#is it wise to have all of my most controversial takes under the same tag?

[rockitmans]

Thanks for the tag, @cerriddwenluna

Rules: List your "top 10" (or up to 10 if you haven't written that many) fics ranked by kudos on AO3. Are you surprised by what's most popular to your readers? Then, under a cut, provide your ranking of your personal top 10 fics (with explanations if you want!), and then tag a few fellow writers!

Spinning Out, 56k

Blaine Anderson Vs. Valentine's Day, 12k

No Take Backs, 10k

Witch Wanted, 24k

Ellipsis, 1k

#1 absolutely makes sense. Spinning Out was a labor of love and the fic that made me confident enough to start sharing my work. The Valentine's Day one being second is a little weird to me because I felt like a duck with my feet frantically paddling beneath to get it finished and I guess I'm surprised it came out well enough to be second, especially as it's also my most recent (bar Ellipsis).

No Take Backs is not my usual sort of story at all but I'm proud of how it came out. Quality wise I would argue it's better that #2 but less fun so not surprised it's third. Which takes us to Witch Wanted. My baby. Such a personal story that wasn't going to work for everyone. And clearly Did Not 😅. Still it's a niche set of tropes to begin with and the ending was... controversial so the ranking makes sense.

And Ellipsis is just a lil ficlet I wrote in a few hours and posted yesterday and has already been around Tumblr once so no question of being lowest.

My ranking:

Spinning Out

Witch Wanted

No Take Backs

Blaine Anderson vs Valentine's Day

Ellipsis

Ellipsis being bottom doesn't really reflect how I feel about it. I'm actually really proud of it but also it is just something short and sweet and didn't require the same level of effort as the other fics.

Otherwise my ranking reflects my personal enjoyment mixed with how well written I think they are. Witch Wanted is very special to me. I even got a lovely message from someone saying how it really helped them realise and challenge some of their own ableist views and I think that's absolutely the kind of stories should help with. As well as being enjoyable of course!

It could almost be first in the list but Spinning Out is also tied up in the feeling of finding this community and meeting some wonderful people like none of that would have happened if I hadn't just impulsively posted Spinning Out one day. Also I genuinely love it, it's the one I'm most likely to reread though I haven't currently reread any of my own fics.

And I think I've kind of covered my thoughts on the other two! No Take Backs is better written and a more emotional and thoughtful story but BA vs Valentine's Day is infinitely more fun and silly and joyful so it depends on the mood of the day.

Tagging: @bitbybitwrites @ericdooley @heartsmadeofbooks @hkvoyage if you want/haven't been tagged already

[shitpostingfromthebarricade]

What do you think a modern version of enjolras would actually be like and do you agree/disagree with the popular fanon version of him ?

As always, I preface this by saying that fanon has its place and has value in its own right, and what is canonically accurate has no bearing on that status. If you like fanon, shine on, you crazy diamond.

To answer the question (or rather, how I am interpretting the question): I do not feel that popular fanon reflects what a modern, canon-based Enjolras would look like.

One reason I don't think it does is that modern AUs (and arguably fanfic in general) seek to humanize characters, and I don't think Hugo's characters were ever truly meant to be fleshed out and humanized to that extent: most of them are 90% symbolism in the same way we are 90% water. To ignore the symbolic ramifications of any given character's actions is already to sort of lose the concept of who they are. Any given two characters even merely conversing or interacting is already in and of itself a statement in the bricc (in most cases), and I think modern fanon in general often loses that. Like, Les Misérables is Invisible Man levels of "everyone is a symbol and no one simply Is a person unto themself."

Moving onto specifically what I think a modern Enjolras would look like based on the bricc description of him: an important part of the Amis, to my thinking, is that none of them are working in their own self-interest. Even Feuilly (and I may be forgetting some passage here, please feel free to correct me) is described as going out of his way to learn about the plights of fellow workers that don't actually personally affect him, and I think this really matters, because in that way Hugo indicates the importance of solidarity between classes and social stratuses in effecting change. As such, I think it remains important that Enjolras retain his privilege, though in what capacity can be very flexible (so long as he is privileged in whatever areas they are advocating for ie he is not rallying for his own rights).

It's also very important that les Amis is an actually radical org: he doesn't get caught up in the semantics of veganism or anything so milquetoast as gay rights in the year 2022. Les Amis de l'ABC are a terrorist organization in its most basic and literal of definitions ie the use or threat of violence in pursuit of political goals. In 1832, they literally were hoping to overthrow the government. Everything was so broken that it made more sense to throw the whole thing away, and this is what they were preparing to do! Enjolras does not get tripped up in the small details when there is a grander vision to behold, and he certainly doesn't argue those details with people who disagree wholesale with that grander image. Even when Courfeyrac prods at Enjolras about Rousseau's personal foibles, Enjolras's response is pretty much, "And?" The means are not perfect, but the ends are Divine.

It also means, though, that in pursuit of this divine end, the motivation throughout needs to remain as pure as possible. At no point can they allow themselves to be swayed by the temptation to loot or harm for looting or harming's sake (as seen with Bahorel and the eggs): as people they may be flawed, but the movement itself and its actions must remain immaculate (as seen in the deleted quarry scene and demonstrated in the killing of le Cabuc). If they are not restrained in this time, how will the government they hope to achieve show the restraint necessary in its dealings with the people?

On that note: I simply don't think pre-barricades Enjolras as he is written in the brick is interested in romantic or sexual relationships. I think he has room in his life for one (1) project, it is fixing the world, and it is all-encompassing. I love a modern ExR as much as the next person, but as long as there is still suffering in the world and his duty is yet to be fulfilled, even if he isn't aroace or somewhere on that spectrum, it's not even something canonically on his radar because his attention to this cause is so absolute.

Moving onto personal carriage and interpersonal relationships: Enjolras is someone capable of doing what needs to be done and making hard choices, but that doesn't mean he's senselessly cruel. Fanon likes to portray him as this outspoken leader-type, but in meetings he's actually usually quiet and content to listen to his friends banter. He rarely properly argues with anyone (certainly not over major and core beliefs), and if anyone is issuing verbal smackdowns, it's most reliably Combeferre My Beloved. Enjolras will be there for you through your revelation, but he's not wasting time or energy on closed minds — he has other things to be focusing on here. He makes stupid corny puns sometimes and speaks in a very matter-of-fact way when he does speak and above all cares about humanity, and he is willing to make hard decisions on behalf of humanity.

Back to the type of leader he is: uh, generally, not. He's happy to sink into the background, but in times like the barricade, he's mostly the leader by merit of the rest of the Amis turning into the closest approximation of a pack of cats to herd. Enjolras can inspire them, sure, and remind them of why they're here and what they're fighting for, but how many people went to sleep when he said to rest up? Feuilly was like, "What are you, a cop?" and spent the entire time doing A Graffiti. When all of this is over, he doesn't intend nor want to be in charge, he just wants to prepare the way for and facilitate a system where the voices of the people are heard. He sees himself as a tool of the revolution, not a leader.

(It is also important to note that the other Amis do care about this cause A Lot. Enjolras is not compelling them to come, they're not just here because there's nothing else to do or it's the most convenient way to hang out and they all Just So Happen to think the world would be better if they overthrew the government, and Enjolras did not drag them kicking and screaming to the barricades. This is a movement of individuals who seem very different but all have come together because they see that society needs to change, and they're all willing to whatever it takes [having sworn to go through fire but not water] to effect it.)

So uh, to sum all of those thoughts up into a single person: Enjolras is probably that person in your law class who seems really serious and rarely speaks, but when he does, he does not leave much room for argument; if you seem open to having your mind on a subject changed, he may interject with an idea or two (a la Napoléon), but he probably mentally checks out of a conversation when he hears a bad take, and he is not losing sleep over not changing their mind. Seems rather intimidating and distant until you see him around his friends, at which point he doesn't exactly talk more or even necessarily seem more approachable, but he does soften and sometimes makes little jokes in what he does say delivered so seriously that it doesn't even initially register as a joke. He's in favor of overthrowing the government (or at least major instutions within it) and is actively a part of a group planning to do just that, but they're not raggedy anarchists either: they understand that Presentation Matters and that they need to hold their movement to a higher standard. This movement and helping the people are the most important things in Enjolras's life, and no one gives him hell over it because tbh they all really admire him and everything he stands for (even if they don't necessarily aspire to be him).

[nightswithkookmin]

I think Jikook acts different on cameras yess they flirt a lot but they don’t show us everything of course, Jikook has changed a lot from 2015-2020 It’s like they used to do a lot of things but back then they were very sneaky when they used to do things like when Jimin was playing footsies under the table in Hawaii , him being jungkooks room in the morning while he was taking a shower , them holding hands while suga body was hiding it , do you think they act different on camera now From before

Jikook act different on cameras? Oh god, I hope you don't mean to say Jikook is fanservice now cos...

I've heard this a lot in my Jikook lifetime and after Taekook's conversation in the Soop that narrative shot back to prominence. The behind the scenes of them at the photoshoot certainly hasn't helped things. Lol

Lord knows it created a schism between Jikookers as to what that moment was and what it meant in the grand scheme of things.

I know Jikook have personas, I've been saying this from the onset of my blog. I know Jikook are human, I've been preaching this from go. I know they have different personalities, hell my whole schtick about their love language has been around their personalities.

We don't know much about who they are behind the cameras but I'm glad at least people are probing into that and not taking Jikook at face value- that's what alternative shipping is. Reconstructing their 'real life' behind the scenes interactions based on their online interactions and the little clues they leave behind through their digital print- very heavy detective work lol and I'm all about that life.

I don't know them personally but if I were to reconstruct all of their interactions to guess at what goes on behind the scenes, I can tell you as a fact that Tae and JK are the least members who spend time together off cameras. I can tell you that much.

They will be followed closely behind by Tae and Jin, Suga etc. In my opinion. If there are any pairs that spend a lot of time together off cameras, to me, it would be Jimin and JK, followed by Jimin and Suga, Jimin and RM and of course VMin. You just have to pay attention to the things they do and say about eachother.

You only have to take one look at Jikook dancing in sync to the very tip of their hairs to know those two spend a lot of time practicing together off cameras. And when you hear them harmonizing- damn, you just know.

The members have pointed out Jikook's unique way of dancing planned and choreographed dance moves on stage and the look on Hobi's face in that reaction video says he was equally taken aback.

Jikook, out of all the members, have the most chemistry online in their interactions and a certain high levels of intimacy that to me the only way I can make sense of it is If they have carnal knowledge of eachother or have at least encroached on eachother's emotional and personal space in such a way that it blurs the lines of friendship a little bit resulting in synergies between them that is out of this world or both.

Because let's face it, neither of Jikook is peacefully mounting their respective partners without addressing the elephant in the room which is eachother staring at them go at it from the couch.

I have seen Jimin with his friends within and outside BTS to know he acts the same- THE SAME, with everybody skinship wise on and off camera and yet his intimacy with JK stands out the most- I wonder why. Smirk.

We've seen him drop softly into Sungwoo's laps at an award. We all saw it. And that was not 'on camera' and so we can't say he acts differently with JK off camera at least where skinship is concerned. Know what I mean?

And just the fact their rain fight was about Jimin caring too much about JK- we can't say JM doesn't care about JK off cameras either.

When JM tried doing his flirty gat shit with Suga, Suga scolded him saying he is not JK if my memory serves me right. So clearly the gay shit he does with JK is something he does offline too.

I can't say same for JK though because JM have said JK acts different with him on camera- cold on camera but warm off camera. I've mentioned this several times now so I won't get into it.

What I'm trying to say is, Jikook don't Jikook all the time but their interactions aren't exactly off of what we see on camera. Their personalities offline may be different but that doesn't mean their interactions offline are different or wildly different. Their interactions on line aren't so far off from their off line interactions such that we can brand what they do online as fanservice. In my opinion.

And also, something about the way JK reacts when he sees Jimin all over the members tells me he is not used to seeing JM prioritise others over him or have that intimacy with the members off camera. Yes, he does skinship with them and with his friends but I feel he does it the most with JK.

I mean if memories 2019 is anything to go by. Why do I feel I have answered this ask before? Lol.

Have their interactions changed online? Well for one, they aren't horny teenage boys anymore- ok, that's lie. They still got it like it was yesterday. Lol. They've matured a lot is what I mean. They've learned a lot and their fandom has equally grown enormously since those days.

I mean, let's be real, the Jikook ship tag wasn't as hot as it is now so they could get away with a lot of things back then. Now, they are one of the biggest ships not just in BTS or S.K but in world. There isn't much they can get away with. So their bandmates, editors etc. even they themselves check their behavior on camera a lot these days- especially with the jealousy and possessiveness bit. Lol.

Jk has really been trying. Jimin too. They crack sometimes but still you can see them putting in the effort- honestly, good for them. I can't be mad at that. We love positive change.

As for the sneaky behavior...

Chilee, I don't know. They still seem pretty gay, very risque to me. Lol

Jimin playing with Jk's titties in last year's season's greatings, dipping his hands in Jk's pockets- from JK's reaction it didn't seem like JM was reaching for Christ in those pockets. Cough cough.

And JK intentionally pushing his butt into JM's groin region- had my bias looking all kinds of confused. Poor Jimin! The sexual innuendos in that footage... good thing the editors cut that bit off. Good thing. And JM, you did not have to drop your eyes to the Jeon booty. You know you can't keep it straight. Jeon booty makes you weak and you know it. Lmho

Eye fucking eachother this year, blowing illegal kithes during the Dynamite reaction VLive - Tae didn't yell 'let's not look in the camera's because he thought they were about to harmonize for Jesus. Lmho. Dude is tired of their shenanigans- I feel you Tae. I'm done with them too. Gosh!

Jk interrupting Jin's call to ask JM on a date- now that was wild. Asking JM to change his clothes and come back to the live and that little gay panic moment JM had after hearing that. Oh Jimin! Bless his heart, he's weak. Lol

JK really wanted to do a live with JM so bad- I'm glad he got his wish later. And from the looks of it, seems he is still fighting to have another one (ALONE) with JM. Can't wait to see how that works out. For now, I know he is grounded. Lol

The bolder one this season for me has been JK. I think you have to go back towards the end of 2019 until JM's birthday this year and reevaluate their interactions. Jk has been holding it down, piloting the Jikook ship until August this year when JM started getting loud again with his overt flirtations.

No but seriously JK, you will do all of these bold wild moves and still not take a minute or two to wish him a happy birthday on his birthday. Then when we don't ship you with Jimin too you'll stand there looking like your cat got stuck in a tree- quirky for no reason this one. Chilee.

It's the, I love you Jiminah at the end of his call for me. I set that as my ringtone for months! Lol

And JM turning red on the couch during Bon Voyage four- c'mon now, that was something! Hobi was right, JM needed an ice pack- all night. Sksksksksksksksksksksjk

Don't mind me. I can be silly for no reason sometimes. Lol

It's not so much as that Jikook's interactions have changed for me. It's more so that there are a lot that has changed around them and in effect, is impacting their interactions on camera.

For one, as I keep pointing out, they don't have the freedom to do certain things anymore. Like, doing VLives on their own whenever they want like they used to do before. Now their vlives are heavily monitored, and the content they make on the app has been reduced to crafts and Arts- until Jimin's birthday live. You know my theory on that so...

VLive used to be one of the sources of their most authentic interactions. That and award shows, interviews and other contents BigHit has less control over. But all that have ceased due to the Corona Virus pandemic.

BTS's online presence, in the wake of the pandemic is also being heavily monetized. A simple tweet on Twitter from any of them has become very transactional- they have to be careful what they tweet because every tweet now is also a brand promotion for a phone campany.

Soop was equally that- brand promotion for Fila and all the big sponsors that sponsored that production, so bet your sweet ass they aren't going to let any 'controversial' sexual innuendo slip into that- but even that, chilee they tried. Lol. If you know, you know!

I'm waiting to see how they all interact with the VApp in the future, especially JK and Jikook.

And those moments, you pointed out are from Bon Voyage, no? I'm not gonna lie, I am wary of content that comes from BigHit editors. I think I've mentioned this a few times. They aren't stupid, they know what they are doing letting certain moments slip into screen time.

And some of the moments we think are authentic Jikook flirty interactions are just missions given them by the content developers- nobody wants Jikook to be gay more than bang PD and his shady ass editors trust me! Lmho.

Some moments too may be authentic coming from Jikook but that doesn't stop pro gay editornim from using it to his advantage. Chileee. I think I've talked about all of this?

All that being said, I think somethings will never change- like JM caring about JK or JK wanting Jimin. That is a Jikook thing. Yes, JM held JK's hand behind Suga when JK seemed- bored out of his mind. But JK rushed to console JM right after his ment in the recent Online concert. That right there was another Rosebowl moment for me and that would never change until they are no longer a couple.

That right there is also an example of the intimacy I talk so much about. It's that unconscious need to be there for eachother in a way I haven't seen anyone else in the group be that for either of them. They answer eachother's questions even if they don't ask. I don't see Tae traveling across podiums for JK or JK rushing from one end of a stage to another for anyone apart from JM. They really care about eachother and I don't think it's only on camera.

And you are right about their sneaky moments in those instances. sometimes these are moments Jikook breach the forth wall but other times too they are just balderdash. Lol

I think BigHit didn't see this pandemic coming, nobody did. Sometimes I feel they are in way over their heads with it, trying to maintain a steady stream of income inspite of it. But they are going to keep experimenting with content, experimenting with marketing strategies until they find that sweet spot.

I'd be ignorant and a hypocrite if I said all these new developments in no way impacts Jikook and their interactions. Or even their relationship. But one thing I know for sure is Jikook is not fanservice. They are not. And I don't think their affections for eachother has changed. They still got it.

I hope this helps. Stay safe and I purple you.

Signed,

GOLDY

[terramythos]

TerraMythos 2021 Reading Challenge - Book 9 of 26

Title: The Priory of the Orange Tree (2019) 

Author: Samantha Shannon

Genre/Tags: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Third-Person, Female Protagonists, LGBT Protagonists

Rating: 10/10

Date Began: 3/12/2021

Date Finished: 4/12/2021

1000 years ago, the world burned. Draconic creatures terrorized the land, led by a horrific evil known as the Nameless One. But then something happened that sent the monsters into a seemingly endless sleep, and the world has rebuilt in the centuries since.

But the Draconic evil begins to stir in its slumber, and the divided nations of the world have little chance to stop it. Eadaz is a mage from the Priory of the Orange Tree, sent to spy on the northern queendom of Inys. Legend has it that as long as the royal line continues, the world will be free from the Nameless One. While it's a long shot, Ead guards the young Queen Sabran closely to preserve the peace. However, as she and the queen grow closer to each other, Ead has to decide where her loyalties lie. Meanwhile, her close friend Loth is secretly sent into exile by the royal spymaster due to his controversial friendship with the queen. Supposedly sent as an ambassador to the newly Draconic kingdom of Yscalin, he soon finds himself out of his depth, entrusted with a deadly secret.

In the isolationist Eastern country of Seiiki, Tané wants nothing more than to become a dragon rider. The dragons of the East are old, wise, and revered as gods-- eternally opposed to the Draconic legions of the West. However, the night before the choosing ceremony that will decide her fate, she breaks isolation and discovers a young man from the West on the shore. Rather than report him to the authorities, she and her friend smuggle him to the island of Orisima, the only place Westerners are permitted. Niclays Roos, an old man exiled to Orisima by Queen Sabran, soon finds himself caught in the conflict. He believes if he finds an elixir for eternal life, he will finally be able to return home. When he's forced to shelter the forbidden Westerner, Niclays' entire way of life is upended-- but he is soon granted the opportunity to escape his exile.  

'My grandmother once said that when a wolf comes to the village, a shepherd looks first to her own flock. The wolf bloods his teeth on other sheep, and the shepherd knows it will one day come for hers, but she clings to the hope that she might be able to keep him out. Until the wolf is at her door.’

Full review, minor spoilers, and content warnings under the cut.

Content warnings for the book:  Some sexual content. Blood, gore, violence, traumatic injury, suicide, and death. Torture and execution. Miscarriage. Body horror (kinda). Drug use.

Clocking in at just over 800 pages, The Priory of the Orange Tree is a long, detailed story. I tend to label things Epic Fantasy when they have world-changing stakes. While Priory certainly fits that criteria, it's the first fantasy book I've read in a while that really does feel like an epic. It stars a huge cast of interesting characters from many walks of life, all of whom find themselves caught up in a world-spanning conflict. It captures the sense of a standalone, grand adventure that shorter fantasy novels of today don't typically reach.

With a book this long, it would be easy to ramble on forever about everything I liked. However, I'm going to try to keep it short and simple.

One of my favorite things about this story was the sheer depth of the world. Lots of people compare this to The Lord of the Rings not for its tropes, but the attention to detail regarding the countries, politics, history, religion, and so on. I'm inclined to agree with this assessment. The world felt alive and multi-dimensional. I could pinpoint many parallels to our own mythologies and histories-- particularly drawn from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. There's also a clear love of language in the story via its beautiful prose. I like to think I know English pretty well, but this book taught me quite a few new words! Might fuck around and call sunsets "rutilant" from now on.

I thought all four leads were interesting. Ead is kinda the "main" lead of the novel, although Tané overtakes her in the latter half. Everyone had different personalities and backstories, and I genuinely enjoyed all of their arcs. Niclays in particular would be an easy character to hate; of the four, he's the most selfish and does some real questionable shit. At the same time, it's hard not to sympathize with him. He's a sad, unjustly exiled elder who's lost the one man he cared about, and finds himself in a desperate situation. These types of characters are interesting to me; a glimpse of what anyone can become given the wrong circumstances and cruel treatment.

With stories like this, one of the most satisfying payoffs is how the different characters and stories come together. It was interesting to see how their paths converged and diverged over time, and ultimately how everything tied together in the end. I also appreciated the character relationships. I liked that Loth's close friendships with both Sabran and Ead were intimate yet platonic without some awkward love triangle.

From some story specifics... I'm a sucker for the bodyguard romance trope, and seeing it done with women in a mainstream novel gave me life. I thought the romance between Ead and Sabran was really sweet; I didn't see how it would work early on since Sabran was a little insufferable, but she had hidden depths (oh god, another weakness of mine). I also really liked the idea of traditional European and Asian dragons being diametrically opposed, and that being a core theme of the story. Intelligent and/or talking animals are another thing I adore in spec fic, so I dug characters like Aralaq. Kalyba's ongoing relevance and gradual exposition was also neat; I love minor world details that turn out super relevant later.

Also, the entire final battle/ending sequence was SO good. Really creative and action packed. Action scenes often blend together for me (and can be logistical nightmares) but Priory's climactic ending was just awesome. I don't want to spoil specifics, but it reminded me of many beloved epic battles in modern fantasy. Avatar the Last Airbender, How To Train Your Dragon, and Pirates of the Caribbean all came to mind. 

My main criticism with Priory is that often, the plot relied on convenient coincidence to get the characters out of a jam or otherwise advance the story. I can excuse a minor contrivance or two for the sake of a smooth story, and the scope of this book is big enough that it'd be hard to avoid. But some are nuts. For example, Loth gets rescued from certain death by a giant ichneumon while traveling through the mountains. We later learn the ichneumon is Aralaq, a friend of Ead's, and he just happened to be in the middle of nowhere, far from his home, and stumbled upon Loth. Loth, who ALSO happens to be Ead's best friend... which Aralaq presumably doesn't know?

Another is the MAJOR SPOILER regarding the rising jewel's location. I didn't hate the twist itself, but there was so little build up to it. I wish there were more early hints to justify it, because with setup it would be a pretty cool development. These things didn't ruin my enjoyment of the story, but the borderline deus ex machina (machinae? machinas?) did take me out of it a bit. It’s possible I missed stuff so I’ll give some benefit of the doubt. 

Overall, though, The Priory of the Orange Tree is a fun, world-spanning adventure. Like any long book, it's an investment to get into. However, if you're looking for a standalone, feminist fantasy epic, this is certainly a good place to start.  

[alistonjdrake]

Part One: The Smiling Prince

Prince Cidro an’Frederick Harver Born: Year 1748 after the fall of the Saints Mother: Queen Isolde ana’Juliano Rios Wife: Lady Liliana ana’Ignacio Verona of Veron, Princess Consort of the Escana Empire

As first in line for the throne and Crown Prince of Escan, Prince Cidro was born in the months after King Frederick’s coronation and wedding and as the smoke cleared on the repairs to Graza city after the siege.

And he was born, as noted by contemporaries, scandalously early. 

Much of what is known about the trial of Queen Isolde’s birth comes from Lady Helena, King Frederick’s mother, as she was strictly attentive of her daughter-in-law in the early days of the Harver reign. 

The Queen Mother wrote in her diary that, “The midwife took Her Majesty the Queen to the birthing chamber in the early evening after a complaint of stomach problems and I followed soon after. I found the woman on her hands and knees and fretting over a little blood. The midwife assured her it was not enough to cause worry over the babe. I had not the mind to hear her complaints and, eager for her to get to the business, called for the physician to prepare a draft to ease the going. Our prince was born in the morning. A small and wrinkled thing but he had the same dip in his forehead that I recalled seeing on both of my own boys in their first days. The midwife seemed worried about his fragility but he screamed for life with powerful lungs and I made sure one of the servants went to alert Frederick, for now his claim was secure.” 

At the time, the court had been whispering about the timeline and the very evident animosity between the royal couple. Queen Isolde had had attentions to marry another before the treaty with King Frederick and the man had been in Graza during the duration of the pregnancy. There was also some speculation that Lady Helena threatened Queen Isolde, going so far as to hold a knife to her throat while the midwife cleaned and prepared the baby for viewing in case it was revealed that the child was not King Frederick’s. This event, true or not, later inspired a song and a rhyme often giving in warning from parents to their child’s spouse on the eve of weddings. 

Whatever the rumors were and if they were founded in truths, King Frederick and Lady Helena both accepted Prince Cidro as a member of the Harver family. And his birth came with great fanfare as it was likely used as an excuse to wipe the slate clean. In the months after his arrival, there were festivals throughout the streets of Graza, King Frederick minted a new coin and named it after him and had it given it out generously to the people, there were several ceremonies in which King Frederick simply displayed his son to the court.

However, as he got older few would say Prince Cidro was particularly spoiled. After the death of his mother, he was raised under the attentive care and strict scheduling of Lady Helena. She hired an array of tutors for the first born as she wanted him to be excessively well-read. It should be noted, King Frederick was the first worldly king of Escan, the first one that the rest of the continent paid any true attention to, and so they likely felt they had a lot riding on the reputation of the first son. 

However, Prince Cidro did not excel in much. He was not talented in arts, did not take to military stratagem or showed any signs of being a tactician, was not incredibly wise about politics, and never really took to learning languages outside of Escan, basic Oskyi, and passable Ceoye. And yet, the one thing all his tutors would agree on was that Cidro was marvelously charming. 

By the age of nine, people would say he could light up a room. He was very personable and people felt draw to the small prince. It was said King Frederick would sometimes have him tag along as a good luck charm. If the young boy had any talents, it was in diplomacy and carrying conversation. Those in his inner circle said he was never jealous, never bitter, always supportive, always kind. He did not shy away from his own ignorance on subjects and would make a point as he got older to invite experts to court to explain something when he did not understand. 

Prince Cidro was very fond of all his siblings and would often describe himself as a family man, but he was undoubtedly closest to Prince Leonides and they worked together on most things. While Cidro was the charming and personable one, Prince Leonides was the elusive and stern one, and one often complimented for his brain. Dissenters in Graza’s court would say that Prince Cidro was empty-headed who let his younger brother do all the thinking for him. 

Cidro was not unaware of these statements and he did establish himself in other areas. While he did not have the cunning and talent to earn himself the title as the youngest appointed councilman like Prince Leonides (in fact he would not join until he was twenty in contrast to Prince Leonides�� appointment at fourteen). Cidro placed most of his focus in foreign affairs and into their relationship with the nations underneath Escan’s banner. Most notably, and controversial, it was found in letters with the vicereine of Karri that Cidro was incredibly critical of Escan’s actions in the Rhine nations and wanted some sort of reform. This is often credited as one of the reasons he traveled to frequently during his twenties.

Speaking of, Cidro was famously romantic in his youth. He was a very obvious eligible bachelor by the time he was an adult as the heir to a rich nation. He was offered the hand of foreign princesses, influential aristocrats, and there was no shortage of suitable options at Graza Palace. Most of Cidro’s attempts at courtship were short-lived and there doesn’t seem to be any reason why. There was some talk of similarities between him and his father, but as far as anyone knows Prince Cidro did not have any lovers or hidden children. In fact, plenty of his romantic attempts would be later called quite juvenile. 

Although not often talked about, Prince Cidro did partake in Graza’s tradition of excessive drinking and partying but somehow avoided causing any long-lasting scandals from this period of his life. Prince Cidro was also at times a bit of a gambler and lost money easily to courtiers at card tables before needing to be dragged away. He was, at the very least, a courteous loser much to the point it was reported people would give him his money back because they felt bad. 

Before leaving court, Cidro always took time to spend with his siblings. He was famously the one who had to report the assassination of Queen Luca to Prince Argus. He was very fond of all of them, supporting their hobbies and at times funding some of their projects if their father could not fit it into the budget. He preached the importance of family time and occasional dinners. He gave them many gifts (both while he was in Graza and later he would shower them in souvenirs from his travels) and was always more than happy to offer brotherly advice. He has always tried to be respectful and accommodating to the many queens and stepmothers he’s had throughout his father’s reign and often quoted that he was not close to his own, and as many of his siblings did not have the benefit of knowing their grandmother like he did, took it upon himself to fill that space. 

He would eventually meet and marry Lady Liliana ana’Ignacio Verona in 1770 when the couple were twenty-two and would begin the aforementioned decade of traveling throughout Escan’s territories. 

Cidro would become a big supporter of Lady Liliana’s charitable endeavors and the couple would open schools and religious institutions together, although Prince Cidro’s dedication to Santivism was never strictly stated and at times he often treated convents more as convenient sanctuaries for Escan’s orphans than a place for the Saints. 

In 1782, at the age of thirty-four, Prince Cidro returns to Graza with the news that his wife is pregnant and eager to reunite with his beloved family. 

[captainchrisfics]

Gaps Between Us

About: Chris Evans and a first person pov narrator have an age gap, sparking a controversy in the public eye, some tension among the MCU cast, and quite a bit of trouble in paradise. Thankfully, RDJ is always there to save the day.

Word Count: 3, 418

Requested By: Anonymous

A/N: Please feel free to submit reqs! My inbox ran dry and I’m always up for some inspiration :)

“Evans, quit hogging the bread!” Jeremy Renner called from the other end of the table. It was quite a stretch to accommodate so many people, almost the MCU’s entire cast was present. Nobody could turn down a dinner invitation from Robert Downey Jr. including Chris and I. We sat together, close to the rest of the original Avengers, even though I was a newer addition to the franchise. Being included at a table of thirty or so of the biggest names in my field was immensely inspiring, the kind of awe-struck moment that made me feel like I was a part of something so much bigger than myself. Robert’s after filming dinners were often like that. 

Chris laughed as he picked up a roll, chucking it to his friend like a football. “If you hit the chandelier, I would’ve hit you harder,” RDJ chastised, shooting my boyfriend a playful side eye. Chris laughed harder as he waved a dismissive hand at Downey, insisting he didn’t need diamonds hanging from his temporary home’s ceiling anyway.

He slung an arm around my shoulders, stretching his fingers to grasp the side of my chair. “You aren’t gonna defend my honor, babe?” Chris asked me with faux disappointment and a cocked eyebrow. 

I rolled my eyes and reached for my glass, taking a slow sip before responding, “No, you deserved that one.” I didn’t take my eyes off Chris as his face contorted with an incredulous expression and I reached behind his back to high-five RDJ whose hand was already waiting for mine. 

“Wise move,” Robert quipped. Chris shook his head before returning to his plate, letting the Iron Man actor win this fight. “I learn from the best,” I countered, shooting RDJ a wink from across Chris’s lap. Over the course of this last film, the older actor and I had developed one of the closest relationships I’d ever had with a co-worker, second maybe only to my boyfriend. RDJ managed to take me under his wing and somehow I’d found a way to keep tagging along. We understood each other in a unique way, almost like we operated on the same wavelength, which was invaluable around someone as charismatic and unpredictable as Chris Evans, as much as I love him.

“You’re gonna regret that later,” Chris promised under his breath, a gruff tone only I heard. I kicked him under the table, insisting that it was all in good fun. “So,” Brie Larson said as she joined the group, dropped her plate from the make-shift buffet on the table next to mine and pulled out the chair beside me. “I’m sorry to talk shop, but I’ve got to tell you, I loved your work during the funeral scene today,” she professed, squeezing my hand with sincerity. Scarlett, who sat opposite of me, nodded in agreement as she added between bites, “Not to date myself, but I don’t think there’s a lot of actors your age who could pull off subtle, intense emotion like that.” 

I blushed, staring down at my plate to avoid all of the eyes I felt on me. “Oh, thank you... I appreciate that, but I  was just doing my job,” I shrugged. I was the youngest at the table by far, which could definitely be intimidating at times. Knowing my colleagues turned friends respected me and what I did just as much as I admired their work meant more than I could properly thank them for. “You all set a standard I only hope to match,” I added, squeezing Brie’s hand back.

“No, no, don’t bullshit these hacks,” Robert interjected. “I mean, sure, she was convincingly grieving my loss of life. But I expected more from the rest of you. Where were the theatrics? The professions of love now lost? The waterworks?” He shot pointed looks around the table at everyone who was present for Tony Stark’s funeral. Everyone laughed as Gwenyth Paltrow raised her hands in defense as she jokingly protested, “I had a little girl to be strong for.” “Really though, you did so great today,” Chris brought the conversation back to me as he paused devouring his meal to place a kiss on my temple. Down the table, someone groaned in objection to the PDA, which sent a heavy stone to the pit of my stomach. I felt Chris grow tense as well, always more self-conscious of our relationship than I was.

Our age difference made everything that much more difficult. It gave the media access to more insults to throw in their click-bait titles, contributed to the intense scrutiny the public eye had to offer in our line of work, and was always in the back of our minds. Not because we felt like there was anything wrong with it, but because other people did. If you asked any gossip site reader, Chris was in the midst of a mid-life crisis and I was a gold digger looking to capitalize on his vulnerability. Never mind that we were both perfectly of-age adults or that the same people used to praise our friendship all over the internet before they found out it was a little bit more.

“Relax Mackie,” Sebastian Stan teased from that end of the group, around where the groan came from. Seb had a teasing tone, shoving our friend’s shoulder jovially. Especially with them being some of the closest people to Chris on set, I’d gotten to know Anthony and Seb pretty well. Enough to know that they were only kidding, but that they sometimes didn’t know when to stop. I knew Chris inside and out though so when his ears perked up and his head followed the noise, previously furrowed brow raising as if to dare them to continue, I could tell you there would be trouble. “Her age isn’t on the clock anyway. That’s the thing, right?” Stan teased.

Chris smiled wryly with downcast eyes, watching as he spun his glass. Mackie laughed harder, the force of which threw him back in his chair as he prodded Sebastian’s chest in praise. “Just barely,” he shot back between breaths. The two chuckled one last time before the joke died down and they joined the rest of the cast in other topics of conversation. Chris didn’t seem to realize though, with the way he sat so tensely still like he’d draw more negative attention if he moved a single muscle.

I didn’t know the kind of pressure a few years could add until it burdened my chest every time a reporter brought it up on the red carpet, tugged down my soaring heart whenever we held hands in public and I caught people staring, weighed heavy on my mind when I noticed Chris grow as uncomfortable as he was now. All because of a little peck and a murmur that probably lost its original meaning among the translation of our anxieties.

Around us, the conversation amongst the original Avengers shifted to what everyone’s next projects would be now that Endgame’s filming was coming to a close. Chris, usually the most boisterous of the bunch, sat quietly as he shoved broccoli about his plate. His arm that had been wrapped around me sagged back to his side. His leg bounced rapidly like a revving engine, ready to run. I reached to squeeze his hand as a sign of comfort, that I was here and happy to be, knowing that the thought his nerves spiraling rapidly out of control in his head was never a good thing. As soon as my fingers brushed his, Chris pulled away so harshly he shot up from his seat, jostling the table unintentionally and grabbing everyone’s attention.

“I’m uh…” he scratched the back of his neck, skittish eyes bouncing between everyone staring at him. “Gonna go grab a beer. Anyone want anything?” Chris recovered, smooth enough not to raise suspicion if you weren’t within range of the anxious energy radiating from him. Soon, he stepped away from the table with everyone’s requests and escaped to the kitchen, leaving an empty chair in his wake. My eyes dropped to meet Robert’s across the space Chris had been occupying, just as wide with worry as I imagined mine were with eyebrows nearly through the roof. 

“I’ll make sure Chris doesn’t fuck up that tall order,” RDJ said with an effortless nonchalance I envied, clasping his hands together as he stood. He turned to me with peaked eyebrows as he added, “Why don’t you join us, kid? Takes a few actors to screw in a lightbulb.” I accepted Robert’s outstretched hand and trailed behind him, following Chris’s footsteps until we found him bent over the kitchen island, fingers gripping the quartz so hard his knuckles were white. “Why does it have to be such a big fucking deal, huh?” he spit cynically. Chris’s face scrunched up with furrowed brows and a tight lip as his eyes, firey with misplaced rage, burned holes through Downey. “Seriously, please enlighten me. Why does everyone else who isn’t a part of this relationship give such a massive shit about it?” His voice stayed quiet as to not raise the others’ suspicion, but by the strained veins in his neck and steely look in his eye held his anger instead. 

“In and out, buddy,” Robert said as he clasped a hand on Chris’s shoulder. “You know those bozos didn’t mean anything by it.” Chris snapped that it wasn’t about that, that this was much bigger than them, and I knew he was right. “That’s the problem,” he growled. “Nobody means anything by it, they’re just trying to get clicks on their articles or attention on Twitter or laughs at our expense without stopping to think the kind of shitty strain it puts us through.” Chris slammed the beer he’d grabbed on the countertop hard enough that, if it’d been opened, it would’ve created another mess for us to clean up. He was turning red and I could almost hear the tea kettle coming to a boil in his stomach, the steam ready to burst from his ears. I don’t think I’d ever seen Chris so mad.

I stayed glued to the entryway, holding my own hand behind my back as I rolled from my heels to my toes. I watched Chris nervously, not exactly sure what to do or how to help. Really I was the cause of the problem. How could I possibly offer a solution? And then, as much as I hated myself for even thinking it, the only way to fix this occurred to me. 

“We could split up, you know,” I proposed so quietly I hoped that between Chris’s angry ragged breath and Robert’s attempts at rationalizing with him they wouldn’t hear me. But they did. Their eyes snapped to me as Chris’s face fell, his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth hung open, all softened by sadness. RDJ threw up his hands, shooting me a look with wide eyes and tight lips as if to say he already had enough to deal with sans me joining Chris on the ledge he was trying to talk him down from.

“Don’t say stupid things like that,” Chris scolded with a shake of his head. His shoulders sagged from their previous position taught with anger as he slipped into a state of confused heartache. He could deny it all he wanted to, but that was the only way I saw out.

“Well, I certainly don’t want to but...” I bit my lip, searching for the courage to continue with Chris giving me pleading puppy dog eyes worse than Dodger’s. “But this is just too much. All of it, all of the articles and speculation and hurtful things being thrown our way because of our relationship, it’s overwhelming.” Even when he was puffed up with rage before, I felt smaller now. Measly compared to the giant bumbling toward me as he shoved past Downey, wrapping huge arms around me like a shield, though I wasn’t sure who he was trying to protect at this point. 

“You’ve got enough on your mind with your career, any relationship is a lot. Let alone one with our age gap. I know how much you hate the things people say. I just... I think we need to quit while we’re ahead and end on good terms before you start hating me, too. And if it’s what’ll make you happy then-” I spoke into his chest though I was sure he could hear me loud and clear, words suddenly snowballing out of me, gaining strength as the momentum grew with every tumbling syllable. I had to spit them out before I couldn’t. Before I changed my mind and picked what was selfish instead of best for Chris’s sake. And then he cut me off.

“Darling, I told you to stop talking nonsense. You make me happier than anything,” Chris was quiet with calm now, his angry energy redirected to dragging me back to earth when I felt so far away from him. “I could never ever even imagine a world where I felt anything less than love for you,” he paused to press a long kiss onto the top of my head before speaking again. “Let alone because of some stupid rumors and the opinions of people who don’t matter to me a fraction as much as you do.”

I melted into Chris, relishing in the way he radiated the excitement of an entire football stadium just when their home team scored the winning touchdown. How he smelled of deodorant I didn’t think anyone else wore and the liberating, fresh air of the mountains when you’re the only one there and something I still couldn’t identify anywhere else that wasn’t in his embrace. It was just Chris. And the way his beard scratched my skin as he nuzzled into the crook of my neck, the fact that I didn’t mind was so uniquely Chris as well. In fact, I’d miss it. He pressed gentle kisses into my collarbone as he rested his forehead on my shoulder, little wishes that I’d take back what I’d said. I was ready to push him away and tell him that this had to be it when it occurred to me just how much I’d miss him, but I couldn’t keep putting Chris through all of this stress just for me.

“I mean it,” I asserted though it was half-hearted, tears buried finally rising to the surface. I knew I had an ocean of them waiting inside of me, tossing and turning with my tumultuous emotions, but I had to stop the tide from rising. At least until Chris wasn’t around anymore. “We need to break-“

“No,” Robert finally cut in, dropping a gentle hand on one of each of our shoulders. “No, you don’t. Don’t say the b-word,” he repeated like he was trying to ease us out of a trance. Pity laced the soft circles he rubbed our backs. I turned to look at him, keeping an ear to Chris’s chest to prolong the comfort I found in the steady thump of his heartbeat. “The second you allow the public eye’s gaze to start changing your relationship is the second you lose yourself to this job. I can’t stand by and allow you two to lose each other too,” Downey continued, though his soft eyes stayed on me. 

Then he turned to Chris with a harder look of determination, really trying to drive his point home. “Anyone who knows you at all, Evans, knows that you’ve been looking for something like this for a long time.” I felt Chris’s grip tighten around my waist, not nearly ready to let me go any time soon. I knew Robert was right. Even though I hadn’t known Chris for all that long, we got along better than I did with anyone else before. It was like we’d known each other forever even when it’d only been a few weeks and I figured, with Chris’s age and his eagerness to settle down, he’d been waiting even longer than that. “Don’t let it slip away because of other people’s opinions.” Chris nodded against my shoulder, still holding me close as if I’d run off, which I guess I tried to. “If you can’t follow your heart and tell anyone else who has something to say about it to fuck right off thank you very much, then I don’t know who could,” Robert finished with a confident smile. I thought it was funny, like he was trying to make it rub off on my boyfriend. 

Chris nodded, hesitantly at first and then faster with more assuredness as what his friend said sunk in. “Now, get it together and realize that you’ve got a solid foundation with each other. I’ll be damned if you let it crumble over Mackie and Sebastian being dumbasses.”  Robert smirked at us, his usual sly spark returning to his eye. “Start thinking with these a little more,” he paused to poke Chris’s chest just above his heart. “And using these a little less,” Robert said as he tapped my temple. 

Chris stretched an arm around Downey, pulling both of us right to his side. “Thanks,” he breathed out, almost like a sigh of relief. “Don’t know what we’d do without you,” I told Robert, patting his shoulder with gratitude. “Yeah, yeah,” he brushed us off, pulling away from Chris’s embrace as well. “Tell me how much you love me later.” He took a few steps toward the fridge and started pulling out cans of almost everything under the sun, somehow miraculously remembering what everyone ordered when Chris wasn’t even paying attention despite being the one who asked. “We better get all these drinks out there before there’s a riot,” he said, grabbing as many as he could and sliding the rest to Chris and I. “Or worse,” Robert paused dramatically, shoving the fridge closed with his hip. “More jokes.” With that, he turned and left Chris and I standing alone in the kitchen. 

Chris rolled his eyes as he turned to me, reaching for my hand. He played with my fingers for a second, watching our hands as they pressed against each other one digit at a time, before locking them together. “You know I love you a whole lot more than how mad I am at everyone else,” he said with more sincerity than I thought he could muster. It seemed to be all the honesty the world had to offer. I grinned a smile that stretched so far it made my cheeks hurt even more than the blush burned as I nodded and said with just as much integrity, “And I love you even more than that.”

Chris reached to wipe the remainder of my tears with his thumb as he shook his head and drew in a tight breath, feigning contention. “I don’t know about that. It’s like, so much for someone who was about to end things a minute ago,” he joked. Chris gathered so many drinks in his arms there weren’t any left for me to carry. 

I stretched to flick his ear anyway, all but stomping my foot in protest. “I love you a hell of a lot, Evans. So much I was about to end things for your own good,” I argued with a pointed look even though it was pointless. He already knew my heart hadn’t been in it, the problem was that I’d been listening to my head just like Downey said.

He jostled the cans so they all sat in one arm before slipping his free hand into the back pocket of my jeans. “Let’s go show the world just how much then,” Chris laughed as he bent down to press a kiss into my temple, happy to still be by each other’s sides as we joined the rest of the Marvel cast.

Tags: @patzammit , @thegetawaywriter , @coffeebooksandfandom , @captainsteveevans , @intrepidandabitcrazy , @super100012

[zcldrizes-a]

“ 𝐢 𝐚𝐦 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲. ”  ⋰ canon divergence.

my daenerys is very heavily influenced by book, show, and personal headcanons. i have taken what i want from each, but ultimately, if you don’t like certain things, you are free to unfollow. this is what you can expect if we write together. massive credit to both @killthebxy and @tymptir for their input, and everything they’ve contributed. 

⋰ ⊰  𝒊𝒇 𝒊 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌; 𝒊 𝒂𝒎 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕. ┊┊ spans the time across all books, and seasons 1 - 5.

The main verse takes place as a mixture of book, show, and headcanon influences, starting with the history we know and love, so I won’t go into a ridiculous amount of detail since the plot points are pretty universally known. Born during the worst storm the world has ever seen, and at the cost of her mother’s life, Daenerys was raised by her brother Viserys in exile, to escape the wrath of the Baratheons who had already destroyed the majority of her family. She was eventually taken into the Free Cities with her brother, by loyal retainers, and after years of trying to raise support, they were given sanctuary by Magister Illyrio Mopatis in the Free City of Pentos. Despite living in constant fear of her brother ( who threatens she’ll “wake the dragon” ) and somewhat meek and malleable in response to such treatment, she dreams of finding a peaceful home and a place to belong.

SUBVERSE NOTE HERE: In any canon where someone who is not Viserys raises Daenerys ( whether that be Rhaella, or whether that be any other person – Arthur Dayne, Elia Martell, etc ) the tag will be as linked beside this. This is to signal that her background in that verse may be different, thus lining her up for the potential of a different life.

After reaching a ripe age for marriage, she is sold to Khal Drogo in exchange for an army of 40,000 men for the khalasar, for an army to take back the Iron Throne, Daenerys is initially terrified of her husband, who does not hesitate to take what is his by purchase. Throughout her time with the dothraki, she eventually finds the strength to fight back against her older brother, and manages to impact the culture of the people around her - instilling ideals against the way the dothraki used to live in a respectful manner. After Drogo’s death, and the birth of her dragons, her time with the dothraki comes to a close, as they won’t follow a woman who has not displayed traditional stereotypes of strength. As such, she seeks out the major cities in Essos in an attempt to fortify her power beyond just her broken people.

Making her way from Qarth, to Astapor, it is there that Daenerys acquires the army of the Unsullied, and forms an alliance with the Stormcrows. After freeing the slaves of both Astapor and Yunkai, she marches to Meereen, though she suffers unrest from the people under her power, and some degree of disobedience from her dragons, resulting in two of them being locked beneath the Great Pyramid after her largest slaughters a child. Note, there is a lot of content within this timeframe to take in, and solely for the avoidance of rehashing everything in the earlier books and the earlier seasons, I won’t go into more detail than that, but time frame wise, this verse will cover the duration of Daenerys’ reign until the fighting pits, where she takes flight on Drogon for the first time. It is also worth noting that while I will not defer to show canon when it comes to things like Doreah’s betrayal, if it works for our plot, I am happy to make it work.

The important things post books ending begin here. I will be accepting the canon that accompanies the course of season 6. That is, that after being found by the dothraki, Daenerys is taken to Vaes Dothraki to be tried before the council of Khals, and potentially fated to live a life with the widows. I will also be accepting the death that she gives those Khals by fire, and the new support of the entire Khalasar at her back - as their Khaleesi, she instills new values to ban their traditional sexual violence and strives to continue positive changes to the more problematic aspects of their culture, as she did as Khaleesi. I will also be accepting the season 6 canon that after securing Slaver’s Bay and renaming it the Bay of Dragons, she accepts an alliance with the Greyjoys, who escort her to Dragonstone.

SUBVERSE NOTE HERE: After the attack in the fighting pits by the Sons of the Harpy, Drogon carries a wounded Daenerys ( who took a blade to the thigh whilst mounting him ) from the arena and across the narrow sea to protect her from her enemies, finding his way north, to be found by the Lord Commander of the night’s watch. Over the duration of the time her leg heals, she remains within castle black, forging a friendship that buds on the edge of something more with the young Lord Commander, and is at the castle for both his death and resurrection. Only after his announcement to travel south does she decide it’s time to travel home, and back to Essos. upon return, and whilst Drogon stops for rest after his long fight, she is found by the Khalasar, who take her as prisoner. This default verse is based on my plots with @killthebxy and allows some prior interactions with members of the night’s watch, should any wish for it. Within this same verse, her armies travel North to fight alongside at the Battle of the Bastards, before returning to Dragonstone once he is crowned King of the North and realising she is no longer welcome there. Heavily plotted with Fil.

This verse will span upwards to her journey North, though heavy plotting can change her reasons for that. By default, it is Jon that persuades her of the real fight to the North, but happy for that to change. Also happy to keep the canon of Daenerys executing the Tarlys - controversial, I know, but it’s staying. The major changes within this arc come from a personality basis; she’s not nearly as entitled in these exchanges, nor as bloodthirsty. This verse will also include her arrival in the North, by which time she faces massive isolation amongst wary people, and even from her own advisors. It is up for discussion whether she agrees to Northern independence at this point or slightly later, in either subset of this canon - but she will agree at one point, or another. This canon will end at the Battle of Winterfell.

from here, there are two potential paths for my canon to follow. one in which the battle ends with arya killing the night king, and one in which the battle ends with winterfell’s ruin. & note that in both, after what happens at winterfell, daenerys is forced to carry a sword, and to wear armour for both larger scaled battles. whether this be a small one created for her, or whether this be dark sister, gifted by the free folk ( thanks to @arcusignis​ for that theory ) is up for speculation. in both, at the very least, the dragons will be forced to wear chestplates.

⋰ ⊰ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆.  ┊┊ set after the battle of winterfell.

Massive credit to Fil, who also helped to write this verse. In this verse, the premise is simple to follow. The battle of Winterfell happened as per show canon to an extent - battle strategies were different than the mess that was show canon, and I’ll defer to @killthebxy and his beautiful headcanons, along with discussions with @tymptir​ for how Jaime would have integrated his own strategies. Instead of killing the Night King, Arya managed to kill an Other - this resulted in a large portion of the wights dying, and enough time for the Northern people to begin to scatter. Note, it is also unclear in this verse if Bran is alive or dead, and that is also up for negotiation. The casualties that take place in their attempted retreat are enormous, thus leading to more wights, and very few managing to escape. In this canon, Daenerys is harmed after her fall from Drogon, though Jorah is still very much alive.

Forced to retreat South, and find what little resources they can, the remainder of the Northern forces must reach an agreement with Cersei, who is admittedly shaken at the fall of the Northern forces. In this verse, as part of that agreement, Jon Snow is taken as prisoner until the battle, to ensure that this is not a trap for Daenerys to take power.

SUBVERSE NOTE HERE: There is also a subverse here wherein Daenerys herself offers up her own claim to the throne in exchange for support from the South. This agreement also extends to her own execution following the potential success of the battle - a deal she would agree to, given that there are more important things than the throne at this point, though her key condition would be that the North is left alone and untouched by the South.

Within this verse, the battle for the Long Night continues on to an extended battle at King’s Landing, with the dragons fighting over the Dragonpit, until the Night King is separated from Viserion once again. In most canons, unless specified otherwise, I will also have Daenerys as pregnant during this fight - and with that in mind, she fights anyway because she would never let the dragons fight a battle without her. She is their mother.

SUBVERSE NOTE HERE: There is also an alternate subverse here where Daenerys does, in fact, temper Lightbringer for Jon as Nissa Nissa once did for Azor Ahai, and once again, we can all thank Fil for this. In this verse, she willingly gives her life to temper his sword.

Following this time, we welcome a dream of spring easily, given that the people of King’s Landing have seen her saving them from the darkness, and that timeline will take place in a separate part of the overarching verse.

⋰ ⊰ 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅. ┊┊ set during season 8 timeline, post bow.

This verse follows the show theory, that the big bad is not in fact the Night King, but the purpose of the story is the fight for the Iron Throne. As a result, any deaths in 8.03 will be considered canon in this verse unless plotting dictates otherwise. In this verse, after rest and recovery of her armies, Daenerys begins the fight for the Iron Throne by travelling South once more. Firstly basing herself at Dragonstone, and then travelling closer to King’s Landing. Any events of 8.04 ( Rhaegal’s death, Missandei’s death, the Greyjoy ambush ) will not be considered canon in this verse unless we explicitly discuss otherwise.

In the actual attack on King’s Landing, the main focus for Daenerys will be eradicating the scorpions on the castle walls. In conjunction with @tymptir and her lovely Greyjoys, there is potential for Rhaegal to be used against her via Dragonbinder, or alternatively, for Euron to lose at an earlier stage of the battle ( because presumably it’s not over so shortly ) and to make an agreement in exchange for his own life, to betray Cersei. In verses where that is void, either Yara/Asha Greyjoy can lead the charge against the Iron Fleet with the remainder of her own, or alternatively, Daenerys will burn it herself. If and only if Varys betrays Daenerys, will she consider executing him - and no, Tyrion will not be betraying her in this verse. She has the support of her Hand, at the least, and she will not abandon him.

SUBVERSE NOTE HERE: Another subverse! In this one, I’m going to be controversial and embrace the madness storyline - but not done the way the show did. In this verse, upon her attack to King’s Landing, Daenerys accidentally sets off the wildfire in the city, and the guilt at finishing what her father started causes her psyche to fracture, unable to split reality from fiction. In this verse, she either loses her unborn child or Drogon, and her madness manifests in seeing visions of herself as if she was standing in the room with her. Grief and isolation cause her to want to take her own life.

Once breaking through the walls to King’s Landing, and once the armies there see what forces she brings, a surrender is quick to follow - and is one she takes gladly. Resources are distributed to the citizens of the city to ensure they don’t suffer while the transition of power happens. Cersei’s fate is up for negotiation, though I defer to the theory that either of her younger brothers will deal with her long before Daenerys has to. She takes the throne quickly after.

⋰ ⊰ 𝒂 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈. ┊┊ set in the future.

This verse, finally, takes place after Daenerys is in power. In default, she will take Jon as her husband - though he will not rule as King, but instead by personal choice, takes the title of Consort. Her rule is a peaceful one, granting Northern independence - and truth be told, if any others ask for independence, so long as they prove themselves happy and functioning, she will grant it. Every year, she travels to Meereen several times to check on how progress is going there, and instills forms of welfare and many orphanages within King’s Landing, as well as basic forms of education and skills trades for all. Tyrion remains her Hand.

She knows that a perfect world isn’t created over one lifetime, and eventually if there will be a broken wheel for all, then she’s okay with the idea - but for now, it’s about building the city from the ground up so that no one knows what it’s like to not have a home, not like she did.

⋰ ⊰ 𝒂 𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒚𝒆𝒏 𝒂��𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅. ┊┊ official season 8 ending verse.

This verse is the closest to the canon for season 8 that you’ll ever see me come, and is based on theories like this one here. In this verse, Cersei frames Daenerys by setting off the wildfire around King’s Landing ( referencing that one line about Cersei “having other plans for the Dragon Queen ) after the bells have been rung, making it look like she didn’t accept the surrender ( and making Dany herself think that she herself set it off, by the timing of it all ). Blaming herself for the thousands of deaths that have now occurred, and believing she is responsible for the deaths of so many innocents, Daenerys begins to burn the Red Keep itself as the city burns around them.

Between the losses of everyone she’s loved and knowing she’s being betrayed by so many people, and adding the guilt of her actions, this verse ends in her taking her own life with her last conscious thought urging Drogon to destroy the Iron Throne. ( Note that if you would rather it be Jon who kills her, then I’m not opposed to the idea, but it’ll require plotting beforehand to clarify! )

In this verse, Drogon carries her body away towards Volantis, and either Red Priestess revives her, or in burning her body, Drogon manages to revive his mother as per the fire and blood rituals that have saved her before. This verse was also written in collaboration with @killthebxy.

[nvrissa]

hello laid ease and furries ( u know who u are )......hahaha....are u ready for this ? zimzalabim ! my name is xan ( she/her pronouns ) and my laptop has been broken for a good 3 years now i have to use an onscreen keyboard so if u see me typing for 20000 years on discord only to send u a single sentence u know whats up x JSDBJWBJW here is the intro....im really winging this no one call me out for that WOOO....tw: medication, mental health, body image ? perhaps just to be safe <3

ok ! so im not gonna talk too much abt family stuff bc yuno and i are doing the collab of the century here and art takes time people ! JSBDJBWDJW but so u get a good idea...i will write a little abt it lets get it 

so the kwons were two of the biggest faces in hollywood ( and tbh they are still considered icons / hollywood royalty no matter how old they get they stay #Relevant ) think bradgelina ! literally everyone knows who the kwons if u dont u probably live under a rock /: 

their parents are very into the fame thing...so when it came to their kids ( nari and wolfe ) they SUPER pushed the famous life onto them, really expecting both of them to be just as obsessed and enamored by the public. idk if u guys ever say that vid of gigi and bella hadid before they were huge were their mom was pressuring them both to get into modeling and to stay skinny and to be stars etc....it was kinda like that !

so narissa, being the first born, really just internalized that shit...like imagine being told ever since u were a baby that fame and status and ur last name are wildly important and not being able to remember a time when u werent being watched by cameras / a third party ( the public ) bc that was her life ! nari has....no experience as to what life is like without cameras and without having to create this image of herself that ppl are gonna be into 

obviously that’s NOT normal....and it had it’s toll on her /: as a kid she grew up so fast like u know those kids that seem so mature and wise for their age ? that was nari. she always had two versions of herself: inside nari vs outside nari. she was so good at being good just bc she knew what stuff to express and what stuff to keep inside ( spoiler alert: most of it was kept in x )  

she is still very much desperate to please her parents despite it all /: i feel like for a long time she kinda excepted and agreed that fame is everything ( hence why shes known for using her last name to get her places ) but shes starting to realize just how FUCKED it all is and just how much it’s messed her up so stay tuned for more fun !

ok so career stuff ! nari started off as a child model bc she was um super cute and super good at knowing what to do / not freaking out in front of cameras <3 but she was always obsessed with actors ! she used to sit in front of the tv for hours legit study and memorize ppls mannerisms and various movie lines.. she was literally always just quoting random lines / imitating various actors so often her parents were like ok word go act !    

she landed her first role at 12 and it was a pretty huge role as a lead chara in a mini television series that revolved around a cast of kids ( think stranger things but not plot wise just how some of the mains were kids ) with zero acting experience before hand ... so it was pretty clear to the media nari got the spot bc she was a kwon ! there was a bunch of controversy around the show before it came out but once it was released...there was no denying nari had talent

after that it was just a whirlwind of acting doors opening up for her. everyone wanted nari bc of her last name and all the attention that came from it, not to mention every director wanted to be The One that helped narissa kwon become one of the most famous actresses of the 21st century. most of the time she was getting cast for selfish reasons but nari never realized it /: she was just happy to be acting bc it really was like therapy for her to become different ppl

flash forward to age 15 when narissa was finally diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and was prescribed meds to help ! it was actually a director from a movie she was working on that suggested to her parents nari might be struggling after witnessing her have a panic attack on set. not wanting a scandal, her parents agreed it was best to get her “help” which included pills and weekly therapy ! 

so nari actually didnt mind it too much tbh she HAD been struggling for a while she just assumed her anxiety was normal and just like something all famous ppl were dealing with but that wasnt the case. she was hesitant to open up to her therapist just bc she was still obsessed with this idea of inside nari vs outside nari, and she was very scared to cross that line so it took....years of sessions to build up that trust

as she got older though and as she got more famous, everyone just assumed she was better. she was more famous and loved by the day, she had become a chanel ambassador ( thank u jennie x ), her interviews on youtube always brought in record views, she’d started in plenty of movies critics agreed would become cult classics, her social medias were nearing kardashian level in terms of followers: everything was on track....

....except nari had actually never been more unstable. she had become so dependent on her meds she couldnt go anywhere or talk to anyone without popping a few in. all the watching eyes were starting to make her paranoid, not to mention the pressure from her parents ( who couldn’t be happier with nari being so famous ) was at its all time high. she had been nominated for an oscar at 21 and everyone was expecting her to win...and then she didnt

narissa kwon famously fainted at the 2018 oscars after it was announced she had lost the award. her actual fainting wasnt caught on camera or televised, but it WAS witnessed by some of the most relevant names and faces in hollywood who were in that room. the scandal took the media by storm, the hashtag #getwellnarissa trending for over 42 hours until a statement was released she had fainted bc of dehydration and other undisclosed causes and that she was okay & currently taking it easy at home surrounded by family 

in reality it was the abuse of her medication as well as all the stress, but when your last name is kwon manipulating the press is as simple as making the right phone call. unfortunately for nari and her parents, the article about the brat pack came out a week later, and there was no manipulating that source /:

for narissa, it was all a wake up call. she decided to go off her anxiety meds altogether. after falling out with the brat pack she spent that year trying to figure out who she was separate from her fame and her last name. despite some offers from a few casting directors ( surprisingly some people still wanted her despite the scandals bc she was still a kwon, after all ) narissa rejected every role except one in a coming of age indie movie that explores womanhood and mental health as well as strained relationships with mothers. the movie is set to release sometime mid august hehe (~:

she agreed to come to milan to reunite with the brat pack bc she’s still searching for herself ! nari figures the people who quite literally grew up with her might give her some answers......not to mention there is still a part of her who is desperate to reclaim the image and status she had before everything fell apart </3    

PERSONALITY/TIDBITS

narissa is....complicated to say the least. growing up in front of the cameras and in a family who prioritized fame and outside opinions of you as the most important thing, she is quite literally desperate for praise and approval. because she legit has no idea what parts of her are real and what parts of her she’s created for her public persona, she often looks for understanding in others!! shes very very good at analyzing people and understanding people in the hopes that its gonna make her better at analyzing herself, but to no avail. 

libra sun capricorn moon !! THIS is super accurate and telling if u wanna read but i kinda just summarized it in the last bullet

she is such a perfectionist with everything she does and a bit of a control freak in the sense that if she’s not the one doing something, she doesnt have faith whatever that is will be able to live up to her unrealistic standards. directors are often concerted with nari bc whenever she gets big roles.....she is so hard on herself, often asking for take after take bc she monitors every little thing abt her expression or her movements. she’s often left frustrated and disappointed with herself bc again, her standards are SUPER unrealistic ):

she’s relatively sweet!! growing up with the brat pack they probably knew her as the life of the party, very bubbly, confident, and very easy to have fun with as long as you’re being tolerable. however, she can get kind of opinionated at times so it’s very hard for you to gain her trust and respect back if you lose it. she’s also prone to random mood swings / periods of isolation, but whenever she returns its with a big smile and a soft voice assuring you everything is okay 

very good at lying and deceiving ppl but she hardly ever does it on purpose ( unless her publicists asks her too ). she’s carried this persona / public image of herself curated for consumption from others for so long, sometimes she has no idea when she’s being sincere or if she’s just convincing herself she’s being sincere. most of the time she only deceives other people about herself. she can come across as kind of elusive because of this ( think daisy from gatsby’s perspective ) but it’s not on purpose. she just legit has no true sense of self isnt that sexy?

speaking of sex. JWDBJWBDJWBD she also uses that as a coping mechanism / a weird affirmation that yes, she IS wanted by others and yes she IS seen as someone beautiful and that she IS something to be consumed by others ( like i said in my tags....male fantasies male fantasies ) but then at the same time she feels guilty abt this and so unsatisfied and disgusted at how she’s living her life as an object / manifestation of other people’s projections rather than as a normal person...rip </3 its a cycle

ever since her relationship with micah that was so hated by the public it actually ruined and ended their relationship, nari has been too scared to publicly have a relationship again. the media seems to love seeing her on casual dates with other stars, but not to see her tied down to one person, as that kind of “damages” this super accessible persona she’s put out ( think idols and why they cant date )  

she loves poetry, french music, all of marilyn monroe and audrey hepburn’s movies, nonfiction essays abt womanhood and identity, anything chanel, is particularly fond of silk dresses but is partial to velvet as well, wears lacy bralettes under everything bc it makes her a little more confident, actually prefers large parties to small ones because small gatherings are more personal therefore give her more anxiety, would only eat fruit and drink champagne if she could live like that, doesn’t know how to swim so she’s scared of the ocean as well as the dark, used to study ballet as a kid and misses it terribly, doesn’t know how to drive and isn’t planning to learn, can be materialistic at times, is probably an introvert masquerading as an extrovert for 22 years now, the only movies she cant stand are westerns, loves to travel but is scared of flying, doesn’t drink coffee, and is allergic to nuts. 

last but most important fact about narissa is that she loves her brother wolfe more than anything in this world so messing with him is the only way nari is bound to 100% hate you. she can bully him all she wants ( ex. starting very real rumors he IS in fact a furry ) but no one else is aloud to actually be mean to him or she will kill you

also very random but i had a hc that when she was 6 and her pet cat jinx died she caused enough fuss at home her parents actually made it a national holiday in about thirteen different states. the anniversary of this death is december 4th and yes . the brat pack better mourn jinx with nari every year......

pls spare plots im sorry this is so long.....JBDJBWJDBWJBWDJBJ i promise it will be worth it also im sensitive and very small ... how can u say no ? 

[irarelypostanything]

Slice of Life[6]

[Andy]

“There have been some increasingly controversial topics in the news,” began Andy, in the milionth meeting they were holding that week, “and I know that not everyone here is in agreement with regard to personal beliefs.  Though there is some merit to discussing these topics, I would encourage you to do so outside of work.

“So please,” he continued, “for the love of the old gods and the new, stop arguing about the last episode of Game of Thrones.”

“It was kind of bullshit though, right?” asked Jake, to murmurs of approval.  

“I haven’t watched it yet,” complained Kevin.

“Spoiler,” said Jake, “it sucked.”

“Jake, please.”

“There was a shocking twist about Tyrion being the Night King.”

“Kevin, Jake may or may not be messing with you.”

“I did think the part where Eddard rose from the dead was a little out of left field, though.”

“Amy, please proceed with your presentation.”

Amy was standing in front of their conference room’s projector.  Her long, dark brown hair was tied into a bun, and her usual Davis badminton jacket was replaced by a white button-up.

“Thanks Andy,” she said, relieved that the meeting was back under control, “as I was saying, this project is worth roughly 25.6 million dollars, collectively.  As is the usual case, the largest defense contractors are going to take the majority of business.

“But this is where things get interesting.  I’m going to have to be intentionally vague about the next portion of this, since we’re in a nonclassified setting, but we have certain...capabilities...that even some of the largest corporations don’t.  Thanks to some wise decisions we made early last year with regard to our research allocations, we are actually the first team we know of that can use...”

Her voice trailed.  “Well, that’s also classified.  But the figures aren’t.  Look at this.”  The slide changed.  “We are poised to become the government’s preferred vendor for the entire sensor, and all we have to do is give them a taste.  They expect delivery within three weeks.  For this to work, all teams have to collaborate perfectly.”

“It’s really important that we execute this now,” agreed Andy, “that means it’s really, vitally important that we not let our meetings diverge into arguments about petty bullshit.

“Kevin, we’d like a status report from you.  What’s the important software issue you said you wanted everyone to know about?”

“I know we were told not to compile on the hardware,” began Kevin, “but unfortunately, with our system, it’s unavoidable.  The time stamps are messed up, so doing basic things like compilation is surprisingly difficult.”

“Why not code it in Python?” suggested Jake.  “that way you won’t need to compile it.”

“Wow,” said Dan, with mock amazement, “switch programming languages.  Brilliant.  This is the kind of empty-headed bullshit that only a hardware engineer would come up with.”

“Right,” Jake retorted, “because messed up time stamps is a hardware issue.  Do you guys also give your system administrators mops, then give your janitors root access?”

“Switching to python actually isn’t a bad idea,” said Ryan, “but there’s a much more obvious solution to this problem.  You can-”

“Hang on,” interrupted Dan, “care to repeat that comment about root access?”

“You guys don’t understand separation of duty,” said Jake.

“You guys don’t understand fuck about fuck,” said Dan.

The next half hour went about as productively as that conversation.

[Nora]

Saturday.  It was a surprisingly clear morning, for San Francisco, and the sun was just starting to rise.  Because it was San Francisco, though, the morning was ice cold.

Nora made her way up the steep trail of Mt. Davidson.  Kevin said he knew every trail and angle at this place, and she believed him.  The park was tiny.  She reached the peak with ease.  She glanced in the direction of the sun, then turned away to look at downtown in the distance.  She could see the bay, and Castro, and a bunch of major downtown buildings until her view reached Sutro Mountain.

She pulled out her cell phone.  “This is boring,” she told Kevin through the speaker.

“Did you know it’s the tallest hill in all of San Francisco?”

“Highest of the seven hills?”

“Sure.”

“What, because of the giant cross?”

“I admit that the giant cross is cheating, but the point still stands.”

“Not sure what the big deal is, to be honest.  I’ve had a more fun time at Bernal Heights, and that place has some pretty good coffee.”

“Giant blue building.”

“What?”

“Find the spot where Balboa is, look a bit to the left, and you’ll see that giant blue building.  It’s a water tower.  We used to sneak up there, forever ago, when we were young.”

“Okay...”

“I used to love this city.  It’s not the same now.  Whenever I came back it was never the same, always a little different.  So I started to come home every month, then every other month.  The last time we spoke, it was my first time back in almost a year.”

“Well, what’s changed?”

“It’s just different.”

Nora looked at the tower, then at Kevin’s high school, then at the water again.  From a distance, it was all tiny.  Like none of it mattered.

“You used to love this city,” asked Nora, “and now you don’t because it’s changed?”

“Exactly.  You took the words right out of my mouth.”

“So you believe that the city you once loved is gone.  I believe that the city you loved never existed.”

“That’s morbid.”

“Seriously, how much of it had you really seen?”

Nora looked again at the view.  “Oh wait, technically you’ve seen quite a bit of it.”

“Technically.”

[Kevin]

Sunday.  Kevin was at a church.  Again.

After another sermon, a middle-aged person named Leo (whom he had met a couple of weeks ago) sought him out.

“Hey Kevin,” he said, “do you know a lot about social media?”

The question hit him with surprise.  Kevin had once been obsessed with social media.

“I know a little bit,” said Kevin, “why do you ask?”

“I’d like to give our church more of an online presence, but it’s all new to me.  What do you know about Facebook groups?”

“Well,” said Kevin, “not too much.  I know that you can pay to have the algorithm favor you, so you get more traffic.  I also know that you can integrate it with Google Analytics, and I believe the algorithm will favor you if you can rack likes or comments in a five-minute window.

“The whole thing is very calculated.  The emojis you use, whether you use GIFs, whether you use tags...all of these are taken into consideration when considering your post placement.”

“That’s all fine and good,” said Leo, “but you don’t sound super enthusiastic right now about Facebook.”

“Have you heard of Life Church?”

“No.”

“It’s a nice resource, it’s an online church, but it’s just a little bit too good.  It’s hard to describe.  It’s ridiculously high quality video, full Facebook integration, professional band.  You can view the likes and comments in real time.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“It’s weird.  All of this is weird to me for some reason.  Doing that kind of thing for a church?  I prefer sites like Medium.  I can harvest so much sweet, sweet data.”

“Are you okay?  You just turned red.”

“You know, I get crazy about this a lot.  I used to be a normal guy.  A couple likes here, a couple likes there.  I started to find forums where I could get 100 likes a post, consistently, and I started to get a presence.  Click, like, share.  Click, like, share.  It’s no way to live, man.  Every second a feeling of wanting judgment, every act of communication a desperate plea to please the algorithm.

“But this one time, this one night I’ll never forget, I put up an article that went #trending.  It got 36,000 Facebook shares.  Pretty okay, sure, but then I found the real analytics.  3 million hits.  3 million people read it, all around the world.”

For a little while, Leo just stood there.  Finally, he spoke again.

“Kevin, I just want to share some videos.”

“Oh, okay.  Have you considered YouTube?”

“What’s that?”

Kevin walked back to his apartment after lunch.  Part of him wished he could be as enthusiastic about church as he was about technology, but there was still something he couldn’t get over.  It was a belief that was fundamental to him for as long as he remembered.  It was a belief that went against everything he had read in every book of the bible.

Kevin didn’t think it mattered what people believed.  All that mattered to him was what people did.

Some Christians donated to the poor, built schools, saved lives.  Some atheists donated to the poor, built schools, saved lives.  Both Christians and non-Christian people had done great things, and horrible things, but so had Muslims.  And Hindu people.  And scientologists, and probably a million other religions.  But no one thought it was okay to believe that your beliefs didn’t matter.  

Kevin wasn’t sure if he believed in everything or nothing.  He figured it was impossible to believe in nothing, because that would mean that he still believed in something.

[Dan]

Monday.  8PM.  Dan was one of the only people in.

It was a long meeting, followed by a crucial lunch meeting, followed by coding, followed by another meeting.  These past few days had been tough on everyone, but Dan sometimes wished he could just hole up, not talk to anyone, and code.

He finally had a few hours to himself.  This was when he felt most productive.

2, he thought.  2, 4, 8, 16…

Dan’s weapon of choice had always been C++.  He knew bitwidths, 56-megabyte proprietary structs, obscure abbreviations that only meant anything to him, Andy, and the Department of Defense.  He knew 18 different ways to bind to a socket.  He knew 19 different ways to accidentally bind to the socket incorrectly, which is why he was careful who he hired.

He looked at his code.  100 lines.  18 minutes.  It compiled, implemented a client/server, verified that both sides were properly using the data.  Not bad.  He added error handling, comments, varied conditions.  He updated his code like a skilled writer polishing his prose, and like a skilled writer he knew how important every individual unit was.  He knew how significant the difference was between --i and i--.  He knew the implications of using [] on a vector instead of .at()

Having accomplished his main goal, he decided to spend a few minutes making fun of other people on Github issues.

He saw one branch of code where someone failed, failed again, then tried changing all the include statements from using “” to using <>.  Dan laughed.

He saw one branch of code where someone tried to log everything as fatal.  This was surprisingly common, especially for people too dumb to figure out how to set log level.  Dan laughed.

Then Dan saw a branch made by one of his best friends.

Ex-friends.  No one ever figured it out.  Things were mysterious, but for reasons he never understood this friend’s family chose not to mention their company (or Dan) once.  But how did it happen?  This was also mysterious.  Dan compiled a list of all the things he had learned after college, and it was long, but one item stood out:

When an obituary omits cause of death, that usually means it’s suicide.

What appalled Dan wasn’t the act itself, but the sheer indifference that their company displayed.  They just didn’t care.  His cubicle was replaced by an intern’s, then another intern’s.  That’s more or less how he felt the company regarded this death.  It was a name tag change, a commented out line in payroll.  It frustrated Dan to no end, the sheer meaningless and triviality of the ordeal.  

Silently, when he was sure no one was there to hear, Dan wept.

He cried to a timer.  When five minutes passed, he got back on track with coding.

[im-just-here-for-the-drama]

Gay Characters in Kdramas: The Good, The Bad, and The Mediocre

Gay characters rarely show up in Korean dramas. Though there have been a few characters over the years,  In terms of representation, the characterization and stories of these characters are usually nothing to write home about, but I figured, why not write about it anyway? Here’s my watch and don’t watch list, if you’re looking for gay characters in kdramas.

Warning for spoilers galore!

The Mediocre (these aren’t bad, but they’re not the best either)

Lily Fever (2015)

The Story: Kyung Ju heads to her friends house one day to find her missing passport. She finds Se Rang instead.

Should You Watch?: Sure. This show is quirky and just downright odd. The ending leaves a lot to be desired and the story itself is kind of all over the place, but it’s cute, it’s funny, it’s short, most of it’s nonsense, and the girls have lots of chemistry. It’s only a bonus that Se Rang is a standout character of this show. You’ll probably fall for her yourself by the end of the webseries.

The Lover: Joon Jae and Takuya (2015)

The Story: Different couples live together in an apartment building. The show shows us snippets of their lives. Joon Jae’s life gets turned upside down when he meets his new roommate Takuya.

Should You Watch?: Hmmm...yeah. I started watching this show expecting it would showcase the typical Korean bromance between the guys. The kind where the show makes it seem like the guys might have feelings for each other, but the show just skirts around the topic entirely. In the first few episodes, that’s exactly what happened between Joon Jae and Takuya (with a lot of sex jokes and penis jokes thrown in for good measure. That’s actually what most of the show is). But the show eventually, actually, went there. Joon Jae and Takuya don’t get a whole lot of screen time, but when they do, we get to see some serious feelings thrown in with all the crass humor, and Joon Jae and Takuya do admit to having feelings for one another. The ending could have been a little better, but it was a happy one, so baby steps.

Perseverance Goo Hae Ra: Jang Goon (2015)

The Story: A group of rag tags come together to form a band. Jang Goon joins the band and meets their manager Tae Poong who he’s had a crush on for years.

Should You Watch?: Only if you’re interested in the rest of the show. Jang Goon has a fairly interesting storyline. He has a friend who accepts him after finding out about his crush and he has to rebuild bridges with his father who doesn’t accept him doing music (and Jang Goon’s scared he wont accept his being gay either). But Jang Goon’s storyline is such a small part of the story it wouldn’t be worth it to skip through to only his parts.

Daughters of Club Bilitis (2011)

The Story: A one episode drama detailing the lives of four lesbian couples.

Should You Watch?: I watched this so long ago, I honestly don’t remember a single shred of what happened in it, but I’ll say yes, watch it. Because there are so few lesbians in asian dramas you have to watch the one’s that exist. The entire show is about lesbians, so I  mean, why not?

Reply 1997: Jun Hee (2012)

The Story: The lives of a group of high school students in the year1997. Jun Hee has a crush on his friend Yoon Jae.

Should You Watch?: Yes and no. The Reply Series (Reply 97/94/88) are pretty good dramas after all. They’re great for nostalgia, family, friendship, and the like, but if you’re here solely for the gay? Probably not worth the time. Jun Hee’s a side character. We see him crushing on Yoon Jae and he confesses his feelings to Yoon Jae and another friend, but there’s not too much more than that.

Seonam girls high school investigators: Eps 11-12 (2014)

The Story: High School girls investigate and solve problems in their school. The show is episodic and in these two episodes the girls attempt to help Su Yeon and Eun Bin who have to hide their relationship from their classmates.

Should You Watch?: Yes. I honestly don’t remember much about this one either, but I do remember it being decently done. This show caused a lot of controversy years ago when it aired Korea’s first lesbian kiss ( probably korea’s first same sex kiss period that was a legitimate kiss and not used for laughs). It’s worth checking out to see what caused all the ridiculous uproar.

Wise Prison Life/Prison Playbook: Han Yang (2017)

The Story: Big time baseball player Kim Je Hyuk turns into a crimanal overnight. After he’s convicted, he has to face his new life in prison. He meets some interesting people in prison. Among them is the drug addict Han Yang.

Should You Watch?:  Yes, because the story itself is a really interesting take about a man who goes to prison, meets a lot of different, people, and ultimately makes new friends/family. If you’re just watching for the gay? I’d still have to say yes, despite the fact that Han Yang doesn’t get the happy ending he deserved. Han Yang was one of my favorite characters in this show. I don’t know how he managed it, but I swear Han Yang got funnier as the episodes passed. I was really endeared towards him attempting to kick his drug habit while also trying to salvage his relationship with his ex-boyfriend Ji Won. He had such an interesting story arc, was such an entertaining character, and I didn’t feel like the show ever made fun of him for being gay. This character was just such a joy to watch, I definitely don’t regret watching, even though I wanted more.

Moment at Eighteen: Jung Oh Je  (2019)

The Story: Transfer student Jun Woo has no interest in school life, as he is traumatized from being expelled from bullying. Meanwhile, Soo Bin has been watching Jun Woo all this time. She sees a different side to Jun Woo than the one that other people see. Oh Je, is Jun Woo’s best friend who starts to discover his sexuality.

Should you watch?: Hmmm… sure. Oh Je has a decent side plot. It was interesting to see him figuring out he liked Hwi Young and coming out to his ex girlfriend and his friends. I do wish his story was expanded a little more though. There were several things I would have liked to have seen, like coming out to his family, and I thought they wrapped his story up a little too quickly at the end.

Love with Flaws: Won Suk and Ho Dol (2019)

The Story:  Joo Seo Yeon, is a hot-tempered physical education high school teacher who always wears sneakers, jeans and training uniforms.  The death of her parents helped instill a deep sense of compassion, a generous heart and an outspoken objection for anyone who drinks and drives. Living in a house with three wild and very attractive brothers, she loathes flower boys. Her ideal type is someone who is “not handsome.” Won Suk is one of her handsome older brothers.

Won Suk has closed his heart to relationships and love, but he lives his life as an openly gay man. Ho Dol is closeted and lacks confidence. They meet one night at Won Suk’s bar.

Should you watch?: People have been kind enough to condense Won Suk’s and Ho Dol’s  story into parts on YouTube so yeah, go ahead and check it out.

These two don’t get a whole lot of screen time, but the little they do get is nice. We get to see Won Seok help Ho Dol open up and be more confident with who he is and in turn, Won Seok opens up his heart.

The Bad (you probably shouldn’t waste your time on these ones)

Personal Taste: Director Choi (2010)

The Story: This dramas about a straight guy who pretends to be gay in order to gain access to the blueprints of a woman’s house…or something like that. Director Choi’s specific story revolves around his attempts at courting that guy.

Should You Watch?: Absolutely not. Half of the time the drama equates being a gay man to automatically being feminine, a woman, or not a “real man”. Director Choi is also a good deal older than the male lead and makes several attempts at courting him even though he’s not interested. It kind of came off as the “creepy old gay perv” and that didn’t sit well with me.  I suppose you could skim through the drama to watch Director Choi’s scenes. If sad gay men Is your thing. I just felt bad for the guy most of the time.

Ho Gu’s Love: Kang Chul (2015)

The Story: Ho Gu’s a pushover, a fool, and kind of an idiot. He meets his old classmates and things get a complicated. One day in High School Kang Chul meets Ho Gu’s twin sister and mistakes her for Ho Gu. They spend the day together and she kisses him.  The kiss sparks feelings in Kang Chul. Of course Kang Chul thinks it was Ho Gu who kissed him and years later, when he meets Ho Gu his feelings grow stronger.

Should You Watch?: Yes? Maybe? If you really want to, but mostly…no. With this, I expected that the typical drama set up would happen. Similar to all gender benders, Kang Chul would find out that it wasn’t Ho Gu he kissed. So any feelings he was having for him would immediately get swept under the rug where we could all pretend we never knew his heart fluttered for another man. Imagine my surprise when episode after episode passed and that didn’t happen. We got down to the last few episodes and Kang Chul had admitted to himself that he liked Ho Gu, he came out to his parents, and his coworkers assumed he was gay. The show was actually depicting the struggles of being gay in Korea and it was arguably one of the better storylines for a gay character on Korean t.v., but then the show couldn’t stay strong and they flipped the script. Predictably, Kang Chul finds out it was Ho Gu’s sister he kissed, the show copped out, and lo and behold Kang Chul was straight with no further mentions of any other possible sexuality. Watch it if you’re curious, but be prepared to be extremely disappointed by the end.

Graceful Family: Mo Wan Joon  (2019)

The Story: Blah blah blah, revenge or something- at a point it’s revealed that Mo Wan Joon is a trans woman.

Should you watch?: If you really like revenge melos maybe, but if you’re looking for this show to do something good and offer up some good trans rep? Nope.

Literally nothing about Mo Wan Joon’s story is watchable. I wasn’t even entirely sure the show even knows what being transgender even means. It comes off as more of a plot twist to put the family all in a tizzy more than anything else. They don’t really show much of Wan Joon’s struggle or anything poignant or engaging.

Sweet Munchies: Tae Wan (2020)

The Story: Jin Sung pretends to be a gay chef to film a tv show for money. Tae Hwan, a closeted fashion designer falls for him.

Should you watch?: No. "Everyone loved Personal Taste right? What if we just did that again but with a chef this time?"  This could have been potentially groundbreaking, but by the end of the show the two leads are unlikable and  we just wind up with more sad gay tears. But Lee Hak Joo as Tae Wan? *Chef's kiss*. This man put me through the wringer and he does it so subtly. If you must watch, literally skim through Tae Wan’s parts.

The Good (these are worth the hours of your life you wont get back)

Painter of the Wind (2008)

The Story: Shin Yoon Bok is a talented painter who disguises herself as a boy to search for her father's murderer and meets a master painter who guides her into being a great painter. Kim Hong Do is the man who teaches Yoon Bok how to paint, and they develop a strong friendship of mentor and disciple.

Should You Watch?: Yes. On the surface this sounds pretty straight, but ignore the summary, because yes there’s a loveline between Yoon Bok and her mentor, but the most interesting story here is the loveline between Yoon Bok and a Gisaeng she meets named Jeong Hyang I’ve seen plenty of gender benders, but I’ve never seen one where a woman falls in love with the girl who’s pretending to be a boy. This drama isn’t technically supposed to be gay, but it’s extremely gay when when bisexual Yoon Bok hits on the gisaeng the first time they meet. Yoon Bok finds herself falling in love with the Jeong Hyang too and the love between them comes off as extremely genuine and sincere. I don’t care what that show was trying to tell me, Yoon Bok/Jeong Hyang was the true otp.

Life is Beautiful: Tae Sub and Kyung Soo (2010)

The Story:  A family drama about a blended family. The show focuses heavily on Tae Sub and his boyfriend Kyung Soo

Should You Watch?:  Absolutely. In this drama we actually get to see a same sex couple. There’s not just one gay character or a situation where you have to read between the lines. Tae Sub and Kyung Soo are a gay couple who get to be together and happy and they get screentime! The show focuses on Tae Sub coming out to his family, his family's acceptance/non-acceptance, and Kyungsoo’s family’s non-acceptance as well. We get to see the guys work through their problems together and we get to see how they’re relationship changes and grows. My only complaint about this show is that it aired seven years ago and korea has shown little to no progress in terms of lgbt characters and couples in kdramas since.

Rural Outcasts (2019)

The Story: Sun Hui moves to a small village where she lives her life as Soon Ho until she can make enough money to become her true self. Dong Ja, a feisty 12 year old, breaks into her house one day.

Should you watch? Yes, although, heads up, there’s a cis man playing a trans woman. Found family always makes for a heartwarming story and this one is no different. I loved the bond between Dong Ja and Sun Hui and I loved their mother daughter relationship. Very sweet and heartwarming, but be prepared for some heartbreak too.

[perfectackeracy]

Shingeki no Kyojin chapter 90 review (+ theories)

This is it. 

We’re finally concluding the arc beginning with Grisha’s flashback at chapter 71 and ending with the basement’s discovery and the amount of deal-breaking contents, leading us to the last phase of the manga, with this month’s chapter as being the ultimate wrap-up.

Lasting 5 volumes, it would be wise to write an arc review in a separate post, since it covered the unfinished business left from the first volumes: taking back that portion of the territory surrounded by titans, the mystery between Grisha Yeager and the contents of the basement and eventually the truth behind this world. Too bad I wasn’t around when the first chapters have been published because it would’ve been fun to pick every theory around and check which ones were actually closer to the facts; remember people trying to guess the Beast Titan’s identity? Eren using the coordinate to invoke the wall titans during the battle?

But anyway, the point of this post is more about commenting the chapter in an itself and guess what happens next, as always. 

I’ll start by a general commentary: I had... mitigated views about this chapter overall. Not because it felt like a huge letdown for my birthday (because let’s face it, nothing can top Edgetolt) but because it just shows it’s a rather quick wrap-up when we’re preparing the final phase.

I’ll use the MangaStream translation while waiting for the CR scans. It’s not top-quality but the translations are usually on-point (and they seldom mess up bubble order or in this month’s case... PAGE ORDER).

This chapter can be decomposed into 4 phases:

The truth about the titans

Flocke

The ceremony

The timeskip

The ocean and Eren’s resolve

I’ll detail my review under the cut:

The truth about the titans

Historia made her mind and decided to make the information held public... If anything, that underlines the fact the basement was a turning point for the story, despite the sudden influx of information. 

This is huge since it was the point where Eldia stepped out of their cycle of ignorance and progressively started to realize the true nature of this world. As Historia said: this is retribution.

Historia letting Eldia know - Ch. 90

Just wanting to point a funny thing here.

She really looks like her father here - Ch. 66

Since a huge war is coming, it would make even more sense. I still don’t believe in that unity spirit however. While it may be effective in times of war against a common enemy, it’s not in times of peace. 

And according to Roy and Peaure, it’s apparently too brutal to stir an episode of nationalism or more precisely, a feeling of general agreement that the world they lived on was limited to a single huge island, weren’t part of Humanity in general but as a race labeled as “the descendants of Ymir”, that they’ve been the monsters all along and they’ve been isolating themselves from each other, having the rest of the humanity as a common enemy. 

Peaure took note of three types of reactions:

People who accepted the truth as it is

People who think this is a huge joke

Conspiracy theorists who think there’s some Illuminati members in the military

The first category will be easy to rally. The second one needs some time to digest the information or need better evidence. The third one is... well...

While living with the truth seems to make things better and ready for advancement (it’s always better than a situation where people make their growth stagnate), they now realize they’re the target of the rest of humanity who isn’t ready to change their minds. There simply isn’t any room for peace.

And that’s why I’m not feeling particularly salty about the titans being nearly wiped out. Grisha’s logs were the last knee-slapper as their role as mighty oppressors. I’ve said it in a post concerning Bertolt and his role as the Colossal Titan: the same analogy can be applied when they started as being those freakish humanoid looking creatures hellbent to devour humans and forced them to retreat behind walls, decimating anybody who dared to venture in their territory. Then revelations happened:

Humans can turn into titans.

Pure titans actually don’t have a proper conscience and are either trapped in a nightmare or bent on one particular desire.

With titans being humans it means “Humanity” was killing humans all along.

Not every titan can revert back to a human. Only 9 of the whole population can.

The user of the Coordinate can use them as slaves to their bidding.

Titans as well as most humans inside the walls belong to the same people, meaning they were fighting a war against themselves all along.

Titans are only wandering on one island while the rest of the world is free from them.

The wandering titans are actually part of the oppressed minority from another country sentenced for several types of crimes, often unfairly. 

All of this implies the SC was executing already sentenced people of their own kind, essentially finishing Marley’s work.

This whole path depicts them as the mere rank of victims rather than predators. Now that they learned who the real enemy is, titans are all demoted from that position, which makes me not so regretful they were eliminated by the guillotine, not to mention the flashback made sense as to why they were all trapped between Wall Maria and Wall Rose.

Eren’s lifestyle is to hunt predators and he already fixed his next target. Notice how at the end of the chapter he referred to the crawling titan as a fellow instead of an enemy he once sworn to kill? I’ll come back to it later.

Flocke 

One of the nicest part of the chapter was getting a peek from Hitch, eventually giving Marlowe’s death closure. Jean was giving her the classical speech of how brave he was when he fought for the recapture of Wall Maria. It could’ve gone smoothly but the little problem remaining about his honors was...

...Flocke

Flocke was probably the most controversial character from the chapter. Never in the spoilers tag have I seen so much vitriol for a character who started to make himself relevant in the second-last arc. I’m going to make myself clear about him:

He’s absolutely right.

I’ve seen so many fans call him a piece of shit, him thinking too highly of himself (when he called himself a coward?) or him being too harsh but in the situation where the SC is and as a stock-filling recruit, why should he sugarcoat everything when his first operation was one where he had to brave a giant monkey throwing rocks?

He wasn’t lying when he stated those facts about Marlowe. Being honest is still better than putting on a brave face, which made Hitch go ultimate tsundere and cry while missing how much of a self-absorbed idiot Marlowe was.

“Even though Marlowe Freudenberg was only recently recruited to the Survey Corps as part of the emergency listing just like me, he was still able to help unite us all. The Survey Corps were driven into a corner and faced certain annihilation. The situation seemed hopeless. While everyone else was vulnerable and frightened, he alone kept encouraging and inspiring us.” - Ch. 81 (Pic)

“But in the end... I’m sure he regretted ever going to that place.” - Ch. 81 (Pic)

He wasn’t too happy of dropping the truth on Armin either. He wasn’t fond of Erwin but in no way he would deny him a chance to a second life when there’s a way of breaking through the crack that is despair.

Besides, it wasn’t just his opinion. Everybody else wondered why Erwin wasn’t chosen. Erwin was right in their grasp and he was denied the serum. That’s how it happened to an outsider who only read the reports. People think the SC became nuts, and Flocke nailed what the problem was. For people who dedicated their hearts about serving a cause, they let their feelings get the best of them. “Somebody who can’t sacrifice anything can’t change anything.” Flocke used the same logic Armin does and that’s why it resonated with him in that panel.

“Someone who can’t throw anything away... will never be able to change anything” - Ch. 27 (Text)

Armin thinks the “useful evil” is good, which is why it made sense for him and Flocke to bring Erwin back instead of letting emotions getting the best of them.

“The three of you let your feelings get the better of you, took the injection for your own means, and made an irrational choice. In short you just couldn’t let go of someone important to you, could you?” - Ch. 84 & 85 (Pics)

“Eren... You’re one of those people who believe deep inside they’re always right. that’s why you never give up, just like some unreasonable child.” - Ch. 84 (Pic)

“In that regard, Mikasa was the grown-up in the situation. Because when push came to shove did she give up” - Ch. 84 (Pic)

“You people... You didn’t oppose the senior staff, nor did you try to stop Eren and Mikasa. You just stood there and watched.” - Ch. 84 (Pic)

Well, in defense of Jean, Sasha and Connie: the three of them arrived late and Sasha had a shrapnel her arm, so... 

Flocke was mostly narrating what really happened on that roof, which in perspective makes the situation look like a complete dramatic joke, which eventually gives the SC a bad rep where its only members are just a bunch of teenagers who only care about themselves.

Notice the stares from the other officiers oriented in the same direction than Flocke’s. It’s pretty telling the future recruits should watch out for the SC.

On another note, Flocke calls himself a coward. While it’s true he cried about him not wanting to die and not being remembered, he was the only one advocating for Erwin to be brought back before Hange showed up, even standing in front of a Mikasa ready to slice him. He faced Zeke’s attack alongside Erwin and Marlowe, survived miraculously and lost every single one of his comrades in the process. He has the right to have a word in this whole mess.

Armin also nods, making the same disappointed face than the one from chapter 85:

I swear to god, it’s the exact same - Ch. 90 & 85

Armin’s opinion didn’t change since chapter 85: Erwin should’ve lived. Eren this time tried to rile him back in by bringing up the exact same tirade he brought up when he was talking about the outside world, completely cut by his own intentions, associated with a picture of Faye being eaten by the dogs: freedom.

The ceremony

I have no idea why it popped up in his mind but as he touched Historia’s hand and had that detailed flashback with Grisha and Frieda, maybe using trigger words serves as a means to make the memories of a certain person flow through your brain:

When Eren pronounced the word “freedom”, he immediately shifted on Kruger’s perspective, seeing Fay eaten by the dogs.

When Frieda and Grandpa Reiss heard demands about solving the titan problem, the memories of the First King flowed through.

That would explain why Eren began having visions of Grisha and Kruger’s memories: the logs probably contained a lot of trigger words invoking the memories of both men, hence why Eren got a better hold of the coordinate when he couldn’t before.

Thanks to those flashbacks he managed to discover the real key to trigger the coordinate and still hasn’t told anybody about this. Not fully believing to be able to stop the imminent treat, you have two pages dedicated to his self-doubt, him feeling down.

...That expression reverted to anger when he got the full input of Grisha’s memories and perspective. The flashback wasn’t over.

Frieda, as the First King, must have ushered words so powerful they were enough to amp up Eren’s morale to the max. They were also powerful enough to make Grisha lose it, steal the power and make sure nobody from the Reiss family would seize it again. The details apparently made Eren keep the power to himself, as he initially believed the Reiss line was the only one able to defeat the titans with a bit of conviction.

Eren believing Grisha did wrong - Ch. 65

Remember how Kruger and the other restorationists stated how cowardly the King was? That probably what made Grisha lose his marbles and steal the power.

The timeskip

This is where my biggest complaint came from and while it doesn’t represent a huge portion of the chapter (two to thee pages), it was the major detail I was unhappy with. While the way they got rid of titans was understandable, it would’ve been nice to get at least a couple of pictures of everybody’s situation inside the walls during these months. Maybe (and I’m saying maybe) it’ll be used as an opening for next chapter but in any case it feels inappropriate.

Isayama mostly detailed that under the scenes of the seasons in Trost. It at least indicates the Shiganshina battle happened in late autumn/early winter (if that’s any indication for character’s birthdays, because I definitely believe Reiner and Bertolt are born the same year, Annie’s born a year later, the rest is born two years after Reiner and Bertolt and Armin turned 16 between the Uprising and the Battle of Shiganshina arcs). I still find that more underwhelming than having a picture of a ceremony for the fallen, the rest of the titans being wiped out by the military, giving Rico a cameo, Hange falling asleep on their desk after too much paperwork, Levi staring at the window remembering Erwin, Jean/Sasha/Connie paying visit/homage to their families, Armin staring at Eren being concerned but he coordinate shenanigans... All of this could’ve sat nicely on a page, just like this one:

The situation in the walls - Ch. 82

It really feels like nothing important happened and they reached the coast as if it was just the day after, while it’s probably the biggest timeskip of the manga.

Speaking of the ocean...

The ocean and Eren’s resolve

Y’know what? My theory was that the ocean was permanently out of reach because of the tensions inside the walls or it would be saved for the very last chapter. Instead, it was shown in the last chapter of the current arc and the issue was quickly buckled up at the end by Eren’s interruption.

Discovering the ocean also contributed to the underwhelming feeling, but after Isayama posted an entry about it, I’m wondering if closing the matter on six pages and not the ending of the series was actually intentional? The goal of the story was never about reaching the ocean but it felt more like a whim from one character who turned out to be overwhelmed with a major sin at the price of one life that should’ve been selected instead. When Armin reaches the ocean, he isn’t staring at it with the same “dreamy” eyes Eren envied. It’s only after Mikasa stepped in the water he felt joy again.

And of course Eren doesn’t even remotely care. As expected. Instead, he’s focused solely on finding a way to reach Marley and destroy every citizen here. I think that shell Armin found symbolized the beginning of the parting Isayama wanted to illustrate. Armin was probably riddled by survivor’s guilt because of Levi’s choice. Eren told him in this chapter he had to see the ocean he himself already saw but it’s eventually revealed it mattered so little to him. The shell represents Armin’s discovery about things no living Eldian has ever seen before but Eren immediately turns away, preferring finding a future where he walks around and nobody can stop him. It looks like Armin’s actually holding the shell back, isn’t he?

Anyway, that seals my review and I suppose the final arc will be solved on Marley: there’s literally nothing else to do on Paradis and the catastrophe is bound to repeat again. Eren made his mind and follows into his father’s footsteps, knowing how to trigger the coordinate. Getting into Marley is either going to be through infiltration or complete invasion. Since the SC has few members, the former is easier to accomplish if they can hijack a boat.

It’s weird we haven’t heard signs of Reiner or Zeke during these months. They have to be up to something and they’re probably luring the SC into a trap, where Zeke expects Eren to come to Marley by himself. The two of them have to meet in order for chaos to go down, because Marley is ridiculously powerful compared to Eldia. 

For some reason I’m expecting Eren to not only touch Zeke but also eat him as well. There’s many points we need to solve about Marley as well. I’m paraphrasing this post here:

What pushed Zeke to join the Marley warriors?

How were the warriors trained?

Were they several promotions?

Is Zeke actually an exception to the rule (somehow answered with Ymir Fritz dying 13 years after but contradicted by Zeke being recruited at least in his late teens)?

If so how did he manage to have a word with the higher-ups? Was he a vet in a previous war? An experimental test?

Is Marley aware Zeke is the last Fritz?

How was the original promotion of the seven warriors?

How did they organize themselves in two parties, with Zeke being the titan outside and Reiner, Bertolt and Annie as the infiltrates?

How come Zeke only manifested himself after Annie’s crystalization?

How is Marley dealing with their enemies in the East?

What about that Titan Chemistry society?

How come Reiner’s last name figure on the Armored serum Eren swallowed?

Is the fact that Reiner and Zeke share the same birthdays nothing more than a joke?

Speaking of Reiner, how come he and Bertolt never mention their family? Orphans? Taken in at a young age?

How did they keep the seven shifters in control?

How did Kruger get his shifter power?

[paulbenedictblog]

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Abc news ANALYSIS: Warren takes fresh heat in scattered Democratic debate

Abc news

The stage change into as soon as way with a new way of concerns, a new candidate, and -- arguably -- a new frontrunner.

in Democratic Celebration?

Add Democratic Celebration as an passion to preserve updated on the most contemporary Democratic Celebration info, video, and evaluation from ABC News.

That new frontrunner took the harshest attacks Tuesday evening. But Sen. Elizabeth Warren change into as soon as focused principally over aged disagreements -- with fireworks that illuminated familiar ground, or that created what Sen. Cory Booker known as “déjà vu at some stage in again.”

Historical Vice President Joe Biden, within the period in-between, took no criticism from his opponents over the concerns attractive his son which have dominated the info within the month for the explanation that final debate, and nearly no attacks on matters of protection.

The Democratic candidates shredded President Donald Trump on foreign protection and whether or no longer he need to aloof be impeached. However they basically fell lend a hand to sparring among themselves over narrow protection disagreements.

As she change into as soon as at previous debates and in a immense form of interviews, Warren change into as soon as pressed on whether or no longer taxes will inch up on heart-class households under her Medicare-for-all conception. She ducked an instantaneous answer by announcing her conception would, on the total, “decrease costs for heart-class households.”

Mayor Pete Buttigieg saw a gap: “We heard it tonight: A positive-or-no quiz that didn’t earn a positive-or-no answer.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar also obtained in on the action: “You make Republican speaking points, neutral correct right here in this room,” she told Warren.

And Biden piled on: “The conception is going to tag as a minimum $30 trillion over 10 years. That's extra, on a yearly foundation, than all of the federal funds.”

That danger change into as soon as among those that indicate the ideological and attitudinal splits that proceed to outline the campaign. A few of the disagreements seemed a limited forced; Sen. Kamala Harris spent a few minutes picking a fight with Warren about whether or no longer Trump must have his Twitter yarn suspended.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Photos

Supporters of resident Donald Trump and Sen. Elizabeth Warren rally on reverse corners shut to the perimeter of the fourth Democratic presidential debate Oct. 14, 2019 in Westerville, Ohio.

Warren sought to flip the argument against her insurance policies on its head, when pressed on whether or no longer an extra tax on the rich is a politically wise formulation to addressing profits inequality.

“My quiz is rarely any longer why stop Bernie [Sanders] and I pork up a wealth tax,” she acknowledged. “It's why is it - does everyone else on this stage reflect it's miles extra major to provide protection to billionaires than it's miles to put money into an complete generation.”

Klobuchar shot lend a hand: “No one on this stage needs to provide protection to billionaires. Now not even the billionaire needs to provide protection to billionaires,” she acknowledged, in a reference to businessman Tom Steyer, who change into as soon as performing at his first debate. “Merely since you have diversified suggestions doesn't mean you are combating for traditional of us.”

Historical Derive. Beto O’Rourke criticized Warren for no longer putting out a extra explicit tax conception: “I reflect that Sen. Warren is extra fervent in being punitive or pitting some piece of the nation against the diversified.”

Booker chimed in to negate that those forms of attacks will hurt the Democratic Celebration: “Tearing each diversified down because we've a unheard of conception to me is unacceptable. I've seen this script earlier than. It did no longer work in 2016 and this will be a wretchedness for us in 2020.”

The debate also showcased a involving contrast between O’Rourke and Buttigieg – two candidates vying for a same swath of voters - on weapons. O’Rourke accused Buttigieg of excessive warning in avoiding a important buyback of assault-fashion weapons.

“Let's come to a resolution what we will imagine in, and what we’re going to originate,” O’Rourke acknowledged.

Buttigieg shot lend a hand: “The likelihood isn’t the polls, the danger is the protection. And I don't desire lessons from you on braveness, political or private.”

Protect Mcnamee/Getty Photos

Sen. Bernie Sanders, veteran Vice President Joe Biden, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren enter the stage earlier than the Democratic Presidential Debate at Otterbein College, Oct. 15, 2019, in Westerville, Ohio.

The candidates treaded gingerly spherical concerns attractive Biden’s son and his industry preparations, an danger that change into as soon as only raised immediate by the controversy’s moderators.

Hunter Biden’s interview with ABC News dominated the pre-debate dialogue, after his acknowledgment that taking a job with a Ukrainian vitality company change into as soon as potentially a “mistake” thanks to the formulation it opened his father to political attacks.

However Biden’s fellow Democrats seemed wary to be seen as going the build Trump needs to e-book them. And Biden sought to flip the dialog to Trump himself.

“My son did nothing immoral. I did nothing immoral. I implemented the protection of the US authorities in rooting out corruption within the Ukraine,” Biden acknowledged. “Here's about Trump’s corruption – that’s what we need to aloof be fervent in.”

Booker jumped within the controversy later to shield Biden – even when no one change into as soon as attacking him.

Discussing Hunter Biden’s work the least bit amounts to “elevating a lie and attacking a statesman,” Booker acknowledged. “That change into as soon as so offensive. The one particular person sitting at home that change into as soon as taking half in that change into as soon as Donald Trump.”

Trump took bigger than his portion of attacks. Buttigieg tangled with his fellow used on stage, Derive. Tulsi Gabbard, to argue that Trump change into as soon as “undermining the appreciate of our troopers” in withdrawing US troops from northern Syria.

And the main debate for the explanation that Dwelling launched an impeachment inquiry introduced strikingly same sentiments from the candidates.

“Trump is largely the most atrocious president within the history of this nation,” acknowledged Sen. Bernie Sanders.

“This president is largely the most atrocious president in contemporary history, and I reflect all of history,” Biden acknowledged.

“He's indeed basically the most atrocious and unpatriotic president we've ever had,” acknowledged Harris. “Dude gotta inch,” she added later within the controversy.

“Each candidate right here is extra decent, extra coherent and extra patriotic than the prison within the White Dwelling,” Steyer acknowledged.

But Tuesday’s debate felt disconnected from the wild info cycles which have introduced shut to-day-to-day revelations contributing to an impeachment inquiry, and a constructing foreign-protection disaster within the Heart East.

A celebration extra focused than ever on defeating Trump spent an evening the build candidates basically argued over how it's most likely you'll presumably defeat each diversified.

The file 12 candidates on stage agreed on the urgency of defeating Trump. But they seem to reflect – most likely rightly – that the Democratic predominant will flip on narrower concerns, even as momentum shifts within the speed.

[rodrigohyde]

Watch Snob Goes All In on Audemars Piguet’s Obscure Offerings

Watch Snob Goes All In on Audemars Piguets Obscure Offerings

Millenary Take One

I get it that a great deal of watch “value” is about the image it projects to others. That is why celebrity endorsements work, and that is sticking to the established archetypes (man as diver, pilot, James Bond) will always sell.

At the same time, it hurts my eyes to see that the price of the value watches you often recommend (Nomos, Tudor, Seiko) you can get a veritable piece of no compromise high horology. Of course, it will not be the hot and hyped model, but still.

RELATED: Last Week — Watch Snob on What to Look for in the New Year

The watch I have in mind is the forgotten and unpopular Audemars Piguet Millenary ref. 15016. It is a perfect everyday watch, almost a field watch in its austere black dial aesthetics and time-only functionality. At the same time, it has a unique design, a well-finished movement from a Big Three Swiss brand, an elegant thin profile — what is not to love for the price of a Tudor Black Bay (on pre-owned market, of course)?

Please prove me wrong in my reasoning. Am I not wise?

Here is wisdom: He that hath an ear, let him hear. You are indeed wise. The Millenary in general and that watch in particular are an opportunity to own an interesting watch with an intriguing design that has largely been passed over by the enthusiast community. The movement is the Audemars Piguet caliber 2225, which is derived — if my memory’s right —  from the Jaeger-LeCoultre 960; very nicely finished by AP.

The reason that the price is as low as it generally is, is obvious — an oval-shaped dress watch is not particularly what the market wanted from Audemars Piguet, and the Millenary (which came out in 1995) never really caught fire in the market. In fact, as a men’s dress watch, it was a bit of a flop, although AP has occasionally used the design for really spectacular statement pieces, like the astonishingly lovely Cabinet Piece No. 5 and the Millenary Minute Repeater. If, however, you don’t care about the fact that the Millenary Collection is currently largely a repository for ladies’ timepieces, you can indeed get something very nice for not a great deal of money. It’s not a bad litmus test for whether someone is a serious watch person either: Anyone who recognizes a Millenary as an AP has probably been around watches for a while. The same is true of the Edward Piguet collection, which AP has abandoned, more’s the pity.

Millenary Take Two

I have enjoyed watch collecting for many years, but I think that my interest is getting depleted. When I just started, there was so much to learn and understand: “What are the good brands? What are the good models? What makes them good? What makes a watch valuable and why?” Most importantly, it was a journey of self-discovery and an exercise in critical thinking, as I had to dig through the layers of marketing narratives and the taste of others to formulate my own values and the watches that these represent. Now, however, I have figured out the answers to these questions and there is not much new learning to sustain my interest.

Therefore, I want to retire from the hobby, but do so in the proper way — by sealing the decade of an obsessive-compulsive quest with a few horological symbols of my newly recovered, liberated self. First, to represent the values of creativity, originality and individuality, I will get the Audemars Piguet Millenary Chronograph ref. 25822. Second, to represent mechanical tradition, elegance, and a certain “ancient” chic, Breguet ref. 3490. Third, for the everyday, practical wear and the appreciation of sculpture, Vacheron Constantin Overseas Chronograph ref. 49150. All these watches are from top-end brands and represent good value for money, thanks to them being non-mainstream and under the radar.

Not that I am unsure of my choices. They are thought-out, but it is interesting still to hear an opinion of a hobby veteran: you. Would you say that there are better candidates out there to stand for my values?

I’m flabbergasted. Two questions in one week that reference one of the more obscure modern watch designs, by which I mean the Audemars Piguet Millenary. I wonder if the design mightn’t be poised to take the world by storm at long last … almost certainly not, it is simply too much an oddball, but you never know.

OK, sir, to the business. You obviously know your own tastes and I can see from the watches that you have chosen that you know watches quite well also. There is little or nothing that I can do to further educate you about the watches you have picked. They each of them represent aspects of the company that has made them, that are a bit off the radar, as you say, but that are also highly characteristic of those firms. The Millenary, for instance, is a reminder that once upon a time, creativity in case designs was very much more AP’s stock in trade than is currently the case.

This particular approach really does have its pleasures. By this, I mean the approach of finding watches made by very good brands with real history, which, for whatever reason, have been passed over by broader tastes (pocket watches in general are an excellent example). If you were at the beginning of your horological activities I might counsel you to find something more generally appealing, but as you are clearly aware, general appeal can also be generic appeal and comes with a higher price tag. There are always alternatives to any choice, however well-educated it may be. I might suggest some of AP’s extra-flat series produced watches from the period, say, 1965 to 1975 as representing an interesting alternative to the Millenary, but the latter has much character on its side.

Mountain Time

Every once in a while when I am casually surfing the web or reading emails, the greedy servers lurking in the background try to sell me things and throw up something that actually catches my eye.

This week I was presented an ad for a watch with a single hand and a 24 hour dial. I won't bother you with the details of the maker of this obscure quartz offering, but the marketing verbiage talked about the mindset of slowing down and seeing the world rather than rushing through with pointless precision — getting off the hamster wheel of life and all that. So I began searching around for better examples of the single-hand complication (simplification?). I did not see many. Are there any current offerings in this genre that you might find interesting?

Thinking about why this ad was presented to me, I realized I had been reading much about the Long Now Foundation and their project to build a 10,000 year mechanical clock in a mountain in the desert. Although it's obviously not a watch, would the Snob care to render any opinion on this also?

Aha, yes, the Clock of the Long Now. We have a working scale model in the Science Museum (in London) which is worth a visit. It is a most fascinating project, creating a mechanical object capable of running for so long a period of time poses unique engineering challenges, of course, but it is also a kind of public artwork with many intriguing features. It will probably be over the heads of most readers, and the fact that the construction is being funded by the controversial billionaire Jeff Bezos may color perceptions, but the fact remains, it is one of the most worthwhile clock projects in ... well, ever, I daresay.

Single-hand watches are rare; most folks would prefer to know the time to a bit better resolution. Audemars Piguet, to bring up obscure APs again, made one, the so-called Philosopher’s Watch, which is worth hunting around for. It is ref. 9040, I believe. Billed as a lady’s watch and a bit small, but I think at this point in the Year of Our Lord 2019, we can ignore that. Other than that, may I recommend you to a little brand called Meistersinger. They have more or less cornered the market for hour-hand-only watches and have for many years. (They do, if I recall correctly, a jumping hours version as well.) They are charming, interesting, and you would have to exert yourself to spend more than perhaps $2,000 at most to get one.

Send the Watch Snob your questions at editorial@askmen.com or ask a question on Instagram with the #watchsnob hashtag.

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[zcldrizes-a]

“ i am looking into hell, but i dare not look away. ” ⋰ canon divergence.

my daenerys is very heavily influenced by book, show, and personal headcanons. i have taken what i want from each, but ultimately, if you don’t like certain things, you are free to unfollow. this is what you can expect if we write together. massive credit to both @killthebxy and @tymptir for their input, and everything they’ve contributed. 

⋰ ⊰  𝒊𝒇 𝒊 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌; 𝒊 𝒂𝒎 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕. ┊┊ spans the time across all books, and seasons 1 - 5.

The main verse takes place as a mixture of book, show, and headcanon influences, starting with the history we know and love, so I won’t go into a ridiculous amount of detail since the plot points are pretty universally known. Born during the worst storm the world has ever seen, and at the cost of her mother’s life, Daenerys was raised by her brother Viserys in exile, to escape the wrath of the Baratheons who had already destroyed the majority of her family. She was eventually taken into the Free Cities with her brother, by loyal retainers, and after years of trying to raise support, they were given sanctuary by Magister Illyrio Mopatis in the Free City of Pentos. Despite living in constant fear of her brother ( who threatens she’ll “wake the dragon” ) and somewhat meek and malleable in response to such treatment, she dreams of finding a peaceful home and a place to belong.

SUBVERSE NOTE HERE: In any canon where someone who is not Viserys raises Daenerys ( whether that be Rhaella, or whether that be any other person – Arthur Dayne, Elia Martell, etc ) the tag will be as linked beside this. This is to signal that her background in that verse may be different, thus lining her up for the potential of a different life.

After reaching a ripe age for marriage, she is sold to Khal Drogo in exchange for an army of 40,000 men for the khalasar, for an army to take back the Iron Throne, Daenerys is initially terrified of her husband, who does not hesitate to take what is his by purchase. Throughout her time with the dothraki, she eventually finds the strength to fight back against her older brother, and manages to impact the culture of the people around her - instilling ideals against the way the dothraki used to live in a respectful manner. After Drogo's death, and the birth of her dragons, her time with the dothraki comes to a close, as they won’t follow a woman who has not displayed traditional stereotypes of strength. As such, she seeks out the major cities in Essos in an attempt to fortify her power beyond just her broken people.

Making her way from Qarth, to Astapor, it is there that Daenerys acquires the army of the Unsullied, and forms an alliance with the Stormcrows. After freeing the slaves of both Astapor and Yunkai, she marches to Meereen, though she suffers unrest from the people under her power, and some degree of disobedience from her dragons, resulting in two of them being locked beneath the Great Pyramid after her largest slaughters a child. Note, there is a lot of content within this timeframe to take in, and solely for the avoidance of rehashing everything in the earlier books and the earlier seasons, I won’t go into more detail than that, but time frame wise, this verse will cover the duration of Daenerys’ reign until the fighting pits, where she takes flight on Drogon for the first time. It is also worth noting that while I will not defer to show canon when it comes to things like Doreah’s betrayal, if it works for our plot, I am happy to make it work.

The important things post books ending begin here. I will be accepting the canon that accompanies the course of season 6. That is, that after being found by the dothraki, Daenerys is taken to Vaes Dothraki to be tried before the council of Khals, and potentially fated to live a life with the widows. I will also be accepting the death that she gives those Khals by fire, and the new support of the entire Khalasar at her back - as their Khaleesi, she instills new values to ban their traditional sexual violence and strives to continue positive changes to the more problematic aspects of their culture, as she did as Khaleesi. I will also be accepting the season 6 canon that after securing Slaver’s Bay and renaming it the Bay of Dragons, she accepts an alliance with the Greyjoys, who escort her to Dragonstone.

SUBVERSE NOTE HERE: After the attack in the fighting pits by the Sons of the Harpy, Drogon carries a wounded Daenerys ( who took a blade to the thigh whilst mounting him ) from the arena and across the narrow sea to protect her from her enemies, finding his way north, to be found by the Lord Commander of the night’s watch. Over the duration of the time her leg heals, she remains within castle black, forging a friendship that buds on the edge of something more with the young Lord Commander, and is at the castle for both his death and resurrection. Only after his announcement to travel south does she decide it’s time to travel home, and back to Essos. upon return, and whilst Drogon stops for rest after his long fight, she is found by the Khalasar, who take her as prisoner. This default verse is based on my plots with @killthebxy and allows some prior interactions with members of the night’s watch, should any wish for it. Within this same verse, her armies travel North to fight alongside at the Battle of the Bastards, before returning to Dragonstone once he is crowned King of the North and realising she is no longer welcome there. Heavily plotted with Fil.

This verse will span upwards to her journey North, though heavy plotting can change her reasons for that. By default, it is Jon that persuades her of the real fight to the North, but happy for that to change. Also happy to keep the canon of Daenerys executing the Tarlys - controversial, I know, but it’s staying. The major changes within this arc come from a personality basis; she’s not nearly as entitled in these exchanges, nor as bloodthirsty. This verse will also include her arrival in the North, by which time she faces massive isolation amongst wary people, and even from her own advisors. It is up for discussion whether she agrees to Northern independence at this point or slightly later, in either subset of this canon - but she will agree at one point, or another. This canon will end at the Battle of Winterfell.

from here, there are two potential paths for my canon to follow. one in which the battle ends with arya killing the night king, and one in which the battle ends with winterfell’s ruin. & note that in both, after what happens at winterfell, daenerys is forced to carry a sword, and to wear armour for both larger scaled battles. whether this be a small one created for her, or whether this be dark sister, gifted by the free folk ( thanks to @arcusignis​ for that theory ) is up for speculation. in both, at the very least, the dragons will be forced to wear chestplates.

⋰ ⊰ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆.  ┊┊ set after the battle of winterfell.

Massive credit to Fil, who also helped to write this verse. In this verse, the premise is simple to follow. The battle of Winterfell happened as per show canon to an extent - battle strategies were different than the mess that was show canon, and I’ll defer to @killthebxy and his beautiful headcanons, along with discussions with @tymptir​ for how Jaime would have integrated his own strategies. Instead of killing the Night King, Arya managed to kill an Other - this resulted in a large portion of the wights dying, and enough time for the Northern people to begin to scatter. Note, it is also unclear in this verse if Bran is alive or dead, and that is also up for negotiation. The casualties that take place in their attempted retreat are enormous, thus leading to more wights, and very few managing to escape. In this canon, Daenerys is harmed after her fall from Drogon, though Jorah is still very much alive.

Forced to retreat South, and find what little resources they can, the remainder of the Northern forces must reach an agreement with Cersei, who is admittedly shaken at the fall of the Northern forces. In this verse, as part of that agreement, Jon Snow is taken as prisoner until the battle, to ensure that this is not a trap for Daenerys to take power.

SUBVERSE NOTE HERE: There is also a subverse here wherein Daenerys herself offers up her own claim to the throne in exchange for support from the South. This agreement also extends to her own execution following the potential success of the battle - a deal she would agree to, given that there are more important things than the throne at this point, though her key condition would be that the North is left alone and untouched by the South.

Within this verse, the battle for the Long Night continues on to an extended battle at King’s Landing, with the dragons fighting over the Dragonpit, until the Night King is separated from Viserion once again. In most canons, unless specified otherwise, I will also have Daenerys as pregnant during this fight - and with that in mind, she fights anyway because she would never let the dragons fight a battle without her. She is their mother.

SUBVERSE NOTE HERE: There is also an alternate subverse here where Daenerys does, in fact, temper Lightbringer for Jon as Nissa Nissa once did for Azor Ahai, and once again, we can all thank Fil for this. In this verse, she willingly gives her life to temper his sword.

Following this time, we welcome a dream of spring easily, given that the people of King’s Landing have seen her saving them from the darkness, and that timeline will take place in a separate part of the overarching verse.

⋰ ⊰ 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅. ┊┊ set during season 8 timeline, post bow.

This verse follows the show theory, that the big bad is not in fact the Night King, but the purpose of the story is the fight for the Iron Throne. As a result, any deaths in 8.03 will be considered canon in this verse unless plotting dictates otherwise. In this verse, after rest and recovery of her armies, Daenerys begins the fight for the Iron Throne by travelling South once more. Firstly basing herself at Dragonstone, and then travelling closer to King’s Landing. Any events of 8.04 ( Rhaegal’s death, Missandei’s death, the Greyjoy ambush ) will not be considered canon in this verse unless we explicitly discuss otherwise. 

In the actual attack on King’s Landing, the main focus for Daenerys will be eradicating the scorpions on the castle walls. In conjunction with @tymptir and her lovely Greyjoys, there is potential for Rhaegal to be used against her via Dragonbinder, or alternatively, for Euron to lose at an earlier stage of the battle ( because presumably it’s not over so shortly ) and to make an agreement in exchange for his own life, to betray Cersei. In verses where that is void, either Yara/Asha Greyjoy can lead the charge against the Iron Fleet with the remainder of her own, or alternatively, Daenerys will burn it herself. If and only if Varys betrays Daenerys, will she consider executing him - and no, Tyrion will not be betraying her in this verse. She has the support of her Hand, at the least, and she will not abandon him.

SUBVERSE NOTE HERE: Another subverse! In this one, I’m going to be controversial and embrace the madness storyline - but not done the way the show did. In this verse, upon her attack to King’s Landing, Daenerys accidentally sets off the wildfire in the city, and the guilt at finishing what her father started causes her psyche to fracture, unable to split reality from fiction. In this verse, she either loses her unborn child or Drogon, and her madness manifests in seeing visions of herself as if she was standing in the room with her. Grief and isolation cause her to want to take her own life.

Once breaking through the walls to King’s Landing, and once the armies there see what forces she brings, a surrender is quick to follow - and is one she takes gladly. Resources are distributed to the citizens of the city to ensure they don’t suffer while the transition of power happens. Cersei’s fate is up for negotiation, though I defer to the theory that either of her younger brothers will deal with her long before Daenerys has to. She takes the throne quickly after.

⋰ ⊰ 𝒂 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈. ┊┊ set in the future.

This verse, finally, takes place after Daenerys is in power. In default, she will take Jon as her husband - though he will not rule as King, but instead by personal choice, takes the title of Consort. Her rule is a peaceful one, granting Northern independence - and truth be told, if any others ask for independence, so long as they prove themselves happy and functioning, she will grant it. Every year, she travels to Meereen several times to check on how progress is going there, and instills forms of welfare and many orphanages within King’s Landing, as well as basic forms of education and skills trades for all. Tyrion remains her Hand.

She knows that a perfect world isn’t created over one lifetime, and eventually if there will be a broken wheel for all, then she’s okay with the idea - but for now, it’s about building the city from the ground up so that no one knows what it’s like to not have a home, not like she did.

⋰ ⊰ 𝒂 𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒚𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅. ┊┊ official season 8 ending verse.

This verse is the closest to the canon for season 8 that you'll ever see me come, and is based on theories like this one here. In this verse, Cersei frames Daenerys by setting off the wildfire around King's Landing ( referencing that one line about Cersei "having other plans for the Dragon Queen ) after the bells have been rung, making it look like she didn't accept the surrender ( and making Dany herself think that she herself set it off, by the timing of it all ). Blaming herself for the thousands of deaths that have now occurred, and believing she is responsible for the deaths of so many innocents, Daenerys begins to burn the Red Keep itself as the city burns around them.

Between the losses of everyone she's loved and knowing she's being betrayed by so many people, and adding the guilt of her actions, this verse ends in her taking her own life with her last conscious thought urging Drogon to destroy the Iron Throne. ( Note that if you would rather it be Jon who kills her, then I'm not opposed to the idea, but it'll require plotting beforehand to clarify! )

In this verse, Drogon carries her body away towards Volantis, and either Red Priestess revives her, or in burning her body, Drogon manages to revive his mother as per the fire and blood rituals that have saved her before. This verse was also written in collaboration with @killthebxy.

[rodrigohyde]

Watch Snob Goes All In on Audemars Piguet’s Obscure Offerings

Millenary Take One

I get it that a great deal of watch “value” is about the image it projects to others. That is why celebrity endorsements work, and that is sticking to the established archetypes will always sell.

At the same time, it hurts my eyes to see that the price of the value watches you often recommend you can get a veritable piece of no compromise high horology. Of course, it will not be the hot and hyped model, but still.

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The watch I have in mind is the forgotten and unpopular Audemars Piguet Millenary ref. 15016. It is a perfect everyday watch, almost a field watch in its austere black dial aesthetics and time-only functionality. At the same time, it has a unique design, a well-finished movement from a Big Three Swiss brand, an elegant thin profile — what is not to love for the price of a Tudor Black Bay ?

Please prove me wrong in my reasoning. Am I not wise?

Here is wisdom: He that hath an ear, let him hear. You are indeed wise. The Millenary in general and that watch in particular are an opportunity to own an interesting watch with an intriguing design that has largely been passed over by the enthusiast community. The movement is the Audemars Piguet caliber 2225, which is derived — if my memory’s right —  from the Jaeger-LeCoultre 960; very nicely finished by AP.

The reason that the price is as low as it generally is, is obvious — an oval-shaped dress watch is not particularly what the market wanted from Audemars Piguet, and the Millenary never really caught fire in the market. In fact, as a men’s dress watch, it was a bit of a flop, although AP has occasionally used the design for really spectacular statement pieces, like the astonishingly lovely Cabinet Piece No. 5 and the Millenary Minute Repeater. If, however, you don’t care about the fact that the Millenary Collection is currently largely a repository for ladies’ timepieces, you can indeed get something very nice for not a great deal of money. It’s not a bad litmus test for whether someone is a serious watch person either: Anyone who recognizes a Millenary as an AP has probably been around watches for a while. The same is true of the Edward Piguet collection, which AP has abandoned, more’s the pity.

Millenary Take Two

I have enjoyed watch collecting for many years, but I think that my interest is getting depleted. When I just started, there was so much to learn and understand: “What are the good brands? What are the good models? What makes them good? What makes a watch valuable and why?” Most importantly, it was a journey of self-discovery and an exercise in critical thinking, as I had to dig through the layers of marketing narratives and the taste of others to formulate my own values and the watches that these represent. Now, however, I have figured out the answers to these questions and there is not much new learning to sustain my interest.

Therefore, I want to retire from the hobby, but do so in the proper way — by sealing the decade of an obsessive-compulsive quest with a few horological symbols of my newly recovered, liberated self. First, to represent the values of creativity, originality and individuality, I will get the Audemars Piguet Millenary Chronograph ref. 25822. Second, to represent mechanical tradition, elegance, and a certain “ancient” chic, Breguet ref. 3490. Third, for the everyday, practical wear and the appreciation of sculpture, Vacheron Constantin Overseas Chronograph ref. 49150. All these watches are from top-end brands and represent good value for money, thanks to them being non-mainstream and under the radar.

Not that I am unsure of my choices. They are thought-out, but it is interesting still to hear an opinion of a hobby veteran: you. Would you say that there are better candidates out there to stand for my values?

I’m flabbergasted. Two questions in one week that reference one of the more obscure modern watch designs, by which I mean the Audemars Piguet Millenary. I wonder if the design mightn’t be poised to take the world by storm at long last … almost certainly not, it is simply too much an oddball, but you never know.

OK, sir, to the business. You obviously know your own tastes and I can see from the watches that you have chosen that you know watches quite well also. There is little or nothing that I can do to further educate you about the watches you have picked. They each of them represent aspects of the company that has made them, that are a bit off the radar, as you say, but that are also highly characteristic of those firms. The Millenary, for instance, is a reminder that once upon a time, creativity in case designs was very much more AP’s stock in trade than is currently the case.

This particular approach really does have its pleasures. By this, I mean the approach of finding watches made by very good brands with real history, which, for whatever reason, have been passed over by broader tastes . If you were at the beginning of your horological activities I might counsel you to find something more generally appealing, but as you are clearly aware, general appeal can also be generic appeal and comes with a higher price tag. There are always alternatives to any choice, however well-educated it may be. I might suggest some of AP’s extra-flat series produced watches from the period, say, 1965 to 1975 as representing an interesting alternative to the Millenary, but the latter has much character on its side.

Mountain Time

Every once in a while when I am casually surfing the web or reading emails, the greedy servers lurking in the background try to sell me things and throw up something that actually catches my eye.

This week I was presented an ad for a watch with a single hand and a 24 hour dial. I won't bother you with the details of the maker of this obscure quartz offering, but the marketing verbiage talked about the mindset of slowing down and seeing the world rather than rushing through with pointless precision — getting off the hamster wheel of life and all that. So I began searching around for better examples of the single-hand complication . I did not see many. Are there any current offerings in this genre that you might find interesting?

Thinking about why this ad was presented to me, I realized I had been reading much about the Long Now Foundation and their project to build a 10,000 year mechanical clock in a mountain in the desert. Although it's obviously not a watch, would the Snob care to render any opinion on this also?

Aha, yes, the Clock of the Long Now. We have a working scale model in the Science Museum which is worth a visit. It is a most fascinating project, creating a mechanical object capable of running for so long a period of time poses unique engineering challenges, of course, but it is also a kind of public artwork with many intriguing features. It will probably be over the heads of most readers, and the fact that the construction is being funded by the controversial billionaire Jeff Bezos may color perceptions, but the fact remains, it is one of the most worthwhile clock projects in ... well, ever, I daresay.

Single-hand watches are rare; most folks would prefer to know the time to a bit better resolution. Audemars Piguet, to bring up obscure APs again, made one, the so-called Philosopher’s Watch, which is worth hunting around for. It is ref. 9040, I believe. Billed as a lady’s watch and a bit small, but I think at this point in the Year of Our Lord 2019, we can ignore that. Other than that, may I recommend you to a little brand called Meistersinger. They have more or less cornered the market for hour-hand-only watches and have for many years. They are charming, interesting, and you would have to exert yourself to spend more than perhaps $2,000 at most to get one.

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