#i really want to see more about the prophecy like that sounds so interesting

[zukosdualdao]

i know some people take the moment of azula speaking up in the flashback to the war meeting in sozin's comet as azula trying to "protect zuko" after he starts (while carefully choosing his words) disagreeing with ozai, but i really can't see it that way.

even aside from the fact that i don't think we should ever argue that her advocating for genocide here was a good thing, based on everything else about their relationship, i can't see this moment as anything but her once again trying to establish dominance and superiority over zuko. it actually reminds me of a different scene, all the way back from the flashbacks in zuko alone.

in both situations, ozai is testing his children in a way, and when zuko can't or won't give the "right answer", azula interjects and is able to say exactly what he wants to hear.

in zuko alone, of course, ozai is asking them questions that seem to be related to whatever (heavily inundated with propaganda, clearly) schooling they get. something that i find really interesting is that zuko doesn't seem to only struggle with firebending, but with his schooling as well. which isn't exactly surprising: abused kids often have trouble in school, and that seems particularly likely when ozai is already treating zuko like he is weak, incompetent, and unworthy in other areas. it's a self-fulling prophecy, on ozai's part: he demeans zuko for not being good at firebending (and perhaps for not being good in school), and, because kids are very naturally going to clam up and not get better at something when they're treated as worthless for any perceived flaw, it affects his ability to build his skills or performance in school.

but i think there's also a way in which zuko probably struggles to keep up in school because he's receptive to the values ursa tries to instill in him from a young age. he probably doesn't realize the things they are learning are things that are morally wrong, but there's a way, at this point, in which he can't relate to them, can't understand the motives of why it would be considered a good thing to defeat an enemy in such a brutal way when it runs so counter to the values of kindness ursa is trying to instill in her children, be it by explaining that throwing bread at turtleducks is not nice or that we shouldn't wish death on other family members.

by contrast, the emphasis on azula here is that she's clearly fully bought into the propaganda, that she respects and admires the brutality of the tactics. (also, is it just me, or does she sound a little like she's reciting a textbook, albeit with a lot of glee?) and notably, at the end, when she gets the answer 'right', she side-eyes zuko with a smug smirk. just like she does in sozin's comet as she's told she's right.

just for comparison's sake:

the situation in the sozin's comet flashback is different, of course, because they're not being quizzed on their schoolwork so much as they are being asked to put what they've learned about war and tactics into practice. zuko has a lot more understanding now than he did as a much younger child of the realities of war because he's seen it up close. and because of that, not only can he not condone or suggest any of the brutal and egregious tactics that are clearly expected of him, but he actually says something in defense of the earth kingdom, albeit trying to choose his words carefully, and with ozai (quite possibly willfully?) misinterpretating them.

to suggest that azula is protecting zuko here is its own form of a willful misinterpretation. you have to ignore the entire context of their relationship, azula's established motivations, and the tone of the scene itself to come to that conclusion. she does not interrupt zuko to keep him from saying something that will get him hurt, but because she wants to prove once again that she's better, that she's right and he's wrong, that he’ll never catch up. but zuko is starting to realize that he doesn’t and shouldn’t want to.

[the-artist-grimm]

Hi, I have just discovered your AU and I like the design, also the name made curious about what's the AU about

(Note this Lore Post is HIGHLY Outdated!!!! See the masterpost for current lore!)

Thank you! And for the ‘Crimson Angel AU’ think of it as translating to ‘Blood-Soaked Angel AU’, since I think that’s more of a better visual/description, but crimson just sounds prettier for an actual title.  This is gonna be a little long for more-in-depth lore dump so see the READ MORE for well, more! And my apologies for the rambles that have slowly taken over my brain, it's a little chaotic but the basic gist of it XD

(Note Anthea goes by she/they and I alternate between the two so if that causes reading issues let me know)

In this case, the ‘Blood-Soaked Angel’ is my lamb, Anthea, who starts off the story as being a seemingly kind, friendly, and optimistic person just wanting to help, but is really just someone who is trying to understand why they lived when their family and people did not, and just going with self-sacrifice and self-destruction as the only way to ‘prove’ they deserved to live. 

Got a mini backstory comic here with some explanations, though TLDR Anthea already had this sense of being responsible for keeping everyone else’s spirits up after losing their father, and when heretics destroyed the rest of their family/village at age 12 and they survived by the shear luck of just being out on a routine supply run, they feel as if they don’t deserve it. 

From there Anthea bottled everything up and wandered the forests for a bit until being found and taken in by Ratau, who taught her not only how to fight but also told her stories of his time as vessel, of which any involving The One Who Waits were the most interesting. A lonely, bitter, and kinda angry god of death, despite  his appearance, kept and appeared to care for the two young kits by his side. TOWW sounded different from the other bishops Anthea had only ever known to be violent, and thus she began to worship him as a sort of comfort-since thinking a gentler god greeted her family and would one day greet her was a better thought than the horror they must’ve faced prior to death. She lived day to day just pretending everything was fine, being a good kid, and helping out around the shack, while internally treating every moment like borrowed time, thinking she had to keep being useful to everyone else. (Ratau knew she had people-pleasing issues but didn’t realize the extent for a long, long time) 

Cut to Anthea being 26, and after she and Ratau were heading back one afternoon after some errand or visit were ambushed by heretics who managed to injure Ratau when they tried to escape, and though they got away, they were pursued. Thinking she’d lived on borrowed time long enough and wanting to prevent another person she loved from dying, Anthea took advantage of Ratau’s injury keeping him from stopping her and drew the heretics away, being captured as a result. 

Bishops, execution, Anthea gets the shock of hearing that they’re the final lamb prior to sacrifice, then suddenly they’re waking up in the gateway to the god they’ve worshiped for years, and he’s just as Ratau described. A lonely, bitter god with two young kits (I place Aym and Baal as teens since it leads to some interesting moments), by his side. Yet where that’s all Ratau saw, Anthea also saw the chains. The wounds bleeding an endless stream of ichor. The way TOWW struggled prior to their approach, how his voice and smile were strained. This god they’d built up as this better to the bishops is trapped and painfully so, and when offered the chance to help him, Anthea jumps at it. They must’ve lived for SOMETHING, must be the last for some greater purpose because there were so many other lambs who ‘deserved’ to live more, so if it’s for this prophecy then so be it. 

Game plays out, Anthea begins to see past the bitterness/anger Nariender puts up to see someone genuinely hurt by those he cared about and struggling to trust after while also seeing he’s not exactly perfect, whilst Nariender in turn starts to call Anthea out on the whole self-sacrificial stick as them just trying to die to make themself feel better instead of just facing the fact that they lived, others died, and that’s all there is to say. Slowly the two become friends, got an idea for example that Anthea starts to use the crown to show Nariender what he’s missed in the world as a means of comforting him/helping him remember not all was as bad as he recalls (aka they’re unintentional dates lol), Anthea also starts befriending the twins since they remind them of their own brothers which gains more Nariender friendship points at someone making his kids happy, and that friendship slowly turns to a genuine love from both sides. 

Anthea plans to keep her feelings hidden until after Narinder’s free, though secretly starts to work on an engagement present to confess by leaving the crown at the temple and going to the Lonely Shack at night. (the engagement also meant to be a symbolic ‘hey you don’t have to feel the same but just know I’ll be with you from now on I won’t leave you’). Is also Anthea finally taking steps to live life for herself and move on to something that makes her happy. Meanwhile Narinder has no idea what these feelings he’s having are-just that this weirdly kind, cheerful, but also melancholic and frustratingly self-sacrificial lamb makes his heart race, and is now for some reason being a little distant. He’s been trying to figure out how to return to the world above without sacrificing Anthea, but now has whatever this is distracting him, and thus has the crown follow one night, only hears part of Anthea discussing/being teased about planning a proposal but not who said proposal is for, and being unused to jealousy but very used to being cast aside and betrayed gets angry/scared/heartbroken and decides to just go through with the sacrifice anyway since it’s easier than trying to figure out why he’s feeling like this. 

Endgame battle hits, during which Anthea feels very confused/hurt by his order to sacrifice themself, as just the other day here was their dearest friend lightly scolding them for willingly dying just to visit. They try to reason with him and Narinder doesn’t want to hear it, so he orders the twins to fight Anthea which neither are willing but are forced, and Anthea has no choice but to kill both since Nariender refuses to hear reason. The anger, grief, guilt, and heartbreak they’ve bottled up finally boils over as red wings appear on their back like they briefly do in-game when the lamb refuses (this all started when I saw the scene in-game and thought the visual/symbolism was really cool), and they fight and defeat Nariender. 

When back at the compound Nariender’s just lashing out and cursing Anthea on the dais because he’s angry and hurt at her betraying him until Anthea just calmly tells him why he was spared-she loved him. Nariender finally looks at her and is hit with the realization that this lamb who’d always looked at him so warmly with adoration is now giving him the most blank, lifeless expression as she tells him he’s free to do as he pleases before leaving. And he now realizes that because he didn’t stop and think things through and instead let anger take the focus he completely neglected to realize that here was someone who loved him-who loved him even as they learned of his faults, saw his lowest, ect, and he just threw it all away over a misunderstanding he could've EASILY just asked about. He even sacrificed his guards (read sons) just because that was somehow easier than talking. Which begs the question, who else loved him? Who else did he miss? Was his imprisonment really all on the bishops, or was he also to blame? Whilst Anthea’s now stuck with a godhood she didn’t want, two more loved ones dead, and a broken heart. 

The two gotta learn where to go from here, the now blood-soaked ‘angel’ who’s begun to realize just how much giving pieces of yourself hurts, and a fallen god who’s begun to realize things aren’t as black and white as he thought. They get better! Eventually...

Might try making a fic, might just keep this as drabbles and rambles along with art, but right now I’m having fun making fanart/aus for the first time instead of just watching from the sidelines, so I hope you enjoy the ride. But for now enjoy some angsty doodles :D

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Gmmtv 2025

So now, that I have time, I'm actually gonna sit and watch the trailers properly. Let's go.

Dare You to Death - The plot is appealing to me, the cast is interesting. I was never a JD fan so if I decide to watch it will be for all the ensemble and the actual plot.

Head 2 Head - My babies! Forced cohabitation my beloved. I'm gonna pretend I didn't see the vision thingy cause other than that this just seems like a cute bl, and I'm here for that.

Burnout Syndrome - OffGun in a love triangle? Gun being fought over by two men just has god intended? I am so seated for this!

Whale Store xoxo - MilkLove is back and I wanna like this one. It seems cute, and drama light. I'll probably be tuning in.

Only Friends - Dream On - The chill that came down my spine when the song started playing. I left my body. With that said, and like I said before, EarthMix is here, so who am I kidding? I will watch. Kinda surprised to see JossFluke already paired in another bl, before the first one has even started airing. OhmLeng was predictable as a recurring pair and I'm always here for Ohm. Leng has a lot to prove being surrounded by all these names.

That Summer - MOND! Mond kissing boys! That's it.

My Romance Scammer - Not in a million years did I think we would get this OhmFluke combo. Dimples is back kissing boys and Ohm is just back. And MarkJunior seem to be here to stay. Also, I love that since we got gay marriage we should immediately tackle gay divorce. Sounds good.

Melody of Secrets - I'm glad they're back playing adults although the dynamic seems to be the same. I wish they changed it up and let Book be the pursuer. I like the horror elements and we don't get enough of those but I don't know about this one.

Love You Teacher - The first half of this trailer had me. I love Perth and he's playing a grown up so I was sold. And then it happened. And I don't know how I feel about any of it.

MU-TE-LUV - I guess we're getting this and not OurSkyy3. Will watch the queers and the rest we'll see.

Cat for Cash - This is just rude. Do they know that cats are my ultimate weakness? I can't watch all these shows, but a show with talking cats? multiple of them?? C'mon. I'm not even gonna pretend to be torn about this one. I will be watching.

Girl Rules - So, Only Friends but make it sapphic. I'm sad to say, I'll probably pass on this one.

Boys In Love - PAPANG!!! The rumours were true and he's paired with Pod in this. All I saw in this trailer was that and the dimples. Who is that kid? Cause he's adorable. This is the obligatory high-school bl, it looks soft and fluffy. Might check it out.

My Magic Prophecy - I will be skipping this one.

A Dog and a Plane - What a mess of a trailer. But do I care? Not even a little. It's TayNew so I'll be watching with bells on.

Me and Thee - This show will be the true test of how shallow I can get. Will I start a show because Est was wearing glasses in the trailer? Only future me will know. Look, PondPhuwin can play, we know this, but I don't know if I want another show with them so soon. At least they're playing different roles, so there's that.

Wu - Who was saying this wasn't bl? Did you not see the golden thread? And the fate talk? And the looks? And well, everything? It's a bl. I don't know about this one mostly because I don't know the actors. Although tumblr is doing its job well and I'm this close to binging the frenemies show so maybe I'll reevaluate.

Memoir of Rati - I am so easy, it's embarrassing honestly. They so pretty, the scenery is so pretty, historical bl. Sold!

Ticket To Heaven - So many flashbacks to catholic school. It looks good, which doesn't surprise considering it's Aof. I'm glad GeminiFourth are back playing more serious roles. I am really intrigued by this one but also don't trust it completely for some reason. I don't know yet.

Yeah, I'm a sucker. I will be watching most of the first episodes of this line up in like a year when they actually get made. Probably not gonna stick with a lot of them but we'll see. As it's becoming obvious, I'm easy.

Also just a fun fact I guess, and as @lurkingshan as said here, with these shows, 4 couples will hit 5 series as a pair. OffGun, FirstKhao, ForceBook and EarthMix, even though that last one I'm counting Ossan's Love which is also not released yet.

And another thing, of the Gmmtv 2024 QL shows, 7 have yet to premiere. Thame Po, will premiere December 13 but the other six don't have dates yet. They are : My Golden Blood, Ossan's Love, The Ex-Morning, Us, Sweet Tooth Good Dentist and Revamp. So yeah, we're not gonna see any of these new shows anytime soon. Although I'm putting my money on the OffGun series being one of the first to premiere in this line up.

All the trailers and posters for gmmtv2025 can be found here.

[cenorii]

Suspicious mentions

Today we will focus on something interesting, a little sad, and also squint and pretend to be surprised by something. A little bit of Jake, a little bit of Wesker.

I wrote once before that I find any mention of Wesker in games since his "death" suspicious, but I want to talk about it again because I have something to add. All of this is my personal opinion, seasoned with facts.

Capcom jettisoned Wesker very early on, failing to find a proper\interesting use for the character other than "antagonist who dies at the end of the game". Wesker has too long and complex a history that intertwines with all the games, and dying so early and so stupidly is obviously not a very worthy development for such a character. And they came to that conclusion too, but very late. This is the reason why Jake Muller, a wonderful character, and the whole thing with his mother was invented. Jake is a nice way for Capcom to continue Wesker's idea, but without him, or an attempt to end his story in a more dignified way by giving him a "suitable successor".

But they couldn't achieve the desired result with Jake either, so they continued to get out of the quagmire they got themselves into because of the ending of re5 by adding references to Wesker in Umbrella Corps, where it's gotten to the point where he's probably alive or his clone is now in charge of the Corps. A convenient way to prepare players for his return? Do they really intend to develop him? I'd like to see that happen.

But no one would be surprised that Wesker isn't dead, knowing his regeneration abilities and so on. So Capcom is forced to write in every note mentioning him that he's dead, reminding everyone that the volcano is his end. But… as we can see, this certainty of his death is the delusion they're trying to make us believe. All those notes, all those mentions… they are unreliable, because no one has ever answered the question "did anyone check out that volcano?". Can anyone in RE at this point be 100% certain that Wesker is dead? I don't think so, since no one has checked his "place of death".

In re7 Capcom decided to remind players of Wesker again, stating that BSAA is now, all of a sudden, partnered with Blue Umbrella, and using Wesker's weapons recovered from his designs. Why bring up Umbrella again? Why give them the same logo as the Corps but in blue colors? Why make Chris use Wesker's weapon? These details were chosen by Capcom for a reason, because games aren't developed in 5 minutes, they are created over years and all these small details are discussed repeatedly. Wesker's weapon also appeared in Umbrella Corps, which kind of hints that Capcom had some development planned for him as early as 2015. Empty references and a sudden clone? No, it's all for a reason. It all carries some sort of meaning and will lead to something in the end.

The note Jake's mother left him before she died reads:

«My beloved son, Jake. Please forgive your mother for leaving you alone so soon. And please don't hate your father. Your father surely still loves you from the bottom of his heart. Stay strong and know that you will meet him one day»

(Project Umbrella Translation)

I'd like to talk about Ms. Muller's assurance that Jake will one day meet Wesker. This, of course, could be a dramatic element, telling the viewer that Jake will not meet him, since his father is dead and he is now all alone. However, now, knowing all the facts telling us otherwise, Jake's mother's words sound different. They sound like a prophecy. Why was she sure that Jake and Wesker would meet? How deep is this iceberg?

There are no answers to these questions, we can only hope Capcom continues to pursue this line in future games. Given the presence of a picture of the old Wesker in re8 - they're really determined to develop this subtle storyline. And that's a great thing.

It's about time they stopped killing off "negative" characters at the end of games if they are "negative", because sometimes some of them have great potential for a second life. A character like Wesker, with a background that can only be compared to the deepest iceberg, is capable of something more than just antagonism. And I'm really enjoying the fact that he still hasn't been brought back, only tossing us small details that only slightly hint at his continuing life. After all, this is how a character like this should be revealed, he's perfectly at home in the background, behind the scenes, as someone who doesn't like to get personally involved. He's a head, but not a leader.

And if that's exactly what they're leading us to, they don't want to surprise us with Wesker's return at all. That would be too easy, don't you think?

[escapedaudios]

Fun fact! My second ever series was slated to be a fantasy series, but I absolutely shit canned the whole thing. I'll never, ever produce it so I'm gonna yap about it here. It was an adaptation of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign I wrote and DMed back in 2020 called Cobañera.

The story began with the listener attacking the main speaker (Thorne) with powerful magic. As he struggles against her spells, he tells her to try and remember their journey, that she doesn't really want to kill him. The story flashes back to one year prior, where they first met.

In a world where magic once thrived but is now heavily repressed after a prophecy fortelling the progress of magic would cause a world-ending war, two young and hungry directionless youths meet. They take on an odd job to transport a sealed crate containing a decommissioned and illegal magical artifact to be fully disposed of. On their journey, however, they are attacked by a member of a radical rebellion group (Plague Covenant) determined to restore magic to the world to it's former glory by forcefully infecting people with a plague that imbues them with dangerous and unstable wild magic.

They try to flee, but can't outrun their attackers. The listener tries to save Thorne from the Plague Covenant, and to her surprise, manages to do so using magic. The Plague Covenant yields when they see she is gifted with magic and leave them alone, with both the Listener and Thorne absolutely in shock that she could cast spells.

They become fearful that if someone learned of her magic, they would believe she was infected with the plague. They seek the help of the few who still understand magic, and find themselves entangled between three warring factions, all with different interpretations of the prophecy.

Anyway I got writer's block before I could write the middle of the story. The big plot twist towards the turning point of the plot was that the prophecy never showed their world's future, but rather the past of a long-dead world from a parallel timeline where the magic equivalent of nuclear armageddon took place. The bigger plot twist was that a few hundred powerful individuals from the old timeline escaped to their world before being annihilated. The records of their past were shown to the people of the main story's timeline as a "prophecy" to ensure that the only weapon powerful enough to stop them (the magical doomsday device from the other timeline) would never be built.

The bigger BIGGER plot twist was that the listener originated in the other timeline, AND her parents were the leaders of the super secret super evil final boss faction, ANDDDDD they had been engineering her entire life behind the scenes to make her into a powerful magical prodigy ANNNNNDDDD they brainwash her into becoming their leader and like AAAAAAUUUUGGGHH SRTFFHJG.

Anyway, my cat destroyed my laptop and I had to take a hiatus and work on a smaller, shittier backup laptop that could barely edit sound. I got writer's block and started writing another series instead called San Sequestro 1987, which later became The Neon Barbarian.

Anyway, I never came back to Cobañera. Why? I was struggling to convert a (thirty game long, four-player character) Dungeons and Dragons campaign into an eight episode game. Also, things that work for a tabletop RPG story just don't always work well as an audio roleplay story. There were like a million bazillion plot twists and the abundance of factions that made the story more interesting in the tabletop game made the story worse in the audio RP by just absolutely bogging everything down and making everything messy and convoluted.

I ended up just hating the whole thing. I hated the chosen one plot point, I hated that the plot hinged on the introduction of a bullshit multiverse plot device, I hated the fact that the final villains were randomly the listener's parents. I hated the countless tropes I peppered into the script that are forgivable in an interactive medium like a Dungeons and Dragons game but absolutely dull clichés in a scripted story.

Also my character had a funky fantasy British accent but I hated every rehearsal take I did with that accent. The listener's nickname was, I kid you not, "Cheeky". Around the time my fat idiot cat sent my computer to the shadow realm, I discovered a much more popular VA who's audience seemed to heavily overlap with mine named Scythe Audio. His flagship series featured a similarly impertinant speaker with an English accent and a Listener nicknamed Cheeky and I just stared at the YouTube video thinking "you're fucking kidding me lmao hahaha what the FUCK".

I think that was the last straw for me and I just abandoned the project entirely. A million zillion rewrites and then I found this uncanny similarity to this other VA and I just decided the rewrites weren't worth it for this fuckass story. I ended up becoming friends with Scythe after discovering him through that though lmao so silver lining.

[tonydaddingham]

still near catatonic about the show and the direction in which it was taken. ive seen macbeth on stage once before, and then on screen a few more times, and yet this one is probably the most sensitive, clever, and plain interesting version ive seen out of all of them?

you have david portraying macbeth as this really formidable, brave and lauded general, initially curious but otherwise sceptical at The Prophecy. that's a given. but then he gradually succumbs to ambition and greed; but what i didn't expect is the choice to emphasise how pitiful his wavering resolve would be? how he oscillates so heavily between heeding that greed, but initially clings to the last vestiges of his honour and morality. it's not just that he's a dick with sudden flashes of morality; you can feel that there's a war going on in there, and a constant underlying fear and terror. with macbeth in general i think it's tempting to immediately make macbeth either a mindless and easily-swayed tool of his wife or to make him outright bloodthirsty and tyrannical from the onset, but you don't... get that in this? at all? and it pleasantly surprised me. instead you get a deliciously insidious and creeping mania, steadily suffocating him (beautifully portrayed by a combination of the rest of the company, the score, and the lighting) and get to watch how it just ousts every last good and decent part of him, done so perfectly that i genuinely felt terrified and tense the whole time.

and then LADY MACBETH oh my GOD SO. so. from the first moment that she was on stage, cush was just utterly captivating. i didn't ever want to look away from her, even as she lingers in the background??? her madness, such as it is (and for lack of a better term), is so apparent from the very first moment that she's on stage; jittery hand movements, darting eyes, and a sweet, almost childlike voice? for me, the fact that this is not a wholly scheming, cruel, and demonised version of her, and instead is a lady macbeth that is achingly vulnerable, was so refreshing. like yeah she's visually marked with this sort of innocence, but it carries into cush's mannerisms and delivery too. despite her plotting and what she goads macbeth into doing - almost to a point that it seems like he deliberately uses her ambition as a scapegoat for his own - you end up seeing her as a lost soul, of sorts, and want to protect her from her own mind. the fact that you don't see a manifestation of her 'madness', only macbeth's, makes it all the more intriguing. and the language and imagery of rejecting her femininity and womanhood not only provides a contrast to macbeth re: perceived weakness/lack of conviction, but also further elucidates on how haunted of a person she seems to be? idk if that makes any sense but at times it felt like i was watching a play composed of ghosts right from the beginning. favourite portrayal of lady macbeth ever, hands down.

and then god im going to dream about the blocking and the choreography for bloody ages; not just the ceilidh (which was awesome, loved that sm) and the fight scene, but the choices in how each character moves around and uses the stage, and how they interact with each other (in this, lady macduff was particularly mesmerising goddamn). epitome of this however is a) the opening of the whole play because 🙃🫣🫠, and b) act 4 with the song of the witches (i don't want to spoil it or any of the other more horror-like scenes but im now intrigued that max webster also did king lear 👀 and would be very interested if he did something like othello, too). last thing was the sound; i didn't read much up on the first run before seeing it, so the only feature that i really knew about was the sound design- i was initially worried that it might be a bit gimmicky? but fuck it was complete genius.

anyway so this was a complete ramble but if anyone is still unsure whether to try getting on the day tickets just. do it. it's an incredible version of macbeth, and im fucking pumped that i get to see it twice more, because there is just so much that im sure i didn't pay enough attention to, and absolutely deserves it. amazing company, amazing play, and whilst - don't get me wrong - i feel this is one of his most defining (if not The defining) shakespeare role for david, i truly didn't expect to be so blown away by literally everything else.

[colonelpancakes]

Season Six Episode Five "Moonless Night" lets go! Given the fact that one of our protagonist’s is a MOONshadow elf, this title makes me worried. Like, I know it’s referring to the prophecy thing but still…

Skjsklf I love Rayla. She wants NO part of this ding dang prophecy business.

Hmm so Callum wants to know more about whatever Startouch magic item they could get for doing the quest. Interesting. I wonder if he’s still thinking about ways to defeat Aaravos? Since "from the heavens" does sound like it would have something to do with the Startouch elves, "beings from the heavens".

Stella’s little “just kiss already” look is killing me.

I love Soren checking in on Ez to see if he's okay is so sweet. I love his character development so much, going from considering killing Ezran to being a dedicated crownguard and making sure Ezran's okay.

Oh wedding?? That’s happening now?? Yay!

Surely nothing will go wrong, Ezran will have a nice relaxing break and Janai and Amaya will have a lovely stress-free wedding and nothing will go wrong and the fact that the episode after next is called "The Red Wedding" means nothi-

Ezran sidestepping actually saying Viren’s name and even Soren faltering a little bit before he says it. The impact he’s had on both their lives is so clear even in these little moments.

They’re so sweet they are going to melt my heart I love themm 🥹

Ohh... and Soren's upbeat demeanor vanishing as soon as he leaves Ezran's room because he knows Ezran needs the reassurance...

Fly caught in a spiderweb imagery how interesting…

Oughh poor Soren. And the voice acting is so good here. You can hear how much effort Soren is putting into keeping his voice steady and tough so he doesn’t give Viren any control over him again.

Rayla gives the exact same response as Sarai did in season two. The Ice Behemoth is already giving me huge Magma Titan vibes I really feel like killing it is the wrong move. And Rayla’s right, they don’t know anything about the behemoth or why its causing the storms. “Does it think? Does it feel? Does it have a family? […] Then is it the last of its kind?”.

Yeah, that’s something I was thinking about too. It’s interesting how Callum is the one so interested in this prophecy when before this point, he’s always been the most resistant to the idea of destiny, or the concept that there’s something you “have” to do and there’s no way around it. I wonder if there’s something else at play?

🥺🥺🥺 Rayla singing a lullaby???? Holding Stella like a baby???? My heart…

Viren, respectfully, please shut up.

I wonder if the reason Soren keeps coming down is because he needs to see for himself that Viren is still locked up so that it can be real for him? Like if he keeps checking on Viren that means he can see with his own eyes that he’s still there and isn’t escaping or hurting anyone, and it'd be hard to get that reassurance from a guard. It could also be that he feels some form of responsibility for Viren and doesn't feel right passing that to someone else. Idk maybe I'm totally off, but I could see that contributing.

"And that’s why I abandoned your sister on a beach."

Yes, including abandoning your daughter on a fucking beach. Viren. It’s good that you're acknowledging how much you’ve hurt Soren but please also acknowledge that you are in fact still actively fucking up in the parenting department.

Ohh. Soren… He’s finally hearing his father tell him the things he’s wanted to hear for so long, the things he’s had to figure out on his own. That the way he was treated was cruel and wrong. That he’s not lesser, or a bad person, or stupid or the things he’s been told aloud or otherwise for most of his life. That is father sees who he is and is proud of the man he’s become. But the last time he was down here with Viren, Viren told him that all of the awful things were in his head, that he was imagining them. That he was too stupid to understand Viren’s instructions and of COURSE his dad had never done anything wrong. He was literally gaslit and it has (understandably and rightly) absolutely destroyed his ability to ever trust Viren again. How could he when Viren lied to and manipulated him for his whole life? It’s too good to be true, so it must be a trick.

And then Soren getting angry, reaffirming that he knows who Viren is and what has happened and that it was real out loud so that Viren can’t gaslight him again, can’t convince him that nothing was wrong in the first place, can’t manipulate his point of view or taint the happiness that he’s finally found in the palace with Ez and Callum and Corvus and Opelli.

Oh, Soren…

On a much happier note, Stella holding Sneezles!!!!!!!!!!

sjaklffsjdkaljfd I love them so much. Callum, what are you doing?

Also, I noticed while screenshotting that Stella is still holding Sneezles and I just think that’s so cute.

Ooh interesting. I wonder what determines the prerequisites for a spell being cast. Like, what characteristics distinguish spells that need a physical element or a magic object from spells that can just be cast aloud with runes?

Yeah, I still don’t think that killing the behemoth is a good idea in the first place. This magma titan part two. Hopefully with a different ending this time.

Ohhhhhh I am imagining wet socks in that kind of weather and that sounds hellish. Hopefully the Celestial Elves have some spidersilk socks they can lend them.

Aww, Callum sheltering Rayla from the storm with his arms.

The behemoth’s heart even glows in the same way the magma titan’s did! Actually, how do we know this isn’t just an ice titan? Maybe titans aren't all humanoids, I mean we've only seen one type so far.

Okay I'm less than halfway through the episode and I've run out of images. Dang. Continued in reblogs

[atalienart]

I disagree with the Latin stuff and the names. Lucy Sartor and Luna Stellar would sound pathetic to me as well in a more "realistic" not fully fairytale-esque context, just like Gardner and Taylor; or worse, because those are at least actual common surnames. I think it's depending on the language you're writing for. My first language is a romance language, not English, and all the names that try to be clever using Latin sound way more obvious at best and straight up ridiculous at worst to me. Like, say, Harry Potter. It all sounded so silly 6yo me was mocking them with my mother while we read. Of course Remus is called Lupin and of course Snape is Severus and Draco is called Malfoy. Of course xD

I do like the subtlety of names too, and I was just discussing with a friend a few days ago how interesting it is in a mix of narrative and metanarrative way that names are almost always meaningful in fiction, because it seems to create that tension between what is predetermined and what isn't in fiction. Almost as if the character at some point could turn around and look at the writer directly. As if they had the weight of the life they had to live since they were born, worldbuilding aside (obviously not as interesting in the context of actual in-world prophecies and such), and that is precisely the text! Like that one chapter in Nietszche's Zarathustra. "Good and evil, and joy and woe, and I and thou—coloured vapours did they seem to me before creative eyes".

Personally, I don't see a problem with those names. Are they on the nose, sure, but they don't sound pathetic to me. As I said, it's your own language that makes you like them or not. I remember that the minister of magic was called Fudge? (if we're taking HP as an example) and it was translated in the Polish version as Knot (which can come from "knocić", making something really poorly) and I really loved it, it made me laugh. But I wouldn't want them to translate dr House's surname because it would sound really silly. And even if I know what those names mean it's fine, I have another context.

I myself usually either look for names beginning with a particular letter so it's easier to tell the characters apart, or just think what suits them sound-wise. Then I check what the name means and sometimes I get really surprised. Sometimes I go look for names from other languages. With surnames it's similar. I also play with letters or look for words at random. To someone, somewhere they will always sound silly because they'll sound similar (or identical) to some random word. It's how it is. But I also use Latin to name some things and I don't think they are worse because people who know Latin or romance languages will recognise the connection/meaning, that's why I use it. (Shit, I even have a character named Korbin who takes care of ravens xD) I remember a discussion about the Grishaverse and how to Russian speaking people it was just Georgieverse. It's how it is. Sometimes I cringe seeing Polish names used in English books. Sometimes writers use the diminutive version of a name thinking it's a legit normal name. I mean...

I really wonder how would you solve the subtlety issue, taking into consideration that to have a meaning behind the word you need to take that word from an existing language. Like would you think if I named a character Anna Lato it would sound subtle for your ears? "Lato" means "summer" in Polish, it's also a surname. Anna comes from Latin but functions as a normal name. Let's say the character has a sunny personality. Is this subtle enough? To someone somewhere, (probably in Poland) it might still sound silly.

[asha-mage]

DELICIOUS LEWS THERIN AND ISHY SCENE

"I know how much you hate being alive. But I don't want to do this again." WOOF

Fascinating that this was apparently a targeted strike at the different Forsaken, probably picking them off before the strike against The Pit of Doom.

INTRO RETURNS AW YEAH

A part of me was kinda hoping for a new season 2 one with the Heroes of the Horn, but Spoilers probably meant it couldn;t be. Maybe next time. (Also the Aes Sedai one slaps anyways)

I will NEVER be able to forgive them for making so many hateable men so god damn hot, Bornhold topping the list. And by 'never be able to forgive' I mean 'never be able to thank enough'. (see also: Masema)

28 feels like to small a number of damane for the Seanchan to have in Falme, but I suppose it's a rough estimate and also not including those still in 'training'

The Watches Over the Waves have always been one of those loose threads that never really got touched on. Glad their getting a glancing shot here.

"Prophecies are just the lies of long dead witches" intereeeesting. Not a shocking take for the Whitecloaks to have.

AW YEAH THE MOST UNCOMFORTABLE ROAD TRIP EVER

Dang Lanfear cold blooded still.

Perrin and Avi! Aw yeah again!

......Interesting. What is that mist I wonder?

I continue to be so happy they nailed the Aiel so right.

Man Lanfear and Ishamael really sound like they ARE trying to seduce Rand to be their third.

FUCK that's clever (re: The Whitecloak smoke trick)

Their changing the framing of the Egwene rescue a bit, but their keeping Nynaeve's half of it pretty the same, so I'm hoping it will play out like in the books. Still one of my favorite scenes in the series.

Of course Ishamael steps out of that room and IMMEDIATELY knows that Lanfear is trying to play him

Mat! And Padan Fain! Surprised we aren't getting more of a reaction to Padan Fain is A Darkfriend from Mat, but that is a reveal that's pretty old to the audience at this point.

Moiraine and Lan! Platonic marriage re-established!

I like that they gave this speech to Loial re: heroes of a new age. It's very fitting for his character.

Offff. At least it's white cloaks so Egwene isn't going to have nearly as much guilt for slaughtering them.

FUCK

RANDA AL'THOR YOU ARE THE FUNnIEST PERSON ON THE PLANET

on the one hand i've always loved the Turak vs Rand duel, on the other....yeah probably does not have the sword trainining needed to do that this time round.

By Turak! At least you got to take Suroth down a peg this time!

Glad they kept the ritual suicide of the So'jhin re: Turak's death. It's one of those moments for hitting home just how fucked the Seanchan culture is.

.....Interesting choice to cut Ingtar's confession, especially after making a point to show the Shienar falcon early in the season. By Ingtar!

Oh hey Domon! You took Moiraine's advice I see.

'Take them to the deepest part of the ocean and dump them' Pffffffft. Peak Lanfear

MAY MAKING A NAGINTA WITH THE DAGGER IS SO A?UAHGAUSDUGHASUDGHASDGAUHSDGASUHFADSUHFASDFUH?ASDFASDFASDFAS

[It was at this point that I lost all coherence and stopped being able to liveblog effectively so here are some of my assorted post credits thoughts]

MOIRAINE AND LAN KILLING IT ONCE MORE

I have conflicted feelings about Egwene actually killing Renna, related mostly to the scene from the books being so important to the under laying themes of justice and fate, but I also can't deny that with it's shifted framing, it makes complete sense for the characters, and it heightens the ongoing theme of 'The Forsaken where to Lews what the EF5 where to Rand'.

I also have conflicted feelings about Nynaeve not being the one to heal Rand's wound, but I understand the logic of the choice, even if I don't agree with it.

On the other hand it is BRILLIANT AND INCREDIBLY SMART CHOICE to have Bornhold Senior be the one to kill Hopper, and Perrin to kill him in revenge. It's going to make the Two Rivers stuff A Lot More. It will also make Perrin's conviction to give himself up to the Whitecloaks make a lot more sense.

MAT BEING A HERO OF THE HORN IS INTERESTING BECAUSE MAT SPECIFICALLY WASN'T IN THE BOOKS- HE REFUSED REPEATEDLY THROUGH MANY LIVES. This lends credence to the 'future turning of the wheel' credence of the show which I've always favored anyways.

The scene where all these pivotal character moments are happening while Mat blows the horn, all these different arcs turning on their head, is SO FUCKING BRILLIANT

ALSO CONGRATS ON THE PROMOTION TO HERO OF THE HORN UNO

They don't specifically name drop any heroes in the scene, and I'll have to go back with X Ray to see if any are named, but THEIR SURE IS A BLONDE ARCHER LADY IN THAT SHOW SO FOR NOW HIGH BIRGITTE

ALSO HIGH ARTUR HAWKWING I ASSUME on the one hand it feels weird for your line to be directed at Mat instead of Rand. On the other your part in this scene originally was really just to drive home beyond any shadow of doubt, any ability of Rand to deny it to himself for a reason beyond stubbornness, that he was the Dragon. Rand's already accepted that here so you're not strictly speaking necessary for that, but still.

The shot where everyone is standing united against Ishamael is SO FUCKING GOOD.

Also by Ishamael! We'll see you in a few seasons in your newer, hotter, twinkier body!

(I don't envy the actor that has to live up to Fares Fares, it's going to be no easy task).

ALSO ENTER: THE OTHER FORSAKEN, dun dun dun!

Moggy fucking with Lanfear is so fucking good. FEED IT TO ME SLOWLY WITH GRAPES

GIRL SET HER TRAP AND WAITED FOR LANFEAR TO WALK INTO IT JUST SO SHE COULD GET THE UPPER HAND AND GLOAT IN AN OVERWHELMINGLY LESBIAN WAY WHAT AN ICON

Oh man I am going to rewatch and binge this entire season like FORTY TIMES.

[imagionationstation]

So I was watching Knights of the Zodiacs and idk it made me think what if the turtles were like…reincarnation of gods? Idk

Anyways, this is what I’d personally assign -

Leo - Athena. Raph - Ares. Donnie - Apollo (god of knowledge and all that) or Hephaestus. Mikey - Hermes.

I also spun a wheel to let it decide. So much funnier and more interesting.

Leo - Hermes. Raph - Aphrodite (did you know Aphrodite was also a war goddess?). Donnie - Artemis. Mikey - Demeter.

I think it’s fun, you don’t have to respond lol

I play with Greek/Roman history sometimes so I know enough to recognize the gods and their tempers/hobbies/interests.

If they were recarnations, how much of them would remain? Or would they still have the turtles personalities? Would they still have their powers or some variations of them…?

Never seen Knights of the Zodiacs so I have zero frame of reference for the thoughts that you are having. It’s making my train of thought stop at multiple stations despite its desire to chug on.

(Edited due to minor confusion)

Lemme see…

Athena: Goddess of the wisdom and warefar, a leader and very into tatics and strategies, strong views and she was very big about honor, truth, and justice.

Sounds like Leo. Checks out.

Ares: The god of war, very into all kinds of violence. It gives him a bad reputation bc, yk, obvious reasons. He can also be considered the god of courage depending on where you look. He’s not necessarily on anyone’s side as long as violence happens.

He and Athena are often depicted as frenemies, with them fighting often, probably because he likes war for the sake of war and she fights in wars with purpose.

Interesting take on Raph. I can work with that.

Apollo: The god of quite a few things. I remember prophecy and archery in that lineup. Music and poetry was in there too. He also emulates Athena’s beliefs in justice and peace. If I’m recalling correctly, he could also be passionate/emotional and tended to have some jealous streaks.

Yeppers. Sounds like the boy but with a musical flare <3

Hermes: The god of speed and travel/luck. He’s a tricky, mischievous boy with the best intentions. He’s bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and only lives to do as he pleases. He’s very fast, very annoying (to the other gods), and very sneaky. I think he’s also a protector of travelers/wandering souls. He’s genuinely a good, silly guy.

Mikey in a nutshell right there. I think we’re on the same page here.

Other than the fact that I, again, have not seen Knights of the Zodiacs. Sincere apologies.

There’s a whole lot that goes into them being gods, tho.

Do they keep all their powers? ‘Cause mythological gods tend to be overpowerful creatures and overpowerful creatures are no fun.

I want to beat the turtles up. Make them suffer and bond. How do I do that when they have few weaknesses??

What if- they have powers, but they have mutant forms now. So they have the weakness that come with mortal bodies. It’s harder to unlock and use their powers. And it’s really annoying because they have to shift between struggling to use the powers and randomly unlocking them mid-battle, only to find them locked later.

#The Struggle Is Real

I wish I could draw. I have some images on the brain that I’d love to share but sadly my talents do not extend so far.

[newtthetranswriter]

Hi, I hope you are having a great day/night! I was wondering if you could write a Drabble for Tristan liones x male reader reacting to a kid who claims they will marry the reader when they grow up.

If this doesn’t spark interest that’s totally okay no pressure(:

Word Count: 937

Paring: Tristan Liones x Male! Reader

A/n: Hi, thank you so much for the request, I’m having a good day, how about you? I thought this idea was really cute and I hope I did it justice. Tristan might be a little ooc but this is also my first time writing for him so I hope it’s okay. Anyways enjoy and as always remember to hydrate or diedrate.

 

  Being in a relationship with one of the Four Knights of prophecy is one thing, but when that knight also happens to be the Prince of Liones things get a little more hectic. It’s not so much because the relationship is constantly under the eyes of the public, but more so because Tristain is an interesting guy. 

   Simple dates of walking through the market quickly turn into helping an old lady with her shopping, or stopping some thugs picking on a shopkeeper. His need to help out those in need isn’t a bad thing, it just leads to some strange situations. Like the one he found himself in now. Yet another simple date in between his duties as a Holy Knight has turned into helping someone in need. 

  While the young couple was enjoying a picnic in the fields just outside of Liones, their quiet conversations were interrupted by the sound of a crying child. With neither Knight being able to ignore the sound of someone in need, they both quickly stood up and followed the sounds of distress.

   The two quickly found a young girl curled up near the base of a tree, tears running down her face. Slowly approaching the girl, Y/n kneeled down next her trying not to frighten the child more than she already seemed to be. 

  “Hey there, are you okay? Are you hurt?” He asked in a calm voice while Tristan looked around for any sign of the child's parents. The young girl only sniffled and shook her head. “Okay, what’s your name? I’m Y/n and this is Tristan, we’re Holy Knights and we want to help you get home safe.” He said with a gentle smile and motioning towards Tristan, trying to get the girl to open up so they could help.

   After a moment of silence, the girl wiped her face before looking up at Y/n. “I’m Cynthia.” She said in a small voice.

   “Nice to meet you Cynthia, do you know where your parents are? I’m sure they’re worried about you.” Tristan said as he came closer after not seeing any sign of worried parents in the distance. 

   The girl looked like she was thinking for a second before answering. “They’re at work. I was playing tag with my friends and ran too far away. When I couldn’t hear them anymore I got scared.” She explained.

  Nodding along with what the girl was saying, Y/n thought up a plan. “How about we help you get back to your friends then? I’m sure their game isn’t as fun without you there.” He said standing up and offering his hand to the little girl.

  “Are you sure?” She asked, still sounding a little nervous but still taking the offered hand.

  “Positive, games are boring if you’re missing friends.” Y/n answered with a bright smile. Tristan nodded in agreement.

  Seemingly pleased with the answer, Cynthia nodded and for the first time let a smile stretch across her face. “Okay, we were playing closer to town near the little shop run by fairies, I think.” She tried to explain as they began walking in the direction of Liones.

  As they walked, Y/n tried to get to know the young girl, hoping that his questions would help relax her after being lost even for a short time. Tristan on the other hand walked ahead of the two keeping an eye out for the girl’s group of friends but also listening closely to the conversation happening behind him.

  “You know, Mister Y/n you’re really handsome.” The girl said as a small group children slowly started to come into view.

  Startled by the sudden compliment, Y/n looked down at the child. “Thank you, but what makes you say that?” He asked curious as to why the girl was randomly complimenting him.

  Cynthia just shrugged before responding. “Because I’ve decided, I’m going to marry you when I grow up.”

  Hearing the statement caused both Y/n and Tristan to freeze for a second. “Oh look, there’s your friends. You should probably go back to them now.” Tristan said, breaking the silence.

  “Oh really, Thank you.” The girl said before letting go of Y/n’s hand which she had been holding since the beginning of the walk. “Bye Mister Tristan, and bye future Husband.” The girl said with a smile as she ran back to play with her friends.

  Once the girl was completely focused on her friends, who all seemed happy that she came back safely, Y/n turned to Tristan. “So your jealousy of a six year old.” He said with a slight smirk on his face.

   “Am not. It’s just her friends looked worried and I figured it was time for her to let them know she’s okay.” The prince responded while crossing his arms over his chest. “Plus you froze up too. Were you considering accepting her offer?” He asked, turning the teasing on his now frowning boyfriend.

   Trying to cover the slight blush creeping up his face, Y/n turned away from the nephilim. “No, I was trying to figure out how to tell her I’m planning on marrying someone else.” There was a second of silence before Tristan let out a sound of confusion, that was similar to a ‘who’ but wasn’t really a word. “You’re lucky I love you.” Was all Y/n said in response before pulling the confused prince into a quick kiss. “Now can we go back to our picnic?”

   Snapping out of his confused shock, Tristan tried to ignore the blush that took over his face. “Uh, Yeah sure.”

(dividers by @/cafekitsune)

[my-name-is-apollo]

'Ello :D

I saw a few days ago that you mentioned something about complicated Cassandra & Apollo? I was wondering if you could expand on it 👀 Complicated CassandraApollo sounds interesting

I would like to direct you to this post because it summarises a lot of my feelings on them!

Besides that, I'd like to talk about the way one of my favorite scenes, Cassandra ripping apart her prophetic insignia during her final moments, is written in two different plays:

Farewell, ye garlands of that god most dear to me! farewell, ye mystic symbols! I here resign your feasts, my joy in days gone by. Go, I tear ye from my body, that, while yet mine honour is intact, I may give them to the rushing winds to waft to thee, my prince of prophecy

- Euripides', Trojan Women (trans. Edward Philip Coleridge)

and

Why then do I bear these mockeries of myself, this wand, these prophetic chaplets on my neck?

(Breaking her wand, she throws it and the other insignia of her prophetic office upon the ground, and tramples them underfoot)

You at least I will destroy before I die myself. To destruction with you! And fallen there, thus do I repay you. Enrich with doom some other in my place. Look, Apollo himself is stripping me of my prophetic garb — he that saw me mocked to bitter scorn, even in this bravery, by friends turned foes, with one accord, in vain — but, like some vagrant mountebank, called "beggar," "wretch," "starveling," I bore it all. And now the prophet, having undone me, his prophetess, has brought me to this lethal pass.

- Aeschylus, Agamemnon (trans. by Herbert Weir Smyth)

You can see the difference in how Cassandra feels towards Apollo. In the Trojan woman, there's still some fondness she directs towards her god. She calls him the god who is the dearest to her. She wants to take off the symbols of Apollo she dons on her body and give it back to Apollo while her honor is yet intact. It's a way for her to not let her god get dishonored in that helpless situation.

Where as in the Agamemnon, Cassandra sounds more bitter, there's no hint of fondness here. She tears away her prophetic symbols and tramples them because she wants to destroy them. She also blames her act of destroying them on Apollo. Apollo is the ultimate destroyer for her and his symbols are bringers of doom, as she says elsewhere in the play:

CASSANDRA: Apollo, Apollo! God of the Ways, my destroyer! For you have destroyed me — and utterly — this second time.

- Aeschylus, Agamemnon (trans. by Herbert Weir Smyth)

While the two plays portray Cassandra with feelings that are to some extent contrasting (but both founded on desperation), when I think about Cassandra I think like she can feel all those emotions - fondness, bitterness, scorn - almost simultaneously. Because this is her god whom she worships and has dedicated her life for. She has felt his wrath and she has also felt his divine inspiration. She scorned his advances in the past but she still gives him her body to possess his spirit. She couldn't save Troy, she couldn't save herself. But the very last vision Apollo shows her is that of her death being avenged, and that seemed like a miniscule relief for her in the last moments of her life.

Apollo also seems to takes it upon himself to orchestrate that revenge. He could have had other reasons to do that - but to avenge Cassandra's death could also very well have been one of them. We don't really get to see what Apollo thinks of Cassandra. In versions where Cassandra breaks her promise (Aeschylus' Agamemnon and Scholiast on Lycophron's Alexandra) we can definitely assume that he is betrayed by her and is angry with her, understandably so. The scholiast on Lycophron's Alexandra says that Apollo first tried to take back the gift, but when he couldn't he placed a curse to make his gift useless. So it does show that he intended to go easy on her, but it simply wasn't an option. Things are relatively simple here. But there are versions where Cassandra gets her prophetic powers without any direct deal with Apollo, yet the outcome is the same. She rejects him and gets cursed.

Now here the question arises - if satisfying his lust was truly his only objective, why did Apollo curse her instead of just, you know, having his way with her - which wouldn't be unusual for a god? It could be that he simply didn't want (which we see in the case of Sibyl of Cumae). But sometimes I like to think it's more than just that:

Maybe he did it because he knew it would be dangerous to let Cassandra have this power. He was worried that he had blessed her too much, that she had learnt so much that she could intervene with the destiny in her attempts to save Troy. And look at how that turned out for another seer Laocoon - not cursed by Apollo but killed by Athena for warning the Trojans about the Trojan horse. Maybe Apollo didn't want any other god to punish Cassandra like that. She is his beloved priestess, and if at all she has to be punished and damned, he wants to do it himself.

Or maybe (and this is my favourite thought to entertain about them) this was a way for Apollo to deal with his own helplessness about Troy. Because when you think about it, Apollo is not very different than Cassandra in the sense that he is also able to foresee the destruction of Troy, his beloved city with his beloved people, but he won't be able to save them. He is not cursed, he doesn't let out frenzied cries like Cassandra, but he is obliged to abide by the Fates, and has learnt to suffer with his emotions silently. Maybe he desired for someone to join him in this madness. It would torment them but at least he wouldn't feel alone. And he chose Cassandra because she was probably the most beloved to him, and familiar with her virtue, he probably knew she would give him a reason to curse her by rejecting him. He also probably knew that in spite of how unfair he would be towards her, she would still love him and stay devoted to him.

I know my thoughts are probably very unpopular, but I like to think that the bond between them was unbreakable, but definitely very strained. I don't know if co-dependent would be the right word to use for a deity and his doomed priestess (probably not), but I hope you get the idea.

[adhd-merlin]

merlin S1 rewatch: episode 10 ⚔

how could I not love the tale of the weird misfit who returns home one day, bringing with him an even weirder assortment of friends, to teach everyone how to fight back against the oppressors who have been stealing their resources?

but enough about a bug’s life. let's talk about the episode.

• I see Hunith throwing herself at a bandit and I immediately go “oh that’s where he gets it from”. I love you Hunith, you mad gal <3

• Hunith’s audience with the king is interesting – not just because she’s pleading with the man who would kill her son without a second thought if he knew about his magic, and she goes so far as to call him “a good king” and “a caring man” while doing so, but also because Uther seems genuinely sympathetic, even if unwilling to intervene. I think that says something about Uther – I think in the eyes of the people who don’t care much about sorcerers and their ilk, Uther is a decent, perhaps even a good, king. Certainly not the tyrant that Merlin and Morgana consider him to be (justifiably so).

• “I wish that Camelot was able to help people regardless of how far away they lived”, Arthur says, almost as if there were a prophecy about a united Albion under his reign

• “I want to make him pay for what he did to you” -> when Merlin sees Kanen is ON SIGHT. I love protective Merlin.

• I love this so much. “Most powerful sorcerer on Earth” well to his mama he’s just a little boy. have you considered that

• Merlin almost decapitating Arthur lol. It’s a good thing Arthur has good reflexes or this would’ve have been a much shorter story

• YAY! A NEW KILL

• When Arthur ruins Merlin and Will’s little reunion and Will is immediately unimpressed

• “Am I the only one wondering who the hell this is?” > Will really interrupted Arthur’s speech to loudly ask “excuse you who the fuck are you??” and I love him for it

• The fact that Merlin just straight up slept on the floor. Like I get it, they are poor, but you’re telling me he had nothing all the years he lived there? not even a straw mattress, nothing?? because that sounds kind of weird. I mean alright, I’ll accept it, but I think it’s weird. I think if you had to sleep on the ground every night for years you’d try to make yourself a bit comfortable even if you never “knew any different”

• Anyway, I guess that explains why Merlin was reluctant to part with his bed when Alice moved in with him and Gaius. “I’m not going back to sleeping on the floor thank you! I love beds now”

• MERLIN: “Life’s simple out here (...)” / ARTHUR: “Sounds… nice” / MERLIN: “You’d hate it” -> I like that Arthur was trying really hard not to say anything rude about Merlin’s old life, and that Merlin was like “it’s alright you can say it sucks”, because really he wasn’t cut out for that kind of life either. It’s also funny that Arthur later tells Gwen he fantasies about being a farmer, like SIR BE REAL. You'd hate it.

• Arthur pretending to eat Hunith’s food. Making fake noises like a toddler. Spoiled brat behaviour

• WILL: Why did you leave? / MERLIN: It wasn't what I wanted. My mother was worried. When she found out you knew, she was so angry. → it sounds like Will actually didn’t know about Merlin’s secret for very long before Merlin had to leave. And the fact that Will has to ask Merlin why he left implies Merlin did it without even a goodbye or a made-up excuse. Merlin’s departure being apparently so rushed because Hunith feared for his safety means that the attitude towards magic in Ealdor isn't actually very different from Camelot’s, despite it not being officially outlawed.

• Arthur is a good leader!! and in this episode he shows it in big ways, like in his “Battle of St. Crispin speech” moment, but also in more subtle ways, like when he notices during training that Matthew is a hopeless fighter, and instead of dismissing him he takes him aside and goes “Matthew my friend I have a special task for you :)”, as a way of keeping him away from the fight while still making him feel useful, and without hurting his pride. (Sadly, this backfires later.) I know the fandom likes to joke about Arthur being a dumbass but he can be very perceptive (at times). And he is good at strategic thinking.

• No comment. Just Gwen and Morgana sharing blankets. They are very good pals.

• Merlin telling Arthur: “We're going to make Kanen rue the day he ever came to this village” hits different when I remember he said he wanted to make Kanen pay for striking his mother

• “In this circle, we're all equals” → a circle is very much like a round table in this way

• I love moments like Arthur’s Rousing Speech™ – because they show why he is the one destined to unite Albion. He’s capable of inspiring people and gaining the support of those who initially disliked him (Merlin, Gwaine, Will himself, to name a few), because he is noble of heart, and brave, and caring, etc. And yeah, he’s also a brat at times, but to be fair to him he’s 21. And he has a shit father.

• “Food is scarce for these people, you shouldn't turn your nose up at it!” → Gwen is no shrinking violet okay!! She will lecture the prince, if the prince is being a brat. I’m thinking about Arthur telling Agravaine “I don't want a queen who spends her days floating around the castle agreeing with my every word” in ep 4x09. He loves Gwen because she’s not afraid of calling him out! (same goes for Merlin)

• GWEN: “I have faith in you. I mean. We all do” / ARTHUR:

• Arthur helping Merlin with his armour is a very sweet moment. I can’t believe Merlin was about to tell Arthur he had magic here. HE LITERALLY WAS ABOUT TO TELL HIM I'LL NEVER BE OVER IT

• Battle. Battle. Another kill for baby Merlin (!).

• IT FUCKEN WIMDY

• I’m not entirely sure what the windstorm did to be honest, it didn’t seem to kill anyone it just… scared the bandits away? Anyway, that doesn’t matter. Willing suspension of disbelief and all that.

• Arthur’s face when he marched up to Merlin and Will like “THAT WAS MAGIC WHO DID THAT?? IT WAS ONE OF YOU TWO”. This man is NOT ready for the truth (and yet Merlin was prepared to confess AGAIN. He was literally about to do it I HATE THIS SHOW)

• (sigh) well how convenient

• LISTEN I know Will was pretty much dead anyway but I can’t get over how NOBODY tried to do anything for him like?? They just put him on a table? And stared at him? Not even trying to do anything or. I don’t know, offer a word of comfort. If I were Will I’d be offended to be honest.

• Will’s last words being “Merlin, I’m scared.” EVIL

Merlin: *watching his best friend’s body burn on the pyre* Arthur: well when were you going to tell me he was a sorcerer

• Hunith: POWERFUL WARLOCK? NO HE IS BABY

• "When the time is right, the truth will be known. Until then, you must keep your talents hidden. It's better for everyone.” → kind of funny how Hunith went from "you should tell Arthur, he'll understand, he cares about you :)" to "never mind, BACK IN THE CLOSET!!" And by funny I mean tragic.

↳ prev commentaries

[syluriar]

my lady - sylus x briar (mc)

a/n: a little rewrite of sylus' cat card so it fits my mc's personality more. mc's name is briar and will be used. i haven't wriiten fanfiction (espically smut) in a while, and it's my first time writing sylus so except mistakes.

warnings: smut. minors do not read.

word count: 4347

The piles of boxes of gifts are more than Briar could have ever imagined, wrapped in exquisite paper that she was positive costs far more than it should. Some even tied together with bows, or studded with jewellery.

How the rich live.

She wasn’t there to gawk at such things, but being a person who never had so much money to spend it on presenting a gift…she can enjoy this a little bit. It’s why she’s unwrapping them gently, savouring the softness of the paper and the shines of the studs.

Maybe I could save some for myself to use? Tara would like these.

Sylus, however, was tearing them apart within seconds. It doesn’t surprise Briar, knowing just how rich the man was, he probably thought the boxes were cheap, and not at all pretty.

Well, he might not be wrong on that part. Briar thinks as she picks up another box. Red and orange? Seriously?

“A prophecy book from 2,000 years ago?” She looks at it in shock. The book lover inside of her was interested, prophecies were a weird thing, but interesting to learn about. 

“Boring.”

Well, at least to her it is.

Opening another box, Briar raises her eyebrows at the object before her. “A Protocore cat wand? It’s powered by a Protocore and automatically switches between different modes.” She gives it a little wave, the two small golden bells jingle. 

Out of instinct, Sylus paws at the cat wand, but immediately looks away in disdain. “Tch.”

Seeing him act more like a cat, Briar can’t help but giggle and waves it again. His cat ears twitch at the sound, but he makes no move to catch it. He does, however, frown at her. “It won’t happen, Sweetie.”

Maybe later then. Rolling her eyes, Briar puts down the wand beside her and opens another box. Her eyes widen at what it contains. “Is this…a collar?” 

It’s black leather and soft in her hands. She feels around the edges, thumbs brushing over the metal latch. Why on earth would someone send this? Obviously you would get it for a cat, but Sylus is still human, and putting a collar on him…

Her cheeks go warm, the image of Sylus wearing this entering her mind. 

That would look good…

“Our fish has taken the bait,” His voice breaks her daydream which she is grateful for, and she turns to him. Inside the gift box he had opened lies a deep blue Protocore. Through the light surrounding it, Briar spots a string of floating numbers within. 

“It matches up with the intel! Snowy Owl is really interested in you…” Though the mission has been a success so far, the thought of another woman wanting Sylus doesn’t sit right with Briar. Not only is he vulnerable in the state he’s in now, but the thought of another woman touching him - 

“Why are you frowning? Isn’t this what you wanted?”

Briar blinks, and jumps back as Sylus appears next to her legs. When did he get so close? She swallows her nerves before replying. “It is, I’m just wondering what to do next.” 

Sylus raises a brow and leans his head closer, but Briar averts her eyes to avoid looking at him, her cheeks starting to warm again at his closeness. 

In doing so, she spots an open box that holds a bottle. “What’s that?”

Sylus stops and follows her gaze, his white gloved hand picking up the bottle and reading it’s inscription before handing it over. Briar tries not to think of her heart skipping a beat when her fingers brush against his, and looks at the bottle.

“Some long-distance hypnotising spray?” That...actually could work. A plan quickly forms in her head. “I’ll use this against her and place a tracker in her room once she’s fallen asleep, then the Association can take over.” 

Sylus hums, one of his cat ears twitching. “So, is that me used up?”

Briar raises a brow at him, a previous conversation of them using each other plays through her mind. A lot of their previous encounters do, and she tries hard not to wince at them as she remembers how unkind she was. But she’s gotten closer to Sylus now. The man she first met is different before her, and not just because of his cat features. 

“Well, you’ve still got to get me off this yacht and back home, right?” She smiles lightly and grabs the cat wand, using the feathers to gently stroke his cheek. “You can’t leave me yet.”

She expects him to chuckle at her words, or even look annoyed at her using the cat toy on him. Instead she’s surprised when his eyelids falter at the touch, his tail starting to move around a bit faster than before. Wanting more reactions, she glides it under his chin, making him tilt his face up, his eyes boring into hers.

“You’re enjoying this aren’t you, My Lady,” His voice, while soft, had a hidden tone to it she can’t quite place. 

Briar swallows her nerves once again. It’s clear that he’s enjoying what she’s doing, he would have told her otherwise if not. Feeling brave, she reaches out with her other hand and gently rubs at the tip of one of his ears, making his eyes widen in surprise.

She giggles. “You’re so cute right now, Sylus.”

“Cute, huh…” He huffs and narrows his eyes. “Even though these ears are only temporary, they’re a part of me for now.” He shifts his body so he’s leaning against the sofa, an arm bent at the elbow near her leg. “You shouldn’t touch me so casually. I’m not used to it.”

His words heat up her cheeks and make her heart beat faster, like many times they happen in his presence. She lowers her hand to rub at the base and a soft sigh escapes Sylus’ lips. “I guess you’re well acquainted with a cat’s weak spot.” 

“Your reactions certainly do help,” Briar finds herself replying and discards the cat wand, her free hand now coming through the strands of silver hair. “It’s only me here Sylus, there’s no need to hold back.”

She doesn’t know where this confidence comes from, but she’s blaming it on the mood within the room. It always comes out with Sylus, as well as her shyness when he gets too close or says something too intimate. It’s strange, but Briar  finds herself liking it. 

Her words do something to him as more pleasant signs come from his lips, his body leaning more into her touch and his tail in a frantic movement. He moves his body closer to her, giving her more access to touch him. “..Yes. This side as well,”

Her heart beats so loud as she follows his command that she’s afraid he’ll hear it, but she just can’t resist. She can’t remember when Sylus has been so vulnerable and bare to her, with his walls usually up and just enough softness escaping just for her. To see him so open like this is an opportunity she doesn’t want to waste.

Just as she’s about to slide her thumb up the side of his ear, he suddenly grabs her wrists, halting her movements. She can't even ask why before she yelps, as he moves their bodies. Her back pressed against the back of the sofa and Sylus' body between her legs, rising on his knees. A hand softly rests up her bare thigh, while the arm that previously rested next to her cradles her chin, forcing her to look at him. A small stroke of pleasure goes down her spine at his touch, the gloves doing nothing to hold back the warmth from his hand.

“Having fun, kitten?” His eyes held a twinkle of mischief, though most of the time they always do. “What’s next? Scratch under my chin hoping I’ll purr. Rub my stomach if I roll over? Feed my treats if I’m good? The possibilities are endless.”

“Sylus-” Her hands move on the sofa for balance, but in doing so nudges something besides her that jingles, and they’re eyes follow the source of the sound.

It’s the collar, sitting perfectly and peacefully. 

“Or perhaps…” Sylus picks it up and holds it between them, a smirk on his lips. “You'd like to collar me.”

“Huh?” Briar looks at him confused. Does…does he want to wear it? Surely not. Wouldn’t such a thing be too embarrassing and degrading for the leader of Onychinus. “A-Are you saying you want to wear this?”

Sylus shrugs. “Why not? You seem to like having me as a cat, so why not go all out.” He pushes the collar in her hands, the damn smirk still on his lips. “Put it on me.”

Her breath hitches, lost for words at his command. Looking down at the collar she rubs the material once again, the tag jingling faintly. That dream of taming him comes to mind, the way he sat on his knees and bound before her, the collar on his neck she kept toying with.

Is this deja vu?

“Well?” 

Briar finally looks up at him, the glint of amusement in his eyes shining as if telling her that she wouldn’t dare follow through. “Ok.” 

She unclips the metal and leans forward, his body still towering over her. “You need to lean down more,”

Sylus merely gives an amused huff and follows her words, their foreheads now almost touching, his nose just barely brushing against her own. “Like this, sweetie?”

“...Yeah,” She swallows and leans forward again, avoiding his gaze and focusing on the job he’s given her. Her arms holding the open collar as she puts her arms around his neck, heat thumping as her fingers graze against the skin of his neck and she slides her fingers down the collar, coming to the openings. She puts an end through the strap and clips it into place - 

“Hmmm that’s too loose, kitten.” He breathes by her ear, a gasp almost escaping her lips. “It needs to be tighter if you don’t want it to come off.”

You’re the one who wanted it on. She wants to bite back, but shakily unclips it. She pulls the end through further. “Like this?”

“Tighter.” 

She’s sure her face is bright red, her heart beating wildly and her body warm. She pulls more on the end and clips it. 

“Good girl.”

She whimpers. His lips touching her ear and his hands wrapped around her waist, her legs almost hugging his own and her hands holding his shoulders. “Sylus…” He nips her ear causing her to gasp, his lips travelling down along her neck and to her shoulders, leaving kisses in their wake. “What are you doing?”

“Me?” He hums as he places another kiss on her shoulder. “I’m just being a good cat for his master. She’s taken such good care of me, so I want to reward her.” His lips glide across her skin, making goosebumps along the way. 

Perhaps it was a bad choice to wear a dress revealing her neck and shoulders, parts of her body Sylus liked to touch the most with those soft lips of his. She’s lost count how many times she’s looked in the mirror and covered the marks up with make-up, and the look on her coworkers face when she wore turtlenecks for a week wasn’t one she wanted to experience again, especially Tara’s smug look.

Briar pushes against his shoulders, despite them weighing more than her own body. “Sylus…don’t…” 

It takes a few more pushes, but eventually Sylus relents and moves away, his hands staying at her waist. “What’s wrong sweetie? By your little noises and blushing cheeks, you’re enjoying this.”

Briar breathes heavily, her body hot and an ache coming between her legs. The loss of his closeness gives her relief, but her body calls for him more. “I…I still have to complete my mission.” She can’t waste any more time if they wanted to be off this boat before the sun’s up, and no matter how badly she wants his lips on her skin again, the mission needs to come first. Something she’s sure Sylus understands.

His thumbs start to caress her sides, however she doesn’t think he’s doing that to comfort her. “I know sweetie, but it’s gonna be a while before dawn comes, and we’ve worked hard tonight. Let’s have some fun before we go, shall we?”

It’s one hell of a decision, and it doesn’t help when his thumbs start to get harder in their motions. She knows he’s desperate for her by the look in his eyes, and if it was any other man he would have pounced on her minutes ago. But this is Sylus, the man who would be wanting to ravish her for thousands of years, but would never make a move without her consent. Just one of the things she adores about him.

She swallows his surprised gasp as she kisses him, but it doesn’t take him long to return the affection, and when he licks her lip for entrance, she gladly gives it to him. Her hands holding tightly on his blazer as he devours her, a deep gasp leaving her lips when he finally releases her.

He grins. “Shall I take that as a yes?”

Briar giggles, one of her hands rubbing along one of his ears. “Do you really need to ask?” Her hands glide down to undo his tie and throw it away, not caring where it lands. “Since we have a while, I assume you don’t mind being the lovely butler you are and attend to me, do you?”

“Oh sweetie,” His eyes darkened and his voice lowered, a tone Briar found so utterly attractive “It would be my pleasure.”

In a flash he’s back on his knees before her, a sight she doesn’t think she’ll ever forget, and gently lifts up her right leg with one hand. Her breath hitches as he slowly peppers kisses down her calf, his other hand following behind. “My Lady’s feet must be sore after such a long day, allow me to tend to them.” 

He slides a high heel off gently, placing it on the floor against the sofa before rubbing his thumbs and fingers over her foot, pushing harder against some points and circling the flesh softly in others. 

Briar sinks into the comfort of his touch. She’s fairly used to messages thanks to Sylus treating her after time she’s faced a difficult Wanderer, or if her body was just sore from daily things. It’s always the same high end and sleek luxury one he books her in for, the staff knowing her by appearance alone. She enjoys it there as it gives her a chance to unwind and relax, and the staff were ever so gentle with her.

Despite that, she finds Sylus’ touch far more comforting, even if it ends up turning her on.

Her high heels now off and feet massaged, Sylus makes his way up, his hands sliding up her bare legs to where he meets her dress. His closeness makes Briar twitch in anticipation, which makes him chuckle. 

“Anxious, sweetie?” He smirks at her and pushes the dress up her legs till it reaches her waist. Briar blushes hard as she watches Sylus’ hand crawl up and gasps as they touch the edge of her underwear. She knows she’s wet, but when he looks down and grins, it almost makes her want to shield away from him from embarrassment. “And soaked as well, I see.” He tsk’s playfully. “I must clean My Lady before she gets more dirty.”

He pulls down her underwear painfully slow, and she bites back a whine. Of course Sylus is teasing her, he always has. But ever since he found out that she likes it she hasn’t gotten it straight since, except on their first time in bed. 

Briar gasps as he lifts her legs, placing her heels on the edge of the sofa and thighs far apart, exposing her greatly to his eyes. 

She blushes hard. 

Sylus however licks his lips, anticipation glowing in his beautiful eyes. A finger, still gloved, makes its way down her thighs and to her clit, and swipes down before entering her. “Your very wet, My Lady. However, did this happen?” 

“Sylus -” Briar whines, her hands clenching hard beside her on the sofa seats. “-please,”

He hums as retracts and licks the finger, his tongue twirling around that has Briar twitching. He just needs to lean down and do that to her, she can already imagine what it feels like. “Please what?”  

She pants. “Please…fuck me with your mouth.”

The gleam in his eyes darken. He wraps his arms around her legs and pulls her towards him as he leans forward, his breath just hitting her folds that has her squirming. “But of course, My Lady.”

She’s felt his mouth on her many times, but she will never get tired of the pleasure when he finally descends on her. She gasps loudly, legs immediately jerking at the wonderful sensation. His tongue goes all over her from her clit to her opening, and once he’s done it too many times, he goes for sucking different places that has her whimper and groan. 

“You taste so sweet, My Lady.” He whispers against her, teeth just grazing. “Will you allow me to indulge more?”

It takes Briar a few minutes to catch her breath to answer, panting hard and body heat through the roof. “...I will, as long as you make me cum,”

Sylus chuckles and kisses near her clit, his hands now gripping her thighs tighter. “That was never out of the question, My Lady.”

Now he’s devouring her, like a starved man that hasn’t had a drop of water for weeks. Her hands fly and latch into his hair, nails almost digging into his scalp, but only spurs him on more as he groans against her, silently telling her to do it more.

She feels the hot burning sensation in her stomach and moans. “S-Sylus…Sy - I’m close-”

“Come, My Lady.”

It’s like she’s under his spell and comes undone immediately. Her hips rise as her orgasm ripples through her and Sylus follows, rising to keep attached to her clit, desperate to not let go. 

Briar lays slack as he licks her clean, gently lowering her feet to the ground once he’s done. The image of him licking his mouth to gather the rest of her is intoxicating, and added to her mental album.

He leans over her and gives a soft kiss on her cheek. “Did My Lady find that enjoyable?”

“Immensely,” She replies, and angles her face to kiss his lips, getting a taste of herself as he opens his mouth. When she pulls away, she pushes his blazer off his shoulders and starts undoing his buttons. “However, your Lady needs more.”

“Does she now?” He chuckles and shrugs off his blazer, his eyes glancing down as she undoes his shirt before looking back at her. His hands go around her waist, his fingers toying with the zipper of her dress before pulling it down. “And what does My Lady need?” 

The dress falls from her shoulders, and like silk it slides off her body and onto the floor. Briar continues to unbutton Sylus’ shirt, which he takes off once she’s done, following his blazer to being thrown somewhere in the room. She watches hungrily as he takes off his gloves with his teeth.

God that’s hot. 

She lets her hands wander from his shoulders to his chest, pressing down harder as she glides her hands along the skin. When it makes the man above her gasp and his cheeks go red, she grins. Slowly, her hands glide down to his trousers and cup the large tent now formed. Sylus jerks at the touch, and when she squeezes just a little, a small groan escapes his lips. 

“She needs to be fucked on this sofa, now.”

Before she can give another squeeze, Sylus gently pats her away and goes towards his trousers. In a flash he’s bare before her and she has no shame in letting her eyes roam over him. His slender neck she likes to leave kisses on, the tone chest she likes to hold closer to her, his arms that always keep her safe and warm - 

And his large cock that always drives her crazy.

“Does My Lady approve?” He raises a brow playfully at her, knowing just how hot and bothered he makes her feel. 

Briar leans up, her hands trailing on his hip and just going near his cock, teasing him. She hums. “That remains to be seen.” 

Sylus chuckles and moves towards her, and leans her body down along the sofa as he manoeuvres above her, her legs caging him in as he settles between. A hand on her hip and the other caressing her cheek, Sylus kisses her sweetly on the lips before leaving small ones along her neck and shoulders, Briar panting all the way. 

“Then, let's see.” He whispers against her lips, giving her one last kiss before backing away.

He lifts her legs again and rubs his cock against her wet clit. Briar gasps at the sensation, impatiently waiting as he gets himself wet. It’s not long before he enters her, and she moans loudly as she gets filled up, his cock fitting perfectly inside her. 

Sylus groans, his hands gripping her hips as he starts to thrust in and out of her, clearly feeling the same effects as she is. Briar wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him closer to her, her legs wrapping around his waist and clenching her walls tighter around him. He lets out a moan, a sound so electrifying - Briar didn’t know a man could produce such a captivating noise.

 “Hmm, My Lady is enjoying this, yes?” Stll, no matter what he still bears that cocky smirk, but it just makes Briar shudder in excitement, as he can back up his words. 

She nods frantically, hands clenching on his shoulders. “Yes, yes - more Sylus…please!”

He growls, and her breath gets caught in her throat because  - well shit - that was arousing. He grips her thighs and leans forward, placing them so her knees cage her face and his body towering over her. “As you wish, My Lady.” He thrusts deeper, more frantic and Briar can’t help but take it all and moan, gasp and pant at it all. 

“God - Sylus - cumming,” She could barely speak - could barely get the words out before another orgasm crashes through her body, only more intense and breathtaking than the first. Her hold on her shoulders weaken, but Sylus doesn’t stop. He keeps going through her high, his thrusts now sloppy, desperate and wild. 

“My - Lady,” He moans deeply as he comes undone, hips still as he fills her, He’s panting hard above her, cheeks flushed and sweat on his forehead.  

It’s an alluring sight.

He kisses her passionately and Briar holds him close, clinging onto his warmth. Her arms pull him in closer as he rests on her body, his face nuzzling against her neck. They lay there, hands rubbing each other comfortably as they come down from their high.

Then something catches Brair’s eyes, and she giggles. “Your tail is waving around widely,”

He hums against her, the vibration soothing through her body. “Can you blame me, My Lady?”

She chuckles. “You can stop calling me that now, roleplay is now over.”  

“Maybe for now, but I am still your Cat Butler,” He leans his head up to look down at her, his eyes warm and smile soft. “I can’t stop addressing you while I’m still like this now, can I?”

“Ok, Ok.” Briar smiles as she rolls her eyes. “If that’s what you want,” She reaches a hand and softly rubs an ear. “I’ll be sad once they’re gone though, you’ve been a very cute kitty.”

He huffs a laugh. “Still calling me cute after that?” But leans into her touch, it’s a welcoming feeling to him now. “You still surprise me after all this time.” Most people would say that with a harsh tone, but Sylus voice is gentle and enduring.

It makes her heart warm.

“Well, it’d be boring if I didn’t.” She jokes. She likes to keep him on his toes, to see that surprise expression when it’s normally cocky. It gives her a sense of pride to break his smug features once in a while. “But we can’t stay like this for long, I still have a mission to complete.”

He laughs, his body shaking that vibrates against her own. Despite all the arousing expressions and noises he’s given her, this heartfelt laugh, with that beautiful smile, will always be her favourite. “See, My Lady? Always surprising.” He caresses her cheek again and she leans into his touch, nuzzling. He kisses her forehead and reaches his hand out, a fluffy blanket quickly landing in his grasp.  

He must have used his Evol. Briar thinks as he backs away and covers her bare body with it.

“I’ll complete the rest of the mission for you. Stay here and rest.” His command, while gentle, has a tone telling her not to fight back. It must be the exhaustion because she relents and pulls the blanket tighter around her. Despite it keeping her warm, she misses his heat.

He dresses quickly before walking back towards her, his hands threading though her soft hair before placing a kiss on her cheek. “I'll be back soon and we can go back to my place. Sounds good?”

Briar hums as she nods. “Ok. I miss seeing Luke and Kieran.” 

“And they you,”

Placing another kiss on her forehead and making sure she’s wrapped nicely in the blanket, Sylus quietly leaves the room. Briar snuggles into the sofa, ready to sleep off her exhaustion and looking forward to going back to the base.

“Hang on…he still has the collar on!”

[bananadrinkxxx]

THE BLOOD CROWN (22)

[Aemond Targaryen x Original Female Character ! I fem!reader]

[Dark Romance / Enemies to Lovers / Revenge]

Content for adults. 18+

[warnings: smut, sex content, dark romance, angst, fights, domination, murder]

[description: Aemond Targaryen meets his niece under a different name and falls in love with her without knowing that she is supposed to be his enemy.]

Masterlist - click here for all available parts

116 AC.

T H I R T E E N - Y E A R S - A G O

KING'S LANDING

RED KEEP

Rhaenyra had only learned what true fear was when she held Jacaerys in her arms for the first time. The little creature had felt so fragile that she was afraid to make a wrong move. A quick movement that would rip this gift from her arms again. So pure, so innocent, so vulnerable. Rhaenyra had known that day that she would do anything for him. She had felt the same with each of the children that followed.

With Aemma, this feeling had been especially strong. Not because she meant more to her than the others, no, but because she knew how cruel the world was to women. Her brown eyes, with their extraordinary blue gleam, had looked at her expectantly, as if she expected more than could be offered. Rhaenyra had vowed that her daughter would never have to go through what she had, but it was difficult to rebel against the world of men when you were trapped in it.

"Aemma tells of strange figures in the fire," Rhaenyra began, seeing her father turn to her in surprise.

"Strange figures in the fire?" he furrowed his brow. He looked tired and sick.

Rhaenyra nodded and played nervously with her fingers. "At first I thought it was the playful mind of a child, but it happens to many times."

Viserys placed the stone dragon back on the table and looked at her intently.

"Very interesting. It sounds like Aemma is a dreamer."

Rhaenyra took a breath. "But she doesn't dream these things. She sees things in the fire."

Viserys rubbed his chin and leaned back in his chair. His movements were slow, as if each one pained him. Deep circles were under his eyes. His condition depressed Rhaenyra, put her in fear about the time that would come when she would be all alone in this world.

Laenor was by her side, but he was no help to her. Sometimes Rhaenyra thought he was her fourth child, a boy who never wanted to grow up. She stroked her round belly. Or her fifth.

Then there was Harwin Strong, the father of her children, who was never allowed to be what he really was. He would support her, he would die for her, but he would condemn them all to death if she ever openly showed what he meant to her.

"I really only know about our ancestors and their dragon dreams," Viserys admitted. "But in the diaries of Aenar Targaryen, the few we still have, in which he writes about his daughter Daenys and her abilities, he also talks about his younger sister seeing her own death in fire. It is said to have occurred in the same way. Maybe it was just a coincidence but probably that's why he didn't doubt his daughter's words."

Aenar Targaryen was the father of Daenys, the dreamer. She had foretold of the fall and destruction of Valyria, a prophecy that had come to pass twelve years later. Aenar had been wise enough to believe his daughter, and had fled with his family to Dragonstone. Aenar's rivals had seen their flight as weakness and cowardice, but while their families perished, Daenys had saved House Targaryen and Velaryon with her prophecy.

"Did Aemma say what she saw, then?" asked Viserys curiously, leaning forward slightly.

"Green dragon, bloody crown, black wolf, fire comes after blood," Aemma had kept repeating while staring into the fire. "Green dragon, bloody crown, black wolf, fire comes after blood."

She had no idea what her child had meant by this, but it had an unsettling effect on her. She had come here with the thought of asking her father for advice, but then she looked to his green coat and it reminded her that she was surrounded by enemies in her own home. He would tell Alicent about it without anything evil in mind, but Alicent was no longer the girl that Rhaenyra had trusted with her darkest secrets.

She shook her head. "She only talked about figures she sees."

Her father looked disappointed and nodded.

"Whatever Aemma's abilities are, you have to protect her, Rhaenyra," Viserys began, looking to the fire burning in the hearth beside them. "Protect her from any danger, protect her from herself."

Rhaenyra looked at her father in irritation. Protect Aemma? Her stomach clenched.

"Dragon dreams can be dangerous. More dangerous than our dragons," Viserys explained to her calmly, but his words worried her. "Many in our line have been dragonriders. Very few among us have been dreamers. What is the power of a dragon next to the power of prophecy?"

129 AC.

DRAGONSTONE

Despite the closed door, Rhaenyra heard Daemon going from one tantrum to the next, raving about what had happened last night. But Rhaenyra had other worries. She watched as the maesters tended to Rose, checking her for further injuries.

She watched her sleeping daughter. Exhaustion had made her close her eyelids again, although Rhaenyra would have liked to ask her a thousand questions. She had so many questions, but the most important thing was that her little girl was back. There was no doubt.

It still seemed like a dream to have her daughter lying in front of her.

Rhaenyra gently stroked her sleeping daughter's face and followed the maester out of her room as he finished the examinations.

"You look worried," Rhaenyra stated with a fast beating heart and Grand Maester Gerardys looked at the door. She felt nervous.

Gerardys nodded and pulled her aside, away from the guards and maids.

"Her injuries are minor in nature, my Queen. Worst of all is her exhaustion."

"But?" She heard in his voice that there was more. Gerardys looked at her seriously, his brow furrowing.

"The girl is expecting a child," he revealed, and Rhaenyra's eyes widened.

"She's pregnant?" she asked, "Are you sure?"

Gerardys nodded. "She hasn't been pregnant for very long, and I doubt she knows, but there's no doubt that new life is growing inside the girl."

Rhaenyra had to admit that she had expected everything, but not this. Daemon and Lucerys had told her about her relationship with Aemond. Daemon because he had seen it and Lucerys because he had suspected it, but she had hoped they were both wrong. 

What a bizarre idea that Aemma was pregnant by her uncle. The gods showed no mercy if it were true.

She'd have to find out whose child it was. 

Rhaenyra nodded gravely. "I wish that her pregnancy will not be discussed for the time being and that you keep silent about it."

Grand Master Gerardys nodded. "Of course, my Queen." If he was surprised, he didn't show any sign of it.

Should it turn out to be true that Aemond was the father, then Aemma would be in danger. She didn't know what relevance her daughter had for Aemond, but she knew her brother well enough to know that he would come for what was his.

. . . . . 

"You betrayed Mother," said Jacaerys, and Lucerys looked up. Six sat with Rhaena and Baela on the beach, staring at the sea as they had done when they were little children.

All of them hadn't found sleep since last night. Jacaerys looked at Marax, who had already been fed for the fifth time in the day. The wounded dragon ripped apart his prey, his anger was clearly felt.

Lucerys looked at him hurt, but Jacaerys had no pity. What he had done was wrong.

"Jacaerys," Baela hissed, but he ignored his fiancée.

"You freed her, even though Mother gave a different order."

"Her execution has been proposed. I had to help her."

"It wasn't your decision to make."

Lucery's hands were shaking. "She's our sister."

"Bullshit."

"The Queen called her 'Aemma,'" Rhaena said defensively, looking at Jacaerys. "I heard it, loud and clear."

Jacaerys shook his head. "That's not possible. They have no resemblance."

"Are you blind, brother? She looks like Aemma."

"She has dark hair and brown eyes. Surprise. Let me go to the village and I'll bring you five girls who look like Aemma."

"You think you're smart," Lucerys spat. "But you talk like a fool."

"She's dead! Aemma is dead," Jacaerys shouted and clenched his fists. He jumped up. He felt him tremble with anger. Why didn't anyone listen to him?  "She's no longer alive, that's just wishful thinking. That girl up there can't be our sister. The Greens are fake and sneaky. They know of our loss and try to destroy us from within. Why can't anyone see what I see?"

"Rose is Aemma, brother," Lucerys said desperately. "They have so many similarities. Please, you have to listen to me. Even mother thinks she is. Get to know her."

Jacaerys shook his head.

"No, she's a fraud."

"She never claimed to be Aemma," Lucerys defended the strange woman. "Why can't you believe what we believe? Our sister has returned."

It would be too good to be true. For a moment Jacaerys wanted to give in, but he had to keep his senses. He couldn't be fooled.

He looked at Baela, seeking help, but she only shook her head. Rhaena had lowered her gaze, and Lucerys looked at him defiantly. In the past, Lucerys would never have spoken to him like that, but since his imprisonment, he's been someone else. He didn't recognize his brother, and it was all his own fault. If he hadn't suggested Luke fly to Baratheon, he would have been spared all this.

Jacaery's heart ached at the thought that he had almost killed his brother. He wouldn't let a stranger ruin this family just because she happened to look like his beloved sister.

"She's Aemond's mistress, isn't she, Luke?"He saw Lucery's surprise. He looked to the side and Jacaerys breathed. "We can't trust her. You can't trust her. I won't let that happen."

Whoever she was, she wasn't Aemma.

Aemma was dead.

No matter how much his brother and his mother wished for their return, Jacaerys would not be able to deceive them.

He would protect his family. At all costs.

Without another word or giving the others a chance to reply, he turned around and stomped back into the castle.

He'd prove to everyone he was right.

RED KEEP

Aemond listened to his brother's cries.

He stood in the hallway, waiting for his mother, who was visiting her brother at that moment. When she came out of his room, she seemed distracted. She looked at him with sad eyes, desperate, but there was also anger in them.

"This is Rhaenyra's fault," she said, full of hatred and Aemond followed her. "He is hardly conscious anymore, and when he is, he only expresses pain. He's in so much pain, Aemond, it breaks my heart."

Her voice trembled. Aemond didn't know whether it was grief, pain or anger.

Aemond felt sorry for his brother. He had been so preoccupied with his own problems, with Rose's loss, that drove him insane.

"Everything that Rhaenyra touches falls apart," Alicent continued. She had never spoken more openly about her feelings for Rhaenyra than she does today. It reminded him of the night on Driftmark when Lucerys took his eye off him.

"We must take revenge, my boy."

Aemond looked at his mother in surprise. His mother had longed for peace, she had done everything to make sure nothing happened to his sister, the princess, even after the failed assassination of her grand children, she had kept calm, but now he saw her anger, her willingness to shed blood.

"This realm needs guidance and right now your brother is unable to fulfill that duty."

Aemond stopped and held back his mother. Did his mother mean what he was thinking?

"What do you want from me, Mother?"

Say it. Say it.

"Rule this kingdom while your brother is unable to do so. Become Prince Regent, Protector of the Realm. Protect your family."

Aemond didn't know what to feel. That's what he'd always wanted. He had always wished to sit on the iron throne and possess what he was supposed to have in place of Aegon, if the gods had been righteous.

He would not be a king, but he would possess the power of a king.

Satisfaction flowed through him. He'd finally be able to prove himself. He would eliminate his enemies, every single one of them.

"If I do what you ask, I won't be able to let Rhaenyra live. No one. Not her, or any of her children."

Alicent nodded, he saw sadness in her eyes, but her attitude showed determination.

She looked back to Aegon's room. 

"Do what you have to do. Kill our enemies. Anyone who's a threat to us. I want Rhaenyra to know what it's like to see your child suffer like this."

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Thoughts On TDP 6x05 - "Moonless Night"

trying a new format for this post. I'm officially over halfway through the episodes now, so it seemed fitting. (not that a lot of people read this or anything). my other posts have also been more paragraph-y and less bullet-point-y, so just writing full-on paragraphs seemed more fitting.

Like always, I'm going to start with the Callum & Rayla section. There's always a good chunk of stuff to talk about with them, I feel like, so they always feel like a good starting point for me. Also Rayla's my favorite character... so that probably has something to do with it too :P

Aaaaanyway - to start with, my previous prediction was right! They didn't have to kill the beast (esmeray, right?) in order to end the storms! Glad I managed to make a correct prediction - hopefully others I make will come true as well. More thoughts below the cut.

Not killing esmeray fits with the overall theme of the show, I feel, since so much has focused on choosing paths other than violence to resolve problems. So it was a nice touch - and if you wanted to strech it, I feel like you could sort of use it as a... metaphor? symbolism? sorta thing for the show's whole 'choose love over violence' message / theme. That whole part of the episode was very well done!

It was absolutely ADORABLE when Rayla figured out what the reward for fulfilling the prophecy was & that Callum knew about it. They're just too cute together... I'd put a screenshot but my dad is holding the Netflix login hostage 😔

Moving on to the more plot-significant moments, Kosmo became timeblind!! Good for him. I'm quite curious to see what being timeblind actually entails. We only don't see a lot of it from Kosmo, and I feel like there's more to it. Especially since nothing he's done so far is specifically related to time.

Just a few more thoughts on this - I wonder if kosmo being timeblind will spark some sort of jealousy/misunderstanding between him and Astrid? That would be kind of interesting to see, if that was the case. Lastly, lots of what Kosmo said during his little "episode" of timeblind-ness sounded vaguely familiar. Anyone know / remember what character has said something similar previously? I want to say Aaravos but I don't know if that's accurate.

Speaking of Aaravos... This is kind of out of sequence, but the cut from the pearl in the blanket to the pearl back in Katolis has me worried. Especially since we hear Aaravos talking as it happens. What could it mean???

(Also, side note, that moment draws an interesting parallel between Callum and Viren that might be worth talking about more in-depth...)

Turning to the Soren side of things... Can I take a moment to say that I really fucking hate Viren? He is a terrible father (and he's done all kinds of shitty things, but that's not the focus right now). I get that he is trying to do better, but he is just Not Helping. At all. Poor Soren is so distraught over everything! All because of Viren. Viren just needs to leave Soren alone and rot peacefully in his cell. Sorry that sounds aggressive. Did I mention I hate Viren?

Alright! I think that's everything for this episode! Into the next one! Things are picking up speed and getting more interesting, so hopefully my reviews should be coming faster.