#and major events happen and she can't save him

[gingerale2017]

when you get too much into a cookie game that you look for aspects of it in your main ship and you can't stop imagining evil kai. or corrupted kai.

PLEAS EVIL KAI SAVE US SAVE US

[lost-romantique]

As heartbreaking of this sight is for Stolas to see...

So we the audience knows that the moment Stolas sees the image of Loona and Blitz hugging it destroys him because he just now realizes the gravity of the situation he's forced into.

He was ready to die for the man he loves, but he didn't expect to live and have to deal with the consequences of his own actions.

He can't see Octavia. He can't see his daughter, and that's what fucks him up so bad.

But I think ultimately, this is good for him to see and realize.

Stolas, lacks a lot of self-awareness, not just due to his privelage, but just from the fact that he's never had to deal with consequences so severe before that were the direct cause of his own actions.

Don't get me wrong, Stolas made the right decision in saving Blitz, since he never really had time to make a decision...

But it doesn't change the fact that he never really thought to consider how his decisions or his actions in general would negatively effect the people around him...

Since, you know, Stolas tends to get stuck in his own head without considering the bigger picture.

Because Stolas only cares for two people: Octavia and Blitz.

Yet, despite the fact that he cares for them deeply, he doesn't understand them and their needs...

He's aware that Blitz has some deep rooted issues that cause him to hide behind a mask...

But he isn't aware that gestures such as asking him about his day, commenting and liking his photos, and laughing at his jokes, and giving a giant magical rock in the form of a love confession aren't exactly the way to break through his tough exterior.

(I don't blame Stolas for this, Blitz makes thing extremely difficult in general, but you get what I mean)

He's aware that he needs to be there for his daughter.

But he isn't aware how leaving her in the dark in a desperate bid to protect her youth is ultimately doing more harm than good.

I feel like a part of Stolas feels that as long as he apologizes to Octavia and comforts her than she would always forgive him. So Stolas kinda unknowingly takes advantage of his daughter's love for him even when doesn't mean to.

For example, the events of Western Energy weren't much of a learning experience for Stolas as it was for Blitz because Stolas knows that this is only happening to him because Stella hates him and wants him dead.

He leaves the events of that day emotionally and physically scarred, but doesn't directly learn anything from it except the disillusionment of Blitz being his knight in shining armor that would come rushing in guns blazing in the name of love.

To me Stolas' biggest sin isn't his privilege, it's moreso his inability to see the bigger picture and that yes, actions have consequences.

But that's just my take on things...

Also...

I think it's important for Stolas to see this side of Blitz. The side of Blitz that he isn't familiar with outside of the bedroom.

The seething self-loathing that manifests in the form of crossed out photos. The sheer loneliness he feels majority of the time by just forcing himself to put up a front.

The side of Blitz that is also a caring and doting father that would do anything for his daughter. The kind of father that will always put his child's needs first.

The boss of I.M.P that always strives to succeed and go above his lot in life, always making sure his people or his found family are taken care of.

Again, that's just my take on things.

I feel like a lot of people are too busy focusing on the negative, instead of seeing how much this change is going to benefit Stolas in the long run.

[thebirthofvenusfly]

okay but i like thinking about the events of ISAT/siffrin's struggles not as them going from a party of normal people with normal struggles to "everyone essentially now has to help Sif heal from That," but as, "everyone in the party has had their own immense, long-term struggles, and this happens to be Siffrin's." like, siffrin is not just a, "problem child," or the standalone outlier in terms of angst

here me out

[major ISAT spoilers, especially for acts 3-5 btw]

siffrin doesn't know all these things in act 1, but:

Odile has had a life-long struggle with identity. Her mother abandoned her family at a young age, her father (presumably heartbroken and betrayed) has never kept any mementos or photos or stories of her and likely avoided speaking of her at any and all opportunities. For the most part, Odile loves her culture but admits she was an outlier in Ka Bue and always stood out from the texture of her hair and eyebrows. She's tried to settle before for the peace of just letting it be, but after meeting that travelling merchant, she realizes how badly she does want to bridge that gap in her identity and has now spent years travelling--all only to find that it didn't quite fix her problem and she hasn't been able to find herself entirely in Vaugarde either. She doesn't dwell too much on her mother, but I feel there is a part of her that could never forgive the hole her mother left behind.

Mirabelle has similarly struggled, though in terms of religion and sexuality. She holds herself to a very high standard of Changing and being a, "good," Housemaiden, and has gone to great lengths to learn as much as she can in efforts to reinvent herself and Change, as she feels she, "should," do, because that's what Housemaidens and diligent followers of the House of Change, "should," do. She is so adamant about this that even prior to the game, even prior to the King's reign--which was several months-a full year before ISAT begins--she is forcing herself to look into relationships to potentially date, bond, and even have children with someone and she doesn't want to do any of that it. She is distraught because she doesn't want to change that aspect. She doesn't want to become what she's not, or try to force herself to feel things she doesn't and can't feel, but she isn't being a good Housemaiden or a good member of her society if she stagnates.

Bonnie's plight primarily comes in with the King's reign, which again, has been for a few months now. They live with their older sister who loves them and cares for them tirelessly, but she is taken by the King's Curse and frozen in time--an event which presumably happens in front of Bonnie, who is encouraged by their sister's last words to just run from the village as far as they can to safety. If that isn't terrifying enough, this leads to them wandering the wilderness for days, exhausted, dehydrated, presumably starved/ill-fed, and lonely, and likely scared out of their mind. Their only saving grace is Siffrin, who happens to find them and save them. The comfort they feel with Sif is called into question when they have to watch Siffrin take a permanent, debilitating injury to the eye to protect them. While the incident seems to roll off Siffrin's worries pretty seamlessly, this is a lot for Bonnie, who by now, has recognized a pattern of the people they love being permanently hurt or altered in some way all just to protect them. They're convinced they're a recurring problem, and after the death ritual talk in the House, has to prepare themselves for the haunting reality that they might really lose everyone they love (and, again, this is a lot. Especially for a child).

Isabeau has tried Changing before, and while it did help him make leaps and bounds, he is still in a constant struggle to love himself fully. Let's be honest here: Isabeau is easily the most emotionally put-together party member, and most equipped to handle the stresses of the party in terms of feelings. This does not make him immune, however, to his own negative feelings. He even cites as wanting to become someone that Siffrin wouldn't be, "ashamed," to know. He also mentions that he is remorseful of the new image he's given himself, as an air-headed, jock type of person, which often leads people into genuinely believing he's stupid and thus treating him that way. Not to mention, as the emotional mediator of the party, I'm sure he occasionally gets stretched thin between helping everyone else manage their problems and altercations.

all this is to say: everyone in the party has their problems, and a good sum of these are not all instantly solved by the end of the story. all of them, siffrin included, are left in a space where they have plenty of healing to do but can confidently and comfortably still rely on one another.

ISAT is just siffrin's chapter of major emotional plight, and everyone else's is presumed prior to the narrative (i can also acknowledge that siffrin definitely got the worst of it though LMAO)

[descendant-of-truth]

Y'know, it occurs to me - Movie!Sonic has a lot more in common Shadow than any other version of Sonic that I know of, and that creates a unique storytelling opportunity that wouldn't have been possible before.

Because originally, Shadow having a dark and traumatic backstory was what separated him from Sonic. Their similarities came out more in their confidence, their playful attitude, and even their withdrawn demeanor (though Shadow's is more extreme). Sonic's genuine ability to be carefree and optimistic was his biggest difference from Shadow.

In the movies, Sonic is... not nearly as put-together. Just like Shadow, his personality is shaped almost entirely from the result of tragedy. Both of them had to watch their closest family member get shot trying to save them from raiders (who were specifically targeting them for their powers) by sending them to Earth. The difference here is that, for Shadow, this event is fresh in his mind, while Sonic's had ten years (give or take) to accept what happened and move on.

Except, there's more, because losing Longclaw is itself not the main thing informing Sonic's character - it's the fact that he spent those next ten years in near-total isolation. Also similarly to Shadow, he took the last words his family said to him very seriously, and she told him to stay hidden no matter what. Combine that with the natural fear of what being found did to Longclaw, and the majority of Sonic's life has been spent hidden away, looking out at the world but unable to participate in it.

Remind you of anyone?

(I swear if the movie doesn't make a point about this parallel specifically I'm gonna lose it)

Normally, Sonic is a silly and upbeat character because that's just how he is by nature, and the feelings he keeps to himself are rarely detrimental to his health. In the movie universe, Sonic is silly and upbeat because he needed to be that way in order for his life to be bearable.

His constant chatter isn't quirky for the sake of it, it's a habit he developed out of necessity because there was no one else to talk to. He compulsively needs to fill the silence because not doing that would only reinforce how alone he was, and it's something he can't shake off even when he's not by himself anymore. His primary method of handling his feelings is to ignore them until they literally explode out of him with lightning firing everywhere.

All of this to say, a Shadow meant to be a foil to this Sonic is going to look very different from the Shadow we're used to. From what little about the movie's events have been described as of writing this, I'm inferring that Shadow's actually going to be a lot more open about his motivations for revenge than he was in the game, and that puts Sonic in the very interesting position of being more closed-off than Shadow.

Because sure, he might try to connect with Shadow's pain like he did with Knuckles. But because Sonic and Knuckles's history was so directly connected, they didn't really have to... talk that much about it. Sonic could acknowledge that they both lost their families a long time ago without having to go into detail about it or the aftermath. And because it had been so long since it happened, it was a lot easier for them to put it behind them and move on.

Shadow can't do that, because for him, Maria was lost very recently. He's not going to accept "you can move on and find new people to care about" as an option, and Sonic can't very well tell him to just ignore it like he did, either. Shadow isn't going to do the whole repression shtick.

For the first time, getting through to Shadow may just depend on Sonic being able to acknowledge his own pain, first. After all, how's Shadow supposed to interpret Sonic, if not as some random guy with a perfectly happy family and an obnoxiously happy attitude telling him that he needs to just, get over what happened to him? How can that come across as anything but naive and shallow without understanding how much Sonic suffered to get to this point?

(It's still a little naive and shallow even with that in mind, but the reason for that isn't because he has no perspective on what experiencing a violent tragedy is like - it's because his only known way of handling it is to leave it in the past and Not Think About It)

Though I do wonder if there's room for Sonic to initially clam up on his emotions even more after meeting Shadow for a bit? Like, he learns to some extent what happened, and is like "aw jeez if this is what could happen if I let myself be more upset about my lot in life then I REALLY need to reign it in" which is the exact opposite lesson he needs to learn but would be really interesting to watch

Point being, I think Sonic and Shadow are being set up as even more like mirrors to each other than usual, and I can't wait to see what they do with that potential

[sunsetsentiments]

haven't read sun and the star yet so unsure about rick's plans for the future but,,,,

there's SO much potential in writing something about the lost hero trio post-TOA. piper,, who's been struggling to adjust after all those major events and revelations in hoo,, is suddenly hit with jason's fate and is clearly even more confused and emotionally/mentally battered than ever. she's TRYING to move forward,, but knowing how she is at the end of TOA, there's still so much to process and grapple with for her. meanwhile leo??? he never got to say goodbye to his best friend, never even considered that any of this would happen while he was away. smart as he is, he probably figures it out fast that what happened to jason might've been caused by him cheating the prophecy. he likely starts thinking that he unknowingly saved his own skin in exchange for the life of his friend. can you imagine the guilt and regret there?? not only was he unable to be there in his best friend's final moments, but he also might've been the reason for the tragedy in the first place.

i can imagine the two of them trying to go on with their lives in oklahoma and indianopolis respectively,, but they can't shake the grief, fear, regret, and confusion harboring their hearts. they both have such strong motivations to do something crazy,, to take on a quest they shouldn't,, to be openly angry with the gods/fate and do something about it.

there's this line that leo says when he finds out about jason at the end of the burning maze. "he did what jason always did. he saved the day." and i can imagine the thought of that haunting both piper and leo. he always saved the day. but why couldn't they save him?

i'm not saying jason should be brought back to life because i think his fate makes sense for the overall narrative of the pjo world,, but it would be so interesting for rick to explore piper and leo's grief in response to what happened and make a story out of that.

[dwreader]

Actual incidents in the book that are in dispute btwn Louis and Lestat since you fuckers can't seem to read:

-Lestat wanted Louis for his plantation vs. he is in fact already rich: not really relevant to the show since show Lestat is flaunting the fact that he's extremely wealthy from the start. Louis is not under any illusion that this guy is after his wealth, HE moves into Lestat's house in fact and accepts Lestat's money/gifts/etc. Lestat is a captial p PROVIDER. He said do NOT take that away from me and it's one thing he's 100% right about.

-A cold loveless relationship depicted in IWTV vs. a more loving though still troubled "marriage" according to TVL: again, more or less moot for the show since season 1 depicts Lestat's version of their relationship more so than Louis's. They are clearly in a romantic relationship, had some good times (that were maybe glossed over quickly by Louis but are still clearly depicted through Claudia's diaries) and yet even in TVL, Lestat agrees that Louis's account was an accurate representation of the atomsphere of their decades together and that he deserved all the punishment he got.

-Lestat torturing + killing people for fun according to Louis vs. Lestat's claim that he only killed people who were "bad" and deserved it: kind of already played out on the show when Louis suggests the idea in 1x03, but ultimately it doesn't significantly alter our perception of Lestat cause does anyone actually care that prostitutes stole money from their clients and think that's a valid reason to torture and kill them? Hope not! It's just a good insight into Lestat's mind and how he justifies killing.

-The events after Lestat's murder and Paris: these parts we have to take from Lestat's POV simply because Louis is unaware of things happening when he's not present. Obviously will be a major part of Season 2.

-The scene at the end of IWTV happening or not: the most direct contradiction between the two accounts but this has not happened yet on the show so it has no bearing on anything in season 1.

As you can see, most of these contradictions involve Louis's omissions in IWTV rather than "made up" events. Save for the final scene in NOLA that doesn't actually mean anything to season 1, absolutely nothing about Louis's depiction of events in IWTV is really disputed by Lestat. Louis's turning, Claudia's turning, the "atomsphere" under which they lived leading up to Lestat's murder and Lestat's murder itself are all indisputable. Lestat is revealing more of his motivations and giving us further vampire context/knowledge that Louis didn't have (because Lestat kept it from him btw and he forgives Louis his errors because he knew it was out of enforced ignorance), but that only slightly changes our perception of his actions. It does not throw them into the trash.

It's also very clear that Season 1 is already an amalgamation of the two versions. If they were taking IWTV literally, the show wouldn't even be a romance and it clearly is. It uses Claudia's diaries (a device revealed only much later in the books) to fill in some scenes that Louis may not have been present for like the kidanpping on the train but the two perspectives make the story kind of bulletproof? The reliability or lack thereof of Louis as a narrator is made possible by Claudia's diary being there as a secondary source and when he's at his most unreliable, it's the diary that provides the contradictions. WE see something's off when the diary's pages are excised. BUT you really don't have any basis in the books for a major lifechanging event like episode 5 to be retconned, let alone an event with two people as sources and involved a prolonged recovery period that's also described in painstaking detail by said two people. Like this woman was a lazy writer most of the time but even SHE wouldn't do that cause its like a basic writing tenant not to feed your reader horseshit??

[markantonys]

So bizarre to see fanboys jumping through hoops to find a way they can incorporate as many of Mat's plot points from TDR and TSR into their imagined version of s3 but NOT include Cauthor CPR. I'm sorry the cursed dagger on a spear makes you mad but you're okay with Min or Nynaeve saving him from hanging???

smh!!!! mat only does 1 important thing in all of TDR and TSR, and that is receive mouth-to-mouth from rand. and they would rather sacrifice that than any of his other stuff!

if it can't be rand, then nynaeve would be an okay substitute since she knows healing and hasn't had any chances for a good emotional moment with mat yet; however, imo if she has TOO many moments of successfully helping her friends via non-magical means, it would lessen the urgency of needing to break her block. thus, nynaeve saving mat with CPR would arguably be counterproductive to *her* arc of needing to break her block. (unless it instead is the trigger moment that causes her to break her block and she's thus able to heal him magically, but, while that's a sweet idea, it doesn't make much narrative sense for mat to be the one serving such an important emotional role in nynaeve's arc, no offense to him haha)

as for min, there's no need for the show to outsize her and mat's emotional connection i.e. they need to be good friends early on to make their series endgame work better, yes, but they do not need to be (and shouldn't be) each other's #1 most important emotional connection for two seasons straight. think of the heteronormative ship-baiting it would cause for show-onlys if mat and min had a focal emotional connection for two seasons straight culminating in her giving him mouth-to-mouth! ain't happening.

and all that being said..............as of now there's no reason to believe it can't be rand giving mat CPR! mat not being part of the waste storyline by no means precludes his doorway incident from occurring in a way that can involve rand. it could happen in the first couple of episodes before the gang's split up. it could happen in the finale with mat entering one doorway in tanchico and getting yeeted out into rand's lap on the other side of the continent because the pattern craves cauthor.

plus, with this scene being perhaps the single biggest and most iconic rand-mat emotional moment in the entire book series, i don't see why the show would instead give it to a different - and less important - mat relationship. (unless they absolutely had to because it turned out to be logistically impossible for it to be with rand, but, again, we have no reason to think that's the case.) if you look at the whole series, rand is more emotionally integral to mat and his story than nynaeve or min are, so why shouldn't he be the one mat has this big moment with? plus, if mat vs. couladin is in the cards for s4, iirc mat's implied motive there is that he intentionally hunted down couladin during the battle to help out rand even if he makes it sound like it was an accident, so s3 Cauthor CPR would set up a) how ride-or-die these two are for each other and b) mat feeling like he owes rand big time for saving his life, and wanting to do something major to return the favor.

overall, the fanboys often have really strange priorities when it comes to judging which book events are important to the overall story (Male Badassery) and which aren't (Everything Else), and their show predictions reflect those priorities very tellingly. i mean, my show predictions also reflect MY priorities very tellingly, but my priorities are a lot closer to rafe's than the fanboys' are, which hopefully leads to more accurate predictions. if you think a gay showrunner isn't going to do everything he possibly can to fit in the iconic-to-the-gays moment of rand giving mat mouth-to-mouth, you're kidding yourself!

[innerchorus]

AAAAAAAHHHHHH (spoilers and screaming about ArSen Chapter 131)

Please avoid if you don't want big spoilers for this chapter, there are some shocking moments and some major differences from the novels. I don't have time to go into great detail but I'll try to share a few panels and summarise the key events.

Team Hilmes sighting! They're hearing the commotion as the two kings fall from the tower.

@tired-reader-writer not only do we get to see Isfan but he's joined up with Kubard! I'm so happy to see it!

Jaswant is with Estelle; he's been ordered to protect her by Arslan because Ecbatana is not a safe place for a Lusitanian right now. Realising that something has happens, she rushes towards the North tower.

Me seeing the crumpled and bloody bodies of Andragoras and Innocentis: OKAY YEAH they're definitely both dead.

AND THEN ANDRAGORAS FUCKING STANDS UP.

It's okay, though. He does die. Because Tahamenay appears, and as she embraces him she slides a dagger into his heart. YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT. Andragoras is killed by Tahamenay.

She tells Team Arslan that the official word is to be that the Shah died in the fall from the tower.

Estelle arrives on the scene and realises she was too late to save Innocentis. Alfarid sees her start to disintegrate and urgently reminds her of the people who need her and tells her to hurry, after which she gallops off to find them.

Tahamenay (about Estelle): "If my daughter were alive, she would be about that age too" ??? Are we going there? Or is it just an acknowledgement that her daughter really is gone for good (and perhaps it's this understanding that allowed her to kill Andragoras, knowing she would never reunite with her child?)

Recognised as a Lusitanian in the teeming streets, Estelle runs into trouble that Jaswant can't diffuse, as he too is a foreigner, but Farangis leaps in to save the day and gives Estelle Prince Arslan's standard, knowing if she has it, nobody will bar her path.

She flies to where the group of Lusitanians should be but finds an empty and bloodstained room. For a moment she is destroyed by the knowledge that she was too late again and couldn't save them, but then those three kids show up and it's revealed they've kept them (yes, all of them!) hidden and safe. I really needed this and was surprised how emotional it made me feel, actually.

Word is spreading that the two kings are dead; we get some reactions shots from Team Hilmes, Isfan and Kubard (Isfan's fang made an appearance and it's fucking cute as always!), and Kishward and Tus.

And then the end of the chapter really fucked me up and I wasn't ready. I was never going to be ready but I wasn't expecting this NOW.

FUCK NO except please know that I'm also whispering 'yes' even though it's horrible because both Isfan and Kubard are seeing this??

SHAPUR except it's not, it can't be, because he's dead and both of them know it. So what's going on here? Is this a Team Zahhak impersonation (as we saw with Ghundi taking the form of Husrab) or is this something more sinister (an undead Shapur controlled by Team Zahhak? I'm leaning this way because look at those eyes... feels different).

GUYS. THAT WAS THE FINAL PAGE. WE HAVE TO SURVIVE ANOTHER MONTH BEFORE WE SEE WHAT HAPPENS/

What do I even want to happen. Is Isfan going to be put in a position where he has to fight or kill his (not) brother? Is Kubard going to have to intervene to save him? (I want this, obviously, especially as we're not going to get the scene from the second half of the novels where he does something similar in a different situation). What's Team Zahhak's angle here?

How did we get from the head jars which have been haunting my nightmares for literal months to this hellish scenario, which never even crossed my mind?

[clawbehavior]

we're five episodes into Shogun, which means we're halfway through the series and all the major plotlines have been introduced and the characters characterized. and i'm starting to notice things. 

namely, toranaga is becoming increasingly unlikeable. it started when he abandoned blackthorne to die after being saved by the man hours earlier, but it reached its peak with the return of the young heir's mother and the reveal that she's using the council against toranaga to protect her son. because then what is toranaga going to war for? we were told via the dead king's widow that toranaga needs to protect the young heir against the council, but clearly that's not true. so what's he doing? it bothered me that toranaga could be so kind to the young heir, playing with him and advising him, while neglecting his own son, whose insecurity around his father was so transparent that he was easily manipulated into starting a war. but then i wondered if toranaga was showing his true self (his third heart) to his son. that scene where he says "you categorize everyone as enemies and friends when you only have yourself" implies that he sees everyone as a potential enemy, which can only happen if his self-interests are at odds with everyone else's. seeing the end of episode five, i think toranaga is not what he seems. we know he can be duplicitous. he plays uncle and nephew against each other so easily, getting rid of the problem of their growing power by doing so. i think the falcon motif that's ever present in the show represents toranaga, flying against the sun so his prey can't see him until it's too late (episode one). he's fooling everyone, including his allies, which brings me to my next point. 

mariko's story is not going to end well. i didn't know why this was a limited series with no chance of a season two until we got her backstory. mariko is straight up suicidal, just looking for a purposeful/honorable way to do it. if blackthorne can see this within days of meeting her, across a huge cultural divide and despite language differences, then toranaga has clocked this about her too, which doesn't bode well for her life. the mariko-blackthorne-husband love triangle subplot serves a deeper function of revealing her psyche to us.  she can't let go of her feelings of injustice and dishonor from her family's deaths. (the flashback we get of her past shows her father's haunted expression because that's how she remembers the event, with horror rather than disgust for his actions.) this is why she tells blackthorne the truth about her family when ordered to by her husband, even though blackthorne tells her to lie and tell him something else because her husband won't know. mariko can't let go of what happened to her family (and her husband doesn't let her). she's been spiritually dead for ages and the return of her husband from the dead not only means she cheated, which someone with her honor code can't live with, it means she cannot be happy with blackthorne. her tragic past coupled with her strong feelings towards honor/dishonor makes her easy for toranaga to use, though it's unclear for what.

interestingly, mariko and blackthornes' opposing ideologies are why they survived and found each other. mariko resists quietly, inside her soul (the eightfold fence), turning to her Christian faith and becoming devout and learned in Portuguese to speak with the priests. this is how she ends up as blackthorne's translator, a position of power and later romance. blackthorne, in contrast, resists outwardly and every step of the way. that scene where toranaga tells him to give up because he's outnumbered and blackthorne replies "unless i win" captures his character perfectly. he's going to fight until the last second, which is why he survives the journey to Japan, and why he gets separated from his men and integrated into a foreign culture, and why he steers the ship to safety rather than being left behind to die. that stubbornness to live shows up as a tendency for breaking all the rules, the result of which is meeting mariko and unintentionally getting her to fall in love with him. it's so fascinating how their ideologies have set them apart from their own people and brought them together while indicating their incompatibility. 

the show does a good job of layering characters and keeping them consistent, so i have faith that they'll return to yabushige's scary character. him torturing a sailor to death in pursuit of an existential question in a way so barbaric that it scares even the villagers did an excellent job in setting the tone of the show in episode one and setting the show apart from other historic period dramas. so it's disappointing to see him turn into a conniving goofball. hopefully this is a short term thing. 

i haven't been so intrigued by the political machinations within a show in a long while, probably since GoT. can't wait to see how the rest of it plays out 

gif below courtesy of @yocalio. look at toranaga's face shadowed in the sunlight. we don't fully know him.

[what0smart]

Absolute Power:Superson thoughts!!!

Spoilers!!!!!!

As much as I would love to make an essay on this I don't think there's any way I could organize my thoughts enough for it to be good so I'm just gonna list out my thoughts on my favorite parts!

You can find my thoughts on the first 8 pages we got as previews here (page posting limit lol)

Nia understanding that while Jon often fights alone or for people, he desperately wants to fight alongside others or for them to fight for him.

This whole page is so great, I love the direct acknowledgement that Jon has been constantly fighting and all the times he had to fight alone. I will take the volcano and Ultraman where and whenever lol

Jon clearly has been suppressing his trauma and his constant fighting to make sure he doesn't lose anything like when he lost everything as a kid is clearly taking it's toll. Nia telling Jon he doesn't need to fight for everyone else constantly and it's okay to choose himself at times. This will come back in a conversation with Jay.

I am holding out having any feelings on this cause a large part of me refuses to believe DC would actually kill her, but if she is actually dead I'm gonna come back later and stare at this page in the saddest way possible.

He's so petty it kills me lmao

While it stresses me out to see them fight I love seeing them work through it, and it really shows the differences between them especially as this whole event has probably had a major impact on Jay in a negative way.

Jon realizing that he was trying to save the idea or memory of Nia over his Boyfriend after everything that's happened and deciding to prioritize what he wants, which is Jay. (more thoughts on this page at the end lol)

I think the Amazonians asking Jon for help was kind of a reminder to Jay of who Jon is at his core. Similarly to how Jon understood he probably can't dissuade Jay from hating Nia, I think Jay was reminded that Jon is just a forgiving and loving person, it is what drew Jay to Jon in the first place and that he shouldn't expect him to have the same reaction he has to Nia's death. I think Jay was going to say yes no matter what after this realization but I feel he normally would have thought about it more but decided to take that risk and give Jon a yes so he wouldn't be worried about it while in battle, you can see Jon flies away with a much more ready attitude.

Jon's "new place" is in his dreams, I had a worry Jon was just offering to live together with Jay because he thought it's what Jay would want but the fact that this is here means he has been dreaming of living in San Francisco for a while now, and the fact that Jay not being there destroying the dream really hits it home that being with Jay is what he wants. This is not Jon trying to make sure everyone in his life is happy at the cost of his own, this is Jon listening to what Nia told him to do and is choosing himself by following his dreams.

Final thoughts

Overall I really loved this issue and it really hit my expectations. It was very tough to follow at times but that's typical of dream sequences and this issue did it well, can't wait to see how Absolute Power ends and if Amanda will FINALLY face the consequences for her actions. I'll be holding out my comments on Nia until we know for certain she's dead, Nicole loves tormenting her characters so I wouldn't be surprised but I think she would also love to continue the beef between her and Jay. I'm extremely interested and hope Nicole or Sina do something in the future for Jay and Jon because right now they are probably the people at DC who I trust the most with the boys!!!

[yunamedkostobot]

I just can't do with them

This person speaks like the Grievous POV in Labyrinth of Evil, when he speaks a lot about this events, is non-existent and this book directly preceeded Revenge of the Sith in Legends continuity. So, only magazine article, you know, it does not mean anything, and Jedi are completely innocent about it!

While I do not condone Grievous methods neither in Canon, nor in Legends, the Kaleesh invasion on Huk would not happen if not the Yam'Ree did not attack Kalee first and did not attempt to enslave his population. Where was the Jedi than? Where were they after it, when Kalee outright started to starve?

And it is not the first time when Jedi in Legends failed to help those who were in need.

There was Jabiim. This page when Stratus clearly sums up everything went wrong with the planet.

The planet used to be faithful Republic world, but neither Republic, nor Jedi helped them when they needed it the most. The result? Total majority of people of Jabiim supporting Stratus and CIS. Yep, maybe Stratus is pushing revanshist propaganda, but it would not have made the same impact of people of Jabiim, if there were not quite an objective conditions.

There was Findar with his population being enslaved by criminal overlords for more than ten years. Add the fact, the same overlords who conducted the experiments with memory wiping on people, and only the fact that Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi (who were heading to another mission) crash-landed here saved the findians from future nightmare.

The probability theory says that when one thing happens is the accident, coincidence, when it happens twice, and sistem when it happens thrice. So, make you own conclusions.

And even the argument about it no longer being canon doesn't really works. In Canon, Jedi outright ignored Czerka corporation literally enslaving its workers(what she by this time did not do in Legends). This exchange between Qui-Gon Jinn and Yoda really sums up what is wrong with Order right now.

«Qui-Gon had been too young to see the cracks in the bravado—the pain that all Dooku’s guidance and all Rael’s accomplishments had never been able to erase. “That he would effectively sell citizens into slavery—” “Grievous, this is,” Yoda agreed. Into Qui-Gon’s mind came the echo of Rahara Wick: What’s the point of having a Republic in the first place? “We should put an end to it,” he said. Yoda shook his head. “Not ours to decide, the fate of the treaty is—” “Not the treaty. Slavery.” Qui-Gon folded his hands in front of him, allowing the robes to obscure them—the most formal way in which a Jedi could address another. “Why do we allow this barbarism to flourish? The Republic could use its influence to promote abolition in countless systems where the practice flourishes. How can we fail to do this?” <.....> Qui-Gon’s patience began to wear thin. “This isn’t about imposing human ethics on nonhuman species. This is something humans do to one another, an atrocity we should put an end to.” “We? Not the chancellor, not the Galactic Senate, not even the people of the Republic, but the Jedi?” Yoda thumped his gimer stick on the floor. “Want to rule, do you? Dangerous this is, in one who would join the Council. Dangerous it is in any Jedi.” Qui-Gon knew all of this. On one level, he accepted the truth of it. On the other—“If we don’t stand for the right, what do we do? Why do we exist?”»

From the same book we know that Czerka corporation acts even worse, than IRL Russian nobility up to 1649 or American slave-owners. Their property can not be considered free unless they buy themselves out of it, no matter how long they were absent from Czerka's control(as Rahara case clearly indicates). Up to ratification of Council Code of 1649, Russian serfs who ran away from their masters can be declared as "wanted" only for 10 years and were considered free after that. The black slaves could use the Underground Railroad and get to the North or another country when slavery was illegal.

It's not a case for Czerka. They will never let their former property go, no matter how many time passed since the escape, or where their former subject had gone.

And Jedi stand and allow it to happen. Doing their part in Republic, yep, Yoda?

"Many ways there are of serving the right,” Yoda replied. “We work within our mandates, and there do as much good as we can. To do otherwise, to substitute our judgment for that of the Republic, is to repeat the mistakes of the past.” So instead we make different mistakes in the present? Qui-Gon kept this to himself."

And also, to what mistakes of the past Yoda is referring to? What mistakes are deemed worse than allowing slavery to exist? Even in the Legends the Jedi having closest ties and basically control of Republic(to some level that it can be considered religios teocracy) allowed them to defeat Siths and practically destroy them except one. And even then, after the victory they stepped down(too far IMO). What thing could be called mistake here?

I am gonna specify: the Republic had a lot of problems that have a need to be fixed, but there was one thing that made this state more durable or competent is having Jedi, but not as the «Galactic therapists»(therapy can not be forced onto living being without his desire, if it is not a conversion therapy), but as the protection from arbitariness and exploitation. If some planet was endangered, they could have contacted Jedi and ask for help. The main problem of Order in this case is the fact they did not do enough for the people they should have protected, blindly trusted some reports and never attempted to search for the truth beyond it(Kalee, Galidraan and Pijal to lesser extent) and also hadn't seemed to have their own outposts for survelliance or interference, or some rapid reaction forces since Ruusan reform in Legends(1000 years)/«Starlight Beacon»'s destruction in Canon(200 years). I can not call it anything else but shooting yourself in the foot.

The Jedi should have been more autonomous, should have had their own information information service, outposts in the Galaxy and forces of reaction. It was not necassary to cut their ties with Republic entirely, but distance themselves from Senate, so people wouldn't think that Jedi «blindly serve the corrupt Senate».

Jedi Uncrits: «But the Jedi are only 10.000 for all of Galaxy, they could not do it!»

Well, in this case it's better to drop your practice to recruit children under five(as Rael Aveross's case indicates), abandoning tons of kids and youths elder than this age(like Caris in Legends). Or what, they will not blindly accept everything Council says? Sorry for the Council.

[strangesthirdeye]

Under the root of Yggdrasil (Loki x fem! Reader)

Summary: Sometimes being able to see your loved ones from afar is good enough.

Warning: It's Loki who doesn't like him. Medium angst, Loki s2 ep 6 spoilers? Norse Mythology, acceptance, Loki needs a hug,

As usual, I'm sorry if there are any wrong sentences or typos or grammatical mistakes, please forgive me and again English is not my first language, so I try to improve my language and writing in this way.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Staring at the one spot makes all the views in the corners of your eyes blur as you only focus on one spot. Your mind is somewhere else while your fingers unconsciously fidget on Loki's broken tempad. It's been a few weeks since the temporal loom event.

Since Loki sacrificed himself to save the entire timeline even universe. He's not dead but his absence is enough to make one. The way he smiled in sadness and willingly to be a pillar of the tree of life and also the way he said 'I love you' for the last time to you made you enough to shed tears.

All the events are back to normal and like nothing happened, yet you feel empty without Loki's presence. Mobius? He is retired. B-15? she's also thinking of retiring. O. B? busy with everything. And you don't want to bother Casey as he seems quite busy too.

While Sylvie, she has returned to her universe and that was the last time you saw her. She is still in the phase of accepting the truth after witnessing Loki's action.

How about you? It is very difficult to accept the fact that Loki is no longer with you. But still, you have to keep moving and living as normal. Which is quite difficult because you are both attached hip to hip to each other. Never lost from each other. Always found one another.

But ever since the Temporal Loom problem everything changed as Loki suddenly or willingly saved the Timelines by 'sacrifice' himself. you? You just let out an anguished loud shout to tell Loki to stop. But, Loki ignores it hoping you all are safe.

It was very difficult at first after a few days after the whole TVA problem. After Loki became the main pillar of the tree. Everything reminds you of him.

Not once, but many times. You yourself can't ignore that feeling but the next thing you know you're staring at nothingness with your cheeks wet with tears. You miss him and worry about him at the same time. Which makes you wonder in your mind. What is he doing now? Is he lonely? is he okay? All those questions running around your head which make you more sad and worried.

You always think about his well-being. You wonder if he can see you now from the Yggdrasil tree. Seeing yourself who cannot accept the fact that he is 'gone'. After all those things you both went through. Is this the ending you both got? Away from each other. Lost a loved one? is that the ending you both get? Funny.

Sometimes, if you are too worried about him or miss him, you will go to TVA and to the place where the Yggdrasil tree is shown behind the glass of the room where you, Loki, Sylvie, Mobius, Victor, O. B and Cassie were before.

Staring at the tree for a long time as you make sure that he is not alone although you can't see him. The green glowing tree really reminds you of him. And you hope he is fine there. Sometimes, O. B will come to check up on some technology in the room and notice you in front of the glass mirror standing stiffly with your eyes looking at the tree. He gives you a sympathetic look even if you don't look at him but he knows you just want to make sure Loki is okay.

'You look sad, when you think he can't see you'. Ever heard? yup, that's what you've been going through all along. Thanks Molly Hooper.

But what you don't know is that Loki actually has the same feelings as you. Missing, worried and sad. He missed you, He worried about you and He was sad that he couldn't be with you.

But, he can't do anything. His duty is what he has to do to make sure all Timelines are under control.

He missed your touch, he missed your voice and he missed your smiles. And he can only see you from afar. And that was enough for him.

[hero-villian-blog]

Miguel Is Wrong About Canon Events

So, we've all made jokes about Spider-verse's canon events, the whole "I can't let you do that it's a canon event" joke. However, these jokes alongside what people think a canon is, is not actually what a canon event is.

Miguel tells us precisely what canon events are in the movie, while showing some examples. "They are the canon, chapters that are a part of every Spider's story every time." In other words it's not just any event that happens in a Spider's story or history of a world, it has to be very specific events that are shared by all Spiders. The examples Miguel gives includes the spider bite, the upside down kiss, Venom, the death of a close loved one, and the death of a captain.

Now here's where I start speculating based on things that don't add up. What canon event did Miguel break to destroy the universe he went into? Miguel makes it seem like just being in another universe breaks a canon event, but that doesn't actually add up with what he said. As he said, a canon event is something that happens in every Spider's story and that it can't be disrupted. Simply being in another universe wouldn't do that unless he was actively breaking canon himself in that world.

Continuing on, we don't actually see what happens when someone breaks canon, at least that's what it seems like to me. You may be saying, but Miles breaks a canon event or there's Mumbattan. But here's the thing, what happened in Mumbattan does not look similar to what happened in Miguel's footage it's different. What we see in Mumbattan is the work of the Spot, and is not caused by Miles saving the Captain. Even Miles points it out to Miguel that it was caused by the Spot.

Now if we take a look at Miguel's footage, there is something interesting that we see. The universe glitches as it is destroyed, the same kind of glitching we see in the first movie that was caused by specifically Kingpin's collider. Now we know Miguel is using similar but more advanced technology to what Kingpin was using. So what if Miguel didn't break a canon event but rather did something with his technology that destroyed the universe. From there Miguel either misinterpreted what happened, or is lying about what actually happened.

Also, canon events have been broken already in this movie without a world being destroyed. If we take Miguel's claim that what happened in Mumbattan was Miles breaking a canon event and not the Spot as a fact. Then shouldn't the breaking of what could be argued the most major and important canon event there is, result in the immediate destruction of that world. Or at least Mumbattan but sped up? What am I talking about? The spider bite of course, even Miguel has it labeled as a canon event. So tell me why does Earth-42 still exist? It has no Spiderman, the spider bite canon event never happened, yet it is still intact with Prowler Miles running around. We also can't make the suggestion that Miguel saved Earth-42, because he didn't get the ability to travel across the Spider-verse until after the events of the first movie.

Speaking of Miguel, he was never bitten by a spider. Instead he injects himself as we see him do in the movie. Isn't that breaking away from the canon? Also, at the end of the movie Gwen realizes that Miguel is wrong when her father quits, that these canon events aren't set in stone. Btw, can we stop the Gwen hate? She is meant to be a flawed character who while in a bad place made some bad decisions, and is now correcting herself. Seriously you guys are spiteful.

Sorry, time to get back on track. There is also the meta text of the movie, the idea that the story has to go one way. That the canon must be abided by, the Spider Society's authority, or you could say the Comics Code Authority. With Miguel representing it, as he tells Miles that he is the original anomaly and that he's not supposed to be Spiderman. The rest of this post info is in a reply because I keep getting an error.

[hearts4golbach]

The Night Shift.

chapter 2.

Johnnie Guilbert x Fem!Reader.

Repetitive.

It was all so fucking Repetitive.

So fucking repetitive. 5 hours of taking orders and making them. Tonight made me want to curl up in someone's arms and cry. But I didn't have anyone waiting for me at my tiny apartment. I had never even had a boyfriend before. My parents were so insistent that I find a beautiful, tall, blonde boy who plays football. I had never found that.

Repetitive. The ringing of the bell on the door snapped me out of my thoughts. i didn't bother brightening my expression, assuming it was just another drunk.

"What can I get for you?" I asked in a monotone voice, not looking up from the register.

"Y/n?" a familiar voice called. "You okay?" I looked up, my eyes meeting Johnnie's.

"Oh, hey. Sorry, it's been a long night. Seeing you is the first good thing that has happened to me tonight."

"Do you wanna sit down and talk about it?" He offered.

A small smile grew on my face. "why not? let me take your order first."

"Can I try a large vanilla coffee? Iced, please." His tone was calm and sweet, and he seemed less tired than he did last night.

He began to take out his wallet. "This one's on me." I commented. "Any updates about your ex?"

"I haven't heard much from her, and that makes me paranoid." he replied. "let me pay, Y/n. it's your paycheck."

I rolled my eyes. "You got me a donut last night, it's the least I can do." I smiled as he threw up his hands in defeat. "maybe she got bored."

"I hope so." he sighed, leaning over the counter has he did last night. "Do you have any crazy exes?"

My face flushed. "I've never dated anyone."

His eyes widened. "That's shocking, you're really pretty. Sorry if that offended you or something."

I shook my head, my face as red as a beet. He was very attractive himself, so the compliment caught me off guard. I had no idea what to say. "Thank you, uh, you're attractive yourself." i stuttered, muttering out the first thing that came to mind.

a small blush spread across his face as he smiled with his teeth. "what's stopped you from having a boyfriend?" he asked as I brought his coffee, as well as one I made for myself, to the nearest table. he sat across from me.

"My parents want me to have the perfect guy. Blonde, football, blue eyes, you know." i stopped and looked at him, seeing a dissapointed look on his face. "But that's not what I want. So I guess I've just been waiting for someone to come to me."

His facial muscles rested. "cool." he replied, taking a sip of his coffee. "this is really fucking good."

I laughed. "did it catch you off guard? I can't believe you, johnnie. I don't make shitty coffee." I teased.

he immediately shook his head. "no, I just usually don't like coffee."

I made an 'ah' sound and took a sip of my own.

"There's a new year's party this weekend, me and my best friend are going. You should go." he smiled. "Me and Jake can give you a ride and everything."

"hmm. I can try, but I don't see why I wouldn't be able to go. I've never been to a party."

"Oh Jesus. Have you ever drank?"

"Thats like asking if I breathe air." I rolled my eyes. "why 'oh jesus?'" I questioned in a mocking tone.

"New years parties are always fucking insane, in my opinion. I'm always reeking of some sort of alcohol even if I don't drink." he scrunched his nose slightly, as if he could smell it already.

"sounds like my type of event." I smirked, taking another drink.

He smiled with his teeth. "So you'll go?" he said excitedly.

"of course." I smiled. "it'd be nice to get out of the house."

"Tell me more about your family." He replied, intertwining his fingers.

"Well, my grandparents spent their whole lives saving up to buy this cafe." I began, mimicking my parents voices. "and, in their will, they passed it down to my mom and dad. I've been spending majority of my time in this building for as long as I can remember."

"are you a peoples person?" Johnnie asked me.

"like, am I good with people and like to be around them?" he nodded. "I guess so, but I like being alone, too. like, if I'm alone too long I get tired or if I'm with people for too long I get tired. I don't know, it's weird."

"understandable." Johnnie acknowledged.

"what about you?"

"I'm just like you. But I lean more towards being with, like, two people than being alone or in a big group." he explained, waving his hand around.

I nodded in agreement. Maybe it was a bad idea to go to this party, but I had little to lose.

"Can I get your number?" He asked me. I quickly wrote it down on a napkin.

my heart fluttered. I gave a guy my number. I wasn't expecting anything to come from me and johnnie, though.

[cardentist]

do you think that behemo's characterization in ec is transmisogynistic? he plays an important role, and the dynamic between him and levia is really interesting, but the barisol's child song has always made me a tad uncomfortable, since it plays into the violent crossdresser stereotype.

@thecyancat well !

firstly I want to say that everyone is entitled to how they feel about it, so I can't speak for anyone else. I don't want to say that nobody is Allowed to be uncomfortable with behemo's portrayal.

but ! I will say that I'm actually quite surprised to hear that! for a few reasons.

1: within the context of the song by itself (both in complete isolation and before we got further context about them later on in the series) behemo and levia are held up as The Same. they're alternate versions of the same person, one cis and one trans, and they're Both presented to potentially have violent tendencies. moreover, this impulse isn't Unique to them. it's directly connected to the disease Malice/HERs within the song, something that we're told affects Many Many people. (and something that we see affect many Characters throughout the story).

so even Just within the song itself, behemo is not singled out in his behavior at all. not between himself and levia, and not between him and other people.

2: we Do learn more about levia and behemo, and as we do we realize that we were Intentionally mislead about behemo. not that behemo is a perfectly moral character, but rather that while Levia wanted to destroy the world, Behemo had been explicitly trying to save it. to preserve all of humanity in the face of the literal end of the world, Three Times Over. there is no perfect character in evillious, everyone is a messy person. but behemo Tangibly caused a massive amount of good and had been actively trying to do so throughout the entire series. none of the characters would be alive without behemo.

"the transgender god is almost solely responsible for saving all of humanity" doesn't sound like a very transmisogynistic trope to me.

3: the events of the song are Intentionally ambiguous. we were lead to believe that behemo may have hurt someone in the song, because at the time we were supposed to see both him and levia as villains. but neither of them were in the end. and What, exactly, happened is left ambiguous.

that doesn't mean that I rule out that he might've hurt someone, but rather that what we learn about him as a person and his motivations as a character contradict it.

4: even if behemo Had turned out to be an unambiguously evil character, behemo isn't the only trans woman in the story. we Have another trans woman character who is Also central to the narrative, has been a major character longer than behemo has, and is an unambiguously good person. she even became a god herself and Also helped to save the world.

mothy has a tendency to make trans women lesbian goddesses.

5: and even if THAT hadn't been the case, behemo was introduced to a series absolutely full of violence. one of the very first songs has a character commit genocide out of jealousy, whereas behemo was only ever implied to have potentially murdered one person.

which circles back around to my original point, behemo wouldn't have been singled out as uniquely violent for being a trans person when he hasn't done anything worse than what the cis characters have done.

6: personally I actually really enjoy barisol's child, as it feels To Me like it's a story about being isolated for being different. we're Meant To Sympathize with behemo. which really resonated with me as a trans teenager when it came out.

evillious features that theme a lot, people lashing out because they themselves have been isolated hurt and othered. and it doesn't Excuse the behavior, but rather ties into the thesis statement of evillious, that is people are not inherently evil.

7: I do also think the popular video for the song has a translation that's a little skewed. I wouldn't say that it's Wrong necessarily, but it was based on a much older translation than what @pricechecktranslations has available, and was made with the Assumption that behemo was indeed a villain. so the wording is more awkward in places than it would be if, say, I made a subtitled video now.

[snowblack-charcoalwhite]

I really loved them making Helaena a dragon dreamer in s1 because i thought it would give her more relevance in the story since her arc in the book was too depressing and passive. Boy, was I wrong. Not only she has zero relevance and her screentime is reduced to minimum, but her dreams led to nothing. I mean, what's the point of that gift if she doesn't use it? Daenys saved targaryens thanks to the same gift so that's the proof destiny isn't always set in stone. However, with Helaena it's just frustrating. First there were riddles so I thought fine, maybe she can't interpret them correctly yet (the beast beneath the boards, the rats...) but that balcony scene with Aemond left me confused. I don't know how to interpret her behavior and thoughts in there. Aside from spoiling the God's Eye (lmao, condal is a moron) what were fer intentions? Was she angry on Aegon's behalf? I doubt it it since there was no deep connection or love between the two. Was she rejoicing at the notion of Aemond's death? Why would she just let him go to his death and do nothing? Does she hate him? Is she just too apathetic like Bran in s8 to care? Was she sad and defeated because she is aware of what Aemond has become (what Alicent also repeats over and over) but she still loves him? I seriously don't know what to think. Also ffs, , she appears in Daemon's vision to tell him about him fulfilling his destiny?? I can't express how disgusted I am that they chose her to do that. So, what's the point? And no, the explanation that she is this tragic cassandra figure who can't do anything to prevent certain events doesn't sit well with me because it seems lazy, overused and, like I mentioned before, there is Daenys' example. Do you have some other theories and interpretations of her character in general, but especially the balcony scene?

Good day/night to you!

I can't even express just how much I agree with everything you said. And I really wish I could come up with some clever and intricate theory about the role Helaena is supposed to play in HotD (by the way, anyone who has thoughts on that matter and is willing to share them is more than welcome to join the discussion).

But as of now it seems like the writers did - and most likely will contunue to do - to her the same thing they are doing to the absolute majority of other characters (if not to all of them), namely using her as a tool to get across a certain point. The point in this case being, apparently, that men (and women supporting them) are evil, to put it simply (actually, I just got a wonderful ask regarding misandry in HotD and I can't wait to get to it later today).

And the lack of actual care about the characters is even more evident and striking with regards to Helaena due to the pathetic amount of screentime she got. It feels like the entire meaning of her character has been reduced to showing up for a few minutes to either gain some pity from the audience for the purpose of capitalizing on it later or to give the viewers a heads up on some future events (often in quite a dumb and out-of-the-blue way).

To be clear: just like in Aegon's case, I do not disregard Helaena's suffering, I just resent the way it's being used within the story. Like can you believe it? Her baby son was murdered practically in front of her - but apparently she feels no anger or hatred towards either two scumbags who actually did it or her dearest TB relatives because of whose actions it happened (even if we buy the "unclear instructions" thing). Moreover, she is showing Daemon, basically the murderer of her child, the way to fulfilll his destiny. But apparently she feels psychologically violated by Otto and Alicent making her endure the public funeral (which has been turned into nothing more than a propaganda show) and supposedly despises her younger brother to the point of wanting him dead, the reasons for it being... what?

Him starting the war by killing Lucerys? Are we supposed to believe, even after what Rhaenyra says to Alicent, that if not for Luke's death the Greens would be safe? Him burning Aegon? She does mention that - but just in the scene before she smiles approvingly at Alicent's proposal of leaving KL without giving a second thought to the fate of her brotherhusband and neither has she been shown visiting him - not once. Does she care for Aegon or not? Apparently, she does but only in the moments when it's necessary to explain her treatment of Aemond. Him wanting her to join the fight? Is she that pacifistic?

It really feels like the writers just needed to throw together a bunch of reasons for Helaena's behavior - and that's what they did. And as far as I am concerned, what the show did to Helaena is a character assasination - just probably not as brutal as one of Alicent, but the result is the same.