#its been a good year for me in this community

[breelandwalker]

Thank you for elaborating! I appreciate the clarification. (And I appreciate you taking a somewhat more civil tone with me than with your comments section. Frustration I can understand, but it does behoove us to be patient with each other in order to encourage meaningful discourse.)

I do think this is a discussion worth having, partly because you bring up some valid points with regard to making distinctions between witchcraft practices from New Age pseudoscience and junk theories, and partly because this is an excellent object lesson on the need to move past our own opinions and egos when dealing with the broader witchcraft community, particularly because it's not a monolith. (What community is, right?)

I agree that using the term "energy" in reference to one's life force or the power behind magical workings or the shared vibrations of a group in ritual or the broader music of the cosmos may be an oversimplification. But in terms of accessibility, it's a nice, simple word and a concept that just about everyone understands, regardless of the context. This can be especially useful when you're having a conversation with practitioners from various paths and traditions who have slightly different ways of doing things.

True, it gets bounced around in New Age speak quite frequently, but to say that reduces or nullifies its' value in witchcraft spaces sounds rather like giving up on a perfectly good word. After all, there are plenty of terms that exist in witchcraft that are also (obnoxiously) overused by New Agers. How many "clearing" or "cleansing" videos have we all rolled our eyes at on the socials? And yet, clearing and cleansing are still vital concepts in witchcraft, though they generally don't refer to dodgy medicinal practices. All this to say, the co-opting of a word by New Agers (or worse) only diminishes its' value in witchcraft spaces if we let it.

As for terms like "witchy" and "baby witch," there's a certain amount of seriousness involved with witchcraft, it's true. You do have to take the craft seriously if you want to make progress and you do have to grow as a person in order to do so successfully. But there's also a point when growth requires us to stop taking everything so deadly serious, including ourselves. There are lessons to be learned from play and silliness and shedding the trappings of ego and self-consciousness.

"Witchy" has entered the common lexicon in a playful way that allows witchcraft and witchcraft-adjacent things to be more accessible to the non-witching public. Accessibility leads to acceptance and we could use all the help on that front that we can get. Is it a slightly unserious word? Sure. But is there really anything wrong with being unserious? And does that really matter when the people who are attracted to it might go on to more serious investigation?

The same with "baby witch" - perhaps it is limiting or infantilizing, but it's accessible as an entry point for some people, and with time and guidance, they will outgrow it. (From a personal standpoint, I'm seeing it used less often than it was even a few years ago, mostly in spaces where discussion groups and non-judgmental communication are strong, though a steady replacement has yet to be found.)

Also, in terms of public image and respect, I highly doubt that the existence of terms like "witchy" and "baby witch" will make much difference in the minds of people and parties who would never respect our community or take it seriously anyway. If hundreds of books published by respected scholars and and religious recognition by the state couldn't make them take witches seriously, nothing will.

And on that note, let's move on to Wicca.

Gerald Gardner was not solely responsible for the creation of Wicca. He died before its' official inception and others who had been in his circle took up the movement. One might mention such notables as Doreen Valiente, who we have to thank for MUCH of what constituted the roots of Wicca in its' first officially incorporated iteration. Furthermore, the religion hasn't even been around for a full century and yet it has already evolved enough to have its' first schism and has changed with the times more readily than some other religions I could name.

To say that no one should practice Wicca because people involved in its' creation and evolution have been problematic is like saying that no one should be a Christian because of the Crusades. I'm not sure how the broader public is expected to treat the witchcraft community with seriousness and respect when some of us can't even seem muster the maturity to respect other witches when it comes to differences of religion or relative levels of experience or commitment.

While I can respect and agree with your personal preference to not use certain terms or follow certain paths, I might suggest having more conversations with witches whose traditions differ from yours. You'd be surprised how much we can learn from each other when the need to be Right or Superior is left at the door in favor of open communication and understanding. And I speak as someone who has BEEN THERE. There are enough forces in the world seeking to divide us without our own judgmental tendencies or poor attitudes furthering the problem.

Anyway, thank you again for taking the time to respond (and to read this wall of text my brain spat out in response, I appreciate your forbearance). Best of luck on the path!

Witchcraft vocabulary I’m surprised is still used in 2025:

- Witchy

- Magick

- Energy

- Karma

- The Goddess™️

- G slur

- Baby witch

[arihi]

Charmed! 2025 (A Community Recap)

Charmed 2025 happened this past weekend, the 10th anniversary. My con recaps of years past desperately tried to fit in as much detail and information of each day, play-by-plays as I tagged everyone I could remember, talked about all the classes I'd been to, the people I'd met. Nowadays, I'm content to just do a general overview.

I spent a lot of time pensive and thinking about my time spent in the community and during cons. The 10th anniversary for Charmed meant that marked 9 years since I'd come out to my very first one. Longer in the community when I was still only online. How does the time fly by so quickly? It doesn't feel real. I still feel very new, and yet when I look around I'm surrounded by unfamiliar faces, cons growing too large and too quickly for me to recognize every face like I used to at the beginning. This sentiment is far from unique, and I had several conversations during the con with people who echoed similar feelings. At one point, I found myself in a group of people who all predated me in the con-going circuit - a rarity as more and more time goes on. We talked about the growth of cons, my first one. Though I'd spent a lot of the day feeling listless without realizing why, I found myself feeling comforted by the company, and realizing I had been lonely.

It's not at all a bad thing, and I'm genuinely happy that more and more people are finding community at these events - god knows I did. It's an adjustment is all, an ever-shifting growth of my own. It's plain to see from my blog activity over the years that I withdrew from talking as often. Not good, not bad, but also for good, and for bad. It's probably good that I don't reveal as much about myself at the drop of a hat. It's probably bad that I'm more avoidant now than I'd like to be. I'd remarked to a friend a while back that I didn't miss the old MMO that we met each other on and spent our days playing, but that I missed the period of time in my life that it defined. Similarly, I think I was going through a huge shift in life and perspective at the time I was first finding my feet at these events, these gatherings of people that taught me that it was worth it to seek my own happiness, that *I* was worth it. I know this inherently now, but it was much more of an impact back then for obvious reasons. I suppose it's like the honeymoon period of a relationship vs. settling into its stability. I suppose you could say I'm in a long-term relationship with myself! And it's some of the healthiest it's ever been. And now that I'm doing better and more stable these days, I should try to push myself to be out there more often.

Every time someone tells me that I've grown so much, I can't help but tear up and cry. (I'm doing it now as I type this.) And wouldn't you believe it, that happened to me like FOUR TIMES during Charmed!! Come on y'all!! What the hell. There's nothing that solves feeling stagnated in life like hearing that from someone else. I resolved myself at the beginning of this post not to feel like I had to document every interaction and tag every person, but it's difficult to fight the urge to yell it from the rooftops, how each interaction genuinely touched me, how they were the highlights of my con. How I miss them again, and how I can't wait to see them again. It couldn't come soon enough. Thank you to those who have watched my journey and always encouraged me. (I feel like I say this often, but, please know that I mean it every time. Except this time like triple it. That's how much it means to me.)

Charmed changed my life. I will say it to my dying breath and I will always be forever grateful for it. I learned people could be happy. I learned I could be happy. The connections I made at the first Charmed and subsequent years have changed my life beyond what a 2015 version of me could ever imagine. Tangibly, too -- beyond just a shift in perspective and mentality and wanting better for myself, I wouldn't have been able to move out without the chain of events that started at this first con. So- thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.

I challenge myself not to document every interaction because in the past, that was how I had to live. Every post was proof I had experienced hardship (and lived). Every con meant a new lease on life and I had to memorize every single one and struggle to do hours long voice recordings about each day of the event to remember as much as I could because, that was all I could bring back. And I don't need to anymore - not because I don't want to remember, but because I'm in a better place now. These aren't the desperate emergency infusions of care I didn't know I could have; now, they are cherished moments with friends old and new, a drop in the bucket of happy memories. And part of life is to forget and talk about old stories and remember them again with good company.

Until the next one, and the one after that, and the many more after that.

-- Ari

[andarans]

a love letter to dragon age.

i’ve been trying to cope with the news that all the dragon age devs have been laid off or reassigned these past two days, and i just…. it’s hard. it might sound silly to say but i’ve barely been able to do anything because i feel as if i’ve lost a family member. took today to have a good cry. dragon age was such a formative series for me. i joke all the time i got into it for the romances and stayed for the lore but really everything about it i love, dearly. i love that each companion and side character had stories that moved me and made me cry, stories i could relate to even in a world with magic and dragons. i love how the lore is presented, including the brilliance that is the codex—that you’re never quite sure who to believe, that discovering the truth requires you to be an archaeologist. i love how my choices always mattered, that decision i made in origins affected my playthrough in inquisition. i loved the message dragon age as a series sent, about corruption, about power, about propaganda. dragon age influenced so much of my fantasy tastes and own writing and art. it left such a huge mark on my artistic inspirations and work. hell, my first ever dnd character was a tiefling that pretty much looks like a qunari with having a backstory that affected the world she was in, reminiscent of the depiction of elves in dragon age (still one of my favorite and nuanced takes on elves in fantasy, btw). even with the dnd campaign and world i’m writing now, i see dragon age in nooks and crannies. i wrote so much fanfic and drew so much fanart and made so many theories and anxiously followed every bit of news for the development cycle of veilguard. i’d watch the game awards every year with my friend hoping for dragon age news. speaking of friends, god i made so many friends because of dragon age. that common interest sparked so many fun conversations and ideas. i even was a writer for an anders focused dragon age charity zine.

above all i loved the community around dragon age. sure, fandoms all have its moments and toxicity, but by and large my experience with the DA community was wonderful. i love getting to see people’s OCs and world states because i also obsess over my DA OCs and world states. i love getting to see people write theses about dragon age’s themes and masters worthy character studies. the communal love for this world and its characters is so, so profoundly inspiring.

i’ve spent so much time moping but i do want to highlight what i loved about each game and my favorite characters.

DAO: my first intro to the series. by god the gameplay was so slow but the story and characters and lore and writing made it SO worth it. made me appreciate CRPGs too. alistair ended up becoming my favorite character, i remember actually gasping and blushing at the rose moment in his romance. the landsmeet is still one of my favorite quests, i love fantasy political intrigue. morrigan also was my best friend, when she called my warden a sister i cried.

DA2: one of the most underrated games by far. i loved the smaller scale, i loved how personal hawke’s story felt, i loved every single companion and this found family. fenris was my first romance and one of my favorites, he is so complex and misunderstood and secretly has the best sense of humor. i think anders ended up becoming my favorite though—god, anders. i could speak about him for hours but i appreciate the DA devs for what they did for him and letting us romance him. anders made me appreciate his character archetype so much; he is such a tragic man transformed by bitterness and vengeance and rage. “ten years from now, a hundred years from now, someone like me will love someone like you, and there will be no templars to tear them apart.” i love you anders.

DAI: i love the inquisitor. i love how tragic of a character the inquisitor is, ripped from their life and forced to become an idol for a movement they might not even believe in. a lot of people criticize DAI for being “the chosen one” cliché, but it’s not. it’s a critique of that very trope and how it destroys a person. the inquisitor is forced to become an idea, and it does not matter who they actually are; they have all autonomy taken from them, and that is horrifying. cullen ended up ruining my life for a good amount of time, his romance is my favorite in all the series and god he got such a good redemption and ending. (i even bought cullen themed soap from a local convention, lol. i’m telling you i was obsessed). and in my replay solas’ romance absolutely destroyed me, turning him from my dearly detested to my dearly beloved. god trick weekes i will miss you so much, thank you for writing solas.

DAV: i know how contentious veilguard is. believe me i have many of my own criticisms. but i still love it anyway. i love the companions, all of them, i love how act 3 absolutely fucking gutted me and made me cry twice. i loved the amazing visuals and character creator and ost and environments. i love the QOL improvements. i loved seeing the cameos and my inquisitor again. there’s so much to love in veilguard and i’d rather talk about how much i love it than what i didn’t. lucanis was my first romance and while there wasn’t as much content as i was hoping for, i sincerely appreciate what we did get. i love how ride or die he is, how his love language is acts of service, how he’s afraid to hurt rook. i love his facial animations in his romance, i love zach mendez’s performance. i’m hoping to play emmrich and davrin’s next, and i’m sure i’ll love them too.

it’s hard to accept the fact that dragon age is probably over. it makes me sad knowing we’ll never find out about certain lore questions or know what DA5 could’ve looked like. and i’m still so angry for the developers and how they’re so callously treated and thrown away by EA/bioware. sometimes i wonder if the same thing would’ve happened if veilguard sold more. but it’s not helpful to dwell on these what-ifs, because we’ve seen how the industry treats both successful games and what they deem as failures: layoffs and no remorse. i hope the team finds work soon. i hope they realize how loved their work is. i hope someday the game industry is completely, wholly unionized. i’m glad at least we got veilguard to answer the biggest questions we’ve had.

thank you, DA devs, for everything. thank you for answering our silly questions about your characters favorite coffee flavors and perfect date nights. thank you for bringing them to life. i won’t stop playing the games or making art or fic. i won’t stop being inspired. dragon age lives on in my creations, in my dnd characters, in everything. i hope to be back in thedas soon, one day. dareth shiral.

[just-your-average-tangerine]

Was forced to watch a truly incredible (derogatory) thing recently.

A young person on twitter, adamant that transandrophobia doesn't exist on the grounds that 'no one is killing/raping/assaulting trans men'.

Several people responded, including some linking articles about murders and assaults on trans men and a couple op-ed style pieces of trans men talking about their own experiences.

Said young person responded with "I'm not reading those its triggering and I'm a minor"

So let me see if I've got this correct, you are knowingly refuse to acknowledge reality because it's upsetting to you and then you're going to turn around and deny that very reality because you refuse to acknowledge it because it's upsetting?

[scltbvrns]

homogenising something that has always been inherently diverse will kill us all one day.

[brutally-loving]

Me, five days ago: man I need a new f/o... as a treat

Me, now thoroughly fucked (wish was granted): I have a new boyfriend and it will be EVERYONE'S problem ✌️💞 HE IS EVERYTHING TO ME AND IT IS EVERYONE'S PROBLEM NOW.

[romanaxe]

Happy New Year y'all ^-^

[undefeatablesin]

Watch out ya'll, Sin's sketching Bloodborne comics again! 💀

[vigilskeep]

What got you into dragon age?

this is plainly embarrassing but i was craving some fresh hurt/comfort fic just to feel something and i didn’t care where it came from, so i remembered the cool art i kept seeing for dragon age and cracked open ao3 and ended up with some kind of condition. a couple months of wiki-haunting, tag-lurking derangement later, and after buying world of thedas vol 1, in my late night fuelled desperate measures i discovered to my astonishment that dao would actually run on the laptop i’d bought for uni. i had never played a video game before, except failing to use my brother’s xbox to successfully make a character walk in a straight line, so this was genuinely quite an alarming development to me. but i endeavoured to succeed nonetheless (by which i mean running around on easy difficulty with my corpsesque prototype surana) and the rest is history

i do not recommend this. none of the above behaviours. cannot express that enough.

[isanesshilarity]

Spoilers for Medalist 59+60, just a post-chapter rambling, DO NOT READ IF YOU'RE AVOIDING SPOILERS FOR THE NEWEST CHAPTERS.

To be honest, when I saw the chapter preview for 59 I thought it was gonna be like, a smooth skate for Inori and she leaves early to see Iruka... I THOUGHT the panels were Inori exiting the hospital and Hikaru all anxious looking because of the results of their skate.

What instead happens is more heartwrenching than I ever could've imagined. BUT BY GOD THE YURI. THE RIVALRY. ITS SO REAL. IT REALLY IS THAT SERIOUS TO THEM BOTH.

THE COMPOSITION, THE LIGHT, THE WORLD THAT ONLY EXISTS TO THE TWO OF THEM.

Chapter 50 just leaves me speechless. This far we've seen Hikaru try to cope with heavy changes to her life: a change in clubs and complete upheaval in social heirarchy, no longer staying with her family, and even a recent injury. In her attempts to find normalcy, she's using black and white thinking: if I don't win gold, I promised I'd quit and Yodaka Jun would stop coaching me. Yodaka Jun believes in sacrifices, so I will give everything up to see what he meant by those words.

For Inori to mean something to me, for her to enchant me, she must be a similar lifeform to Yodaka Jun.

While I can say this whole arc makes Hikaru one of my favourite female characters ever written of all time, this arc is meant to illustrate one simple point: that Hikaru wouldn't be the skater she is without Inori. To the point that Hikaru, whose motivation to skate was to "see (the world) that Yodaka Jun sees", has finally decided:

"Today, I am breaking out of the cage."

I don't think there could've been a more meaningful chapter 50 to start the new year with. Medalist is so chock full of story that it's almost hard for me to believe there's not even a hundred chapters already, but it's definitely because sensei gets done in two chapters what would've taken an SJ cunt 10.

I've seen it pointed out that at the moment, Inori is surrounded by people who love and support her, while Hikaru has nobody. It was meant as a joke, but it's really one of the main themes of this arc: Hikaru and Yodaka Jun, sacrificing family, comfort, personhood to earn gold. Tsukasa, who doesn't believe that Inori has to sacrifice her life to win gold, and Inori, who asked: am I too pampered? Isn't this cheating? For Iruka to reassure her that it's perfectly fine for her to be the way she is, that she was also a skater who bloomed after she was loved, only for Iruka to get injured and Inori to perform probably the worst she's ever done it. Now it's Hikaru's turn to pluck the fruits of her labor: can the new her continue to captivate Inori?

Very intense, and I'm very excited for Hikaru to be proactive for her own sake: to prove her existence to Inori, and continue to bewitch the only other girl in her world. While it's been so funny to see other skaters mitigate their interactions (because they misunderstand Inori and Hikaru and think they'll, what, start a catfight? LOL) it makes it all the more endearing and refreshing when they get to do what they've always done: be completely head over heels and psycho about each other. Ahh, I'm so excited for the future chapters. 10000/10, Hikaru is so smitten with Inori it's soooooo cute.

[genericpuff]

Do you have any recommendations for comics on tapas? I'm rather new to the app so I wondered if you had any. Sorry if someone already asked!

Oh, so many! Tapas was one of my OG homes waaay back in the day, when I was still getting into drawing comics (back then it was gag-a-days). I spent a lot of time reading comics on there and it was one of my first introductions to comic platforms in general (next to SmackJeeves, RIP).

Rock and Riot - 1950's LGBTQ+ gangster teenagers getting into shenanigans and turf wars. Very cute and fun and adorable <3

Monster Pop! - Monster girls who are besties! This one has some real gorgeous art especially if you like the original vibes of S1 LO, lots of bright beautiful colors and lineless shapes. The creator of this comic, mayakern, now develops comfortable and eco-friendly skirts with her wife and pals for plus-sized folks! (they have pockets!)

A BETTER PLACE - Young girl Hannah and her little brother Theo find something cool in the woods. Children becoming gods. This was one of those comics that had some REALLY cool "you had to be there" time travel elements that aren't quite as immersive in hindsight (I was one of those people who were there and DAMN it was awesome), but it's still absolutely worth the read and it operates as a sort of prequel to another one of Harry Bogosian's comics on the platform.

Fail by Error - This comic is long since done with, its creator having moved on to bigger things, but at one point in time, this was the titan series on Tapas, before the platform became predominantly BL's and isekais. Fail by Error was truly one of the best of the best of Tapas-hosted comics from its golden era of comedy comics. Also the creator made art for me once and I still have it! <3

(my babieees <3)

RandoWis - funny gag strip is funny ! He also draws an MMO-themed comic that - coincidentally - when I double checked, looks like it stopped updating in 2021 until two days ago. So yeah, good time to check that one out too!

Undying Happiness - Naomi takes a chance on love and decides to meet up with a guy she met online. He turns out to not look like the guy in the photos in the most hilariously absurd way.

Deep Fried Pudge - Okay, this is a really weird inclusion because like... this comic isn't good. This comic is painfully bad. Like, "roll your eyes into the back of your skull at your dad's stupid jokes" bad. This comic has not stopped updating daily since 2012. It literally just had its 11 year anniversary. Every update is just a single panel either making some pun or just stating very innocent, inoffensive opinions. There are four thousand of these things. And every single one is done with the same art style and joke structure as before, the comics from today look and feel like a 7 year old made them the exact same way they did 10 years ago, as if trapped in a hellish time capsule of its own design, and I love it, I freaking love it. Its existence quite literally defies human nature. Reading it and attempting to comprehend why it exists is like staring into the eyes of some Eldritch god that chose peace over chaos. Pudge will outlive all of us. Pudge will outlive the universe. All hail Pudge.

[hassianlovebot]

sorry i haven't posted much lately! tbh i've been feeling kind of burnt out and massively unmotivated with palia. don't get me wrong, i still really love the game (especially the characters and the worldbuilding) and i have tried to log in and play but tbh the game itself just isn't keeping my attention rn.

i don't blame the devs at all since i know they're going Through It rn what with the massive layoffs, california fires, and losing money. that being said, the little story progression, constant game breaking bugs every update, and Way too high prices for things,,, it got to me. it sucks because i do really love this game and i Want to devote more time to it but i've lost the motivation to do that.

i'm hoping that i'll gain at least some of it back with the elderwoods update but i also can't help but feel some trepidation at the thought of the release getting pushed back and what kind of bugs will inevitably come with it.

anyway, ik i don't have to explain myself or anything, but i just wanted to let you guys know i guess? i Do still love the game and i anticipate future updates (and hopefully getting sucked back into it) but for now, i'm not devoting a lot of time to it. i'm thinking of doing some art for the characters just so i don't lose interest completely but the game itself is taking a massive backseat :/

[mermaidslabyrinth]

I would LOVE to hear about your lil guys

Thank you for taking interest in something that I have cared for and put so much thought into for almost a good year.

Right now I have one (1) guy I am beyond obsessed with. I honestly could write/talk about everything about my HotD OMC. At the same time I really don’t know how to. Bc ever since I created my first OCs (like age 12) I’ve kept them to myself. So knowing that other ppl want to hear about them is foreign to me. But at the same time so validating and nice. It’s just scary to put oneself out there with someone/thing they cherish. Especially my guy bc…one of his relationships is one I honestly have not seen yet. And I can only put forth Targaryen incest and it’s fiction as a reason to a point. But I love it so and I love writing them.

His story came to me as all good stories do: lying in bed with no access to a computer. The phrase “He has a rage in his heart.” Came to my mind and here I am about 10 1/2 months later.

So, under the cut I will finally feel brave enough to talk a little about him.

The story takes place between 115 AC up to my character’s death. I’ve changed some birth dates, Viserys stays healthy longer, there is no Dance of Dragons. Most of my writing has been centered around 131 AC-146ish AC. That’s where the juiciest parts happen.

Daemon had a brief marriage between Rhea Royce and Laena Velaryon (less than a year). My OMC came from that short time.

Anyway…

My HotD OMC’s name is: 

Rhagerys {Rage-air-es} ‘Rhage’ Targaryen. (His mother thought she was naming him the way of the Targaryen family does. Daemon wanted/was going to change it but tragedy happened and Daemon kept the name to honor Rhagerys’s mother). 

Looks: 

His left eye is green. His right eye is brown. Platinum white-blond hair. From age 15 on he always has a braid or braids in his hair in some way.

(The two ages listed are what I think the most when I picture him)

Age 15-16: He has just below shoulder length hair. He stands 6’4”. Delicate features. 

Age 18 (and onward): His hair is just above hip length. He stands at 6’6” (but he definitely doesn’t act it. Especially around his father). His features are a bit sharper but softer than his father’s. 

Personality (a small taste):

His personality is a mess. He can be calm one moment, full of rage the next. He's snide, sarcastic, and spiteful to a lot of people (he gets his sharp tongue from his father). But gentle and patient with children and some women. He has taught himself to act as if nothing bothers him. To look stoic in front of others. 

It stems from his father, Daemon. 

Daemon was able to get his heir and he was going to make sure his son was everything he wanted him to be. Everything he made him to be. But Rhagerys does have a fun, kind, protective side. Just only for people he has deemed ‘worthy’ of that side. 

I don’t have a true pinpoint of Rhagerys’s sexuality. I feel it’s something in that time where it wouldn’t be thought on much. If asked Rhagerys would just shrug his shoulders and walk away or ignore the person. 

His mother/her House:

I chose to have his mother, Igreyn Belmore (I created), be from/heir to House Belmore of the Vale. Not too much is known about that House so I ran with it. The only thing I that I made up about them was that their men are never shorter than 6’2” and their women are rarely shorter than 5’8”. 

Rhagerys is also related to Rhaenyra through his maternal side. Rhagerys’s great grandsire was the third son (I created) of Rodrik Arryn. So the third Arryn boy was Aemma’s older half brother. Making Rhagerys and Rhaenyra double cousins. 

Dragon:

He has a female dragon that is black/blue/purple named Starsong. She hatched the same day he was born. (There’s some sort of blood magic surrounding her. She grows quicker than a normal dragon [I needed her to for my story])

Plot Snippets (The bare bones):

Rhagerys had a normal/average childhood. He was very chivalrous and kind. Then his little family (Daemon, Rhaena, and himself [Baela is at Driftmark]) moved to Dragonstone when Daemon married Rhaenyra. Rhagerys was 12 (I bumped up/moved ages of the younger generation around).

From ages 13-15 Rhagerys was sent on progress to certain places in Westeros, see the realm that his ancestors conquered (He was sent away at the suggestion of Rhaenyra. They have a strained but amicable relationship). 

He came back at age 15 changed, physically (he was around 5’0” at age 12 and when he returned to Dragonstone he was 6’4”) and mentally. 

Daemon found out something about his son he did not care for (Rhagerys’s slight aversion/indifference to sex) and took matters into his own hands. Because Daemon was not going to let his heir, heir to Strongsong of House Belmore in the Vale, reject sex.

(If I was to describe Rhagerys’s view of sex it would be along the lines of: I don’t care. I just want the other person to be happy.)

~This is where it turns dark (Daemon is very manipulative and wicked at times in my story)~

Daemon teaches Rhagerys about sex. Hands on (won’t go fully into it). So, from ages 15-(I won’t give it away), father and son have a very secret/hidden sexual relationship. Rhagerys doesn’t hate it (most of the time), welcomes it at times. He sees it as a way to keep his father’s love and attention for him. If he pushes back, he gets set ‘right’ real quick. During those years Daemon manipulates and emotionally/mentally/physically beats Rhagerys down until he is what Daemon wants him to be. His. Daemon’s creation of the perfect Targaryen. 

Then in the late spring of 134 AC the family from Dragonstone goes to King’s Landing (to put a stop Vaemond’s claim). Celebrate the defeat of the Triarchy in the Stepstones. Stay for three months. 

There Rhagerys meets Aemond after 6 years. Both most definitely changed from when they were 12. A lot happens. Rhagerys finds a new purpose in life. Aemond. Doing anything and everything for Aemond. 

The two of them become unhealthily committed to each other. Rhagerys will burn the world to the ground if Aemond deemed it so. While Aemond tries to cultivate, project himself upon how he sees/thinks Rhagerys is. How Rhagerys would want him (Rhagerys does the same).  

At the same time Rhagerys has to balance his relationship with Daemon. 

And that’s where I’ll stop with the plot points. I have more but I don’t want to give too much away or lay it all bare. I’ve written/created so much more. So much more happens before/in between/after. But I’m still trying to fully write those points. I have entire timelines for each decade/family trees/future generation planned/created and ready to go. 

Right now I write mostly about Rhagerys between the ages 15-20. That time period has captured my attention for a while now.

So, that’s the basics of my HotD OMC. I will at some point around the new year (fingers crossed) have a pinned post about him. A little layout of who he is. With links to Pinterest/music list of my story. 

I'll be real, idk if I’ll ever put the story on the internet, in any form, but to be able to talk about him, put him out into the world. By making tags, Pinterest boards, and writing for myself has really brought me such joy. 

I apologize if this was too long. But it’s been marinating in my mind for a long time. Thank you, again, for asking me a question I thought I’d never be asked. 🌈 @emilykaldwen you are too kind to ask. I do hope it wasn't too long winded or too much.

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[july-19th-club]

forced myself to finish this book even though by the last hundred pages or so all i was doing was picking apart the post-catholicism of it all. bc i feel like it's important to read shit you don't gel with . just because. even though the whole way through i was like they HAVE to prove it's not real. they HAVE to. so not the point of any of it but i was desperate for them to Find The Body etc. and of course instead they have mystical time travel experiences and all that because that is the kind of book the actual star is but i was desperate for them to realize that the star you see is the actual star. and then it wasn't

[rainbowtvz]

*grits teeth*

i do not want to discourse here or anywhere anymore but it does kind of affect me as a transmasc bi person when i see shit that indirectly misgenders me and implies that bisexuality is an icky no good word and identity and you have to be bi and gay and bi and lesbian and bi and straight at the same time or support them or you're an evil stinky stinky terf like... hello where am, i