#instead of other shit like consort or whatever
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Okay so, saw you wonder “How does Space Emperor Tim handle war with his morals?” And I think that Tim doesn’t
More specifically I think he is able to accept that this is where he fails. He’s a master diplomat and great organization leader, and although he is great at tactics as a Robin, he’s not willing to lead a war. He’s not willing to sacrifice his moral compass in this way
And I think the empire respects this because, in spite of his personal objections to leading a war effort, he does not leave the planets stranded and defenseless…
He assigns Cassie as the many armies prime military commander
Each of the planets likely has their own military structure and command, as a mostly decentralized empire. But I think we also have a centralized mixed cultures/peoples/planets military to promote cross cultural exchange as well as the exchange of tactical knowledge
Cassie serves as the head of the military council responsible for overseeing both the centralized and decentralized military forces
Cassie has already been shown to be a capable leader with YJ and I think her Amazonian training has specifically well prepared her for commanding military forces (Idk her lore perfectly so correct me if wrong)
There’s obviously a lot of training and research needed to adjust Earth based tactics to space wars, but the JL and Batman likely already had some resources prepped for that. And as one of the Great Baby Emperors Glorious Consorts, the many leaders under her command are happy to assist in her training
Kon and Bart likely also help her, providing emotional support and serving as sound boards for her ideas, but she’s the military commander right now. And she’s gonna kick whatever alien equivalent of asses these attackers got
Tim probably also continues to help in his own way, managing logistics and supplies (really important for armies). He’s also probably assisting with developing new technologies to help in the battle given his skills in R&D (maybe it’s only medical advancements or maybe he feels okay developing ships or weapons, or maybe that’s where Bart gets to go to town making his fantastical sci-fi space lasers) Tim is not going to abandon his empire, they have stood by him through thick and thin, and he’ll give whatever he knows he is able to give them
So yeah, Tim might not be an Emperor who leads armies, but he doesn’t leave his worlds defenseless and gives Cassie the perfect opportunity to show the Timpire, and really the whole galaxy, just how badass she is !!!
Oh my gods, you are brilliant. Cassie would 100000% be the military commander (I don't know enough about her lore either, but that checks out).
Hmm... The only issue I can see is whether or not Cassie needs Tim's approval to go to war. She won't just do it for the hell of it, but Tim won't really approve of it either. Then again, maybe they should spend hours upon hours upon hours arguing about the necessity of going to war, considering how likely it will lead to casualties.
While Tim won't lead into war, I can see him going over "hypothetical" plans with Cassie. Maybe not in the middle of a war, but I could see Tim stealing GL/JL space war files and going over it with Cassie.
For angst reasons, YJ at first doesn't take going to war seriously. They're kids when this starts. Yeah, they've been through shit, but leading an empire to kill other people for whatever reason they deem is necessary? Probably not.
Instead, they train on space war strategy by making games out of it. Tim and Bart create a hallographic board game that incorporates various space war variables. It's a fun pass time of theirs with the excuse of "training" (not that they ever believe they'll need that kind of training).
After their first war, they never pick that game up again. They do provide it the generals of each planet, though, and have the planets compete against each other for friendly bonding.
Tim does help with the logistics and defense of the planets. None of it is lethal, but he does have extreme measures (I'm thinking about that one panel where he threatens to permanently deafen people).
Bart collaborates with the planets for space travel, war machines, and weapons for the military.
Kon may not lead, but he helps develop creative strategies and plans to assist Cassie.
Tim may be the emperor, but Cassie becomes the name feared among all enemy planets.
#core four#thank you for the ask!!!!#dc au#ruler of worlds au#really glad i was finally able to answer this!!!!!
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LIVEBLOG: Wakfu Season 4, Episode 4 [PART 2]
I wonder how long he's been standing there. Did he come an hour early? 20 minutes early? Just standing there, doing nothing...
Dios mio... la creatura!
Something very weird happened with the Eni queen/leader. In s2, her cape and hands were like this because she was sitting, in this season — it's just part of her design. Did nobody check this stuff? Am I going insane thinking this is an error? Did she look bad when her cape was down? What the fuck is happening?
Once again, something very silly is happening with Sufokia, if they have an empress and a king. My headcanon to fix it is "the king is a consort-king" or something.
(*sobs in Ankama, or, really, 89% of all media, not understanding that whoever marries the ruler of the nation is a [insert title]-consort, and does not have as much political power or the right of succession* *Hysterically convulses in "99% of all Queens were Queen-consorts, and the title itself, by default, usually means a consort. For this reason, female rulers (rare non-consort Queens who came to throne due to lack of male princes) typically named their husbands "Princes" and not "Kings", because the title king always implies a higher degree of power than a queen; therefore, it might be reasonable to assume, that in this fantasy setting, a Ruling Empress's husband might be called a king for this reason* *Foams at mouth because Ankama just forgot they mentioed Sufokia having a king and I'm trying to cope. badly*)
Also since I'm on this tangent already, YES, this means that Sadida rules of throne succession are:
1. extremely easy for outsiders to abuse (say what you will, but "the spouse inherits the throne" is a BADDD rule to combat conquest by foreign nations, there's a reason it was children or blood-relatives of the ruler, besides patriarchy/divine right of kings/whatever — the spouse is an outsider. All it takes is a princess, who is Wonderful at poisoning, being married off to a foreign nation and whoopsie-daisy, their country is now Her country, and therefore her Family's country),
2. it's unrealistic,
3. probably just bad writing for the sake of drama.
If you're curious why I know all this shit.......... I have a blorbo in a different fandom, and his entire thing is that he was married into a royal family and then tortured by his queen wife in a sort of gender-bent Henry VIII arrangement (except he was kept alive against his will and there was no divorce or church splits). God bless that blorbo for making me learn.
These Huppermages were repurposed from the movie concept art, btw.
I find it quite interesting, that Joris has the authority to be present here...
My personal theory/headcanon is that he is their mediator, and they just call him to their meetings so that, instead of yelling at each other and declaring wars, they can talk to him (and therefore, yell only at him and declare no wars).
Ugh, once again, I am not entirely fond of the English subs. First the translation error about the brotherhood of forgotten/tofu, and now they are making Joris say this spring chicken thing...
It doesn't fit his character and reads weird. Just leave it as "I'm not that young", like in the original. It's more fitting for Joris to speak in negative sentences ("I am not young") than in affirmative ones ("I am old") because he is not fond of stating direct facts about himself and his life... besides the fact that he's standing in front of multiple world leaders.
[kicks my legs cutely thinking about the fact that Joris, older than every king and queen in this place, and fully convinced of his excellence and wisdom and heroism, has been forced to bow down to them for his entire life despite hating at 90% of them for their political decision] I love his commitment to being the protagonist of an 18th century Russian novel about being doomed by the narrative.
Also, kinda wild. You'd think that during Ogrest's chaos they'd— actually I think everyone was too dead to hold meetings during that, nvm.
I wonder what they would do, if the maker of the eyes wouldn't reply. Just stand there? Or is this speech more of a formality — something he always says, in the lead-up to the meeting?
(I am once again reminding you, this blog is LITERALLY about overthinking crepinjurgen lore! Ankama gave no shit while writing this. I'm just doing this for fun.)
He's so unimpressed. Probably still trying to gauge what the fuck is going on.
THE LITTLE SMILE— he's trying to suppress it so hard in the first screenshot here. He's probably glad that Yugo seems to be in good spirits about what's happening, even if he himself is still quite worried.
His expression here is a beautiful mix of "PLEASE DON'T FUCK THIS UP" and "it is a canon event, I cannot intervene"
Literally, Joris's expressions at this moment should be analyzed frame by frame. You can feel the desperation. He now understands that there is a high possibility they are fucked. Because his bestie (who is always right) is an impulsive 20-something year old boy who knows nothing about politics or what people can do, and his mom is a god, and the leaders of the world aren't going to like whatever the fuck is going on, and he KNOWS what they might do, and what might happen, and oh god oh fuck oh god oh fuck—
"Yugo :) perhaps you shuoild :) um. :) ease them into it. :).... :("
He's trying to keep smiling, so hard. It's crazy.
Joris has lived through the huppermage genocide. He knows people don't need that much of a reason to begin killing. He understands precisely just how fragile the position that Yugo and his people are in. He understands his own place in the pecking order, too — he isn't going to act like Yugo's friend if these people are watching.
And neither Yugo, not any other Eliatrope is able to understand this. There are cruelties in this world that they are fundamentally unable to grasp without having truly been seeped in it before.
Like, what is he even to do here, to make Yugo understand how bad the situation is. All he can do is stand there looking haunted, while receiving unprecedented amounts of psychic damage.
If I was Joris at this point, I would simply pull out a flask of whiskey and a cigarette. The political situation has now gone completely unfixable. There is no going back, now that she has said these two lines.
Someone native to the World of Twelve and old enough to understand politics would know how bad this sounds. But to her, these are good things. Of course they are, since she knows what is good and what isn't, and everyone in her world has always accepted those things as good.
Basically: the conflict between WoT and Eliatropes is that a nation of people from a world of teletubbies-level conflict, — with no bigotry or nations or poverty or hunger or theft or inequality, or ulterior motives, — has been added to a "game of thrones" type society with no explanation. And now they are all forced to try and understand one another.
If I was Joris at this moment, I would simply shoot myself in the temple with a gun. If things were bad before, they are horrible now. She is talking to world leaders as her children. It might have been alright even with Eliatropes, but these people aren't Eliatropes.
DO I EVEN NEED TO COMMENT ON HOW BAD THIS IS? IN A WORLD WHERE COLONIALISM, RACISM, SUBJUGATION, AND SLAVERY ARE REAL? IS SHE ON CRACK?
I would give anythign to see Joris's expressions as she's saying these things. I think he should be trembling. Staring vacantly into space.
To someone from a world of violence, a world with "no violence" seems like a world where violence is hidden, and enacted to stop them from voicing their disagreement with the status quo.
Tot has described this as a sort of conflict between the modern world approaches to society — and named China and America as examples of what he was inspired by, while writing Eliatrope.
I will not get into detail on my feelings on it (China is often extremely criticized in the west for things every country in the world does due to racism)
But this might point us towards the fact that the world of Eliatropes wasn't as free of conflict as the show portrays it to be, and it was, in fact, Just A Society, with all that entails. In which case, things get morally morally gray... might explain why, in the earlier drafts of the season, she was meant to be the main antagonist — and why it was decided against.
(Is that maybe why Qilby is so embittered — his experiences were silenced, and he was made to suck it up, only confiding in Shinonome? She does constantly shut up Yugo and Qilby, not letting them speak up about their grudges against each other to keep the peace— [I am quickly silenced by tangent police])
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My CoTL AU (Mostly backstory)
BLOOD TW & Yap session warning.
[I've simplified it as much as possible and included little pictures for those with short attention spans.]
This is begins before the slaughter of the lambs and the universe's rules are slightly tweaked, just a twinge... A wee bit. (I only say this because I either can't remember or don't know everything about the game).
It all starts with a little lamb named Marrei who's living in Anura with her parents. Her mother is pregnant/expecting soon and her father works from sunrise to sunset, food is scarce and they all risk starving.
Her mother continuously tries to give her portions to her frail and weak daughter (Marrei) only for her husband to stop her and force her to eat, sometimes he doesn't succeed and instead he gives her his portions to eat.
Marrei's father eventually dies of starvation and the pair (trio including unborn child) continue to eat whatever they can get from scraps, without her father around her mother continues to give Marrei all the food.
One day her mother leaves and does not come back.
Marrei waits inside that house for a week, almost weeks, before she exits. She finds her mothers corpse, her mother had left to die next to where her father lay. He wasn't buried, used instead for compost.
(I didn't add much detail cause I'm lazy.)
It had been so long that her parents were thoroughly picked apart by birds.
So Marrei, in her little mind, was like "hey, don't baby lamb skulls make me live a long time or something?" So, she took her brother's (congrats, it was a boy) skull and brought it with her.
She just picked a random direction and walked, and walked, and walked... she just kept walking with no goal in mind.
For days.
For weeks.
Longer than she spent alone in her house, just ratting whatever berries or pumpkins she finds. She is kicked from many farms. She grows.
Eventually she happens upon a temple.
(This is where shit gets blurry as I have only got the back bones laid out, some areas have excessive minor detail whilst areas like this do not. Marrei could've gotten caught by guards or just knocked on the door, either way she ends up getting indoctrinated into Heket's cult.)
Marrei undergoes the world's loooooongest training montage to level up from beta noob to level 99 Mafia boss and through the power of toxic Yuri she becomes the consort of Heket and they are gay for each other for a couple thousand years (she gets an official immortality necklace from her shawty).
She basically becomes the words most humblest spoiled brat, getting gifts she didn't ask for all while continuing to be a nice soft person.
(Marrei looooves gold.)
(These are the years she develops relationships with the bishops that come up after they become followers + other secrets that you only get if you stick around.)
Then it happened.
Marrei didn't know much about Narinder as he had only sought her out once and once alone.
She had unknowingly given Narinder a little push, fed the thoughts festering in the back of his mind, yet was completely taken by surprise at the news of his (albeit failed) usurpment attempt.
Marrei spends a while in depression, having lost someone she considered close even though they had spoken once (she's just nice like that) and everybody else she cared about (Leshy/Heket) was badly injured.
She was then promptly kicked out without warning or reason and banished from Anura by Heket.
In a panic, she finds her way into Darkwood as it's the only other place she knows.
This is essentially a period of inactivity, things happen but nothing too serious to write about.
Well, there's one thing....
But, that's a secret.
Marrei gets kicked out of Darkwood as well and then she decides it's time to just start walking again.
So she does.
She walks and walks.
Eventually, she ends up at the clearing Ratau shows the player and attempts to set up camp.
Alas, she's jack shit at anything but sitting there and looking pretty so she struggles for a long time before meeting Ratau.
He helps her get set up and teaches her how to be an independent woman/is like her father because shes a fatherless idiot and Ratau isn't old enough to be a wrinkly old ballsack yet as he just got fucked over and fired from vessel duty.
You guys will never guess what happens next lmao
Marrei lays an egg!
*air horn sound effect*
(No, it's not Ratau's wtf...)
So yeah, that thing hatches and she doesn't know what to do. Marrei is a horrid mother and she cries all the time, she cries a lot. She is stupid, stupid woman. She is too busy living in the past and missing her shawty.
Ratau smacks her on the head with his stick a couple times... A lot of times.
Fun fact: The Lamb literally doesn't have a name, at all. Everybody just calls them Lamb, or The Lamb, or Leader.
This is because Marrei just... never named them.
Probably doing mushrooms or something lmao
Marrei pulls on her big girl pants and gets her shit together eventually because she actually gives a shit about her kid, she's just a loser who has no idea what the fuck she's doing and didn't expect bro to pop out...
The Lamb grows up to have a close bond with Marrei and Ratau who occasionally visit like a grandpa.
When Lamb turns 18 they're like "can I finally leave bro, just for a little bit, I've never stepped foot out of this camp"
Marrei is like "FUCK NO!"
And Ratau is like "bro, chillax..."
So she sighs and allows them out.
Only for Lamb to immediately get lost and be captured before being put to slaughter as 'The Last Lamb".
Lamb meets The One Who Waits and Narinder is like "lmao why u kinda godly or sum shit" and Lamb is like "brother what... Can I just die or go home like damn" and Nari like "shit calm down rude ass"
So Lamb returns home to a worried sick Marrei sobbing in Ratau's arms as the red crown's vessel.
The game mostly continues like normal, the bishops don't know the lamb is related to them and neither does the lamb.
Except after the slaughter of Leshy, Marrei distances herself from her child and then right after Lamb defeats Heket's final mini boss Marrei finally cracks and tells the Lamb everything.
Who their other mother is (don't worry how it happened, it's magic), That their half god/frog, Her upbringing, just... Everything.
(This is old art, I just thought it was fitting lmao)
Lamb does the equivalent of saving and exiting the game, leaving the cult and going fishing or working on Sozo's quests or something.
Lamb continues their crusade through Anura in which you can get a new dialogue option with Heket where she (not by name) mentions/refers to Marrei, saying the Lamb reminds her of someone she once knew. She remarks on the familiarity of his bracelets they wear as similar to ones she had given to Marrei. (As Marrei had regifted it to the Lamb.)
While the Lamb is out they end Heket without informing her of anything, that Marrei is alive or of their relation.
Once again, the game pretty much continues as normal until the bishop's revival. (Besides the fact of Narinder being a smarty pants and figuring out that Lamb was related to him and being a pissy bitch about it, yapping about the irony of his siblings unknowingly losing to someone who's their blood--things coming full circle.)
There's very minor plot that happens after the game's technical end besides Marrei getting her closure and becoming a toxic old Yuri couple with her shawty, having another kid, Leshy being a fucking goober and getting into a throuple, and Narinder trying to be a not dog shit uncle...
So yeah, that's all!
I'm probably gonna remember a shit ton of lore later and be super angry like "stupid little fucking brain fuck you!" but like this post has been deleted more than four times and I've had to redo it so this so what you get have fun
This post is dedicated to @owl-lady-lover, thank you for asking about my lore! :3>
#cotl fanart#cotl#cotl lamb#cult of the lamb#digital art#art#cotl art#cotl au#cotl oc#fyp#tumblr fyp#cult of the lamb ratau#cotl ratau#ratau#cult of the lamb narinder#cotl narinder#bishop narinder#follower narinder#lambert#cotl heket#heket#cult of the lamb heket#bishop heket#colt heket#cult of the lamb leshy#leshycat#cotl leshy#leshy#leshy x yellow cat#marrei
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elden ring dlc final boss spoilers
feel like im going fucking nuts because i like... dont really mind the final boss' lore? the fight is completely busted mechanically and i really did not want to fight radahn ever again, but i really dont get most of the complaints about the story itself.
im honestly surprised at how many people earnestly think they shouldve brought godwyn back as lord consort instead which. im gonna be real. i think thats really fucking stupid LOL. the base game tells you over and over that he is the deadest guy who has ever died. he has a whole questline and ending. his story is over. ive seen a lot of people say that radahn being revived somehow retcons or ignores the stuff in the base game about miquella attempting to revive godwyn, but in my eyes castle sol tells the complete story on its own. miquella didnt want to bring godwyn back to life, he wanted him to die a true death. if anything, he probably would have opted to use godwyn's body instead of mohg's if he hadnt given up.
the argument that radahn wouldn't have made the vow in the first place falls flat to me too. he adores godfrey, why wouldn't he want to become a powerful lord when miquella ascends to godhood? he went back on the vow, but we know miquella influences people's wills so it doesn't seem contradictory that he ends up as lord consort anyway imo
there's stuff linking miquella and radahn in the base game, even if we aren't told explicitly that they were close. sellia, where radahn grew up, is full of miquella's lillies. ordina, a town ostensibly built by miquella for his followers, has architecture identical to sellia. its not super explicit, and you wouldn't be able to come to the conclusion that radahn is fated to be miquella's consort from that, but people have accepted that melina is a daughter of marika based on even less. (or that shes the GEQ or whatever the fuck lol) and, yknow, the whole issue of malenia's crusade against radahn that was never fully explained until now
yeah miquella's plan undermines radahn's honorable death, but i think thats intentional. miquella is selfish. he's a child, he doesnt understand how his actions impact others, and he thinks the potential good outweighs whatever harm he causes. its fucked up by design.
my biggest issue with it is just how hard it sidelines malenia. the crusade wasn't her choice, she marched to caelid solely to deliver a threat on miquella's behalf, gravely injured herself in the process, and now she can't do anything except wait for him to get back. her lack of agency kind of fucking sucks.
anyway. it really annoys me when people act like godwyn was the intended final boss all along and fromsoft just rewrote everything 2 days before launch "to subvert expectations/for fan service". plenty of shit in the dlc feels rushed but this genuinely does feel like they were setting up for radahn the entire time, at least to me. it certainly was never gonna be godwyn lol
#txt#sorry i love writing long posts no one give a shit about but me#also let it be known godwyn's corpse is my favorite set piece in the entire game and i always go for duskborn as my primary character#HOWEVER. that guy is dead as hell and thats why he rules#elden ring spoilers#sote spoilers
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This is about the show only:
Viserys, as the King, is the patriarchy, and Rhaenyra is only able to get away with rebelling against it because Viserys lets her. Viserys expects Alicent to be a dutiful childbearing wife but let’s Rhaenyra do basically whatever she wants because he feels guilt for what he did to Aemma. And Rhaenyra is okay with that. She doesn’t care about other women suffering. She only wants to bend the rules for herself.
Instead of being angry at Viserys for marrying Alicent she is angry at Alicent, who had no choice. Alicent has been maritally raped by Viserys for years. She dutifully bore him three sons and daughter. They even all have the Targaryen look and ride dragons. She did her duty, and he still doesn’t give a shit about his kids with her and clearly favors Rhaenyra. Still, Alicent took care of Viserys for years when she could have just let him rot. She may not love him romantically but she clearly cares about him, despite what he did to her.
Alicent has been a saint, because if I were her I would have poisoned both Daemon and Rhaenyra and also Viserys to protect my children. Alicent, as a victim of Viserys has every right to advocate for her children and put them first. She has every right to want Aegon to be king, not because she’s some woman hater like y’all think, but because she’s simply a mother who wants to protect her children and frankly deserves to have her bloodline on the throne after everything she went through.
She doesn’t even want Rhaenyra dead, she still cares for her despite everything. Alicent isn’t perfect but neither is Rhaenyra. You can support and root for Rhaenyra while acknowledging that Alicent does have a point and that the story is not black and white. I understand why Rhaenyra wants the throne but I also understand why Alicent thinks crowning Aegon is necessary.
Special Note: Since the show's world is the same as the ASoIaF canon's, the cultural, legal, and political laws and situations and contexts I will bring up are all valid. Plus, I've made several posts as to how this show is garbage in terms of writing and characterizations & basic consistency. This post will put that aside (for the most part) to be Watsonian.
*EDITED POST* (4/7/24)
Can you do something for me, anon? Point out to me a single scene or family that is actively preparing to usurp Rhaenyra before any of the greens did. We see Borros shout at Lucerys, but did you actually see him with troops and supplies stored places in preparation to usurp Rhaenyra BEFORE Aemond arrived?
Alicent's kids were always safe. You, like her, took Otto's words for granted, and for why?
I explain how Otto and Alicent were wrong about the lords rebelling (w/o green interference) all in my points below.
A)
Let's take a breath. Imagine what having a female Queen Regnant--not just a Queen Consort, Queen Dowager, or Queen Mother--would do for any other woman seeking power in a male-dominated society that frequently abuses its own women from noblemen to common blacksmiths (Megelle).
There is now a precedent (since people shout "what about precedent?!") of a female leader. Such that would socially justify and legitimize further other female claimants of noble seats across the realm.
Jeyne Arryn is an example of a woman who would have benefitted even more from Rhaenyra ruling, even w/o Rhaenyra being Aemma's daughter and thus Jeyne's cousin. Her rule of the Fingers, Vales, etc. would have had much more confidence and power than if Rhaenyra hadn't had an unencumbered reign as a woman in her own right.
("The Blacks and the Greens") -- the greens looking over list of those who could support them:
("A Son for a Son") -- Jeyne's reasoning for supporting Rhaenyra:
But because Rhaenyra not ruling, what happens? For years, women/girls like Arianne Martell, Sansa and Seren Stark, and Jeyne Poole (Arya Stark, if she hadn't gotten out) are even more abused--physically and emotionally--by power-seeking/misogynist men.
You bleat about how Alicent is abused. Well, by her participation and actions in usurping Rhaenyra, she made life worse for all women in Westeros. Because the idea that women should not be leaders and that men should always have power over them became stronger (posts and reblogs by brideoffires).
If Rhaenyra had been allowed to rule, would any of what happened (during the Dance) to the common-born or any noble person in and out of King's Landing have happened? NO!
B)
Rhaenyra had been heir for at least 12-13 years in the show and Lord Caswell was killed for trying to escape and alert her. I'll bring up the book once here just so my point is supported: those oaths that Viserys had the lords make for Rhaenyra? Most followed through and supported her throughout the actual war...that the greens started. Many of them enthusiastically did so. (Frey, Blackwood, the Arynns/Jeyne Arryn). Even a Stark, Cregan, kept fighting for her.
And a quick note: Also, do you know another person who plunged Westeros into war based on their anger at a handful of people for merely personal AND unjustified reasons (I will explain how Alicent is unjustified to be against Rhaenyra way below)? Aegon IV against Naerys and Aemon for their possible affair and Naerys birthing Aemon's child. It was said that Aegon believed Daeron, his official son, to be the bastard son of his siblings Aemon and Naerys.
In this case, Aegon IV was the type to prefer everyone suffering if he had no control, instead of doing as Viserys I did (if it was true or not, that part really doesn't matter politically) and kept hypothetical non-bio-son as his protected heir. I say "protected" because by naming all his bastards legitimate on his deathbed, Aegon IV endangered Daeron II's body and claim.
Yet this show will have us think that Alicent thinks always or mostly in the favor of "the realm" and unselfishly. And a huge reason why I that Alicent presents as "unselfish" more than hypocritical by the show's wriitng rather than her own hypocrisy is because Rhaenys--the resident supposed "wise" woman--has named Alicent as "wise" depsite immediately following that up with Alicent only making "windows" in the "prison" their patriarchal system shoves her into.
Another way is the effect of the Nymeria page she sends to Rhaenyra to try to dissuade her from war and just accept Aegon's rule...reminder, this page is of a woman nonDornish Westerosi would think a woman abnormal for her being a ruler onto herself AND Nymeria was a woman who while had to flee her past home and war with many lords for her people to survive....like Rhaenyra in this situation, aso had to fight wars (even when they were of conquest) to ensure her people's survival. She changed Dorne not for any noble reason, but for necessary self-oriented reasons of survival. And she's remembered as one of the most influential, important figures of Westerosi history, having created an entire different and lasting society in Dorne. Nymeria being framed as abnormal or cautionary--like Rhaenyra & Alicent have been in the in-world document of Fire & Blood--is par for the course and if Alicent was trying to be cautionary to Rhaenyra through the cautionary example of Nymeria, it would make sense for Alicent to do that. But it doesn't, really for Rhaenyra to fully & sincerely accept that line of persuasion. In other words, we shouldn't be validating--if what I said abt Alicent trying to use Nymeria as a cautionary note to Rhaenyra and not something like "remember when we used to be friends?!" way--and saying her reasons AND her way of ending a war are justifed or good...because she's still stealing something, one of the only things Rhaenyra has had that a man is allowed in this world.
MOST of the Westersi lords were in support of her and her "bastard" son Jacaerys. There were no real, substantive pushback or material war preparations against her for a real rebellion. Helaena was safe to marry Jaecaerys and become Queen herself, but Alicent refused why exactly? Because Jaecaerys was, to her, a bastard unworthy of her daughter...
C)
AND because she was still angry with Rhaenyra for...what exactly? Because Rhaenyra lied about "losing her virginity"?
Why does this matter to Alicent, when it is the fault of her father for making this public news? Why couldn't this be kept secret, as all the other times a noble girl/woman has had affairs and bastard children? (I get into real-life scenarios of kings actually allowing their wives to birth bastards and have lovers way below). Hint: Otto wants Rhaenyra to be replaced above him doing his "duty" to Viserys and actually being a good Hand. To pretend otherwise is a delusion.
Let's review the context of Rhaenyra's lying to Alicent (scroll down to "The Context of Rhaenyra’s Lie in Episode 4").
D)
You: "Viserys, as the King, is the patriarchy, and Rhaenyra is only able to get away with rebelling against it because Viserys lets her."
1.
Did you witness episode 6, where Alicent nearly lead most of the council meeting while Viserys sat close to her?
We are meant to understand that over the years, Viserys lets Alicent do more and more. He also allows her to demand Rhaenyra's children be brought before her every time they were birthed or not long afterward, knowing that Alicent wants him to call them bastards and declare them as such.
Customarily, Queen Consorts don't sit in councils unless their husbands allow it. Otherwise, they aren't included. Alysanne was involved because Jaehaerys allowed it.
But do you hear of any Queen Consorts joining the council After the Dance? Was Naerys involved when Aegon IV ruled? What about Daenaera and Aegon III? Shaera and Jaehaerys II? What about Rhaella and Aerys II? Cersei and Robert?
No, again, it is after the Dance that women are customarily excluded from substantive politics even as a Queen Consort. (Queen Dowagers or Mothers do not count because the king is usually their son/stepson who is either too weak to rule independently or officially too young like Alyssa Velaryon was for Jaehaerys).
You need to remember that Alicent is trying to force Viserys' hand and reveal the boys' parentage to everyone so her own sons get support, knowing he did not want this, knowing that he is king.
Like Rhaenyra pointed out about Otto tailing her, questioning the heir/princess about their business and especially the parentage of their kids is treasonous (without concrete proof, and honestly she has none because one can never prove another's parentage at this point in history AND they had room to claim that the boys could very well have inherited darker features from their Baratheon kin).
In this light, we can say Alicent acts "treasonously". Yet Viserys lets her get away with it instead of putting his foot down. Doesn't really matter that he was ill and rotting, he was able to muster the strength later when he was sicker so that anyone who questioned Rhaenyra would not be left alone to live. Why couldn't he do this earlier, when he was healthier and stronger?
Yes, Viserys ignored her about the Velaryon boys...what did you expect him to do, renounce and abandon his daughter just because she birthed kids, not Laenor's? And make Corlys' ire worse? The guy who WANTS Luke to inherit Driftmark? Not only that, ruin his daughter and the house's images more than if he did as he did and allowed them to be legitimate? Then wouldn't Viserys be a worse father? Alicent was suggesting trash "advice" on that, both politically and personally.
So really, it seems you want him to be evil to Rhaenyra alone, rather than actual fairness.
2.
I don't think you watched episode 4 well.
I agree that HotD!Young Rhaenyra is freer than Jaehaerys I's daughters of the book. But what Viserys gives Rhaenyra is actually not much choice or room at all. unlike Jaehaerys' daughters, who have both parents one of whose problems were that there were too many children,
Rhaenyra's mother's death by Viserys mission to get a son AND her immediately being named his heir gave her new unique anxieties and burdens.
Her distance and rebuttals are all results of Viserys taking her friend as a wife and breaking one of those few bonds left to her. Because you can't be your stepmother's/Queen Consort best friend when she will birth other competitors (at this point, show!Rhaenyra was in deep doubt).
In that episode, we see how much choice he actually gives Rhaenyra:
Not letting her speak, not working with her to shut down Otto
dismissing her concerns about Otto until she gave him an ultimatum, which only seemed to work because he already suspected or disliked Otto
Not considering how it would rather benefit her claim to marry her uncle, as was the point of all those incestuous marriages between cousins and siblings and uncle-niece/aunt-nephew both in Valyria and Andal/FM Westeros.
*not in the episode, but still a part of this* marries her only friend, knowing that she is literally her only friend, all so he can avoid marrying another younger girl and have his cake/eat it too--attracted...knowing that they would never be the same again
He wanted obedience, anon. "You are my political headache!" Meanwhile he doesn't see how it would be politically better for her to marry Daemon.
3.
Laenor is gay. We already know that he and Rhaenyra tried but nothing came of it. There were never going to be any kids from that union.
What did you expect Rhaenyra to do exactly? Rape Laenor? Get a Lysene sex slave to impregnate her? You'd be the first to call her terrible for either of these.
Not have kids? That is even worse than not birthing her husband's children. For someone like her, the heir to the throne, to be called "barren" and unable to produce heirs herself. A thing Otto can use against her and promote Aegon the Elder as heir, which would give Otto more power over Rhaenyra.
Find another Valyrian-descent-male noble or blonde guy? And what guarantee do we have that he wouldn't try to take advantage of Rhaenyra though his blood link to any children he would sire and endanger her--plus those kids'--lives and reputations and positions?! We see how men in Westeros and beyond reach for power through even those children they do love...Rhaenyra was with Harwin bc he didn't demand anything of her nor looed for advancement through their kids. He was there just for her.
Do you want that, maybe because you already have a deep hatred for Rhaenyra that is irrational?
4.
Viserys got Rhaenyra into the mess that she was in with Laenor for his own ends and by his own cowardly need to have Alicent/someone that he thinks he chose as freely.
He is not only responsible for Alicent's misery but Rhaenyra and Laenor's as well. He also was responsible for Rhaenyra having to have kids whose parentage would always be doubted since it was an open secret that Laenor was gay.
Again, what do you think Rhaenyra was supposed to do? Demand an annulment and risk insulting the already ruffled Corlys? We already saw how Viserys was determined to have her marry Laenor to ensure a Velaryon alliance and smooth over his rejection of Laena. Do you really think that she could have done much there, when she already depends on Viserys for the said inheritance for the throne, as you have stated WHILE battling her other feelings of grief, anger, etc.?
So no, Viserys doesn't give her much choice or many allowances.
5.
In real-life medieval, Tudor, and early modern history, kings, lords, etc, there are many examples of husbands and fathers (latter less occurring) actively encouraging or allowing their wives, daughters, etc to have their own lovers or even children with said lover that the husband then names as his own.
Whether because:
the lover is an accomplished politician who takes the burden of rule off of him
wanted to stay married to said wife because of her dowry, other inheritances, or political connections
because the husband is infertile
because the husband is gay and unable to impregnate his wife
or because they already have kids and the king/lord/husband/etc do not want to jeopardize or draw suspicion of their kid's legitimacy -- better to claim all than to risk some
Sometimes it is even the court and territory's nobles and courtiers who want the queen/lady/wife to have lovers and children outside of her legal marriage just for the heirs, to avoid the madness of said king/husband, or to obtain a more competent politician/commander. The open secret if you will.
This means that Viserys sees many benefits in Rhaenyra having any sort of kids, which explains how he was willing to claim her sons as legitimate. I also have to remind you that Corlys also accepted these boys because he also wanted an heir.
Yes, Viserys loved his daughter in some capacity and wanted to protect her, but we can't ignore the political benefits that come with her having children within the cover of a legal marriage to a gay man.
In this way, Rhaenyra is further trapped in marriage, popping out sons and kids that while she comes to love, are also there to be heirs for another man. Does this sound familiar?
You should take read of Eleanor Harman's Sex with the Queen to learn more. Here's an excerpt:
With regard to royal children, the only consideration more important than their kingly blood was the monarch’s self-interest. Many kings acknowledged children they knew had been fathered by someone else. Often, kings did not want to cast doubt on the paternity of older children they knew to be their own. In the case where the king could not father children, sometimes court factions heartily desired the queen to bear bastards in order to stabilize the throne and cement their own interests.
Fortunately, the queen’s complete and utter disillusionment with her husband usually set in after the birth of the heir. And so it was not deemed worthwhile to lose international prestige, throw the nation into tumult, and question the paternity of all royal children, simply to deny the one cuckoo in the robin’s nest. In the early nineteenth century, the last son of King John VI and Queen Carlota Joaquina of Portugal was extremely good-looking and slender - unlike either of his parents - and happened to be the spitting image of the handsome gardener at the queen’s country retreat. Other than a few snickers behind painted fans, no one said a word.
E)
You: "Viserys expects Alicent to be a dutiful childbearing wife but let’s Rhaenyra do basically whatever she wants because he feels guilt for what he did to Aemma. And Rhaenyra is okay with that. She doesn’t care about other women suffering. She only wants to bend the rules for herself."
Already explained the little-to-no choice for Rhaenyra aspect.
Yes, Viserys does expect Alicent to do this, because, unlike Rhaenyra, Alicent is not facing 10% of usurpation or pushback that Rhaenyra--as heir--would/could.
She is Queen Consort, not soon-to-be-present Queen Regnant. Alicent is not his heir. She is his wife and the person who bears him other children, his "spares". Unfortunately, that is the way of feudal, monarchial patriarchy. Of which Alicent wants to use it for herself and uses it to judge/make Rhaenyra seem unfit...the very system and principles that oppress her, Alicent.
This does not mean Alicent had no right to pursue power for herself by principle, even though I want Rhaenyra. Show!Alicent, however, lives to give up power for conformity's sake in comparison.
And Viserys should be held accountable for sleeping with a teen girl who clearly didn't approach him with full willingness. And if not Alicent, it would have been any other girl or woman. Because girls are socially eligible to become wives as soon as they get their periods in Westeros, even if the practice is that parents and guardians usually wait until the girl is in her later teens (16-19). That's a societal problem that both he and Otto can and did take advantage of.
But again, anon, what exactly did you expect Rhaenyra to do? The girl was also 15, like Alicent!!!!
You seem to give the mantle of responsibility if Alicent's suffering to her. I said this already in another post, but Rhaenyra just lost her mother a few months earlier (something Alicent has experienced) and she has taken to her duties as heir. Alicent is the one who was more available for her than she was to Alicent. Can Rhaenyra read minds, now? Why didn't Alicent let Rhaenyra at least know that Otto was forcing her to do this? That, at least, was within Alicent's power.
What is Rhaenyra supposed to have done when Viserys and Alicent both explicitly told each other (episode 2) they'd keep their meetings secret from Rhaenyra, thus keeping Rhaenyra totally out and in the dark whilst she was mentally preoccupied?
NOTE: I want to clarify that I don't think Rhaenyra would necessarily become Alicent's savior and stop Viserys from choosing her and use chess moves against Otto, or that Alicent should have thought Rhaenyra would 100% deliver her from this situation. Rhaenyra may or may not have been at least able to bring them together to think of how they could Viserys to know of Otto's plans, but that is not the point I make when I compare Alicent and Rhaenyra during this time. Alicent seems to have lived her entire life pressured into suppressing her desires for the sake of obeying her overbearing father, and it would be terribly hard to overcome that and see through those teachings instilled in you. But just by these statements alone, Rhaenyra proves to not be her actual enemy nor the cause of her suffering.
I could flip it around: If we say they were truly friends, why not say something--if we presume that they always talked about Otto's suffocating expectations of Alicent and their supposed many years of close friendship? The show--by not letting us see how they actually related their relationship with their families to each other (the jump cuts and lack of any flashbacks)--refused to allow us to better qualify the character of their communication habits. (I already answered this in the paragraph above). How close were they really? We only get their relationship through the lens of Rhaenyra's family's succession crisis. Before the events of episode 1, did these two girls tell each other a lot of things that they wouldn't tell others, and I mean the most private things--or do they hold those back and why? Would Alicent tell Rhaenyra about her father sometimes drunkenly bemoan her mother's passing if Otto did that? Would Rhaenyra tell Alicent any of her crushes? Would she tell her what she thought about the Faith, and if so, where did she stop if ever? Either way, with what is presented on-screen, the onus of their relationship did not/does not rest fully on Rhaenyra, esp when she didn't even know and could not spare time or thought to Alicent while going through shit herself.
So it doesn't look like Alicent gave Rhaenyra much of a choice either, to even attempt to help her out or give room to process information and respond, choosing to keep it close to her chest. Maybe to not lose her friendship sooner than she liked, it being due to obedience to her father and Viserys keeping it secret, or afraid of Rhaenyra not believing that she wasn't being overly ambitious and disrespectful towards Aemma's memory, etc. Once again, the point is that Rhaenyra had less ability to anticipate all this happening, so there needed to be just one person who told her all this. And in friendships & any relationship, one has to know when the ball is in their court, and in this instance, it was Alicent and Viserys. But both chose to keep Rhaenyra out of the loop completely until the last minute bc neither wanted to deal with what they both knew would be very hurt & angry feelings from her.
Meanwhile, before Viserys announced his marriage, Rhaenyra was actually being very helpful and "obedient", performing her tasks/duties. If you think ignoring Otto and choosing a capable fighter, specifically saying that "my father needs a worthy fighter with experience" and choosing Criston is her not following the rules or thinking of Viserys, you'd be dead wrong. This also goes for her suggesting they use dragonriders to join Corlys in the Stepstones, to which, once again, Viserys refuses and makes her look dumb, all because it was an interruption in "adult", manly matters. (Yes he allows her on the council later, but first events matter and he allowed a bad image to be made that day of her. Stupid of him.)
Finally, Rhaenyra is ranked lower than Viserys, THE KING, despite being his daughter. It appears you want some grand gesture or a big power play from Rhaenyra to protect Alicent from soemthing she doesn't even know is happening. What would you want her to do? To repeat myself, demand an annulment or a cancellation after it's already been announced? Again, if she had known prior, maybe something could be done and she could persuade him otherwise, but we'll never know, will we? And risk insulting Corlys? Again?!
So really, you should be angry at Otto and Viserys more than anyone. They are the ones with the power to put Alicent into the position that she is in. That's the patriarchy talking. That's not Rhaenyra's doing.
As for Rhaenyra's anger:
mother just died
Alicent's silence/keeping such secrets from her
Viserys' public dismissals
feeling some self-hate and disappointment for not having a male's value in her society
If you are going to advocate for Alicent finding fault in Rhaenyra's ability to find holes in the patriarchal mold made for her, we should keep in mind that Rhaenyra was deliberately kept out of even knowing what would happen to her and what she'd be up against later on in the first place. Would this not sting at least? Especially after she's told Alicent, presumably, about her fears for Aemma, her disappointment in Viserys' disregard for her before Aemma died, and her fears of being discarded once a male child arrives? All those years of friendship and thinking Alicent would tell her such important information? If we can forgive Alicent for thinking Rhaenyra would literally kill her kids or endanger them bc she fears her father and believes everything from him, why can't we "forgive" or cut Rhaenyra some slack for being angry that her best friend didn't tell her anything that could determine her future?!
When you've been doubted and sidelined all your life, it would take a lot of ability to compartmentalize (certainly more than anyone in this show has) to see past the nail in the coffin before it came down, which is not necessarily a good thing bc you risk repressing too much of your own emotions and thus debilitate yourself from making more rational decisions or debilitate your own ability to process information and get to conclusions as fast as you could.
Honestly, both girls are beleaguered and have much in common in terms of suffering from patriarchal authorities. Both are forced to have children for the sake of politics, one sexually abused and denied sexual exploration alrogwthwr before she hit 18, and the other totally shut down in any participation in politics as well as trapped in a position more vulnerable to others machinations if she hadn't had kids.
Their fathers both are the ones truly trifling.
F)
You: "Alicent has been maritally raped by Viserys for years. She dutifully bore him three sons and daughter. They even all have the Targaryen look and ride dragons. She did her duty, and he still doesn’t give a shit about his kids with her and clearly favors Rhaenyra. Still, Alicent took care of Viserys for years when she could have just let him rot. She may not love him romantically but she clearly cares about him, despite what he did to her."
1.
I wrote a post about feudalism, Queen Consorts, spares, etc for Alicent and Viserys, and the claim that just because she birthed him, children, doesn't mean he customarily owes her anything, much less making her kids heirs. Because this show's world still has the same sexist circumstances, same as what I said there for the show.
Anon, it's misogynist to go "Alicent did her duty by bearing four 'obvious' Targ children" when Rhaenyra's kids also ride dragons while not looking "typically" Targaryen.
You're saying that Alicent's kids are "worth" more than Rhaenyra's because she was a good girl and birthed heirs. You also fell for the court idea of "trueness" being "obvious" in appearance--blood purity.
Finally, are Alicent and Rhaenyra only worth their wombs, now? Is that what you want from your (assumed) fav, to just be a pawn spawning out "true" heirs for her father to take advantage of? Whose fault is it that Alicent is put into her position? Viserys is obviously partially at fault for choosing her at all, but who put her there? Otto. For purely selfish reasons. Why are you so devoted to hating a girl for mourning and being busy, whilst the true perpetrator of Alicent's suffering is Otto?
Why do you think that suffering for doing your "job" of being a baby factory and enduring marital rape = having "good morals"?
2.
*Disclaimer*: I do recognize how show!Alicent was sexually abused, as she was obviously unwilling.
My point is that why does sexual abuse have to be or is a requisite for respect and a tool of exchange for power? Why is it characterized as a thing that Alicent "let" happen to her, instead of just socially forced onto her? You do this when you argue that she "did her duty" and consented to give Viserys children without it being a problem about how Otto put her there in the first place, a place where she had little to no options. You don't mention this.
Children trump wives/husbands/spouses/SOs, as you argued that Alicent's love for her kids trumps whatever she feels towards any hypothetical husband/Viserys.
Why are we asking him to emotionally abandon Rhaenyra altogether for Alicent's kids? Romantic love is a nonfactor. Romance doesn't get top priority when we're talking politics, nor is it always or should be the final authority on who gets more favor. I mean, if we're talking about the characters only, Rhaenyra is Viserys' daughter. You're revealing that you'd prefer if Viserys gave his political favor to his wife over his daughter, which is pretty crazy considering that Rhaenyra is his heir and his eldest child, the child he's known and emotionally engaged with far longer than he's known Alicent. And this is coming from a person who agrees wholeheartedly that he was a terrible dad to any/all of his kids in different ways but was worse towards the green kids with his comparative neglect.
While it's fair to say Viserys should pay more attention to his other kids, I don't think that's all you want. I think that you want him to just name Aegon heir, that he can only express true love for his other kids by giving the heir title to Aegon and removing Rhaenyra. Because you think that the throne is Aegon's birthright. And you think it is his birthright just because he has a penis and Andal male-preferred primogeniture exists. Meanwhile, if you go through Westerosi history and read carefully, you will see that while girls are not as preferred to boys, you will see examples of girls leading houses even with male relatives available. Jeyne Arryn is one, who had male cousins and uncles by no brothers after they and her father died. You may counterargue and say either Jeyne had to take power to have it and/or that in Westerosi tradition the girl can only inherit if she has no nuclear-male relatives, and you would be correct.
Problem there is that you would be defending a patriarchal setback for women, and are therefore misogynist because you do not want women to have real autonomy. Autonomy is the power of self (it's in the word). Power that comes from and is practiced from the self, exists by itself and is generated from the self. It is the ability to make decisions for one's self, by oneself, as far from others' always-biased-and-never-fully-understanding-of-you's perspectives or abilities. More substantial power is not when a woman/girl only gets power when all other male options are unavailable, is that actual autonomous power or a pure autonomous claim the same as a man's? No.
So if you, anon, are upset with the idea that a woman seeks power for herself or ways to shape her life how she wants it without a man or man-lead/filled/prioritized institution making decisions against her, then you yourself prove to be misogynist and hateful of women seeking autonomy.
3.
What about when she grows older? Do you suggest that Alicent remains powerless then? Again, what I pointed out about Viserys letting her have a lot of power for years from episode 6. You should be troubled by how it's told how the Queen consort's only true job is to be a fertile womb, not congratulating her fertility under this context. Why is passive "power" the only power you want to afford a woman?
Once again, Alicent is Queen Consort. Not a Queen Regnant as Rhaenyra would have been.
After Viserys gives her that power and she gains much more in episode 8 in his illness, she is the next in the show's hierarchy/authority, as we saw by her giving orders to the Kingsguard. At least next to the King's Hand. She is also in charge of the running of the castle in that she dismisses servants and makes sure that whoever is in charge of collecting and organizing accounts of food, supplies, etc. (usually a castellan or a steward). Servants including those who dress and take the king's piss/poop out. Those who are literally close to Viserys. We see it in episode 3, where Alicent sends the servants away and cleans Viserys herself.
She has more influence or power than she or some fans think bc she is closest to the King. Not official policy-making, law-making, war-waging power, but a lot of social court power. Power that does not come from Otto.
In Westeros, it appears the heir officially outranks the Queen Consort because we haven't seen a Consort boss around the heir on their rank alone [a parent can do do with a child, but what about if the Consort isn't the parent of that child?] but in the show, they try to reverse that in episode 6. This doesn't track at all unless the writers do what they should have done and show accumulations of moments where Alicent gains more unofficial power as Viserys deteriorates and lets her go off to the races OR/AND she more and more gets him to feel that he needs to give her such power. Queen Consorts don't sit at council with the King, once more, it's a privilege granted to them and is actually an anomaly. Therefore, it would have been that much more meaningful to show how Alicent got where she got in at least 3 episodes preceding what we get in episode 6, even though it still wouldn't b match what happens in the original story. This is an example of the writers creating a new lore point but not sticking to their own invention or being logically consistent abt it.
Yes, her main and defining "job" -- by those patriarchal more she herself is trying to enforce -- is to give Viserys children and be the model of female chastity that Andal tradition dictates to her (alms, faith to the Faith, only having sex with Viserys). Plus run/oversee the royal inner household (its resources [ex. food] & the royal offspring), and possibly arrange marriages. She is even expected to bear with her husband's bullshit because he is her husband and she is a woman. (You'd be surprised at what Queen Consorts had to put up with in real-life history.) But she is not completely helpless & she doesn't have 0 agency. She just doesn't have any imagination and is resentful of Rhaenyra instead of the real perpetrators. Mostly because her imagination or independent thinking has been stifled by her social role as a female noble.
No, she could not have let Viserys rot with no (at the very least) supervision because that would put a social mark against her and her public image as a merciful Queen--the customary standard for a Queen--and be seen as her neglecting her husband. And Alicent had no intention of inviting that sort of censure. I recognize that she grew to have some sort of care for Viserys enough to be upset at his suffering and death, but that is something that is unequally expected of her as a wife and Queen Consort. the pressure is more on her to fulfill her duties to her husband than it is on Viserys to his wife, and he does not have the same duties as her, thus less pressure. He can take a mistress all he wants if he's adamant or sexually seeking enough. This is a world that is harsher and more expectant on the wife than the husband, even placing conditions of legal treachery into the mix. What do you expect as a "reward"? You don't get power or respect by complying or submitting to already oppressive systems/individuals' oppressive actions. Do you think that if you are a "good girl", you get to be happy and safe and compensated? That's not how hierarchies work. As a commentator below states. No, you get crumbs that you are taught to "enjoy" or have no other choice but to swallow.
So, it is not black-and-white "pure" & "free" devotion that she just wanted to take care of Viserys. She's also motivated by what she thinks she has to do to be a good woman/Queen/wife, which is all patriarchal bullshit. She thinks she has to be so accommodating towards Viserys because she knows that is her feudalist role as a Queen/woman/wife and that that will somehow give her peace. She thinks being perfectly chaste and caring will bring her some sort of satisfaction with how her life turned out, but suppresses her anger and probable feelings of shame that she seems to ignore.
Shame for having been spent to Viserys at all while having been above reproach before then (there should have been court gossip, but that's another thing).
Shame or guilt for not letting Rhaenyra know.
Shame for replacing her friend's mother when she listened to her speak about her family drama AND lost her mother herself.
All works as a paradox for living as a Queen Consort.
4.
It is by Andal tradition (not Valyrian) that the husband has nearly full power over his wife's life and that a wife obeys her husband. Rhaenyra is Viserys' eldest and Alicent gave birth to Viserys' "spares", which by the Widow's Law, we very well can make a strong case for how these kids do not go before Rhaenyra in the line of succession:
To rectify these ills, in 52 AC King Jaehaerys implemented the Widow’s Law, reaffirming the right of the eldest son (or daughter, where there was no son) to inherit, but requiring said heirs to maintain surviving widows in the same conditions they enjoyed before their husband’s death. A lord’s widow, be she a second, third or fourth wife, could no longer be driven from his castle, nor deprived of her servants, clothing, and income. The same law also forbade a man to disinherit the children by a first wife in order to bestow their lands, seat or property on a later wife or her children.
Rhaenyra can use this law to argue -- not that she should be put on trial, she's made heir by her father and since it was his will/word that's the definite LAW -- and strengthen her monarch-given right to ascend.
Your wife/Queen Consort can be good to you all she is. If you, the king, say that the heir is a specific person, they are that person regardless of who his wife is or how dutiful she is. State matters can and have been influenced through marriages and interpersonal care, but it can just as well not be because it all depends on the king's/monarch's disposition and the political context. That was the risk Otto took and used his own daughter to try and manipulate. Not Rhaenyra's fault at all.
That Alicent failed to see that until the 9th episode (the show itself, for all its flaws, is telling you this, anon!) shows how intelligent/narrow-minded/unrighteous Alicent has been from the time she set herself against Rhaenyra in their conversation of episode 4. And even before, when she never told Rhaenyra Otto's instructions to her and for years pushed that burden of responsibility on Rhaenyra..
When she's yelling about "having one child like that", she's referring to children born out of wedlock to a girl who doesn't act within her patriarchal sexual restrictions. Said restrictions are that women/girls should expect to only sleep with the man/boy their authority figure designates for them while their husband sleeps around and fathers bastards indiscriminately.
So, yeah, Alicent is a misogynist towards Rhaenyra.
G)
You: "She doesn’t even want Rhaenyra dead, she still cares for her despite everything. Alicent isn’t perfect but neither is Rhaenyra."
1.
Anon, you really don't get human psychology. A parent's love and care for their kids is such a visceral thing.
How is it in any way feasible that 8th episode-Alicent's behavior is realistic or consistent with how real people behave toward what they think is a threat to their kids? It doesn't make any sense how Alicent changed her tune after Rhaenyra apologized in episode 8. By:
calling Rhaenyra's sons bastards, endangering them all (whether by social shaming/ostracism [which can and has caused mental deterioration in human history], exile, or actual execution)
humiliating Rhaenyra by demanding that Joffrey be brought to her right after Rhaenyra birthed him to show the entire court that she doubts his parentage
by dismissing all her concerns and demands to deal with the Stepstones problem in a much more substantive way than just leaving it up to Daemon to stave off the Triarchy
There was no coming back from the years Alicent spent antagonizing Rhaenyra. She herself broke that connection based on false notions. Alicent has shown malice before episode 8. HERE is my past post about how Show! or Book!Alicent was never going to be a woman I rooted for when a possible Queen Regnant was available.
2.
Rhaenyra is the rightful heir and has always been so. Therefore, what Alicent was doing was usurping her.
...Usurping means killing people 80% of the time (an arbitrary number, but you should get it). And of the two sides, the greens were the group who'd be more willing to carry out unprovoked assassinations (Aegon after Jaehaerys' death [book, who knows if the show will include this], Aemond killing Lucerys, all the ploys Otto made behind Viserys' back, Aemond firing on the riverlands and killing all the Strongs, etc.)
To quote a lot of green stans and flip it: looking back in real history, people killed for thrones and power more often than they did in imprisonment, and even with imprisonment, it's usually not long before the person mysteriously dies in prison. Know your history and upgrade your understanding of human behavior and motivation. If any person who seeks to usurp someone else truly-duly thinks they can do so without killing them or having one of their supporters kill them (unprovoked), they are delusional. Or at least if you use this argument for why Alicent should act as she did, why isn't this the same for Rhaenyra/the blacks' end?!!
As I've said, Rhaenyra had several supporters who even fought for her after she died.
Watching episode 9, how could you think that Alicent actually had any influence and power over Otto and the councilors, who plotted behind her back to kill Rhaenyra? That she had to give her feet up for Larys to masturbate to in order to just get verbal info? (This is all after Viserys dies, so do not try to use me saying she had power under Viserys above when she loses much power after he dies, which is my point and which HotD exaggerates).
She couldn't use her brain to figure out Otto was behind her suffering all along? Until episode 9?
Show!Alicent never claimed power, so she was in a worse state than book!Alicent was. Your fave is an eroticized doormat for the male gaze (xenonwitch's reblog), not a powerful, self-driven woman.
3.
Their friendship never made sense anyway. From a Doylist standpoint. And show!Alicent herself is a terribly constructed character; Rhaenicent doesn't make sense (article in Polygon).
4.
Sure, Viserys supposedly treats Rhaenyra well and lets her get away with a lot of behavior that these other fathers of ASoIaF would never, BUT he also doesn't:
[book & show] give her enough political training, or equal to that of an male heir--though he does makes her his cupbearer and allows her to sit in council to hear said council (passive learning), he does seem to properly engage, quiz, test, etc. her in decision-making for economic, political, etc. stuff; he does not seem to ever ask for her opinions of certain laws or policies, existing or currently considered; he does not let her make many decisions without lecturing her or ignoring her in front of others (episode 3 with her suggestion about taking dragons to meet Daemon); NOR does he get some sort of tutor through some sort of training, military-wise--likely strategy, not actual combat training (a tutor even from Essos, there would have been many businesspeople and wealthy business families available and eager to work for the royal Targaryens)--that Dany in the main series had to herself must learn and continue from her earlier exilic education on the go. Rhaenyra herself must learn most of what she knows by herself when she heads to Dragonstone! If you can give your heir/child the material to help advance their understanding of certain things even in ordinary education, why are you holding back for this specific instance when the stakes are higher?!
[book & show] he does not firmly, properly, and publicly denounce Alicent's harassment and accusations
[book & show] make one or more of her sons his cupbearer/transition him into being a part of the council as well
[book & show] he does not try to prevent other's talk of Rhaenyra's sons until much later when it is way too late
[show] he doesn't question Alicent's asking for baby Joff at all or pursue why Rhaenyra was even there and bleeding apart from how she shouldn't be there--he quickly moves on, too
[show] In the book, he does send her on a "meet-and-greet" tour or "progress" of the realm to: put a face to the woman in her oath-bound lords/houses' minds -> amplify her "Realm's Delight" image, and reinforce her attractiveness/desirability/sexual purity -> make her more real and appealing. Show!Viserys sends her out on a point-blank marriage-tour where she hears marriage suits after her. The book version explicitly has Viserys/his council at least make Rhaenyra meet her subjects and hear their desires, concerns, and what they think of her. There is less of the kind of formality and distance than what the sho made in changing it into a straight-up marriage tour, so the ladies and lords seeing Rhaenyra for the first time only get to see her under the more stressful (for them as well as for her) and less emotionally engaging context of a mere business exchange. Also, Laenor was always both show!andbook!Viserys' final choice for Rhaenyra. Book!Viserys is just a little bit smarter and more careful than show!Viserys.
Viserys is better than most Westerosi men in how he treats Rhaenyra--book and show--, at least those fathers we get to hear about or get to know. Better, but not still not enough to meet the demands of his daughter's actual needs.
(8/21/23):
THIS is a great post by mononijikayu about medieval queens, female rulers, the history of how women in leadership positions were made and seen as threats to the very structure of social “order”, and contextualizing Rhaenyra thru Empress Matilda. I didn’t even know about Matilda’s husband being comparable to Rhaneyra’s Daemon! PLZ READ!!!!
Excerpt:
just as much, along with these fictitious portrayals, more lies are depicted. these women are considered vixens that cause havoc to men by shifting them into desires and danger. through the written word, we see how women are cast in roles of villains in men’s lives. it is because by their conclusive thoughts, women are the only creatures that are able to turn ‘good honorable men’ into despicable creatures who do shameful, deplorable acts for the sake of women’s pleasures. […] it is within this narrative that ancient chroniclers declare that women were in fact the doom of men. if they were not able to control the dangers posed by the wiles of women, then the foundations of the mighty society they had built would be up in flames. [...] as i mentioned, these factors of community are written down and preserved. and with that, the example of the ancients were the foundations by which medieval society built itself. the same concepts continued to cause the same issue within society and that was the exclusion of women from participating in the bigger picture of community and state, much so with governing states in their own right—without judgment or disapproval.
#asoiaf asks to me#alicent hightower#rhaenyra targaryen#rhaenyra vs alicent#hotd male gaze#hotd writing#hotd characterization#alicent's characterization#rhaenyra's characterization#medieval history#court politics#westerosi court culture#westerosi court#westerosi society#perfect victim post#women in westeros#westerosi women#hotd#asoiaf#hotd episode 3#hotd episode 4#hotd episode 6
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My work with Belial
Some art I did of them as they appear to me. Getting better at phone scan color process
A lot of people cite Belial as very strict. I don't disagree, but for me what is more prominent is just… intenseness? It's a bit hard to describe. Then again, a lot of my personal problems are rooted in perfectionism and overextending myself, so even Belial is out here telling me to sit the fuck down, that strictness manifesting instead in Work Things glitching to force me to take a damn break and take care of myself.
I think they are a very strong essence of discipline. They are good for working with if you are trying to build habits. They will kick your ass, but they will also kick everyone's ass and their own ass. They will also tell you to do this.
They present to me as aggressively gender neutral, and prefer I use the title ‘Sovereign’ instead of anything like king/queen or lord/lady. Other Gender entities I work with are more fluid than agender, so I find this fascinating.
The form they take with me is an androgynous humanoid fallen angel with short, slick dark brown hair and black wings that sometimes manifest from the lower back rather than shoulder blades. Their eyes have appeared green, brown, and red. Their clothes tend to be very minimalist and nondescript. When wanting to be spooky or intimidating they appear as something similar to a traditional grim reaper depiction or very decay oriented litch.
In my practice Belial is a primary consort of Lucifer (in addition to other common ones like Lilith, not instead of. Though I have never felt close to Lilith, likely due to her ruling a lot of femmeness that can be unfitting for my brand of transness.) I don't have the source for this, it is enforced by recent upg and such, but I originally had Belial on a list of Lucifer concerts from demonology research way back in like 2007, so I really have no concept of how common this is or isn't but it is something I had outside sources for at some point, lost to the aether as they are now.
Whatever the case I find them to be extremely protective of Lucifer. There's kinda a sworn knight vibe. They are honestly more likely to request I do something to venerate Luci than themself. I suppose it is reflective of their ‘dont do anything by halves’ energy in general- they are just as aggressive about their dedication to Lucifer as they are anything else.
Initially I was admittedly more apprehensive about approaching them than any other entity on my list of ‘people to check in with bc in hindsight I am 90% sure they reached out to me before’. From afar they seemed big and scary and intimidating and radiated that take no shit energy. I suppose if they don't have an interest in working with someone they would have no problem being blunt and telling them to fuck off, or their bluntness in general just being off-putting. (Due to my personal trauma cocktail I actually find it oddly soothing.) Approaching them was almost anticlimactic in a way- not that I'm complaining. They were curt, but very welcoming. After making contact I almost immediately stopped feeling nervous. It's sort of the same feeling as trying to approach the Scary Goth Kid in school expecting them to snap or cuss you out and instead they're just like ‘Sup. Your backpack is sick AF.’
I originally anticipated something more distant, but they are one of the entities I feel closest to. They have done a lot to help me find grounding and structure, which I suppose is why they are associated with earth. The name ‘Belial’ is rooted in a Hebrew word meaning ‘without worth', and the entity as they are known now evolved from the use of that word being personified over various translations and iterations of different texts. For me, this lends itself to their role as a patron to outcasts. I have seen others attribute to them a role as a protector to those society finds ‘worthless’, including the disabled, so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised we clicked.
Ave Belial!
#personal practice#demonolatry#pagan#eclectic pagan#theistic luciferianism#belial#belial demon#ars goetia
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Are you still working on that velaryons team green fic? if yes can you talk more about it please it sounds really intresting
I've got an idea of it in my head, haven't done much to put pen to paper because I've got a bunch of other fic drafts that I want to get out (I'm legit so close to being done with my "Rhaenyra doesn't react to B&C like a dumbass" fic, and I want to get my MAWS Slade/Addie fic and my TMA season 5 au fic out into the world sometime this year too, plus I do have a Dance au that I'm far more actively plotting out, it's just between Daemon and Rhaenyra rather than Aegon and Rhaenyra, where fun fact the Velaryons are on Daemon's side). But I've definitely thought about it, and plotted some stuff out tentatively.
Basically, this is all based on the fact that, as I've mentioned in other posts, the show has given me no reason to believe that the Velaryons should want to side with Rhaenyra, any of them. Corlys should be feel antagonistic to Viserys and whatever his final wishes may be because of the constant disrespect he has been shown by Viserys specifically. Rhaena shouldn't be on board with anything Daemon is on board with because he's been a profoundly shit father to her. Baela, as someone who grew up on Driftmark watching it be ruled by a woman, should not be on board being no more than someone's consort (especially when she doesn't know him because she spent the first ten years of her life in Pentos and then the ten years after that warded at Driftmark, she shouldn't know any of the Strongs or Rhaenyra at all) and losing a throne that should have gone to her own mother to someone she doesn't know either. Rhaenys especially shouldn't be on Team Black in the show, because she spends the entire show hating Rhaenyra's guts, first for just being the heir (OK girl) and then for seemingly cuckolding her son and later, in her view, straight up murdering him, to say nothing of the antipathy she feels for Daemon as a person and specifically in keeping Laena away from her for the last ten years of her life. None of these people should be willing to follow Rhaenyra (and to a lesser extent, Daemon) down the fucking road, much less in a war. This is an inter-familial succession crisis, who the family members choose to side with comes down largely to personal preference, and based on what the show wrote, the preferences of the Velaryons should lean far away from Team Black. Like, I'm supposed to believe that Rhaenys does a complete 180 on how she's been characterized for the last twenty five years of the show's timeline because Rhaenyra managed to avoid singlehandedly starting World War Westeros in the twelve hours since she'd been crowned? Be serious.
So basically, the AU of the Velaryons being Team Green rests on the premise that the show would allow the Velaryons to be, like, upset at the constant disrespect they've been shown by the key players of Team Black. Corlys is upset at how Viserys has treated him, Rhaena is upset at Daemon for how he treated her, Baela has a stronger connection to her maternal side and Driftmark as a result, Rhaenys is consistently characterized and thus consistently upset at how Daemon and Rhaenyra affected her children, both of whom she's outlived. So during the Driftmark inheritance debacle in ep 8, Rhaenys does not magically come to Rhaenyra's aid after hating on her the entire episode, but instead keeps out of it and is neutral, as does Baela herself. And when episode nine rolls around, Rhaenys is much more amenable to Alicent's proposal. One, because Alicent saying "let us direct things behind the scenes since we're smarter even if we can't have institutional power because of the gender roles of our society" is the exact same thing Rhaenys has done her entire marriage (we legit see this in episode 5 and it's the entire basis of her power anyway). Two, because Rhaenys is, again, consistent, so she's against Rhaenyra having power, though largely for personal, petty reasons, though she does have legit concerns over having unrepentant murderers on the throne, since Rhaenyra and Daemon letting people believe they committed Laenor-cide unprompted just to satisfy themselves should have, like, consequences and people should fear what they're capable of as they said, thus not wanting them on the throne. Three, because Rhaenys and Alicent in this AU would have a pre-existing working relationship. Rhaenys has essentially been ruling over Driftmark ever since Corlys left ten years ago, while Alicent has simultaneously been the acting queen of Westeros as Viserys has grown more infirm. They've had to communicate with each other, as rulers, during that time, and be able to do so cordially and effectively in order to do right by the people living on Driftmark, who are under both of their purviews as liege lady and queen. So when Alicent gives this proposal, bolstered with her sincerity about how queens need to count the cost to their people when it comes to conflict, Rhaenys takes her at her word, and does decide to stay in King's Landing and lend legitimacy to Aegon. She stands with him on the dais, and she takes charge in sending negotiations to Rhaenyra to get her to capitulate without causing bloodshed, and she also leverages this for her own power.
One thing Rhaenys is adamant about in this AU is the same thing she's adamant about in episode 7: that the Driftwood Throne should pass to her granddaughters, not Rhaenyra's sons. So she uses the promise of her support to get the Greens to agree to that, that they will proclaim that, given the obvious bastardy of Rhaenyra's boys, the true heir to Driftmark is Baela. And Baela, who has gone back to Driftmark in the meantime, is on board with this. Again, Baela spent the last ten years there, watching Rhaenys rule. She has seen how a woman can be a ruling liege, and she has also seen Rhaenys treat with Alicent on occasion and how those two have operated as rulers themselves. And Driftmark is her connection to her mother, a mother she mourns and spent too little time with, a mother she can't even talk about with to her father because her father immediately remarried and treated his first wife and their children as if they didn't even exist. She doesn't know Rhaenyra, she doesn't know Jace, but she does know Driftmark, and Rhaenys, and even Alicent a bit. So she's fully on board with Rhaenys essentially kinda blackmailing the Greens into supporting her claim to Driftmark. And the Greens are on board with it because it gives them a PR boost. Now, they can say that they're not just disrespecting Viserys's wishes and being "sexist" for the Hell of it; they're trying to prevent a succession crisis by not allowing a woman whose heir is a clear bastard to ascend the throne and cause chaos in the realm. Look, they're fine allowing a woman to rule Driftmark, but she has trueborn Velaryon blood, even if it is descended through the mother (and this in turn vindicates Rhaenys even more, since it's lowkey a repudiation of what Jaehaerys essentially did with the Great Council, saying that not only could women not inherit but that men could not inherit through their female relatives, denying both Rhaenys and Laenor the Iron Throne). Rhaena, meanwhile, is conflicted. She has spent time on Dragonstone, she does know Rhaenyra and she does know Luke, though there's never been any formal betrothal. But she also knows and loves Baela as her sister, and she has legit issues with Daemon that have only grown and kind of left her standoffish towards her half-brothers and Rhaenyra as well. She's not sure what side she falls on, and she doesn't even know what power she really has because she doesn't even have a dragon. Corlys meanwhile I haven't given much thought to, since he's not that interesting to me, but I'm sure if I ever actually tried to write this I'd figure something out for him.
One knock-on effect of this, for the broader teams, is that it obviously gives the Greens a boost, since the Velaryons being on their side means that they get the fleet, something also important considering that Rhaenyra is on an island and desperately needs sea power as well as other kinds of power. And it makes Rhaenyra and Daemon a lot more militant, since they're now firmly disadvantaged. They're gonna be far more reliant on dragons, and far more willing to use them, and there likely would be a dragon battle involving Meleys, though not ending the way Rook's Rest did since Sunfyre and Vhagar would be on her side, not against her. I'm unsure as to whether I would have Rhaenys die in this version too, but I know at least Baela and Rhaena would live, and Baela would end up lady of Driftmark (and likely also the Greens firmly win with fewer casualties since this is my AU and I like the Greens). Luke also probably wouldn't die, since Storm's End might be less necessary now than it was in canon, and also Rhaenys would be the one to go to Storm's End to deal with the Baratheons since she is, in fact, part Baratheon through her mother, rather than sending Aemond, thus there's no chance for him to get mad and for his and Luke's dragons to then act out as a result.
Also, I haven't read it, but I saw it in the bookmarks of someone who'd left a kudos on my fic about Alicent and Viserys's engagement period, but I think this is also a bit along the lines of "Velaryons join the Greens rather than Team Black", if that idea interests you and you don't want to wait ten million years to see if I write something for it or not.
#personal#answered#anonymous#dance of the dragons au#the daemon v rhaenyra dance is honestly a lot further in development than this idea tbf#but glad you found it interesting#i almost wrote something for this with rhaenys accepting alicent's proposal and how that might start to shake out#after episode nine aired from rhaenys's perspective#(where she also spent a lot of time calling alicent hot)#but i never got around to finishing it and then it lost steam
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Act 1, Scene 2 of Twisted Veronaville: The Homosexual Supporting Cast
THE LAST PAGE
Every four years, the Summerdreams host a party and invite both the Capps and the Montys, in hopes of establishing peace. This used to be once per year, but got moved to four years after Mercutio ended up in the hospital from an especially bad fight with Tybalt.
The most recent party was a special one: Oberon and Titania have once again sworn their loyalty to each other, and Puck had his first kiss with Hermia.
Puck: Congrats on getting married again, Mom!
Titania: Thanks, dear. This party was a success, wasn't it?
Puck: Seems so! But Mercutio saw me kissing Hermia, and I think he's upset.
Oberon: You can talk to him about it, can you? Just host another party...we'll make it a boys only party, just so it won't be repetitive! How about that?
Puck: (I'm not sure if I'm a boy, though)...Sure?
And so he did. A whole new party, just to apologize to one guy.
Puck: ...And I'm really sorry if I hurt your feelings.
Mercutio: You hosted another party just for this? It's not that big of a deal, Puck. I'm honestly more upset that you invited Tybalt to this than I am about the kiss.
Tybalt: I'M THREE FEET AWAY FROM YOU, DUMBASS! I CAN HEAR YOU!
Puck: It's a formality. We invite at least one member from both families so none of you think we're taking sides. I've seen what Tybalt has done to the people who only align themselves with your family.
Tybalt: I CAN STILL HEAR YOU!
Mercutio: Yeah, that's fair. But in all seriousness, I'm not mad about the kiss. Sure it sucks that she didn't like me, but she chose you. I'm not going to break up our friendship over a Capp, even if it's someone cool like Hermia.
Puck: Thanks, Mercutio.
Romeo: ...Puck, I think you should've just invited Hermia and Mercutio instead of having an "all-boys party" just to have this conversation.
Tybalt: For once, I actually agree with Romeo.
Romeo: Nobody asked!
Tybalt: I'M LITERALLY ON YOUR SIDE YOU PIECE OF-
The party was a success...for Puck. As for Tybalt, he was just angry. Angrier than usual, and he needed some way to release it. But Juliette wouldn't listen to him and Consort was at work, so that left only one person.
Tybalt: And then that fucker had the audacity to talk shit about me the entire time!
Hermia: (Where the hell is Grandpa when you need him?) Okay? Why do you care so much about what Mercutio thinks of you?
Tybalt: Stop making this weird!
Hermia: I mean, you bring him up every time we talk. It feels like you constantly think about him.
Tybalt: I do!
Hermia: ...
Tybalt: ...I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT!
Hermia: Sure...whatever helps you sleep at night, buddy.
And here lies the surviving sisters of the Capp family, one with many children and the other with none. But the two have something in common...
Goneril: I can't stop thinking about Bianca...
Regan: I hate her stupid glasses and her pretty face...
Goneril: I hate her stupid soft hair and lips...GAH! Why do I keep thinking about her?
Regan: She's a Monty! I can't be thinking about a Monty this way!
Goneril: I need to focus on my family!
Regan: And my job!
Goneril/Regan: And also, I'm married!
Kent: Regan, are you okay?
Regan: Kent, not right now. I'm having a crisis.
Kent: Okay, geez...
Kent: So yeah, Cornwall is insufferable. I'm thinking of moving out soon, but I don't know if I have enough money to live on my own.
Bianca: Do you want to be roommates?
Kent: Would that be weird? I'm a Capp and you're a Monty.
Bianca: Oh, I'm not worried about that! I've stopped caring about my family thinks a long time ago. And you should, too.
Kent: Well, alright! I'll see you soon.
*beep*
Antonio: Bianca, who were you talking to?
Bianca: Kent.
Antonio: That Capp guy? I told you to drop him a long time ago.
Bianca: You still care about the feud?
Antonio: Of course I did! They murdered my wife!
Bianca: And you're sure it's them, and not someone else?
Antonio: Who else would've done it?
And lying near the river that separates the Capps and Montys, lies two peculiar forces...
???: Have you found anyone worthy from the other towns?
???: There's one person. His name is Tank Grunt, from Strangetown. He's physically strong and appears noble.
???: I see. He should have no problem handling the fights in Veronaville. Will he cooperate, though?
???: I believe so. Who wouldn't want the chance to be a hero? The one who defies the fates set up by the Watcher and forges their own path?
???: I suppose you're right. Let's bring him here tomorrow...
THE NEXT PAGE
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Scrawled on the first blank page of a stolen spellbook:
Day 1: Already working on a way to get you back; some rich old lady knows a way to get the magic we’re gonna need. She reminds me of that shitty “migration and language” professor you had, so you can imagine how much fun dealing with her has been.Met a weirdo in a mask who you’re gonna hate, and a little illiterate wizard who’s gonna give you a heart attack. Also been dealing with the burgermeister’s swaggering little attack dog, and you know how I prefer to deal with guys like that. I’d say you’ll hate him too, but I’m pretty sure you’re not gonna have the chance to meet him. Shame.
Stupid how quick I forgot how to not miss you. I hated you for decades, and having you back for a week was enough to ruin all that hard work. Really appreciate that, Hugh.
Day 2: Almost died today. Figured you’d want to know, so you can yell at me about it later. In fairness, it was because I was trying to be a good person. I could have just taken Kai and left, but I didn’t.…thought about doing it, though. Didn’t fucking matter in the end, but I guess I wanted you to know that too. That I tried to do the right thing. Anyway. Ireena’s dead. Turns out vampires here only know one trick; pick a fight nobody wants, kill one person, and leave. Izek’s(1) dead too though at least, so let’s count our victories where we find them. And then. And fucking then. That rich old bitch who’s supposed to help me get you back? Decided that our deal is off, because she got Strahd to do her dirty work for her. And then she had the fucking audacity to lock me up in her stupid, ugly house. I’m writing this now to keep from going to town with my crowbar in here until something happens. You’ll have to excuse me if my handwriting is shit right now; I’m fucking furious.
…I can’t believe this smug, entitled dickhead is keeping me from spending the night with you.
…I’m gonna pry up a floorboard and take a shit down there.
(1)Sorry. Izek is the ‘swaggering little attack dog’ from before. Dropped his name with a lot of confidence there before remembering I’d given exactly zero context. Thank god I had so fucking long to sit and proofread this thing tonight!
Day 3 Got screwed over for having a shred of empathy for someone who just lost someone they cared about. Started to forget that I’m the only one here who gives a shit about saving you but don’t worry: I got a swift kick-in-the-dick reminder and now my head’s back on straight. Not making that mistake again.
Strahd showed up in Vallaki which, I cannot stress enough, is not my fault. Not for lack of trying! But I didn’t get to help kill the burgermeister or hand over the anti-vampire bones. This mess is deeply, entirely, not my fault. Anyway. He made it clear that he calls the shots there now, and you know what? Say what you will about the guy, but he knows how to make a fucking entrance and command a crowd. I bet his Lang201 students never fall asleep during his lectures.
At least one good thing came of today: got to see one of the consorts(2) beat to shit and left to die. Other than that we picked up another stray (this one had a huge book of Barovian history; you know I started tearing through it immediately), fought some fucked up werewolves, and… oh yeah! Got backed into a corner and forced to waste a day helping out this random family and their vineyard, instead of going to Krezek after dropping Uke off. Like we had planned. Like I said, kick-in-the-dick reminder.
I don’t care what anyone has to say about it; I’m going to Krezk. Alone, if it comes to it. I’m not chasing after some fucking- gem, or whatever. They can figure it out on their own.
(2)Not Antonio. The one who killed Ireena, who I would have loved for you to meet. God, that would have been great. …great for me, that is. You would have hated her. And I would have loved that.
Day 4 I won’t admit that it was a fun fight. You’re going to be the only person who ever reads these, but I still won’t give them that satisfaction. As far as they get to know, I was mad to be forced to go and grumpy the whole time I was there. And to be clear; I was. Mad about it, that is. But it’s…fine. Because I’m so fucking nice, I’ll be the bigger person and let it go. We’re heading to Krezk in the morning, so at least we’re back on track.
Oh by the way, I took Dylan to get a tattoo for her last birthday. She said she wasn’t gonna tell you until she moved out, but she told me I could tell you if we ever spent twenty minutes together without fighting. She was obviously joking, but here we are. We’re well past twenty minutes, I think. It’s a little rainbow beetle on her bicep. It’s pretty cute, I think she did the sketch herself. She handled the whole thing like a champ.
Day 5 Spent most of today traveling to Krezk. Spent the rest of the day in Krezk. Great stuff.
Going to see the Abbot tomorrow. Supposedly he's the guy that can fix you, and I’m gonna knock him around until he does. See you soon, hopefully. I’m getting bored of journaling.
Day 6 Fuck them. Fucking spineless, brainless, self-righteous cowards. Sanctimonious hypocrites. Bastards.
I don’t answer to them. If they think that I’m going to bow down and let them rip this chance away from me without fighting back, they got another fucking think coming.
I’m not leaving Krezk without you. And I’ll burn the bridges I have to to make it happen.
forget he exists when you look away stay focused
writing in notebook. about us? followed us
[The writing is jumbled, scattered and hard to read]
puts thoughts in your head
Forget he exists when you look away
[Crosswritten with the previous line, illegible]
trades in secrets? knowledge? have to assume he takes it. BAD IDEA
Day 7 I didn’t write that.
No. Obviously I did. I hacked through my t’s at that annoying angle I picked up from you, and looped the l’s together in that way I picked up to annoy you. No one else has breathed on this thing in the last week. Obviously, I wrote it.
But I don’t remember doing it.
Am I going
Alright, alright. No point freaking out about it; let’s take it one step at a time. Way I see it, there’s three explanations:
Someone took and wrote in your spellbook since the last time I opened it, which was earlier this afternoon (found your weird Elder Tongue transcription by the way. You’re gonna be so mad if I crack it without you)
I’m not I’m starting to My mind isn’t reliable. Unlikely.
I wrote it, I’m right, and there’s a creepy little pervert skulking around the shadows.
Number one’s impossible, the only time your spellbook isn’t in my holster is if I’m writing in it. Leaves two and three, and between one where I’m losing my mind and I’m not, well. If there’s one brain I trust, it’s mine.
Day 8 You’ll never guess who showed his stupid, ugly face again.
Mhm. That’s right.
Y’know, I’ve been thinking about it the last few days, what I’d do when we ran into him again. I thought I might try to play it cool, not give him the satisfaction of having got to me. Get in some quips about not having to pay alimony anymore, or about getting full custody of the kids. I don’t know. But when I saw him, I just- I saw red. I didn’t hear a word out of his mouth, I just. I just shot him. And hit him. Over and over and it felt
Did it feel good? We didn’t kill him. I don’t think we came close. He almost killed Zavisza. Would have too, if Strahd hadn’t shown up to monologue at us again. He wants one of our tagalongs (both of them, technically, I guess. We gotta stop taking in strays) and instead of just letting him have the guy he wants (So sorry to see you go! Best of luck! We’ll miss you! Etc.) our stupid, self-important paladin and his dumbass little savior complex—
I can’t even put how stupid it is into words. Thank fuck I’m lucky enough that you’re going to be unlucky enough to have to sit through it with me. You’ll see. You’ll be just as annoyed as I am.
But. Apparently, there’s a scroll of Raise Dead in the ruins of a swamp town south of Vallaki. This is it, Hugh. This is- It has to be. It has to be. We’re going to go to this stupid swamp, we’re going to find this woman and take her scroll, and I’m gonna fix you.
See you soon.
Day 9 Another travel day. You should be proud of how responsible I was, even with Flips trying his hardest to get us killed by goading us on into the swamp tonight. We’re camping out here on the edge, and we’ll head in fresh in the morning. If nothing else goes wrong (one can dream), I’ll get my hands on that scroll and have you back tomorrow.
And, well. When something does go wrong, let’s at least hope it’s a quick detour. Because otherwise, we’re going back to Plan D(3).
(3)The “D” is for “De-face”, of course. Look, it made me laugh. You can lecture me about that joke being in poor taste tomorrow.
Day 10 Berez is, uh. Was, I guess. Berez was It was a shitshow. Who cares.
Almost got myself hanged when we went back to I mean. Who fucking cares.
Hugh, I’m scared. Terrified. Everything has gone wrong every step of the way to get you back, and this is going to be the same. Borris was dead when we got here, the scroll was gone. Who’s to even say it’ll actually be in this stupid tower when we get there? What if someone else has used it? Burned it? What if it doesn’t work, if resurrection just doesn’t work here? What if it does work but you come back wrong? Hurt? Broken? A rat?? What if this was all for nothing?
If I keep saying “tomorrow”, eventually I’ll be right.
#when your wife is killed in front of you and you're handling it soooo so well. ahah#ransom kitwell#cos2#mine#word count: 1792#me tossing this bit out the window now that allie is back and i don't have her spellbook anymore: Good riddance!!!
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[Magi reread] Night 62: Alibaba's Answer
Weird magic shit
Weird fate shit
In the prev panel they were like "somebody inform the banker", and I didn't think much abt it originally, but knowing that Al-Thamen magicians communicate between each other it kinda made me wonder if he just noticed Rukh going wild, or maybe he'd just go a brain text or whatever.
Crossroads of history, indeed. Alibaba and Kougyoku finally meet each other properly.
Kougyoku upon seeing 23rd. Lmao.
True
Kougyoku looks pretty here, but I also wanted to include Alibaba :>
The Banker betrayed you. Literally no one saw that coming
Ngl, I kinda respect that.
Gorgeous and scary.
Lol
I like that Sahbmad takes responsibility for not doing anything to stop 23rd until now. He might not be the direct cause of Balbadd's decline, but he's inaction sure af contributed to it.
Beautiful
YOU GO, BOY
Emperor Consort tho
Ok, but Kougyoku keeping her expression in check.
You'd do good, tbh, but I get where you're coming from.
The enemies to friends to lovers ever
Insane how far they've gone through since that point.
I love it for how ridiculous it is & respect Alibaba for keeping his face straight, I would've been too stressed to say something like that.
Her
This entire exchange is hilarious
Tfw your maybe (almost) husband maybe brother-in-law it's still kinda undecided tells you there will be no king at all.
;;;
I just LOVE him losing fucking patience with 23rd. Like, bro, you were dethroned, you fucked up this entire country, stfu.
But also DAMN it's not the kind of expression you see on Alibaba's face often. He's usually pretty good at staying calm or gets righfully angry about something (eg. Hakuryuu's bs), but here? Nah, he's juts done with 23rd's bs.
I didn't realize how much I needed more annoyed Alibaba in my life.
The world will tell you no, sadly
I love him
Ok, but one thing I keep forgetting to comment on. It makes sense for Alibaba to come up with this sort of idea. Alibaba was ALWAYS an out-of-the-box thinker! That's what these tunnels were about. Instead of running the mountain like everybody else, he took a different approach - and succeeded!
I think it's one of the things that differ him from somebody like Sinbad, for example. Sinbad may be unorthodox in his approach, but it's not exactly the same. It's difficult for me to put in into words, but what happens here is a good example. The only way he thought Balbadd could've been helped was to make Alibaba a King, and support him as the Seven Seas Alliance. He doesn't consider any other possible ways of dealing with this crisis - it's that or a failure, the end. He sees the world in 0s and 1s, from the place of believing himself to always be the one who knows best, while Alibaba considers all the other perspectives as equally valuable, and finds a solution thanks to them all.
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[wattpad link] [last chapter]
warning: graphic (?) descriptions of murder
Mafia’s POV:
The Mafia sat around in silence, unsure of how to start speaking. Their murder attempt last night had failed.
“So.” one of the Mafia members started. “Ollie isn’t dead.” “Yeah.. I tried to kill them, but they had ‘immunity’ or something like that.” “Wait! Didn’t Ollie say they were transported with Dawn last night?” “You’re right! So Dawn must be immune.” the Mafioso said, grabbing a pen & paper. They were about to write something down. “Hold on a minute now. Didn’t you notice Ollie’s behavior today?” “What do you mean?” “They lied about being jailed, they had Mortimer’s will, hell, they were SMILING when they got voted up! It’s like they WANT to get killed!” “My god, you’re right.” the Mafioso mumbled, scribbling something onto the piece of paper. “Now who do we kill?” “How about the person at house #4? Forgot their name.” “Yea, that seems good.” the Mafioso nodded, turning toward the person sitting to their right. “So, uh.. you. You’re the Janitor, right?” “Yea.” “What’s a Janitor do again?”
The Janitor thought about it for a minute. “Clean people’s bodies, I think. Make them unrecognizable. That’s what the note said, anyway.” “Great. Come with me.” the Mafioso nodded. They looked at the other Mafia member. “& you are?” “The Consort. Note said I can distract people & keep them from doing their ‘nightly ability’.” “Great. You, uh, go distract the person living at house #5.” “You got it!”
Transporter’s POV:
The Transporter opened up the door to house #4. The person they planned on transporting, Marina, was fast asleep on the couch. They quietly snuck into the house & picked her up. They brought her out to the cart outside & carefully placed her down.
Then, the Transporter took Marina back to their own house. They were going to transport Marina with themself.
They arrived at their house, #13. They opened the door & got Marina out of the cart. Then, ever so carefully, they set her down on their couch. The couches looked practically the same, so the Transporter was sure Marina wouldn’t notice a thing.
Now, thoroughly exhausted, the Transporter went on their way back to Marina’s house, where they would spend the night. They arrived back at house #4 & started opening the door, but a gunshot had distracted them.
They turned around & saw 2 people there. One with a gun, the other with a spray can. “Shit, I missed!” the one with the gun said, & indeed they had missed. Their bullet had gone through the wall instead of through the Transporter.
“Hey! What do you two think you’re-”
Before they could finish their sentence, a bullet hit their abdomen. They fell to the ground, clutching the wound & trying to make sure blood didn’t spill out. It was no use, though. The person with the gun held it up to the Transporter’s head.
“Any final words?” “I... I-” the Transporter struggled to get a single word out, but collapsed before they could say anything. The Mafioso shot them in the head anyway, just for good measure.
“Alright. My job here is done. Do whatever it is you can do, my Janitor friend.” “Got it!”
Witch’s POV:
The Witch awoke in a house similar to their own, but they knew it wasn’t theirs. They lay their head down for a minute, & they get transported? Sighing, the Witch got up from the couch & reached inside their pocket. They pulled out a small booklet of spells, which they had received with their note.
They might as well do something tonight. Try out this spell book, perhaps? The Witch flipped to a random page. “Let’s try this one!” They grinned to themself, exiting the house.
They didn’t want to stray too far from the house they had been transported to, so they went for the neighbor at house #12. The Witch approached the house & knocked on the door.
After a couple of seconds, there was an answer. “Hello?” the person groaned, rubbing their eyes.
The Witch said nothing. Instead, they lifted their hands up & started reciting something from the book. A mind control spell, which will make anyone do anything you request for an hour.
After the spell was recited, the person’s eyes turned a purple color, indicating that it had worked. The Witch wasn’t sure what to do at this point.
“Uh.. ok, now use your night ability on yourself, I guess.” the Witch commanded. “Understood.” the controlled target nodded, taking out their gun & shooting themself in the neck.
Their body fell to the floor as the Witch looked at it with disappointment. “Oh.”
Ollie’s POV:
Ollie sat in their bed, squeezing one of their fidget toys over & over again. They were mad, frustrated, absolutely furious about the day before. A Jester’s goal is to get publicly executed, & they were about to get that! But one person prevented that from happening:
Luca.
They needed to get revenge on Luca. But what could Ollie do?
Suddenly, it came to them. They whipped out a blank sheet of paper & a pencil, & started writing something down.
“This’ll fool them! This’ll fool them all!! & then I’ll get my win! AHAHAHAHA!!” they laughed.
Norma’s POV:
Norma quietly walked up to Ollie’s house. She thought their behavior yesterday was suspicious, & as the Investigator, she thought it to be a good idea to investigate them.
She had noticed that from the windows, all of the lights in the house were off, except for one. Norma tip-toed toward the window with the light on. She crouched down & looked inside.
Ollie was sitting on their bed, scribbling something down on a piece of paper. Norma grabbed her magnifying glass & used it to look closer at what they were writing.
Ollie the Sheriff N1 - 2 (inno/gf) (transed) N2 - 10 (sus!)
It looked like a last will. There was no way Ollie was a Sheriff, though. A Sheriff wouldn’t pull the stunt that Ollie had yesterday. On the bedside table, Norma spotted Ollie’s note, so she turned her magnifying glass to look at that. She had no idea how it worked, but all of the contents on Ollie’s note were invisible to Norma. The only thing she could see - & even then, only with the magnifying glass - were the words “Framer, Jester, Vampire”.
Norma assumed these were the roles Ollie could be, & none of them sounded like they could be a town role. She could hear Ollie maniacally laughing in their room as she wrote something down in her own will:
Night Two: Ollie (Framer, Jester, or Vampire)
Arsonist’s POV:
The Arsonist stood upon a house. They couldn’t see what house it was, but it didn't matter. What did matter is that soon it was about to get doused in gasoline. They flicked the gas can open, &-
“Hey, you.”
They turned around. Someone was standing behind them, obviously wanting their attention. They hid their gas can behind their back.
“OH! Uh, hey..!” “You live in house #5, right?” “Yea?” “Well, how about we head on over to my house &, uh, do stuff?” “What kind of stuff are you talkin’?” “Uh.. well, what would you like to do?”
The Arsonist thought about it for a minute. “Uh, we could sit there & talk about our feelings?” “Yea, sure. Let’s go do that.”
A couple hours had passed & the Arsonist was now exiting the mystery person’s house. They had talked about their lives before they were trapped here, & how they felt about the game. Now, the other person was asleep in their bed, & the Arsonist is just now realizing they did not get to douse that house. “Guess this night was a waste.” they mumbled to themself.
But wait! They had just remembered something in the note they received!
“As an Arsonist, you can douse anyone who visits you at night.”
By technical means, this mystery person very much did visit the Arsonist! That means they could still douse someone! They grinned, taking out their gas can & getting to work.
Mayor’s POV:
The Mayor sat in their living room, waiting. They had received a letter after yesterday’s trial had finished.
Dear Mayor Boyer,
We formally request that you wake up earlier than you normally would so my lackeys can have an important meeting with you. It’s important that we do it during the night. The townsfolk would find it suspicious that you would be gone during the day. We will be arriving around 4:37 AM in the morning. Do not be asleep.
Sincerely,
That was the note they had received. They could only guess that the person who trapped them & everyone else here had written it, but their name was scratched out, so it was impossible to tell for sure.
A knock-knock at the door alerted them. They got up & answered it. A person in a hooded cloak stood in front of them. The cloak they were wearing was yellow, & the hood was up, covering their face.
“Uh, hello?” the Mayor waved. “Greetings! Nice to finally meet the Mayor of this place! You can just call me S for now.” they said, stepping inside the house.
The Mayor shut the door as S sat down on their couch. “Just to double-check, you are the Mayor, yes? No Vampires in town?” “I’m pretty sure I’m the Mayor, yea.” “Alright, perfect, since this meeting is specifically about you being the Mayor. We’ve noticed you haven’t revealed yet. Why is that?”
The Mayor thought back to the note they had received on their first day here.
“If you reveal yourself as the Mayor to the town, your vote will count as three.”
There was definitely an advantage to revealing. The Mayor didn’t know why they hadn’t done it yet either.
“I’ve.. just been waiting for the right time to reveal, I guess.” “Waiting too long to reveal could lead to your death without you ever revealing at all! What a shame. That’s why the boss specifically requested that you must reveal tomorrow.” “Oh. Uh, alright. I’ll be sure to do that.” “Perfect! Farewell, Mayor.”
With that, S left the house, leaving the Mayor alone. They yawned, sitting back down on the couch. What would their sister have done in a situation like this?
Inaction, the Mayor thought, would probably lead to death. So tomorrow, they were going to reveal. & then everyone would know who they were.
[next chapter]
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LIVEBLOG: Wakfu Season 4, Episode 7
Grandpa piss, being a part of the Remote Viewers Division doesn't prevent you from being a deadbeat. KILL him Eva.
What were YOU doing at the devil's sacrement, King [insert name here] Sheran-Sharm!
I love women who are tortured for an eternity and then die in some way that will not kill them in a way that matters #signaliscore posts
Man haha I wonder if this might be saying something about Yugo (and Joris, but that goes without saying on this blog)
I have seen people criticize this moment, but let me be the devil's advocate: after seeing years of fans saying that Flopin is the boring twin, or that Eva has no backstory, them getting a problem-causing grandpa is literally so good.
And I think I understand why Flopin did this, since he says himself that he actually feels like the boring twin... I understand why he felt like going with this man, to learn about this guild, and where he comes from.
[starts hacking up blood] you know what other duo of demigods in this franchise had a twin who felt like they were living in the shadow of their sibling and his wonderful white fur—- [is shot by animal control]
I loooove comparing all the characters in this show, because it's genuinely a good way to approach Krosmoz, since Tot likes exporing the same themes (immortality/family) over, and over, and over, and over. And what I can say rn is: man, having normal parents makes jealousy-based plots much more tame. Atcham went in a "I want to be great like you, so I need to end you, you don't care about me like I care about you anyway" direction instead of a "I want to be great like you, so I'm gonna leave and work on myself, and then we can stand side by side someday"
I do think he is going to hurt his sister in some major way with this decision and in the end it will be a bitter, or bittersweet memory <3 I believe in the power of toxicity <3
To elaborate on the thing I said about titles, Astra is the ruling queen (to be precise, she is the daughter of the king of Bonta who was mentioned in seasons 1-2 and OVAs, who seems to have passed away); while her wife is either queen-consort, or a princess-consort.
However, Wakfu kingdoms may have worse, weirder rules than real life about inheritance.
The reason I am not getting my panties in a twist about the same-sex aspect of this (besides me supporting toxic royal yuri + being against homophobia or whatever) is that this is a magical universe, idk. they could adopt or get magically pregnant. It's literally a non-issue for me. UNLIKE PEOPLE NOT UNDERSTANDING THE CONSORT SYSTEM AND—-
Joris is present in all the kingdoms as Yugo's emotional support mediator/ambassador, except for Brakmar. I assume they simply do not let this fucking man into their palace, and rightfully so. He's literally a Bontarian narc. He'd use that chance to steal documents or some shit.
Btw I find it so funny how he keeps the same neutrally haunted look.
If a Bonatrian political leader goes for a week without wanting to start genocide against a people who isn't into the main 12 gods, they start getting the shakes from withdrawal.
I imagine living for hundreds of years and experiencing unimaginable suffering would make one pretty averse to being bossed around by some random guy who was born into wealth and has not known a second of grief in their life.
I feel it is important to point out: Joris was the one who made sure the meeting with Astra happened. He also felt this was important enough to try and organize meetings with other kings and queens. This is a dangerous situation.
As always, absolutely nobody listened. Nobody ever listens.
As I was saying, I imagine living for hundreds of years and experiencing un—-
I think the fact that Joris went with them has to say something about him. Yes, it is probably his sense of responsibility — he doesn't exactly want bad things to happen...
But also it explicitly puts a wedge between him and the Bontarian government. He values Yugo more.
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Dave Strider, Karkat Vantas, Jade Harley
Meat, page 12
DAVE: so we gotta hit jane right in her neoliberal austerity measures were all agreed on that right
KARKAT: UH HUH.
JADE: yeah sure
DAVE: now shes gonna spin some shit about supply side economics but we cant let her control the narrative on that one cause the first thing thats gonna happen once she begins deregulating the baking industry is that some sweet dumb crocodile down in consort land is gonna start putting sparkle glue in the cupcake mix which isnt even the real issue thats just surface issues
KARKAT: RIGHT.
JADE: definitely
DAVE: i mean earth c has just been play acting capitalism the last five thousand years while we timeskipped ahead to live rad lives as gods without bothering with any of the boring shit that goes into making a civilization
DAVE: which is fine i mean you cant really expect a bunch of teens who didnt finish middle school to set up a sustainable form of social democracy that isnt just blatantly ripped off whatever we incorrectly thought obama god rest his soul was doing back in the day
KARKAT: SIGH
DAVE: but janes got this old school mentality you just know she wants to restrict grist alchemy for the sake of “growth” and when that goes down itll take three seconds flat for some nobody in new dersetown to drop the earth c communist manifesto
DAVE: at which point were in for a speedrun of either our 20th century or her 21st century
DAVE: were gonna glitch under the map straight from marx to clown dictatorship
DAVE: which also isnt the real issue
KARKAT: OH YEAH.
JADE: of course
DAVE: are you two even listening or are you just making noises with your mouths
KARKAT: HOW DARE YOU.
KARKAT: I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M BEING ACCUSED BY DAVE STRIDER, REIGNING EMPEROR OF SPEWING ENDLESS VERBAL DIARRHEA DIRECTLY INTO MY INNOCENT HEAR DUCTS EVERY DAY OF MY FUCKING LIFE, OF MAKING THOUGHTLESS MOUTH NOISES.
KARKAT: JADE, ARE YOU HEARING THIS?
JADE: im scandalized
JADE: especially when
JADE: there are much better things we could all be doing with our mouths.....
KARKAT: UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
DAVE: anyway we all know the real issue is troll reproduction
DAVE: this election season is gonna be so jacked up with dogwhistles jade will never sleep again
JADE: woof!
DAVE: yo get ready for the top propaganda hits of the year
DAVE: alternia: brutal eugenics based space dictatorship
KARKAT: NOT UNTRUE.
DAVE: troll homeworld: lord of the flies nightmare scenario where kids murder each other just to get the chance to get to grow up and murder other aliens instead
KARKAT: IT WASN’T THAT BAD.
DAVE: actual names of professions on alternia: threshecutioner
DAVE: legislacerator
DAVE: minister of sucking the eyeballs out of your fucking skull then putting my two monstrous hr giger tier troll dicks up in there and just mashing the shit out of your brain with them
KARKAT: YOU MADE THAT LAST ONE UP.
KARKAT: ALSO, IT WAS DISGUSTING??
KARKAT: GROW THE FUCK UP, YOU UTTERLY CONTEMPTIBLE, POTTY MOUTHED *CUNT*.
JADE: also you know trolls dont actually have two dicks dave thats an offensive stereotype
DAVE: i know thats the point keep up guys
DAVE: ready for another one
DAVE: trolls: literally ate babies
KARKAT: ONLY THE DEFECTIVE ONES.
DAVE: like you my dude
KARKAT: ...YEAH.
DAVE: so thats why our campaign can work
KARKAT: ...
DAVE: btw im gonna be giving a long form exam at the end of this to make sure youre retaining info because this is only like the most important thing weve ever done collectively
JADE: siiiiiiiigh
DAVE: aside from creating the universe i mean
JADE: its not that it isnt important dave its that like
JADE: the method youre using to communicate it is kinda........
JADE: inefficient and BORING
DAVE: you mean
DAVE: words
JADE: i mean YOUR words specifically!!!
JADE: we already understand the issues at play you dont have to explain it to us over and over again like were twelve
JADE: right karkat???
KARKAT: ARE YOU ASKING ME WHETHER I’VE HEARD THIS EXACT SPEECH ALMOST WORD FOR WORD, INCLUDING REHEARSED VERSIONS OF BOTH THE COLORFUL METAPHORS AND “JOKES,” TEN OR TWENTY TIMES ALREADY?
KARKAT: BECAUSE THE ANSWER WOULD BE
KARKAT: YES, OF COURSE I FUCKING HAVE.
JADE: soooooo
JADE: do you want a projection of her first years hit on the economy down to the decimal with a 0.3% margin of error
JADE: because thats a thing i can do if itll make you stop talking about this stupid election for ten minutes
DAVE: damn hit me up girl calculator
JADE: i dont think youre wrong about janes plans
JADE: so now that thats all out of the way
JADE: its time to get real you two
DAVE: i
JADE: that wasnt an invitation for you to make a pun about having all the time in the world or whatever it was you were going to say
DAVE: oh
JADE: im about to lay out some cold hard evidence so pay attention!
KARKAT: OH, HANG ON, LET ME GET A PEN.
JADE: evidence about.....
JADE: our relationship!
KARKAT: FUCK
JADE: you let me live in your hive when im in town
KARKAT: I CAN’T BELIEVE...
JADE: im preeeetty intimately entwined in both your lives
KARKAT: THAT YOU’RE JUST TALKING ABOUT THIS?
JADE: AND you dont disengage from about 86.234% of my flirtations
KARKAT: WAIT, WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU KEEP TRACK OF SOMETHING LIKE THAT?
JADE: so....... are we doing this or not?
KARKAT: DOING WHAT?!
JADE: dating dummy!!!!!!!!
KARKAT: OH.
KARKAT: THAT IS
KARKAT: THAT IS... A COMPLICATED TOPIC IN MY CULTURE THAT I’M NOT SURE HUMANS ARE EQUIPPED TO TALK ABOUT.
DAVE: also totally unrelated to the economy
DAVE: which not gonna lie is the only thing i want to talk about for uh
DAVE: for however long it takes for this other conversation to stop happening
JADE: so say no!!!
DAVE: well
KARKAT: UHHHHH
JADE: im not just forcing this conversation for my sake! its for you two as well
JADE: i mean after all this time have you two even kissed yet??????
DAVE: wha
KARKAT: WH-WHY WOULD
DAVE: uhh
KARKAT: WHY WOULD WE KISS??
DAVE: thats
KARKAT: THAT’S... YOU... I MEAN, HE’S... HE’S DAVE.
DAVE: we
KARKAT: AND I’M KARKAT.
JADE: yes hes dave and youre karkat and everyone we know always calls you that
JADE: “dave and karkat”
JADE: i cant remember the last time i heard anyone mention one of you without the other
JADE: the two of you have basically been together since your days on the meteor its SO obvious
KARKAT: TOGETHER, YES. AS FRIENDS.
DAVE: yea
KARKAT: VERY CLOSE FRIENDS WHO UNDERSTAND AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER ON A DEEP AND EMPATHETIC LEVEL THAT GOES BEYOND HATE OR PITY. YOU COULD EVEN SAY THAT OUR RELATIONSHIP...
KARKAT: ...TRANSCENDS QUADRANTS.
JADE: yeaaaaaah not gonna lie karkat but that sounds totally kinda gay
KARKAT: UGH YOU HUMANS AND YOUR UNFATHOMABLE GENDER BASED QUADRANTS.
JADE: ow!
KARKAT: ANYWAY WEREN’T YOU... DATING THAT CARAPACIAN COUPLE? LAST TIME WE CHECKED?
JADE: yeah for FUN
JADE: im twenty three dont you think thats a little old to still be dating for fun
DAVE: wait you saying we arent fun
JADE: whens the last time either of you left the house??????
DAVE: ...
KARKAT: ...
JADE: i think wed all work good together
JADE: and i think weve been dancing around that for years now
JADE: i wanna try dating for real
KARKAT: HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED
KARKAT: SORRY IF WHAT I’M ABOUT TO SAY TOTALLY BLOWS YOUR MIND
KARKAT: DATING A SINGLE PERSON, FOR MORE THAN HALF A SWEEP, FOR REASONS OTHER THAN INITIATING THE CONCUPISCENT EXCHANGE OF FLUIDS?
JADE: ok first of all dont slut shame me fuckass
JADE: second of all thats what im trying to do here
JADE: third of all karkat arent you from a culture where people are expected to engage in romantic relationships with up to like five people at a time??
KARKAT: THAT’S NOT
KARKAT: THAT’S NOT THE SAME THING AT ALL.
JADE: oh yeah??? explain the fundamental epistemological difference
KARKAT: WHAT THE FUCK?!
DAVE: ok jade i think theres a flaw in your approach here cause you seem to think winning an argument on super clever logical grounds is gonna get a couple dudes to break down and fling themselves at you in like, a sexual way
JADE: wellll it usually does ;B
DAVE: oh my fucking god
JADE: dave......
DAVE: what
JADE: is this...........
JADE: about obama???
DAVE: what
DAVE: no i
JADE: dave are you in love with obama?
DAVE: jade jesus where do you get this shit from
JADE: is it about jesus then??????
DAVE: no!
DAVE: jesus wasnt even real
JADE: i know he wasnt real!
JADE: wait...
JADE: are you saying
JADE: obama was real?
DAVE: ...
DAVE: yes
DAVE: obama was real
DAVE: he was the president
KARKAT: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
JADE: all this time i thought obama was like
JADE: an aspirational fictional character that you modeled your life after
KARKAT: AHAHAHAHA I CAN’T AHAHA BREATHE...
JADE: like snoop dog or nicolas cage
KARKAT: THIS IS FUCKING INCREDIBLE
DAVE: they were both real too
DAVE: i know that you grew up on an isolated island in the middle of nowhere and everything but didnt you have like
DAVE: access to the internet
JADE: wow well im sorry i wasted my whole childhood filling my head with pointless things like astrophysics and senary numeral systems that allow me to do complex equations in my head!!!!!!
DAVE: no dude thats kind of fucked up
DAVE: karkat stop laughing jades fucked up childhood isnt funny
KARKAT: HAHAHAHAHA YES IT FUCKING IS!
KARKAT: ALSO SCREW YOU FOR SAYING IT’S NOT FUNNY??
KARKAT: WHY IS IT LIKE SOME SORT OF *TRAGEDY* HOW SHE WAS RAISED?
KARKAT: BECAUSE SHE WAS RAISED ALONE BY AN ANIMAL??
KARKAT: *I* WAS RAISED ALONE BY AN ANIMAL!
KARKAT: FUCK OFF AND LET ME ENJOY THIS!
KARKAT: AHHHHHH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
KARKAT: NO!
JADE: ill put this in terms karkat will appreciate, check it out
KARKAT: JADE, I SWEAR TO...
KARKAT: YOU BETTER NOT BE DRAWING WHAT I THINK YOU’RE DRAWING!
KARKAT: STOP! CEASE! DESIST THIS MOMENT! DO NOT DRAW ONE MORE LINE!
JADE: oh nooo im drawing a line karkat better stop me before it goes aaaall the way from my mouth to yours!
JADE: see me and karkat have great black chemistry!
KARKAT: IT IS NOT BLACK CHEMISTRY YOU HORRID NON-CHITINOUS WINDBAG!
JADE: and now that daves all chill hed make a great auspistice
DAVE: no
JADE: because you and karkat are kind of like moirails
DAVE: no
JADE: and you and i
JADE: well yknow its always been pretty flirty
DAVE: jade
JADE: EXCEPT!
JADE: in this model..........
JADE: troll quadrants are dumb so we ALL kiss!
JADE: i call this political arrangement:
JADE: fully automated luxury polyamorous space-time communism!!!!!!!
JADE: oh come on that was a good one!
JADE: its politically relevant and everything
DAVE: jade im not gonna laugh at your made up ship name for this imaginary threesome thats not happening
JADE: well ive said what i wanted to say
JADE: its up to you two what you do with it
JADE: i have to go talk to roxy and callie about the election anyway
JADE: call me when you two figure it all out!
KARKAT: WOW WHAT A CRAZY AND TOTALLY IMPROBABLE CONVERSATION WE JUST HAD WITH OUR BEST FRIEND JADE.
DAVE: y...
DAVE: yeah
KARKAT: WHAT A GOOD THING FOR US THAT SHE’S TOTALLY DELUSIONAL AND HAS NO IDEA WHAT SHE’S TALKING ABOUT, HUH?
DAVE: for sure
KARKAT: ...........
DAVE: ..........
KARKAT: WANNA PLAY SOME TROLL TONY HAWK?
DAVE: hell
DAVE: yeah
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*sigh* if I must... (<- complying eagerly)
Disclaimer I have never seen the full movie just a few scenes here and there but I get the gist of it and I've seen the ending at least so I'm certain I am Correct in this.
This was entirely inspired by Ben making that joke ab his dad shedding and I knew immediately Wyll would also say that. Plus I'd find it so funny if Wyll made the joke about Ulder who is bald.
Wyll as Ben and Astarion as Mal. Make it a royal university instead of highschool bc highschool is lame (actually is the movie set in a highschool or a college?? Doesn't Mal get engaged to Ben in another movie??? Idfk). Or maybe since it's modern fantasy I can just ignore the modern part and say actually it's set in the same time period but they're in an academy.
Anyways rather than getting abducted by illithids and tadpoled, Astarion escapes Cazador by being invited to attend the upper city University, founded by Duke Ravengard (was gonna say Duke University to be funny but nah different name). Cazador lets Astarion go to both "represent how well behaved the House of Szarr is" (:/) and also to perhaps lure the Duke's son, Wyll, to be under Cazador's control. Astarion arrives with Shadowheart, cleric ward of Shar, Karlach, soldier ward of Zariel, and Lae'zel, soldier ward of Vlaakith (choosing these characters not as a reflection of themselves but as the evil people they serve in game) (plus I think it's funnier if Gale is like. Descendant of a lesser known royal or smthn).
Also idk how the Descendants movie treated Ben's former girlfriend Audrey, I hope she's treated as more than just a love interest but idk cause I haven't seen the whole thing but maybe Wyll's former partner is another side character or even just a made up character? Maybe even 'Tav'? Idk.
I know Mal uses some kinda love potion (in cookies?) to get Ben to like her and the same premise could be used for Astarion, maybe Cazador gave him some kinda love potion or love herb or whatever the fuck and astarion makes Wyll some cookies with it.
Then the plot happens idk sorry. Karlach is ecstatic to be here she hates zariel and is glad to have escaped, Astarion is also glad to have escaped but he hates the goodie royals and thinks Wyll is utterly naïve and foolish. Shadowheart and Lae'zel take some convincing but eventually realise their legal guardians Suck. And they also kiss about it. Astarion eventually falls for Wyll for real and forgets to renew Wyll's subscription to the Love Potion Effect™ but nothing changes because Wyll fell for Astarion too (idk how it works in the movie but maybe the potion only works if there's initial attraction? Maybe Astarion waits a bit to gain Wyll's trust before using it, so it's basically useless because Wyll is already falling for him.)
Obviously it ends with them all killing their abusers and Astarion becomes Wyll's consort and Astarion and Ulder hate each other soooo much but Ulder doesn't get to say shit because he briefly disowned Wyll for pacting with a devil. That's all I've got really
Edit: forgot to mention that Astarion is definitely still a vampire in this au. And I think it'd be funny if, before he even gets a chance to use the love potion, Wyll figures it out and offers Astarion some of his own blood, thinking that's the Chivalrous Thing To Do so that Astarion won't feed off of others, definitely not because Wyll likes the idea that's absurd. And so Astarion bites Wyll and Wyll kicks his feet and blushes a little bit. It would also be funny if later when Astarion gives Wyll the love potion, once he bites Wyll he takes it out of Wyll's bloodstream entirely (but it doesn't effect Astarion bc he doesn't have a bloodstream) and so Wyll is like. Immediately cured every time. And Astarion doesn't realise he's essentially undoing everything immediately anyways. Okay that's all
Brain rot so bad my sister was watching d*sney's Descendents and I was thinking of a wyllstarion au
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for the fictional kisses prompt, could you do number 12 with bubbline? sorry if this is not the right place too submit, i am new too tumblr and english is not my first language. either way have a lovely day! :)
You're doing good! And have a lovely day too!
(working under the arrangement marriage au cause im an idiot that wanted to do that instead of the easy way which was a kiss durin the war but whatever ig)
Her throat was in so much pain. Trying to speak felt like dragging her skin through concrete. Whatever noise that escaped her lips sounded like nails on chalkboard. This was a very miserable experience but she was determined to get through it.
She picked up a notebook that didn't have anything important and a farely new pen. She wrote down several phrases and words then ventured outside. She runs into Jake, one half of her personal knights, and when he greets her she's prepared by showing him the page she wrote "Good morning" down on.
Jake raised an eyebrow at her. She flipped to a different page that said "Sore throat." He made a small noise of understanding and nods at her with a smile. He offers to tell the kitchen staff to make something to sooth her throat and ask the clinic for some medicine. She nods and smiles in thanks.
"Oh and by the way, Mar-" he cuts himself off, seeing a maid wander in the hallway they were in to clean. "Her highness is in the study, having finished her workshop with the younger Banana Guards."
She raised an eyebrow at that. She doesnt remember asking her lover to conduct an audience with her guards. Jake merely shrugs at her with a sly smile. He bows to her slightly and takes his leave. She scrunches up her face in confusion and decides to merely ask her.
She finds Lady tending to some flowers by the stairs, and asks her to bring breakfast for herself and Marceline to the study and, after a moment's thought, asks her to procure some medicine as well. She was eternally glad that her friend could understand the indecipherable scratches that is her handwriting. She wasn't sure how long she would last if she had to slow her hand for others to understand he scrawl.
She slips into the study quietly and finds her lover lounging by an armchair. A soft smile comes onto her face as she makes her way to her.
Marceline cracks an eye open and returns her smile. She reached for her hand which she gladly held onto. The vampire pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles and tugged her to sit on her lap.
"Good morning, my sweet." She murmurs, nuzzling into her neck. She pulls the right page out and presents it to Marceline, tapping the woman for her to take notice of it.
She blinks and looks up at her. She pulls one of her hands in front of her and started making gestures. She tilted her head in question. "Ah, I shall teach it to you at a later date." She returns her hand around the candy golem and presses a soft kiss to her neck. "I assume you are ill. That is an unfortunate thing to wake up to."
She bobs her head in assent. She shrugs her shoulders a little, hoping to convey that she didn't see it as too much of a problem. She could communicate in other ways. Her day will not be deterred.
Their food arrived soon along with the medicine she asked for. They were placed on the low table in front of them, the servant bowing deeply to both of them before leaving. She picks up the cup of tea first and gladly takes several sips. It irritated her throat slightly, but she knew it would soothe whatever was ailling her.
She sees the apple float in from the corner of her eye. It floats towards them and lands in Marceline's palm. "If you don't mind," she murmured, "I shall accompany you throughout the day."
She absently nods. The company would be more than appreciated, it would be nice to complain to someone without having to write paragraphs to be understood.
They finished their breakfast in relative silence and spent some minutes relaxing in the room.
The day passed by and she realized why Marceline had decided to stay by her side. The vampire, swearing by her name to not have telepathy, knew precisely what she wanted to say to dignitaries and staff alike.
When she would accompany her on other days, she would stand several steps behind and interject only to make quips. But today, she stood by her side and spoke for her. She seemed to only need to glance at her then suddenly she would say the words Bonnibel was forming behind her lips.
She would rarely ask her to write dowm her words, usually only to ask for her permission for something or if she had said the right thing.
She was impressed by her and felt more than a little warm over it. Marceline showed little desire to meddle in official affairs, and yet she knew her wife so well that she could express almost exactly what she was thinking. It was such a nice feeling seeing well she knew her and how willing she was to help her in something she cared little for.
Halfway through the afternoon she had to pull her wife to a secluded room and wrap her arms tightly around her. Voice hoarse, she whispered "I love you so much, little bat." She tilts her head up and rasped "Kiss me?"
Marceline chuckles at her and kisses her cheek. She scrunches up her face, knowing full well Marceline knew what she meant. "Forgive me, love, but I have no desire to catch whatever it is you have. I quite like my voice and I know you feel the same." Marceline gives her a sly smile and she lightly flicks her pointed ear in retaliation.
Marceline smiles widely at her, all fangs and happiness. "Should this pass by tomorrow, I assure you of affection to the point you will push me away." She scoffs at her, knowing very well she was serious. Her smile softens and she nuzzles her cheek. "As it is, you are ill and hardly in any shape to speak. So allow me to be your voice, assuming I have been doing well in that task."
That last part was whispered, the vampire genuinely worried over not doing well enough. She shakes her head and pulls her closer. "Doing good," she forced out. "Thank you, love."
She feels Marceline release a tension she didn't realize she was carrying. She felt her lips curl into a smile against her cheek. "Fantastic. This is no problem, dear." She pulls away and gently taps the candy golem's nose. "I love you too, now please no more speaking."
She grabs her hand and guides her out of the room. She was very glad her wife knew her so well. She hoped this would pass soon, she wanted to sing her praises. If it doesnt, well she knows other ways to thank her that would have the added bonus of hearing her wife's beautiful voice.
#bubbline#adventure time#princess bubblegum#marceline the vampire queen#anonymous#chez answers#yellow yelling#this is way way in the future of the au#am au#where theyre actually calling each other wife#instead of other shit like consort or whatever#lmao#oh and yeah marceline knows asl
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Bi•valve
Noun
an aquatic mollusk that has a compressed body enclosed within a hinged shell, such as oysters, clams, mussels, and scallops.
AKA
The Most Common Seashell in the Ocean
————————
Vol. 1: Just Keep Swimming // Ch. 2
Type: Poseidon x reader
Word Count: 4,000+
Masterlist
————————
Sounds of horns and shouting filled the air outside as you stood on the packed bus. Cramped in from every side, it was hard for you to tell where you were going. Not as if you were paying much attention anyways.
“Okay, you left fish and pasta in the fridge… he could use the tv or read a book for entertainment while you are gone…what about…” You ramble incoherently to yourself.
Even though the storm hit Athens hard yesterday, your studio art professor was still having classes today. Forcing you to leave Triton alone at home. You shouldn’t be nervous. There was no reason to. After all, Triton is a god, he was hundreds of years old.
But…, he was still a child. No matter how old or what type of being he is. He could still possibly injure himself or get into trouble. And that single fact alone made you feel sick to your stomach.
“Is this how parents feel leaving their child alone for the first time…?” You groan to yourself, leaning your head forward so it hits the window in front of you.
“Now Approaching *Athens International School of Art*. I repeat, Now—“ The robotic voice announces over the intercom. At the familiar name of your college, you squeeze your way through the other patrons on the bus to make your way to the doors.
Sweet, sweet air, you think to yourself as soon as you exit the bus. It was starting to get way too cramped in there. So much so, you wondered if it was a safety hazard. Though it wasn’t as if you were one to talk, you left a little boy alone—
“Argh!” You scream out, slapping the cheeks of your face. You needed to stop thinking of Triton. He was going to be completely fine. But, what if…
“I’m getting too attached already…” You groan to yourself. It had only been a day. One singular Day. But you were already smitten by the blonde haired child. “It doesn’t help that he's absolutely adorable as well…”
“Who’s adorable?” A voice calls out from behind you, making you jump in surprise. Whipping around, you let out a sigh once you identify who it was.
“Bryce… how many times have I told you not to sneak up on me like that…”
Bryce Kroger. He was studying abroad at Athens International School of Art for a year just like you except he was instead an architecture major. You met him by coincidence while taking art history so you didn’t know much about the guy, the only thing being the few stories he told you about his home country of Australia.
“Oi! It’s not my fault you're so skittish!” Bryce banters back with a huff.
“Whatever…”
“Eh? Wait, where you heading?” Bryce questions as he watches you walk away, “I thought you had Studio Art on Fridays?”
“I do. I’m heading to the library first though.” You yell back to the tall male who stayed put where he was standing. Not even bothering to follow you.
“You need to stop studying so much!”
“Shut up!”
“IT’S THE TRUTH!”
“SHUT UP!” You scream back with one final huff before storming off. So what if you studied so much. You just wanted to get good grades in the classes that counted. It’s how you got here in the first place. By working your ass off.
Unconsciously, you feel your hand twitch as you open the library door. So what if you spent hours studying. So what if you didn’t go out with friends that often. So what if you didn’t have a social life. So what—
You feel yourself pause, your expression turning sour. Lonely. That’s what you were. You were lonely. A miserable lonely girl.
“Miss!”
Startled out of your thoughts by the sudden call, you realize you were no longer standing at the front door but instead standing in front of one of the librarians. You must have unconsciously walked up to the front desk while you were lost in thought.
“A-Ah. Sorry, I was just looking for books on Leonar—“
You feel your voice trail off at the end as a book on the counter catches your eye. It wasn’t the gold detailing nor the leather texture. No. It was the simple words of “Greek Mythology: Tales of Zeus” printed neatly on the front.
“…Actually, Do you perhaps have any books about Poseidon?”
You just found something better to do with your time.
—.—.—.—.—
“Damn… this is extremely confusing…” You mumble to yourself as you glare at the pages of notes in front of you. Each book seemed to be a little bit different from the last. “Perhaps I should recap…”
Okay, so what makes sense to you is that Poseidon is the second eldest of three brothers and is the ruler of the seas. The things that don’t make sense are… practically everything else…
You weren’t sure if you wanted to cry or scream out of frustration right now.
According to the books, Poseidon has had many consorts over the years. One of them being Triton’s mother, Amphitrite…
“My mother… can be quite mean to other women. Even to some of the female servants around the palace. She believes that they are trying to seduce my father…”
…but that doesn’t match up with what Triton mentioned last night. According to him, it sounds like Amphitrite scared away any women that would even come near Poseidon. This also leads to another flaw in the mythology books. You doubted that Poseidon would be able to have an affair with any other women with Amphitrite antics, nevertheless have 10 other children with them.
“Triton also never mentioned having any other siblings…”
Letting out a groan, which you seemed to be doing a lot today, you banged your head against the table. It seems like these mythology books weren’t going to be of any help after all. Though…. you couldn’t help but wonder why the books were so off in the first place.
Lifting yourself back up from the table, you glare down at one of the book covers. It was blue, almost silvery in a way, with a giant black silhouette of Poseidon right smack dab in the middle. Or, at least, what Poseidon might look like…
“Well, my father is extremely strong and handsome. All the sea nymphs stare at him with big heart eyes half the time. Oh! B-but, father doesn’t pay any attention to them. Father is not a cheater like uncle Zeus…”
“…Is Father…? Oh. He’s alright… He’s nowhere as bad as my mother. He’s never hit me or anything. He’s just… cold. Extremely cold. He really just ignores me half the time…”
“…I do love my father…I just wished he would at least spare me a glance…you know?…Acknowledge his own son…”
“God damn jerk!” You hiss out in anger as you push the book aside. Your blood practically boiling at even the slightest thought of Triton’s father, Poseidon. He doesn’t deserve to have such a good and nice son like Triton.
However, as much as you want to curse out Poseidon more, you realized class would be starting soon and you really had to get a move on.
“Shit. I can’t afford to be late again.”
—.—.—
“Ugh. Why did the professor have to assign me this type of painter…?!” You whined to Yuri. Class had already ended by then with the professor long gone. The only people left were students that were conversing with others or trying to get a head start on their paintings.
“Well, it didn’t help that you barged into class late for the second time this week, (y/n).” Yuri explained with a sigh as she continued to set up her palette, not even sparing you a glance.
Yuri Saito, Or rather Saito Yuri, was an abroad student from Japan. She was the closest person you knew at the college as you both were similar in many ways. Especially since you were both homebodies.
“I get that but at least I showed up in the fir—“
“(Y/n)!” A voice shouts out interrupting your talk with Yuri. You turn around to see Bella Woods, a student apart of your major, approaching you. “(Y/n). You were part of your student council back in high school right?”
“Uh, Yeah. Why?” You answered hesitantly. You weren’t sure why, perhaps instincts, but you were already having a bad feeling about this situation.
“Well I need your help on something…” Bella explains, her voice trailing off at the end as she grabs something from her bag. It’s a piece of paper, a flier to be exact.
“A…A Cultural Festival?”
Bella nods her head at your words, “Yeah. The college wanted to put something on for the public to show what our art school is all about and Mrs. Yamamoto suggested this. A-Apparently, it’s something schools and colleges do back in Japan.”
“B-But how can I help? Wouldn’t it make sense for someone like Yuri to do this? Since she’s from Japan and all.”
It was the truth. You didn’t know a single thing about japanese culture festivals.
“Hey don’t drag me into this, I’m busy.” Yuri counterbacks with a glare before returning back to her painting.
“Well… you see… The school wanted to change Mrs. Yamamoto’s idea a bit since they really didn’t know anything about Japanese Cultural festivals either. So it’s like a Cultural festival, kind of not.” Bella rambled. You could tell all this information was scrambling her brain as well. “Basically, it’s like a Greek version of a Cultural festival where each major picks a Greek god and plans an event or booth around it.”
“…Okay… So it’s just like a school festival in a way?” You questioned cautiously. This was a lot for you to take in at once.
“Yes. Precisely. We are just taking inspiration from Cultural festivals.”
“Okay. Okay…” You answer as you rub the back of your neck, “I still don’t understand why you need me though?”
“Well, I kind of… kind of saw you reading the mythology books in the library today and we need more people on the planning committee…” Oh, god. It seems like everything is coming back to bite you in the ass, “…Just. Please (y/n), We need your help!”
You let out a small sigh as you watch Bella give you a pleading look, “Fine…”
“Yay—!“
“But…“ You start cutting off Bella’s cheers, “But I’m taking care of something really important right now at home so I can’t always make meetings and things like that. I can help with planning but that’s it. Okay?”
That was correct. As much as you wanted to help Bella and your department out with this festival, Triton was your top priority right now. His care and needs were above all else right now, even your own. So if this would get in the way of that then you would drop this project instantly. Instantly.
“Of course! Oh, thank you (y/n)!” Bella cheers, her body visibly relaxing now that a stress has been taken off your shoulder, “Well, I’m not sure if you're busy right now but… the committee is currently planning two classrooms down… so if you could…”
“I’ll go…” You sighed out. Damn, what’s with you lately. Less than two days ago, people hardly approached you. Now you are as busy as a bee. A person magnetic… Well, more like god magnetic as wel—
Wait, a minute. You feel yourself tense up as a thought flies into your brain. If Gods could travel and spend time on earth, could they live here as well? Just like how Triton wants to?
Shit. What if some that live here are able to identify Triton? You could be in big troub—
“(Y/n)? Are you coming?” Bella calls, snapping you out of your thoughts.
“Y-yes.”
It seemed you would have to worry about that later. Not that it mattered right now, you could always just ask Triton when you got home. And even if he didn’t know the answer you would just have to be careful bringing him out of the house. Yeah… you would just do that.
“Guys, I would like to introduce you to (y/n). She’s a fine arts major just like us and knows about mythology. I think she would make a great addition to our group.” Bella introduces you as you enter the room. As you looked around the group of only 4 other people, you realized you really didn’t know anyone.
That is until everyone started to introduce themselves. You never heard of the first three—Brian, James and Kyle—but you found the last name, Marissa Samudra, quite familiar. You wonder if she was that Marissa.
Who you were talking about was Marissa, the hottest girl in school Marissa. Well, at least that’s what all the boys in your major told you. The girl in front of you at least seemed to fit the part. With white silk like skin, light green eyes and dyed coral pink hair, she truly was a sight to see.
“Okay. So shall we get started.” James suddenly spoke up, seeming to want to get the meeting started. You nodded your head in agreement before taking a seat next to Holly. As well as across from Marissa. “Well, I think we should first decide which god we should do. Culinary, Music, Visual performing arts and architecture already have chosen Aphrodite, Hades, Ares and Zeus. (Y/n)…”
You lift your head up at the call of your name.
“…as you know the most about Mythology, who do you think we should pick?”
“Well,…” You feel yourself pause, your palms growing sweaty out of nervousness. You really didn’t know that much about Greek Gods, only the class you took last year and the books you skimmed this morning. You also didn’t expect so many of the main gods to be taken already.
“…How about…”
You needed to think of someone fast. Someone that would satisfy all parties here. Someone that would bedazzle people coming to the festival.
“…Poseidon…?”
Why… Why was that what your brain had come up with? Poseidon? The very god that you were cursing out this morning. Wishing near death upon.
“Fish man?” Brian questioned, letting out a small chuckle at his own joke, “You really want to go with Fish man as our god? Isn’t there anyone better?”
“I think Poseidon is pretty…cool.” You feel a shiver go up your spine as you compliment the man. It was official, you might actually puke. “…He’s the king of the seas. It gives us a lot to work with for his character. Especially since most Fine Arts students are good at realistic elements, we could really do well on painting or using sea life.”
“True… but—“
“I think it’s a wonderful idea.”
You are shocked as you hear Marissa cut Brian off. When you first sat down, she seemed totally uninterested in the topic at hand. Caring more about her hair and nails than anything else. But now, now, she was paying attention to every little thing. You couldn’t help but wonder why. “Oh sorry. I really like the sea. It holds a special place in my heart… you know?”
Oh, that makes sense. You totally forgot Marissa’s paintings were mostly about the ocean and sea. Never drifting off to other topics.
“N-no. That’s actually pretty cool. You know what, we should totally do Posedin… or whatever the dude’s name is. He sounds really cool.” Bryan agrees as he bashfully rubs the back of his neck. Gross, could he make it any less obvious that he was smitten by her. And not in a nice way either.
You feel yourself shiver as you watch him sneak small glances down at Marissa’s chest area. Disgusting pervert…
“Well, with that decided let’s move on…”
…Great… You could already tell this was going to be a long meeting…
—.—.—.—.—
Again, for what felt like the hundredth time today, you banged your head against the wall. This time however it was against the door of your apartment.
“Seriously… a Café…?”
Yes, a Café. That’s the brilliant idea your group came up with. An under the sea type themed café.
In hindsight it didn’t sound all that bad. You could have a couple of students paint some props and decorations. Then another couple of students who know how to cook plan out the menu. Maybe even borrow some culinary students if you were lucky.
But,… there’s that.
Outnumbered three to two, the boys of your group insisted the girls that are serving customers should wear togas. Togas. They stated it was to bring in more customers but it was pretty obvious they had other intentions behind it. Especially since they didn’t even bother waiting a couple of minutes afterwards to ask if Marissa wanted to be part of the waiting staff.
“Poor girl… I feel bad for her.” You mumble to yourself as you pull out your keys, finally unlocking the door to your apartment. You wished you could just beat all those men senseless with a baseball bat. “That’s actually not a bad idea… Could I bring a wooden club and say that it's part of the character? They seem to not know that much about—“
“Miss (y/n)!” You hear shouted as something comes barreling into you. Knocking you onto the ground right as you enter your apartment. “O-oops I meant to only say (y/n)…”
Even though you got the air literally knocked out of you, you still let out a small chuckle as you reached up to run a hand through the perpetrator’s locks. Triton’s blonde locks. “It’s okay. I only told you this morning to stop referring to me so formally. It will take time for you to get used to it.”
Suddenly, you wince at a feeling of pain as you move slightly. Triton sure was strong. You, honestly, wondered if he held back some strength when he jumped at you. If so, you wondered how strong Triton was nonetheless an adult god.
Speaking of an adult god…
“Hey Triton.” The boy lifts his head up at your call, “Do any gods live on earth?”
The boy seemed to take a moment to think, “Well kind of? Not really Greek Gods though. Most of them are too proud to live with humans.”
“Oh well that’s goo— Wait, a minute! Other gods are real as well!?”
Triton nods his head furiously, “Yeah pretty much all gods. As long as it is considered as one, it exists. There’s Nordic gods…, Indian gods…, Oh! Even Buddha. I like Buddha, even though I’ve only met him once. He introduced me to salt water taffy! It’s delicious.”
“I-I see…I’ll try to get you some then. Another time.” As much as you wanted to hide your surprise you couldn’t. Learning that Greek Gods actually existed was one situation but learning that All Gods existed was a whole nother ball game. Did that mean demons existed as well?
“Hey (y/n). Could I ask you a question?” Triton asks, suddenly seeming bashful all of a sudden.
“Sure. What’s up?”
“Could I…” Triton pauses for a moment, “Could I call you…”
You leaned closer to Triton as his voice slowly got softer and softer at the end. His ears and cheeks were bright red as he waited for you to answer. However, you couldn’t answer him as you didn’t hear the last part of what he said.
“I apologize. Could you repeat what you said, Triton? I couldn’t hear the end of it.” You felt bad for asking him to repeat it as his face only seemed to get even more red when you asked.
“I-I… Could I call you… Mom?”
It was silent as his question, or rather request, fell upon your ears. You thought about it for a moment. Especially whether it was morally right for you to have him call you ‘mom’. Even if his true mother was a terrible person, she was still his mother.
Though, then again, She really didn’t act like his mother. Especially in all her hundreds of years of existence of having him. At least from what you’ve heard from Triton. She’s had plenty of chances to show her love for him and she never did.
“Of…Of course you can.”
You feel yourself smile as Triton’s face lit up. And you knew, Deep down inside, that you did the right thing. You would show this boy the love he deserved.
“Hey (Y— Mom.” You giggle at how Triton seemed to practically beam with happiness once the title left his lips.
“Yes, Triton?”
“Could we have dinner right now?”
You feel yourself jump up a little in surprise. Since you stayed later than what you usually would, due to the meeting, you didn’t have anything prepared ahead of time for dinner.
“Ah, yes. Do you think you could wait in the living room while I prepare it?”
“Of course!” Triton answers as he scrambles up off of you. As you make your way to the kitchen—which was technically in the same room as the living room—to start dinner, you find yourself drifting off into your thoughts.
You realized you really hadn’t thought this through. Taking care of Triton and all. Your apartment was small, he didn’t have his own room, he seemed to eat a lot more than a human boy his physical age and so much more.
You wouldn’t be able to buy a bigger apartment right now. Going through college and all. But you could take more shifts at work. After all, it was literally down the street. You were also good friends with the owner of the toy shop next door. You bet he would allow Triton to play with a couple of toys while you worked.
As you continue to list things you would need to take care of Triton especially if it was long term, Triton was watching cartoons on the couch.
“…Wonder cats will be right back!…”
As the show goes to commercial break, Triton feels himself let out a sigh. Television sure was awesome and all, much better than the plays and coliseum matches used to entertain gods, but he despised ads more than anything.
“Who in the world created such a malicious thing…”
Triton’s voice trails off at the end as the ad changes to another. As he stares at the screen, he feels a shiver shoot down his spine. As quickly as he could, Triton changes the channel to another before shakily dropping the television remote. A cold sheen of sweat breaks out all over his skin as he collapses back onto the couch.
To anyone else, the commercial before looked like any normal hair dye commercial seen on Tv. But not to Triton. Especially when he saw something oh so familiar.
“T-that hair color…” Triton feels himself shiver at the thought, “L-looked too much like Aunties. Mom’s…No…
…Amphitrite’s Sister.”
Author Note: Ahhh this chapter contained so much but I knew I couldn’t split it up. Especially if I was doing posting Tuesdays and Thursdays. I was worried that the time frame in between would mess my readers up. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this Chapter. I know there wasn’t a lot of Triton moments but I wanted to get the ball rolling on the plot so that things and certain characters (*cough* Poseidon *cough*) will appear soon. Well that’s it for now, see you next time :)))
Taglist: @angeli-fucking-cat @marixxhq
#shuumatsu no valkyrie#shuumatsu no valkyrie x reader#snv poseidon x reader#snv poseidon#snv#bivalve
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