#extremely specific thing to say that is. ummm.

[scarletfasinera]

What the fuck is going on with these self-proclaimed "communists" that keep following me on Bluesky who just say the most bananas reactionary things out loud 😭

[jonsnowunemploymentera]

Prince Rhaegar as a character often gets some deserved criticism - and a lot of underserved hate. And one of the things that I think he unfairly gets blamed for is Elia Martell's tragedy. Elia's death is one of the primary objections people have towards Rhaegar and Lyanna being depicted as a romance, with readers believing that if they were just tragic lovers, then that diminishes Elia's own tragedy.

I...disagree. It is understandable (and honestly right) that readers would rally behind Elia. Not only was she horribly brutalized and murdered, but her children suffered absolutely terrible fates as well.

However, in trying to center Rhaegar and Lyanna's doomed dalliance in this, a lot of readers are missing the answer that has been already provided to us within the narrative. Not only that, but this line of thinking also ignores the key context in which Elia's senseless murder is portrayed.

As far as the text goes, Elia’s death is laid squarely at the feet of Tywin Lannister and his men, Ser Gregor Clegane and Ser Amory Lorch. It's House Lannister's burden to bear.

Doran for one, Elia's brother, directly blames Tywin Lannister:

“You mistake patience for forbearance. I have worked at the downfall of Tywin Lannister since the day they told me of Elia and her children.”

The Princess in the Tower, AFFC

Even Oberyn agrees:

“Dwarf,” said the Red Viper, in a tone grown markedly less cordial, “spare me your Lannister lies. Is it sheep you take us for, or fools? My brother is not a bloodthirsty man, but neither has he been asleep for sixteen years. Jon Arryn came to Sunspear the year after Robert took the throne, and you can be sure that he was questioned closely. Him, and a hundred more. I did not come for some mummer’s show of an inquiry. I came for justice for Elia and her children, and I will have it. Starting with this lummox Gregor Clegane … but not, I think, ending there. Before he dies, the Enormity That Rides will tell me whence came his orders, please assure your lord father of that.” He smiled. “An old septon once claimed I was living proof of the goodness of the gods. Do you know why that is, Imp?”

Tyrion IV, ASOS

“Is that the game we are playing?” Tyrion rubbed at his scarred nose. He had nothing to lose by telling Oberyn the truth. “There was a bear at Harrenhal, and it did kill Ser Amory Lorch.” “How sad for him,” said the Red Viper. “And for you. Do all noseless men lie so badly, I wonder?” “I am not lying. Ser Amory dragged Princess Rhaenys out from under her father’s bed and stabbed her to death. He had some men-at-arms with him, but I do not know their names.” He leaned forward. “It was Ser Gregor Clegane who smashed Prince Aegon’s head against a wall and raped your sister Elia with his blood and brains still on his hands.” “What is this, now? Truth, from a Lannister?” Oberyn smiled coldly. “Your father gave the commands, yes?” “No.” He spoke the lie without hesitation, and never stopped to ask himself why he should. The Dornishman raised one thin black eyebrow. “Such a dutiful son. And such a very feeble lie. It was Lord Tywin who presented my sister’s children to King Robert all wrapped up in crimson Lannister cloaks.”

Tyrion IX, ASOS

“Elia Martell, Princess of Dorne,” the Red Viper hissed. “You raped her. You murdered her. You killed her children…“I came to hear you confess.”

Tyrion X, ASOS

Varys and Tyrion both understand that House Martell (but more specifically Doran) hates the Lannisters.

“The Dornishmen thus far have held aloof from these wars. Doran Martell has called his banners, but no more. His hatred for House Lannister is well known, and it is commonly thought he will join Lord Renly. You wish to dissuade him.” “All this is obvious,” said Tyrion. “The only puzzle is what you might have offered for his allegiance. The prince is a sentimental man, and he still mourns his sister Elia and her sweet babe.” “My father once told me that a lord never lets sentiment get in the way of ambition … and it happens we have an empty seat on the small council, now that Lord Janos has taken the black.” “A council seat is not to be despised,” Varys admitted, “yet will it be enough to make a proud man forget his sister’s murder?” “Why forget?” Tyrion smiled. “I’ve promised to deliver his sister’s killers, alive or dead, as he prefers. After the war is done, to be sure.” Varys gave him a shrewd look. “My little birds tell me that Princess Elia cried a … certain name … when they came for her.” “Is a secret still a secret if everyone knows it?” In Casterly Rock, it was common knowledge that Gregor Clegane had killed Elia and her babe. They said he had raped the princess with her son’s blood and brains still on his hands. “This secret is your lord father’s sworn man.” “My father would be the first to tell you that fifty thousand Dornishmen are worth one rabid dog.” Varys stroked a powdered cheek. “And if Prince Doran demands the blood of the lord who gave the command as well as the knight who did the deed …” “Robert Baratheon led the rebellion. All commands came from him, in the end.” “Robert was not at King’s Landing.” “Neither was Doran Martell.”

Tyrion IV, ACOK

Really, all the nobles know where to look at when assigning blame for Elia's murder. Tywin.

“Prince Doran comes at my son’s invitation,” Lord Tywin said calmly, “not only to join in our celebration, but to claim his seat on this council, and the justice Robert denied him for the murder of his sister Elia and her children.” Tyrion watched the faces of the Lords Tyrell, Redwyne, and Rowan, wondering if any of the three would be bold enough to say, “But Lord Tywin, wasn’t it you who presented the bodies to Robert, all wrapped up in Lannister cloaks?” None of them did, but it was there on their faces all the same. Redwyne does not give a fig, he thought, but Rowan looks fit to gag.

Tywin, for the most part, quite shamelessly tries to disassociate himself from his own moral failings; this is nothing new, because he follows this same MO with squarely blaming the Freys for the Red Wedding even though he played an integral part in planning for it.

“Then why did the Mountain kill her?” “Because I did not tell him to spare her. I doubt I mentioned her at all. I had more pressing concerns. Ned Stark’s van was rushing south from the Trident, and I feared it might come to swords between us. And it was in Aerys to murder Jaime, with no more cause than spite. That was the thing I feared most. That, and what Jaime himself might do.” He closed a fist. “Nor did I yet grasp what I had in Gregor Clegane, only that he was huge and terrible in battle. The rape … even you will not accuse me of giving that command, I would hope. Ser Amory was almost as bestial with Rhaenys. I asked him afterward why it had required half a hundred thrusts to kill a girl of … two? Three? He said she’d kicked him and would not stop screaming. If Lorch had half the wits the gods gave a turnip, he would have calmed her with a few sweet words and used a soft silk pillow.” His mouth twisted in distaste. “The blood was in him.”

Tyrion VI, ASOS

“And when Oberyn demands the justice he’s come for?” “I will tell him that Ser Amory Lorch killed Elia and her children,” Lord Tywin said calmly. “So will you, if he asks.” “Ser Amory Lorch is dead,” Tyrion said flatly. “Precisely. Vargo Hoat had Ser Amory torn apart by a bear after the fall of Harrenhal. That ought to be sufficiently grisly to appease even Oberyn Martell.” “You may call that justice …” “It is justice. It was Ser Amory who brought me the girl’s body, if you must know. He found her hiding under her father’s bed, as if she believed Rhaegar could still protect her. Princess Elia and the babe were in the nursery a floor below.”

Tyrion VI, ASOS

Tywin tries to alleviate himself of any responsibility by blaming his men, but the narrative actively calls bullshit on this (through Tywin's own son no less).

So the narrative shows through multiple POVs that Elia's murder is contextualized exclusively as a failing on Tywin Lannister and his men; not only was it a moral failing, but Tyrion also questions if it was politically necessary in the first place. It's also important to note that ASOS is when we really dive into the matter of Elia and her children (mostly through Oberyn), but we also have to remember that this is the same book as the Red Wedding. The Red Wedding, another one of Tywin's senseless massacres that he tries to postulate as politically necessary.

So, we have agreed that the blame and context for Elia's (and her children's) murder is presented through the lens of Tywin as an immoral politician who often makes politically unnecessary moves. But then we ask ourselves, can the responsibility of this tragedy be extended? Well, yes it can. And it has been in the text.

Ser Barristan extends this tragedy beyond Tywin and his men

...to King Robert.

“Prince Rhaegar had two children,” Ser Barristan told him. “Rhaenys was a little girl, Aegon a babe in arms. When Tywin Lannister took King’s Landing, his men killed both of them. He served the bloody bodies up in crimson cloaks, a gift for the new king.” And what did Robert say when he saw them? Did he smile? Barristan Selmy had been badly wounded on the Trident, so he had been spared the sight of Lord Tywin’s gift, but oft he wondered. If I had seen him smile over the red ruins of Rhaegar’s children, no army on this earth could have stopped me from killing him. “I will not suffer the murder of children. Accept that, or I’ll have no part of this.”

The Kingbreaker, ADWD

Ned Stark does as well.

Ned did not feign surprise; Robert’s hatred of the Targaryens was a madness in him. He remembered the angry words they had exchanged when Tywin Lannister had presented Robert with the corpses of Rhaegar’s wife and children as a token of fealty. Ned had named that murder; Robert called it war. When he had protested that the young prince and princess were no more than babes, his new-made king had replied, “I see no babes. Only dragonspawn.” Not even Jon Arryn had been able to calm that storm. Eddard Stark had ridden out that very day in a cold rage, to fight the last battles of the war alone in the south. It had taken another death to reconcile them; Lyanna’s death, and the grief they had shared over her passing.

Eddard II, AGOT

And so does Tywin, who uses Robert's tacit approval as justification for this senseless act.

Lord Tywin stared at him as if he had lost his wits. “You deserve that motley, then. We had come late to Robert’s cause. It was necessary to demonstrate our loyalty. When I laid those bodies before the throne, no man could doubt that we had forsaken House Targaryen forever. And Robert’s relief was palpable. As stupid as he was, even he knew that Rhaegar’s children had to die if his throne was ever to be secure. Yet he saw himself as a hero, and heroes do not kill children.” His father shrugged. “I grant you, it was done too brutally. Elia need not have been harmed at all, that was sheer folly. By herself she was nothing.”

Tyrion VI, ASOS

So if we can't extend the blame to Rhaegar, because the narrative doesn't do so either, what can we hold him responsible for? Let's take a step back and look at Rhaegar's culpability in this whole thing.

Was Rhaegar (and Lyanna) responsible for starting the war that would eventually lead to Elia's murder?

No. GRRM doesn't think so. The war actually started when King Aerys murdered the Lord of Winterfell and his heir, a bunch of other northern nobles, and then called for the heads of Robert Baratheon (Lord of Storm's End) and Ned Stark (the new Lord of Winterfell). Aerys broke the feudal contract, and so Jon Arryn declared war.

I don't think I would have stayed loyal to the Mad King. Do I think they were justified? Yes, and no. [...] There was no doubt that the Mad King was mad. He was paranoid and he was abusing his power. And Westeros has no Magna Carta or anything like that. There was no way to handle this within the rule of law. But was what they do justified? Especially when you consider that it was triggered by a personal grievance. The execution of Ned's father and brother was really a thing that radicalized Ned and put him in opposition to it. Robert was just rolling for a fight and didn't like the fact that he'd lost his girlfriend. So you know, the personal informs the political.

source

Rhaegar and Lyanna's disappearance was merely the spark - it led to a misunderstanding that caused Brandon Stark to ride to Kingslanding. What really caused the war was Aerys' Targaryens subsequent actions as the king. So if we want to blame someone for causing the chain of events that led to Elia's death as well as her children's, the author himself says to blame Aerys; even though I don't think this is right either because we once again stray from the necessary (and sole) context of Elia's murder - Tywin's bloody hands.

Fine. Rhaegar was not responsible for the war. But surely he is responsible for leaving Elia in King's Landing, right in the clutches of Mad King Aerys. Well, this again, is not true. As far as Rhaegar knew, Elia was in Dragonstone with Aegon and Rhaenys where he left them.

As cold winds hammered the city, King Aerys II turned to his pyromancers, charging them to drive the winter off with their magics. Huge green fires burned along the walls of the Red Keep for a moon’s turn. Prince Rhaegar was not in the city to observe them, however. Nor could he be found in Dragonstone with Princess Elia and their young son, Aegon.

“The Year of the False Spring”, The World of Ice and Fire

At some point, Elia was called to King's Landing. And it was Aerys who kept her hostage there as insurance against possible Dornish betrayal (remember, he was paranoid).

Side Note: Aerys kept another important political hostage in King's Landing along with Elia - Jaime Lannister; this is to deter anyone from trying to blame Jaime for doing nothing. He was a teenager and a hostage himself!

“My Sworn Brothers were all away, you see, but Aerys liked to keep me close. I was my father’s son, so he did not trust me. He wanted me where Varys could watch me, day and night. So I heard it all.” He remembered how Rossart’s eyes would shine when he unrolled his maps to show where the substance must be placed. Garigus and Belis were the same. “Rhaegar met Robert on the Trident, and you know what happened there. When the word reached court, Aerys packed the queen off to Dragonstone with Prince Viserys. Princess Elia would have gone as well, but he forbade it. Somehow he had gotten it in his head that Prince Lewyn must have betrayed Rhaegar on the Trident, but he thought he could keep Dorne loyal so long as he kept Elia and Aegon by his side. The traitors want my city, I heard him tell Rossart, but I’ll give them naught but ashes. Let Robert be king over charred bones and cooked meat. The Targaryens never bury their dead, they burn them. Aerys meant to have the greatest funeral pyre of them all. Though if truth be told, I do not believe he truly expected to die. Like Aerion Brightfire before him, Aerys thought the fire would transform him … that he would rise again, reborn as a dragon, and turn all his enemies to ash.

Jaime V, ASOS

Ok, fine. So Rhaegar did not abandon her with Aerys then run off to Lyanna. But he should have done something when he came back, right? Why didn't he leave more Kings Guard with Elia and the children?

Well....this is a war. The knights of the KG are important assets on the battle field. Kings Landing, at the time, was not the most dangerous location. The KG were better off at the Trident, as a victory there would protect those who were left behind in KL.

And it's not that Rhaegar didn't do anything. Beyond going off to lead the battle himself, he tried to make moves that would help those who were back in KL (Elia and the children included).

He floated in heat, in memory. “After dancing griffins lost the Battle of the Bells, Aerys exiled him.” Why am I telling this absurd ugly child? “He had finally realized that Robert was no mere outlaw lord to be crushed at whim, but the greatest threat House Targaryen had faced since Daemon Blackfyre. The king reminded Lewyn Martell gracelessly that he held Elia and sent him to take command of the ten thousand Dornishmen coming up the kingsroad. Jon Darry and Barristan Selmy rode to Stoney Sept to rally what they could of griffins’ men, and Prince Rhaegar returned from the south and persuaded his father to swallow his pride and summon my father. But no raven returned from Casterly Rock, and that made the king even more afraid. He saw traitors everywhere, and Varys was always there to point out any he might have missed. So His Grace commanded his alchemists to place caches of wildfire all over King’s Landing. Beneath Baelor’s Sept and the hovels of Flea Bottom, under stables and storehouses, at all seven gates, even in the cellars of the Red Keep itself.

Jaime V ASOS

And Jaime's POV once again shows us that Rhaegar banked on victory at the Trident, and was fully expecting to come back to KL and amend the fraught political situation.

The day had been windy when he said farewell to Rhaegar, in the yard of the Red Keep. The prince had donned his night-black armor, with the three-headed dragon picked out in rubies on his breastplate. “Your Grace,” Jaime had pleaded, “let Darry stay to guard the king this once, or Ser Barristan. Their cloaks are as white as mine.” Prince Rhaegar shook his head. “My royal sire fears your father more than he does our cousin Robert. He wants you close, so Lord Tywin cannot harm him. I dare not take that crutch away from him at such an hour.” Jaime’s anger had risen up in his throat. “I am not a crutch. I am a knight of the Kingsguard.” “Then guard the king,” Ser Jon Darry snapped at him. “When you donned that cloak, you promised to obey.” Rhaegar had put his hand on Jaime’s shoulder. “When this battle’s done I mean to call a council. Changes will be made. I meant to do it long ago, but … well, it does no good to speak of roads not taken. We shall talk when I return.”

Jaime I, AFFC

So Rhaegar wasn't leaving with no care about what happened back in King's Landing. We don't know what he wanted to do with Aerys, Elia, Lyanna, and the aftermath of the war because he died at the Trident. But we do know that he, at the very least, was planning to do something.

So we can't blame Rhaegar (and Lyanna) for starting the war and we can't blame him either for abandoning Elia in King's Landing with no care about what happens next. So, again, what can we blame him for?

“It's not entirely correct that the Martells stayed out of the war. Rhaegar had Dornish troops with him on the Trident, under the command of Prince Lewyn of the Kingsguard. However, the Dornishmen did not support him as strongly as they might have, in part because of anger at his treatment of Elia, in part because of Prince Doran's innate caution.”

SSM, 09/11/1999

GRRM states that Dorne was angry about Rhaegar's treatment of Elia. What is this treatment, though?

Ned remembered the moment when all the smiles died, when Prince Rhaegar Targaryen urged his horse past his own wife, the Dornish princess Elia Martell, to lay the queen of beauty’s laurel in Lyanna’s lap.

Eddard XV, AGOT

Specifically, Rhaegar riding past Elia to crown Lyanna the Queen of Love and Beauty. Yes, that is a humiliation. And it's undeniable that no one was happy.

The crowning of the Stark girl, who was by all reports a wild and boyish young thing with none of the Princess Elia’s delicate beauty, could only have been meant to win the allegiance of Winterfell to Prince Rhaegar’s cause…Yet if this were true, why did Lady Lyanna’s brothers seem so distraught at the honor the prince had bestowed upon her? Brandon Stark, the heir to Winterfell, had to be restrained from confronting Rhaegar at what he took as a slight upon his sister’s honor…Eddard Stark, Brandon’s younger brother and a close friend to Lord Robert, was calmer but no more pleased.

“The Year of the False Spring”, The World of Ice and Fire

But, humiliating Elia is not the same thing as being responsible for her death. The narrative never equates these two things in any way. Elia's death is about Tywin's immoral and blood thirsty political actions. It's about Dorne's desire for justice (or is it vengeance?) which they know they will not get from the Lannister regime. House Lannister's downfall in King's Landing will be brought about by Prince Aegon's rise - Aegon who is proclaiming to be the long lost son of Prince Rhaegar, and who is being supported by House Martell as of now.

We can criticize Rhaegar for some things, but Elia's death is surely not one of them.

[starlitprism]

Prepping for a Tabletop Game: Who Should Do It?

So some of you are probably reading the title and going "... the game master or whatever. They should prep. Obviously." And generally speaking, that's correct. Unless they are an absolutely kickass improv type who has enough confidence to set something important on fire because you "know what you are doing" you're probably going to want to prep!

Now, much like some of the other stuff I have written, I am not here to advocate for one thing over another but I do want to talk about my own habits that may or may almost certainly not be unique. If you want a quick and easy "what do you mean" check out this little post for an example. Plus it's funny

So yeah, I prep for games even as a player. Sometimes it means bringing music for specific scenes or making up mechanics for party games or more. Oftentimes it means sitting down with my character playlist before games, finding the song to fit my characters mood, and blasting it before session to get me in the zone. This is all prep in a way.

So how else do I prep when I am not GMing?

Oh that's simple!

I just... oh wait I had a whole post on this. Ok maybe not so simple.

You can consult your GM, talk through changes as your character develops. Keep them updated on where they are at (this is very important, btw, when you tell your GM to "make you bleed" as I have found out repeatedly). Other things you can do is talk about character direction, the character's mindset, and possible pitfalls due to that mindset. These are ALL a form of prep and you don't even necessarily need to tell your GM; especially if they aren't interested in engaging like that. Some aren't. Some are busy. Me though? GM or player, that's my jam.

I have been engaging in such a way because my most recent character is kind of extreme in her reactions. Her feelings are big both in a positive and a negative sense and they can tend to overwhelm her and her thought processes which means, sometimes, I consult with my GM to come up with ideas on how to steer her towards the rest of the group instead of away. Towards ummm... shall we say a productive outllet for that energy.

Now some of you might go "or you could just make the harmonious choice anyway regardless of what she would do" and to those who can do this, I applaud you. I cannot.

This might be an autistic thing where not being true to the character just makes me feel like I am not playing them anymore. By which I mean that is exactly what I feel and therefore such choices are actively unpleasant to make. I know I am getting caught up in the details and the specifics because that is just how I work. However, that doesn't mean my solution is just wallow in the "problem." Because I see this conflicts not as a problem but an opportunity.

It's the "yes and-" portion of the bit so to speak. And insofar, despite playing a character who started very abrasive and disconnected, it's ABSOLUTELY ROCKED to play her because of this attention to detail and conversations about the character. Thank you @trishyeves for your constant amazingness as my GM. Little shoutout. We've never come up on a problem that was so impossible that we couldn't come up with a solution. Not once. Problems and disconnects are opportunities for narrative!

So for those of you who read this I am most curious to hear how you all prep either as a GM but especially as a player. HELL, if you got some fun stories involving the same please share that as well!

But anyway, who should prep? My personal favorite answer is anyone who feels up for it and wants to. Creating is very rewarding and every time we do it, it's a step towards bettering our own understanding of our process. PLUS, it make sit ways easier on the GM if they working with you. Every step of this refines it, sharpens it, and allows you to better figure out how to create something amazing. And not to harp on an old point, but when you work with your GM or your players, you start refining your ability to understand what others are thinking and where they are coming from.

And for me? Favorite part of collaborative storytelling

[the-lark-ascending69]

Ronance smut headcanons?

ansnansnnf I have a few... this isn't a NSFW blog so I'll try to keep it light but... main HC I have is that Nancy insists on waiting until Robin turns 18 before doing anything, despite them being the same age and everything. Robin thinks that's a weirdly specific rule if what's happening is that Nancy isn't ready yet, but she doesn't question it. Truth is that Nancy, having lost her virginity as a kid to a boy she didn't love (while her best friend was being mauled to death a few meters away) has a... complicated relationship with sex. She really just wants Robin's first time to be absolutely perfect, with nothing staining it. She feels like losing your virginity can very easily be extremely traumatizing and she wants to spare Robin of that.

On a similar line, Nancy is a lot more experienced than Robin, who has only ever kissed someone as a dare when she was 12 at a birthday party or something. She never had a real kiss before Nancy, had never been touched before Nancy, had never touched anyone before Nancy. It's all so new to her, and while Nancy is no sex expert, having dated and slept with two boys before gives her at least a general idea of what feels good and what doesn't. She knows what it's like to be on the receiving end being a girl, so she's excited to show Robin sensations she never knew even existed.

She's extremely careful with Robin, especially during their first few times, always asking how she's feeling and checking that she's enthusiastic about it and not just going along whatever Nancy's doing. Thankfully for her, Robin is very vocal about what she wants and won't hesitate to tell Nancy is explicit detail what is it that she wants to try.

Despite being very articulate when she talks, Robin is extremely silent. You could barely hear her trembling breath. At first, Nancy thought she was uncomfortable, or that what she did didn't feel good, but then she realizes Robin is so obsessed with going unnoticed and becoming invisible as a survival tactic, that biting her tongue during sex just comes natural to her. She doesn't even think about it. It's in her instict to not alert "the monster" prowling outside. Even if they have the house all to themselves. Even if they know they're safe.

(The first time Nancy hears her make any sound is a few years into their relationship, one time that they knew for a fact they were safe, and she hears Robin make little whimpers next to her ear. She's more of a whimperer than a moaner, especially when Nancy is being rough with her. It strikes a fire in her belly that keeps them awake all night).

They're switches! Though Nancy tops more often. Depends on their mood really, sometimes she'll want to feel in control and sometimes she'll want to be comforted and taken care of. Robin is more of a traditional bottom but she's not at all opposed to taking charge every now and then. She's... surprisingly smooth when she does.

They're not into hard BDSM or anything but they do like it rougher sometimes, again, depending on their mood. I'd say, if anything, Robin is just a little bit kinkier than Nancy but she's scared to admit it.

Ummm let's see a few more headcanons uuuh

Robin likes having her hair pulled and enjoys some (very light) choking.

Nancy has a thing for dressing Robin in girly clothes and doing her makeup. They enjoy the power and control that goes into Nancy "forcing" Robin to be more femenine for the night.

Nancy has gifted Robin cute lingerie in the past.

Robin was scared of doing everything wrong the first few times. She didn't even know where to start. She didn't even know how lesbians had sex, not having the famous traditionally male appendage at their disposal (she's less educated on queer sex than she'd like but it's not like the local library had any information on that). She feels pretty lame, actually, but Nancy guides her through it and gives her a few ideas.

Robin had never touched herself before. She always felt ashamed to do that, because she felt ashamed of thinking of other girls that way.

Nancy loves fingering Robin's mouth.

They're always extremely careful and only ever have sex when they know for sure they'll have the house all to themselves. They're not taking risks.

Robin discovers she has a masochist streak with Nancy, and Nancy is delighted to exploit that.

Nancy loves trying to make Robin moan, loves to see the look on her face as she tries to remain silent.

Robin tried to ask Steve advice on "pleasuring a girl" once, and he just said "I don't know, just, put it in, you know? Like, just put it in, and it goes in and out, it's not rocket science, just in and out. Girls love that." She doesn't ask again.

They always shower together after sex.

Knowing they need to keep everything secret, Nancy only ever gives Robin hickies in her inner thighs, but if she could she'd fill her neck with love bites so everyone can tell she belongs to her. One time during summer, though, they go have a swim at the local public pool and Nancy notices the faint marks on Robin's legs - they still haven't faded, and even though Robin blushes when someone asks about them, making up something about insects and whatnot, Nancy can't help but feel proud and safisfied.

[zeroducks-2]

I’m tired of the debates; sick of the back and forth. You know what I want? What I think is perfect?

Omegaverse!Throuple Barry, Wally, and Eobard.

But specificity set like this: Barry can’t decide who he wants more, the young alpha pup who swoons over him and is extremely sweet and a total gentleman in every way (he also knots too quickly and gets hard when the wind changes directions but he’s in his early 20s so who can blame him) Wally, or the obsessive older alpha who has a dominance kink and is stupidly competitive and likes to fall into traditional stereotypes bc he’s wants to see Barry barefoot and pregnant with his pups, Eobard.

So he says “ummm why not both?” And bc he’s so cute and submissive and breedable, mofo gets both.

And after a while the three of them are happy as a throuple, and even Wally and Eobard get romantically involved because they’re both kinda competitive and enjoy setting the other off and sometimes that can get hot and steamy so yeah they fuck??? So what?? It makes Barry very happy thank you because he gets his favourite alphas.

You know what anon, you're valid.

Have some bits of fluff.

(everyone here is an adult and all that jazz)

Wally isn't exactly a fresh Alpha but he's young, smaller than the hulking beast who claimed Barry's nest without waiting for anyone's permission. There's a sharp click of teeth and a warning chuff and Wally stops on the edge of the nest, nostrils flaring in irritation but he doesn't protest.

«C'mere.» Barry mumbles. It's not a strong heat, it just makes him groggy. He could just sleep it off, but having company through it does make it easier, especially being scented and held.

Permission heard, the Alpha boy does slip onto the bedding and Barry purrs, nosing at the neck of his mate to remind him to behave. There's a growl so quiet Barry can hear it just because they're so pressed together, but it doesn't worry him, if anything it makes him smile a little.

«You're, huh. You're very... warm.» Wally sputters as Barry takes his hand and nuzzles the palm, then presses it on his own cheek. «Can I... are you sure I can touch...?»

«You can touch.» Eobard grumbles, even though his grip on Barry's body tightens. «I would have made it abundantly clear if you couldn't.»

Wally's chest swells like he was about to retort, or growl or anyway display aggression but Barry shushes him, kissing the palm of his hand. «You can.» He gently tugs the Alpha boy into his and his mate's personal space, a pleasant shiver coming up as Wally complies, rumbling quietly while rubbing their glands together. «You're okay.»

Meanwhile Eobard groans like he's offended but he ends up pulling both of them closer, roughly scenting Wally before settling back, and Barry can see the boy's confused blink. Wanting to show how pleased he is with how this is going, Barry turns and nuzzles just a little, just enough for his mate to pinch his chin and press their lips together. The kiss lingers more than he planned and his heat makes him lose track of things for a few moments, and when he's present again he's mindlessly tugging and pulling both at Wally's shirt and Eobard's hair on the nape. He's suddenly aware of the way the two Alphas' scent is going to his head, even more so when a palm presses against his naked belly, pulling a loud purr out of him. He's not even sure who the hand belongs to, too distracted by the kiss picking up, and the way Eobard gently nips and pulls at his lower lip.

When it breaks he's warm all over and with his breath puffy, but he still catches the flush on Wally's cheeks, and the way his big eyes dart from Barry's face to the way his fingers are still gripping the front of Wally's button down.

«Come on, pup.» Eobard nuzzles and brings Barry to show his neck. «He insisted to have you here. Stop gawking and don't make me regret saying yes.»

Wally nods and chews his inner cheek, obviously nervous but with a determined glint in his eyes as he fumbles with his shirt and ends up pulling it off. He kisses Barry next and they both quietly purr into it, and despite the boy is practically vibrating at this point he takes it slow, or anyway tries to, ignoring the way Eobard quietly snorts as he likely noticed too.

[vulpinesaint]

mahonia, ivy and chamomile for the ask game :D

mahonia ⇢ what place, thing, activity inspires you most and how do you express yourself when it does?

man that's a good one. when it comes to creative processes what Makes Me Write the most is usually religion or nature... when it comes to expressing myself it is definitely always poetry. i am not a fan of journaling and i like writing songs but i am sure we are all aware of the existence of trickstersaint.tumblr.com... poetry is my everything forever and ever i love her.

fairy tales are a major one too, though :) i am thinking about fairy tale patterns and conventions and methods of storytelling all the time and it makes me want to create the hell out of things. i am sure this tracks for anyone even vaguely familiar with me

ivy ⇢ what are your ‘tells’ for your emotions and moods? how can someone tell you’re happy, annoyed, upset or tired?

ummm one thing about me is that when i shut the hell up something is usually wrong 😭 i don't trust myself not to say something inflammatory when i'm angry or upset so i kind of shut myself off. not beating the surly angry standoffish teenager allegations i am forever getting agitated with my family and standing Silent and obviously annoyed off to the side.

kind of the same thing when i'm sad about things! i am really bad about not sharing things with people when i'm doing badly and i'm not very good with emotional vulnerability. i have cried like maybe five times in the past year and maybe ONE of those was in front of another person and that was NOT on purpose. extremely rare when i'll cry in front of anyone who is not my mother. would have to be at the edge of a breakdown for that. but again i do not trust myself to talk or otherwise express myself in a way that won't give away my emotions so i get quiet and withdrawn about it. terrible habit for a guy who always and forever wants so badly to be able to receive compassion from people when he's feeling bad. someday i'll get over the "if the boys in middle school p.e. class see me crying when i get hurt they'll think i'm weak like a girl" complex

i think i'm very transparent when i'm happy though! the irls would have to confirm but just as a person i smile a lot and talk fast and talk with my hands i'm a very exuberant personality. i will do this when i'm feeling bad to try and compensate for that too but generally when i'm really actually happy (especially when i'm Excited about things) i think it's probably easy for people to tell. anyone who has heard me talk about venom lately has seen me Light The Fuck Up i'm sure

chamomile ⇢ what kind of things do you like receiving as gifts?

i am so terrible at telling people what i want as a gift but i love love love receiving prezzies haha. trinkets are always a hit for me! jewelry and clothes are what i want more of always always but i am really specific on what i wear on account of the. transgenderism. so i'm not always as enthusiastic about getting them as gifts because if it's not Perfect and Masc Enough to my brain then i will just never get to wear it even if i think it's cool as hell.

getting me books is usually a hit! esp if it's a book i wanted and—POST CANCELLED. i remembered what i like. notebooks and pens. ALWAYS delighted to receive notebooks and pens those are my great love. you give a notebook or pens to me and my heart is in your hands

 ﹟random get-to-know-me ask game  !! 

[dykevanny]

haz i know absolutely nothign about zeno rpg but ur zeno au has intrigued me and im curious about it,,, i saw smth abt like. meomory loss and being handcuffed together and ik they eat ppl but thats it 😭 explain the au if u want ig bc im interested and i think thye look so silly. also bc u put vanny n will in my brain and they wont leave im shooing them with a boom and they are not moving

OK LET ME GET THE INFODUMP<3

So ummm Zeno au<3 I’m really normal. Allow me to give a brief explanation of what Zeno is first You see, Zeno is a fictional disease sort of thing that makes people cannibals. Specifically an oneset is caused by traumatic events/extreme cases of unrequited love(specifically mostly familial) and the only cure is eating the flesh of someone else with Zeno.(not widely known.) It’s also transmittable through biting like zombies. there’s one specific facility with scientists dedicated to getting to the bottom of how to cure zeno, also housing ‘patients’ (or, people with zeno being used as lab rats). Now onto character lore.

So william and henry were good friends right. Yeah. Considering that they even have a small diner together. Well one day will got zeno (oh no!) and started slowly picking off kids going to the diner. He even accidentally attacked Charlie, who escaped in one piece luckily. Charlie went to the afton household to see if he was doing okay (because will’s like an uncle to her and all! And also what if everyone else got hurt?) only to find will ate them all oops. And yeah same happened to her, but since he transmitted zeno to Charlie he was cured! How convenient! The people in charge of the labs ended up roping him and henry into being scientists for them through shady shady means and well the two aren’t on good terms and avoid each other like the plague. Henry’s still sore over the ‘you ate my fucking daughter’ thing. Luckily he has his assistant/the archivist (tape girl) to keep him company. So Vanessa right! Crazzy I know. Nessa as we know comes from a broken family. In this specific au I’m mixing her backstory with the character who’s place she’s taking (hi kuro) so basically her parents. Neglect her. In favor of her younger sibling because she was born from her mom’s affair and blablabla… she grows up basically taking care of herself. Eventually she develops zeno and starts you know. Killing and eating random girls as you do. When one night she comes home and is confronted by her parents about this!! And well you can guess. What happens to them lol. She gets captured and taken to the zeno facility where she’s specifically studied/talked to by William! They’re funny bc nessa hasn’t had anyone willingly spend so much time around her and be so nice to her. Will … well she’s a specimen to him lol. Since being cured himself zeno has been a subject of interest to him, he’s thrown himself completely into his work (under the guise of feeling soooo guilty for his actions which henry can see right through) and well. He’s realized the consumption of human flesh has something to do with it, since eating Charlie cured him. So he’s been …. Robbing the morgue/killing people when needed to feed vanessa every time they meet. Which, she’s more docile when she’s not hungry so it kind of works but she’s not like cured you know. It has the side affect of her being hungry when it’s time for someone to chat with her though which was funny the one time henry had to go in will’s stead cause he offered her a granola bar and she was like 😐 ew.?? Anyways will has gotten her total trust because he also plays board games with her yay!! He’s the only one not enforcing the whole straightjacket-dog muzzle combo also so she’s like woah !! He sees me as another human unlike these other guys :DD (needless to say zeno patients are not treated very humanely.lol) there was also one time tape girl had to be a substitute for william but nothing of note happened they just kinda chilled and ness threatened her in a backhanded and mildly gay sort of way.as you do.

Anyway yeah so basically Henry’s been experimenting with treatment through amnesia and totally surely unrelated note at the actual start of the story, Will and Nessa wake up in a strange room with no clue who they are or how they got here, and have to navigate the now bloody and corpse-strewn facility while handcuffed together with nothing to guide them except each other and the only clue to their pasts is tampered resumes which effectively switch their backstories!! Nessa is under the impression that she’s the scientist (the whole cannibalism part was left out) and she thinks William is the serial murderer/cannibal. Which was funny cause she read her own resume like wow… I’m kind of a big deal huh :) and then read Will’s like ERM.OKAY… Will didn’t read either of the resumes. Also tape girl gave everyone code names and said code names were swapped on the resumes also! So ‘bonnie’(nessa) and ‘vanny’(will) are just kind of cluelessly walking around like damn this place is really… corpsey:) until henry starts showing up and trying to kill them (he contracted zeno big surprise) and also tape girl (assumed dead) shows up sometimes just to see how things are going. Lots of shenanigans and also murder ensue.

The game also has multiple endings so. sometimes nessa ends up killing william lol. Intestine jumprope…. … ……… Also side note.will found out it’s specifically zeno infected humans that need to be fed to patients to cure them but kinda. Didn’t cure nessa on purpose<3 because she’s sort of entirely dependent on him in this way and she’s kind of his only friend.the same way he’s her only friend……wacky wild!

Tape girl is having a fucking.day. Because henry mentioned he was going to do something but likeee. She didn’t expect to be caught in the crossfires of a HUGE MASS MURDER CANNIBAL EVENT.AS LIKE ONE OF THE 4 PEOPLE STILL ALIVE IN HERE,.. once he chilled out henry explained himself and she agreed to help out (she also decided to distribute some of her recorded notes.just for fun…after the two get separated for the first time ‘vanny’ listens to them and is like woah… i was a patient here⁉️ And bon was my unethical doctor⁉️⁉️ which is funny) but like. She is the only one NOT infected in here and would like to keep it that way so she’s having quite the time. Seeing vanessa walking around unrestrained keeps jumpscaring her LOL. Once ness’s zeno symptoms start returning well ofc will as the only one she’d encountered here who she cares about is the first target but tape girl nearly gets chomped too lol.

Zeno has an interesting affect on the subjects mood which is funny. Basically when an oneset happens and the person with zeno is running around eating people they’re in a crazed manic state which. Is really fun.will and nessa are wandering around handcufffed and he’s like uhh bonnie you okay cause her facial expressions.well they went from the example on the left to the one on the right.

It’s funny bc. The memory erasure actually technically did work… her symptoms only started returning bc she got bit LOL

Pre-the amnesia incident the other three’s interactions with vanessa were pretty.limited. Considering she’s theeee most dangerous patient. Will talks to her for like an hour daily but Henry only really knows her as ‘william’s mutt’ (he was especially not a fan when he found out will had been FEEDING HER HUMAN FLESH.) and tape girl is afraid of her but also. Kind of endeared from their two in person interactions. The second one in which vanessa tried to convince her to let her cannibalize her but hey she was very polite about it..!! Henry and tape girl are both shocked and stunned that she’s actually pretty chill when she’s not insane and eating people.

TL;DR

^these fuckheads are almost all cannibals and beating each other up forever

[stuffnonsenseandotherthings]

SHIPPER GAME TAG

It seems like @lurkingshan has tagged me to unveil all the skeletons in my fandom closet so let's go and dig them up! Word of warning, I had very patchy media access up until my 20s (I could watch about 5ish things on TV and one of them was the news) so some of my ships are uh, niche.

1. What ship were you completely obsessed with when you were a teenager, but now you don't care anymore?

Damon and Elena from The Vampire Diaries. I had such a weird relationship with this show given that I couldn't actually watch the actual episodes and instead had to watch the curated shipping clip compilations but yeah, I was very into these two for most of my teen years. Now my tastes have changed drastically and I'm no longer into this couple or the show so.....

2. Which ship do you consider your first one?

I was going to say Percy and Annabeth but then I remembered Luke and Maria from The Sarah Jane Adventures. Admittedly a very niche couple but they're the first time I can remember coming across a pairing on screen and going "They Are More Than Friends I Must Find More". Unfortunately there wasn't much more to find but I still think their relationship was cute.

3. Your first fanfic belonged to which couple?

Another niche couple but Ruth and Jay from Casualty. There wasn't much but I poured over the 10ish fics I could find and frequently checked if there was anything new for them on FF.net or wherever it is I'd managed to find them.

Damn I want to go rewatch their scenes again, I wonder if the compilations are still on Youtube?

4. Do you remember the first couple you saw a fan art over?

I don't remember the first couple I saw Fanart for but I can tell you the first Fanart I remember coming across and that was Percy Jackson. There is a particular style popular among fanartist for the series and I loved it then and I still love it now.

5. Did you ever get into ship discourse?

Only with friends haha. I think the first time I can properly remember having a discussion with people about a ship was the Peeta/Katniss/Gale triangle, I spent a lot of time ranting to my poor friends that of course it was going to end up being Peeta and Katniss because they fit the "Final Couple of a Teen Lit Romance" pattern down to a tee so rooting for Gale was useless (I was very pleased to be proven right, my pattern theory was just starting out back then).

6. Did you have any no-otp or have it currently?

I won't lie, I used to really struggle with ships that broke up canon ships. Like really, really struggle. I knew then and I recognise even more now that this was linked to my own issues with being overly loyal to just about anything but yeah, I couldn't cope with non-canon ships that broke up the canon ships, even if I didn't like the canon ships.

In regards to specific ships? Anything involving Hermione (none of the men were good enough for her in teen me's opinion).

7. Who were the couple in the last fanfic you read?

..... Ummm Erestor/Glorfindel anyone?

8. Currently, do you have any OTPs?

As @lurkingshan said in her own post, OTPs are eternal. My first OTP was probably Percy and Annabeth and I'd still fight monsters for them. More recent additions to the pack are Andrea and Gyeol-Wool from Hospital Playlist and Uea and King from Bed Friends.

9. Is there any couple that, to this day, you are extremely mad about not getting together?

MARIA AND BLOODY LUKE 😤

In all seriousness, none spring to mind but only because I tend to blot these things from my memory.

10. Is there any ship you used to dislike but now you think they are kind of interesting?

I may have the memory of a sieve for couples I dislike but I also hold grudges against storytelling wrongs so probably not, if I didn't like them then it's likely I still don't like them.

11. Do you have any ship that, in the past, was considered normal but now you would be cancelled over.

I'm going to continue the Brian and Justin trend here because I'm sure many people would be uncomfortable with the age gap now but, as Shan puts it best, "women in queer spaces often struggle to account for the totally different culture and power dynamics between m/m pairings".

12. What was your favourite crack ship?

I don't really do crack ships but I often think about the fact that, somewhere out there on the internet, there is a fanfic about Snape and a teletubby. I've never read it, I don't want to, but the thought does make me giggle (perhaps slightly nervously, I'm not sure).

13. Who is the couple you read more fanfics of?

I tend to go in both fads and cycles so it'll be a mix of fanfic linked to what I'm currently watching/reading (if it seems ficable) and pairings whose fics I know I'll enjoy. That being said I did once get so deep into Stucky that I obsessively researched life in inter-war New York so quite possibly them.

14. What do most of your ships have in common?

I wouldn't say I have a specific type of ship that I like but I am a total sucker for ships where it feels like they help each other become better people, both in little things and in the big things.

15. What do you absolutely hate in a ship?

When I don't understand why they're together.

Tagging anyone who wants to join as well as @twig-tea @respectthepetty

[weebsinstash]

HONESTLY just male concubine being obsessed with Empress gives me life. Like he takes one look at her wardrobe and hires a seamstress so they can coordinate matching outfits, he escorts her by the arm wherever she goes when the Emperor isnt around to do it himself, wants to take fancy baths together, brushes her hair, likes to have sleepovers... And the Emperor is like See?? Why would you treat him so coldly leaving him in the rain like that, he absolutely adores you >:( oh he punished a servant? He must have had a good reason, he only has your the Empress best interest in mind.

OOOH BUT CAN YOU IMAGINE. Like yk how in some manhwa concubines can be given as gifts to establish good diplomatic relationships? Imagine if a foreign sovereign sent a male concubine but for the Empress. And like. Its not like they can straight up refuse the gift, because that would be seen as extremely rude/hostile, but it is clear that as soon as they come in with a handsome dude saying he is for the Empress the temperature in the room just DROPS. Male concubine literally goes from 😊 to 🙂 to 😐 and the Emperor is FUMING on the inside. Ofc they accept the gift and the new concubine is put in the Empress palace, but now Male Concubine needs to think of a way to solidify his position (ummm.... baby?) without being found out by the Empress, cause he would hate if she got angry at him again, and just turns into even more of a menace along with the Emperor who all of a sudden has time to visit the Empress every single day and night.

And imagine if the new concubine is just an overall sweet guy :( like maybe the Empress doesnt necessarily like him in a romantic way, but he is a breath fresh of air as she can feel at ease with him, laugh with him, etc. Oh that would drive them insane.

I meant to swing back to this ask much sooner because it has such supreme drama potential 🤌 because really, I'm starting to wonder if I feed off of the satirical toxic energy lmao (also this ask can refer to the Saintess Reader/Emperor scenario with or without specific characters but I answered this as the bakugou/izuku thing people have been sending asks in for out of habit

So what I've considered before is, is, having our gifted male concubine be either from a specific culture or be practicing a certain religion where he holds the Reader who is the Saintess in extremely high regard if not an outright holy figure, like Reader is basically the Pope except you know she can actually perform miracles. He's essentially devoted his life to the concept of serving the Saintess in every way possible that his body has to offer ( 😏 ) and considers it his duty. And to round out our main protag trio I thought, it would be pretty appropriate to have this concubine be Shoto (can literally never remember if it's Shoto vs Shouto vs Shōto). Maybe Shoto even has extra privileges or protections: perhaps he's not just a gift from the ruler or leader of the land he hails from, perhaps he's even a prince, making him even more immune to any potential threats or dangers

I just imagine Bakugou being initially dismissive, kind of laughing at the concept. A man to be akin to a handmaid to his Empress? He might as well be a lowly slave, or a dog. I wonder if he'd be so full of himself that he doesn't even consider Shoto any sort of threat until a certain lil marimo boy is whispering paranoid suggestions in his ear

Really though, the drama would be absolutely dripping from Izuku and Shoto, because you have an obsessive clingy needy dweeb who wants to devote himself to you vs someone ALSO in his own way much more subtly obsessive and clingy and devoted to you AS A LIFESTYLE. I can just picture so many different scenarios where the two of them go head to head. Like, can you imagine that Shoto notices you're looking stressed and tired, and he encourages, no, insists that you lie down and take a rest, and who else but the green embodiment of so many of your troubles is trying to barge into your palace right after you've finally fallen asleep? You wake up to the pair of them basically trying to slug each other out in the courtyard because Izuku refuses to leave and Todoroki refuses to let him inside

Then there's the added drama of "is Reader or isn't she allowed to sleep with him?" Or if they decide to risk it for love or lust or what 👀 you're just all extremely stressed and bent out of shape and Shoto consoles you, and he sees you and hears you and you feel so understood and he comforts you, and you start feeling like he's literally the only person in this awful country you can trust. I can only IMAGINE the chaos if, even if Reader was allowed to have "connections", if Reader sleeps with Shoto and Izuku finds out, full on barging into your bedroom to find the two of you naked if not still in the middle of the act outright. Izuku just rushing to the Emperor in tears because, it's terrible, you'll never believe it, he can't even believe someone would do something so terrible as to DEFILE you (even if he wants Bakugou to do the same and also maybe himself as well), can't you do something Katsuki, Shoto is DIRTY and WRETCHED and he will TAINT YOUR HONOR obviously

It really has it all. You've got the potential angst for Bakugo just outright having Shoto executed (maybe he's perfectly innocent and just a good friend, maybe he's another yandere), you've got Izuku and Shoto being catty and trying to backstab each other and get the other in trouble, you've got drama between Reader and Bakugou as an arranged marriage couple/"I actually do love you but I'm emotionally constipated and fucked up and can't communicate without being a raging prick"

Deadass, I bet Bakugou goes from maybe seeing you once or twice a week to, once Shoto is in your palace, every single day if not multiple times a day. Obviously he has to keep an eye open in case that stupid monk tries anything with you or tries to trick you into something. You're so soft hearted and nice and stupidly naive that of course you need someone rough like him to balance you out and keep you on track (or so he rationalizes). This is just... a temporary setback! Clearly you love him, and you're HIS wife, no one else's. You're just being a brat and throwing a tantrum for some reason he hasn't figured out yet, but he'll sort this out and get you back on his side, even if he has to kill your new friend to do it. You'll come around. After all, you've stuck with him this long haven't you?

[saintadeline]

(don't remember if this was answered in game!) how long do you think the entire process in research hall was? + what do you think she was like before her time in there?

GOOD QUESTION TBH bloodborne timelines in general are extremely vague and confusing aside from a few events, its less about being hard to place in order (thats usually fine) and more who the fuck knows how much time passes and when. Like how the old hunters and the events of the dlc couldve happened 5 years ago just as they might have 80 years ago. So that doesnt really help theory making LMFAO. The way i see it, the rh timeline is kind of cut in two where the waking world has its own timeline of events and then when the nightmare took it, it was brought back to a mix of specific times in the past, resetting some of the timeline of events and mashing it together to put them in stasis. So to make it easier ill just talk about the waking world LOL i think its like... we know for sure adeline was part of the early experiments, i wouldnt say the first because of the timeline of the healing church itself, the rh was created fairly soon after the healing church actually took position (after the hamlet incident) and we know adeline likely became a saint around its creation as well, so the way i see it she helped in the rh as a saint/nun before actually joining the experiments. So not the first (few?) batch(es) of patients but still early on relative to the rest. I also think her waking world self died a few years after the start of the actual experiments? She seems to have been a bit more resilient than most patients at least in terms of what she could take, but the her we see in the nightmare is definitely not the same way she was in the waking world but thats a whole other can of worms. What im getting at is i think she was possibly already gone by the time the experiments advanced to the stage of the living failures which are definitely more developed in terms of manmade ascension. Its hard to tell when and how the rh transitioned into the orphanage but the way i see it, either the living failures marked the end of an era of trial and error, or the nightmare had a physical effect on it somehow. Maybe both. ITS HARD TO EXPLAIN what i mean about the nightmare id have to make like a timeline graph but i think there IS a physical and timestamped event when a certain place is brought into the nightmare (see: yahargul and mensis), however the nightmare realm itself isnt bound by the law of time and can bring things back in time inside itself when twisting them. I completely lost what i was talking about but i think there was an off time between the official "end" of the rh, (possibly because they could tell something about water wasnt working right. And laurence and maria probably died in between.) and what was later known as upper cathedral ward. I dont *think* the orphanage is directly the rh? Id say the orphanage is a subset of the choir and we can see its not the exact same area as the rh it just overlaps in one place. What i mean by that is the orphanage didnt Replace the rh and there is still very much likely an active equivalent of the rh still working nowadays that the orphanage is attached to. We just dont get to see it but i highly doubt the choir was just concentrated in the orphanage and that wasnt just a smaller portion of upper cathedral ward. Anyway all that to say ummm i have to clue as to how long exactly but id say the rh as a whole had a span of over a few years, maybe something like 5-7? Could be more or less depending on how close to present time you see the dlc. Not extremely long, you can tell the research didnt manage to get pushed very far compared to the emissaries for example. But these did have the backing of ebrietas so its hard to say how much of it comes from pure research and how much is an outside influence. Overall id say it kind of depends on when you think laurence died compared to when he created the church. I dont think he had a long lived vicarhood

[the-lions-mouth]

Ok the ummm the trucker hat is… rocket88 associates them with guys who drive f150s which hmmm. Maybe? I assume you mean like dudes who drive f150s for no fucking reason. And hipsters which is a new fact I just learned. I would say the only 2 types of people I know who wear these are truckers and farmers. Small farmers (which do still sort of exist), not like corporate farmers, obviously. Both of truckers and farmers also wear baseball caps but they are separate Vibe.

You don’t buy trucker hats (unless I guess you are a hipster?), they’re given to you by vendors/seed companies/etc as advertising, which is why Mike’s says MACK on it. Meaning Mike’s comes from trucking not from farming. They all have branding on them very prominently.

I actually don’t know why truckers wear them. But they’re usually vented/mesh in the back (I think Mike’s is) because it’s like… hot on a combine (or was before they were AC cabs).

Also I’ve never seen one that’s not as dirty as Mike’s is. Extremely accurate.

This is a gender thing. And what I’m about to say sounds insane. But trucker hats are for men only. Baseball caps are gender neutral. Trucker hats are only for men – even women who work in trucking or farming, I’ve never seen a woman wear one. It would be a statement; I think people would notice, though not necessarily notice what was “weird.”

I am still not articulating the big thing. They’re very traditional? That’s not quite the right word. I’m not sure if that’s they used to be more common (ie, like when this movie was made) so old people still wear them or that only old people ever wore them. They have a different redneck context than baseball caps, but I am not sure I can explain how. But this is why I was like “oh someone knows what they’re doing” about this hat - because it’s the kind of redneck that Mike is. Mike is not a baseball cap redneck. This is a specific characterization decision to put him in this hat which I’m not sure I can explain. I will think.

[dulcewrites]

I'm a bad influence cus you said Hades and Persephone

Ya twisted my arm (jk). But a Aemond x oc story starting from slightly from the perspective of her mother. Some details that I think would be hades x persephone coded

- house [redacted] (I’ll think of a name lmao) is a stormlands house made up of our oc (I like the name annora but I also like having flower motif) her two younger sisters and brother, and her parents -Johanna and Omar

- their sygil is a narcissus blooming through rain. It sort of symbolizes how their house sits in the intersection between the reach and stormlands/dornish marshes. Much of their wealth comes from being around extremely fertile area and what grows there. Let’s say both team green and black go there (over house Baratheon) based on that wealth

- random but i sort of like the idea of house Baratheon feeling a bit slighted that Aemond didn’t come to their house. they are like daeron will marry whoever as a conciliation prize (daeron slays but you know what I mean)

- Aemond specifically came there for annora. Johanna instantly gets #bad vibes. Not even just the obvious war thing but just the way Aemond is looking at her daughter is NOT sitting right with her. So, she lies and says her daughter is betrothed to another. Omar, completely oblivious, is like no she isn’t????

- now I go back and forth between if this Aemond is charming enough to put the rizz on annora. On one hand, I think both book and show aemond have to work themselves up bc of insecurities. But ngl something about that probably bs account, bc it’s from mushroom, of book Aemond kissing all the Baratheon girls lives rent free in my head. Like why would he do that 😵‍💫😵‍💫

- a hot prince shows up on a dragon saying he wants to marry you, there is only one answer. She’s here for it. Johanna pulls Omar to the side and is like ummm our daughter could be essentially a war prisoner. Now I don’t think Omar is a bad dad, he loves his kids. But do I think he’s super smart? Probably not lol. He sees baby targs with baby dragons. He thinks about tides changing and stormlands houses swearing fealty to them

- the luke stuff happens in front of them. Johanna is mortified, annora is still like “but mom, he took his eye of course he wouldn’t like him ☹️”

- now I kind of like deviating from the book and show in the sense that no one really knows what happened to Luke. Pieces are arrax do not wash up. Did he die on accident? Did Aemond/Vhagar kill him on purpose. Did luke runaway? Who knows. Obviously people think Aemond did something but 🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️

- they still get married despite Johanna pleading to her husband to not let this happen. Annora and Aemond have a traditional westeros faith of the seven wedding BUT and here’s the kicker. Aemond wants a Valyrian wedding as well. I really don’t care about whole blood binding thing (If y’all want to pretend she has distant Valyrian blood go for it). I just like the idea of the blood being a similar motif as the pomegranates.

Anyway I don’t want this to be too long. Just in case I’m a glutton for punishment and actually do this. But yeah it spirals from there. Aemond descends further into madness as people think he is kinslayer. He probably puts a lot of energy/obsessiveness into his relationship bc of it. Very much ‘but you don’t think I’m a murdering psycho right baby 🥺’ while cleaning off his sword of blood. Johanna just wants her daughter back… it’s a mess y’all.

[malrie]

tldr: ummm we never will see how strong the demigods get bc according to lore they’ll be even stronger in adulthood

aka a very long piper charmspeak ramble …… it’s come to this.

one thing my suspension of belief has worked hard day and night fighting for years is the fact that demigods in pjo attract monsters especially when young because they’re weak enough to be prey to them. fine. that’s ok. but something also that is true is that piper & leo both grew up to age 15 which even hedge mentioned was extraordinarily old already for demigods not to have been disturbed (hera’s hold on leo aside) kind of means monsters scented them to be extremely strong even w/o training or awareness, something that never even happened to any other demigod. that is ok too, they’re part of the seven whatever.

secondary to this is the fact that when demigods grow up, specially greek, they leave camp to try to live their own lives in the mortal world and can do so freely bc it’s implied they are strong enough monsters leave them alone/can fend for themselves. notably all done solo - ignoring the random crack celebs mentioned in demigod diaries. that is also fine. who cares. there are allegedly grown up/possibly elderly demigods (not legacies) in new rome. we don’t know them. ok.

EXCEPT this just opens up the door to the other implication that a demigod’s growth over time never really plateaus until much later in their years - meaning the kids in hoo now in teen years are nothing compared to their powers when they’re actual adults. and we won’t ever really see how the powers will develop.

since the seven are already above and beyond the cream of the crop in terms of abilities, what comes next has to be refinement (been a sec since reading hoo so ignore if these have been explored already lol): leo being able to control fire outside of his own body - which goes for other elemental-control types like percy with his water (do not mention bloodbending to me ummm copyright..) or jason (rip) with his lightning.

there are loads of reasons why nico & hazel within lore and also past canon can’t just cheat death but still so much within their death-related power can be pretty flexible. hazel earthbender metalbender truther btw. reyna’s power strengthening probably gets even crazier too. annabeth… love u baby girl go be megamind and be free.. frank can turn into a dragon. um that itself was crazy ig but i just can’t think of the furthering of shapeshifting so im gonna be quiet on him.

and let me SAY SOMETHINGGGGG. this is a piper mclean “joining the war on piper on the side of piper” blog. okay. but consider the fact that she CAN charm monsters and minor gods/sorceresses (medea specifically) and obviously the biggest contender being a whole titan. all before the age of 17.

i read the burning maze only ofc lol and one thing that struck me was that at that point in the narrative shes been charmspeaking for maybe 1 year?? max? and there was the one scene where she used charmspeak on 3 grown men before they went on caligula’s boats and she sort of half-fainted because she wasn’t used to doing that many people. and additionally this is a sometime after gaea. so where is the meter of growth here?

her power is not an elemental one (percy, leo, nico) or self-affected (frank, annabeth). funnily enough it might be closer to reyna, whose powers affect other people (can she power up herself??) and maybe a magical one that’s pretty freestyle like hypnos/hecate. but those seem to have guidelines and levels of known power too.

this is all coming from me just having reread the very first scene in mark of athena where piper was practicing her words to the roman’s and annabeth, just overhearing a little, felt compelled already. piper can control her power/enhance it, but isn’t shown in canon to even think if it affects others in her vicinity. also maybe doesn’t even know the depth of the effect.

past the age of 18, when a greek demigod is implied to move out bc they’re strong enough already not to need protection, piper would have evolved her charmspeak past all her past feats already. with the others, their limits seem pretty clear. hers isn’t?

here are the rules i feel like she has in canon: she can’t command inanimate objects or things/beings that can’t hear her period. huge crowds like the scene in new rome (brick jason scene) were difficult to control. but again, she can compel more than three mortals as of the maze book. so if with age she could charmspeak to a larger masses that would be pretty believable, even if difficult. say that she can’t make someone do something out of their own power, like asking a mortal to do a demigod feat. it still leaves a lot of open room there.

so even theoretically, she can touch a lot of realms of power here, not even in the vaguer way a hecate kid might. can she compel river gods/naiads into moving water for her? other elements with spiritual reps? can she ask the dead to come back to life? is that even in her scope? she wouldn’t do any of these things obviously, since it flies into a moral panic a little. can she ask someone to go mad and crazy and they will? i just said she couldn’t do inanimate objects, but what if that only excluded inorganic matter? can she ask a seed to sprout?

i say ask but she never has to ask. she just needs to speak. now imagine that at her peak ability.

if she can barely control charmspeak slipping out when she was a teen in the hoo books, I genuinely don’t know how she can walk around as an adult without anyone hanging onto every single word she says. or maybe bc she’s older she can control it much better, but it still implies refinement on a scale she never grasped canonically.

ignoring the greco-roman tragedy that is the tlh trio, writing her out of the narrative (and concurrently out of the world of demigods) like riordan did is kinda crazy because you’re just gonna let a charmspeaker run around like that?? haven’t you watched gen v….. oh wait.

i don’t want a time skip in riordan’s 84th random ass spin-off series that’s not what im saying at all.. I just want to speculate on my own.

piper is lucky enough to be surrounded with masses of people who love her, so she isn’t ever in danger of ever becoming an antagonist. remember how even hazel gets mad at jason’s coffin when he dies and “leaves piper”? or annabeth’s first thought when jason dies is how sad she is for piper. mellie & hedge also choose to move with her. the list goes on. she is a top priority.

what really strikes me in how we last see piper is that she has a support system enough to be satiated to never need to come back again to the demigod world. jason got cremated in new rome and she wasn’t at the funeral. leo is off god knows where. she’s close with annabeth, but they don’t have to be at either camps to be close.

what im getting at here is how much of piper’s relationships with people and their protectiveness over her is her power spilling out versus real connection. that is so nasty of me to bring up ofc bc piper is theeee girl and all but imagining the fallout of her realizing something to the effect of her influencing people very close to her without her knowing.. she could retreat further. that’s fully speculation though. no need to panic..

conclusion: piper’s powers hadn’t reached its peak in canon and may never have a real cap to her abilities unless there’s extensive trial and error well into her adulthood. no matter the outcome, she may not even want anything to do with the demigod world anyway.

disclaimer: mentioned some canonical rules here but also haven’t reread the entire hoo series in many many years I might be offbeat and wrong. ooopssss..

sorry if u read all this I can’t give you your time back. i am writing something abt this though. or sorry again if that turns out to be a lie cuz I don’t post it. well.

[iheartmoons]

asks for you bc i’m bored

fav food?

fav drink?

fav show?

fav subject? (i feel like i already know this one but i might be wrong so)

fav snack?

comfort food?

weirdest food you've ever eaten?

most out of character thing you've ever done?

wallpaper?

if you could have an unlimited supply of one thing for the rest of your life, what would you choose?

any phobias?

is there anything you’d wait in line for a week to do, see, or get?

if you could name your brain, what would you name it?

where do you want to travel the most?

you don’t have to answer all of them or any at all if you don’t want to!! they’re very random lmao

you can answer privately too if you’d like <3

OMG HI i should be sleeping but this is more fun:

(strap in bc it turns out that i cant choose anything for the life of me, and i enjoy oversharing)

fav food: i cant….choose. being a basic bitch id say like chicken curry and rice bc idk 🧍‍♂️it’s good. but uhhh i love chinese food generally, like oh man. duck pancakes w the cucumbers and sauces and uh, the noodles and the pork and chicken and dumplings and bao buns (i am aware this sounds terrible to others, but i am drooling)

fav drink: ooh oreo milkshake, or if we’re talking standard drink from the shop, specifically fanta fruit twist (it’s also the colour i would dye my hair btw). my go-to is always generally water tho 🤭

fav show: i cant choose…. maybe like friday night dinner, she-ra, and strong girl bong soon

fav subject: english <3

fav snack: OH um. i love choc chip muffins or choc chip cookies tbh, also brownies!!!!

comfort food: any type of chicken curry and rice

weirdest food i’ve eaten: i really haven’t eaten anything weird. i don’t eat any red meat very often apart from pork, sooo idk. (i’m thinking meat wise here btw) i guess i’d say pig intestines - look it sounds bad, but if you think abt it, lots of people are eating all the other parts of the pig w/o thinking about it. my bro once ate crocodile at a farm once tho which was pretty wild (apparently it tastes like chicken)

most out of character thing ive ever done: see i cant really answer this because i’m just so different in diff situations or w diff people, but i honest to god think that it’s saying i love you to all my online friends. like. id never ever do that in real life. i find it extremely hard to show my emotions, it’s so awkward and uncomfy.

wallpaper: for a moment there i couldn’t decide whether u were asking abt my literal wallpaper or my phone wallpaper…. i’m still unsure… but my lock screen is reg and sirius, and my home screen is the marauders. and if ur asking abt my bedroom, i got lilac walls 🙈

if i had an unlimited supply of smth, what wld i choose: ohhhhhh oh. fuck idk. ummm money??? lmao 😭😭😭 maybe time with my cousin (she’s my fav person and she doesn’t live in the same city + she’s going to uni after next year so my chances of seeing her are slimming)

phobias: the ocean/any big body of water, death (big big emphasis on this one) and ummm like dolls and clowns- actually i’m scared of so many things, the list could go on and on

smth i’d wait in line to see/do/get: i’d wait in line for a hug from mitski tbh

if i could name my brain, what wld i name it: WHAT SORT OF QUESRIONS ARE THESE 😭😭 good lord. id name it the fucking universe. i had this thing when i was younger where i started this universe and kept building characters upon characters until there were hundreds and i knew each of their intricate storylines and id act them out and it was actually bad bc i couldn’t focus on anything else for literal years (there you go, big moons secret - not rlly a secret, i’ve said it before) so yes. there is an entire universe up in my brain probably.

where do you want to travel the most: i wanna go to the south of france + tokyo + venice, but i heard it’s not all that. my fav places that i’ve been to are vietnam and america which r two very different places and i adored them - vietnam more for the food and culture and surroundings, american more bc of family + tourist attractions + theme parks. so. maybe one of those wins.

[spearohero]

what are some of your favorite stories! yours, other people's, small, big, etc! that's probably a big thing to think about so if you want something specific ummm recommend me a writer or three!

man!!! okay excellent question. i think ill still do three but ill talk about different things with each one; bear in mind that this is like, off the top of my head, so its not Definitive (ill try to sneak em in as honorable mentions but even stuff with a huge impact on me is gonna be harder to think of/talk about if it was like ten years ago, yknow?)

oh, and if you want to read my stories, you can see those here =3c

Kill Six Billion Demons

this one probably has to be The Bar for quality in my mind, at least at the moment.

82 White Chain Born In Emptiness Returns To Subdue Evil (yes, full name) has maybe one of the most compelling character arcs i've ever read;

the art is stunning, and the worldbuilding incredibly thorough (in a way that makes the history of the world feel dynamic and relevant, rather than just being tons of lore to sift through);

the fights whip ass and the logic of the cool shit that the characters do is directly tied to the underlying view the story has about Power™, which directly influenced my thought process for a lot of the plot details of "Dawnsister";

and, sort of related to the two previous points, the entire thing is just so fucking coherent, thematically speaking. all the side stories and bits of hover text, all the bits of commentary and passages from fictional manuscripts in the image descriptions, weave together and do some really good allegorical storytelling for the messages Abaddon wants to send (and to underline/counterpoint whats happening in the comic itself), and the details tend to come back later to be relevant in a big way

its just. high marks on literally every metric i can think of. this is the kind of "every line (both kinds) is crammed with intent and nothing is wasted" stuff i wanna do with my writing

(honorable mention for this category: Everything Everywhere All At Once, for sheer quality of writing and similar levels of "god they planned this from the fucking start". one of the only films to make me cry)

Homestuck (im not linking it we all know this one)

i have less to say about this, but i think its one of the stories that's had the biggest stylistic impact on my writing. i was kind of doing it even before reading homestuck but it SUPER cemented it: the 2nd-person voice and the fuckery where a character's thoughts, the narrator's description of a scene, and instructions from the audience/in-universe sources of Brain Interference all blend together is something i keep coming back to in both 3rd-person limited perspective AND 2nd-person (typically transformation-related) work

it also takes all the "using every possible avenue for Additional Storytelling" thing that i was describing about KSBD and ratchets it the fuck up. like this comic is repeatedly the benchmark for "what kind of weird, media-mixing, format-breaking shit can i do with comic panels and text rendering", even if i dont plan to dabble in webpage shenanigans like Hussie did

(i cant think of an honorable mention here, but i liked the way Tyranny presented lore and history to you in hyperlinks in the text, so that you could just HAVE background information your character would have instead of having to Do Exposition. also check out Vast Error if you liked the shit homestuck was doing with multimedia storytelling)

Ascension: Tales of Twin Tails

this one is just one of my favorites. out of this list its for sure been the most impactful on me personally, in like an identity sense at least. this shit transed my gender and othered my kin. its one of the only OTHER pieces of media to ever make me teary-eyed. its about being transgender extremely literally but also in some really creative And Also Extremely Dope ways

the fight scenes are about as grand in scope as the ones in KSBD, and the way that magic works in the setting is just about as thematically-strong (and also offer lots of room for insight about the characters, as well as self-reflection for the reader to have fun with).

the relationships are really, really well-done, and there are scenes that stick with me two years later as just strikingly and stunningly tender and intimate and vulnerable; the characters are just as strong (Coyotl is like, Top Three with White Chain, and if you know anything about me at all you know that Cat Kitten became my entire identity for months after reading it)

read it please read it i will evangelize this novel until the end of time

(honorable mention as far as having an effect on Me As A Person is probably like..... Night in the Woods; super super natural dialogue, lots of compelling relationship turmoil and hit some fears that were Extremely Relevant to me at the time of my life that i played it)

ty for asking btw!! i hope you get around to enjoying one of these =^w^=

[maskspurpose]

what are stories that define hokuto and wataru's relationship the most? if you know ;;

enstage dramatica act 1 and 2

ummm GENERALLY speaking theres going to be a lot in theater club stories & actually main story! i'll list specific chapters for the es1 main story but itll be useful to know what happens in there overall so like if you havent, just read the whole story. the thing is that while wataru isn't present in a lot of it, their presence is like... the few times they do show up are kind of moments of extreme relevance for hokuto.

also sorry this comes with a small essay because i cant shut up ever

fun fact that almost all of the es1 scenes are also in the anime so you could literally just watch that.

Main Story Kingdom Chapters 26+ wataru's first appearance in the story overall, also introduces them through the lense of hokuto specifically so i think its really useful

Main Story Ensemble Chapter 30 + 31 the stuff with hokuto's grandma's letter. i recommend reading the chapters that follow these but theyre the ones with their actual conversation and not primarily others talking about it

Rocket Start! has... iirc 1 or 2 chapters with first year hokuto at the theater club that are really cute :3 generally extremely useful context for how they used to act around each other

(Element) DOESNT HAVE HOKUTO IN IT OFFICIALLY. BUT HES IN HERE. origin of hokke-mask-kun (sometimes hockey-mask)

Performance the romeo and juliet theater club story. most theater club stories are focused on wataru and tomoya (kinda), this one is more centered around wataru and hokuto. cannot in good conscience call this recommended reading because the way i read it was by machine translating the entire second half of it but oh boy.

Kiseki <- link to a tl included bc idt there was ever one on the wiki specifically the third part (set in winter) which i dont use the name of. has one of the most central conversation ever!!!!!!!!!!! makes me go insane every time i think about it!!!!!! [a short clip from the stage show version of it bc it makes me feel insane] wataru is in two chapters and STEALS THE ENTIRE SHOW. for ME.

EP:Link okay i know everyone says this is a wataei story. i am also saying its a wataei story. its literally the wataei rooftop proposal story. its ALSO extremely about wataru and hokutos relationship.

Burning Azaleas More Hokke-Mask stuff, now in ES2 era! kind of goes some more into the stuff that was being covered in kiseki already