#rules of inheritance

[nicollekidman]

buffy is such a rich text and it’s for sickos

[nikinikori]

“What is honor compared to a woman's love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms, [...] We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy.”

— Maester Aemon Targaryen: "Game of Thrones"

[thatsmybook]

Some of my thoughts since the last episode of Agatha All Along:

The most earnest show of religion in an MCU property is being done through a queer kid. I like that the wider world is learning about the intersectionality of identity. I believe that Billy is as Jewish as William because a) the only family he knows has 'raised' him Jewish and b) his love of witchcraft and ritual and finding ways to explain his world intersect with the rituals and traditions of his faith. Even William was deeply fascinated with magic and witchcraft and journeys of discovery.

Marvel fans are aware that Wiccan is a strong character. The fact that this symbol of masculine strength can be found in a witch boy who is raised to be strong in his sense of self by women in his coven, is awesome. He is drawn to feminine strength as inspiring instead of looking for male heroes. He is attracting feminine forms of protection (Alice), feminine disruptors of the status quo and stereotypes (Lilia), strength in the feminine aesthetic and belief in your innate power (Jen), feminine quest for knowledge and ambition (Agatha). He is being shadowed by death (Rio), but even death gives life in its reincarnation (as we return to earth and feed the earth with our life-force to continue on in new forms).

I believe that Wiccan is/can be as important to the MCU as Spiderman is. Spiderman is a teenager who could be any and everyone. Spiderman looks up to Iron Man, especially but also seeks male role models and approval. (A big part of Iron Man's humanity and softness came from mentoring Peter Parker - I see parallels between Agatha Harkness and Iron Man in this way too).

I believe Wiccan is a version of masculinity to teens that can see that women hold the depth of knowledge and power that he is more interested in unlocking and that their experiences with adversity will be better guides for him as he grows to be the most powerful magic user in the MCU. He is also chosen as a witch and not a sorcerer/wizard/warlock.

Will we be getting little boys and girls and theys aspiring to be wiccans and spidermen equally?

[alwayshinny]

Lily Luna Potter 🌸

[tragedy-peanut-gallery]

Heavy is the head who dons the crown…

Aka the queens who’ve lived past a terrible civil war and inherited a reign of stolen childhoods, tyrannical brother-husbands, and a second terrible civil war. Love it when the cycles keep cycling don’t you?

(Individual icons beneath the cut!)

[riddles-n-games]

Gray may currently give off black cat energy but as soon as he falls for his Queen of Hearts, he's gonna be the golden retriever in the relationship no matter how much he downplays it. And Lyra ain't a black cat, no, she's a straight up calico.

[anghraine]

I headcanon that Dúnedain of both the North and Gondor have a considerable number of ... like, low-grade magic trinkets that they often don't know the provenance of.

This stuff isn't at all on the scale of the palantíri, though some were definitely brought from Númenor (mostly because people would carry them around for luck). There's some stuff that they got from Elves, especially in Dol Amroth and Eriador. There's some they crafted all on their own, like Merry's dagger or Boromir's horn. There's some they make and then place virtues on (whatever that means).

But even the jewels of this kind aren't like mini-Silmarils, they're more like mini-Elendilmíri—there's definitely something going on and they seem just a little too bright at times, but a lot of the inheritors of those kinds of gems have never been able to figure out what they're supposed to do beyond that. And sometimes the answer is "nothing," some of these things were just crafted to be nightlights for scared children that would also look nice when they got older. Sometimes this stuff helps with tracking in a minor way, or things like that.

Gondorian Dúnedain also seem to know about the One Ring, but in my headcanon, their understanding starts out with: "oh, so like Grandfather's ring that shines when he gets lost? but evil."

[thearunadragon]

Commissions are FREE, but please do not take advantage of this by being rude, etc. It HAS happened. I love giving you guys art, I only ask not to be harassed.

I draw for the Inheritance Cycle, but will make exceptions and draw for other fandoms if requested. Have done Scooby Doo, Sing, Warrior Cats, Robin Hood, and WoF art in the past. I will also draw many OCs.

Askbox is always open, and I encourage you to submit anything and everything so long as it is respectful. I adore each and every one of you and my interactions with you. Don’t be afraid to submit as many as you want. You’re not bothering me! I love it!

With that said, take care and Merry Christmas!

—Aruna, Dec. 2024.

[rubyjanemin]

List of men I am in love with:

Aaron Warner

Kenji Kishimoto

Christian Harper

Dante Russo

Kai Young

Crew Lancaster

Garrett Graham

Jaxton Ryder

Archer Hale

Grayson Hawthorne

Am I little fucked in the head for having such men as my tastes? Yes. But do I care? Bahahahaha no.

[pearls-n-opulence]

How some of yall act about Baela and Rhaena

[yararambles]

"Alfred is the last line of defense" this and "Alfred with a shot gun" that. Have you people ever considered that Bruce is the last line of defense for Gotham? The only thing holding Alfred "fuck around and find out" Pennyworth from sweeping the streets of Gotham and leaving them immaculately polished, without as much as a minuscule stain of trash-dirtbag-criminal-scumbag is Bruce and his horde of hooligan, orphan children he adopted? If he weren't so busy taking care of his man-child in a bat costume and packing lunches and other duties in the manor, well... Hehehe...

[sunderwight]

Thinking about the absolute shitshow that is the Iron Throne and succession on this sunny ash-cloud filled morning.

So as I understand it, there are a lot of different potential inheritance structures for the Iron Throne to be passed down via, because the Targaryens can draw precedents from any of their subjects (Andal, First Men, Ironborn, etc) with varying degrees of viability, plus also Old Valyrian practices, and however they were actually conducting themselves on Dragonstone for the hundred or so years between the Doom and the Conquest. Right? But I think the relevant ones for HOTD are:

Primogeniture, Male Preference vs Absolute Male Preference vs Absolute Primogeniture, Heir Designation, Elective Succession, and Right of Conquest.

Primogeniture is the inheritance model where the eldest child inherits everything. Inheritance isn't divided between potential heirs upon the death of their parent, it's winner takes all. Or rather, eldest son does. This looks to be how most of Westeros operates by default, and how inheritance works according to Andal law. The eldest son (or daughter if there are no sons) gets the title and all the other properties held by his predecessor unless he's been disinherited, and then other successors are determined in a similar order along the family tree (i.e. your next eldest brother would be your heir if you didn't have any kids, then sisters, then first cousins, and so on). But this also applies to heirs themselves, meaning, if you are Jaehaerys I and your son Aemon is your heir, and Aemon's only child and daughter Rhaenys is his heir, then if Aemon dies, Rhaenys gets everything that belonged to Aemon, including Aemon's position as your heir. Which is why Rhaenys would have been the first ruling queen of Westeros, had Andal custom in fact been followed.

Then, male preference and absolute male preference are systems that determine how much sexism is in play when it comes to selecting viable heirs. Absolute male preference means that only men may inherit, and only through their male relatives. Male preference means that sons get preferential treatment, but in absence of them, daughters can inherit (and also that sons can inherit through their female relatives, if applicable). Most of Andal tradition falls under male preference, where an eldest daughter will not inherit before her younger brothers, but it's not absolute because a daughter with no brothers will inherit before her uncles or male cousins. Absolute primogeniture is, on the other hand, when the eldest child is heir regardless of gender. I think this is what Viserys was gunning for, since his negotiations with Corlys and Rhaenys for Laenor and Rhaenyra's children indicated that he expected Rhaenyra's eldest child to inherit the Iron Throne one day, with no stipulation on gender. This would also seem to be the system that Dorne uses.

Heir designation, on the other hand, is when the ruler has the right to personally select their heir from all viable candidates (typically, their children or perhaps grandchildren, or sometimes siblings or even more distant relations). Heir designation doesn't seem to be standard for Andal culture or even what we see of the First Men (hence things like Samwell Tarly being disinherited via the Wall rather than his father just naming his younger brother Dickon as heir over him), but could have been practiced by the Valyrians, and it is this possible precedent of Valyrian tradition which Jaehaerys uses (I think?) to declare his younger son Baelon (Viserys and Daemon's dad) as his heir over his granddaughter Rhaenys, before Baelon's death inspired Jaehaerys to call for the Council of 101 to decide the succession instead.

Which is where elective succession unexpectedly comes into things. I think the only Iron Throne vassal we see practicing such a thing are the Iron Islands, with their kingsmoot? But the Iron Islands are not generally popular or often emulated elsewhere in Westeros, of course, so in this case Old Jae's probably still taking his cues more from Essos or potentially also Old Valyria? The Council of 101 may or may not have been rigged, but at least by appearances, it allowed the lords of Westeros to elect their next leader from a limited pool of candidates (Rhaenys or Viserys).

The final succession structure relevant to HOTD, of course, is the Right of Conquest. Right of Conquest is when the realm will legally grant you the ownership of something if you have seized it via some kind of military might (usually with some stipulation that you have not only taken it, but held onto it for at least X length of time). In Westeros, the Right of Conquest was how Aegon I and his wives used their dragons to establish the Iron Throne, and as a rule it can pretty much overthrow all the other precedents (as it did for the conquerors). But I'm pretty sure this is also why the succession feud after Viserys' death is pretty much guaranteed to become a fight, and it's a major contributing factor to there being so many goddamn civil wars in Westeros. Can't beat your brother's claim? Well, try beating his ass instead!

So... basically, we have a giant, inconsistent mess that has been muddying the waters of the Iron Throne's succession pretty much from the beginning. The Iron Throne follows mostly Andal law and customs, except when the king doesn't want to, and then maybe it follows Valyrian customs or Essosi customs that might be Valyrian or some custom from some other group of subjects or the king just goes "I do what I want" and reminds everyone else (inadvertently, in the case of Viserys) that there is a legal Whoever Punches Hardest Wins clause baked into the system.

Which makes it nigh-on impossible to claim that such-and-such a candidate in HOTD (or even ASOIAF) is being robbed of their rightful inheritance, doesn't it? Whether it's Rhaenyra being the designated heir or Aegon being the eldest son, not just because it's all claptrap anyway, but because there is no stable precedent for who actually has the rightful inheritance even when you're trying to play ball with the existing systems. After Aegon I's death the throne passed to his eldest son, Aenys, but the throne then went to Aenys' brother Maegor instead of his kids. But ultimately Maegor was wildly unpopular and died childless, and so everyone decided that was an outlier and the throne reverted back to Aenys' line, and went to Aenys' son Jaehaerys. Which means there's no firm or stable ground to fall back on before Jaehaerys' own sexist farce of a succession, or the absolute hash Viserys subsequently made of the matter either. Andal law and custom would normally favor Aegon over Rhaenyra, that's true, but those same laws and customs would have also favored Rhaenys over Viserys, and the throne's predominantly Andal vassals voted against that. Which might seem to endorse heir designation, since that was how Jaehaerys selected Baelon and through Baelon, Viserys, as his own successors, but then again the Council was called on the premise that heir designation was insufficient, so perhaps an elective system should actually be in play? But Viserys doubled-down on heir designation and/or absolute primogeniture instead, without even really clarifying which he meant the throne to go by. If he actually filed paperwork beyond the sworn oaths (which he didn't even renew after Aegon's birth or in the decades after), it didn't survive to make into the historical record.

And of course, everything can be upended at any time by a sufficient show of force. Which is not only viable in terms of forcing the issue, but also legally valid, and thus less liable to prompt rebellions and strong rejections from the general populace.

Ultimately we know that the Iron Throne settles on absolute male preference and primogeniture, but all the characters trying to apply this standard to the Dance era are doing so in retroactive judgment.

[moongothic]

You know if crocodad real the implication that dragon trusted crocodile enough to have a baby with him but NOT enough to tell him last name is a bit funny

That or he straight up forgot, and honestly, that might be funnier

[zionistsinfilm]

When you buy or stream MaXXXine, Emily in Paris, Rules Don't Apply, To the Bone, Tolkien, Menk, Les Misérables, Extremely Wicked Shockingly Evil and Vile, Inheritance, Mirror Mirror, Love Rosie, Mortal Instruments, you're giving money to Zionists.

Lily Collins supports Gal Gadot.

[taradactyls]

Cressida Cowper being so excited by the prospect of five thousand pounds and making all these plans of using it to fund herself is so strange, because that money would be NOTHING to the nobility if it's all they had to live off. We're talking £200 or £250 interest a year.

In Pride and Prejudice that's the same as what the Bennets will have when Mr Bennet dies - the paltry amount that will send them into genteel poverty and makes the need for the daughters to marry so urgent.

It's HALF what the Dashwood women have when they're struggling to get by in Sense and Sensibility, and can only afford the most basic of servants and live off a reduced rent in a cottage owned by a distant cousin. Their mother can't even go out to dinners often because they don't have the money to reciprocate the gesture!

Also in Sense and Sensibility it's the amount of income the living Colonel Brandon offers to Edward Ferrars produces - which was considered not enough for him and Lucy to live on.

I mean as a dowry it's not bad for someone in the middle or lower rungs of the gentry, but for NOBILITY??? And let alone a sole income source. With that sort of money Cressida either is being completely delusional that she wouldn't have to marry, or she better rent a room off a respectable woman (a house of her own would be too much - not to mention the difficulties of an unmarried young woman trying to legally sign an agreement), learn how to sew her own clothes, cook, and clean reaaaally fast.

[quietwingsinthesky]

the last unicorn post from earlier has me thinking about the master. that yana is still in there, you know? is still someone he was, if even for a brief flash across the life of a time lord. there’s no way to unlive that life. there are ways to twist it later, sure, to make utopia into hell on earth. but the life was lived. in much the same way that the doctor can remember, can feel, the love he held onto as john smith even as that life is ripped out of his hands. the doctor choose denial and then grief and then to shutter it all away. and so john smith died, and so professor yana died, and the doctor and the master live on. the doctor has done this before, and he lives in orbit around humanity, trying to keep the best parts of them and hold them deep enough to take root (which he can pretend he gets to choose, as a time lord. as a human, it all floods in and can’t be dug back out.) but what about the master, right?

to borrow a turn of phrase: i think there are two time lords left in the universe, and they both learned how to regret.