#if she did end up leaving the undying army will start to die (like in canon where mafia grunts are yokohama's redshirts)

[variantsofblue]

port mafia executive yosano is so compelling to me

[just-dreaming-marvel]

Love Is Not Forced ~ War

MASTERLIST

The following is a one shot for my series, Love Is Not Forced.

King!Steve Rogers x Queen!Stark!Reader

Word Count: 6,325ish

Summary: a war threatens the kingdoms

Warnings: talks about sex, war, character death

“And den uncle Bucky showed me the horses!” Tallen exclaimed as the small royal family sat down for dinner.

King Steven had been extremely busy with the kingdom all day and had unfortunately be unable to spend time with his wife and kids. So he was greatly enjoying his son’s story about how Bucky had taken him around the castle grounds.

“Oh really?” Steven chuckled. 

“Yeah!” Tallen continued. “And he even said that I could wide one one day!”

“That is true. Maybe in a few days, I can take you riding?”

Tallen gasped. “Did you hear that momma?! Daddy said he’d take me widing!”

“I did,” Y/N responded, sending a look to her husband. “As long as your father doesn’t go too fast and is very safe.”

“I would never be nothing but safe with my son. And that will give Madeline some time to spend her her mother.” Steven turned and smiled at his daughter. “Would you like that?”

“Ya!” Madeline said, clamping.

Suddenly, Bucky and Sam burst into the dining room. Everyone’s heads snapped to face them.

“Apologies, Your Majesties,” Sam said. “But, My King, there is a pressing matter.”

“Can it not wait?” Steven wondered. “I’m in the mid—“

“I’m afraid it cannot,” Bucky pressed.

Y/N and Steven shared a look. This was concerning to both of them, but Y/N knew that she must stay with the children while Steven is informed of the issue. Steven stood up. He ruffled Tallen’s hair and kissed Madeline’s head before going to his wife.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly. He kissed her forehead. “A King never sleeps.”

Y/N watched as the men left. She couldn’t let her mind stay on the matter for too long because she needed to distract the kids.

“Alright, children,” she turned back to them with a fake smile, “who wants dessert?”

~~~

Y/N had put the children to bed and was getting ready for be herself when her husband sulked into the room. She turned in the chair she was sitting in to face him. He was upset. There had been very few times since she’d known Steven that she’d seen him like this.

“Steven,” she called as he came to her, “what’s wrong?”

“There’s been an attack,” he sighed.

“What?” She stood up, her childhood suddenly replaying in her mind. An attack was never good. “Where?”

“Everywhere. One village from each kingdom has been attacked.”

“Is everyone okay? Which villages was it?”

“Y/N… it was Scott and Hope’s village.”

“No,” Y/N gasped. “Are they alright? Please tell me—“

“Them and Cassie were some of the few survivors. Each of the villages that were attacked were left with few survivors.”

“Just like my own village… How is this even possible?”

“There’s this new group. They call themselves the Children of Thanos.”

“How long have you known about them?” He looked away from her. “How long Steven?”

“About a year.”

“A year? Have they been attacking the kingdoms for that long?”

“Yes… but never like this.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want it to bring up unwanted memories. They were attacking villages like how yours was attacked.”

“I still deserved to know, as Queen.”

“I know. I should have told you.”

“What are you going to do?”

“The kingdoms are meeting together in Alexandria. We are preparing for war.”

“Oh gosh,” Y/N gasped, turning away. “That means… you all… you all have to go to war. Bucky, Sam, Thor, T’Challa… my brother Peter and my father… you… you have to go to war…”

Steven quickly turned Y/N around and held her head in his large hands. “I promise that I will come back to you and the children.”

Y/N was trying, and failing, not to get emotional. “You can’t promise that.”

“But I can. Y/N, my darling, have I ever not fought for you?”

“No… but this is different Steven. This is war… People die in war. Many people. And if you die… If you die—“

“If I die, you will rule Brooklyn until Tallen is of age. You will be the strong woman I know you are, for the kingdom. For our children.”

“I can’t.” Y/N shook her head, tears falling down her cheeks. “I can’t do it. Not without you.”

“Oh, my darling… you are so much stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

“Please don’t do this… please don’t leave…”

“Y/N… you know I have no choice.”

She leaned up and kissed him, hard and desperate. “Then stay with me tonight. Don’t leave… not until morning.”

“I won’t. I promise.” He began kissing the tears off her cheeks. “I love you and I’m going to spend all night showing you just how much.”

~~~

The Queen woke up to an empty bed, which made her want to start sobbing. When she turned to face her husband’s side, she noticed a note. She carefully picked it up and unfolded it.

My darling Queen, 

I am so terribly sorry that I have failed this kingdom so much that war has come. All I have ever wanted was to protect it and its people. And once you and the children were involved, our family. I am also so sorry that I was such a coward as to not do this in person. If I would have seen you this morning, I probably wouldn’t have gone. And I need to. I need to fight to make all the kingdoms safe, to make our kingdom safe. I promise to come back to you and the children. No matter what.

I have already told Wanda and Natasha to let you rest and for them to focus on the children as much as you need. I know you and I know me. We do not do well without each other. I know though that you will pick yourself back up and be the woman, the Queen, I know you are.

You are my life, my darling. You are the reason I am fighting this war. I love you.

Forever yours, Steven

Tears streamed down Y/N’s face as she read. This was one of her worst nightmares. All her friends, her family—her husband, were being forced to go to war. A war in which many of them may never return. She covered her mouth as a sob racked through her body. There was a possibly she may never talk to her brother or father again. That Steven my never hold her. That made her heart ache. Y/N didn’t know if she could live with any of them gone. Especially her husband.

~~~

The Queen gave herself the day to stay in bed and be upset about it. But no more. Steven had given her the okay to do that as long as she’d like, though she knew she couldn’t. She had children and a kingdom that needed her.

The next morning, she made sure that her children were able to sleep in so that she could focus on the kingdom for a bit. Y/N ate lunch on the beach with her children. Wanda and Natasha had explained the situation the best that they could to them, but they were too young to fully understand why their father had left.

After lunch, Y/N went back to running the kingdom. She was very thankful that Brooklyn had always been so supportive and loving towards her. It made it easier to rule without Steven by her side, though she knew that he was still King and that he was still alive.

At night, she dined with her children in the dining hall. Her husband’s empty chair taunting her as she tried to keep her children’s mind off their father’s absence. Y/N insisted on tucking them in that night as well. Making sure they both were snug in their beds with a kiss left on their foreheads.

Everyday, Y/N kept this same routine. For her and her children’s sakes. All the staff tried their bests to kept an eye on their Queen, so that their King could be comforted. But there was no comforting either of them while they were separated. Wanda and Natasha could hear Y/N’s cries at night and see her tired eyes in the morning. She wasn’t sleeping, at least very well. That was obvious. It hurt all the castle staff to see their Queen in such a state. They could only imagine how their King was holding up.

~~~

“Six weeks of war is too long,” Thor sighed. “We must put an end to this.”

“What do you think we’ve been trying to do?” King Anthony retorted.

“Their armies grow in number everyday,” T’Challa said. “And we are still unable to figure out how.”

“Our spies are still in the midst of working,” Captain Barnes stated. “We must give them time.”

“We’re running out of time,” Prince Peter said. 

“I think that we should let this be for the night,” King Anthony said. “We can look at it again in the morning.” He glanced around. “Where is King Steven?”

“He is in his tent,” Captain Barnes answered. 

“Let me guess, missing my daughter?”

“You know as well as I that they do not do well apart.” The men headed out of the large meeting tent together.

“Has he sent a letter to her and the children yet?”

“No. He’s started hundreds of letters, but he’s never found them good enough.”

“Y/N cannot be taking that well.”

“No need to worry, Sam and I have been sending letters with updates.”

“I’m sure that’s not enough for her. Y/N doesn’t like being kept in the dark, especially by those closest to her. Do you know if she’s written back to Steven?”

“A few letters. They’re very short. We believe that some of them have been intercepted so we don’t know what to believe.”

“Well,” the men came to a stop in front of the King of Brooklyn’s tent, “I guess I better go in and see if I can be of any help.”

“Good luck, Your Majesty. You’re going to need it.”

King Anthony nodded before heading into the tent. He found his son-in-law sitting at his desk. Steven’s hair was disheveled and there were crumbled up papers all around the tent. He was grunting at he quickly wrote. Steven let out a frustrated growled before crumbling up the paper he was working on and throwing it towards King Anthony without looking.

“Woah!” King Anthony exclaimed as he dodged the paper. “Watch were you’re throwing those things.”

“I’m so sorry, Tony,” Steven sighed. “I just… I haven’t been able to—“

“All she wants to know is if you’re alive. Nothing else. You’re over thinking it.”

“I just… I’m so worried. What if one of these letters are my last words to her? And they’re terrible and they don’t fully express my undying love for her?”

“Wow. I’m trying to be okay with this but it’s just cringe worthy. You really love my daughter, for that I will always be grateful for. But what if you die and the last thing she has from you is that letter you left on the bed in your place? Do you want that?”

“No… of course I don’t. I just… I love her so much. And I love my children so much. I don’t want the last time they see may words be their last memory of me.”

King Anthony came up and put a hand on Steven’s shoulder. “Then we won’t let it. We’re going to win this war and both go home.”

~~~

The war continued on for six more weeks. Steven finally got the courage to send a letter to his Queen. It was very brief and very loving. Y/N cried upon receiving it. She had continued to rule her kingdom and mother her children with so much bravery and strength. No one could truly see the inner turmoil that was occurring due to the King being away. But Natasha and Wanda knew the truth. They chose to respect the Queen by not bringing it up, but they made sure that she knew they were there for her.

The kingdom of Brooklyn had heard that the war had been one, finally. Only by a knight, who had been commanded by all the kingdoms to not inform the Queen of any other information. This made her furious. It was clear that they were hiding something, which only could mean that someone had died. Y/N was failing to hide her extreme worry. She was pacing in the King’s study, while Lady Natasha tried to convince her not to do something drastic.

“My Queen,” a guard entered with a bow, “a group of our men have been seen heading towards the castle.”

Y/N paused her pacing. “Are you sure they’re ours?”

“Positive, Your Majesty.” 

“I need the doctors ready then, to check over everyone with injuries. No big crowds, I don’t want to pressure the soldiers. We’ll throw a celebration once everyone has been looked over and seen their families.”

“Of course.” 

“And I want my children taken care of. They don’t need to see what war looks like.”

“Anything for you, My Queen.”

“Do you… do you know if the King is with them?”

“Unfortunately, I do not. I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I will go and inform everyone of your requirements.”

“Thank you.”

The guard bowed before taking his leave. Y/N began pacing again. That’s when Wanda entered the room.

“Would you like me to help you change, Your Majesty?” She asked.

“No,” Y/N shook her head as she couldn’t along her path. “How close are they?”

“I would head out to meet them soon.”

“What if… what if he’s dead and no one’s telling me yet?”

“I’m sure the King is fine.”

“And if he isn’t?”

“Then you will take it one day at a time. Like you have learned to do.”

“Okay,” Y/N breathed out. “Let’s go. I do not want my soldiers to come home without their Queen there to welcome them.”

Wanda escorted her Queen down to the main entrance of the castle. The doctors that were ordered were already there, with very few servants and guards joining them. Lady Natasha joined them shortly after. Y/N was hardly breathing by the time the first soldiers came through the gate. They looked tired and beat up, but they would survive. More and more soldiers came through, getting off the horses to be taken care of.

“Where is he?” Y/N whispered, trying to stay strong. “He should have been in front… a King always leads his people home.”

“Y/N,” Wanda said softly, feeling bad for her Queen.

“Something’s wrong.”

After a few more rows of soldiers, Captain Barnes and Lord Wilson appeared on their horses. Natasha gasped, relieved to see her husband alive. Bucky couldn’t jump down from his horse fast enough. He almost fell flat on his face s he hurried to his wife. They embraced, tears strolling down their checks, before they kissed. So longingly, so lovingly. Y/N’s eyes filled with tears.

“My Queen,” Sam greeted as he came before her and bowed.

“Sam,” Y/N rasped, barely being able to speak. “I’m glad to see you in one piece.” She paused, swallowing harshly. “Is… Just tell me… Where is Steven?”

It broke Sam’s heart to hear the Queen so weak. Though she wasn’t asking as a Queen, she was asking as a wife. A wife and a mother.

“The last battle was the toughest one of them all,” Sam began to explain. He glanced at Bucky, who walked over with Natasha glued to his side. “We gave everything we had.”

“Please don’t tell me that he…” Y/N couldn’t stop the tears. She didn’t care to anymore.

“He got injured badly. We found him after the war was won.”

“Sam,” she growled. “Stop stalling. Where is my husband?”

“He’s in Wakanda,” Bucky told her. “It was closer than bringing him here.”

“So, he’s—“

“Steven is still alive, barely. We came back to take over the kingdom while you went to him.”

Y/N rushed away, heading for Bucky’s horse. “Take care of my children.”

“Y/N, wait. You need to—“

“I need to see my husband. T’Challa will take care of everything for me.” Even in her large dress, she swung easily onto the horse. “I’ll send for my children when the time comes.”

“You cannot go alone.”

“I’d like to see you try and stop me.” She clicked and hit her heels against the horse. She and the horse were gone in a blink of an eye.

“You two!” Bucky yelled at two guards on horses. “Follow after the Queen. Don’t stop her but make sure she’s save.”

The guards nodded and were off. Bucky sighed before looking at Sam. Wanda and Natasha could both tell there was something else that had happened.

“Buck,” Natasha said softly. “What happened? What aren’t you saying?”

“We lost a King, Nat,” he whispered. Both him and Sam looking down at their feet. 

“What?” Both women gasped.

“Steven is only alive because of that King’s sacrifice.”

“Who was is?” Wanda asked.

“She’s going to be devastated…” Sam added. “Especially if Steven doesn’t make it.”

“No.” Wanda shook her head. “Please don’t tell me it was—“

“King Anthony,” Bucky interrupted. “He sacrificed his life so that Steven could come home to Y/N and the children.”

~~~

The ride was tiresome but Y/N didn’t stop until she reached Wakanda’s palace. T’Challa was already out front when she arrived, his boarder guards having warned him. Y/N jumped of the horse before it had even come to a full stop. Her friend was saddened at the state of her appearance, dirty and desperate. 

“Where is he?” Y/N asked, running up to T’Challa. “Where’s Steven?”

“Y/N, please, come inside and get cleaned up,” T’Challa kindly requested. He was worried for his friend. The kingdoms had made an agreement not to tell Y/N what had happened to her father until after Steven had gotten better. If he’d get better. “Get something to eat and rest. I’m sure your ride wasn’t easy.” He reached out to try and guide Y/N inside but she jerked away.

“No. I want to see my husband.”

“I will gladly take you to him, once you have rested.”

“Do you think I’ve gotten any rest since he left for the war?! I cannot rest without him and I will not do anything until I see him.” She gasped for breath, like she could break down into sobs any second. “T’Challa, please… at least… tell me he’s still alive.”

“Steven is still alive. He’s hanging in there.”

“I need to see him.” Her voice was that of a broken woman. Pleading for the thing to keep her life going. “Please, T’Challa.”

“I can take you to the room, but you cannot go inside. Only those taking care of him can go. But if I do this, then you will go get rested and cleaned up after seeing him. I will not let you lose yourself in the midst of all this. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “I just need to see him.”

T’Challa stared at her for a silent, brief moment. “Okay.” He linked his arm through hers. “Let’s go.”

With each step, Y/N began to tremble more. T’Challa took notice and gradually took more and more of Y/N’s weight against him. By the time they reached the window, he was practically holding Y/N up. As they came closer to the window, Y/N inhaled sharply. There Steven lay, nurses and doctors working around him. He was practically naked besides the bandages covering some of the worse injuries. His face was marked up with cuts and his beard had been shaven off. In all her years of knowing her husband, Y/N had never seen Steven without some facial hair. It was strange, and a little heartbreaking to her.

“Steven,” Y/N cried quietly. She pressed a hand on the glass, craving to touch him. “Oh, Steven…”

“I have my best people working on him,” T’Challa informed her, tone soft and caring. “They will do everything they can.”

“I can’t—“ She stopped as a sob threatened to bubble up her throat. “I can’t lose him, T’Challa. I can’t…”

T’Challa pulled her into his chest, cradling her head as he held her close. “You won’t… you won’t…”

The King of Wakanda’s heart was breaking for his friend. She was telling him that she couldn’t handle losing him, while she had no idea that she had lost the other most important man in her life. He wanted to tell her, she deserved to know. But what if he told her and then Steven didn’t recover? What would become of the Queen? What would become of Brooklyn?

“Now, you’ve seen him. It’s time you rest,” T’Challa said, beginning to led Y/N away. “I will show you to your room.”

All the Queen could do was nod. She was tired and worried that she’d just break down right there if she opened her mouth. So she let T’Challa help her to a room and she let his people help her get cleaned up and tucked it. But Y/N didn’t sleep. She couldn’t. Not with her husband’s life hanging in the balance.

~~~

It had been two days since Y/N had arrived in Wakanda. In that time she had only since her husband through the window twice, not including that first initial time. She spent the rest of the time either in her room or wandering the palace. Y/N was currently wandering the ballroom, the Queen Mother and the King of Wakanda watching her from a balcony above.

“You cannot wait to tell her any longer,” the Queen Mother whispered. “She needs to know about her Father. Queen Virginia needs her daughter with her as she plans the funeral.”

“The kingdoms agreed not to tell her until after Steven was well,” T’Challa responded. “And I will stick to the plan as long as I can.”

“And if Steven doesn’t survive? Will you be the one to tell her that the two most important men in her life are gone?”

“I will do what has to be done as a friend and king.”

“Have you heard anything about her children?”

“Captain Barnes and Lord Wilson each send a letter every day. To both me and the Queen. They are waiting for the letter that will allow them to bring the children here. They are confused and missing their parents.”

“Have you suggested that they bring the children to Alexandria? It may help Virginia and Peter with their grief.”

“I have not. I will in the next response to them.”

“My King!” A guard rushed up to T’Challa and the Queen Mother. It was loud enough for Y/N to take notice. “Steven is awake and he is asking for his wife.”

Before T’Challa could say anything to Y/N, she was running out of the ballroom towards Steven’s room. Tears were trailing down her checks before she even arrived. She stalled in the doorway, taking note of how her husband was sitting up. His eyes were closed and bandages were still littering his body. A blanket was rested on him, up to his chest. He looked so peaceful. Y/N choked on a sob, hand coming to cover her mouth. Steven’s eyes fluttered open after hearing the choked sob.

“My darling,” he rasped, a small smile forming. Y/N stood, sobbing in the doorway, unable to move. “Come here.” He motioned with his hand outstretched. She couldn’t get herself to move. “Darling, I would come over if I could… Please, I need to touch you.”

Steven could clearly see how shaky Y/N was as she tried not to stumble over. It was breaking his heart how tired and worn out she looked, especially because it was all his fault. Though she was still the most beautiful person in the world. Steven winced as Y/N collapsed onto his chest, crying into his neck. He was quick to wrap his arms around her. Three months was far too long to be apart from his wife. He vowed to himself right then that he would never let it happen again.

“Sssshhhh, my darling,” he cooed. “I’m here now. It’s all going to be okay.”

Then Steven suddenly remembered that it wouldn’t. Y/N’s father had still died to save him. Princess Shuri was in his room when he woke. He had asked for his wife and how she was doing immediately. Shuri was honest and told him what the kingdoms had decided on waiting to tell Y/N about King Anthony until Steven was better. 

“I thought—“ Y/N cut herself off through her tears. “I thought the worst had happened.”

“I know… I’m so sorry about that,” he comforted.

Y/N pushed herself away slightly, so that she could look at him. “I was so worried.”

Steven’s large hand came up and cupped her face, his thumb rubbing across the large, purple bags under her eyes. “I can tell. And you’re still the most beautiful woman in the world.” He guided her in for a tender kiss. “I’m so sorry that I worried you.” He gave her another kiss. “Where are the kids?”

“Back home. I’m sure T’Challa is sending word for them to be brought.” She reached up and brushed some fallen hair out of his face. “I just missed you so much.”

“I missed you too.” Y/N met his eyes and he was staring intently at her. There was something in his eyes, an immense sadness. Something he wasn’t telling her. “What is it?” He looked away, clearly gathering himself. “Steven.” Y/N guided his head to face her. “Tell me.”

Steven sighed as he held Y/N closer to him. “I need to tell you something.”

“You’re scaring me.”

“I was fighting off the group leader, Thanos. I had already gotten injured trying to get to him. But he injured me more… I…” Steven paused to swallow. “He knocked my sword from me and was about to stab my heart when someone jumped in front of me…”

Y/N sat up straighter. “Who jumped in front of you?”

“Y/N, my darling… I’m so sorry… He did it before I could stop him. He—“

“Who jumped in front of you?” She asked again, almost growling as tears quickly filled her eyes. 

“Your Father.”

“No!” Y/N gasped, shaking her head. “No!"

“I’m so sorry.”

“You’re lying! He can’t be dead! This is some cruel joke!”

“I wish it were, my darling… as he laid dying he told me how much he loved you and how proud he is of you.”

“Stop it…”

“And he told me that all he ever wanted was for me to go home to you and the children. He made that possible.” Steven cupped Y/N’s face. “Your Father saved me so that I could come home to you.”

“N-n-n-ooo… Father…” 

Steven pulled his wife into his chest, trying to consul her. There wasn’t enough words to explain how awful he felt. He was the reason that his wife’s father wouldn’t be coming home. And he was the one who had to tell her. Now, when his children arrived, Steven would have to explain why they wouldn’t be able to see their grandfather again.

~~~

Y/N fell asleep on top of her husband, exhausted from crying so much. Reluctantly, Steven allowed the nurses to move his wife onto a bed beside him so that they could check his injuries. He held onto Y/N’s hand through it all, not wanting to separate from her after so long apart.

When Y/N woke, it was clear that she wasn’t okay. She was staring blankly and not answering when spoken to. Steven tried and tried, only to get a blank stare. Like she was seeing right through him. Bucky and Nat brought Tallen and Madeline the next day. Steven and the kids had a joyous reunion until Tallen asked about where Y/N was and Steven had to try and explain what happened, in the gentlest of terms. Tallen was confused and Madeline didn’t understand at all, just crying out for her mother. 

Y/N had been moved to a different room for the sake of her children. T’Challa was with her, trying to get her to respond. But to no avail. Queen Virginia had sent word about when the funeral was and it was decided that it was time to head to Alexandria. T’Challa, the Queen Mother (Ramonda), and Shuri road in a carriage with the children while Steven road with Y/N in a separate one. He held her close the whole time as he tried to think of ways to help his wife.

Queen Virginia and Prince Peter were awaiting the carriages when they arrived. Surprisingly, Y/N was the first one out. She gave her family quick hugs before disappearing. Steven rushed after her.

“Y/N!” He called chasing after her. She picked up her pace. “My darling, please!”

Y/N made a sharp turn into a hallway and headed to a guarded doorway. Giving them a look, the guards understood what to do. The blocked the doorway after Y/N rushed up the stairs.

“Y/N!” Steven tried again. “Let me through,” he demanded the guards. 

“I’m sorry,” one of the guards said. “We are under strict orders not to let anyone but the Princ—the Queen of Brooklyn up into her tower.”

“I am her husband and the King of Brooklyn, I have the right to go up there.”

“Steven,” Pepper called. “They won’t let up. Tony trained them well.” She sighed as Steven turned around to face her. “T’Challa warned me about how she was doing. I figured she would rush to her tower. Tony was the only member of the family always allowed up there. Now that he’s gone… I’m sorry Steven.”

“I just want to help her… we’ve been apart for too long and it’s… it’s my fault that Tony is dead.”

“Do not say that.” Pepper stepped closer to him. “Tony knew what he was doing. He knew that you coming home was more important than him coming home… Tony knew something was going to happen before he even left. I knew he was saying goodbye forever as he got ready to leave. So it wasn’t your fault, Steven. Don’t tarnish his act of bravery with your guilt.”

“I’m sorry Pepper.”

She gave her son-in-law a forced smile. “It’s okay… I’m going to go take care of my grandchildren, so that you can try to get to Y/N.”

“Thank you.”

~~~

Y/N stood frozen at the top of the stairs, looking around her tower full of memories. She was trying to gain strength to move in further. But it was so hard. After a few excruciating minutes, she finally took a shaking step into the tower. It wasn’t as dusty as Y/N thought it would be. Clearly, someone had been charged with cleaning it. She slowly walked around the room, running her fingers along the furniture. As she rounded to the desk, she noticed a letter. It was addressed to ‘My Princess’. Trembling, Y/N picked up the letter and sat on her bed. Tears formed as she opened it.

My Princess,

I know that you are now a Queen, which makes me extremely proud, but you will always be My Princess. I am writing this from the battlefield of war. And if everything goes how I think it will, then Captain Rhodes will deliver this to your tower where I know you will be after returning to Alexandria.

I am so sorry. For everything. For allowing Hydra to burn your village, for keeping secrets from you and plotting your future without you. And I am so sorry for how I died. It was probably stupid and heroic, and it was probably for you. Which is perfectly fine because I am so proud of you and you deserve all the happiness in the world.

I know I shouldn’t be smug about you and Steven having got together. Especially since how you got together was clearly on your terms and no one else’s. But I was right. You and him are a wonderful match. And your children are absolutely beautiful. I only wish that I could see them grow up. I know that will be one of my only regrets, leaving them. Leaving all my family behind. But if it meant Steven coming home to you, then my sacrifice will always be worth it.

I love you and am so proud of you, My Princess. You are a wonderful daughter, wife, mother, and Queen. Saving you and Peter and making you two my own will forever be the greatest thing I have ever done. (Besides marrying your Mother of course.)

Thank you for making me a Father.

Love, your Father, Tony

Y/N was crying all through the letter. How could her Father have known that he was going to die and not tell her? She would have rushed to say goodbye, to give him one last hug. And her children would grow up with no memories of their grandfather. How was she suppose to handle it all?

~~~

Steven waited at the door leading to her tower. The guards being ever faithful at their post. Queen Virginia had servants bring a small table and chair for the King. But he couldn’t sit, he kept pacing at the door, occasionally pausing to see if he could hear any moment from the tower. Dinner was brought for the couple as the guards got changed.

“Y/N, sweetheart,” Steven called from the bottom of the stairs. “Dinner’s here. Can I please come bring it up to you?” No answer. He sighed. “It will be down here when you’re ready.” 

As he turned to place the tray of food on the small table, Steven heard movement from the top of the tower. He paused, just in case he was hearing things.

“Steven,” her soft voice sounded. He perked up and went back to the doorway. “You can come up.”

He didn’t waste a second. Taking the tray of food with him, Steven hurried up the stairs. Even after all these years, he had still never been invited up to Y/N’s tower. It was always her space and he understood the need to have something for yourself. When he arrived at the top of the stairs, he found Y/N sitting at her desk.

“Hello,” she greeted solemnly.

“Hello, my darling,” he replied. He walked over to the bed and sat, placing the tray beside him. “What can I do for you?”

Y/N smiled slightly with a soft scoff. “You just barely heal up from war and you’re asking what you can do for me.” She reached out and took one of his hands. “You’re too good to me.”

“It’s the least I can do… you’re too good to me.”

“I’m sorry for shutting you out. I just—“

“My darling, there is no need to explain. I completely understand. I was the same way when I lost my parents.”

“That’s the thing. I did lose my parents. I felt the grief and loss of them. He was just… he was just my real Father and it hurt so much to find out he was gone.”

“I didn’t even think of that. I can’t even imagine losing two sets of parents.”

“Father left me this.” Y/N’s free hand was laying on top of a letter on the desk. “He knew he wasn’t going to survive the war… I think… I think what hurts the most was that he got to do a goodbye, prepare himself… but I didn’t get to.”

“Tomorrow, at the funeral, that’s your chance to say goodbye. I know it’s not the same, but it’s something.” He pulled his wife into his lap. “You’re going to get through this. You’ve gone through so much and you only come out stronger, which never seises to amaze me. I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

Steven gave her a soft kiss. Y/N hungrily responded, wanting to me close to him, wanting to feel him. He chuckled as he pushed her away slightly and her lips chased after his.

“You need to eat,” he said. “We’ll eat together and then we can have our reunion.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to eat,” she responded softly. “I just missed you so much and it’s been so long.”

“Patience, my darling. We will eat and then have our fun.”

~~~

The funeral went beautifully, with Queen Virginia, Queen Y/N, King Steven, and Prince Peter each speaking. All the kingdoms were in attendance, mourning the loss of the great leader. Steven and Y/N and their family went home the next day. Queen Virginia had asked them to take a wreath with them, and Y/N knew exactly what to do with it. 

Exiting the carriages upon arriving back in Brooklyn, Y/N and Steven took their children and the wreath and headed for the beach. With a tired child in each arm, they trudged through the sand all the way to the pier. At the end of the pier, Y/N leaned down with Madeline and pushed the wreath out into the water. Steven wrapped his free arm around his wife’s waist, pulling her and Madeline into him. They watched as the sea took the wreath out, thinking about the life they lost and the future ahead.

[7soulstars]

Is it okay if I request a Thranduil x Reader one shot where the reader is a Selkie? Selkies are from Scottish myth - they have a magical seal fur coat that lets them turn into a seal when they go underwater, but remain human while on land.

Hey babe! Thank you so much for requesting! Of course it’s okay. I had no idea what a selkie was in the beginning but through your explaination and some research I figured it out ! Again, I wanted to make this an angst but poor bby Thranduil has already gone through enough so I made it soft. Anyways, no more spoliers! Enjoy and thank you for being so patient with me ! 

Vespertine/ The Elf and the Selkie

Pairing: Thranduil x Selkie! Reader

Warnings: Angsty/Sad start, Mentions of death,Use of Scots(language spoken by Selkies), ending might make you go aww

Summary: A father telling his children a story of the legends long forgotten.

.................

 Vespertine; Occurring in the evening.

Lands lost, Kingdoms fell, Middle Earth was saved but no one could tell. The pain, people lost and the children snatched could not be reversed. Especially for the elves who left for the undying lands. 

One remained.

King Thranduil remained. Protests were made, the lords argued and urged. But he wouldn’t budge.

“There is nothing left of me...My duty is over and my family is not returning back to me...I shall stay here.....in Mirkwood”, he had simply stated to Elrond before he dismissed him. Elrond had sighed saying, “This will not end well for you....”,before leaving the former king. 

Alone.

He sat on his throne listlessly. Not a sound to be heard. No chittering crowds, no parties. Just emptiness. 14 years had passed like this and Thranduil had gotten used to it. Today marking the 14th year that is. 

Time flew by fast for elves. But not for lonely elves. No matter how beautifully maintained all of Mirkwood still was due to unbroken elven magic the gap kept growing wider in the King’s heart. He was left to his own disposition. He grew and foraged his own food, he drew his own water, he entertained himself with his own hobbies. But he never left Mirkwood. He protected the empty abandoned city.

He got used to it. He got used to being lonely until that one evening.

Thranduil killed spiders at evening. They were weaker by then and it was easier. He walked across the tangled path and froze on hearing whimpers. They were soft and pained coming from the rocks near the forest riverbank. The blone walked stealthily and carefully with sword in his hands and furrowed brows as he neared the rocks. When his eyes fell on the cause of the noise as he stopped dead in his tracks.

An injured seal.

It’s side was deeply cut into as it barely managed to keep it’s eyes open and tried to move away erratically from the said elf as if it was in danger. “Hey! Stop! I’m not going to hurt you!”, the elf yell-whispered as he struggled to keep the creature in place.Almost as if it understood it stopped still whining due to the pain inflicted by moving around before it fainted. Thranduil sighed. He hadn’t used healing for years he wasn’t sure he could do it now either. But leaving the seal injured was not an option. So he had to do it. 

He did.

Riding his loyal elk that had stayed with him he returned back to the nearest cave where he had healed and left the seal. 

It was empty.

Thranduil had frowned. Thinking it had left he turned only to stop and look back with a sword swinging back as he heard a spash and a soft voice.

“Are ye an elf ?”,voice asked. Thranduil looked down, behind the rock he had seen the seal in, peeped a woman. She was clutching onto a seal coat as she looked visibly scared at the sword drawn at her which the king immediately put back into it’s sheath. At this she came out furthermore as she pointed at the reddish scar on her side. “ye helpit me yesterday ?”, she questioned her eyes gleaming with an undefined innocence. 

Oh.

He had heard of a Selkie before but merely as myths. His mother sang him the song of the Mistress and The Selkie every night as a young ellon.It was his favourite. Thranduil looked back at the seal coat she held and then back at her. She gasps and immediately hides it behind her back as she attempts to look mad at the other. Thranduil’s heart felt weird. It fluttered at her action. 14 years without any contact with anyone made him forget the stern way of speaking that he had to maintain.

“I will not take it from you. I am here to see if you are felling better. Did you eat?”, he asked as he kneeled in front of her. She looked at him with intent in her eyes. Reaching forward she placed her wet hands on the king’s cheeks catching him off guard. “Wh-”

“Ye savit ma life from the human sailors”, she smiled softly.

Thranduil frowned in distaste he hadn’t heard the word ‘human’ in Valar knows how many years and it still leaves a sour taste in his mouth. He looked at her. Her facial features. Her blown out eyes. Her curiosity.

Her curiosity.

He was cut out of his thoughts of course a shade of pick dusting his face as he stuttered when she had moved to touch his sensitive elf ears. “A like yer ears ye are sae beautiful.” Thranduil had stilled and mentally yelled at himself because he knew she did not know elven customs but he let her do as she pleases.

The sky got darker and he knew he had to leave. But her words replayed in head over and over again

“Will ye come back tomorrow ?”

As if he could hear her speaking right as he sleeps.

Oh. She is alone too....

Thranduil did go back. Again and again and again for 30 years, every day straight. Her name was Y/N and her husband was killed by sailors and their daughter, taken away. She ran into hiding and reached Mirkwood where he saved her. They grew closer. Maybe because Thranduil liked Y/N.

Maybe because she was just like him or maybe he was in love.

He sat by the riverbank with Y/N who wore his spare clothes when she took her human form as they watched the birds and made flower crowns. Thranduil was distracted, constantly looking at the selkie’s expressions as she concentrated on making a flowercrown with water lilies from the river. On finishing she looked at him with the eyes he adored. “Look!”,she exclaimed as she put it on his elks head as it leaned towards her. It was attatched to her just the way it was attatched to Thranduil which was surprising to say the least. A smile plastered onto his face as the words slipped from his mouth. “It’s beautiful. Just like you.” There was a brief silence as Y/N slowly shifted. Her words almost going unnoticed as she stuttered. “Dinnae give me false hope.....” That moment Thranduil realized,

He was absolutely enamored by her.

He didn’t wait for even a minute more of thought before catching Y/N’s lips with his own in a searing kiss. It wasn’t too long or too less. Just right like them. But Y/N drew back and a look of panic spread Thanduil as he saw her eyes full of tears. “Please do not cry! Is it something I did Y/N ?”, he said as he tried wiping her tears frantically.

“A cannot leave the water for a long time A will aye have tae come back thon is a selkie's fate. A cannot stop lovin ye either or A will dee a selkie's fate“ (I cannot leave the sea for a long time i will always have to come back that is a selkie's fate. I cannot stop loving you either or I will die a selkie's fate”

Oh.

Thranduil knew what that meant now. He had felt it before, Y/N did too and so did Tauriel. The fear that he never wanted anyone to feel again.

“Oh darling you do not need to leave the water for us to be together. I will always be here. You could even spend time with me here”,pointed towards the forest path reaching up towards the palace, “Don’t stop loving me....please....”

For the first time ever Elrond’s prediction was wrong. 

Thranduil did not end up alone. He got a second chance.In life, in family

“Did they meet like that forever Ada?”

Well, yes,until someone with blonde long hair wearing a green tunic and with strikingly similar features as her lover gave Y/N a seal coat from a late Selkie.

“So did grand adar become like the Maiden from the song and went away with grand naneth?”

Mhmm. And the someone who gave the coat looked over them from far until he got the courage to visit for tea. And they all lived happily ever after. It’s almost Vespertine, your grandparents will be back soon.

“Legolas have you been telling her about us again ?”

Well Ada she did want to know the legend of the Elf and the Selkie who loved at Vespertine.

--The End--

I hope this is good I hope this is good please be good. I really worked so hard on this I created an entire novel worthy plot but I couldn’t put it all in a oneshot so I had to settle with this I really really hope you liked this it was soo hard to not make this sad and then I came across this song and everything just fell into thoughts like these😭. I know Thranduil is a bit ooc but pychologicaly speaking he did live alone for 14 years so I guessed it may change his behaviour especially after the battle of 5 armies. Again I really hope you like it. Please like, share and comment if you like my work to support and encourage me! Please do not plagarize my work I literally sell my soul to it.🥺🥺 Requests are always open and I love ya’ll soo much. 

~Love, Hri 🥰🥰

[maldito-arbol]

It is occurring to me that the events of my life over the last 2-3 months are very much blurred together in an amalgamation of trauma and dissociation and depression and I can hardly remember me at all. Hey. Sorry. I probably need therapy.

My current update on life is: still living with a friend. It seems as though my parents are content in having abandoned me and harbor no desire to apologize nor to take me back. It’s hard to accept but by no means am I surprised, I’m simply tired. I have to rebuild my own self and my own life here, where I stand now. Rebuilding is hard, but I have to keep trying. It’s the only way I can keep myself from falling off the deep end.

In regards to work, yes I did end up quitting my job. I put in my two weeks and I served them despite them many many times tempting me to just leave and never look back—no, I stuck it out, and I earned my due pay. I thought work was hard before, but it suddenly became hell on earth once I made it known I wasn’t going to let them push me around any longer. I am still trying to understand that I deserve better, am still trying to comprehend that I CAN get better…it’s a lot. I thought if I wasn’t suffering then I wasn’t worth anything at all. And that’s just the way I was raised, the way I’ve been treated all my life from school to work to home. It took me a very long time to realize the people I was around were toxic, and when I did, I felt so sick I could almost die.

Guys, I don’t know how quite to express the way I felt and the way I feel, but I thought I should maybe give you some more insight to my life in a formal post rather than just disjointed pieces in the tags of my posts. So the long story short (though unfortunately still too long) is, I was trapped in an abusive home that eventually imploded and resulted in my eviction by my very petulant mother over a barely qualified for conversation conversation about politics. Because she couldn’t stand the fact that I didn’t want to listen to her. I’d hate to imagine how she’d react if I told her I was gay, or genderfluid of all things if she reacted this way over the fact that I lean left politically. Isn’t that incredible? After all the horrible things she’s put me through, physically, mentally, emotionally, she sees fit to kick me out because I snarled “I don’t care” when she attempted to sway me. It’s funny actually. I spent so many nights crying over something so pathetic. Maybe it’s because she’s my mother and her actions directly imply that I am a child unwanted by the one who birthed them, a child who was never truly loved or cared about in the way children dream of. That undying, uncompromising, unconditional love every human being desires. And in a perfect world it should be guaranteed by a mother, but it’s not. How cruel is it that I feel more loved by my friends’ parents than I do by my own? You know no matter what, they’ll never be my birth parents. There will always be that missing hole in my heart no matter how much I tell myself this is enough. Because I feel like I don’t deserve to be loved. And yet I crave it so much. So much that I was willing to be abused, to be put down, to be the punching bag to a miserable, uncaring woman who didn’t know the first thing about love. Even now sometimes I wonder how she’s doing without me. Does she worry? Does she feel regret? Guilt? Anything? Or does she simply go about her day thinking, “it’s no big deal, I have two more children I can ream in your stead.” As for my dad, I may hold off on getting into that whole rabbit hole, because I feel like I shouldn’t even bother giving him the time of day if he barely will even give me that. He is very very very tiring, and I fear I spent too long desiring a relationship that will simply never blossom.

I thought work was my escape. I thought that repetitive tasks would help distract me from my problems, would provide me something to live for, cause gods know I couldn’t come up with a creative reason myself. And yet, in a way, being mentally shattered once again by my mother once again taught me a little lesson about the other people in my life: if they act like my mother, they’re doing something wrong. And my boss, while different in many ways, shared a core of manipulation mastery that really should’ve bothered me from the start. And because I had been kicked out, because I’d moved in with people who genuinely cared about me, all of the sudden I saw how horribly mistreated I was at work. It was easier to write it off before, when I was treated worse at home so work felt like Heaven. But it wasn’t. It never was. How many times I fooled myself into believing it was. It’s interesting how being loved and cared about can show you just how poorly you’ve had it everywhere else. So when my sister quit because of another explosion of verbal abuse from my boss, I decided that was my final sign to throw in the towel. While she simply walked off the job, I allowed my boss to keep me for two more weeks; just to be polite, just to be professional, and I may have just shot myself in the foot in doing so. It’s quite a show manipulators will put on when they realize they’re about to lose you. When holding power and the high ground over you has been torn down, ripped away from them, you see truly the desperation, the lengths they will go to restore order and control over you. I was emotionally manipulated, gaslighted, bribed even in my final days. She had power over me almost to the bitter end, because I so nearly gave up and gave in so many times. I was emotionally broken, and I still am, but what frightened me so then was that she knew my weaknesses and she knew how to exploit them. She understood I was alone and scared and still picking up the pieces in my own life, and with that understanding came not compassion but the determination to squash me underneath her thumb. I needed a whole army of healthy people in my life to beg me not to rescind my decision, to prod and poke at me to follow through with my exit in order to ensure I made it out safely, though clearly not unscathed.

Of course I’m going to continue carrying the trauma from this, but I won’t allow it to be special. I’m going to dump it carelessly into a duffel bag stuffed with every unkind word and every bruise and hit from my mother, with every humiliation and heartbreak dealt by my teachers, with every fucking dumbshit rumor and practiced bullying technique from my peers at a whole variety of different schools and clubs and camps, with every user and moocher from friend groups past, and anything and everything that has left its lovely scar be it on my skin or in my mind. You struck me hard enough to remain for the lifelong flight? Cool. You’ll find your seat in the back with all the snot-nosed children and disappointed mothers and not a good enough view to provide entertainment for the whole trip. Eat some far too salty crackers and wonder what your life has come to. I hope you enjoy.

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #208: Eve of Destruction!

June, 1981

“From eons past comes the world’s most savage warrior... THE BERSERKER LIVES AGAIN!”

So this is the Berserker!

Hm. He looks somewhat less impressive as some Roman looking dude as opposed to a shambling vaguely human shape of rock and undying fury.

But I’ll give him a chance to impress in the actual book.

So last time: Wonder Man was working on a cowboy movie, badly, when he got the Avengers call that it was Avengers time. A new island had appeared in the middle of the Mediterranean and the only inhabitant, the Shadow Lord, made the US navy look like fool chumps. The Shadow Lord captured Wonder Man’s publicist Rachel Palmer and explained his whole backstory to her.

That his people the Earth Lords moved to an island, mastered the four elements, and became very concerned with an immortal Berserker so hit him in the face with a volcano. But since it was a dick move to wipe out several towns to get one guy, the Earth Lords disbanded except for Shadow Lord who had to stand watch for two thousand years in case the Berserker came back. And then the Berserker came back.

Instead of fighting the Berserker, Shadow Lord ends up fighting the Avengers a lot and then they beat up his city and then he dies. He wasted his entire life but he feels pretty okay with leaving his responsibilities to them.

This time: world’s oldest man causes problems on purpose.

He’s spry though.

And apparently between issues he chipped off all the rock, found a shield and spear, and also murdered an entire regiment. He’s been very productive between issues.

But he’s got more murder to do because he’s got to show off his sick skills before the Avengers show up so that its more impressive when they survive his sick skills, unlike all these poor dead Italian army people.

So he’s being attack by tanks and planes. And that just makes him scoff at the cowards attacking him with projectiles. Scoff in English.

I don’t know how he knows modern English. The Shadow Lord explicitly learned English out of Rachel Palmer’s brain to explain how he could speak it and then next issue, a guy that’s been buried under rock for two thousand years just pops out speaking English.

If both of them had spoken English with no explanation, I wouldn’t have even noticed. Comics be like that. Aliens speak English.

Anyway, his shield has an aura that turns metal to dust before it even strikes it. So he blocks a cannon shell without much fuss. And the plane on a strafing run gets his spear, which flies up and slices it in two. And then he pulls out what he calls a Cerellian power-sword and swings it, releasing a searing beam of energy which rips open the ground a hundred yards away to bury some tanks.

So he was buried in lava while carrying some sweet gear, apparently.

And it is very sweet gear. But the man himself was described as dangerous and dammit I don’t see it yet.

We pivot sharply over to the Avengers on Shadow Lord Island where the Shadow Lord again tells the Avengers to carry on his mission and gives Rachel his necklace before dying again.

And then, because Rachel got the exposition last time but no main characters did, she recaps his deal. Including the part that the Avengers already know, like how they beat him.

This is some clunky exposition but I’m the one who always complains when comics don’t establish enough context for me when I’m picking up random issues in the middle of a story.

Captain America asks Rachel, since she’s the new expositor, who the Berserker is but she decides that can wait. Its much more important to hold a funeral for the Shadow Lord.

And perhaps its the mistimed insistence on due to the dead when they can bury an ancient Avatar after stopping an ostensible threat to the world that explains why the Avengers give the funeral their full passive-aggressive 110%.

So on an island that’s soon to collapse into the sea, Wonder Man finds a rock to use as a headstone, Iron Man digs a grave with his repulsors, Vision carves several slabs of rock, Jocasta fuses them into a coffin, Beast carries the coffin over to the dead Shadow Lord, Captain America puts him in the box, Wasp carves an inscription on the headstone, and Scarlet Witch uses her power to change the probability that the grave won’t fill itself in. Which I find the most passive-aggressive move of all, for some reason.

And then the Avengers all gather around and bid farewell to a man that they accidentally killed.

Only after they’ve done all this does Rachel decide to tell them-

Nope.

After all of that, she says “I could tell you but it will be much clearer if you see it for yourselves... in the pool of memories.”

Ffs, Rachel.

So she takes them to the pool of memories, which was apparently something Shadow Lord showed her how to use off-panel.

Geez, the best stuff keeps happening off-panel.

And luckily, when the Avengers leveled the city, they didn’t quite manage to break the pool of memories. Which isn’t a pool. Its a fancy bowl of water.

There’s no reason why it couldn’t have been a pool, artist Gene Colan.

Or: once it was drawn as a bowl why didn’t you change it to something accurate but still with a cool sounding name? Vessel of Memories. Or Font of Memories. Bam, its a bowl with water in it, intrigue!

Anyway, Rachel dips a finger into the memory water which is definitely not pensieve because it predates it by nearly twenty years. This causes a flashback to queue up in the water and for it to start monologuing directly into the Avengers’ heads.

“What follows was culled from the memories of the Berserker himself. Listen carefully. The fate of the world may depend on it.”

So. Wait.

I know its called the Pool of Memories and I know that the Earth Lords were magic enough to remotely erupt a mountain. But does the Pool of Memories contain all memories in the world? Because that’s fairly impressive and just a bit creepy! Or does it just contain the Berserker’s memories since the Earth Lords were stalking him a little bit? How did they get the memories? Its going to turn out that the memories in the Pool of Memories way predate the Earth Lords so how the heck does this all work??

Come back to life, Shadow Lord, and explain your Font of Exposition!

Anyway.

SO! The Berserker goes back to prehistoric cave man times.

He was the sole survivor of a war party against another tribe and he had to run from them and was cornered near the “Cave of Glowing Walls.” Which is a cave. Which had glowing walls.

None who entered had ever returned but between the being beaten to death by clubs that you know and the death you don’t, Pre-Berserker picked the unknown.

“His pursuers laughed at his folly as he went into the cave. Inside, he saw the walls themselves emitting a horrible, unearthly light -- and the reamins of all those who had preceded him.”

“Within moments he too was felled by the lethal glow. He felt the life draining from him. But he did not die there. He was different from the others. Slowly, tortuously, he crawled to safety.”

“His nearly lifeless body tumbled down the rocky slope outside the cave... only to arise hours later, now surging with incredible power -- power bestowed upon him inside the cave of glowing walls!"

Okay. So. At this point I have to ask.

Is this just Vandal Savage? Is this one of those serial number filed off things so the Avengers can fight Vandal Savage?

Anyway, Pre-Berserker brushed himself up, marched right back to that enemy tribe, and killed the entire thing. For the cave also filled him with an unquenchable fury.

An unquenchable, undying fury.

Because he stopped aging.

And because he was always being extremely pissed and killing, people started calling him the Berserker.

And one day, much, much later, he was doing his favorite activity of killing in the city of Sumer when he caught the eye of a nobleman who thought to offer him money for him to kill specific people.

This turned the Berserker’s life around. It had never occurred to him that killing people was a career.

From that point on, he had direction to his life. He wandered the world as a mercenary and apparently was there and shaped history.

He helped set up the dynasties of the pharaohs. Helped with Alexander the Great’s conquests. But it gets even more bonkers.

His reputation became so great that actual factual aliens from another world showed up to hire him.

“At first he cringed in superstitious fear before these alien creatures... But once in battle he discovered that he enjoyed killing foes there as much as back on Earth... a feeling that would be oft-repeated as his exploits took him to scores of other worlds. The destinies of empires -- of entire planetary systems were decided by who hired him first.”

Been there, shaped history. IN SPAAAAAAAAACE.

And his space jobs paid him in sweet gear. And now we know where he got his sweet gear.

What I don’t understand is why he went back to Earth at all?

Yes, he probably could have conquered the Earth with all his sweet space gear. Maybe probably. Marvel’s kitchen sink goes back a long way. Turns out there was a Ghost Rider who ghost rode a flaming mammoth.

But either way, the guy didn’t have the ambition to do that. He was perfectly happy as long as someone paid him to murder people. Preferably in sweet gear that helped him more efficiently murder people.

He comes back to Earth and joins the Roman legions but why? He got to travel planet to planet to different battlefields and shape empires that spanned star systems. Shouldn’t Earth feel kind of small after that?

But he has to be on Earth and joining the Roman legions otherwise how could the Earth Lords get wind of him and scheme to hit him in the face with a volcano.

That was established last time so now we need him to reach that point. Even though the newly established intermediate points make that endpoint suddenly weird.

But it be like that sometimes.

The Font of Exposition runs out of backstory just as the city runs out of ‘still existing.’

So the Avengers and Rachel rush into the Quinjet and fly away just as the city falls apart into the sea.

Gosh, I’m sure glad we spent time doing an elaborate funeral for Shadow Lord when his grave is now spilling into the ocean.

Rachel gets frustrated that all the evidence for this scoop that she rushed into danger for just sank and that she’s going to be a publicist for bad movies forever.

Simon “Wonder” Williams counters with ‘hey at least you’ll still have a job’ considering he bailed on filming to go do superhero stuff.

And indeed we see Merriwether T. Fenniwell, telegram man, delivering a telegram to Avengers Mansion.

“Mr. Williams.

Due to unexplained absence from set of Guns of the Gunman you have been replaced. Find yourself another job and another agent.

Sid Sterling

Star-Maker”

Your mistake there was not telling anyone you were going and why, Simon. You possibly would have been fired anyway. But you only have yourself to blame for not even making an attempt. Geez.

Anyway, don’t feel too bad for Simon. Back on the Quinjet he’s apologizing for being rude to Rachel on the set, saying he was just frustrated with his own lousy acting.

And Rachel slips her hotel key into his pocket and tells him to make it up to her by coming by for dinner.

The original plan was to drop Rachel off at the film set before going to look for the Berserker but whoops, they find him first.

“The Avengers gaze in awe at the scene of carnage and devastation below them -- a scene reminiscent of war or natural disaster. But this bloody tableau was crafted by no clash of armies nor by earthquake or flood. It was created by... the Beserker!”

When they find him he seems to be digging a hole in the ground with his super space spear.

Logically, Beast and Iron Man knock him into the hole.

That’s the smart move, right?

No.

The Berserker had been digging up a space chariot pulled by space robot horses. And I like to think that the Avengers knocked him right into it.

I do wonder about how the chariot ended up buried and how the Berserker found it so quick. I’m not worried about how it still functions perfectly after two thousand years. It be like that in comics.

Anyway, the space chariot has more to recommend it than just not having to feed or maintain it for two thousand years. Its also got a demon mouth carved in the back that leaves a trail of fire as the chariot flies. Yeah, also its a flying chariot.

And its not mundane hot fire. Its force field space cold fire. Uh, so basically think the tron light cycle walls.

Because the Berserker flies circles around the Avengers to enclose them in a cage of non-burning fire.

The fire does still consume oxygen and apparently the fire cage is air tight so its going to burn up all the oxygen inside and asphyxiate the Avengers.

Well, Vision and Jocasta will be fine. Oh, and Iron Man. He has his own built-in respiration system. But the rest will die and that’s a bummer.

THANKFULLY IRON MAN IS WONDERFULLY AND BIZARRELY PREPARED FOR THIS EXACT SCENARIO.

If this specific ability ever comes up again, I’m going to lose my shit because its so specifically tailored to this plot. I love Iron Man’s ridiculous swiss-army armor sometimes.

So you know his shoulders? Those things on top of his arms? Kind of a raised area on his armor?

Those are apparently epaulets and they’re ‘break shoulder in case of asphyxiation emergency.’ He rips them right off to pull out two emergency oxygen cylinders.

The idea is that the breathing Avengers will pass the two cylinders around judiciously and hopefully they’ll last long enough between everyone that the fire cage will burn itself out.

Which does happen. Good job, Iron Man.

Meanwhile, Berserker has scooped up Rachel because “this woman is but a reward that is a great warrior’s due.” Yeah, he’s that kind of immortal guy from prehistoric times. And also he’s been under rock for two thousand years.

Rachel protests being damseled, which honestly two times in as many issues isn’t great, but Berserker is like ‘hush i’m working’ and then he blows up St. Giovanna’s Cathedral, just because he can. And then he blows up a town, off-panel, to reveal a secret city that Caesar built to honor him.

Geez. How much stuff does he have buried around here?

The Berserker lands his space chariot and decides that two thousand year is a long enough vacation so he needs to get back to his work because if you love what you do, truly you’ll never work a day in your immortality.

Berserker: “The instruments of war may change over the centuries, but the nature of man never does! I shall easily sell my services -- as always -- the the highest bidders. Then will the land be once again awash with the blood of millions that will fall under my sword... and once again the planet -- nay the entire universe -- will know and fear the greatest warrior that ever lived!”

Like I said, he loves what he does. And is probably the best at what he does and it ain’t pretty?

He also tells Rachel to go inside this building that's been buried underground for two thousand years and put on some proper raiment.

I gave the space chariot a pass. It’s from space. But Rachel finds and puts on a dress that should have decayed a very long time ago. Is it a space dress? Its probably a space dress.

But the space dress decolletage prompts the Berserker to notice and recognize the necklace Shadow Lord gave Rachel.

When Rachel tells him how she came about them, Berserker is like ‘lol eat shit the Earth Lords, mine now’ and steals the necklace from Rachel to wear for himself.

And then the Avengers show up for some more action sequences.

Or, lets be honest, more chances for the Berserker to show off his sweet space gear.

He blows up the ground beneath the Avengers’ feet with his power sword, sending several tumbling into the Earth.

When Iron Man rays him with a repulsor, the Berserker smirkingly no-sells it, informing Iron Man that his fancy armor is actually fancy space armor.

Berserker: “Ha! The tyrants of Aturak IV built this armor to withstand a proton cannon. ... Surely it can handle the bite of a mosquito!”

Geez, not just repulsors, he’s also proofed against Iron Man’s mightiest weapon?

And then he follows it up by throwing a dagger at Vision. Vision scoffs that he’ll just go intangible and let the blade pass through. But, of course, its a space dagger, from the Arkossian system.

It sticks in intangible Vision and starts draining his energy.

For not knowing anything about the Avengers, he’s doing a good job at making them all look like chumps, with sweet space gear that seems selected to thwart them.

And that’s part of writing a credible threat, I suppose. Having said threat able to pose a decent challenge. But playground style ‘I do this’ ‘Nuh uh, my guy is immune’ doesn’t always make enthralling fight scene.

Anyway, speaking of selectively thwarted, Iron Man finds himself magnetized to Berserker’s shield. And whatever metal approaches Berserker’s shield must yield.

It has that metal disintegrating aura and apparently magnets.

Iron Man manages to pull away somehow, but the shield short-circuits one of his power pods (those roundy things on his hips) which knocks the armored Avenger unconscious.

And then! To add insult to injury! Berserker’s shield magnetically steals from his pocket the hotel key Rachel gave Wonder Man and disintegrates it. Guess Wonder Man isn’t getting lucky tonight.

But he is having an idea. One of those epiphany ideas where an unrelated but thematically similar or adjacent happenstance or utterance makes you figure out the whole thing.

A key happening reminds him of how the Shadow Lord could unlock a Shadow World and would not that imply a key?

So while Wasp does Berserker the first injury this whole fight by zapping him in the face (and then getting swatted, alas) Wonder Man grabs for the necklace Berserker took from Rachel.

Wonder Man tries to figure out how the pyramidal amulets on the necklace fit together but gets sword smacked by Berserker who doesn’t appreciate someone tugging on his new bling.

But the Avengers pull off some good teamwork combo attack.

Wanda uses her powers to make the probability that some columns will fall over be 100%. Captain America throws his mighty shield and the Berserker yields right into the path of the falling column. And Jocasta melts the falling column to try to cover him in molten rock, which is the one thing they know works.

But I suppose that a mere falling melting column doesn’t compare to an entire volcano or maybe he spent those 2,000 years thinking of exactly what to do in this situation. Because Berserker swings his sword above his head, diverting the molten rock away from him.

And then Berserker drags Jocasta into his metal disintegrating shield for trying to give him a hot shower.

He’s apparently familiar with or at least not too surprised at the concept of robots. He’s been to space, after all.

He also decides that rather than hold her against the shield until she completely disintegrates, that he’ll dunk her in the molten rock she had tried to use on him.

Beast finally climbs out of the hole that I assume he’s been in this whole time and tries to tackle Berserker but the guy just slams Beast into Scarlet Witch.

And now its just Captain America vs Berserker. Which of course means that Captain America is going to make a Thing of it.

Captain America: “Alright mister -- it’s just you and me now. And so long as one Avenger stands -- we’re not defeated.”

He kicks the energy space power sword out of Berserker’s grasp to Berserker’s surprise but Cap notes to himself that doing so sent a shock from the sword through his boot. Guess his soles aren’t rubber.

And since Cap got to say a cool thing, so does Berserker. Although substitute ‘cool’ for ‘kinda hurtful.’

Berserker: “Bah! A weapon is only need to battle a true warrior -- you are certainly less than that!”

And then Berserker slams his shield into Cap’s head, knocking him out. How ironic. He who lived by the shield was knocked out by the shield. Really makes you think.

Now all the Avengers lie sprawled unconscious at Berserker’s feet. And now that they’re unconscious, he can actually walk back some of the smack talk.

Berserker: “In truth, they were fine warriors but even they were nothing next to my power!”

I had been wondering. I wouldn’t think that he’d have fought many people like the Avengers in the past times. Maybe IN SPACE. You got the Kree and the Shi’ar up there.

Anyway, when I said that all the Avengers lie sprawled unconscious, I spoke in error.

Wasp was only stunned and now she’s been overlooked what with all the full-sized people lying about.

Her strategy now that she’s alone on the battlefield with the guy is... she flies up to him and zaps him in the face.

You did that last time, Wasp! And like last time, he just whaps you out of the air! With his hand this time, not a space energy power sword. But then he decides to step on you, deciding that she’ll be the first of the Avengers to die.

Yeah, he doesn’t seem much for the ‘they were honorable foes, I’ll let them go so I can fight them again.’

However, now Wonder Man is up and he rushes Berserker to grab at the necklace again.

Berserker unveils one more sweet space gear. He grabs Wonder Man’s wrists and uses his gauntlets to sap his strength. So even though Wonder Man has super strength (that whole thing about how he punches as hard as Thor’s hammer hits), he’s getting weaker and Berserker is getting stronger.

But in a very comic booky way, he summons up all his remaining strength for one last effort.

Wonder Man breaks Berserker’s grip and grabs the necklace. This time he manages to make the pyramid go into the other pyramid, pulling the wearer -- Berserker -- into the Shadow World.

Wasp recovers one more time and since she half knows whats going on, decides to make it so that the trip is one way.

She blasts the necklace, shattering the pyramids so that it can’t be used again.

Berserker: “I’m disappearing... this cannot be... the Berserker cannot be beaten...”

And then he’s gone. Never to darken Earth’s doorstep again. Trapped forever alone in an empty the shadow realm.

Yeah, this was his only appearance. Kind of a shame. I don’t think he’s a unique villain but he was fun. Being a long-ago sealed evil that doesn’t even really want to take over the world, just get paid, gets bonus points from me. Its less generic, anyway. Plus, he had an absurd arsenal and his limited ambition means he’d have been great muscle for another villain.

Not sure I buy him as a threat to the whole world but he’ll do a lot of damage on the way.

Both him and the Shadow Lord were almost too interesting to be one and dones.

Anyway. I can’t get over what Wasp says when Wonder Man congratulates her for figuring out his plan to trap the Berserker.

Wasp: “I’m glad I helped... but I’ll never forgive myself for destroying such a beautiful piece of jewelry.”

Sure, Jan.

Anyway, when the rest of the Avengers wake up, Wonder Man explains it all. How he figured out that the necklace was a key from what the Shadow Lord said when he gave it to Rachel and that the Shadow Lord entered the dimension at sunrise so logically the gate could only be reopened at sunset (???? how did he figure this out? And also what? And why?).

Since he apparently had to run out the clock, he used his unholy ... ACTING TALENT to take a dive when Berserker clocked him and then pretended to be knocked out while the rest of the team got the shit beaten out of them and almost died. “Luckily for us all, it worked.”

Wonder Man: “Too bad Mr. Bertolini wasn’t here to see it. It was the best acting I ever did!”

Rachel: “You sure had me fooled, Simon. Maybe there’s hope for you yet.”

Oh. So. I guess the scene at the movie set was to set up this... character arc? For Wonder Man. That he’d learn to do an acting and use it to resolve the conflict.

The dramatic irony though is that his ass is fired off that movie for leaving to go on this journey of self-discovery slash fighting some ancient dudes.

Oof.

Follow @essential-avengers​ if you think acting is just as important as lasers in being a superhero. Or for other reasons. I’m not picky. Like, reblog, comment. These are also actions. That are important to being a superhero. Maybe.

[willowaudreykeyes]

Morning Competition

- What happens when Logan and Deceit decide to compete in the weirdest of ‘science’ experiments without telling anyone, and it throws Roman for a loop. Aka: The day Roman realises that his friends will never stop surprising him. Ships: Loceit, Platonic Roman at everyone Warnings: swearing, are hickeys a warning?, bad plot I’m new to this, but i got the idea from a friend who asked if asexuals leave hickeys on their partner. I wouldn’t know, I’ve never even dated. I am asexual though. So i answered with ‘I guess for science?’ and the memory only came back at 1am today and wouldn’t let me sleep So I hope you enjoy The ending sucks, I know First and third person difference? Who’s she? Never heard of her ----------------------- This wasn’t what Roman thought his morning would go. 

Being the trait of romance, he was a little jealous that Logic and Deceit both had boyfriends. He wasn’t jealous of their boyfriends; just that they were with each other while he was on his lonesome. He’s voiced this a few times during the start of their relationship until Deceit threatened to sic his brother on him. Now he quietly laments on his loneliness while openly supporting the two in their adorable, very gay relationship.

But his undying love for romance can only go so far before he’s at a loss.

“Was... Was that a hickey on his neck?” With a silent nod, he helps Virgil put his mug down before he spills the bitter coffee onto his lap as his eyes remain trained on the stairs where their dear friend had retreated to find something to read during breakfast. 

It’s been nearly two whole years since the two started dating. There was four months of hiding said relationship, another eight for the two to be happily open about all their cute couple things, and then almost an entire year of moment-long kisses and the occasional warmth-seeking snake needing affection.

Hickeys though... That’s a new one. He would have thought that he was imagining it, but Virgil had seen it as well. If Virgil saw it, then that dark bruise just above the nerd’s shirt collar exists. 

And that baffled Roman for some reason.

“Dude, stop being a disaster gay and eat your food before Patton scolds you for wasting it.” He turns to their resident emo with a face of pure shock, motioning towards the stairs.

“But... But when will I ever see such a sight again!?”

“The way you talk about the two makes it sound like your gay for them. Just, don’t be weird about it...” 

With a huff, the Prince returns to his meal just as Logan returns with a very worn copy of ‘Treasure Island’ that he had given the nerd for Christmas many moons ago. It warmed his heart that his friend still read it as it had taken him weeks to try and find a book that wasn’t full of facts that Logan would remember after the first read. He’d reminisce more, but that darkened patch of skin is distracting him. 

‘It’s just a damned hickey’ he told himself. He shook his thoughts away and greeted their beloved father figure, who returned it with a happy smile and a wave before grabbing a plate for himself. 

“Are Deceit and Remus not joining us this morning, Lo?” He perks up at the sound of his nickname, thinking for a moment as he finishes his bite of the pancakes he made for everyone this morning.

“They’ll be late today as Remus wished to show Deceit something. Apparently, it just couldn’t wait until after breakfast.” With a nod, Patton starts making conversation with Virgil and we let Logan go back to his book. I find myself looking at that hickey after every few bites, glad that Logan is busy reading his book because this is probably weird.

He and Patton finish eating at the same time, marking his book before following Patton to the sink to drop off the dishes. “Ah, one second.” I nearly drop my fork as he reaches up and fixes Logan’s collar, hiding the hickey after giving it a soft pat with the tips of his fingers. “Maybe ask De to make those a little lower next time.”

Not a moment passes before Virgil chokes on air, slapping a hand over his mouth to try and hide his laughter. I try to hide my own laughter, just not as well as the nerd is already red at the tips of his ears. “I’ll uh... t-tell him, Patton.”

“Who are you telling what to?” There’s the snake, his voice slinking into the room as he walks in from behind Virgil and I. Another small chuckle escapes as I turn towards him, only for it to be caught in my throat at the sight of him. There’s confusion, excitement, my passion for romance growing within me; but there’s mostly just pure amusement.

The human side of his neck is massively discoloured. Blotches of black and blue are spread across it, some of them ducking behind his collar to hide from others eyes. I register that he’s giving me a look of bemusement; but holy moly, give me mercy- Logan did that. 

“Y-You said that you were going to wear a scarf!”

“I changed my mind. I’m starting to like the colour blue on my skin.”

I think I just choked.

“Fuck- Sorry Pat- you’re both so gay! Get a room!” 

“We each have a room already, Virgil-”

“It’s an idiom, dear.”  

I think I’m going to die from these two. They’re both too cute for it to be legal in my presence, yet they’re also both insufferable in their own ways. Deceit with the light flirting and pet name, Logan dashing all my thoughts about him after realising that he did that to Deceit’s neck. Probably his chest too. Fuck, now that image is in my head and I’m dying twice as fast. 

“What’s with the look, Virgil? Never seen a hickey before?”

“We both know that you have more then just a hickey on you, and no. I just haven’t seen one on either one of you before. You said that you were ace!” 

I manage to get rid of the clog up of air from my throat just as they give each other a look of amusement. I’d say something, but I’d probably die again and I don’t want Remus finding me passed out from an overdose of second-hand adorable gays. 

“I am ace. You’re as bad as Remus right now... We were simply testing each other.”

���With your mouths on each others necks!?” I didn’t mean to yell that as loudly as I did. I can see Remus peeking over the stairs railing, smiling widely as if he knows something I don’t. Bastard rat man of a twin...

“Go on dearest. They won’t believe me if I tell them.”

Seeing Logan red as my sash and attempting to collect his thoughts will be forever locked inside my memories. It’s funny as hell and I’m already thinking of ways to try and see it again. “Deceit brought up the idea, at a ridiculous time of the night I may add, to test and see who could make a hickey the fastest between the two of us.”

“I won, as you can see. He kept trying to beat my time.”

“I was one point one-fourth of a second off!”

“He’s such a sore loser~”

I push my chair back and take a deep breath before standing. All the calmness said breath gave me dissipates into a mist of disappointment as Remus cackles quietly by the stairs. “And I thought you two were being romantic. But you’re both just massive nerds!”

“DE HAS A HICKEY BY HIS LEFT SNITTIE!”

Nope. I am done. Grabbing my plate, I quickly sink down into my room and quickly lock the door from the inside. 

Logan had a hickey. Deceit had an army of hickeys. Remus knows where a hickey is on a part of Deceit’s body that should have been hidden from view. Remus has made the term ‘snittie’ now enter my brain like the Intrusive Thot that he is!

“WHY DO MY FRIENDS HAVE TO BE SO WEIRD!?”

[lucyhblack]

O sangue pesa suas opções e toma uma decisão.

Blood had left Flowey in his garden (that's how the Flower will describe him and he was going to take their word, after all it was they who were the specialist, not him) and promised that he would come back the next day (after assuring him that by taking out a mouse , some insects and a family of birds on a crab apple tree at the end of the garden (there were no more living beings in the house).

He had taken a taxi back to the hotel and passed out in bed without bothering to take off his shoes (or open that expected pack in the fridge). Apparently the twists of the day were enough to drain him enough to sleep as soon as he had dropped off in bed and only wake up with the sun coming in through the window (and through the hole in your skull).

The feeling of having a very strange dream (something with Toriel as a queen ordering an army of flowers to bring her a bloody heart for a pie, but they found none because Asgore had stolen them all for her own tea party) had left him even more disoriented and had done nothing to convince himself that everything was no longer a bizarre dream in his broken mind.

(between Toriel wanting hearts and a talking flower, he bet on Toriel like a crazy and bloody Queen. Only those who had seen the goat monster giving orders and seeing decorated monsters shivering like leaves over his eyes knew the fear she could inflict).

He then pulled out the list he had written on his cell phone to guide him in case he got too confused or forgotten. He grimaced when he realized he had skipped dinner and therefore could not skip breakfast either, even if he was not hungry at all (he had to get used to his body and mind that he was no longer living on rations and no longer needed to ration food or go hungry. For that he had to maintain a routine and could not skip meals).

Well, one thing at a time. He decided to start with food, then left the hotel to go to the cafeteria on the corner. It was almost lunchtime, but who cared? Whether it was a mug of coffee and a turkey sandwich or or a seven-course meal, it was food no matter what the name or the order, as long as him ate something, it would be okay.

He sat at a table in a corner overlooking the door and the lounge and drained the coffee almost without tasting it, but the caffeine kick worked miracles for his system and he was a little more himself (or what was left of himself) ) after that.

While eating (small bites, chew before swallowing, try to enjoy your meal...) he analyzed everything that had happened the day before.

Part of him wanted to dismiss everything as a dream or a delusion from his mind (it wouldn't be the first time) but the smell of grass on his coat (he should have changed it before he left, but who cared? At least it wasn't blood and dust) seemed enough proof that everything had been real (unless of course he had some sort of outbreak, he would wander around and roll around in some garden around. It could have been a possibility, but since he was not in prison or in a mental institution, he thought unlikely).

He finished his breakfast/lunch and pulled out his cell phone wondering if he should call Toriel or not. He should call her to give her feedback anyway, but what would he say?

“Hi Tori! Yes, the house is fine, nothing that a broom and a hand of paint can't solve except for a damn attic garden... Oh and sure, the little flower monster that your husband apparently adopted in secret and has been living alone in that abandoned house for years!”

Yeah, it wouldn't be a good start... Maybe probe if she knew if Asgore hadn't talked about some Flowey...

Honestly it seemed crazy that she didn't know about Flowey. After all Asgore always tried to find a reason to talk to her (and what better excuse than turning her attic into a garden and adopting a monster child whose type had never been heard of?).

Although the subject of children was kind of taboo for both of them... he couldn't imagine Asgore telling Toriel that he had adopted a child (let alone imagine that Toriel didn't have one or a thousand things to say about it to him). Much less that she would have abandoned him there alone for so long if she knew anything about him.

Okay, he was going to call and...

He remembered the room and the promise he had made to himself that she would never know about it... what if the room belonged to Flowey? But it was as dusty as the rest of the house... besides, those things there were for another type of monster (a little goat monster that would never play with stuffed animals, hang crayon drawings on the walls or wear boots of rain).

That room was definitely dedicated to his dead son Asriel and not Flowey, not to mention that he didn't even know if Flowey could leave the garden (and he didn't seem to need a bed, a lamp and much less a dresser).

He was sure that as soon as he told Toriel in the blink of an eye he would be there, comforting the kiddo, dealing with all this much better than he (obviously she would not make a blunder like breaking the news of a father's death as he did ), but if she came she could end up seeing the room (or taking the house back... and wasn't that what was really at the bottom of all this worry? That the boy could not leave and she decided to withdraw the offer and he would lose his best chance to start again... you disgusting piece of selfish shit!)

Ahhhh Damn!

Why hadn't Asgore talked about Flowey in the will?!

Okay, he could imagine why. Toriel would probably resurrect him just to be able to kill him and piss in his dust.

But it was impossible for anyone to not know about the child. Asgore could not be so irresponsible of abandoning a child without the care of an adult, flower or not (unless all of Toriel's accusations were true and Asgore was really responsible for Asriel's death).

But then who would he tell?

The old goat had left almost everything for Toriel, taking some donations to institutions and small things distributed among some close colleagues. The only other person to receive anything else was Undy...

A twinge in his skull almost made him fold in two, while his nonexistent stomach tightened. Not! He wasn't going to think about her. He would not think of the ex-new war commander.

So who?

Gerson the retired old General was more senile than a mummy with Alzheimer's. Apart from the turtle, he didn't have that many close friends (a problem when you're a Boss monster).

Ah! There was Alphys! The shy military scientist was in the care of old Fluffybuns. He used to have tea with her often (always trying to get it out of its shell), maybe he should call her...

And how was she going to help him?!

Alphys could barely take care of herself (how many times was she scolded for spending too much time on her projects without even sleeping or showering, and just feeding on ramen?), Imagine a child! Furthermore, even as distracted as she was, she would certainly have already informed someone of an abandoned child (she would, wouldn't she? Nor would she hesitate for so long before alerting someone).

So what would he do? The most certain thing would be to call Toriel and get it over with (Toriel was the best, if not the only person who should deal with it). But he still hesitated. It wasn't just the room (or half-perceived selfish motives), there was something that kept him from calling Toriel.

Why had Asgore hidden the child?

There was something there. Fluffybuns wouldn't have kept a child a secret, not when he was at the front, knowing full well that he could die at any moment. And that question made him doubt whether to call Toriel.

(And let's face it, the guy had a lot of flaws, but he was also a big monster. He was dead and a part of him, even seeing the full proof of one of his flaws, didn't want to further denigrate his image)

What to do then? He could stay at the hotel for a while (he had enough money for it), only the idea of living in a place surrounded by other strangers filled him with discomfort, but he couldn't just pretend that there isn't a child living in the attic (even if that attic was a garden and the child a flower).

Urgh! His head was hurting...

The answers were with the Flower. He had to talk to Flowey and find out what he could before making a decision.

Probably Asgore left instructions on what to do in his absence, or who to contact in an emergency (really any kind of instructions would be very welcome now).

Right! He would talk to Flowey and then look for Toriel, or whoever it was that would fix it.

[lookbluesoup]

OC Interview Meme

Tagged by @tarberrymentats and @wastelandwandererstuff​ B)

SORRY IT TOOK ME A WHILE TO GET TO THIS GUYS spring break kept me busy xD But I AM BACK NOW AND READY TO ANSWER THESE TAGS THANK U ALL <33 It’s been a blast getting to read about everyone’s Fallout characters ;w; I’m trying to get braver about leaving comments/reblogs but in the meantime just know I SEE YOUR AWESOME CHARACTERS and I APPRECIATE THEM.

This was actually a challenge answering from Nate’s POV xD There’s stuff that I KNOW ABOUT HIM AND WANT TO SHARE but he wouldn’t volunteer or he wouldn’t view the same way so… take it for what it is! And feel free to ask questions! ;w;

It is long. Long long long. Not sorry. 16, 19, 28, and 33 are my favorites c;

1. What is your name?

Oh. Wow. We’re starting this interview off with some tough ones, hunh? Uhh… hm. My name. My name… Let me think. (overly dramatic pause) Nathaniel Christian Ronan? Yeah. That sounds right.

2. Do you know why are you named that?

I was told my name means “God has given,” because my parents didn’t actually think they’d be able to have a second kid. That and Pops was an army chaplain - wanted me to have a name reflecting the faith. He was very literal in his approach. Ronan is an Irish surname, which seemed a lot more important 200 years ago than it does today. It means… uh, oh, shoot, I used to know… Don’t worry, it’ll come to me.

3. Are you single or taken?

(chuckles) Sorry folks, my roving days are over. Got a nosy reporter waiting for me back in Diamond City... whatever time I’ve got left I’m giving it to her.

4. Have any abilities or powers?

Powers? What, like, superpowers? That’d be awesome but, hah, no. Though I’ve been told my ability to talk myself out of trouble is uncanny. My martinis were legendary, and still would be if I find the ingredients for them in this apocalyptic wasteland. Friends say I’ve got a good ear for music… Oh, and ventriloquism. That’s always fun.

5. Stop being a Mary Sue.

I know you are but what am I?

6. What’s your eye color?

Blue, like my grandmother. (blinks dramatically several times for emphasis)

7. How about your hair color?

Coal back. (runs a hand through it almost nervously) And holding up better than the rest of me, considering the complete lack of well-deserved grey hair.

8. Have any family members?

I have a son, Shaun. Piper gave me roots, and Nat’s pretty much my little sister, too, at this point. The Railroad’s been more family to me than most of my own blood ever was.

9. Oh? How about pets?

Legs Washington, an orphaned radstag I brought to the Castle. He’s a bit of a mascot for the men, follows Shaun everywhere. Yeah, it’s adorable.

10. That’s cool, I guess. Now tell me something you don’t like?

You guess? Look, after this interview, I’m taking you to the Castle to meet them yourself. Your life will be changed. There’s plenty to dislike about the Commonwealth, enough to go mad over. It’s not exactly the charming old homestead of days gone by. But we’re making it better one day at a time.

11. Do you have any activities/hobbies that you like to do?

Hah! “Duck and Cover” is a big one. Got me suspended from Railroad HQ once, though. I still say that was Deacon’s fault. I like long walks through the woods, playing baseball with Shaun, and a General’s work is never done but it does bring fulfillment. I like all those activities infinitely better when Piper’s around. Is that mushy? God, that sounds mushy. (smiles shamelessly)

12. Have you ever hurt anyone in any way before?

Yeah. Some deserved it… some I’m still trying to make up for.

13. Ever… killed anyone before?

(stops smiling) Yeah. I have. You want a kill count? Six-word soundbites about all the blood and screams and the way men look when they realize they’re about to die? It’s not a fun fact. It’s not fun. Next question.

14. Name your worst habits?

I’m afraid that information’s classified. I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you. OH! LITTLE SEAL. That’s what Ronan means! Yeah, you know, like, selkie babies.

15. Are you gay, straight or bisexual?

Aha… seriously? I’m Pipersexual, end of story. Unless you count the undying affection between my best mate Deacon, and me, which I’ve been told occasionally inspires jealousy. Honestly, I never gave putting a name to my romantic inclinations much thought. It’s always been women, but maybe I just never met the right man.

16. Do you look up to anyone at all?

Piper, for sure. She’s - the way she sees the world? It gives me hope. She’s brave, brave enough to fight for what she believes in. No matter how bad it gets she always finds a light to hold onto, somehow, and keep going. And she’s genuine. I didn’t know what courage really was until I met her. Scribbles’ friendship is… a hell of a lot more than I deserve. I wouldn’t be the same without it. And, God, she’s funny. Sweet, and - a-ha, hm… we’d be here all day if I tried to list all the reasons why I love her.

I also have immense respect for Nick Valentine. He’s a good guy. Without ‘im, I might still be chasing my tail out in the woods somewhere. Or worse. Nick was a friend to me when I needed it most, put everything on the line to help me find my son - didn’t even hesitate. I’ll never be able to repay him for that.

17. What kind of animal are you?

One of a kind. (winks)

18. Do you go to school?

The Commonwealth has a way of schooling everyone, doesn’t it? I’m a bit too old for arithmetic and hall passes, but I never stop learning, if that’s what you mean.

19. Ever want to marry and have kids one day?

I’-ve… been down that road before. (breaks eye contact abruptly) Times were uncertain enough when Shaun was born. Now? Scribbles and I roll the dice every day of our lives. Asking her to marry me – starting over – was the scariest thing I’ve ever done. A baby would be, uh, a really big change. (smiles briefly, uncertain) Maybe if – no, I don’t know. Piper’s never shown any desire for something like that. If she did – even if she did... (sighs) I – look. Let’s just move on, okay?

20. Do you have any fangirls/fanboys?

Oh yeah, I have an ensemble of groupies that follow me around the wasteland with a pack brahmin and an eyebot.They pitch my tent for me and cook all my meals. I pay for services with my autograph instead of caps. (rolls eyes, but keeps a smile)

21. What are you most afraid of?

Losing someone I love. I know we don’t get any guarantees out here in the wasteland, but… loss never gets any easier. It makes it hard to open up, y’know? I spent a long time keeping folks who cared about me at arm’s length, and some days it’s still a challenge.

22. What do you usually wear?

What you see is what you get! Derbys, slacks, a shirt as white as I can get it in these conditions, and a black vest, because that never goes out of style. My favorite hat is - take a look at this. It’s a bicorne. Has anyone worn that since the French Revolution? It’s great. I love it. Piper doesn’t.

23. What’s one food that tempts you?

You know what I miss? Chocolate. I’d kill for chocolate. … kidding.

24. Am I annoying to you?

Hah! I married a journalist. This is just another Tuesday.

25. Well, it’s still not over!

Look, if I’m not back by seven…

26. What class are you (low/middle/high)?

I mean… it’s not like anyone’s ‘wealth’ compares to what it was like before the war. I’m not living off charred molerat, but I certainly won’t be moving into the Upper Stands anytime soon. Most of what I have, I made myself.

27. How many friends do you have?

More than I deserve. Piper and Deacon are probably my two best friends though. Nick, Preston, and Kent oughta be mentioned, too.

28. What are your thoughts on pie?

You mean those damn perfectly preserved slices stuck in the Port-A-Diners? God, I’ve tried everything. I spent an entire afternoon trying to break in. What is the glass even made of? I couldn’t put a scratch on it. You have to just keep pushing the button. Over and over. I’m convinced it’s all some Vault-Tec conspiracy. There is no pie. The pie is a lie. Piper says she managed it once, but I don’t believe her.

29. Favorite drink?

Nuka cherry! No question.

30. What’s your favorite place?

There’s a spot up at the top of Diamond City. I mean the top top, even higher than the Stands. Clear night with a full moon? You can see for miles. Can’t be beat.

31. Are you interested in anyone?

You’ve - been listening, right? Aha, was I unclear about being madly in love?

32. That was a stupid question…

You’d be surprised how often it gets asked. (chuckles)

33. Would you rather swim in a lake or the ocean?

Lake. Definitely. I’m marginally less likely to get eaten there. That being said, I was up in Maine once, went out to pick lure weed. You know, those radioactive yellow flowers that grow in muddy ponds? Bad idea.Terrible idea. Maine is a terrible place and I will not be building a summer home there e-ver.

34. What’s your type?

Kickass reporters with the brightest hazel eyes you’ve ever seen, hair like Aphrodite, and a smile to make you melt.

35. Any fetishes?

Look, you’re very nice. Really. And I appreciate the interest, but ah, this isn’t any of your business. Only one person gets to ask me about those and - you aren’t her.

36. Camping or outdoors?

Camping? Oh man, those were the days. An RV trip would be the bomb. It’s not much of an option these days. But I’m used to sleeping rough, and I gotta admit, it has its charm.

[peaches-of-1]

Try Again?

Key x Male!Reader

Summary: You and your best gal pal are finally going to a SHINee concert after saving up. Luck seems to be on your side as you are taken on stage during Key’s performance of “Born to Shine” as well as some time backstage after the show ends.

Luck was on your side as you were randomly selected to win a KEYLAND shoulder bag with glow in the dark lettering. The lady punching tickets made sure it was held under a lamp a few minutes before handing it to you to unwrap. You slid it on right away and put your ticket and phone inside. You also got a free lightstick which was AMAZING.

You had come with your best guy friend Joonho. The two of you were wearing Key’s pink shorts outfit that he wore at fashion week. Light teal beanie included. Your friend Eun was in a femme version of it which just meant leggings instead of socks and shorter shorts. The two of you had saved up money for years for the chance to go to a SHINee (or member of SHINee) concert, and there was finally one close enough that you were able to go.

The seats were great, too. Not moshpit but close enough to see the glitter on Kibum’s chest and that Taemin was wearing crystal blue contacts. Minho was as tall and talented as ever and Onew had gained some major muscle since the last batch of airport pics you were able to see. Jonghyun was probably watching from above as well. Always five, just as the boys said before they all did their solo songs.

They played “Shinin’” while the other boys got dressed, allowing people to use the bathroom and buy merch while dancers performed their dance. You smiled and sang along knowing in your heart he was happy. You and the rest of the crowd jammed along to “Move” and “Blue” so very excited and screaming because words weren’t enough to show your excitement.

Everyone was expecting for Key to do “One of Those Nights” but he didn’t. You and Eun held hands and nearly died when you saw girls and guys in camo pants and army green tops come out with sashes tied around their torsos. You had even made a joke about his hair matching the video from all those years ago. It’s like you knew!

What you didn’t know is that they were looking for people with a Keyland bag to go on stage. You had a Keyland bag, so you were asked if you wanted to be on stage. Hells yes, you did! So they took you stage. Part of you wanted to run on stage yourself, but you had to hold back and be polite.

When you were sat in the chair, you were glad that there was a cushion there. As he pointed towards you with the riding crop and strutted towards you, you made sure not to break eye contact. Of course, you failed, but you were so honored to hear these vocals up close. Your heart was pounding out of your chest as his was right in front of you.

Dear lord, those hip thrusts! You had to cover your mouth to make sure you didn’t drool in front of him. And to be honest, it was a real struggle not to moan when he pulled your head back to look at him. To say his grin was wicked would be an understatement. The devil himself couldn’t even compete. He even took a moment to sit in ya lap as the song ended. While the outro played, he paraded you around stage for a bit and then moved you towards the stairs.

“Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitccchhhhh.” Eun said as she fanned you.

“Bruh.” You said. “I shoulda brought a change of undies.” You fell into her arms as others glared with jealousy and amusement.

The rest of the concert was amazing! You could’ve sworn he was gonna kiss you, but he could never without increasing the amount of death threats for the both of you. When it was time to go, you were so happy and so very hype. Joonho couldn’t stop asking for details about your time on stage.

Then someone stopped you, “You’re the one who was on stage with Key, right?”

You nodded.

“Come with me. Your friend can come to.” Then she turned and walked away, expecting you to follow.

The two of you went with her and then knocked on the door.

“Who is it?”

“Us? I brought...them.” She said, not sure what to call you and your friend.

“Send them in.”

She opened the door and then spoke to you all, “You got 30 minutes. Do what you will.” And the door closed behind you.

Key looked up at you and Eun, “Welcome.” He said. “Please, sit on either side of the couch.”

You sat on the left, and she sat on the right. Key sat in between you two and took a few selfies. One with you all smiling, one with silly faces and one with him reaaaaaaal close to your neck without warning.

“Key!” You yelled.

“Good. Now you, hands up. No touching unless I tell you where.” He smiled at you. “And you, sit on that couch.”

Your hands went above your head, and he took the belt off his pants to secure your wrists together. Eun went to the couch on the left side of the room. Key turned on the music-- “Try Again” by Aaliyah--and told Eun to keep her eyes on him. You could feel your heart rate start to go faster than the beat of the R&B song. He put his forehead to yours, and it was as if you could see the most beautiful death in them. The list of things he wanted to do to you. And you were planning to let him do every single thing without any questions asked.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Key sighed and turned off the music, “Hands in your lap.” He said and throw a blanket over you hands. Then he fixed his hair and opened the door. “Yea?”

You made eye contact with Eun and then tried to see who had knocked.

“I didn’t miss anything, did I, hyung?”

He snickered, “I was just about to start before you knocked.”

“Good. I heard you had two inside, and since we both know your preference, I’m sure you won’t mind me entertaining the other.” Taemin asked.

Key stood to the side, “She’s on the left. Safeword is Circus.”

He then locked the door behind him as the maknae sat next to Eun and put his arm around her while she just stared at him. He asked her name and whispered into her ear before nibbling on it. The blanket was moved and the show began again. Key made sure you weren’t going to stop looking at him, and you’d die if that day ever came. Then he put his feet on either side of you and stood so that his crotch was right in front of your face.

The idol swung his hips and grabbed your hat off to toss to the side and run his fingers through your hair. It was hard to not get hard with him doing such erotic things to you. He wouldn’t let your eyes wander for a second too long, so there was no chance of you collecting yourself. His smirk was so dirty as you let out a whimper. It’s not your fault Key’s breath was so hot on your neck as he mouthed along to the words of the song.

Were you drooling? You were probably drooling.

You looked at his sweating chest as he took off the belt in order to take your suspenders off and unbutton your shirt. If you hadn’t been giving him bedroom eyes before, you were doing it now for sure. The only thing you could think about was how horny you were and how you wanted to plow that ass that was now giving you a lap dance.

Key smacked your hands when they went to grab his waist and wagged his finger at you, “No touching, handsome. Only he can do that.”

He pointed to Taemin who had Eun turned into a pile of jello as she clawed the couch since Taemin was in front of her and taking off his own shirt.

“Lee Taemin-ah~” The red head crooned.

He turned around as his older member beckoned him towards him. Taemin then took Key’s jacket off while their chests were pressed together. Key then kissed the other’s neck, making him giggle before they returned to their respective sides. You moved your hands to cover the obvious tent in your shorts.

The devil Kim Kibum was having none of that. He grabbed his riding crop and tapped your hands to moved them. Then he dry humped you until you felt like you would orgasm right then and there. He even said that you could have your hands on his thighs, nowhere else.

“What a dirty boy you are~” He teased. “About to blow even with two other people in the room?”

“I can’t...can’t help it. You’re so hot.” You panted out. “So sexy.”

Key laughed as he held your chin, “I know, right?” Then he kissed you so roughly that you thought it’d leave a bruise.

Your brain turned into a white fuzzy fog as you couldn’t hold back anymore. Tears formed in your eyes as you finally let yourself release into your pants. As Key ended the kiss, it left you breathless.

“Taeminnnnnnn!” Eun called out as she rode his thigh and collapsed into his chest after he kissed her as well.

Then the two got dressed into regular clothing and helped you and Eun clean up for 15 minutes before letting you two leave with the photos. If anyone had told you that after that pic was taken, than Key was gonna make you orgasm in front of your best friend and Taemin, you woulda said that he had done it during the concert already. If they added that he gave you a private strip tease, you would’ve thought they read your diary or something. Never in a million years would have believed for your dream to become a reality.

It wasn’t until you got home and looked inside your Keyland bag that you saw a note that said, “You didn’t get me to cum. Wanna try again?” with a date and location.

You were going.

[kallypsowrites]

The Many Readings of Game of Thrones (Part 1): Daenerys Targaryen

A little bit ago I made a post about Game of Thrones parallels and how parallels could be interpreted and read in multiple ways. I posited that while it is fun to make predictions based on parallels, it is silly to insist that your reading is the ONLY CORRECT reading so long as we don’t have the ending of the show. Because without the ending, it is unclear what the show has been building to/going for. Until we have the ending, there are many readings we could give the parallels. And I’ma go through some of them today.

Please note that I am going to attempt to be completely neutral in these readings. Even though I, of course, have stuff that I want to happen/don’t want to happen, I am still going to give every set of parallels a fair shake. Then you can decide for yourself which one you like best. Also, an important note, I am ONLY going to investigate show parallels. I know there’s a lot more stuff in the books but if a part from the book didn’t make it into the show, I’m going to assume it won’t influence the show’s ending. With that, I’m going to start with the most controversial character of the show: Daenerys.

In my mind, there are three readings of Daenerys character going around the fandom right now:

1.       She is a hero and is going to end up ruling the seven kingdoms after saving them from the white walkers. This ending usually involves her marrying Jon Snow and having a family.

2.       She is a hero, but will ultimately die in some way, never quite making it to the throne. Some theories have her dying in child birth, and others have her dying in a heroic fashion. Either way, in this theory, she chooses heroism over her own ambition.

3.       She is an antagonist who has been going darker with each passing season and in this season she will choose ambition over the realms and become as much a danger as the white walkers.

So this is a sort of positive, bittersweet and negative reading of Daenerys’ arc and trajectory. I’m going to focus on her in each of these arcs. Obviously, shipping stuff is going to come up as it is often tied to these parallel reads, but I’ll try to keep it focused on her. But I do think I should emphasize that I don’t have a bone in this shipping battle. I’m not hardcore for Jonsa or Jonerys. This is an objective as possible, non-shipper reading of Dany.

Let’s start with THEORY NUMBER ONE: The positive reading.

This reading revolves around reading Daenerys as a mostly morally good character. Not a character without flaws, of course, but a character whose intentions and goals are ultimately just and right. Daenerys starts out in a position of little to no power. This could be paralleled with many other characters in Game of Thrones but, most notably, Sansa. She is not a fighter. She is a physically weak princess type. And in some was she foreshadows Sansa’s struggles in the later seasons (of being married against her will, isolated from her home, becoming disillusioned and learning to find her power and stand up for herself). For the purposes of this reading we are going to call this a positive parallel. We are meant to sympathize equally with Sansa and Daenerys’ arcs and root for them as they come into their own and embrace their name.

Daenerys can also be paralleled with Jon. As a bastard, he has no claim or ability to inherit anything from his family. As a woman, Daenerys’ brother has authority over her. Neither of them are supposed to have any strong claim to the throne but by the end, they both seem to be in the best position to take it. But we’ll get more into their relationship later.

Game of Thrones is full of hard moral choices, and a positive reading suggests that Daenerys is another maker of those hard moral choices. When she kills, it is for a variety of reasons. In some cases, she kills for vengeance when she burns the witch who killed Khal Drogo and locks her betrayers in Quarth. This is parallel to characters like Oberyn Martell and Robb Stark (Robb goes to war to get vengeance and justice for his father and expresses how he would like to ‘kill them all’ when referring to the Lannisters). This is most parallel of all to Arya Stark, who has been on a vengeance train since season 2. Daenerys also kills for justice. After the masters of Mereen crucify several children, she pays them back by crucifying the same number of masters. This treatment could be seen as a parallel to characters like Ned Stark and Stannis, who are very justice focused. Ned Stark would have beheaded Jorah for selling slaves and has beheaded many men for breaking vows, regardless of circumstances.

Daenerys has also killed as part of war which many, many characters have done on all sides of the moral spectrum. Robb Stark sent some of his men to their deaths to give them a victory over Jaime Lannister. Stannis attacked at the Battle of Blackwater, planning to sack the city which would have led to a whole lot of death. Daenerys does the same and tries to avoid attacking civilians. That is not to say she isn’t tempted to attack cities but she can usually be talked down. Her focus is on those who attack her, those who violate the law, and those who take up arms against her. There are times she seems to enjoy the rush of killing her enemies because it makes her feel powerful, but we’ve seen that in Arya, Sansa, the Hound, Tyrion, Cersei, Jaime etc.

Another important character parallel is between Daenerys and her father. Her father liked to burn people alive and was, by all accounts, one of the most awful kings to have ever ruled. They have some similarities. He was also apparently ambitious and had a lot of high ideals. He did not always consider reality because as a Targaryen he felt himself beyond it. Daenerys certainly embraces her name just as fiercely, and her claim to the throne rests on the fact that he was the last king.

However, in this reading we take her at her word: that she is not her father. She shows more basic compassion than her father, reaches out to the poor and needy, tries not to hurt innocents. She does not burn King’s Landing for this reason, while her father was keen to blow the whole place up during his losing war. She also asks her councilors to warn her if they see her going too far. As Tyrion says “she knows herself” and wants to improve upon her flaws. Sometimes she listens to her advisors and sometimes she doesn’t. This is the same as any king/queen with their councilors. Therefore, because she is self aware of her father’s bloody legacy, she is destined to improve on the past and be a better ruler than him. She is also attempting to improve on her ancestor Aegon’s work. He was a conqueror who built the wheel that is the iron throne, but Daenerys has expressed the desire to break the wheel. Maybe this will lead to reforms to improve the monarchy and it’s relationship with the seven kingdoms.

Since many of the other main characters have killed and even enjoyed killing, she cannot be placed as darker than any of the rest of them. She is simply one of many morally grey characters on a spectrum. And therefore a hero of Game of Thrones.

A hero prioritizes the weak over those in power. A hero prioritizes the safety of the people over their own ambition. Most important to this reading is the fact that Daenerys agreed to help Jon Snow whether he bends the knee to her or not. He then, of course, proceeds to bend the knee to her, but she does recognize the necessity of beating the Army of the Dead before claiming her throne. This is foreshadowed in the House of the Undying. Because she did not touch the throne and instead headed the call of her dragons, she proved that she was able to resist ambition when the time called for it. Just like she was rewarded in season 2 (with finding her dragons), she will ultimately be rewarded with the throne she worked so hard to claim at the end of season 8. And, perhaps, she will break the wheel that is the throne and usher Westeros into a better future--probably alongside Jon Snow.

THEORY NUMBER TWO assumes everything that I just said about Daenerys being ultimately good. But the ending is changed. Instead, her not touching the throne symbolizes her final sacrifice. That she will save the realms but ultimately she will not have the throne. She had to fully sacrifice her ambition to make Westeros safe again. However, this is a heroic death, and one that clears the way for future generations.

Others, in this tragic death theory, believe she will die in child birth. There has been a lot of strong foreshadowing to suggest Daenerys will have a baby. They kept bringing it up in season 7, after all. And she visually paralleled with Lyanna Stark while having the boat sex with Jon Snow with the “He loved her and she loved him” line. Lyanna died in child birth and Rhaegar died in battle, leaving Jon Snow alone. It is possible that a new child will be born and left without parents in the same way. Such is the cost of war. This fits as well with the idea that the ending will be “bittersweet”. It would be bitter sweet to have two major characters die but their child survive.

Many are also certain Daenerys is going to die because she has been immune to death for so long. All of us knew that she wasn’t dying before she crossed the narrow sea. George, and the directors, are famous for killing off unexpected characters, so it would be in line with their philosophy of “no one is safe” if they killed one of the biggest and most recognizable characters of the show.

Now, in reference to theory one and two, we need to talk about Daenerys’ parallels with Jon Snow. They both started out with less power and not very much respect. They also (as has been pointed out soooo many times) seem to represent ice and fire. Even the climates where they exist represent ice and fire. Throughout the seasons they both lose their first loves (which began under circumstances of dubious consent), grow in authority, gain many followers and allies, have a mystical animal companion, make tough choices that come with ruling, and prove themselves in battle.

Daenerys faces her most complicated choices in season four and five. Same with Jon Snow. They both take up temporary positions of power, that will not be the end goal for their stories (queen of Mereen/Lord Commander). At the end of season five, Daenerys is alone in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by Dothraki. Jon Snow has been killed. They have fallen from their position. But they are able to rise up again. By the end of season six, Jon has returned to Winterfell and become King in the North and Daenerys has set out to take her place as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. These parallels are meant to show their similarities and foreshadow that they’ve been moving toward each other the whole story. They meet as equals, negotiate as equals, and eventually fall for each other as equals. It could be argued that Daenerys is putting herself over Jon in this season but he does not allow her to make him feel lesser and their relationship only begins once she puts herself on his level and his vulnerable with him. And since they’re both Targaryen, the incest thing won’t be seen as immoral or out of the ordinary.

Because they have been so tightly linked, we can predict that in the positive and bitter sweet theories they will either live together or die together. In the positive theory, it was meant to be and after so much suffering a struggle, they will earn a happy ending in the end. They compliment each other because Jon is more humble and down to earth while Daenerys possessed more of the ambition and idealism needed in a leader. They will make good rulers together.

Or, they have been tragic hero’s from the start and, like Lyanna and Rhaegar before them, they will not survive the Long Night. But they will bring peace to the realms through their deaths. Lyanna and Rhaegar’s match caused discord and a war in the kingdoms. Their match and sacrifice will bring about peace, which gives us our bitter sweet ending.

Either way, according to these two theories, when these two major characters come together in season 7 it is supposed to feel as if two people who have been walking similar journeys are finally uniting with a common purpose, bringing the Stark and Targaryen houses together again. They’ve come from opposite sides of the world, the two last Targaryens, two of the most isolated characters in the series, and now they find a place in each other.

Then there is the very different THEORY THREE: The Dark Daenerys Theory

First off, I think the name Dark! Dany is misleading. It implies that those who subscribe to this theory believe she is evil. Many of them do not. Rather, they see her moving into the role of the antagonist in the final season of the show. Many people who support this theory ALSO do not hate Daenerys, which is important to remember. But for the reasons we are about to discuss, they prefer her character in the role of the antagonist. This theory is not without precedent, and in fact has many parallels that could potentially back it up.

First off, this theory takes a more negative view on Daenerys’ parallels with Aegon and Aerys. While the readers of the past few theories believe that she will improve on her ancestors, readers of THIS theory, believe that the cycle is destined to repeat itself. Aegon and Aerys were both visionaries with a high opinion of themselves. Daenerys, like them, will reap destruction on the realms and, like her father, will meet an awful end for it. “The cycle repeats itself” is a very common trope in literature, so this isn’t an unfair reading. The idea of a character trying to avoid their fate but tragically falling into it? A classic, and it’s happened to LOTs of characters on this show. It could certainly happen to Daenerys as well. This theory also takes a more negative view on her parallels to Jon Snow, but we’ll get to that in a second.

So, remember how I said all characters in Game of thrones are morally grey to some degree? They don’t all do good shit. But still, many of those characters take on the role of protagonist. Arya, Tyrion, Jaime, Cersei, and Stannis are all morally grey characters who have, at some point, been in the protagonist seat. Some of them have ALSO been in the antagonist seat. So it’s a bit complicated. A lot of people like to compare Daenerys to Cersei. Certainly there are parallels between them. They have both burned people alive. They are both strong and confident women with a legendary death glare. And they have both been victims of a misogynist society. They were both married off against their will. We can feel sympathy with them because of this.

But Cersei is more often seen in the antagonist role because of where she is placed in the narrative. She is fighting characters that WE like. From the very beginning she is set up as an antagonist against the Starks. Daenerys on the other hand? She’s the only protagonist in Essos, so all of the story content there is told from her perspective. This makes it a bit harder to put her actions in perspective (until she comes to Westeros, but we’ll get to that later). They are also both ignored for their brothers and are very effected by their father’s legacies. They are both trying to succeed their fathers. Cersei obviously embraces Tywin’s methods while Daenerys is actively working to avoid becoming her father, but in the eyes of people who subscribe to this theory, she has been moving slowly in the direction of Mad King Aerys.

However, there are some clear differences between Dany and Cersei. Cersei sort of embraces being a bad person and Dany is genuinely trying to do good. She wants to be just. That’s what she strives for. She sees herself as a savior. For that reason, I think the best character to parallel with Daenerys for this theory is Stannis.

Stannis and Daenerys are extremely similar characters, in circumstance and personality. Both were second in line to the throne, next to their older brothers. Neither had a good relationship with said brother. Both became the “rightful heir” to the throne one their brother died and they lean very heavily on that fact. They have a lot of similar dialogue claiming the throne belongs to them by right and that they will take what belongs to them. They also are the two characters who execute people by burning. Fire is a very important element for them. And of course, they are both predicted to be at the center of the same prophesy. Most importantly they both believe in the righteousness of their cause. They believe they are doing the right thing.

We don’t yet know the ending of Daenerys’ arc. But we DO know the ending of Stannis’ arc. Though he believes in the good of his cause, has honorable allies to chose him (like Davos), does some good things, and fights against people we consider bad--he goes too far and he falls for it.

Stannis died because he was willing to sacrifice his daughter for his ambition. He burned a screaming child on a pyre to give him a chance against the Boltons, expecting to be rewarded for his noble sacrifice: and he failed. He died. All that time spent talking about how he was the rightful heir to the throne and it was all for nothing because he went too far. He got too focused on himself as the savior and sacrificed the most important thing in his life. This could be foreshadowing for Daenerys (whether she goes light or dark). In order to ever earn the throne, she must be willing to sacrifice her ambition. And if in the final season she ever goes too far or ignores the real threat in favor of her throne, she will be punished in some way, just like Stannis was. This isn’t a certainty that she WILL make the wrong choice, but it certainly sets up that she will face a choice.

See, Game of Thrones is big on the ‘all actions have consequences’ thing. Robb died for breaking his vow, Ned died because he was too honorable and foolish in a dishonorable place. Oberyn died because he was too set on his perfect vengeance. Tywin died because he was a dick to his son. Stannis died because he burned his daughter alive. And Rickon died because he didn’t run in a zig zag (Too soon? Too soon). Whatever theory you subscribe to, I think it’s clear that Daenerys will face a major choice in season 8 that will have major consequences.

Going back to Stannis for a minute: it is also Stannis who shows us the not so great nature of fire. This is the basis for a lot of Dark! Dany theorists reasoning. Fire has never been portrayed as the good element that fights off the evil ice. It has many times been shown in a negative light. Stannis burning people for his religion, the wild fire that Tyrion uses on the Blackwater and Cersei uses to blow up the sept. Fire and ice have both been destructive forces throughout. One is not better than the other. So people who believe in this theory see fire and ice not as opposing forces but as two equal threats about to descend on Westeros. This is further backed up by the plot structure of Dany and the white walker’s arrival in Westeros. They’ve been present since season 1 but have only now arrived in Westeros in season 7 (Dany at the beginning and the white walkers at the end).

Likewise, fans of this theory believe that Dany and Jon have been paralleled not to show them as lost souls who have found each other but to set up two opposing forces that will eventually clash. Two Targaryens who are rivals for the throne. This theory focuses a lot on the DIFFERENCES between Jon and Daenerys. Jon always seems to struggle with killing people, even those who defy him or actively killed him. He hesitates. He appears visibly uncomfortable. Daenerys seems to revel in the sight of people burning, especially later on in the series. There’s something satisfied about it. One could easily argue that Dany is just better at putting on a face than Jon and she is just as disturbed by executing people, but if that is the case, the show hasn’t shown it as clearly. (Note: this could just as easily be a directing/acting problem).

It’s also fair to point out that, while lots of people supporting the first theory ship Jonerys, a lot of people supporting this theory support Jonsa. They see Sansa as a better queen than Daenerys. I don’t like to pit female characters against each other, but at the very least, one can say that Sansa is a bit more down to earth because of her many hard earned lessons. She thinks more about the practical problems of winter and, as she says to Arya “chopping off people’s heads is satisfying but it’s not a way to get them to work together”. Execution is not her first inclination. She only pulls it after someone has truly revealed themselves to be despicable. Daenerys, on the other hand, executes men before knowing if they are guilty or not in season five.

Regardless, those who believe in this theory tend to focus on Daenerys’ more sinister acts. Her temper, her desire for vengeance, her fascination with fire. But this does not erase her good deeds either. Trying to end slavery, rescuing the weak, locking up her dragons after she finds out that they are causing problems. Again: she’s a grey character. The difference between the dark vs light Dany theory is that one side believes her darker acts are ultimately the most significant to her arc and the light side believes her good acts are ultimately the most significant part of her arc.

But again, Daenerys, up until now has been pitted against nameless faces. So how is she framed when she is put up against characters we know and love? Particularly, long time antagonist house: The Lannisters.

The attack on the Lannisters is one of the most fascinating scenes in the whole show to me. Because put aside the fact that yes, Daenerys is attacking soldiers opposing her in war. Put aside the fact that she is refusing to attack innocent civilians. Put aside the fact that many viewers are rooting for her and she is way more popular than most of the Lannisters. This scene frames Daenerys as the antagonist.

The camera primarily focuses on three characters: Jaime, Bronn and Tyrion. We do not follow Daenerys as she sweeps down upon her enemies. We follow the Lannisters watching in horror as she arrives. This is like the Huns coming over the ridge in Mulan (no really, it’s introduced almost the exact same way). We zoom in on Jaime and Bronn’s stunned expressions. We also focus on Dickon’s horror as well. The camera lingers on the bodies of soldiers crumbling to ash. It lingers on Tyrion, looking on, astounded by the level of destruction that can be wrought by the dragon. But he’s seeing the men who serve his family dying. He’s worried for his brother.

There is no sense of joy in Daenerys’ victory here. We don’t cut to her after the battle, feeling satisfied. We cut to Tyrion wandering through the ashes of Westeros soldiers, looking absolutely devastated. And even though Sam’s dad is a dick, his death alongside his son is still framed in this really gruesome way. Tyrion is the point of view character through all of this. We feel distant from Daenerys in this scene. What is she thinking? What is her motive? But she is separate from the others, which is a classic way to frame a villain in film.

And her soldiers? They are a faceless threat. We don’t have any Dothraki soldiers who we know and love. The show didn’t bother giving any of them personalities which could be an error in the writing or something but I don’t know. In the Unsullied, we know Grey worm, and he’s not even in this battle. Contrast this with the scene we got with the Ed Sheeren Lannister soldiers in episode one--a shockingly nice moment where we see the normal people of Westeros just trying to get through their lives. It’s significant that it forces Arya to recognize some of the Lannisters as human and then they probably got cooked in that battle. We do not get any such conversations with Daenerys’ soldiers in this season.

There are also people who point out Daenerys burning the supplies in this attack--supplies that would be sorely needed in the winter time. This supports the idea that Daario put forward in a previous episode. That Daenerys is not a ruler made to sit on an iron chair. She is far more comfortable and confident on a dragon. She is a conqueror. And conquerors do not always have the foresight to plan for the future. They sweep in, they destroy, they leave ashes in their wake. One could argue that this was what Dany did in Essos. She certainly didn’t establish a stable system of government in Mereen before she left for the real goal: Westeros. And for all of those reasons, those who subscribe to the Dark Dany theory do not think that she should be given the throne as a reward. They think she will die a conqueror, unable to give up her ambition for the greater good. She will go too far and suffer the consequences.

Now, it’s worth mentioning that all three of these theories I’ve mentioned have flaws. Those who love Daenerys and want to see her on the throne often ignore her good qualities while those who want to see Dany as an antagonist often ignore her bad qualities. The character is often reduced into a simplistic binary of good vs evil, which is not what this show is about. The ‘Dany will get the throne’ crowd ignores the idea that the ending of Game of Thrones will be “unexpected” and “bittersweet” and the fact that George does not like predictable happily ever afters.

Meanwhile those who think Daenerys will go dark assume a HUGE amount of intentionality on the parts of the showrunners. They assume any lack of chemistry between Jon and Daenerys, any darker expression from Daenerys, and the framing of the attack on the Lannisters are intentional choices. Some of this stuff could be errors in directing, writing and acting. Certainly, the showrunners have never been perfect. Just look at the dumb as hell Arya and Sansa plot that they wrote for season seven. So it’s just as likely that some of this “foreshadowing” is an error that will go unacknowledged in the final season.

Whatever the case, there is room for reasonable doubt and that doubt will only be settled by season 8. It’s going to be controversial no matter what happens, but I wanted to make this post to show the perspective of all sides. And, perhaps, to foster courteous discussion. You can start fights in the notes if you want, but try to keep it classy. I think it’s great that we all love a show so much to do so much analyzing of its content. At this point, there’s enough evidence to support all three theories and none of them are “delusional”. You may not like some of the theories. They might conflict with your personal beliefs about the show. But there’s not one way this thing could end.

So, yeah, if you have opinions, let me know. I know that I didn’t get to all of the parallels. Like, I barely brushed the surface. This is meant to be an overview, not a deep dive. But again, keep it casual. I’m not going to be fighting with any trolls. Besides, none of you even know which side I’m on so you could be starting a fight over nothing!

I’ll probably be writing one of these on the other main characters eventually. I might even--if I’m feeling very bold--tackle the Jonerys vs Jonsa debate. Lord help me if I do.

[tenebraetrash17]

how exactly are ravus and lightning alike? I think they're too different from each other since ravus was evil :/

W e l l, yeet, you have a point, Ravus was kind of “evil” but it was more of a necessary one? He was doing what he could to protect his sister and wanted to make sure she wouldn’t suffer too much.

But ok! Onto the points! I’m going to be looking at this with FACTS AND LOGIC and not a ship standpoint, so I remain a neutral ground!

Ok! 

APPEARANCE.

So first off, we can go into design choices, I’ve made joke posts about this before, but the manner of dress these two have is actually quite similar. 

Lightning’s theme is consistent with mostly white collared tops, other than her “Knight Of Etro Garb” and in her “Savior’s Garb” she adorns a strange armored piece-shield on her left arm, which looks more fancy than practical tbh.

On the flip side we have Ravus, who is only ever seen in one costume, Tenebrae Raiment, which consists of a white collared coat-thing and a gauntlet on his left arm

Interestingly enough! If you happen to put them up side by side

You can kinda see a bit of a theme here, not to mention thigh high boots and apparently battle undies. 

We’ve got the gray-black, the white, and the coloring! Which the purple and red are pretty close on the spectrum too I suppose, or are a bit of complimentary colors?I guess it depends on points of view!

Ok, but slightly similar clothing is not enough to convince anyone, I hope.

So here we go:

STORY.

Revolves around their sister.

M O V I N G O N-

okok just kidding!

But this is honestly the truth of the matter, Luna/Serah is the end goal. Serah/Luna is why they did all this. The reason they sacrificed everything? Why they gave up their childhood? The reason why they were willing to, and in Ravus’ case, give their life away? 

It was all for Serah and Luna.

Stories can often be boiled down to a single point.

Motive.

And the motive behind Ravus and Lightning? Saving their sisters from fate.

Although…in Ravus’ case, he didn’t succeed, but that will be touched upon later.

PERSONALITY/CHARACTER TRAITS (?).

Ok, so, here we go!

Two stone cold soldiers, born and raised lacking in parents, their only weakness is for their sister, yet they slowly learn to trust others.

Well that was oddly simple.

Although I feel as if I should go more in depth because I’m trying to explain…so…

Ravus and Lightning both became emotionless out of necessity, Ravus out of need to let the Empire think his loyalty remained only to them, and Lightning because she felt the need to be more mature. And since they were both young, they decided that was the best way to do it.

They both have, in a sense, a pretty fancy way of speaking, or at least talking too much. Because, alright, let’s admit it, Ravus is a chatter box who rants and Lightning vents a lot because the world is going to shit for both of them and DAMNIT THEY NEED THIS.

Also, a little thing which kind of amuses me!Sister has a fiancé? HATE THEM WITH EVERY FIBER OF YOUR BEING, THEY ARE IDIOTS AND THEY ARE UNDESERVING OF YOUR PRECIOUS LITTLE LIGHT OF YOUR WORLD, HIT THEM, CHOKE THEM, A N Y T H I N G. But, y’know, eventually grow to have a begrudging respect and not hate them nearly as much as you once did. Friendship is wild yo.

The enlisted in the army part isn’t really a “character trait” and Square likes that theme, so you know, perhaps not the strongest thing going for them.

RANDOM/STUFF I DIDN’T KNOW WHERE TO PUT IT.

I had no idea what to call this section.

Ok, so I’ve seen a few people talk about how “Versus XIII″ was supposed to be, in a sense, an anti to 13. While XIII was meant to be about “Change your fate”, Versus XIII and XV are about accepting it.

VERSUS [vur-suh s, -suh z]

Against (used especially to indicate an action brought by one party against another in a court of law, or to denotecompeting teams or players in a sports contest):Smith versus Jones; Army versus Navy.As compared to or as one of two choices; in contrast with:traveling by plane versus traveling by train.Abbreviation : v., vs.

Versus XIII was to contrast XIII, and it carried over in XV as LITERALLY NO ONE decides. “Hey, you know what? I know it says this, but let’s do this instead!” 

Ravus remains as the only person to keep this mentality, his ffbe profile even goes as far as to have him speak about slaying the gods. SLAYING THE G O D S.

He tries multiple times to save his sister, willing to tear apart the prophecy and basically insist that she won’t die. He won’t allow it. He says follow your calling, but in reality he meant for himself overturn it. He raced through Altissia hoping he wouldn’t be too late!

And even in the end, his death is nigh, it’s probably foretold, but he believes he can win. He believes he can see it through to the end. Only he can’t. Because he’s not the protagonist. He can’t defy fate.

An interesting thing to note is that it’s Ravus who screws over the prophecy in the Episode Ignis ending, making it so Noctis doesn’t die. So I guess in a sense, he does overturn fate, although it wasn’t the outcome he wanted because Luna is still dead.

Ok, that was a bunch of rambling about the whole fate thing, but it is interesting since Ravus is the only one who had that mentality in cannon throughout the game. While the same could be said for Ignis, keep in mind that it was only the Alternate ending where he decided he wouldn’t let the gods have their say.

Oh yeah, not to mention that he’s the only one with the “Daemon Transformation” but it looks more like a Cei’th one. Just a little thing I’d throw in because I forgot this was talking about how alike Raves and Light are and not another one of my “last connections to versus” rambles oops.

ANOTHER POINT

Lightning: Serah! Wait, don’t go! Please! Don’t leave me alone!

Ravus: Oh sister, please don’t go! Please don’t leave me….

Like, sure, it’s probably a basic plea, but it’s almost word for word? 

If you want to talk parallels, let’s talk this!

Let’s also get into how Lightning was considered holy as “the Savior” while Ravus comes from the holiest bloodline? Which in fact, purges the darkness from one’s body and soul while Lightning….YEP, saves them souls! Gets them gains! whatamItalkingabouthere?

Ok, back on subject, remember how I said I would address Ravus loosing Luna again?

Well, I actually wonder if Ravus is Lightning but led astray in a sense, it might seem crazy, but his story apparently hasn’t changed since the Versus days from what most sources say. So given that he still has a stronger link with XIII, would it be so crazy to assume that Nomura would want to explore that possibility? Because rumors have it that Ravus was also going to be another ‘chosen one.’

Ravus could very well be considered as Lightning, but he never could achieve victory. Because unlike Lightning, he still lost his sister, the world still fell into ruin, and he still lost his life. And he even went as far as to fall into the chaos scourge.

Yeet, it’s a far stretch, but given the somewhat strange and weirdly specific personalities, I wouldn’t leave anything out.

But one thing to note is that while, despite similarities, they are different characters, so they will not be exactly alike!

I do realize that despite my previous posts, this isn’t an attempt to convince anyone to ship them, just kind of take note of just how many similarities the two have because it kind of is an interesting study! Especially considering the shared universe background they started out with!

This all sounded so much better in my head, it’s like, I had thoughts that were all super factual but I couldn’t write them ????

Oh well. Hope this satisfies you!!

OH YEAH, I ALSO FORGOT THAT THEY BE STORM RELATED!! SHOCKY SHOCKY BANG BANG!

[infinitexechoes]

So after sleeping on last night’s train wreck, I’m going to make some changes as it pertains to Dany’s direction. I’ve seen a lot of NASTY comments IN THIS FANDOM no less from RPers who are “sure Dany was never supposed to sit on the throne” and who agree that “this has been foreshadowed since she burned  Mirri Maz Duur” and screamed “I WILL TAKE WHAT IS MINE WITH FIRE AND BLOOD”. Also the whole “a Targaryen alone in the world is a terrible thing” like from the maester. Oh and let’s not forget the “ashes” in the House of Undying. Okay well so if this was Martin’s plan all alone, then okay. She was supposed to be the “ultimate villain” but I have issues with this.

Why spend the entire series giving us all this kick ass female empowerment only to have men running the Seven Kingdoms in the end? Spoiler alert - men rule. I read the leaks.

How do you truly justify a woman who spent all her time trying to be the pale savior of slaves burning the innocent out of rage? Was Dany always supposed to end up ‘alone in the world’? Was she supposed to nut up after “hearing the bells”? Does this mean she’s always been a nut job? Are there instances I’ve missed with these bells? 

Does this mean all the Targaryens are destined to be mad? Does it mean Jon’s going to go a little mad too? Does this mean no matter what route Dany took, she was ‘fated’ to end up like her father? Does this mean despite trying hard not to be the thing, that her choices didn’t/don’t matter? She’s going to end up the villain anyway? Is this the trope we’re going for here?

And listen, no one wants Dany on the Iron Throne. By season 4, most of us were hoping she’d figure out how to fix Valyria or just stay in Meereen. No one is saying she should have had an easy path to the iron throne. It wouldn’t be Martin’s books if everything was easy. We’re just pointing out that this heel turn translated BADLY on screen and it made ALL females look like potentially bad rulers except Sansa. 

This whole thing with Dany pretty much said she/women aren’t headstrong enough to rule. That women are ruled by their emotions ( something we also got in a scene with Ellaria and Doran ) and  because of this + her apparent insecurity, she was ‘unfit to rule’ so her men turned against her. And that doing some of THE SAME SHIT A MAN WOULD HAVE DONE to the Tarley’s, she’s mad. That taking matters into her own hands AFTER HER HAND FAILED HER TWICE, is mad. Dragons gave her a tactical advantage in this ‘war’ and because a woman is flying on the back of one using him, IT’S JUST NOT RIGHT! IT’S INHUMANE! SHAME ON DANY!

The hypocrisy is unreal, but more than that we’ve seen Dany suffer losses. The whole “I will take what is mine with fire and blood” was because the people of Qarth were laughing and pitying her. She began the begger queen and found out first hand how Viserys felt as the begger king. I daresay that experience was humbling. Anyway of COURSE she felt some type of way. But a woman who takes the time to pull every slave from a pike from Yunkai to Meereen... who was insistent on keeping the fighting pits closed because of senseless violence and killing of slaves... who once lost her brother, son, and husband, had nothing all of a sudden becomes entitled and mad? The heel turn MAKES NO SENSE right now. Missandei is from a land of peaceful people. I also doubt Missandei’s words were meant to be taken as ‘burn everything’. If anything, Missandei probably felt sorry for Dany because she knew her queen wasn’t insane. And defended her in the crypts when her hand was letting people talk shit. 

My point is that If the show would have flushed this out some more and gave us something other than ‘temper tantrum, Jorah/Missandei’s death, Jon Snow being a dick to her’ and ‘bells’, most of us would be swallowing that hard pill right now. Breaking Bad is how you do a heel turn. Hell WWE has done better heel turns than D&D. A heel turn or a face turn only works/impacts the audience positively if there’s a slow burn tease to it. I realize they were probably tired of working on this fucking show but hey, you signed up for it. Don’t start something then half ass the ending cos you can’t be bothered. Anyway, as for that pill...

We’re not swallowing shit because none of it makes sense and so here’s where I’m deviating---because I can. Don’t like it? Find another Dany to bash.

Daenerys went to Westeros with Barristan and Jorah at her side. She never dismissed Ser Jorah despite Tyrion’s counsel because while Jorah did betray her, she also knew that because he loved her, he’d never betray her again.

Ser Barristan is the reason the Tarley’s never died. He advised her that despite their stubborn nature, they were good men that he fought alongside and were one of the top families in Westeros. The Tarleys were/are prisoners in Dragonstone until they see fit to support her claim. If they don’t, she’ll release them pending her war with Cersei.

Tyrion Lannister was dismissed as her hand after making two mistakes. Dany recognizes his counsel is a constant conflict of interest and thus names Jorah her hand with Barristan’s blessing as well.

Jon Snow pleads his case for the Dragon glass and after many a heated debate with those surrounding her, she allows Jon to mine the glass --- after he gets the proof she needs.

She still demands proof of the ice walkers and per the show, she ends up having to go help them. Don’t ask me to explain how Gendry got from point A to point B so quickly. I’m just keeping this for the show people. Plus teleportation is obviously a thing so there’s that too.

Viserion is lost/dead. Dany mourns him properly and after that whole ordeal, agrees to help Jon. In return, he supports her claim to the throne.

Much like the show, Dany is shitted on by the Northerners. She’s foreign and they don’t trust her, but you know what? Since she expected this and her two trusted knights are by her side, she don’t give a fuck. She’s there to play her part and will do so accordingly.

The Long Night plays out somewhat the way HBO detailed it. The Night King couldn’t die by dragon fire so she uses Drogon in the field to help her soldiers and everyone fighting on the ground. The Dothraki do NOT senselessly charge into the night. That was dumb as fuck and so some of them are actually at the Godswood helping Theon and Bran. Because I said so. Pretty sure if the Night King could sense Bran, most of his walkers are trying to get to him anyway. Many of the Dothraki die leaving Theon alone to defend Bran. This works for me because at least some of the Dothraki die in a manner that makes sense as opposed to just charging into battle against the dead.

When the war is over, Dany has injuries from the battle. Her hands are bruised from having to cling to Drogon so much. She’s got a few cuts and scrapes but she’ll live. Jorah dies. He dies here because it’s how he’s always wanted to go out. And it makes no sense for all the major players to live so I’ll follow HBO with that one. But Barristan is alive and is the new hand by default.

Seeing all the dead, Dany  still wants to defeat Cersei, but she takes into consideration the Iron Fleet, Rhaegal’s injuries, her own minor ones and the fact that her people are probably tired/drained. Even though Sansa still gives her the stank eye, she stays in Winterfell another few nights before departing back to Dragonstone leaving Jon behind. This trip back to dragonstone is so that she can rest her army and plan accordingly. Missandei was never kidnapped and killed. All that’s bullshit.

!! Other Important Notes ‼

1)--- I do not mention Jon’s claim to the iron throne because Sam never blurts it out if she never kills the Tarleys in the first place. I DO think Sam tells Jon AFTER the war and where it goes from there depends on interactions. 

2)--- I do think Dany would be upset if Jon told her about his claim. I think she’d feel like the thing she’s worked all her life for has been taken away. She probably rages to herself for a while BUT because Barristan is alive and Sam has been to the Citadel, she will have no choice but to listen. But this WILL be a hard pill for someone like her to swallow because now that the Night King is dead, what’s left for her if not the throne? She’ll be upset and probably depressed because that makes sense for someone who put all their eggs into one basket.

3)--- Even though Jon claims he doesn’t want it, based on how she was treated in Winterfell, she knows the people won’t be easy to sway. They’ll look to their precious King in the North so she’ll be faced with a decision. Do I stay here on my ancestral lands and just rule Dragonstone? Do I try to sway the people anyway? Do I go back to Essos? What she does from this point will always depend on interactions. If interactions with Jon Snow lead to him falling in love with her, I’d be willing to go that route from here. A marriage between the two makes sense. It’s not what people wanted. Too cookie cutter for them, but in my timeline, it makes sense.

If feelings never develop and Dany does decide to leave, Missandie and Greyworm are allowed to leave ( per show ). Missandei’s young in the books so I don’t think she’d actually leave her queen.

Also keep in mind, if we’re RPing with a book based blog, then obviously none of this shit ever happened. Daenerys is either in Meereen or in the Grasslands right now so things will be adjusted accordingly.

!! Even More Things to Consider !!

If Dany stays and rules at Dragonstone, this means she would have reached out to Cersei and possibly let her know she was no longer seeking the Iron Throne. There’s no way Cersei doesn’t know about Jon Snow’s lineage by now so she’ll know. But I see no reason why Cersei would have beef if Dany bows out. It’s not like Dany slept with Jaime or killed her children. I imagine if Dany agreed not to get involved ( aka side with the Starks, and she would NOT after how they treated her ) then Dany can chill at Dragonstone and possibly do her own thing. I mean it’s only fair if the North gets to rule themselves.

Now IF events play out where Dany gets to fight for the throne, fuck that bells shit. If Cersei surrenders, Dany accepts it. Aside from the usual casualties of war, no innocents are harmed. Women and children are probably prioritized. People are probably sent to make sure they’re okay. Because that’s how she does things. ( I’d also like to add that I’m willing to do a thing where Dany and Cersei align with one another because yep. )

In another scenario, Daenerys either goes back to Meereen and rules there until she dies. She’s hailed as the breaker of Chains possibly eliminating all forms of slavery in the years to come. I did want her to rebuild Valyria. I might throw that in there somehow once I work it out, but for now, this is how things will go. You have any of those options above to work with, but what we ain’t going to do is listen to HBO and GRRM until we get proper build for this. 

Again, if you don’t like it, there’s the door. But this is how I’m doing shit and that’s the tea. As always, if you have questions, concerns, or something seems off, talk to me POLITELY and we’ll work something out okay? Okay. Thank you.

[moczothe1st]

Let’s Play Fire Emblem IV: Genealogy of the Holy War, Part 29:  Hildead

Part 28

Welcome back to Fire Emblem IV! Because the Dark God Loptyr doesn’t take Thanksgiving off, so neither can I.

You may recall last week we began the Final Holy War, which is both Final and Holy, and War, and you should Finally do the Holiness of the War that’s Final and War. War War Final Holy Holy, Final.  Also, we took Edda, the home of our poor old dead friend Father Claude, so his kids will be happy. They get their own castle!  Now, let’s see what happens next:

Brian: Against the full might of Dozel’s legendary axe knights, the Grauenritter, the rebels stand no chance! They’ll drop like leaves!

Fisher: At once, milord!

So there’s where we start. Two armies, one going east toward Edda and the other going south toward our starting castle, Chalphy. There’s two things that can be done here; you can either split the army and try to kill both, or you can trust a single character to defend Edda castle from Fisher’s group, while your whole force goes to intercept Brian.  

(Theoretically I guess you could do it the other way around, but Fisher is a mook and Brian has a holy weapon. One of these armies is more dangerous than the other.)

Anyway, I don’t trust myself, so I’m not gonna put all my eggs in one basket; the route from Edda will be guarded by Leif, Nanna, Altena, and Fee. I can’t imagine any axe dudes being able to bring those four monsters down.

Oh, and there’s a few talks to be had as we move about. First, Leif and Nanna:

Nanna: And once this is over, I take it we’ll be returning to Leonster?

Leif: Indeed we will. The Thracian peninsula has known not but strife for decades, and to unify it was my father’s dream.

(Oh goodie we have another Thracia lecture. I’m gonna go take a nap, back later.)

Leif: I’ll pledge my life to fulfill his grand vision, and I’d love nothing more than to have you by my side every step of the way, Nanna.

Nanna: Of course, Lord Leif! I’ll be by your side forevermore, wherever your path leads. Even to the very ends of the earth…

(Protip: When you two do that, don’t bring a baby with you. Next up:)

Patty: ‘Er, yeah’? Well, nice to see you too! Look, it’s lunchtime. I made it myself!

(…. Um… there’s… a war on…)

Shanan: … What are you doing? This is a battlefield, not a place for a picnic.

(See? He can’t even get oxygen to his brain through all that hair, but he gets it.)

Patty: But I’ve got nothing else to do! It’s not like there’s anything around here that needs my, er, light touch.

Shanan: So you thought getting in the way in the middle of a battle was a good idea?

Patty: OH!  Well, that was just uncalled for. You can’t throw me aside like some old bag! And to think, I spent all that time slaving away in a hot kitchen to make you lunch, well, I guess I won’t be doing that again!

(But there’s a war, you dimwit!)

Shanan: Oh, Patty…. Look, I’m sorry. I went too far. Forgive me.

Patty: Then you’ll be eating my lunch? Really? Oh, that’s a huge relief… I love you soooooo much, Shanan!

….

Sure, whatever. Shanan gets +3 HP and +3 Speed from that conversation, so that was clearly a pretty incredible fuckin’ lunch. I assume that either Leif or Nanna were supposed to get a stat boost as well, but they’d already maxed out in whatever stat(s) they were supposed to gain. Alas, romance has turned against me.

All right, everyone’s moved and we’re ready to roll.   End turn, and let’s start the axeing!

Wow. That was kinda sad, honestly. But, over by Chalphy, Brian is going to beat us back to our home castle, which is currently defended by only a few doofuses. That’s not ideal, because Brian:

Is actually quite the badass. As with his dead grandpa Langbalt, the Helswath makes him a very tough nut to crack, and he can hit like a freight train with it as well. Basically the only saving grace is that the axe is ridiculously heavy, and so he’s actually not nearly as fast as his 26 speed implies.  Still, I want someone tougher at the castle to hold it until the army arrives, sooo….

Ced, you are the man.

There we go. Ares and Seliph are pretty unbreakable, so those two in the way should keep the castle from falling. Barring, you know, Ares screwing me over like he did last week. Don’t do that, Ares.  

And, to the north…

Yeah, leaving four people to guard the north pass may have been overkill. Okay, end turn!

*sigh* Yeah, this will happen sometimes. The AI in the northern pass can’t hit anyone, so they choose to not attack at all. I don’t know what triggers it, because it doesn’t always happen, but this time it hit and wasted my time.  Yaaaaaaaaay.

Now, for Chalphy…

*phew*

Okay, that was a little closer than I’d like.  Seliph gets doubled by Brian, apparently! That…. That seems wrong to me.  But, hey, he missed both shots. That’s what really matters. The rest of the army moves forward towards the Brian Bunch, and Seliph and Ares continue their purge.  

Brian: Could it be… could I have been… wrong all along?

…. Yes! You work for a child-murder cult! Why is this so hard for people to grasp?!

And hey, Ares? Totally redeemed. That is the kind of performance I expect from you. He procced Critical and Adept (twice!) in the same battle, letting him hit Brian four times, with one of them being double damage, and meaning Brian’s absurd defense was 100% useless. Four Mystletainn shots will burn you down no matter how tough you think you are.

(Unless you’re Julius)

(Do NOT let Ares fight Julius)

Oh, and the northern group is… well. Well.  

They’re doing pretty okay. With the deaths of both Brian and his primary toadie, the Dozel army is basically smashed. None of the ones that are left can pose a serious threat to our army, and they’ve lost their leadership stars to diminish the already existing minor issue they were.  Sorry, guys. Don’t worry, you won’t have to put up with this sense of inferiority for very long, because I’m pretty sure most of you are totally gonna die on your own turn here.  End turn!

Well that was fun. And kinda sad. Seliph is absolutely not needed here, so I have him start running north to take Dozel castle while the rest of the group smash the enemy’s faces in.

… Or not. I am really bad at measuring distance, and most of the army was too far away to actually fight here. So. Um… one more turn for Dozel, then!  It should be… should be…. Interesting…?

Well, they landed a few hits, I suppose.  They get to go out on the closest thing to a high note they’ve had. Let’s finish this up!

That was fun! Now then, let’s rock out on Dozel castle; since this is the final map there’s a Dark Bishop there because everyone in the fucking country has failed to recognize they should be opposing Operation: Child-murder.

And of course he has a siege tome!  Luckily he chose to go after Leif, whose Light Brand counts as a Light magic when fighting from a distance; the only kind of magic that dark magic has no advantage over. Combined with his natural dodgy nature, he rocks out. Now then, let’s see about clearing the castle.

Yes, like that.  Okay. Taking Dozel opens up the northern section of the map, and I don’t want to screw this up again; by taking Edda without preparing for Brian’s charge I ended up having to burn up valuable staff charges to get people back there in time to crush him like the insect he was. I may have panicked too hard. But what comes next is actually, if I recall right, a gigantic pain in the butt, so I make sure to spend a few turns getting the army in position. Fee also caps off her levels by healing some folks up.

Not half bad as a way to end out her growth.  She isn’t super-phenomenal at anything, but she’s good at everything.  She can be put into basically any situation other than ‘surrounded by archers’ and expected to perform pretty well. Combined with her flight, and she’s infinitely reliable. That’s my girl.

And since we’ve got time, I also send some folks south to grab the villages waiting in the southern corner of the map. Don’t really need money anymore, but I like it!

Info Master, Lord of Song: O Black Knight Hezul, Mystletainn the demonic in hand, smite the devil; O Sword Saint Odo, Balmung the divine in hand, repel the blight; O Holy Knight Baldur, Tyrfing the sacred in hand, shine a light; And O Saint Heim, Book of Naga in hand, pray to the heavens above. Prayer begets light, light begets the white dragon, foe of the shadow dragon; Black and white, Light and dark, an eternal struggle; Shall our prayers yield victory, or shall it be death? And yet have on fear, for our battle is a beginning and defeat is never the end; the flame we seek is eternal, undying, never lost, and in all who follow us I shall believe; and in all who bear the light I shall believe.  Not bad, innit?

(No, it’s pretty bad.)

(OH GOD HE HEARD ME! HE’S BACK FOR REVENGE!)

Info Master Part 2, the Return: If wisdom, courage, and power be your allies, summon them now and give all you have, should you wish to prevail this day.  Trust in yourselves to bring forth our destiny, one born where the two trails of light meet.

Well. Someone’s been talking to Lewyn, I see. And speaking of, the army’s in position, so let’s take Dozel and set the story rolling once more!

(Well. I mean. I would argue, but you’ve all met Johan.)

Lewyn: If it weren’t for Langbalt, the world wouldn’t be in such a mess…

Seliph: Lewyn, I cannot wait much longer. Just where did the Crusaders’ power come from? What in the world are the gods?

(Yeah, dude, finish the fucking backstory already.)

Lewyn: I can’t say for sure… but whatever they were, they realized that our land’s misery was caused by the power of the dragonkin.

(He’s lying and knows exactly what happened. I’m honestly not even sure why, since he admits to that later anyway.)  

Lewyn: And so they came to Jugdral to save the human race. It was they who appeared at Darna, just as its doom seemed certain.

Seliph: That would be the legendary descent of Naga and the eleven gods found in scripture, yes?

Lewyn: Yeah. They say the gods took human shapes; Naga, the god of light, appeared as a little girl, while Salamand the fire god was an old man. With twelve chosen warriors, the gods bound themselves into a blood covenant.

Seliph: A blood covenant?

Lewyn: Basically, the gods drew their own blood with a scratch to the fingertip and presented it to the warriors.

Seliph: … I beg your pardon?!

Lewyn: Long story short, they were dragons. The gods we know only from scripture? They were all of the dragonkin, just like Loptyr.  With a single taste of the blood of dragons, these once humble warriors of the liberation army were reborn as the Twelve Crusaders. Each dragon presented to their crusader a weapon forged by them and steeped in their power. And then, with some final parting words of wisdom to the Crusaders, they departed Jugdral.

Seliph: I see… so our power is, in truth, that of dragons…

Lewyn: Loptyr himself is actually from a dragon clan whose power is amongst the mightiest of all. The great dragon Naga, strongest of them all, bestowed their own blood upon the leader of the liberation army, the priest Heim. Naga knew only their power could hope to stand against that of Loptyr.

(And here’s the final bits of the puzzle. Basically, Jugdral has been fucked over royally by the dragon civil war that painted the backstory for the first ever Fire Emblem game. As a small primer: Dragons in this setting are incredibly powerful, immortal beings, and the strongest of them, like Naga or Loptyr, can rightly be declared godlike.  They ruled the world for thousands of years, alternately considering the humans as children to be nurtured or vermin to be ruled over depending on the dragon in question. However, over time, as humans grew more powerful, the dragons in turn began to degenerate; their birth rates declined, and as they aged they began to be driven insane by their own power.  They were left with the choice of either sealing the majority of their power into special stones and taking on human-like ‘manakete’ forms, or going mad and becoming threats to everyone around them. The Earth Dragons refused to give up their power, and fought a great war against the other tribes led by the Divine Dragons under Naga, ending in them being sealed away forever except for two: Prince Medeus, who took on a manakete body and eventually became the Big Bad of Fire Emblems 1 and 3 after his bitterness towards his situation consumed him… and Loptyr, who took a third option in the form of giving up his body altogether and becoming an immortal spirit, able to possess the descendants of the emperor he gave his blood and power to. And that’s where we are today!)    

Seliph: So nobody else among the dragonkin would be able to prevail against Loptyr?

Lewyn: It certainly wouldn’t be easy. Even if you had ever last dragon fighting together, it would be unlikely to prevail without Naga’s power. This, of course, means that if we’re to win today, we’ll need the last surviving heir to Saint Heim. In other words, one of Deirdre’s three children. Of those three, you didn’t inherit the full breadth of Naga’s blood, and it’s pretty obvious that Julius didn’t. Actually, I only recently learned who it is. The inheritor of Naga’s power is Julius’s twin sister… Princess Julia.

(YA DON’T SAY.)

Seliph: E-excuse me?!

Lewyn: Yeah, that was more or less my reaction too. Julia is Julius’s twin sister, which also makes her your half-sister, Seliph.  

(You can apologize for encouraging him to bone her at any time, pal.)

Seliph: So all this time… Julia was my sister…

Lewyn: I guess now we know why Manfroy took her to begin with. Needless to say, Seliph, we’ve got to rescue her, no matter what. We absolutely need her power if we want any hope of stopping Julius!

Not strictly true, but you’ll regret it if you don’t! End turn.

(Oh goodie. Hilda’s back.)

Hilda: Feh, why’d I ever expect any better? Worthless cowards, the lot of them! It’s time I took this into my own hands. All I need is to lure these flies into my web. Then I can crush them, once and for all! Send Scorpius of Jungby a messenger! Pass on to him this plan. The Gelbenritter will coax the rebels our way, leaving them wide open to a deluge of the Beigenritter’s arrows from behind!

(Send half the army south to intercept that, gotcha.)

Hilda: They’ll have nowhere to run or hide. Kill them all! No survivors this time!

Now, Hilda herself is not really any stronger than she was the first time we stomped her, but she’s definitely more of a threat due to the army she’s brought with her. Two dark bishops, one in the castle and one on the ledge above it, both of whom have Fenrir siege tomes; five dark mages with sleep staves, meaning anyone with less than 15 resistance who even gets near the castle is going to be taking a forced nap; and seventeen (!) barons.  Yes, barons, the overpowered enemy-only class that usually functions as bosses, are her generic mooks. Their stats aren’t as painful as the barons who usually serve as bosses in other chapters, but they’re all packing Silver Lances and Thoron tomes to really, really hurt you. Two of them, and Hilda herself, are also packing the wide-area-healing Fortify staves, meaning any you hurt but don’t kill off will definitely be getting zapped back up to full health on the enemy phase. And of course, Scorpius and the Beige Knights (no I’m not letting that go. Ever.) will be coming up from the south to add another obstacle after a few turns, so you can’t even hit this very formidable group with your full power.

Fortunately, we don’t really need to. We just need a pissed off niece and nephew. Tinni and Arthur, to the front; both of them can fight the barons from a position of advantage by using wind magic to counter their Thoron tomes, then switch over to lightning when fighting Hilda herself; and as siblings they’ll give each other the critical boost from fighting as a team. Plus, there are some mountains in the area that can be used as defensive terrain, and the barons themselves can’t do the same because their armored-unit movement can’t go over mountains. Ares, Leif, Ced, Seliph, Lene and Cairpre will be backing them up, while Fee circles around the mountains to start assassinating the dark mages on the ridge above the castle to clear things up for the rest of the army to move up there later.  The rest of the team head south to intercept Scorpius’s surprise attack that the game told us was coming. End turn!

Yeah, you’re a tactical genius. The Beigenritter are basically unchanged from gen 1, and Scorpius is  literally just Andrei with better stats. Not that they’re a total non-threat, they all have Brave Bows, but bows aren’t great at accuracy and we’re all parked on forests, so they’re definitely way less dangerous than Hilda and Company here.

Yup, exactly as dangerous as beige. And now we remind them that bows can’t counterattack at point blank.

…. I’m an idiot. I thought Altena would be able to move out of bow range after she attacked here. She couldn’t. Um, this one might be leading to a reset.  Ummm… um… um. End turn. Please survive, everyone!

God, fuck Barons.

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit…

… … … Well, I didn’t see that one coming.  Scorpius doubled him and both shots were critical hits. Killer Bows remains the worst thing unless they are being used by me.

I repeat the previous turn in most detail, with a minor exception; I focus much less on offense, only attacking with people who can make the shot and then pull back, and leaving only Patty and Shanan near the main enemy since they’re largely unable to be hit. I want to make sure the majority of the Beigenritter make their attacks at me when they aren’t near Scorpius.  I also have Altena run far, far away, and remember to move Faval in closer; I forgot him last time, since he was kind of over near the villages. Whoops.  Okay, let’s try this again…

Tinni, dammit.

Welp. It was ugly, it was a very ugly fight, but we pulled it off. When I started this I was genuinely not expecting Scorpius to be the major problem I had to deal with, but here we are!  Now, he has special dialogue with Faval, but I’m sorry, I kinda fucked that up beyond repair. Faval isn’t close enough to attack him on this turn, and I can’t risk letting him live for another one; his Killer Bow and leadership stars are what make the Beigenritter any threat at all.

Sigh. Sorry. I screwed up and sent Faval too far away from the fight to meaningfully participate in it until next turn, and I’m not risking another death just to get them yammering on. The gist is basically that Scorpius recognizes the Yewfelle, declares that Faval must be the child of the traitor Bridget, and then dies because Faval has the best bow in the game. I’ll try to get both of Hilda’s dialogues to make up for it.

*sniff* The family that slays together stays together. And, assuming that barons don’t clog up the way, Hilda should reach Tinni on this turn! That will be fun. End turn!

Big if, mind you. Nothing like a 25% chance to block all damage to make an annoying enemy.

And there goes what little progress I made down the drain. Fuck you, Hilda.

Well, at least the Beigenritter are pretty much smashed, with only three offensive units and two healers left. So let’s take out the trash.

SHANAN CHOOOOOP!

And then there were none. The southern front rounds itself out by having Lana and Ulster get their lovers conversation.

Lana: Please… please don’t die in this battle.

(… Okay, so Lana is crazy! Good to know.)

Ulster: Oh. Listen, you’ve got nothing to worry about. I’m not about to let myself die just yet.

Lana: Ulster, I…

Ulster: Yeah?

Lana: … I love you, Ulster.

A little disjointed, but it gives Ulster +3 Resistance, so I’m just gonna roll right along with it! You do you, Lana. Now, the northern front continues chipping away at a seemingly infinite supply of regenerating armored steel walls.

Tinni, goddammit. Still, at least Fee finished looping up and around to start purging the status effect squad.  Now, end turn. Try to die a little better, Hilda squad.

You guys never do what I ask!

Good lord this is tedious. End turn, I guess, not much else to do!

… Welp, it finally happened. Even the AI has gotten sick of this map and they’ve started committing Suicide-By-Larcei. And now it’s our turn, and it’s time to finally purge them.

God that was cathartic. Only two left, the two who have been hiding in the back healing all this time.  And now… her.

Hilda: I want nothing more than to choke the life from you with my bare hands!

Tinni: You won’t get that chance! I pray you’re watching, Mother… I’m finally going to kill Hilda!

Hilda: Am I to assume you’ve come to seek my head for your mommy’s pathetic demise?

Arthur: Oh, yes. I figured that Tinni shouldn’t dirty her hands on scum like you.

(I mean, nice of you, but she’s actually really into it.)

Hilda: Oh, did you now? In that case, I’ll drag you straight to Hell with me!

Ding-dong, the Witch is Dead.  And from a sibling team effort of her worst victim’s kids, no less. The one thing Fire Emblem does better than 90% of other series? The ability to inflict some poetic goddamn justice.

Now, this update has run way too long, just due to sheer number of enemies, and we did take a castle, so I will actually save the remaining siege of Freege for next week.  I leave you to your sweet dreams of Hilda dying in misery and begging for someone to avenge her, which is not going to ever, ever happen.

And that, kids, is what the Holidays are really all about.  

 Resets: 29.  Hey, I have as many resets as I do posts at this point! That’s really nice. Other than the fact it marks my many failures. 

Part 30

[dumbledearme]

chapter forty-nine—eternal mess

read Child of Land and Sea here

Act V — Walking On Water

Part XII — To be a true hero, kid, is a dying art. Like painting a masterpiece, it's a work of heart.

Hermes kissed his son's forehead and murmured a blessing in ancient Greek. Then the Three Fates themselves took the bodies of Luke and Ethan away.

Andy asked Zeus to light up the top of the Empire State Building with blue colors and the god nodded. He didn't seem to care if it was a weird request or not; he just did it.

The Stoll brothers were fine. Mrs O'Leary had dug Chiron out successfully. Katie Gardner reported that she'd seen Rachel run out of the Empire State Building at the end of the battle. Nico di Angelo came into Olympus to a hero's welcome and so did his father. Clarisse marched in and the god of war proclaimed her the best warrior he'd ever seen. Hera seemed pretty upset Anthony had saved Olympus and murmured something about not being able to destroy him now. Dionysus thanked Andy for keeping his son alive.

The army of Poseidon, the ones who had defeated Typhon, marched into the throne room. Tyson saw Andy and smashed her in a Cyclops hug. Poseidon walked in and even forgave her for sitting on his throne. And for the first time in her life, her father embraced her. He was warm like a regular human and smelled like sea breeze. Andy felt like this huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She hadn't realized how much she was needing a hug. "Dad-" she cried softly.

"Shh," Poseidon said. "No hero is above fear, Andy. And you have risen above every hero. Not even Hercules-"

"POSEIDON!" a voice roared. Zeus had taken his throne. "Are you too proud to join us in council, my brother?"

"I would be honored, Lord Zeus." He strode over to his throne and the Council convened.

Zeus started this long speech about the bravery of the gods that seemed to last forever. While he spoke, Andy went to join Anthony who was still sitting in the same place where he had held Luke's body. He hadn't moved a muscle, not even when the Fates took Luke from his hands. Andy knelt beside him, took his hand and kissed it, but he didn't even seem to register her presence.

"As for my brothers," Zeus said, "we are very thankful... erm, thankful for the aid of Hades."

The lord of the dead nodded. He had a smug look on his face as he patted Nico on the shoulders.

"And of course," Zeus continued, "we must... thank Poseidon."

"I'm sorry," Poseidon said. "What was that?"

"There is no way I will be saying it again," Zeus grumbled. "Which leaves us the matter of thanking our young demigod heroes, who defended Olympus so well – even though there are a few dents in my throne." He called Thalia forward and promised his help in filling the Hunters's ranks.

Artemis spoke up. "You have done well, my lieutenant. You have made me proud, and all those Hunters who perished in my service will never be forgotten. They will achieve Elysium, I'm sure," she said glaring pointedly at Hades.

He shrugged. "Probably." Artemis glared at him some more. "Oh, all right," he grumbled.

Thalia beamed with pride. "Thank you." She bowed to the Olympians and limped back.

"Tyson, son of Poseidon," Zeus called. "Doesn't miss many meals, does he? Well, Tyson, for your bravery in the war, and for leading the Cyclopes, you are appointed a general in the armies of Olympus. You shall henceforth lead your brethren into war whenever required by the gods. And you shall have a new... um... what kind of weapon would you like? A sword? An axe?"

"A stick!" Tyson said.

"Very well," Zeus looked disappointed. "The best stick that may be found."

All the Cyclopes cheered.

"Grover Underwood of the satyrs," Dionysus called. "Oh, stop chewing your shirt. Honestly, I'm not going to blast you. For your bravery and sacrificed, and blah blah blah, and since we have an unfortunate vacancy, the gods have seen fit to name you a member of the Council of Cloven Elders."

Grover collapsed on the spot.

"Oh, wonderful," Dionysus sighed. "Well, when he wakes up, tell him that he will no longer be an outcast, and that all satyrs, naiads, and other spirits of nature will henceforth treat him as a lord of the Wild, with all rights, privileges, and honors. Now drag him off before he starts groveling."

Athena called Anthony and he took a long time to move. He stood before the gods, but he seemed to be a miles away. Athena approached him, touched his chin and made him look at her. "You have exceeded all expectations," she told him. "You have used your wits, your strength, and your courage to defend this city, and our seat of power. As it was once said, 'It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends.'"

Anthony winced like that was the last thing he wanted to hear.

Athena didn't let go of him. "Now, it has come to our attention that Olympus is... well, trashed. The Titan lord did much damage that will have to be repaired. We could rebuild it by magic, of course, and make it just as it was. But the gods feel that the city could be improved. We will take this as an opportunity. And you, my son, will design these improvements."

That got his attention alright. Anthony blinked and stared at his mother, stunned. "Me?"

Athena smiled. "You are an architect, are you not? You have studied the techniques of Daedalus himself. Who better to redesign Olympus and make it a monument that will last for another eon?"

"I... I can design whatever I want?"

"As your heart desires," the goddess said. "Make us a city for the ages."

"As long as you have no statues of Andy Jackson," Dionysus commented, "or I might never return here."

"Make plenty of statues of me instead," Apollo suggested.

"And me," Aphrodite agreed.

"Hey, and me!" Ares added.

"All right," Athena snapped. "He gets the point. Statues. Behold Anthony Chase," she said, "official architect of Olympus."

If Anthony had been miles away before, now he was a whole world away. Andy could see his mind working furiously as he walked back to the stones steps to sit down.

"Andy Jackson!" Poseidon called startling her.

She went to stand before them.

"There she is," Zeus said, "Olympus most disliked demigod."

Ares and Dionysus chuckled.

Andy felt herself blushing. "Okay," she said knowing they wouldn't be kind to her. "Bring it on. Give me all of your hate. But I saved your divine asses and I won't bow to you."

"We can certainly make you bow," Ares threatened.

"A great heroine must be rewarded," Poseidon ignored them. "Is there anyone here who would deny that my daughter is deserving?"

Zeus sighed. "The Council agrees that this unfortunate little brat will have one gift from the gods."

Andy stared at him. "Any thing I want?"

Zeus nodded grimly. "I know what you will ask. The greatest gift of all. Yes, if you want it, it shall be yours. The gods have not bestowed this gift on a mortal hero in many centuries but... Andromeda Jackson – if you wish it – you shall be made a goddess. Immortal. Undying. You shall serve as your father's lieutenant for all time."

Andy blinked. "A... goddess?" the word sounded completely alien in her mouth.

Zeus rolled his eyes. "A dimwitted goddess, apparently. But yes. With the consensus of the entire Council, I can make you immortal. Then I will have to put up with you forever."

"That means I can smash her to a pulp as often as I want, and she'll just keep coming back for more," Ares mused. "I like this idea."

"I approve as well," Athena said, though she was watching Anthony.

The entire idea was so ridiculous Andy started to laugh. Her laughter echoed on the stone walls and the Olympians watched her frowning. She held her stomach and laughed some more, until she heard someone say, "I think she lost it."

Andy looked up at them again. "I can't believe you just offered me this," she gasped. The Council was silent. "A goddess. Ha ha! Have you met me?" she asked them. "I'm like... I'm a... I'm a mess! You want to make me an eternal mess? No!"

"No?" Zeus said. "You are... turning down our generous gift?"

"No, thank you?" Andy smiled. "I'm sorry. I'm honored and everything, I just... don't think that was your brightest idea."

The throne room shook. "What did you say to me?"

"Don't get me wrong," she rushed. "I meant with all respect in the world. It's just... I want to... I want to live. And I want to die. When... you know, time comes." She gave Hades a weary look. The gods glared at her. It was the second time Andy refused immortality. She cleared her throat nervously. "But... um... if your offer still stands, there is something I do want."

Zeus took a deep breath. "If it's within our power."

"It is," she said. "But I need your word. Swear on the River Styx."

"What?" Dionysus cried. "You don't trust us?"

"Someone once told me, you should always get a solemn oath."

Hades smiled. "Guilty."

"Very well," Zeus growled. "In the name of the Council, we swear by the River Styx to grant your reasonable request as long as it is within our power." The other gods muttered assent. Thunder boomed. The deal was made.

"Well, then, here is what I want. From now on, you will recognize the children of the gods," she said. "All the children... of all the gods."

The Olympians shifted uncomfortably.

"Don't you see? All this war... all this death... brother fighting brother... and what for? Demigods who felt abandoned by their parents. They felt angry, resentful, and unloved, and they were not wrong."

Zeus's nostrils flared. "You dare accuse-"

"You dare deny it?" she cut him. "Will you look down on me and say that it is fair to put your children in the world and not once show them that you care? I say no more undetermined children. Claim them. Claim us. Don't leave us out on our own at the mercy of monsters. Protect us. Give us shelter. Bring us to camp so we can be trained right, so we can survive."

"Wait a sec-" said Apollo, but Andy ignored him.

"And the minor gods," she added. "Nemesis, Hecate, Morpheus, Janus, Hebe... they all deserve a general amnesty and a place at Camp Half-Blood. Their children shouldn't be ignored. You couldn't fight this war without us, which tells me that we matter. Calypso and the other peaceful Titan-kind should be pardoned. They did nothing wrong and it's not fair what has happened to them. And Hades-"

"Are you calling me a minor god?" Hades bellowed.

"No," she smiled. "But your children will not be left out. They should have a cabin too. Nico has proven that. No unclaimed demigods will be crammed into the Hermes cabin anymore, wondering who their parents are. They'll have their own cabins, for all the gods. We all matter and we are all welcome at camp. Because we're family."

Ares opened his mouth to speak, but Andy didn't let him.

"You need to stop trying to get rid of powerful demigods. We're going to train them and accept them instead." Finally, she stopped and glanced around the room expecting them to argue. But no one seemed to have the words.

Zeus snorted. "Oh, are you done?"

"Andy," Poseidon started carefully, "you ask too much. You presume too much."

"I presume nothing. I've watched my friends die," she reminded them. "The light left their eyes. And you know, all they wanted was to be loved, to be respected. By you. How is that much?"

That's when Aphrodite gave her a standing ovation. She walked up to Andy. "Ah, Andy Jackson," she said with a bright smile and tears in her eyes. "Such a beautiful surprise. You're so much better than the other Andromeda. All this love you have... I thought it was just for the boy, but you have enough for them all, don't you? The last time I saw someone love this deeply... Helen," she said dreamily. "But Helen was different from you. She was selfish. She'd let world burn as long as she had Paris, because her love was exclusive to him. But you kept the city safe, your family, your friends, and us."

"Okay, I think you're going to far kissing her ass-" Ares started to say.

"No," Aphrodite stopped him. "I've seen loss too. My daughter..." her voice faltered. "But even in the darkest hours, something brings me hope. The rest of you might not understand it. But Andy..." she focused her eyes on Andy. "Andy sees it too. The loudest love is that which is said in silence. Whatever it is you desire, Andy Jackson, shall be yours." Aphrodite reach out her hand.

Andy felt a chill when she touched the goddess. "You flatter me," she said thankfully. "I'm only human."

"Doesn't that just make you outstanding?" Aphrodite whispered.

"She is correct," Athena said, suddenly, surprising everyone. "We have been unwise to ignore our children. It proved a strategic weakness in this war and almost caused our destruction. Andy Jackson, I had my doubts about you, but perhaps" – she glanced at Anthony – "perhaps I was mistaken. I vote that we accept the girl's plan."

"I don't like you," Zeus felt the need to tell Andy. "Not one bit. You are presumptuous. You are rude. You don't know your place and you raise your voice to those more powerful than you." He let out a painful sigh. "But I suppose..."

"All in favor?" Hermes said and all the gods raised their hands.

Andy smiled at them. "You won't regret it. We will make you proud."

"Honor guard!" Poseidon called. The Cyclopes came forward and made two lines from the thrones to the door – an aisle for her to walk through. "All hail, Andromeda Jackson," her father said, "savior of Olympus."

Hermes met her at the door. "Turning down immortality," he said looking at her curiously. "You mortals... Always full of surprises. You know, it was decided Typhon was a freak series of storms and nothing else."

"How bad is the city?"

Hermes shrugged. "Not too bad. The mortals are shaken, of course. But it's New York. I'll help them get back to normal."

Andy nodded. "I owe you an apology," she said looking at her own feet.

"And why is that?" he asked bitterly.

"I thought you were a bad father," she admitted still avoiding his eyes. "I blamed you. Like he did. I thought you knew about his future, but didn't care enough to change it."

"I did know."

"But you knew more than that." Andy raised her eyes and faced the god. "You knew everything. You understood what needed to happen. You trusted he would make the right choice when the time came... and he did. I'm just sorry that you never got to tell him... how much faith you had in him."

"No one can temper with fate," Hermes said miserably. "Not even a god. If I had warned him what was to come, or tried to influence his choices, I would've made things even worse. Staying silent, staying away from him... that was the hardest thing I've ever done."

"I know," Andy said. "But he found his path. He saved us all."

Hermes sighed. "I shouldn't have blamed the boy," he said. "Anthony... when Luke visited him... I knew he was the only one who could get to him, who could reach out and find him in there." He shook his head. "Kronos isn't dead, you know? You can't kill a Titan."

"Then-"

"I don't know," Hermes grumbled. "None of us do. Blown to dust. Scattered to the wind. With luck, he's spread so thin that he'll never be able to form a consciousness again, much less a body. But do not mistake him for dead, Andy. He is not. My son's the one who died. Believing I didn't care about him."

Andy grabbed the god's hand. He stared at her surprised by the physical contact. "Weren't you listening to me in there?" she said. "I told you. Us, your children, we just want a little of your attention. Exactly because we love you. If we didn't, it wouldn't hurt so much when you don't answer. And Luke hurt the most. I think it's pretty obvious that he loved the most too."

A tear streamed down his face and he squeezed her hand.

"You have other children," Andy told him. "I expect you won't make the same mistake."

Hermes's shoulders sagged. "We'll try, Andy. We'll all try to keep our promise. And maybe for a while things will be better. But we gods have never been good at keeping oaths. You were born because of a broken promise, weren't you? Eventually we'll become forgetful. We always do."

"You can change."

Hermes laughed. "After three thousand years, you think the gods can change their nature?"

"If there is one thing I've learned from this war, is that Hope won't leave us unless we tell it to. There is always time for changing. Luke did. And you can too."

Hermes seemed surprised. "You think he really loved me? After all that happened?"

"I'm sure of it."

Hermes nodded. "I'll give you a list of my children. Will you see that they get to camp?"

"I promised," Andy said. "And I don't forget my promises."

"Andy Jackson," Hermes shook his head. "You might just teach us a thing or two."

The goddess of wisdom was also waiting to talk to Andy. It was proving a hard task to leave Olympus without calling attention. Athena's gray eyes blazed when she faced Andy. "You will stay a mortal," she said accusingly like it was a horrible thing.

"Yes."

"You gave us pretty good reasons," she sneered, "but I'm no fool, Andy Jackson. Aphrodite isn't the only one who can see right through you."

Andy hesitated. "I don't-"

"My son." Athena stepped forward and Andy had to fight the urge to run away.

"I love him." She held the goddess's stare with difficulty. She had never said it like that, so raw, so true.

Athena made a face. "I once warned you, Andy Jackson, that to save a friend you would destroy the world. I was mistaken. Like Aphrodite said, you saved both your friends and the world."

"Anthony did. And Luke. And Clarisse, and Silena, and Thalia, and Grover. I didn't do anything alone. A lot of people gave their lives so the gods could remain."

"True," Athena said. "I acknowledge it. That is why my warning will be brief: think very carefully about how you proceed from here. I have given you the benefit of the doubt. Don't mess up."

"I won't."

Athena shook her head. "I might let you have him," she said, "but I will never understand what he sees in you."

"Finally," Andy smiled at the goddess. "Finally something we have in common."

[jonsalways]

Dany is going to burn King’s Landing

I want to write about why I think the show is foreshadowing Dany burning King’s Landing next season. But I need to state some things first.

The fascinating thing about Daenerys is the fact she has immoral behavior, like almost every character in ASOIAF have, but the audience refuses to see her bad sides no matter what. It’s great to see how you can tell a history and place a character as a hero no matter what but at the same time it’s kinda scary that the public can agree with such behavior. She does a lot of terrible choices but people don’t think she has a big issue and shouldn’t be in a position of power, the massive reaction is just “hey, she has some minor flaws but nobody is perfect, okey? Leave her be”.

In the books Daenerys allows torture, which is a war crime. And at episode 5 Daenerys intentionally killed the Tarly’s, who were defeated in battle, were unarmed and were offering no resistance to the escort. The Tarly’s were in a  surrendering party resulted by a defeated in battle, and were intentionally killed by Daenerys. This is a war crime.  When Tyrion suggested to put them in cells, she declared “she would not put man in chains ” aka “not make prisoners” which is also a war crime. The offer she gave the remaining soldiers was “join me or die”. This is not a choice. This is a declaration that no quarter will be given and THIS IS  a war crime. When your enemies surrender you spare their lives and  take them as war prisoners you DO NOT execute them or demand them to fight against their remaining families and compatriotes cuz THIS IS NOT how a surrender works. The show makes Daenerys commits war crimes intentionally even after people tell her it’s a bad idea. And the scary part is: the audience think is fine. I’m pretty much convinced Daenerys is going to do a lot more than that in the future and the audience will buy it.

Since D&D have talked with GRRM about how the series is going to end, Daenerys tone in the series has changed a little bit. Since season 6, her “super badass” scenes turned into a “that’s nice but there’s something a little bit weird”. Her theme songs came from “I’m fighting to survive cuz I’m alone in the world and this is actually badass justice” to a more villain like kind of song, way darker and sinister. The camera angles and the points of view of her actions are different now, and the scenes that were exciting before became kinda sad and weird. If you rewatch the sack of Astapor at 3x4 and her battle against the Lannister army at 7x4 you will notice the huge difference of how they treated it.

So here’s where the tinfoil begins.

It’s about the Politics

I believe the Great War against the army of the dead will not be the final of GoT. GoT and ASOIAF are about the politics. The Night King wasn’t introduced till season 4 and he really became the major  treat only at season 5.. Daenerys’s dragons weren’t born till 10x1, they only had a real role at season 6 when Dany finally could control them and they were big enough to go to war. Many storylines still happen aside the whole magic. GoT is about the GAME OF THRONES. And that’s how the story will end. After the war is done, a political struggle will rise and things will get trick. The armies will be broken, Cersei will have the Golden Company at her back, Jon’s parentage will rise, the northerners will probably not fulfil Jon’s pledge to Daenerys, Dany may even lose one of her remaining dragons. Things will be very chaotic and chaos is a ladder.

The Great War is going to end at Winterfell.

Season 7 solved a large problem: how to destroy the army of the dead? Conveniently if you kill the Night King, the wights die and the war is over. Simple as that. Bran has been stated as a great threat to the Night King, almost as he’s the Night King true enemy. The Night King himself entered the cave to kill the last Three Eyed Raven and he seems to have a particular interest in Bran. The show has implied that Bran is waiting for him. And he’s waiting for him at Winterfell. Daenerys is leading her army and remaining dragons to Winterfell and Jaime is much likely riding to Winterfell too. Not only Sansa was featured preparing Winterfell for the war for the Dawn, but many characters have stated the importance of this castle.

Jon: “We can’t defend the north from the Walkers and the south from the Boltons. If we’re gonna survive we need Winterfell”

Jon:“If they breach the Wall, the first two castle in their path [before Winterfell] is Last Hearth and Karhold”

Sansa:“Every direction the threat comes this [Winterfell] is the best place to be.”

Jaime: “If Winterfell falls, we [King’s Landing] fall. Three days.”

The bulk of the living forces in Westeros will be at Winterfell, if Winterfell falls, it would mean the entire army has fallen and basically all hope is lost. The Golden Company is Cersei’s hope but seriously? She’s not a military person. I trust way more Jaime’s opinions and he said their fate depend on Winterfell. So I don’t think the WW will ever come near to King’s Landing because they will be defeated at Winterfell.

All The talking about King’s Landing and the Mad King’s Daughter

The safety of King’s Landing was a great concern to Daenerys and Cersei this season. They’ve talked about how many people live there, how they should attack it, how they shouldn’t, how the city would fall easily, how they should defended it. When they talk so much about an issue like this you can bet something will happen there. They talked a hundred times about the Wall, and the Wall fell. They talked 87439349 times Dany had THREE dragons, and she lost one. They’ve talked a million times how she can’t have children, so of course she’s gonna get pregnant next season. And they’ve talked a hundred times about King’s Landing. Something is going to happen there. Something bad. Here are some of the most notable moments.

Dany: “If Viserys had three dragons, and an army at his back, he’d have invaded King’s Landing already”

Yara: “We should hit King’s Landing now, hard, with everything we have”

and Dany’s response was:  “I will not attack King’s Landing. WE will not attack King’s Landing.”

Olenna said “Then how you mean to take the Iron Throne?”

And two episodes after she’s at rage because Tyrion’s plans have failed her and this was her visceral response:

“I have three large dragons.I’m gonna fly them to the Red Keep”

Tyrion:“We’ve discussed this…”

“My enemies are IN the Red Keep”.

And at the meeting at the Dragonpit she told Cersei: “Your capital will be safe, until the north threat is dealt with”

These are very interesting because we see Dany wants to take KL, but she haven’t done yet, because her advisors told her not to. But the thing is, Olenna told her not to listen to Tyrion and to be a dragon, and as the season goes she ignores him many times and even accuse him  of plotting against her more than once. The more Tyrion tries to make her listen more she ignores his advices. Dany always had problems with that. Her very “black and white” vision sometimes led her to have bad ideas she just didn’t turn reality because she had  advisors who convinced her otherwise. But now she’s not  listening to her advisors anymore, and maybe the show told us her future through Varys”s words:

Tyrion:“Daenerys is not her father”

Varys :“And she never will be. With the right counsel. “

Daenerys is not her father is also another phrase they said a lot this season. They keep calling her “mad king’s daughter” and they even told us more than once what the Mad King did to Brandon and Rickard Stark. It’s almost like the show  is saying “Her father was mad. Don’t forget that”

Important characters have fled King’s Landing

They did a massive reunion at King’s Landing this season. Tyrion and Davos visited King’s Landing in a rush. They showed the Dragonpit, the place where Balerion’s skull is kept and winter upon King’s Landing. It’s almost like the show is saying  “let’s make a scene there because this is our last chance”. Bye bye King’s Landing. And now aside from Cersei all the remaining characters we care left KL. Jaime fucking Lannister and even Gendry we didn’t know was alive left King’s Landing. The only important character left there is Cersei. Daenerys’ ultimate enemy. They quoted more than once the amount of people living in King’s Landing at episode 7x7. Why would they do that if it wasn’t important? The time is short this seasons and the lines mean something.

Dany’s Visions

One thing that really upsets me in the show is the visions Dany had at the House of the Undying. In the book she sees lots of things important as fuck but in the show she has three visions. THREE FUCKING MISERABLE VISIONS. But if you look at them now you’ll see they are important as fuck too. And it’s the first one I want to talk about. She enters at the Throne Room and there’s snow on the floor but the snow only starts to fall heavily when she looks up. And when she looks up and TA DAAAAAA, there’s no ceiling. The Throne Room is destroyed like something came from the sky and destroyed the whole thing. Like I said I don’t think the Night King will ever come close to King’s Landing because the battle for the Dawn will most likely to end at Winterfell so what or who could came from the sky and destroy the Red Keep like this?

In the books it’s clear to me she see things that matter to her, her visions in the House of the Undying are about her life and important events that could have, that have or will happen to her. Things that relate to her somehow. The visions are not meaningless. So why would she see the Throne Room but not the Night King destroying it? Probably because she was the one who destroyed the place. She sees the destruction she made.

Bran’s vision

Bran’s visions were actually the very first trigger to me. At episode 6x6, after Hodor’s death Bran is running with Meera and uploading the visions from the - RIP older -Three Eyed Raven. D&D said they spend hours to choose which scene would be there cuz they were fucking important. PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE. It’s was the first time we saw the Mad King,  there were some old scenes from the past seasons BUT there were some new ones that I don’t recall to see before..  

This one that features a single dragon in the sky.

And also this one that features a shadow of a single dragon over King’s Landing and there’s smoke in some places.

The tricky thing here is that these two scenes along with the scene where the Night King turns the Craster’s baby into a WW repeat 5 or 6 times. Only this three scenes repeat so much. 

For 3 times these scenes with the single dragon are followed by the scene of Daenerys with Drogon on her shoulder. No other dragon appears on Bran’s visions, only Drogon. There’s no other vision of Daenerys, only this one that always appears after the vision of KL burning.

If you ask me, the visions show King’s Landing burning by dragon fire and then who is responsible for that: Daenerys and Drogon.

Daenerys’s dragons are her advantage at war. In ADWD she even thinks she could never conquer the Seven Kingdoms without them. She already lost one to the Night King. What if she loses one more? She’d probably be desperate and hopeless. With only one dragon left she’d see herself with no better option to take the Iron Throne than to do what she already wants to do: attack King’s Landing. That’s why Bran saw this in his visions. He saw the Mad King wanting to destroy the capital, and he saw Dany fulfilling her father’s vision.

Bran sees Jaime but not Cersei. Jaime already tried to kill Daenerys this season, will he try again at season 8 after Daenerys attack all the people he lost his honor to protect?

Daenerys burning King’s Landing on rampage is something I can see happening. It would fulfil the “Mad Queen/Daenerys villain theory” and part of the  audience would even agree with her actions, and say she’s not mad, she’s just at war and that’s the only option she had left. Only Cersei is left at KL so people would not feel sorry how we felt when Tyrell’s died in the sept. Cersei has yet to lose everything to a more beautiful and younger queen. Her family is gone, all she has left is the throne, and Daenerys is coming to take it. When Cersei had lost everything then and only then the valonqar will kill her. She’ll probably flee KL during the fires just to be killed right after.

Daenerys have been accused of being a foreign invader by many people  this season, the Westerosi don’t trust her and burning King’s Landing would give the remaining Lords of Westeros more than enough reasons to rebel against her. I can think many ways this could lead to a Sansa x Daenerys struggle but this post is huge already so maybe another time.

[dachi-chan25]

Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 4 Recap Pt. 3

WARNING: SPOIIIILERS; not a D@€n€r¥$ fan; a hopeless Jonsa shipper.

———

Before I go on about Theon/Jon reunion. I’ll retake my point on J0n€r¥$ (this is only my opinion and humble analysis, I have been wrong a lot of times so really if you ship them or read this scenes differently is cool!), like I said I see attraction from D’s side but not from Jon, their interactions on and out of the cave were pretty telling, inside the cave they made progress but again what D wanted was more important than anything else and they ended at odds with each other again. Then when she asks (more like demands) for his advise, he is giving a step forward, but again what she wants is more important. And if D&D were setting a enemies-friends-lovers epic romance things would be different, it is common for this trope having other people interceding for the two sides to see they are not really so different (aka Tyrion,Dadvos,Missandei) that makes them less reluctant to interact with each other, but their interactions in themselves always end on a bad note focusing entirely on what D wants instad of bringing them closer so the audience starts to see them as a Team there is no hope,longing or understanding common to this trope (and listen I know this trope real well, I live for this) at the end of their interactions just plain frustration and annoyance.

Which leads me to the conclusion that Targcest is setting up Targbowl, D is not gonna accept Jon is a Targ, because before her atraction or sympathy for Jon is the thing she wants, and it is already being shown.

6.- Theon an co. arrive, and Jon stares him down immediately, Theon is like oh Jon didn’t know you were here, and Jon doesn’t answer, until Theon asks about Sansa ( we know that is the name that makes Jon do things) and again Jon grabs him by the collar. Now as much as I Love Theon, he did a lot of awful shit to the Starks and no one would blame Jon for wanting to punch him or even scream at him about it, he does none of those things though he says what Theon did for Sansa was the only reason why Jon doesn’t kill him, and wow just wait the fuck up, this thing can’t be brushed off as a coincidence, Jon is clearly being set up against Sansa’s past suitors (and yes Theon was one of them because he had always hoped he would marry him to Sansa so he could be aun official Stark) and judging them on their treatment of Sansa, not only that but the fact that this 2 episodes they’ve been apart Jon and Sansa have mentioned one another, that’s not an accident, I’m pretty sure they will have some kind of romance.

Dadvos gets a close-up after this scene, and I don’t know what to make of it, maybe he is starting to see something there as well as LF, I mean he didn’t see the crypt scene and with Tyrion Jon had his back to him so he didn’t catches his expression, but he did saw him beating up Ramsey and stepping at the sight of Sansa, now again he stops himself from beating up the guy who betrayed his brother and set WF on fire for Sansa… Anyone would be wierded out, or maybe he is just waiting for his moment to speak, he does ask about Theon’s sister, he says she was captured and he came to ask for the Queen’s help to rescue her. Jon says the Queen is not here and he seems annoyed.

7.- Back with Lannister/Tarly convo, Randyll is a disgusting human being suggesting they flogg the soldiers so they go faster, and he is like no bitch my man fought well how about we just ask them to go faster????

Randyll goes to ask them, and Dickon stays with Bronn and Jaime, Bronn is all of us laughing at Tarly junior’s name, Jaime asks if HG was his first battle and what he thought about it, Dickon says it was his first and that it was glorious, but being a greenboy his face gave him away, Jaime is like no really what did you thought about it?, Dickon says he didn’t really want to kill all those people he knew and grew up with, and Bronn makes a joke about shit.

Seems intresting to me they are giving us another reminder of soldiers being human beings, and giving Dickon a bit more depth (he is pretty likable actually, he is kinda adorable) for what is next.

Bron uses his spidey-senses and is like did y'all hear that? And oh boy do we hear it, sounds like a goddamned storm, but it’s really the Dothrakis.

Soldiers take positions, and it really doesn’t look well for the L-T army, they are clearly outnumbered and this remind me a lot to the BoB (I think this is 100% intentional) were the Dothrakis and D are the Boltons.

So yeah the soldiers are ready, nervous but ready when D enters riding ine of her FUCKING monsters, the soldiers, Jaime, Bronn and Dickon (me too) get scared af, and even more when D fires her first Dracarys burning an entire section of the army, it’s horrifying to watch honestly, this battle is not fair in any form or way, actually it could be more accurate to call it massacre.

Now we now every single scene on GoT has a purpose and my mind immediately went to ep 1 and the kind and cool group of soldiers Arya met, and I understood why they decided to cast someone as popular as Ed Sheeran as a Lannister soldiers of all things, to humanize them, mind you their dialogue (that guy who wanted to met her daughter and their general jolly but resigned attitude) was enough to make you think how unfair it is for them to fight other people’s wars, now is no secret Arya is a fan favorite and by being kind to her D&D made them likable when they were really preparing us for this all along, preparing us to see this Poor man dying an awfull death and wonder if Ed Sheeran’s character is among them, or the dude that wanted a pretty daughter to take care of him when he was old but now he would probably never meet her, the dude that offered Arya the first bote of the food and so on) I’m a terribly sensitive person and I cried, because it was awful, monstrous.

Chaos breaks in, everything is burning, and suddenly I realized the carts and barrels full of food were also burning.

Are you FUCKING kidding me???? D is supposedly doing this shit to get food for her people but she just burnt all the food, oh boy she may win this battle but keeps on losing the war, Cersei lost food and man, but so did D, and who needs it most really?

Jaime tells Bronn to go fire the Scorpion (aka the massive crossbow Qyburn made) is no secret I was dissapointed by Jaime’s constant justification of Cersei’s bs, but when I think on it, well he does Love Cersei and it’s hard to think as a monster of someone you are in love with even if this is true, but I think this battle will help Jaime wake the fuck up (maybe when/if he meets Brienne again he’ll finally leave Cersei for good, and I say this not only as a shipper but because Brienne is literally Jaime’s honor), he was heroic in this battle raiding fearlessly through the fieles of fire. Also Dickon was pretty great and saved Jaime once.

Bronn also steps out as the anti-hero he is, honestly one can’t help but cheer for him as he is looking for Drogon so he can’t pierce the monster’s skull. And he ultimately does hurt the gigant lizard, just not enough as to prevent it from burning down the Scorpion (gosh I do hope Maester Qyburn has more of those).

Tyrion arrived with other Dothrakis to watch the scene on oh, his face says everything, this is not what he wanted at all, some random dothraki says his people doesn’t know how to fight and I can’t help but think back on Dickon’s words, he knows some of this soldiers hell! some of them might have even fought alongside him on Blackwater, he sees the food is gone and suddenly there is Jaime, the only sibling who was ever kind to him, the one who saved his life, and really kudos to Peter D. For his acting on this scene.

Things take a turn for worse when Jaime changes at an indefence D Targ trying to take the gigant ass arrow out of the gigant ass wing of her gigant ass lizard with a spear on hand, at this moment Jaime is not thinking, cuz this is not a smart thing to do at all, he is probs remembering Aerys and his burn them all, and he wants to kill the responsible of this horror (not that I blame him, honestly I always thought D was going to die, because of her vision at the house of the undying, but this is the first time I’ve actually wanted her to die which shows the good Job they are doing at making her the villian, like dude she looked like a Villian against the Lannisters!!!!) one thinks he is gonna do it when Drogon gets between Jaime and D, and is ready to roast some golden ass, when outta nowhere Bronn saves him, they are both sinking on a lake and the episode ends.

That’s it til next week (may the gods help me)