#which mind you he's not just purely evil???? it is stated that he just cannot see exactly WHERE his plan is going wrong

[depvotee]

Okey, I'm going to say this:

I think some of you, only consume Elden Ring (and all souls like) through video essays, lore videos and theories of the game, which mind you nothing inherently wrong with liking the game and consuming it that way, the problem comes when you take these YouTuber's word as gospel when they we're just proposing a theory instead of going ahead and analysing the lore by yourself and coming up with you own conclusions, that's always been the way of these games, everyone sees everything differently and although there's *some* wide spread theories, that doesn't make then canon, so, the moment when something that you don't like/is part of your personal headcanon happens, y'all lose your minds.

[disruptivevoib]

Long Ramble about CCCC and my overall feelings on what the album means and such

Something I find important about CCCC is like.

The fact that all three of them are, in some way, trying.

Heart is emotion, he is prone to himself and being reactionary, in the moment. Prone to the past of learned behavior and trauma. Reactive and rapidly changing. He isn't going to make pure sense because he isn't based in logic or in societal ideals or views. He is an instinctual response to the environment and circumstances. His manipulation is not intentional. He has very little control of himself in the end. Its why Mind talks about claiming to relish entropy yet clearly needing help. But, Heart in earnest wants them to be okay and safe. He believes that Mind's control will drain the life from them. It will make things monotonous and the same. Too much order.

Mind in turn, believes Heart is manipulative with intention. He wants to control Soul or wants to just drag them all down with him into this depressive state. Mind is logic, he is the reasoning out of your emotional instinct. Your inner critique, and when unchecked, that inner critique goes from a guiding hand for your emotion to one that debates and bullies it. Invalidating its responses. Ultimately, though. Mind just believes he is helping. He is doing what must be done and telling the "hard truths" to Heart. And that Heart is being the petty child. Which- I mean. Sort of sure. But Mind is definitely fucking petty and childish. He's stubborn! Prideful! So ofc he is. Admitting you're wrong? No.. why would he EVER do that.. nuh uh.

Which is what makes Light so crucial. Mind asking Heart for help- but also. There is Soul.

Who while ambiguous in purpose, is mostly that background voice. Your inner narration. If Mind is Logic and Reason then Heart is Emotion and Instinct,, Soul is all that lives between it. And he is constantly silenced or spoken over or around. He does not get a word in edgewise until TSE. He may show up in the background occasionally but as much as Heart and Mind claim to want to keep him alive and help him, they also fail to actually acknowledge what he says.

Which is that they both are right and wrong. That this fighting is doing directly what they both feared it would. Soul is desperate by the end. He is angry and resentful because.. well. Self hatred due to intense self awareness and reflection is rather ig. Common. Im not a professional here but from personal experience, you get so tired of rehashing the same shit with yourself over and over. It all feels pointless.

The only out, by the end of it all to Soul is that if they cannot be Whole, whats the point? He is desperate. He does not want to die but he feels theres no other solution.

And. About Whole, Soul throughout the album seems to want that. At the beginning, to be Whole or Harmonious is to be mentally healthy, maybe even "normal" by society's standards. To be able to put a mask over your problems and be, again, "normal". It takes the entire album for Soul to realize that this:

1. isnt possible

And

2. There isn't anything evil or wrong with him for that.

Mental health is a struggle. But you are not evil and should not be othered because you struggle. You also do not need to be fixed for being a little different and people's opinion of you is not what matters most so long as you are happy (and not hurting others. Lol).

Thats what Two Wuv is entirely about as a song. Its a "fuck you. Fuck this! I thought I needed to be this! But I DON'T. Stop telling me who I am! How to be! I'm gonna be me!"

His entire arc is parallel to Heart and Mind's and is crucial in the culmination of becoming yourself again and accepting yourself.

But, as mental health will always be, this period of respite and self acceptance is not always forever. And as life continues or as you lapse back into a depressive episode.. you cannot help but forget what it is like when you're not this way- and hell! Vice versa too! Some people have this disconnect between the periods. Where the things from the depressive state seem dramatic or obtuse to you while you are doing better. And from the other end, you just want to be happy again.. but you get so lost in it all you can struggle to feel like you've ever been happy.

The album is about the human experience. It is about self-sabotage, mental illness, self-hatred and reflection and it is, maybe more importantly about self-acceptance and healing. Having a bit of mercy on yourself. Accepting that you are imperfect and that this is okay. And whatever flaws you may have that need to be mended or worked on, can be. And that who you are, for example, if you are queer, is okay. And no one has the right to take that identity from you! That the internalized ideas of how someone should be are not always correct or right. Not for you, at least. Stuff like that.

[yearningaces]

Declan x reader Defender of Chickens

Disclaimer: Declan is my own OC, he is a Hallewell. He's a fucked up lil guy but we love him

TW: animal death mentioned, decapitation, murder(Not really graphic)

Declan is not a good man.

He isn't a 'man' either, he muses. If he is not a good man though, then he is a creature.

Less than that, he is a Hallewell. He is what good men hope to avoid, and what evil men are stalked by in the darkness before their impending end.

He isn't a good Hallewell either though, he supposes he isn't a 'good' anything. He just is.

However…

As the Hallewell remains knelt on the earth of your doorway, gazing into the night sky above, he supposes he doesn't have to be good. He can simply be yours, instead.

The stars are gone tonight, concealed by clouds in the dark expanse of a night sky far above. The world below lies concealed, offering him the only cover he would ever appreciate. Darkness. Pure and unwavering darkness.

The lights of your home have extinguished at this hour, which is for the best.

Declan remembered when he arrived at your doorstep earlier that evening, finding you to be concealing prior shed tears, he was gentle in his embracing of yourself. His burly form was soft, and tender as he guided you to your bed. Declan was gentle as he tucked you in, shifting the blankets with care, ensuring you were as comfortable as you could be as he sat beside you. 'Who causes you grief? What blood must be shed?' He'd asked, his voice always as it ever is when speaking to you, a low soothing rumble.

The Hallewell's hand twitched on the hilt of his dark sword that was resting in his hands as he remembered how warm your cheek had been in his palm.

'It was nothing of concern', you had told him in such a trembling tone. 'I'm simply being sensitive, worry nothing of this', you had said, and oh how that alone lit a fire in his chest, howling out from the bars of his rib-cage at the thought of anyone telling you that your discomfort, your emotions were to be brushed off. As if unimportant.

At the time though, he only smiled softly, biting back his desire to bare his fangs towards anything and everyone who had ever so much as looked upon your form, as if they were worthy of such a sight as his heart. While stroking your cheek with his thumb, Declan spoke far softer than his lungs demanded. 'I cannot help if you do not say, my heart.'

'It was only the fence for my chickens… I woke this morning to find it was torn, and one of the hens was missing. It was no doubt a predator of some sort, searching for an easy meal…' Declan remembered your expression as you spoke of your small flock. His eyes drifted to the coop and the hen house from where he resided before your doorstep. Those chickens gave you enough eggs for yourself and to sell. You cared for them, so now here he sat upon the earth before your home. Watching over your chickens. Your flock, and by extension his.

His mind drifted once more as your trembling voice remained in his mind, seared into his head as if branded by iron and fire. 'The Fisherman's son came to my stall at the market today, he looked happy as he asked of my chickens, Declan we've never spoken before… I didn't know what he meant but it made me wonder something terribly paranoid.'

Declan considered your uneasy words and tone. You were such a wonderful creature, truly. His lovely human, his own beating heart. He was proud he'd kept face when he was seated before you, not once did his voice rise above a low murmur given your state. 'Alright, my heart, I hear your words. I understand your flock is important to you, and it is important to me,' The Hallewell gazed out to the patched portion of the fence, then to the dark treeline beyond. His attention grasped while the memory of your conversation rings in his head.

'I will watch over your flock tonight,'

Declan stands, silent as the grave he is ready to dig as the rustling of the underbrush grows louder

'But, Declan, it's the middle of winter and there is no guarantee anything would even occur-'

The Fisherman's son -Rory- not that his name matters much to a Hallewell, creeps out from the underbrush.

'It will be alright, my dove. I'll merely remain to watch over your flock.'

Declan stalks towards the boy, no more than his twenties, hands already tearing at the patched fencing, unaware of what is coming in the darkness.

'I will merely be rid of any predator that comes scratching at their coop.'

Rory freezes as his hands grasp the fencing. Feeling his mind screaming in the panic of a trapped animal under the blade.

'I would sooner throw myself into the bottom of the nearest well than let anything happen to your flock that you tend to so diligently.'

The blade swings down before a sound can rise from the now bleeding lungs of the Fisherman's son.

'Your flock is vital to you, is it not? Do your chickens not provide you with eggs, and feathers, and meat, and fertilizers? They are yours and by extension, they are mine to guard.'

Declan tears his sword out of the hot-blooded corpse.

'Allow me to be your guard dog, wont you?'

He strikes again, one swing of the dark metal, and the head is severed.

'Let me do this for you, just for tonight.'

Declan's expression is nothing short of sadistic glee as his smile widens, fangs sharp and eyes alight with the glow of malice and delight. The Fisherman's son, the red-haired hot-blooded fool of a jester at best. He'd often be on the receiving end of Declan's ire due to his subtle disregard for you, your work, your livestock that was often your main resource at the markets you enjoyed setting up a stall at. He'd done this for what? Petty pride? A way to lessen the competition of his own fathers stall? No matter, the answer never was of importance to the Hallewell. Better still, the issue was resolved.

With a quiet 'cluck' of the familiar-sounding hens that approached the commotion, Declan knelt by the fence and looked over at the chickens. "Ladies," He greeted in the way that so often seemed to amuse you. His eyes roamed the animals. Your flock. Something you had deemed important and now such notion was engraved into Declan's very bones as well. These creatures were to be shielded as readily as he did so for you. He knew the notion was one you'd laughed off, but he also knew how attached you were to these feathered things, after all, you cared for him, the wretched feathered thing he was, why not a chicken as well? While he would never understand, he knew you cared greatly for your animals, and as such he would ensure they would remain protected if only so you had no reason to mourn their early passing.

"Your predator is gone, now keep quiet tonight, our solace must be allowed uninterrupted rest." Declan looked down to the still-warm corpse, and reaching down to the severed throat of the Fisherman's son, he tore a strip of flesh, holding it to the fence as one of the hens was close enough to peck at the sliver of meat, grasping on and pulling it into the coop as the small flock gathered for the midnight snack. "Well done, ladies," Declan observed the hens before standing to properly dispose of the body, only so you'd never worry.

When the deed was done, and Declan's stomach sat full, did he finally re-enter your home. His dark sword was placed by the door, freshly cleaned and polished, his heavy boots left behind as he stalked through the dark home with familiarity.

Your room was silent and warm. Blessedly, you laid with peace it appeared to the Hallewell as he stood by your door.

Ever so slowly, Declan approached your bed, feeling as though he was approaching something far more vital than himself. His heart, laid upon blankets and cushions of your own throne as you slept. Declan felt his malice and hatred melting away from the inside of his rib-cage. Your very presence seemed to soothe some inner part of him that he had never previously known to be anything but loathing and ferocity, yet… Seeing your peace, your comfort despite knowing he was so close. You rested, despite knowing of the blood-stained and wretched thing that loomed and lurked within the walls of your own home, laid out within your own nest, content and safe.

Declan felt something in him wrench at the very idea alone, and seeing you, knowing these things… It only drew him closer.

The Hallewell orbited your presence as a devout worshiper would their solace. The brute of a creature, stained with the evil of the world, tainted with the deeds he had relished in, and never once regretted. Yet despite his very nature, you allowed him to be within your temple of gentle touch, and soft words, feeding his yearnings and his howling pleas for something kinder.

He almost didn't know what to do with himself as he edged closer, towards the side of your pristine resting place. Declan slowly, silently lowered himself to his knees before your bed. His hands resting upon the soft blankets, his forehead placed atop his hands. Declan felt his mouth moving without any noise of his silent words rising, in fear of disturbing your slumber. "My heart, my solace, my everything. You will not again have another tarnish the lands you have so diligently tended to. Never will another place their wretched form upon your home, in harm of your own nor yourself. The jester foolish enough to attempt so will never stain your lands, though his blood will feed them. I swear to you, and should another be shameless enough to try, their head will be placed atop a pike and left before the beds of flowers as a message to any other who might wish to do the same. Rest gently, dear dove, I will see to it, I will see to it all."

Declan will remain right where he is, he will not move as if a statue made of stone fit for nothing more than to be a visage of a human guised beast at worship before its personal devinity, and he will hardly breathe as he listens with bated breath for each beat of his own heart that lies within your own chest, whereas his lies only with visions of you.

Rest well.

[a-secret-bolton-vampire]

The Last Dragon: An analysis of Rhaegar Targaryen

Originally I was going to post simply about the amount of hate Rhaegar gets from the fandom and how buck-wild it is. But then I realized it wasn't enough to just push back on, no. I have to write a character study on this guy, because there is just simply so much to address!

Rhaegar to me is one of the most fascinating and complex characters in the series, and definitely among my absolute favourites. He is quite contentious, and my goal here isn't to whitewash him necessarily, or to paint him as the ultimate hero. That's boring and antithetical to what A Song of Ice and Fire is supposed to be. Calling him purely good or purely evil is reductive and makes the story smaller. That said, I hope to address why the hate he gets is odd, and how it completely misses the point of his character.

The Dragon's Honor

A total fucking idiot that deserved to die a far more horrible death than he did. He got off lightly.

Sure. Great guy forced to abandon his wife and children to screw an incredibly stupid vapid self centered idiot in a tower for a year. After he lost his honor at Harrenhal for humiliating his pregnant wife. As for the rest perhaps if Rhaegar weren't such a psychotic ass there would actually still be Starks continuously in Winterfell which was probably the thing to keep the evil in check.

Rhaegar dumped his pregnant wife for a truly stupid 14 year old girl. Anyone who does that is not a good man. And Roberts life was actually more tragic that dear Rhaegar's. Or did you forget what happened to Robert's parents?

Rhaegar was a truly awful father. Worse than Robert. Worse than Tywin. Worse, even, than Craster (who kept half his children alive.)

These are just a select few quotes from fans I found on Reddit in discussion about who Rhaegar was as a person. I do need to clarify that most people seemed to have some kind of nuanced take. But the aggressively negative takes... are aggressively negative. In the end, however, we need to look at the text to see what kind of person he was.

Many of the POVs have had interactions with Rhaegar, which give us our best glimpse into who he was as a person. Even then, there are things that they cannot give us, and we are left with an incomplete picture of what this prince was like when he lived. Ned, Cersei, Jaime, Jon Connington, and Barristan all have met and seen Rhaegar, and we hear more from other characters about him in other POVs.

When we are introduced to Rhaegar, it is through Daenerys's POV, in her very first chapter. We will save that for later, but the next instance is in Eddard's POV, and there we see Robert's views on him.

The king touched her cheek, his fingers brushing across the rough stone as gently as if it were living flesh. "I vowed to kill Rhaegar for what he did to her." "You did," Ned reminded him.

Robert despises Rhaegar with every fiber of his being, even 15 years after he killed him. So much so that it extends to all Targaryens, even to a 14-year old Daenerys and her unborn child.

"Nonetheless," Ned said, "the murder of children … it would be vile … unspeakable …" "Unspeakable?" the king roared. "What Aerys did to your brother Brandon was unspeakable. The way your lord father died, that was unspeakable. And Rhaegar … how many times do you think he raped your sister? How many hundreds of times?" His voice had grown so loud that his horse whinnied nervously beneath him. The king jerked the reins hard, quieting the animal, and pointed an angry finger at Ned. "I will kill every Targaryen I can get my hands on, until they are as dead as their dragons, and then I will piss on their graves."

Robert was in love with Lyanna, the woman he was set to marry. In his mind, because of her kidnapping, Robert believes Rhaegar was a rapist, a monster. In The World of Ice and Fire it is stated exactly how Robert reacted to Rhaegar crowning Lyanna the queen of love and beauty.

Brandon Stark, the heir to Winterfell, had to be restrained from confronting Rhaegar at what he took as a slight upon his sister's honor, for Lyanna Stark had long been betrothed to Robert Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End. Eddard Stark, Brandon's younger brother and a close friend to Lord Robert, was calmer but no more pleased. As for Robert Baratheon himself, some say he laughed at the prince's gesture, claiming that Rhaegar had done no more than pay Lyanna her due...but those who knew him better say the young lord brooded on the insult, and that his heart hardened toward the Prince of Dragonstone from that day forth.

Yet it seems Robert is all but alone in his vilification of Rhaegar. Even Ned, whose sister was supposedly kidnapped and raped by him, doesn't think ill of him.

Suddenly, uncomfortably, he found himself recalling Rhaegar Targaryen. Fifteen years dead, yet Robert hates him as much as ever. It was a disturbing notion...

There was no answer Ned Stark could give to that but a frown. For the first time in years, he found himself remembering Rhaegar Targaryen. He wondered if Rhaegar had frequented brothels; somehow he thought not.

Though Ned doesn't say much else, this line implies that Rhaegar was above visiting brothels, that he did not simply use sex for his own pleasure. In this respect, Rhaegar was quite honourable, which is how most characters remember him. Jorah compares Rhaegar and his younger brother Viserys with a marked contrast.

She shivered. "I woke the dragon, didn't I?" Ser Jorah snorted. "Can you wake the dead, girl? Your brother Rhaegar was the last dragon, and he died on the Trident. Viserys is less than the shadow of a snake."

When Daenerys puts an end to the raping of the Lhazareen, Jorah, again, favourably compares her to Rhaegar.

"As you command." The knight gave her a curious look. "You are your brother's sister, in truth." "Viserys?" She did not understand. "No," he answered. "Rhaegar." He galloped off.

"I am not Viserys." "No," he admitted. "There is more of Rhaegar in you, I think, but even Rhaegar could be slain. Robert proved that on the Trident, with no more than a warhammer. Even dragons can die."

Not only is Daenerys's empathy, kindness, and honour compared to Rhaegar's, she is considered to have the same talent for military strategy as him by both Jorah and Barristan.

"Just so," she agreed. "I think we should attack from three sides. Grey Worm, your Unsullied shall strike at them from right and left, while my kos lead my horse in wedge for a thrust through their center. Slave soldiers will never stand before mounted Dothraki." She smiled. "To be sure, I am only a young girl and know little of war. What do you think, my lords?" "I think you are Rhaegar Targaryen's sister," Ser Jorah said with a rueful half smile. "Aye," said Arstan Whitebeard, "and a queen as well."

In general, Jorah and Barristan constantly praise his honour, bravery, and finding him to be nothing like his father Aerys or his brother Viserys.

"Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, Rhaegar fought honorably. And Rhaegar died."

"Prince Viserys was only a boy, it would have been years before he was fit to rule, and . . . forgive me, my queen, but you asked for truth . . . even as a child, your brother Viserys oft seemed to be his father's son, in ways that Rhaegar never did."

If he had not gone into Duskendale to rescue Aerys from Lord Darklyn's dungeons, the king might well have died there as Tywin Lannister sacked the town. Then Prince Rhaegar would have ascended the Iron Throne, mayhaps to heal the realm. Duskendale had been his finest hour, yet the memory tasted bitter on his tongue. It was his failures that haunted him at night, though. Jaehaerys, Aerys, Robert. Three dead kings. Rhaegar, who would have been a finer king than any of them. Princess Elia and the children. Aegon just a babe, Rhaenys with her kitten. Dead, every one, yet he still lived, who had sworn to protect them. And now Daenerys, his bright shining child queen. She is not dead. I will not believe it.

Even Tywin, someone who cared about prestige but could not be called honourable, believed that Rhaegar would've made a better king than Aerys.

Most of the small council were with the Hand outside Duskendale at this juncture, and several of them argued against Lord Tywin's plan on the grounds that such an attack would almost certainly goad Lord Darklyn into putting King Aerys to death. "He may or he may not," Tywin Lannister reportedly replied, "but if he does, we have a better king right here." Whereupon he raised a hand to indicate Prince Rhaegar.

Barristan tells Daenerys that not only was Rhaegar honourable, he was immensely capable and talented.

"I know little of Rhaegar. Only the tales Viserys told, and he was a little boy when our brother died. What was he truly like?" The old man considered a moment. "Able. That above all. Determined, deliberate, dutiful, single-minded. There is a tale told of him . . . but doubtless Ser Jorah knows it as well."

Rhaegar was also considered a very skilled warrior, but according to Barristan it was not out of joy.

"Prince Rhaegar's prowess was unquestioned, but he seldom entered the lists. He never loved the song of swords the way that Robert did, or Jaime Lannister. It was something he had to do, a task the world had set him. He did it well, for he did everything well. That was his nature. But he took no joy in it. Men said that he loved his harp much better than his lance."

This is a curious thing to remember for later. Rhaegar was not a born fighter, nor was he eager for glory it seemed. He was quite content with being a singer and musician, a private man who loved to read and learn about prophecy. The picture painted is of an honourable, kind, talented, and dutiful man who won people over with ease.

Yet it appears that Rhaegar was perhaps at odds with his family. His relationship with Rhaella and Viserys is not noted upon in the text, but that of his father Aerys is remarked on extensively, and began to fracture after the Defiance of Duskendale.

Once safely returned to King's Landing, His Grace refused to leave the Red Keep for any cause and remained a virtual prisoner in his own castle for the next four years, during which time he grew ever more wary of those around him, Tywin Lannister in particular. His suspicions extended even to his own son and heir. Prince Rhaegar, he was convinced, had conspired with Tywin Lannister to have him slain at Duskendale. They had planned to storm the town walls so that Lord Darklyn would put him to death, opening the way for Rhaegar to mount the Iron Throne and marry Lord Tywin's daughter.

Aerys found ways to insult Rhaegar, such as when he was present for Rhaegar and Elia's firstborn child being shown to the court and refusing to hold her because she "smells Dornish." His madness was apparent to everyone at court, and surely to Rhaegar. There became a clear division at court between Aerys' followers and Rhaegar's followers.

To Grand Maester Pycelle and Lord Owen Merryweather, the King's Hand, fell the unenviable task of keeping peace between these factions, even as their rivalry grew ever more venomous. In a letter to the Citadel, Pycelle wrote that the divisions within the Red Keep reminded him uncomfortably of the situation before the Dance of the Dragons a century before, when the enmity between Queen Alicent and Princess Rhaenyra had split the realm in two, to grievous cost. A similarly bloody conflict might await the Seven Kingdoms once again, he warned, unless some accord could be reached that would satisfy both Prince Rhaegar's supporters and the king's.

If Rhaegar was as learned as people say he was, then he was smart enough to know this as well. And this is why Rhaegar may have tried to find a more peaceful solution to remove Aerys from power. It is mentioned in The World of Ice and Fire that the great tourney at Harrenhal was hosted behind the scenes by Rhaegar for this exact reason.

If this tale be believed, 'twas Prince Rhaegar who urged Lord Walter to hold the tourney, using his lordship's brother Ser Oswell as a gobetween. Rhaegar provided Whent with gold sufficient for splendid prizes in order to bring as many lords and knights to Harrenhal as possible. The prince, it is said, had no interest in the tourney as a tourney; his intent was to gather the great lords of the realm together in what amounted to an informal Great Council, in order to discuss ways and means of dealing with the madness of his father, King Aerys II, possibly by means of a regency or a forced abdication.

It's not just the world book that says this. The main series all but confirms it in a flashback of Jaime's, from right before the Battle of the Trident.

"Your Grace," Jaime had pleaded, "let Darry stay to guard the king this once, or Ser Barristan. Their cloaks are as white as mine." Prince Rhaegar shook his head. "My royal sire fears your father more than he does our cousin Robert. He wants you close, so Lord Tywin cannot harm him. I dare not take that crutch away from him at such an hour." Jaime's anger had risen up in his throat. "I am not a crutch. I am a knight of the Kingsguard." "Then guard the king," Ser Jon Darry snapped at him. "When you donned that cloak, you promised to obey." Rhaegar had put his hand on Jaime's shoulder. "When this battle's done I mean to call a council. Changes will be made. I meant to do it long ago, but . . . well, it does no good to speak of roads not taken. We shall talk when I return."

It's quite clear that Rhaegar was actively trying to avoid war in the first place, instead finding more diplomatic and peaceful ways to resolve such matters. He knew that his father was dangerous, and had plans to deal with him. The fact he wanted to call a great council to remove him meant that he was going to avoid more direct and quicker actions such as kinslaying and costly matters, and cared about optics and doing things through the proper channels.

"The Others take your honor!" Robert swore. "What did any Targaryen ever know of honor? Go down into your crypt and ask Lyanna about the dragon's honor!"

Robert Baratheon believed that Rhaegar had no honour, that he was a cheat, a brute, a rapist. Ironically, all things Robert is. But Robert is alone in believing this. Through his actions, and what others remember of him, Rhaegar did in fact have honour. The dragon's honour was notable to all, and was part of why people were drawn to him so easily.

Smoke and Salt, A Bleeding Star, A Promised Prince

Rhaegar wasn't always the gallant prince he is remembered as. That warrior once beloved by all was at first a quiet boy, buried deep in scrolls and writings.

"As a young boy, the Prince of Dragonstone was bookish to a fault. He was reading so early that men said Queen Rhaella must have swallowed some books and a candle whilst he was in her womb. Rhaegar took no interest in the play of other children. The maesters were awed by his wits, but his father's knights would jest sourly that Baelor the Blessed had been born again. Until one day Prince Rhaegar found something in his scrolls that changed him. No one knows what it might have been, only that the boy suddenly appeared early one morning in the yard as the knights were donning their steel. He walked up to Ser Willem Darry, the master-at-arms, and said, 'I will require sword and armor. It seems I must be a warrior.'"

Whatever Rhaegar found, it had a major impact on him, to change trajectory so drastically. Something that he was absolutely convinced of its validity. Rhaegar is put forward both out of and in universe as a candidate for the messianic prince that was promised, and it appears this is exactly what Rhaegar read in his scrolls. Not only that, but Rhaegar was in contact with his great-grand uncle, Maester Aemon, and he believed that Rhaegar also was the prince that was promised.

"No one ever looked for a girl," he said. "It was a prince that was promised, not a princess. Rhaegar, I thought . . . the smoke was from the fire that devoured Summerhall on the day of his birth, the salt from the tears shed for those who died. He shared my belief when he was young, but later he became persuaded that it was his own son who fulfilled the prophecy, for a comet had been seen above King's Landing on the night Aegon was conceived, and Rhaegar was certain the bleeding star had to be a comet. What fools we were, who thought ourselves so wise! The error crept in from the translation. Dragons are neither male nor female, Barth saw the truth of that, but now one and now the other, as changeable as flame. The language misled us all for a thousand years. Daenerys is the one, born amidst salt and smoke. The dragons prove it." Just talking of her seemed to make him stronger. "I must go to her. I must. Would that I was even ten years younger."

Rhaegar then changed his tune, and believed Aegon was the prince that was promised, which is noted in the vision Dany has of him in the House of the Undying.

Viserys, was her first thought the next time she paused, but a second glance told her otherwise. The man had her brother's hair, but he was taller, and his eyes were a dark indigo rather than lilac. "Aegon," he said to a woman nursing a newborn babe in a great wooden bed. "What better name for a king?" "Will you make a song for him?" the woman asked. "He has a song," the man replied. "He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire." He looked up when he said it and his eyes met Dany's, and it seemed as if he saw her standing there beyond the door. "There must be one more," he said, though whether he was speaking to her or the woman in the bed she could not say. "The dragon has three heads." He went to the window seat, picked up a harp, and ran his fingers lightly over its silvery strings. Sweet sadness filled the room as man and wife and babe faded like the morning mist, only the music lingering behind to speed her on her way.

There is much and more we do not know of this, as we are fed only the barest scraps, so this is analysis is admittedly quite speculative. "The dragon has three heads" is a repeated phrase, and Jorah compares it to the sigil of House Targaryen, created to symbolize Aegon, Rhaenys, and Visenya when they conquered Westeros. As such, he and Daenerys believe that because Dany hatched three dragons, each head of the dragon is a dragonrider. But in Rhaegar's time there were no dragons. It's possible he read scrolls about the dragons returning (as Aerys I did) but we can't be certain. What it actually means is not of importance here, but rather what Rhaegar thought it meant.

Recently we learned George is on record as saying that Aegon the Conqueror was a dreamer, and that it was what drove him to conquer Westeros. The dream was of the Long Night, and Aegon wanted to unify Westeros to be prepared for this existential threat. The fact "the dragon has three heads" is tied to the prince that was promised, and the new Westerosi banner of the Targaryens was a three headed dragon is not som ething to easily dismiss. Though House of the Dragon isn't book canon, it's got the best insight into what it might mean.

According to Viserys, the dream Aegon had was given a name; the song of ice and fire. Is this what Rhaegar is referring to? Aegon's dream? It might make sense. According to Ryan Condal, this plot point is going to come out at some point, which implies this will be revealed in the main plot. Was Aegon's dream written down as Daenys's were, but kept secret, locked away somewhere, their significance forgotten? Perhaps even the fact it was from Aegon was not a certainty? We can't know, but it would explain a few things.

Alternatively, the song of ice and fire was from a different source, such as the Rhoynish legend of the Long Night.

Lomas Longstrider, in his Wonders Made by Man, recounts meeting descendants of the Rhoynar in the ruins of the festival city of Chroyane who have tales of a darkness that made the Rhoyne dwindle and disappear, her waters frozen as far south as the joining of the Selhoru. According to these tales, the return of the sun came only when a hero convinced Mother Rhoyne's many children—lesser gods such as the Crab King and the Old Man of the River—to put aside their bickering and join together to sing a secret song that brought back the day.

The secret song of the Rhoynish may be the song of ice and fire, and given Rhaegar's wife Elia was a descendant of the Rhoynar it may have influenced his thinking. Yet this still does not answer what Rhaegar believed the three heads of the dragon meant. His firstborn daughter was named Rhaenys, and his firstborn son was named Aegon, two names of the conquerors. However, it doesn't make much sense that he was actually trying to recreate the original three heads. Visenya was the oldest, Rhaenys the youngest, so why wasn't she named Visenya?

Another theory is that Rhaegar was obsessed with naming one of his sons Aegon, but again, we have no indication of this. All the vision says is that Aegon is a good name for a king, and since he was Rhaegar's heir and Rhaegar was Aerys's. So of course he expected him to be king, and Aegon is the most common name for Targaryen kings. The idea that he felt he needed to have a son named Aegon no matter what seems like a gross misreading of what he's saying in the vision.

Rhaegar was called "the last dragon." From a literary standpoint, one can draw a line between the mention of "last dragon" and "the dragon's three heads." If this is true, Rhaegar was the dragon, and his children were the three heads. Mentioning Aegon as the prince that was promised and saying "there must be one more" points to this. If he was no longer the prince that was promised, then he may have wanted to focus more on preparing his children for the coming return of the Others and the War for the Dawn.

Another consideration to take in is the manner of Rhaegar's birth. He was born during the tragedy of Summerhall, where King Aegon V gathered his family to do a ritual to hatch dragon eggs. Instead, something went horribly wrong, and instead the palace burnt. The only survivors (that we know of) were Jaehaerys, Aerys, and Rhaella. Rhaella was pregnant at the time, and as the inferno reduced the palace to a hollowed, smoking husk, she gave birth to Rhaegar.

Jaehaerys II is an interesting figure to say the least. He was very much conservative compared to Aegon V's more progressive approach to Targaryen politics. Aegon wanted to do away with the tradition of incest, but Jaehaerys went ahead and married his sister Shaera, also breaking a betrothal with a Tully girl. One of Aegon's other sons, Prince Duncan, married the peasant girl Jenny of Oldstones. Jenny's best friend was a woods witch, and she may have had pertinent information on the prince that was promised, as Barristan tells Daenerys when talking about why her parents married.

"Why did they wed if they did not love each other?" "Your grandsire commanded it. A woods witch had told him that the prince was promised would be born of their line." "A woods witch?" Dany was astonished. "She came to court with Jenny of Oldstones. A stunted thing, grotesque to look upon. A dwarf, most people said, though dear to Lady Jenny, who always claimed that she was one of the children of the forest."

Rhaegar is far from the only one who was driven by prophecy, it would seem. If Barristan knew this, it's almost certain that Rhaegar did as well. This may have contributed to him believing he was the promised prince.

Rhaegar's birth had a profound impact on him. Though he was loved by all, those close to him knew that he was a melancholy person, and he was known to have visited the ruins of Summerhall.

"He was born in grief, my queen, and that shadow hung over him all his days." Viserys had spoken of Rhaegar's birth only once. Perhaps the tale saddened him too much. "It was the shadow of Summerhall that haunted him, was it not?" "Yes. And yet Summerhall was the place the prince loved best. He would go there from time to time, with only his harp for company. Even the knights of the Kingsguard did not attend him there. He liked to sleep in the ruined hall, beneath the moon and stars, and whenever he came back he would bring a song. When you heard him play his high harp with the silver strings and sing of twilights and tears and the death of kings, you could not but feel that he was singing of himself and those he loved."

Being born during a great tragedy is sure to have a big impact on someone. The ritual to hatch the dragon eggs failed, and countless lost their lives. It's no surprise something like that would leave one with a belief that this had to have happened for a reason, that their survival meant something. So him latching onto prophecy may have been one way of dealing with the trauma.

But another thing to note is that Rhaegar went alone. Entirely alone. Not even with the Kingsguard. All he brought was his harp. Summerhall was his quiet place where he could focus and be creative about his true passion; song. The woods witch who was a friend of Jenny's appears later in the main series, where she is said to have "gorge on grief" at Summerhall. One of her favourite songs that she always wants played to her is Jenny's song, of her dear friend she lost. Rhaegar could very well have met up with the witch and learned more about the prophecy from her. He may have even been the one who wrote Jenny's song.

As we've established, Rhaegar was not one eager for praise and glory. Fighting and war was not his passion, but a duty he felt had to be bestowed upon him by fate. His true love was for song and reading, for romance and love. I strongly believe he did not follow this prophecy out of ego, but rather to fill a part of his heart that was missing from Summerhall. He gave up on his own interests to fulfill a destiny he felt was preordained to him, to try to prepare to save the world from the complete annihilation of light and warmth and life. He was a doomed figure, whose destiny was only ever going to end in tragedy, yet he tried all the same.

Duty and Honour

Thus far I've been rather positive about Rhaegar. He has many positive qualities to him, and he appears to have been a good man who tried to do what he felt was necessary for the betterment of the world. But this is A Song of Ice and Fire. Characters are rarely that perfect and good. As noble as Rhaegar may have been, he was also human, imperfect and flawed, did good and bad things, and had passions that led to tragedy for many in Westeros.

Rhaegar did not marry Elia out of love. It was duty. After the failure to find a bride of pure Valyrian blood for him to marry in Essos, and the plan for Elia marrying Jaime Lannister dying with Joanna, Rhaegar eventually married Elia. Elia is noted as being frail and had many health issues, but was sweet and kind and witty. Their relationship has not been fully realized, but the little we do know paints it as a complex one.

"Princess Elia was there, his wife, and yet my brother gave the crown to the Stark girl, and later stole her away from her betrothed. How could he do that? Did the Dornish woman treat him so ill?" "It is not for such as me to say what might have been in your brother's heart, Your Grace. The Princess Elia was a good and gracious lady, though her health was ever delicate." Dany pulled the lion pelt tighter about her shoulders. "Viserys said once that it was my fault, for being born too late." She had denied it hotly, she remembered, going so far as to tell Viserys that it was his fault for not being born a girl. He beat her cruelly for that insolence. "If I had been born more timely, he said, Rhaegar would have married me instead of Elia, and it would all have come out different. If Rhaegar had been happy in his wife, he would not have needed the Stark girl."

"Her duty." The word felt cold upon her tongue. "You saw my brother Rhaegar wed. Tell me, did he wed for love or duty?" The old knight hesitated. "Princess Elia was a good woman, Your Grace. She was kind and clever, with a gentle heart and a sweet wit. I know the prince was very fond of her." Fond, thought Dany. The word spoke volumes. I could become fond of Hizdahr zo Loraq, in time. Perhaps.

George described their relationship similarly as "complex." The two did not love each other. They did not seem to hate each other, but there was no passion there. Dany compares her impending marriage to Hizdahr to Rhaegar's marriage to Elia, and marrying Hizdahr would be her doing her duty to the people rather than following her love.

Yet it cannot be forgotten the way Rhaegar did treat Elia. It may have been happy enough in the beginning, but I personally find it increasingly difficult to speak in defense of Rhaegar and his treatment of Elia as time goes on. It all starts at Harrenhal, when Rhaegar won the tournament.

Robert had been jesting with Jon and old Lord Hunter as the prince circled the field after unhorsing Ser Barristan in the final tilt to claim the champion's crown. Ned remembered the moment when all the smiles died, when Prince Rhaegar Targaryen urged his horse past his own wife, the Dornish princess Elia Martell, to lay the queen of beauty's laurel in Lyanna's lap. He could see it still: a crown of winter roses, blue as frost.

To anyone who says that the Dornish are fine with paramours and non-monogamy, and Elia might not have had any issue with this, here is what George himself said when providing feedback to an artist recreating this scene.

We’ve always imagined that the perfect image of the tourney at Harrenhal would kind of let you pick out all these figures in the stands, each with their different reactions when “the smiles died”. Jon Arryn and Robert and Lord Hunter joking a moment before what was happening dawned on them, Ned watching as Rhaegar was about to stop in front of his sister (who must have been seated quite close), mad Aerys glowering in the distance, Elia stiff-backed and trying to act as if nothing was wrong, Jon Connington probably looking vaguely sad (read: jealous), and so on.

That's not the reaction you have if you are okay with your husband passing you over for another woman. Non-monogamy, polyamory, that's one thing. Passing your wife and openly declaring for another women is just not that. Then of course you have arguably an event that helped contribute to war breaking out, which is Rhaegar's (alleged) kidnapping of Lyanna.

Rhaegar left his wife, his young daughter, and his newborn son all alone to elope with another woman. Elia could not have been happy about this. Rhaegar is one of my favourite characters, and I may have more than a slight crush on the guy, but even I have to admit this is not his finest hour. Elia was Rhaegar's duty, so it's not as though these two had a whirling epic romance. But both politically and personally, this is not how you treat your family. He didn't just abandon his wife, he abandoned his children. As reference, I would like to compare Rhaegar's struggles with love and duty with another character, one whose entire character could be defined by this; his son Jon Snow.

In A Dance with Dragons, Jon is stuck between two choices. The first is the love he has for his family, the desire to get vengeance for the wrongs done to them. The second is the duty he has sworn to the Night's Watch, to hold the Wall and prepare for the eventual invasion of the Others. He tries to ride a fine line between the two, but ultimately he gives into his desires, and chooses love by planning to go to war with Ramsay Bolton. He is then promptly killed by his officers for forsaking his vows.

This single action has yet to see its consequences, but none of it can be good. With Jon dead, peace between the Night's Watch and the free folk is very unlikely. War will break out and people will kill each other as the white walkers gain more strength and power outside the Wall. All the progress he has made, giving Alys Karstark sanctuary and promising her to a free folk husband, even the safety of Stannis's family, is at risk.

Jon is absolutely his fathers son. Rhaegar's duty is to be a faithful husband to Elia and a good father to their children, and to prepare the realm for the invasion of the Others. However, his love is for Lyanna, for song and romance. He tries to have it both ways; crowns Lyanna at Harrenhal, has another child with Elia. But in the end his heart won out, and he left Elia for Lyanna. Like Jon, this action led to a series of domino effects that led to open war, the death of his dynasty, and the death of Elia, his children, Lyanna, and finally himself.

Rhaegar may have been a mostly honourable, dutiful person, but he had a romantic, passionate side to him and his judgment was not always perfect. Like Jon, I do not believe Rhaegar ever thought his actions would lead to something this terrible. Jon did not think about what him dying would lead to. He believes he did not need his officers anymore. He was angry, disillusioned with the Night's Watch, and focused on revenge. It never entered his mind that the officers would kill him when he had just gotten the free folk to his side.

It's easy to say in hindsight that it would for Rhaegar, but characters are not omniscient. Running off without a word is reckless and impulsive, but it's not like they knew that Brandon would be similarly reckless, or that Aerys would do something as brazen and mad as executing Lyanna's father and brother without trial. Was it potentially short-sighted? Probably. Is it reasonable to assume they knew this series of events would happen and they didn't care? Not particularly. Characters are not readers.

A Love-Struck Prince

No discussion about Rhaegar is complete without Lyanna. The nature of their relationship is extremely contentious and the subject of much controversy. For one it is still not exactly clear with the published material if it was consensual, and even if it was, there is the rather concerning age-gap; Rhaegar as a young man, and Lyanna as a teenager. This discussion is not exactly one I'm comfortable with because it becomes a total shit-show so quickly. Either you call Rhaegar a pedophile and a rapist but conveniently ignore that Robert lusted after Lyanna as well, or you try to defend it by saying "it's just the times" (not true, medieval marriages were not this young).

What I'll say on the matter is that George definitely has an issue with what he considers romantic. He's been on the record as thinking that the wedding night between a 30-year old Khal Drogo and 13-year old Daenerys was a "consensual seduction," so I won't be surprised if he genuinely thinks this is a perfectly fine relationship. None of the ages in the books make sense, George knows he is bad at numbers. If we remember how young some of the characters are it gets to the point of ridiculousness and also makes literally every single character unsympathetic and terrible.

It's a massive flaw in an otherwise brilliant series. I personally use headcanon and death of the author for something like this, but not everyone does. That said, the fact that Lyanna was so young does leave the idea this was consensual a little unsettling to me. Yet, I also wholeheartedly believe that George is going to portray this as a consensual mutual, epic romance. The signs are literally everywhere.

We hear repeatedly about how Rhaegar loved Lyanna. Even Dany, who acknowledges that Rhaegar "kidnapped" her, thinks it was romantic. But the fact Rhaegar loves her is quite clear. The characters all universally agree (except Robert, of course) on this. However, it's not just because of what the characters say, characters can be wrong. George has called Rhaegar a "love-struck prince," and the companion World of Ice and Fire app (approved by Martin) says that in the Undying vision of Rhaegar dying, the name he whispers as he dies is "Lyanna."

But there is even more reason to believe this, and to believe that Lyanna also loved Rhaegar back. In fact, we have four different stories that all allude to Rhaegar and Lyanna, and provide insight into what we might expect. The first two come from the Dance of the Dragons, in Fire and Blood.

But we turn to Mushroom to find the tales other chronicles omit, nor does he fail us now. His account introduces a young maiden, or “wolf girl” as he dubs her, with the name of Sara Snow. So smitten was Prince Jacaerys with this creature, a bastard daughter of the late Lord Rickon Stark, that he lay with her of a night. On learning that his guest had claimed the maidenhead of his bastard sister, Lord Cregan became most wroth, and only softened when Sara Snow told him that the prince had taken her for his wife. They had spoken their vows in Winterfell’s own godswood before a heart tree, and only then had she given herself to him, wrapped in furs amidst the snows as the old gods looked on.

A Targaryen prince marries a Stark girl in secret before a heart tree out of love. Of course it's a Mushroom tale, and Mushroom is the Rudy Guliani of Westeros, but the idea this is supposed to harken back to Rhaegar and Lyanna is reinforced by the other secret marriage of the Dance; Aemond and Alys Rivers.

The “witch queen” of Harrenhal had proved to be none other than Alys Rivers, the baseborn wet nurse who had been the prisoner and then paramour of Prince Aemond Targaryen, and now claimed to be his widow. The boy was Aemond’s, she told the knight. “His bastard?” said Ser Regis. “His trueborn son and heir,” Alys Rivers spat back, “and the rightful king of Westeros.” She commanded the knight to “kneel before your king” and swear him his sword. Ser Regis laughed at this, saying, “I do not kneel to bastards, much less the baseborn whelp of a kinslayer and a milk cow.”

Alys Rivers claims to have the trueborn son of Aemond, which means they married. Her son is believed to be a bastard by everyone, not even a king, since nobody was really in witness to this marriage. Yet this does seem like foreshadowing for Jon's parentage eventually becoming public. Some people will simply laugh it out of court, or continue to call him a bastard, refuse to acknowledge him as king. But some people might also believe he actually is Rhaegar's trueborn son. Alys and Aemond in a way seem like dark mirrors of Lyanna and Rhaegar. Even the armour of Rhaegar and Aemond are described similarly, so this is definitely not accidental.

Seventeen and new to knighthood, Rhaegar Targaryen had worn black plate over golden ringmail when he cantered onto the lists.

Vhagar had come at last, and on her back rode the one-eyed prince Aemond Targaryen, clad in night-black armor chased with gold.

The third story might just about settle any debate on whether Rhaegar and Lyanna were both in love. This one comes directly from Jon's POV, which makes it especially significant.

"Well, long before he was king over the free folk, Bael was a great raider. The Stark in Winterfell wanted Bael's head, but never could take him, and the taste o' failure galled him. One day in his bitterness he called Bael a craven who preyed only on the weak. When word o' that got back, Bael vowed to teach the lord a lesson. So he scaled the Wall, skipped down the kingsroad, and walked into Winterfell one winter's night with harp in hand, naming himself Sygerrik of Skagos. Sygerrik means 'deceiver' in the Old Tongue, that the First Men spoke, and the giants still speak. North or south, singers always find a ready welcome, so Bael ate at Lord Stark's own table, and played for the lord in his high seat until half the night was gone. The old songs he played, and new ones he'd made himself, and he played and sang so well that when he was done, the lord offered to let him name his own reward. 'All I ask is a flower,' Bael answered, 'the fairest flower that blooms in the gardens o' Winterfell.' Now as it happened the winter roses had only then come into bloom, and no flower is so rare nor precious. So the Stark sent to his glass gardens and commanded that the most beautiful o' the winter roses be plucked for the singer's payment. And so it was done. But when morning come, the singer had vanished . . . and so had Lord Brandon's maiden daughter. Her bed they found empty, but for the pale blue rose that Bael had left on the pillow where her head had lain. Lord Brandon had no other children. At his behest, the black crows flew forth from their castles in the hundreds, but nowhere could they find any sign o' Bael or this maid. For most a year they searched, till the lord lost heart and took to his bed, and it seemed as though the line o' Starks was at its end. But one night as he lay waiting to die, Lord Brandon heard a child's cry. He followed the sound and found his daughter back in her bedchamber, asleep with a babe at her breast. They had been in Winterfell all the time, hiding with the dead beneath the castle. The maid loved Bael so dearly she bore him a son, the song says . . . though if truth be told, all the maids love Bael in them songs he wrote. Be that as it may, what's certain is that Bael left the child in payment for the rose he'd plucked unasked, and that the boy grew to be the next Lord Stark. So there it is—you have Bael's blood in you, same as me. The song ends when they find the babe, but there is a darker end to the story. Thirty years later, when Bael was King-beyond-the-Wall and led the free folk south, it was young Lord Stark who met him at the Frozen Ford . . . and killed him, for Bael would not harm his own son when they met sword to sword. When Lord Stark returned from the battle and his mother saw Bael's head upon his spear, she threw herself from a tower in her grief."

Very long quote, abridged somewhat, but very significant to Jon's backstory. Bael seemingly had kidnapped this Stark girl and raped her, and later got what he deserved when he is killed by a Stark lord. Except that Bael and the Stark woman were in love, as evidenced by the grief she felt when she learned he was dead. There is even Bael's son being raised as a Stark and not knowing who his true father was, just like with Jon.

Finally, we only need to look into the Targaryens a single generation prior to find more allusions to Rhaegar and Lyanna.

Aegon's eldest son Duncan, Prince of Dragonstone and heir to the throne, was the first to defy him. Though betrothed to a daughter of House Baratheon of Storm's End, Duncan became enamored of a strange, lovely, and mysterious girl who called herself Jenny of Oldstones in 239 AC, whilst traveling in the riverlands. Though she dwelt half-wild amidst ruins and claimed descent from the long- vanished kings of the First Men, the smallfolk of surrounding villages mocked such tales, insisting that she was only some half-mad peasant girl, and perhaps even a witch. It was true that Aegon had been a friend to the smallfolk, had practically grown up among them, but to countenance the marriage of the heir to the throne to a commoner of uncertain birth was beyond him. His Grace did all he could to have the marriage undone, demanding that Duncan put Jenny aside. The prince shared his father's stubbornness, however, and refused him. Even when the High Septon, Grand Maester, and small council joined together to insist King Aegon force his son to choose between the Iron Throne and this wild woman of the woods, Duncan would not budge. Rather than give up Jenny, he foreswore his claim to the crown in favor of his brother Jaehaerys, and abdicated as Prince of Dragonstone. Even that could not restore the peace, nor win back the friendship of Storm's End, however. The father of the spurned girl, Lord Lyonel Baratheon of Storm's End—known as the Laughing Storm and famed for his prowess in battle—was not a man easily appeased when his pride was wounded. A short, bloody rebellion ensued, ending only when Ser Duncan of the Kingsguard defeated Lord Lyonel in single combat, and King Aegon gave his solemn word that his youngest daughter, Rhaelle, would wed Lord Lyonel's heir.

Prince Duncan the Small, son of Aegon V, was betrothed to a Baratheon girl. He spurned her in favour of a girl who was known to wear flowers in her hair. The aggrieved Lord Baratheon rose in rebellion, and many died. Lyanna was betrothed to Lord Baratheon. She is noted to not have loved Robert, telling Ned that even if he loved her it would not change his nature. Ned also believes that Robert never really loved her, saying he only "saw her beauty, but not the iron underneath."

Lyanna is also known to have loved winter roses, and Jenny wore flowers in her hair. Her and Rhaegar disappearing led to an aggrieved Lord Baratheon rising in bloody rebellion. Duncan and Jenny married without anyones leave but their own, so this is the third love story with a secret marriage between Targaryen princes and women of First Men descent. It's rather quite in our face.

Finally, George Martin himself is a huge romantic, not a nihilist. Rhaegar simply kidnapping Lyanna, locking her up, having a magic prophecy baby via rape, and then dying with her name on his lips is not romantic, it's nihilistic. Besides, I do not believe that Rhaegar eloping with Lyanna was because of prophecy. In fact, and possibly hot take, but I think Rhaegar eloping with Lyanna because of prophecy ruins this dichotomy of love vs. duty that he shares with his son.

If he groomed Lyanna to be with him and have a magic child of prophecy to save the world, then that would be him doing his duty (as he would see it). Yet, we also know that Elia was his duty, so thematically it feels a bit strange for Rhaegar to abandon his duty so he could focus on... his duty again? Did prophecy maybe motivate his actions with Lyanna a little bit? Sure, but it was not the primary reason. Thematically it makes much more sense for George, a romantic, to have one of the reasons for Robert's Rebellion to occur because Rhaegar, a love-struck prince, foreswore his duty to others by choosing love for himself. In fact we see Barristan go through the many wars of Westeros and how many have been started by forbidden love, with Rhaegar and Lyanna being lumped in together with the rest.

Better for Daenerys, and for Westeros. Daenerys Targaryen loved her captain, but that was the girl in her, not the queen. Prince Rhaegar loved his Lady Lyanna, and thousands died for it. Daemon Blackfyre loved the first Daenerys, and rose in rebellion when denied her. Bittersteel and Bloodraven both loved Shiera Seastar, and the Seven Kingdoms bled. The Prince of Dragonflies loved Jenny of Oldstones so much he cast aside a crown, and Westeros paid the bride price in corpses. All three of the sons of the fifth Aegon had wed for love, in defiance of their father's wishes. And because that unlikely monarch had himself followed his heart when he chose his queen, he allowed his sons to have their way, making bitter enemies where he might have had fast friends. Treason and turmoil followed, as night follows day, ending at Summerhall in sorcery, fire, and grief.

Rhaegar did not simply do something like this because he was horny for Lyanna. As we've established, Ned believing Rhaegar never frequented brothels shows he is a man whose desires were ruled not by his libido, but by his heart. The best idea for why Rhaegar fell in love with Lyanna is that he discovered she was the Knight of the Laughing Tree. Wild, willful, beautiful, but iron underneath. Rhaegar loved and understood Lyanna more than Robert ever could or did.

The Wedding of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark

As briefly as I can (and I'm not good at being brief) I want to explain how Rhaegar and Lyanna wed, and address one of the most common pushbacks against the secret marriage theory. There are two ways in which Rhaegar could've married someone else. The first is via polygamy, with Lyanna as his second wife. This may make sense given there is historical precedent, but as we've seen, Rhaegar did care somewhat for going through proper channels. Polygamy would not be one such way to do it, and indeed the marriage would be seen as illegitimate on the face of it.

The other, presented by the TV show, and one that I favour, is that Rhaegar received an annulment from his marriage to Elia. Though there is this prevailing attitude that this would automatically make his children with Elia bastards, there is real life precedent where annulling a marriage with children did, in fact, not change their legitimate status.

Annulment of marriage does not currently change the status of legitimacy of children born to the couple during their putative marriage, i.e., between their marriage ceremony and the legal annulment of their marriage. For example, canon 1137 of the Roman Catholic Church's Code of Canon Law specifically affirms the legitimacy of a child born to a marriage that is declared null following the child's birth.

In addition, the daughters born from the marriage of Elaenor of Aquitaine and King Louis VII were not bastardized when they annulled their marriage.

On 21 March, the four archbishops, with the approval of Pope Eugene, granted an annulment on grounds of consanguinity within the fourth degree; Eleanor was Louis' third cousin once removed, and shared common ancestry with Robert II of France. Their two daughters were, however, declared legitimate. Children born to a marriage that was later annulled were not at risk of being "bastardised," because "[w]here parties married in good faith, without knowledge of an impediment, ... children of the marriage were legitimate."

Though the circumstances with Rhaegar and Elia are different, the precedent for such a thing is very much out there in the real world, and there's little to doubt that such a thing could occur in A Song of Ice and Fire. There are any number of grounds for an annulment between the two; Rhaegar could insist that because Elia cannot have anymore children, there is no point for the marriage to exist. He could also insist alongside this that King Aerys had arranged for the marriage in a fit of madness. Whatever the case, an annulment is not even close to as unreasonable as I've seen some fans argue it to be.

As to why an annulment would even happen in the first place, the reasons are both narrative and thematic. Jon Snow's true identity is a big mystery, and R+L=J is supposed to be the central mystery and big twist of the series. When George does twists, he does not pull any punches. Oberyn dies, Tyrion learns Tysha loved him and grows to hate his family. The Red Wedding does not simply kill off Robb, it kills off Catelyn as well in the most brutal ways possible, and Arya never gets to reunite with them.

Jon Snow's journey with identity is a massive part of the character. He is resentful of his bastard status, that his father never told him who his mother was. It would add to the drama and Jon's own angst that everything he believed about himself is a lie; Eddard Stark is not his father, he's not a bastard, he's got a claim to the Iron Throne, his name isn't even Jon.

My personal headcanon is that it isn't Rhaegar who comes up with the idea of an annulment, it's Elia. Elia has put up with Rhaegar's bullshit for so long, and now that he's preparing to meet with Lyanna, she's just had enough of excuses. Nothing that really points to this, but it's just a small headcanon that allows Elia some agency within the situation.

It is also my belief that Rhaegar and Lyanna's wedding was on the Isle of Faces. This is due to proximity from where Rhaegar and Lyanna met, as well as the fact it is a holy site for the old gods and would make a nice gift for Lyanna, a northwoman. It is also partly narrative, as it would allow someone (*cough* Bran *cough*) to see this and learn the truth behind their relationship. We also know that the Knight of the Laughing Tree story begins with Howland Reed visiting the green men on the Isle of Faces, which is out of place with the rest of the story, and also that George has confirmed the Isle of Faces will come to the fore in later books.

The Dragon's Morality

So, throughout this essay, I have wished to address some of the points about Rhaegar's character, to answer the ultimate question of whether or not Rhaegar is a good person. It's a hard question to answer for someone whose story is not even known and whose characterization is intentionally vague and mysterious. But looking at the totality, is Rhaegar more good than bad, bad than good, or equal parts good and bad?

He was kind, won friends easily, talented, dutiful, honourable, valiant. He tried to fulfill a prophecy that would seek to save humanity from the threat of existential annihilation, did not seek glory for himself or take joy in fighting and wars. He attempted to try and remove his mad and evil father from power. He was passionate and romantic, and loved music and books.

On the other hand, he also publicly insulted his wife Elia and later abandoned her and their children to elope with another woman. He did so without telling anyone, which led to a domino effect that led to tragedy for him and everyone he knew, along with many others. But how much responsibility does Rhaegar have in starting Robert's Rebellion? Was him crowning Lyanna queen of love and beauty the one inciting incident? Was him running off with Lyanna? Was it Brandon riding to the Red Keep and shouting for Rhaegar to come out and die? Or was it Aerys burning him and Rickard alive without trial and demanding the heads of the other Starks, Arryns, and Baratheons?

Personally speaking, I don't think any one of these, including his and Lyanna's disappearance, was the cause of the war. Instead, all of them together was the cause for war. Isolated none of these events on their own caused the rebellion, but all together they did. As George said himself...

"The Kingdom was unified with dragons, so the Targaryen's flaw was to create an absolute monarchy highly dependent on them, with the small council not designed to be a real check and balance. So, without dragons it took a sneeze, a wildly incompetent and megalomaniac king, a love struck prince, a brutal civil war, a dissolute king that didn't really know what to do with the throne and then chaos."

I believe that Rhaegar is a grey character, albeit a lighter shade of grey. He is a tragic figure destined for doom but attempting to fight it. He wanted to do things for the betterment of the world, knew of the great threat coming in the Long Night, attempted to find a way to remove a literal monster from the throne, and sacrificed much to do his duty in these events. His intentions were good, and he never did anything maliciously.

But his flaw was his passion. He put aside his love for song and books to become a warrior that Westeros needed. He did his duty and gave Elia, a woman he did not love, two children, even after courting Lyanna publicly. Yet in the end, his own desires and his heart could not be stayed, and he suffered for it.

Jon Snow is the same way. Sacrificing his family, his home, his lover, all to protect the world. But he failed just as Rhaegar did, and suffered for it. Daenerys too has done this. She sacrificed her throne, her home, her own lover, her morals, even her own dragons, to keep the people he had freed from the bonds of slavery safe. And just like Rhaegar, she too could not keep to it in the end, giving up Meereen, deciding it is time to use her dragons and make west. How this will go for her is a matter of debate, but I imagine she will similarly suffer consequences from it.

Rhaegar isn't a villain. He's a tragic hero.

[calledtobethelight]

In Your Heart, Out of Your Mouth

“But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.”

Matthew 15.18-19 (ESV)

 

What you say reflects what’s in your heart, and what’s in your heart points to what you meditate on. It can be good or it can be evil, but what you believe, think about, and desire in your heart will overflow out of your mouth. Luke 6.45 states, “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

Your heart is the center of your being. You cannot allow your heart to meditate on evil thoughts and works. This condition of the heart will only produce words out of your mouth that will defile you. You must always be on guard to protect it because it will lead you astray if you leave it unchecked and out of alignment with the Word of God. Proverbs 4.23 states, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”

As a born-again believer, you must be watchful of the condition of your heart and the overflow that comes out of your mouth because it matters to God. If you want what you speak and the meditations of your heart to please the Lord, you must align your heart with the Word of God by having a genuine love for it and thinking about it consistently (Psalm 19.14). Psalm 1.2-3 states, a person is blessed when “his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all he does, he prospers.”

To align your heart with the Word of God, you must be cautious about what you allow to influence you - what you see, what you hear, and what you think about affects your heart, which will steer the course of your life. When any thought contrary to the Word of God comes to your mind, be vigilant by actively taking it "captive to obey Christ” and think about what is “true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy” by reading the Word of God daily (2 Corinthians 10.5, Philippians 4.9).

The confession of your mouth will also impact the trajectory of your life. What you allow your heart to meditate on will lead your mouth in the direction of death or life, good or evil, blessing or cursing. Proverbs 18.20-21 states, “From the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is satisfied by the yield of his lips. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” The choice is yours, but God advises us to "choose life, that you and your offspring may live" (Deuteronomy 30.19).

Joshua 1.8 states, "This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success." The words of your mouth are determined by the condition of your heart, therefore, you must hide the Word of God in your heart for it to never depart from your mouth. When the Word of God is in your mouth, it will produce righteous fruit and make you prosper and succeed. You must determine in your heart to align what you believe and what you speak with the Word of God. Then, the good treasure of your heart will produce good out of your mouth.

[dastardlydandelion]

Hello, friend! Did you have a chance to watch Longlegs? Tell me your thoughts and feelings about it when you're in the mood and have time!

HELLO

whew, i appreciate the patience implicit in this message more than I can express. 🫀

so i have seen Longlegs! My very first thought upon watching it was “yep, that sure was an Osgood Perkins movie.”

he has a very distinct directorial style…so on that note, have you ever seen a movie and gone like, “hey, that was really well-made but i’m not sure it’s for me?”

because all in all…I think that’s where i’m at with Longlegs? but I’m also a little confused. so I’ll start with that. when I asked you about Longlegs, friend, you put what you liked first and then went into what you didn’t, I’m gonna do the opposite.

my biggest issue with the movie is that I really don’t understand what I was meant to take away from it. and I mean, I have NO issues whatsoever using my brain, I can roll with things left ambiguous for the audience to puzzle out. It’s great when different interpretations can spur conversations, and I love symbolism generally!

But with Longlegs, as a viewer, I’m really at a loss for what was being communicated to me??

Lemme talk about Osgood’s other features for a sec here. you preferred The Blackcoat’s Daughter, so do I!

and I get The Blackcoat’s Daughter. it has strong themes of isolation, desolation, loneliness— the things desperate loneliness could drive us to, the vulnerability inherent in that state of loneliness so aching, so cold, it’s like freezing February rain.

i mean, okay— gonna just be honest and admit (and I might’ve mentioned this before) but I’m maybe not even quite the audience for The Blackcoat’s Daughter or Longlegs because possession is my least favorite subgenre. certain issues I have had with intrusive thoughts and paranoia in the past make possession movies hit kinda…weird for me.

nevertheless, I felt like The Blackcoat’s Daughter utilized possession in a very impactful way and offered some meaty food for thought.

Its themes were conveyed effectively to me, which I cannot say for Longlegs. On paper I get the plot, sure, but…why? Like, what are we as an audience meant to take away from our viewing experience? What are we meant to understand through this story that unfolded before our eyes for like, two hours? Why?

Gretel and Hansel remains my favorite Osgood Perkins movie (and doesn’t have possession 😅). It’s trippy and surreal but I get it. It communicates themes of sibling relationships, coming of age, the complexities of realizing female power in a male-dominated world, and ultimately self-acceptance.

Longlegs’s themes were…uh…corruption, maybe? Pure evil, maybe? The sheer conundrum of becoming something the people we hold dearest hate because we chose to forsake ourselves only for their welfare? But like, maybe?

Idk, idk, I don’t feel like any of the above was particularly well-executed.

Cracked up at your take on Nick Cage’s prosthetic makeup! Hahaha, I mean, you’re not wrong! It was A LOT. I dooo think the Longlegs character had plastic surgery in-universe though, I mean, maybe his (unsuccessful) pursuit of a flawless face in correlation to his being a doll maker? Bc people don’t just look like that. What really took me out though was him screaming in the car, oh my god— he sounded just like The Earl of Lemongrab from Adventure Time! Especially when he was like “unmake me!” There’s one scene where Lemongrab passes Princess Bubblegum a note that just reads “unmake me.” So I was giggling like a loon at that, ngl.

Not a fan of the ending either, still trying to wrap my mind around it. Can’t quite work out why Lee waited so long, either? Mom said it was too late for the parents but oh boy, at that point in the story we should not be listening to Mom. also at this point, Lee is not under the influence of her own doll, her doll’s been destroyed, so it can’t be the doll making her hesitate. Yes, Lee was out of bullets when she went to shoot Ruby’s doll, but I mean, its face is porcelain, you don’t need a gun to break porcelain. She could’ve just picked it up and smashed its head against the wall to expose the satan orb!!

Other things I don’t understand: why was child Lee approached by Longlegs to begin with in the 70s? Longlegs’s whole MO is using the dolls to get the fathers to commit murder-suicides. Nothing indicates Lee’s father was ever in the picture, so it doesn’t make sense for her to have been a target.

Human beings (generally) have peripheral vision! Agent Browning should’ve seen Lee’s mother coming up to the car with a shotgun— Mom was not being sneaky about her mission, man, she was in full nun garb!

okay, now onto the things i did like: once again, i do feel it was a very well-made movie! visually artistic, superbly well-acted, awfully unsettling sound design, some stellar imagery ranging from those eerie shots to the outright horrific.

the twist with Mom! i figured Mom had to be relevant to the plot in some way bc they kept referencing her and Lee’s relationship and bringing her into the story, but man i was NOT expecting her to be an accomplice to the killer, hand delivering the demonic dolls and HOUSING LONGLEGS IN THE BASEMENT.

agreed that i loved her complexity as character. mama bear characters really speak to me and in this movie it was just like, the darkest and most wretched version of that. my attention was grabbed.

I also appreciated some of the subtler touches of foreshadowing. Lee’s mother is shown to be hoarder. hoarding often does develop after trauma, distress, and/or mental illness. “Cuckoo” being Longlegs’s catchphrase. Cuckooing someone is the term used when you take over a person’s home, named after the cuckoo bird who takes over other birds’s nests.

Kiernan Shipka, my darling one scene wonder. more foreshadowing in her dialogue, Lee asks her if she remembers having a doll and her answer is “nope, and neither do you.” she’s not just being wackadoodle or argumentative— Lee’s memories of the doll were legit erased.

and…yeah, that’s about all i’ve got!

it was interesting but possession is just not my personal cup of tea and again, i’m just not sure quite what it was i was supposed to get out of the experience.

[sillylittlegay]

Resident Evil – Oneshot [Luis Serra Navarro X GN!Reader]

Pronouns used for Reader; They/Them [2nd Person view]

Warnings; None (I think, it's just pure fluff with some sexual undertones at points)

Summary; The Reader was trying their best to just get through their and Leon's mission to save Ashley Graham, yet a certain former Umbrella researcher tries his best to get their mind off of everything happening.

Authors Notes; Luis Serra, the guy I thought would just be a side character yet I absolutely fell for him after seeing the chained up scene in its full glory.

This was partly inspired by this imagine! (It's great, read it, it's adorable.) There needs to be more Luis Serra stuff out there, he's such a sweet and interesting guy everyone pls

As always I apologize for any mistakes! I cannot speak even a tiny bit of Spanish so Google translate and other stories are my best friend for this one, do tell me if there's anything entirely wrong!

Nothing could prepare anyone for the horrors Leon and his partner had encountered in this Village. Being together definitely made things easier, but having to split everything they found was a pain. All that together with the fact that they had gotten separated so early on made you nearly call Hunnigan and tell her to leave Baby eagle to die. But you didn't. You knew you'd get through this, one way or another. All you had to do was find Leon, get Ashley and then get as far away from this place as possible.

Finding your partner however deemed as harder than you had initially thought. While you had been knocked out and chained up somewhere alone, Leon was nowhere to be seen and getting out of that hellhole was hard enough. Worse was that all your stuff was missing and once you did find it after escaping death multiple times, you had to find out that your gun was totally and absolutely broken. »Fuck this shit, I fucking hate this, I want to go back fucking home.« You cursed to yourself, hoping you'd get to Leon while only having your knife as usable weapon. You didn't even notice the Spaniard behind you, who deeply wondered how he ended up finding two Americans in one day.

»You good?« Luis asked, lifting his hands into the air when you turned around and pointed your knife at him. »Don't come closer or I'll stab you.« you slightly waved your weapon around, anxiety rising in your chest as you saw the stranger chuckle. »Hey, you know that Leon guy?« Luis asked, taking a cautious step towards the other. »I know where he is if you're searching for him.« He then added. You cursed under your breath, beginning to question just how much you could trust this random guy. »Well then, tell me where he is.« You demanded. Luis laughed softly in response. »I'm Luis, by the way, and the last time I saw your pal he was tied up with me in the old factory.« He grinned at the shorter once he realised that nothing he had just said had made sense to you. You didn't know of any old factory, nor how to get through this godforsaken village without getting murdered or heavily injured by the downright crazy Townsfolk. Not that you'd tell him that though. »I could bring you there–« Luis started, interrupted by you heavily sighing. »Absolutely no way, Luis. God knows what you're up to.« You stated, already stashing all your things away in the various pockets of your vest and hip bags. »What I'm up to? I'm no villain, mi amor.« Luis huffed, intently watching every little of your movement. »You know, I may suck at Spanish but if you ever call me that again I'm putting a bullet through your head.« You scoffed, only slightly taken aback by the strangers words. You had figured he'd be on the weirder side the moment you laid eyes on him – simply by the fact that he seemed to not be freaked out by the shit going on in this village. You didn't even notice Luis mocking "with which gun" as you already walked away from the stranger, determined to somehow find your way.

A few hours later the two of you sat in a somewhat safe house. You had taken a break from searching Leon and Luis had followed you around like a lost puppy, mostly because you didn't let him tell you where to go but he just wouldn't leave you alone either. You didn't fully mind though, the Spaniard had proven quite helpful when it came to taking out the freakish townsfolk. You were almost glad he had a gun and knew how to use it, if it wasn't for Luis' snarky remarks about how he was probably better at shooting than you were. It made your blood boil, really. But you didn't dare say anything, too scared that he might leave you to rot with only your knife to defend yourself. »You know, mi compadre, I have a good feeling about this house. We'll probably find Leon swiftly after this break.« The dark haired hummed, casually playing with his lighter. »Hope so.« You answered, absentmindedly watching the way his fingers danced around and led the small silver thing over his knuckles. It was almost captivating to watch. It was only once you heard the screams of townsfolk outside that both of you shot up, running towards the old door and immediately seeing Leon and Ashley running towards you.

Seconds later both were safely inside, though you were worried about the masses of people outside. »We must've killed hundred or something by now how the fuck are there still this many?« You grunted, already taking safety precautions and barricading the windows. »How should I know?« Leon huffed back while taking anything he found useful. »Where's your gun.« He then wondered, sounding more mad that you didn't have it on you than worried. »Got busted when they got our asses.« You answered, showing him your knife. »Only thing that kept me alive.« You added, swinging it around a bit. Luis was heard mumbling something about you being ungrateful. »Shit. You go get Ashley safe, the idiot and I are gonna handle this one. We'll get you a new gun later.« The dirty blonde Agent nodded at you, signing you to get away as fast as possible. Luis now proved useful once again, silently showing a quick way out of the cabin the four of you were trapped in, giving a quick and rather safe way outside. Together with Ashley you crawled through, praying to whatever god that was willing to listen to keep them safe.

It seemed like your prayers had been hurt, both Leon and Luis made it out safe, not a scratch on either one. You were more than glad. If one of them had gotten hurt – you're sure you wouldn't have forgiven yourself. Leon led the lot of you to a... rather shady looking merchant.. but you forgot that once you saw all the wares he sold. It almost felt like you were in heaven, surrounded by the most wonderful weapons you have ever seen. In the end though it was Leon who picked out a gun for you, as he was getting fed up with your thousands of questions on which one was shooting the fastest, reloaded the fastest and so on. The new gun now comfortably hanging in your holster, you were almost satisfied with whatever was going on. Almost – if it wasn't for a really talkative and flirty Spaniard. Luis seemed to never really stop talking, about the weather, how the gun fitted perfectly into your holster, what else would perfectly fit into your holster - the list was endless and you tried your best to ignore it. If he was only talking nonsense, you could easily do that too, but with the way he brought simple pet names and light touches into the mix you were inevitably getting more and more distracted. You had guessed someone would notice, given the fact your shooting got sloppy and you let get the townsfolk get way too close to you – luckily Luis was a knight in shining armour and helped you out, not without snarky remarks of course. »Ay, gotta be more careful, wouldn't want you to get hurt, corazon!« A crooked grin hung on the Spaniards lips. You cursed under your breath and tried your best to focus on the enemies and not Luis' pretty eyes.

Unsurprisingly, Luis had left your small group after a short while, going on his was to find some weird medical stuff for Ashley – you had been too busy staring at his lips to properly listen to whatever he had been saying. It probably hadn't been interesting for the mission anyway, you were sure. »Got something on your mind, Agent?« Leon mocked, lightly nudging your shoulder. You scoffed. »Fuck off Kennedy.«, the dirty blonde was shoved away quickly and you tried your best to keep your face from heating up. It was undeniable that Luis had an effect on you. A big one at that. Yet, for some reason, you had hoped Leon wouldn't notice – it was embarrassing enough to know it yourself. Leon chuckled at your reaction. For the short time he had known you, he already had you all figured out. Little did he know this little thing you had going on with the Spaniard was soon going to bring him to his last string of patience.

It started with the calls. Constant calling, bickering about how Luis missed you and endless teasing with non child friendly undertones. Leon could hear everything. Every giggle of yours, every single word of the Spaniard. He wished he could rip off his ears just to make it stop. It was almost hurting him that's how sugar coated the flirting of you two was. By now Leon had understood that some of your conversations with Luis would follow him into his nightmares and he tried his best to not rip the communication device from you and angrily stomp on it like a little kid that didn't get what it wanted. He composed himself. Until the two of you met Luis again, Ashley having been kidnapped yet again and you constantly giggling at Luis' words – the dirty blonde just couldn't do it. »Oh for fucks sake will you two just fuck already. It's awful hearing the two of you act like drunk teenagers.« He scoffed, leaving you and Luis rather puzzled – and embarrassed.

Luis and you stood like that for a good minute, your face red while he started laughing like a maniac. »Guess our friend isn't too fond of us, no?« The Spaniard laughed, a soft expression in his eyes as he looked at you. »His... Advice... wouldn't be the worst one, eh?« the dark haired added, evidently teasing you as you gasped and hid your reddening face in your hands. You were used to Luis' flirting, used to him being a menace, but Leon saying that wasn't something you needed today. »Settle for a nice dinner after we get out of here, Luis.« You answered through gritted teeth, embarrassment obvious in your voice as you went to catch up to Leon.

What you didn't see was the wide, goofy smile on the Spaniards face at your words. Oh just how determined he was to treat you to the best dinner you had ever had, just to see you smile and giggle.

[aikoiya]

LoZ - Gerudo Wedding Traditions

Long ago, it was custom that if a member of the opposite sex unrelated to the Gerudo ruler of the time manages to defeat them in single combat, then they are to become that ruler's spouse.

Of course, a Gerudo cannot become king or queen until 18 & before that, they are trained extensively as fighters.

So, one who is able to defeat the Gerudo King or Queen is typically extremely strong a/o skilled.

This is done to ensure that the next generation will be strong as well.

Long ago, it did not matter how the ruler went about doing it, whether it be through wooing, manipulation, kidnapping, or blackmail.

So long as the two were bound for life.

However, since the Era of the Great Sea, this tradition has been lost.

—

Gerudo, just as a people, are very possessive of their spouses & are a very monogamous lot.

But it's not considered unhealthy to be possessive of your spouse in Gerudo culture because it's expected that spouses belong to each other. Neither side of the equation has more right to the other.

So a Voe's wife is considered his, but he is also hers. It's reciprocal.

What is considered unhealthy is considering your spouse yours but not allowing yourself to be theirs & not allowing them the rights due to them as your spouse. This creates a power imbalance & is seen as abusive.

—

In Gerudo culture, there is a very strict separation between lust & love, between matters of the body & matters of the heart. This plus the fact that the Gerudo, just as a people, are extremely exclusive with who they give their hearts to results in the typical Gerudo being extremely monogamous. As such, the idea of what IRL is called "open relationships," would be considered pure insanity & a sign of a demented mind. Even royal relationships were expected to be kept exclusive. To have sex with someone other than your spouse after marriage, even common law marriage, was considered losing control of one's impulses & baser, more primal urges & was thought to be a sign of a declining mental state. These individuals were considered no better than animals. - Something they share with the Greeks who prided themselves on personal control.

The Gerudo took adultery extremely seriously. We're talking about stoning here! Not even the king or queen were exempt &, in fact, aside from via conquest, changes in the monarchical bloodline generally took place due to the discovery of infidelity between the rulers. Like, it is literally against Gerudo law to do so willingly & is punishable by death. There are, of course, exceptions in the case of rape, but afterwards, the victim is required, by tradition, to go through a sort of sacred cleansing ritual to remove the evil of unwitting unfaithfulness from their body. This is also required in situations where, say, you're tricked into thinking you're having sex with your spouse but you aren't. Which, I know, an extremely rare thing to happen, but considering the Yiga, it does happen.

The sacred cleansing ritual is performed by Gerudo priestesses of Vah Kàvtrïna, who one of her domains is pudicity, which involves fidelity. Now, she wasn't associated with these cleansing rituals until after she'd been embraced by the Gerudo culture as she was originally a goddess of Ordona, Feron, & Necluda.

Part of the reason for such strict rules regarding faithfulness is due to personal duty & accountability being very important to the Gerudo as a culture. In some ways, to an unhealthy degree.

Very rarely were exceptions allowed. One such exception being in the case of infertility or sterility. And even then it was only allowed if there were no other blood relatives eligible for the throne. If there were, then their most qualified was to be crowned the next ruler of the Gerudo. 

By Gerudo custom from before the female-only curse, the king or queen were both absolutely forbidden from having romantic or sexual relations with anyone besides their spouse unless it was in specific situations such as one of the pair being sterile or infertile. And even when it was allowed, the vetting process was extremely strict for them & the final okay was to be given by the other spouse. (Basically, if the queen were looking for a Vo'màzr, then she'd make the 1st decision of who could go through the vetting process, but it was her husband who made the final decision. The same is also true in reverse.) Even then, romantic relations with Va'màziahn or Vo'màzren were strictly forbidden & considered deeply taboo. In a lot of ways, they were breeding chattel in gilded cages. And even in these cases, after every interaction, the master or mistress is required to go through this cleansing ritual.

It's actually thought that touching one who has been unfaithful before such a cleansing will place a sort of hex upon them from the Gerudo Goddess of Love, Passion, & Marriage, Vah Kàvtrïna. As to which involved is hexed, none are certain, though many believe that it is the one who committed the adulterous act. (It is untrue that she would; though she may become turbulently upset. However, she is also known to be one of the more reasonable of deities & is known for being able to judge others from their emotional state. And, much like a large number of the Gerudo pantheon, she also values accountability. As such, she is more likely to be reasonable with those who do so & are honest about such.)

It was actually much preferred for the fertile spouse to, instead, take another spouse. As, though bigamy wasn't common & was thought of as odd, it wasn't despised the way that infidelity is. I say bigamy instead of polygamy because having more than 2 spouses is thought to invite disaster. Once more, showcasing a desire for at least some form of exclusivity in their relationships. While far from normal, it is perfectly legal for a Voe to have 2 wives or a Vai to have 2 husbands. In such situations, they are called sister-wives & brother-husbands as the relationship between the 2 generally is not supposed to be romantic as they didn't marry each other, so much as they both married the same individual.

However, due to the female-only curse, it has resulted in the invention of what is referred to as Bigynous Marriage Treaties or Zeyvaivàq Màtukāvt'sàndlah. Which only happens between the chiefs of 2 different Gerudo tribes or settlements. Specifically, between ones that had been warring with each other. What it means if that the 2 chiefs end the war by intentionally binding their bloodlines together through both marrying the same man. In this way, the husband acts as a bridge between them, ensuring cooperation.

The logic behind this is to incentivize future generations to not wage war again as they will hopefully be less likely to do so knowing that they, definitively, share an ancestor.

Something else of interest, while Gerudo culture has always been much less accepting of same-sex relationships, there are certain situations where they're allowed to flourish. One of which is as brother-husbands to a Vai or sister-wives to a Voe. So, while homosexuality tends to be demonized, bisexuality is allowed to slide in certain situations even though it is still looked down upon to a degree.

However, despite all the strictness in regards to marriage, if a king or queen was unmarried, then they were free to have harems full of Va'màziahen/Vo'màzren. The reason being that marriage itself is considered sacred to them.

And, in such instances, it is fine to indulge in romantic relations with members of one's harem. Though, it isn't considered intelligent as Gerudo have a belief that a relationship between more than 3 people becomes incremently more difficult to manage with every person that joins.

Anyway, even being in a committed relationship & cheating on them is heavily looked down upon. And, even in situations where a Gerudo was single, there was only a certain number of different people the Gerudo could have sex with within a year before they were considered loose.

Divorces & annulments were indeed still looked down upon, but not with nearly as much scorn as infidelity was. These were, in fact, the preferred option when compared to being unfaithful.

---

It used to be that the Gerudo, traditionally speaking, would propose to their significant others (in the case of more Gerudo, men & in the case of the Centennial Kings, women) by giving them pieces of jewelry that they made themselves.

Also, traditionally speaking, they would do so while saying, "Kàvt shïchiso yūg nï’jï." Which means, "Bind your soul with mine."

Though, a few thousand years ago, gifting your husband with more handcrafted jewelry, even after marriage, began to take on the message of "I would marry you again if given the chance."

However, due to most Hylian men not being particularly into jewelry, the Gerudo began to also start gifting things like handmade trinkets, clothes, & other items all became various forms of ways to showcase a reaffirmation of love while handmade jewelry retained its expanded meaning of proposal or "I would remarry you."

Unfortunately, being the one to propose went out of fashion among the Gerudo over time as they began to make attempts at appearing meeker in an effort to mimic Hylian women & thus, hopefully, increase chances of catching a Voe's attention. (A sad situation as they should be loved for themselves.)

Now, the act of proposing with handmade jewelry & in traditional Gerudàn is more so something that a Gerudo Voe does for the sake of tradition or something a Hylian, Sheikah, or Ovelian (human with rounded ears) does in an attempt to showcase that he legitimately cares about her & is willing to learn more about not just her, but also her culture. (Which actually makes it quite a sweet gesture.)

Now, that doesn't mean that no Gerudo does this anymore. It's just not something that is done as regularly.

Important Cultural History:

Now, the tradition of gifting the one they wish to marry with a piece of jewelry that they made themselves is extremely ancient. As in, has been in existence since long, long, long before the Gerudo's initial arrival to Hyrule.

And, these pieces of jewelry traditionally had their spouse's name engraved on the inside in Gerudo script. So, the Vai would make a piece of jewelry with her own name & give it to her Voe, who would make one with his name on it & give it to her. This way, they would have their spouse with them always.

Though, beyond that, the rest of the design was up to the individual making it.

Interestingly, though not originally a Gerudo tradition per se, this one was later adapted into the exchanging of perfectly rounded rings upon marriage. (Because rings are relatively simple & can be very classy if done correctly.) Which, itself eventually was picked up by Hyruleans around the general timeframe of OoT when the rare Gerudo-Hyrulean marriage took place. And has now become a tradition in most parts of Hyrule. However, by this point, the more Gerudo-exclusive jewelry-making part of the tradition has been lost in Hyrulean culture. In it's place is purchasing one or using an heirloom ring passed down over generations.

Funnily enough, one of the first Hyruleans to take up this tradition was Talon from his late Gerudo wife. Their daughter later did the same thing with her knight in forest-green armor.

(A/N: The rings that Talon & his wife exchanged were passed down to Malon & Time, who then added their names as Talon & his wife's names had been very small. This ends up becoming a bit of a family tradition that allows them to be able to keep track of their lineage. Unfortunately, Time's was lost when he died. However, Twilight was found outside of Ordon with the ring that Malon wore, plus a pendant with the names of his foremothers alongside those of the men that his foremothers married. Perhaps in hopes that the other ring would eventually be found. After all, all one would need to do to confirm would be to match the names on Time's ring with the names of the listed foremothers. Anyway, after his adventure, Twilight happened to hunt down Time's place of death, where he also found the lost, forgotten ring. Thus proving his & Time's relation. Which allowed him & Illia to eventually have all of his foremothers' names engraved on the inside of his own ring before passing it down to his eldest.)

---

It's actually from ancient Gerudo tradition that the modern concept of wedding rings originated from.

It actually had a lot of symbolism behind it. For starters, it was believed that the ring finger had a vein that connected directly to the heart.

And a perfectly round ring was used as a symbol of an eternal union without beginning or end.

Before the Manfàsï Wàru that resulted in the Sûl'si Nàshàlay'è, Gerudo Voen & Vaien would typically make the rings themselves.

This was an adaptation of their original & even more ancient tradition, which involved simply crafting the one who caught their eye any type of jewelry. The reason being that jewelry holds significance within Gerudo culture.

Important History:

The Manfàsï Wàru, otherwise referred to as the Division War, was an event that took place at least 400 years before OoT in which the Gerudo first arrived; very little is remembered about it by the Wild Era Gerudo beyond the typical vague legend or myth.

And the Sûl'si Nàshàlay'è, or the Curse of Castration, is what resulted in the female-only curse placed upon the Gerudo as a whole. It is a literal curse & is therefore magical in nature. Meaning that this phenomenon isn't at all a natural occurrence.

---

Weddings are considered big deals for the Gerudo, which is why they are referred to as Màtu'kàvtéda Agàznien or "love-binding festivals." As whenever a wedding takes place for the Gerudo, a small festival is held.

Gerudo in general are just very exclusive with their hearts. So, for one to find someone that they want to bind themselves to for the rest of their life? That's a big deal.

—

Brides wear what is known as a Màtu'kàvtéda Shàree with a Mátu'kàvtéda Bàndaràshï, a Kopfab, & a Màtu'kàvtéda Hunfàm.

A Màtu'kàvtéda Shàree is a beautiful Gerudàn dress made of fine silk. Typically features vibrant colors, at least 3, & interesting patterns in gold or silver. Typically comes with a wide, gold or silver Àrïqna, or fabric belt, that cinches the waist closely & covers most of the belly. Considered very formal. Can be either one piece or two pieces. Two pieces is generally preferred by most Gerudo. However, one piece is considered most formal & generally what is worn by royal brides. - Inspired by Hindu saree.

A Màtu'kàvtéda Bàndaràshï is a strip of fabric that acts like a sash & is typically draped over one shoulder & circles around the opposite hip. Typically a different color to the Shàree to give variation. They often have gold or silver patterned borders. Non-wedding Bàndaràshï leave both arms free & unencumbered, unlike wedding Bàndaràshï, which are usually very long & hang over an arm to trail down to the floor. If worn by a bride who is either a queen or is marrying a king, the Bàndaràshï & Hunfàm must both match, with the Shàree & Kopfab being a different, yet complementary color.

A Kopfab is a colorful, hooded head veil (similar to a hooded cathedral or regal veil that doesn't need to be tied around the neck) with gold or silver embroidered patterns around the hem to be worn on the head of a queen, but specifically does not cover the face. It is opaque instead of sheer like a Hylian wedding veil would be. The longest that it can be is hip-length. It can also be worn by civilian Gerudo, but only on their wedding days. The queen is expected to wear it as formal attire. Typically paired with a Kafchita or Shàree or some other dress of Gerudàn make. Màlàki Kopfaben, however, are meant for royal weddings & reach down to the floor, many even trailing behind.

These Kopfaben also tend to come with the headpiece that we see Rhondson wear to her wedding:

Altogether, it looks a bit like this.

But, for royal weddings, the gold would be silver instead. Other than that, the colors can vary widely.

And a Màtu'kàvtéda Hunfàm is a type of face veil that Vai wear when they are getting married. Brides wear them for an entire week before the wedding so as to avoid bad luck as the bride must be kept clean of jealous intent from other Vaien or the lustful gazes of Voen other than the bride's intended. If anyone sees her face clearly before then, it is said to bring about disaster for the marriage. It is then worn to the wedding, where, upon finishing the ceremony & sacred rites, the groom removes the Hunfàm to be the first to look upon the face of his new wife before sealing the contract with a kiss. It's just superstition, but it's tradition at this point. This specific Hunfàm is held in place by a pair of hooks that wrap around the ears much like glasses. This makes it easy for the groom to remove.

These are the sorts of Vah Kàvtrïna patterns & symbols that Gerudo use for weddings:

And these are just some general marriage-related patterns:

Royal brides generally have their hair threaded with silver & have bold liner resembling that of the Egyptians, just silver.

Though, blue isn't specifically necessary. That part can vary.

They also wear a pendant bearing her family's crest.

—

The groom wears a Shiwàni (or sherwani IRL). A finely made formal top made of silk. Usually sleek, thin, & tailor-fitted with an imperial collar & gold-threaded embroidery lining the cuffs, the collar, & the split where it's buttoned. Is typically buttoned up the middle or buttoned asymmetrically. Sort of a tunic as it generally reaches the knees at most. It typically bears his family crest across the back. Over this would be a Bàndaràshï worn diagonally much like the bride's.

He will likewise wear a golden pendant also bearing his family crest.

Under that would be a pair of Sirwàl or loose-fitting pants. (The Desert Voe Set's pants in the game.)

Of course, all finely made & made with vibrant colors & designs.

Kings will also typically wear their Túijïl or halo crown (think TP & HW Ganondorf) with their hair threaded with gold & their eyes lined with gold eyeliner, much like the Egyptian Pharaohs of old but gold.

The king will also wear a cape of fur, a pair of fine Gàzmen (the shoes from the Gerudo Vai Set) or golden greeves (like from the Desert Voe Set or WW Ganondorf or HW Ganondorf), & hand chains like what we see TotK Ganondorf wear or a pair of golden guantlets like HW.

And, if not a Shiwàni, then he'll either wear a Juddàb (a plain shirt with an imperial collar) with a Dosāya (think a Zhuba) over it or wear just a Dosāya or go barechested & wear a variety of different jewelry. In such a case as going barechested, he'll also wear a Shendyazàr (a kilt-like loincloth much like the Egyptians wore) over his Sirwàl.

—

Gerudo weddings are traditionally held either in the town square or at a Shrine to Vah Kàvtrïna, the Gerudo Goddess of Love, Passion, Marriage, & Vivifatility (word referring to both fertility & virility).

However, due to Gerudo Town being a Vaidina (sexually segregated settlement where only females are permitted entry unless the male is in possession of a Gerudo Token), full scale Shrines to Vah Kàvtrïna don't tend to be situated inside. Rather, Kàra Kàra is where the major Shrine can be found as males are permitted there.

For more on Vah Kàvtrïna, go here.

Likewise, it is always presided over by a Kàvtrïna'eshônï or Priestess of Vah Kàvtrïna.

—

Gerudo weddings are set up differently. Instead of the bride walking down the middle of the pews with the groom waiting for her at the altar, the bride & groom instead enter from opposite sides of the altar with the audience facing towards the altar.

The bride & groom enter at the same time & meet each other at the altar in the center, which symbolizes how marriages require a lot of compromise, thus meeting each other halfway.

---

In Gerudo culture, wedding vows are expected to be unreleased, as it is believed that doing so will showcase deeper honesty from the pair. As a result, weddings tend to have a slightly more light-hearted feeling to them. It isn't unusual for laughter to be as much a part of the vows as tears.

Many even choose to speak their vows in the form of poetry, specifically, in the form of Màt'zàjrila (inspired by IRL Zajal poetry, specifically love-based ones). The reason being that, as mentioned above, unrehearsed vows are seen as more honest &, in Màt'zàjrila, it is considered important that it be done spur of the moment & involve whatever comes to mind, rather than something planned, practiced, & recited. This is done to draw out one's true thoughts. It has saved many marriages as, by doing so, the pairs' real thoughts on the other are brought out into the open.

It's sort of the "or forever hold your peace" moment.

After the vows, the pair are told to exchange family crest pendants, symbolizing that they have taken each other into their family before asking them to "seal their new bond before the eyes of Vah Kàvtrïna."

Due to the superstition surrounding the bride first being seen by anyone other than her groom, it is tradition for all to turn their gaze away the moment before the groom removes the veil.

Then they kiss to seal the contract.

After which, they both turn to the guests, hand-in-hand, throw up their arms & shout "Tïsarāya!" Meaning "Rejoice!"

Then, the guests turn their gazes back, cheer, & shower the couple with oasis flowers like confetti & the town begins the celebrations.

—

Such festivities tend to revolve around vibrant music, delicious food, & lively dancing. As well as extravagant gifts to the lucky pair.

Sense telling stories through dance is such a huge part of Gerudo culture. The bride & groom's first dance together is meant to act out some deeply important part of their courtship. Whether it be how they first met, how they fell in love, or how the engagement was finalized.

Desserts during the celebration generally feature Oasis Honey or Sàbaar Fruit (agave) & Amorous Figs. Which figs are heavily associated with Vah Kàvtrïna for their amorous effects & eating them during that time is said to bring good luck on one's wedding night as well as increase the likelihood of conception.

As such, the couple will traditionally be served Fashïna Amrïta near the end of the celebration, which is a type of Oasis Honey, Amorous Fig, & Palm Fruit flower mead.

The reason is that it has a bit of an aphrodisiac effect. And, again, is said to bring good luck.

---

Once the festivities are over, the couple are expected to bathe each other & brush each other's hair, which is thought to be a very intimate bonding experience to the Gerudo who take bathing very seriously.

This is believed to help them get used to each other's bodies before the act.

It isn't uncommon for newlyweds' first time together to actually be in the bath, in fact. But that's to be expected.

---

There are actually quite a number of different Gerudo wedding traditions to choose from, meaning that no 2 weddings will ever be totally alike.

However, these are the general ones.

---

LoZ Cultural Masterlist

[xxgrimlalondexx]

Hello, and Welcome To My Blog

My name is Grim Lalonde, but I also Respond to Grimdark, Scourge, and ShockWave. My name is NOT R*se or T*ny, do NOT deadname me, or else....

I am a Transgender Male, and technically Bisexual, though I often prefer to label myself as Gay, as whenever I feel Attraction to a Woman, I feel Deep, Visceral Dread. My pronouns are He/Him, but sometimes It/Its when I feel Inhuman.

I am Fictionkin. Technically I am Kin with R*se Lalonde, but that is my Deadname, DO NOT CALL ME R*SE. My kin memories are Extremely divergent from Canon: In my Canon, I was a Transgender Male, and so was Kanaya Maryam. I was in a near perpetual Grimdark State, and went through many traumatic events, Too Many for me to detail here. I will talk about my Kin Trauma on this account very frequently as I find this helps me Cope. I am also Kin with Scourge from the Warriors Book Series and ShockWave from Transformers. These canons were Similarly Divergent but not Nearly as much as my memories as Lalonde.

I am also Fictosexual and selfship with Kanaya Maryam, but ONLY THE TRANSGENDER MALE VERSION FROM MY CANON. I do not feel anything for the cisgender female version of Kanaya. While I was in a polycule with Bone, Ashfur, and Hawkfrost when I was Living as Scourge, I do not selfship with any of them as my Body and Brain in this life are unfortunately Human and not Cat...sigh. I was AroAce in my Canon as ShockWave so I do not selfship with Anybody from the Transformers Franchise.

DNI:

This is my DNI, which stands for DO NOT INTERACT. If you Interact with me in Spite of what I have listed here, You Will Be Blocked Immedaitely, Or Maybe Worse...

Doubles for my Kintypes. I am sorry for giving you this revelation, Double, but I am the Real One.

Those who are Kin with Tigerstar or Firestar. Those were my Abusers and I Killed them purely in Self Defense.

Those who are Kin with Ruby or Socks. Abusive Siblings. This Requires no Explanation.

Those who are Kin with Squirrelflight, Brambleclaw, Hollyleaf, Tawnypelt, Feathertail, or Stormfur. Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw Abused my former boyfriend Ashfur, and Brambleclaw also abused my former boyfriend Hawkfrost, and Killed him after he and Ashfur killed my Abuser Firestar. Hollyleaf Killed my former boyfriend Ashfur, which is part of the reason I have Trust Issues with Women. Brambleclaw, Tawnypelt, Feathertail, and Stormfur all worked together to Kill my former boyfriend Bone. No, Ashfur did NOT help to kill him, that was Firestar Mind-Controlling him and Making him do it Against his Will.

Andrew Hussie and The Erin Hunters. You all may be my Creators but you were Wrong about your Depictions of me, and I apologize, but I Cannot forgive that, nor will I ever Forget...

If you are Anti-Revengeshipping. While I do not Pair Myself with Ashfur in this life, I do NOT stand for anybody who Spits Petulantly on the Undeniable Truth...

If you exclude Asexuals and Aromantics from the LGBT Community. I am not Aromantic or Asexual in this life, but I Still feel an almost Kin-like tie to the AroAce community, and as such, I Must stand up for my Bretheren.

Transphobes. I am a Transgender Male, why would you Interact with me? Are you Dense?

Anti Otherkin, Selfshipping, Reality Shifting, or Tulpamancing.

Those who believe my Canons are Fake. They're not Fake, the Creators of the Canons in This reality were just Wrong about what happened...

Please ask to follow me if you are Female, both Cisgender or Transgender. I have Severe trust issues with Women and I must check your Blog first so I can determine whether or not You are Dangerous. I am Not a Misogynist, just Traumatized...

My Triggers are being called R*se or T*ny (My Deadnames...), being called Small (My Abuser Tigerstar would Call me Small), and Starbucks (What my Abusive, Neglectful, Evil Mother is Obsessed with Drinking). More Triggers will be added Over Time, as I can Forsee I will undergo Numerous Cases of Prejudice and Struggle by putting myself Out There...Such is the Devastating Evil of Life.

Thank You for your Time, for you can Never get it Back...

[cursed-blade-gf]

Why Dr. Takuto Maruki in P5R is Wrong and Why His “Perfect Reality” is Deeply Upsetting P.2

(This is a continuation of a hyperfixation rant that spoils a great deal of the ending of P5R and addresses mental trauma and therapy in great detail. So please, make sure you know what you’re getting into when reading this. Also, while I have played P5R many, many times and have experienced a pretty hefty amount of my own trauma and suffering in my own life, I’m not an expert on psychology and matters of the mind, so most of the thoughts on his mental state are purely perspective and opinion.)

If you want the rest of this rant, scroll my page and you’ll find it eventually.

The rest of this rant was spawned from an epiphany I had when traversing Futaba’s Palace again (which, if you know me well, you’re aware of my deep emotional connection to Futaba, her story, her experiences, and her entire personality; don’t worry, I’ll explain it in more detail in a future post).

The final nail in the coffin of me actively picking apart the reason why Maruki’s palace was an abomination was the existence of Futaba and the Necronomicon itself (which is Futaba’s persona.

The finality this brings to the truth of my beliefs is that, just as Joker and Crow were opposites of each other, Maruki and Azathoth are the antithesis of Futaba and Necronomicon for the following reasons:

Futaba’s persona’s power is the ability to distinguish the truth from from the lies. She also has the ability to manipulate cognition to work in her favor. Maruki’s works in counter to that in the way of being able to extend his cognition into the world and manipulate the world in his favor while covering the world in what can only be described as an illusion or a “lie” and actualize it as fact, forcing everyone to live in that lie.

Futaba’s and Maruki’s personas both wield tentacles (probably due to the Lovecraftian connection) and function as “vehicles” for their hosts to manifest their wills and desires out of. Not necessarily a deep and complex connection, but it definitely strengthens the metaphor.

Both Palaces manifested not out of a mind of evil, but out of a mind of trauma. Both lost someone dear to them, but sought different solutions. Futaba sought to see the truth behind her mother’s death, while Maruki sought to hide, bottle, and otherwise mask his own pain, so that he could “never be hurt by it again” while disguising it under the face of “she would be happier without me”.

Lovecraft (despite his DEEPLY problematic works due to his truly despicable outlook on life and the people therein) had a theme through the genre of his stories which perpetuated into the future of Cosmic Horror (which, thank god, is nowhere near as problematic). That theme is that nothing is ever as it appears and that monsters lurk everywhere, especially in the places that no one would ever think to look. You would never think your own reality to be a lie that you’re being strangled by or that such a conventionally attractive, easy-going therapist that only ever offers kindness and snacks would turn into a cult leader/world dictator, but here we are.

The Necronomicon, by H.P.’s definition, was the account which was carrying the names of all the “Old Ones” and details as to the means by which they were summoned, essentially branding itself as the deeper knowledge and the way to keep monsters restrained and controlled. Azathoth, as previously mentioned, is the Great Old One of Creation, Change, and Destruction. The weapon of most entities that Lovecraft created was madness or insanity i.e. the loss of one’s ability to control one’s rationality. Sound familiar? If you really think about it, despite Azathoth’s overwhelming amount of power in canon, he is still restrained by the power of the Necronomicon because he cannot spread his influence without the entities restrained by its pages, so as a result, the Necronomicon is the entity that holds Azathoth at bay by imprisoning and subduing his followers.

The brain, by itself, even under amnesia, continues its attempts to help its host body to recover its memories. Most people that suffer amnesia, even though the time varies, eventually rebuild the memories their brain collected across their lives. We saw that with Futaba. Though she did not have amnesia, she was able to recover her own memories of the trauma catalyst and the brain reworked itself from there (added note: the only thing the phantom thieves did in Futaba’s palace was lead her to her own truth. We did not change her heart. We merely helped Futaba fight her own demons. She came in, saw the light, fought, and left of her and her own shadow’s power). Given ample time, I firmly believe that, even if the Phantom Thieves had not stepped in or if we had failed, humanity WOULD NOT HAVE STAYED HAPPY FOREVER IN MARUKI’S REALITY.

THAT would have been the chain reaction event that would eventually drive the world to madness. One person would have recovered their true memories, then another, then another. All progressively shattering out of the rose colored glasses Maruki had dropped over the world and, in seconds, every single person would have caved into madness because they know what reality looks like and seeing all of the lies that we’re too real to be able to mesh their minds with? True and utter chaos. And as I said in my last post, the lid covering the sins that every utopia hides would spill out across the world like a tidal wave. And Maruki, still believing in his cause, would watch his own work shatter and bear sole witness to the world caving to a pain deeper and more profound than even he could possibly imagine.

On a deeper level, lies, no matter how well told they may be or how well concocted the may seem, always cave to the truth. Despite what we may understand, the truth of how events came about always breaks down even the most flawless, infallible lie. That’s how Joker gets acquitted. That’s how everyone shatters out of Maruki’s world. Even though Maruki believed his conceived “perfect” reality, each of our heroes mentions the idea that each of them knew the truth of that reality, but refused to believe it at the time because it was easier to live in a world where none of their problems existed. Yusuke returned to his old master, Madarame. Ryuji returned to the track team that scorned him. Haru returned to her dad who was not only dead, but a greedy CEO. Makoto forgot all of the lessons she learned from the dad who died fighting for what he believed was a just future. Even Futaba, seer of lies herself, forewent the truth, even though she had an incredible catharsis of the growth through learning that trauma and lies do not define how you live your life just because her mom was alive. Which is ignoring the truth and your problems. Which is ignoring your growth. WHICH IS CALLED REGRESSION. You know. As in “Prison of Regression”? YALDABAOTH’S PRISON? Same fly-covered turd, different shiny, gilded platter.

And to bank off of all of this and add even deeper context…

To pick on Joker and Crow a little bit, the reason they oppose each other is because while Crow’s persona can create anger, hatred, and tunnel vision in someone and create a malice towards one’s circumstances or drive them beyond rational thought, people miss what Joker’s capabilities are and why he stands toe to toe with Crow and even stands far above him in my opinion even though no one recognizes it in-game. Joker’s ability is to understand and connect. Joker’s power gives him access to the myriad of personas that sit in the Compendium. Each of them resonates with people that he comes into contact with and, despite it being put forward as the MEANS to connecting with people, that’s not the most important thing it does and that same power is actually the ENDS of his willingness to listen. He doesn’t gain the power to talk to people and connect, it’s from helping them thereby that he gains access to deeper power which then helps him connect, so on and so forth. Lifting them out of unfair circumstances and helping them regain their belief in their own free will. Notice the only thing Joker ever does is talk with confidants and help them weigh their options, only ever occasionally stepping in to change a heart or two and even then, in Mementos, he’s talking to the shadows and helping them see why their actions are causing themselves and other people’s pain. The difference between Crow and Joker is that Crow is so burdened by his own injustice that, as is said in-game, Crow only ever grows two personas. “One for his lies and one for his hatred” while Joker, open to pushing through his own pain and focusing on others rather than himself, gains access to the many and the myriad of personas that his heart was open to accepting and thus gains the power to kill a god of control and a god of actualization.

And even after all those two rivals went through together, even Goro Fucking Akechi. King Lies himself. The guy that built an ENTIRE LIFE off of the lies he told, the people he deceived, and the Pillar of Babel he built himself only to be thrown off of it by his own shadow at the end of his life. Even despite a second chance given by Maruki himself, Akechi rejected the second chance he was given because it would mean that he would never be living as himself. Despite how DEEPLY he would hate speaking the reality of it, Joker taught him that a life living behind a lie was a farce. Living under the thumb of something that could twist his ambitions and force him to regress back behind the fake persona that was Robin Hood? He would, without even a shadow of a doubt, rather have died facing the truth of himself behind that bulkhead instead of living a long and perhaps healthy life as a mere fabrication of what he really was.

Maruki couldn’t understand the TRUE struggle between these two gentlemen. How could he? He only ever thought he did. The true struggle was never about a simple rivalry. It was never about whose persona was better or whose power was more uncompromised or even about the power struggle between the Mysterious Leader of the Phantom Thieves versus the Brilliant Ace Detective. No. It was a friend offering a hand to a person who had gone off the deep end and was festering in deep personal conflict with themselves. And, at the end of that person’s life, the friend finally having the ability to connect with him and help him see how truly profound Joker’s care was for the guy that refused to reach back with any of his honesty. Maruki never understood that. Why not? Because how could the two most bitter of rivals and unlikely of confidants ever have come together in such an honest, pure, and deep seated conflict and yet form the most unbreakable connection that would stick with Joker for the rest of his life as a reminder of what it meant to truly be there for someone no matter how difficult it got or how much they pushed you away without having suffered so much to get where they were in the engine room of that ship. And Maruki was willing to take EVERY. SINGLE. BIT. of that growth and progression away with a single wave of his hand. As great as peace is, true bonds of friendship and mutual love and respect cannot be forged without conflict, suffering, and pain. The most tempered and sturdy swords CANNOT be forged without hours of heat so fervent, it would sear your flesh, and being molded into shape by a hammer.

Problems, struggles, addictions, suffering, and pain all meet at the same mouth of the same river of the human condition. If you do not keep going, leaning on friends and confidants for support and pushing through the inevitable rapids and rocks and waterfalls and deep water that you will slam into, you will start attempting to regress back where you came from. And despite how hard it seems to be ahead of you, it’s much harder to fight against the current along with everything else than to rush where the current will take you and maybe dodge the rocks and rapids if you keep looking where you’re going. And who knows? Rivers branch off. Deltas exist. You can direct your own path easier if you push with the current instead of against it. I’m never saying it will be easy, but fighting a current you can’t control and attempting to regress can take you places you never wanted to go.

Maruki almost learns this lesson too late. He almost gives himself to the next life and succumbs to his self-destructive tendencies and no lesson would ever have been learned. And in the end, when all is said and done, he finally understands. Not on the precipice of his crumbling monument to his anguish, but in the front seat of his own taxi-cab, driving the person that saved his life to wherever he may go next.

It’s okay to start your life over. It’s okay to push the reset button. Life is about mistakes. Every living being makes several every day. All of us stumble on the path to becoming ourselves. The only true error is refusing to grow and learn.

[jr-verse]

Real J.R (Fully known as Justin Cameron Richard) is the overarching character, better yet, the overarching antagonist in the J.R franchise. Serving as the final "character" when the true secret is discovered. He is known as the creator of his universe and multiverses. Aside being the creator, he is rather fond and grew attached of himself being a villain instead of a hero, possibly due to him being zealous. It's also revealed that all the other J.R's throughout the franchise were just the creator's fictional incarnations or avatars. It's also revealed that Real J.R responsible of countlessly resurrecting his numerous various fictional incarnations after a series of deaths. J.R creates fictional incarnations/avatars of himself out of self-interests. From describing as varieties of mischievous, notorious, villainous humans, to evil, ruthless, chaotic, cataclysmic and misanthropic demonic nor cosmic beings, all with free-will and self-awareness. J.R then started his first, original and dark prophecy. Known as "The Aftermath". Stating that if The Creator Of All dies, all his creations as well will suffer the same fate. The gifts of all natures will rot in decaying death, All beings in life will be destroyed, All Worlds will be ignited in chaos and destruction. The universe will be in eternal blackness with endless silence.

Occupation: The Creator Of All. (Primary Title) Former Prodigy Of Mischief "Universal" Being Of Life And Death The Former Side Of Heroism The True Deity

Quotes: "Fascinating... my fictional-selves are taking action."

"I like acting as a villain. But to be honest... I'm not evil in reality. Just... in my head."

"You absolute fool. Do you think KILLING ME would grant you a happy ending?"

"You know... this computer... is partly MY universe... right?"

"Here's a thing if you're pissing me off. You play with fire and sometimes you'll get burned! ...Do you even know what that means?"

"I assure you. Those J.R's are merely fake incarnations nor avatars of me. Facades... that I control and work on their AI and other stuff for my own ambitions."

Info: The true mastermind behind everything. Creator of universes, Life, Death, Matter and Purpose. As well as creating varieties of himself in anyway he wants them to be. He cannot be physically harmed by all traits of attacks due to him being special. But, there are only two weaknesses of his that are hidden.

Personality: Unlike his fictional incarnations/avatars, who are described from mischievous and infamous to pure evil and chaotic, with the desire of take over the world or cause cataclysmic destruction and death, Real J.R isn't any of those. He isn't an evil nor bad person in reality, but he is considered one in his mind and conscience. Aside from being a creative, self-centered but pessimistic most the time. Although can be comedic at times, he is downright serious. He doesn't like being messed with nor being manipulated. If so, it will cause him to temporarily become angered nor vengeful. He doesn't want to become famous anymore - and for good reason. Real J.R also has a life outside of his place, meaning that he isn't reclusive. He is also presumed to be a bit xenophobic and judgmental as he briefly startled by The Player themself and views their status and experience before interacts about them. 

HOW TO FIND HIM (ME):

Step 1: Use all of the protagonists (the ones I created or the one that were brought from others) to make an experience.

Step 2: Defeat all my non-real incarnations (which are fragments of the lock to my entry) If you have defeated all of them, The lock will be stably revealed.

Step 3 (Final Step): Find every last of all the grayish keys that are hidden around my universe. Gather them all to created a grayish colossal key.

Once all three of the main plans are genuinely completed, A secret can be finally unlocked.

Gather all the protagonists and use their experience to create the true controller. YOU.The PLAYER themself.

Once you've revealed the PLAYER, you will fight a penultimate boss called "The J.R-dian". A guardian with all of my fictional incarnations' consciousness into one.

After the penultimate boss's defeat, The entry opens... but - judgement awaits... depending on the good, neutral or evil.

You will meet me and will let me explain all my reasons and purposes. Thus, there is a very rare chance (15%) of a final boss fight to appear.

After hearing my story (aside the fourth-wall breaks), The PLAYER has to make two choices. Spare Or Kill.

If the PLAYER chose spare, Real J.R will continue on with his universe of creativity and fictionality.

If the PLAYER chose kill, Real J.R quotes a variety of his last words before dying. (Similar to the Desk Man's death from FNAF World.) The computer then detects Real J.R's amount of blood, causing the computer itself to permanently shutdown, before implying that all of Real J.R's creations will be eternally erased. The entire room went to pitch black. Leaving the PLAYER themself to live on in endless blackness. As the PLAYER finally kneels down in despair, they disappear into the endless darkness. After five minutes, a message of blood-red text occurred in the screen replying:

"You killed the creator. There is nothing left in this universe now that he's gone. Because of you. Do not return to this game anymore."

The game then shuts itself down. Leaving it unplayable now that there's nothing left.

During the very rare final boss fight. The PLAYER fights Real-J.R in a very intense fight. This is most-likely non-canonical.

If Real-J.R wins, all of The PLAYER's progress will be entirely erased.

If Real-J.R loses, The PLAYER will have to make the same two choices.

If The PLAYER hacks the game, and when reached to the true end, even in a fastest rate of time, Real-J.R detects The PLAYER's hacking antics and then replies that he's very disappointed and upset at The PLAYER. Real J.R then punishes The PLAYER by kicking them out of the game, making them unable to play again. A text message appears, replying:

"Next time, Do not act reckless! I don't care if you known nor seen this before or not!!"

It's likely implied that Real-J.R sent that.

[snowlikestardust]

Image descriptions:

Image one: Attention should be early aroused by presenting attractive objects--things of bright and beautiful colors, but not glaring--and sounds pleasant and soft to the ear. When you have succeeded in attracting a babe's attention to any object, it is well to let him examine it just as long as he chooses. Every time he turns it over, drops it, and takes it up again, he adds something to the little stock of his scanty experience. When his powers of attention are wearied, he will soon enough show it by actions. A multitude of new playthings, crowded upon him one after another, only serve to confuse him. He does not learn as much, because he is not allowed time to get acquainted with the properties of any of them.

Image two: Having had his little mind excited by a new object, he should be left in quiet, to toss, and turn, and jingle it, to his heart's content. If he looks up in the midst of his play, a smile should be always ready for him; that he may feel protected and happy in the atmosphere of love.

Images three and four: A mere babe will grieve and sob at the expression of distress on a mother's countenance; he cannot possible know what that expression means, but he feels that it is something painful--his mother's state affects him.

Image five: If in the same room, a smile or a look of fondness should now and then be bestowed upon him; and if in an adjoining room, some of the endearing appellations to which he has become accustomed, should once in a while meet his ear. The knowledge that his natural protector and best friend is near will give him a feeling of safety and protection, alike conducive to his happiness and beneficial to his temper.

Image six: It is not possible to indulge anger, or any other wrong feeling, and conceal it entirely. If not expressed in words, a child feels the baneful influence. Evil enters into his soul, as the imperceptible atmosphere he breathes, enters into his lungs: and the beautiful little image of God is removed farther and farther from his home in heaven.

Image seven: and say, 'This ball is round; this little tea-table is square. Now George knows what round and square means,'--it would give him something to think about. When he has a new toy, he will think to himself whether it is round or square.

Image eight: When a little child has been playing, and perhaps quarreling, out of doors, and comes in with his face soiled and blazed, sobbing and crying, it is an excellent plan to take him by the hand and say, 'What is the matter, my dear boy? Tell me what is the matter. But, how dirty your face is! Let me wash your face nicely, and wipe it dry, and then you shall sit in my lap and tell me all about it.' If he is washed gently, the sensation will be pleasant and refreshing, and by the time the operation is finished, his attention will be drawn off from his vexations; his temper will be cooled, as well as his face. Then seat him in your lap, encourage him to tell you all about his troubles, comb his hair gently in the meantime, and in a few minutes the vexation of his little spirit will be entirely soothed. This secret of calling off the attention by little kind offices is very valuable to those who have the care of invalids, or young children. Bathing the hands and feet, or combing the hair gently, will sometimes put a sick person to sleep when they can obtain rest in no other way.

Image nine: I cannot find language strong enough to express what a woman deserves, who embitters the whole existence of her offspring by filling their minds with such terrific images. She who can tell a frightful story to her child, or allow one to be told, ought to have a guardian appointed over herself.

Let us examine what the motives must be, that lead to such measures. It is indolence--pure indolence: a mother is not willing to take the pains, and practice the self-denial, which firm and gentle management requires; she therefore terrifies her child into obedience. She implants in his mind a principle that will, in all probability, make him more or less wretched through his whole life, merely to save herself a few moments' trouble! Very strong minds may overcome, or nearly overcome, early impressions of this kind; but in cases of weak nerves, or acute natural sensibility, it is utterly impossible to calculate the extent of the evil. And all this to save a little trouble! What selfishness!

Image ten: For instance, if there is any wonderful sight to be seen in the neighborhood, such as a caravan of animals, a striking picture, wonderful mechanism, &c. and if it is inconvenient for you [cut off from here]

/End image descriptions.

sorry i was researching the author of a victorian book about raising children and now i'm fascinated by her. clear my schedule we're talking about lydia maria child.

[casspurrjoybell-28]

The Alpha's Addiction - Chapter 32 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Aftermath - Kao

Cyrus doesn't need to be able to speak to get the message across.

He growls lowly, his icy stare directed at me that's basically saying

'I'm taking your ass back to safety. Now.'

I'm tempted to tell him I was handling the situation perfectly fine before he came but one look at his huge, intimidating wolf makes me think better of that.

He walks at my side, keeping close to me and almost curled around my body as we make our way back to the Pack House.

I see other warriors heading back too, which means the attack has been dealt with but how many losses?

And what was the exact motive?

I feel the hair on my neck rise suddenly and I whip my head to the side, spotting a shadowed figure upon the grassy hillside, eyes flashing in the moonlight.

I squint, trying to make out if it's someone I know or another warrior when I hear a woman's voice calling my name.

"Koa. Oh, dear Koa, are you hurt?"

I turn to see Juliet running towards us, concern etched across her face.

"I'm fine. I promise," I smile at her as she embraces me in a tight hug.

"How could you put yourself in danger like that, darling..."

"MOVE. FUCKING MOVE," Xavier's voice booms across the clearing, catching all of our attention.

What I see next makes my blood run cold.

Morgan. Bleeding. Limp in Xavier's arms.

The Alpha is running towards the Pack hospital in desperation, pushing people out of the way.

I put my hands over my mouth.

No. No. This cannot be happening.

Juliet wastes no time, making after them.

I feel faint, wanting to follow her but knowing I will be of no help.

She's the professional here but Morgan... how could someone do this?

It's evil. Pure evil.

"Mama," Oliver comes running across the clearing a few seconds later, bawling his eyes out as one of his teachers jogs behind him.

"Oh, baby."

I scoop him up into my arms, burying my face in his curls.

He's safe. Thank the Moon Goddess.

Relief doesn't come easy with Morgan still on my mind but I am grateful nonetheless.

Cyrus was right.

Oliver was kept safe and protected, just like he'd promised.

I hold him close as he cries into my chest, making sure he's real.

My baby is here.

********

The commotion has died down.

Guards are still on the lookout, ensuring that no attackers are hiding anywhere or watching the territory perimeter to make sure backup forces aren't coming.

Other than that, I don't know much.

Cyrus hasn't talked to me yet, having been ushered away by his father and other warriors to his office, so I have no one to clue me in as to what the fuck caused this.

I've tried to go see Morgan but the hospital isn't letting anyone in who isn't injured.

My bloody nose and bruised face don't exactly count.

I get that they are putting in all their focus into treating the wounded but it is agonizing, not being able to know what state Morgan is in or even see him.

I pray to the Moon Goddess that he will be okay.

He has to be.

Sweet, loving, beautiful-souled Morgan cannot be taken from us so soon.

It's not right.

After Oliver is tucked in for the night, I lock our door and decide to see if Cyrus is available yet.

I know that he's mad I disobeyed his orders and snuck out but I deserve some intel, at least.

I find myself in front of his father's office door, cursing that it's shut this time.

The last time I came here, I'd overheard Cyrus's dad's not-so-favorable opinion of me.

Maybe I didn't want to hear that but I do want to hear the conversation going on this door right now.

I push my ear up to the wood, eyes widening as the voice of my mate comes into semi clarity.

"The attack must be due to the alliance being severed."

"They attack us over that? Fucking bastards," his dad groans.

"The agreement stated we could pull out at anytime."

"Thornstone attacking us over this is proof enough they don't give a damn about the fine print," a female voice intrudes, one that I recognize as Lonnie.

I've barely seen her since she, Cyrus and Xavier first rescued me.

"Alaric, I told you..." Juliet starts but is cut off by her mate.

"Silence, woman," he scoffs.

"Let her speak," Cyrus growls and the room goes silent for a tense moment.

"I didn't think..." she begins.

"That allying ourselves with them was a good idea from the start but you insisted, Alaric or shall I call you man."

Moon Goddess, I love her.

"Get on with it," Alaric replies in annoyance.

"Now that we've seen their true colors, it's no wonder they've aligned themselves with that barbaric Blood Pack..."

My heart drops to my chest... no, to my feet... to the damn floor and through it because I cannot have just heard that Pack name coming out of Juliet's mouth.

Pure unease overcomes me, flashes of Alpha Zacan and the other horrible Alphas in his pack and how they treated me.

The days of hiding and tiptoeing around, hoping that by the grace of the Moon Goddess I wouldn't be spotted by a passing Alpha that needed something to beat around.

Wrapping my wounds while sitting on the cold tiles of the communal Omega bathroom floor, hands shaking as I poured salt water over the raw scrapes and bruises.

The constant, agonizing abuse.

The way the anyone lesser than the adult Alphas and Betas were treated.

The way Oliver would wake in the night, crying from hunger even thought I'd given him both our rations.

It's like a fucking nightmare, just thinking about it.

Being in this safe, beautiful place has completely destroyed my old view of life as a vast abyss of pain... transforming it into one of hope and love.

The very mention of that disgusting Pack is horrifying when I contrast it to where I am now.

I don't want to go back.

I don't want Nightshade having anything to do with Zacan and his goons.

It feels like everything is going so, so very wrong.

First Beau, then Morgan, this whole damn attack.

Nothing is working in our favor.

I wait there with my hands clenched together until the meeting is over. Soon, Juliet, Lonnie and Alaric are leaving the office, the Alpha male giving me a scrutinized glance.

He looks displeased at what he sees.

"Do you think Cyrus wants an Omega who recklessly endangers himself? You've got blood smeared over half of your face. It's not a good look for you, on top of everything else," he says in a low, threatening voice once Juliet and Lonnie are out of earshot.

Wow, the first time the man speaks to me and it's this shit and I wanna reply... 'Well, that pot belly's not a good look for you, either, douchebag but here we are' though I hold my tongue, considering the consequences of insulting the previous Pack Leader that everyone is still loyal to.

My wolf gives me a mental pat on the back for controlling my temper for once.

When I don't provide a rebuttal, he scoffs, walking off.

Good.. be disappointed that I didn't take the bait.

Taking my mind off the father, I decide it's time to face the son.

[steveezekiel]

THE POWER OF THOUGHTS

8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are TRUE, whatever things are NOBLE, whatever things are JUST, whatever things are PURE, whatever things are LOVELY, whatever things are of GOOD REPORT, if there is any VIRTUE and if there is anything PRAISEWORTHY—MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS.

9 The things which you LEARNED and RECEIVED and HEARD and SAW in me, these DO, and the God of peace will be with you."

Philippians 4:8,9 (NKJV)

• Your thoughts determine your state in life. The Scripture says: “For as HE THINKS IN HIS HEART, SO IS HE” (Proverbs 23:7 NKJV).

- Your thoughts make or mar you. Another passage of the Bible says:

"KEEP thy heart with all DILIGENCE; For out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23 KJV).

- The position or the level you are today, is a result of your yesterday thoughts. Thoughts are the pivots on which a person's life rotates.

-            The Bible talks on what to think on and what not to think on (Philippians 4:8).

It is those things you permitted in your mind that become your thoughts.

• The origin of thoughts: thoughts are governed by observations, associations, and teachings.

(i) Observations: what you observed and retained the picture in your mind, will affect and influence your thought—positively or negatively.

- This is the reason why you should discipline yourself about things you watch on line, or on the television, and things you observe in other people's lives.

- Thus, whoever you are following as a mentor, should be someone who is following Christ. If the person misses it, do not follow that!

- Paul admonishes the Believers in Corinth and every believer in Christ Jesus: "IMITATE [follow] ME, JUST AS I ALSO IMITATE [follow] CHRIST (1 Corinthians 11:1 NKJV).

- Also, he told the Philippian Christians and the Believers in general: "The things which you LEARNED [through your association with me] and RECEIVED [through impartation and teachings] and HEARD [through my teachings] and SAW [observed] in ME [Paul], these do, and the God of peace will be with you" (Philippians 4:9 NKJV).

- As long as the person is following Christ, it is all right to keep following such a person (Philippians 4:9). Because, following is needed to get to where you are going in Christ, however, make sure you are following the right person—someone who is following Christ Jesus:

"REMEMBER THOSE WHO RULE OVER YOU [leaders in Christ], who have spoken the Word of God to you, WHOSE FAITH FOLLOW, CONSIDERING THE OUTCOME OF THEIR CONDUCT" (Hebrews 13:7 NKJV).

- Discipline your eyes, make a vow not to use your eyes to watch any evil—whatever is not edifying:

“I [Job] MADE A COVENANT WITH MY EYES NOT TO LOOK WITH LUST AT A YOUNG WOMAN" (Job 31:1 NLT).

- There is difference between seeing and looking—observing. When you see what cannot edify you, that can lead to lustfulness, then take your eyes away, do not look keenly.

- Seeing might not be a sin per se, but looking, closed observation, might lead to sin, because it will affect your thoughts negatively: "But I [Jesus] say to you that WHOEVER LOOKS AT A WOMAN TO LUST FOR HER HAS ALREADY COMMITTED ADULTERY WITH HER IN HIS HEART" (Matthew 5:28 NKJV).

- Thus, you will do well to uninstall that app on your phone, or on any other devices of yours, that is fanning lusts in you, or causing you to lust and masturbate:

9 Do you not know that the UNRIGHTEOUS WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD? Do not be deceived. Neither FORNICATORS, nor idolaters, nor ADULTERERS, nor HOMOSEXUALS, nor SODOMITES, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners WILL INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD" (1 Corinthians 6:9,10).

(ii) Associations. There is power in influence. The people you associate with tend to influence your thought life—positively or negatively.

- The Bible says: “Do not be deceived: "EVIL COMPANY CORRUPTS GOOD HABITS" (1 Corinthians 15:33 NKJV).

- Whom you associate with determines how you behave (Proverbs 1:10).

- What you see the people around you doing, and hear them saying or talking, could be registered in your mind—memory and later replay back to you at your time of relaxation or when you are lonely.

- Thus, you have the responsibility to guard your mind and sieve whatever would be allowed to go in there: "KEEP YOUR HEART WITH ALL DILIGENCE, for out of it spring the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23 NKJV).

- It is better not to see and hear the evils being done around you, than trying to flush them out in your mind after being absorbed.

- If you stayed around the negative people, those who wallow in sin, you might come to realize that you begin to reason and think like them (Proverbs 1:10-29; 1 Corinthians 15:33). And vice versa, if you stay around the positive people: "HE WHO WALKS WITH WISE MEN WILL BE WISE, But the COMPANION OF FOOLS will be DESTROYED" (Proverbs 13:20 NKJV).

- Your Association determines your thoughts!

(iii) Teachings. The teachings you listen to, on line or radio, or read in a book, or a magazine; will influence your thoughts.

WHEN you are listening to someone's teachings through any device, or reading them in their books, you are rubbing your mind with that of the person.

- If you can listen to someone's teachings, their ideologies, for a good period of time, you will begin to think like the person.

- Avoid poisonous and contaminated contents: Junk, unedifying contents, on social media, or television, or reading books or magazines that could not edify you—help or contribute to your spiritual Growth.

- What you hear or read determines your thoughts. Whatever you programme into your mind, what you put into it, is what it gives back to you.

- Endeavour to put the right words in your mind, for you to have sound and good thoughts that could make you fulfil in life as a believer.

• Admonition

* What do you observe? That which you always look or explore will dominate your thought life.

* Who are your friends? Those whom you associate with, will influence your thoughts.

* What are you hearing and reading? The Teachings you listen to, or read, determine your thoughts.

• Stay Away

- Stay away from all places and things that do not support your conviction in God's Word, that do not contribute to your faith.

- You may even have to stay away from some so-called Believers, some who are unbelieving Believers, or certain gatherings; those who put out more unbelief than anything else:

14 DO NOT BE UNEQUALLY YOKED TOGETHER WITH UNBELIEVERS. For what fellowship has RIGHTEOUSNESS with LAWLESSNESS? And what communion has LIGHT with DARKNESS? 15 And what accord has CHRIST with BELIAL? Or what part has a BELIEVER with an UNBELIEVER? 16 And what agreement has the TEMPLE OF GOD with IDOLS? For YOU ARE THE TEMPLE OF THE LIVING GOD [If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour]. As God has said: “I will DWELL in them And WALK among them. I WILL BE THEIR GOD, And they shall be MY PEOPLE.”

17 THEREFORE “COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM AND BE SEPARATE, says the Lord. DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN, AND I WILL RECEIVE YOU.” 18 “I will be a FATHER to you, AND YOU SHALL BE MY SONS AND DAUGHTERS, says the LORD Almighty" (2 Corinthians 6:14–18 NKJV).

• What should a Believer think on (Philippians 4:8).

Fix your thoughts on what is true—honest—honourable, noble

just—right

pure—clean

lovely

admirable—good report

virtue—excellent

praise—worthy of praise

THINK ON THESE THINGS.

• As you work on your mind, you will rise, excel and fulfil in Life:

12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, THAT YOU PRESENT YOUR BODIES A LIVING SACRIFICE, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 AND DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD, BUT BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, that you may PROVE what is that GOOD and ACCEPTABLE and PERFECT WILL OF GOD" (Romans 12:1,2 NKJV).

- It takes a constant practice to make it done or happened.

• You will not fail in Jesus' name.

Peace!

[99900000000000119]

I never realized this message was about the Ascension event that will happen in our present lifetime. Message from spirit guide and Jesus: November 18, 1991: "What shall be, shall be that which comes to pass if thou shalt have an open intellect towards ALL MINDS; and believe with all your heart in thy God and you shall find eternal happiness.· "You shall not condemn others; you shall help them understand and believe in the Truth, in God's Name and faith.· “Because when there shall be NO FEAR within one's self thy soul shall be brought within eternal life and good.“Because there will be many tests of all Mankind, and those that cannot see shall have to learn by the unfortunate events to come to pass.”"Those that shall believe within themselves shall always be glorified by the Love of God. “There shall be GREAT, GREAT temptations to cause DOUBT in one's self, this will be your TRUE TEST' to gain your eternal life.“But as long as you keep thy faith within the ETERNAL LORD; to believe within your heart, then temptation shall never come to pass (i.e. never succeed).  (ANGEL SPEAKING) "Free spirits evolve; shall die between the good and the evil, —with thee, thou ones of full faith shall have eternal life. He (Christ) shall be back! That we should call at any time and within any time He will help. Rest in peace. Amen." (The reading was broken off at this point, as the Being of Light moved off and at a distance stood and watched the sleeper's spirit. Subject had to be talked down as the Light from Jesus was hot and stressing out subject) Conductor then re-establish contact and the following message was given by Jesus:(JESUS SPEAKING) "Bring life to myself (Christ) and thou shalt be able to receive anything through my help--as long as this faith abides.  BUT BEWARE! For there are going to be many, many, many to try to lead you astray. AND THAT IS YOUR CHALLENGE—TO OVERCOME THAT! "And then the time will come FOR YOU TO HAVE ALL KNOWLEDGE WITHIN YOURSELF, AND IN MYSELF, AS I AM ONE IN ANYTIME; THAT YOU CALL, AND I SHALL COME; I WILL BE THERE BESIDE YOU AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT, TO HELP. "Believe in one's self and love thy father and you shall possess ALL that you need to possess. Rest in peace and call within yourself and YOU SHALL ALWAYS HAVE THE ANSWER! Rest my child. (Reading was broken' off again, and contact again reestablished and I asked for clarification) The following response was given to “Clarify” what was just given: "That I have given to you 'Shall thou rest in peace.' Give thyself to the lesson that was given you in the time before now; therefore, YOU SHALL HAVE THE KEY THAT HAS BEEN MISSING. Lay down and rest at ease, then you will find it within yourself. [i.e. meditation, --author’s comment.] Because of thou love for others, so shall thou love thyself. The love that I have, through your heart and soul, shall make you PURE --to do as you please. Bring yourself to this peace, and it will bring you within your eternal self."  David Wilcock | Aliens, DNA, Truth, Deep State, Cataclysms | Ep. 214

[thewahookid]

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬

Our Blessed Lady told Saint Bridget that she was the mother not only of the just and innocent, but also of sinners, provided they were willing to repent. Every sinner who wishes to mend his ways finds this good mother ever so willing to embrace and help him; far more so than any earthly mother.

Saint Gregory VII had this thought in mind when he wrote to the Countess Matilda, saying: “Resolve to give up sin, and I promise you that you will find Mary more ready to love you than any earthly mother.”

But whoever hopes to be a child of this great mother must first abandon sin. Only then can he hope to be accepted as Mary’s son. He who is in mortal sin is not worthy to be called the son of such a mother.

And Saint Peter Chrysologus says, “He who acts differently from Mary plainly proves that he does not want to be her son.” Mary is humble, and he is proud; Mary is pure, and he is evil; Mary is full of love, and he hates his neighbor.

...

“The sons of Mary,” says Richard of Saint Lawrence, “imitate her, and they follow her chiefly in four things: in chastity, meekness, humility, and mercy.” How can he who repudiates Mary by living a wicked life even dare to wish to be a child of Mary? A certain sinner once said to Mary, “Prove that you are my mother.” But the Blessed Virgin answered:“Prove that you are my son.”

Another sinner invoked Mary, calling her the “Mother of Mercy.” And she replied: “You sinners, when you want my help, call me Mother of Mercy. But at the same time, you do not cease by your sins to make me a mother of sorrows and anguish.”

If a sinner, though he may not have given up his sin, endeavors to mend his ways and, for this purpose, seeks the help of Mary, this good mother will not fail to help him and make him recover the grace of God.

...

One day, Saint Bridget heard Jesus say to his Mother: “You help everyone who tries to rise to God, and you leave nobody deprived of your consolation.” But when the sinner is obstinate, Mary cannot love him. However, if he finds himself chained by some passion which makes him a slave of hell and still recommends himself to the Blessed Virgin and implores her with confidence to draw him out of that state of sin, there can be no doubt that Mary will reach forth her powerful hand, will deliver him from his chains, and will bring him to salvation.

“If the person who prays,”says Saint Anselm, “does not merit to be heard, the merits of Mary, to whom he recommends himself, will effectually intercede for him.”

Saint Bernard exhorts every sinner to invoke Mary and to have the greatest confidence in praying to her, because, although the sinner does not deserve what he asks, it will be granted to Mary on account of her merits. And those graces will be given to the sinner which she begs of God for him.

-- 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐺𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑦

𝑆𝑡. 𝐴𝑙𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑠 𝐿𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑜𝑟𝑖