#there's also a delay for [redacted] reasons but-

[wetcatspellcaster]

oh, and if the DVD box is still open - I think I can ask this? If it doesn't spoil anything to come - for Pieces, I wanted to know when Astarion realised Rosalie was never coming back. And why it took so long - whether it took him those 11 years to realise that she was never coming back. Thank you so much for your great and lovely work. I enjoyed it so much.

So, I'm not sure if there's any specific part of the fic you want me to comment on for the DVD Commentary specifically, but if you just want me to answer your question:

Astarion said his shit-head speech in Chapter One, went out that night and did everything he was going to do, and then when he came back the next day to the Elfsong to rub it in Rose's face, she just wasn't there. My understanding of the Ascendent is my own, but I don't think it even occurred to him that their party would dissolve and that Rosalie would leave without him having any role or say in it - and I think the behavior in the new epilogue, about how he's surprised anyone survived "without us" backs that up a little, he truly acts like he's the centre of the universe.

But Rosalie was gone, as were all her belongings, and Shadowheart and Gale start moving out too. Astarion asked them where she had gone, and I think Shadowheart relished delivering the fact Rose had left, in the most blunt and indifferent way possible. She also refused to tell him where she'd gone, which is what told him it was a permanent change, because it involved a wilful deception of him. Literally everyone refused to divulge that information, which makes it feel like a conspiracy that's more than just 'she's gone away on a holiday'.

In terms of why it took him 11 years to act on that fact, I do think for like the first year or so, he assumed that she would eventually come crawling back - by the time she's in Avernus, he's like "well, I'll just build her a house for when she comes back from Avernus and she's learned her lesson". When Karlach and Wyll are back and Rosalie isn't, I imagine he then goes into the phase of "well, I don't *need* you, I'll show you how much I don't need you" (proceeds to do an Ascendent!debauchery run), and then, because he's emotionally stunted, that runs for like 5-6 years. Then we hit the classically vampire "if I'm young and eternally beautiful and can have everything I want, why am I unhappy?" and that takes him another few years, because he's a moron. And then, we hit the Pieces timeline.

Throughout, he absolutely has tabs on Rosalie - not on where she lives, but on like, sightings and locations, when she's in Waterdeep, when she's visiting her friends, etc. BUT the whole point is to get her to come to him, not the other way around, for the sake of his pride. So then, he started collecting 57 very shitty people to kill lmao.

[mosaickiwi]

14DWY As a Drama AU

Hey remember when I said I’d post this in February oopsies!! (don’t ask me about demon!ren i will cry)

Open at your own risk this thing is LONG. Tried to give everyone at least a little something! upon putting this in my drafts i realized olivia exists i'll add her at some point uhhh. Also you can tell how much I love Elanor... hehe

14 Days With You is an 18+ Yandere Visual Novel. MINORS DNI

The cult classic romantic thriller, 14 Days With You, is now a drama! Coming to all your favorite streaming platforms this summer. A whirlwind romance gone right and wrong that you DON’T want to miss.

Cast List

[REDACTED]

🖤 Quiet kid that used the after school theater program to delay returning home. Never wanted to perform, but loved doing costumes, make up, and correcting others (in his mind) on how to portray their roles. 

🖤 Spent a little extra time perfecting the costumes of a certain someone who didn't even know they existed. He always traded house chores with his sister so she'd sit in the audience to solely film Tree #2's performance.

🖤 Was an apprentice special effects makeup artist after graduation at first, particularly for horror films, but it didn't exactly pay the bills when they left home.

🖤 Easily rose to the top in their acting career due to his dedication for crafting characters to perfection. 

🖤 Dolly Parton/Lady Gaga-esque in their separation of work and life—completely unrecognizable in their regular civilian attire. Paparazzi have never gotten a picture of them in all their years trying.

🖤 Has zero issues getting into character, but does "method acting" on occasion to make sure people leave them alone on set. And also to fuck with directors and producers they don't like. Notoriously difficult to work with because of it + their overall attitude towards others, still gets hired somehow.

🖤 Got offered the role as the main love interest in 14DWY without an audition, thanks to a previous manipulative pink haired character he played in a film that ended up never being released. (2017 Ren because it's funny)

 Angel (you!)

💜 Participated in the same after school theater program as [REDACTED] and Leon for a few semesters before you got bored of it. Curiosity for acting resurfaced later in life.

💜 Newbie actor at the recently formed talent agency of your friend. Only starred as non-speaking roles or background characters in small productions until the drama. You moved back to Corland Bay after uni for the better industry prospects.

💜 You initially auditioned for a very small role in the drama as an employee in a seaside shop at first, but somehow you wound up as the lead? (un)lucky you.

💜 Feel free to fill in the blank for any whys and hows you think of to fit your OC/self/sona as you so please <3

Elanor

💖 Normally an actress and casting director, first time as an executive producer for the drama. Dreams of bringing her own romantic screenplays to life. Hasn't quite proven herself the way she wants in the industry to feel confident enough in them. 

💖 Catalyst for the drama being made. A "friend" mistakenly recommended the 14DWY book to her. She absolutely loathes all the psychological horror of it but sees the potential it has.

💖 Also the reason [REDACTED] was immediately cast, and you as well once she saw your chemistry with him while reading for a minor role. He hadn't shown a fraction of as much interest when reading lines with other potential candidates, so she decided to take the risk of an untested talent as the headliner.

💖 Refuses to use her family's name to get her stuff made. She wants her works to speak for themselves. Very picky about who she works with due to her family having hands in most of Corland's entertainment industry so she hardly gets a genuine interaction beyond ass-kissing.

💖 Always partial to working with Conan's small studio since he was the only director to give her any sort of criticism in spite of her family, as gentle and polite as it was. She still cried a little in the dressing room though.

💖 Genuine confusion when Conan wants her to act as both a producer and assist with direction. She only intended to bring it to his interest. But how could she say no to someone whose judgment and opinion she respects so much?

Conan

💖 Runs and owns a small scale studio in the Bay that seems to pick and choose its productions at random. It is in fact Alice sneaking into her dad's home office and putting scented stickers on the ones she likes. (She only reads the titles)

💖 Extremely proud of Elanor for getting so far on her own, and would take on one of her dozens of scripts no questions asked if she'd only work up the courage to show him one. So imagine his surprise when she comes to him with a romantic horror instead of one of the fairy tale romances he sees her scribbling notes on during breaks.

💖 While he’s the one with the final say, he does try to let Elanor have as much free reign as possible on the project in the hopes to boost her confidence.

Kiara

💖 A super-star actress and model that got her start in Corland’s local industry, but quickly hit it big. 

💖 When she isn’t drowning in work, she’ll swing through town to check in on her sister.

💖 Desperately wants to star in one of Elanor’s productions, but respects her sister’s desire for independence. Though she does like to tease about certain casting decisions on the drama when made aware of them.

the rest of the cast are unfortunately very silly i couldn't resist

Moth

💖 Started a talent agency out of spite for the terrible castings in their favorite media. Got further invested upon realizing they could read the scripts before the movies or show adaptations were even announced.

💖 The one who pushed you to audition for a minor role in the production once the rumor about who was cast as the main love interest reaches them. They've heard all the horror stories about [REDACTED] so wanted the inside scoop. Horrified and fascinated to find out you get the lead role. It’s like watching a train wreck.

Leon

💖 Joined the theater program initially because of you, but got really into it. Moved away to attend a performing arts school until his mother got sick.

💖 Took every wacky infomercial or street performance gig he could find to pay the hospital bills until Teo found out and swooped in.

💖 Eternally grateful for the burden of financial ruin being relieved, so he always accepts the jobs Teo gets for him. He definitely won’t complain since he’s not dressed in an animal costume and shouting nonsensical slogans for cleaning products.

Teo

💖 Met Leon through a shared production and quickly bonded. Attended a different performing arts school and met Jae as a child.

💖 Almost the exact opposite of his game character purely for the funnies. Shy, introverted, can’t flirt to save his life. Still a nepo baby but he can hold his own in acting. Doesn’t like his character much, but is extremely jealous of the confidence he oozes.

💖 Leon and Jae are his only friends in the industry so he uses his sway to get them parts if they haven't already gotten a call back. Gets REALLY nervous on set for certain roles so he needs their support.

Jae

💖 Attended the same school as Teo when they were kids, and is constantly pitching intentionally bad ideas and joking on set to reassure his friend.

💖 A little bit of a thrill seeker, so does all his own small stunts if he thinks he’s capable. Stands there and gawks watching the more extreme stunts, loudest to clap when they go well.

💖 Kept bringing Maple to the shoots cause how could he even think about leaving her at home? She would occasionally break her leash and wander into a scene for head scratches and kisses. The film crew always booed when a PA came to take her off set.

Violet

💖 Completely terrible at caring for plants. Inspired by her role, she starts vlogging about her plant mom journey before shooting even begins. All her advice is completely wrong and terrible. Her personal assistant keeps her in the dark by tending to the plants themselves to fix her mistakes.

💖 Finds out she has a talent for flower arrangement, though. Does thank you vases for the cast and crew on all her future productions that last a lifetime because her PA made sure all the flowers were fake.

Exposition

(silly on set shenanigans)

🎬 Scenes get retaken quite a bit, since you’re still extremely new to it all. Most of the cast and crew expect anger out of [REDACTED] after the 4th call for a re-shoot on the first day’s library scene, but he’s surprisingly cracking jokes about his dye job and reassuring you that you’re doing great. The infamously ill-tempered actor is smiling somehow… even being patient? Not glaring down his co-star for minor slip ups? They cannot recognize this person.

🎬 Violet and [REDACTED] naturally butt heads on set. She respects their acting, not the actor. Zero hesitation to snap back if he’s getting snarky with a PA. You’re the one people have to beg to separate them, and you’re completely baffled that [REDACTED] doesn’t treat others as nicely as he treats you.

🎬 Even though Elanor is a nervous wreck about the first real thing to ultimately make or break her career, she’s scarily efficient on set—as long as no one distracts her. She does get sidetracked once in a while, only because she loves chatting and answering any questions the cast or crew might have. She even brings one of her own cats to set during a slower day to see if they can get along with Maple. Leaves Conan in charge when the horror scenes are being shot. They’re both put off by how vivid they feel, but Conan at least can grin and bear it. 

🎬 You and Leon manage to catch up on set while [REDACTED] is otherwise occupied shooting said horror scenes. You tease him about a few infomercials you saw when looking up his actor reel, and Leon teases you back about your unlucky streak of being a tree or a rock in every play the theater program put on when y’all were younger. Laughs even harder once he finds out your most prominent roles until then were “unnamed zombie #5 at the bottom of the pile” and “sleeping train passenger.”

🎬 Try as he might, [REDACTED] doesn’t convince Elanor to change up a few crucial parts of the script for his benefit. His offhand threats of leaving the production fall on deaf ears, as she is all too happy to do re-shoots to make Teo the lead. His innocent hints to you about the shoddy script fly over your head for some reason! You love how it's turning out, what does he mean?

🎬 Super shy Teo prefaces and warns his co-stars before acting in every scene of his character being excessively flirty. Most of the actors have worked with him at some point or another beforehand, so they let him go through his routine without issue. Some crew members love the whiplash of him switching between overly courteous and smarmy, others vastly prefer the flirty character and mourn the loss as production comes to a close.

The Build Up

📺 The higher ups pressure Violet to start a short-lived streaming career to boost interest, since she’s hopeless with plants. She amasses a cult following for her MMO reviews, blind raids on new patches, and her wild ride of a Minecraft playthrough. In the end she winds up preferring to play games off stream, but once in a blue moon she’ll do a first time raid stream so her more dedicated fans can join and watch her alliance get wiped. Creative trolling is highly encouraged.

📺 Teo, Jae, and Leon appear on a late night TV show for promotion. It was meant to be for Teo and [REDACTED] at first. (Where’s the leading lover? [REDACTED] refused all promo appearances or sit downs without you being involved in them.) The host plays a clip that Teo’s particularly embarrassed about, and he hides his face in shame when the crowd hoots and hollers praise about his portrayal.

📺 [REDACTED] comes across as doting and overprotective of you once you’re pushed into the spotlight of celebrity, and shows increasingly concerning behaviors as the premiere looms closer. Depending on your response, they’ll back off to a point or dial it up. Interviewers and consumers mistake it as the eccentric actor’s “method acting” so the red flags just slide right past.

📺 Elanor and Conan guest star in a podcast for off-the-cuff romance enthusiasts. Their strangely cagey and joking comments like “there were so many retakes we couldn’t keep track of what was meant to be the actors messing around or part of the final cuts,” and “we’ve actually sent all the reviewers 1 of 14 versions with completely different endings,” leave listeners all the more curious to see the film.

The Climax

🎉 Reception is huge, in good ways for most. The majority of the cast see a surge in popularity if they didn’t already from the hype. 

🎉 Teo bemoans his endless offerings for sarcastic pretty boy jobs, Leon makes enough to get picky about his roles (and pay Teo back), Jae somehow cons a studio into an action film starring Maple—and subsequently adopts every single one of her stunt doubles. 

🎉 Moth throws the agency away to start adapting anime and manga themselves. Elanor finally feels validated enough to bring one of her romantic screenplays to the big screen, starring her sister Kiara and a very enthusiastic Violet as the leading couple. 

🎉 Conan’s studio is overloaded with scripts, and Alice runs out of scented stickers that much quicker. They are severely backlogged send help.

🎉 One determined conspiracy theorist sets out to prove those missing 13 versions of the ending are real, based on minor cuts and inconsistencies purposefully left in the public release.

The End, Roll Credits

choose your own ending

Bad End 💔 - A Falling Star

💔 If you respond negatively to [REDACTED]’s demeanor during shoots and promo: he plays the waiting game, uses his connections and blackmail to make sure all your roles without his name attached don’t garner nearly as much attention as the ones where you’re co-stars.

💔 Your negotiating power quickly plummets as you fall out of demand and end up begging just for the non-speaking roles you once loathed.

💔 The careers of anyone you got close to on set fall apart much faster than yours, before they’re outright blacklisted in the industry.

💔 You begrudgingly call up your last option. He can’t do much for your friends, but their offer to help you make a comeback is always open.

Neutral End 💌 - Just One More Try

💌 If you respond indifferently to [REDACTED]’s demeanor: the drama leads to you getting more offers, though a handful are for playing opposite of [REDACTED], as the on-screen chemistry was too much for studios to ignore for cash grabs.

💌 Elanor has rid herself of the drama’s subsequent rights, despite positive reception, so a sequel sprouts up in the works at a different studio. One that doesn’t mind catering to the whims of their actors when it comes to script integrity.

💌 You arrive on the set to find that not just one, but all of your cast mates except for them were written to have much smaller parts in the sequel. In fact, you rarely find a scene in the revised script where [REDACTED] isn’t alongside you.

💌 Sadly the contract is air tight, just put up with it until it’s over… What’s this clause about further sequels?

Good End 💍 - Off Into the Sunset

💍 If you respond positively to [REDACTED]’s demeanor: you’ll sadly announce at the post premiere press conference that acting was a one-and-done adventure for you. Retired effective immediately, no farewell interviews.

💍 You’re spotted around town for a few weeks in a mask with a tall, darkly dressed companion at your side before you disappear from the public eye and Corland Bay all together.

💍 A few of your friends at least have an idea of where you are, and they meet up with you whenever you're in a nearby city. None of them can recognize the man glued to your side, though. Not that he'd say anything to clue them in.

💍 After months of near inactivity, [REDACTED] mysteriously deletes their socials without a word, sparking confusion and outrage among hardcore fans still desperately hoping for a sequel.

[cheapsweets]

The Maternal Ghraggal

My response to this week’s BestiaryPosting challenge, from @maniculum

Pencil sketch, then lines in Sailor fude nib fountain pen, using Diamine Sepia ink.

Thought process under the cut…

"The Ghraggal is named for its swiftness [redacted]. It is a beast distinguished by its varied markings, its courage and its extraordinary speed. Hircania is their main home."

So, this is basically all the physical description we get about this creature. It's fast, so I figured I'd give it quite long limbs. We know it's a beast, but not a lot else. If in doubt, by default beast is something somewhat dog or wolf-like, so we have a vaguelly canine-looking creature with long legs and a variety of markings, ranging from almost like stripes on the legs, to finer spots on its underside and larger, more irregular shapes on its back and sides. Hopefully it all gels together as something coherent; I took a lot of influence from the patterns on girafffes, particularly the Rothschild's, Masai and Southern sub-species.

As an aside, Hyrcania seems to be part of modern day Turkmenistan and Iran, which doesn't actually help. However, Hyrcania roughly translates as 'wolf land', which would be a reall cool reason for me to lean 'slightly canine' except I found out about it after I'd done the drawing... ;)

"The female Ghraggal, when she finds her lair empty by the theft of a child, follows the tracks of the thief at once. When the thief sees that, even though he rides a swift horse, he is outrun by her speed, and that there is no means of escape at hand, he devises the following deception. When he sees the female Ghraggal drawing close, he throws down a glass sphere. The female Ghraggal is deceived by her own image in the glass and thinks it is her stolen child. She abandons the chase, eager to gather up her young. Delayed by the illusion, she tries once again with all her might to overtake the rider and, urged on by her anger, quickly threatens the fleeing man. Again he holds up her pursuit by throwing down a sphere. The memory of the trick does not banish the mother's devotion. She turns over the empty likeness and settles down as if she were about to suckle her child. And thus, trapped by the intensity of her sense of duty, she loses both her revenge and her child."

What. A. Jerk. Amirite?

Again, very fast creature, faster than a swift horse. Also, if we're being charitable, not the smartest creature either...

We also know that this is a creature that is valuable enough for someone to raise one from a baby, that hunters have developed increasingly expensive and elaborate methods to achieve this theft!

This did take me down a bit of a rabbit hole of 'crystal ball photography', which I tried to recreate as best possible. :)

[sweetestpopcorn]

Hi! I know it was mentioned in the show (I don’t take anything there as canon.) but I read in Fire and Blood that when Maegor and Visenya were about to burn Oldtown the Hightower Beacon shone green. Do you think this could have possibly influenced Alicent’s choice of favoring the color green in her wardrobe and naming her party The Greens. I can see no other reason why she would do this. Rhaenyra favoring black was obvious since it was the main color of the Targaryen sigil. But the Hightower banner was grey and white. Unless she had green eyes or simply liked the color I don’t see any other reason why she chose green. Also I think she is type to make a subtle statement and would it also show her true nature during the earlier days. What do you think about this?

Hi there and also sorry about this delay (this is a common theme in my asks in case you have not noticed XD).

I will admit I actually did not even remember this detail but yes it is accurate and I have seen the relevant book passages confirming it. However, there is no indication whatsoever that this was the reason why Alicent chose to wear Green. Several reasons that I will now list below.

This detail came out only with Fire and Blood in 2018 while the Princess and the Queen and The World of Ice and Fire where the character of Alicent Hightower and her feud with Rhaenyra was first introduced came out in 2013. I find it extremely unlikely that this was something George already knew/planned yet kept hidden for all these years, especially since in The World of Ice and Fire the entire history of House Targaryen is told so this detail could have easily been included. And for those of you wondering, no, George had not planned about 95% of the Dance in advance. He wrote most of it for The World of Ice and Fire. Indeed, over the years he changed a lot and until 2012 for instance, Rhaenyra's husband was Lyonel Strong, before that it had been a Lannister, and the character of Daemon did not exist, nor Alicent, nor most others.

2. The tourney in which Alicent wears green and Rhaenyra wears black and red was never presented as an Alicent moment. It was a Rhaenyra moment where she proudly wore the colours of her House in a time in which Alicent and House Hightower had been conspiring against her and Alicent herself was already casting seeds to create whispers around Rhaenyra's reputation - i.e., when she famously asked who protected Rhaenyra from Criston.

3. If indeed that was the reason for the Green dress, and ignoring my last two points, why wasn't it ever said? There was plenty of opportunity yet that motive was never presented.

What I think is much more likely is that the green is either simply symbolising the Reach - where Alient comes from from - much like Black and Red are symbolising Rhaenyra's House and who she is and/or it is also a symbol for who Alicent is used by the narrative.

Green is both a colour associated with greed but also with envy materialism and judgment, all characteristics we know canon Alicent to have and what her actions demonstrate. Green also symbolises growth, and indeed Alicent's influence had been growing a lot in court, as we know that the court was divided between the party of the Queen - the Greens - and the party of the Princess - the Blacks. At the same time green and black also clash in a sense and contrast with each other.

Personally this explanation makes a lot more sense to me as the green dress would serve as a very effective yet fast way to characterise the character of Alicent, and illustrate the mood at court.

And to end this allow me to share the brilliant illustration that @lovelyonism made of this iconic moment between the Princess and the Queen.

PS: All of this is only about the ASOIAF books and has no relation whatsoever with the redacted lizard show.

[worldsfromhoney]

I’ve been so much on the fence about this that i think i consulted three servers i’m in and had a very reasonable breakdown during an intense convo with one of my best friends.

BEHOLD this is the result of my externalised inner struggle

🥁🥁🥁🥁 *drumroll* 🥁🥁🥁🥁

WiP intro: Imposter Syndrome

A What Shouldn’t Have Been Written short story.

Ok ima face it: idk what to do here so i’ll just wing it and i hope it’s enough 😵‍💫

Status

Will finish the first draft by 10/06

Posting date: 10/09

WiP tags

#wip: imposter syndrome

#wip: wshbw

#oc: del bonnaire

#oc: jo bonnaire

#oc: conn

#oc: mrs. bonnaire

What it on

A horror short story where society has found a way to let people change their skin—literally. And Del Bonnaire has had his eye on a particular one for years. With a dying mother and a grieving dad, what can stop him?

Genres/Themes

horror/thriller

suspense

sci-fi

family

morality and ethics

NOTE: there’s a hella more tags and warnings but they’re available on Inkitt and Wattpad so please look before you read!

Characters

Those who matter anyway ✌️But! They all show up! They all matter!

Del Bonnaire

A daddy’s boy is what Del puts in every social profile he has. And that’s exactly what he is. Recently graduated from university and turned 22 years old. He’s delayed his coming-of-age ‘changing’ for 7 years and has batted away the legal notices. An inch taller than his rugby player of a father, with a lean form (genetics, darling, he’ll say), and rare green-hued eyes—he’s a catch for the skin centre. But there’s a reason he’s delayed and the time has finally come.

Jo Bonnaire

Del’s father and [redacted]. Despite being a sports boy throughout his entire life, barring from going professional, he doesn’t like being put to the spotlight. A devoted husband who attends to his wife’s every want and need, even to the point of predicting it. Very sticky though, as his rugby lads would comment. Recently turned 40 as he got Del early in life. Comes from old money and works as a behind-the-scenes philanthropist. He seems normal enough… right?

Mrs. Bonnaire

Del’s mother and [redacted], and Jo’s wife and [redacted]. She’s a pretty isolated person and neighbours gossip it’s because she got sickly after her first husband’s death. An utter miracle that someone like Jo had taken her in, they’ll also say. No one’s seen much of her family than her father who was seen rowing with Jo one night and never came back. Past schoolmates say she was very different in the past—a political activist against the ‘skin change movement’. Where’s that woman now?

Conn

Del’s childhood best friend. He and his aunt are the Bonnaire’s closest neighbours. Rather than him keeping Del, it’s more of the way around with how others see him always being comforted and apologising after a fight. Like a puppy whining after a particularly slick kitten, the other kids say. Handsome enough in his own right—brunette, grey eyes, dimple—but overshadowed by Del’s dark, tall, and handsome vibe. He doesn’t mind. He doesn’t mind much of what Del does anymore.

Dr. Katz

The doctor assigned to Mrs. Bonnaire’s case. One of the most renowned doctors in the hospital and the only one willing to take on the case. Not because of its queerness or impossibility but because of the two Bonnaires who stand guard day and night. You’re just imagining it, the charmed nurses reassure her, but she isn’t buying it. In the end, she’s right not to.

Snippet

NOTE: the snippet here is from the first draft which is crap so you will be reading crap 🥰

I think I give him an answer but it gets lost as a muffled mumble in his shirt. I’m not ready to let go. There’s a beating heart and a chest that rises and falls properly with no help so near that I don’t want to let go.

…and that’s all for now!

[greenerteacups]

That reminds me of why I really dislike that the epilogue exists.... other than the fact that it's totally unnecessary and adds nothing of importance to the story, it actually portrays, in my opinion, a strangely stagnant and therefore bitter (imo) ending for these characters I truly loved through my childhood and teens... Like, the fact that they just...stayed the same... married the person they started dating in school (regardless of actual compatibility)...the same friendships and enmities.... I just remember reading that epilogue and immediately rejecting it cause I found it weirdly depressing and it also kinda felt like the author was kinda forcing the characters into a certain destiny beyond what was necessary, which sounds really weird but I do think there's a point where, as a writer, you have to let the story go and leave 'what happens next' to the readers' imaginations.

there's a reason for this, i think. i actually happen to like a lot of the endgame couples — i think that harry and ginny being straight-out-of-school/married-young-in-wartime sweethearts is cute, and makes sense for their characters. i like the idea of them naming the kids after harry's parents, Sirius, and Luna (Obvious Exception Notwithstanding!!!) because it ties in with the themes of family/love transcending death and also happens to be a real-life phenomenon that young couples do to commemorate the wartime dead! i think it's great that neville's a herbology professor — it's an ultimate triumph over Snape to become the exact opposite kind of teacher, one who offers support and understanding to slow-learning children — and although i hate what happened to Lupin and Tonks, the idea of Harry raising Teddy as his own son/nephew/younger brother/Unidentified But Beloved Family Member in the same way Sirius probably would have raised Harry, if he had the chance. it ties in very well with "healing past wrongs" as an underlying motif for the next generation.

and you know what, fuck it, i'm not ashamed to say it: I like the Third Gen kids. they are good character concepts and they have hints of interesting story arcs! I like the idea of harry's oldest son being this ridiculously high-energy, sociable, nosy-ass Fred Weasley type popular kid, because — yeah, that's what both of your parents are! of course you're like that! and I really like the idea of [REDACTED MIDDLE CHILD NAME] being a Slytherin with strong moral values, because that's an arc that frankly should have happened in the original books, and it reads like a graceful acknowledgement of how the author mishandled Slytherin House (even if it's kind of dissonant with their behavior in the Battle of Hogwarts, but whatever). Lily we don't have much to go on, but she reads a bit like a young Ginny if she were less shy. but none of that quality changes the fact that these characters shouldn't exist.

authors coming to the end of their first work have trouble letting go of it, especially when that work is long. (even though it was her seventh book, Deathly Hallows was the first time JKR ever had to actually end a "story" as such). they're scared of leaving something out, and I think these long-range time jumps are a reaction to the desire to hold onto these characters as long as possible — to delay the inevitable goodbye, and claim authorship of as much of their characters' lives as possible. the problem is that you don't want to undo the happy ending they've just earned, so you can't realistically portray the tensions and breakups and conflicts that would happen if the characters were left to develop naturally for nineteen years. which is why the epilogue feels false to me.

and the funny thing is, for fans of the "canon" epilogue ships, ending it after the Battle of Hogwarts wouldn't change anything! it's ironic, because in theory you'd want an author to confirm that your pairing gets a big happy wedding, but when a ship is endgame, it's assumed that they have a "happy ever after" anyways. we don't read Percy Jackson and assume that he and Annabeth have an acrimonious divorce in their 40's. we don't wonder (at least, not as serious analysts of the text) if Arwen and Aragorn need to get couples counseling. maybe they do, and maybe they would, but that's not relevant to the story that's being told, and the way the narrative frames it, the "ending" of their story is itself the end of the line for their pairing. the moment you stop writing, they exist in perpetuity as a loving relationship, and you don't need to tell us they get married! they have been immortalized as lovers! harry and ginny would be THE endgame couple of the series whether or not we knew their children's names. they are each others' destiny.

and the end of the day, the problem with the epilogue boils down to this: either their story ends at the battle of hogwarts, or it didn't. if it didn't, then it looks like you have another book to write. and if it did, then it's time to take your hands off the wheel.

[muninnhuginn]

for the ask game, spy x family 🕶💣

Sorry for the delay! I got ambushed by rl and then ambushed myself for several more days and-- anyway, I had to put this under the cut because it got long. Thanks for asking!

my favorite female character

yor yor yor. I like her for a few reasons, but I think the main thing is just generally her main emotional arc thus far. how she wants to 'belong' but how she also needs to 'fit in' and how it also circles around the idea of normality. she thinks she wants to be normal when what she wants is to be accepted. and she knows she needs to be *seen* as normal for safety reasons (sth sth societal commentary even outside of the cold war backdrop) but she doesn't understand *how*. what does it mean to be a mother and to be a wife and what aspects of that does she want to fulfill for herself and which is she just doing because it's part of her cover.

she has all these needs and wants and hasn't yet figured out how to even begin untangling them. and despite that, she's still one of the most emotionally intelligent characters in the series.

my favorite male character

loid. he's the obvious option but still. I always tend to appreciate the anxious types and whilst technically all of the main three have their own little anxiety spirals, loid's way of overcomplicating things is my favourite. he's a very intriguing mix of anxiety, denial, and competence.

I am very much enjoying the length of time it's taking to wear him down. we only got full confirmation he's actively compromised as of the mole arc which is super recent but for me the pacing is just right. he has to earn that character development and be dragged through kicking and screaming.

my favorite book/season/etc

volume 10 (starts with [redacted] arc and has some good handler moments (though I *think* my favourite handler chapter is later on))

my favorite episode (if its a tv show)

genuinely not sure. I do think the very first episode has a really good mix of comedy and earnestness with a hint of the underlying tragedy in growing up during wartime. it spells out everything to expect down the line in a very nicely balanced way

my favorite cast member

I... don't know? I think for Yor's VA this is my favourite role of hers whilst Anya's VA I prefer most as Frieren but like. IDK tbh. Can I skip?

my favorite ship

Not super into shipping in this fandom, but overall, I'd say twiyor. the fact that it's a 'fake' relationship but they enter into it on honest enough terms that they actually make something really healthy for both of them out of it. they each mutually get something out of it too.

yor wants to be useful. she's grown up providing for yuri and now he's gone all she has left is her job, but this 'relationship' and her new family give her the opportunity to *do* something. to defend and protect her people. and to give her someone to confide in, where she's never had that before.

for twilight, he's always been planning and preparing for all possibilities. always acting, never letting anyone see what's beneath, until he had forgotten even himself. one of my fave twiyor moments was in the recent chapter where twilight gets home and immediately his legs give out, because he feels *safe*. he's let his guard down with yor and even if he's worried about being compromised, he let it down because he trusts in her character. the remedy for someone so full of masks is someone devoid of them, and for all that yor is the thorn princess, she has never faked *who* she is.

and tying back to what I was saying about yor and normality before. the fact that loid knows what it's like to pretend means that he's in the position to tell yor that she's good as she is. she doesn't *need* to fake her whole personality to fit in. sure, they both have their covers, but for the large part, what's beneath is genuine.

a character I’d die defending

I think nightfall's character may not be as developed as most people would like at this stage, but the way she's written is very deliberate. she's a compare/contrast with yuri (and also to some extent, with twilight) and she shows how love and obsession intertwine. how *obsession* can be dangerous. the mole arc to me is waving a big red flag above nightfall's head and saying that if she doesn't change something, if she keeps metaphorically diving headfirst in front of twilight, then she's going to end up the one riddled with bullets.

a character I just can’t sympathize with

not that we're likely supposed to but donovan desmond

a character I grew to love

handler! it's not that I ever disliked her as such, but for a long time she just seemed a kind of girlboss-esque character with a neat character design. she had her moments (bond arc speech and also propaganda chapter my beloved), but it wasn't until we had her focus chapter where we followed her day that I was like "oh." Like, I knew that she'd lost her family, but I was falling for the facade that she was on top of everything. And the realisation that she wasn't? That she was deep in depression, but you know who might dig her out of it? Her pet dog and a little girl. Definitely got to me.

my anti otp

anti otp is a bit strong a feeling for it, but I think the way I read damianya differs from a decent chunk of the fandom. I tend to see it as one-sided and am perfectly happy for it to stay that way or for them to just end up becoming better friends down the line, but I know what I'm against here so I'm not going to place any bets.

[josephseedismyfather]

OC Tattoo Tag Game

I was tagged by @inafieldofdaisies, @cassietrn, @g0dspeeed, and @simplegenius042 for this tag! Sorry for the delay!

Harley Jane ❤️

Does your OC have any tattoos? If not, do they want any? Harley does! And she wants more. I'm not sure what I Have for her now is all she will have.

If the answer to both questions above is ‘no’, does your OC enjoy the aesthetic of tattoos? If not, is there a reason why?

How does your OC act while they’re getting a tattoo? Do they grit their teeth and deal with the pain, do they need something to hold onto while getting inked, ect.? Harley chats with the artist. It's painful for her, but worth it. She winced at the clavicle tattoos, but is able to sit well.

Would your OC ever get a face or hand tattoo? Harley's tattoos have meaning to her, so if there was something that was important to her, she'd do it. She'd get a tattoo anywhere. Nothing is off limits for her.

List any of their tattoos/prospective tattoos below. Feel free to add any meaning they may have. She has butterflies on her inner and outer left forearm, an artist pin-up girl on her inner right bicep, and two snakes around each clavicle. All done by [redacted]. She will also be getting a tattoo from John. 👀

Evangeline Rose 💛

Does your OC have any tattoos? If not, do they want any? No, Evangeline does not. She sometimes thinks about it, but is kind of afraid to. She has an image to uphold.

If the answer to both questions above is ‘no’, does your OC enjoy the aesthetic of tattoos? If not, is there a reason why?

How does your OC act while they’re getting a tattoo? Do they grit their teeth and deal with the pain, do they need something to hold onto while getting inked, ect.? n/a

Would your OC ever get a face or hand tattoo? No. She wouldn't even consider it. If/when she gets one, it will be something she can hide. Nothing on arms/legs/neck. She wouldn't want to make clients uncomfortable or deter them from working with the company.

List any of their tattoos/prospective tattoos below. Feel free to add any meaning they may have. No tattoos, but she will also be getting something from John.

I'm sure everybody has been tagged, but I'm tagging you all anyway. Just in case. Apologies for doubles and no pressure as usual: @wrathfulrook, @socially-awkward-skeleton, @trench-rot, @jacobsneed, @vampireninjabunnies-blog, @ladyoriza, @redreart, @hotmessteaparty, @v0idbuggy, @insanityofvaas, @silenthqll, @malefiquinn, @strangefable, @noodlecupcakes, @neverthesameneveranother and anyone else who wants to play! 😘

[formulatrash]

i work in a company that makes *redacted* for tesla and it's a mess, no wonder there's delay 😭

yeeeeeeah. one of the things about Tesla is that from the outside you might be like: lol, exploding spicy meatball cars that try to kill cyclists but that's like, just the surface of what's wrong with Tesla.

they're very poorly manufactured, which is a safety issue because eg: bodywork not fitting together means that 1) it doesn't work properly as a crash structure (so could move in an unexpected way in the case of a crash) 2) it exposes things to the elements. even something as basic as a door seal being badly fitted means that wiring might get exposed to water, at which point it corrodes and then, hey, those doorhandles might not work so well, of course, they might not work so well anyway because the way that Tesla has been getting around the semiconductor crisis is by, instead of waiting for automotive grade chips, using just whatever the hell is available.

doesn't sound good, does it. there is, after all, a reason for using automotive-grade parts in cars; it doesn't mean that they're more powerful than idk, chips for a Switch or something it just means that they're actually tested to an automotive standard and can be expected to perform their functions, in that context, for a minimum amount of time.

there's also other shortcuts, like the wiring harness strip. a wiring harness is basically the car's nervous system, it's tonnes of wiring that goes from every sensor and electronic component back to the main electronic control unit, from lots of ECUs that control specific functions. it's a real pain in the ass for modern cars because with so many sensors on them, you need lots of high-grade copper wiring that's woven complicatedly and so that it's in a safe place for it within the car. anyway, Tesla thought that was boring so stripped a load of that out and started using single ECUs to control multiple functions - so now the thing that used to just control the door handle now also does the window and, idk, whatever else is in a door - the lights or whatever. heated cupholders. whatever fancy pants-ass things people have in cars. anyway, as you can imagine putting more functions through fewer units is not exactly risk-free as a concept and there's a reason no one else does it. also relatedly most other cars do not have doorhandle malfunctions on anything like a notably regular basis.

then there's like: full-self driving is anything but (it's barely autopilot) and the repeated safety recalls and the beta-testing functions on live roads with real people and the randomly swerving into pedestrians and the genuinely disturbing regularity with which batteries turn into flaming cell grenades and the fact that the touchscreens often have critical failures, up to and including leaking sealant all over the car interior and other deeply worrying stuff. and then after all that your boot might be filled with water because the bodywork on your luxury fuckomobile has three-centimetre trim gaps and like: lol, lmao.

ohhhh, disruptiano, etc.

[thatscarletflycatcher]

"You think shipping a victim with her rapist is better than the character being disabled for a while"

Look, if you cannot escape the level of the plain text of the novel to address the meta level that all that happens in the novel are choices the writer made, and you cannot ask why he made them, then you and I are not speaking of the same thing, and will not understand each other.

When you are adapting a text, you need to stick to at least the main plot points of the story. Jonathan Harker goes to Transylvania and becomes the count's prisoner. The count goes to England. Jonathan escapes and marries Mina. Lucy is attacked, killed and turned by Dracula despite the efforts of Van Helsing and the suitors. The suitors kill the bloofer lady. The gang gets together, Mina gets bitten, they destroy the boxes, Dracula flees, the gang pursues him, [redacted].

The fact that Mina gets turned cannot be avoided because her bond with Dracula is what allows the gang to know what he's doing. Bram chose to write it that way. Any of us could have chosen 100 different ways in which Mina doesn't get nerfed the way she does, but then either the plot (not the characterization, the main beats of the plot) changes significantly, not allowing for the ending as-is on its bare bones, or you are left with a character that serves no narrative function.

Characters with little or nothing to do in a plot can be fine in a book, if their inaction is the point because it is telling us something about the character's situation or personality. Lady Middleton in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility is such a character: her whole point is that she's little more than a sexy lamp, insipid and empty.

But inactive characters in movies and series tend to exist only for comedic effect. Unlike in a book, where such character's presence is only noticed when the narrator is focusing on them, in a movie you cannot remove them from the scene. If you are adapting Sense and Sensibility and keeping Lady Middleton, you will have to place her in every family scene, but give her no reaction, no lines, no action, because she doesn't have any in the source material in those scenes. Your only other choice is to change her characterization so as to give her something to do that doesn't disrupt the plot as is. This second route is taken every time Margaret Dashwood appears in an adaptation of S&S; she's given lines and very minor things to do, perhaps something symbolic representing the desires of other characters, but nothing that can change any of the basic plot happening.

Now, here you have Mina. Mina is a crucial character in the first half of the story, a very active character. Reached the end of September, Bram has been left with no idea as to what to do with her because the book cannot end just yet and he cannot bring himself to kill her because of many reasons. So he breaks the characters figurative arms and legs so that she can get bitten and turned and taken off the action (as a side note, I know spoilers and I don't think that justifies or changes it) and then he can manufacture delays to make the action last till November.

You are an adaptor of the book. You are working on a context where emphasizing the purity and fidelity and Victorian sex mores of the work would be read as repressed. The book makes it so that the attacks on Lucy and Mina are about Dracula destroying the morale of British men and taking their women, the ones that can bear children and therefore the future of British culture and society, to destroy it. Dracula himself says it in a line. But that is VERY xenophobic and antisemitic and that shit won't fly on a post wwii world. You cannot make Dracula really the foreigner coming here to rape women and destroy England.

But you also cannot have Mina not being turned and keep the original plot, because then she will be chilling in the background for half the movie with nothing to do, and that creates comedic effect and you need horror and suspense.

Your options are very limited unless you are making an adaptation in name only. So you think:

Oh, I can make at least one of them a reincarnated love of Dracula! I have solved the xenophobia-antisemitism problem (mostly), AND I have removed the implication that Mina's assault is all about getting at the men in her life, AND I have given her the current acceptable version of "she's a white wealthy woman and therefore delicate and in need of being protected at all costs" which is "she's experiencing romance/sexual attraction beyond the constricting barriers of her time and place."

I have said it before, I will say it again: I'm not saying it is a good idea, I'm not shipping it and I'm not saying is unproblematic. What I'm saying is that the mechanics of it make sense, and that the idea doesn't come out of the absolute nowhere, it isn't random and it isn't necessarily about romanticising rape or machismo.

[inkwell-intrigues]

TSTS Annoucement

I was hoping this wouldn't happen. Like, I always knew it could happen -I remember seeing this happen to a bunch of fanfiction writers when I was a kid- but it really sucks.

So, I'm crazy burnt out from writing AND Cuphead has stopped being my current hyperfixation. (I'm also on different medications now- which probably doesn't help.)

Even the thought of Cuphead right now gives me pretty bad stress, because of how far behind I've fallen in writing The Strength and The Sight.

I know I made a post literally a few weeks ago saying that I was back and all that stuff, but... After I sat down and started trying to write I began to realize that not only was I badly burnt out, but also The Strength and The Sight's plot/focus/etc has changed multiple times during the process of me writing it. This has led to a LOT of inconsistencies in terms of the plot, character arcs, and in general, the pacing ended up being all over the place because of it. 

For instance, Chalice is supposed to be one of the main characters, but her role in the story has changed a bunch AND I ended up focusing on her a lot less than characters who were supposed to be side characters- like Ginette. (I love Gin, I swear, but she wasn't supposed to be as big of a focus as she ended up being. -That mainly came about from me getting super obsessed with her character and forgetting my other characters- In multiple chapters, she even overshadows the brothers. Oops. xD)

This all has led me to realize: Even if I wasn't burnt out- I simply cannot continue writing a story that I know has inconsistencies. 

So, does this mean that The Strength and The Sight is over? No. No, it does not.

This post is me announcing that I will NOT be taking a break or canceling the story in the traditional "burnt-out fanfic writer" sense. Instead, I will be REWRITING the entire story- starting with outlining the plot from the beginning in lots of detail and sticking to the plot I set.

This rewritten version will be filled with full-color illustrations, more focused, and A LOT shorter. While mulling over the idea of a rewrite, I realized just how needlessly long TSTS has become. Like, the book which I use as a reference and inspiration, Scythe by Neal Shusterman, is only 102k words, while mine- which is not even halfway done- is 114K. (There are a lot more examples of my word count v.s. other books, but I won't bore you all with those numbers.)

BUT, I don't want to leave you guys in the dark while I begin this intense process of rewriting TSTS. So, instead, I want to continue posting on this current fic as a sort of "journal" of my progress. I know a lot of you guys are writers yourselves, so this could be a super cool opportunity for you guys to see my process and learn some tips and tricks along the way.

My long-term goal is to post a probably 100% finished redone version of The Strength and The Sight when The Cuphead Show is renewed and the new season releases on Netflix. (I'm manifesting so hard, IT WILL BE RENEWED I KNOW IT) Or I'll try and release it if/when Studio MDHR releases another Cuphead thing/game. Whatever comes first.

Until then, I'll be using this as my progress journal. I'll be posting rough sketches (because I'll also be doing updated illustrations!), rough outlines (with redacted spoilers, lol), and more! 

I know this is probably really disappointing. I'm kicking myself quite a bit here and wishing I'd been able to finish TSTS before I got burnt out, but I believe that everything happens for a reason. My hope is that TSTS will be a much better and higher-quality novel because of this rewrite.

Thank you for your patience and I'm truly sorry for all the delays. I promise that I'll do everything I can to make The Strength and The Sight worth the wait.

-- Your Friend, Inkwell Intrigues

[eggheadsguidetorunning]

Discussing Felix: Who He is and What that Means

Felix Graham de Vanily is a wild card of a character in his use and effect on the plot of Miraculous. The result of this is often the fan base having difficulty placing him. I have seen him get a lot of hate for being more loved by the writers than other characters for no determinable reason to him getting oodles of praise for being the only character who does something. Both of these takes seem to often go too far in one direction with both often not giving the writers any credit. It is for that reason that I want to provide a different way of looking at Felix that would seem to clarify both of these mistakes. To do this I would like to go over first the three sentimonsters we know of, and secondly the theming of rebellion around Felix.

So there are three sentimonsters that we know of currently in season 5 and I'm going to not go in great detail of them to avoid spoilers, but those three are: Adrien, Felix, and [redacted character]. You might be able to guess [redacted character] but if you can't or don't want too they are going to stay redacted in this text. Anyway, Felix and Adrien are not revealed but greatly hinted to be sentimonsters in season 4, so I am okay with going over their characters here. What I want to go over is an aspect of sentimonsters that many people forget that being sentimonsters are created by a emotion. Now the better made the sentimonster the less they are controlled by that emotion, but they all are created by an emotion so what is that emotion for Felix and Adrien? For both it is apparent for Adrien it is that of his mothers love for him and, likely, her husband (I have proof of this but I do not want to go too much into it here since this is about Felix not Adrien). For Felix the emotion is desire. Every action we see Felix takes has a start or focus on a desire he has for something. Whether it be the Graham de Vanily rings or the Peacock Miraculous. This is also why it is so much harder to stop him Felix has never once not gotten what he wants in some way or another. Most of his loses, especially in season 4, are more of delays and setbacks then hard loses. This is why stuff happens when Felix shows up not because he is given cart-blanche by the writers but because in order for him to be justified in appearance he has to want something and be doing his best to get whatever it is he wants. This extends past other characters Felix only ever wants something when he appears it is his drive and motive for anything he doesn't care who he hurts, who he has to step over, and who will get in his way. Other characters do care greatly about these things without these limits so far Felix gets what he wants.

Second is Felix is very often represented as a rebel without a cause, or rather a bad rebel. Someone who is able to rebel or wants to rebel against the system but either does not realize what the system is or why it is. Felix just knows there is a system in place and that it has chained him up and beat him like a dog. In return Felix will burn it to ash and anyone associated with it. I personally really like Felix as a rebel because combined with his powerful desires it can lead him into very interesting villain scenarios. For example, thinking that it was for the best what he did at the end of Season 4 even if he does apologize for it. Put on top of that the fact that his mother appears to be part of the British monarch and their is a hard sense of delicious irony there. Felix wants to burn down the system, while often working for the system.

If I am right and this is the way the writers seem to be going and implying with Felix (and I have seen season 5 stuff including Gloob episodes) then Felix is a very very doomed character, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

[theoccritique]

Alright here’s the woman herself

Recently she’s received a huge update since in terms of how long this side blog has been around- she’s one of my oldest ocs

Just a quick note- [Redacted] is used in place of an actual dead name

It’s something the character wouldn’t tell anyone (to quote her “it’s none of your fuckin business) so that’s a reason why I haven’t given her one

Also don’t mind the logo- it’s drawn with a shitty iPhone and one finger

First I'd like to apologize for the delay, life has had me busy, but here I am with the OC rating.

So taking into consideration an AU where women are included in DRB, the basic info up front is nice, first appearance seems simple (not a bad thing) though she's rather tall for a woman, so that stands out.

She seems to be an act first ask question later type of person. Seems like the typical rough exterior and softer on the inside type, she seems to have good intentions at heart.

Her name makes me wonder about where she is from, since it's not a Japanese name. The info does say she's wiped her records, but I wonder why? It seems she had a semi-normal childhood until Chuuoku took over and sounds like her mother went on a power trip. I'd like to know more about why that happened, I am curious.

I am also very curious about how the timeline lines up with Lana and the Party of words, it's hard to picture. Her current age is 29. It's a bit confusing, though it could be just that her age isn't lining up with current cannon time and it's further in the future than current. More details on it would be nice.

She has an interesting ability, I like it. The speakers are fitting for the job she has, that's good. I am having a hard time picturing the mic, but I still think it's fitting to her as a person.

From what I have read, with the information I was given, I'd give her a 6.5/10. I'd like to learn more about her family and past to paint a clearer picture, but I think what there is so far is not bad.

Thanks for sending in the ask!

[angst-in-space]

september ‘22 writing progress

words written: 14.6k

most words written in a day: 2489

least words written in a day: 14

current yearly total: 183.3k

projects worked on:

- revision planning for ya sci-fi book - sylvix pacrim au - finished editing ch 8 of sylvix dreamscape fic - finished a twiyor fic - ...started another twiyor fic - matchablossom fic - worked a little bit on altea rising (i think?)

works published in september:

"we’re so disarming, darling” (spy x family / twiyor)

september goals:

- start next round of revisions on ya sci-fi book - finish editing ch 8 of dreamscape fic….please @ myself pLEASE - work on matchablossom fic - work on twiyor fic - work on sylvix pacrim au - maybe work on altea rising a bit more??

october goals:

- revise roughly the first 15 chapters of my book - start editing the renga fic - maybeee start editing ch 9 of dreamscape fic if i have time - work on matchablossom fic - work on twiyor fic - work on sylvix pacrim au - perhaps work on altea rising a little - start fic for [redacted]

notes:

wow i actually completed pretty much all of my september goals so yippeee!!! as you can see i was kinda chaotically skipping around between projects without finishing much lol... but i did at least finish editing ch 8 of dreamscape fic and handed that off to betas after like...four months of agonizing over it so YAAY hopefully once that’s beta’d i can publish it soon-ish. 

the one thing i didn’t rly accomplish this past month was doing any book revisions buuut it was a bit beyond my control. long story short i was waiting on some feedback from one of my mentorships but it was delayed til very late in the month (for valid reasons) - but i got a lot of helpful notes from my mentors so i am using that to plan my revisions and hopefully will really delve into those soon! and i am starting my second mentorship this month so i am looking forward to that. :) i’m hoping to finish this round of revisions over the remaining months of the year so... crosses my fingers.

in terms of fic, i’m just kinda jumping between wips bc my brain cannot seem to focus on anything lol. but if anything, i really would like to at least start editing the renga fic i finished writing like a year ago bc i feel bad that i still haven’t posted it (and also that editing ch 8 of sylvix dreamscape took so much brain power that i think i need a break before i revise ch 9 lol). otherwise i think i’m just kinda gonna continue wip-hopping and see where inspiration takes me! 

[sweetestpopcorn]

Hi popcorn! Firstly I love your fics, they are such a wild ride lol and you can tell how much effort you’ve put into them. I found it interesting to have the Aegon/Helaena match be suggested by Otto, I’d always imagined it as Alicent’s idea to show their “Targaryen-ness” to the world. In your fic, who was Alicent considering for Argon’s wife instead do you think, since she knew he would someday need a “Queen”. Or was she just not thinking that far ahead lol

Hi there 😊 and sorry for this delay.

Thank you so much for your beyond kind words, and yes, it was much effort 🥲

I do believe the idea came from Otto in canon (Fire&Blood - asoiaf) so I wanted to keep it the same here. Otto was always the "head" behind the Greens, the one actually trying to do something and to move the pieces to first try to name Aegon as heir - before being dismissed in 109 AC - and then trying to name him king - in 129 AC. Alicent was always too preoccupied with finding ways to insult and spread rumours about Rhaenyra - e.g., "Do keep trying, eventually you might get one who looks like you." and "Ser Criston protects the princess from her enemies but who protects the princess from Ser Criston" - but she actually did very little that was useful to their cause. The only thing she actually did that was a smart move was getting Criston Cole to their side, but again, this is painted more as something to spite Rhaenyra, and having a good ally comes second.

I can actually see it being maybe part Otto for wanting to give Aegon a Targaryen wife to have Targaryen children - as noted by Lord Beesbury it did seem like not being full Targaryen/being less Targaryen than Rhaenyra could be used against him so this would be a smart move - and part maybe Eustace who was the court's confessor and liked Aegon as an attempt to get him to behave (i.e., stop sleeping around so much and being so lazy). Indeed, this is posed in "Fire and Blood" as one of the reasons to wed Aegon to Helaena, that being a husband and father could "calm him down" in a sense. Job well failed as we know, but to his credit, we have no evidence of Aegon mistreating Helaena, and actually evidence that he seemed to care for her a little bit (e.g., being jealous when Jacaerys asked to dance with her) and also for his children. He went half mad himself when Jaehaerys died, drinking to numb his pain, so he wasn't an unfeeling monster by any sense.

At the end of the day though, the final decision belonged to the King, but no doubt the Small Council would support this, even because, the vast majority for them with the death of Lord Lyonel Strong in 120 AC where Greens, and this was what Viserys decided. And mind you, he had had a 13 year old wife who had problems in the birthing bed for being bedded to soon, but that didn't stop him from wedding 13 year old Helaena off to Aegon.

Father of the Year 🙄

As for the second part of your question, Aegon was still only 15. I don't think Alicent was considering who he was to marry just yet.

PS: Asoiaf canon and characters only, so please leave the lizard redacted show out of it. Thanks!

[dankusner]

JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION

Withheld documents may hold answers

After independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his campaign and endorsed Donald Trump on Friday, the Republican nominee pledged that if he’s elected to the White House, he will release all the documents related to the 1963 assassination of Kennedy’s uncle.

“This is a tribute in honor of Bobby,” Trump said at a Friday evening rally in the Phoenix area. “I will establish a new independent presidential commission on assassination attempts, and they will be tasked with releasing all of the remaining documents pertaining to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.”

For decades after the killing, many documents related to the event were withheld from the public, spurring conspiracy theories.

The Warren Commission, which was created a week after Kennedy’s death in November 1963, said that gunman Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in Dallas.

But others have continued to question whether Oswald worked with Soviet, Cuban or CIA agents.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told a New York radio station last year that he believes the CIA was involved in his uncle’s murder.

When were the documents supposed to be released?

Congress passed a law more than three decades ago intended to put to rest questions about the assassination by declassifying relevant records, but there remain more than 3,000 documents that still contain redactions, according to the National Archives and Records Administration, leaving some researchers puzzled.

The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 declared that all the documents about the assassination should be made publicly available by October 2017.

However, the law allowed U.S. officials to postpone the release of documents if they thought national security and privacy concerns outweighed the public interest in disclosure.

Roughly 320,000 documents were identified and slated to be declassified after the law passed.

The law was signed the year after the release of director Oliver Stone’s political thriller JFK , a fictional portrayal of a New Orleans district attorney who found evidence of a conspiracy behind Kennedy’s death.

What documents remain hidden?

U.S. officials have cited privacy and national security concerns multiple times for postponing the release of some documents.

When he was president in 2017, Trump announced that he planned to publicly disclose the remaining documents but ultimately delayed the release of some files for national security reasons, saying they would be released by October 2021.

In 2018, Trump authorized the disclosure of 19,045 documents, many of which contained redactions.

In October 2021, President Joe Biden also postponed the planned release of the documents, citing delays prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Temporary continued postponement is necessary to protect against identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or the conduct of foreign relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in immediate disclosure,” Biden said at the time.

Biden released more than 13,000 documents in the following years, but in June 2023, he announced that he had made his “final certification” on files to be released, transferring his power to disclose documents to U.S. agencies.

What revelations have been gleaned from recently released documents?

Tens of thousands of documents were released between 2018 and last year.

The last large batch of released documents came in December 2022, when Biden disclosed 13,173 documents.

Jefferson Morley, the editor of the JFK Facts newsletter, said a few revelations have arisen from those releases.

The documents showed that some CIA employees didn’t believe Oswald acted alone, Morley said, and a counterintelligence official tried to “wait out” the Warren Commission’s investigation by denying it information about Oswald.

Gerald Posner, who wrote the 1993 Kennedy assassination book Case Closed , however, said that many of the recently released documents haven’t revealed a smoking gun.

Some of the documents released since 2022 shed light on Oswald’s actions in the months before the assassination.

One document from June 1962 indicated that Oswald might have been on the CIA’s radar more than a year before Kennedy’s assassination.

Last summer, a newly unredacted copy of a document named the CIA employee who intercepted Oswald’s mail before Kennedy’s murder.

What could we learn from the remaining files?

Morley and Posner said they believe the remaining documents might show that the CIA was aware of Oswald before the assassination.

Morley said the evidence released so far leads him to suspect Kennedy’s opponents in the CIA might’ve been working with Oswald and the remaining documents could prove or disprove that theory.

Posner said he thinks Oswald acted alone and the remaining documents might show the CIA failed to report him to the FBI before the assassination.

A CIA spokesperson told The Washington Post in 2022 that the agency was not withholding information about Oswald or the assassination.

“CIA believes all substantive information known to be directly related to Oswald has been released,” the spokesperson said. Even if all the Kennedy documents are released, Posner said he doesn’t think the conspiracy theories will end.

“Let’s say it doesn’t add to any evidence of a conspiracy in the case,” Posner said about the unreleased information. “People believing in conspiracy will say, ‘Well, see, there you go. They destroyed the real documents.’”