear Takes it all, has to fall And it's plain, why complain?

This could also just be my continuation of my obsessive Chip and musical theatre agenda, who knows?

[lemoncrushh]

The Entertainer II - Track 10 - Light Up Inside

Summary: What if it wasn’t the end? What if Sky did actually see Harry at the Forum in the early 80s, and he saw her too? What if fate took hold of them both, and they realized their journey was not over? Set in 1981, Harry and Sky’s story continues with more music, more romance, and a few more twists and turns.

STORY PAGE

Track 10 Word Count: 3.8k+

Read The Entertainer

I wasn’t prepared for the sight before me. Up until then, the nicest hotel I’d ever stayed in was the one in Santa Barbara. But that one didn’t even compare to this room.

The bed, while still a King size, looked enormous to me. The entire wall behind it was covered in flocked burgundy wallpaper, the rose-colored comforter making it look like a massive flower in the center of the room. On top of the bed were two white, plush robes and matching slippers sat at the foot of the bed. And just ahead of me, to the right of the bed, stood an iced bucket with a bottle of champagne.

As I stepped inside, I watched Harry walk to the far wall where he opened the coordinating gold flocked curtains to reveal the most extraordinary view of Los Angeles. Then he removed his suit jacket and laid it on a nearby chair. It was then that I noticed the glorious Christmas tree in the corner, all decorated in colors that coordinated with the room.

“Wow,” I breathed as I walked forward and dropped my clutch on the chair.

“You like it?” he grinned. “Oh, wait! Look here!”

He opened the door to the bathroom and waved for me. I gasped when I saw it.

“A jacuzzi?”

“Yeah. I reckon that’s a bit sexier than the bathtub,” Harry smirked.

I covered my mouth, astonished at the entire gesture. Harry took my waist and pulled me to him, his hands sensually crawling up my back. My entire body suddenly felt both hot and cold at the same time. Fever chills erupted down my arms, and I felt light-headed.

“I had fun tonight,” Harry murmured, his face so close, his breath touched my lips. “But I’m so glad to finally have you to myself.”

His mouth covered mine in a passionate kiss. It was the kind that dropped the floor from underneath my feet and sent my heart soaring. If any kiss ever revealed what he was feeling, it was that one. 

“How about some champagne?” he grinned.

I nodded.

I watched Harry walk around the bed and grab the bottle. Tearing off the foil, he somehow managed to pop the cork with such precision, I knew he had to have done it many times before. Then he took two glasses and filled them, holding one out to me.

“What are we toasting this time?” I asked, taking the glass from him.

Harry shrugged. “Tonight? Christmas? Us.”

“All of that sounds good.”

I lifted my glass and brought it to my lips, the bubbly drink filling my senses. Harry’s gaze was locked on me, and I suddenly felt hot again. Turning away, I walked to the window.

“It’s really beautiful from up here, isn’t it?” I asked.

“Sky…” I heard him say behind me.

“Hmm?”

His arms enfolded me before I even knew he’d walked up behind me. I shut my eyes as I felt his chin on my shoulder.

“Baby…” he murmured in my ear.

“Yes?” I whispered.

“Why do you keep doing this?”

“What am I doing?”

“It’s like…every time I try to take a step forward, you retreat. I don’t understand.”

“I do?”

I heard him sigh before he took the glass of champagne from me, setting in on the nightstand.

“What is this?” he asked. “You walk away from a toast to look out the window? At the party, you just walked off the dance floor after the song I requested. What’s going on?”

I stared at him, unable to speak.

“Look, I know I fucked up. I made a promise to you, and I broke it. And I’m so fucking sorry, Sky. But I was still here. I showed up. I requested that song for us to dance to, but you thought I was ‘making up for something’ like I was buttering you up so you wouldn’t be mad at me. But that’s not what that was at all, and honestly, it hurt me that you thought so.”

I felt like I’d just been punched in the gut.

“Harry…”

“And it’s not just tonight,” he continued, running a hand through his hair. “It’s like…every time I try to be open with you, to let you know how I feel, you back away or change the subject. Or you treat it like it’s a joke.”

“Harry, I had no idea!”

“Didn’t you? What was that ‘Mr. Romantic’ comment for?”

“I didn’t mean that as an insult,” I argued. “I thought it was sweet.”

“Sweet?”

“Yes. You were being sweet and romantic. It wasn’t a joke to me.”

Harry threw up his hands and sat on the bed.

“I just…don’t know how else to show you how I feel about you. But…it’s like I keep hitting a wall.”

Slowly, I walked towards him and stood before him.

“How…how do you feel about me?”

“Jesus, Sky, I thought by now you knew.”

I knelt before him and took his hands, rubbing the backs with my thumbs.

“Tell me,” I demanded.

“Tell you?” Harry scoffed. “I have told you loads of times.”

“No you haven’t.”

Harry chuckled in disbelief. “Singing ‘Endless Love’ to you while we danced wasn’t a giveaway? This room doesn’t convey any message? Jesus, I wrote a fucking song about you, Sky!”

“You did?”

Running a hand down his face, Harry let out an exasperated groan.

“Who the fuck else do you think ‘Drunk on Her’ is about?”

“It’s…about me?” I asked, remembering my conversation with Halo.

“I get lost in her misty blue eyes Just one more way to make me realize She’s all I want, I can’t get enough I’m drunk on her.”

As Harry sang the lyrics to me, I suddenly felt foolish. He had been telling me how he felt all along.

“I can feel myself starting to fall No way I could stop it at all Not sure I’d want to anyway.”

Though it was a fast-tempo rock song, Harry sang the bridge to me like a ballad as he rose from the bed and pulled me up with him.

He held me so close, our lips almost touched while he ran his fingers across my jaw. I licked my lips and bit my bottom one, wanting him so badly to kiss me I could taste it.

“Sky…” he said, tracing my top lip with his thumb. Then he nudged my bottom lip, popping it out from between my teeth.

“Baby…” he murmured as his thumb grazed my bottom lip. “I love you.”

The rush of excitement and relief flooded through my bones, and I nearly cried. A small sound escaped my throat as I looked him in the eyes.

“I love you, too.”

His mouth covered mine instantly, the hunger imminent on his tongue. I kissed him back with fervor as my fingers tangled in his hair.

“I’m so sorry,” he moaned against my lips.

“Don’t apologize,” I breathed.

“It’s just…,” he muttered. “I’m not…very good at saying it. Even though I wanted to say it so many times. I thought I was doing better at showing it.”

I looked at him, his pouty lips wet from my kiss, his eyes telling me how he felt.

“You did show it,” I admitted. “But sometimes…it helps to hear it.”

“Yeah…” he nodded. “Yeah, it does.”

“I love you, Harry.”

The dimples dipping in his cheeks, he beamed at me before kissing me again.

“I love you so much,” he declared in his sexy, breathy voice as he leaned his forehead against mine.

I desperately fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, eager to remove him of all clothing. Assisting me, he unfastened his cuffs and shrugged out of the shirt, tossing it on the floor. As he kicked off his shoes, I stepped out of mine, one stubborn buckle wanting to give me trouble. When Harry’s hands found my waist again, he quickly slid them down my hips and lifted my dress. Then grabbing my thighs, he hoisted me up, my legs swiftly wrapping around him. We laughed when he lost his balance and fell backwards onto the bed.

“Was trying to be sexy,” he smirked. “Reckon I’m outta shape.”

“No you’re not,” I said. “You’re perfect.”

Harry let out a sigh as I kissed his neck. His hands still on my thighs, he slid them up and down my bare skin, his fingers teasing my panty line.

“Fuck, you really do drive me crazy, babe.”

“What do you think you’re doing to me?” I asked.

A low growl rose from his chest as I pressed myself against him. Then he sat up, his eyes heavy with lust, and lifted up my dress. I raised my arms so he could pull it over my head, then he dropped the slinky fabric onto the floor as his eyes caressed my body.

“You’re the one who’s perfect,” he breathed.

His hands slid up my hips to my chest. I closed my eyes as he touched me, his thumbs delicately grazing my nipples. When I felt his mouth on me, I moaned, threading my fingers through his curls.

I threw my head back as he continued to devour my breasts, my insides quivering with desire. Suddenly, Harry surprised me by shifting on the bed.

“I wanna taste you,” he growled, laying me down on the pillow.

I watched in awe as he pushed the robes off the bed and settled himself between my legs. Then he looped his fingers through the sides of my panties and pulled them down, just enough to reveal what he wanted.

His warm breath on me was the first thing to ignite the fire, but when he swiped his tongue, I nearly lost it. My toes curled, and I wasn’t sure how long he planned to tease me like this, but he seemed to be enjoying it.

“Mmm,” I finally heard from him after a few more laps of his tongue.

Panting, I watched him remove my underwear the rest of the way. When he seemed satisfied, he grinned up at me before resuming his tongue exploration.

This time I lifted my legs, happy to be rid of my panties. I closed my eyes, reveling in the sensation. Before I knew it, my legs were trembling and I felt a tightness in my core.

“Oh my God!” I cried out. “Harry!”

I felt him hum against me, triggering the sensation to its peak. I called out his name again as he continued to pleasure me through the orgasm until I finally went still.

Breathing hard, I pushed the hair back from my face. Harry crawled up my body with a cheeky grin.

“Was that nice, my love?” he asked, wiping his chin.

“Nice…doesn’t describe it,” I exhaled. Then I slapped my arm over my eyes. “Holy shit.”

Harry chuckled that sexy low way that always turned me on. Then I felt him kiss my shoulder. I shivered at the contact, my body erupting in goosebumps.

“Fancy a dip in the jacuzzi?” Harry asked.

“Now?” I lowered my arm and looked at him.

“Why not?” he smirked. When I continued to stare at him, he rose from the bed, grabbing our champagne glasses. “We can take these with us, since we haven’t enjoyed them yet.”

I couldn’t resist. Everything he did was endearing. With a smile, I followed him into the bathroom. Just one press of a button brought the jacuzzi to life. Harry removed his pants while I cautiously stepped into the hot water, the sensation reviving the goosebumps on my skin.

“It’s warmer than my pool, I take it,” Harry quipped when I lowered my body into the water, letting it reach my neck.

“Tease me all you want,” I scoffed, my eyes shut. “This is heaven.”

“Hmm, we’ll see about that,” I heard him say before he stepped in beside me. But I grinned when I heard him sigh.

“Told you,” I said, opening my eyes.

“You were right,” he nodded. “Except it’s missing something.”

“What?”

He pulled me to him, his hands pushing the wet ends of my hair from my shoulders.

“This,” he said before kissing me softly.

“Mmm, agreed,” I smiled when our lips separated.

“How about a proper toast now?” asked Harry, reaching for our glasses. Handing me one, he looked me in the eyes. “To you and me. For finally saying what we feel.”

“I’ll drink to that,” I declared, raising my glass.

“I love you, Sky.”

“I love you, too, Harry,” I beamed.

He squeezed my free hand under the water while we took a long sip of our champagne. I was no expert, but I could tell it was the good stuff. The bubbles went to my head faster than the ones in the jacuzzi. Finding one of the jets, I turned and pressed my back against it, letting the pressure relieve some tension. Taking another sip of champagne, I shut my eyes again.

“Why’d you move away from me, babe?”

“It feels good on my back,” I grinned, my eyes still closed.

I heard the water slosh as Harry moved. I thought he was coming to sit beside me, but when I felt my legs move, I opened my eyes. He sat facing me, my legs crossed over his.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Now we both have one,” he replied, moving his torso. Then sitting back, he sighed. “Does feel good.”

“Told you,” I said again, raising my glass. “Heaven.”

“Look at you, enjoying the finer things,” Harry chuckled.

“Hey, I never said I didn’t like to be pampered,” I remarked. “I just wouldn’t let myself get used to it, you know?”

“I do know,” Harry nodded. “You’ve always been down to earth.”

“Thanks for noticing.”

“It’s one of the first things that appealed to me. Besides the music, of course.”

“Would you have still liked me if I wasn’t into music?” I inquired, intrigued.

“Hmm,” Harry tilted his head. “Interesting question. I reckon I would have. At least I would have thought you were cute and funny. And still down to earth.”

“Oh okay,” I acknowledge before taking the last gulp of my champagne.

“I can’t imagine I would have fallen in love with you, though,” Harry added.

“No?” Slowly lowering my glass, I looked at him.

“Probably not. I mean…there are certainly other things I like about you. But I’m not sure I would have even spent so much time around you if you weren’t a music fan. Hell, you probably wouldn’t have even come to see my band.”

“Good point,” I commented.

Harry shrugged. “And if you had, you would have just been a tag-along with Halo, and I would have thought of you as just another girl.”

“That’s kind of sad,” I pouted.

“Well, good thing that’s not what happened, then,” Harry jabbed with a smirk.

Setting his glass down on the bathroom floor, he began to run his hands up and down my legs.

“Your love for music has always been a turn-on for me,” he conveyed.

“It has?”

“Of course. Sometimes at those early shows I’d feel myself getting a boner just knowing you were in the audience.”

“Get out!” I squealed, splashing water on him.

Harry giggled. “I’m not exaggerating. I’m surprised you never noticed.”

“Well…” I stammered, feeling myself blushing, “if I had, I doubt I would have thought it was because of me.”

“You still don’t know the effect you had on me, do you?”

Harry continued to caress my legs as his green eyes stared at me. I quickly set my empty glass on the cold floor and cleared my throat.

“So…Harry…”

“Yeah, babe?”

“How were you able to request that song? At the party tonight?”

“What do you mean?”

I caught the way his lips threatened to grow into a smile, like revealing a devilish secret.

“It just magically started playing after you showed up and kissed me. You wouldn’t have had time to ask the deejay to play it.”

His mouth breaking into a grin, his dimples on full display, Harry looked down, then back at me.

“I had a hotel employee go ask him before I went in,” he confessed.

“You did?” I gasped.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “The timing wasn’t planned though. I had no idea when he’d play it. It just…worked out that way.”

Unable to come up with the right words to say, I just stared at him.

“I picked that song,” Harry continued as he traced circles on my knees, “because I wanted you to know it’s how I feel. I mean, yeah, I was trying to be romantic, but…ever since that first night you came over to my place…ah, what the fuck am I trying to say?”

I scooted closer to him then, my legs nearly wrapped around him. I reached out to him, running my hands from his shoulders and down his arms. Then I took his hands in mine.

“I knew I loved you then,” he confessed, his eyes sincere. “Like, I felt it. But I was afraid it was too soon. Then that night when I got on stage with Stargazer, and I saw you in the audience, sat at our little table…God, I wanted to tell you that night so bad.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. I was afraid you’d think it was the adrenaline talking and not me. I was so turned on that night.”

“Yeah, you were,” I grinned.

“I can’t help it, babe,” he admitted, pulling me even closer. “When you’re around I light up inside.”

“That’s how I feel about you,” I said, playing with a curl on his shoulder that was still dry.

“Then last weekend…” Harry’s words trailed off before he laughed and slapped a hand over his forehead. “Oh shit, no wonder.”

“What?”

“I was trying to figure out why you didn’t say much about the new song. I reckoned you were just embarrassed or uncomfortable.”

“Harry, I swear! I didn’t know! I hadn’t been paying too much attention to the lyrics. I was more excited about watching you.”

Harry chuckled. “That explains it then. Kinda bruised my ego a bit, but it’s alright now.”

“I’m sorry. Wait…so…did you actually tell me…that night…after the song…”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, I did. You hadn’t mentioned that either, so I sorta hoped maybe you hadn’t seen me.”

“I did. I just…” I traced a tattoo on his arm. “I thought it couldn’t have been just for me. Because you hadn’t told me yet, and I…oh, damn.”

“We’re a couple of idiots, huh?”

I laughed as I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Not anymore.”

I kissed him then, deeply. He moaned against my mouth as my tongue met his. I ran my fingers down his chest, feeling his core muscles tighten as I reached his stomach.

With a gasp, he released my mouth and ran his tongue down my neck. His fingers tangled in my hair and my nipples came to life when they grazed his chest. I felt his erection grow beneath me as I pressed against him, earning more moans.

“Baby…” he breathed, his eyelids heavy and his pouty lips open.

I kissed him softly then, unable to resist his wet lips.

“Let’s get out now, baby,” I whispered. “I’m feeling rather pruney.”

Harry’s mouth grew into a sexy grin just before his eyes opened.

“Are we continuing this on the bed?” he asked.

“I certainly hope so,” I quipped, rising from the hot water.

Harry slid his hand up my leg before pushing himself up. Then he stepped out of the tub and reached his hand out to me to help me out. Grabbing a towel, he wrapped it around me, then carried me to the bed like he had that night after our dip in his pool.

His lips covered mine with a kind of passion that spoke volumes. I felt his unspoken words down to my toes. When our lips separated, his eyes continued the conversation as he unwrapped me like a present. I opened my legs to him, inviting him with my own silent words. As his eyes burned like dark emeralds, I felt his warm, moist body press against mine.

“I love you,” he said, just before he entered me.

I couldn’t stop looking at him. He was the most beautiful, most wonderful man I’d ever known. And now he was all mine. He loved me, and I loved him.

We’d made love many times before. But this time, it was different. This time I didn’t have to wonder if he’d ever feel the way I did. This time I wasn’t hoping he would say those words. This time…I knew he wouldn’t leave.

As I laid in bliss afterwards, my head on Harry’s chest, I listened to his heart beating in time with mine. It made me smile, a perfect testimony of our love. I felt Harry’s touch on my back, his fingers gently caressing me up and down, easing their way to the curve of my hip.

“I love you so much, Harry,” I said aloud.

His hand stopped its caress while he lifted my chin to look at him. His eyes sparkled with the glow of the Christmas tree lights.

“I love you, too.”

“Thank you for everything tonight,” I told him. “You really are incredibly romantic and…I’m so lucky.”

“I’m the lucky one, Sky,” Harry protested. “To have found you again.”

“Harry…”

Turning onto his side, he pulled me into his arms. He tucked my hair behind my ear, a gentle gesture that always made me feel special.

“I’m so happy, baby,” he added. “So happy that we met again. That you weren’t taken, or that you didn’t scream and tell me to piss off.”

I chuckled as I lifted my hand to his face, my pointer finger running across his stubbled chin.

“I’d have never done that,” I said.

“Well, I didn’t know,” Harry shrugged. “You could have been married for all I knew. Shacked up with some rich bloke. I wouldn’t have blamed you.”

I thought of Alan for a second, quickly dismissing the thought with a groan. I felt Harry’s chest rise and fall as he took a deep breath and let it out.

“I’m so happy you’re in my life again.”

I smiled. “Me too.”

“You’re actually the biggest part of my life now.”

“I am?”

“Of course. I already told you I think about you all the time. You’re everything to me, baby.”

If he had more to say, I didn’t let him finish because I covered his mouth with another deep kiss. I’d never felt this way before. Yes, I had been in love with him long ago, but to know he loved me back was a completely different feeling. It was…intoxicating.

“Harry…” I cried against his lips.

“Yeah, babe?”

“I believe I’m drunk on you, too.”

He chuckled low as he rolled us over

“I’m so glad,” he smirked, his hands traveling down my sides before giving me a drunk kiss once again.

“Need your lovin' here beside me (Shine the light) Need it close enough to guide me (All my life) I've been hopin' you would find me You're the biggest part of me…”

Songs mentioned:

Ambrosia - The Biggest Part of Me

Taglist: @fkinavocado, @daphnesutton, @freedomfireflies

MASTERLIST | KO-FI | FEEDBACK

[morally-grey-girlbosses]

Propaganda under the cut.

Betty Grof:

okay so picture this. you're a graduate student living with your fiance and he finds a magic crown that drives him crazy while he has it on. you run away frightened during this initial incident, and he never sees you again. one thousand years later he regains his self after being consumed by the crown and makes a time portal to apologise. you leave him in the past for him in the future and jump through the portal. you beatup an antimagic monster and dissapear. you become the apprentice to a powerful but mad wizard and steal his powers in a magical ritual, rendering him normal and you with the key components of magic - madness and sadness. you girlboss around for a while, you steal your boo's magic crown to try reprogram it and create an ai clone of yourself inside of it, but your plans get foiled but his vampire sort of daughter and her science nerd girlfriend. the ai of you and the him inside the crown hang out though. you try to go out on a date with him so he remembers. it doesnt work. after so many failed plans you eventually decide to try and just approach him as him. you've changed, so has he. maybe betty and simon are gone but magic woman and the ice king can have a future. his roommate freezes you and uses you as a magic battery to cast a horrible spell that transforms the world into an elemental landscape, where individuals are overwhelmed by their elements. he and some other guys save you and unfreeze you. you come up with a plan to reverse the elemental spell, and get the other guys to do your bidding. you betray them and cast a time spell to stop him from ever putting on the crown. you get foiled and sent to mars. the guy whose powers you stole is now the king. as penance you have to fill a pit with sand grain by grain. one of those guys and his brother are trying to save the other guy and you go through a freaky temple with them, where you confront how much you've given up for your lost fiance. you learn the wrong lesson. you summon the elder embodiment of chaos in an attempt to harness its power. it doesnt work. the world is going to be destroyed. you and he and one of those other guys are being digested in golb's belly, reverted to your original forms. you reunite with him - not magic woman and the ice king, betty and simon. you make out a bunch. harmony through song punches a hole in the chaos god's belly and you can escape. you stay. his crown has reverted to its base wishing state. you push him through and make your deepest wish. you wish for the power to keep him safe. you become one with the chaos god, merging with his very being. you are betty. you are golb. you have the power to keep simon safe, and you have lost yourself for it again. but it is done. the end of the world is over. he will go to the ends of the multiverse to search for you. you are gone. yeah i just think shes kind of a girlboss and definitely morally grey and itd be cool if she was here

Evelyn Wang:

Homophobic mother learns to accept her gay daughter by acquiring multiverse powers. Goes a bit over board with the nihilism at one point and ruins everyone's (everywhere all at once) lives but fixes it in the end. Makes her husband (the sweetest man in the world) sad multiple times in the movie because she feels her life would have been better without him but eventually realizes she hit the jackpot. A girlboss because of how much of a girlfailure she is ("Most people only have a few significant alternate life paths so close to them. But you, here, you're capable of anything because you're so bad at everything. You have so many goals you never finished, dreams you never followed. You're kiving your worst you.”)

[not-poignant]

Birthday Spotlight - Ash Glashtyn

[27th February - Pisces]

Ash Glashtyn, the fun-loving, cheerful, highly-sadistic and hypersexual Unseelie waterhorse from the canon Fae Tales series, adopted brother of Augus Each Uisge, and eater of humans, has been a beloved and then polarising character among readers. He's been a star in a couple of stories, but mostly he exists as a comedic, sexual, dangerous foil to his composed, sinister brother.

Ash Glashtyn is a monster who is ashamed of being a monster, but when he's a human, he normally has way less internalised issues with himself, and just wants to make the most out of life! He lives big, loves travel, loves everyone, but doesn't want any romantic relationships out of life. This boy will fuck everyone, and finds everyone stunning and beautiful and worthy of his time, but he's solidly aromantic and isn't planning on sexually cohabiting with anyone (with the exception of Strange Sights and The Wildness Within!)

An unlikely mediator, annoyingly charming, human loving, relentlessly curious, intensely protective, and appreciator of the sensual, Ash is one of the most 'human' of the Fae characters, and I've been happy to have him by my side for over ten years.

I’m a mess . . . I don’t even know. I’m not made for all this high political bullshit. I’m not made for any of it, Augus. I’m just some dude, you know? Just some guy. I’ve been waiting for things to go back to normal ever since you went missing.

The Court of Five Thrones

Shadows and Light - (fanfiction) First mentioned in From the Darkness We Rise, and his first official appearance in Into Shadows We Fall, Ash was a beloved character early on despite being on the enemy side and loving the worst villain in the story. An affable and obvious victim who just wanted the best for his brother, Ash struggled to come to terms with the fact that his brother needed to be defeated, and was vital in securing the win/victory for the good guys, even as it meant ruining himself in the process.

The Wildness Within - (AU) The truly sane part of an OT3 featuring Augus, Gwyn and Ash, Ash managed to keep his brother grounded, get Gwyn out of shackles, stop Gwyn from running away in the human realm, and keep Augus from losing his mind when the Raven Prince kept throwing obstacles into their path. Ash was the compass point that kept them on the path to their true north in this story, and we'd not have the relationship we have between them, or the happy ending, without him!

From the Darkness We Rise - (fanfiction) Mentioned only.

Game Theory - (canon) Ash's first canon appearance is also an intense one. The first time we meet him he is drugged out of his mind, the second time he loathes Gwyn, and is drunk, and the third time he punches Gwyn hard enough in the face to break his cheekbone.

The Court of Five Thrones - (canon) Ash works on a book called 'how to lose friends and my brother by trying to be so overprotective while not listening to anyone.'

The Ice Plague I - (canon) Ash, having reconciled with Gwyn, joins the ensemble cast as Julvia's unlikely protector, and a watchful, compassionate eye on the group.

The Ice Plague II - (canon) Ash, starving into insanity like his brother, Augus, doesn't have a good time.

The Ice Plague III - (canon) We learn Ash's heartsong as he loses it, and meet the Glashtyn for the first time. Not a fun guy, it turns out! Or super fun actually, if you like songs about rape and torture. Which the Glashtyn does!

The Wildness Within - (AU) An OT3 of Ash/Augus/Gwyn, Ash here is his waterhorse self, and this story imagines a world where Augus saves Gwyn from his family, and he and his brother learn how to deal with a semi nonverbal torture victim, and become an unlikely polyamorous triad.

Quid Pro Quo - (AU) Gwyn/Ash. A mostly PWP series of Gwyn finding Ash in the human world, and being coerced-persuaded into sex that has a lot of overstimulation. A lot of hurt/comfort and aftercare moments.

Strange Sights - (AU) Ash/Augus. The 'Ash rapes Augus and nearly ruins their entire relationship' one that features dark!Ash and vulnerable!Augus. This one is probably one of the darker longfics I've written, and it's the only story I've thought about deleting. Eventually I decided not to, and I still think it has some of the most beautiful writing in it. A lot of Ash perspective, for people who enjoy that!

The Shaking Shape of You - (AU) Augus/Ash oneshot, in the world of The Wildness Within. This one's porn, folks.

Tumblr Prompts - Fae Tales - (AU and canon) Ash is in a couple of these! In one, he's an unlikely companion while they all go grocery shopping in the human realm, in another, Augus reads to Ash.

Unwound - (canon) Part of the ensemble cast here, his best chapter is the one where he gets Gwyn high on marijuana and Gwyn gets the munchies.

The Ash and Gwyn Interludes - (canon) Chapters where Gwyn and Ash work to reconcile between the events of The Court of Five Thrones and The Ice Plague. Features rare Ash canon POV chapters.

Ten Minutes and Ten Minutes More - (AU) A Mosk/Eran PWP oneshot where Ash gives Eran 'advice' on how to basically sexually assault Mosk. He has black hair in this one, and looks as sinister and dangerous as his brother.

The Augus and Ash Interludes - (AU) Written in 2013, these started off as canon and some quickly became not canon. But features very sweet or silly or angsty moments between Augus and Ash.

Tumblr Prompts - Fae Tales AUs - (AU) I don't actually remember these O.O Very 'I have no memory of this place' Gandalf quote.

When the Tables Turn - (AU) Augus/Ash, Ash is a detective who decides he wants to rail drug trafficker and crimelord Augus Each Uisge. I never finished this, but it was fun

The Best of Broken Resolutions - (AU) The Architect AU (Gwyn/Augus), in which Ash is a member of a band, and gets way too drunk and manages to make his presence known even in this story.

Salt Water - (AU) Ash/Augus. An 11k Id Fic with magical healing cock. Augus is raped by Stertes (yes, that one), and Ash fucks him better e.e

The Day the Ferris Wheel Came Down - (AU) Before Spoils of the Spoiled even existed, I played with the idea of a high school AU here!

Underline the Silver - (AU) An upcoming Augus/Corbyn Prince omegaverse story, where Ash will at the very least be mentioned.

A fun-loving, booze-loving, human-loving, upbeat-appearing quick-thinker, who always looks on the bright side, is ready to back a friend.

Pansexual, aromantic, and loves everyone. Enjoys sex and making connections, but also is happy to move on and make more going forward.

Loves his brother so much. SO much. Too much? He'd say there's no such thing!

Memes

If cheerful emo manifested into a human person

Redheads have all the fun

What? The cheerful guy sometimes has some deep-seated issues that he's not really talking to anyone about? O.O

Most memorable in the canon for his internal conflict around eating humans but needing to eat them. He loves humans so much that he spends most of his time living with them, something Augus and most Unseelie fae view unfavourably.

An unlikely friend of the Nain Rouge!

If he's going to be attracted to another core Fae Tales character, it's going to be his brother first, and Gwyn second, but only in the AUs.

Getting himself half-killed by The Raven Prince

Betraying his brother to save his brother's life, and that creating bitterness between them.

Using pop culture references around Fae who are all talking like Victorians.

This guy can fit so much alcohol in him!

Betraying Gwyn, but not to save Gwyn's life. The mutiny in The Court of Five Thrones goes down as the biggest turning point for his character in the entire canon.

Ash always has auburn hair except in a single oneshot AU, Ten Minutes and Ten Minutes More.

Always cheerful, and that cheerfulness always hides a darker and more sexual side.

Fucks - does he ever fuck

Kinks are always some variety of overstimulation and overwhelming his partners with pleasure.

Curious about people

Protective over those he perceives as vulnerable, including the humans he eats in the canon!

Ash was initially conceived as a foil to the idea that 'all Unseelie fae are evil' in the same way that Crielle was conceived as a foil to the idea that 'all Seelie fae are pure and good.'

Ash Glashtyn's personality is based on actual folktales connected to the Glashtyn. He has been described as capable of great good and great harm, but he's also been described as a waterhorse capable of extreme evil and sadism. He's actually considered more sadistic than the Each Uisge, which I kept as a trait. In fact there is one story where the Glashtyn in human form stabbed long pins and needles into unsuspecting children and women through their buttocks, breasts and other fleshy parts.

The reason Ash looks the way he does was part of a complex storyline that never came together, which frustrates me, but otherwise Ash and Augus would look very similar so I needed something to differentiate them more easily! Plus I really loved the idea of a character who doesn't look immediately kind of 'dark and forbidding.'

Ash has been one of the most polarising characters. During the Shadows and Light era, most people loved him intensely. During the Game Theory era, people became split. People who never read SAL generally hated him until the very end of The Court of Five Thrones.

Ash's heartsong was a secret that only Augus knew for almost a decade. Even I didn't know it for a little while. I always told myself and others that the only time we'd all learn what it was, was when he lost it. When I knew what it was, I told everyone it began with an A. Only one person out of about 100 guesses got it right. :D

I mean, we’re not dead or being actively tortured so it’s like…prospects aren’t all bad.

The Ice Plague II

[laurelsofhighever]

Mercies

Characters: Cullen x F!Trevelyan Rating: T Warnings: none

If she had made the road even half an hour earlier, she would have been too far down the mountain to turn back, or to do anything more than maybe hear the screams on the horizon. Perhaps she would have ridden straight into the arms of the Elder One, and Haven would not have gone up in flames. In Your Heart Shall Burn as seen through the eyes of Maighread Trevelyan and Commander Cullen

A faint aurora still wound across the sky above the mountain, but the lurid green slash of the Breach itself no longer loomed like a tyrant over the valley. In its place, Haven glowed in the light of half a dozen victory fires, the carousing people spilled out from the chantry and the tavern as sparks and song drifted into the clear sky, giving thanks for their lives and for the Herald that had delivered them from uncertainty. That she wasn’t among them, enjoying the free flow of ale and wine, was not remarked upon. The days after the mages had arrived had been fraught enough that most now fell into their cups with abandon, letting their worlds shrink to the next round and the next dance and the next bawdy joke from their mates; the Herald filled too much space for that, a larger-than-life presence much like the Prophet Herself, to be invoked but never looked upon, spoken of in tones of reverence for her deeds but always at the next fire over where her conversation could not carry.

Her horse was not in the stable. Cullen had suspected when she retreated straight to her cabin on their return from the temple, her protests of exhaustion plausible enough but with something furtive in her refusal to join the festivities that had made his heart clench with dread. If he hadn’t been worrying over her condition, watching more closely than was perhaps proper, then he would have missed it.

Now, he slid like a knife through the masses of Haven’s denizens, his air of unapproachability honed by years at the Gallows and made even sharper still by the headache driving a knot between his brows. He did his best to curb his glower when his soldiers raised their mugs to him, but dared not linger of invite conversation. For the time being, there was no need to cause panic, but as the fires burned on and he gradually ran out of places to search, only part of his mind was occupied with the logistical nightmare that would be caused by the Herald deserting them at their moment of triumph.

A mage alone in the world was a target, and for her especially – he knew well how some would pay to have her head, what spans they would reach to take her off the gameboard. From what Leliana had hinted, several assassination plots had already been foiled by her agents, though she hadn’t mentioned particulars and had been adamant – above his objections – about keeping the Herald in the dark for the sake of the task at hand. Perhaps if she had been made aware…

The image of Crows with darkened steel blades thudded in his chest, and he hurried on.

At last, on the very edge of the buildings leading to the main gate, he found fresh hoofprints in the churned mud, a trail that led down towards the shore of the lake and the dim, retreating shadow of a cloaked figure leading a laden horse. The pair disappeared behind a spur of rock as he squinted into the dark to make sure, and he recognised the path as the one taken by hunters on their way to forage in the lower valley. It linked back to the road half a league on, straight down the mountain. He broke into a run. The thin, frigid air sawed in his lungs and made his head throb as the last of the village fires dimmed behind him, his armour clanking, his boots a heavy tamp through the crust of ice that had formed over the powdery snow.

He knew the moment she heard him, because she turned and unslung her staff one-handed from the rest on her back. A spell fizzled to life at its tip, a brief flare of golden energy that illuminated the flat lines of her features, her shoulders squared up for a fight, before recognition lighted into shock and it died without a sound, leaving them both once more to the dim, undulating glow of the veilscar.

Read the rest on AO3!

[paragonrobits]

today's hot take: i don't read Fionna and Simon's relationship as parental at ALL, because while their initial foreshadowing is heavily romantic in nature (Ice Prince being depicted as a Tuxedo Mask-esque handsome icon being Fionna's essential establishing character moment for Simon before she is initially annoyed by his sour attitude and then comes to know him better and then care about him), there's a few other points for them explicitly not having a father/daughter dynamic at all, but the biggest one is that they are fundamentally peers.

This might not be readily apparent because of their ages, but at the ages they're at and that inform their world view and relationships to others like them, they're pretty much in the same bracket. Fionna is in her 30s, while Simon was originally 47 when he got the crown, and nearly in his 60s at this point; while you may assume that her being almost literally half his age works against the interpretation of them having similar experiences, they ARE at the age where age differences honestly don't really mean that much and gradually become irrelevant in terms of lived experiences.

The bigger thing, though, is that their status as complementary story foils are the most relevant bit for their characters.

Fionna and Simon are foils to each other, with a nearly identical start to their character arcs: they BOTH long for a different sort of world than the one they got, but from opposite directions. Fionna lives in a mundane 9-to-5 world and wants a magical world of adventure. Simon is in that world (after living through the gradual process to make a mundane world into a magical one) but he wants the more mundane experience he remembers once, and he just can't feel that he belongs in Ooo, just as Fionna can't help but feel all wrong for her mundane world. While Simon doesn't have any interest in making Ooo boring and normal, he DOES latch on fast towards the idea of becoming Ice King again even as he clearly hates it, because he desperately fixates on the idea of being needed by others, even (no, ESPECIALLY) if it hurts him in the process.

They both want to be heroes, in their way, and resent being part of worlds that they feel they don't belong in anymore, and clearly ignore multiple opportunities to find magic or meaning in the world right around them, and SPECIFICALLY ignoring them in pretty much the same ways, to the point that the episodes Fionna Campbelll and Simon Petrikov parallel each other, not just in titles but in general progression; they go through a lot of similar circumstances, to the point of encountering the same sort of circumstances that they ignore or swat away. It's not the magic or normal they WANT... or perhaps wanting isn't even the right word. Their experiences or vague memories of the world they used to know keeps demanding to have something more like that; they ignore friends and family, or explicitly go out of their way to not tell them anything; Simon shuts down his feelings and won't tell Finn or Marceline anything (almost certainly because he feels like he would be bothering them) and while Fionna goes to her friends for help, she doesn't really confide in them.

This extends even to their songs, Not Myself and Part of The Madness; they both have very similar overtones of depression, feeling out of place, and fundamental loneliness. Its different in the particulars; Fionna is weighed down by the mundanity and changelessness of her world, feeling alone even with her friends. Simon glumly wants to help people but he CAN'T do anything without magic; no one needs anything from him, and people (he thinks) aren't happy to see him.

Fionna longs for an inexpressible time of magic and without it, she feels lost and empty. Simon wants to be needed and feels empty inside BECAUSE he thinks he's supposed to be better now, but all it does is make him feel upset and bad about being upset. Fionna's primary issue is that she's... lost, in a similar way. She remembers her world being magical but not clearly, much as the vague impressions Simon recalls his experience as Ice King; we don't even know WHAT her life has been like, and its entirely possible that everyone's life is a blurry hazy mess in the mundane world she's gotten, but she and Cake are the only ones with the awareness to work it out and be unhappy. Both Simon and Fionna can't help but remember how things used to be, or that they COULD be another way, and be endlessly lost in their own gloom and dissatisfaction.

Past the point where they actually meet and are starting to like each other's company (to the point that they remain in contact across the gulf of worlds post-minseries), these factors and their generall dynamic (Simon as a wet cat in a perpetual state of OH SHIT while Fionna tries her best to be a bruiser but unfortunately finds that in her life she doesn't have the skills or power to pull it off, leading to them BOTH feeling useless) make them both feel like peers; people with similar problems in the same boat. A lot of Fionna's character development comes from her slowly realizing what she's actually asking from Simon and her growing fear of making her world as dangerous or frightening as some of the places she's seen, while Simon has to come to terms with the fact that he really DOESN'T want to be Ice King again and that he needs to come to terms with it.

As a result of all that, they have a strong vibe of feeling like peers, not like a student and teacher or a similar dynamic.

(Also Fionna DID smooch Winter King with zero hesitation and while that didn't end well for anyone involved except PB, no one found this unusual in-universe. Except possibly Simon and HIS primary issue feels more like he thought of Winter King as a better version of himself in general and he got resentful about that.)

[first-of-her-nxme]

interpretation of a song .

have fun when you read it !!!!!

song : it´s always summer under the sea

lyrics :

It's always summer, under the seaI know, I know, oh, oh, oh

The birds have scales, and the fish take wingI know, I know, oh, oh, oh

The rain is dry, and the snow falls upI know, I know, oh, oh, oh

The stones crack open, the water burns

The shadows come to dance, my love

The shadows come to play

The shadows come to dance, my love

The shadows come to stay

so , this is the most beautiful song , I read it in the book , there´s a sad sweetness in it ............

back to the point , this song was told by patchface shireen´s friend.

and we know that : patchface is foil of jaqen and shireen is foil of arya , and somehow patchface is telling a future events .

when you read the song , you understand that it is talking about the return of the dragons , also about the sea .

let me explain : we said before that arya and jaqen will sail and they journey will be across the sea so patchface is telling us some of what will happen :

It's always summer, under the sea : summer means happiness , peace , warm and love .

The birds have scales, and the fish take wing : the birds here means dragons , fish : a boat .

The rain is dry, and the snow falls up : I think it´s desription of sadness,bitterness, death maybe .

The stones crack open, the water burns : dragonnnssss hatching

The shadows come to dance, my love: dance of dragons : war between two targaryens : danny and jaegon.

The shadows come to play: when we speak we say let´s play a song : here the dragons will play the song of ice and fire .

The shadows come to stay : hereeeeee there´s dragon will stay alive , there´s targaryen will stay .

you remenber when arya left westeros with a targaryen dagger ???

accoding to hotd the prophecy is written on that dagger so it mean that the dagger must belong to the prince who was promised when the right time comes .

hear me out : I interepted the song with arya and aegon but also it can be with aegon and danny and their future affair ....

I believe that grrm songs is always related to arya : jenny of oldestone ; the dornishman wife goddd that song is full of hints , my featherbed ..........

about songs : do you know :

arya means song , this is is not a coincidence hhhhhhh

millie brady you will be my favourite older arya :

I wish there´´s another version of got hhhhhhhhh.

to another post

Hello darling!

Are you sure this is the book version of the song? Because it reminds me the song written by GRRM for the show. Or am I wrong?

Anyway, thank you for another raven :) I interpret Patchface's riddles a bit differently. I will try to explain it as best as I can.

"It's always summer, under the sea : summer means happiness , peace , warm and love ."

I agree that summer means good things. Though I also think that summer here means the end of the magical winter. It is always summer so it means the winter is gone for good, there is no danger that this particular magic will ever bother people again.

"The birds have scales, and the fish take wing : the birds here means dragons , fish : a boat ."

Yes, birds mean dragons but also Targaryens. I mentioned it in another answer: GRRM compares Jaqen to a raven from the Citadel meaning that he is unique, clever and strong. And Patchface here refers to that special bird: he has scales which means he is a dragon, a Targaryen.

The fish on the other hand is a reference to Arya. Arya is said to be swimming like a fish. Shireen who is her foil is jokingly compared to a fish when she is teaching Davos. So, fish is a child, a young girl, Arya. I suppose Arya will fly on a dragon with Jaqen. It can also mean she will warg a bird like Bran.

Now , this one is very important:

"The rain is dry, and the snow falls up : I think it´s desription of sadness,bitterness, death maybe ."

In the books it goes like this: "Under the sea, it snows up,” said the fool, “and the rain is dry as bone.

It snows up is the opposite of snowing down, so it's the opposite of winter. Here, the snow uncovers the earth, so the winter is retreating. And why is this happening? The answer is in the second part: the rain is dry as a bone. The rain here means the Rain God who is mentioned in the prologue to A Clash of Kings. The Rain God is GRRM's version of the Storm King from Memory, Sorrow and Thorn. In the show he appeared as the ice zombie, the Night King. It was D&D's creation and they made him by merging a couple of characters and legends from the books and by giving him the stereotypical fantasy villain/monster appearance. Of course, in the books he is something else entirely. He owes a lot to the aforementioned Storm King aka elvish Prince Ineluki. He is not a cartoonish monster, he is a complex character who brings the winter to avenge his people. In ASOIAF some of his traits were given to Rhaegar and some other to Jaqen. So, the Rain God here is Jaqen. He is dry as bone because he is dead. When you are dead only bones remain of you after a while. So this is the saddest part: when Jaqen dies, winter disappears for good. I think it will be a sort of self-sacrifice because GRRM hints at it in other parts of the books.

It's so silly that D&D commissioned GRRM to write this song for the show but then wrote off certain plots that are mentioned in the song. I guess it's typical for HBO writers.

The stones crack open, the water burns : dragonnnssss hatching

Here I agree with you, it's about dragons. The second part can also be about wildfire which burns even in the water.

Now, this part:

"The shadows come to dance, my love: dance of dragons : war between two targaryens : danny and jaegon.

The shadows come to play: when we speak we say let´s play a song : here the dragons will play the song of ice and fire .

The shadows come to stay : hereeeeee there´s dragon will stay alive , there´s targaryen will stay ."

I agree that this is a reference to the dance of dragons and the battle of ice and fire. It also refers to blood magic of Asshai. Perhaps you remember the ritual performed by the maegi in the first book. She called the shadows and among them was the shadow of a direwolf. It might have been Ghost. So she did something that impacted the whole journey of Daenerys and perhaps directed her on the path leading to the dance of dragons. Now, Patchface sees that Melisandre is using the same magic and he tries to warn maester Cressen but nobody understands him.

You are right. Patchface songs are about Jaqen and Arya. Daenerys's fate and her romance with Jaqen is foreshadowed in her dreams.

I'm not sure if Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are the best sources to learn about future books. I agree that they make many references to the books but they also change many things, they merge characters, they change the prophecies and so on and so forth. Some things they do may be very helpful but others are their creation only and even contradict the books.

Thank you for another interesting message. I like your Arya fancast though I admit I have Maisie's Arya stuck in my head :)) Maybe not season 7 and 8 Arya but I blame D&D's writing.

Cheers!

[feral-and-chaotic]

Omg finally got round to watching the third episode! Aaaa

Firstly, the update to Medusa is fascinating! With so many updates to how she's portrayed, with the question of 'Whose the real Villain?' being up in the air, leaving Medusa so ambiguous is perfect! It plays so damn well into the thematic elements of the PJO series (The morality of the gods being on thin fucking ice) whilst also keeping all the Medusa interpretations in tact. Very tactfully done, nice job.

Secondly. I was immediately sad that the kids didn't blow up the bus properly.... And then I remembered that that might be a little insensitive due to mass shootings and such so... honestly good call there! Smart move. And they added some interesting interactions with the Fuery and Medusa. I applaud the writer's room.

Character wise:

Grover. Best boi. No notes. Him trying to resolve the conflict with a dumb song is so dam in character! I adore him. His actor is amazing. I adore his vibe. Argh.

Percy and Annabeth bickering like that is also great. Gods they drive each other up the wall. I adore.

Annabeth being 3 steps ahead of the game is great but to capitalize that with 'she won't tell anyone shit' is amazing. Medusa playing off of her pride is great and trying to use that respect for her mother to shake her is Stellar. Also it clearly is eating at her. (My Grand Plan playing in the back of my brain)

And then there's Percy. God he's so argumentative! He's so angry and he should be! He's a perfect foil to Luke. He's everything Luke could have been. And boi does he deserve to be pissed.

Also man the "Will be betrayed by the one who you call a friend" really hitting hard with his loyalty flaw. So damn good.

Also also "I am impertinent" best line. No notes.

Anyway. I think this is the best ep so far! Great characterisations and I'm so glad they are updating bits and adding to the source material!!!

[lupinusalbus]

I thought of you because some of our exchanges about the AA/NN story when I saw this article. Did you watch HOTD? I didn’t, so I have no thoughts on how that works with GoT or potentially supports a J/D version of that story for the books 😬

Hi there! Yes, I did watch HOTD, and the show did add some new information about the prophecy, just as the article you linked to mentions. 

The Catspaw dagger, which we see in GOT, reappears in the new series HOTD. If you remember, on GOT, the dagger is used in the assassination attempt on Bran, Catelyn gets it after the assassin is foiled, and then we see Ned Stark with it in King’s Landing. After Ned dies, Littlefinger had the dagger, and he gave it to Bran (in season 6?), who then gives it to Arya, and Arya uses it to kill the Night King. 

In the new show, HOTD, this same dagger is actually inscribed with a prophecy that can only be read when it is placed into a flame. Viserys Targaryen shows the Catspaw dagger to his daughter Rhaenyra, who is thus clued into the prophecy.

As we talked about a little in the past, it turns out that this use of the dagger in HOTD is apparently an invention of the show’s writers and not something that will necessarily be in the books, although GRRM perhaps approved of the idea being included in HOTD.  In any case, the Catspaw dagger being used by Arya to kill the NK in Game of Thrones kind of muddies the waters of “the prophecy”, because she isn’t a Targaryen. What HOTD did, as far as the dagger is concerned, may have little to do with what D&D did, except as some “cool” connection they (HOTD writers) are trying to make between the two shows for the sake of more casual viewers?

But I’m getting ahead of myself at any rate, because HOTD contains other references to the Prince who was Promised prophecy that may have come more directly from GRRM, whom I think worked closely with Ryan Condal on the first episode. The new information, in a nutshell, was that Aegon I had a vision/dream that a terrible threat was coming from the far North and that a Targaryen had to be sitting the Iron Throne when it happened:

"Our histories... they tell us that Aegon looked across the Blackwater from Dragonstone, and saw a rich land ripe for the capture. But ambition alone is not what drove him to conquest. It was a dream. And just as Daenys foresaw the end of Valyria, Aegon foresaw the end of the world of men.”

"'Tis to begin with a terrible winter gusting out of the distant north. Aegon saw absolute darkness riding on those winds. And whatever dwells within will destroy the world of the living. When this Great Winter comes, Rhaenyra, all of Westeros must stand against it. And if the world of men is to survive, a Targaryen must be seated on the Iron Throne. A king or queen, strong enough to unite the realm against the cold and the dark. Aegon called his dream 'The Song of Ice and Fire.’”

"This secret... it's been passed from king to heir since Aegon's time. Now you must promise to carry it... and protect it.” (Viserys Targaryen in HOTD)

So the new information, I think, is that we get more about the content of the prophecy and that the prophecy’s original form was Aegon’s dream, called “The Song of Ice and Fire." Other Targaryens down through the generations have had these dreams that might have had aspects of this prophecy in them.

The article you linked states that the new information about the prophecy given in HOTD proves that Benioff and Weiss “got the Azor Ahai Prophecy” right, and that Azor Ahai is Jon Snow.

In the books, the prophecy of the Prince who was Promised, or Azor Ahai, states that “when the red star bleeds and darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst Salt and Smoke” (paraphrase). Its mentioned by Melisandre, Aemon Targaryen and Marwyn in the texts; and Dany has a vision of Rhaegar talking about the prophecy as it pertains to his children, while she is in the House of the Undying. Another facet of the prophecy we see in the books is about Azor Ahai’s wife, Nissa Nissa whom Azar Ahai sacrifices in order to create Lightbringer.  I think that is mentioned as being in The Jade Compendium, an in-universe book.

An interesting aside to all of this, which is not mentioned in the article, is that in A Feast for Crows, Maester Aemon has Samwell find a book, The Jade Compendium, which is said by Jon Snow “to tell of Azor Ahai, and Lightbringer.” Maester Aemon has Clydas mark a passage for Jon to read, which is apparently one pertaining to Azor Ahai:

“Lord Snow,” Maester Aemon called, “I left a book for you in my chambers. The Jade Compendium. It was written by the Volantene adventurer Colloquo Votar, who traveled to the east and visited all the lands of the Jade Sea. There is a passage you may find of interest. I’ve told Clydas to mark it for you.” “I’ll be sure to read it,” Jon Snow replied. A line of pale snot ran from Maester Aemon’s nose. He wiped it away with the back of his glove. “Knowledge is a weapon, Jon. Arm yourself well before you ride forth to battle.

At any rate, the authors of the article say that the new info revealed in HOTD, proves that Benioff and Weiss got the Azor Ahai prophecy right, and that it must be Jon Snow who is Azor Ahai. Their reasoning isn’t that well developed, but it seems to rest mostly upon the newer revelation in HOTD that a Targaryen should be on the throne when the threat materializes.

But yeah, I do think that Jon was somehow being depicted or presented in GOT as fulfilling the prophecy, but of course not literally.

As usual, the “proof” is more circumstantial in nature than crystal clear to viewers/readers, just the way that Martin likes to write it? Part of the muddying of Jon Snow as Azor Ahai or the Prince here is that his actions are not presented in GOT in a clearly and unequivocally “heroic” context.  Dany is Jon’s Aunt, not his beloved wife, and the events surrounding Jon’s choice to kill Dany are tainted by his identity crisis and his seeming complicity in Dany’s crimes. There is no clear hero in this twisted version of Azor Ahai, and the Targaryen who was foretold to be on the Iron Throne caused the deaths of untold thousands by dragon fire. So that Targaryen, Dany, was herself a terrible threat to Westeros, in addition to the threat which was posed by White Walkers.

So if this is really Martin’s plan for how the prophecy is fulfilled, it seems to be in keeping with things that he has said about the AA/PWWP prophecy in the books or in interviews, where he likens prophecies to “a treacherous woman” (won’t quote the whole thing here because its very graphic), or more recently about the PWWP prophecy in HOTD:

"I don't want to give too much away, because some of this is going to be in the later books."

"There was no sell-by date on that prophecy. That's the issue. The Targaryens that know about it are all thinking, 'Okay, this is going to happen in my lifetime, I have to be prepared!' Or, 'It's going to happen in my son's lifetime.' Nobody said 'it's going to happen 200 years from now.' If the Dance of the Dragons had not happened, what would've happened to the next generation? What would've happened in the generation after that? Yeah, there's a lot to be unwound there.”

So, yes, I do think that what was revealed in HOTD about the prophecy that was being passed down within House Targaryen does point to Jon Snow as being the fulfillment of the prophecy, but in a way that none of the Targaryens that came before could have foreseen or imagined.

[bees-shitposting]

The Beethis

Volume 1-3 Characterization

Starting from the original trailers, the characters of Blake and yang have been linked, as well their foils being set up. We first see the Red trailer, and though the trailer only features Ruby and also doesn’t really have much in the way of character development, we do get the main lyrics to the song playing in the background that sets up how we are meant to view the characters 

“Red like roses fills my dreams/and brings me to the place you rest/White is cold and always yearning/burdened by a royal test/Black the beast defends from shadows/Yellow beauty burns/Gold”

These lyrics both exemplify all four of the girls in one line, but draw parallels to their stories. Ruby always coming back to and comparing herself to Summer, Weiss taking on the burdens of her family name and trying to make it better for herself. Each of these lines take up two phrases, creating one motif  for each Character, however, Blake and Yang’s line are each one phrase, linking them together and making their two characters stitched together on one musical thread. 

There is also the use of fairy tails throughout all of RWBY, and an important distinction to be made between Blake and Yang and their origins. Blake is based on Belle, from “Beauty and the Beast”, however she is not just Belle, but also the Beast. Yang is based on Goldilocks, though its not quite as pertinent to the story. This thread in the song sets up their dynamic though, Blake being the beast, how she most likely views herself throughout the first parts of the story, and Yang being set up as Belle as well. 

Going into the Black trailer, we see the other part of the Beast though, Adam, symbolized through his wilting rose emblem, he is also a part of the fairytale, Adam being the name of the Beast and the rose being the symbol of the curse. Adam is the angry part of the Beast, the curse, for the sake of the original story, he represents all the bad things about the Beast, and therefore all the bad things Blake sees in herself. In the beginning volumes, she is constantly caught up in how she views herself, how she comes off. She want’s things to be easier, but she can’t let go of what she cares about. 

The parallel between Blake and Adam, with Adam representing what Blake sees to be the worst in herself, is backed up with Negative Blake in “RWBY: Ice Queendom” with Negative Blake being costumed almost exactly how Adam is in the first volumes. Along with the visual similarity, Blake is similarly aggressive toward the SDC and has similar ideas about how to handle it. 

Blake from the beginning is set up as a complex, shy, and closed off character. She’s seen being slow to trust. Yang in the beginning isn’t set up to be quite as complex, but she’s shown as an expressive, quick-tempered, and brash character. She knows her goals and what she wants, her style of fighting is personal, and she’s probably the most confident fighter on team RWBY. 

Neither of them change very much through the first three volumes, both opening up and showing themselves to have more depth, but neither showing much of a difference in overall attributes. Blake, still recently traumatized from Adam, is still quiet and closed off, she still has a lot she doesn’t want to talk about. Yang had opened up about her mother and her own goals, but she hadn’t done anything with them quite yet. In the first three volumes, they’re set on a track to parallel each other constantly, but not yet to collide. 

Vol. 1-3 Scenes 

Their first introduction to each other isn’t sparks flying, in fact Blake seems to be annoyed at Yang and Ruby’s approach, her voice being flat and her attention always falling back to her book. Yang is chipper and, and starts out complimenting her bow, and when she doesn’t get much of a response, awkwardly continues to her pajamas. She doesn’t seem to be very used to such a muted reception, she brings up a stereotypical awkward conversational beat, being the weather, and Blake says her iconic line of “Yes, its lovely. Almost as lovely as this book. That I will continue to read. As soon as you leave” 

Yang says this girls a lost cause, but Ruby continues to talk to her about the book. There’s not a whole lot going into this first scene, they talk briefly, even seeming a little distant from each other, as even towards the end of the conversation, it’s Ruby who’s talking to Blake, but whatever the interaction was was enough to get Blake’s attention, which brings us to our next scene. 

The Emerald Forest is the next place they interact, when Yang lands, she calls for Ruby, trying to look for her sister so she won’t be alone on a team, but Blake seems to follow Yang. She took an interest in her and is seen as a shadow following her before she fights the Ursa and likely watching her fight the Ursa before coming to help her with the second. 

Blake doesn’t say anything on their first meeting in the woods, she kills the Ursa and looks up deliberately, she chose Yang, and at this point I’m not sure if even she knows why. Yang didn’t really chose Blake, but she smiles and jokes that she could’ve taken the Ursa. Despite her comment the day before, she didn’t seem to have much of a complaint with her new partner. 

Starting at Blakes Faunus arc, Yang is seen always giving her the benefit of the doubt, she doesn’t ever accuse Blake of anything or take Weiss’ criticism of her, she defends her every time she’s brought up and clearly cares about finding her, even going as far as to accuse Weiss of not caring. To me, it seems like she’s take Weiss’ distrust of Blake personally.

Going into the start of V2, our first shot of Blake is preceded by a drawing of Adam, it almost looks like a doodle alongside some notes, but she seems to be thinking about it when Yang butts in. This sets up their link for the first time, showing that Adam, Blake, and Yang are three parts of the same story. At this point in the show, its almost a spectrum from how Blake views it.

On the far end we have Adam, who has such powerful anger and feels justified in any and all actions to get what he wants, to Blake, he’s seen as a strong character, someone who will do anything and is scared of nothing, when really he is ruled by fear. 

Then we have Blake, she’s scared at this point, and she knows it. She’s angry and similarly determined, however she differs by seeing the flaw in what Adam is doing. She see’s that some of the things she had done and the things that he had done were wrong, and she’s willing to do anything in order to fix it. She knows what she wants but she doesn’t know how to keep it from controlling her. 

Yang is different from both of these, she’s just as determined and goal oriented, but isn’t scared, at least not yet. She knows the importance of balance and she tries to show Blake that. Yang is everything Blake wants to be, strong, confident, unafraid. 

This leads to one of every bee’s favorite scene, Burning the Candle. This sets up our second foil, Raven. In the beginning of the episode, where every other character expressed doubt in being able to get Blake to come to the dance, Yang is confident she can. She thinks she knows Blake and will know what to say to get her to come, and she does. 

This is also some of the first characterization that Yang gets in the series, she reveals that she’s been taking care of Ruby most of her life, that she views herself as responsible for her. She opens up to Blake, about her insecurities about her mom leaving, about her search for her and about how it almost caused her to get killed, she ends by showing her that its the same kind of situation as Blake is in right now, that she doesn’t need to stop looking for Roman, that she doesn’t have to stop fighting the White Fang. But that not taking a minute and resting could be dangerous. 

She ends the conversation asking if Blake could take Roman if he walked in then, Blake tries to say she could but she couldn’t even stand up to Yang. Yang gets angry, trying to get through to her. Yang was saved by her uncle, she wasn’t alone, but if she was she likely would have been killed, and when Blake says “I’m the only one that can do this” it drives in the point for yang, she can’t do this alone and Yang knows that.

At the end of the interaction, she ultimately leaves it up to Blake, saying “If you feel like coming out tomorrow, I’ll save you a dance” She’s confident that Blake will come, but she’s not making her. The choice is still hers and she can do whatever she wants with it, but she choses to listen to Yang and come to the dance. 

There are two things worth mentioning about this scene before we move forward, the first is the lighting of this scene. It parallels the line from “Red like Roses”, with Blake consistently being scene in the shadows, her model being darker even when closer to the light, while Yang is almost glowing consistently. The light behind her making her almost resemble the sun. 

The second thing to mention, and the less important one, is that the barn in Yang’s story is the same barn that Blake is seen hiding out in at the beginning of Ice Queendom. This isn’t incredibly important, but it is another thing linking her, Yang, and Raven together. That being where Yang was told that Raven would be and later it being where Blake is, connecting them all together in a small way 

Briefly, though Blake goes to the dance with Sun, she says “technically, though my first dance is spoken for.” Traditionally, the first dance of a ball is the most important one, and though Yang didn’t ask for the first dance Blake saved it for her. 

In Mountain Glenn, the have more of a conversation about their goals, why they want to become huntresses. This is the first time that Blake says Adams name, she seems to be unsure of his role in her life at that point, saying that he was a partner, like how Yang is now, then saying a more of a mentor. This sets up the power imbalance between them, Blake clearly seeing him as much more powerful than her, almost as a teacher. She expresses how she realizes how his way of thinking and his way of doing thing was wrong, and how she wanted to help make it right and that’s why she joined the Academy. Her only goal is to fix what she perceives that she broke, “how to undo so many years of hate,” she says. She wants redemption. 

Yang goes on to reassure her, that she’ll figure it out and she’s not one to back down from a challenge. Blake gets irritated at this, she sees herself as a coward, as someone who runs away when things get hard, who is afraid of everything, that even her semblance shows that, leaving behind a copy to take the hit so she can run. 

Yang then talks about why she wants to be a huntress, that she’s always gone with the flow and this is where it took her, but she isn’t satisfied with that. She feels like she doesn’t quite have a purpose, she doesn’t want to be noble or a hero, she wants to live in a world where she doesn’t know what will happen tomorrow. In a way, its the same kind of running away as Blake. She doesn’t want security, she doesn’t want to settle, she may even be scared of what would happen if she just sat down for a minute and thought about everything. She looks up to her sister, even though she’s younger. 

Now a lot happens in V3, starting with Yang’s fight with Mercury in Amity. The conversation that happens between her and the rest of Team RWBY is an interesting one, after she tells her side of the story, however unbelievable, Ruby and Weiss are quick to believe her, but Blake is unsure, she says that she wants to believe her, but it reminded her of Adam. The situation felt too familiar to her, Yang did something awful, and she’s making an excuse for it. No matter how valid the excuse is, to Blake it’s an opening for her to keep doing this, to keep making excuses and doing worse and worse things because that’s exactly what happened before. 

Yang is hurt by Blake’s doubt, but expresses shame, she’s understanding of the expression but clearly upset about the whole situation. All it takes for Blake to give her trust is for Yang to look her in the eyes and to say it. This is important, as Adam never did that. He constantly wears a mask over his eyes, deflects, and never takes responsibly. Yang however can, and does, ensuring that she makes eye contact through other important scenes later. 

When the Fall of Beacon starts, Blake’s first reaction is to call Yang, even though the pervious interaction had just happened the same day. She calls to make sure that Yang is safe, and yang expresses that to her as well. 

When Blake splits off from Weiss to go after the White Fang and some Grimm, She finds Adam. This is the first time we see that Adam may have also been a romantic partner, his first line being “Hello, my darling.” In a moment calling her “My love,” showing his possessiveness. He always qualifies whatever pet name he choses with my, asserting his ownership over Blake. This becomes especially troubling later, when we see that Adam was likely a slave of the SDC, knowing what it feels like to be owned and then enforcing that feeling onto a younger Blake.

Adam’s attacks towards Blake tend to avoid his usual slashing and more towards a personal, physical attack. He keeps her safe from the Grimm attacking her, and then continues to threaten her, saying that she will run, after she suffers. Adam continues to express his anger, he says it could’ve been our day, refusing to acknowledge that Blake’s view has changed from his. He states that the equality and peace that Blake wants, that Blake has been fighting for, is impossible, and continues to slap her. He compares her “impossible” goals to his, of wanting her. He’s decided that if he can’t have her, she will have to suffer. 

When Yang comes running by, yelling for Blake, Adam realizes just by the look on her face that this person, whoever she is, is important to her. The look of fear on Blakes face being enough to let him know that’s someone she cares about. This is the first time that Adam uses his sword in a non-physical attack on Blake. He stabs her, but he only does so with the goal to get her to yell so that Yang would be drawn over to them. 

Yang’s first reaction is anger, she wants to defend this person she cares about, but doesn’t know enough to thing through the situation. Blake knows that and quietly begs her not to, unable to be louder or to stop either her or Adam, she watches as Yang charges in. She jumps into her signature attack, semblance activated and no doubt draining her aura that’s running low after the day of fighting.

Adam uses his semblance and the frame goes red, he has taken over the frame, over the screen. The only other color left is the yellow of Yang’s hair and gauntlets, highlighting her arm as it separates from her body in an otherwise still frame. She’s sent over Blake, who is no doubt watching her the whole way. 

This is the moment the story changes. This is where Adam, Blake, and Yang are now mixed to the point they can’t come out of it anymore. This is where Yang’s confidence and emboldened personality falls apart, this is where Blake regresses intoner fears, where she resolves that she has to run away again. This is where Adam gets the power over Blake he boasts until volume 5 and over Yang until 6. Everything came crashing together in one short moment, and Blake wants nothing more than to separate it. She wants to remove herself, and so she thinks she’s removing Adam. 

The last thing that Blake does for Yang is to jump between her and Adam, to create a decoy, for the first time also creating a decoy of another person as well, and to run away with her, carrying, almost dragging her, out of the hall. For her, this is the best thing that she can do. This is her fault and she has to fix it. The way she thinks is best to fix it is to leave. 

The last shot of them in these volumes is of Blake apologizing to an unconscious Yang. She doesn’t even consider that this was a choice for Yang, it was all her fault and she wouldn’t hear anything else. Despite her own injury, she  rolls to her side and holds Yang’s hand. Clinging to her and pleading that she’s sorry. 

We next see Yang sitting up in what appears to be her room, she’s quiet, despondent. She’s slow to talk to even her sister. When Ruby asks about Blake, Yang gets angry, saying that she ran. Something that seems to contradict what she previously thought of her. In Mountain Glenn, she expressed that she thought Blake was never one to back down from a fight, but she did. She left her, just like her mom did years ago. When Ruby asks why, Yang says “I don’t know,” she sounds sad, almost desperate. She wants to know she wants to understand, to her the person she thinks so highly of just did the worst thing a person could do to her; leave. 

She continues, now in a much angrier tone, “And I don’t care.” She does, but she wants to convince herself that she doesn’t care why, doesn’t care that she even left in the first place. This person who meant so much to her left, and she doesn’t want to process that when she hasn’t even processed the first person who left. For the first time in the series, it seems like Yang has given up, asking Ruby to just leave her alone. 

Adam and Yang as Literary Foils 

For those of you who don’t know what a Literary Foil is, it’s a character who is a direct contrast of another character, used to point out specific qualities that are better or worse in one or the other. 

Adam is a direct foil to Yang, being characterized as similarly brash and headstrong. As the characters develop, this aspect of them grows apart, while Adam becomes angrier and more impulsive and single-minded, Yang becomes less. She grows an understanding of a bigger picture, she learns to think through her problems more and gains the ability to be introspective and thoughtful. This even extends to combat, most notably at the end of V5, where Adam charges at Blake, allowing himself to be taken down simply by not thinking his attack through. Yang, however, realizes that she can avoid a fight to get to her goal quicker, briefly activating her semblance before realizing that she can just let go of her arm to get where she needs to go. 

Both Adam and Yang are physically mutilated, and presumably have lasting trauma about the events leading to it. But they both take different things away from it, Yang is able to grow from her injury, she’s able to train to fight differently, become more intelligent and doesn’t let anything hold her back or make her weaker. She acknowledges her pain and takes time to process it, but she is able to come to terms with her new life and her new arm. She doesn’t hide her injury like Adam does, she even paints her new arm a bright yellow to match her gauntlet. Through this, she makes that injury a part of who she is, and she builds off of that experience to become better. 

Adam doesn’t take this path, we have a lot less information about his journey to where he is, but we have enough to understand a few things. He’s the one who started the tradition among the white ring to hide their faces, donning a Grimm mask to hide his injury. He internalizes his experience and allows it to cloud his thoughts, becoming angry and resentful not just to the people who did this to him but to all humans. He blames all of them for what happened. He hides his scar behind the face of a monster, and therefore becomes a monster himself. Even after he is outcast from the White Fang he hides his eyes, still removing his humanity from himself. 

Their most material similarity is Blake, and most notably their reaction to her running away. They have opposite reactions, with Adam becoming obsessed and willing to do anything to either get her back or get back at her. He stalks her across a continent and sends people after her just to hurt her, he puts so much energy into trying to make a point to her that his original purpose is lost, becoming enraged that Blake is doing anything, much less stopping the White Fang in Haven for a reason other than him. 

Yang however accepts it relatively quickly, though also not in a healthy way. She tells herself that Blake left and isn’t coming back, so there’s no use to care about it. She never allows herself to confront her feelings, allowing them to back up into her and boil over. Any time she’s reminded of Blake she tries to distract herself, when she sees the books she turns on the TV, when Ruby and Weiss bring her up she leaves. She doesn’t want to entertain the idea of Blake being there because it hurts and it would have to make her confront the fact of why did she leave and though Blake had noble reasons, Yang didn’t think that. It’s only when Weiss talks to her that she’s even able to acknowledge that she does care that Blake left, that she wants to help her, and that she feels like she needed Blake there for her too. 

The last thing I want to touch on is their semblances, they’re both very similar. They take in kinetic energy and are able to control a release of that to an enemy, but how they take that initial hit is where they differ and where I think the base of their characters lie. 

Adam uses Wilt and Blush to take the hits, he absorbs gunshots and hits into his blade to deflect them. He never comes into contact with this force if he can help it, his fighting style is designed to get as much energy into his sword as he can before unleashing it to his opponent, all without feeling a thing. His way of fighting is for the most part impersonal. He’s able to be removed from everything and benefit from pain he never felt. 

Yang on the other hand has to feel everything in order to use her semblance, attacks stick to her body and though she is smart about taking that damage, its still damage that she has to take. Therefore, every use of her semblance is personal, her attacks are close and kinetic, and her use of her semblance depends on her understanding the initial impact. She feels everything that she dishes out, even if she dishes it out ten-fold, she felt all of it. 

While Adam lets something else take a hit for him and reaps the benefits, Yang is always the first to step up to defend. Just like she defends Mantle through the Atlas Arc, and how she defends her sister and the rest of her team. She’s always willing to put others first, where Adam never is. 

Raven and Blake as Literary Foils 

This section is going to be quite a bit shorter, not because it’s less important but because it only really centers on one thing, and that’s how they both left. 

Raven is very similar to Yang, she’s just as strong and stubborn, protective of who she views as her family, but she isn’t nearly as aware. When they first meet again, she says “After all this time, you finally decided to visit me.” She made Yang come to her, she didn’t ever tell her where she was or how to find her, yet she seemed to expect Yang to “visit” sooner. She left Yang and Tai for herself, she left because she wanted to join the Bandits again and she didn’t want the life that she’d made on accident. 

Raven tries to make it admirable that Yang spent so much time looking for her, and when yang does find her, she acts entitled to her time and to her trust despite never being around to earn it. Raven is self righteous, she thinks that she’s done what’s right and what’s best, but refuses to see that what she thought was best wasn’t the best for Yang. She spends so much time lauding her strength that she doesn’t realize that the base of all of her actions are fear. 

Blake on the other hand, is the one to come back to Yang, though she’s not directly seeking it out, she’s the one who shows up, and she’s the one who promises never to leave again. She knows that she left because she was scared, and though she thought it was the best thing to do at the time, she now knows that it wasn’t. In addition to that, she doesn’t expect Yang to trust her right away. She knows that she needs to earn that back and she’s determined to do just that. 

Volume 6

Blake is initially unsure of how to approach Yang, she wants to do everything that she can to help, to gain that trust back, but she goes about it in the wrong way. She misunderstands why Yang is upset and accidentally says and does some things that do the opposite of what they wanted. 

Yang is clearly open to trusting Blake again, but she doesn’t know how to express what she wants from her. They continue to have the same chemistry battling as they did before and they get along well enough, but it seems like there a gap between them that wasn’t there before. 

The first major scene they get this volume is the one in the barn at Brunswick, the Apathy seems to already be affecting Yang, who already seems annoyed at Blake wanting to go with her to find something to transport them, she doesn’t laugh at Blakes joke and asked what she thought happened there. When asked if she’s okay, she’s able to open up enough to say that she isn’t, but immediately attributes it to being tired, not bringing up any real issue that they need to talk about. 

It's then, when she’s probably thinking about what really is bothering her, that she has that flash to Adam and Blake and Yang talk, if only for a bit. Yang opens up to Blake, realizing that this is shared trauma. They’re the only two people that went through this, so Blake is the only one that could understand, except she doesn’t. Blake expresses her own experiences with him, reassures her that she’s not leaving and that if they see him again she’ll be there. This is what Yang wanted to hear, but Blake continued, “and I’ll protect you”

That’s probably the last thing that Yang wanted from her, that’s what happened to them in the first place and why everything got so messed up from there. Blake saying that she’ll protect Yang is saying that she sees her as in need of protecting. Maybe Yang saw it as Blake saying she’s weak, maybe she saw it as Blake taking all the burden for herself. Either way, she’s not happy with the response that she got. 

Though at this point she’s still upset with Blake, she still makes sure to get Blake, who was the most effected by the Apathy, out of the house, grabbing her hand before leaving. 

Throughout the volume, they warm up more, allowing themselves to be more comfortable with each other, mostly Yang being more comfortable, as Blake was the one who was trying the most to make up for leaving. Towards the end, they’re even confident enough for Blake to poke a little fun at her. 

Now for the big one this volume, the Blake and Yang V.S Adam fight. This shows the build up of everything we’ve talked about until now. Adam has become even more obsessive after losing the one other thing he had, Blake and Yang are both desperate to come to terms with what happened and how to go forward. 

Adam continues his trend of using more aggressive physical attacks with Blake, notably hitting her with the butt of his sword, choking her, and kicking her. Throughout the first part of the fight, Adam mocks her for running, but she can hear Yang’s motorcycle and is running towards that. She knows she’s coming and so she’s able to wait for her. 

One important line I want to point out from the first part of the fight is “I wouldn’t have to be doing this if you just behaved.” Its a jarring and aggressive line, painting how Adam sees the situation perfectly. He thinks that its Blakes fault, that she should have just listened to him, that everything would have been easier, simpler if she had just listened to him. Nothing can be his fault, he can’t be responsible for his actions, so he puts all the blame on Blake. 

He says all of the negative things that Blake had thought about herself. She’s selfish, she’s a coward. And she stands up to it, she defies what he says and also him. She listens to what he has to say, to his shifting of blame and his excuses, his accusation that her leaving him was just as bad as the people who gave him his scar. And when he asks how it feels to be alone, just in time Yang shows up. 

Throughout their fight, Adam becomes increasingly irrational. He sees the care that they have for each other and despises it. Yang shows her development in fighting the most here as well, being able to adapt to the situation as Blake tells her about his semblance. 

The last sequence of the fight frames the whole thing, Adam, so confident that he had won, that he was more powerful, taunts Yang. He plays all his cards, yelling at her to hit him, and finally calls her a coward, to him, the worst thing a person can be. Yang outsmarts him, baits him into an all out attack and takes his sword. 

I know in some circles the ending of this fight was seen as unnecessary, I personally don’t think so. They both needed to face this demon, and they needed each other to do it. I do think its worth noting the way each of them stabbed him though. 

Blake used the base of her weapon, the broken edge that was much more dull, and no doubt much harder to force through. She had to face him head on, take the weapon that he was reaching for. Her relationship with Adam was much more personal. She had much deeper seated trauma with him that occurred over years and years of abuse. This was once some one that she, in a way, loved, and though that feeling was gone, the memory lingered. 

Yang used the broken piece of the sword, she couldn’t see what was going on in front or who got the other piece first, all she knew is that she had to get to Adam before he got to Blake. Her piece was sharper, easier to stab him but harder to hold. Yang stabbed his back, her part wasn’t quite as personal, but she was only able to even do that because of him. She was only able to hold and use that part of Blake’s weapon because of her prosthetic arm. 

After this is done, Blakes first thought is to make sure that Yang knows what Adam said isn’t true, that she won’t leave. And yang makes sure that Blake looks her in the eye again when she tells her that she knows she won’t. 

Volumes 7&8

Now I don’t want to go on forever, so this section is gonna be kind of short, both for your time and mine, both these volumes are far lighter on the bee content and much more recent so I feel less of a need to summarize. 

What I find most important about these volumes is the amount of comfort that grows between them. While in V6 yang was much more apprehensive, after the fight with Adam and the realization that they finally understood each other and what they wanted they both relaxed. They let themselves joke and have fun, flirt even. 

One of the more serious interactions shows again the difference between Yang and Adam, when they disagree about telling Ironwood the truth and about Robin, they talk about it and they come to an agreement. When Blake expresses doubts about if they should really do this, Yang actually listens to her and takes her side, rather than plowing over what Blake thinks to what she wants to do. 

When they disagree later at the start of V8, it doesn’t come across as if they’re angry with each other for choosing the other path, Yang is even worried about what Blake thinks of her. And when they come back together, they’re more relieved than anything else. Allowing themselves a moment together. 

In the last fight of the volume, pretty quickly Yang ends up falling off the edge, protecting her sister. In the scene as they all watch her fall, you can see Blake running in the back ground, when she throws her weapon to her partner, who never failed to catch it, its in desperation. There’s nothing else she can do but watch as it falls just short of Yang, who likely couldn’t catch it anyways.

Blake watches over the edge, horrified that this person who meant so much to her, who had gone through so much with her was gone. She screams for her, unsure of anything else to do. Reaching for Yang, though she already isn’t there. She has to be pulled away from the edge of the platform by Weiss, immediately breaking down into tears, and then anger. 

Its the same kind of anger that Neo has towards Ruby, the need for retribution clouding her judgement. She recklessly goes after Neo, until she realizes everything else that’s happening around her. She has to chose between getting the revenge she feels she needs, and protecting the greater cause. Unlike Neo, she is able to separate these feelings and do what she needs to. 

Volume 9

When they all wake up in the Ever After, they’re separated. Blake is relieved that Yang must still be alive, and after they find her, she finally allows herself to be as open with Yang as she can, from her perspective, she almost lost Yang forever. She wasted so much time with small actions, with being closed off and nervous, and all for what. 

This time around, its Blake who jokes around, who flirts and is the most open. She is determined to get everything she can out of this relationship because she will never take it for granted again. 

When they get caught up in the Punder-Storm, (Ponder-storm? Idk I couldn’t get captions), they were separated from the group and basically strong-armed into confessing to each other. 

Yang is a lot more hesitant, a lot more initially lighthearted. She’s the one who initially questions how to take the first step, and she’s the one who expresses fear the most in her expressions. Her first steps come from almost an accident, she’s not good at planning what she’s going to say and this first part comes out of nowhere for her, she sees that Blake got a step and expresses her confidence in her, that she’s smart. 

When Yang gestures for Blake to continue, she is smiling, expecting an equally light hearted compliment from Blake, but she’s surprised with what Blake says. Her face says a lot, showing how surprised she was, that she didn’t expect Blake to think so highly of her. Blake sees this and tries to lighten it for her, joking with the “try to keep up” its Blakes emotional awareness of yang that allows her to guide Yang into exploring how she felt, Yang is a character that spends so much time caring for other people, that Blake wanted her to get the opportunity to express what she felt herself. 

When Yang says to make this quicker, she isn’t thinking I love you yet, its only as she lets the words settle that she realizes, and for once, while Blake is self assured and confident, giving Yang a smile, it’s Yang who is unsure and insecure. She realizes what she’s thinking, but doesn’t let herself think that Blake could feel the same way, her emotions are so apparent on her face, and though the weather has cleared and light shines behind both of them, the fear of what comes after this pulls them back apart. 

Yangs thoughts so clearly express how she see this, its like a cliff, and she’s scared of falling. She’s scared that once she does this, it can’t be undone, and she’s right, but she isn’t quite sure yet if its a good thing. She doesn't know how Blake feels, she’s not as emotionally in tune with Blake as Blake is to her, but Blake says it best, they’re already falling. They both already love each other, they’ve just been to scared, to busy, to caught up in everything going on around them to talk about it. 

Blake lets Yang say it first, lets her think through it and say what she wants to say. She knows that Yang loves her, but Yang herself hasn’t quite allowed those emotions to process. Blake wants Yang to have this autonomy, to be able to initiate this without being pressured. 

When Yang says “I love you” she qualifies it with an “I think” it expresses her insecurity, by saying “I think” first she can feel safe, the uncertainty being something she can fall back on. 

But Blake is confident, she’s straight forward and eager, almost interrupting Yang. She wanted to give Yang the first chance but she was so excited to be able to finally say it out loud. 

In an instant, the space between them disappears, both literally and metaphorically. The air is clear and their trademark colors mix into a beautiful pink that surrounds them. They both still hesitate only for a moment, to ensure they’re on the same track before finally coming together. 

For only a moment, nothing else has to be important, they can be together, they can be alone, they can be whatever they want to be, and what they want to be is together. There are no pressures or conflicts, there’s no life or death situation, and there’s no one else to think anything of them. There’s just them. 

Brief Bit on Color Theory because its 4AM

Colors are very important in RWBY, they show who someone is, they show their Aura, the manifestation of their souls, and Blake and Yang’s compliment each other perfectly. 

The colors yellow and purple are opposite of each other on a conventional color wheel, otherwise called complimentary colors. They’re colors that are generally known to look good together. In Blake and Yang’s case, they’re shown to represent the Yin and Yang, light and dark. 

Along with these colors being complimentary, their eyes hold the color of the other’s Aura, and with a person’s aura representing their soul, each of them hold a bit of each other in their eyes. 

Anyways that’s just about all I have in me, if you have any questions or want any clarification id be more than happy to answer anything you have, otherwise, Happy Bee Day Y’all!