#and get the ultimate revenge for trying to have her assassinated

[thecomfywriter]

🤬AITA tag game 🤬

thank you for the tags @mysticstarlightduck @theink-stainedfolk @drchenquill @wyked-ao3 and @the-golden-comet. if you also tagged me and i missed you, SORRY. i'm super excited for this one because it seems super interesting, and AITA threads are my guilty pleasure. OKAYYY, let's get into it :)

This will be for ToV. Guess who the narrator is lol.

｡ ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ｡

AITA for saving the life of the man who killed my mother (by indirectly causing a massacre) and making him my mentor?

Okay. I understand the title sounds bad. I promise you-- the situation is more nuanced than the whims of my clickbait. Please read this post in full, as, while all my peers do not treat me as an asshole, they certainly treat me as a dunce for getting involved.

I (17M) live in a queendom called Soilaila. Our queen (Von Doro, ??? age) is a dragon, I should mention, and lives within the volcano that landmarks our nation. It is her monarchial responsibility to ensure the volcano does not explode. Which is why I do not understand why more blame is not denoted to her for detonating the volcano 16 years ago and killing all her citizens. My mother included.

Everyone blames Hilbert (~150+?? M), and while I understand Hilbert may have murdered all of the queen's children and made an attempt on her life as well, he only made his assassination attempt under the counsel of the Jervees, so really, they are to blame. And besides-- it was not as though Hilbert killed all the dragons alone that he should solely be blamed! Everyone in Soilaila acts as though they did not take up arm and spear alongside him during the Dragon Hunts that inspired Von Doro's wrath.

Apologies. I am rambling. My point being, Hilbert had self-exiled himself 16 years ago after the Incident, and none of us had seen him since. Until last Tuesday. I was on a walk in the Bazaar when I see a mob of people holding an old man up by his arms, using him as a punching bag! They were kicking him black and blue, taking their belts off to use as whips, lashing his skin with leather and steel.

This is the part where, apparently, I am the asshole. I go up to the crowd and I tell them to stop. They were beating up an old man after all! And then they tell me the old man is Hilbert, and I cannot simply back out of my allegiance at this point, so I tell these grieving parents, "Does it matter?" and that they were ultimately in the wrong for choosing revenge over peace.

I got them to stop (a very painful pursuit, may I add. One that has resulted in bruises and lashes on my own back and legs), but at the end of it, I had promised to take Hilbert to the Jervees for his arrest.

This is also where I may have screwed up.

I did not take him to the Jervees. I tried to take him home, and on the way, as he told me stories of his youth and the truth of the Incident... Trust me-- after the truths and conspiracies he revealed, I have no trouble believing him when he says he is a victim to the Incident, more than anyone else in Soilaila. Regardless, seeing such an impressive man in front of me, I requested he become my mentor in exchange for my allegiance and protection from all those who wish to convict or harm him in Soilaila.

But now, everyone thinks me idiotic for believing him! Even though I know he is telling the truth.

I do not think I am an asshole for giving this old man a chance. Yes, he has made some mistakes in his past. And yes, his ledger is unbearably red with violent crimes. But do people not have the liberty to change? To try to improve themselves and be better? Why is it all "second chances!" and "heal and forgive!" until it actually comes to healing and forgiving? And why are all my friends trying their absolute damnest to separate me from Hilbert? If anything, I would reckon they were the assholes more than Hilbert or myself.

--

EDIT: everyone keeps asking me how my father feels in this situation. I will admit-- he is rather betrayed and sees me as a failure of a son. But if he saw me as anything more than that to begin with, perhaps I would not need to seek out Hilbert's company at all.

EDIT #2: This post is reaching unfathomable audiences who are all calling me naive. Trust me-- you do not know the whole story. Hilbert's methods of convincing me of the truth are not so much as manipulation as much as they are "revelations of reality."

EDIT #3: This is going to be my last edit on this post, as it seems some people are simply bound to their opinions. That is alright. We are fated to disagree with one another. But for everyone asking me why I am comfortable blaming Von Doro for the death of my mother and not Hilbert, I would like you to read your question out loud. Why do I not blame the man who indirectly triggered the person who killed my mother in rage? Does that makes sense to you?

EDIT #4: you all were right.

｡ ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ｡

leaving this as an +open tag for any and all of my followers to enjoy! Happy Writing :)

｡ ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ｡

PREORDER THRONE OF VENGEANCE

Join the TCW Tag Crew!

Join the TCW writing bar discord!

Support me on Ko-Fi!

₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ｡

TCW Crew:

@lunaeuphternal @the-golden-comet @renasdoodles

@drchenquill @zackprincebooks @wyked-ao3

@toragay-writing @the-letterbox-archives @bookwormclover

@kind-lion @mysticstarlightduck @agirlandherquill

@storyteller-kara @dahliaontherun @writingismydrugs

@authorcoledipalo @sm-writes-chaos @illarian-rambling

@pexchys @an-indecisive-nerd @thelovelymachinery

@bookwormclover @kaeru483

[alannybunnue]

Have we considered the ultimate worst scenario for Aegon I x Reader?

A Martell!Reader

It’s during the Invasion of Dorne, after Rhaenys’ death, Aegon manages to kidnap the granddaughter of Meria Martell and brings her back to King’s Landing initially as a form of vengeance

But as time goes on the deeper he falls into a twisted obsession. She’s extremely kind and motherly to Aenys, but she never loses that Dornish fire in her and still refuses to bow to him

One day, she’s brought to the Aegonfort expecting another day of humiliation as a hostage, only to her horror to discover it’s her wedding

I have been waiting for this moment...

Ah, the Martells...fcking badasses-

Yes, when Rhaenys died, Aegon thought of burning Dorne entirely, until he spotted from afar, the Princess Y/N Martell, the jewel of Dorne and Meria's favorite granddaughter, you were fierce like your grandmother, but never desired for war nor the death of that Targaryen girl.

But in Aegon's eyes, this was revenge, since they took his wife, he will take their jewel.

You woke up to the feeling of your body being thrown on the hard floor. Even if you were confused, you knew this would happen eventually.

Everyday, you were humiliated by Aegon, in many ways differently. But you kept your composure, you were a Martell and you were determined to honor your house and it's words.

But during your imprisonment, there's one thing that brought you some sort of joy, the little Prince Aenys, who began to enjoy your company as if you were truly his mother, and for you, not only you felt pity over this child, but you also grew to adore him like your son, even if his father tried to bring you down everytime he could.

Now, don't think that Meria would let that slide, once she heard of your kidnapping, many assassination attempts happened against Aegon and Visenya even, many failed.

And after all this time of trying to make you bow to him as the King, Aegon started to get more frustrated and spent most of his time watching you from afar, discovering that you were developing a maternal love for his son, that made him feel something hidden deep inside.

Not too long after, you were dragged in a beautiful gown, you didn't understood what was going on until you met with Aegon and realized what he planned for you this time.

The biggest way to humiliated you.

Being married to him.

[unfriendlyamazon]

i watched a bunch of videos on how bad the netflix adaption of atla is and anyway here's my ygo atla au thoughts

i guess yugi making the avatar is the easiest solution he is extremely aang-like (aang's kuzon speech and saying to zuko "do you think we could've been friends" is a stand out moment) and actually you know what his play tactics of evade and weave work well with aang's airbending (i was going to point to a specific fight with zuko but actually i'm watching the first episode it's every fight with zuko) so okay airbender it is

(i also like the idea of maybe pulling in some season 0 ideas of this alternate side of him that takes revenge and it's possible maybe he finds relief in his avatar state maybe he's so used to being powerless that feeling that powerful feels good and it scares him)

anzu is also a really good katara stand in ("DON'T YELL AT HIM") ultimate he asked for no pickles energy i actually think she'd do better as an airbender it would match her fairy deck and i think it'd be cute for yugi and anzu to grow up together in the air temple maybe he took her with her when he ran away it kinda muddies the whole "last airbender" thing and i like the idea of the yugi gaang representing all four elements so i'll stick with waterbender for her

honda is easy he's an earthbender look at him i do like regular guy honda and generally try to keep him un-magical in magical settings but that boy is an earthbender signed up with the earth kingdom army to fight firebenders and probably has a good reason for leaving and joining up with the gaang

katsuya firebender we all saw it coming i think it might be interesting to make him "mixed" and that also lets me do other things with serenity so maybe he's from an occupied earth kingdom town he definitely struggles to control his firebending he just gets too excited and isn't patient (much like aang when he learns firebending) and much like his arc in the show he gets stronger and more in control

seto kaiba is a zuko-esque figure to me, motivated by all the wrong things, pushing him to take extreme and harmful actions, even though deep down he is a good person, but actually you know who i love not giving magical powers to in a magical world? seto kaiba babyyyyyyy he has to scrap and create and bring himself up in a world where people have inherent magic abilities and that's just so him isn't it? i think it's possible he's a non-bender from another nation (i'm thinking earth kingdom? put your own thoughts in the replies) much like the mechanist from the northern air temple he was pulled and adopted by gozaburo for his technological mind and to create war machines, giving a position but no power, but seto kaiba is anti-war so he bounces the fuck out of there i guess that makes him not a villain and just like part of the gaang? maybe? idk i don't actually have like A Plot for this

yugi being the avatar sets up yami/atem as a roku mentor figure which i actually like

mai is just jun that's the character

make ryou a spirit i don't know which just do it

duke in a fire nation circus non-bender probably also an assassin sent to kill yugi it's okay tho they become friends

uuuuuh who else there's like 12 whole characters in yugioh i don't see any characters as a stand in for ozai except maybe alexander from capsule monsters??? is that a weird pull??? yeah i watched capsule monsters and not the final season of the show fight me nerds

pegasus.... definitely a sell out to the fire nation i don't know if i want him to be fire nation i kinda like the idea of him being like i see the way the wind blows maybe it's his quest to find the avatar and track down yugi that would put him in a better antagonistic role and have a reason for them to keep running into him

mokuba earth bending prodigy probably why seto had to get him out of there i guess that makes him the toph of this au??? unclear will reexamine

zigfried fire nation shill has a beach episode with seto who spends the whole time trying to drown him in the ocean

uuuuh got nothing for the ishtars sorry feel free to reply

[senblades]

To follow up on my comment about Fftsr + pq2

would futaba go behind everyone’s back to form her own “revenge squad” alongside ryuji and makoto, maybe including Ken, who would definitely sympathize with her

what if sumi and haru pop out of one of the labyrinths with kotone in tow, and now futaba’s revenge squad have blocked off the door to that screening room, and now Fuuka and Ann are trying to talk everyone down

oh ho ho I love fucking around with pq2 au's- there's just so much potential for fuckery! (and judgement from the other persona teams HA)

(this is also a good opportunity to analyse everyone's behaviour in the latest chapters of fftsr lmao)

Hm... Ken is an interesting one, since I think Akechi has a lot of similarities with both Shinjiro AND Ken, and I think they'd both recognise that. Additionally, it's not an exact 1-to-1 situation, so I think that if Futaba stayed in a state of "FUCK THIS" long enough to try and get revenge, I think a solid chunk of the p3 squad would want to stay solidly out of it (or, damage control- I think you're right that Fuuka would be with Ann on this one)

Ultimately, though, Futaba in the most recent chapters of fftsr is being impulsive. She's angry, hurt, and most of all: confused. She doesn't have the full situation. She made an irrational and impulsive descision in the midst of her panic, and the rest of the thieves are either feeling too betrayed (Ryuji, Makoto), or too panicked/confused (Yusuke, Morgana, Ann) to not enable her. Point is, that getting q2'd is a GREAT opportunity for Futaba to calm down lmao. In saying that, though, I think that "calming down" is more synonomous to "crashing", in this case. Even if Futaba gets her answers, she isn't going to be happy about them. I think Taba in this pq2 scenario wouldn't be a super effective Navi for a while

As for Sumi and Haru- I think that once everyone gets forcibly thrown together, the misunderstanding would clear up pretty quick. In saying that, though, that just brings on a whole lot of OTHER questions- main one being "time travel???" second one being "Why are you buddies with an assassin, again?"

Oh ho ho the wildcards...

Ren! is fucked! HA- getting q2'd directly after chapter 45 would really just leave him disoriented to hell and back, and it would probably take some time to convince him that what's happening is actually real. I also doubt he'd be in an emotional state to lead... anything. So that's a solid 7-ish persona users without anyone to direct them.

Akechi! :D he's also fucked! HA yeah Sumi and Haru aren't getting any direction outta that one- so that brings our "unattended persona user" count up to 10

So Minato, Yu, and Kotone need to pick up the slack. great! I actually think that Kotone in this situation is best choice for "full group leader". Why? Well, I don't know when exactly the p4 squad gets q2'd, but it definitely takes a while for the "moral greyness of it all" to actually sink into the plot for them- so when confronted with the shitshow that is the p5 squad at the moment, I think Yu would be at a loss.

p3, on the other hand, is very used to morality soup! In saying that, Minato is on that whole "2000's emo boy" bullshit, and doesn't have the assertive force to get everyone under control- considering it's pre-October-4. Kotone meanwhile, though still in "pre-October-4" land, definitely has more of that "Aight! Shut up! Everyone get your shit together!" energy, that the p5 squad would really benefit from HA (and, enough compassion to balance both sides of the equation)

I think at first, everything would be a shitshow of pointing fingers though LMAO

Sorry for the very long answer... I have a lot of thoughts, and I didn't even cover half of them LMAO. I pity the pq2 writers

[coraniaid]

Good news: I have objectively ranked Buffy's worst multi-episode subplots. By which I mean, these are the ones that I personally most object to, and I ranked them in a spreadsheet so this is practically science.

7) Willow/Xander secretly cheating (Season 3). Not quite as bad as its reputation, honestly? Yes, it's not much fun to watch and yes, Alyson Hannigan and Nicholas Brendon don't have any obvious chemistry (although I really have to think that's intentional). But it at least serves a useful thematic purpose in the season, with Xander and Willow's secrets both mirroring Buffy's own secret about Angel's return and influencing how they react to finding out about it. Plus, it gives the writers an excuse to break up Cordelia and Xander, so it can't be all bad.

Speaking of which:

6) Cordelia and Xander (Seasons 2-3). Yeah, this just sucks, sorry. As a silly one episode gag it was fine, but spinning it out for longer than that was a mistake for both characters. Sure, you can try to retcon it to be something more interesting than it is (especially by taking the more human and sympathetic version of Xander that the show hadn't actually bothered creating yet and projecting him back into it), but as presented on screen this is the closest the show ever comes to writing Xander as an actual Joss Whedon self-insert fantasy. Oh, of course, the pretty and popular cheerleader falls in love with awkward misfit Xander Harris (no doubt won over by his strategy of lingering hostility and constant insults and allegations of promiscuity), and of course she abandons all her friends to be with him. Of course she finds it romantic that he tries to cast a love spell on her "for revenge" after she tries to break up with him. Of course he makes her so much happier than any of her other older or more popular boyfriends did. Uh huh. As is true for so much of Buffy and Angel, Cordelia deserved a lot better than this.

5) Oz and Veruca (Season 4). In which Seth Green annoys Joss Whedon and gets written out of the show in revenge. This wouldn't be the first time that something like this happened, of course. And it's telling that Oz, unlike Darla or Cordelia, is only sent away from town at the end of the arc, rather than killed off outright. But that doesn't change the fact that this is still pretty bad. Oz has been a werewolf for almost two years by this point. It doesn't really make sense that it would suddenly start making him act like this. There were ways to write Oz out that didn't involve such blatant character assassination. (Not that Oz ever had much in the way of characterization.) Oh, and the werewolf costumes are still awful. Only this low on the list because it sets the stage for Willow and Tara.

Speaking of writing characters out of the show:

4) Riley's secret late night vampire visits (Season 5). I don't like Riley. As far as I'm concerned he's one of the weaker links of Season 4. I think he's an incredibly boring character, that he's not particularly likeable as a person and that ultimately he's a poor fit for the show. I'm glad he was written out. However. Writing him out by first making him (at least metaphorically) unfaithful, something he'd never shown any sign of being before, and then having him issue an ultimation to Buffy in which he threatens to join a secret paramilitary squad in South America if she doesn't immediately forgive him for said infidelity, and then having Xander lecture Buffy about how great Riley is, actually, and this is really all Buffy's fault for not paying him enough attention while her mother was in hospital with a brain tumor was ... uh. A choice.

3) Willow's magic addiction (Season 6). The use of magic as a metaphor for drug addiction was not new to Season 6. Arguably it's the first metaphorical use for magic in the show at all, going all the way back to Giles' backstory as revealed in The Dark Age. The show's metaphors are usually a bit subtler than this though. But the real problem is that Willow's magic addiction ends up replacing a much more interesting story the show had been slowly setting up for years, about Willow over-relying on magic to find easy solutions and not particularly concerning herself with other people's opinions or consent and her slightly warped personal morality ("occasionally I'm callous and strange", but also "I've also thought of myself as a good person"). Once all her problems can be reduced to something external, to something which happens to her rather than because of her, something which she's almost tricked into by her (retroactively) bad, unsympathetic drug addict friend Amy, the show just forgets all about this previous character work. What memory spell?

2) Spike's hypnotic trigger (Season 7). Having chosen to interpret soul lore in the least interesting way they could possibly think of (having a soul makes you Good and any of the people you hurt should just get over it), the writers realized they had a problem. Other than sitting around in a basement feeling sorry for himself, they didn't have anything for the newly ensouled Spike to actually do. Their solution -- what if Spike were ... hypnotized? -- does nothing but set up some incredibly boring new conflicts that have absolutely nothing to do with his established character or existing past. Or indeed with much of anything. I mean, come on. If this is all the writers could think of doing with a souled Spike, why even bother giving him a soul at all?

This would be easily the worst of Buffy's subplots, seeing that it throws out five seasons of existing character development, wastes any number of potentially interesting story ideas and culminates in the absolute nadir that is Lies My Parents Told Me, were it not for:

1) "Is Giles the FIrst Evil?" (Season 7). A long-running mystery that spans multiple episodes and which requires all of the characters involved to not only be complete idiots but to actually cease to exist when the camera isn't pointed at them. (None of them ever thought to touch Giles despite knowing about the First? None of them hugged him or shook his hand despite not having seen him in months? None of them ever accidentally touched him while sharing a house for weeks?) And it's a mystery that largely only exists for the audience, a question which the actual characters don't even ask themselves until getting a phone call from a complete stranger who by his own testimony can only still be alive if Giles isn't the First (if Giles had been killed by a Bringer, then why would they have left any witnesses?). All in the service of a subplot which takes up valuable time from an already painfully overcrowded season and whose only actual payoff is a wretched and sordid little joke about Giles touching teenage girls. Just abysmal on every level.

[nartml]

Seeing Sakura fans breaking their backs trying to defend her will forever be amusing.

My problem with her, apart from the way she treats Sasuke, is that we get constantly told that she's strong, that she's caught up to them, that she's a badass; and we never see it for ourselves.

Here's the deal, for those who don't get it:

She is constantly made fun of by the narrative. The very moment she thinks that she's caught up, the moment an outsider makes a comment along the lines of how "she's so powerful", or "her feelings for you have deepened and matured", the very next moment she gets bodied. She needs to be rescued. She hasn't contributed almost anything of value, and she's supposed to be a main character.

I hear her fans talk of "Kishimoto is a misogynist", "Sakura had so much potential", "That is just bad writing", but they never consider that it's purposeful.

Her "bad writing" is 100% on purpose. Kishimoto knew what he was doing when writing Naruto, on all fronts, and this idea that all characters have to fulfill their "potential" or else it's a mistake on the author's part is problematic. He doesn't like Sakura. And that is why she only has, like, five good moments that later get overshadowed in some way. That is why her character is an example of "tell, not show".

How many times has she talked about how, "I'll get stronger next time", "I'll be better next time", "I'll never let this happen next time" etc etc, but she never delivers? How many 'next times' is it gonna take? She's consistently depicted as helpless, as someone who's all talk, but can ultimately never put money where her mouth is.

Sakura and Sasusaku fans do the most marvelous job at erasing the characters' canonical personalities in the name of projecting their self-insert fantasies. I've never once seen such blatant character assassination in any other pairing, moreso a pairing that is canon, as in Sasusaku.

Honestly, reading essays talking about how Sakura is "the best written character", hearing people interpret her as a "badass woman who puts Sasuke in his place", seeing others claim that "she'd help Sasuke take revenge against Konoha"? It's hilariously infuriating.

She's foolish, and too caught up in her own romantic, fantasy world to substantially thrive in a reality as cold-blooded as the one she was born in.

And that's all she'll ever be.

[devilsrecreation]

All these oc’s but not enough threats, so let’s turn the sound up! You know what? I think it’s time for a villain roundup! (VILLAIN ROUNDUP)

Chonge (fang)-puff adder

I wouldn’t say Chonge is evil per se, more like misunderstood. He’s faced quite a bit of trauma in his past and his entire life thinking he was destined to be the bad guy. In reality, he’s afraid. He’s seen how his fellow snakes have been treated and has even watched his friends die with his own eyes. This got him to view everyone around him as an enemy in fear of getting eaten or mistreated in any way. He often tries to eat at least one of the skinks

He eventually starts thinking differently after getting rescued by Kifo, leading him to reform. No one (especially not the skinks) trust him at first, but they warm up to him

Chimp-Mkatili (cruel)

The leader of his tribe of violent chimps whom act like a gang. He’s an old acquaintance of Sumu and is majorly unpredictable. He can be chill one minute and trying to beat you senseless the next. Nobody really knows why he and his chimps are like this, but it seems as though he does bad things just because he can. He currently has a vendetta against the Outlands, as his former home got destroyed during Scar’s rule during Season 2. They now live probably in another forest out of the Pridelands and are plotting their revenge to destroy the Outlands and everyone in it, no matter what things are like now

As for how he knows Sumu, Sumu was a known hitman/assassin who would frequently get involved with evil animals to kill someone for food as payment. Yeah, the job with Simba was NOT his first rodeo, he’s been doing it for a while. Anyway, Mkatili was no exception to this and has hired Sumu to help them get rid of a rival chimp tribe. They eventually meet each other again, but a now (semi) reformed Sumu refuses Mkatili’s offer to join him which ultimately pisses the chimp off

Secretary bird-Kandamiza (crush; oppress)

A snobbish, holier-than-thou bird who thinks all snakes are evil incarnate and does whatever she can to harm them. She does this by trapping a poor serpent in her talons and stomping on their head until they’re either knocked out or dead. In her mind, she feels as if she’s protecting all of Africa from the evil that is the serpent race. Like Hatari, she claims she respects the circle of life, but fails to understand how snakes are part of it. She’s basically a representation of Hollywood’s tendency to make snakes the villain

She’s also a threat to the lizard population and tends to get a little greedy when hunting

Honey badger-Mpinzani (challenger; opponent)

Bunga, but evil. That’s how everyone in the Outlands describe him. A narcissistic, egotistical poacher who will gladly take anyone in anything. He used to be somewhat idolized as a hero/daredevil way back when, but all that fame got to his head and he started thinking he could do no wrong. Then he began causing problems just so he can swoop in and resolve it and starting unnecessary fights with other animals. He was eventually caught and banished, now poaching anywhere he wants …including the Outlands. Oh, and he’s friends with mongooses because of course he is

He doesn’t want peace. He wants problems.

Black shadow-like monsters- represent poachers/people involved with the Exotic Pet Trade

This one is….pretty self explanatory I think. Although I will say they are easily the most dangerous villains

Msumari (nail) and Mkaidi (bully)

Two more of Kenge’s toxic siblings who act as henchmen to Jino.

Msumari’s usually seen more with Jino than Mkaidi is and prefers to torture Kenge psychologically than physically, unlike her siblings. Her psychological torment can often break Kenge or whoever her victim is, thus putting the “nail on the coffin”.

Mkaidi is the dense, but short-fused one of the group that likes to aid Jino in beating up his victims. He’s also sort of the yes-man (lizard), supporting Jino’s quips with a “you tell em, Jino!” or something like that

I don’t know if they’d be alongside Jino in his debut episode, but they’d definitely be in the flashbacks

[raayllum]

Moving forward, what do you think is going to be Claudia's motivating Drive?

Viren, at least, was always able to tell himself that he was working for the sake of the Greater Good, but that's not something Claudia has ever cared all that much about-- her first, last, and only real concern has always been her Family. With that pillar removed (not that I think Viren is about to disappear completely, but he's definitely not going to be directly involved with her in quite the same way), what does she have left to fight for?

I mean, obviously Revenge can be a powerful driving motivator-- the whole series kicked off with revenge-induced assassinations, so we know that's not exactly nothing, and I can definitely see it being something pushing Claudia further down her current path.

But (IMHO) the story has also been moving somewhat further away from Cycles of Revenge, and I just can't see that being a strong enough motivator for Claudia when counterbalanced against everything our Heroes are fighting for. (Especially with Soren still holding out hope for her and being a weak chink in her armor.)

What's the piece I'm missing?

In a lot of ways, perpetuating the Cycle has always, indeed, been about seeking Revenge for the loss of loved ones.

Rayla: When I first came here, I was on a quest for revenge. But the minute I saw that egg, everything changed. Now, this is a journey of redemption. / I became so obsessed with revenge that I risked losing the best thing I ever had: you. Ezran: I'm sorry about what happened to your father, and what happened to mine. But we don't have to avenge them. We don't have to strike back. We can't choose peace. Callum: Then it's a cycle. You hurt me, someone will get revenge against the elves. It won't end.

This is also one of the key things that, at first, set Soren and Claudia apart from the bulk of the main cast. At first, Harrow and Viren weren't seeking revenge (the Magma Titan) but then they both succumbed to it (killing Thunder) and it continued to snowball from there. In spite of losing their families, Callum, Rayla, and Ezran chose to shed the cycles of revenge their parents (Harrow and Runaan) had partaken in to try and break it instead.

Conversely, Soren and particularly Claudia have been largely removed from the Cycle of Revenge... until 3x09 and firmly in 5x09. Soren and Claudia lost a family member, but their mother is alive and chose to leave. While they've experienced forms of loss, they've never had to literally grieve a death. Although Soren has complicated feelings about his dad, he's ultimately more relieved than anything else regarding his dad's death ("Dad is dead, Claudia. You don't have to do what he wants anymore"—4x07) and angry/despairing when it's reversed (yelling no in show / Soren snarled. “Why couldn’t you just stay dead?”—TDP Reflections: Strangers).

Aaravos dangled Viren over Claudia's nose like a carrot dangling from a stick, and she followed. He didn't offer her revenge, but a way to save her father. But the same trick won't work twice on her. Claudia isn't going to try to bring Viren back again — it'd be a repeat and wouldn't progress her character any further — but she also can't walk away from Aaravos, because she's our sole primary antagonist outside the mirror and still might have a role in freeing him. And if she walks away from Aaravos, she's also going to be walking out of the plot, and we can't have that. Thus, I think power — and subsequent revenge — is about the only thing Aaravos would have left to offer her.

It gives her an incentive to 1) go after the prison and/or 2) generally do Aaravos' bidding, and if she couldn't defeat the trio without his help the first time, allying herself with him is the biggest way she can level up as a threat in terms of just like, power scaling.

There are also still a few bits of information that Aaravos knows but Claudia doesn't (that Rayla was responsible for Viren's death, and that Viren lied in 3x03; although for the latter, that's more something she couldn't or wasn't willing to accept) that could spur her further into well, going wonderfully apeshit.

Revenge is more of a fine motivator for her in 4x09 (tricking Rayla, although Terry gets her to turn around) and in S5 with the dragon (smirking and smiling about having the upper hand, making it scared of her) and in her altercations with the trio.

So yeah, my vote is on revenge — for better or definitely worse!

Obligatory fanon s6 fic plug in because of Claudia's revenge arc getting underway

[chevelleneech]

The Acolyte ep7: The Good!

I posted my negative thoughts first, to get them out of the way since they were my initial reaction. However, I didn’t end the episode upset or even frustrated. If you want to read them though, click here.

Going to the good…

This episode, while flawed in my opinion, did a good job following through on what it seemingly set the tone and theme of the show as. As far as I know since getting into the series, it’s meant to be a villain origin story, but no one really knows who the villain is supposed to be.

We know Mae was the assassin, but we never knew if she’d remain our dark side pov. Then we met Qimir, the by-the-book villain who is looking to recruit people to the dark side, and Osha, his likely pupil given her call to freedom and power since youth. We also had an inkling it could be a Jedi who turns, because it’s possible, as we’ve seen it with Anakin (if he was a Jedi, I don’t actually know, lol).

Point is, we knew the show would be about someone choosing the dark side, but not who. This episode followed through on why it’d be possible and even justified, because the Jedi have an inflated sense of ego no matter who it harms, and while I don’t know everything about Star Wars, I do know that has been a long lasting conversation. The Jedi Order wants ultimate control without coming across as being oppressive, and that is simply not a feasible want in life. As a result, they must cover up their crimes, no matter how well intended.

As such, we saw in this episode that while Indara attempted to do the right thing the whole time, she still chose to protect the aggressors. Which was her team, thus claiming the lives of an entire coven. We saw Torbin, a young man being taught he was an authority figure even though he clearly wasn’t ready to be on the field, act on his own impulse just because he wanted to go back to a place of comfort and privilege that benefited him. And lastly we saw Sol, a man clearly in search of his Purpose, choose to act on his emotions instead of trying to understand a different culture’s way of life.

What stood out to me the most, as well, is that Sol didn’t even know the girls apart from each other as he attempted to stake his claim. I know he meant well to an extent, but he called out for Osha despite knowing Mae is the one with the symbol on her head. It can be argued he didn’t see it, but that also proves my point. He didn’t feel a connection to Osha specifically. Like Indara said, he put his own deep seated wants above what was actually happening.

Sol decided Osha passed the Jedi test. Sol assumed the worst of Aniseya to justify killing her. Sol decided Mae was too attached to the coven to give her any benefit of the doubt. Sol chose to kill Mae to save Osha. Sol chose to protect himself by agreeing to lie to Osha and make her sister out to be a murder. Sol, Indara, and Torbin all acted out of selfishness, and while Kelnacca could have chosen not to jump into battle, he really is the only one who did not cause harm. His body was taken over and used without his permission, and as a result, his life was chosen to mean more than tens of others.

As much as I spoke on why the episode didn’t hit the mark for me, I do still think it is a really solid foundation for why Osha eventually going dark makes sense. It also redeems Mae, because she could have chosen to kill all Jedi everywhere, yet she didn’t. It also helps make better sense of why she decided to turn herself in once learning Osha was alive. I already figured it was because she had her sister back, but that was when I thought there was true mind games going on with the Jedi and she wanted to tell Osha she didn’t start the fire.

She did start the fire, but it’s still a solid reasoning, because had the Jedi not been there, none of it would have happened regardless. At the same time, Mae’s want for revenge stemmed from believing the Jedi killed Osha, and because she saw Sol kill her mother. So it makes even more sense that she hates him the most, and decided to kill him once again after Osha refuses to forgive her. Sol ruined her life, and unbeknownst to her at the time, chose to kill her too.

I kind of lost my train of thought… sorry.. but basically, I think for all its worth, the episode did stick to its guns. We know why Mae wants revenge, we know why Osha never felt truly connected to being a Jedi in the end (because Sol forced it more so than he let it happen naturally), and we know why Sol has been so guilt ridden and also confused as to why and how Mae turned out. He asserted she was dead, because he let her fall. He didn’t think she was a killer, because she never was before his actions turned her into one.

Okay, so I’m tired of typing now and gotta get some sleep for work, but that’s pretty much all my thoughts. I think. If not, you’ll certain see more of them over the next week. I also think I’m going to make a predictions post tomorrow, so I’ll link that here if I do. Bye.

Wait, quick thoughts after reading it back.

Who saved Mae? I’m confused as to that part, and am partially hoping it’s not Qimir, because it would make me side eye their lack of a dynamic. Unless they have him save her and send her on her way, only for them to meet up a decade later, and he realizes she needs guidance right as we is seeking a pupil, so he decides to train her.

And the last last thing… people who hate the idea of the Jedi being corrupt, are probably not going to like this episode even though the Jedi overall are not the ones who covered anything up. It was that single crew, but we all know how Those Folks can get. They’re already too deep into their “The Acolyte is the worst show ever!” high horses, and they aren’t coming down anytime soon, lol.

Okay, now goodbye!

[dc-sideblog]

"Cass and Jason are twins" BUT they are bio through Lady Shiva and Willis Todd

Cass as a human trafficking victim sold at infancy

Shiva fucking lied to Cain and scammed him and that's why he got one kid and not two. She sold her daughter because she knew his intentions and wanted a successor just as badly as he did, if not moreso

Didn't sell Jason because the deal wasn't good enough

Dumps Jason on Willis and goes back on her merry way

Years later Jason finds a smudged birth certificate and Sandra Woosan's contact info on Willis's phone. He tracks her down and-- lo and behold-- gets betrayed and killed

Cass has been nonstop suffering this whole time

She's currently with the League of Assassins. Don't ask how they got her after she ran away as a kid. Just know that she hates herself atm and has never known life without violence. She may genuinely think this is as good as life can get. For her anyway

Shes a personal guard for the al Ghul family because obviously they want the best and also they can't get her to kill, so a protection detail is perfect. Cass takes out any threat and then Ra's swoops in to finish them and pretends it's a vengeance/honor thing and not because he doesn't have complete control over the One Who Is All

Enter Jason, back from the dead with a severe brain injury, and one of the only other kids in the League. Super weird how he kinda looks like Cass

Jason is offended by every aspect of Cass's situation, even before the Pit dunk. Why is she here when she's a kid. Where are her parents. She looks sad.

He can't really express all that verbally but Cass is touched to her core by it. She is also really curious about him in general and keeps an eye out, as much as she can

Jason's fucking incensed after the Pit dunk but he hides it for sneaky reasons

Shiva stops by Nanda Parbat for whatever reason and is like lmao and spills everything to Talia, who is delighted

Talia naturally arranges a blood match between them the next day and tells Jason literally as it's beginning

Cass watches, enthralled, as he cycles through the entire human emotional spectrum in under ten seconds

They fight and she kicks his ass. A match to first blood against her is quick and almost painless. It's so easy it's boring to watch

Jason is still pretending everything is normal and fine and convinced Talia to loan Cass out to him for his big Gotham revenge plot. She sees right through this but frankly doesn't care. This won't affect Damian's eventual introduction, and Jason really could use someone watching his back anyway

Cass is not thrilled with the Red Hood's methods, however. And unlike taking on the entire League of Assassins, she really can prevent him from killing people. And worst of all, she can see that he wants to protect Crime Alley as his ultimate goal, it's literally just methodology that she has a problem with

Red Hood keeps trying to ditch her and tell her she's free now and can leave. Cass understands what he's going for perfectly well and Does Not Care. Fuck him and fuck his guns. She is in his apartment now and he can't get rid of her

Cass does HORRIBLE things like rescuing all his victims and arguing with him constantly, which is really a feat to watch as she can't talk, and she shows up at all of his drug dealer meetings

Jason is pissed that she's undermining his authority but this situation looks very different to outsider Gothamites. People are scared shitless of the two of them. They're acting like Bats if the Bats were evil. Like yeah that guy lived but holy fuck

The sibling squabbling is barely a blip on the radar as people are too busy fleeing in terror

Actual Gotham Bats have no clue how they should address this. Do they arrest them? Recruit them? What the hell is going on here

Red Hood and the Shadow have overtaken Crime Alley completely but every update Jason gives to Talia is him complaining incessantly and her suppressing laughter at his embarrassing failures

of course they'd love to have Cass back in Nanda Parbat, why doesn't Jason just put her on a plane and send her? :-)

Unrelated but he jokingly called her Cassandra after the same Greek myth Barbara named her after but then it stuck. Literature nerd Jason rights. Like yeah he was being sarcastic. But also she was as old as he was and in all those years no one has cared enough about this girl to even give her a name

She's his twin

Cass doesn't know about the concept of twins until she is 18 years old in Gotham and sees a pair of identical kids for the first time. Jason gets really excited and immediately gestures between the two kids and then between the two of them

No magic man comes along and scrambles Cass's brain in this one. She simply has a receptive-expressive language disability and lives with it. Started out using a picture board when they first got there but then Jason did some research and learned about AAC devices. Now Cass has a high tech tablet with an AAC program

It has so many words and they're all hers and she can use them whenever she wants. It's easy too, she just presses a button and bam, talking

Later on she gets AAC programming embedded into her suit's wrist computer. The Shadow's voice is carefully designed to be as terrifying as possible

Jason will go on a big melodramatic monologue speech and Cass will catch none of it except *mildly annoyed*. This happens twice a week

They cook together a lot and spar together and go to plays, because Cass can appreciate theater acting in a way she can't with TV. Jason is so glad he finally has a sibling with taste

This segues into Cass discovering ballet and also wordless animation like Tom & Jerry type stuff

Normally taking a break from working the Mission full-time is not something the Red Hood would ever do but if he doesn't have civilian pursuits then Cass won't either so looks like they're both gonna have to be mentally healthy :/

Yeah I don't know how or if they end up integrating with the rest of the Waynes/Bats. But I think this would be fun and good for both of them

[mermaidsirennikita]

HR with the moral compass trope please!!!! It can be the hero or heroine

Hi! I assume this is the "x person is my moral compass" thing, right? Maybe morality chain-lite? Forgive me lol, I hope this is the right vibe.

Obviously, there's Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas, if you haven't read it yet. I find that Evie really holds Sebastian to a higher standard.

I recently read Lorraine Heath's Beyond Scandal and Desire. Mick Trewlove isn't a horrible person, but he is... morally dubious, and his entire plan is to destroy peoples' lives for revenge. When he meets Aslyn, her dignity and goodness slowly erodes his resentment, and again, she holds him to a higher stanfard.

Shadowheart by Laura Kinsale IIIIS this. The hero is a totally coldhearted assassin, and initially forces the heroine to marry him for entirely self-centered reasons. He teaches her a thing or two and she becomes a bit more jaded, but overall she stays strong and fucks with his sense of morality. There's a beautiful scene where he's like "go take confession, but I'm not going because I'm anathema and can't be in a Church" (looollll he's very dramatic) and she's basically like "I'm not going to until you do, because if I go to Heaven without you it's not Heaven". It's BEAUTIFUL. TW: first encounter is non.

Kinsale is really good at this, and For My Lady's Heart (which comes before Shadowheart, about a different couple) also has this. However, in this case the heroine is known as this cold snake of a woman, and the hero is this knight who pledged himself to her like, over a decade ago and hasn't seen her since. He's really disappointed with the person she turns out to be lol. He isn't perfect, but he's more idealistic than her, and softens her a lot, makes her question her life, etc.

Aaaand another Kinsale. Flowers from the Storm has a hedonistic rake hero (like, he literally has a pregnant mistress in the beginning and is like "whatever pass the kid off as your husband's") who goes through a total life change (he has a stroke which makes it difficult for him to process language and therefore he can't speak) and is taken care of by this very pure-hearted Quaker girl who he begins to fall for. She has to relax a little, but he also learns about a different perspective from her.

What I Did for a Duke has a revenge-driven hero who seeks to seduce this heroine to get back at her brother. HOWEVER! She knows his game from the beginning. He begins to soften and sort of go back to this softer, kinder version of himself through her.

The Madness of Viscount Atherbourne by Elisa Braden has another "vengeful heroine learns better through the heroine" story. The hero is trying to avenge himself upon the heroine's brother (who I think killed his brother in a duel) and ruins her, forcing a marriage. But she accepts better of him, and he has to rise to the occasion.

The Dragon and The Pearl by Jeannie Lin. In this case, the heroine is a bit tricky herself, but is ultimately a much better person than the hero (a warlord who takes her captive lol) and he finds himself basically crumbling for her.

Hugo and The Maiden by S.M. LaViolette. I've referred to this as "Devil in Winter if Sebastian lived a rougher life". The hero is a famous sex worker who's entirely money-motivated and cynical. He's framed for a crime that gets him transported, and due to a shipwreck, ends up stranded on this tiny island, where he ends up getting entangled with the vicar's daughter, who's very moralistic and expects better form him. He totally falls for he and is like "FINE!!!! I GUESS I HAVE TO BE A GOOD PERSON NOW!!!". It's so good. TW: discussion of sexual abuse in the past, though he's remarkably blase about it.

When the Duke Was Wicked (Rum On Lips) has some of this, as the hero is this ridiculous rake and when he begins hanging with the heroine, he's like ".... oh no she's reawakening my heart...."

Angel in a Devil's Arms by Julie Anne Long. This one has a hero who was presumed dead returning, back for Revenge. The heroine actually isn't perfect; she was a married man's mistress, and has since made friend's with the guy's widow and is running a boarding house. But she wants to do better for herself, which is why she's resisting him, and he has to work on himself to be worthy of her.

The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt. This one is great. The hero is a rake, borderline villain, and the sweet, pure heroine picks him up when he's like... dead on the side of the road lmao. He has to shape up for her, and she's very much his moral compass.

The Devil of Downton by Joanna Shupe. This hero is a literal gang leader in Gilded Age New York, and the heroine is a do-gooder who he intends to corrupt... But she has more of an effect on him than he expected.

The Rakess by Scarlett Peckham. The heroine of this one is an unrepentant "rakess" (albeit with a backstory that makes it understandable) and she gets lured back into reexamining her extremely messy life by a kind widower with two kids.

How to Marry a Marquess by Stacy Reid. This hero has been super rejected by society because he recognized his illegitimate daughter, and the heroine is his longtime friend who accesses a softer side of him. She's by no means perfect, but I do think you get this idea (and she's his other friend's sister, so he's very guilty when he begins... teaching her things).

The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe. I think Lockwood is a mild version of this for Nellie, in the "emotional key" sense. Like, she's definitely not a bad person, but she is very emotionally closed off, and Lockwood spends so much of that book (after promising a no strings affair lmao) going "BITCH I LOVE YOU PLEASE LOVE ME BACK" and it's honestly both beautiful and extremely funny.

Untamed by Elizabeth Lowell. The hero of this one is a 90s Elizabeth Lowell hero, so of course he's trash, while the heroine is a genuinely good person who begins to crack open his heart after their arranged marriage.

How to Steal A Scoundrel's Heart by Vivienne Lorret. The heroine in this one is ruined and turns to the hero to have him as her "protector". He does this thing where he gives his mistresses four month contracts and then drops them with a severance in order to keep emotions at bay. She's a sweet person and totally turns his world upside down.

The Duke and The Lady in Red by Lorraine Heath. This is another one where the heroine isn't perfect, but she has a good heart and moves the hero the right direction. He's a super hedonistic rake who cares for no one, and she's actually a con artist--but with VERY good reasons. At first he's pissed when he realizes she's conning him (early in the book) but once he knows that reason... It totally changes his life.

[sophiesbookishthings]

June Reads 🌈

Hi! I've got a little preface before this month's list. Every June I like to try to exclusively read books with LGBTQ+ rep. I do tend to kind of do that throughout the year anyway since I'm queer (biromantic asexual and nonbinary) and that's just the type of books I naturally seek out. But in June I make a point of it and try to read books where they are specifically the main character. It's also preferable if the author is also LGBTQ+ in some way. I believe representation in the media is extremely important and I like to support that whenever I can. Anyway, buckle up, this one is gonna be long.

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

This book has 3(!) asian bisexual polyamorous main characters by an asian nonbinary queer author. This book was like if ancient China met Pacific Rim, then make it queer and feminist. I was not in love with the first part of this book. The main character was (understandably) out for revenge but didn't seem to really think through her plans well. She was also really mean. It did make sense for the character at the time, though and it made sense, since she really didn't think she would live long enough to have further plans or for it to matter that she was mean. It was just a bit frustrating to read. She did have character development throughout the book and did ultimately turn her anger specifically back toward the oppressive government. I loved watching each dynamic of the romance develop throughout the book. I think it was really well done, and the three characters fit really well together. It was also a great contrast to the harrowing dark nature of the rest of the plot. Then the ending! The ending was such a great payoff from the rest of the book. The twist was foreshadowed so well, and I did pick up on it a bit. I knew something was up with the "aliens." The second book is supposed to be out later this year, I believe, and I can't wait to read it.

4.75/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️

Leather and Lark by Brynn Weaver

Okay, this one isn't lgbt. Oops. I had it preordered and had to read it immediately. I do think I liked the first book in the series a bit more, but this one was still fun. It was kinda enemies to lovers and had a marriage of convenience. The fmc basically did arts and crafts with her victims (who were typically child abusers/molesters), and the mmc was a professional crime coverer. I really liked how hard the mmc worked throughout the book to be forgiven for things that happened when the 2 mcs first met and the gradual reveal of why it was so bad for the fmc in the first place. I'm excited to read the next book because I feel like the two main characters are going to be super interesting.

4.25/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️

Edgedancer by Brandon Sanderson

.....Okay, I did another non-lgbt one. But it's Sanderson, and it's a novella okay. I don't really have much to say about this one except that Wyndle deserves financial compensation or something. That poor spren is going through it. I'm really intrigued to see how Lift is going to deal with being a Radiant and interacting with the others in Oathbringer after this book, though. I think she's gonna add a lot more chaos, and it's gonna be fun. Oh, and I still love Szeth, and someone needs to help him. I know he's a notorious assassin, but he is the saddest, wettest, most pathetic guy, and he's having a whole existential crisis.

4.25/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

This one was really good. I've had it on my shelf for a while. I get why everyone was talking about it a few years ago (when I should've read it lol oops). The main character is a gay transgender Latino (same as the author) boy whose family can summon spirits and heal. Powers which are unfortunately traditionally gender based. Through the book, he tries to prove to his family that he belongs with the men of the family while also helping a spirit he kinda accidentally raised. I really loved Julian, and the eventual relationship between him and Yadriel was really sweet. I listened to this one on audio, and I have to mention that I loved Avi Roque as the narrator. They did a great job. Then there were two twists at the end, one I saw coming, and one I didn't. The one I didn't see coming was really neat and made a lot of sense considering there is supposed to be a sequel.

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Loveless by Alice Oseman

I tried to read this book at least twice before I finally got through the whole thing. I had to get it in audiobook cause that is my trick to getting through books that are hard for me to get through for whatever reason. And it absolutely wasn't because I didn't like it. It was the exact opposite. Alice Oseman never fails to make me cry when she writes aro/ace characters. She herself is aro/ace, I believe, and the way she writes her aro/ace characters is the closest I think I've ever read/seen in media to my own experience. This book felt too much like looking into a mirror, and that made me have A Lot of Feelings. Even trying to read it this time was tough, and it took me a while. Georgia's experience navigating through the transition between college and high school felt a lot like mine. Though, her college experience ultimately went significantly better. Her desire for connections felt a lot like mine. Though she did achieve that in a way, I very much did not. I loved the various representation in this book. Sunil was a particular favorite of mine. And i loved that they were Shakespeare theatre kids. Very much like me lol. Ultimately, I really loved the conclusion that friendships can be just as important and fulfilling as romantic or sexual relationships.

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I liked this book a lot. I love a good morally gray woman who won't apologize for her questionable choices. I also love a good queer period piece. And this book is mostly set in old Hollywood which fascinates me because of the contrast of how glamorous it looks versus how much of a nightmare it actually was for anyone who wasn't a straight cis white male in a position of power. There was also a really sweet found family element in this book, and I'm always a sucker for that. It also had an interesting narrative structure, which I enjoyed, because it was framed as an interview. So this book really checked a lot of boxes for me.

4.75/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️

The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang

I really liked the premise of this book. Two men meet in ancient China, fall in love, and meet over and over again throughout various lifetimes. The endless palace concept intrigued me as well. Unfortunately, the execution fell flat for me. I wanted this to be a love story, and I think it was supposed to be, but it felt like more of a lust story. And there's nothing wrong with that, but it felt weird to me when it was framed as a love story and then barely delivered. It didn't feel like the two protagonists actually got time to get to know each other and fall in love before they were declaring that they were in love, especially in the lives they live after the first. And this declaration happened later in the book as well. There was very little romantic development. It would have been more interesting to me if they had to make the effort to fall in love in each life, but it never seemed like they did. Even in the first lifetime, it seemed like their love was orchestrated. It also never explained why they were reincarnating. I think the jade thing was supposed to be the reason, but it wasn't explained well at all. And, considering the title, I thought the endless palace would come into play a bit more. It didn't. It was mentioned briefly that the palace was seemingly endless, and that was about it. Ultimately, the ending failed to pull the whole story together like I hoped it would. I basically got 0 emotional effect from this. I felt like basically nothing happened and that there were so many loose ends that were just left unexplained. And if you do choose to read this tw for sexual assault/coercion.

The First Bright Thing by J. R. Dawson

2.5/5 ⭐️⭐️✨️

When We Lost Our Heads by Heather O'Neill

This book was weird. But I kinda loved it, I think. The two girls the story centers on, Marie Antoine and Sadie Arnett, are based on Marie Antoinette and the Marquis de Sade (which is directly referenced in the book and it made me laugh). It follows them through years of both their friendship and rivalry and how Maire's privilege and Sadie's libertinism impact their relationship (both platonic and romantic). It has very heavy themes of 19th-century feminism which can seem very harsh at times when read through a lense of modern feminism, but I do think it was ultimately executed well. It also had themes of classism and the privileges that come with being in the highest upper class and how that can affect ones beliefs. It's also very queer. I was a little worried about the way it was queer at first because it seemed pretty heavy on hating men but i think that was very much due to the time period and the extreme amount of priveledge men had in the lives these women were living in. This book also had a few twists that, even though I picked up on a little early, still made me gasp when it was revealed. And every character in this book is flawed and kinda awful in some way, which was part of what made it such a fascinating book to me. Like I said, I love morally questionable women.

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I kept seeing and almost picking this book up at the bookstore until I finally just got it on audio from the library. This book had found family and a magic circus. But it also had a pretty prevalent theme of the effects of an abusive relationship that kinda caught me off guard because that wasn't necessarily stated in the description of this book. It was actually one of the strongest elements of this book, I thought, so it seems odd to me that it wasn't one of the main points of the description. Then there is a plot point in which they try to stop WWII. I think this book could have been just as good or even better if that had been excluded because it didn't really seem to go anywhere. But also upon reflection, I believe the point of it was to show that even though terrible things may happen in the future you can't necessarily change them and have to live in and make the most of the present. And I kind of love that as a concept. I really liked the relationship between the ringmaster and her wife. They were really sweet and another one of the strongest parts of the book as well as the friendship between them and their other friend who helps them run the circus. I think I still have more thoughts about this book, but this is already long, and I'm not coherent enough to articulate them lol

3.75/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️

[still-searching-for-something]

I read The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind by Jackson Ford recently.

I wasn't totally sure what to expect of it, but going off the comparison on the book that it was a cross between X-Men and Alias, I was imagining a larger crew of people with other powers, but alas, Teagan Frost, the MC, spends 99% of the novel as the only character with powers. No team of mutants kicking ass, unfortunately.

The whole thing is a whodunit/action thriller where Teagan works for the government as a spy using her telekinetic powers (referred in the novel as psychokinetic, presumably to sound cooler because I have no idea what the difference is). They're trying to figure out who killed someone using powers that only she as a telekinetic is supposed to have. Ultimately, spoiler alert, it turns out one of her friends had groomed and manipulated an unstable guy with the same powers into being his personal assassin to get revenge on some... water company or something? It wasn't super well explained, I think it was that the friend had lost a loved one to shit being put in the water and a worker's strike against it had been brutally suppressed.

I think a good term for this book is 'popcorn read'. It's a little like reading a book version of the Latest Summer Action Blockbuster starring Hot Actor You Recognize and Hot Actress You Recognize, with a movie poster IN ALL CAPS TO EMPHASIZE HOW BADASS IT IS. The plot was tight and fast paced, though obviously could have outlined the villain's motives a little better, and it's the kind of book you read in a day or two.

Teagan Frost is very similar to the main character of Artemis, Jasmine Bashara. They're both very rebellious, foul mouthed characters with big goals (get a nice place and cushy job in Artemis for Jasmine, open a restaurant in LA and escape the government spooks who force her into her black ops side hustle for Teagan). They're both very attached to where they live, and both feel reasonably three dimensional.

The same, alas, cannot be said for most of the cast in The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind. They all mostly fit reasonably well into various archetypes--Annie's the tough criminal with a chip on her shoulder, Africa is the eccentric homeless guy with some info, and Tanner's the mysterious government lady who only appears on the other end of a telephone call. A few paragraphs after meeting each character, you understand them well and they don't really surprise you or anything.

The final, MCU-style twist at the very end was kind of stupid tho, I'll be honest. Like, 'OMG they're NOT dead?!?!?' It felt like contrived sequel bait. And yes, sequels there are--this is the first in a series called the Frost Files. But frankly, it stands up better on its own if you cut the final twist, and I don't plan on reading the rest of the series.

This was legitimately pretty solid though, and like I said, it's like watching an action movie. You don't expect deep meditations on the human condition or anything, but as far as entertaining stories go, this certainly does its job. I would recommend this book to you, it's a page-turner that keeps you interested well enough.

[navree]

people who got angry at the writers of 2x03 for talking about how rhaenyra didn't put any thought into her meeting with alicent and can't be surprised at the outcome because "rhaenyra shouldn't have to offer any concessions" are baffling and probably lacking in brain cells because that's literally spot on. rhaenyra went into an attempt at peace talks without any attempt to conciliate the opposing side and was surprised when the peace talks devolved and ultimately failed. it's bad decision making on her part, it's bad leadership and governance insofar as she has the ability to govern, and given that we're meant to see her as a legitimate claimant to be the sovereign, it's entirely reasonable to judge her on those standards.

because rhaenyra should have thought of concessions. she's making a big ask here, and it's entirely fair that she make offers that could actually appeal to the opposing side other than "War Bad :(" because the other side knows that, like in every conflict ever, they've just decided that the potential outcomes of winning the war matter more than the lack of war in its entirety. it is doubly important that rhaenyra offer concessions because she is also no longer the only wounded party. any peace talk to avoid the dance would need to hinge on both sides acknowledging that there has been serious wrong done to each part. on rhaenyra's end, the man whose rule is law proclaimed her heir but that was taken from her, and her son was killed unexpectedly during the negotiation phase. on aegon's end, he has the precedent of centuries of westerosi legal custom, and his six year old was murdered for absolutely no reason through no fault of his own or even aegon's. these are major grievances that both need to be dealt with fairly and with the understanding that restitution on both sides needs to be made. i mean, hell, rhaenyra only gives a passing mention to the fact that she did not, in fact, order two assassins to force their way into helaena's bedroom and make her choose which child to die. not even offering to allow daemon to face any sort of legal justice at aegon's hands is a gigantic fucking blunder on her part.

rhaenyra is no longer in the position where she can make unilateral demands because she is no longer the only person who has suffered or dealt with material consequences. hostilities are now as much motivated by personal desires for revenge as they are for legitimate succession reasons, and rhaenyra knows that because the entire reason she meets with alicent is to try and break the cycle that started with luke and then moved to jaehaerys and then the cargylle twins afterwards. i mean, hell, look at what alicent says at the end of the conversation when she tells rhaenyra it's too late. she mentions that the equivalent to armed forces have been mobilized, that one of the most personally powerful military men is actively marching to engage in warfare, and that aemond, someone who is not only ruthless but, as far rhaenyra knows, has a vested personal interest in doing things like avenging his beheaded nephew, is going to be involved. rhaenyra's thoughts, were she a competent leader/administrator, should be "what can i do to get them to at least press pause on this so we can negotiate further". the fact that it wasn't is a failure on her part, the fact that she did just think she could come in and go "let's stop fighting" when there are issues that she needs to address on her side now is a failure. it's entirely acceptable to call her out on this.

and i would have given this same criticism if a peace talk was initiated by alicent with that same mindset. if alicent had tried to negotiate with rhaenyra and been the one pushing for it, she should have had some restitution to offer her for what happened to luke, and for sending ser arryk to murder her in her bed. that would be a reasonable thing for rhaenyra to accept, since those are grievances that the greens need to address in any peace talk with her in turn. but the difference is that alicent is aware of the fact that she'd need to do that, because she already did it. she's the one who says they need to send terms to dragonstone after aegon's coronation that rhaenyra can find acceptable and agree to without feeling humiliated or losing face amongst her own supporters. she sends otto with those terms with clear messages to be conciliating, and even leverages her and rhaenyra's former emotional investment in each other to drive home that these are peace messages (in contrast to rhaenyra starting out with 'if i wanna i could murder you' which is a very bad way to start a peace talk, and rhaenyra knows that because immediately when called on it she acknowledges that it's a fuck up on her part).

there's a section of this fandom that believes rhaenyra is the rightful ruler, but then actually refuses to judge her on her merits as a ruler. she wants to be the sovereign, fantastic, but that means she's going to be held to a higher standard by both other characters and the audience, because she's now the key decision maker and also responsible for literally everything that happens on her end (i don't know if some of y'all were just too dumb to qualify for apush but i am smart so i took it and i remember when we talked about the truman presidency in that class and "the buck stops here"). it's not the writers being shitty to rhaenyra to point out that this plan was flawed from the getgo because there were serious issues in her thinking that meant it could never succeed. it's just the simple truth of the situation.

[kehideni]

The Dragon Prince - Dark Magic

I might get some heated arguments againts me but hear me out if you do, and if you do, do try to keep the argument in a constructive path.

That being said, here's what i think:

Dark Magic is not evil.

It is not good either, it is - as all things really - dependent on who's hand it is in. Who's willing to pay and what.

Dark Magic is a means to an end, Dark Magic is not the short cut, it's the purchasing of a way, where there is usually none. "Unpassable" becomes just another kind of "passable".

Unavoidable famine becomes avoidable.

Humans can not kill an arch dragon by any means, Avizandum was a several tonn, flying, lightning beast that you could not out-think either, since he is just as much a sentient person as your average human is.

Viren paid a price to kill him, granted he was not the only one that had to pay said price. (And this is where things become scetchy.)

As a person working in healthcare i can't blame Claudia for killing a deer (who live for about 6 years on average anyway) to restore Soren's health. The severity of her actions wasn't even suggested by the deer's death either, it was shown when Soren got healed:

The problem isn't that a deer had to die, the problem is what Claudia had to pay, something i'm not sure she knows the full extend of.

She said to Callum that humans just squeeze the magic out of creatures and use that, she never mentions what she feels after using a spell. Viren and Claudia both look very... err ghoulish after so many years of dark magic. It changed them and we as audience still don't know just how much it does, all we do see is that 1. it makes you look pretty close to death and 2. gives some sort of access to your body to Aaravos (and we don't even know why or how that happens or if it should happen at all)

Why i say that? Because the only person we see use Dark Magic and not pay a price at all IS Aaravos. There are still things missing from the big picture here.

Onto the materials:

Plants and animals are one thing. You can eternally argue for and againts, but at the end of the day: it depends on what the magic user is willing to pay. To Claudia it was worth it to heal Soren, and that was an act of love. Eventhough she doesn't seem to realise she paid something too, not just the deer.

But later on Soren said that Viren cut the assassins that attacked King Harrow up for parts. That's not a gray zone thing, that's 100% vile and rotten. And Pyrahh was also about to face the same thing, and we know that dragons are all sentient, they just need to reach an age of 75something to be able to talk with humanoids(for some reason).

Viren was also the person to see Sarai passing away, and instead of being there for her for her last moments, he... collected her last breath. The severity of that is not that he used air from her lungs, but the fact that as a fellow human that just got saved by her, he didn't think of returning her compassion to him - ... with compassion.

When someone dies in front of you- and believe me i had my experiences with that -there are things that run through your mind.

NONE of those things is to collect a material for a possible revenge attack. It's not a humane thing to do. It's not something that Viren would have done if there was not something in him that got twisted.

To bring in another character from another IP: Arthas was able to become the Lich King by a long chain of events, but it started with his willingness to purge a city.

You can argue that he did it for their sake, since Stratholme was doomed for something worse than death, but Jaina and Uther left because it was just not something they were able to do and see. Stratholme was cut down when they were not yet scourge, they were cut down when they were still very much human. They were long poisoned yes, but they were not yet monsters. They WOULD be shortly, but at the moment of their death, they would be human.

Arthas was willing to do that, which was ultimately speaking of his lack of compassion and humanity. He was the kind of person that COULD and would become The Lich King, because he was able to dehumanize his own people in a blink of an eye.

What's the difference with Callum's use of dark magic and everyone else's?

Essencially not much. Callum himself never had to slay any animal to use it's body parts for magic, but that really doesn't make a difference.

He doesn't actively seek out chances to use dark magic, and to him it really is a last resort sort of thing. If for the well being of Rayla he MUST pay the price of Dark Magic (something that he, akin to Claudia, doesn't know the full extend of) then he will.

This is why the second time he uses Dark Magic it's not brushed off, eventhough all he did was change some chains into snakes. ("So what?" Will most of us say.)

To me, the tragedy of this scene

is that this time he knows that it wasn't just a tentacle that got used. Callum now knows that he is willing to damn himself for Rayla. He knows he just gave more access to his body to Aaravos, the dude they are on this very same journey to stop in the first place. His corruption is willing. Unlike Claudia(who still doesn't know) and Viren- who seemed pretty surprised learning that Dark Magic takes more from him, than any creature he has slain.

Kind of controversial isn't it?

It's not like Primal Magic can't be used for evil purposes anyway.

It all comes down to what you are willing to pay, is what i'm saying, and humans just happen to be the bargaining type.

[devilgene]

What was Kaz's thought process with hiring Nina with their history? What was his aim when putting her into a cryogenic slumber all those years ago in the first place? 👀

► send me questions you have about my character!

If there is one thing Kazuya could admit to himself about Nina, it's that he generally views her as efficient and competent at her job. You give her a task she can likely see it through. But that's about it. I will also not deny that he doesn't trust her in any sense of the word, given she's attempted to kill him multiple times and then fact he very much prefers Anna (they are close despite anything he says).

From what I understand, as of T8 and after the death of Heihachi, Kazuya seized the chance to overthrow the opposing side, intensifying the attacks on the Zaibatsu until the remaining leadership was forced to surrender. It was a swift, decisive end. Kazuya has essentially assumed control of the Zaibatsu. I seems to have happened rather quickly - a month, maybe even within two weeks - so Nina may have still been the commander of the Tekken Force and been one of those said leadership positions. When it looked like she'd be unable to recover a still MIA Jin and Kazuya moving in to take over, this may be when she decided to cut her losses and become a freelance assassin.

So with all these factors in mind, I think... he's using Nina on a three fold scale. One, he needs someone to manage his forces as he escalates his push to take over the world. Nina has proved proficient enough in doing so with the Zaibatsu and already has experience with the Tekken forces he's probably integrated into his war effort. His normal pick is out of the picture so he'll make use of her instead. A threat he can effectively wield against enemies and make them think twice, and an asset ultimately expendable to him. Two, it removes Nina from the enemy pool temporarily and restricts her movements. She was a thorn in his side for a good while. She's very slippery and it can be hard to pin her down. If she's working for him as a direct subordinate, there's a much lower chance of someone else taking the plunge to hire her to assassinate him again. He gets to keep an eye on her and he's a position to deal with her himself if she gets any ideas. Three, Anna. I want believe this has something to do with her and until new material comes out I'll be making pure assumptions.

With my iteration of Kazuya there definitely is an Anna aspect to his decision to hire Nina. With Kazuya, Nina's... like a spare to use in the meantime? He's looking for Anna. Before T7, he allowed her to retire without any fuss in order to marry but clearly things have changed. There is no way he does not know about Anna's fiance being assassinated and he knows Anna well enough to know she will seek out revenge. I think she dropped off the grid after failing to get back at Nina in the heat of the moment, plotting on how to end her for good. It's hard to locate Nina even on your best day if she doesn't want to be found I imagine. With her current position, it's always hush hush about who's calling shots at the top brass but these things have a way of... leaking. With Nina kept in a very convenient position next to him in the event Anna does decide to return to G Corp, it sure saves the time of hunting her down, doesn't it? And if Anna wants to exact her revenge then and there? Well, Kazuya won't be the one to stop her. Unfortunately as of yet, Anna has yet to appear.

As for the cryogenic sleep, Kazuya was big on biological experimentation back then. While Lee leaned toward the cold and mechanical working of machinery, Kazuya drifted toward the understanding the heated evolution of living flesh. And he had a plan: create enhanced animal soldiers to utilize in his building army. Now what do we have here? An assassin fell into his hands? Sounds like a perfect test subject to try out these brand new very experimental machines on. I think Kazuya would have kept her in there for a few years to test the preservation efficacy of the machines before letting her out, maybe less since Anna decided to join her. So, he didn't have big plans for Nina per se. Didn't have time beyond testing out the pods. If he had… It started with animals, but I think he was on track to move onto humans after enough time (see Gigas a la T7). He was certainly willing subject himself to experimentation. With Nina still in his grasp he might have attempted to have Nina biologically altered in some way or another in his efforts to create a perfect weapon. Nothing that would kill her (probably), but she would be...changed. Maybe for the "better".

@muse-borealis