#she slayed she served etc etc

[markantonys]

THE WHEEL OF TIME | Lanfear's outfits in season 2

[dollenjoyer]

she’s such a model idk how to act

[ponypickle]

I will never not be sad by the de-fangification of our female characters on hotd. we could've had all of them serving cunt and warfare/bloodthirstiness but instead they are all 'peaceful' and everything is the men's fault 🙄🥲.

a cersei-esque alicent dead set on having her kids on the throne at all costs because she believes it's their gods given right, ready to slay everyone who gets in her way

rhaenyra asking her feral husband to eliminate anyone and anything that offends her, like vaemond, a son for a son, etc. stopping at nothing to get HER throne because SHE wants it, not stopping at anything to achieve her goals

rhaenys ready to ride into war for her queen to slay all her enemies instead of feeling bitter as she came across in the show a lot of the time

baela truly being the embodiment of her father in female form, being feral and ready to eliminate everything at once, etc.

oh, the show we could've had if they just weren't scared of the audiences reactions to powerful decisive women that aren't apologetic about their claims to power and what they believe is their's.

[horrorvillaintourney]

HORROR'S NEXT TOP GENDER, ROUND FOUR MATCH EIGHT: Will Graham (Hannibal) vs. Leatherface (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)

PROPAGANDA FOR WILL:

"he gives me gender envy and is just like me fr fr"

PROPAGANDA FOR LEATHERFACE:

"To me bubba is gender fluid, and autistic. The masks she wears represent her current state of being, and are literally a way of masking. She enacts gender performatively for different events"

"Gender Fluid Royalty. Rustic butch who works with their hands. King of meat, queen of the saw. Rocks the apron and the suit. What gender are they on any given kill? Who's to slay!"

"Leatherface is gender in that real fucked up way only trauma genders can exist. He's put into the position of housewife by his family until the end of the movie when he's in a suit and tie. All the while wearing his characteristic mask."

"Genderfluid icon, switches gender by switching his masks depending on his mood, becomes a beautiful drag queen by the end of the movie (such a shame they didn't keep the scene of him showing off his makeup skills), likes to dress very fancy, enjoys jewelry.... etc etc.[...] He wears the face of different people, thus enbodying their identity. Each mask serves to express a part of himself, no matter the gender, age or appearance. Leatherface prefers to present and express himself through different genders. [...] All in all, Leatherface's gender is very ambiguous and fluid in the og movie, which gives me gender envy as a nonbinary person tbh."

[starphenie]

my nikki x genshin au design

class doodles + notes! i have thought about this deeply and extensively (the hour and half that is my programming lecture)

the og design and a low detail bobo and kimi + my attempt at crossover worldbuilding (i am not a writer. i don’t think this makes any sense story wise. like i picked aeon as the archon for apple at first but he is so blue and water themed and i refuse to NOT make cloud the hydro nation but he is not from cloud. guess who’s not blue? desire. i think there are better fits for most of the archons i picked i just don’t know who.)

- everyone’s visions are based on vibes and colors

- nikki’s vision is fake because she’s the traveler it’s a fashion thing

- i have not played genshin impact since inazuma came out

highly critical important footnote:

((characters whose appearances already translate well))

(into Genshin…)

((& that I remember))

aka i drew favs that i have committed to memory and gave them a vision that i think makes sense, doesn’t take a lot of thought bc they have sprites that are super ornamental compared to like nikki and kimi who def need redesigns lol

here is my list of characters + visions because sorting is fun, i might update this periodically

anemo: bobo, noah, royce, mercury, shade, bai yongxi

geo: nikki, yvette, orlando, loen

pyro: zoey, zhu yuxian, mela, ozeca, lilith, qin yi, cesare, peachy

cryo: agata, louie, neva, kimi

hydro: lunar, aeon, marina, ming shuiyuan, vulture, chloris

dendro: nanari

electro: ace, elle, ai, caprico, sofia, grey raven

- pretty much all the elves fall under anemo or dendro, except for Evil Vampire Flame Sword Cesare, who is an outlier and should not be counted

- nidhogg reads geo to me but ozeca is pyro obviously and they could serve such overload slay he could be an electro wielder i see it. i just can’t pick <\3

- shade got his vision when he was flynn. hc that it doesn’t respond to him since he’s changed he just uses guns now. non magic ppl with a gun in magic universe are my favorite thing

- lilith qin yi and zhu yuxian need to stop burning down buildings

- a lot of characters are omitted actually because i can’t pick an element for them. but reid doesn’t get a vision he’s just some guy

some guys: reid, hiber, toto timi aron etc all the citizen npcs

[gotstabbedbyapen]

Hello! I was wondering if you have any HCs of Ares being a good dad if you’re a still doing them👀

I'm always open for making HCs! It's not an open request, just you guys suggesting things to me and I give you my thoughts and all.

Ares is trying to break the generational trauma cycle, learning from his great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents. He isn't the most beloved child of either Zeus or Hera, so he makes sure none of his kids, mortal or immortal, has to feel the same.

When Aphrodite was pregnant with any of their children, Ares would talk to them every night. He wasn't very good at baby-talking, basically just talking to his kids like they were his battle comrades. Aphrodite laughed at him the entire time.

When Aphrodite gave birth to Eros and Anteros (their first children), Ares was at her side to support. The mighty god of war then fainted TWICE during the procedure, hitting his head on a desk in the second time, but managed to keep himself conscious enough to see his kids before fully passing out.

Eileithyia later bans Ares from getting into the delivery room because she doesn't want to deal with her brother fainting again. And Ares throws a fit.

The birth of Phobos and Deimos was hell. Because he was banned, Ares was screaming outside of the delivery room, begging to come in to see if his kids were alright. Eileithyia prayed that someone will restrain her before she dash outside and smack her brother's head out of the window.

Aphrodite was super worn out after delivering Phobos and Deimos. So Ares let her rest while he held the twins each on one arm and "breastfeed" them with bottles taped on his chest XDDD

When Harmonia was born, Ares held her in his arms all the time, just staring at her tiny face for hours and not realizing he was crying. Nobody knows why he was like that. Ares didn't know why either.

Ares would let Harmonia braid his hair with flowers and bowties. He won't put on his war helmet on for a long time just to show off his daughter's work, even when he's going into battle.

If you laugh at his braided hair, that's one spear in your ass :)

Although Ares wasn't the bio father of the rest of the Erotes gang, he is their sorta-father-figure.

Ares is the type of dad who secretly gives you permission behind your mom's back. Eros is a little shit because daddy spoiled him and always got his back.

Ares helped Eros convinced Aphrodite to cease her scorn and try to accept Psyche into the family. It was hard work and took them centuries, but Aphrodite finally did get over her anger toward Psyche.

The list of Ares' good dad moments will be incomplete if we don't include Alcippe.

After killing Halirrhothius, Ares frantically turned to Alcippe to make sure she is alright. At first, he thought Alcippe would refuse him coming near because of what happened earlier. But to his surprise, Alcippe jumped into his arms right away and cried her fear out. Ares just held his daughter and be her anchor, and they stayed like that in silence.

When Ares was put in trial for murdering his daughter's assaulter, he did not regret a thing and was ready to receive all punishment. He even had his last words if he were to be imprisoned for all eternity: "If his children were ever attacked again, he would crawl out of Tartarus and drag the attackers down with him."

Hippolyta and Penthesileia, his Amazonian daughters, are personally trained by Ares, basically growing up under his eyes. They can be slaying enemies left and right and covered in blood and Ares will be cheering for them the loudest in the background.

But truth be told, there is still a dark side of Ares' blinding devotion to his children. Because Ares spoiled his children so much, some of them turned out to be terrible people, and yet he often turn a blind eye to his children's horrible deeds.

Heracles killed many of Ares' children during his journey because they were tyrants (Cycnus who killed travelers, Diomedes who owned man-eating horses, etc.). It's their karma serving to them, but Ares was having none of that. This is why the war god was hostile towards Heracles during his labor.

After Hippolyta's death, Ares was adamant to keep Penthesileia safe when she joined the war. And yet he still lost her to Achilles' spear.

When Ascalaphus and Penthesileia were killed in the Trojan war, Ares was ready to defied Zeus' order and rushed down to them. But, alas, he couldn't risk his father's anger and could only watch their death them from afar.

The other Olympians might not like Ares much, but most of them stood in solemn as the war god greatly mourn his children.

[rinadragomir]

My thoughts on the couples included in Better in Black for those who care

I expect you to write down yours so work work

📍Wessa

You know, as a dedicated Jessa stan I wanna say that it's okay~ Because these two were together for 50 years or sth, there's still some things to add. We might watch them in their 30s, 50s, 60s. I guess at this point both camps have around the same amount of content. Plus I'll have Jessa in twp so I'm in peace 🌱

📍Clace

All my first thoughts are over here. I'm a Clace defender, I'm their oldest stan, I'm a veteran👩‍🦳 So I feel like I have a right to say that...it was kinda unnecessary. We've witnessed every step in their relationship so far, beginning of it in TMI, gentle transition to adulthood in TDA and Tales of Shadowhunter Academy, adulthood in SOBH and proposal. So if the story isn't about their wedding then WHAT THE HELL IS IT ABOUT REALLY? And we know that they won't get married until twp.

📍Anna & Ari (Arianna!)

Hey🥺that is nice, we've seen so little of them in chain of thorns and I've loved them since their debut in 2018 in that short story. I'm very biased when it comes to TLH, cause I'm their mother. So YAY🌱they have a long way to go, Anna still needs to change a tiny little bit for them to be healthy, so I'd love to witness it

📍Jordelia

We all have known about it, because Cassie kinda promised us their story a while ago. Wedding runes scene, honeymoon, kids, mortgage etc. Go kids, slay, serve, eat and so on, I'm excited for u!

📍Sebastian & Seelie Queen

🤨🧐🤔👁👁

Yeah... That famous Sebastian &Fanbase. Like... I'm conflicted, because it's useless and doesn't make any sense even tho it might slay. Listen up, I'll show you.

Lots of people defend it by saying that it might be important for Ash's background in TWP. But... No it's not. Because this is exclusive book made for few people who were lucky and financially stable enough to get it. It won't be posted online. So most people won't read it unless someone leaks it. So there's no point for that story to be important for the plot, therefore it has nothing to do with it.

And it's definitely not "one of the most beloved" couples. BUT LIKE... WHAT IF IT SLAYS? Toxic, unhinged romance, what if I'll love it? 🤡

📍Jemma

So you see the problem? Because it's the same as Clace. What else might she add, because there's nothing. SoBH ended like yesterday. We know exactly where they live rn, their daily routine, their plans. So there's nothing to add between SOBH and twp. What will it be about? Hard to say, but I hope Cassie will come up with sth interesting for them.

📍Thomastair (why did Cassie say Alistair instead of Alastair, I'm lost help me)

Yay🥺slay, serve, eat and leave no crumbs, go, kill it idk you're doing great boys, there's so much to add and explore because they've just started dating. I'm so excited ^-^

📍Kierartkina

That is fine. No matter what I think about their relationship, because in my point of view Cristina and Kieran fell in love because Cassie said so apparently, I still don't mind them being there. Because there's also lots of things to discuss and explore. I hope the story will be soft and warm☀they've just started their advantage so it definitely makes sense

📍Sizzy

Even though we've had lots of them in TMI and Shadowhunters Academy I still think they deserve to be here. They are famous (I guess? 👁👁) and I'd like to know more about their plans for future. Simon was still a teenager in the stories collection and now I'd love to see him as a grown man being in relationship with the woman he loves.

📍Luke & Jocelyn

👁👁🤨🧐🤔👀

Well... That was... Unexpected. I guess... I've just never met their fandom but I hope it's huge af, because I don't know why else would they be here. Sophideon, Gabrily and Charlotte with Henry were supposed to be here, let's be honest. But since they're here, I do think Cassie is able to make a decent story. I expect it to be bittersweet, angsty and somehow heartwarming. I think there's nothing to say except let's wait and find out.

OVERALL I think it's pretty fine. Maximum 7/10 from me. I was ready to face the worst, but it turned out to be... Fine. So it's fine☺🌱

[crowroboros]

top 3 favourite Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf designs?

Easy. Again this is about their designs and designs only.

Link -

The #1 design for Link goes to Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom's Link (Especially Link in TotK with the Archaic Set, though the Snowquill set is a close second)

By far Link's best look across the entire series. From his hair to the arm to just the general artstyle of this era, I absolutely love this design for him. I would love to see more creative ways to have him in that classic Legend of Zelda green like this. The classic green tunic and cap is lovely, I think spicing the look up like this though is great (I consider the Tunic of the Wild to be BotW's green tunic only, even though it appears in this game as well.)

Wild Era Link himself just has my favorite design out of the Links—not even limiting him to the Archaic Set. I'm talking about the base man. He rocks.

#2 goes to Skyward Sword Link

Skyward Sword Link has what I consider the best traditional Legend of Zelda green tunic design (emphasis on traditional cause Archaic Set my beloved), especially in the artwork. I also like his hair, not as much as the Wild Era Link's hairstyles but The Hero of the Skies has nice hair too.

#3 goes to A Link Between Worlds Link (and technically Triforce Heroes but that game has a different artstyle so I'm not counting it as the same design even though it is the same Link)

It's a very "classic 2D Zelda" look—being very reminiscent of Link from most of the 2D titles from before 2002, but I just think that this specific look does the concept presented by Zelda 1, Adventure of Link, ALttP, the Oracle games, etc better. A big part of it is Ravio's Bracelet, the general artstyle of the game, and his painting form he takes. That wall merge mechanic is fantastic.

Zelda-

#1 goes to Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom Zelda (but more so Tears of the Kingdom's Zelda)

Yet another win for the Wild Era. I don't know who came up with the general look and design for this incarnation of Link and Zelda but fuck, they deserve the world. All of the outfits that Zelda wears in these games are great, and I think the short-hair look works wonderfully for her as well.

#2 goes to Twilight Princess Zelda

Despite my criticisms of TP Zelda's character (or lack thereof, if this was about character writing she would NOT make top 3. Go girl give us nothing!!), her design fucking slays. The colors, the intricate patterns and details, her rapier. Definitely deserves top 3.

#3 goes to Skyward Sword Zelda

I could go on for a while about this Zelda's character and her role with the people of Skyloft and Link and Goddess Hylia and how fascinating it all is...but this is about designs so that will have to be saved for another day. Although her two outfits are heavily tied into her character and how she sees herself: Zelda, inhabitant of Skyloft vs Zelda, Hylia Reincarnated and how she has to sacrifice who she is when forced into the role she plays in a conflict spanning millennia. I really want to make a post about her character in Skyward Sword. Maybe that'll happen one day.

Ganondorf-

#1 goes to Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf

Yeah, none of you should be surprised. They cooked unbelievably hard with the character designs in the Wild Era games. Link, Zelda, Ganondorf all look FANTASTIC. Hell even his rotted corpse look is great (and I wish we saw more of it; Lich King Ganondorf as a concept sounds so good)

#2 goes to Wind Waker Ganondorf

Best written Ganondorf from the best Zelda game, and before TotK he was the best Ganondorf design as well! I don't have a single negative thing to say about Wind Waker Ganondorf's design really. I think the colors are great, the details serving as nods to the Helmaroc King are cool, he duel wields swords as well. After getting sealed away in Ocarina of Time, he really stepped up his fashion game.

and finally, #3 goes to Twilight Princess Ganondorf

He looks cool. The scar in the middle of his torso from the failed execution at the Arbiter's Grounds (and then him wielding the weapon that The Sages failed to kill him with) is a detail I really like. That's cool as fuck. This design kind of feels like what was attempted in Ocarina of Time, just no where near as good.

But there you have it anon, my top 3 favorite designs for Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf.

[imissthembutitwasntadisaster]

bestie what’s your beef with what the river knows 👀 please do full spoilers it’s on my tbr!

YOU CANNOT ATTEMPT TO WRITE A BOOK CRITIQUING COLONIAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN EGYPT AND MAKE YOUR PROTAGONIST A RICH SPANISH ARGENTINIAN AKA A MEMBER OF THE FORMER COLONIAL RULING CLASS!!!! AND SAY ACTUALLY IT'S OK WHEN SHE DOES IT!!! listen to me Lindsay listen to me apparently some authors think colonialism isn't real when it's not done by English speakers what if. I lost my shit.

ALSO listen ok listen. No one is as cartoonishly evil as the one evil guy in this was in his very first conversation with our protagonist. He was like hmm did you know I think women are weak and also Egyptians are inferior to the English? And then stole shit from her and it's like where is the subtle insidious nature of widely accepted racism???? Where is the realism?? Why does it feel like this book is written as Baby's First Introduction To The Evils Of Colonialism And Misogyny?????? GIRL WE'VE BEEN KNEW

also frankly. Listen I hate female protagonists who make genuinely stupid decisions and it's held up as girlboss. She's like oh damn my parents are missing I'm going to travel to Egypt with NO PLANS with NO FRIENDS with NO EXPECTATIONS and like if she really felt driven to it FINE but no one's going to be doing that like yasss slay queen! That's going to be terrifying! Make it feel conflicted! Please!!!! Not a girlboss moment!

She meets a British man in his twenties btw and immediately insults him and blames him fully for British colonialism and like listen I'm completely on board with the politics but that is just a guy why are we being like this. he's just a guy. He's not The British Government.

But also what really annoyed me, frankly, is that our protagonist (fully cannot remember her name) has extremely modern liberal politics regarding women, race, Colonialism, class, etc. but the thing is that she IS from the ruling elite in the late 1800s. She's extremely wealthy, she's given an unexpected amount of control over her own life, she has servants. And ok to me, if people are served by the status quo they need a reason to want to break it. And we're never told why she does. The current system works specifically for her and her parents, there's no reason for her to hear alternate opinions and we're never told that she does or how she does, so her entire politics feel very empty because it's like the author wanted to have her cake and eat it too - she wanted an unproblematic modern character but to not have to deal with actual realities of how one becomes progressive. I know a lot of people who have this approach about modern day btw, they're like oh OBVIOUSLY we all agree on this one thing because that's The Good Opinion but it's still like no, you got that opinion from somewhere, probably the people around you. But in the book it never addresses at all where she and her parents got those opinions and it just feels a bit hollow.

Basically it's just not fun! And it's not original! And it's about a girl with no unique features as a YA protagonist who thinks like someone from 2024 but exists in 1884 and is somehow excused from the fact she is also complicit in a colonial system so she can show her anti-colonial girlbossery! Also the male protagonist is obsessed with her immediately but in the most boring predictable way possible he's so bland I'm sorry.

This isn't even getting into the fact it's weirdly paced and the mystery is kinda stupid, I frankly don't know if it redeems itself in that regard because I didn't finish but yeah it kinda sucked.

[rainbowolfe]

Famine

Chaos | Pestilence | Conquest | Death

Finally... it is here.... delivered while I was asleep. The song's actually pretty good too.

Famine... and Pestilence, you say. Right after my theory about how Heket and Kallamar favor each other. They are two domains that go hand in hand, after all. Famine breeds disease.

Once again, a summary of the tarot cards first. Heket's cards are: The Bomb, The Arachnid, The Burning Dead, All Seeing Sun, The Hearts I, Telescope, The Hearts II, The Lovers II, and The Deal.

HEKET'S THE FUCKING LOVER?

I——This changes everything. Stop the fucking presses, I would've never guessed in a million years that she was supposed to be one of the Lovers. When she said she sacrificed, she was not fucking around.

Just another summary for now, but I'm having thoughts. Big thoughts.

-A connection to Paean, the Fleece of Fervour's Favor, Hathor, and maybe also Forneus.

-She's potentially missing "a pound of her flesh". In a theoretical sense, she's missing half her heart. One of her loved ones. ((Leshy))

-Either witnessed or was the cause of the wrongful death of a God, resulting in punishment (that eternal night mentioned in Chaos) for all.

-She belongs to the entity represented by the Leviathan Cross.

-Either she is the jealous Lover, and her partner is afraid of her. OR an actual spider is, and she's afraid of them. There are three options, and they're all purple.

-Something happened. Something big. Which leads directly into "The Deal" which most definitely connects back to Leshy dying/almost dying. She traded her owner/master for another.

On to the song!!

I thought the song was oddly repetitive, but thinking on it for a bit... I think that might be the point.

Because no matter what she did or said, the outcome was the same. All the pain, all the sacrifice, it was repeatedly not worth it. "Every vessel is the same." The content of what's said doesn't hold much substance* because it's more about how the content's being used.

Heket's story is a cycle of violence, vengeance, and misfortune that she can't break. (That or it's the irony of how she now has to experience what she subjected others to)

Speak no evil, as we bind the chains Cut my throat bloody, rags hide the pain. Each and every vessel ends the same. Broken, bleeding, underneath the blade.

I believe this part specifically is Heket speaking. The majority of the lines on this track are someone speaking directly to this entity. So Heket can either be this beginning voice or the speaker for the rest of the song. But she can't be both.

And the direct reference to a bloody, slit throat wrapped in rags makes it most likely that this is Heket. It would also be rather fitting for Heket's story to be spoken by a third party, because she can't speak. (And even when given the ability to speak, she chooses not to share)

Anywho.

I've always had the suspicion that Heket and Kallamar were vessels before they were Gods (to act as an opposite to Leshy and Shamura, who would've started as Gods because the being attached to their Crown was already dead). So this line about the fate of vessels interests me.

It could be taken as a throwaway line about the Bishops brutalizing Red Crown vessels, but "underneath the blade" is a pretty explicit reference to sacrifice. Which wasn't something done to the past Red Crown vessels. They would just be killed. And since they never completed their tasks, TOWW wouldn't sacrifice them either.

Another thing. The order of events is presented in reverse. Heket losing her voice comes after binding the chains. Binding the chains came after her throat being slit. Etc, etc. So it can't be talking about the vessels TOWW sent after his exile.

I would think this means Heket was a sacrifice turned vessel. Or a vessel about to face the inevitability of her position, depending on how you split that sentence up.

The one you serve can't help you now You slay my kin; I can't allow You will suffer. To this I vow The crops will wither as I drag you down

*Here's where that asterisk comes into play. Listening to it the first few dozen times, it sounds like Famine is just recounting the events of the game from Heket's POV. Which I thought was weird, because Leshy's song covers the past and alludes to greater events.

But what if these lyrics are about the past? And it's just that history is repeating itself.

This verse would suggest that someone seeks revenge on Heket after she kills their family. And oh boy, did they make good on their promise to make her suffer.

Heket was Damned and/or cursed in a way the others weren't.

Famine and Pestilence Will be your punishment And now your end awaits From which you can't repent

Just like in Chaos, this part is the Yellow Crown speaking through its wearer. First the original bearer, to Heket (and company). Then Heket, to Lamb (and company) but now the words are distorted and glitched.

Corrupted, if you will.

Though it would also be funny if this is meant to mean that Heket and Kallamar themselves are someone's punishment by way of existing.

Make your peace. Creature. You will not leave this temple Make your peace, creature. You will join your kin in slaughter.

Again referencing Chaos, this would be the actual embodiment of Famine speaking. The Old God attached to this Crown. Which, we don't have a name for like the other ones, but they do exist. The one who's corpse is apart of Spore Grotto ((and might not actually be dead in a way that matters)).

At some point in the timeline, Leshy is on the brink of death, saved only by the intervention of others. If Heket killed someone's family, then the logical conclusion would be that they kill her family back. Leshy's on his way out, and they intend to take Heket out next.

Of course they, uh, lose.

This might even be why this section loops and skips so much. They died. That's what the Bishops were doing in Purgatory. Experiencing the same final battle over and over and over again to the point of confusion. Even when they realized what they were doing wasn't real, they physically couldn't stop.

But for all that, there's no clear cut answer to who is speaking to Heket. Someone she wronged. Someone she defeated and forced to join her cult. Someone she's attacking under the instruction/will of someone else.

I underestimated The strength of your resolve Condemned to join the flock and follow And live out all my days in sorrow

Shot in the dark. It could be the Fanatic. They were tortured into submission; Heket is known for her brutality. There was exactly one God they cared about enough to call by name, and she was killed by one of the Bishops. Fanatic was so sure of their own resolve, that even they were surprised by how quickly they broke. And Fanatic's pilgrimage brought them to the Old God in Spore Grotto.

It's pretty heavily implied (imo) that they didn't kill Fanatic, so it would make sense that they were made to join the Old Faith as a Follower. Shamura was interested in their cooperation in the first place. And Fanatic certainly wasn't happy about the loss of their Crown, to put it lightly, whether or not they were recruited.

There is, additionally, the implication that whoever this is was a God of Death.

The crops will wither as I drag you down

Down to Hell. Down to the underworld. Down to the next life. The Realm Beyond. Wherever down is, it's related to the Death domain.

It could be Turua, who literally drags sacrifices down to... somewhere. And who also resides in "the depths".

It could even be Ala, who's real-world counterpart is responsible for both the judgment of the dead and the earth(soil). So the crops would certainly wither if she decreed it.

Pain prompts punishment.

[lightfed]

hotd and magnificent century and their character parallels

hatice:helaena—both got married to a man they didn't love(hatice's first marriage was to a much older man, against her wish), both got cheated on by their husbands, both are treated as the nice innocent members by their families while the others also dismiss their opinions more often than not, helaena's prophecies and hatice's fear of ibrahim's statues and if u want to be insane her nightmare abt nigar even if both were her being paranoid she still turned out to be right and their tragic fates could also be compared to one another in a way. them both losing children in tragic ways as well.

ibrahim:daemon—so this one's pretty obvious to me. both are warriors and want(ed) to die in battle serving their rulers, both have ambitions(daemon wanting to be the king and ibrahim's im the tamer and lion is the sultan speech), both have their own insecurities, want a place to belong, both are ruthless, both had mistresses(daemon with mysaria and ibrahim with nigar) etc. its not a 100% correct comparison bc daemon is of the royal family and ibrahim came as a slave but still.

aemond:bayezid—men children playing war experts, short tempers, brother complex, overlooked, anger issues etc.

aegon:selim—so while aegon was portrayed so badly selim somehow came out looking like an amazing man in comparison they are both alcoholics who didn't want their duty but ended up accepting it after being pushed into it and even fighting to prove themselves capable for the challenge.

sah:rhaenys—both these women stand on business!! both married to powerful men(even if lutfi is the grossest nastiest man in the show and im forever his biggest hater). just how sah knew mihrimah was to blame for esmahan falling rhaenys blamed rhaenyra and daemon for their children dying and uhm that scene of sah killing hurrem's servant for writing a fake letter and rhaenys burning smallfolk who were rooting for aegon always comes to mind. both have that brilliant i see through your bullshit look and cunning energy also

rhaena:cihangir—both are overlooked by their families, one for a lack of a dragon and the other for his disability. it's not the perfect comparison obviously but just like rhaena might feel inadequate to her sister who actively participates in supporting rhaenyra's claim while she can't do much to help, cihangir feels inadequate to his brothers despite loving them greatly.

mehmed: daeron the daring—courteous and gentlest among all of their brothers and daeron was described as someone more likely to follow the orders than give them. and just like hotd forgot his existence 2 seasons in the show mc writers gave mehmed minimum character development and complex traits because why not.

baela: aybige hatun— baela was wild, willing and fearless and considered herself more boyish than lady like. just like aybige she loved riding AND they both got engaged/married to their relatives who happen to be brunettes.

alicent: mihrimah. okay but hear me out!! both are women of noble birth who got manipulated into marrying older nasty men, both rock that power walk, both are sort of binded to the tradition and serving the releam/empire, both tend to go to weird disgusting men when in need of an aid(alicent with larys i think and mihrimah with rustem. ugh). and they both prioritize their family above everything and there's alicents affair with criston and mihrimahs attraction to bali bey and pedro also.

at the same time, alicent has parallels with both hurrem(the knife scene, slaying in green sjjejdj, explaining to their children that they're the challenge for the throne etc) mahidevran(following the patriarchal system and getting shocked when it doesnt serve them tho for alicent i blame this more on the terrible writing and that sense of self righteousness) as well so it could be whichever.

hurrem: rhaenyra? again, im conflicted on this one. just like rhaenyra was named the first female ruler hurrem became the sultan's lawful wife, hurrem was called a witch and rhaenyra cruel, just like how hurrem is mistreated by valide rhaenyra IS mistreated by alicent, in a way both fight to change the system etc. i could also totally see hurrem and nyra bonding just over talking about their favorite foods.

that being said there's also one glaring similarity between her and mustafa and it's them both being heirs and therefore threats to their brothers lives/those brothers being threats to their own lives as well

i have no idea for nigar and nurbanu which is funny bc they are one of my faves from the show and idk abt sully either bc i wanna say viserys but somehow viserys is so lame he makes sully look amazing in comparison. well that and @desmoonl would probably find where i live and ensure my permanent disappearance off planet earth bc she doesn't play abt bearded rulers w a loyalty kink

[marichive]

𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐍 : 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄

Writing / roleplay prompts collected from the POV chapters of Daenerys Targaryen in A Storm of Swords , the third book of the ASOIAF saga. Feel free to adjust pronouns / etc. as needed.

tw: dark & mature themes, death, violence, suggestive / sexual content

❝ He was a fool about that, and so much else. ❞

❝ Another year, or perhaps two, and he may be large enough to ride. ❞

❝ Is he lost again? ❞

❝ We are the ones who are lost. ❞

❝ How big will he grow? Do you know? ❞

❝ There are tales of dragons who grew so huge that they could pluck giant krakens from the seas. ❞

❝ That would be a wondrous sight to see. ❞

❝ They were bred for war, and in war they died. ❞

❝ It is no easy thing to slay a dragon, but it can be done. ❞

❝ Men are men. Dragons are dragons. ❞

❝ Did you ever meet my father? ❞

❝ Did you find him good and gentle? ❞

❝ He could be very harsh to those he thought his enemies. ❞

❝ A wise man never makes an enemy of a king. ❞

❝ Did you know my brother as well? ❞

❝ It was said that no man ever knew him, truly. ❞

❝ Go on. You may speak freely to me. ❞

❝ A change in the wind may bring the gift of victory. Or a lady’s favor knotted round an arm. ❞

❝ Be gentle, my knight. ❞

❝ I will require sword and armor. It seems I must be a warrior. ❞

❝ You would be wise to take his words well salted. ❞

❝ A queen must listen to all. ❞

❝ One voice may speak you false, but in many there is always truth to be found. ❞

❝ I am still half a world away from home, but every hour brings me closer. ❞

❝ Even upon the sea queens take precedence over captains. ❞

❝ I am sorry to disturb your sleep. ❞

❝ I wonder if I might have a few private words? ❞

❝ A dutiful son pays his father’s debts. Even blood debts. ❞

❝ He might want me dead . . . if he recalls that I’m alive. ❞

❝ It might all have been a ploy to win your trust. ❞

❝ I need clever men about me if I am to win the throne. ❞

❝ Clever men hatch ambitious schemes. ❞

❝ He means well. He does all he does for love. ❞

❝ It seems to me that a queen who trusts no one is as foolish as a queen who trusts everyone. ❞

❝ Your path is dangerous, I will not deny that. ❞

❝ He is not what he pretends to be. ❞

❝ I am his queen, not his woman. ❞

❝ You . . . you should not have . . . ❞

❝ I should not have waited so long. ❞

❝ I should have kissed you every night and every day. You were made to be kissed, often and well. ❞

❝ That was not fitting. I am your queen. ❞

❝ My queen, and the bravest, sweetest, most beautiful woman I have ever seen. ❞

❝ There is no man in all the world who will ever be half so true to you as me. ❞

❝ They might be adequate to my needs. ❞

❝ He has larger breasts than I do. ❞

❝ I call that madness, not courage. ❞

❝ Even the bravest men fear death and maiming. ❞

❝ There are other ways to tempt men besides flesh. ❞

❝ What a soft mewling fool this one is. ❞

❝ Such wonders do not come cheaply. ❞

❝ Even those who bent their knees may yearn in their hearts for the return of the dragons. ❞

❝ I will gladly serve her . . . and service her as well, if she is more woman than she looks. ❞

❝ Leave this place before your heart turns to brick as well. ❞

❝ The magisters and archons fed him wine and promises, but his soul was starved to death. ❞

❝ Better to come a beggar than a slaver. ❞

❝ There speaks one who has been neither. ❞

❝ Do you know what it’s like to be sold? I do. ❞

❝ He made a queen of me, but if he had been a different man, it might have been much otherwise. ❞

❝ Do you think I have forgotten how it felt to be afraid? ❞

❝ Only lies offend me, never honest counsel. ❞

❝ I have a dragon’s temper, that’s all. You must not let it frighten you. ❞

❝ He has a good face, and great strength to him. ❞

❝ Could he be jealous that I have found another man to talk to? ❞

❝ No true knight would ever kiss a queen without her leave. ❞

❝ He wants to kiss me again, I see it in his eyes. ❞

❝ You’re no bedslave. ❞

❝ The blood of my enemies I will shed gladly. The blood of innocents is another matter. ❞

❝ There is a savage beast in every man, and when you hand that man a sword or spear and send him forth to war, the beast stirs. ❞

❝ I wanted an answer, not a compliment. ❞

❝ He fought valiantly, he fought nobly, he fought honorably. And he died. ❞

❝ I mean to prove a few things of my own. ❞

❝ I can give you freedom, but not safety. ❞

❝ All men must die, but not for a long while, we may pray. ❞

❝ He knows my moods too well. ❞

❝ You ought to be asleep. ❞

❝ You’ll need your strength. ❞

❝ I was alone for a long time. ❞

❝ I was such a small scared thing. ❞

❝ He should have protected me, but instead he hurt me and scared me worse. He shouldn’t have done that. ❞

❝ Why do the gods make kings and queens if not to protect the ones who can’t protect themselves? ❞

❝ Some kings make themselves. ❞

❝ He was no true king. He did no justice. Justice . . . that’s what kings are for. ❞

❝ I dreamed a dream, no more. Go back to sleep. ❞

❝ A dragon is no slave. ❞

❝ The clever ones will see it for a chance to gauge my strength. ❞

❝ I am only a young girl and do not understand the ways of war, yet these odds seem poor to me. ❞

❝ I have heard that sellswords are notoriously unfaithful. ❞

❝ You bray like an ass, and make no more sense. ❞

❝ Woman? Is that meant to insult me? I would return the slap, if I took you for a man. ❞

❝ I would remember a man of such magnificence, I have no doubt. ❞

❝ You are worth fighting for, it is true. ❞

❝ I would gladly let you kiss my sword, if I were free. ❞

❝ And perhaps a kiss besides, eh? Or more than a kiss? For a man as magnificent as me? ❞

❝ I will like the taste of your tongue, I think. ❞

❝ You have a big thirst. ❞

❝ If blood is what you wish, let it flow. ❞

❝ You shall rue this arrogance. ❞

❝ Why? Because you are so beautiful. ❞

❝ I count no day as lived unless I have loves a woman, slain a foeman, and eaten a fine meal. ❞

❝ My sword is yours. My life is yours. My love is yours. My blood, my body, my songs, you own them all. I live and die at your command. ❞

❝ Then live, and fight for me. ❞

❝ Is that what you’re telling me? You are the only man I should ever trust? ❞

❝ Do you think I’m still some virgin girl, that I cannot hear the words behind the words? ❞

❝ You have been a better friend to me than any I have known. ❞

❝ I honor and respect and cherish you. ❞

❝ I do not desire you, and I am weary of your trying to push every other man in the world away from me. ❞

❝ It will not make me love you any better. ❞

❝ I cannot sleep when men are dying for me. ❞

❝ Your place is here by me. ❞

❝ A man who fears battle wins no victories. ❞

❝ I will see them. I will see every one, and count them, and look upon their  faces. And I will remember. ❞

❝ It’s his city I want, not his meager manhood. ❞

❝ I will not march my people off to die. ❞

❝ Can I send men to die in the dark on such a slender hope? ❞

❝ Take me back to my tent. Please. ❞

❝ I have told you no lies. Yet there are truths I have withheld, and for that and all my other sins I can only beg your forgiveness. ❞

❝ What truths have you withheld? ❞

❝ The crow calls the raven black, and you speak of betrayal. ❞

❝ If he sent you to kill me, why did you save my life? ❞

❝ I am yours, if you will have me. ❞

❝ There has been an informer by your side selling your secrets. ❞

❝ Do all gods feel so lonely? ❞

❝ She is brave as well. She had to be, to survive the life she’s lived. ❞

❝ I am going to take you home one day. I swear it. ❞

❝ I am content to stay with you. ❞

❝ Is this the face of a conqueror? ❞

❝ Harsh justice is still justice. ❞

❝ The widows will curse me all the same. ❞

❝ To prove his faith, he offers to seal your alliance with a marriage. ❞

❝ He means to put them all aside if you consent to wed him. ❞

❝ Whatever I do, all I make is death and horror. ❞

❝ I must be strong. I must have fire in my eyes when I face them, not tears. ❞

❝ Some truths are hard to hear. ❞

❝ Why ask for truth if you close your ears to it? ❞

❝ He once told me that madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin. ❞

❝ So I am a coin in the hands of some god, is that what you are saying? ❞

❝ You warned me against everyone except yourself. ❞

❝ I am no man’s creature. ❞

❝ I must not weep. I must not. If I weep I will forgive him. ❞

❝ You are trembling. ❞

❝ I wish I could have known him. ❞

❝ If I want him, I need only say so. ❞

❝ Never lie to me. Never betray me. ❞

[garbage--account]

⚡️IE nation legislation update⚡️:

Before the redaction of the first ever constitution by our future ruler, here are the laws that are currently in effect for all citizens. Those can be deleted or modified once the rightful ruler of our nation is elected :

1# IE nation's juridical state is meme. Therefore, it is every citizen's duty to make it as big as possible 📈

1#bis not exclusively limited to tumblr

2# if questionned, a citizen must act as if it not a meme so people think it is real.

2#bis context isn't mandatory to explain

2#ter if it gets too serious or too first degree, the citizen is allowed to explain this is a meme.

3# every citizen is allowed to grant citizenship to their mutuals. To do so, those who wanna obtain citizenship must reblog a post about IE nation. The citizen who proposed their mutuals must reply with the 🪪 to make them officially a citizen.

3#bis no one must be forced to get the citizenship.

4# Are allowed to rule the country 🫅:

Citizens

Ocs

Fictional characters

An animal/mascot

A meme

(Rp is basically allowed)

4#bis must be elected by the people to be able to be our rightful ruler. A candidate cannot apply twice.

5# our ruler must govern with his/her consort, who is the prime minister, the first lady/queen/empress, the representant on the behalf of the ruler if absent, and the substitute in case the ruler is not able to rule anymore.

5#bis (A consort can be of any gender btw). Are allowed to be consort 👸:

A citizen

An oc

A fictional character

An animal/mascot

A meme

5#ter if the consort ever becomes the ruler, he/she must choose their own consort.

6# online unemployement is forbidden in IE nation 🥶. Every citizen must find a professional activity within the fandom (and notify it for the citizen registration).

6#bis Can be considered as a citizen's professional activity, but not limited to :

Sugar daddy/baby 💰

Candidate/ruler/consort 🫅🤴👸

Sakka kid's therapist

Oc producer

Shipping manager 👨‍❤️‍👨👩‍❤️‍👨👩‍❤️‍👩💑

Headcannon craftman

Anime mom/dad

Y/N

Meme lord

Fanartist

Fanfiction novelist 📚

Match commentator

Reporter/journalist/press 📸📺📹🗞 (for IE nation news)

Overanalyst

Time traveling drug dealer 💊🐻

Sakka cult leader/cultist 🧘‍♀️

Intergalactic trafficker 👽

Sakka criminal (kageyama emoji)

IE nation historian 👨‍🏫

Referee 🧍‍♂️

Sakka police 👮‍♂️👮‍♀️👮

Dead inside 🧟

Evil scientist/tech/CEO/etc.

6#ter However, having a job doesn't mean having to be productive 😴

7# all citizen must serve, in a slay kind of way 💅

8# your citizen ID is also your driving license 🚙

[bookshelf-in-progress]

Even though the story itself is short, I did have some vague ideas for a series' worth of stories about the children in Honors From the King.

Eleanor, or Nora

Was roughly sixteen when she was whisked away to Athelor, and arrived at the moments of its creation.

She was declared its first queen, and although she's a historical figure, the first monarch of the kingdom, she's also a legendary figure whose story is much more mythological than that of her siblings.

She had very close ties to the land and the creatures within it; some say her touch could heal and bring life to the land.

Thanks to certain life-giving properties in the land so close to its creation, her lifespan was vastly extended. Estimates of her time spent in Athelor range from 350 to 1000 years--it's difficult to get an exact count thanks to the nature of time so close to creation, but the best estimates put it somewhere around 725 years. During that time, she traveled and came to know every part of Athelor's landscape intimately.

Although she served as a mother (or as her siblings would say, bossy big sister) to millions of people in her lifetime, she never wed, and thus began the tradition of Athelorian monarchs remaining unwed so as to devote all their attention to Athelor.

She was aware that her other siblings had been whisked away to Athelor. One of her most prized possessions was a magical book that came to her not long after her arrival. The pages were mostly blank, but every so often, a page or two of text or illustrations would come into focus, showing her a glimpse of Athelor's far-future history, specifically moments involving her younger siblings.

After returning home, this book came with her, now filled in with all her siblings stories, thus creating one of the most complete records of Athelorian history in existence.

Benedict, or Ben

Was about 15 when whisked away to Athelor.

Landed with Claire at a moment fairly late in Athelor's timeline, where they were pulled into some kind of treasure-hunting quest in a dark forest.

Within a week or so of his arrival, found himself whisked away to a much earlier era of Athelor's history, probably somewhere within Eleanor's reign.

He then found himself pulled involuntarily through time, sometimes staying only hours in one place, rarely any longer than a week. Sometimes, he was pulled into situations that required him to undertake some heroic action--slaying a monster, helping to end a war, etc.--and he quickly fell into legend as the mysterious Wanderer who would appear in times of need.

He often found himself near one of his siblings, to provide information, help, and moral support. He was the one who informed most of them about the rules of Athelorian time--that they would be returned home to a time only minutes after they left, with all their aging reversed, no matter how long they spent in Athelor.

Though he, from his personal perspective, most likely spent the least amount of time in Athelor among all his siblings (likely no longer than two years), he has experienced the broadest range of its history.

Jane

About fourteen years old when she arrived in Athelor, about seven hundred years before any of her other siblings except Eleanor.

Was taken in by kindly centaurs and elves on the Skyveil Plains.

Trained in combat and riding, became beloved member of community.

Took to traveling, became a bit of a wandering knight--defender of the weak, slayer of monsters, seeker of lost lands. Had a vibrant, joyful approach to life and adventure.

Discovered places that had not been seen by Athelorians since the days of Queen Eleanor.

Had a special bond with the talking beasts she encountered on her travels and has a special bond with them.

Claire

About thirteen when she arrived in Athelor.

Landed with Ben at a moment fairly late in Athelor's history, and undertook some kind of perilous treasure hunt quest in a dark forest.

Was unexpectedly left alone when Ben was whisked off to other points in time. Is very, very nervous about this.

Ben will randomly return at different points on her quest, but she's frustrated by the fact that he can never remember what's going on--things that happened only hours ago for her might have happened weeks or months ago from his perspective, so she has to repeat a lot of information.

(I had some kind of idea that events could transpire that take her down a dark path so she becomes a big, bad, world-threatening villain that her siblings have to team up to defeat, but as fun as that idea is, I don't think it's as fun as the possibilities that could come later from all seven of them teaming up).

Amelia, or Mia

Eleven years old when she arrived in Athelor.

Landed in a peaceful eleven village in the Southern Forest. Immediately taken in and taught by kindly elves.

After nine months, her village was attacked by a giant. Despite having no combat experience, she was forced to take up a sword she found and join in the defense. One lucky strike with a legendary sword brought down the giant.

Afterward, she met her younger brother Danny--now the middle-aged king of all Athelor. He adopted her, taught her, and eventually named her his heir.

About five years after her adoption, Danny was whisked away back home. She had some difficulty adjusting to life alone, but she got some support from a visiting Ben, and eventually became a beloved peacetime queen continuing Danny's work.

Daniel, or Danny

Ten years old when he arrived in Athelor. Helped out by some friendly trolls.

Met an extremely old Thomas within a couple weeks of his arrival, who was able to tell him about the Athelorian flow of time. Thomas was unable to take Danny in--due to extreme age and the fact that he was being sent home soon--but he brought him to the attention of the king, who took him in as a page and later squire to one of his knights.

Daniel proved himself well on various battlefields, and was eventually named the king's heir.

As soon as he became king, he started a project to build a great library--with a motive to learn more about his other siblings scattered through history.

After the successful end to the wars in the reign of his predecessor, his reign was one of peace, ushering in a cultural golden age unlike anything seen since the days of Queen Emma.

Thomas

Landed among the trolls of the Northern Mountains. Trained as a smith and became an unparalleled master craftsman.

Undertook dangerous quests in his youth to discover new materials, techniques, or long-lost legendary weapons.

In his age, retreated to the mountains to focus almost entirely on his work. He was a respected member of a community of craftsmen, but rarely sought the outside world--which instead came to him seeking his legendary skill.

Some say some of the materials he worked with retained some of the life-giving properties of the land in Queen Eleanor's time, and extended his life so that he lived to the age of 130 with a somewhat weakened, but still very active body and mind.

I have an idea that after they returned home, they were all able to integrate back into life pretty well, but they loved sharing stories of their time in Athelor and looking over Eleanor's book about it.

Then some malicious agents managed to steal the book, travel to Athelor on their own power to a point fairly early in its history, and try to use their knowledge of the future to reshape Athelor to their own ends.

They thought it seemed like a great plan. They didn't realize that doing so would put them up against the combined might of seven of the greatest figures within Athelorian history.

[horrorvillaintourney]

HORROR'S NEXT TOP GENDER, ROUND TWO MATCH THIRTY-TWO: The Lost Boys (The Lost Boys) vs. Leatherface (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)

PROPAGANDA FOR THE BOYS:

"just look at them. average gay ftm friend group"

PROPAGANDA FOR LEATHERFACE:

"To me bubba is gender fluid, and autistic. The masks she wears represent her current state of being, and are literally a way of masking. She enacts gender performatively for different events" [MN: For context, Leatherface is also known as Bubba Sawyer]

"Gender Fluid Royalty. Rustic butch who works with their hands. King of meat, queen of the saw. Rocks the apron and the suit. What gender are they on any given kill? Who's to slay!"

"Leatherface is gender in that real fucked up way only trauma genders can exist. He's put into the position of housewife by his family until the end of the movie when he's in a suit and tie. All the while wearing his characteristic mask."

"Genderfluid icon, switches gender by switching his masks depending on his mood, becomes a beautiful drag queen by the end of the movie (such a shame they didn't keep the scene of him showing off his makeup skills), likes to dress very fancy, enjoys jewelry.... etc etc.[...] He wears the face of different people, thus e[m]bodying their identity. Each mask serves to express a part of himself, no matter the gender, age or appearance. Leatherface prefers to present and express himself through different genders. [...] All in all, Leatherface's gender is very ambiguous and fluid in the og movie, which gives me gender envy as a nonbinary person tbh."

[violettathepiratequeen]

March 24th, 2025

Hello there, gentle viewers! Welcome back to Buffy Slays, where I’ll be going through all 144 episodes of BtVS over the course of a year, highlighting as many of the GOOD moments, lines, character choices, worldbuilding moments, etc. etc. as I think people will have the patience to read. 

So, here we go! 

Season 1, Episode 9, “The Puppet Show.”

Sunnydale High School's annual talent show serves as a backdrop for murder when Buffy must catch a knife-wielding stealer of human organs. Meanwhile, the new principal is a discipline-loving brute who forces Giles to run the talent show and orders Buffy, Xander, and Willow to perform. (Pulled from the BTVS Wiki.)

If you're reading along and haven't finished the show, consider this your Spoiler Warning for discussion of future episodes and major plot points in any and all of these posts.

Episode Number: #9 Episode Ranking: #135 out of 144. Writer: Dean Batali & Rob Des Hotel

Top 5 Quotes:

“There are things I will not tolerate. Students loitering on campus after school. Horrible murders with hearts being removed. And also smoking.” –-Principal Snyder

“A dramatic scene is the easiest way to get through the talent show, because it doesn't require an actual talent.” —Willow

"I'm looking into that, but my investigation is somewhat hampered by a life in the theater.” —Giles

“I know the three of you will come up with a wonderful act for the school to watch. And mock. And laugh. At.” —Principal Snyder

“It could be anyone. It could be me! It’s not, though.” —Willow

How “The Puppet Show” Slays:

Principal Snyder enters the scene. I’m not actually aware of the general public’s opinion of him, which is interesting, because I think I have a general idea of what the fandom thinks of almost everything else, from all the chats and discussion boards I’ve seen and been a part of. But Snyder is a mystery to me, so I can say without anyone else’s influence… that he is the absolute worst, a bully who openly hates kids and particularly hates Buffy, and finds joy in causing others pain (um… because that’s what a bully is). And yet I love probably every single scene he’s in. His dialogue is ALWAYS a riot. He knows he’s hated, and kind of enjoys it. He tries to do his job well, he just doesn’t think human emotions fall into the category of things he needs to be aware of. And no matter how much he denies or seems oblivious of supernatural stuff, a later episode will reveal that he actually works very hard to keep all that hidden from the public. Not unlike Buffy herself. So yeah. He’s awful, and we cheer when he gets eaten. But he’s fun and a dynamic addition to the high school years of Buffy and I can’t be sorry he’s here. Even if Flutie will always be my favorite. 

Giles’ horrible fate of being a director. A job where he has to interact with people and organize silly costumes and awards, and not act like he’s dying inside every time he has to give a false compliment. A job he tried to beg out of, claiming that his librarian status was intended to limit his contact with students. A job his three kids laugh at him for having, but he says that if they’d participated, it would have made it more bearable. Because he loves his kids, and really, he does an okay job being a director. Not a great or inspirational one, but he does get everything done, he’s not cruel like Snyder, and Cordelia runs to him when she’s terrified to go on, and he does his best to offer encouragement. He may have never wanted children, but he adopts every stray to come across his path, and that is a phrase I will be repeating every time a new Scooby is added to the group.

Buffy resists getting bullied again, when she’s caught staring at Sid in class, and Cordelia tells her they could tour together in the freak show. She smiles and tosses her hair, clearly pleased with herself for such a sick burn, but Buffy is so focused on the dummy it’s like she forgets the words as soon as she hears them. She just… has no extra brain space for Cordelia.

Xander, on the other hand, somehow ends up being the one to interrogate Cordelia about the murder of Emily. He’s in obvious agony as Cordelia rambles about the horror of it all, but they are walking and talking together, and bickering like they always do. Because this is what their relationship will sprout from.

When Buffy wakes up to Sid in her room, she screams, and her mom comes running. Buffy in a panic babbles that there’s something in her bed, and her mom checks, to find nothing. It’s a scene that kind of breaks my heart, in a good way, because… Buffy already confessed to being really freaked out by dummies, so the fact that she wakes up to one creeping around her room is probably scarier to her than any demon. And if it had been a demon, no way would she have made her mom check the bed, she would have pushed her mother away and slain the thing herself. It’s Buffy being half-asleep and terrified of something that’s been a childhood fear, and when her mom asks what’s wrong, Buffy is a little girl again, needing her mom to check for monsters to make sure there’s nothing there. There’s a bit too where Joyce asks if Buffy didn’t just have a nightmare, and Buffy tries to protest, but then, probably because she’s more awake now, concedes that yes, it was just a nightmare, and just tells her friends the next day of Sid’s visit. In later years for this Slayer, there will be nothing that will make her scream and alert her mother, but here… here she’s still young, she’s still new.

The red herring that Snyder might be the demon. I don’t know if it actually fooled anyone—I remember on my first watch I thought he was a suspect, but I wasn’t confident—but it’s the fact that we kind of WISH it’s him; it would be so much easier if Buffy could just slay him and he wouldn’t make her life difficult anymore. But nope, he’s human, and they have to suffer him for another two and a half years.

Buffy is the first one to realize that Morgan isn’t actually talking for Sid, Sid is talking for himself. It takes her friends a painfully long time to believe her, but she’s right. And then again when her friends suspect he might be the murderer after all, she swears he isn’t. And she’s right again. Even if it’s weird and crazy and makes no sense, her instincts of what’s true and what isn’t are right on the money.

The curtain rising on the talent show. That everyone forgot because there was a demon and Giles’ head was almost chopped off and the fact that Sid finally gets to rest in peace. It’s such an amazing tableau that Snyder, of course, doesn’t understand at all, and honestly the Scoobies should have just done some improv with that scene and called it their act.

But instead, we get a taste of their Oedipus act. Their awful, apathetic, totally inappropriate dramatic scene. It’s an absolute delight to see these characters who are so BRILLIANTLY played by their actors pretend to absolutely suck at acting, and not care at all. They don’t need glory and applause. They just need to not get yelled at by the principal.

Xander Harris is a Bro:

Xander suggests Willow play piano for the talent show. Buffy doesn’t even know she plays, and Willow balks at the idea of performing for other people. And the words “Willow” and “piano” will never come together again during the entire rest of the show. But I love that it’s just something he knows about his best friend, something she has shared with him, that he thinks she could do onstage.

Sid hits on Willow with some gross sexual remarks, and Xander shuts it down. Of course Buffy follows it up with threats about destroying the puppet, so she kind of trumps him, but he’s the first to come to Willow’s defense.

Willow and Xander go to rehearsal together to laugh at the acts. Buffy was with them in the opening, before they got roped into the whole thing, but it just makes me happy whenever I see them just hanging out together and sharing a common goal, like they did before Buffy came into their lives.

It’s a joint effort to save Giles from getting his head sliced through, but Xander is the first one there, grabbing the robe to stop the guillotine, and holding on until the demon is in place to have his head chopped off. Xander is also the one to realize the demon would even want Giles’ brain, not Willow’s.

Giles gets rid of a complaining Cordelia by just staring at her hair until she gets paranoid and runs off. He notes with glee that Xander’s trick worked, and I think Xander’s such a bro for letting Giles know a very helpful tip of getting rid of Cordelia that is neither cruel, nor an outright lie.

The Talentless Show:

Buffy: Giles, unto every generation is born one who must run the annual talentless show. You cannot escape your destiny.

This was never a high-ranking episode for me, but I think my favorite thing about it is the talent show itself. The first thing we see of it is Cordelia singing horribly off-key, and Giles watching like he’s in his own personal hell. This is not gonna be a fun, wholesome episode about the magic of show biz, or secret talents being uncovered that the whole school will clap for. This is not gonna be a fun thing that the mean principal threatens to take away, and we’ll all have to band together and save our show. 

Nope, it’s gonna be torturous for some, actual punishment for others, a big deal, probably, to every character who isn’t important, and so cringy that Buffy will beg her mom not to attend. Of the few acts we see, including the main trio’s, ALL of them suck, and there’s not a speck of talent to be seen.

And if it were the main focus of this episode, there might be kind of a cynical message in there, about rejection, or not being as good as you think you are, or no one cares about your artistic endeavors, or who knows what else. But it’s not the main focus of the episode, and that’s the other reason I think it’s the best part. It’s a backdrop to everything else. There’s murders going on, there’s a new principal out to get Buffy and friends, there’s a talking dummy and a demon trying to harvest organs, and the talent show is just kind of… there. 

While investigating all the weird goings-on, Giles is seen lugging costumes around, getting awards in order, helping people with their acts, soothing Cordelia’s stage fright, managing the lineup to ensure the sets can move on and offstage when they need to, and hating absolutely every second of it. And then completely spaces on the actual night, and has to be reminded that the curtain is going up pretty soon. 

Willow, Buffy and Xander are forced to pick an act, and they pick something they can put as little time and energy into as possible. Their costumes consist of white togas over their regular clothes, Buffy rolls her eyes the entire time she’s on, Xander has no inflection in his lines whatsoever, and Willow flees the stage in terror. 

And the reason all of this is so great is because BtVS is not a high school show. The characters are in high school, for the first couple years, but that’s just a coincidence. That’s just the time of their lives that all this crazy stuff started happening. High school is a horror, and there are demons to battle every day, but ultimately, it’s not as important as other high school shows insist it is. It’s just something to get through, and survive, so the rest of your life can begin.

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And that’s a wrap on Episode 9! Thank you so much for reading this far!

Previous: “I, Robot… You, Jane.”

Next up: “Nightmares.”

(Credit for GIFs in this post: @detectivedawnsummers)