#dragon FACTS 101

[ruffled-serpent]

A tundra's nose feels velvety like a horse's

[thegnomelord]

I have had a thought.

What if dragons purr when you rub their horns..

Dragon!Price x Gaz and/or Nikolai,,,

Hehdhehehe

Hmmm, I don't usually write character x character but i'll give it a try so tell me if this sucks lol

CW: SFW, Price x Gaz, horn rubbing, purring, monster cod au, soft short and sweet. 1224 words. Cross posted to Ao3

Kyle is a good soldier. Strong. Competent. Reliable. Though the fears of losing him on every mission still linger, they're eased by the fact that Price never has to worry that his sergeant will stumble in those crucial moments when a second of hesitation can be the difference between life and death. Never has to worry that his Gaz will think of himself as expendable and rush into the hailstorm of bullets. . .

Kyle is also a menace.

Especially when he's perched on his desk and giving John the most pathetic puppy dog eyes he's ever seen. "Please, captain, just one time?" The imp of a harpy even has the gall to flutter his eyes, looking at him through his lashes because he knows how the light of the setting sun hits his eyes juuuust right to make the brown glitter like gold and amber jewels.

"Kyle." Price stresses. This really isn't the time to indulge his sergeant's need for mischief when he's got a week's worth of backlogged paperwork to go through.

"Sir." Kyle throws his tone back at him, but the way the word rolls off his tongue and he adds the smallest chirp to the end of it makes something inside him stir. "Come on mate, I promise it'll only take five minutes." Kyle's wings spread out so he can display the shininess of his feathers - peacocking transcends species it seems - the mundane dark color turned to that of rich obsidian by the sun.

"It never takes just 'five minutes'." He tries to argue, but the usual commanding rumble in his voice is gone. Price knows he's fighting a losing battle from the way his fingers itch for him to burry them into the smooth feathers and preen Kyle's wings until his treasure croons.

Kyle knows this. He's unable to hide the arrogant look in his eyes when he bites his bottom lip and leans back, muscles tensing, because he knows how such a display of his body will make John's eyes automatically roam across his hard earned muscles. "Pretty please." Kyle says, tail feathers gently twitching side to side.

Both of them know Price never stood a chance.

"That was dirty." John sighs, dejected by his own weakness. The distance between them is small, but Price purposely takes slow steps. Kyle eagerly scoots back on the desk and spreads his legs for John to fit between, hands raising to hold his biceps as Price braces his palms against the desk next to Kyle's hips.

Kyle snorts. "As if you've never stooped lower cap." He spreads his wings to wrap around Price, soft feathered wing wrists bumping against his back.

John just growls lowly in response. He doesn't resist his body's natural desire to reciprocate, to reaffirm the claim over his hoard. The atrophied muscles on his right side still ache with phantom pain after all this time, but that doesn't stop him from wrapping his one remaining wing around Kyle. The combination of their wings acts as a shroud from the rest of the world, soft feathers brushing against his green scales and their scents mixing together.

Price treasures these little moments.

The peace only lasts for a few seconds before Kyle ruins it with a grin. "Now come on, give me your horns." He says, not even bothering for Price to tilt his head before Kyle's clever fingers rise up his arms to cup his face, inching closer to where his horns grow out of his skull.

Price promises to himself to hunt down and shoot whichever wanker posted the '101 ways to make a dragon purr like a kitty' on the internet. Ever since Kyle found that blasted instruction manual he's been trying to go through the entire list to verify the information. Price had seen the article in question and had nearly choked when he'd read that the author thought pulling on a dragon's tail could get them any other reaction than an immediate bisection—

Kyle's impatient fingers still just enough to gently scratch the bumpy base of his scalp around the horns. It tingles, and Price isn't able to tell if the tingling sensation is of the good kind or a bad. A small sound rolls from his throat, but that doesn't satisfy Kyle.

"Come on John, sing for me." Kyle repeats the words Price tells him when he's preening him, voice light and just at the edge of taunting. Keeping one hand around his base, Kyle slides the palm of his other hand up the hard bone until he reaches the natural curve of Price's horn. He squeezes gently and moves his hand like he's jerking him off.

"O-oh." Price is grateful he's bracing against the desk because his legs go weak. The sensation of his palm and the pressure of his hand is neither good nor bad, just unfiltered feeling that his brain can't even begin to handle, so it shoots it down his spine like lightning. The buzz of sensation catches on every vertebra and makes his wing quiver, forces his tail to wag like he's some lost puppy.

"Not what I was expecting." Kyle confesses. Price can't see the surprise and wonder on his face as John's eyes close automatically. His head tips forward to rest his forehead on Gaz's chest, brawny biceps tensing to just support his weight and claws digging into the desk with enough force to tear through the wood.

Kyle moves his hands so he's holding Price's horns in both hands. The pale green horns are smooth under his palms besides the occasional scratch or chip in them. Kyle moves his hands with slowly and methodically, changing the pressure he uses on every stroke and paying special attention to the sharp tips of his horns.

That's all it takes to turn John's chest into an geriatric engine. Price manages to groan and mumble a curse under his breath before the only sound leaving his lips is the deep baritone purr. There's no way of stopping it; If Price was in a better mind he would question why the gentle stroking of his horns has him feeling like a puddle of goo but his brain is completely fried from the sensation.

Kyle has heard him purr before but this is different. All the other times his purrs would always be throaty and quiet. Now it feels like the sound is coming straight from the bottom of his chest and, fuck, Kyle can feel it, feel the rumble shake his ribs and the desk beneath him. The sound is loud and unpolished and so raw Gaz feels naked just hearing it.

Kyle can feel his heard beating a mile a minute, his surprise making his hands still just long enough for Price to look up at him. Kyle could die happy after seeing how fucked out Price looks — pupils dilated to the size of plates, panting, red faced, so open and unguarded. Comfortable. With him.

"You've been holding out on me John." Kyle smiles softly, starting to stroke his horns again.

Price purrs even louder, his tail curling around Kyle's leg, managing to pull the claws of one hand from the desk to grip Kyle's thigh and pull him closer, draconic hind-brain desperately seeking to get more of that gluttonous pleasure from Kyle's hands.

Safe to say they take longer than five minutes.

[daeneryseastar]

i think the biggest problem i have with the whole team discourse in f&b + hotd is that it isn’t just about which characters you like more/who you want to sit on the throne at that end; it’s that each side is fighting for completely different ideologies, regardless of one members personal beliefs. grrm could not have made it anymore clear.

team black isn’t just fighting for rhaenyra to be queen, they’re fighting for the monarch’s right to choose an heir, for the oaths they swore years before, for the complete opposite of precedent/tradition: the king’s word is law. team green isn’t just fighting for aegon to be king, they’re fighting for tradition, that no matter the words of a king being law sons will always come before daughters, that oaths are fickle and don’t matter. each side is in some way fighting back against what’s already been established for the kingdom, but the end goal is completely different.

we’re not given as much insight into why most of the houses initially sided with rhaenyra, but we do have an inkling into how the green council felt and acted, however. jaehaerys choosing baelon over rhaenys (against andal tradition, the king can choose his heir) is one point. the great council of 101 is another. alicent, despite being the leader of the council, is removed from the equation and shoved off to the side when it comes to swearing oaths of loyalty between the members on account of her womanhood. daemon being a second coming of ‘maegor’ (despite what we know would be a better suited title for aemond, but i digress) is also used. when discussing who would side with them the vale is automatically disqualified from the list, due to them presently being ruled by a woman, jeyne arryn. she doesn’t choose to fight for rhaenyra for the sole reason of them being kin, but because her own right to rule can and will be put into question if aegon steps over rhaenyra. because she is a woman. she does so in spite of her dislike for daemon (and his supposed maegor-ness) too.

even if one were to look at each characters personal feelings about the succession the fact of the matter is that rhaenyra is usurped because she is a woman. it’s stated almost blatantly multiple times before and during the war. the greens use scapegoats and smokescreens in attempts justify it (her ‘bastards’ chief among them, but legally her sons live and die as the trueborn children between her and laenor, with the reminder that septon eustace refutes this claim to begin with). even when she is killed grrm has her breast pricked to arouse a dragon that doesn’t want to kill her (and why is that?). aegon ‘wins’ against her and is king, but then why is jaehaera, as his last living remaining child not named his heir? why is aegon iii put ahead of her, despite being the enemies son? these are rhetorical questions. aegon had no plans to ever consider her his heir, he made it clear with how excited he was to marry cassandra baratheon and produce more ‘strong’ sons. his dragon (who had fought and bled for him the entire war) wasn’t mourned properly, he couldn’t wait to hatch a ‘new dragon, prouder and fiercer than the last.’ yet he wasn’t even capable of doing that in the six months before he too was killed.

it’s also safe to mention that grrm created an entire separate lore story, one that would seem to have no bearing on the original story unless you’re capable of understanding symbolism. the amethyst empress is usurped by her younger brother the bloodstone emperor, and the first long night ensues from this decision. rhaenyra (amethyst = arryn blue + targaryen red) is usurped by her younger brother aegon ii (bloodstone = hightower green + targaryen red) and the dying of the dragons, the very creatures needed to stop the next long night, are eradicated, along with the magic needed to hatch them and keep them alive (until). the war is the blacks (power, death, grief, rebellion, restraint) versus the greens (ambition, greed, jealousy, anger, wealth). the amethyst empress is important to the main story in the same way that rhaenyra is important, that snubbing the women (an integral aspect to the power the targaryens held) of house targaryen can lead only to disaster. daenerys is the key, the one to break the cycle and fix the wrongdoings caused by her ancestors obsession with power. mother of dragons, mhysa, breaker of chains, slayer of lies, daughter of death, the dragon queen, azor ahai come again, the prince that was promised will bring the dawn.

you can argue for technicalities sake all day, but there is a meaning to this story beyond the scope of rightful heirs. and it shouldn’t be shoved off to the side just so you can praise your favorites and hate those who go against them. it makes for a poor consuming of the actual story. fire and blood was created as a history book to expand on daenerys as a character. her family, what and where she’s come from, and how she relates to them. she’s the antithesis to every targaryen that’s come before her, a hero in her own right. the only targaryen’s we can say are radically important to dany’s story are the conquerors (aegon the conqueror with teats) and rhaenyra (the amethyst empress). i don’t know, just some food for thought.

edit: i have revised some of my opinions on this through a further reread but the gist of it is still the same.

[sco-ot]

alicent and otto's predictions about what would happen should rhaenyra take the throne are valid.

the great council of 101 established that 'in the eyes of many, the Great Council of 101 AC thereby established an iron precedent on matters of succession: regardless of seniority, the Iron Throne of Westeros could not pass to a woman, nor through a woman to her male descendants.' this is a direct quote from Fire and Blood, page 351, The Heirs of the Dragon.

the great council is how viserys became heir, and the matter of succession was much less clear cut than rhaenyra's situation bc jaehaerys' heir aemon had no male children and that's how viserys got the throne.

so in the eyes of many nobles, the matter was sorted, even if viserys had not remarried and rhaenyra had been his only heir, people would still have contested her claim and said that the throne should pass onto daemon, like it did to baelon after his brother's death so already rhaenyra's position as heir was tenuous.

add in the fact that rhaenyra had not one but three brothers and suddenly her being heir makes very little sense to westerosi, especially bc it was previously established that a woman can't sit the throne. we see this in canon with grover tully, who had supported viserys in 101 and refused to support rhaenyra.

so even if aegon and his brothers had bent the knee to rhaenyra, there would be lords who wouldn't accept her ascension and who would rebel, declaring for aegon. alicent's warning of 'you are the challenge' is accurate and even if aegon had left like he wanted to, he had two brothers and a son (two sons in f&b) who would be a danger to rhaenyra's throne.

by remarrying, viserys undermined his daughter's claim, and by refusing to back down on his choice of heir he guaranteed a succession crisis after his death.

alicent and her children were trapped and even if they had fled to essos, that wouldn't guarantee their safety. daemon had many friends there and he could easily have sent an assassin after them, to take care of the threat.

[markbandanawitts]

Keroro Files No.046 - No.066

(more english translated files for the characters in "Keroro Gunso the Super Movie: Gekishin Dragon Warriors de arimasu!")

This section goes over the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th movie along with Chibi Kero episodes (so perhaps a spoiler warning if that’s any important)

Some Additional Notes:

We’re getting into the more niche criteria here with movie-specific ones; I promise if you guys don’t know who the majority of the characters on here are it doesn’t matter whatsoever. There’s 101 files in total so there will probably be about two more posts of this…. only gets more niche from here ❤️

File No.51: Keroro just saying it’s sad that dkeroro doesn’t know what gundam is is INSANE 😭😭

File No.53: “Red Daruma” is a nickname for Giroro which is basically just a red wishing doll (along with keroro racially stereotyping keronians as always)

File No.54: MSV stands for “Mobile Suit Variation.” it was a design series unsurprisingly

File No.56 Bahamut and Salamander are NOT Gundam references (shocking, I know). They’re just mythical creatures/dragons

File No.61: Since this game came out a little before the 4th movie dropped, Terara’s existence was still kinda just “????” + marketing strat by keeping it spoiler safe

File No.62: Another Gundam reference but I cannot emphasize enough how much Keroro is NOT Amuro Ray 😭🙏

File No.65: This sounds INSANE without any real context; Keroro is leaving out the fact that it was an accident with the keroball and that it was HIS fault

—And as always another plug to Soroaxas since I got all of the original files from their bonus video‼️

[lizzie-queenofmeigas]

Fixing Ep. I of House of the Dragon.

Timeline

First we should establish a timeline, which is something the show hasn't really done. Given that they insist in having Rhaenyra and Alicent be friends there are ways to do that. Swap Daella's birth with Vaegon's and have Aemma born a year earlier. Have Rhaenyra be Aemma's first pregnancy instead of the third. That ages her up a bit, making her be born in the year 94 a.C

Have Alicent be a little older than Rhaenyra. Alicent could have been born in 92 a.C and their friendship would stay the same.

Aemma's death should be in 107 .C making Rhaenyra thirteen years old in the first episode and Alicent fifteen.

Laena could be the same age as Alicent and Laenor the same as Rhaenyra, keeping with their book's ages.

Establish the year of the episode. This being put the number at the beginning in the screen.

Scenes

During the Council of 101 the narrator could say "Tragedy claimed both his sons. The choice now was between Rhaenys, the only child of his eldest son and Viserys the eldest child of his second son". And the general audience would understand it perfectly.

During the ride in carriage back to the Keep they could have the smallfolk calling for Rhaenyra and her waving at them and smiling. That way we establish the "Realm's Delight".

Have Aemma mention Rhaenyra's age in their little scene. "You are three and ten, nearly a woman grown" it would fit perfectly.

The next scenes are just fine if the story is done right.

Daemon and Rhaenyra. In the throne room scene they should have more dialogue of the like of. "What have you brought me this time?" This way we establish that Rhaenyra is spoilt by Daemon and her parents.

Viserys and Aemma's scene are just fine if the rest of the show follows this logic. They could mention their relation, however. "Our grandmother had thirteen children, but I don't have her luck". This establishes that Aemma is part of House Targaryen by more than marriage .

Have Rhaenyra and Alicent talk about doing charity during their studying scene, establishing why the smallfolk likes them.

During the small council scene with Daemon Otto could ask him how he knows who was guilty and he could say he has a good relationship with the smallfolk. While I believe in "show, don't tell" this particular thing could show that he spends time with the smallfolk and that they like him.

The Mysaria and Daemon scene could have been pillowtalk. There was no need for a sex scene, but they could show us the after. Have Daemon show his resentment to his brother "I am the reason he wears a crown yet he still has me married to my Bronze Bitch". Doing this we don't only inform the viewers that Daemon is married, but we also establish that Mysaria is important for him and that he trusts her.

Nothing particularly wrong with the tournament scene, just should be less gory because it doesn't make much sense.

During the tournament we could have Rhaenys and Corlys talking like in the show but different. Saying something like "Viserys inheritated our grandparents years of peace and I hope our children do as well" that way we show she is a Targaryen and that she is married to Corlys and have children.

Cole and Daemon's scene is fine.

Aemma's death in itself is also not incoherent, but the show is so if the show wasn't it would be fine.

The funeral scene is fine.

In Alicent's and Otto's scene they could mention Otto's hate for Daemon and the fact that Alicent at fifteen is a woman of age to marry. Something like "You are five and ten, you can't stay a lady-in-waiting for the princess forever"

The "heir for a day" is fine.

During the Daemon and Viserys confrontation we could have again Daemon lashing out against him saying how he helped him. Something like "I am the reason you have that throne! Corlys was preparing his ships to fight for Rhaenys so I raised an army for you! And now you won't even give me an announcement for a marriage our grandmother forced me into!"

The rest of the scenes are fine

Other things

Rhaenys's hair should have been dark, with the quote I mentioned is enough to make the general audience realize she is a Targaryen.

Rhaenyra should have worn more jewellery and more lavender and violet colours.

See HBO? is not that hard!

[dragondream-ing]

If someone defends Rhaenyra’s usurpation because of tRaDiTiOn, they better be waving a Maegor banner proudly.

I’m being serious.

So many people in this fandom care about the tradition of Westerosi inheritance and act like yelling about it justifies team green’s actions. They never seem to take into consideration what it means.

This post is inspired by my allergy to inconsistency and hypocrisy. Here we go.

The only consistent tradition of Targaryen succession is the ruler choosing their own heir. Sometimes that aligned with Westerosi tradition, often it did not. And it started with the very first heir. So either you admit Maegor was the rightful heir over Aenys, or you admit he wasn’t because Aegon the Conqueror said so.

Let me explain.

Visenya was Aegon’s first wife. In Westerosi tradition, Rhaenys would be considered at best a mistress and her children out of the succession or, at the least, behind Visenya’s children. The lords accepted the validity of Aegon’s plural marriage because they didn’t have the power to oppose the Conquerors, simple as. Tradition didn’t matter in the face of dragons. It is not a genuine argument and hasn’t been since the creation of the Crown itself. House Targaryen’s exceptionalism went beyond incest and dragons from the start, and accepting Aenys as king shows the nobles accepted this when it was convenient.

So I’d like team green to be consistent. Is the king’s word law, a la Aegon choosing Aenys as his heir? Or is this a break from tradition that was only corrected when Maegor killed his nephew and took the throne?

It gets messy from here. Maegor, as we know, didn’t have a child, so he chose his great-niece, Aerea as his heir. Jaehaerys was still alive, he could’ve chosen him. Heck, that might’ve eased like a drop of the tension between him, Jaehaerys and Alyssa Velaryon. So if you’re a tradition truther, Maegor was the proper king but then chose an untraditional heir. Hmm.

Then we get to Jaehaerys, and a tradition truther might think YES, THAT’S OUR GUY. But he’s really not.

Yes, he stopped considering his eldest living child, Daenerys, as his heir after Aemon was born. But then Aemon died.

Aemon did, however, die with an heir. Her name was Rhaenys. In Westerosi tradition, she’d inherit after him, because a daughter inherits before a brother. Now, I know the lords do all sorts of things to circumvent this (see Alys Karstark), but that *is* Westerosi tradition.

Did Jaehaerys follow tradition? Nope. He picked his second oldest son, Baelon.

Some might say there are logical reasons for this. Baelon was a warrior, older, and had grown sons. Rhaenys was like 18, married to an ambitious lord not named Targaryen, and at risk of dying in childbirth (Baelon was named heir in 92, Rhaenys had her first child in 92). HOWEVER, we see with Jeyne Arryn becoming Lady of the Vale while still a *toddler* that Westerosi tradition doesn’t set aside claims merely because such concerns exist. In fact, in ASOIAF, some Lannister married an f-ing BABY to lay claim to her lands because *she* is the acknowledged inheritor.

You could argue that it matters more when it’s the Crown, and I’ll concede that while pointing out you’ve made my argument for me: isn’t that a good reason for the Crown to do what it wants instead of following traditions that hamstring it?

If you’re a tradition truther, however, you should be in a rage and insisting Rhaenys inherit, and you should be outraged by what was done to her at the Council of 101 after Baelon dies. Her claim wasn’t even considered, Laenor’s was—ya know, her toddler son who got his claim *through* her.

So then Viserys takes the throne and continues the Targaryen custom of choosing his heir. And the tradition truthers of the fandom rise up and boo, and they cry “duty and sacrifice! What about tradition!?”

Just admit that the lords of Westeros, Alicent, her merry band of greens, and the fans that make excuses for them didn’t and don’t care about tradition unless it suits them, and they only become vocal about it when a woman stands a good chance of inheriting over a man.

Viserys never wavered in his choice, the realm knew it and so did the greens. This is precisely why Rhaenyra had far more support than her brother, and why the argument that the realm wouldn’t accept her is bs. The realm DID accept her. Because they understood something many in this fandom struggle to

There was only one consistent tradition of royal succession between the Conquest and the Dance: the ruler chooses their heir.

[imustbenuts]

Reading of Fire Emblem Awakening with a Buddhist lens and the context of the 'sacrifice mc' ending

Preface: Writen by a person who is a massive nerd living in South East Asia. Not a practicing Buddhist but grew up on the fringes of its local influence. Most points here are copy pasted and heavily edited from a prev post I wrote in reply to felikatze's post about Brave Robin some time ago.

EN: Fire Emblem Awakening

JP: ファイアーエムブレム 覚醒

Awakening is a pretty important word when it comes to religion and spirituality, but specifically when put in the light of Buddhism, it takes on extra meaning. Kakusei 覚醒 in JP language has a heavier emphasis on Enlightenment than just waking up after an alarm bell rings.

In this entry, the word Awakening isn't thrown into the title in reference to Robin awakening to the fell dragon; it's a bad end if followed straight anyway. Trying to read it with a non-buddhist lens will often yield the confusion of why self-sacrifice would ever be justified, and in my experience many anglo speaking fans online have indeed express dislike of the sacrifice ending in Awakening.

Which is understandable. But! To the Japanese and many other Asian players, this overwhelmingly isn't the case. And the reason is I think: culture + Buddhism.

The flow of this post will go in this rough outline while I try to explain it from a more Buddhist pov. Sorry if it's messy :(

Buddhism 101 Crash Course (orange so if you wanna skip it feel free)

Original Timeline Awakening

'Our' Shown Timeline Awakening

Ending

Ok. Let's begin

Crash Course on surface level Buddhism 101 (please please go read more on your own if interested, this is VERY surface):

The core idea of Buddhism is that everything is dynamic, fluid, and fluctuating. Never in perpetual stasis. In Buddhism cosmosology, there are different tiers of being ranging from low to high. The goal of Buddhsim is to break out of the cycle of death and rebirth (samsara), and enter into a state of peaceful non-existence (nirvana). Suffering and yearning is inevitable as a part of life, and is meant to be reduced as much as possible for both the individual and others. Causing more will cause the individual to stray further away from the goal of nirvana. Also, that everything in the world is deeply interconnected, and an action will affect things down the line.

And, the final condition of being able to nirvana is to essentially, let go of attachment.

Buddhism Cosmology 101 and FEverse:

So in Buddhism cosmology, there are tiers of beings. The higher one is in this existence tier, the closer one is to breaking out of the cycle. Humans are the baseline, and animals are the lower while supernatural beings are higher as a general rule of thumb. (theres exceptions to this like the hungry ghosts but not impt here for this post)

IN FEA, we have a few characters who are of a vague but present 'higher' tier. Naga, Tiki, Nowe, and Nah. And then there's Grima, the gigantic Fell Dragon. Though we can interpret these characters as different races of beings compared to humans, if we apply Buddhism cosmology, then these are 'higher' tier being. With Naga being one of the highest tier. In fact she functions exactly like a Buddha.

And still, despite being a higher being relative to humans, Grima isn't out of the cycle. In fact, Grima is locked into it. Contrast Naga where it feels like she could go at anytime but choose to stay behind.

Locked in the cycle and not allowed to change

Instead, Grima is bound to a blood pact with Forneus after being artificially created. No matter how its sliced, Grima is closer a tier to the divine dragons than humans and should technically be closer to nirvana, but no dice. In-lore, this supernatural aspect grants power to Forneus' bloodline and subsequently Validar and Robin, on top of binding them to the plane of the living. Grima gets back into existence over the 1000 years after their initial defeat to inflict incredible pain and devastation and gets sealed for it.

So, Grima isn't able to break out of samsara from a Buddhist pov, and each time they come back they're requested/demanded by the summoners to cause immense pain and destruction. As much as there might be manipulation on the Grimleals' side, it's equally possible its willing to on some degree on their side. Thus the cycle of suffering for both them and the world continues.

But there is one extra nuance here to the reincarnation idea in Buddhism: Buddhists prefer the term 're-becoming' or 'rebirth' rather than reincarnation. Its not exactly a re-inheritance of the same exact unchanging soul in a new body, but the passing on of a mind/consciousness which can be malleable. And since a mental state is a lot more fluid and changeable, it's much more preferred to the idea of a same-ish soul being passed on like a hot potato typical in western Catholic interpretation of the same concept. (eternal paradise or damnation being a big thing from what I understand, so it's a very one soul one life one chance kinda deal.) Subtle differences, but put a pin in this for now.

On the topic of memories

A reincarnated person isn't supposed to have their old memories... at least, at first, the orignal Robin seems to do. Now, while big Buddha himself had his past lives' memories, it was only after he mediated and gained enlightenmnet. If we follow this logic, it's likely something broke original timeline (OT) Robin in the opposite way, leading into a... let's just say false awakening. This leads into the first timeline where Robin, retaining all their current life's memories and told their identity was Grima and not allowed to basically begin anew, destroys the world with a zombie apocalypse. In this timeline, Robin awakens, but not to a cool gucci love and peace Buddha enlightenment. Rather, the cynical, nihilistic all things should die and shut up kind.

In normal reincarnation situation, the reborn person is allowed to begin anew. There is a Buddhist hell which fucntions as a means to cleanse one of their bad karma, and so there is a strong emphasis on this. Grima is being shackled to 1 identity imo, and it sucks a bit.

Semi HC territory with this lens too: It's very likely that despair at various point was exploited for this to happen by their worshippers. Bc what better way to than to cut off a person from the rest of the world, from people, and create a situation where the victim has no one to lean on? Exactly like how baby Grima was cut off like in FE:Shadows of Valentia in that sealed off tower known as Thebes Labyrinth. Ofc, this is pure independence at the worst, and also very textbook cultist stuff.

(Side note: remembering past lives isn't really a loud thing in Buddhist practice, I think. It's sort of egotistical to claim oneself as so-and-so, going against some teachings and practice of it since it makes the claimer seem egotistical and arrogant, and thus it's just... bad form to do so. Also its more often than not used as a tactic to scam/manipulate people >_>. )

So, original timeline was played straight to the title: Fire Emblem Awakening. False Awakening. (I hope I'm making sense so far. x_x;;)

Fire Emblem Awakening's original timeline is true to its title and a bleak world.

This Awakening is just. Wrong. Remember that I mention interdependence being a big part of the core religion's philosophy? Grima shuns this by ignoring bonds and killing all those they might be friends with otherwise. Despite the constant preaching of Buddhism to be peaceful and do good things, Grima kind of murders and kills and is everything associated with darkness and death. Rather than lessen suffering, Grima causes more and takes away others' ability to walk their own path in their goal of total destruction.

Grima also does not even come close to understanding the world and interconnectedness. Thus, Grima with their actions here is doomed to be perpetually trapped in a never-ending spiral of life and death.

Amnesia zap!

So, stuff happens, Lucina takes on the world and breaks into another timeline. Grima follows, causing alternate (our) Robin to get the big amnesia zap. To do over, basically, to let go of the past and redo it from a clean slate devoid of prior biases and judgement.

In effect, this is as good as being reborn from the Buddhist pov. Remember when I mention not remembering the past life at least in the beginning? And that the mind is fluid?

Later in the game, amnesia'd Robin meets OT Robin/Grima, and it gets. Interesting. The both of them seems to be disturbed by each other. If we follow the logic that these are the same person, then the schism, I think, is rooted very much in their lived experiences and thus take-away of their understanding of their own world.

This characterization further continues into Fire Emblem Heroes. They trigger each others' panic response. It's the maximum uncanny valley feeling, I think, bc it's like looking at a doppelganger: the exact same in appearance, but slightly ever so different in personality, in experience, in belief. To the point that its not exactly them, even though it should be.

At their meeting in FEA, Our Robin the Avatar the MC has already grown close to Chrom and friends. Our Robin understands bonds and their place in the world and finds love and acceptance and a place for themself beside Chrom, and in Ylisse.

This Robin understands the concept of love and interconnectedness. Grima/OT Robin, however, continues to shun it all to the end.

Conditions ok in the new timeline. Let go, Yes/No?

...So in the timeline we're familiar with, what is the Awakening referring to?

If we go by how one is supposed to attain enlightenment in Buddhism, it's by gaining an insight to how the world works, how everything is connected, and letting go of cravings/yearnings. While I think there's possibly a bunch of ways to interpret this in FEA, there is a very simple one.

The easiest interpretation would be that Robin understood their role in the world to be a vessel/reincarnation of Grima, and that it isn't the correct way because bonds are too important, and that no matter how difficult it must be, a worse future must be prevented no matter the cost. Bc they have come to adore their friends and the family of said friends and their future.

And to that future, possibly even the world in which they reside.

Grima however, stands against this. Grima's existence means the future for their friends, possible spouse and children, and Chrom, cannot live. What Grima stands for is annihilation.

There is a way to remove Grima permanently, but that comes at a cost, and that cost is them. Choosing this is to know that Grima as Grima was known cannot be allowed to come into existence, and if they were Grima or even hold the potential, that chance needs to be non-existent. The Grima before them needs to be non-existent. Robin has to be non-existent. (Out of the samsara cycle as you could say hohoho)

The alternative would be to seal Grima away and then let the future deal with them again in 1000 years. To say that Robin is too attatched to their newfound love ones and cannot let go. And this might be more preferable to some.

But we're talking about a game with Awakening in the title made by a bunch of Japanese. And with a somewhat shared culture at least I and my friends here understand. And so, pretty much everyone around me in this part of the world overwhelmingly chose the mutual destruction option.

>Yes

In the sacrifice ending, they let go of their yearning to be with their friends, their possible spouse, their possible children, and Chrom. The world, essentially.

The key difference between Our Robin and the OT Robin is, Robin has hope for the world despite being cut off from his loved ones and knowing they might be in some afterlife hell where they might very well be alone. The emotions of hope and love is just so strong it's convinced Robin that death was worth facing.

This is the True Fire Emblem Awakening.

After the credits, Chrom finds Robin on the ground again, seemingly returned and now fully unchained to the identity of Grima. This is framed as a good thing, as reward for choosing the hard path. (Even tho technically Robin doesn't break out of samsara here but. It's a good job reward for the player I guess)

So when the game asks if you are willing to sacrifice your Robin, it is in effect asking if you the player are willing to accept letting go in hopes of change and the new. (at least in my pov)

And remember the pin? About the soul/mind being malleable?

Grima and Robin are direct contrasts. Line up the themes and they contrast in every way. Past vs Future, Despair vs Hope, Death vs Life. They can be interpreted as the same person or different depending, but it remains that they share the same soul despite being very different.

In effect, this is saying that yes, even indirectly, a complete irredeemable being who has commited so much attrocities it breaks the scale like Grima can change. Can be better. The conditions just has to be there.

Now, all of these is just a reading from a Buddhist pov. There's many many more takeaways and possible routes of extrapolation, so don't take this as me saying it's the only way to read FEA. It is not. It is sooo not there's a bunch of fans out there writnig their own analysis about it.

Also, the Buddhist narrative is not exclusive to FEA. It is in every FE games to some degree. I think FEA and Engage are some of the loudest and explicit. I've written more and complied them here if you are interested in checking out more of my word vomit.

Thanks for reading!

[aifsaath]

I am continuously perplexed at how a show as objectively bad and problematic as hotd keeps inspiring outstanding fanfics like yours and @gwenllian-in-the-abbey’s. Truly it’s a mystery to me, especially considering that the books covering the dance are supposed to be quite mediocre as well from what I’ve perceived. Just so you know,with that trailer out now I’m gonna completely blend out the events of the show and consider our fathers clad in red canon

@gwenllian-in-the-abbey AAAAAAAAAAAAAA, I think George's gonna order a hit on us:D

I'm glad you like our slightly destructive approach to teh canon. I'm mostly fueled by spite and my dislike for George's and HBO's complete disregard for the historical context of the stuff they draw their inspiration from (you can't do the Matilda vs Stephen showdown and expect the same sense of injustice, when your main conflict is about Viserys' imbecilic approach to rules, Rhaenyra's weak-ass claim and papa/dragons being her go-to solution to all her problems, Daemon being a chaos gremlin, Corlys' malignant ambition and the Hightowers being the only ones who actually care about the rule of law.)

A lesbian romance doesn't automatically turn a story into a feminist manifesto, nor does a girlboss who's treated by the narrative as the second coming of Christ. Context matters and it's a mistake to view the Dance through the lens of modern ideals about egalitarianism.

GRRM's hubris when it comes to "Aragorn's tax policies" is just another thing that enrages me and Gwenllian, because the man completely misunderstands the medieval legal codes. Just because they were complex that doesn't mean they were fucking contradictory on their own; no one wanted civil wars breaking out each time a monarch died.

Problems happened when two countries with generational beefs worked on two different principles of succession, ie. England (male-preference primogeniture) vs France (male-only primogeniture), or if there was some dynastic fuckery that completely messed up the clear-cut succession lines with usurpations and cousin marriages (Yorks vs Lancasters).

Had Richard II (the son of the Black Prince) died peacefully without issue, the succession would have followed through the line of the Duke of Clarence, with Edmund the Earl of March eventually becoming the king (and he was Richard's heir, btw).

But that's not what happened. The son of John of Gaunt usurped the throne and it was then passed down through his line, because he was the crowned king. Now, you can argue whether or not he had any right to do the usurpation in the first place and whether or not he was the legitimate king and you bet people back then argued about that too. This ambiguity is how you create a proper narrative about actually conflicting claims. The only thing propping up Rhaenyra against her brother is the fact that Viserys is a moron.

How the fuck can I take F&B seriously and without the Dead Sea's worth of salt, when it pretty much blows Jaehaerys' posthumous dick about his wisdom when he "let" the council of 101 decide the succession (while politely ignoring the fact that Jaehaerys' own claim is legit only in the cases of either full salic or semi-salic succession, ie male-only), while never once it calls out Viserys out on his extremely dangerous decision. He gets to die venerated as the peaceful grandpa and all the blame for his incompetence is piled on Aegon II and Alicent.

Let's go through the possible succession systems, shall we?

If we follow male-preference primogeniture, the legitimate line of kings ends with Aerea because she was the eldest child of Aegon the Uncrowned, Maegor's eldest nephew. Only after she and her sister die without issue, Jaehaerys can become the king. Jaehaerys' canon ascension works only because Rhaena gave up her daughters' claims. The next in line would be Aemon and after him Rhaenys. But that's not what happened.

If we follow the salic law (male only), the legitimate line of the kings goes Aegon I -> Aenys I -> Aegon Uncrowned -> Jaehaerys I -> Viserys I -> Aegon II. This is probably what Jaehaerys wanted to ensure, since he challenged Maegor's kingship in the first place.

If a crowned king can choose his heir, then Jaehaerys was never a legitimate king and Aerea was the true queen, because Maegor, who had won his crown in the trial by combat, chose her as his heir.

What about the principle of seniority? Cognatic seniority where men and women have equal claims is out of the question since Aegon I was the crowned king, not Visenya. Male-only seniority would go Aegon I -> Aenys I -> Maegor I (uncontested!) -> Aegon Crowned This Time -> Viserys the Not Tortured to Death -> Jaehaerys I -> Aemon (only if his uncle Viserys has no issue) -> Baelon -> Vaegon -> Viserys I -> Daemon (EW).

Notice the distinct lack of Rhaenyra.

Team Black keeps mentioning the widow's law, but that's a bulk of nonsense. I suppose the misunderstanding originates from a (willful) misinterpretation of this passage. The book says:

Now, I highly doubt Jaehaerys intended for the law to mean that a daughter from the first marriage should come before the sons from the second. The wording is a bit unlucky, but I suppose the intention was to establish the legal position of the second wife and her children as united with the position of her step-children - she has the same duties towards them as if they were own, and the same goes the other way. Which would make sense. Because otherwise, no one would be desperate enough to marry a widower with daughters. Since we know that title and land ownerships have remained in the same families without changing hands once or twice since the implementation of the law, I really doubt the team black's literal interpretation of the passage was the one intended. Ffs, Viserys was pushed to marry again because he had only one daughter, meaning, this law wasn't viewed the way the Team Black wishes for. And I'm not even delving into the fact that this would be a female inheritance hack penned by Jaehaerys, if that was the case. Talk about ooc.

So, yeah, we're taking Gyldayne's interpretation of the past with so much salt our hearts are gonna fail.

[queenvhagar]

“In terms of the laws, for thousands of years Westeros has adhered to agnatic primogeniture (as modeled off of real-world history): the right by law and custom of the firstborn legitimate son to inherit the father's title.”

I think you’re getting this from an unreliable source. In the book "a world of ice and fire" it explains the law, history and workings of the asoiaf world. In that book, it's stated that the first born CHILD is immediately heir, not first born son. It has just become tradition for sons to inherit over daughters, no law ensures that.

“Most recently, this was reinforced by the Council of 101 AC where the lords decided that Viserys would inherit over Rhaenys and her son's claim to the throne.”

“According to the law and the precedent that made Viserys himself king, Viserys' firstborn son should be king after him.”

The council of 101 AC was due to an unnecessarily high count in possible claims for the throne but viserys was chosen despite rhaenys being older to the fact that the men of the council did not wish to see a woman on the throne. It all circles back to misogyny which is a very common thing in this world. That is also mentioned is a world of ice and fire. Rhaenys was passed over, rhaenyras claim was her right.

You're right about custom favoring aegon but you're wrong about law favoring aegon.

So Westeros is modeled off of actual medieval history with very little change. There's a reason that real world histories and historical succession in feudalist societies followed agnatic primogeniture (males inheriting over females) and here's a well-written and detailed post about that: https://www.tumblr.com/synchodai/754988745430827008/i-get-this-impression-that-house-of-the-dragon

Through what was considered tradition, custom and law of the land, firstborn sons inherit over daughters and there are no known exceptions to this in the entire history of Westeros. I'm interested in any examples you might have of an older daughter inheriting over a firstborn son or a woman inheriting over a man higher up in the traditional view of succession than her in Westeros as mentioned in any text, if you can find one. The only I can think of would be, say, Asha Greyjoy made heir over Theon, but that's the Ironborn, who have different traditions and customs and essentially their own laws (especially since at that time they had declared independence from the Seven Kingdoms). If Dorne is your example, it's well established that they do allow the eldest child to inherit, male or female, but they are not a part of the Seven Kingdoms until much later and irrelevant in this discussion. Essentially there is no legal precedent for it being the case that firstborn children inherit regardless of gender; despite what any official text might say, unless there are real legal precedents to argue in terms of the history in-universe, the case is that firstborn males inherit over females every single time and that would be what people in the society follow, and going against this could have consequences for long term stability. If people started just naming daughters before sons, there would be conflict and likely violence (as detailed in the other post I referenced). So it is, in effect, a law that you can't just ignore or break without some major consequences.

As for the council, the decisions of the lords very much backed up the idea of males inheriting over females. Obviously misogyny exists as a "very common thing in this world" (A+ observation on medieval feudalism!). It's almost like this might also explain why there are no examples of females inheriting over males 🤔 Rhaenys' claim was passed over in favor of a male. Viserys is only king because he was the eldest male in line to the throne. This just helps give weight to Aegon's claim as he is the eldest male in line to the throne. Westeros has had and continues to reinforce agnatic primogeniture as succession law, which is what Aegon's claim relies on.

Rhaenyra had a "right" to the throne only insofar as the last king said so. Basically, what we have here is the word of the last king vs established traditions, customs, and laws of the land, and once the king dies, his words carry less weight as he's no longer around to enforce them. Rhaenyra's problem is that she pretty much solely relied on the argument that the last king wanted her to inherit and did very little on her own to gather support to her claim and consolidate power in her father's last years. Because Viserys never took action to transition power to Rhaenyra or publicly reaffirm his stance on succession after having sons (in order to keep the peace within the family) it was especially easy for some to assume Aegon should be the next ruler by all accounts of history, tradition, custom, and legal precedent. And sure, misogyny. But clearly it's not just misogyny in this case that gave Aegon a strong claim and allowed for Rhaenyra's claim to be challenged.

[a-d-nox]

7 deadly sins as asteroids

the seven deadly sins as asteroids

i'm going to work off of what i already have posted (no asteroids discussed after this post will be included or added after the fact). i would like to state that what i am about to list out does not mean to accuse you of being sinful if prominent (remember all asteroids have to land somewhere). if you don't understand my thought process feel free to comment with questions!

tw: mentions of rape.

envy: discontentment, resentment, and/or jealousy over the acheievements and blessings another possesses.

aphrodite (asteroid 1388) - jealous lover epithet.

athene (asteroid 881) / pallas (asteroid 2) - nearly every moral she has interacted with is because she was envious of what they had... from worshippers paying "too much attention" to her high priestess to a weaver who had too much talent.

eris (asteroid 136199) - started the trojan war because she wasn't invited to a wedding.

medea (212) - killed jason's new wife and children because he didn't love her anymore.

gluttony: over-indulgence or over-consumption of what can be ingested internally (i.e. food, drink, drugs, etc.).

cerberus (asteroid 1865) - ate sinners who tried to escape the underworld.

dionysus (asteroid 3671) - he's a wine god; it's part of his nature to over consume...

poe (asteroid 17427) - might have drank himself to death and definitely did a ton of drugs during his lifetime.

tantalus (asteroid 2102) - his punishment in the underworld is constant hunger and thirst.

greed: excessive love and selfish desire for external, material objects.

beowulf (asteroid 38086) - had to see the dragons loot before he died.

midas (asteroid 1981) - asked for the gift to turn what he touched to gold.

minos (asteroid 6239) - took the offering of the gods.

nessus (asteroid 7066) - tried to steal the wife of an famous hero.

psyche (asteroid 16) - had to open the underworld box because it had something inside that she was told would even make the goddess of beauty even more gorgeous, and she simply had to have it.

sisyphus (asteroid 1866) - took the gifts of his visitors before killing them.

lust: constantly seeking sexual pleasure / gratification (seen as rape, adultery, seduction, etc.).

aphrodite (asteroid 1388) - chased after men as a married woman.

apollo (asteroid 1862) - had a long list of "lovers."

asmodeus (asteroid 2174) - demon of lust.

byron (asteroid 3306) - known for his lustful behavior.

cybele (asteroid 65) - had a sex cult.

eos (asteroid 221) - cursed to have uncontrollable sexual urges.

helena (asteroid 101) - was married and ran away with a man she just met or fell in lust with her attractive captor depending on the version/translation. tried to distract her husband by undressing when she was "saved."

isolda (asteroid 211) - under the control of a "love potion." tried to be with the nephew of the man she married.

ixion (asteroid 28978) - tried to have sex with the queen of the gods had sex with clouds shaped as her instead.

nessus (asteroid 7066) - couldn't control his sexual urges and tried to rape one of his costumers.

pan (asteroid 4450) - chased after nymphs he found attractive.

paris (asteroid 3317) - was offered power, wisdom, or the hottest woman alive. opted for the woman and didn't care that she was married - "kidnapped her" anyway.

poseidon (asteroid 4341) - very sexually frustrated, involved in a few rapes.

priapus (h22) - cursed in the womb to have sexual dysfunctions. attempted to rape a virginal goddess.

tristan (asteroid 1966) - under the control of a "love potion." tried to be with his aunt.

zeus (asteroid 5731) - had a long list of "lovers" whilst married to the queen of the gods.

pride: self-devotion, excessively believing in one's own abilities. lack of humble attitude.

achilles (asteroid 588) - only weakness was his heal; he otherwise acted invulnerable.

arachne (asteroid 407) - deemed herself more talented than the goddess of crafts.

athene (asteroid 881) / pallas (asteroid 2) - feels the need to humble everyone and appears to dislike being humbled herself.

apollo (asteroid 1862) - overly competitive in many areas of life.

echo (asteroid 60) - thought she was clever enough to distract the queen of the gods.

icarus (asteroid 1566) - believed he could fly higher than he was capable of.

lucifer (asteroid1930) - believed he should reign over the heavens and not God.

medea (asteroid 212) - believed she should be the punisher of those around her.

narcissus (asteroid 37117) - thought he was too pretty to be with any of his suitors.

odysseus (asteroid 1143) / ulysess (asteroid 5254) - thought he could fake mental illness to get out of going to war.

sisyphus (asteroid 1866) - tricked the queen of the dead into letting him re-enter the world of the living; thought that, as a mortal, he was above death.

tantalus (asteroid 2102) - thought he could trick the gods into eating his son.

voltaire (asteroid 5676) - wrote a lot about pride.

zeus (asteroid 5731) - believed only he could rule over the gods.

sloth: reluctance / failure to do what one should. apathy, boredom, or indifference to a god.

aci (asteroid 6522) - didn't move out of the way of the boulder.

ajax (asteroid 1404) - thought the gods chose wrong.

arachne (asteroid 407) - thought she was better than a god.

cheshirecat (asteroid 6042) - lazes about and gives no straightforward answers.

hypnos (asteroid 14827) - nearly always asleep.

madhatter (asteroid 6735) - it's always tea time so he can avoid his execution.

odysseus (asteroid 1143) / ulysses (asteroid 5254) - tried to get out of going to war.

pholus (asteroid 5145) - did nothing to stop the bloodbath in the cave.

wrath: uncontrolled anger, rage, and hatred.

achilles (asteroid 588) - had to get revenge on the side who killed his best friend.

ajax (asteroid 1404) - tried to kill a whole council for rejecting his ideas.

circe (asteroid 34) - turned sailors into animals. made her son kill an ex-lover.

grendel (asteroid 541982) - couldn't sleep, so he murdered hundreds of people.

hannibal (asteroid 2152) - swore at a young age to kill a specific group of people.

hera (asteroid 103) - constantly sought revenge as a jealous lover in many brutal ways.

horus (asteroid 1924) - killed his mother. had a life long revenge against his uncle.

ixion (asteroid 28978) - killed his own kin.

medea (asteroid 212) - killed her brother to escape... then killed her own children... and her ex-lover's new wife.

nessus (asteroid 7066) - even on his deathbed, he lied, so he could get his revenge on the person who killed him.

sisyphus (asteroid 1866) - killed his guests.

typhon (asteroid 42355) - his rage caused seismic activity.

let me know if you are interested in the opposition - the seven heavenly virtues - by submitting it in the ask box.

like what you read? leave a tip and state what post it is for! please use my "suggest a post topic" button if you want to see a specific post or mythical asteroid next!

click here for the masterlist

want a personal reading? click here to check out my reading options and prices!

© a-d-nox 2023 all rights reserved

[pessimisticpigeonsworld]

So, the atrocities Rhaenyra committed never happened because “unreliable source” but F&B is suddenly very trustworthy when it comes to the Greens, am I right ?

Most of the stuff that Rhaenyra was claimed to have done was stuff she did. Eustace primarily looked to whitewashing Aegon II with his whole “he didn’t care until his children were threatened” BS.

Most of what she did during her half-year tenure (the taxes, the murders, the lavish feasts while her people starve, refusing to offer credible surrender terms to the Greens, etc.) cannot be mistaken as anything but her doing, with the only exception of Haelana, who may have been pushed, may have committed suicide, or may even have been murdered by Larys Strong (I doubt that though). Arguing for people who doubted the Strong bastards’ paternity to have their tongues ripped out definitely happened (and as Tyrion stated, “when you tear out a man’s tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you’re only telling the world that you fear what he might say”). Rhaenyra knew about Blood & Cheese beforehand, and never punished Daemon. Maelor’s death can’t be biased history, her Knights Inquisitor were publicly charged with finding Maelor. Ordering Lord Mooton to murder Nettles and ordering Addam Velaryon to be executed without trial was also something that definitely happened, writs of execution have paperwork.

The smallfolk of KL turned on her, and that can’t be explained away as propaganda after-the-fact, they were the ones living it. Their reactions can’t be explained away as propaganda; they slaughtered the dragons: the living symbols of Targaryen power, and justified their actions as righteous action. How can that be construed as anything but legitimately held rebellion against the very aspect of her rulership ? The heads that were placed on pikes above Maegor’s Holdfast too, are physical things that can be observed and confirmed (or disproven).

See, I don't think anyone taught you how to analyze unreliable sources. An easy way to do that is if there are other sources corroborating the story or see if the idea makes sense with the person being talked about. It's also important to consider the context of the decisions, which is analysis 101 by the way. So, since apparently holding your hand and walking you through something like I'm your fucking middle school teacher is necessary, let's go through your post.

First off, the taxes. Yes, I agree with you, the taxes are something Rhaenyra actually did, we know this because in a kingdom, tax records are always kept. This is how I know that you, much like all the Nettles stans who interact with me, have never fucking read a thing I've written. I've said that the heavy tax isn't something that's a sign of Rhaenyra being incompetent or a tyrant. It's a necessary cost of war, especially since the Greens stole the treasury, she needs money. The people did hate this and eventually riot, but, by looking at the context of the riot, it was rooted in hatred of the war, not Rhaenyra. They believed that if she took the throne, the war would be over, but it wasn't because of Aegon's cowardice. If Aegon was still on the throne, the people would have still rioted, they hated the war and blamed the monarch, end of story.

As for the beheadings, I hate to break it to you, but F&B takes place in a medieval world, meaning that beheading was the method for punishing treason. Aegon's supporters committed treason then, unlike Rhaenyra's supporters, tried to hide throughout the city. Now, am I saying that beheading your enemies and putting their heads on spikes on the walls is a good thing? No, it's something that's barbaric and cruel, however, it's no less than what Aegon did to her supporters, so condemning her for something Aegon does is extremely hypocritical and sexist. Also, it wasn't a witch hunt, Rhaenyra needed to find the treasury and Aegon in order to stop the war; was it extreme, yes, but, again, context is important. I find it interesting that you condemn the taxes she levied while also condemning her attempts to end the reason for the taxes, could it be you just hate Rhaenyra and are looking for any reason to shit on her?

Now we're getting into something that requires a little critical thinking, which I know is hard for you: the feasting. The only source that says Rhaenyra held feasts while she was in KL is Septon Eustace. Let's look at Eustace really quickly; he's the man who crowned Aegon and is known by the in-universe writers of F&B to be unreliable, he also wasn't in KL when Rhaenyra was ruling. So, if the maesters who wrote the sources F&B drew from deem him to be unreliable and he wasn't present during her reign, does that make Eustace a trustworthy source? And if the many courtiers who were in KL and weren't fans of Rhaenyra didn't corroborate this rumor, is it likely to be true? The answer to both of these is no. Eustace claiming Rhaenyra feasted during her time in KL is 99% a lie, and that other 1% would refer to the fact that nobles always ate better than their people.

Now, I have another question for you anon, I do hope you'll consider it. Would you offer mercy to the man responsible for the deaths of all but two of your children, your husband, your ex mother-in-law who acted as your surrogate mother, began a war based on your gender, and wanted to kill you and your remaining children? Unless you are literally a saint, the answer is, no, you wouldn't be inclined to offer that person "credible surrender terms". I think you're just referring to when Rhaenyra refused to split the kingdom between her and Aegon as well as refused to spare his life if she caught him while she was in KL. How exactly is throwing the kingdom into a shit storm by splitting it in half, despite the fact that a majority of the lords supported Rhaenyra, "credible terms"? It's not, it's fucking entitled and ridiculous, of course Rhaenyra rejected that audacious idea. Also, Aegon refused to surrender in any way, in fact he was more determined than ever to keep the war going (even after Rhaenyra was murdered, he kept fighting), what's the point of offering peace terms if they're going to be rejected again? She already offered very merciful terms at the beginning of the war.

"As for my half-brothers and my sweet sister, Helaena," she announced, "they have been led astray by the counsel of evil men. Let them come to Dragonstone, bend the knee, and ask my forgiveness, and I shall gladly spare their lives and take them back into my heart, for they are of my own blood, and no man or woman is as accursed as the kinslayer." (Fire and Blood: The Dying of the Dragons - the Blacks and the Greens)

Keep in mind, this is an official decree by Rhaenyra, terms delivered to Aegon and his council, meaning they were recorded and had official documentation. So not only are you not using any critical thinking, you're flat out lying and making shit up to try and support your argument.

Now, moving on to Rhaenyra's sons, her wanting people who are committing treason to be punished how the king decreed isn't an outlandish or unreasonable expectation. Jace, Luke, and Joff were declared the legitimate sons of Laenor by Viserys, Corlys, and Laenor himself, making them (at the very least adopted) Velaryons. Are you saying that people who are adopted are undeserving of inheritance just because of their blood? That's not even a medieval idea, since adopted heirs has been a custom since the Ancient Romans. Moving on, Viserys was the one who declared the punishment for the treason of questioning the boys' legitimacy, not Rhaenyra. There's also the fact that no one outside of the Greens cared about whether the boys were Laenor's blood or not, they are recorded by everyone, including Eustace himself, as true Velaryons. I'm not even going to address the Tyrion quote, since you clearly don't actually care about accuracy or literally any of the messages in ASOIAF.

Continuing your trend of blatantly making shit up, there's no evidence that Rhaenyra knew about B&C. All we have is Daemon's letter to her, which only said that Luke would be avenged, something which could be accomplished through taking her throne and executing Aemond. In fact, that's the most likely conclusion to be drawn from such a vague letter.

As for Maelor, Rhaenyra did order her knights to find him, as having Aegon's last child could motivate him to surrender. However, she didn't order him to be executed, that was clearly an example of how war twists people and drives them to atrocities. Rhaenyra offered a reward for his return, meaning she wanted him alive, it's not her fault that a mob tore him to pieces. Her people came to break up the mob, but they were too late, so they executed the people responsible. Rhaenyra gave Maelor's remains a Targaryen funeral, something Aegon and Aemond didn't bother giving to her children.

Rhaenyra ordering Nettles' and Addam's executions are actions that I don't defend and never have. Those are signs of how Rhaenyra is another gray character, a woman driven to intense paranoia and making unjust and harmful decisions. This makes her a gray protagonist, not an unredeemable villain, as you and her other antis seem to believe. If you guys want all good protagonists, maybe read a differen book series.

As I said earlier, the revolt of the KL smallfolk weren't against Rhaenyra herself, it was against the war. They killed the dragons because they were being led by a man who took their discontent and used it to support his religious fanaticism. The Shepherd wasn't preaching against Rhaenyra, he was preaching against the Targaryens, including Aegon. That's why they killed all the dragons they could, not just Rhaenyra's, they killed Jaehaera and Helaena's dragons, how is that an act just against Rhaenyra?

TG stans and Rhaenyra antis' arguments are driven solely by a lack of critical thinking, willful ignorance, and twisting of passages. You either have issues that aren't actually supported by the narrative or simply apply double standards to Rhaenyra while supporting other characters who do the same or worse. You seem to think that this ask was a "gotcha" moment, however, you have simply shown how even the Rhaenyra antis who have read the book lack critical thinking and don't understand how unreliable sources work. Have a good day/night anon, I do hope you'll eventually learn how to use logic and your critical thinking, I'm sure you can do it.

[dragon-queensguard]

I’m literally obsessed with how different Saera and Vaegon are at a glance, but also how they actually share a lot of similarities, and the implications of them being the kids to outlive Jaehaerys.

Jaehaerys is survived by two of his kids, Vaegon and Saera, a son and a daughter. I know there’s a chance they might have died between the Great Council of 101 and Jaehaerys’s own death, but I feel like GRRM would’ve made note of it if Jaehaerys was survived by exactly one or none of his kids. And I wonder how much thought GRRM put into the fact that it was these kids in particular that outlived their father, his “clever” children, and how the differences in their treatment as a son and daughter reflect themes of gender and power in Westeros.

Both of them have contentious personalities, and deviate from the paths their parents intend for them, but thanks to the freedom and options afforded to men, only Vaegon is able to pursue a path approved of by his father. Saera is much more limited as a daughter, with far more control exerted over her life. The only options given to her are marriage or the faith. She has to run away from her home, her family, and her life to have a chance at anything else. And so it comes to pass that Jaehaerys’s sole surviving daughter is cut off, exiled and ostracized from her family. When asked if she’ll return to press her claim, she refuses, maybe because she’s content, but also probably because she knows she’d have to sacrifice the power she’s only been able to attain by removing herself from Westeros and the royal family. Whereas her brother, the sole surviving son of Jaehaerys, is instrumental in determining the future of Westeros, helping to create a council that perpetuates the practice of favoring sons over daughters. This council lays some of the groundwork for the Dance, which leads to the eventual extinction of dragons and really fucks up House Targaryen.

[daeneryseastar]

Kind of a rewrite of this post, trying to correct some mistakes in information and really get into how Rhaenyra's usurpation was unjust and inevitable in the grand scheme of things.

There was a peace between 9 year old Princess Rhaenyra and 18 year old Queen Alicent, but it only lasted for a year, right up until Alicent gave Viserys a son and he did not change the succession. This is when their enmity formally began, with Rhaenyra being 10 years old at the time. The Blacks and the Greens were born in 111 AC, five years after Viserys married Alicent:

At the opening feast, the queen wore a green gown, whilst the princess dressed dramatically in Targaryen red and black. Note was taken, and thereafter it became the custom to refer to “greens” and “blacks” when talking of the queen’s party and the party of the princess, respectively.

The wording of this sentence implies that it was not usual as the time for Rhaenyra to wear her house colors, 'dresses dramatically in Targaryen red and black,' as opposed to Alicent's 'wore a green dress,' and considering how young she is; it would not be a reach to conclude that this is Rhaenyra *finally* stepping out from her step-mother's shadow. She is making a name for herself, and pushing her claim to the throne; despite Alicent being openly antagonistic towards this matter. Rhaenyra is 14 here, she is not married, has no children, and no substantive rumors to sully her claim to the throne, minus her womanhood. Her being a woman is the only thing that can be used against her here, and used against her it is.

Let’s take into consideration in book how the Green’s discussed ‘matters of succession’ using benign evidence like the castle being turned into a brothel, Alicent's children and grandchildren being in danger, etc. and ultimately the only real argument they had was that Aegon was the king's firstborn son. They used agnatic primogeniture as the basis for Aegon taking the throne over Rhaenyra (a woman could inherit but her children could not because it would be through the female lineage rather than the male), and while Alicent called Rhaenyra's children bastards they were never *officially* declared as such, so this was the only solution. It's also the only saleable reasoning for the Lords to back his claim. She was the lawful heir to Viserys, something made known countless times to the realm:

...Viserys had done nothing to change the order of succession. The Princess of Dragonstone remained his acknowledged heir, with half the lords of Westeros sworn to defend her rights. Those who asked, “What of the ruling of the Great Council of 101?” found their words falling on deaf ears. The matter had been decided, so far as King Viserys was concerned; it was not an issue His Grace cared to revisit.

and to Alicent, 'who was eager to see [her] blood set over Aemma’s for the throne,' yet when she and Otto pestered the King on the succession Viserys removed Otto from his role as Hand of the King and replaced him with Lyonel Strong. He had well over 20 years to name Aegon as his heir, and steadfastly he upheld his daughter's position and claim. This cannot be refuted.

Once Alicent confirmed that Viserys was dead she ordered his room sealed and placed under guard, and had the serving man who had discovered this fact arrested to make certain he did not spread the tale. The Green's then proceeded to call a small council meeting, decide to anoint Aegon as king, then left Viserys' body to rot in bed for days while they made their preparations. All of this was done in absolute secrecy, which is a sure sign that their cause was not in the right. Further proven by them admitting that them doing this would lead to war:

“If we do this,” Grand Maester Orwyle cautioned the council, according to the True Telling, “it must surely lead to war. The princess will not meekly stand aside, and she has dragons.” “And friends,” Lord Beesbury declared. “Men of honor, who will not forget the vows they swore to her and her father. I am an old man, but not so old that I will sit here meekly whilst the likes of you plot to steal her crown.” And so saying, he rose to go.

The accounts do not add up entirely into how Lord Beesbury was murdered to ensure his quietness, but it is agreed upon that he was first blood drawn. Second blood drawn also belongs to the Green's, with Aemond murdering Lucerys despite his status as envoy:

And with his death, the war of ravens and envoys and marriage pacts came to an end, and the war of fire and blood began in earnest.

Rhaenyra's children being bastards, and that mattering towards the succession, is a red herring. In one of the earliest drafts of the Targaryen family tree, Rhaenyra was married to a Lannister, by whom she had no children (or any children at all) and was still usurped. In a retcon of that first draft from the 2009 A Song of Ice and Fire roleplaying book, she was married to Lyonel Strong and had three unnamed trueborn children with him, and was still usurped.

George finally settled on her marrying Laenor first and having three sons with him (which were rumored to be sired by Harwin Strong), and two sons with her second husband, Daemon, once he officially wrote the history out. Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey are remembered in history as Velaryon’s, and these rumors alone did not matter to the 53 Westerosi houses that fought for the Black's over the Green's 28. Their legitimacy was settled in the eyes of the Lord’s due to their dragons hatching:

“Those who doubted the paternity of Rhaenyra’s sons whispered that the eggs would never hatch, but the birth in turn of three dragons gave the lie to their words.”

Even a pro-Team Green account states that Jacaerys had ‘proved himself a man, and a worthy heir to the Iron Throne.'

The age differences have also changed significantly throughout the years, with Aegon and Rhaenyra being one year apart initially (stated in A Game of Thrones appendix, not completely sure if they were meant to be full siblings or not) to ten years apart in Fire and Blood. Yet the Dance of the Dragons still occurred. What GRRM’s original message was remains to be seen, but he clearly intended by Fire and Blood’s publication for the Dance to be a tale of how misogyny and the patriarchy kill absolutely.

We also have the Widow’s Law working in favor of both Rhaenyra and Alicent:

(...) reaffirming the right of the eldest son (or daughter, where there was no son) to inherit, but requiring said heirs to maintain surviving widows in the same conditions they enjoyed before their husband's death. A lord's widow, be she a second, third or fourth wife, could no longer be driven from his castle, nor deprived of her servants, clothing, and income. The same law also forbade a man to disinherit the children by a first wife in order to bestow their lands, seat or property on a later wife or her children.

This is an actual law put in place by a ruling monarch, something which Andal custom lacks. Granted, did Jaehaerys think about what this would entail regarding who is or could be the heir to the Iron Throne? Probably not (hello raging misogynist), but that doesn't change what was put in place. In theory Alicent and her children would be safe after Viserys' death and Rhaenyra's *peaceful* ascension. This is further proven in how Rhaenyra responds to news of her usurpation:

"As for my half-brothers and my sweet sister, Helaena," she announced, "they have been led astray by the counsel of evil men. Let them come to Dragonstone, bend the knee, and ask my forgiveness, and I shall gladly spare their lives and take them back into my own heart, for they are of my own blood, and no man or woman is as accursed as the kinslayer."

There were ways to avoid this conflict, none of which fall on Rhaenyra's shoulders. She did not usurp Aegon, she did not draw first blood. Rhaenyra did not start the war, and there was nothing she could have done to prevent it from happening. SHE was the test. The blueprint to see if the realm could handle a woman seated on the Iron Throne, and it failed miserably.

Just to reiterate from my previous post: Rhaenyra’s biggest crime in Westeros was that she dared to be a woman; a woman who wanted her inheritance, a woman who fought back against the unjust systems put in place meant to tear her apart. It is no coincidence that after Rhaenyra’s death (femicide) the dragons ceased hatching, save for small, weak creatures that would not last long. The magic died with her. Her story’s resemblance to the Amethyst Empress all but confirms that. The equilibrium of Ice and Fire was put into shambles once again upon her and the dragon's deaths. Her death means the inevitable death of all lives as they know it, and only her descendent, another little girl now fighting back against unjust systems (some the same, some different) is meant to save the world from it's untimely doom.

[dragonworshippersblog]

Let's discuss some topic that I frequently read on tumblr about house of the dragon (if u do not agree then u can express ur opinion by comment, but always be educate. And if you want another topic to be discussed let me know and i will make a post)

“Aegon is the rightful king of the seven kingdoms by law”

GRRM in an interview said this “ Well, the short answer is that the laws of inheritance in the Seven Kingdoms are modeled on those in real medieval history… which is to say, they were vague, uncodified, subject to varying interpretations, and often contradictory” so we can say that male primogeniture is based on traditions, not law. King Jaehaerys with the great council of 101 at harrenal let the lords decide who should succeeded him, so he gave them a choice. But this is not the same about king viserys, he named rhaenyra as his heir and alway defended her, so viserys did not give them a choice. By usurping rhaenyra’s throne the green imply that the king’s word means nothing, and this is the thing that causes war and crisis. As we see in the book fire and blood most of the houses support rhaenyra’s cause, so otto’s word “the realm will not accept her” are revealed to be false. Again the war come from the fact that otto and alicent decide to crown aegon, so houses actually have a choice to decide who they wanted to support, if aegon hadn’t been present as an option the few houses that didn't agree with viserys choice will bent the knee alike.

“Alicent always defended rhaenyra before she lied to her about her purity”

In episode three the show let us see a conversation between otto and alicent where he said “aegon has been robbed of his own inheritance because he is the king’s first born son” and after he said that is alicent’s aim to guide the king in his decision, the second after she went to viserys’ chamber claim that there is something she want to discuss with him (viserys stopped her and they start talking about the stepstones). How do you know that she did not raise this matter anymore? In episode six when older alicent was question rhaenyra’s children she say she already talk about this before but the show didn't let us saw it, so its completely possible that she proposed aegon as heir even before rhaenyra’s lie when they were still friend

“Alicent always defend rhaenyra and yet rhaenyra send otto away when she had the possibility leaving alicent alone”

Let’s go deep into it. Queen Aemma, rhaenyra’s mother, died in order to gave the king a son, she was literally open without any kind of anesthesia so she felt every cut the maester were doing to her (and in the original script rhaenyra saw her body so she is aware that the death of her mother wasn’t a miscarriages like the other). After all of it viserys named rhaenyra his heir and married alicent, and at the time they had two children together, aegon and haelena. In this scenario otto was the second most powerful man in the realm, he ruled when viserys can’t, and he had great influence as he had great ambitions. So, rhaenyra had the chance to demonstrate that her mother’s death was not vain, and all of her miscarriages and pain had an aim now that her daughter is heir, but then there is otto and he will always be an obstacles in her rise to the throne; you, in her position, had the chance to get him go away, you choose to let him stay at court so your best friend is not alone or you choose to let him go so your rise will be more easy? Because if I were in rhaenyra’s position I would have not hesitate a second

“Alicent did not knew the council were plotting to crown aegon”

You all act like she had not the huge part in rhaenyra’s usurpation. First of all she tormented rhaenyra for a lot of years in king's landing, she moved to dragonstone (which is however the seat of the heir to the throne, rhae is the princess of dragonstone) because she couldn't take it anymore to be targeted by alicent and it was her aim in my opinion because rhaenyra not set the council would let Alicent have all the power to influence everyone about how her son is more worthy. Then she said to aegon “everyone in the realm know that one day you will be our king” so also if aegon was not meant to have the crown alicent let him believe that, and he was a boy at the time so he was easily manipulated. Then there is the petition about driftmark, you are really claim that alicent was willing to do so because she care so much to vaemond to have driftmark because its his blood rights and not because when the war she and otto create will follow she will have the velaryon flee support her? And when she said that viserys whisper to her about how aegon should succeed him? You can be team green or team black, but everyone can agree about how pathetic she was claiming that after viserys defend rhae for 20 years, and he suddenly change his mind where only her was here to listen him

[nerdieforpedro]

WIP Thursday

I’ll combine this with two snippets from fics I’m thinking of putting on Tumblr, one day. lol 🥰 I've been a bit slow with responding to things but you're welcome to keep sending them. I will get to them within the week.

I was tagged by: @fhatbhabiee @secretelephanttattoo @lotusbxtch @604to647 @inept-the-magnificent

The titles of the fics I'm actually working on:

Everything is New

Fire and Fury

This is the Neighborhood Din

That Green Shop

Uncomplicated Mi Amor

Our Journey Across the Star Ocean

Weddings 101 with Dieter

Living with Benny

Therapy for the Well-Adjusted

Caught in the Magic of You

Two Hearts by the Ocean

I think that most of these titles I've mentioned before or are ongoing. And I'm working on some asks I got about the last WIP. 👀 So slow.

Snippet One:

Patrick was taking his sweet time getting off the ground and Teresa was beginning to yell at Marcus, telling him that she’d have his badge for harming her Patrick.  Marcus Pike had enough. He requested to not have them in this case, asked to be reassigned, and has kept interactions to a minimum. He didn’t ask Patrick to chase a suspect. He’s a consultant. He’s not supposed to be doing it anyway!

What happened to Patrick? Why is does Teresa think Marcus has harmed him? What has Marcus had enough of? Is the above gif him laughing before things hit the fan? Who knows? (I mean I do, but I gotta bring a little drama. 🤭 Tee hee.)

Snippet Two:

Pero set Calista down at the mouth of the cave, sitting down next to her. She was enchantingly beautiful, now that she wasn’t berating him or stomping on him. He wondered if it was the strain of everything that had her collapse like that with blood. He needed to inquire about the few things he had noticed about himself. The enhanced vision, the slight chill he feels through his body, why her body felt like nothing in his arms and so much more. Some he’s not quite able to put words to yet. Until she wakes, he’s content with the fact that he hasn’t sloughed off his mortal coil yet. He wonders what’s become of William and his horse before hearing the cracking of a branch and a large step. Much too large for a human or animal. It could be a monster, demon or worst case - the white dragon. Turns out Pero was right on one count, it was a dragon, but silver. Its scales reflected the sun and overloaded his eyes, he had to close them. When he opened them, a woman stood before him with skin that was reminiscent of mahogany. Glitters of silver dotted her skin and her hair was silver with streaks of mint green, similar to Calista. Is this dragon related to her? Pero had a hand on his sword just in case. 

I'm working on a Pero Tovar, enemies to lovers fantasy story with dragons. Just because. 😌 Again Tee tee.

NPT: @maggiemayhemnj @mysterious-moonstruck-musings @megamindsecretlair @soft-persephone @chaithetics

@connectioneverywhere @tinytinymenace @laurfilijames @rulexofxnines @soft-girl-musings

@rhoorl @paulmescal-s @djarins-cyare @djarinmuse @rosecentaur1916