#it's purely a braindump

[wyfy-meltdown]

Guess who lost control of themself and made another magical girl/boy project just when he was productive in their WIPs?

[tsukana]

theres another universe where q!phil WASNT left behind by forever and bad for that final investigation, where q!phil was there for that federation office argument/explanation, and im so sad we didnt get to see it. Because it absolutely wouldve such an interesting turn to what we got. because we have-

forever, stuck between bad & baghera, whom he still considers himself a trio with, and tubbo, the drive of the investigation and stunning verbal proof of a kidnapping, but no physical. in addition to the personal aspects, he is still president, and might consider that part an obligation of some objectivity

baghera, who has promised bad not to tell, but dont mistake her personal support and loyalty to bad in this for a support of his actions in capturing and keeping WB011 locked away underground. she may be complicit now in onr aspect, but not supportive

phil, who is there having promised tubbo to back him, but dont mistake his support for tubbo as support for the federation. phil who respects bad and knows he would do anything to keep all of the eggs safe and bring them back. phil who bad in turn respects for taking in an egg who has become his own (he gets the feeling) and knows would do anything to keep them safe.

i dont remember where i was going with this fully but like. i feel like the addition to someone who in the conversation was solidly on q!tubbos side out of personal loyalty the way a!baghera was for q!bad wouldve made the scene a lot more even? if not interesting if only because i genuinely cant figure to what extent phil mightve joined in from cc!phil being tired af, or phil definitely being more anti-federation than ambivalent like tubbo is (aside from flying in the face of create rules and other general limitations), or also just because we definitely havent seen the full impact of cucurucho and the federation fucking gaslighting q!phil into thinking what happened with the birdhouse was a dream, and literally still feeling like he's unable to tell apart if something is reality or a dream

[heavenbarnes]

Hello I’m ruminating on olderbf!Simon and how down bad I am for him. I have so many thoughts that do not relate to each other but I would love to just braindump on ya if I may!

-olderbf!Simon and reader obviously into voyeurism/exhibitionism with the other 141 and hearing all of their dirty thoughts, but I get the sense that Simon would NOT like to hear literally anyone else talking that way about his girl. Like if a recruit or lower rank soldier saw reader and said something gross in earshot of Simon we might actually have a murder on our hands. What do you think?

-when/if reader ever gets bratty, how might Simon punish her? Maybe instead of having punishment sex he would actually withhold his dick from her? But then ofc he’s also horny and depraved so it ends up being as much of a punishment for him

-how do you envision them sharing a bed? Are they big spooners or does Simon run so hot that reader can’t handle him being nearby?

Anyway I need to lie down now I’m unwell about him xoxo

read this in the carpark before work and had to ruminate on it all day until now 🫶🏼

there was an internal battle your older bf!simon was facing. there was a part of him, a filthy part of him, that damn near needed everyone to know how good you could be for him.

but there was a bigger part that’d rather die than have anyone think of you like that.

enter 141.

men that simon could literally trust with his life, knew him better than anyone (anyone other than you). he could trust them with his life and he could trust them with a group chat full of your most intimate moments.

however, anyone else tried to even think about you? intimately or not?

there wasn’t a place they could hide.

“jesus, L.T- the fuckin’ sight a’that”

“woah, the things i’d do to-“

one stone faced expression hidden behind a balaclava, another fighting a shit eating grin off his face.

“i’d start runnin’ if i wa’you”

not like they’d ever be able to run fast enough.

and your older bf!simon knows orders better than anyone. lives by them, loves by them.

so when you’ve acted out, he knows that you need an order- need something to get you back to sweet and pliant like he’s used to.

no use fucking it back into you, minute he sinks even the tip in- it’s him going dumb and forgetting what the mission even was.

he has to go to the next extreme.

“no touchin’, sweet’art”

your hands went back under your thighs, back pressed to the arm of the couch as you watched the man in front of you. fucking hell.

simon had one rough hand wrapped around his cock, wrist twisting as he tugged himself off. the sounds of his broken moans, the spit slick of his palm.

pure fucking torture.

“please, si”

that nearly did it, he nearly gave in with one little whimper from you.

“i’ll be good”

simon’s eyes flickered up the length of you, eyes locking with yours. he could see the well of tears on your lower lashes, he could see the way your lip was fixed between your teeth.

“what’ya say then?”

crawling, fucking crawling across the couch to him- you let him feed the tip into your mouth, muffling your words as you spoke.

“m’sorry si”

and when it’s you and your older bf!simon in your bed at the end of a long day, there’s nothing quite like it for him.

he has to be touching you.

up to him? he likes to be spooning you, curve of your back against his chest and your ass nestled nicely against his cock.

where you belong.

but the man’s big and that means that man’s warm so sometimes he has to settle for a hand against your stomach or a leg between yours.

just as long as he’s touching you.

he’s happiest, however, when your head is on his chest and he can see your peaceful little face rise and fall with his breathing. to him, he can almost imagine you exist as one.

when he can hear your little breaths, the tiny (or not so tiny) snores drifting out your lips as he traces the lines of your face with a long finger.

tactile guy is our simon, but only when it comes to you.

[imaginesheaven]

National Anthem – F!Reader x Price (x little bit Valeria)

Summary: After Graves’ betrayal another villain appears on the screen for the Task Force. They are nothing like all the others before.

This is kind of inspired by the song National Anthem by Lana Del Rey. I wrote all of this down, but I’m actually not sure what to do with it, so enjoy this little piece of pure braindump. I’m also not sure if I like this at all, so I would really appreciate to know what you think about it :)

Warnings: MDNI – sexual talk; swearing; angst; mentions of death

Length: 2.7 k

“Laswell, you look like you could use a drink”, Price sits down at the bar handing her a glass full of the best whiskey. “Thank you, John, but alcohol isn’t going to get rid our problems this time”, Kate takes a sip of her drink.

Her words make the whole Task Force kind of uncomfortable. Laswell is usually convinced that they can manage everything that the world throws at them, but this time she does have her doubts.

“At first, I thought we only have a usual Russian problem, but it turns out to be way bigger and more than just that”, she gets out two pictures from her jacket pocket to put them upside down onto the table, “There is no room to fail this time.” John exchanges a brief glance with his team, “Hit us, Kate.” As if there would be ever room to fail in their field of work.

“Alejandro contacted me a few hours ago fuming. Valeria got bailed out of jail with an amount of money we all only can dream about. I did a lot of digging to find out what the hell is going on. A woman paid the money to get Valeria back to her El Sin Nombre cartel. It was the same person, who overtook the Shadow Company after Graves’ got killed. This woman is going to be a big problem gathering herself the best army”, Laswell pushes one of the pictures towards John.

The Captain can feel his heart stop for a second as he turns the picture around just to find a very familiar face looking back at him. A thick coldness starts to spread in his chest; doom setting slowly in.

“Price?”, Gaz asks quite concerned about John’s silence. The Captain keeps staring as the seconds tick by. “Fuck”, it’s the only thing he says and hands the picture to Gaz. John literally prayed years ago to never see your oh so beautiful face ever again. His heart can’t get over the fact that you are still looking the same. The way you glance at the camera with a winning smirk makes his knees weak. You know that you were observed from afar and you did not give a single fuck about it.

“You know her?”, Kate can’t explain otherwise his reaction. Price nods his head in agreement, “(Y/F/N) (Y/L/N). Met her once years ago. We had a mission together, but never saw her again after that.” He really hopes none of them can see through his lie. It was way more than just a mission. It was way more complicated than that.

Even after all this time John feels everything like it has been just yesterday. The way your hands have been roaming over his chest. So fucking close to him. Skin on skin. The way you felt amazing underneath him. As well as the way you broke his heart into thousand pieces. If there would be ever a regret he has to live through, it would be you.

Price doesn’t tell them a single thing about it. He will not go through every detail of his biggest mistake with his entire team. That’s something only between you and him for the rest of his life.

“So, she is military?”, Gaz asks as Soap hands the picture to Ghost. Neither of them can’t deny that you are absolutely breathtaking as much as you are deadly probably.

“Yes, (Y/N) worked for a special forces team in the American military. There is nothing much to know since almost everything is classified. Only a handful or so have the security rank to gather that information. The team included five members with the call signs X-1 to X-5, which sounds very nice, right? X-1 means Executer-1, so they called them actually Killer-1 to Killer-5. She is one of the best”, Laswell answers and pulls another picture out of her jacket.

John already knows that the picture will be you in your impressive completely black Executer-gear. He hates and loves this one so much. “No, Kate. (Y/N) is the best”, Price doesn’t say those words very lightly, but they are the truth. If you are going to be their enemy, it will be a fucking war.

“She took over the Shadow Company and the El Sin Nombre cartel? For what? What is her goal?”, Gaz can’t make the connections yet. Kate let’s out a deep sigh and turns around the last picture, “I think she is going for this man.”

The Captain shakes his head, “Makarov? (Y/N) is going for the big kill. If she can gather Russians, the Shadow Company and the El Sin Nombre cartel around her, we are all doomed. With that (Y/N) can take over every army and if that happens, she will go back to America getting her final revenge.”

“What do you know, John?”, Kate is almost kind of mad that she isn’t fully in the picture apparently like Price himself. “(Y/N) made a decision the military didn’t want to see. X-2 to X-5 were supposed to execute her. The members were named after their ranks, so (Y/N) was Executer 1 – the best of them. She killed every single one of her former teammates. The American Government classified everything to keep people from talking. (Y/N) escaped in the end, but all of that were rumors years ago. Everyone who told them got silenced. The military didn’t want to acknowledge her existence anymore. So, who really knows if that’s real or not”, Price knows exactly that everything he just told was real.

Neither of them dares to interrupt the silence thinking about the worst that could happen. Someone as power-driven and skilled as you will bring hell over those who did you wrong. What they don’t know is that you are halfway through your plan to conquer the world like you want it to.

A few hours earlier…

“Ah, Valeria. Nice to meet you in person finally. (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N). At your service”, you give the soldier your best smile to greet her properly. She raises one of her eyebrows still unsure about your intentions, “Why did you pay for my freedom?”

You mention towards the waiting car, “Let’s talk in the car. It’s way cooler in their and it would be only fair to bring you back to your cartel.” Valeria follows your invitation, “If you try to do something stupid I will kill you.” You can’t help yourself but laugh as you get in the car after her, “I really don’t doubt that for a second.”

“So, what’s the deal, hermosa?”, Valeria asks after taking a sip of the cool drink you gave her. You lean forward smiling knowing exactly how to expose your cleavage and use your body to get what you want. Valeria’s eyes follow just like you planned.

“Mi vida, I want your El Sin Nombre cartel to work with my Shadow Company. I am working towards a goal that is very important to me”, you explain to her leaving out a few important details. Valeria doesn’t ask but you could see the question in her eyes.

“Graves got … detained by me. His former soldiers are under my wings now. And well, there is no nice way to tell you this, but your people are also mine”, you keep on smiling knowing exactly she will understand the hidden threat.

“So, the rumors are true that you are gathering an army. They warned me about you, hermosa. Take my men if you need to. You paid for my freedom”, Valeria knows when she is in a situation without options. She is in your hands without any chance of an escape, better playing along for now.

“I’m really glad you took that so well. Graves wasn’t really cooperating”, you lean back taking a sip of your own drink. Valeria knows how to pick her fights and you are much more powerful than she thought.

“Well, the Gringo didn’t know how to handle dangerous women. Especially when they are as breathtaking as you are, mi vida”, Valeria holds up her glass to clink hers with yours. She can’t help herself but be enchanted by you.

You have already wrapped Graves around your little finger with your sex appeal until you took what was his. Now Valeria, next one will be Makarov. And you are pretty sure he will not resist you just like the others. Your plan is going wonderful. Now comes the fun part…

The ringing of his phone snaps Price out of his deep focus on working out a plan to bring you down before you can raise hell. No matter how many options his brain goes through it will never be good enough to keep up with your next steps.

“Captain Price”, he is only paying half attention to the caller on the other side of the line. “Hi, John”, your sweet voice rings in his ears over and over again. Price is not a man to get shocked easily, but right now his mind is absolutely blank. There are literally not words to form a proper sentence.

“Oh, I wish I could see your face right now. Happy to hear that I’m still alive?”, you can’t help yourself to let a heartfelt laugh, which brings John’s heartrate into a very dangerous zone. “Why are you calling?”, he tries to keep calm, but everything in him turns slowly into panic mode. It’s unusual for him. Only you can make him feel this way.

“Oi, don’t you know anymore how small talk works, muppet? How are you doing? What have you been up to the last decade? We really need to work on your manners, handsome”, you didn’t mean to sound it seductively, still you are not mad about it. You don’t have to be in the same room with John to know that you are still going under his skin with so much ease.

“John, humor me for a second. How have you been? Tell me a bit about your little Task Force”, your voice could play on repeat for eternity and John would still not get enough of it. In this moment he hated you so much for all the love he still has for you in his heart. But the two of you are a shadow of the past.

“You haven’t changed, so I’m pretty sure you know already everything about my team”, John will not give in. Not this time. “Yeah, but it would have been nice to hear it from you. Do you really think your Task Force is good enough to keep up with me? Are they ready to do whatever it needs to take down the devil herself?”, you have been watching him and his team for a while now; tracking their success as a team and still they will never be as good as you are.

“What happened to you? This isn’t you, (Y/N)”, John’s voice is only a whisper over the line. You don’t want to admit it, but you actually missed how sweet your name sounds when it comes over his lips. “Betrayal. So much betrayal that I finally found solace in power and revenge”, you reply replaying in your head what happened long ago.

“You killed innocent people… Children…”, John remembers how you stood right in front of him; trying to explain everything, but he wouldn’t hear a word about it. He knows now that you made the right decision back then. His younger self didn’t know it.

“You draw the line wherever you need it, Captain! Isn’t that something you like to tell your team? I did that, but what did I get for sacrificing so much? Nothing. The military sent my own team after me. You left me. I lost everything to save thousands of lives. But you know what? I will gain so much more for sacrificing those lives now. Revenge is best served cold”, once you get what you want, you will never have to defend yourself ever again, “John, we both know that villains are also human beings with a dramatic backstory. Just like the heroes.”

“You called just to tell me all of that?”, John can almost feel his heart bleeding; knowing he is part of the problem. He is one of the reasons you turned your back against humanity. “No, since we have quite the past together, I wanted to give you a change. I can be merciful, if I want to. You have 24 hours to find Makarov to stop me”, your voice transforms from being bitter to cheerful in a second.

“You already know where he is, eh?”, Price realizes that you are playing with him. You know exactly there would be no chance for him to win this battle. “Oh, of course. I would never go into a conversation like this without having plan beforehand, handsome. 24 hours, big boy. Time is ticking”, without a further word you end the call leaving John alone in a deafening silence. This is a fucking war neither John nor the Task Force can win.

Bonus:

“It’s over, (Y/N). Lay down your gun”, Price points his weapon at you as he makes his way towards you. A slight smile appears on your lips before you do what he says. Your little handgun compared to his gets put on the table right in front of you.

You can’t help yourself but admire how handsome he looks after all this time you have seen him. He is aging like a fine wine. For a moment you remember how young he had looked back when he still was a Lieutenant.

“Don’t worry, I’m not a sore loser”, you raise your hands so he can see them clearly. For once you are not a threat to him. Slowly you make your way around the table. He keeps his gun pointed at you, but still lets you come as close as possible. His eyes never leaving yours for a second.

“We all know it was your decision to lose. You had everything to bring hell upon us. So, why do you give up now?”, John’s finger ache to stroke your cheek softly; to feel your warmth against his skin once again. Your eyes bore into his; looking straight into his soul. “And we both know I can’t do anything against my weakness, John. You are still the only one I don’t want to hurt.”

Your words touch his soul; breathing back live into him. For a moment neither of you know what to say. Softly you push away his gun and he let it happen. The two of you are so damn close now almost breathing the same air.

“Do you still love me?”, John can hear the pain but also the hope in your voice. There is no need to deny the truth any longer. He can’t ignore anymore how his heart calls your name over and over again. How it has been doing that for the last few years.

“Yes, I always have and I always will…. I’m so sorry for everything”, he caresses your cheek with his hand and you lean into the touch; yearning for his attention for such a long time already. “It’s okay. I love you too, John…”, you reply letting your tears fall freely now.

“… But neither heroes nor villains get happy endings, handsome. Right person, wrong time. Maybe we will find each other in the next life again. Good bye, John”, you place a soft kiss on his lips. Both of you savoring this moment as long as possible.

A single shot rings through the silence, then a body hitting the ground. And that’s how this story ends.

[sacred-algae]

Magic, Witchcraft, and Classism in Modern Fantasy Settings (or any fantasy settings):

a really casual essay that’s really more a braindump that’s scholarly cosplay because I have actual scholarly bullshit to do

This thought appears in my brain every once in a while when I imagine Mollymauk Tealeaf in any modern AU such as highschool, college, coffee shop, bookshop—you name it. You don’t have to have any knowledge of C2 or even Critical Role to understand this post, don’t worry; this is just the intro to the topic. I myself haven’t seen C2 and my understanding of the character comes from my place in the greater Critical Role fandom, watching hour long compilations of Molly moments, and playing the character in Widomauk RP’s with my best friend. (also, the whole post isn't even about D&D, though it does start out with a lot of examples before I move on.)

The thing is, that in a wholesome modern AU Molly’s class (for those unfamiliar with D&D, this is not applicable to classism as we will be discussing, it's like an occupation) as a Bloodhunter doesn’t really translate all too well. Sure, if it were a modern AU where the Nein still does their job, that’s one thing, but there’s often no reason for Molly to be a Bloodhunter in highschool, college, or a coffee shop. The class is pretty dark, and I won’t get into too many details because it’s unnecessary.

What is necessary to know is that they read tarot and they were adopted into the circus. And for that reason, I think the character pretty heavily relies on the witchcraft aesthetic when being translated into a wholesome modern setting. And when I say that, you have to think of Magic and Witchcraft as two entirely separate entities. It wouldn’t be the same if he were a wizard, or a sorcerer, no. There is a shiftiness, a craftiness, and an all-around rejection of society that comes with the character of Molly. With any of Taliesin Jaffe’s characters, actually—the man is a goth. Mollymauk Tealeaf is a character that screams ACAB at the top of his lungs while wearing a skirt with celestial motifs on it and throwing Molotov cocktails made extra special with red chilies, belladonna, and graveyard dirt.

This is where the thesis comes in: In a society where magic exists and is studied much like academia, a classist division between Magic and Witchcraft will rise, discounting the legitimacy of "the lesser."

Still here? Awesome. This is gonna be fun. *Rolls up sleeves.*

Defining "Magic" and "Witchcraft"

So what is the difference anyway? When we think of witchcraft, we acknowledge that it is magic. Of course it's magic, but I would argue that in a fantasy setting, the craft part would be the part with an emphasis when defining the difference.

Magic: The study, practice, and execution of arcane energy for otherworldly outcomes.

Witchcraft: The use of magic with a distinctly "at home"/"DIY" energy to it. Components are easily found if you know where to look, and through the social focus on pure arcane magic with bigger and more immediate effects, these common ways have been forgotten—There is no big show of lights, no sounds, no *POOF* to let you know that it worked like there would be with a more traditional form of magic; it is a matter of waiting. Often, it is a more chaotic and unpredictable form as if it was a wish fulfilled by a djin. Witchcraft spells have their limits, but you can get creative if you want a certain psychological effect.

Basically, I'm talking real-world folk magic put into a fantasy setting.

Magic, Materials, and Academia

Dungeons and Dragons is a great example of this, because oh boy, as a Dungeon Master, I can tell you how inherently fucked up this game is. Drows and Goblins (and other races) are actually naturally evil-aligned and have heavy racial biases coded into them. The difference between a Cleric and a Warlock is that Clerics are coded to be Good because they made a deal with a god, and Warlocks are Bad because they made a deal with something that isn't godly. Even if you don't play them like that, more nuanced in a way like Shadowheart from Baldur's Gate 3, (we aren't talking about Wyll, Wyll has his own problematic writing separate to this point) Clerics deal radiant damage, and Warlocks deal necrotic. And there is a classic divide between Sorcerers and Wizards, with Sorcerors having inherent power, often bullying the weaker Wizards who came into it through hours of dedication to study and practice.

However, the biggest problem, and the problem I'm going to be using as an example, is material spell components.

When you are casting a spell in D&D, you have three types of components you need to cast a spell. Verbal (spoken), Somatic (gestures), and Material (exactly what it sounds like). A spell can be cast with any combination of these three, and material spell components are something that I despise (apologies to any non-D&D players for what I'm about to say next, it gets confusing).

Of course, there are more inexpensive spell components that do not need to be repurchased, or you can opt for a focus in its place, but if a spell specifies a material cost, the material is needed to cast the spell. A common material spell component is literally diamonds. A good example of this is Chromatic Orb, a level 1 spell that requires a diamond worth 50gp to cast. Most players start out with 10-20gp at level 1. Now, this is a component that isn't consumed for Chromatic Orb (though a lot of spells requiring diamonds do consume it), meaning it can be reusable for this spell or another one and thus, would probably be found in a component pouch.

See, I understand their function within the game as a mechanic to keep tension, however, the problem arises when you think about the implications: Imagine you're a sorcerer in a small town. You were born with magic in you, but you were also born poor. Unfortunately, there are some spells that need materials to cast, materials you cannot afford. You're kept away from certain kinds of magic. And a wizard? Well, unless you have access to books or a mentor, you can't learn magic at all. Wizards are either born into the middle or upper class, or have to fight their way up from poverty to fulfill their goals.

Accessibility vs. Academia

I think The Owl House portrays this thought process the best. Arcane/League of Legends is another big one, but the theme is literally everywhere in media all throughout the history of storytelling with characters like Ripley in Critical Role/The Legend of Vox Machina, Lady Eboshi in Princess Mononoke, or Batman or Iron Man or literally every story about technology (or magic), and discovery ever. Hell, it goes back to fucking Jason and the Golden Fleece. Further, even. But The Owl House has got to be my favorite when it comes to this topic because it's not about a latent lust for power, it's purely about accessibility.

I'll be entirely honest up front, but I never finished The Owl House, and don't remember much, but I can tell you with confidence this is pretty much exactly what I'm talking about.

Luz is a human. Meaning that she can't produce magic because it's not in her, it's something that she can't do. But she finds a way anyway by devoting time and patience to studying what happens when her magical peers do magic. Through it, she's able to discover these glyphs as shown in the gif above, and by drawing them, she can replicate their power. They function much like spell scrolls in D&D, but they're much more hands-on and don't require the knowledge of a scholar to make them.

There's this great video on Medieval Stasis in fantasy by Perseus Grim on YouTube. It's half an hour and I highly recommend that every fantasy writer or game master should watch it, and if you aren't a writer and just an enjoyer, you should check it out too. Even if you don't care about medieval aesthetic fantasy, it discusses magic, technology, and power dynamics, which is what we're talking about here! Basically, he argues a lot better than I can, that since magic = power > power = influence > influence = control > control = corruption, the 1% is going to do everything within their power to control who uses magic. How many stories have you heard where a wizard gets a taste of power and decides they need more? I can think of many within the sources being discussed. Academia in real life is incredibly limited, because knowledge is power. There may be a person who is self-taught at their trade that may be so much better than a person with a degree, but who is going to get the job?

The same thing goes for magic and witchcraft, and we'll get back to that in a second.

The Gender of Witchcraft: Misogyny and Christo-Colonialism

Whooboy, long section title.

Now let me make this perfectly clear. It is now more relevant than ever with WitchTok, Wicca, and New Age, that we assert the fact that historical witches weren't fucking doing anything. They were innocent women (oftentimes women of color, Jewish women, Roma women, or disabled women) who had nothing to do with witchcraft. If I have to hear one more person say "We are the witches they couldn't burn" or any modern witch try to claim the Witch Tartan for anything other than purely advocacy for women's rights I'm going fucking to throw something.

HOWEVER. Modern practice of witchcraft is inherently feminine because of it. Gender is a construct, yes, but just because it's constructed doesn't mean it's not real. It was made real when it was constructed. Gender roles are guidelines no one has to adhere to, but it is going to be hundreds and hundreds of years before every single person on this planet forgets everything they ever knew all throughout history about masculine and feminine energy. People are affirmed in their genders by practicing "feminine" and "masculine" things. Like it or not, we all have gendered perceptions of things, and that's okay so long as we don't abuse them and we recognize that it's not a one size fits all. Gender is a buffet, babydoll. Pick and choose what you want and indulge.

But like I said, because of the history of witches, witchcraft, and misogyny, there is something inherently feminine about the way we use witchcraft today.

Before Christian-Colonialism, what we consider today to be "witchcraft" or "magic" were just facts of life. Rituals done every day by everyday people. It was tradition, medicine, food, art, you name it. But the most prominent practices we think of today were magics of the hearth and home. Herbs, candles, potions—feminine. And it was that way throughout history too. And as witchcraft is reclaimed in the wake of American Christian Extremism (because think about it, most modern witches that reclaim it were Americans raised in American Christian Extremism), we'll continue to think of it that way because of the same Christian thinking we are trying to avoid. Part of that is social conditioning...

But part of that is a pushback against Christian Colonialism that wiped out indigenous folk practices all throughout the world, and the misogyny faced in the face of what is considered "proper" forms of faith. When the people who call witchcraft a cult are the same people who centuries ago burnt the witches, they think of witchcraft as feminine. So what do you do? You get more feminine to push back. It's like hyperfeminity!

So if witchcraft is feminine... it's feared.

But back to "proper forms of faith", post-Christian-Colonialism, witchcraft in the West is a pick and choose. Mixing up some herbs and rolling an oiled candle in them before burning it so that you get a job? Witchcraft. A member of the church blessing some water and pouring it over the top of the head of a newborn baby so they don't end up in Hell if they die early? Not witchcraft. Much like gender, the idea of witchcraft is a construct. This is because of power division. They want to keep themselves pure by not associating with the unpure witchcraft because if people knew they were doing witchcraft, they would lose faith. And conversely, if they're seen as doing witchcraft, witchcraft now has legitimacy. They don't want witchcraft to have legitimacy, because if it does, they don't have a monopoly on power.

So put the ideas of feminism, fear, and power monopoly together and you suddenly get a motive for the gatekeeping of magic.

Freedom in the "Hocus Pocus"

So like... what's real magic, then?

I find the politics of what's considered to be "real magic" and what's hocus-pocus woo-woo in a fantasy world really interesting. Like, you believe in magic but there's limits on what's real? You have access to divination, but tarot and astrology is bullshit? Things like plants and herbs, honeycomb, incense, gemstones, and even glass are material components in D&D, but combining those ingredients in a different way isn't magic? By all logic, it should work considering those ingredients are magical. Maybe there just isn't a massive flash of light, a booming sound, and an immediate effect.

So... who's to say that all the courtly magicians and professors and all the people relying on their magic to keep their social power didn't... just... say some of it isn't magic? It gets dismissed as hocus-pocus woo-woo so that "real magic" is held for only the people they want to have it. Because if there is a different, more accessible form of magic out there, the class divide is gone. It just makes sense.

And if the legitimacy of witchcraft as a form of magic is acknowledged, they’d be like “Yeah it’s real, but why even bother when you can get something better and more effective.” There's something to be explored in fantasy here and I want to see it used. Is it unknown and unharnessed? Is it underground and passes through generations? Is it known and just not cared about? Is it persecuted? How is it persecuted? Is it seen as weird? Is it feared? Is it outlawed?

Anyways I just think it's really fucking cool. If you made it this far on this massive, unedited braindump, you're also really fucking cool.

[mr-gentleman-scientistt]

OK CHAT YKW. NO MORE VENTING ON MAIN this is now PURELY positive / neutral braindump + reblog account

[melathan]

Introduction & Rules

Welcome to my blog! I go by Mel, short for Melathan.

ENTP, 20, she/her.

Stray Kids and ATEEZ enthusiasts; HAN and Hongjoong biased.

This blog will mostly hold 18+ writings, with the occasional SFW posts. This blog will also reblog NSFW and SFW posts alike.

I have AN IRREGULAR POSTING SCHEDULE. This blog is purely for my enjoyment of braindumping. Requests will be taken, the answers varying from short responses to full-length fics.

ALL MINOR AND/OR AGELESS BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED.

INTERACTION AND REQUEST RULES

All reader-listed characters in full-length fics will be female or AFAB.

All reader-listed characters will be of age.

This blog will not focus on idol x idol (exceptions given towards reader poly fics)

Non-con, sexual assault, rape, or incest of any kind will be prohibited from requests. Any other questionable fetishes or kinks will be ignored from request. Trigger warnings, if necessary, will be included at the top of fics.

Reposting, discrediting, stealing, or copying my work will be reported. Reblogs, inspirations, and mentioned posts with my tag is accepted and encouraged.

EVERYTHING IS FICTIONAL, and purely for my and my audience's entertainment.

[blanket-hugger]

i have wasted my day being upset and doing almost nothing. the IOF continues its slaughter in gaza. people in the professional environment (uni & research) are tiptoeing still when it comes to describing facts on the ground. i go to some marches & donate a bit & i sort of exist in a society trying not to be a shithead but that's it

had a review request today i accepted before noticing the affiliation of the authors (and the foreboding grant acknowledgment (non-military, but likely a slimy oligarch)). not sure what to do (sorta pure math paper, not sure i know a single person involved in an academic boycott of israel in my field) msg'ed some academia friends who are sympathetic, but still unclear what course of action i should/want to take.

i keep coming back to the infuriating discussions about israel i had with irl ppl b4 october 7th.

i keep coming back to some of the more visceral experiences tied to colonialism in my life (quaint maybe in the grand scheme of things, but still upsetting. holidays-with-parents in technically former or current colonies (one of the reasons i hate the concept of tourism) (easy way of getting that reactivated is to look at comments on videos on the situation in kanaky). whatever is going with international students in UK's HE. other things.)

not sure where i am going with this. i feel weak & somewhat isolated, which is normal ig. maybe i need to braindump some of this somewhere. idk if i want to braindump more specifics. i'll try to move on with my day for now and think all of this over at some later point. it's only 11pm

[errinkmare-fan]

TLDR: I’ve been thinking a lot about ErrorInkMare and I wanted to braindump some of my logistics. None of it is canon, but more based off of retained tropes I’ve absorbed from the fandom overtime. Like Nightmare alone has very different traits depending on who you ask. I just threw some ideas out there is all. Don’t take any of this too seriously. :)

I love ErrInkMare for the sole fact that it’s a dumpster-fire of a ship. Like:

Ink Sans -> literally cannot feel genuine emotion. purely thoughts, which he can make logical responses to with his fake emotion (vials of paint)

Error Sans -> haphephobia which is the fear of touch (I think), where his body will violently glitch out which I would presume is painful or uncomfortable for him to experience against his will.

Nightmare -> not sure where I heard this but in some versions he can’t experience positive emotion so depending on how you view love as an emotion he can only experience the negative feelings that comes with love like pain and loneliness? Or he can’t experience the emotion of love altogether.

Depending on your definition of fanon, since there are an infinite amount of AUs out there with questionable canons all together…

My only conclusion is that leaves us with an aroace, a panromantic demisexual, and a pansexual cupioromantic… at best. (At worst, probably all of them are aro/ace and hate each other which doesn’t give the ship any leverage.)

So this ship only really realistically works under the conditions that it’s a poly queer-platonic type relationship, and Error would be ok with being in a lithromantic relationship where the other two can’t experience romance towards him back.

Likewise, Ink and Nightmare are unable to touch Error. Ink doesn’t even experience sexual attraction. And my headcannon only works of Nightmare is able to experience sexual attraction, which is very possible he doesn’t. Similar situation for Error.

So how would this ship even work then?

Nightmare might like having a sexual relationship with Ink since it doesn’t need to involve romantic feelings or attraction, just the feeling of touch can be more inviting than nothingness. Having intimacy, or the illusion of it, with someone is probably the closest he can get to having a romantic relationship.

So sometimes he has intercourse with Ink, who can’t reciprocate or feel anything for that matter but maybe finds peace of mind that it puts Nightmare at ease a bit.

**Maybe Ink even takes negative emotion vials to give Nightmare something that will bring him joy. Nightmare can feed off the negative emotion of others right? Maybe that’s the one time Nightmare experiences happiness anymore.

Error might have romantic attraction to both of them, very aware that he has a type and it’s romantically unavailable people. They go on dates anyways and NM/Ink will do romantic acts (without touch) for Error because it makes him happy: Gifts, spending time together, words of affirmation, and some acts of service.

Error *can* create mass amounts of destruction, which causes negative emotion, which satisfies Nightmare who can praise Error.

So the whole ship is together for the point of being mutually beneficial. Nightmare gets a good deal from it. Error gets to have a relationship with his crushes who don’t reciprocate but don’t reject his feelings either. Ink… well… I can’t think of a reason it benefits Ink besides him trying a new relationship for the hell of it. Maybe for the experience or maybe because with the dynamic it feels less forced than maybe previous ones. Maybe he wants to get closer to his friends this way, since him and Nightmare have a more sexual platonic relationship anyways.

This ship, made with tender love and care, is not meant for the wary heart.

This is a hill you die on. Features:

*barley working logistics (more technical than a home depo)

*enough angst for several lifetimes

*enemies to lovers x3 plus

* what if error and ink are enemies (protector and destroyer) but comes to a truce through their mutual enemy nightmare. And they form a truce because dream is the real villain to them all, none of them really pursuing true happiness for everyone. And the boyfriends aren’t really part of the star sanses but they aren’t bad guys either, they’re just nightmare’s boyfriends.

*And optionally, depending on your version of fanon, nightmare and ink learn that error has two brothers, geno and fresh. And they aren’t bad guys or star sanses either but they’re in laws with a really stupid dynamic. The list can go on after that depending on who you ship with who.

*one person falls apart it all falls apart

*but despite that it can be cute like Error wants to go on a date with Nightmare and Nightmare gets him chocolate and Error is just taken aback with the gesture and falls harder in love with him which makes Nightmare a little sick with all the positive emotion but he selflessly sucks it up.

*like the appeal is that it’s imperfect. It’s delicate.

*Error needs to be in love with both so they can both balance between his in unrequited love but genuine care. Nightmare gets sick at positive emotion but at least he feels it while Ink can’t feel it at all but sure as hell can act it out for him. They both care for Error but not in a romantic way is what I’m getting at.

*Nightmare gets what he wants from both sides. Genuine emotion from Error and a fabricated selfless effort from Ink.

*these two in turn makes the exchange interesting for Ink.

Ok rant over.

[redstrewn]

My alchemist rambling braindump

My "main" MC might be the unnamed who gets with Ais

But my alchemist I think would get with Leander.

I know the unnamed will have a more "hero and leander"-like story what with hero being a priestess and the unnamed being an oracle. So that dynamic is probably also going to be very interesting.

But my alchemist is the desperately trusting one. She's insecure because she feels like she was used. Like she's just a pawn. She wants all the love she can get. And even though she's been hurt that way before, she's sooo sad she hasn't learned her lesson.

The alchemist with leander could be fun too because they pick up on how strong his magic is and has knowledge on that.

And like a post said before, the alchemist was used by another mage before. And now it's likely gonna happen again.

My alchemist is likely the most pure blorbo of an MC I have. I imagine she will have the most pain and angst. She wants to be more than just a used tool. But what if she believes that's all she's ever good for?

[ternaryflower53]

For the WIP Title ask game: transfem Adolin 👀

ask me about my wips!

transfem adolin!! much like my transfem kal fic, there is absolutely zero canonical basis for this, but i just want to have feelings and also explore adolin's relationship with evi & dalinar

i am currently in the stage where i just braindump, so most of the fic is pure dialogue at this point, but here's a little snippet of an actually fleshed out part

Adolin doesn’t usually get to touch his mom’s stuff. It’s expensive, which means it costs a lot of money and is hard to replace. So when his mom suggests a day of dress-up, Adolin leaps at the chance. He gets to try on three different dresses—all too big for him, so much so that he can’t move around for fear of tripping over the skirts, but even drowning in fabric it makes him beam. And he sits patiently as Evi puts on lipstick and blush and a tiny bit of dark eyeliner, though not too much because Evi doesn’t want to risk poking him in the eye. When he looks at himself in the mirror, he squeals. “Mommy!” He bounces on his toes, arms held out. “Mommy, I’m pretty like you!” “You are, aren’t you?” Evi kneels down and kisses Adolin on the forehead. “You’re so pretty. Perfect for me, yeah?” “Yeah!” Adolin leans in closer to the mirror, taking in the way his lips are pinker than usual and the light dusting of blue over his eyes. Seeing himself like this makes his insides go fuzzy and soft, full of happiness he can’t contain.

[wyfy-meltdown]

PURE SOUL / UNTITLED FAIRYTALE PROJECT LOREDUMP

Back at it again: obligatory this is really long warning.

TW: Cannibalism

┈ ✁✃✁✃✁✃✁✃✁ ┈

This will only cover the magic system, plot set up, and history (for now) and we'll talk about the characters sometime later!

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

History

A long long time ago there was a person called "Lucernas" who travelled the world helping others and seeking knowledge. Lucernas ascended to godhood through the virtues they obtained, and became the God of Light and Color. One of Lucernas' faithful disciples, Peiffer, who held Lucernas' virtute of "Empathy", saught to give everyone power and eternal life. The problem with Peiffer's method is that is required people to eat the souls and bodies of their fellow humans: turning them into cannibalistic creature called "Kerei". The consumption of Lucernas' magic via the souls of others made them stronger, however such a dastardly act could never be allowed nor forgiven. Peiffer using their bolstered powers faught against Lucernas and their seven remaining disciples, and the conflict only ended when the seven disciples sacrificed their souls alongside Lucernas' in order to imprison Peiffer.

Although Peiffer was sealed away, humans had already begun to corrupt their souls by eating the bodies and souls of other humans.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

Kerei + Bez

Over the years Kerei began to evolve into two distinct types: those who ate souls, and those who ate bodies. If a Kerei does not eat human souls/bodies they will become weaker and have to eat more, but they CAN survive eating animal meat and souls.

Kerei have "Kerei Traits" aka things that distinctualize them from humans:

Always:

Horns

Tail

Black Sclera

Sometimes:

Pupil Shape Weirdness

Skin Weirdness/Markings

Kereis can become much more animalistic to the point of losing all sentience if they don't properly eat or interact with others.

If a Kerei eats 99 human souls and 1 Wizard soul they will become a Bez: a much more powerful and dangerous Kerei. Bezes do not risk losing sentience, nor can they be easily killed. There is a Bez High Council that militarizes other Kerei and Bez and focuses on the revival of Peiffer, but we'll talk about them later.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

Wizards, Soul Shells, And Auras

To comabat the threat of Kerei humans begun to train to defend themselves. From this was born "Wizards". However the souls of Wizards were not safe: making it difficult to fight against Kerei. This started the concept of "Soul Shells": special objects that contained the Souls of Wizards and were hidden as to defend against Kerei. In order to once again strengthen their chances of defeating Kerei, Wizards began to harness their Auras.

A person's Aura is effectively a special ability or special type of magic hidden in their Soul (An Aura could be something like "Fire Control" or "Super Speed", for example.). Everyone has an Aura, but only Wizards and Witches can harness them effectively. (*Witches are not the female counterparts to Wizards, they are something else entirely that won't be talked about here). Auras can be used at will to aid in combat or other situations, but some Auras take physical tolls on the body or mind.

Wizards began the process of training new Wizards utilizing Academies: the most impressive of which being "Grimmbook Academy" (where the story takes place).

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

Fusion

Wizards can fuse. Like actually merge bodies and minds like they do in Steven Universe. But it's a bit different so we'll talk about it:

The effectiveness and most things about the Fusion are dictated by three relationship categories:

Affection (how much do the people fusing like eachother?)

Trust (how much do the people fusing trust eachother with important things and trust being around them?)

Respect (how much do the people fusing respect eachother's principles, lifestyle, and character in general?)

Each Fusing participant has a chart and meter showing off these categories of feelings towards the other person.

EX:

The bar at the bottom shows who has more influence over the fusion: who has more influence is subject to change while they're fused.

The higher the stats, the more cohesive the Fusion is: a Fusion with low stats will look very contrasting to itself, while a Fusion with high stats will blend perfectly with itself.

When two people fuse they become an entirely seperate and different person with their own thoughts, feelings, and memories. When two people fuse, they effectively cease to exist until they unfuse.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

Lucernas, Pure Souls, And The Disciple Souls

Although Lucernas was never "truly" a god, they still possessed immense power and magic beyond anyone else and were worshipped as such. Lucernas' Soul possessed the unique ability to purify Kerei's Souls (aka kill them when amplified, and weaken them in a passsive state). A Prophecy was made that Lucernas would reincarnate around the time Peiffer would return, this person would be the "Pure Soul" tasked with defeating Peiffer once and for all. The longer Lucernas' Soul sat dormant, the more power it would accumulate.

The Pure Soul would also have to collect all of the Disciple Souls to gain their powers and to strengthen their Soul. The Disciple Souls are scattered throughout the world entrapped within sacred objects. Their weakened abilities can be used by anyone, but only the Pure Soul can bring them to their full potentials.

Red Disciple Soul: Possess Lucernas' Volition, grants the power to enhance the Auras of those around them

Orange Disciple Soul: Possess Lucernas' Creativity, grants the power to go into others' minds

Yellow Disciple Soul: Possess Lucernas' Humility, grants the power to weaken others' Auras

Green Disciple Soul: Possess Lucernas' Knowledge, grants the power to have any question answered

Blue Disciple Soul: Possess Lucernas' Charity, grants the power to grant wishes

Purple Disciple Soul: Possess Lucernas' Curiousity, grants the power to find anything or anyone

┈ ✁✃✁✃✁✃✁✃✁ ┈

Anyways that's about it for now! I'll talk about the characters and plot some other time, but thank you for reading! It's nowhere near done or polished, but I'll try my best to not abandon it this time!

[sesshy380]

Wordcount of the day: 887

Did some braindump of a bunny into the Rabbit Hutch. TKB PoV focus, but no solid ship ideas.

Basic premise is TKB gets a second shot at life in the modern era, but in an AU where the Millennium Items never existed, or any of the events of the past for that matter (only he remembers these things). Due to a very annoying daughter of a god (yup, sneaking OC in there), he ends up being forcefully cast out of the Duat and waking up as a Domino High student...and as a member of the Yugi friend group (he would rather crawl his way down Ammit's throat at this point). Essentially, it's just a very cruel author putting him in a blender with everything he can't stand and hitting puree.

Also started on a sequel to 'Returned'. Mostly TK and Atem have their moment to hash things out. No idea yet if there will be fists involved. Right now just trying to corner them into having no option but to deal with one another.

[that-binchh]

Mary McDonald HCs Pt. 1

Been back home/in school for a month now, so I can finally braindump the rest of my chiquittas (maurader girls) headcanons that I've been sitting on for close to two years. and y'all know I gotta start it off with my main girl *giggle emoji* part 1

#1 fashion diva. her style is super experimental, especially with colors and patterns. you'd expect her fits to clash but when she wears them, it's giving runway

speaking of clothes, she 100% knows how to sew. most of her closet are custom made and her love language is customizing your clothes for you

mary was super excited about being a witch because she was a HUGE fantasy geek growing up. but the biggest reason for her excitement was that she saw the wizarding world as a chance to really be part of a community (something she didn't get growing up as a 2nd gen immigrant in 70s England and something she craved even more after hearing her mom speak about life in Haiti)

her parents are on the older side (her and james bond over this)

her mom's name is Ester and her dad's name is Jean

Ester and her are besties!!! they def have their disagreements from time to time, but overall they have a super healthy relationship.

her relationship with her dad is... complicated. they both have love for each other but they don't know each other, especially before and during mary's hogwarts years.

he's emotionally unavailable because of unresolved past trauma. because of her youth and general 70s-ness, mary doesn't fully understand this and ends up resenting him quite a bit. she even goes through a rebellious phase in hopes of getting a reaction out of him.

their relationship does eventually improve. mary's post-war life is like 75% traumatized-father-unknowingly-and-clumsily-helping-newly-traumatized-daughter-cope-with-her-trauma vibes

mary's crushes during hogwarts goes: Alice -> Lily -> Marlene -> Lily (only including BIG crushes)

THEE original lovergirl!! mary def has a new crush every few weeks; she loves the butterfly feeling of having a crush/flirting. but when she REALLY likes someone, she's LOCKED IN.

she loves acidic fruit (can and has eaten slices of pure lemon as a snack)

doesn't excel in any particular subject but has an passion interest in arithmancy. she never took the course but secretly reads advanced-level arithmancy books and will experiment with it for fun

because the war, you know, changed the course of her life, mary ends up leaving the magic world, effectively putting an end to any chance of her pursuing arithmancy seriously. but she does become maths teacher at a muggle secondary school

out of the gryffindor girls, mary is the tallest. only by like 2-3 inches but they count.

contrary to popular belief mary isn't super causal with touch. like she is a hello-goodbye hugger but that's the most she'll do with people she isn't close with. but when she's with her people, mary is an octopus personified.

hand holding, running her fingers in their hair, hugs from behind, looping her arm in theirs, little forehead and cheek kisses, cuddling in the commons, the whole shebang.

[psrevisionvoid]

PRINCES - ORGANISATION SYSTEMS

as students, the princes all have their own planning systems for school & life... wanted to flesh some of it out ☆

Notes:

LEON has a whole system;

bookkeeping is one of his hobbies. cannot leave his room without at least his main planner & commonplace book

system: main planner, commonplace book, goals/archiving book

uses a leuchtturn 1917 a5 daily planner in brown

every day is planned, hourly, to a T. the hour before he sleeps is usually devoted to planning the next day/bookkeeping (9pm) and sunday he just has 2hrs of planning the week ahead in the evening

along with 2 sage green hahnemühle "manuscript" notebooks for commonplacing & archiving. loves commonplacing/braindumping. he has lots of thoughts & ideas

it's very neat with tags at the sides in forest colours, all sorted out perfectly, but if u flip thru it at a whim, u can find random pages where he's just gone apeshit & it's just scrawls of intelligible german

uses a fountain pen to write

CHARLES is an enigma...

he plans digitally. he only uses a dated todolist app on his phone, that's it; think the app "tweek"

the app is organically coded & offline so it can't be rooted nor traced digitally in any form. cloud backup traces back to highly confidential US homeland state-of-art tech & is virtually inaccessible outside of charles' own phone

he's always on top of his todos

charles coded it years ago in a previous school-based extracurriculars course before momosu & has used it ever since

nobody has ever seen his todolists

he makes sure to change the subject if u ever do ask about the app

FELIX doesn't have shit lmao, but

he LOVES sticky notes!!! they're in neon colours all over his room with random reminders & sayings scrawled on em

carries a huge block of sticky notes in his schoolbag & js slaps them onto every surface within reach

there's a stack of sticky tags w/ reminders js waterfalling on the back of his phone case

CIEL is spontaneous asf!

can't & dislikes having to stick to one system. in his room on one of the walls there's a huge whiteboard installed & that's where all his stuff is written onto

whiteboard was installed after his antique wooden corkboard from a craft atelier in northeastern france

that he spent close to 5k to import into momosu

got infected by termites.

also uses notion on his phone purely for archiving -- just takes pics of his whiteboard to access during school hours

has a set of dry erase markers & eiffel tower magnets to use on the board as presents from charles

uses magnets to pin papers & fashion sketches

ALBERT is meticulous!!

huge, tome-like custom-made planner w/ leather cover w/ layout based off A4 leuchtturn weekly & inserts design from traveler's notebook company

planner is well loved. just takes the inserts out & places it on his bookshelf for reference whenever his planner gets too thick

it doesn't usually leave his room but its location within it is always changing

has a smaller field notes pocketbook that he keeps in his breastpocket for ideas & todos, gift from charles

used to use a fountain pen to write in it, but got annoyed bc he tends to leave it out & uncapped in a rush & comes back to a puddle of purple ink on his table. uses whatever pen he has on hand now

[a-mess-of-an-archive]

HOTD S1 braindump (spoilers)

EP8

- how the fuck do you even NOT see the queer subtext in rhaenyra and alicent’s relationship. they’re reduced to children just being around each other, even as adults. They’re staring at one another from across the dining table, across Viserys who split them originally, and rhaenyra regains that childish apprehension, the question clear in her eyes and the hope there that comes with the possibility of reconnection. of rekindling. it’s pure.

- the eye contact and blocking continues to be truly brilliant. What a well shot and made show.

- EXCUSE ME THE WAY THEY BRUSH EACH OTHERS HANDS KMS KMSKMSKSMMSS. THEY YEARN FOR EACH OTHER. THEY YEARN FOR CLOSENESS. THIS IS A MINOR FLEETING MOMENT WHERE THEYRE SOFT ENOUGH, ENCOURAGED ENOUGH, TO BE ABLE TO EXPRESS IT. KMS.

- “it is [alicent], you must do this. Unite the realm against the cold and the dark” viserys. Viserys oh no. I’m going to guess this prophecy could be absolved peacefully and yet they must to the most tragic thing imaginable.

E10

- the symbolism of Rhaenyra’s baby dying as she learns of the death of viserys and the succession of aegon. Mmmmm.

- Rhaenyra is GORGEOUS. Her descending on Syrax on the bridge to talk to Otto paralleling her doing the same at the Stepstones. MM.

- Not Rhaenyra starting to cry at the childhood book page alicent gave. That being the thing that broke her. Also, alicent, girl, why do you have that. What is wrong with you both.

- my fav thing about hotd is possibly how starkly each of the characters remain children, even as parents. themes of parenthood and desire and self actualisation outside and within it. My beloved. Also love rhaenyra’s inkling to peace. girl ily. Her little smiles when corlys and rhaenys declared themselves allies. I’m going to cry.

-oh no.