#as if “a dragon is not a slave” doesn't just mean you can't FORCE a bond

[rhaenin-time]

[fromtheseventhhell]

Very funny to me how Stansas present her character as being so interesting and complex because of her vulnerabilities, while simultaneously ignoring those same vulnerabilities in other characters. Dany is sold as a bridal slave and lacks agency throughout AGOT and after. Her dragons are either too young/small to utilize effectively or locked away for the majority of the story. They aren't some all-powerful trump card that protects her from harm. Arya is captured as a prisoner of war, forced to watch countless people tortured and murdered, and then essentially enslaved in Harrenhal with no way to fight back. She has an entire arc of feeling powerless, of being a "mouse", during ACOK. She doesn't have "kung-fu" or the ability to magically fight her way out of every situation, she's a young child lacking physical strength with only the most basic sword training.

Sansa isn't the only female character, she isn't the only young character, she isn't the only character who suffered, and no one is obligated to prioritize her. I'm so tired of Dany and Arya being mischaracterized and having their stories erased to prop Sansa up. "Sansa has kept her dignity" In other words, let's praise her for having a level of security that Dany and Arya don't have access to. She hasn't ever been forced to make a hard decision which of course means that she's morally superior to them. They can't even admit to themselves that her lack of action is due to her own passivity. If it doesn't fit their delusion, they erase it from the story and expect the rest of us to play along. Ask one of them what they like about her character without bringing up her being the ultimate victim, and I genuinely don't believe they'd be able to give you an answer. They belittle other characters more than they talk about her and these takes just scream insecurity/jealousy at the content and development other characters have in their POVs.

[bluegalaxygirl]

Celestial Wedding (ZoLu X reader) P3

Plot: Reader gets taken as revenge for Luffy and Zoro's defiance against the Celestial Dragons, they were just going to kill her to make an example but now theres a wedding????.

Warning: Bad language, Violence, Blood, kidnapping, Drugs forced marriage and salivary.

Thank you to @herwritingartcowboy for the suggestion. Reader is Female and a gunslinger, Zoro X Luffy X Reader, Poly relationship, established relationship.

P1 - P2 - P4 - P5 - P6 - P7 - P8 - P9 - P10 - P11 - P12 - P13 - P14 - P15 - P16 - P17 - P18

Being pulled off the elevator your met with a beautiful sight, lush grass and perfectly clean white paving stones level the floor, white and Blue colored mansions spread out as far as you can see, the tops of the buildings touching the light cloud cover above but the biggest building was to your right, it was wide and very tall to where you could hardly see where the roof tops where. It's no wonder they call this place heaven, its beautiful but the people who live here, in those beautiful and well taken care of houses are demons in your eyes. The Captain pulls you along soon making it to a set of large gold and white gates that slowly open, the captain and his men kneel on the ground so you follow even though you hate bowing to these so called gods. The sound of chains moving and light footsteps caught your ears but the captain forced your head to look at the floor gripping your hair in the process, a large case was places in front of the captain who smiles placing his hand on it and sliding it closer letting go of your head. The Captain holds out the detonator in his open palm waiting for someone to take it off him before he puts his arm back down. Your hands grip into fists as a white gloved hand take the detonator for the man before walking over to you, a gloved finger goes under your chin pulling your head to look up at the person now in front of you.

Your heart stops in your chest knowing the celestial dragon in front of you, Rosward the farther of Charlos who Zoro drew his sword at and Luffy punched in the face over two years ago. You mainly remember the comment he made before he was knocked out, how he would love to preserve and stuff the female members of your crew for defying his family. As the dragon looked you over turning your face from left to right he turned to one of his slaves a young man in gray rags who held out a bottle of hand sanitizer and another black case, "Leave my sight" Rosward threw the case to the captain then cleaned his gloved hands and the detonator placing it on his belt before grabbing the chain attached to your cuffs and pulling you too your feet. You offered up no resistance knowing what would happen if you did, you tried to stay calm not letting the fear and anxiety get to you but it was growing harder and harder to do so with the dragon's eyes on you. The captain keeps his head down and grabs the two cases of money standing and walking away still looking at the floor as his men followed his lead. "Prepare a bath, i can't stand them being filthy" The Dragon orders, some of his guards bowing and heading off with a few slaves to do as their told while Rosward pulls you threw the golden gates letting them close behind you, Rosward walked over to a large male slave who's on all fours with a sort of saddle in his back, it made you sick but you managed to hide your feeling as the dragon sat on top of the man before demanding him to walk.

You along with the other slaves and guards followed the dragon down the white smooth path, mansion's lines the streets along with beautiful gardens and fountains but you took the opportunity to look at the people around you. The guards where in full armor their faces covered and with large spears, their armor was shiny most likely have never seen combat but that doesn't mean the people under it might not be experienced. The slaves however didn't look good at all, the young man who had handed the stuff to Rosward was only wearing gray shorts, the celestial dragons mark burned into his back, he was also very skinny and had thick scars on his arms and legs. You notice though that the female slaves are somewhat better cared for, their body's and clothes are clean but with vials over their faces and the mark on their back but their skinny, you could count the ribs on them. You wanted so badly to help them but there was nothing you could do other than wait for your crew, you look forward again to see a large mansion with servant waiting at the door who bow before opening the large blue doors letting you all in. The inside was large, clean and almost glowing form the amount of gold and silver objects and statues lining the hallway, Rosward smirked as he stepped off the male slave and stood in front of you, he was about to speak when another voice hits your ears.

Charlos steps out into the hallway holding two chains that are attached to two girls, "Farther your back already?" He made you sick, you hate this man more than any other dragon, not only is he disgusting to look at, but he's rotten to the core. The son's eyes widen upon seeing your face a mixture of shock and anger "What is she doing here?" Charlos yells pointing at you as he storms over dragging the two girls behind him who stubble a little at the sudden pull, his farther sighs annoyed at his son's attitude but seems to let it go quite quickly "I thought it's about time we made an example. Stuffing and mounting this one will teach those pirates a lesson. They dare to defy us" The Dragon growls clearly still angry about what happened over two years ago, his gaze shifts to you, looking you over to try and see what your reaction is but you manage not to give one just keeping your eyes on the floor with a blank face, it pisses him off more, but he's soon brought back to his son who steps closer to you while picking his running nose. "Oh i see but why this one? Why not that straw hat or that green haired one" The son asks turning to his farther, it was something you were also wondering but you hoped to never know the answer too. "This one is dating the two, i thought lets kill two birds with one stone. This will hurt them way more than if we just killed them, they'll live their life in pain and suffering knowing their actions and defiance caused their lovers death" Rosward lets out a small chuckle with a grin.

You couldn't stop your hands form gripping into fists, you hate them so much it hurt and you wanted nothing more than to kill the two right here and now but you couldn't. Charlos hums and nods in agreement before looking you over, he steps closer picking his nose again and it takes everything in you to not lean away by how gross he is. The son seems to think for a minute even though your convinced he doesn't have brain to think with before snapping his fingers with a smile "I'll marry her" You can't help the jump in shock with wide eyes but it seemed to make the two dragons happy that they finally got a reaction out of you, "I need a new wife anyway since i had to dispose of a few" Charlos tries to convince his farther who Rosward smiles at your reaction seeming to like the response, but he shakes his head at his son about to say no only to stop seeming to have an idea pop into his head "Actually, this might work out better. Marrying a well known pirate will show those straw hats and anyone else who dares to defy us just how powerful we are." You gulp at this but at least their not going to out right kill you, your chain is taken by the son who looks you over again "Really? Thank you farther, this is a great gift. Come Wife " Charlos goes to walk away with a big smile only to be stopped by his farther who places a hand on his shoulder "No, we're going to make a show of it, broadcast it across the world and brand her after the wedding." The son nods although he looks quite upset about not having you right away.

You knew about this guy and the amount of wives he has but there has never been a wedding, he just tells you that your his wife and slave now and thats it. The thought of marrying this guy makes you sick but now there's going to be a full on wedding? You never thought about getting married to someone before but you never wanted this, being married off to a man you hate. "Get the word out, the wedding will be tomorrow at the church" Rosward commands to some guards who bow before leaving, trying not to panic you end up holding your breath as not to scream and cry or yell at the two in front of you. "I'll get my servants to wash and get her ready for now, i don't want her face too beaten up before the day" Rosward takes the chain off his son and hands it to his female servants who bow at him, everyone knew what Charlos was like, he was going to buy Camie just to put her in a fish tank full of piranha's. As the two Dragons talk you walk off with the two girls and some guard, The nice hallways soon turn into shabby one's clearly where the servants go. Entering a large bathroom, one of the girls starts running hot water and poring it into one of the metal tub's while the other starts taking the cuffs off your hands and helps you undress. It was very uncomfortable with a guard standing in front of the door while the other waits outside, the thought of running did pop into your mind but there's no way you could just leave unless you managed to get the detonator off Rosward which was very unlikely.

The G-5 base members ran around trying to put out fires or block the pirates attack, but they weren't prepared for a sudden aggressive attack. The sunny stayed out to sea, Nami, Franky and Usopp manning the ship as it fired cannon's at the large marine buildings on the small island, while Nami created a weather storm to take out any of the marine ships that dared to leave the port. The rest of the crew stormed the base splitting up to find those who have blue stars on their jackets in order to find out where you were. Luffy's anger got the better of him though rushing off on his own and taking down anyone who was in his way, he didn't think to look for the star, but he did think about finding an admiral or someone stronger. Zoro tried to stay close to Chopper in order not to get lost but with all the fighting and searching he ended up getting lost anyway, he knew if you were here you would tell him off and it made his heart ache, he just wanted you back. The rest of the crew managed to find a few people with the blue stars tying them up and trying to get them back to the docks like they planned but things weren't going so well, with Luffy destroying everything in his way, Zoro no where to be found and Sanji flipping out things kept getting more hectic. Luffy growls as he walks down the street only seeing marines scattering the floor either knocked out cold or dead, he didn't pay too much attention to them though instead trying to work out where to go next. This whole time he's just been beating people up as he runs but with no one to beat up he had no idea where to go.

The captain scratches his head and hums looking around him before hearing the sound of metal hitting metal, Luffy's large smile grows on his face as he runs off in the direction of the noise soon coming across Zoro who's fighting a large Lieutenant with a large blue star on his jacket. The swordsman managed to cut the large man across his chest and his legs but the Lieutenant refused to go down swinging his large metal pipe at Zoro who dodges going to deliver the finishing blow when Luffy's fist punches the Lieutenant in the face sending the man flying into a nearby building. The swordsman groans landing on his feet and turning to see Luffy running up to him with a large grin "I had it" The swordsman takes the third swords out of his mouth and puts it away along with one of the others in his hand. "Sorry couldn't help myself plus, he has the blue star" The captain adjusts his hat taking Zoro's free hand and walking over to the groaning Lieutenant, Zoro followed along feeling kinda glad that Luffy stepped in otherwise he would have killed the man, and they may not have a lead on where you are. Making it over to the man who's now laying in the rubble trying to sit up Zoro points his sword into the Lieutenant's face causing his eyes to widen and his body to stiffen. Luffy's smile fades as he glares at the blue star on the man's jacket "Where's Y/N?" The Captain asks making the large man jump slightly at his tone.

Zoro moves closer the tip of his sword now pressing against the large man's nose pushing him back down into the rubble since he's not answering fast enough "I-I don't know" The man looks at the two angry men, Luffy's eyes meet the Lieutenant's sending a shiver down the mans back but unable to look away "Where is she?" The captain asks again his hand gripping Zoro's hard but the swordsman doesn't flinch or pull away, instead he squeezes back lightly and presses his sword closer making a trickle of blood fall down the tip of the mans nose. "I really don't know... we just supplied the equipment and a few men."The Lieutenant beings to panic his heart pounding in his chest as he pants tears starting to form in the corner of his eyes, fear consumes his body as Luffy's eyes seem to get more angry making a heavyweight fall over the large man. "I-I don" He goes to say again only for the snail phone in his pocket to start ringing, the sudden sound makes Zoro smile pulling his sword back a little so its no longer pressing against the tip of the Lieutenant's nose "Answer it" The swordsman demands making the man jump but nod his head taking the small snail phone out of his packet, Luffy looks over at his first mate with a confused look, but he trusts the green haired man and stays quiet for now even though he wants to grab the phone and yell at who ever is on the other end.

The phone clicks when answered a male voice on the other end laughs in excitement "Gezz man what took you so long?" The Lieutenant gulps wondering if he should say what's currently going on or not but a quick look at Luffy makes him not do so, fear washing over him as he makes eye contact with the Straw hat captain "S-Sorry, i was busy. what's up?" The large man finally answers as cheering and laughter going on in the background "We got the money, all of it. Thanks for negotiating the price, we would have settled for Five Hundred Thousand but adding her bounty onto was a great idea" The man on the other end laughs his words kinda slurred indicating he's been drinking "Although some of my men wanted a bit more, that girl has quick a kick, i think Joe might need plastic sugary" It brought a sense of pride to Zoro knowing you fought, he knew you would but hearing about it just makes him feel a lot better. Although Luffy loved that you fought hard he hated how these men where so happy over selling you off, gritting his teeth the captain grabs the snail phone pulling it close to his face "Where is she?" Luffy yells into the phone hearing the cheering on the other end dying down as they seem to recognized his voice, Zoro growls at the silence on the other end wanting an answer to where you are already "Sorry mate your too late, you won't be getting her back form that place" The guy on the phone sighs making the captain more and more angry "Tell me now" Luffy's growl sounds more animal like than human shocking the Lieutenant who doesn't dare move form where he's sitting.

Zoro grips his sword tighter squeezing Luffy's hand, he knew what would happen if the captain got too angry, he'd most likely crush the snail phone and as much as he wanted to as well they needed it. "There's no point, it doesn't matter what you do now, they always get their way. Your at the G-5 base right? By the time you get there you'll be too late, sorry pal" Luffy's hand grips the phone tighter it starting to crack under his strength, Zoro's eyes widen as he quickly lets go of the captain's hand and snatches the phone "Zoro, give it back" Luffy yells getting closer to the swordsman trying to take the phone back but Zoro holds it away "Your gonna break it" The swordsman yells trying to avoid Luffy's arms stretching around him in order to grab the phone "No i'm not just give it here" Luffy yells forcing the swordsman back a bit and put his sword away as not to hurt the captain, the two only stop when loud laughing comes form the other end of the phone "You two are so funny.... We'll i'm in a good mood and slightly drunk so I'll humor you two but your not gonna like it" The man laughs making the two growl but bring the phone down to be in between the two, The Lieutenant see's an opportunity to try and sneak away only for Luffy to punch the man in the face knocking him out.

Feeling a lot calmer now Luffy's got some of his anger out he doesn't grip the phone as hard, the man on the other end soon calms down form his laughing fit and sighs "She's at Mary Geoise, i handed her over myself, Mr Rosward reached out to us to grab her for him" Zoro's eyes widen hearing the names, anger boils inside as he remembers the slave house and the celestial dragons but Luffy tilts his head in confusion not remembering anything about those names. "Celestial Dragons" Zoro state noticing his captain's confused face, Luffy looks up at his first mate as his fist clenches at his side, he still didn't know who this Rosward guy was but if he was a celestial dragon then that means your now a slave. His mind goes to several people who have been hurt by those so called gods, but he's fought one before and isn't afraid to do it again. "Honestly thought he was just gonna kill her but new's just got out that there's now other plans... i'm guessing it hasn't reaches you guys yet so please... let me tell you" The man sounded sadistic, seeming to enjoy the hurt he's causing "I won't let him touch her" Luffy growls glaring at the snail phone, the swordsman takes the captains fist getting angry too, he hated to think of what their going to do with you. "Oh he's not gonna touch her, if fact it's going to be such a special day, Mr Charlos is gonna marry her tomorrow" The two jump in shock at his words, the thought of marriage never crossed their mind and the three of you never talked about it and yet it hurt them both that you would be someone else's wife while also being a slave.

Their shocked silence made the man laugh "It's gonna be a big wedding and shown across the world... hay wait a minute aren't you the ones that beat up the celestial dragons? and she's your girlfriend right?" The man asks trying his best to get under their skin and make them more angry but the two just shook with anger gritting their teeth as the man laughed about the situation "How funny is this? oh! what a pay back, the two that defied Mr Charlos now have to watch as their own girlfriend marry the man and get branded on live TV" The man yells with laughter the crew behind him joining in only to be cut off by Luffy's grip tightening around the snail phone crushing it into piece, the captain breaths heavy with anger the only sound he can hear is of his blood pumping through his veins. Zoro's grip on Luffy's hand tightens as he grits his teeth, he couldn't stop the thoughts of what they're gonna do to you run through his head. "I'm gonna kill him" The two say in unison snapping each other out of their hate filled stare on the crushed snail phone, looking at each other Luffy's eyes soften his anger being replaced by sadness and pain. They had to get you back but now they were on a time limit, they didn't want you to get hurt, and they both new you would fight against this and probably end up hurt or worse. "Lets get back to the crew" Luffy states throwing the crushed snail phone aside and dragging his first mate along, Zoro sighs gladly following his captain but he couldn't help the feeling of dread that overcame him. It was going to be a hard fight to get you back but that wasn't what bothered him, he didn't want you to get hurt in the process.

[nogoodsheepstealing-greatgrandma]

Daenerys is 14

And she does stay in Slavers Bay and try to rebuild the economy. Source: A Dance With Dragons.

She spends much of the book trying to negotiate new trade deals with the Lhazarene and the Qartheen, trying to plant new olive groves and bean fields, trying to reform the guilds membership so former slaves can earn proper wages as skilled craftsmen. She tries to assimilate with Meereenese culture to ease a peaceful transition of power, she consults with their priestess, she adopts their religious rites and their uncomfortable traditional dress, she agrees under pressure to marry a Meereenese noble (she doesn't force anyone into marriage at dragonpoint like in the show). And she goes out personally to feed and care for the sick and starving refugees at her door, she tries to set up quarantine zones to slow the spread of infection.

And yeah she falls short. But the odds are stacked against her. She's 14, for starters. And before she arrived the slavers burnt all the olive groves and salted the soil so she couldn't use them, and as she calculates it will take 30 years before the land will be truly productive again. She also has the Meereenese slaving class working very hard to sabotage her by funding domestic terrorism within the city. And she has to deal with a refugee crisis, a famine, a plague, and an alliance of pro-Slavery states forming a blockade around Meereen and threatening to siege the city.

True the refugee crisis is arguably due to her leaving Astapor. She set up a new government, but she should have stayed longer to consolidate it. But she is only 14, and her main adviser/parental figure is too busy being a pro-slavery pedophile.

And the fall of Astapor isn't completely on her shoulders. She left adults in charge, people with qualifications and who knew the land and people better than she did. They had political agency and responsibility. As did Cleon. He could have chosen not to overthrow the Council and name himself King. He could have chosen to heed Daenerys when she told him "don't start a war with the Yunkai". And the Yunkai could have chosen not to slaughter Astapor and chase the refugees to Meereen. They could have simply removed Cleon and then recognised Daenerys had no part in his actions. The Yunkai could have chosen not to then declare war on Meereen.

The institution of slavery is complicated to overthrow and complicated to replace and even complicated in the ways it reasserts itself. Daenerys isn't the only actor here who determines the fate of Slavers Bay (though if she unleashes her dragons she can certainly become the most decisive actor again). The entire point of ADWD is that it's much more complicated than that - its GRRM's answer to "what was Aragorn's tax policy?". She is a 14 year old child who does her best against impossible odds, and who explicitly puts any dreams of Westeros on hold indefinitely. Time and time again she is offered the chance and means to sail for Westeros, and she turns it down each time because she knows she can't leave the people of Meereen behind to die.

And hopefully the lesson she learns by the end of ADWD is that she has to stop being conciliatory towards the slaving class. She spares the lives of hostages, she opens the fighting pits for them, she gives up her body in marriage, and still they try to poison her to install Hizdhar as King. Mercy isn't a weakness, but the people who have a vested interest in slavery aren't going to stop just because you ask them nicely (like that garbage show GOT seems to think). She's got to use her dragons.

No, critiquing her failures isn't the same as defending slavery. But claiming that she never tried, and ignoring the odds stacked against her, is false. As for blaming her for Slavers Bay falling into chaos and suffering... First off, again, she isn't the only responsible actor with agency - I maintain that the fall of Astapor was pretty much out of her hands. And second, it ignores the massive scale of human suffering that already gripped slavers bay. The daily violence inflicted on slaves - the families torn apart, the lives destroyed, the children mutilated, the thousands of dead babies killed to initiate the Unsullied, the tortures and crucifixions and whippings and executions and rapes.

Ignoring that isn't that far off from defending slavery. Claiming that the violence that overthrew slavery is worse than the violence that is slavery isn't that far off from defending slavery. Should no one ever dare strike off a slaves chains just because they can't account for the violence that could come after? Is the crucifixion of child-murdering Slavers worse than the crucifixion of innocent children?

Or to bring up another literary scenario with more moral equivalency and ambiguity - was the Tenth plague upon the firstborns of Egypt worse than the mass culling of infant slaves? Who do you blame for the Ten Plagues of Egypt? Should Moses have left well enough alone?

[tactician]

A VERY DESCRIPTIVE PROFILE OF YOUR MUSE.  REPOST, DO NOT REBLOG, with the information of your muse,  including headcanons, etc.

name: cato mercar! he was just cato until he was around 22 years old, though. a former gladiator 'owned' by a tevinter noble, cato eventually won his freedom in minrathous' grand proving arena. his combat prowess caught the attention of the military-focused mercar family, and he was inducted into their house as a means of granting him some more social mobility. nicknames: rook is the only big one tbh! thank u varric. but cato never abandons his actual name. age: 33 as of 9:52 race: (city) elf gender: male (he/him) orientation: bisexual zodiac: whatever the leo equivalent is in thedas LMAO moral alignment: as chaotic good as they come class/subclass: a warrior with a slayer specialization! his mentor on the gladiatorial grounds was from rivain and began training him when he was really young. he has a very high constitution and can definitely tank hits for his teammates (& has the scars to prove it), but cato focuses on damage output more than survivability. he has a brutal battle style and tends to attract a lot of attention when he fights. years of taking part in provings engrained a certain flashiness in him; he can't quite shake it off. it’s great for rage generation though… lmfao interests/hobbies: cato enjoys working out and training, so he spends most of his free time on the training grounds or trying to get people to spar with him. he also really enjoys hiking - though his sense of direction is admittedly not the best, so he gets lost very, very often while on hikes dflgkdfh. unless it’s about battle tactics, he doesn't enjoy introspection all that much - so hobbies requiring study are lost on him. he does, however, have an absolute love of nugs. he seriously adores them. he thinks they're the cutest little beasts ever. he has a pet nug named ganni and he spoils her rotten. completely unrelated to nugs (I SWEAR), he’s also interested in learning how to cook but is really, really bad at it. spoken languages: common, some elvish (his accent is atrocious), and a surprising amount of tevene. profession: cato was initially a gladiator based in minrathous. shortly after attaining his freedom in 9:41, he became a combat trainer for the mercar military force and relocated to their lands in ventus (though he never became a full-fledged soldier due to laws against former slaves joining the military). when ventus fell to qunari forces in 9:44, cato returned to minrathous and poured everything he had into bettering tevinter, particularly through hunting down slavers. he joined the shadow dragons after they saved him from a thorny situation and has definitely found his place in the world with them – though he gets into trouble quite frequently for being too hot-headed and disobeying orders in favour of his own plans. and, ofc, by some strange, strange twist of fate, he’s also the leader of the veilguard. height: ~5'2" colors: sandy browns and golds; bold, bright shades of red and blue. fruits: the humble fig… (insert figgy pudding joke here) but he also really loves poison stings – the tevinter snack of orange peels covered in chocolate. generally speaking, i associate cato with Meat a lot more than fruits (or veggies, for that matter) drinks: plain black coffee…! the stronger the better, and not fancy at all. maybe even a little burnt. alcoholic beverages: a cinnamon-infused whiskey that warms you to your core.   smokes: he smokes recreationally with the other shadow dragons! those hookahs around their base are definitely not for show. he also has one in his room at the lighthouse. drugs: he isn’t opposed. (a certain tea comes to mind… ldfkdfg) drivers license: DO NOT LET THIS MAN OPERATE A CARRIAGE!!!! ever been arrested: yes. multiple times. never for a really long period, though. so many strings get pulled for him… so many bail-outs… 😔 he has a reputation. but he's proud of it. DFL;GKDFKH and, honestly, given how much he gets up to – both for the shadow dragons and while on his own conquests - he hasn’t been arrested all that often!

tagged by: the lovely @sangre ♡ THANK YOU SO MUCH BREE!!! tagging: limiting myself to 10 of my mutuals with dragon age ocs hehe!! no pressure though ofc! and if anyone else wants to yoink this lil meme + tag me, feel totally free - i’d LOOOVE to learn about your character(s) ♡

@mintflavoredwindows @killdragons @brewswain @famewolf @adaryc (cue line break bc tumblr breaks ALL my links if i keep yall in a group fsr)

@shapeknight @pavus @keeperesque @lilactiefling @hobblehurbie

[eff-plays]

Why did Veilguard give Rook so much outright forced backstory that clashes with everything else we are given for a start as a player? White woman elf Veiljumper who just has vallaslin for aesthetics regardless of what you think about it, galley slave Lord of Fortune Rook, Mourn Watcher supposedly being found in the tomb and then suddenly adopted off the streets, Shadow Dragon being specifically found on the battlefield.

Is it because qunari are a playable race and we need to twist everything into a pretzel to make shit like qunari (actually vashoth, but whatever, game doesn't care and I don't either) Veil Jumper something that doesn't want you to immediately go "get this unlore shit off my face"?

When I start to think about it, it truly could be qunari as one of the parts of this mess. None of them gel even remotely well with most written backstories and most factions would logically not accept a qunari lore-wise. They only fit as LoFs, Shadow Dragons and maybe, maybe as Grey Wardens.

The qunari were always going to be included as a playable race, ever since Inquisition, and it makes sense to me since each game builds upon the last. It would suck if they pulled another DA2 and locked you into playing a human the entire time. Besides, the dwarves can't even be mages, so half the factions accepting them makes even less sense than accepting qunari.

What's really to blame for the factions sucking ass is the multiplayer "live service" the game was initially designed to be. Every faction needs to be some flavor of good guy because every player needs to feel like they're contributing to the overall fight, while rivalries and "bad" factions would only complicate the story, and BioWare weren't gonna make this into a PVP experience afaik. And since we're designing this as a live service, restrictions based on lore like in Origins don't make sense. This isn't a role playing game, this is a live service, where every player should be able to create their own unique character and join whichever faction they want.

A lot of people have also said that it would've helped to restrict factions based on race and class, and while I agree with the sentiment, the factions would've needed to be designed this way from the go in order to actually work, which they weren't. Sure, it would make more sense for US that a human warrior can't be a Veil Jumper, but does a mage elf Veil Jumper have different personal backgrounds, voice lines, and interactions with the Veil Jumpers? Enough to justify locking that faction down to just that race and class? Not really. All the hard work of writing and voicing the in-game content is already based on the live service model, so locking everything down according to lore wouldn't help much, but it would limit "player freedom", and on the surface, that's far more important than in-universe consistency. I mean, you already have the voice lines, and none of the NPCs call you a weirdo for being a human Veil Jumper, so might as well right?

I also assume that the faction descriptions were written some time after the voice lines were recorded, rather than the other way around. I have no idea why they changed the Mourn Watch description, either. I would guess they recorded the orphan picked off the streets line, then realized "why would the Mourn Watch take in an orphan and why would they raise it if they found one?" and rewrote the description to say Rook was found as a baby in a crypt, which places them directly in the Mourn Watch's care and could be reasonably read as a mysterious sign that would convince enough of them to keep the crypt baby. Then they either forgot or thought the voice line was close enough, or they had nothing to put there in its place, so they just left it in.

It's a higgledy-piggledy hodgepodge mess cobbled together according to the whims of an uncaring publisher. I feel bad for the devs the more I look at it.

[sherlokiness]

JD foreshadowings are sexual, not romantic and I think they will have a sexual relationship but I just cannot see Jon being into her

Hi, anon! Thanks for the ask.

I do agree with you that's why I subscribe to PoliticalJon. I'm also thinking about one eye Jon clues and how it might relate to jonsa and aegony cause the only Jon who could possibly fall in love with Dany is a blind Jon. If I thought Dany was a hero then yes, I think Jon would sincerely fall for her bc what's not to love, right?

The catch is that Jon will voluntarily "blind" himself for love of Sansa so he could look at Dany with love which is what PolJon is. A blind Jon whose thoughts and actions seem consistent but irrational to those who are around him. An example of this is when Dany gave a dragon to the slave masters and Jorah and Co. couldn't believe how she could do that. It's simply not worth it! The audience was also tricked into believing it until the veil was revealed. Dany used tricks and deception to get herself an army then killed the masters. Nobody cared they died bc they were monsters and Dany was even hailed as a hero. What a freaking nice coincidence that Dany went there to buy slaves she couldn't afford and gained a slave army for free. She got to have the moral high ground and the army she sought to buy. She got to have her cake and eat it too.

I'm expecting Jon's true thoughts on Dany will be concealed by the author once he decides to be blind. Jon goes to Dany for her armies and dragons and in the process falls for her. There's Dany who was just spurned by Aegon for love of Arianne and hated by the people of KL all the while thinking her last treason is over. What a freaking nice coincidence that JD falling for each other gets what they need from each other. Dany gets the love she's denied while Jon gets the armies he initially sought.

Not to be a conspiracy theorist but this is what I'm imagining GRRM gave the hints to D&D. Like JD will have sex because of love but he didn't say for love of who? This is also why the show had JD break up and not marry bc of "incest" which is a forced and nonsensical reason bc no way in Planetos will Jon see having a relationship with his aunt as incest. It's not taboo in their world, rare but not forbidden. So in the books after RLJ, what will stop Jon from marrying his lover/auntie if he's not icked by supposed incest? Because he loves another.

To play Devil's advocate and in defense of Dark Dany, how could Jon still fall for her?

1) Jon seeing through Sansa's eyes mean he will be as blind as AGoT Sansa who fell in love with Joffrey even though he had red flags.He fell in love with a beautiful Queen who saved him and ignored her occasional lapses. Sansa paid that trust with Ned's head and Jon will pay with the people of King's Landing. Sansa was only 11 but what's Jon's excuse?🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

2) Jon truly falling for a villain Dany would make him dumb as fuck but Dany is not without her merits. If sweet and perfect baby Brienne can fall for someone like Jaime, why can't Jon fall for a monster like Dany? Maybe the bad things he heard about her are all just rumors and she had good reason to do them. He would know how rumors could get twisted.

3) Maybe the aegonys are right that the foreshadowings are romantic. They're negative which can be interpreted as them ending doomed but the romance is there. The wolf howling scene could also be interpreted in a way that Jon is begging her to stop but Dany's greed for the Iron Throne doesn't lessen which eventually leads to her death.

4) GRRM isn't that unconventional with tropes. There's the bastard/secret king trope, exiled princess,puppet boy king, and the pimp getting killed by a prostitute, etc. I think jonsas shouldn't be dismissive of tropes because our ship, in essence, is the tropiest of them all. It's a princess in a tower who marries the hero(her hero)who slayed the dragon and they lived "happily" ever after. Aegony ship is basic but there's the incest twist ig?

5) Jon comes back darker and doesn't care that much about the realm so he hooks up with a pyro Dany. Yolo basically. Why should he care about the opinions of others after being backstabbed by his brothers and sacrificing his honor for the realm?

6) Dany being lovers with Jon imo is the only way for the author to expose Dany's hypocrisy and greed for power. Dany will not give up the throne for love nor duty to Jon-her lover and righful King. I suspect Daario will be like Jorah, a scumbag who will sincerely fall for Dany, but she will leave him and the readers would justify it. Who cares? Well, once she usurps Jon, all her previous claims about giving up the crown for love will be shit. Words are wind.

[redrikki]

Mother's Day Master List

Avatar: The Last Airbender & Legend of Korra

Gather Up Every Wayward Lock - The girls do their hair (Katara, Azula, Toph)

Ten-Thousand Words (Which Won't See the Light of Day) - There are things they can't say. There are things they wont say. There are actions which speak louder than words. A series of short stories about the ladies of Legend of Korra. (Katara, Asami, Ikki, Pema, Lin, Senna, Zhu Li, Ginger)

Chips and Blocks - Lin called Toph 'Chif' for years before some well-meaning busybody taught her to say 'Mom' instead. Toph isn't sure what kind of mom she is, but she knows which kind she doesn't want to be. (Toph, Lin)

Sweep, Stir, Slow - When your daughter is the Avatar, motherhood is an exercise in letting go. (Senna/Tonraq, Korra)

Batman Comics

Mother of Pearl - Damian knew nothing about his grandmother aside from the manner of her death. It was time to change that. (Damian Wayne, Martha Wayne)

The Boys

Maybe It's Maybelline - Maybe she's born with it, or maybe it's Compound V. What kind of parent lets someone inject their kid with an experimental superpower serum? (Donna January)

Earth's Children

Only a Motion Away - But the mother and child reunion/Is only a motion away (Durc, Nezzie)

Ms. Marvel (Comics)

After Curfew - Disha Khan lay awake and wondered what she had done that Allah would give her such a daughter. (Disha Khan)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Shadow Over Mystacor - After Shadow Weaver's attack on Mystacor, Adora just wants to relax, but that's hard to do when it's all your fault. (Adora, Glimmer, Bow)

A Song of Ice & Fire

Strange Children In Our Bed - It had been seven long months since Catelyn's husband had been home and in her bed. Theon Greyjoy was the only thing spoiling their reunion. (Catelyn Stark/Ned Stark)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

One Last Leap - Telling his parents he's Spider-Man is a leap of faith Miles can't bring himself to take. (Miles Morales, Rio Morales, Jeff Davis, May Parker)

Star Wars

May the Force Get With You - The night her son is conceived Shmi has the best sex dream of her life. Something with a krayt dragon or a bantha or maybe just a ray of light. Too bad that's not what happens. Turns out, the Force is a lousy lay and a worse father. (Shmi/The Force)

Pain Management - Anger can get a slave killed. Shmi teaches her son some coping strategies. (Shmi, Anakin)

The Force Is In The Details - Continuation of The Force is in the Details. Slavery is as much a state of mind as it is a bomb under her skin. The chance cube lands on red and Shmi struggles with being free. (Shmi, Anakin, Padmé, Qui-Gon)

The Anchor That You Can't Leave Behind - On the queen's yacht headed back to Naboo, Anakin and Padmé miss their mothers but Obi-Wan doesn't get why. (Anakin, Padmé, Obi-Wan)

Domestic Life Was Never Quite My Style - Despite her best efforts, Padmé is pregnant. Now she has a difficult decision to make. (Padme/Anakin)

Second Wind - Ahsoka takes the wrong exit from the world between worlds and ends up with a second chance to save her master. (Ahsoka, Shmi)

Red Fish, Blue Fish - Leia bought an aquarium for her child like her father before her. In a perfect world she could raise Ben to fill his grandfather's legacy. Too bad he had more than one. (Leia Organa, Ben Solo)

The Last Truce We Ever Came To - Darth Vader is dead but he won't leave Leia alone. (Leia Organa, Anakin Skywalker, Ben Solo)

White Collar

Eyes on the Target (The Solid Ground Remix) - Peter asked her to keep an eye on Neal for him while he's stuck in jail. It could be going better. (Diana Berrigan, Neal Caffery, Peter Burke)

[esther-dot]

Hey what is your stand on or do you know any metas on the whole "Dany will destroy Volantis and even the slaves will suffer" story. Because until now I don't see how it's not going too be just another rescued city to bolster her savior persona.

Oh, really don't write about this kind of stuff, I can't keep track of certain details no matter how hard I try. However, while I believe the idea is fire and blood from here onward, I don't think that means Dany will change or that suddenly, fans won't have everything they've always had to defend her? As in, her compassion, Dany's belief that she is saving people, it will all still be there, only, they'll also get the thrill of victory they've been wanting too, so for the fans, I think those already sensitive to the consequences of her actions will be more impressed with the horror, while her stans, they'll prolly be happier. They believe she is anti slaver (conveniently ignoring how her actions led to the rape and enslavement of others and how she used forced labor and took money from the slave trade...), so Dany as an avenging angel of the powerless, it's gonna thrill them.

I just googled to see what they're saying about her going fire and blood on Volantis and this is a few years old, but they're already prepped to defend whatever happens. Here’s an assortment of comments I found on Reddit:

"People keep saying this as some GOTCHA to Mad Dany but I do not legitimately care about her burning the shit out of slavers 🤷 I have no sympathy for what she'll do to them. She's learned diplomacy doesn't work with slavery. You get nowhere trying to compromise with them or being polite, and what's been proven time and again if you give them any leeway they'll go right back to slavery and trying to murder you and your people. So like...who tf cares if she butchers the shit out of slavers?" Innocents die in war, that's a consistent theme in ASOIAF and irl. However unlike the wars in Westeros, Daenerys is a lot more justified in her fighting slavery and yes, some slaves will die but we've seen the majority actively want to be freed, will fight with her and ones like Volantis are waiting for her to come free them. She just say the words "fire and blood", nothing more. That does not means she will burn everybody on sight. She still care about the innocents. Smashing select shit and burning a select few people to end slavery might be exactly what a fire and blood Dany would do. Yes it’s just her house words like winter is coming … it is to reassure her identity , that’s all. Even with dragons, the Targaryens were no more destructive than the others houses. The war of the 5 kings was just as devastating than the Dance yet it did not have any dragons.

....you get the idea. The hellish descriptions of what she leaves in her wake, her own complicity in in the slave trade, that didn't make a dent, I don't think Volantis will either. People are bought in. Although, someone did point out, the structure of the city might allow this to be a successful bloodbath for Dany ie fewer innocent casualties than we might expect which will make her even worse going forward because she'll think she can repeat fire & blood successfully and then kaboom KL due to the wildfire.

I'm not sure if Jonsas have written any meta devoted to Volantis, I quickly searched and didn't see anything, but there is stumpy’s recap of ADWD, Tyrion VII that you might find interesting.

[cassi-llusion]

Pure rambling, sorry if this doesn't make sense I wrote it at like 2 in the morning. But silly little Anakin character analysis (used lightly)

I've decided I am the only person allowed to talk about Anakin(/j). People either only make him a poor suffering soul who didn't know what he was doing, or a man who was truly born evil. Technically neither is wrong but they aren't mutually exclusive. You can't have one without the other. 

I think to fully understand this, we would have to focus on the relationship between the Jedi, the Republic, and Palpatine. The Jedi, over the course of the Clone Wars, became pawns in the Rebpulic’s game. They lost so much of their own freedom, trying to fight for others. They also had to deal with Palpatine constantly interfering with Jedi affairs and vetoing their wanted means of tackling the war. They became so involved with this, they were oblivious to just how serious Anakin and Palpatine’s friendship had become. 

With the Jedi aside, Palpatine began to capitalise on Anakin’s fears and wants. Anakin wanted nothing more than for his mother to be free, and for himself to be free. That could happen if he turned to the dark side. Anakin didn’t want to lose more people he loved, he wanted to be fast enough, he needed to be enough. He can bend the forces of life and death with the dark side. There Palpatine was, whispering in Anakin’s ear, fueling his furnace heart, and pushing more fear into the dragon that had scared Anakin for so long. 

If Anyone was to blame for Anakin’s failure, for his fall to the dark side, it would be Palpatine. So many people blame the Jedi, blame Obi-Wan, blame Ahsoka for leaving, but that’s missing the point. In Matt Stover's “Revenge of the Sith” novelization, Palpatine speaks “You are the chosen one.” Palpatine leans toward you, eyes clear. Steady. Utterly honest. “Chose by me.” This is insanely important because it shows how Palpatine had been manipulating Anakin, grooming him since he was a child. In the comic series “Obi-Wan & Anakin”, we the reader, see Palpatine oversee Anakin’s training as he takes an interest in him.  People talk a lot about how if "Ahsoka didn't leave Anakin wouldn't have fallen",  "if Padme was more open", "If Obi-Wan was more understanding", and "if the Jedi were good people". But the person who coaxed him over to the dark side was Palpatine. 

Then we have the topic of Padme, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan. Why didn’t they do anything? First off, I stand by the fact that Ahsoka not leaving the order wouldn’t have fixed anything. Anakin and Ahsoka’s conversation before she ended up leaving, was more so him talking to himself. Anakin had contemplated leaving the order since he was twelve. In the comic “Obi-Wan & Anakin”, they travel to a planet that has been destroyed by war. Within the first issue, Anakin expresses disdain over the fact that neither the Jedi nor the Republic stepped in to help and left the planet to participate in endless war. Anakin mentions leaving the order, and Obi-Wan vocalizes how he would support it. 

However, I think Anakin realized, leaving the order would mean returning to life as a slave on Tatooine. His overall goal was to return home and be able to free his mother, but we will touch on that later. Anyways, that being said, I think Ahsoka leaving only added to his abandonment issues, as he viewed her leaving the order as her leaving him.  This plays into so many of the interactions he had with other characters. 

With Padme, it’s a whole other topic. Was their relationship actually a healthy one? I think most people would be inclined to say yes, they are! They love each other and that’s true but also you have to look at them outside of their love. They didn’t necessarily understand each other. Padme in the later seasons of “The Clone Wars” was becoming more aligned with the separatist ideology. She began to see the flaws and corruption that ran deep into the Republic that Anakin couldn’t see. But they were so obsessed with each other that they chose to ignore these differences. I think one of the main examples of this was probably in “Attack of the Clones”.  Padme rather than being concerned over Anakin’s outburst with the Tuskens supported him and “understood” why he did it. She loved him too much to let this get to her. It was why she was fully ready to give up her position as a senator just to be happy with him. In the “Revenge of the Sith” novelization, Matthew Stover writes about their relationship in a different light. It reads much more uncomfortably than it does in the movies. He writes “Anakin couldn’t breath. She wasn’t here, hadn’t come to meet him, over some debate? The Senate. He hated the Senate.”(156-157). Padme is written the same way, on page 161, “For Padme Amidala, saying I am Anakin Skywalker’s wife is saying neither more nor less than I am alive.”. I think this is extremely important in showing the fact that they loved each other so much, that they were each other's downfall. This happens again on Mustafar when they meet their tragic end. Padme was saving him by not joining him, and Anakin was saving her by joining the dark side. 

We move on to Obi-Wan and Anakin now. They are two sides of the same coin, they were brothers and Anakin’s most notable betrayal. One of the most notable things about their relationship is two passages from the “Revenge of the Sith” novel. The first reads, “Anakin and Obi-Wan would never fight each other. They couldn’t. They’re a team. They’re the team. And both of them are sure they always will be.”(40). This one is important because it shows that, Obi-Wan and Anakin are important to each other. In their mind they are brothers, they are best friends. They couldn’t hurt each other, they are comfortable with that fact. Now the second passage comes from page 402 and reads, “This was not Sith against Jedi. This was not light against dark or good against evil; it had nothing to do with duty or philosophy, religion or morals. It was Anakin against Obi-Wan. Personally. Just the two of them, and the damage they had done to each other.”. Now, this quote is the total opposite of the first and happens a whole 362 pages later, and it's just as important. It shows Obi-Wan couldn't have said anything to change Anakin’s mind, no matter how hard you wish he could’ve. 

In conclusion, so many factors went into why Anakin fell to the dark side and there was genuinely nothing that could’ve been done to stop it. Not only was it the way he interacted with other people but also just his environment. While Anakin may have been a boy who longed to be free and defeat the “dragon” that plagued his nightmares, he was still a man who made his own decisions, selfish or not.

[horizon-verizon]

Aemond is one of the most popular characters of HOTD I don't think they are failing at anything. And why can't a teenage guy be stupid?

*EDITED POST* (12/22/23)

"Boys will be boys".

A)

Because that teenager is equipped with a dragon and the privilege to use it during a war with little real check on his behavior, and he relies on his own moral gauge. In Aemond's case, we know rests on sexism, high violence, genocidal tendencies, etc. bc the society he lives in grants more moral allowances to men/boys over girls/women.

Aemond is given the responsibilities/abilities of a present-day Western male adult and is treated as a full-grown adult. Why? In Westeros, the age of majority is 16 -- boy or girl. That means the moment you are 16, you become a full adult (even though both can get married earlier). 

Aemond surpasses this age by episode 10. That means that he has more power than a modern, Western 16 year old boy. He has an adult's power, and an adult's responsibility.

This is a feudal society where noble/royal teen boys and young men like Aemond are given weapons and trained to kill/lead armies from an even younger age, which is partly why Lucerys even had a knife back in episode 7. 

If he truly is “philosophical” and reads such books, he would not have even chased Lucerys and should have developed some self control/understanding how to pick his battles.

Aemond:

was militarily trained and very good at killing/combat

can and will be given authority to move whole armies 

is hateful of a particular set of his family

believes his manhood gives him inherent rights and privileges over women or those lesser in station

rides a flying war machine (that he can’t control, why not, after years of riding Vhagar? because he can’t control himself at the very moment when he should have and was entrusted with bringing in Borros, not being the one to start the war as Otto/Alicent did not want [a strategy of image for the Greens]?)

very, too proud to be a man with near-absolute privilege and authority (the canon Aemond)

Point is that Aemond is given so much more power and is more dangerous than any teen boy you have ever comes across. 

Daemon was also 16 when he married Rhea Royce, and he was considered a full adult then as well. However, like all adults of that time, he cannot go against the orders of his queen or king to marry someone he dislikes unless he is fine with exile, execution (if a monarch can find opportunity), or be socially ostracized and deprived of amenities and/or privileges. So for Daemon there is an actual element of helplessness there, while Aemond comparatively has/had always room as Viserys never forces him to do something he doesn't want to do that isn't justified. Before he bonded and claimed Vhagar, Aemond was not unfairly treated or bullied like in HotD, by anyone. And afterwards, he still enjoys the privileges of a prince/male. He had no right (other than the patriarchal oppressive kind) to make Alys Rivers his war prize/sex slave, kill a slew of both children and adult men in the Strong genocide, or flame large sections of the riverlands [more children]; all done when he is 19. Tese are not acts you should pass off as the acts of "a stupid teenage guy", anon. There is no room for that. This all comes from patriarchal, blood purist, classist, dehumanizing entitlement.

"Popularity" does not equal or automatically mean "well-written" or “innocuous”. Popular just means “liked by many” without bringing context, and background information/context changes a lot.

The show version of Aemond is popular for these main reasons:

Some people perceive him as sympathetic character, like you, because of the bullying, presumably for being dragonless by age 11-13 (which never happens nor could reasonably happen in the book/canon lore) and somehow “pure” victims make good characters (spoiler alert: they do not).

His mother, Alicent, is actually the one people like, sing the praises of, or feel represent them and how life never goes their way, boohoo (meanwhile you have power, use it!) and Aemond is made into this person who protects Alicent from harm. Meanwhile, canon Aemond was a misogynist (even against his own mother[as if misogynists men weren’t always automatically hateful of their mothers in many ways]) psychopath only ever out for himself who did many, many heinous things that I will not spoil for you.  

He has been rewritten to be a lot more self controlled than he ever was, so he seems like a suave, amazing warrior with the poise of a “true” prince to some viewers.

The actor is very physically attractive and the wig they have for him is silky and better than most of the wigs there.

Or people actually are that misogynist, classist, and think in blood purity language where how you are born or what is in your “blood” defines who and what you are....forever. Thus Aemond is “relatable” and useful for them. To emphasize how he “loses” so much to the evil slut Rhaenyra. Like what THIS lovely user said in another ask to me.

B)

"Boys will be boys"....is this what you say?

As I already said, Aemond is a misogynist and was encouraged to think himself superior and more deserving than the entire female portion of humanity, especially Rhaenyra and thus who do not conform their behavior or appearance to the feudal patriarchal values of female chastity and "purity". He is not just a "stupid teen". He knew what he was doing at all times and continued because he felt like it or because he felt he was justified.

To change this is to fuck up and reduce the Dance's inherent injustice towards Rhaenyra and the very idea of female rulers/leaders, because that a what the Dance is thematically about.

I would say that the writers have failed to impart the message of the Dance itself and bring the characters and themes to heir true selves. They succeeded in hooking a lot of people through the marketing strategies of misplaced representation, the chemistry between Emma D’Arcy-Olivia Cooke, the beauty of the sets and costumes, etc. 

However, the meaning of the Dance, its focus on how patriarchy and one woman’s internalized misogyny ruins basically the fates of Westerosi women everywhere and from then on, is totally lost because the show refuses to hold Alicent and Aemond accountable for said hatred for people they do not think “deserve” a king/royal privileges because one’s a woman, the others are all children not born to a married couple. 

The Greens = Misogyny/male privilege, classism, and blood purity.

It is because Alicent, Otto, and the others usurped Rhaenyra that the Targ dynasty (of which Aemond is a part of) also lose their dragons until Daenerys “Stormborn” restores them 8 whole generations later. And again, women in Westeros collectively paid the price at Rhaenyra’s loss.

Now, you should have read the article by Seth I linked above, but if you haven’t here are some parts of his review:

AND

Seth is saying that for Ryan to say that we can’t possibly ever find judgement in a person like Aemond. 

But we can, and we should, or we will justify and normalize misogyny, homophobia, racism, etc. at a time where people watching should feel these things’ inherent evil now. You can’t excuse misogyny in a young boy no matter how young. You excuse classism in an 11 year old girl. 

You rather need to snuff those things out before that child becomes a hateful person like Cersei and Robert Baratheon.

But Alicent didn’t. She and Aemond both cultivate it. And that is where Ryan Condal show his green hat. (Aside from so much more, like Rhaenicent).

It is rather because Aemond and the show is so popular -- able to reach so many people -- that it both angers and worries me over how people can be so shallow or shortsighted about these things.

[rhaenin-time]

Reblogging with better organization, a few things I left out, and without the previous "reply" because it was misogynistic trolling nonsense by a member of what I can only describe as a community of the dysliterate (willfully and functionally illiterate by choice, rather than circumstance) that was wasting space on a long post. You can find their original reblog here if you're so inclined for nonsense (or to know who to block).

Worry not, I'm sure they have plenty of alt-accounts where they can still obsessively read this and get off on telling themselves how wrong I am.

The willfully dysliterate troll:

Sure… that’s what happened… Aemond didn’t at all claim a dragon just as several Targaryens had, Rhaenyra included, and then get jumped for an imagined crime.

So I suspect the whole baffling "Aemond didn't steal Vhagar because he couldn't have because you can't steal a dragon" phenomenon stems not just from the blatant misreading of Dany's "a dragon is not a slave," moment, but moreso from people not understanding how ownership works. As in, ownership is something we make, not some objective, divinely ordained right.

The kids weren't wrong for faulting Aemond for taking Vhagar. They were simply unwise for confronting him themselves rather than reporting him.

But Aemond is already in the wrong before the confrontation starts. Rhaena was technically incorrect about Vhagar being “hers to claim” without Viserys's or Rhaenyra's consent, but she was absolutely right to be angry at Aemond and to point out that he did not have a right to claim her. Especially since Rhaena had good reason to expect that Viserys and Rhaenyra would not only permit her but would prefer her over Aemond.

Oh no, now here come the people screaming that, "You cannot steal a dragon!"

These people love to cite Daenerys this one time, as if “a dragon is not a slave” doesn't just mean that dragons cannot be subdued the same way a human can. As if it wasn't a comment on the institution of slavery itself. As if she wasn't about to free a city full of enslaved people. Because I have seen so many takes based on this moment that honestly look like this:

A dragon being able to say yes or no, and let's be honest, often based on blood and vibes, doesn't mean you can't steal the right to claim them if an entire culture, and then dynasty, forms itself around creating, protecting, and regulating that right. The fact that you can't force a bond doesn't mean that it's a fucking free-for-all game of finders-keepers.

Is anyone honestly convinced that if Saera had made it to Balerion, Jaehaerys would or should have said, "Congratulations for sneaking past the dragonkeepers to get to the dragon that's genetically and by now psychologically predisposed to accept a rider with your blood. That proves you're worthy of being a dragonrider with unrestricted access to a war dragon, for some reason."

If an Old Blood of Volantis had managed to sneak into the catacombs and bond with one of her dragons, would Dany have said, "Well, that proves you're worthy! Here you go." Or even, should she have said that?

If we invented magical shoes that made you fly, but once one person puts them on they can't be worn by anyone else, are you honestly going to argue that you can't "steal" a pair of shoes simply because they end up fitting?

“Ownership” is a socio-political construct and not some objective rule of nature. And that being a socio-political construct makes it no less real.

Targaryens derive their power from their monopoly over dragons because they have the power to enforce that monopoly. They own the dragons because they have the power to enforce that ownership. That's how ownership works. It's not some divine rule ordained by the gods. It's a rule they made because they had the power to make it.

🐲

🐲

And again, that does not make that rule any less 'real'. Because that's how most 'rules' are formed.

"But Aemond just wanted the birthright he unfairly denied! A connection to their heritage!"

Nevermind that him being "deprived" of a dragon and "bullied" for it goes against both book!canon and the rules that the show established. That plenty of Targaryens have gone without dragons, and even more have gone into their teens or adulthood before claiming one. Nevermind that. Let's talk about that "birthright."

What's important to understand is that Aemond wasn't challenging the idea that Targaryens should hold dominion over dragons, or the power structure behind it. Because Aemond's sense of entitlement to Vhagar originates from the very socio-political construct that he disregards.

He wasn't challenging his family's, his culture's, dominion over dragons. He was challenging and disrespecting the way by which his family, and their culture, maintain and enforce that dominion amongst themselves. And why? Was it for good reason? Not really. He was sneaking around because he knew he wasn't allowed to claim Vhagar, and he thought he deserved Vhagar.

So what does Jaehaerys have to say on the matter of whether or not a Targaryen can "steal" a dragon?

The funniest part about people who argue that Aemond couldn't have stolen Vhagar because you can't cite Jaehaerys because Jaehaerys would have disinherited Rhaenyra in the first place... is that they're basically arguing that if someone is a misogynist, you must therefore disregard everything they've ever said or done.

Interesting... So, since it's mostly people from Team Misogyny who make that 'argument' I'm just gonna go ahead and use their own logic and... ignore it in the name of basic reasoning.

🐲

🐲

Well that's awkward.

Saera actually has the more sympathetic justification of the two.

She never put the claim of the heir to question. All she was being punished for at the time was daring to fuck. Yes, she played cruel pranks but that was not what she was being punished for. Yet Jaehaerys was so enraged by the mere attempt to claim a dragon that he dismissed any chance of forgiveness and shipped her off to the Silent Sisters.

Saera's "crime" was defying unjust, misogynist rules. And the reason she wanted a dragon was to escape the unjust consequences of her 'crimes'. The whole reason she had to try to 'steal' a dragon is that she actually was denied a dragon for unjust, misogynistic reasons. All Aemond would have had to do is wait.

People like to pretend as if his "boldness" in claiming Vhagar proves him "worthy." That Vhagar "chose" him. And yes, while he initiated a bond and Vhagar accepted, it's not as if Vhagar in that moment could sense every contender in the world, and out of everyone, decided to honour the "worthy" Aemond. He snuck into the flying shoe store when it was closed, and the shoe ended up fitting. But the shoe could have fit any number of people in different circumstances. That's why dragonlords took steps to manage those circumstances.

Taking Vhagar, heedless of the authority and judgement of the elder and more experienced Targaryens, sneaking around because he knew he wouldn't be allowed otherwise, and lucking out that Vhagar liked his scent wasn't a sign he was "worthy". It proves he has no respect for the system put in place to manage such a dangerous power, and we see that made manifest.

So worthy

You get a lot of takes around this moment like, "The Dance was a product of Targaryen arrogance alone! Those stupid Targs gave nukes to children and had NO system to ensure that dragons were handled responsibly."

And then will proceed to say: "What no, Aemond didn't STEAL Vhagar you can't STEAL a dragon he HAD to sneak around because you just know Rhaenyra would have convinced Viserys to say no otherwise. So what if previous generations seemed to have had strict policies about who got a dragon and when? That was clearly WRONG dragons aren't SLAVES except Saera was definitely wrong for trying to take a dragon to escape the consequences of being a whore. Stealing a dragon should be punishable by death. Also, Aemond did nothing wrong him not having permission to claim a war dragon was him being OPPRESSED. Everyone else was wrong for getting mad at him and Viserys was wrong for not punishing the others but him letting Aemond keep Vhagar was DEFINITELY not a sign of his weakness the only sign of his weakness was not punishing Luke the significantly younger child. It's no wonder Aemond lost control of Vhagar but it wasn't HIS fault for having no respect for how his family traditionally viewed dragons or Viserys's for letting him keep Vhagar. It's just proof targs are dumb foreigners who thought they could domesticate dragons and give nukes to children."

And around and around it goes...

The funniest part is that when I point this out people never rebut with actual points they're just like "tHaT's NoT hOw It WoRkS! Ownership is ownership!" And I think it has a lot more to do with them wanting to take certain kinds of ownership for granted as this objective, divinely ordained right, and how something as seemingly insignificant as exploring how fictional dragon family can create and enforce their own kind of "ownership" over a symbol and source of raw power challenges that worldview, and they're often completely unwilling to examine that.

In conclusion:

Rhaena and Baela probably grew up with stories about Jaehaerys and generations as far back as Valyria regarding how dragons were managed. They knew what was up. Viserys doing nothing was a sign of his weakness, and Rhaenyra not pushing was likely only due to Aemond's eye and her precarious position in that moment. Neither are a confirmation of the idea that "you cannot steal a dragon."

The whole point of that scene in Fire and Blood was the important matter (Vhagar) was pushed aside because Viserys didn't want to deal with 'drama'. And because of Aemond's eye Rhaenyra was not in a position or mindset to push in the moment, especially when she was already dealing with the revelation that Alicent was actively turning her brothers against her.

Rhaenyra was not just the heir to the throne; she was also the future head of the family and highest ranking dragonrider. If she didn't want Aemond to have Vhagar and if she would have had Viserys say no had Aemond asked, then yes he did indeed “steal” Vhagar.

So yes actually it was a pretty good trade for Aemond.

Gotta love how when Daemon was out of the picture for ten years the justification for usurping Rhaenyra was that her position was too "weak" and that she's a fox whispering sweetly as she's surrounded by hounds and she's just making it too easy to take the throne. So after Alicent proves to be a threat by stabbity stab stabbing her while trying to stab Rhaenyra's son after Aemond jacked a war dragon without permission and it was revealed Alicent has been actively coaching her brothers against her, Rhaenyra decides to strengthen her position by marrying Daemon to make it clear she won't stand by if Alicent tries to usurp her and suddenly the usurpation is justified for the opposite reason.

Hmm... It's almost like there was no right choice for Rhaenyra.

[scorpio-marionette]

31 Nights of Head Canons - Night 4

Night 3

~

A/N: This one was hard. I haven't actually seen any of these movies. I had to do a LOT of reading of summaries to write this one. Hence why it's so late coming out. I would've gotten to it sooner, but I had to cover a shift at work. Now that it's done, I go to sleep.

~

Night 4

What is your favorite classic horror movie monster?

~

Dio

Dracula is Dio's favorite. I imagine that there are days he feels like him. I mean, he brags about all of the mindless drones that he can't seem to shake. Dracula turns people into his vampiric minions that follow his commands without question. Sounds pretty similar to me.

~

Omar

Cheela from the Captive Wild Woman reminds Omar of how trapped he is in his own life by his father's desires. He, like Cheela, is actually very affectionate. Sure, he can act all cool and attractive. Ultimately though, he just wants freedom.

~

Zach

The Gill-Man in the Creature from Black Lagoon has always triggered Zach's love for travel and discovery. He finds the creature's desire for the woman strange, but enjoys the movie all the same.

~

Oberyn

Centuries prior to even the fair Targaryens rein over Westeros, before even the Children of the Forest, there was an ancient serpent that dwelled in the expansive caves of the land. This serpent was said to be the ancestor to all dragons, having been the first to sprout wings and fly free of its rocky confinment. Oberyn does not see this ancient beast as a monster or as the creator of monsters as so many others do. While his relations with the Targaryens have soured, he still holds much respect for the distant cousins of his namesake.

~

Marcus Pike

Erik, the Phantom, from the 1925 version of the Phantom of the Opera. Marcus loves this character as much as he fears becoming him. He hasn't had the best luck with love, but he hopes to never feel compelled to "take" someone's love rather than earn it.

~

Max Phillips

Dr. Jack Griffin, the invisible man, is more like Max than you know. Both are suave, psychotic, and easily disarmed by the one they really love.

~

Pero Tovar

William often likes to tell stories from his homeland to Pero, whether he cares to hear them or not. One such tale was of a man who turned into an animal. The Wolf-Man William had called it. Slave to the Moon and a hunger for flesh, whatever that may mean at the time. Pero acted like he didn't care for the story, but secretly he enjoyed thinking about resigning himself to his more basic instincts.

~

Javier Peña

Frankenstein's monster has become a favorite of Javi's. While he knows it isn't true, there are days he feels like a monster. He's done bad things. They don't define him though. This movie reminds him of that truth.

~

Jack

Dan McCormick, the Electric Man, from Man Made Monster. While you can see parallels in the men having both been turned into monsters due to their circumstances. The truth is, Jack finds the applications of electricity facinating.

~

Ezra

In is search for more relics, Ezra discovered the movie the Brute Man. He enjoys this movie because he sees himself in Hal Moffet. Not because he's disfigured, but because he's be slighted by people whom he trusted.

~

Dave

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde speaks to Dave's double life. He is a man with a family he loves, but he misses the work he used to do. Now a monster lurks under his skin. Itching to come out and be in charge forever.

~

Frankie

Wilfred Glendon, the werewolf, is a long time favorite of Frankie's. Both because he relates to having the seemingly uncontrolable beast within, and just from a personal facination of the mythological creature.

~

Max Lord

Gwynplaine, the Man Who Laughs, is a movie Max doesn't like to share with people unless he trusts them. He knows the movie calls out to his own perpetually forced smile. He hates that he has to pretend. He appreciates that his isn't carved into his face though. He also likes knowing that even Gwynplaine could find love in the end.

~

Marcus Moreno

Marcus is not a Hollow Earth theorist by any means. Just because he lives in a world where superpowers are a thing, doesn't mean the Earth has to have a whole subterranean ecosystem. He does enjoy the idea of the Mole Poeple though. It isn't entirely impossible for a whole seperate species closely resembling humans to exist underground in caves.

~

Din

Din doesn't really remember any stories from his childhood, unfortunately.

~

Nico

Godzilla and all of the other kaiju from Japan. Nico loves the look of the old films and comparing them to their latest itterations. The progress of production only heightens the action. It will always be funny to think of the man in a lizard suit though.

~

Dieter

Exeter from This Island Earth is Dieter's favorite. Though it's been a long time since seeing the movie, he remembers this being his first favorite sci-fi movie about aliens. He likes that he's a hero though not human.

~

Javi Gutierrez

Imhotep, the mummy, from the 1932 movie the Mummy. Javi likes this version of the mummy because it really focuses on Imhotep's desire to find his love again. That isn't to say he doesn't like the 1999 version. It's just with that one, he sees himself more as Rick rather than Imhotep.

~

Joel

This isn't really a monster persay, but they are huge and dangerous. In the Monolith Monsters, there are asteroid fragments that grow rapidly when exposed to water. They also seem to leech out all trace amounts of silicon from your body and leave you petrified. I would imagine Joel wanting to use some of that stuff right now to build walls very quickly around Jackson.

[captainfinnsboat]

Thought I would share some WIPs that I never finished or did anything with.

1. This one is a star wars au (ik that the Jedi code warns against possession/obsession and not relationships as a whole but I needed plot armor).

"Tommy don't you remember? We're brothers!" Wilbur exclaims desperately.

"Jedi don't have brothers. " Tommy replies.

"We aren't Jedi! At least I'm not, and your better than all of them. We both are. Your to good for them! Just take my hand and everything can be like it was before. It can be better! Don't you want that, Tommy? Doesn't that sound nice?" The Jedi freezes. Something in his old master's words strikes him to his core.

"It does....."

"Then come with me."

"But you kill people!" He shouts.

"So do you!" He screams.

The blonde flinches and Wilbur forces himself to relax with a deep, shaky breath, "Just- listen, please. " he says with tears in his eyes.

"You belong by my side. I'm the last person in the galaxy that still trusts you! That still cares about you! I love you, Tommy. I can't lose you again. " The jedi ponder his words intently. Tears of frustration gather in his sad, blue eyes. The boy angrily wipes his tears on his dirty sleeve, smearing some dirt on his cheek. Wilbur wants to wipe away the dirt and tears with his thumb, like he used to. But the blue shine of Tommy's tears from his lightsaber keep the Sith away.

"Okay, " Tommy says, retracting his saber and standing straight to make eye contact with the other, "Okay, Wilbur. I'll go with you. "

Wilbur smiles.

2. This one is a dragon au type deal. I can't really explain it.

Wilbur had always been the more sickly of the two so, when they were given the option to fight in the pit for a chance at freedom, Technoblade was the one to step forward. Wilbur protested adamantly but the pinkette ignored him. Wilbur was thin and malnourished. Well, they both were malnourished but Wilbur came down with a cough or fever every other moon and his limp would get him killed in the pit.

Technoblade fought in the pit for 4 and half years before he earned enough money to buy himself and his twin's freedom. Techno had worried that the Lord wouldn't except his earnings and keep them enslaved, as many Lords often did with dragon born slaves, but he begrudgingly accepted the payment and let the Twins walk out of the estate hand in hand.

"I spent years fightin' for my brother and I's freedom. If I fight in the war now I could be captured. If I become a prisoner of war I will be sold off to a wealthy Lord and forced to live as a slave again and I can't do that. I can't take that risk because if I am gone then my brother will have no one to care for him and he will die. I fought to hard to get to were I am. I can't throw it all away now." Techno's words are cold and calculated and Tommy releases a low frustrated squack at his indifference and ruffles his feathers. He understands Techno's devotion but he is annoyed by his ignorance.

"But you aren't free. Not really. You and Wilbur are forced to live under the city. Your underpaid and overworked and forbidden to involve yourselves in politics. You can't leave the city without written permission and the punishment for carrying weapons or defending yourselves is death. You are not free but, if you come with me and join the rebellion, then maybe some day, you can be." Tommy says.

3. I wrote this after watching Wilbur's last dsmp stream.

"I- I never used to be this angry... What happened to me Tubbo? To us? "

Tubbo pauses, thinking to himself, before slowly leaning back against the bench and turing to his friend.

He smiles solemnly and says, "To much, "

"Heh- yeah, " Tommy replies softly, "Do you think we'll ever be free? " he asks.

"What do you mean? "

"Like, I don't think we've ever been free to just- be kids, ya know? "

The brunette stares at him intently.

"We were soldiers, then we were leaders, " he sighs, " prisoners, refugees, brothers, workers, and a million other stupid things. For once, just once, I want to be Tommy. "

"I never thought about it like that... It sounds nice. Just Tubbo. "

Tommy turns to his friend. The face that he meets is one that he hasn't seen in a long- long, time.

It's still Tubbo, but younger, softer. His horns barley peak out from the hair on his head. His burn scars are non-exsistent and the bags under his good eye are gone. He looks happy.

The vision fades away, but Tommy's smile doesn't.

Tubbo's face contorts in confusion, "What are you thinking about, boss man? " he inquires.

"A better time. A time long gone," he replies.

The brunette hums in reply, "Do you remember when you set my house on fire? " he says with a laugh.

"Oh, uh- yeah. Sorry 'bout turnin' it into a panic shelter, by the way. "

"It's no problem, man. Not like I was using it anyway. "

Tommy nods, "Cool."

Tubbo looks back to the horizon, deep in thought, before he speaks, "I can't believe Wilbur really left. It feels like he's still here. "

A sigh, "Yeah, " the blonde says, "I wish he actually was. "

Tears threaten to fall as he remembers Wilbur's final goodbye. He understands, truly, he does. But it isn't fair.

4. This was for a walking dead au (It has two parts).

A) Technoblade knew that losing Tommy would destroy Wilbur, and he knew that it would destroy him as well. The moment that Tommy took his last breath would be the moment that all the color drained from their lives. It would no longer be worth it.

B) Wilbur knew that he cared about Phil. He was one of his only friends. He knew that, if he should pass, he would miss him dearly. Wilbur did not however, expect to feel so utterly hopeless. The greif was gut wrenching. All he wanted to do was hold Tommy and Techno close as he cried. Somewhere during the last 4 years the brunette had learned to care for Phil almost as much as he cared for his brothers. Phil's death made Wilbur scared. Scared for his family. Techno was more that capable of taking care of himself, but Tommy was barely 15. He was skinny and absolutely rubbish with a gun. Wilbur wanted to steal the boy away and hide him from all the dangers of the world. Lock him up and keep him all to himself. But he couldn't. Tommy was to bright to be locked in the dark and he was not made to be hidden away from the world. The isolation would kill his brother almost as effectively as a bullet.

I have A LOT more of these so lemme know if you wanna see em. Probably gonna post them anyway though.

[fijiangecko]

When the Sun Rises in the West

Prologue

A/N: AHHH IT'S HERE!! I'm so excited to finally share this! I'm planning on posting chapters every couple days so I make you all wait for it 😉 this whole series was entirely based off of this playlist, and every chapter will have a theme. This one isn't super edited but I actually love this series. Heavily based off of GoT (locations and dergons) but no spoilers. This story doesn't use the same plot or same characters.

C/N = City Name

Word Count: 1,700+

The barren wasteland of Essos was home to many people for the past several centuries. From dry deserts to scattered mountain ranges, the people couldn't have been happier to be alive and not in Westeros, dealing with the war of the iron throne. Blood shed, tears, agony and resentment are what wars left behind, not the virtues of peace and prosperity they promised. You, for one, would never want to experience anything like it. As heiress to a city newfound within the last century, your heart is only filled with love for your people. Never in your life would you wish to put a sword in a child's hand and tell them to fight for your honor, and not their own.

There's a reason your people haven't had to fight yet. Both the natural defenses that C/N holds and the ferociousness of native animals. C/N lies in a valley between several mountains. It is deep enough to have its own water supply, and no sane ruler would have his army climb over such steep mountain tops. Plus, they've only heard rumors about you, but no one would dare see if they were true.

The people of C/N love your family and care for you deeply, wishing you good health and even better prosperity. Children walk with you through the streets as you treat them to exotic fruits and pleasantries. The adults are thankful to all gods that they have found this Oasis, this sanctuary of peace and happiness. After trekking across the Red Waste and the Dothraki Sea they found a home for both themselves and their families. They smile as you walk by, greeting you and presenting you with their wares. Oftentimes, they will want you to take it for free - a gift, but you refuse every time. You live with the head family, there's no need for you to get freebies. Everyone lives in simple splendor with their everyday lives; content at the opportunity to have an easy life until they die.

"Y/N!" You snap out of a memory where you're dancing around a great pyre to an ancient song with the town elders. It was the celebration of your fifteenth birthday, an important day in a young person's life as they graduate from childhood to adulthood. "You know you have to leave soon, right?" Your mother walks around the grand table to you, and tests her hand on top of yours. She smiles sweetly as she waits for a response.

"I know, I just don't want too." Your eyes travel downwards at the new memory. Your birthday was in two months, and the 22nd birthday through your family lineage meant marriage. Although you wouldn't be taking over C/N anytime soon due to Fathers good health, there's still a need to have good trade relationships with other cities across the nation. You know that they wouldn't force you into a relationship, as their parents didn't, but let something grow naturally with one of the children of other head families. Out of so many there was bound to be one that caught your favor… or so they hoped. 

"It'll be okay pumpkin, we didn't want to send you away for so many months, but Masaru's son is the only person in the world that is like you. There has to be a bond there we don't know about." In the past few months, head families have traveled to meet you and hope that they can tie the knot with you. They were all turned away, due to a couple big factors. 1) they were too young, 2) they had a stick up their ass, 3) they didn't give a shit about what happened to the citizens of their towns and would profit off of their tragedy and 4) there were allegations of slave trade among them. True or not, you would not stand to put a price on human life. If there were allegations, then that means someone connected to them was either in or around the trades themselves. It was sickening to think about. As far as you know, the Bakugou bloodline doesn't have any affiliations with slave traders, their son is your age, if not a little older and cared about his people in an odd way. 

"Why am I going for so long? I'm going to miss my 22nd celebration…"

"Well, the Bakugou's haven't been sending us a lot of materials lately, so you're not only there for personal interest but diplomatically. We need these materials for more homes. Those children you live are becoming adults, but we don't have the means to help them." She squeezes your hand. "You can help them. Missing your celebration will suck, I know, but we'll have it as soon as you get back. Plus we'll need to talk about who's going to marry who."

Anxiety bubbles in your chest, but you pop it with a calming smile. "I know. I don't like any of the other candidates, but if the rumors about the younger Bakugou are true than I shouldn't have to worry. If we are the only two in the world that are this way, isn't that a sign from gods old and new?"

"That's the spirit Y/N. We'll finish packing your stuff. Go finish saying your goodbyes." Your mother smiles sweetly and give you a tight hug before letting you go. The rest of the night you reminisce with old friends. You all talk about old shenanigans and pranks you used it pull on older people, but now you're the older people having pranks pulled on them. It is a great night of food and friends with a light dusting of sadness topped off with tears. You were gonna miss everyone, but you must do what they need you to do. They weren't crying because they were acted for you, more like they didn't want you to leave. 

At first you misinterpreted their tears, "Guys, I'm gonna be okay! I'll have Rhaegal and Viserion with me."

"No Y/N, we don't want you to go!" Mina cries from across the tavern table. The tears were appreciated, and broke your heart.

"I'll be back before you know it. Maybe I'll even have some eye candy at my side." Everyone laughs and you take the rest of the night to enjoy their company. You wouldn't have been able to sleep anyways, so this was a pleasant alternative.

The morning sun is bright when your eyes crack open. They hurt for a couple seconds, but it passes as your body adjusts to new circumstances. The sun itself is only cresting over the mountain tops, creating a golden glow around everything the light touches. That's when it hits you - this is last sunrise you'll be seeing for who knows how long. If all goes well diplomatically, then you'll be able to return home within a month, but if conflicts arise… you try not to put much thought into it and just watch the hues of peach and orange dance across the sky.

Softly, someone places a hand on your shoulder breaking your stream of thoughtlessness. "It's time to go." Your mother spoke quietly, as though cooing a newborn. Her velvet voice helps calm you even further. It'll only be for a little while. I don't even have to focus on Masaru's son if I don't want too. "C'mon, let's go grab Rhaegal and Viserion."

Walking towards the edge of town, a cart with all of your things lies ahead on the path, waiting to be pulled by 2 horses and their carriage master, Kota. He smiles at you, and you back to him. You can't help but wonder how such a sweet stable boy would want in Mereen, but maybe he just wanted to take Clyde and Grumm out for a walk after being cooped up for so long. You and your mother walk around the base of one of the surrounding mountains to a cave entrance. It's too dark to see inside, but you know the two are there; waiting to be set free since the last incident.

"Ñuhyz zaldrīzesse." Screeching bounced off of the cavern walls, the cacophony animalistic gurgles and grunts echo both out and further into the tunnels. An orange flame lights up the room suddenly, and the scale from the beasts glisten in the fire light. Large cuffs are wrapped around their necks that have chains bolted into the mountain walls. "Ñuha riñar, Rhaegal se Viserion. Iksan vaoreznuni." You walk over to the chains and unlatch them. Their large bodies tower over your own, but you can feel that they mean no harm. Rhaegal nuzzles his chin on the top of your head, as if saying "I know". His green scales shine Viserion bellows out another flame. Altogether, you exit the cave.

"They don't seem agitated." Your mother stands back quite a ways; she knows that they would never harm her but they are very large creatures.

"No, they learned their lesson." You run a hand over Viserion's cream colored scales, looking into his golden eyes. "Daēz." Upon the last sound leaving your lips, the spread their massive wings and take off, spurring dust clouds at their feet.

"Hopefully the Bakugou boy is as caring as you are." She laughs as you both walk to the wagon. Kota stares at the beasts in the sky, marvelling at them as they sore and howl.

"If he's the only other person in this world who has one, then he better be taking care of it as if it were his child."

"There is a reason they call you Muña Zaldrīzoti, my dear." You both laugh for a second and you look up at her.

"I'm going to miss you." You take her hands in your own, and squeeze them. She reciprocates it by releasing your hands and going for a hug.

"You'll do great. I know it and so does your father." She squeezes her arms before releasing. "Now go off and do amazing things." Tears prick the corners of you eyes, but you hold them back as best you can. With one last glance at your smiling mother, you hop on the carriage next to Koda and start on your journey to Mereen.

~

Ñuhyz zaldrīzesse - My dragons

Ñuha riñar - My children

Iksan vaoreznuni - I'm sorry

Daēz - Be Free

Muña Zaldrīzoti - Mother of Dragons

[rhaenin-time]

Here's the thing: the kids weren't wrong for faulting Aemond for taking Vhagar. They were simply unwise to confront him themselves rather than report him. But Aemond is already in the wrong before the confrontation starts.

Rhaena was technically incorrect about Vhagar being “hers to claim” without Viserys's or Rhaenyra's consent, but she was absolutely right to be angry at Aemond and to point out that he did not have a right to claim her. Especially since Rhaena had good reason to expect that Viserys and Rhaenyra would not only permit her but would prefer her over Aemond.

Oh no, now here come the people screaming that "you cannot steal a dragon!"

These people love to cite Daenerys this one time, as if “a dragon is not a slave” doesn't just mean you can't FORCE a bond, not that it's a fucking free-for-all game of finders keepers.

Did you know that “ownership” is a socio-political construct and not some objective rule of nature? And that being a socio-political construct makes it no less real?

Targaryens derive their power from their monopoly over dragons because they have the power to enforce that monopoly. They own the dragons because they have the power to enforce that ownership. That's how ownership works. It's not some divine rule ordained by the gods. It's a rule they made because they had the power to make it.

And again, that does not make that rule any less 'real'. Because that's how most 'rules' are formed. And I think what's important to understand is that Aemond wasn't challenging that rule, or the power structure behind it. Because Aemond's sense of entitlement to Vhagar originates from the very socio-political construct that he disregards.

And why? Was it for good reason? Not really.

He was sneaking around because he knew he wasn't allowed to claim Vhagar.

"But Aemond wanting Vhagar had nothing to do with wanting the biggest dragon possible! He just wanted what he was denied! A connection to their heritage!" Nevermind that him being "deprived" of a dragon and "bullied" for it goes against both book!canon and the rules that the show established.

Saera actually has the more sympathetic justification of the two.

She never put the claim of the heir to question. All she was being punished for at the time was daring to fuck. Yes, she played cruel pranks but that was not what she was being punished for. Yet Jaehaerys was so enraged by the mere attempt to claim a dragon that he dismissed any chance of forgiveness and shipped her off to the Silent Sisters.

Saera's crime was defying unjust, misogynist rules. And the reason she wanted a dragon was to escape the unjust consequences of her 'crimes'. And the reason she had to try to 'steal' a dragon is that she actually was denied a dragon for unjust, misogynistic reasons. All Aemond would have had to do is wait.

So what does Jaehaerys have to say on the matter of whether or not you can "steal" a dragon?

The funniest part about people who argue that Aemond couldn't have stolen Vhagar because you can't cite Jaehaerys because Jaehaerys would have disinherited Rhaenyra in the first place... is that they're basically arguing that if someone is a misogynist, you must therefore disregard everything they've ever said or done.

Interesting... So, since it's mostly people from Team Misogyny who make that 'argument' I'm just gonna go ahead and use their own logic and... ignore it in the name of basic reasoning.

Well that's awkward.

The whole point of that scene in Fire and Blood was the important matter (Vhagar) was pushed aside because Viserys didn't want to deal with 'drama'. And because of Aemond's eye Rhaenyra was not in a position to push.

Rhaenyra was not just the heir to the throne; she was also the future head of the family and highest ranking dragonrider. If she didn't want Aemond to have Vhagar and if she would have had Viserys say no had Aemond asked, then yes he did indeed “steal” Vhagar.

So yes actually it was a pretty good trade for Aemond.

I'm gonna say it: it's aemond's own fault he lost his eye in both the show and the book. Both times, he snuck out to claim vhagar. In the show, he wasn't stopped. In the book, three year old Joffrey Velaryon was with his dragon because he was an early riser and told Aemond to stay away from Vhagar, so Aemond - who was much older - pushed little three year old Joffrey over and, in his fear of being caught because he knew he was doing something his parents would like, claimed Vhagar and flew her for the first time.

Baby Joffrey, all of three years old, then of course runs to get his big brothers, likely crying and terrified. Because he's, y'know, A BABY.

In the show, Aemond claims Vhagar and with arrogance and smugness returns to the castle, high on the fact that he'd just claimed Vhagar, uncaring of how rude/insulting it may have been to claim Vhagar on the night of her previous riders funeral, like A NORMAL PERSON.

When, in the show, Rhaena and Baela confront Aemond with Luke and Jace, they're clearly upset. Their mother has just died, its her funeral, and their last tether to her - Vhagar - has been claimed by Aemond. They say he stole her, and while dragons can't be stolen, he did use underhanded tactics to obtain her and bond with her. And his haughtiness afterwards, towards the daughters of the woman whose dragon he just claimed, is what makes the altercation his fault.

Baela, upset: Vhagar is my mother's dragon!

Aemond, uncaring: Your mother is dead, and Vhagar has a new rider now.

Rhaena: she was mine to claim!

Aemond: then you should have claimed her. Maybe your cousins can find you a pig to ride. It would suit you.

Rhaena then hits Aemond, provoked into this by his cruel words and actions. Was it right? No. But it's literally the night of her mums funeral, Vhagar has been claimed by someone who clearly doesn't care about her mother, and he just insulted her. Aemond pushes Rhaena to the ground, so Baela slaps him in defense of her sister, and he punches her in the face.

Aemond: come at me again and I'll feed you to my dragon!

Now aemond is threatening to murder his cousins, which is par for the course for hid character. He always had kinslaying in him.

The fight devolves even more, and Jace and Luke get involved, defending their cousins. Luke, a little kid, is whacked and shoved to the ground, so Jace jumps in. Then Baela decides to help, and she and Luke - both of them younger and smaller - start wailing on Aemond (u go kids).

Aemond kicks Luke off of him, throws Baela off, and stands only to grab Luke - only five - by the throat and hold a rock over his head and threaten him.

Aemond: you will die screaming in flames just as your father did, bastard.

Luke, terrified and upset: my father is still alive!

Aemond, amused: he doesn't know, does he? Lord Strong.

This is when Jace pulls his knife, literally the size of my thumb, and attacks. Jace us quickly unarmed by Aemond, who is still holding the rock, and Luke sees the blade. Aemond holds the rock over them, smirks at Rhaena and Baela, then gets sand thrown in his face and Luke slashes at him wildly, not even aiming for his eye, just aiming to stop Aemond from hurting Jace and himself and his cousins, because at this point Luke has heard death threats, and seen Aemond take on him and the other three easily and win, so of bloody course this terrified little boy used a weapon to defend himself when it became necessary.

After, Alicent makes the situation about her because she's a poor uwu baby (gag me with a chainsaw, I loathe her) and attacks Rhaenyra as though Rhaenyra and her kids were in the wrong? Gurl.

Aemond will then go on to use him losing his eye as an excuse to use his war dragon to chase fourteen year old Luke on tiny baby Arrax and have the FUCKING AUDACITY to look shocked when it went wrong? Aemond is still at fault for Luke's death even if "he didn't mean it" or "he lost control" (he's not a true dragon lmfao)

In the book, Joffrey - who is three - returns with Jace and Luke, who grabbed wooden swords - they won't help against Vhagar bbys - in defense of their brother.

Despite it being three on one, Aemond was winning the fight until Luke slashed him, and good thing he did otherwise Aemond wouldn't have stopped in my opinion. He'd have kept going, beating the boys to bloody pulps. It was stable-boys who had to end the fight, where were the guards? Cole was probably simping over alicunt tbh.

Also, Alicent was the first to demand Luke's eye in recompense for Aemond losing his soz not soz ya uwu Queen is a cunt heh

Aemond will then, years later, attack Luke because of this and kill him and start the Dance of Dragons in full because not only did he cause the events that took his eye, but also the worst war in history, all because he's a little bitch baby sociopath with genocidal tendencies lmfao

Also, Aemond got off lightly, merely losing his eye - do u know what the punishment is for people who attack a princes' daughters and the heir to the throne sons? Calling them bastards, which is treason!!!! Death. Bitch shit should be exuberant that he merely lost an eye. Unfortunately viserys is a bitch and didn't send Aemond to the Wall like Jaehaerys would have for fucking real lol