#but he was also similar to vale (vale even said “he is like me but... the newer model”).

[leoisstillalive]

absolutely life changing stuff that i can and WILL be normal about.

marc doing vale's corkscrew move ON VALE (haha pun intended) and valentino lovehating it more than anything

[squgs]

I've seen people responding to it being pointed out that Daemon is so obviously a worse person than Alicent or Criston by saying that "at least he isn't a hypocrite" or "at least he doesn't pretend he's better than he is." Which is perhaps accurate, but is really just saying "at least Daemon doesn't make any attempt to be a good person or voice any desire to be better."

This leads me to something I've been noticing: none of the team black characters voice or show any regret for their misdeeds while team green characters do so constantly. Daemon never apologizes or show any regret for any of the brutally evil things he does. Alicent on the other hand is constantly looking apologetic and regretful, even when she didn't do anything like in the case of Larys killing his family.

After the eye incident Alicent is extremely regretful and apologetic for her actions while Rhaenyra isn't at all. In fact Rhaenyra's response is to seek out more power through marrying Daemon so that she can more effectively hurt anyone who states an obvious truth. Her children similarly show no regret for escalating that fight, nor seem at all apologetic for having permanently disfigured Aemond.

The comparison is most striking between Criston and Daemon who have semi similar misbehavior that only Criston acknowledges in any way as bad. First in episode 5 they both smash someone's face in. Daemon's is clearly premeditated and his entire reason for being in the vale, while Criston's was planned at most ten minutes before it was carried out and was a response to an assumed attempt to blackmail him. Daemon has absolutely no shame about the murder, even going so far as to try to claim his victim's inheritance. Criston on the other hand is so ashamed that he tries to kill himself. They both also have incidents of misogynistic language. Criston calls Rhaenyra a cunt once and promptly apologizes. Daemon refers to his first wife as a 'bronze bitch' more than he uses her name and calls Alicent a whore. He does not apologize for any of those instances or show any indication that he doesn't think those are appropriate things to call a woman. Finally in episodes 8 and 9 Criston and Daemon each attack a man from behind after he insults their wife. Neither is their best moment, but again Criston is pretty clearly regretful of it, and it seems like he didn't mean to kill Beesbury and that he just forgot how fragile old people are. Daemon on the other hand clearly intended to murder Vaemond and was happy to quip about it and then chuckle when he's mentioned again.

The one sort of exception to this is Rhaenyra's toast to Alicent in episode 8. She does apologize in that scene. However, she isn't apologizing for mistreating Alicent. All she is apologizing for is not helping to take care of Viserys and not acknowledging her care taking previously, which like it definitely means something that she said that, but implicit in what she says is the idea that it's Alicent's role and duty to be taking care of him. There's kind of an implication that Rhaenyra views Alicent as having redeemed herself through serving Viserys when in reality her care taking is just another facet of Viserys's abuse, abuse that is never acknowledged or apologized for. Still I do love that scene and the way it is beautifully, pathetically, sad that Rhaenyra can only connect and forgive Alicent when she's in her subservient role and that Alicent is so desperate for connection with Rhaenyra that she will accept that barest hint of an apology even in the face of all the evidence that it's meaningless.

Now one would think that some characters regretting their misdeeds would be viewed as a sign of them being better people, but I think it actually has the opposite effect. Because the green characters are shown being regretful, their misdeeds are focused on and emphasized. In episode 5 it's possible to forget that Daemon killed his wife at the start of the episode, because it seems like he's forgotten as well. However it's impossible to forget what Criston does because his actions for the rest of the episode are all a reaction to his shame and horror about having just murdered someone. Then in the next episode when Criston has his one instance of misogyny, the entire show pauses to take note of it and wait for him to apologize (which he does!), but on the numerous occasions when Daemon is misogynistic the show breezes right past it, treating it as just a bad boy Daemon moment. Daemon's misdeeds can be enjoyed without an imediate reminder of how evil he is, letting him be a cool fun badass, while Criston's can't. You can't look at him awkwerdly and regretfully standing over Beesbury's body and say 'oh wow, such a badass male wife he really told Beesbury to keep his Wife's name out of his fucking mouth.' Though to be clear I also very much judge anyone who says that about Daemon killing Vaemond.

This is seen again in the eye incident. For most of the audience that goes into the incident not thinking that Rhaenyra is a significantly worse person than Alicent (a reasonable assumption), Alicent being extremely regretful afterwards while Rhaenyra isn't at all, is an indication that Alicent acted far worse than Rhaenyra did. A misreading that is helped by Rhaenyra's call for violence being couched in the 'sharply questioned' euphemism while Alicent's is stated outright. That is perhaps Alicent's most badass scene where she does her best to stand up to her abuser and those who allow that abuse in defense of their children, going so far as to physically fight back (though Rhaenyra perhaps wasn't the best choice of target), but the audience doesn't have any encouragement to see her badassery, instead we're to wallow in her shame at having fought back and watch her shrink back into herself with the implication that that's what she should be doing.

This pattern shows a fascinating tension between the events portrayed in the show and their framing. The show gives us two groups of people who range from very flawed to evil, but they are framed as a group of heroes and a group of villains. The greens are villains and their actions can only confirm that, while the blacks are heroes and their actions no matter how violent can only provide more evidence of heroism. I don't know how much actual meaning can be made from that tension, I wouldn't even be surprised if it was entirely accidental, but it is at the very least interesting enough to note.

[moonshynecybin]

Do you think the ranch visit 2014 ended with like slightly annoyed sex because Vale just annoyed with Marc beating his record but also slightly admiring him

i love this because its true. marc is ANNOYING ! of course it cannot be ignored that vale is ALSO annoying (max biaggi fight. hello.) like they match each others freak in that regard, but at what point do you look at this sexy ass twink who is obsessed with your dick and your bike (sex to vale. is motorcycle racing lest we forget he keeps that m1 in GROPING distance and marc is like GOD i wish that were me so it does. work comma sexually. for them. like a lot. but i digress) and obsessed with your ability to ride it and be like hmm. maybe this habit is NOT so cute. when beforeeee you thought hey hes just like MEEEEE and got HORNY about it. well obviously if youre vale it is when he doesnt let you win at your own goddamn track at your own goddamn house in front of your own goddamn brother and various peers. that shit is irritating. which i do think marc realizes now, but is also largely unrepentant about because he's hilarious. free my girl he did all that but it was funny. our marc not famous for his wealth of tact and restraint on the track. and vale is thirty six staring down one last chance to maybe win his tenth. and earlier that week when he beat marc at that karting event he said finally somewhere you dont win. so yeah when marc doesnt roll over and let him get the lap record that day in 2014 all of those endearing traits where they overlap and are similar. change. morph. arent so cute anymore. the light shifts. the music hits a minor chord. ominous. foreshadowing. chekov's gun carefully being placed on the wall. and suddenly. kind of a theme with them huh. vale hates him for all the things he learned from vale.

so. we are here to ask how that emotion translates to nasty sex. obviously. like all of these complex emotions do NOT mean that vale does not want to get his dick sucked lmao. like he's here he's thirsty marc's been in a tiny little titty huggin black tshirt all day its happenin. AND. it should be noted that in a very real sense this is their first sleepover. first time fr hanging out outside the paddock in a place where there is PRIVACY. no real REPORTERS. an actual locking DOOR. no way to hide from the fact that theyve been all over each other for like TWO YEARS now. AND multiple yamaha M1S that can be used as somewhat SEXUAL PROPS. (vale feeling also perhaps. emotionally complex here. a lil delicate. like YEAH i can invite my coworkers i like to hang at my track thats bro stuff but what about my years long situationship that —*static noises in vale's brain* like remember this is where MARC thinks things start to change between them...)

so yeah vale ends up like. amping up that competitive edge a little in bed. making this a fuckbuddy thing more than a RELATIONSHIP thing as much as he can in his head and with his hands and failing miserably and feeling even WEIRDER about that. so he's. i think he's working hard at putting marc where he wants him. hot hands a little rougher on the curve of marc's waist. cupping his ass making him gasp. sending him to his knees and making him suck his dick hot and nasty. teasing a little edging on the little feminine nicknames theyve never talked about but that make marc squirm and flush prettily. edging marc with three fingers in his ass while he whines for it. dragging it out. exerting a little control. not mean at all everyone is having fun (marc. out of his MIND.) just. excising some tension. its probably nothing hes just in his head. holding marc in his hands as he looks up at him. and marc trusting it. marc going. marc being just where vale wants him. just like he never does on the track. and marc thinks everything is fine when its happening thinks everything is AMAZING. but after that is when vale starts to go a little cold......

[2rats1gogh]

Hi! I wanted to know your opinion of Jacaerys. I always see that Team Black believes that he would have been a good king and it is also mentioned in the text, I, on the other hand, like to analyze what I read and draw my own conclusions. This guy's decisions were largely...bullshit. The first one that comes to my mind is the idea of riding their dragons and not sending ravens because then everyone would know they were "Targaryens" because only Targaryens ride dragons...then he proceeds to propose the idea of dragon seeds with bastards who haven't lived with his privilege claiming and riding dragons...and we already saw how it turned out. He also seems to me to be a very bad negotiator since to get support or maintain it he had to make quite important concessions and promises. The idea of sending away their little half-brothers who are not old enough to defend themselves and who only have little Stormcloud, when Rhaena and Joffrey were perfectly fine in the Vale does not seem logical to me. I always see that he died trying to save his half-brothers but this is not mentioned anywhere, Vermax decided to fly low...yes, but at no time is it mentioned that it was to rescue Viserys, I have read this fragment in the books that talk of the subject, not only fire and blood and it does not appear, I don't know if the source is this video that appeared on YouTube years ago where the Strong Boys had Valyrian traits 😂 there we see the credibility. They also say that he saved Aegon but the truth is that he was saved by his dragon... who did not allow himself to die until he was safe in Dragonstone, this decision did not have any positive impact on his half-brothers, rather it condemned them, Aegon to live with the guilt that did not belong to him and Viserys to be married at the age of 12...after spending years kidnapped.

Then there is the issue of Driftmark, something tells me that the legitimization of Addam and Alyn and consequently setting aside Joffrey as heir to House Velaryon was Corlys' condition to maintain his support, the people of team black usually say that this is so because Joffrey couldn't inherit the throne and also Driftmark (😂 sure, Corlys would be very upset if he was really his grandson) but Jacaerys was also alive when this agreement was reached. In short, I do not see brilliance or political cunning anywhere, besides the fact that with his condition as a bastard he should not have rights to the throne, but in his case no one speaks of usurpation to his half-brothers Aegon and Viserys, to Alicent's children and even Daemon's daughters, who had more inheritance rights than him and his two brothers, in the end his claim was based on a very very bad lie.

The dance is very poorly written, the truth is that this fact should have had more impact, I understand that they were going to die and George did not worry, but that Rhaenyra continued to be heir and retain so many supports being a woman with three very obvious bastards in a feudal society....It doesn't seem credible to me at all.

They give the example of English Anarchy but the truth is that it has nothing to do with it. Matilda had no siblings and it was a cousin, son of her father's sister, who claimed the throne. She also had no bastards, she had no children from her first marriage, in fact in the end it was her legitimate son, who she had with her second husband, who ended up on the throne and she fought more for his claim than for hers. It is not as similar as Team black points out, there are quite a few differences, Matilda and Rhaenyra are not the same.

Have a good Saturday! 🫶🏻

Hii sorry for the late response, hope you had a great Saturday yourself!

As much as I am a team green supporter, I never really hated Jace that much. My only real issue with him was him bringing the knife when Baela end Rhaena said that they’re going after Aemond. That’s it. He was never as awful as Luke, but he wasn’t that likable either tbh.

Imo we simply never got to know Jace well enough to say whether or not he would’ve been a good king. There is pretty much no evidence to suggest that he would. He might’ve been a good brother and a good son but that wouldn’t automatically make him a good ruler.

I think people are just mainly saying this because he is Rhaenyra’s firstborn and they are gaslighting themselves into thinking that Jace would’ve been a great king and so it’s a win for Rhaenyra when in reality we can’t say for sure. As you said, he did make some questionable decisions throughout the story. He was still pretty young, so he could’ve either matured into a wise and just king, or power and ambition could’ve corrupted him.

I think Rhaenyra’s bastards, and Jace mainly, are interesting only because they died in horrible ways. As soon as they were born (outside of marriage), they were doomed. And that’s their whole personality unfortunately. They have nothing interesting to offer other than being Rhaenyra’s doomed bastards. And Jace is just that.

And if we’re being honest, I don’t think the realm would’ve accepted him as a king. The rumors were there and people were talking. Sooo….. idk.

And you are absolutely right about Matilda!!! Her situation is entirely different from Rhaenyra’s in pretty much every way:

a) a cousin via aunt is not the same thing as half-brother via same father-king

b) Matilda didn’t have any other siblings whatsoever and was named heir because she had none, Rhaenyra did have three male siblings

c) Matilda didn’t have any illegitimate children

d) Matilda didn’t marry her uncle

e) Matilda didn’t try stealing her husband’s nieces’ inheritance

I can definitely see the inspo but it’s just not the same thing on so many levels

[bidisaster-peanut-romano]

considering the state of bullworth (the city), what do you think the state of the country or world is like? do you think bullworth has a unique culture, or is it almost representative of the society outside its perimeters?

i think about what hal esposito said a lot when he and lucky were finding things to watch on the tv. "what? war footage and natural disasters doesn't do it for you?"

considering it is highly likely that the world's condition is very chaotic, how might this affect bullworth and its residents?

hello there!!! ah yes, geography. my beloathed

that's an interesting question of course, yes!! my instinctive thought when first reading this ask was what i always asumed, ie: the news hal and lucky were referring about weren't local but, yknow, american general news. also bc paris from the carnival says something very similar in front of her tv, and we know that the carnival travels, so i wouldn't think of something too different.

however!! let's go by steps there, because thinking about it that's something i never properly expanded upon.

so, first of all: canonically speaking, bullworth is in new england. now, as a non-usamerican, i have very little knowledge of anything about hyperspecific cultures in america, maybe just some west coast zones or south and some midwest.

however!! the fact that there are so many kids of italian certain descent and some other kids with non anglophone last names (kowalski, brakus, luna, karamazov, etc) implies that it is an important destination for migrations. this makes me think of earlly 1900s new york, which would certainly be coherent.

now, a long time ago i found the certain information that bullowrth was supposed to be in new hampshire. however, since i have learned that "trust me bro" is never a good source, i went back to dig some deeper into the whole thing: it still seems to be more or less agreed upon that the state is new hampshire, also because someone noted a striking resemblance of bullworth with the phillips exeter academy. of course maybe it wasn't as explicit and direct as this user puts it, but it is suggestive enough that it would be nice to go with it.

now, first about the culture: we mentioned bullworth being basically a melting pot. this means that it is not only unique, but in fact very diverse, also depending on the zone. for example, i think in new coventry you'll find an especially colorful culture, with people coming from different places and different cultures, everyone holding onto their own but also interacting with their neighbor. you'll find people giving each other giving their best wishes to their neighbor for a festivity they don't even celebrate but know the other does. i mean, maybe you'll have some catholic complaining about the shop being closed just that day, but cue to the stereotypical southern italian wife smacking him behind his head and telling her good friend is home with their family and he mustn't be an annoying jerk (not in so many words, of course).

it is probably quieter the more you get closer to the vale. maybe in town there will be the occasional decoration outside of the house or in a shop, but overall… i'd say that the fundamental sentiment in bullworth is, exactly as the school crest says, canis canem edit. mind your own business and you'll live a hundred years, like an old saying goes. keep a good distance, so they don't hurt you and you don't hurt them.

and in fact, the vale is where this hyperindividualism gets ornated with the hypocrisy of the Good People, some facade to keep so that not only no conflict is created, but any chance and risk of it is perfectly concealed. you have the middle class-bourgeois, christian family who greet their neighbors with a smile and then speculate on all their disgraces as soon as the front door closes. and everything that happens in the family stays in the family, dirty laundry is washed at home.

yeah, overall i'd say. the whole point of bullworth culture is self-sufficiency, it's doing the best of what you have and care thoroughly and not let anyone else touch what's yours.

now, the natural condition of the territory: established that we are on the new hampshire coast, i have tried to dig a bit. i will bring up again something i mentioned earlier: i immediately assumed it was us or global news, but, while it is unfortunately enough to desensitize the general public to military violence, natural forces can be… a bit different.

i will tell a small anecdote about me. i grew up in an extremely seismic area, and by that i mean that we would experience at least a couple waves every some weeks, not strong enough to cause damage but enough to be perceived and do small stuff like making small objects fall off or ceiling lamps shake. and, y'know, it has always been perfectly normal for me, it has happened while i was in class and the worst thing was that i smudged a line on the essay i was writing. but then i moved away for college, and, when in geography we started talking about earthquakes, my professor admitted being scared shitless of seismic waves. my friends got the news of some waves in my native area and asked me how my family was; my mom was like “what do you mean four? i only felt three”

what was that to say? well. in my experience, the general masses are much more moved by natural disasters than by wars. so, in some way, the idea that hal and lucky were at most annoyed by the repetitiveness of the news makes me think that they have some experience with it. earthquakes probably aren't the ones, since, well. plate tectonics. which i will not explain here mostly because i have already passed that exam and i want nothing to do with it ever again LMAO. but anyway the east coast is a very stable area of the earth, so no earthquakes nor volcanoes. and, since it is located tightly in a small gulf, i think sea storms and tidal waves are out of the question too.

however! apparently, tornadoes are not too infrequent in the area, nor, i guess, storms and other similar climate events. as i mentioned before: what happens there is that you get kind of desensitized there; the thought of anything horrible happening isn't there, or, if it is, it barely hits with its full force. “but what if it is stronger next time?” we'll all just die, at least i won't have to worry about rent anymore, maybe my boss will finally kick the bucket too, ha-ha. what do you mean someone died in the next city? well, you know, it can happen.

so yeah, when you ask how it affects the people of bullworth- it probably just amplifies whatever nihilism is already there, y'know. see constantinos, who's most probably clinically depressed, or lefty's “life sucks and then you die”, which is disturbing, especially coming from a kid his age.

i guess it's not the only factor, but it does contribute to this feeling of bullworth just being some lost land, forsaken by god himself left to its own devices. it's like the entirety of the population is... in survival mode, as i tend to say; you just pull through, which should be the bare minimum, but there we are. think of yourself first, then your neighbor, but actually fuck your country, since it has never done a thing for me.

[deadmenandthedivine]

DEAD MEN § the DIVINE

chapter seven: the fate of wagging tongues

Maetilda Targaryen, First of her Name, was supposed to be many things. What she became was entirely different.

table of contents

trigger warning!!! this fic contains many graphic topics and depictions. such as but not limited to: dead parents, abusive parents, toxic family systems, incest, medieval misogyny, forced marriage, threats of assault (sexual § physical), actual assault, imprisonment, kidnapping, murder, blood/gore, uxoricide, familicide, PTSD and other neurodivergence. i will do my best to update as i go along, but please let me know if i have missed anything!

word count: 5746

“May I present Princess Maetilda Targaryen, first of her name, Lady of Runestone. Daughter to Prince Daemon Targaryen and his late wife Lady Rhea Royce!”

There were more people gathered in the Throne Room of the Red Keep than she had ever seen gathered at Dragonstone, outside of tourneys. The crowd was similar in size to that of her late stepmother’s funeral. Oh, the delightful spectacle that was her family’s fate. The logic of it was painfully reasonable. Of course the Realm would care to know. The state of her family was thought to reflect the state of the kingdom. What troubled the Crown, troubled its people. A healthy royal family was more likely to bring forth a thriving realm. Reversely, every little argument or skirmish was the omen of their collective downfall. Nothing could ever just be what it was. Especially the Hearing. It was not simply the settling of an inheritance; it would also set a precedent. If Lucerys’s inheritance was ruled illegitimate, so too could his mother’s. Maetilda’s mind struggled to imagine what would happen without the favor of such precedent, but she knew the entire conclusion would be disastrous. She had entered the hall alone, and was announced on her own. She bore a title that her brothers did not. She held an inheritance that no one disputed, no one questioned. One that even the Arryns of the Eyrie backed. Their house and that of her mother had been respectful rivals for generations, constantly waged in honorable competition. They were the far less vitriolic Blackwoods and Brackens. The Royces of Runestone had knelt to the Arryns of the Eyrie at the end of the Era of the Bronze Kings. All because one Keep was easier to defend than the other. Yet they all knew who held more power. An older branch of the Royce family held the Keep of the Arryn’s winter home. Surnames of Royce could be found all throughout the Vale. Their blood ran deeper than any ocean or valley. Lady Rhea had been loved and respected, and thus her only child was too. If only the same treatment could have been extended toward the girl’s step brothers. Ser Laenor himself had loved the boys, and treated them as his own. No matter what the whispers had said.

The princess descended the front steps alone, just as she had entered, with no man on her arm to accompany her. It was a symbol of strength. A calculated move that her father had dictated long ago. It would especially help that day. Without his daughter’s own strength in legitimacy, his wife would have even less of a leg to stand on. While Rhaenyra had the King’s word, the King no longer sat present at court. Instead his prudent and pious wife and her shrewd Hightower father took his place. The two of them stared down over the court with owlish eyes, watching every move. Ser Otto stood higher up the steps than his only daughter, ready to sit when the proceeding began. Indistinct whispering filled the room as Maetilda made her way over to the side of the room where her father and stepmother stood. Eyes watched her steps for any sign of falter. Lucerys stood towards the front, next to his mother, in full view of the court. He tried to hide his nerves, but the princess could tell by the shifting of his weight from leg to leg that he was ready to run at a moment’s notice. Jacaerys stood next to her father. He was more impassioned than anxious. His shoulders rolled back in an honorable and confident manner. He looked dignified and respectful. Firm and just. Just as the heir’s heir should. Both princes were dressed similarly in red and black. Dragons decorated their surcoats, collars, and jewelry. The princess’s attire fit in well with theirs. Maetilda assumed the small spot next to Jace. Ser Gunthor flanked behind her in his full bronze armor regalia.

With a scan of the room, the princess quickly determined that they were all waiting on her cousin, Princess Rhaenys. The Queen that Never Was never seemed to miss an opportunity to make an entrance. She had no problem with making the Court wait. It was a quality, among many others, that the princess had always admired in her older cousin — her confidence, her poise, her style, her discernment, her cunning. Even when all of Court was waiting on her, the princess-by-title felt nothing but awe towards the woman. The day before, Maetilda had noticed in the brief moments she saw the three just how much Rhaenys’ likeness had rubbed off on Baela and Rhaena. They had each followed on Rhaenys’ sides like Laena-esque clones. Even down to the way that they walked, the twins replicated each aspect of Rhaenys. The princess-by-title’s twin sisters had been raised by their royal grandmother ever since Lady Laena’s funeral, while Maetilda was kept on a ball-and-chain close by her father at all times. She often wondered what her life would have been like if Princess Rhaenys had taken her in too, but those were only privy dreams. The princess-by-title anxiously turned her head to look at her sworn knight behind her. It comforted her to know that no matter what, she would always have her friend at her side. Even when her family wasn’t, her knights were. When her eyes caught a glimpse of Ser Gunthor and his beautiful protection rune-covered armor, the knight had already seemed to have his eyes focused on something. He was looking just beyond her, straight over her head. She followed his eye, turning back around to find Prince Aemond staring back at them from his place with his mother and siblings on the high steps. The sight caused her to jump in surprise, not expecting it. Her cheeks heated up as she caught the attention of Jace who leaned toward her.

“Did you just spook?” He whispered as he held back laughter.

“Like a bloody horse.” She joked.

The prince laughed at his step sister’s expense before turning to his mother and stepfather. The two were whispering to each other off in their own world, and it was clear he wanted to know what they were saying. He did not spare his step sister another glance. Something she was thankful for, no more attention drawn her way. Prince Aemond’s gaze was unrelenting. It had not budged. Nervously, she glanced back at her knight. He had not moved, his stare had not broken either. For a moment, she wondered if the two had simply been innocently staring at each other, but she knew better than that. None of her knights had ever shown interest in pissing contests, certainly not one with the King’s second son. It was something she had always appreciated. They had always been more concerned about each individual hair on her head than how their names appeared on the tourney lists. Yet in that moment, her gut could not determine who had started the stand off. It told her the culprit could not have been her knight, but she also could not understand why the prince would have cared to stare otherwise. Had Ser Gunthor overheard something that had angered him? Her mind raced with possibilities. A small part of her worried for the worst. Perhaps the Hightowers had forgotten themselves completely and he overheard them question her. Her name, her title, her inheritance. She would be beyond naive to think the green-clad family would avoid stooping so low. From the very state of the castle, they had already proved they were not above treason. Deciding that whatever the reason may be, she would agree with her knight, the princess turned back toward her cousin and glared back at him. She straightened her spine and squared her shoulders for good measure. She watched as his interest visibly peaked at her actions. He even had the audacity to smirk. As if by some miracle, the doors to the Throne Room opened behind them all. It gave her the perfect excuse to break their trance.

“I present Princess Rhaenys Targaryen of Driftmark, wife to Lord Corlys Velaryon, Master of Driftmark and Ser Lord of the Tides. She is accompanied by her granddaughters, Ladies Baela and Rhaena Targaryen, daughters to Prince Daemon Targaryen and late Lady Laena Velaryon.”

The princess’s sisters and their grandmother were beyond elegant; they were ethereal and imposing. They took the breath away from the entire room as they descended the steps and took their place behind Rhaenys’s late brother-in-law’s son, Ser Vaemond Velaryon. Gazes lingered on the three, including that of Maetilda’s, even after they had ceased walking. She wanted nothing more than to be like them, to be one of them. It was even harder to quell such feelings when she saw them together. Like watching a life she could have had play out in front of her eyes. A throat at the front of the hall loudly and pointedly cleared all obstructions in order to gain the room’s attention. Careful not to catch the prince’s eye again, Maetilda snapped her focus onto the Hightower as she turned.

“Though it is the hope of this court that Lord Corlys Velaryon survive his wounds, we gather here with the grim task of dealing with the succession of Driftmark.” Ser Otto began, his voice echoed across the hall from his position in front of her Uncle’s throne, “As Hand, I speak with the King’s voice on this and all other matters.”

With finality, he sat his pompous posterior on the chair of a thousand swords, “The Crown will now hear the petitions. Ser Vaemond of House Velaryon.”

Lord Vaemond was a proud man. She could tell by the glance he threw in her stepbrothers’ direction before he stepped forward before the court. His steps were slow and deliberate as they, too, echoed. His silver locks were pulled away from his face and he donned the ocean green colors of his house. He looked every bit the part of Lord of Driftmark. Perhaps Lucerys should have worn Velaryon colors too. Although she wondered if such a frivolous distinction would truly bring about a better outcome.

“My Queen,” The son of the second son bowed his head to Alicent before doing the same toward the Throne, “My Lord Hand.”

An uneasy air filled the room in the moment of his pause. He was relishing in his moment, smugly confident. He held his arms behind his back as if he were ready for any challenge. His chin was pointed straight into the air as if her entire family sat below it. Something in her gut told Maetilda that he seemed too confident. Wondering if she had been reading the man wrong or over thinking matters, she spared a glance toward her family to gauge their reactions. She spotted her father’s sharp stance and hawk-like eyes immediately. It was clear that he was feeling similarly, which was slightly comforting. It was even better to see his anger directed at someone that was not her after the morning they had.

“The history of our noble houses extends beyond the Seven Kingdoms to the days of Old Valyria. For as long as House Targaryen has ruled the skies, House Velaryon has ruled the seas.” His speech began, “When the Doom fell on Valyria, our houses became the last of their kind. Our forebearers came to this new land, knowing that if they were to fail, it would mean the end of their bloodlines and their name.”

As Vaemond spoke, the princess let her eyes move away from her family and about the room. From the looks spread across various faces, his words were resonating loud and clear. They seemed to hang onto his every word, cogs turning his sentences over in their heads. It was clear they held many meanings, both innocent and blasphemous. Her blood warmed at the thought of what he would say next. The faces of Court did not help to calm her. Before she could stop the thought from physically moving her muscles, she quickly glanced back at Aemond. His eye still had not moved. It seemed to have been fixed on her the entire time. An intense, unreadable stare.

The son of the second son fixed his surcoat before continuing with more diction, “I have spent my entire life on Driftmark defending my uncle’s seat. I am Lord Corlys’s closest kin, his own blood.”

Jace’s body stiffened next to her. She could see Lucerys do the same beside his mother out of the corner of her eye. Had the King been present, the knight would have been treading on thin ice. But the King was not present. Those with the deciding vote shared in the knight’s sentiments. Her family had yet to shake the nest, yet the wasps swarmed regardless. The little green wasps had begun to bite and sting, yet she knew the worst was to come. Aemond only smirked at the son of the second son’s implications. Their eyes remained locked together as the princess stewed. Of course, Aemond had made his own stance on the matters clear the night that Lucerys had taken his eye. He had used the treasonous slur and was questioned by the King in front of everyone. Yet, there a man with lesser standing stood and hurled the same venom — unharmed and likely to be rewarded. It must have felt gratifying for him. Knotting her hands behind her back, she sent Aemond a pointed glare before glancing back at her knight. Ser Gunthor stood as steadfast as always, eyes still pointed directly at the prince. She hoped that he had at least blinked. By the looks of him, she could not be sure.

“The true, unimpeachable blood of House Velaryon runs through my veins.” Lord Vaemond stole her focus and attention back onto himself.

“As it does in my sons, the offspring of Laenor Velaryon,” Rhaenyra remarked, audibly rolling her eyes, “If you cared so much about your house’s blood, Ser Vaemond, you would not be so bold as to supplant its rightful heir. No, you only speak for yourself and for your own ambitions.”

“You will have your chance to make your own petition, Princess Rhaenyra. Do Ser Vaemond the courtesy of allowing his to be heard,” Alicent interjected firmly.

Not good. The green-clad peacocks would most certainly accuse Rhaenyra of hysterics if she continued with outbursts. They would claim she lacked foresight or patience. That was all they needed as proof. It would be all too convenient for them. As if to make her point, the son of the second son spun defiantly on his heel to face the King’s heir. Rhaenyra kept her gaze held forward at the Throne, not sparing a glance in the cocky man’s direction. Such attention would have only encouraged him.

“What do you know of Velaryon blood, Princess? I could cut my veins and show it to you, and you still wouldn’t recognize it. This is about the future and survival of my house, not yours.”

To punctuate his statement, he gave Lucerys a hard glance before turning back to face the Hightowers perched on the high steps, “My Queen, My Lord Hand. This is a matter of blood, not ambition. I place the continuation of the survival of my house and line above all. I humbly put myself before you as my uncle’s successor, The Lord of Driftmark, and Lord of the Tides.”

“Thank you, Ser Vaemond.” Ser Otto smiled curtly from the Throne.

The entire hall was silent aside from the footsteps of the proud knight returning to his spot in front of Princess Rhaenys. The weight of his words took time to be fully realized. He had truly implied treason in front of the King’s heir, the Hand, the Queen, and all of Court. He had done so with his full chest with no hesitation or remorse. Not one person voiced a complaint, aside from Rhaenyra herself. The Queen had defended his right to speak. For a moment, Maetilda had wondered if she had imagined the whole thing. But of course, she locked eyes with her cousin once more. His brow was furrowed in concentration, only to rise in challenge when she looked at him. He was smug, he stood comfortably. Relaxed back with a majority of his weight on one of his legs. His arms were held behind his back. She wanted to slap the look off of his face, take her anger and uncertainty out on him. She wondered if he could sense it, her bloodthirsty rage. His face was getting harder and harder for her to read, more difficult than any book. Once again, she glanced back at her knight for reassurance. Was he seeing what she was? Did he know the castle well enough to smuggle her out if need be? He had his hand on the hilt of his sword. If any of the Kingsguard noticed, they could start an avalanche. She felt as if she were trapped inside a cauldron over a fire. The temperature would only grow hotter if she did not get out.

The second son on the chair of a thousand swords savored his next words. He rolled them around in his mouth with a proud smirk before he smugly granted, “Princess Rhaenyra, you may now speak for your son, Lucerys Velaryon.”

The princess-by-title felt no more comfortable as the Realm’s Delight took her own confident and defiant steps forward. Her moniker almost seemed to serve as a mockery in that very moment. All of the Realm seemed to look down upon her like the statues of the Seven that towered to the ceilings of the hall. Her hands were fidgety like Lucerys’s, despite how much she tried to keep an air of authority. Maetilda admired her stepmother. If nothing else, she was an incredibly brave and resilient woman. She killed boars, rode dragons, challenged the word of arrogant lords, endured many deaths of those close to her, and had even jumped in front of a valyrian steel dagger wielded by the Queen. She was much more than simply a delight. She was a force to be reckoned with. However, the world had been flipped on its head. The Heir seemed pathetically powerless in comparison to the Hightowers on the high steps. Her hands were tied. Despite the strength he brought in spades, all her husband behind her could do was stand menacingly and glare. Maetilda’s hair on her arms and neck stood on edge as she put the pieces together in her mind. All they seemed to have was names and looks and words, no bite to accompany their bark. While they were at Dragonstone, they had been leashed. Without any sort of warning. If the Hightowers truly had already made up their mind, there was nothing Rhaenyra could say or do.

Her own proclamation started off in an exasperated tone, “If I am to grace this farce with some answer, I will start by reminding the court that nearly 20 years ago, in this very—“ Her words fell into nothing as the sound of the Great Hall’s doors squeaking open echoed above her.

The room simultaneously turned to the entrance, curious as to who would have the audacity to interrupt so late into their assembly. Tiredly bent in the center of the doorway stood the King. In all his grandeur. Maetilda’s heart skipped a beat before she dared to rub her right eye in order to assure she was not seeing anymore figures.

“King Viserys of House Targaryen, the First of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm.” The page proudly announced.

The walking stick echoed about the room as His Grace made his dignified entrance. The entire room held their breath in awe before respectfully bowing their heads in greeting. Slowly but steadily, King Viserys limped down the steps and across the hall. His breath and pace were labored. His limbs shook from strain. His robe struggled to stay in place atop his frail, haggard shoulders. But he had never looked more strong, more kingly. The fires around the hall burned brighter as his presence blew a breath of life about the room. Maetilda stood straighter than she ever had before. She could not help the victorious grin that had spread across her face. The tables had turned. Rhaenyra’s words would no longer fall on closed ears. The King was there. Ser Otto descended from his unrighteous place to make way. His Grace huffed and puffed as he approached. Maetilda could have sworn she saw the Hightower tremble with fear. It filled her with the utmost pride.

“I will sit the throne today.” The King triumphantly declared.

“Your Grace,” Otto nodded.

Without another word, King Viserys began to climb the last set of stairs. He took to the first steps uneasily, stumbling back a bit. One of his Kingsguard rushed forward to assist him only to be exasperatedly shook off. The King’s niece had full confidence in him. He had made it all the way through the Red Keep already. The last steps would be the most familiar ones. Just as she knew he would, his Grace took each step at a time. But it was clear that the all-too-familiar steps seemed to be the hardest as his momentum was wearing thin. He hunched farther and farther over his walking stick as he relied on it to pull his body upward. Seeing him just turn down the knight, her feet felt planted in their spot. Internally, she prayed to the gods that had sent the black cloak away. She begged them to carry him up to his rightful place for all of the Court to see him. As if in direct answer, her father emerged forward. The rest of the hall seemed to be just as frozen as the princess. No Kingsguard reacted as he ascended the steps. The sound of metal clanking echoed from the front of the hall and up into the rafters, but the source was obscured by her father’s figure. As soon as he reached the King, the Rogue Prince gathered him before taking on a majority of his weight. The brothers finished the last steps together. The younger sat his elder in his rightful place and ceremoniously sat the displaced crown back onto Viserys’s head. With the most respect she had ever seen her father give someone, he bowed to the King before returning to the place he had previously occupied. The princess could have sworn she was still dreaming in her bed. Perhaps she had fallen asleep at breakfast. The King’s chest rose and fell with great effort as he sat up to begin speaking.

“I must… admit… my confusion.” He stated, “I do not understand why petitions are being held over a settled succession.”

The entire room shifted.

“The only one present… who might offer keener insight into Lord Corlys’s wishes is the Princess Rhaenys.”

The eyes around the hall were suddenly all on the Queen Who Never Was. She seemed hardly phased by them all. As if not a single one held any significance to her. She looked at no one, but her cousin. No other person was worthy of her knowledge or her gaze. It made one want to look at her all the more. Her presence was mesmerizing.

“Indeed, Your Grace,” She smirked before stepping forward.

Like a crane moving through water, she took soft, calculated strides to the front. Much like her husband’s nephew, Princess Rhaenys savored her moment. She assured that she had each and every ear and eye before she began, “It was ever my husband’s will that Driftmark pass through Ser Laenor to his true-born son, Lucerys Velaryon.”

At her words, the entire hall lurched back in whispers and gasps. It should have been the reactions they had to Vaemond’s insults. Instead, it was in reaction to the King’s own will. Such a display nauseated the princess-by-title. The Kingdom truly had been turned on its head. But Rhaenys was not done.

“His mind never changed. Nor did my support of him. As a matter of fact, the Princess Rhaenyra has just informed me of her desire to marry her sons Jace and Luke to Lord Corlys’s granddaughters, Baela and Rhaena. A proposal to which I heartily agree.”

The Court had lurched back in shock before, but they completely dissolved into hysterics after that. The lords and ladies around the room tried pathetically to keep their voices at a hush as they gossiped into each others’ ears. It was a watertight proposal, two watertight proposals. They politically sealed much of Rhaenyra and her brothers’ claim. Their only other problems would be Aegon, his two small boys, and Aemond. But they were a bridge to be crossed upon arrival. The entire hall seemed to be buzzing, yet the princess-by-title remained frozen in place. Maetilda felt like the floor had been pulled out from underneath her. All of her siblings of age had been betrothed in one fell swoop. She was happy for them, happy for what their marriages meant, but she was utterly terrified of what it meant for her. The last one left, the least desirable, the spinster. Her father had hated Runestone and everything about it, reminded her frequently. Perhaps no one wanted Runestone. Or worse, did not find the castle worth putting up with her. There had to be a deeper explanation. Her father allowed for his two other daughters to be engaged, both of them. But not her. She also felt guilty for thinking of herself in such a moment. A moment where she should have been congratulating her four siblings. Instead, she was thinking of herself and why her father did not love her like he loved her sisters. He had always spent more time with them, wrote more letters to them, and bought them more presents. She scolded herself for not seeing it coming sooner. Yet something about the entire arrangement felt too calculated. Like an internal pull she could not shake, her gut twisted with suspicion. Something wasn’t right. It did not feel right. Suddenly becoming aware of the dryness in her eyes, she blinked back out of her head. The King was wheezing as he spoke. He was listing off the titles that Corlys currently bore, likely proclaiming Lucerys to be the inheritor of them. She was not sure how long he had been speaking for, but the hall was eerily silent. Feeling an itch on her nose, she peaked at Aemond out of the corner of her eye to see if he had been watching her drown in her inner turmoil. He had been.

“You break law…” Vaemond stepped forward again with a menacing passion, “and centuries of tradition to install your daughter as heir. Yet you dare tell me… who desires to inherit the name Velaryon. No. I will not allow it.”

Once again, the entire room shifted. Was he mad? He was undoubtedly furious, but he had to have lost his head. After double checking that her knight was still located diligently behind her, the princess-by-title gawked at the son of late Lord Corwyn’s second son with an open mouth. It was like she could see the sword fight about to break out in front of her. Shoulders tensed, hands moved to hilts. The cauldron over the fire that they were all trapped in was about to boil over.

“Allow it?” The King dared, “Do not forget yourself, Vaemond.”

Vaemond stared at him blankly before shortly pivoting with an accusatory finger pointed at the boys, “That is no true Velaryon, and certainly no nephew of mine.”

“Go to your chambers,” Rhaenyra pushed her sons toward the doors before turning to the proud man, “You have said enough.”

The boys fell back, but moved no farther away. They were not children anymore. They would not run and hide at their mother’s command as they used to. Rather, they stood behind each side of her as she turned back to Ser Vaemond, ready to fight him with her bare hands alone. Her breath was heavy and uneven. Her fists shook with barely contained rage. She opened her mouth to spit insults back, only for her beloved father to start speaking in her place.

“Lucerys is my true-born grandson. And you… no more than a second son of Driftmark.” The King reminded him.

“You… may run your house how you see fit… But you will not decide the future of mine.” Vaemond seethed, “My house survived the Doom and a thousand tribulations besides. Gods be damned… I will not see it ended on the account of this—“

He was smart enough to hold his tongue from speaking any farther. The air of the hall felt so hot and thick, it was as if it were on fire. And like a burning fire, the princess could not look away. She stared wide eyed in hardly masked horror. Her gut screamed for her to run. Whatever happened next would not be good. But she could not move, it would be inappropriate of her. All she could do was watch.

“Say it.” Her father smiled a soft alligator grin.

“BASTARDS! The lot of them!” Vaemond bellowed.

Hot silence permeated the room as the Velaryon decided to throw all further caution to the wind while he gestured toward the future Queen, “And she… she is a whore!”

Gusts of wind blew through the windows. Rats squeaked and scurried through the walls. Servants tip toed about their responsibilities. It was so silent, one could hear all the other activity happening around the Keep. In the expanse of the Great Hall, not a single being or creature moved a muscle. Most held their breath. At the front of the room, from on top of his throne, the King’s chest heaved. With all the strength that he could muster, he unsheathed the dagger from his side and stood on shaky legs. It was as if Aegon the Conqueror had possessed his great great grandson himself. Pure fire poured from out of his eyes. His ears smoked. He fought to catch his breath amidst his emotions.

“I… will have… your tongue for that.”

Before the King could even enunciate his last word, Vaemond Velaryon’s head was sliced in two — right down the corners of his mouth. The top slid off the bottom. His legs remained standing in the seconds his muscles still held strength. Maetilda’s heart stopped as she watched the man’s body hit the floor, wincing with each individual splat. The sound of it echoed off of the walls. The hall remained silent. What a quick and final conclusion. There was no longer a matter to be settled. All arguments had turned into puddles on the floor. Wiping any blood or other bits off of the beautiful blade of Dark Sister and onto his pristine black surcoat, her father stood proudly at the dead man’s feet. His kill.

“He can keep his tongue.”

“Disarm him!” The commander of the Kingsguard declared after processing the moment. His subordinates unsheathed their weapons and pointed them at the King’s brother.

“No need.” As nonchalantly and unapologetically as a cat in the sun, Daemon stepped back and sheathed his sword.

Maetilda could not peel her eyes away from it. Sounds of the King’s groaning and the Queen calling for maesters were muffled in her ears as her senses numbed to hone in on sight alone. She had never seen inside one’s skull before. She had seen blood and entrails before, always at a distance from her place in the royal box at tourneys. She had seen the mangled flesh of Aemond’s eye socket as the Maester at Driftmark sewed it shut with careful hands. She had seen her stepmothers’ multiple childbirths including the passing of the afterbirth. Yet never before had her eyes gazed upon that which belonged inside someone’s head. She could have sworn it was still moving and twitching — thinking. The pink and dark red muscles and nerve endings that were once tightly coiled together started to sag out of place from where they once were. There was so much blood. It leaked like a water vase full of hairline cracks. The man’s body that was once so full of life and anger and passion was left limp and sagging and motionless on the Throne Room floor.

The same shoes that once stood at the dead man’s feet began to move towards her, careful, quick steps. It sent her heart into a panicked race. She was next. It was her turn to pay the price. It was her fault. She had disobeyed orders and now the man was dead. She could already hear the words coming. Her own shoes backed away in the direction of her knight. She hoped and prayed that he had remained to protect her. Her eyes lost focus as the blurry figure moved forward. The breaths in her chest scratched at her throat as it tightened. She needed to run, she needed to get out. Her blood pumped quicker as her limbs itched for movement. She should fight back. The blurry figure halted suddenly, she did the same. The blob’s shoulders bounced with angry breaths. Her breathing only got harder. Desperately, the princess clutched at the stays covering her chest. Where was Ser Gunthor? Why wasn’t he coming to her aide? The figure attempted a second approach, but she evaded it once again. She put more space between them this time, backing up until her back hit that of another person. Forgetting her manners, where or who she was, the princess did not turn to apologize. Instead her gaze focused on the black leather shoes. Not knowing how to fight back, she shook her head ‘no.’ Fear, relief, confusion, panic, despair, paranoia, a confusing conglomerate of it all. She wondered if that’s what Vaemond was feeling before he had died. She wondered if he looked down upon them then. If he floated idly over the scene while he waited for the Stranger to come and take him. If he knew what was to happen to him, would he have still spoke the words he did? Would he have expressed remorse at a trial? Were his words truly worthy of death? What crime could ever be worthy of such a sentence?

A/N: This is the longest chapter I’ve written so far!! (there are some even longer ones locked in the arsenal) This is also the first chapter that’s majorly based on one of the scenes from the show. You like?????

oh and also, I may or may not talk up the importance of House Royce for my own convenience, let’s all just enjoy this ride together 0:)

xoxo messy

[shalomniscient]

Pass that servchino lore I want it all don’t hold back

DGKSHKDKHGKHVD i am about to be so annoying on main…………… since this is a little vague (i still appreciate it though !! very much !!) i’ll just be writing some sevchino trivia 👉👈

arle proposed one night while we were in bed together, just cuddling. she kind of just said it, a quiet “marry me” whispered into my shoulder, but i still said yes. the wedding itself also wasn’t anything grand—if anything, it was entirely a formality. we couldn’t have a typical wedding because of arlecchino’s position and how it would paint an absolutely grand target on my back, so in the end it was just a short ceremony with no guests besides the officiant. just arle and i, and honestly? it’s more than enough for us, as long as we have each other.

we have a home in fontaine city, which is where we stay most of the time. we do have another house in snezhnaya, but after arle retires from her position, we don’t go back to that house that often. it’s way too cold for me, and the kiddos also inherited my poor cold tolerance 😔😔😔 but staying in fontaine means we bump into the fontaine cast often, which includes furina sometimes… arle still likes to mess with her a little so i have to lightly smack her shoulder to get her to behave

our favourite place to go on holiday is mondstadt. the climate is most similar to fontaine’s, so there’s not much need to acclimate. we have picnics in springvale and go stargazing at starsnatcher cliff. but funnily enough neither i nor arle drink, so we don’t indulge in mondstadt’s alcohol scene. we go to angel’s share for the food and the cat’s tail for non-alcoholic drinks (diona loves us).

a close second for favourite holiday destinations is liyue, but we frequent chenyu vale more than liyue harbour. arle and i are both massive tea enjoyers, so we visit yilong wharf and qiaoying village often (one of my irl friends selfships with a certain duke, so whenever arle and i visit qiaoying i buy a big batch of tea to pass to her. if you’re reading this, baby, i love you). whenever we go into the city, it’s 100% for the food. my spice tolerance is goated if i do say so myself, and so are the kiddos’, but arle……… she needs a glass of milk on standby.

though whenever we go on holiday to these nations, we’re always watched, and understandably so given the fatui’s reputation. in mondstadt we run into a certain cavalry captain quite often, and in liyue we both always catch a glimpse of blue-hair and a white fur coat as we walk around. it doesn’t bother us much, as long as they keep their distance from our family.

our first child, estelle, was born a year after the events of fontaine. her brother, noé, is born three years later.

estelle studies law once she comes of age, and she’s a force to be reckoned with. she wants to work under the iudex, and holds neuvilette in high regard. if estelle ever gets a vision, it’ll be hydro, and if she ever had a favourite movie, it’d be legally blonde. estelle has big popular girl energy but she is very nice and generally cordial to everyone until you cross her, at which point she will ruin your life.

noé, on the other hand, becomes a ballet dancer! he is the polar opposite of his sister and he is mean. he’s good at what he does and he knows it, which makes him a bit of an arrogant little brat. he has 1 (one) soft spot and that’s me, because for all his posturing and perfectionism he is a mother’s boy at heart, like how estelle is a complete daddy’s girl. unlike estelle, however, he will ruin your life as a warning. the regina george to her elle woods. if noé ever gets a vision, it’ll be electro. the kids inherit their viciousness from both of us, honestly.

arle does her best to be present in estelle’s early years, but since she’s not fully retired yet, it’s a little difficult. elle’s first few years are mostly spent with me and her other siblings, but even then it’s mostly lynette and freminet because lyney is busy with arle. nonetheless, they all make sure estelle knows that she’s loved.

arle retires around the time we find out we’re expecting noé, which is about 3 to 4 years post canon. for both kids, arle doesn’t cry when she finds out, but she always gets incredibly physically affectionate for the next week or so, more than usual. she also gets progressively more protective as time passes, and it spikes for the first few months after the kiddos are born, because that’s when her family is most vulnerable and it sends her instincts into overdrive.

this devolved into sevchino family lore towards the end, but that just how it be ‘round here 😔😔😔 loved doing this sm, feel free to send more sevchino asks to the inbox uwu

[batsplat]

sooo, you bring up casey/vale dinner quite a lot right. and you always empathize how the rivalry was very different from their povs and how it obviously was so much more for casey. how casey doesn’t really know vale as a person and how it’s more like casey vs the consent of valentino rossi he has in his head. that at the same time vale kept the distance in their rivalry and was ‘cold’ about it not emotionally driven.

anyways, in your version of that dinner, do they reach some kind of REAL understanding of each other? on a competitive and personal levels. is it possible? or is there’s always gonna be a disconnect between these two?

hm lovely ask. yeah I like the dinner conceptually because it's just,, easy shorthand for a central tension of their rivalry: this gulf between the two of them that cannot ever be breached. I've been talking enough recently about the similarities between them, let's get back to the unbreachable, the unreachable, that which is impossible to resolve. to quickly include what casey actually said:

obviously this was an off-hand comment from casey and not something he put a massive amount of thought into, but it still captures something about that rivalry in a way that's really stuck with me (hence me referencing it every other day). like you say, anon - the disparity between the pair of them, in terms of how they were experiencing the different stages of the rivalry, the significance of it to them, the emotional investment. how valentino enforced a certain amount of distance, how he played the game as he wanted without wrestling with anything more complicated, no moral dilemmas or hand-wringing or capacity to get hurt. and how casey had to reckon with this.... just, lack of care, this thoughtlessness, this empty malice from his main rival. casey's desire to be understood is key to getting his whole deal, I reckon, and this quote really is an expression of that. it's almost like... I don't know, I just find something really compelling about the idea that this mutual lack of understanding bothers casey. as if there's something that casey could say to valentino that would make him get how shit the whole thing was for casey, that would prompt some kind of moment of self-reflection from valentino, of realisation even. maybe there still is a little bit of casey that's still searching for a little bit of catharsis

anyway, I think the crucial thing about the dinner is that it never happens. like, the key detail here is that casey would like to have this kind of conversation, whereas valentino is decidedly uninterested. this is the whole problem, right, because valentino really hasn't spent much time unpicking this rivalry or figuring out what his feelings are or trying to make his peace with it or any of it. to him, that rivalry very much ended when casey retired. he doesn't even harbour any particular ill will towards casey, because as far as he's concerned the things they did to each other all existed within the realm of what is 'acceptable' for a rivalry. there's not really anything to discuss here. so in that sense, some kind of post-mortem simply... isn't something valentino would be all that interested in, I don't think. but let's just play with the thought for a little longer, let's say that somehow valentino can be convinced to engage with this whole dinner scenario. some combination of politeness, curiosity, lack of animosity towards casey, nostalgia for the good old days... let's say he goes along with this idea, what does that conversation look like? I did give my general take as to the vibes here:

that's the starting point, right: the mismatch in emotional investment between the pair of them means they also have a very different conceptualisation of what the list of grievances even is. with most of the things casey could bring up, valentino's likely response will be 'hm when did that happen' or 'don't think it was that bad' or 'actually that bit was fine'. the british crowd thing would be a classic example: you'll get some combination of valentino pointing out casey could be his own worst enemy and probably pissed off the brits all on his lonesome, minimising what actually happened with the fans, and also fundamentally believing that a little bit of psychological warfare is basically fine. this does not feel like a divide that can be crossed, y'know

laguna, of course, is the big one. I'm quite glad I waited with posting this to let my thoughts marinate a little longer, because it meant that podcast thingy came out and provided a new valentino take on the laguna 2008 situation (first proper one we've had in ages):

(very grateful for the transcription, taken from here)

now, look, this quote does deserve more thorough attention, I will eventually get to the laguna 2008 post - but this is obviously a stance that is fundamentally incompatible with casey's approach. valentino straight up says he was willing to make them both crash if that's what it took, which, yes, you can tell from watching the race... and as far as casey is concerned, this is a line that should never be crossed. this is not something the two of them could ever find any agreement about. given casey's furious aversion to any suggestion his mental game might not be up to scratch, valentino emphasising the... psychological dimensions of that race would also extremely not be appreciated. it's not something where communication would really help, because... well, they do both know where the other stands here, right? there are some parts of the rivalry where one or both of them does fail to understand the other, but this is categorically not one of them. if casey pointed out his objections to what happened at that race, valentino would not be surprised by casey's opinions or be forced to reflect or anything like that - he just fundamentally would not care. it's not simply a difference in racing philosophies, it's a mismatch in moral values. the best dinner in the world couldn't solve this

maybe it's not entirely a lost cause. like I said, there are issues where they fail to understand each other in ways that - in an ideal world with perfect communication - they theoretically could clear up. casey's assessment of valentino's assessment of him, for instance, feels pretty off base at times. it's worth pointing out that valentino does in the podcast quote call casey his most talented rival, an opinion he has expressed before and probably believes and that would presumably be well-received by casey. (obviously the second half of that sentence goes in a direction casey would be less enthusiastic about, but let's try to work with what we've got here.) the eternal bike vs rider debate and some of the more circumstantial nastiness they levelled at each other to discredit the other... you'd assume that wouldn't be impossible to talk over. even some of the thornier aspects of their respective relationships to fame, to publicly performing, all of it - hey, maybe they really could tell each other what their 'challenges' there were. there are some things valentino sincerely believes that casey could probably benefit from hearing directly from valentino's lips. maybe casey could gain something just from knowing what valentino truly thought of him

really, though, at the end of the day, what is fascinating about the dinner is not as much the hypothetical meal itself (which would likely be deeply unsatisfying), but instead the fact that casey even wants it. like I said above, casey's desire to be understood is a key motif in this rivalry. it is the reason why he has to copy valentino's media tactics - because otherwise, he is doomed to being hated without being known. he needs to become a better communicator as a result of just how frustrated he is by how the world perceives him. casey has ended up using those same tools he learned from valentino against him, both when he was still a rider and since his retirement. and he wants to be understood by valentino... is there a part of casey that thinks valentino would have been kinder, gentler, if he had simply understood the effect he had on casey? does casey want to hear valentino's side of the story to finally make sense of how valentino behaved towards him? what answers exactly is he looking for here? none that would be easily forthcoming, most likely. perhaps he would at least get some kind of closure, the knowledge that valentino was exactly what casey thought he was all along. to the extent that casey has built up an inaccurate version of valentino in his mind, it probably is not one that he can tear down in a single dinner conversation. in some ways, he is already primed to believe the worst of valentino - and he is generally not a character predisposed to look for the best. his issues are often so abstracted from 'valentino the person' that he would not always find it easy to articulate a specific grievance at all. there's just too much to disentangle, here, and not all of the indignities he has suffered could reasonably be addressed by even a well-intentioned version of valentino. and if casey is looking for an apology... well, that just isn't happening, is it. maybe valentino really would find a little more empathy within himself for some of casey's struggles, maybe time really has mellowed him a little in some regards. maybe he would understand casey a little bit better. maybe it'd fill in a few for the blanks as far as his own conceptualisation of casey is concerned, explain a few things he never bothered to find out about. but there's only so far he would ever be willing to go. and he will almost certainly never feel particularly sorry for any of it. which means that there's a yearning here from casey for something that seems impossible to resolve... how can you fail to be compelled by that

all that being said. not to sound arrogant, but I do fundamentally believe that if anyone could make this dinner work, it's me. as a brave advocate for peace and harmony and love and all that stuff in every walk of life, I'm willing to take one for the team and volunteer to moderate their conversation. perhaps none of this is fixable, perhaps some divides simply cannot be crossed, but I believe it is my solemn duty to try. valentino, casey: call me. let's make this happen

[atopvisenyashill]

I seriously don’t get people who cling to the key fiver argument . It’s cringe to me actually. I keep coming across random posts on Twitter about how “sAnSa iSnT iMpOrTaNt bEcAusE sHe IsNt aPaRt oF tHe kEy fIvE HAHAH sHe’s IrReLeVaNt!!” Meanwhile grrm has stated he was mostly making shit up through that outline and that characters have “changed along the way; + he’s since named sansa as a main POV and central to the story in various interviews but weirdos still cling to Sansa not bearing any actual importance to the narrative and uhhh only exisiting as a foil to Arya or something ?? And the tumblr blogs dedicated to the key fives as well 💀when Sansa is mentioned in a gifset she’s almost always a handmaiden to Dany or Arya or something . It’s just frustrating that a lot of certain (not all) stans continue to understate Sansa’s importance to the story . It’s tough constantly having to defend Sansa online!!

Yeah what’s frustrating about that is that it’s often used to dismiss WOMEN but never MEN (which like,,,,, to be fair I also find it deeply annoying when people say that like, Theon isn't important to the story and is going to die immediately in TWOW, but that's a different convo than the Key Five bullshit. No one is out here going "well theon isn't key five so he's going to die sorry" ya know). Sansa specifically, but I have on occasion seen it towards Brienne, Catelyn, and Arianne - oh they’re “not important” so they’re going to die unceremoniously in the next book, all four of them. And never mind that when you look at The Most Chapters, Sansa and Catelyn are number five and six?? AHEAD OF NED??? Are we aruging Ned isn't important simply because he's not "key five" and has less chapters than some of his kids? Especially because Bran is part of the "key five" but he has less chapters than Sansa! Like, are we saying her entire story in the capital is "unimportant" even though she gives us great insight into politics happening here? Are we saying the Vale isn't important??

"oh well they can be important and not Key Five" the thing is George himself has gone on record saying he doesn't like outlines because he prefers to just see where the story takes him, that he was just making shit up for that outline, because it was about getting the contract and not about actually outlining the story! he straight up says he's basically disregarded the outline! So while it's certainly an interesting peek into how the story came into being, it's not a road map!!! It shouldn't be taken as gospel!!!! Yeah, he's said he's known the details since the 90s, but I think it's more that once he actually started to write the book he had an idea of where he was going to go, aka after he moved past the outline. I mean hell, look at some of the early outlining and drafts for like, lord of the rings - there are some similarities but there are major changes in plot, in names, because sometimes you're just not sure where you're going until you're on that road so to speak. I know it's crazy to say, but I think all of the POV characters are important...that's why they have a PoV! I know!!! Mind blown!!!!!

[kerink]

in the server i was given the opportunity to explain what we know about the history of the joycon so far, and bulk and sarah asked me to post it. unfortunately it was an audio file so here's my best shot at a cleaned up transcript

---

basically all you need to know about the joycon is this: in it devours pastor munn says that at some point in the past kevin had found an old oak door, had gone to the dow, had discovered the centipede (which they personify as being the smiling god [there may also be some personification with the light that exists in the dow that torments carlos while he's there, and is the reason the masked warriors wear masks]), and while kevin was in the desert otherworld he wrote a bunch of scripture about the centipede and his perceptions of its behavior. it's unclear what kevin knew about the about the worship of the smiling god before going to the dow for the first time. pastor munn says that after kevin was in the dow, he came back to desert bluffs and started proselytizing his findings over dbcr. but kevin said that strexcorp first showed him the smiling god. however, strexcorp was still taking over desert bluffs at the beginning of wtnv. in episode 19B kevin talks about how strexcorp is still buying up pieces of desert bluffs, so i don't know what the timeline looks like in terms of the potentiality of strexcorp encountering kevin, taking over dbcr, teaching him about the smiling god, sending him to the dow, bringing him back to desert bluffs, having him proselytize, and then taking over the town. it seems like a very tight, but possible, timeline, which gets into a lot of my theorizing about kevin, that I'm not gonna get into because it's outside the scope of this.

in addition, when dana goes to the dow, she tells cecil that there is an abandoned settlement of what we can assume were former smiling god worshipers (based on the orange triangle imagery in the abandoned settlement). so at the very least, kevin went to the dow, possibly with an expedition or team of missionaries or something, and they had some kind of settlement there for however long they were there studying the smiling god dana implies that something happened to the party (possibly something similar to what happened in it devours: the centipede, came up and ate everyone or destroyed the settlement beyond the point of them being able to recover it). so then kevin survives, comes back to desert bluffs, and starts proselytizing. it seems like the ability to get back to the dow was lost, because in the e38, the strexcorp representatives are looking for the orange that has the key to the old oak door. so i read that as strexcorp (which is either controlling the joycon or is controlled by the joycon) trying to get back into the dow but not having free and easy access to it. in it devours nilanjana and darryl were talking and darryl is telling her about what heaven looks like in their religion, which leads nilanjana to theorize that the joycon's heaven was the dow. based on this is seems like the joycon higher ups conceptualize the dow to be heaven and the centipede as being god (or the centipede being god manifest in the flesh because they also worship the light of the desert otherworld). so the joycon kind of factions off into what is like kevin’s controlled and led joycon in the dow (which has, i would assume lost communication with the night vale division) and the night vale division which seems to have kind of like a generational schism, where the younger folks (darryl and his friends) don't understand that their religion is not metaphorical. while the older generation (pastor munn and gordon), who were likely taught under kevin (pastor munn references to the fact that it's a very young religion and that the texts she has were passed down, i assume passed down from kevin or from one of his administrators [because it's even known from e135 that kevin has administrators within the church and is likely not directly leading the congregation]). the joycon is kind of multi-fractured between the folks who are directly following kevin in the dow, getting sermons and prophecies from him, and then the folks in night vale’s dimension (i'm assuming there are joycon worshipers in the other towns) whereas the older generations would have been ex-desert bluffs citizens (or I believe early in s1 maybe sometime in s2, cecil alludes to there being joycon worshipers in night vale, so i think it's like kind of a pervasive, minority faith within the universe). there would have been people, whether they're ex-desert bluffs citizens or not, who were getting pretty direct teachings from what would have been kevin-centered faith. a more pure, i guess, kind. and then the younger generations who grew up in the joycon and didn't get that same tutelage due to not having that direct link to kevin and hearing his story of actually having gone to the dow and knowing about his very real connection to the light in heaven and to the centipede. and they’re therefore taking everything as metaphor. even in it devours pastor munn kind of scoffs at darryl like “there's a centipede on the door. what are you talking about? how to do not understand this?” so something is not being communicated effectively.

[moonshynecybin]

marc being soo lonely and unpopular is my roman empire. you're telling me he's really just a weird kid with no friends, his best friend is his brother? my heart breaks for him. and he's had so many highs and lows in his career and the only one who Really understands is vale but vale won't talk to him and is also the one who made his loneliness a lot worse? turned everyone and especially the media against him.. vale's kids hate marc even though they're too young to fully grasp their history! vale has sooo much work to do after the reunion... getting his boys to like marc and be nice to him, being there for marc again. getting marc to trust him again! no marc, you don't have to deal with everything all by yourself anymore! something is bothering you? talk to me about it i'm here for you! it'll be so worth it though, can you imagine marc finally coming out of his shell again, comfortable to be himself again, still a bit disbelieving that all of those people are his Friends now? he's not alone anymore?? i think about this daily

i love nice things for marc so it is fun to imagine vale looping him in on his abundance of community and that being very healing for both of them... marc IS a pretty isolated dude as a result of being like. ruthlessly competitive and a prodigy and his crazy schedule etc we've all seen it. that being said. i do wonder about that boy's social skills bc vale has a lot of similar traits/life experiences and has like half the grid convinced he's their daddy.

[rhaegonapologist]

rhaegon fic notes

on ch 3 of my rhaegon fic.

This was originally the end of chapter 2, but a comment on ao3 let me know that the Vale was ruled by a woman and that it was an important plot point so I had to change it:

"

All goodwill for her brother dissipated when she sat down for dinner. 

“We heard you received letters from the young Prince Aegon,” Lord Arryn said.

His wife cut in, “Does that mean you intend to prolong your stay here? We can prepare more fitting quarters for you.” 

Rhaenyra was rudely reminded of her place in the Seven Kingdoms. Of course. To the Arryns, the little Prince was learning how to read and write now, and it wouldn’t be long until he would learn how to be a proper King, in his proper place in the Red Keep. Unlike his sister, who traveled across the lands, seemingly looking for a new home to roost. 

She felt the resentment burn up in her all over again, stoked anew. 

"

However, I'm happy with the new rewrite. Maybe Rhaenyra doesn't need a heavy handed "your brother has a cock and you don't" moment right now to wish Aegon didn't exist. Maybe she only needs to experience Aegon being a brat to have the same sentiment, after all she's been an only child her whole life.

I also wanted to explore Alicent's motherhood after last night's episode. god, theyre making me want to scrap this and just write aligon, so many issues there. I imagine she was trying her best but she was still so young, and I wonder what Rhaenyra was like in those early days. If she could stomach her best friend now a mother.

I feel like Alicent has always had a hard time loving her firstborn, her most difficult child. He represents so many things, maybe the moment he was born was the moment it truly all felt wrong. Maybe she went through post-partum depression and did not know how to deal.

Rhaenyra feeding him to fire mirrored the violence in the first chapter where she almost killed him and it was nice to connect that thread. alicent's paranoid rhaenyra will kill him because rhaenyra's been doing crazy shit like this with aegon since day one lol.

however i feel like this time rhaenyra wasn't really serious and she was doing it more for alicent anyway, aegon's not really anything to her yet. and maybe this scene represents how deep down she instinctually accepts him as targ alrdy, bc she knows he won't burn that easily in the fire. i imagine daemon put her through similar dangerous acts. alicent had experienced rhaenyra's recklessness before, but now that she's part of the family, it's even crazier up close.

i also wanted to show how young they both were too. i mean aegon's not a toy but, rhaenyra playing around and pretending to drop him was childish.

[winterisol]

So another fic that I have on the backburner (very slowly simmering) is an Alex Marquez!Mechanic AU, where he isn't as co-depedent on Marc (and vice versa) so he goes and pursues a college degree in mechanical engineering.

I think he would attend the Polytechnic University of Milan. Really good program, is in Italy aka. where all the motorsports jobs are (at least compared to Spain). And yes Alex is gonna be a little genius/nerd. Why? Because I said so. But also because I don't think people realize how similar Alex and Marc are personality/value-wise if that makes sense. Both strike me as people who put 1000% into everything they do, for Marc its being insane on motorcycles, for Alex it was academics. Like whenever Alex followed Marc to races he would sit in their motorhome all day studying and doing homework until the race started. In this AU Alex never rides competitively, and is very happy being the youngest child cheering on his insane brother.

I think Alex still idolizes Marc to an extent, but they aren't as co-dependent in this fic (Alex is still 100% ready to call out Marc's BS tho, thats a sibling thing). However, I do think distance makes Alex even more protective of Marc. Like after everything that happens in 2015, Alex is very much anti-Valentino Rossi, like if he ever sees Vale he will chase the old man down like a starved lion.

Anyway, Alex goes to Uni finishing his masters in 5 years (23 when he graduates). Right out of college he is given an offer to work with LCR Honda as a mechanic for Honda. Gets to be there for his brother's sixth world championship for the first time since 2013. After a very good year in LCR there is some internal restructuring and he finds himself in Pol Esparago's garage for 2020. Cue the whole Marc disaster period of 2020-2023, and I think Alex at first kinda struggles trying to adjust into a team that used to only look at him as Marc's cute little brother. I think he might also have some subconcious guilt that the bike the team is building (which includes him) is only getting worse, and therefore feels responsible for Marc's injuries.

Anyway this is all set up for where the actual fic starts lol. And 2024 is where he ends up getting moved to the other side of the garage, of Luca Marini.

[howlingday]

Thinking back on the idea of RWBY and rogue galleries in general, which comic book rogues do you think would be interesting to see Team RWBY (and JNPR/ORNJ) go against?

Obviously some villains would be flat out ridiculous (Superman's, Hulk's, etc.), but others, like the Spiderman or Batman villains, seem like they have potential...

Both rogue galleries are accustomed to teenage heroics yet are still susceptible to being defeated by them.

Some members are flat out crazy (Joker, Electro, etc.) and will probably get trounced without mercy while others are WAY more sympathetic in spite of their villainy (Curt Connors, Clayface, Mr. Freeze, etc.) adding a "human" twist that RWBY isn't exactly used to.

I mean can you imagine Blake, a faunus, trying to call the Lizard or Clayface monsters despite them not wanting their horrendous appearance?

Or Weiss trying to stop Mr. Freeze plunging beacon into the Ice Age despite the fact that all he wants to do is save his wife who brings warmth to his lonely existence?

What do you think?

When it comes to RWBYs own rogues gallery, it's not hard to find a set point on who fits who best.

For example, starting from the beginning, there's Vale's criminal underworld run by Roman Torchwick. I'd consider this

GANG-LEVEL

Street thugs, ne'er-do-wells, and general human scum who will lie, cheat, and steal, doing whatever it takes to survive. These are villains on the same level as most of Gotham's worst of the worst; Joker, Penguin, Scarecrow, Riddler, ordinary humans with slightly above average physical skills. But, it should be noted that these are also villains who have tricks up their sleeves. Tricks like, well, a trick cane... or Joker Venom.

But after the Fall of Beacon, we reached a new level of threat that gives us a broader perspective. These are the villains who have went beyond the ordinary and into the extraordinary, bringing with them a dangerous arsenal of weapons, skills, and super-powers that make them a threat to even the most skilled fighters. In honor of this, I choose to classify them as

HUNTSMAN-LEVEL

Superhumans, supervillains, and super pains in our backsides, these are the kinds of baddies that definitely make a Death Battle list. Villains like Tyrian Callows, Adam Taurus, Arthur Watts from RWBY get put up against super-criminals like The Scorpion, Shredder, and Doctor Doom. These would be tough fights for RWBY and would require help from the other side to assist. I'm thinking entire stories with them as the big bad guys. There's some kind of superhuman skill they have that makes them more than just a threat, but a super threat.

Speaking of Big Bads, going beyond the scope further are the enemies that are way too much for RWBY and would actually the fun of writing these universe together. Yeah, I'm talking

EXTINCTION-LEVEL

Thanos, Darkseid, Salem; you know them, you fear them, and there's a reason for both. These are the final bosses of their own franchises, and the reason for that is pretty clear. Planets? Dusted. Galaxies? Peanuts. Life? Meaningless. Resistance? Futile. However, my biggest problem with these villains for RWBY is they're too big. Like, these guys just blink, and the worst thing that could happen to our heroes is just the start. So, yeah, don't expect me to write anything serious with these players anytime soon.

---------------------------------------------------

Now, as for sympathetic VS merciless, it kinda depends on the situation they're in.

For example, Basil Karlo, Clayface, was a famous actor who desperately wants to regain his original appearance. Sympathetic. However, I can also see Weiss freezing him without hesitation because he's trying to kill a doctor who can't fix him.

Dr. Kurt Connors would be similar with Blake, as you said, but I feel she would also feel no hesitation in putting him down. She might draw some parallels between him, and another seemingly passionate man driven over the edge into becoming a monster.

Honestly, these are both interesting scenarios, and I'd like to do more with them if I get the chance (COUGH, COUGH, 70 ASKS) but we'll just have to wait and see until then.

Keep up the good work and thanks for the food for thought!

[madwheelerz]

Manifestation Theory Supplement - What happened to Will + the Beginning

So, what happened to Will in season one exactly? Well, I think in the first timeline that Will died. As in he was murdered. Now you might be wondering who would murder Will like that and well season one certainly stresses the existence of as a very negative force in Will’s life.

Someone who knew he had just died. Someone who knew that his death occurred at the quarry and was ruled a suicide despite supposedly being in the city. Who other than Lonnie Byers. Lonnie who showed up just in time for the money and let’s say we’re in the one, the one being the timeline where Will is alive then the other 99…

This is where it gets me. That first DnD game is so important because in the initial timeline it would’ve been the last time Mike saw Will alive and happy so it’s something like a save point. Karen stops the game at 8:15 hence the importance of that time. So, Will goes home and Lonnie kills him. I’m not sure I can decode the specifics of how, but anyway Will dies.  

I think Mike’s main power up until this point was probably time manipulation/travel. A bit like El’s telekinesis it’s the first stage of said powers. After Will’s death Mike tries to rewind the timeline and completely override the first one except, he doesn’t necessarily fail, but he doesn’t succeed either instead we get whatever in the loony tunes is going on right now and why you might ask?

Because Mike most likely damaged his brain by attempting to rewind time like that. He most likely had some semblance of control over time before hand seeing as according to Dustin-

We learn that Mike is very good with time. Then we get to see Mike always seeming to lose track of his time. Later from El we see that pushing your power to the limit can damage your brain and cause amnesia.

So let’s say Mike rewinds time to his save point which would be 8:15, the time where he could consider things would’ve gone wrong because his mom stopped the game. Mike is twelve. He would not have had the power level necessary to pull that off and most definitely would’ve pushed way past his limit.

When El pushed past her limit she opened a gate. If Mike had reached a point where he pushed past his limit trying to destroy a timeline he considers failed and given himself brain damage, it’s possible that the manifestations started then. That would’ve been the perfect time for it to begin as a sort of consequence of time travel.

El, HNL, the upside-down, the Russian subplot, and more are products of this. They keep reflecting Mike too closely to be a complete coincidence. Mike just randomly starting to create things out of the blue without rhyme or reason doesn’t make sense, however, him trying to do something else and being met with a consequence because he released a large amount of energy does.

This would be the balance. Mike’s powers aren’t going to completely evil, but they aren’t going to be completely good either. It would force Mike to reconsider his black and white view of things because surely the thing that saved Will can’t be completely evil, but the things the came after can’t be completely good either.

Mike’s relationship with time is very peculiar. He’s got curfews, he’s being told to stop his games at specific times, his watch being such an important item that it’s one of the view to be on the right hand.

Both times when Mr. Clarke is talking about parallel universes and the vale, which we later refer to as the upside-down, Mike is just randomly in frame despite not really contributing to the conversation. This is similar to what happens when Dustin narrates what the “Vale of Shadows” is.

Will having died explains why all the Will-alikes keep dying despite Will dying at the end making no sense at all. Rather it’s a way to tell us that Will died, and his death is significant to the plot. Also, Billy being referred to as another him, so the other him dying and even having a grave.

Okay so, Mike isn’t necessarily manifesting on purpose, but beings keep escaping from his subconscious and as he grows older this power grows stronger. This is why Mike is the only one who seems to be able to become fully attuned to the motivations of places such as the upside-down or HNL.

They aren’t real. They’re a part of him and the only person who’s going to understand that in all it’s capacity is going to be him. Mike is the one who will be able understand the way he thinks the best. Now I don’t think that necessarily means he’ll be kind considering how much Mike likes to beat himself up.

El says she found the source followed by a picture of a rather intense closeup to Mike.

On that note they really kept pushing the idea that Lonnie killed Will only for it to be a fake out, but Lonnie is definitely still suspicious.

[scrollonso]

as a big fan of the dynamic i feel the need to gush to you about dovquez now that you got to know about them :)

obviously the lore doesn't go quite deep like rosquez, but it truly feels like a healing rivalry for marc (and me jajsjddj) after sepang 2015 and the whole fallout of it.

i think about them a lot, especially when i feel too miserable about rosquez lol

dovi was someone, or maybe even the only one? who over the years had an understanding on how to correctly deal with marc when you are regularly battling with him on track and i absolutely adore him for it.

i think the main difference between the two of them was -

vale and marc are veery similar in a lot of ways. especially with their mentality as racers. it's why they worked so well in the beginning, but imo, it's also why it eventually all came crashing down. you just can't go insane vs insane and not expect it to go wrong at some point lol

on the other hand, dovi and marc were kinda opposites, and that worked out perfectly for them. dovi with marc was pretty much like: wow, what a cheeky bastard *is a bit exasperated, and fond of said bastard*

there were some tense moments on track, but.. it stayed there. i think marc was more than happy to fall into this dynamic where he could be his usual menace self on track, enjoy battling with someone and then be all teasing and playful about it off track. THE healthy rivalry to me.

it really fills me with all the good feelings because i read/listen to dovi talking about marc and i'm like yes!! you get it! (he also just recently highly praised marc about his quick adaptation to the ducati this year)

well. i love them :))

there's a lot more to say but i'll restrain myself because the wonderful treasureland of tumblr is right here lol

the more i learn about motogp duos the crazier i get.

this is so sweet oh my god