#you write “a benevolent monarch she was not” as if that's a BAD thing. like a fool. like a loser

[batsplat]

do you have any favorite tennis matches? what's your favorite player and rivalry if you have one?

(note, I will be leaving both agassi + sampras out of this post as they have already been discussed in a fair bit of detail on this blog, though I might at some point make a post specifically about their matches. obviously they'd be pretty high up in all three categories with regards to favourite matches, players, and rivalries)

I have a lot of favourite tennis matches!! I'll throw a few of them under the cut, but honestly give me half a chance and I'll go on forever. my all time favourite tennis match is the 2003 us open semifinal between justine henin and jennifer capriati. it is available in full on youtube and I think you should watch it even if you have only the slightest interest in tennis. this is a match you need to experience for yourself and I will not spoil the result, but it features basically everything you could ask for:

very high stakes, both in terms of being a slam semi and for both players involved. it's an interesting stretch of henin's career, plenty of controversies that season and the potential for a rematch with countrywoman clijsters in the final. capriati during her noughties career revival had FINALLY managed to overcome her issues in late stages of slams and had won three of them... but her home slam at the us open was the one she wanted to win most of all. a history of semifinal choking she was attempting to conquer in front of her home crowd - fighting a woman six years her junior who had already tasted slam success that year

two very different personalities, the cold and calculating henin against the ferocious and passionate capriati... both not strangers to a little bit of gamesmanship, and of course you see that on display in this match too. keep an eye on the poor line judges

two contrasting but similarly engaging playstyles, the boisterous force of capriati coming up against henin's lethally elegant all-court game. henin's one handed backhand better than sex question mark. it's a great stylistic match-up, and produces some excellent tennis across the entire span of the match. just SUCH a great watch, like I really cannot speak highly enough of the level on display

a highly involved crowd who want their home favourite to win SO BADLY and are more than happy to do anything to help her cause. gets a bit wild, like the best us open matches tend to do

some truly insane momentum switches, many prompted by psychology and some prompted by physicality. one player's body starts letting her down in the final set in pretty striking fashion. one player's mind plays havoc with her, possibly even more memorably so. a very dramatic finale

the cruelty of tennis on full display. a match where you suffer for both players, who both want it so badly and are visibly fighting demons on the court. truly, truly brutal for the loser

I love this match so so much. I know it's very on-brand to direct you to a match from over two decades ago, but I promise you. it's worth it. sometimes the old stuff is the best

and do I EVER have a favourite player and rivalry!!!!!!

MY GIRLS. okay, look, they're both extremely retired and had their last match in 2010 BUT it is still my favourite rivalry!!!!!!! here, have another bit of my output for them:

wE hAvE aLwaYs ProTEcTEd tHis iMAge oF friENdShip tHat nEVeR eXistEd istgggggggg NOTHING WAS BROKEN BETWEEN US BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING TO BREAK

if you've ever heard someone be extremely annoying about federer's game, you probably can imagine what I sound like talking about henin. she's got my favourite backhand of all time, I genuinely think it is a work of art. I love how she moves, the way she unleashes on balls on the run, I love how she gets into the court in such a lithe and precise manner to pick up the next ball. I love how effective the serve is despite her height (number one commentating cliché for her lol, she's short we get it). the slices, the gorgeous drop volleys, the laser straight forehand... and again, the backhand. when she takes a swing at that thing and fucking pummels it past her opponent, stretches her wings to make the ball soar, it's just truly my favourite shot of all time. there's a specific backhand crosscourt on-the-run pass she hits in that aforementioned us open semifinal where... yeah. what can you even say. better than sex full stop

and well... okay, look, I am AWARE a lot of fans still hate her and I do get that she won't be everyone's cup of tea. but y'know. sometimes you just have to support women's rights and wrongs, and I do think some of the criticism of her is also a bit overblown. she's a cheater, yes, I won't argue with that. but I think sometimes cheating is interesting!! she really really really really needed to win, she was cold and ruthless about it - but also, I'm sorry, people would NOT have hated her quite so much if she were a man. and I'm also not saying a sad life story justifies cheating etc etc, but I do wish people were a bit more interested in why she needed to win so badly. she also has the number one athlete attribute that makes my brain go crazy - a deeply conflicted relationship with the sport itself. always caught between running towards and running away from tennis... yeah. god

the single best resource in tennis is a website called tennisabstract, it really is fantastic, I've contributed a bit to their match coding project before and definitely will again when my schedule's freed up a bit. I have a lot of time for the guy who runs it, I really do. there's this series he did, tennis 128, where he listed the top 128 players of all time according to his metric and wrote a piece for each of them... and I think they're all very interesting, it's a great project. but. there's a good chance henin got the most negative write-up of the lot, in a way I have to admit I take issue with. some excerpts:

well, tough luck. I don't care. the lgbt community has forgiven justine henin. look at what a cute tomboy she was as a teenager:

look at her holding a bird trophy:

wifey

the other half of that rivalry is her fellow belgian clijsters. very much a case of two narratives haunting each other!! do not separate!! anyhow, she's another player with a game I absolutely adore, these big scything groundstrokes but ALSO plenty of variety, like we're not talking a dull baseline basher here. and the movement!! sliding on a hard court is STILL pretty rare in the women's game, so it's very much seen as something associated with clijsters and clijsters alone:

life changing thighs is what I'll say

clijsters was everything henin was not - warm, popular in the locker room and with fans, a cheery outgoing personality who always had plenty of people rooting for her. she was also seen as too nice to win. and there are few things on this planet that get me going more than a choker. than somebody who just... freezes in the most important matches of her life. which for a while there had a nasty habit of involving henin, because of course they did

clijster's another one with a really fascinating career arc, one that is inextricably linked with henin's story - and thing is, she did get her happy ending. she's the feel-good story, proof that even chokers might be able to make it in the end. she conquered her demons... one of the very, very, very few to do so. she changed the narrative of her career completely. now I DO hate how this kinda... low key gets implicitly used as another stick to thwack henin with, this kind of, ooh!! look!! you can be a good person and be successful too!! which! idk. god forbid we root for a flawed athlete now and again. but I think this does a disservice to clijsters - not least because she WAS pretty nasty about henin in a way she wasn't about basically anyone else. henin and clijsters are more than just sinner and saint... don't let tennis fans tell you otherwise

and yeah, the two of them obviously had a bit of an emotionally tortured rivalry. belgium cooked up two insanely good tennis players born exactly one year and one week apart, the only two players of that stature the country has ever produced. they made each other better and they made each other worse. friends and enemies and something in between... and in the end, fundamentally inseparable. citadels have been built on less

anyway tbh I'm not going to pretend like anyone is summoning up that kind of narrative juice these days, but obviously I still have my faves. as regular blog readers may be aware, my favourite current player is this washed string bean who mostly just loses to more talented players and throws tantrums these days. I'll support him until his time runs up though. medvedev's got this fantastically unorthodox game that I could dissect all day, he's the smartest top player, he's funny as shit. his game should never have worked and he has no right to be as successful as he is. I could hold a lecture series on his forehand. I'm very much a pusher-inclined fan... I like counterpunchers, I like players who run around a lot and defend, and I also like tacticians. I was a pretty early adopter because I love a quirky playstyle and weird technique, which was then affirmed with the miami 2018 debacle (iykyk). but there was a moment I knew I would be his fan for life, and if you are a tennis fan you can probably guess what's coming:

"so I want all of you to know, when you sleep tonight, I won because of you" I fell in love

never ever has he let me down on the drama front. his "oops I did it again" basel 2018 instagram post, his "I think I killed someone? my apologies" from us open 2020, "if I die, who'll take responsibility" from olympics 2021, the "it's easier to enjoy life when you have no brain" paris 2021 monologue, the yawn at turin 2021, stomping on the ground davis cup 2021, the "his father can talk every point" ao 2022 rant, "I'm gonna pee as slow as this court" from iw 2023, when he got rid of the singles stick monte carlo 2023 plus the "look at yourself in the mirror" press conference comment, "vamo vamo vamo" from uso 2023... I could keep going. "shut your fuck up" has become a part of my vocabulary icl. I love his press conferences and watch a lot of them, just consistently a very interesting guy to listen to. he is unfortunately sort of hellish to follow as a fan, but y'know. sometimes it's not just trophies that make the journey worth it (cope)

women's tennis, my actual faves have basically disappeared from the scene this year so I'm not even gonna dignify them by mentioning their names. I am pretty ride-or-die for dasha kasatkina, a useless pusher who's also the wta's highest ranked lesbian and makes a vlog with her girlfriend I definitely recommend. I like her tennis a lot in all its horrendous pushing, she's very sweet and fun and produces an obscene number of cute photos with her girlfriend. beyond that, I suppose I am basically a swiatek and sabalenka fan this year, I find both of them highly engaging in different ways, I love how they're like... actually very good but are also seemingly constantly fighting demons. basically the two most compelling players in the game currently TO ME. I'm really really enjoying their rivalry, my main complaint is that I wish they played more (praying iga's new coach fixes her during the off-season). they produced by far the best match this year, madrid final, which I'd also absolutely recommend. but yeah, I generally vibe with all the top players of the women's game, if to differing extents!! really strong era at the minute that also promises to keep getting better. we pray

anyhow. a few more favourite matches - I'm going to try and hold myself back, because I really could go on forever. a lot of the old matches I watch are from noughties wta, but I'll limit myself because I'm aware this really is probably of interest to nobody and give just a further two - sharapova/henin wta finals 2007 and venus/davenport wimbledon 2005. both pretty normie picks, but sometimes the normie picks are normie picks for a reason

for my sins, I do have a few big three matches in fairly regular rotation, typically on in the background when I'm working. main ones are djokovic/federer us open 2011, djokovic/federer wimbledon 2019, djokovic/federer wimbledon 2014, and djokovic/nadal roland garros 2021. I also have a bunch of murray matches in rotation but I tend to mix it up for him more... my other go-to run is all of leylah fernandez's pre-final us open 2021 matches, which are just consistently bonkers in the best possible way. there's a few other recent-ish matches I really like to revisit, like iga/sublanko madrid 2023, fernandez/osorio monterrey 2022, kerber/juvan strasbourg 2022...

and then, of the more recent-ish men's matches, pretty obvious where my biases lie. medvedev/djokovic cincy 2019, med/wawrinka uso 2019, med/nadal atp finals 2020, med/thiem atp finals 2020, med/djokovic uso 2021, med/sinner atp finals 2021 (conceptually hilarious match), med/faa ao 2022 (go-to flight match, this one), med/tsi ao 2022, rune/djokovic paris 2022 (and honestly that whole rune run), med/zverev monte carlo 2023 (don't feel great about including this but I'd be lying if I said I didn't love it), rune/sinner monte carlo 2023, rune/foki madrid 2023, med/alcaraz uso 2023 (I promised I'd sing the american national anthem if he won that match so that's a voice note that still exists out there)... and so on

I could keep going, but I'll cut myself off here. and end things with my personal favourite instagram post tennis has produced. from after the aforementioned rune/foki madrid match:

'personally I hold nothing against the Spanish people' dw king I'll do it for you

[yv-sketches]

Why I did not like Never and Forever’s ending

I was the first person on tumblr to get it and I’m afraid I’ve scared multiple people by saying something happens at the end. I’m very sorry for that, so I’ll do my best to explain why.

First off, I don’t dislike this book, and I didn’t write this to convince people to dislike its ending. In fact, I’m incredibly happy for every singe person who liked the ending better than I did.

Secondly, I know it is me. I am too old for this. I really ought to quit drawing characters from a middle grade book and do more important things with my life.

MAJOR SPOILERS UNDER THE READ MORE. Please do not click here if you haven’t read the book. I mean it, don’t click.

In my last year of high school (yes I am that old, I feel old too), I followed program for people who might want to study English at university. There was a fancy professor with fancy books and everything. The subject was Arthurian legend, and almost all of the the medieval stories were incredibly depressing and/or disturbing, so I’m stuck with a lot of cursed knowledge about king Arthur I would rather forget.

There is no historical Arthur, or a definitive version of the myths including him. If anything it’s more like a bunch of fanfics about original characters that got lost over time. BBC had their interpretation, Guillermo Del Toro has his, Disney has theirs and now Cressida wrote one.

Unless you know that medieval depressing stuff, which the target audience probably doesn’t, twoo’s ending is actually pretty sweet. The witches are gone, the fules kissed and no one is confirmed dead. Not even Sychorax’s suitors.

~

My problem is not with the reveal itself, but the way it was done.

Httyd 1 started with the prologue that foreshadowed the ending that would follow 12 books later. The first httyd book is riddled with clues and messages that connect to the final story. The two dragons biting each others tail on Stoick’s shield, the injury on Toothless’s chest. Small things that have a major impact once you know what they mean.

Twoo does not have anything like that. In the first three books, there were no hints, no clues, no red herrings to conceal the twist at the end. Not once was there a joke about ‘Once and Future Magic’, or a mention of the city Camelot.

(The warrior capital could have been called Camelot in a random sentence no one would pay attention to, or Xar could joke about how the person of destiny was the once and future monarch of the entire Wildwoods.) All I found was a magic sword and a bird named Caliburn. Caliburn was already a character, so I did not expect the sword to be Excalibur/Caliburn too.

When Wish put the sword in the stone, I did expect a link to the Arthurian myths. A promise that the sword would get out of the stone once there was a peaceful kingdom of Wizards and Warriors together maybe? Like httyd, it would be a hopeful ending that one day there would be a king/queen to rule over a kingdom without slaves mining iron or droods with scary prisons. I did not expect the characters themselves to end up in the Arthurian myths.

~

The Arthurian ending would make some great character arcs if they’d been written in from the start. Xar never gets magic, but he becomes a wise king, with a round table with werewolves and hobs as equals. It’d be a perfect ending for him. Morgana used to be a benevolent magician watching over Arthur, and that sounds exactly like Wish. Yes, she is the person of destiny, but she stays Arthurs magic protector and best friend. Also perfect.

Bodkin gets over his fainting thing and becomes a honourable knight? Hmm... He spent three books disliking violence and wanting to be a storyteller. He might have overcome his fear and beat the Nuckalavee, but being good at something does not equal liking it. There’s also the ableist implication that you have to get over a condition to be a worthy hero, and that doesn’t feel right at all. However, he is the epitome of chivalry, and he’s a Fishlegs-like hopeless romantic whose crush might unintentionally start a war.

This all makes sense, and it would have been an amazing conclusion. I think I would have loved the ending if there were pages in book 1-3 showing that Cressida’s Camelot was far less creepy. The tales of arcadia and BBC versions each have a kid friendly version for their story. If the series was set in an entirely different Camelot, one Cressida specifically created for her story, it would be amazing to see Xar become a great king and Wish the most powerful Wizard. Instead, Camelot did not seem to exist until halfway into book 4, so the only Camelot I thought of was of the disturbing medieval variety.

~

The last pages just leave us with the names. This was an original world with original characters, no reason to assume they would grow up to be Arthur, Morgana and Lancelot until the last 15 pages. Then the entire series ends.

The httyd characters got an ending that leaves them right where they are. Three children on their way to a brighter future, happy to be alive and happy to be together, and perhaps dragons will return when the world is a better place.

From How to Fight a Dragon’s Fury:

So that is where we will leave them, Hiccup and his friends: forever young, forever hopeful, singing their hearts out on the island of Tomorrow. BECAUSE... If it doesn’t end well, then it isn’t THE END

This is not possible with the twoo trio. Cressida told me exactly which adults they will grow up to be, and with all the terrible things that medieval people wrote about their characters, I also know there is no reason to be hopeful. I feel bad closing the book if that is how their lives will continue.

It does NOT end well, and it IS the end.

These characters deserved better than the fates assigned to them in the last few pages.

[cirocchio]

AU details 01. royalty etc.

( still pointing at tsun as the instigator for this post )

‘royalty AU’ is too vague for me though so this is going to be a more all-encompassing general description of possible ideas for ‘AUs that all can take place in a political/ court setting’. No fancy introductory story-like excerpt.

Some things to note:

Firstly; because I like to keep Ciri’s Roma heritage I’m more inclined to make her a bastard child that may or may not be legitimised by her father. Usually not. Her uncle, as always, dotes on her. He’s also the more popular of the duo, the heir of the throne, etc. Another idea is that she accompanies Remo/Silvan to court as a child, as Remo would want to lobby for more rights for Rroma/ commoners in general. She can be as high or low-ranking as is deemed suitable for the plot.

Secondly: Ciri will never be a happy ruler. The responsibility of such a position weighs her down and restrains her and has never been something she wants to live with; Ciri both fears and hates power so her having that will make her incredibly uncomfortable. She doesn’t have the talent for scheming and intrigues nor does she command enough respect for her advisers to listen to her: she’d be a puppet at best, a scapegoat or victim of an assassination plot at worst. Ideally ( and even realistically ); she never gets stuck in the position of ruler/heir to the throne in the first place, but if she somehow did, she would work on a way to abdicate or even get banished without too much commotion or sending the country in chaos.

Ciri’s reputation ( aka the one thing I can talk about with almost utmost certainty ): Regardless of her position (low-ranking noble or royal blood), she’d be a bit of an oddball at court. She’s sensible and pragmatic and has plenty of interest in languages, culture, and music, promising traits. Yet when it comes to other matters she is bored, unmotivated, and dreamily stares out of the window during important lessons and meetings. She has no tact and will tell nobles, teachers, and missionaries alike when she does not like them, something they say or do, or disagrees with them without any regard for whether it’s appropriate or not. Being a bad liar Ciri quickly gives up on trying to play with and figure out the different masks people put on and stubbornly stays true to herself, demonstrating her distaste for the two-faced behaviour at court. She spends more time reading books and playing with her birds in the gardens than she does attending festivities, banquets, or councils ( and if she does attend either of those it’s to listen to or talk with the bards and poets and whatnot ). She has proven herself a terrible fighter and tactician at an early age, and actively avoids war generals or soldiers – making her dislike for them obvious. On the other hand, she is known to slip in the kitchens ( is surprisingly resourceful when it comes to this, even though she later confesses her mischief ) at night and speak informally to the servants.

While teachers find her temperament easy to manage, her select interests are frustrating. When she’s not motivated she will not put effort in her tasks, unless perhaps Remo convinces her to, but he’s known to be lenient with her. She openly talks about her fantasy of meeting magickal bards who will steal her away for marriage ( or just adventure ). Rumours circulate that she talks to her birds and kisses them in the hopes of turning them into fairies. In many ways she is a child, yet sometimes she seems wise beyond her years. 

She’s passionate about introducing literacy for the common folk, and purposely lets her maids listen in on her classes or gives them ‘homework’ to practice writing, but other than that does not have an active interest in the welfare of the commoners and is thoroughly unhappy with the responsibility to care and decide things for them. She also has romantic views on what it’s like to belong to the common folk and often says she wishes to be one of them, unaware of how limiting, inconvenient, and difficult poverty can be.

The general consensus is that she’s better avoided as her lowborn mother’s traits show in her boorish behaviour and clumsy movements, proving that she has no place at court; wouldn’t want that to rub off on you. Some people enjoy her company and soothing voice, though. Mostly lower-ranking nobles of little consequence, girls a few years younger than her, and the servants she befriends of course. She’s also, obviously, seen as bad wife material. This might make her sound like a rebellious child but Ciri is not the type to throw a tantrum over things, purposely upset others, start fights or otherwise and would endure gossip and humiliation with a meek smile and, or if she reacts her words would lack subtlety and ‘intellect’, aka it makes her come off as an idiot and wouldn’t be too insulting to the person who insulted her first. She minds her own business and so long as others mind theirs she’s happy, as is also the came in most of her other verses. In other words, it all really comes down to her presence at court being very misplaced. Remo thinks it’s endearing and ‘gives the people something to talk about’, so he doesn’t scold her – protects her where he can. Silvan tries his best to ignore her existence altogether, though that’s a bit more dependent on the plot that’s decided on.

Possible situations, place at court:

Remo & Silvan are of royal blood, Remo being the crown prince. Ciri is Silvan’s bastard child, raised at court but not acknowledged by Silvan. Remo takes her under his wings and raises her as an important member at court, using her as a pawn ( to make Silvan seem more sympathetic/ involved/ as a spy under the guise of her talent as a (travelling) court musician/ to strengthen political bonds by arranging a marriage ). Little is Ciri aware that her position is a direct threat to her younger half-sisters; her being older, does she not have as much right on the throne as them? Whether her half-sisters see it the same way is up for discussion.

Similar as above but Remo dies at some point, leaving her back in Silvan’s awkward care. Silvan, convinced and aware of his own limitations as a ruler, would appoint her as his successor so he may abdicate quickly. Ciri resents him for this, ignorant as he is that she’s every bit as unsuitable and unwilling to lead a nation as him. Cue her trying to weasel her way out of it, or early assassination plots, or manipulative leeches trying to make a puppet of her; this would be a scenario where it’s advisable to look for a different successor.

In the event that Silvan/Remo are nobles or even just wealthy merchants who bought their way to court, and have come there to voice their grief about their village/ the Rroma etc. and thus lobby for better conditions, Ciri would mostly be left alone and treated with little interest by others, although she is still in danger of being an assissination victim, as it’s not in everyone’s best interest that Remo convinces the king/court of his right.

Another for if Remo passes away (whether by accident or assassination), better if he’s no heir but just nobility trying to improve the conditions of Rromani; here are actually some options for Ciri to want to actively partake in politics, if only to honour his memory & ‘fulfil his wish’, or even to uncover who murdered him. She’d still suck as before though and would need to rely on others to actually achieve what she wants: it’d be an incredibly dangerous undertaking for her.

Of course she can also be the servant or maid or musician appearing at court and take it from there, but then it’d be your muse’s royal au, not Ciri’s.

Anyway there’s a lot that can happen, catch me coming up with 25 more ideas depending on your muse.

Other things to consider ( on my side of the plotting ): - the position of roma in the society this would take place – are they accepted, outcasts, does it take place in a fictive court where they are a well-represented; is her heritage openly known or kept secret? on the other hand, could the roma try to use her existence as a means to get more rights and visibility in this land? - whether her gender is an issue or not. I’m a fan of not, of using a fictional setting where female monarchs are as common as male (meaning female soldiers and diplomats etc are also equally common), but either way works. - the stability of the country: is it peaceful? on the brink of the war? is there civil unrest or not? how important is it to have a stable ruler? How divided is the court, how many enemies are there? - Ciri’s popularity among the common folk largely depends on what they value/need. Because of her mousy appearance she’s not impressive as a strong leader who guides and unites the people, but her gentle demeanour can be useful if the people value benevolence and mercy - she will always suck and want to get out just know this. would also need help in getting out. - will never care much for a difference in ranks and loathes the titles and formalities that ought to be used.

[darlingxdarkling]

I can’t believe my first Medium article is a pop culture piece criticizing Sindel’s depiction in MK11 Aftermath, but you know what? It’s totally worth it.

Full text under the cut in case the article is inaccessible because of Medium’s paywall. I want my pieces to be as accessible to the public as possible.

Warning: Heavy spoilers for Mortal Kombat 11 and its expansion, Aftermath.

Ever since its first release in 1992, the Mortal Kombat franchise is known for its extreme, action-packed violence and gore that led to the creation of the ESRB. It’s also know for its controversial depictions of scantily-clad women; however, did this not deter female gamers from becoming fans of the franchise, myself included. Admittedly I am one of the fans of Mortal Kombat who was late to the party, partly due to my age and inaccessibility of gaming platforms, only discovering Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 in 2010 while playing with my older cousins, who were mostly boys.

Eyes fixated on the pixelated, motion-captured sprites on the screen in wonder, I remember being a fan of characters such as Raiden, Nightwolf, and Sindel. Especially Sindel, whom I grew to adore because of her regal, gothic appearance. Due to the stereotype that gaming is a masculine interest prevalent during those times, I felt alienated at times, having no other female playmate aside from my younger sister. However, seeing female characters such as Sindel gave me characters to identify with in my formative years.

A decade later, I still am a fan of the franchise, and of those characters. With the years that passed, there had been significant changes in the video game industry, and the clamor for better depictions of women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and other minorities. Mortal Kombat is one of the franchises that changed with the times, even introducing their first confirmed gay character Kung Jin in Mortal Kombat X, and depicting classic character Mileena and 3D era character Tanya as lovers in the same game, confirming that Mileena is indeed canonically bisexual.

Mortal Kombat X’s female character designs were diverse and realistic too; there were some female characters whose designs didn’t show too much skin, like Sonya Blade’s main costume, befitting her role and demeanor as a tough-as-nails general, and there were female characters like Mileena who had more skin in her costumes, justified by her character’s desire to compensate for her monstrous Tarkatan genes. It’s not perfect, but overall, Mortal Kombat X is a breath of fresh air to the franchise. As a bisexual, an Asian, and a woman, I felt seen. I felt good, because minorities like me are respectfully represented.

As for its sequel, Mortal Kombat 11, there are some noteworthy depictions of real-life social issues in the game, such as colonization, which is explored with Nightwolf’s revamped lore. In the rewrite, Nightwolf is depicted as someone who used to be angry that his people, a fictional Native American tribe called the Matoka, resigned themselves to colonizers in his youth, but was blessed by his tribe’s deity, the Great Spirit, with power to help his tribe move forward after he defended the Matoka’s honor against Kano. The subject of race is also explored with Jax’s ending, where he uses the power he obtains from the hourglass to create a world where Black people were never enslaved, which garnered manufactured outrage despite the lack of any real controversy. Another example is Fujin’s ending, where he uses his power to experience the lives of mortals of different races, realms, genders, and faiths, putting emphasis on the value of integrating with the masses in order to understand and serve them better.

However, there are some aspects of the game that left a bad taste in my mouth. No, that would be an understatement. It left me furiously disappointed.

John Vogel is the lead writer for the franchise since John Tobias’ departure, writing the bulk of the story until he left around after Mortal Kombat X. Dominic Cianciolo becomes co-writer, alongside Shawn Kittelsen. Cianciolo is credited as the Story Director for Mortal Kombat 11, and thus responsible for the bulk of the plot.

After being unplayable in MKX, Sindel returns to the MK11 roster in a Kombat Pack, expansions featuring characters who aren’t present in the main story or are guest fighters from another franchise, such as Nightwolf and the Joker from the DC Universe. At the announcement of their return, I was ecstatic. The way Nightwolf’s character is handled and the added lore left me positive and hopeful for Sindel’s return.

But then, the retcon happened.

Originally, Sindel is the deceased mother of Kitana whose husband was killed by Shao Kahn. She then sacrificed herself through a suicide pact in order to protect the realms, and was brought back to life as an evil queen by Shao Kahn milennia later, but then escapes his hold. Here, she is made to be evil all along, responsible for her husband’s death and willingly coming with Shao Kahn to rule alongside him. Sindel becomes a character from her society’s ruling class who is obsessed with preserving her privileged position. Some fans claim that this new depiction is “empowering”, but is it really progressive?

Today, the terms “empowerment” and “women’s empowerment” are becoming buzzwords used by advertisers and big industry writers in an attempt to sell their product to a growing number of women who takes part in geek culture or play video games, and a society with values that are getting more and more progressive. Some people call this phenomena “woke capitalism”, where a corporation adopts progressive political causes. The gaming industry is not exempt from that; people pay for games, downloadable content, and microtransactions after all.

More often than not, when male writers write “strong” female characters, they tend to focus solely on enhancing traditionally masculine values, such as fighting ability, ignoring what other values female characters have that make them strong, or they tend to be horribly, horribly tone-deaf, which I will explain in detail later. These representations of “women’s empowerment” should force us to reexamine the media we consume, and discern whether these are genuine depictions of social issues or woke capitalism disguised as such.

In the first place, why are so many writers obsessed with “empowering” female characters, instead of writing them as characters capable of fighting for their emancipation?

Empowerment is passive; it’s something granted by those who hold power, not earned nor fought for. In the rewritten Sindel’s case, she is empowered by Shao Kahn when he took her as his wife and gave her the privileges he enjoys. Sindel’s empowerment is selfish; her rise to power did not empower, emancipate, nor liberate her daughter Kitana, nor Jade, nor Mileena, nor the women of Outworld. On the contrary, it made life worse and oppressive for all of Outworld’s denizens, including its women, who now have to serve not one, but two privilege-drunk monarchs who rule with an iron fist. If that’s the values the writers want to impart on their audience, I have serious doubts on the sincerity of their “wokeness”.

The release of Aftermath takes things up to eleven, where Sindel betrays her own daughter to be with Shao Kahn, who, originally, enslaves her and forces her into marriage, which holds so much unfortunate implications for those in abusive relationships. It doesn’t help that Cianciolo liked a tweet from a fan that said the original Sindel, an abuse survivor, was never an empowered female character and a was bad mother for killing herself and leaving her child behind, bringing even more unfortunate implications not just for women in abusive relationships, but also for people who struggle with suicide. Somehow, Cianciolo and the fans that agree with him ignore these implications altogether and believes that the new haughty, tyrannical Sindel is an example of a strong female character. This isn’t the first time male writers tried their hand at feminist writing and ended up with tone-deaf plot decisions.

Cianciolo took a nuanced and well-written character and turned her into Shao Kahn 2.0. What happened is essentially the creative butchering of Sindel’s character; she went from being a survivor to an oppressor. Shao Kahn already fills the role of a cruel tyrant who refuses to relinquish his privilege for the good of the masses, and rewriting Sindel to become his distaff counterpart is not necessary at all. This treatment of her character isn’t feminist or progressive at all; it’s poorly-disguised misogyny. It’s implying that a woman can only be powerful if she submits to her husband so that he may grant her a taste of privilege reserved for powerful men, an antiquated sentiment best left to the feudal ages. Granted, the fictional realm of Outworld is ruled by a monarchy, but Sindel’s previous characterization is proof that writers can refuse or avoid using that trope.

Emancipation, on the other hand, is an active role; according to Ruane and Todd, it is “a process by which the participants in a system which determines, distorts and limits their potentialities come together actively to transform it, and in the process transform themselves.” This concept can be applied more appropriately to pre-retcon Sindel.

Going back to my days as a highly impressionable teenager, though I grew interested in her for her benevolent demeanor despite her intimidating appearance, Sindel’s roles as a survivor and a leader are what cemented my love for the character. Shao Kahn murdered her husband, usurped the throne, conquered her kingdom, and coerced her to be his wife. Later, she sacrificed herself for the greater good of a realm, and after being resurrected as an evil brainwashed puppet, she finally broke free from her abuser. With her newfound agency, she became a queen of Outworld who recognized her privilege and used it to stand with its masses against tyrants, and she also becomes a doting mother to Kitana, demonstrating great love for her family. When finally removed from her abuser’s influence, Sindel chose to be free, she chose to lead her people benevolently, and she chose to be with her true family. This Sindel broke free from the traditional Outworld power structure that Shao Kahn perpetrated for thousands of years, no longer a bride to be forcefully taken, nor a pawn to be manipulated by its emperor.

If you can look past the scanty costume design standard for video games of that era, the original Sindel could be a female character ahead of her time. Original Sindel not only can kick ass, she also has agency, willpower, and a heart; a strong female character with good writing. For those reasons, Cianciolo’s Sindel is #NotMySindel.

[emiliehardie-blog]

I have decided to start writing down my opinions of The King: Eternal Monarch... starting with the fourth episode, like a weirdo.

Opinions at start of episode 4:

- overall: I’m watching episodes as they come out, but am not missing it between episodes

- there are elements of this that are really great (cinematography, Jo Yeong, First Court Lady Noh), some with potential (the prime minister) and some that are just elements I find awesome (alternate worlds, chill/lazy/spoiled characters who are secretly badasses when they want to be)

- I’m currently ‘meh’ on each of the two main leads, and their relationship

Thoughts on episode 4, while watching:

- huh, sensations can bleed over from one world to the other (but only when doppelgängers are doing the exact same thing at once? What is the mechanic behind which doppelgänger sends the sensation and which receives it, or do they both receive the other’s and Captain Stoic just didn’t voice the weirdness aloud?)

- Also, the Unbreakable Sword is hands down my favourite character. I’m glad (some of) his stress is gone when Gon turns up again

- That conversation between Gon and Tae-eul as they were walking back from the bamboo forest was the first deep-ish ‘getting to know’ you moment of the series

- “The kind of king who has never been asked such a question and who is trying his best not to panic” is probably the line that has endeared him to me the most so far (especially since he appeared pretty collected at the time - I guess he’s had a lot of practice keeping vulnerable emotions under lock and key)

- I love how loyal Noh is to Gon. It’s kind of great that the two people closest to Gon have his best interests at heart

- the Prime Minister is determined and pragmatic but I don’t know yet whether I love it or hate it

- I definitely enjoyed Noh vs PM, cause of how strong willed they both are and how they are each acting on something important. Also, their faces when Gon turned out to actually be in there were amazing, as was Noh’s when Gon decided to take the PM’s report without her

- “I always put zero or minus one when I didn’t know the answer” is going to be thematically important later, mark my words

- “You’re indebted to me now.” Er, what? Why? Cause she can go about claiming the king went missing? With what proof?

- “Every moment of my life is the history of Corea. I want that history to last forever. But that will require more than my benevolence.” There we go; that’s the heart of the character. That’s a driving force that can push a character forward. It should have been introduced more clearly from the start but I’m onboard now.

- Oh, snap. She’s been thinking of him as someone who lucked into his position but doesn’t have the killer instincts to be dangerous to her. Guess it didn’t occur to her that it didn’t really cost him anything to let her get some advantage by being thought to be in a relationship with him. Threatening him is something else entirely.

- I love that Noh has zero compunctions about taking Gon to task, and he knows it well enough to tell Jo Yeong not to abandon him

- “Lady Noh, Yeong just glared at me.” Ahaha

- I love that the senior detective is just like ‘no, don’t do this to me’

- Lol Tae-eul and Sin-jae solve that robbery right quick. Looks like they have a pretty consistent strategy of Tae-eul acting to drawn out the bad guy while Sin-jae stays back to provide backup

- Jo Yeong holds absolutely zero awe for his king, especially after the later has disappeared

- Gon clearly doesn’t care about the GPS; it won’t stop him going to another world

- PM doing PM-y things; has a detractor try to minimise her competence by saying she cares about appearance rather than, say, point out decisions that had bad consequences (as opposed to just things he thinks will end badly). That checks out, and I bet he would complain that it’s “unprofessional” or “reflects badly on the country” if she were less put together

- Did I miss something with the white-haired guy who’s often with the PM? Sone sort of mentor or ally, but has he been properly introduced?

- I would mug someone for that fountain pen

- I was liking the Prince when I thought he was going to talk about duty and loyalty; then he swung into classism

- I do like that he (currently) seems to not be ambitious or want to be King and is instead something of a benevolent authority figure for Gon

- I love that half-half shot of the two parallel worlds in the library (actually, the scene on the steps was beautiful too)

- The evil uncle has a spy in the palace. Of course he does

- Ahaha. Kid-Gon was totally ready to do brave and heroic things... until he was asked to eat beans and spinach. Then it was all “maybe next time, father”

- I kind of want to go walk in a bamboo forest now. Unfortunately, I live on the wrong continent

- Whoever is doing the cinematography and colouring of this show deserves all the awards

- Aww, Jo Yeong is sad, thinking Gon is sick/has gone crazy

- A photography darkroom is never not creepy. Any photo in one automatically becomes stalkerish

- Ahaha, Jo Yeong is treating the literal king of his country (and his grown-ass friend) like a teenager liable to sneak out through the window and is all ‘I’m warning you so you won’t embarrass yourself’

- Wait, is that photographer taking Tae-eul’s photo the mysterious ally of the PM in the other world, or am I going crazy?

- “Lost after a fierce scuffle with a suspect” LOL

- Ooh, Gon os getting shoulder pain again

- Yeong: ‘you can drop the act.’ Thunder outside. Also Yeong: ‘oh, crap’

- Aaaaand, Gon is gone. That’s not the act of a good friend, but it is pretty funny

- Oh, wow. That was a timeskip. Also, Tae-eul is rightfully freaked out over the prediction about her ID issue date

- Er, Sin-jae, you don’t let someone that freaked out and scared go home alone - especially after she’s had phone calls that freaked her out that much. Seriously, dude

- Tae-eul, going to the middle of nowhere at night with a weird guy is rarely a good idea. Even if his claim to be a king from another universe happens to be true

- Woot, she’s finally made it to his world.

- Jo Yeong looks like he’s had a few years shaved off his life from fear alone, and he’s pissed

- Yeah, Tae-eul, I’d be pretty shocked too

Higher level thoughts:

- Okay, I’m more sold on Lee Gon after this episode. I think it’s kind of unfair how he keeps worrying Jo Yeong but I have a clearer idea of what motivates him

- Still ‘meh’ on Tae-eul and their relationship

- Jo Yeong’s position is kind of awful. He has to be perfect every moment of every day and control the entire world, or else he loses his best friend/brother. And said best friend doesn’t make it easy for him

- Jo Yeong is still my favourite

[welllpthisishappening]

All Was Golden in the Sky (8/27)

Magic is dying.

Emma knows it. She can feel it, the emptiness rattling around in her, like it’s trying to make sure she disappears as well. What she doesn’t know is what to do about it, because, suddenly, there is a man in Storybrooke claiming she’s the Savior and a seeress certain a prophecy promises the same and the last thing she expects is for her minimal amount of lingering power to pull her away.

To New York City.

And another oddly familiar man with blue eyes and a smile that sinks under her skin and makes magic bloom in the air around her. Things are about to get interesting.

—

Rating: Mature AN: Timeline-wise, because it’s never explicitly stated, Emma and Killian are 13 and 16 respectively when they meet. Then they’re 18 and 21 when he leaves and here we’re 21 and 24 respectively. It’s been awhile. Someday I’ll write about them being very bad at sneaking out. As always, thanks for reading and a special thanks to @resident-of-storybrooke @distant-rose and @bmbbcs4evr for being particularly wonderful. Don’t yell too loud, ok?

|| Also on Ao3 if that’s your jam || 

“You realize you’re fidgeting, right?”

Emma blinks, startling slightly at the hint of laughter clinging to Mary Margaret’s words and she’s met with half a smile when she glances at the reflection in the mirror. “What?” “Fidgeting,” Mary Margaret repeats. “Twitching, even.” “Twitching is a terrible word.” “Yes, it is actually, which is why it would be wonderful if you could stop so I don’t actually stab you in the back of the head.”

Emma makes a less than dignified noise, lips tugged behind her teeth to try and stop herself from laughing too loudly and drawing the attention of the small contingent of maids she knows is lurking on the other side of the door. Mary Margaret had ushered them out of the room hours before, promises that she was more than capable on the tip of her tongue, but Emma had, admittedly, barely been paying attention to it. 

She is absolutely, positively fidgeting. And twitching. Even if it is a terrible word. 

Her muscles do not care though, an energy that’s simmered under her skin since the first message returned to the castle and she’s certain every person who’s glanced her direction in the last few days has noticed the magic that practically pours out of her at this point. 

She’s light with it, a buoyancy to her that makes her feel giddy and powerful and something she’s never entirely felt before, but the feeling has grown over the last few years and he’s kept his promise.

Every single time.

The story of the brothers Jones has turned into something resembling modern day legend in Misthaven. They’re a rags to riches to officer tale that inspires the masses and makes them believe, a change to the kingdom that’s been as jarring as it’s been wonderful. They leave and return, sailing between lands and monarchs and Emma’s magic grows with every passing season and every passing certainty that he’s waiting for her as much as she’s waiting for him.

There’s no threat of the Dark One, no hint of anything except good magic and complete control and the people in the town below the castle don’t cower quite as often. There are fewer disappearances and Emma’s fingers haven’t sparked in years and the phrase age of prosperity is thrown out with an alarming amount of consistency. 

There are days spent in gardens and moments in the town, smiling and nodding and they’re allowed in town now. Encouraged, even, a benevolent royal family of magic and power and an armada led by two men the entire kingdom seems besotted with. 

There is, however, the pesky little problem of the kingdom’s actual sovereign. 

George is very rarely seen outside his study. He sits there, hour after hour and day after day, hidden behind stacks of books and bits of research, refusing to tell anyone what he’s up to or what he’s planning and Emma knows he’s planning something.��

And that’s far too small a word because part of Emma still worries and wonders and she never forgets the words of the prophecy, but then the Jewel of the Realm docks in the harbor and her feet move without her explicit permission and the arms that wrap around her seem to tighten just a bit more every single time.  

Every single time. 

“Emma,” Mary Margaret chides, digging the tip of her finger into the top of her shoulder. “You’re doing it again. Stop moving so much.” 

She scrunches her nose, huffing softly, but that only leads to slightly slumped shoulders and Mary Margaret’s exasperated groan threatens to crack the mirror in front of them. She shouldn’t be so worried. 

There’s nothing to worry about. 

Not anymore. 

And part of her wants that. Part of her needs that, desperately, the certainty she’d been certain she’d never have, but part of her knows that certainty is a passing thing and George can’t possibly be trusted and--

“What do you think he’s doing?” Emma asks, the question falling out of her suddenly without much thought and Mary Margaret’s eyes narrow. 

“Who? Killian?” “What? No, why would--that’s ridiculous.” “That was terrible, you realize that, right?” “I don’t have anything to be terrible about. There’s nothing going on with, Gods, ow --what are you doing?” Mary Margaret winces, gritting her teeth when she hisses in a breath of surprised air. “Well, if you would stop moving so much this wouldn’t be a problem,” she mutters. “And you’re kidding me, right? You think we don’t know what you’ve been doing for...how long has it been?”

“I don’t know what you’re asking me. Since when?” “Emma.”

She sighs again, and her shoulders are going to ache for the rest of the night. That may hinder her plans for the rest of the night. She assumes she needs her shoulders to be able to retain most of their motion if she wants to lift her arms at all. 

That generally helps when dancing. 

And dancing, generally, happens at a ball. Like the one happening that night. Honoring Captain and Lieutenant Jones. For their most recent voyage – months at sea for reasons even David didn’t know about and Emma wishes she weren’t so much of a pessimist. 

She wishes she weren’t so scared of George. 

“You’re looking awfully sure of yourself,” Emma mumbles, a quick roll of her eyes that threatens to muss the carefully lined kohl there. 

“What was that I heard about objections to anything going on?” Emma clicks her tongue. “That wasn’t what I was talking about. Not really.” “Or it was just a very good way of ignoring my questions.” “Well, when it’s such a sudden and unexpected interrogation--” “--Ruby wanted to ask when they left,” Mary Margaret cuts in, and Emma’s jaw actually cracks when it drops open. “See, so...this isn’t nearly as bad as it could be.” “You stabbed me with a hair pin.” “Not on purpose.”

Emma scoffs again, letting her eyes flutter shut and her breathing even out. There’s nothing to be worried about. George is...it will be fine. At least for the night. She has to believe that or she’s liable to go insane. 

“I don’t think anyone else knows,” Mary Margaret continues, pressing forward in a conversation Emma wishes they’d never begun. She glares at the mirror. That doesn’t do much to help. “I mean, aside from--” “--You and Ruby.” “Well, Ruby has an extra sense about these things.”

“Gods, Mary Margaret!” 

Emma’s cheeks flame with a blush that’s not entirely unexpected, not after years and quests and that word never fails to make her laugh, Killian’s stare turning amused when the sound bubbles out of her. It makes his lips twitch and his eyebrows shift and, more often than not, he tugs her forward, letting her head burrow against the crook of his neck until she feels like she's trying to press the sound into his skin so he’ll remember it when he’s gone. 

She’s a pessimist and the complete opposite. It’s confusing, even to her. Especially to her. 

“And David,” Mary Margaret adds lightly, a pinch to Emma’s arm when she jumps again. “Seriously, sit still ––and Elsa did see the two of you once,” she squeezes one eye shut, mouth twisted in something that might be concentration, “that must have been more than two years ago now and--” “--Two years,” Emma balks, voice rising on every letter. 

Mary Margaret hums. And shrugs. And twists Emma’s hair without much concern to the state of her scalp. “At least. It wasn’t that long after you got him the commission.”

Emma’s eyes are going to fall out. That will also likely make it very hard to dance. “Do you know everything?” she demands, and she swears Mary Margaret’s eyes get brighter. 

“Well, you’re not very good at keeping a secret. Also you used my bird. I’m not sure where you thought you were being deceptive.”

“There’s no law against friendship.”

Mary Margaret laughs. Loudly. It’s honestly almost insulting. “No, there’s not, that’s true,” she agrees. “And there isn’t a law about falling in love with one of the kingdom’s most eligible and desirable young officers.”

“No one’s said anything about that.”

Mary Margaret doesn’t laugh that time. Her eyes widen instead, a genuine surprise that may actually be more insulting than the laugh. Emma’s going to have reapply the color to her lips. She keeps biting them. “Oh, you’re very bad at lying to me, Emma, but you’re even worse at lying to yourself,” Mary Margaret whispers. 

“I--what does Elsa think she saw?” “Years ago?” Emma nods, a mistake because another pin finds its way against her skin and she’s grateful for her magic if only because it means she’ll be able to undo all of this easier. “I think it may have been the first time he came back. They’d gone to…” “Camelot,” Emma whispers, and she knows she’s digging herself further into this conversational hole. “They’d gone to Camelot.” “Ah, yes. She’d been there as well, if you remember. At the docks.” Emma rolls her eyes, but Mary Margaret is in her element now and the maids have probably given up on waiting to be allowed back in the room. “And the ship docked, a glorious return, pomp and circumstance and all of those things that inspire morale and--” “--You realize this is starting to sound a little technical,” Emma cuts in, lifting her eyebrows in something she hopes is a scathing judgment. “Where do you think you learned those terms?”

“We’re not talking about that.” “Oh, but I would love to.” “I’m going to magic these pins so you won’t be able to ever get them out!”

“That’s a very strange threat.” “A fact,” Mary Margaret corrects, leaning around Emma to grab the small crown on the vanity. She waves her hand, a soft flare of light that’s almost comforting in the way Mary Margaret’s smile is comforting, and impossibly knowing, and the jewels don’t really change, but they seem to brighten slightly. “Anyway,” she mumbles. “The ceremony was over and you were nowhere to be seen. Happens quite frequently when the Lieutenant is concerned.” Emma lifts her eyebrows.

“Elsa was looking for you, to get back here at the same time--make sure George didn’t suspect anything and she said she turned the corner to find you and the previously discussed Lieutenant occupying the same few inches of space, with him--and these are her words by the way, staring at you as if it was the only thing guiding him home. There was a light joke as well and possibly something about the sun, but David always said it should be a star for a sailor and--what?”

She swears her heart has stopped. Or disappeared entirely. It’s as if her chest is an empty chasm, a rush of emotion moving to fill it that’s entirely fear and slightly unfounded suspicions and she wishes she knew what George was doing every day. 

He won’t be at the ball. She knows it. 

“Emma,” Mary Margaret says, fingers wrapping around the curve of her shoulder. “That’s not--I really don’t think George knows anything and even if he did, I doubt--” “--No, something is going on,” Emma interrupts. She jerks her head up, threatening the well-placed accoutrements and the pins and her magic is close to boiling over. 

She grits her teeth, tensing her jaw to try and contain it and they need to be better. They need to...she has no idea. That’s disappointing. And frustrating. And Emma barely hears Mary Margaret the first time. 

It takes her a moment to process the words, not quite a question, but a proclamation and--

“You should tell him,” Mary Margaret repeats, staring at Emma’s reflection in the mirror like it's the easiest thing in the entire world. 

It probably should be. 

Emma shakes her head – but the objection refuses to be voiced and the bundle of everything in the back of her throat is far too large. It blocks everything, oxygen failing to get to her lungs and the emptiness in her chest only seems to grow, like a shadow stretching across everything and everyone and she can’t remember what the word wonderful means. 

“He knows anyway, Emma,” Mary Margaret adds, a certainty that refuses any argument as well. “And that’s not--it would be worth it. For you.” “For me?” “For everyone. That’s...isn’t that the point? Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing.” “Magical, even,” Emma mumbles, drawing a quiet laugh out of Mary Margaret. She doesn’t mean to sigh. “Can I ask you a question? Well, two questions?” “You could ask me three.” “I’m not sure I have that many, honestly. I just...the first time I met Killian, my magic was--it was out of control and--” “--I remember that day. David let you leave. He was terrified after. George wasn’t...well, he wasn’t happy that you were gone. I think there’s still a scar on David’s back. I couldn’t actually heal that one, it was…” She cuts herself off when she notices the look on Emma’s face, mouth hanging open and breathing turning ragged. “You didn’t know that,” Mary Margaret whispers and Emma shakes her head slowly. “He’d do it again, Emma. For you. He wouldn’t even think.” The shadow retreats slightly. 

“What’s your question?” Emma exhales, which is probably the worst mistake she’s made all night. “He found me,” she says, and she’s never told anyone that. “I was...I was terrified of what I could do or had done and I was trying to stop myself from--I don’t know, I suppose it felt like if I let it happen, the magic could have just...consumed me.” Mary Margaret tilts her head, a flicker of unease on the edge of her gaze. “And?” “And no one moved. I was there, on the edge of the dock and no one followed me. Except him. He just walked forward and I--I think he can feel my magic.” Mary Margaret’s right knee buckles, hands flying to the back of the chair Emma’s considering taking up residence in to try and steady herself. “Honestly? Has he said that?” “Not in...no, it’s just a thought.” “You don’t want to ask.” “You don’t know that.” “Please, don’t insult me like that,” Mary Margaret laughs, moving to perch on the edge of the vanity. She nearly knocks the empty bowl over. “He does. I know it.” “Is that so?” Mary Margaret nods emphatically, crossing her arms lightly as if that will make her more of an authority figure. “You’re going to wrinkle your dress,” Emma points out, and she can’t help the smile when Mary Margaret rolls her whole head in response. 

“You’ve got to believe, Emma. That’s...that’s the whole point.” “Of?” “Everything.” It really is unfair, everything she’s putting her lungs through. Emma’s laugh is breathier than she wants though, a shake to it that might just be the audible sound of hope and how much she goddamn wants and--

“He can’t,” Mary Margaret says, answering a question Emma hasn’t actually asked yet. “David, I mean. It’s...that is so rare. That kind of magic, it could change the world.” “And you’re sure your magic isn’t mind reading?” “Just when it comes to you.” Emma scoffs, lips twisted in thought and the lingering fear that George is doing something. “He really can’t? David? That’s--really?” “I wouldn’t lie to you, Emma,” Mary Margaret laughs, but there’s a bit of disappointment there too and she’s got to ask him. Even if it’s terrifying. 

“I know you wouldn’t.” “Good. Now tell me what else you’re thinking.” “You’re getting awfully demanding in your mind reading, your highness.” Mary Margaret throws her whole head back when she laughs, the turn of the rather ostentatious door handle at the other side of the room squeaking when Ruby walks in. “Are you two not ready yet?” Ruby demands, her own gown a deep shade of red that makes Emma’s lips quirk. “Don’t,” she warns. “This was not my choice. Plus, you look far more regal than I ever could.”

‘It seems almost heavy-handed, doesn’t it?” “Shall I repeat myself?” “Unnecessary,” Emma says, a quick inhale and unfinished conversation and her own gown is red, long sleeves and full skirt and she’s only a little hopeful her head won’t ache because of all the pins. She genuinely despises wearing a crown. 

That also feels a little heavy-handed. 

Ruby laughs, eyes flitting towards Mary Margaret and maybe they should have been better at being just a bit more covert. It wasn’t---there wasn’t enough time, though, just stolen moments and far too many eyes when the moments couldn’t be theirs and--

“Is he there?” “Who?” Ruby asks. “Killian?” “We’ve done this part already,” Mary Margaret mutters, widening her eyes when Ruby clicks her tongue. “You mean George, don't you?” Ruby lets out a low whistle, lips forming an almost perfect ‘o’ that makes Emma’s breath catch and her magic pulse and she can hear the music from the hall already. They’ll have to be announced soon. 

She nods. “What do you think he’s doing? It’s got to be--the Dark One must be gone. He has to. He would have done something by now if he existed.”

Neither Ruby nor Mary Margaret answer. That’s not the response she was hoping for. Strictly speaking, Emma isn’t sure what response she wanted, but it wasn’t that. 

“George is up to something,” Emma continues, ignoring the less-than-friendly knock on the door. The music is getting louder. “I know it. And I--well, I don’t know what it is, but everything has changed and--” “--That isn’t a bad thing,” Mary Margaret reasons. “If George wants to hole himself up with his books and musty papers, let him. We’ve...the people trust us. They believe in the family and the voyages that we’re--” “--You mean that the brothers Jones are taking,” Ruby interrupts. “Emma, listen to me. George is...he’s a mad man. He’s old and greedy and he got what he wanted. He got the protection he needed, didn’t he? He got you and you got more control of your magic than any of us could have ever imagined. Mary Margaret is right. Let him hide away in there. Let him read what he wants and never come out. We’re better off without him, don’t you think?” Emma nods. “Of course I do, I just--it doesn’t make sense. Why he would want all of us for a fight that never actually happened? Where is this Dark One? And what is George looking for? Still. He’s had us for years.” “Have you ever considered he may have gone crazy?” “How?”

Ruby waves her hands through the air, glancing over her shoulder when the trumpets start to blare and the whole thing is even more ostentatious than the door handle. “The man collected us, Emma. He waited and he pulled people from their homes and their families and he made us into...exactly what he wanted, only to realize that what he thought he was waiting for wasn’t looming in the darkness the way he always believed. That’s more than a little embarrassing for a man whose people already despised him, don’t you think?” She shakes her head. And she doesn’t know how she knows Ruby is wrong, just that she is, a conviction that settles in the base of her feet and grounds her and the trumpets are so annoying.

“Your highness,” a voice calls behind the door, quick and demanding and there are expectations to live up to. Even if George isn’t the one issuing them. “They’re waiting for you.”

“It’s ok to believe, Emma,” Mary Margaret says softly. 

Emma isn’t sure that’s true. She worries it’s only setting her up for disappointment. And she’s even less sure what will happen if she has to face that disappointment. 

The next knock makes all three of them jump. 

“Alright, alright,” Emma says, a response to the man in the hall and the slightly nervous expression on Mary Margaret’s face. “Let’s go.”

This is not her first ball. This is not her first gown. Or the first fanfare that has played upon her entrance. And it never matters. 

Because it never seems to get easier for Emma, a fluttering her stomach that threatens to claw its way up the back of her throat and fly out her mouth if she’s not careful, magic rushing through her in defense of the pomp and the circumstance. 

The whole thing is absurd, but she supposes there are rules and she does her best to push her fears regarding George to the back of her mind when she stands at the top of the stairs, Mary Margaret and Regina on either side of her. 

There are lights everywhere – candles and candelabras, chandeliers with more light reflecting off more gold and every head turns their direction when they’re announced, a sea of color and shine and Emma can’t find him. Her eyes scan the crowd, moving from jacket to uniform and back again, bouncing between gowns and tiaras and she refuses to acknowledge the way her heart plummets into her stomach. That’s ridiculous. Nothing has happened. 

Someone would have told her. 

They were horrible at covert. 

“Where were you?” Regina sneers, Mary Margaret waving her off with a rather pitiful attempt at a smile and her eyes keep darting towards Emma. Who, in turn, barely notices. 

Her head is on a swivel, a rushing in her ears that she suspects feels a bit like drowning and is entirely too dramatic. She clenches her jaw, biting down on the side of her tongue. 

It doesn’t help. 

She steps down the stairs with care, trying to keep her chin tilted up and her gaze from landing on anyone in particular – memories of instructions and rules and none of that works either, but then there’s a hand reaching for her and her heart flies back to where it’s supposed to be and--

“Your highness,” Liam says softly, flipping his wrist so his fingers curl up invitingly. Emma hates how wide her eyes go. 

“Captain.” “I’m afraid my brother’s been detained with the ship for a little while, it’s...well, I hope to prove a worthy substitute for at least a few dances.”

Emma’s smile is easy, glancing at the fingers that flutter slightly now. “That’s a generous offer, but I wasn’t looking for you brother.” “Of course not, your highness. But my offer does still stand.” “Rather pushy, aren’t you?” “I’d like to see it as determined,” Liam amends, wrapping his hand lightly around Emma’s and they’re already moving, falling into rhythm with the others around them. She can hear Mary Margaret laughing somewhere. No one loves balls more than Mary Margaret. “Something I think my brother and I share.”

Emma doesn’t respond. She doesn’t trust herself to. Her magic does..something. 

“My brother does care for you quite a bit, your highness,” Liam continues, and maybe months at sea have made him unreceptive to conversational cues. 

Emma nods. It’s not dignified. It’s not particularly royal. She swears her crown is getting tighter. “I care for Lieutenant Jones as well,” she says, an admission that she hopes she won’t regret. “After everything you both have done for Misthaven and--” “--Emma, we both know that you got him this commission. Let’s not lie to each other.”

They weren’t ever doing much more than swaying, so Emma isn’t sure if they genuinely stop – but her shoe comes dangerously close to stepping on Liam’s and this isn’t the first time they’ve spoken. There have been moments – passing nods and gracious smiles, a member of the royal family and a devoted officer – but they’ve never had much more...no discussions, no mention of what he’d done or the magic they both know Killian doesn’t have. 

“I’m not sure what you’re suggesting, Liam,” she hisses, eyes going thin enough that it’s difficult to make out all the medals on his chest. 

She wonders how he can stand up with so many hanging there. 

Liam sighs, a quick hand moving over his face and the fingers that had been so quick to reach towards Emma pinch the bridge of his nose. “I’m not suggesting anything, Emma,” he says, barely loud enough to hear over whatever the last song has turned into. “I’m telling you.”

She has to take a deep breath to keep the magic from moving out of her, pushing almost immediately to the tips of her fingers and the back of her heels and Emma twists her neck to restrain the rush of everything. 

Liam’s face loses the bit of color it had. 

“You’re overstepping, Captain.” He shakes his head, gaze turning imploring and it’s more memories and déjà vu she absolutely despises and Emma needs to get out of there. Her magic is louder than the music. “I’m not,” Liam promises. “I’m--he loves you, Emma. More than...more than anything else and I know George hasn’t figured it out yet, but…”

She’s going to curse him. She needs him to finish his sentences, but it appears Liam is having his own challenges with breathing and retaining consciousness. 

Emma licks her lips. She should have magiced the color there. “There’s nothing to figure out,” she says, the lie tasting bitter and hanging in the air like dead weight. 

“You should practice that a bit more, princess.” “And you should learn when to speak in turn, Captain,” she hisses. ‘Where are you going with this, exactly?”

Liam shakes his head, a heavy exhale. “George is looking for something. And I don’t--well, I’m not sure what I think about it, but I have to believe it, Emma.” “Believe what?” “That George is doing what’s right. That the weapon we’ve been searching for is something that will protect us from the Dark One and--” “--That’s me,” Emma says, struggling to keep her voice low. Liam glares at her. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. That’s--that was your doing, Liam. To bring me here and bring me to George. You made sure I fit into the prophecy and nothing has happened.” “That was for your own good.” She isn’t quite as as tall as him – even with the heels that are beginning to scratch at the back of her feet, but Emma’s arm swings through the air and, eventually, she’ll learn how to control her instincts. As it is, her hand collides with Liam’s cheek, an almost satisfying slap of skin on skin and his quick hitch of breath. 

He stumbles slightly, staring at Emma with barely contained fear. “That wasn’t even magic,” she sneers. “And I know why you did it, Liam. This whole time, I’ve--I’d do it too. I wouldn’t think, I’d…” Emma sighs, shaking her head like that will get rid of the tears that appear in the corner of her eyes. “Whatever George is doing, whatever you think he’s plotting or scheming, I...I agree with you.” Liam’s mouth twitches. “There’s more to this than we thought, Emma. It’s twisting and turning and I can’t...none of it makes sense, not yet at least, but I have to trust that the system I’ve always believed will protect us will continue to do that.” “That’s naive.” “Maybe,” he admits. “But I’d do it for Killian. Every time. And I know you would too. That’s why I’m asking you to be careful. Please.”

“What is it you’re suggesting, exactly?” “Honestly?” “Seems foolish to do anything else, don’t you think?” Liam nods, something that feels far too much like disappointment in the movement. “Yes, it is, but...I can’t disobey orders, your highness. And I won’t. Because it will put everything my brother and I have worked for at risk.” “You are going in circles.” “I’m not,” Liam sighs. He huffs, a quick click of his teeth “I’m telling you to be careful about how much you let George know. He’ll use that. Against both you and Killian. You’re right, nothing has happened with the Dark One yet, but George is taking steps still. Aside from you and aside from the prophecy. There are pieces moving here we didn’t even know were on the board, Emma.”

She doesn’t answer, again, and it’s a little petulant, again, but Emma refuses to think about that for too long, turning on her heels instead, and leaving Captain Liam Jones behind without a second glance. She weaves her way through the crowd, twisting around couples and smiles and there’s so much... everything. 

So, in the grand scheme of all that everything, reaching out to grab a bottle of wine on her rather quick exit from the ballroom seems almost reasonable. Almost. And the air is crisp when she finally makes it to the garden, a destination she didn’t realize she was heading for until she’s already standing in the middle of it, shadows falling across the ground under her feet and the color of the flowers around her isn’t quite as bright as it usually is. 

She also refuses to think about that.

She may be the most immature Savior in the history of any realm. That doesn’t bode very well for the future of this realm. 

Emma sighs, licking her lips and waving her hand, a soft pop from the bottle when the cork moves. The liquid tickles the back of her throat when she takes a drink – no glass in sight and a distinct lack of pomp or circumstance. 

She can still hear the music, dim notes and the quiet shuffle of people who don’t have the fate of the world resting squarely on their shoulders or the distinct inability of hiding a relationship that is far bigger than the word suggests. Emma should tell him. She should-- “I believe it’s often advisable for the crown princess to have a partner when she starts dancing.”

Emma spins, dropping the bottle, and she’s only a little embarrassed by how loudly her breath catches. He’s in uniform – sword belt hanging around his waist, with crisp folds and stark-colored fabric that makes the blue in his eyes look that much sharper, but that one bit of hair falls close to his brows when he tilts his head slightly and Emma takes a bit of pride in whatever his expression does as soon as he looks at her. 

“Your highness,” Killian mutters, reaching forward to catch her hand and Emma rolls her eyes when his lips ghost over her knuckles. “Sorry I’m late.” “And not nearly as funny as you think you are.” He hums, mouth still pressed against her skin. “It’s not exactly an overwhelming show of emotion at my gallant return, love.” “Presumptuous too.” “Hopeful. There’s a difference.” Emma nods, mouth twisted into something she hopes is vaguely teasing and a little sarcastic and the puddle at her feet is getting progressively larger. She’s genuinely not sure which one of them moves first – and it genuinely does not matter – but Emma tilts her head up and Killian ducks his head down and it’s all lips and tongues and mouths, heady and needy and probably some other word that rhymes because prophecy always seems to rhyme and this all has always felt a little prophetic. 

In a way that simply felt normal. 

She inhales sharply, a quick breath through her nose that seems to help her surge further up, heels popping out of her shoes and both arms slung around Killian’s neck. He chuckles at the enthusiasm and Emma will probably make fun of him for that at some point, but in the moment she’s simply concerned with touching as much of him as she possibly can and working on getting that one, specific noise she can sometimes cause when she scratches her nails through his hair just right and--

He groans. Into her mouth. 

Emma laughs. 

“Swan,” Killian chides, but there’s not much frustration in the sound of her own name. He’s smiling again. Or still. The second one is a little nicer. 

“Here,” Emma mumbles, and it’s her turn to make ridiculous noises as soon as Killian pulls away from her. She’s not entirely prepared for the force of his stare though, intent and longing and the thumb that traces across the curve of her cheek feels like it’s leaving sparks in its wake. 

That’s probably her magic. 

They’ll get to that part eventually. 

Probably after the kissing. 

“Aye,” Killian says, an agreement that also sounds a bit like wonder and Emma’s magic jumps again. So do his eyebrows. “I’m glad. I--” “--I missed you,” she cuts in, far too loud and far too quickly and the whole thing dissolves into kissing again almost immediately. 

Oxygen, however, is a requirement – even for those with magical abilities – and Emma’s shoulders are shaking by the time they pull apart, Killian’s forehead resting on hers while his fingers trace aimless patterns on her back. “If I say good, is that going to inspire another rather pointed opinion from you?” “Were you hoping I missed you, Lieutenant?” “Only so much as I missed you, love,” he says, not quite able to keep a straight face and Emma might actually gag. “You’re ruining the moment, Swan.” “Ah, right, right, I’m sorry.”

She laughs at the scandalized look on his face – all wide eyes and a slightly scrunched nose and he’s so much older than he was when he followed her to the docks, but sometimes, sometimes, when he comes back to her and there’s this, the moments and the feelings, Emma wonders if any time has passed at all and if they’re not exactly the same people they were then. A scared little girl with far too much power and the boy who believed in her. More than anything. 

She hopes he knows how much she believes right back. 

More than anything. 

Gods, she should tell him. 

“I really am sorry I’m late,” Killian says, and his fingers must have minds of their own. Emma’s back arches slightly, an immediate response that leaves her cursing her dress and her corset and they’ll have to return to the ball for at least a few moments. “We docked and the men always seem to forget everything there is to be done as soon as they can see a port and Liam had to get back to the castle and--” “--Wait, Liam had to get back to the castle?” Killian’s eyes narrow at the tone of Emma’s voice and he’s always been impossibly good at reading her. It’s frustrating. It’s not. “Aye,” he nods. “We got word from--what’s that one underling’s name?” “I don’t think he’s an underling.”

“Yes, he is. Always bowing and scraping and he’d clean George’s boots with his tongue if he was asked.” “A lovely picture,” Emma says. Her legs are starting to ache, still pressed up on her toes, but Killian’s eyes flutter shut when she moves her fingers through his hair and she hadn’t been lying. She’d missed him. “And his name is August. I can’t believe you don’t remember that.” “What a ridiculous name.” “You’re getting distracted.” “Aye, did I mention you look incredible?” Emma’s teeth find her lower lip without much thought to the destruction she’s wreaking on the color there, and Killian’s smile shifts slightly, a smirk and a flash of blue and she shakes her head. “Not as such, no,” she whispers. “Although I’d imagine the rather illicit kissing was a fairly good start.” “Start?” “Were you not intending to dance with me, Lieutenant?” He kisses her – not quite as determined as it had been a few moments before, softer, calmer, like he’s taking care on each movement and committing them to memory. “Were you drinking wine?”

“Distracted,” she repeats, tugging lightly on the lapel of his jacket. “Liam met with George?” “Aye. Not for long, I don’t think, the old man rarely comes out of that room anymore, but the underling claimed it was important and instructions for the next voyage and--” Emma falls back on her heels. Her right foot misses her shoe entirely, landing on grass and dirt, distinctly un-royal and entirely disappointed, the shadow on the edge of her vision flickering back to life. “There’s time still, Swan,” Killian says, but Emma hears the words for what they are, an empty promise and stolen moments. “Weeks from now.” “Where?” Killian makes a noise in the back of his throat, confusion in the pinch between his eyebrows. “Where?” Emma says again. “Did George say where? And why?” “Have you ever heard of Neverland?” She can’t fall anymore. Her feet are already on the ground and the arm wrapped tightly around her waist makes it all but impossible for Emma to actually move, but her heart doesn’t care and feels as if it drops directly into the puddle. 

Where it promptly drowns. 

In wine. And absolute, all-encompassing fear. 

“What could George want in Neverland?” Emma breathes. “That’s...those stories are terrible, an island filled with more terrors than one place is supposed to have and--” “--It will be fine, Emma.”

“Don’t lie like that. Not to me. Please.” “I’m not.” She glares. “Does David know?” “I don’t think so,” Killian says, a quiet admission it’s clear he doesn’t want to make. “This isn’t--George didn’t give him specifics, just that there’s a weapon there he believes could defeat the Dark One and…”

He stops when he notices Emma shaking her head, breathing as heavily as if she’d just run out of the ballroom again. “How did you know I was out here?” she asks. 

“I couldn’t find you. I was...I was trying to get here as quickly as I could and you weren’t here.” “Were you worried, Lieutenant?” Flirting probably shouldn’t have much place in this conversation, but Emma needs something normal and that’s normal and easy and she loves him with every single inch of her and every bit of magic that rushes through her veins. Currently. She doesn’t want him to leave. 

She made sure he could. 

“I’ve spent a considerable amount of time over the last few months considering what color gown you’d wear, your highness.” “And?” “And it’s better,” he promises, lips dragging across her jaw and close to the shell of her ear, a nip of teeth that makes her breath catch again. “Gods, Emma, I--”

“--Hold on to me,” Emma whispers. She’s only done it a few times, and the prospect of closing her eyes in the garden and opening them in her bedroom is more than a little daunting, but Emma can feel the heat of her magic pulse through her and they leave a broken bottle in their wake. 

Killian gasps as soon as they land, fingers turning vice-like as if that’ll help remind him that it happened and--

Emma’s not entirely prepared for whatever noise he makes, some kind of growl that just sounds a bit like the audible version of want and the color of her gown, but everything seems to settle as soon as his mouth crashes against hers. The crown falls from her hair, a soft thump on plush carpet and all those fine things Liam promised years ago, but Emma has never quite gotten used to them and she knows she leaves a scuff mark on the wall when she kicks her shoes off. 

She laughs at the sound, Killian’s lips quirking up against hers. “You’re going to give a man a complex if you keep laughing while I’m trying to seduce you, love.” “Oh, is that what you’re doing?” “Was that not obvious?” She laughs again. Free and easy, worries hanging in the back of her brain, but just a bit quieter than normal. Her magic is far too loud anyway. “Swan,” Killian mutters, the word sounding half like a reprimand and half like a question. His fingers are moving again, drifting over the laces on the back of her dress and the curve of her shoulder, thumb brushing against the back of her wrist. 

Emma’s far too preoccupied with her own movements to respond immediately, finding the buckle of his sword belt and the hem of his shirt, pushing his jacket on the floor with an enthusiasm that doesn’t really surprise her that much. 

He smirks. “You are frustrating,” she mumbles, but it’s another decidedly uninsulting insult and Killian arches an eyebrow. 

“That so?” “Yes. Why are there so many parts to this uniform?”

“I believe you’re the only one who could do anything about that, love.” “I’ll issue a proclamation.” He bites lightly at her lip, drawing some kind of sound out of Emma that she knows she’s never made before. But then her dress is just a hint looser and her lungs appreciate that for the half a moment she gives them to recover. They appreciate it less when she moves again, another kiss and whatever he’s learned to do with his tongue in the last few years, quick swipes that make the fire in the pit of Emma’s stomach turn into some kind of all encompassing inferno of emotion and magic and she knows those two things are tied together. 

Intrinsically. 

“Take this off,” she mutters, tugging at the shirt again. 

“Aye aye, ma’am.”

She swats at his arm, but he catches her around the wrist, eyeing her with amusement and she can’t think straight when he kisses her hand. The shirt gets thrown somewhere. 

And, honestly, she almost should have expected it, the words falling out of her like bubbles out of a broken bottle, determined to be spoken and heard and felt. In the very center of everything. “I love you,” Emma whispers, one shoulder out of her dress and strands of hair falling across her forehead and the force of Killian’s answering smile will be branded on every inch of her memory forever. 

No matter what. She’s certain. 

He doesn’t respond immediately, but that might have to do with her fingers dragging across the expanse of skin in front of her and it’s a strange moment to feel powerful. The moment does not care. The moment lingers and settles and her magic roars in what might actually be victory. 

“I love you too.”

She gets out of her dress eventually, stumbling towards a bed that’s always felt far too big, but, with Killian’s chest under her and his fingers tracing across the curve of her hip, feels like home in a way that Emma hopes isn’t quite that sentimental. 

She’s still a bit of a pessimist. 

And she has no idea what time it is, but it must be hours later, expectations and royal requirements forgotten in I love you mumbled over and over, pressed into every bit of skin his lips could find. She lets her eyes close, an easy comfort to it all that also feels like home. 

And them. Collectively. 

As if two people could, simply, be home. 

Emma’s mind wanders, jumping from thought to thought and flashing from hope to maybe, a foggy picture of a future that suddenly feels a bit possible. 

“You’re thinking so loudly, I’m a little surprised the walls haven’t started to rattle as well,” Kilian murmurs, and Emma doesn’t open her eyes. She knows he’s smiling anyway. 

“And you’re rather pleased with yourself.” “Am I?” She hums, letting her cheek move against him when she nods. His chest shifts under her, a shaky inhale that makes Emma laugh and smile and she keeps doing both of those things. Her magic does...something. 

It doesn’t rattle the walls, but it might move its way through her, a low rumble of power that rushes through her and Killian’s fingers still. 

“How did you know where I was?” Emma asks again. “Honestly?” “Do you think I wasn’t telling you the truth?”

“I think you’re deflecting something and I…” She lifts her head up, met with half a smile and a bit of trust and she’s known the whole time. “Can you feel it? Me, I mean?” “You?” “You’re being difficult on purpose,” Emma accuses, but she can see the muscles in Killian’s throat shift when he swallows. He takes another deep breath. 

“I don’t--that shouldn’t be possible, Emma. And it’s--” “--Finish your sentence, please.”

He chuckles softly, sliding further down the small mountain of pillows on her bed, and the kiss that lands on her temple is almost tender, a reverence to it that she can’t quite wrap her mind around. As if she deserves that. He starts pulling the pins out of her hair, measured movements and even breathing and Emma counts the seconds. 

She gets to fourteen before he answers. 

“The very first time I saw you, I knew exactly who you were,” Killian starts. “And I knew what you were capable of. I’d heard the prophecy, knew what Liam had done, knew how it had...it tormented him, Swan. I know why he did it too. To protect me and everything that I’m not.” “That’s not true.” “You’re interrupting the story, love,” he says, another quiet laugh that sounds a little hollow. “If George had known, he would have taken Liam too and I would have been alone. And it’s not--part of me won’t ever forgive him for doing that to you, but...I saw you and it was--” He exhales, letting his lips move across her forehead and Emma tries not to move. “Liam rarely used his magic when we were growing up, too afraid of what it would attract. I only really remember it happening a few times, but once it had snowed and I was freezing. He tried to help me warm up.” “Did it work?” “Aye, it did. And it was the safest I’ve ever felt. Like I was home and protected, but that feeling went away eventually. It didn’t linger in the very center of me, didn’t take up root or grow and--Emma, I saw you and it felt like that. Like home and a warmth I’ve never been able to shake and I wouldn’t want to. It’s like…” “Everything,” Emma breathes, and Kilian nods slowly. 

“Aye, like absolutely everything.”

They’re quiet for a moment, both of them content to loiter in admissions and emotions and--"How many pins are in your hair?” Killian asks, Emma’s smile stretching across her face so quickly the muscles in her cheeks ache. 

“Far too many. You don’t have to do that, you know. I can…” She waves a hand, but Killian is already shaking his head and she doesn’t want him to anyway.

“Will you mercilessly mock me if I tell you that I’d like to?” “Yes, absolutely.” “Aye, I figured,” he nods, one side of his mouth tugged up. The blue in his eyes is distracting. “I love you, have I mentioned that?” “A few times.” “Ah, not nearly enough.” “Sentimental.” “Also true.” “Not even an argument, huh?” Emma asks, shifting so she can drag her hand up the side of his ribs, magic pulsing under her. She fully expects the look she gets. And she’s not surprised how good they are at this. It’s still nice to have it confirmed though.

“You'll find, love,’ Killian mutters, turning so he’s on his side and there’s far too much of him pressed against Emma, “that you’ll rarely get an argument out of me when there’s so much else here to distract me.” They didn’t have to worry about her thoughts and the walls. Her laugh is loud enough to do damage to the entire castle. “Impertinent, Lieutenant.” “And you’re doing that on purpose.” “Maybe.”

His eyebrows jump, tongue pressed to the corner of his mouth when he moves again, pressing Emma’s shoulders into the pillows and the blankets and she can’t come up with many words after that. 

Ruby finds them. Groaning and cursing, a hand over her eyes when she swings open the door. 

“Gods help us,” she sighs, and Emma pinches Killian’s side when he has the gall to laugh. “Your brother is looking for you, Lieutenant,” Ruby continues. “I think he waited what he believed an appropriate amount of time, but is now considering alerting the guard to your absence.” “Idiot,” Killian grumbles. Emma laughs that time. 

Ruby still hasn’t moved her hand. 

“Yes, something like that,” she agrees. “And I’d suggest moving rather quickly because I’ve also seen David asking Mary Margaret where the princess disappeared to last night.”

Emma rolls her eyes towards the ceiling. “You’re no help at all.” “That’s ungrateful. I haven’t even gotten to my slightly overprotective speech.” “Ruby!”

She doesn’t move her hand. Her smile is obvious anyway. “Have you two stopped beating around the metaphorical bushes, then? I’d assume so since I nearly tripped over a large sword when I walked in, but--” “--Yes,” Emma cuts in sharply, and Killian’s gaze snaps to hers. “I’m...well, this is good. We’re happy. Right?” “Were you looking for confirmation, darling?” he asks, Ruby not doing much to quiet her sigh. 

“Good,” she calls. “I’m leaving now, but I’d give you approximately five minutes before the heroic Captain stars to take drastic steps.”

The door slams behind her. And Emma spends at least two minutes kissing Killian, mind latching onto the word darling with an almost alarming grip, but then he’s gone and the door closes again and she tries not to worry. 

It doesn’t work. 

They sail out less than a week later. 

“I love you,” she says, tucked into a corner of the castle with one hand on his jacket and the other curled around the belt loop of his pants. 

He kisses away the tears that fall on her cheeks. 

“Every single time, Emma.”

She nods, trying to feel confident and it will be fine. It has to be fine. 

It’s not fine. 

The bird that lands on Mary Margaret’s windowsill arrives a few weeks into autumn, leaves falling and endings everywhere Emma looks and--

“They were attacked,” Mary Margaret whispers, voice so quiet Emma doesn’t even demand how she can figure that out from a goddamn bird. She’s having trouble retaining consciousness. “It was...he says it was bad and he’s not--” “--Survivors, Mary Margaret,” Emma snaps. David appears to have turned into a statue in the far corner of the room. “Were there survivors?” “And who was it?” David adds. There goes the statue theory. 

Mary Margaret glances at the bird, soft chirps as it bounces on her arm. Emma counts seconds. She tries to breathe. Three in and three out. More seconds. More chirps. David moves, an arm wrapping around her shoulders and she doesn’t think before she turns into him. 

It takes forever. 

It’s not nearly long enough. 

“The Dark One,” Mary Margaret says, voice catching. David’s arm tightens. That’s probably for the best. Emma’s knees don’t seem all that interested in functioning anymore. “He--yes, yes, I know your name is Joshua--” “--Mary Margaret!” Emma’s voice jumps, and the bed frame behind her rattles ominously. As do the paintings on the wall and the sword hanging from David’s waist. 

She squeezes her eyes closed, nose scrunched tightly like that will keep the tears from spilling over and it doesn’t, but Emma’s whole body feels like it’s crumbling and the hand that lands on her cheek is soft. “Emma,” Mary Margaret says, soft and imploring. “Emma, look at me. It’s--Joshua…” “It’s a bird, Mary Margaret.” “Yes, and he’s gone now, but he brought the message here because the rumors were swirling. It’s been...it must have happened weeks ago, Emma. Red skies in the morning and a fight and…” Emma opens her eyes. She’ll regret that, eventually. Mary Margaret is crying. “The Dark One found them in Neverland. They were looking for something, but I don’t know if they ever found it. It...I don’t think it mattered to the Dark One anyway. He just--”

She doesn’t really hear the rest of the words, Mary Margaret’s voice going fuzzy and Emma’s vision going spotty, but one word hangs in front of her as clearly as if it’s been painted there. 

“Dead,” Mary Margaret says. “The Dark One killed them.”

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[kylandara]

Long live Queen Sansa

————-

When I hear people complain about Sansa, I ask them to list their grievances with her, and justify their complaints. Most of the time, they can’t. I’ll list a few I’ve heard.

It’s because in the first season she was spoiled and naive, a dull foil for Arya, romanticizing Joffrey, lying about Arya and Joff’s fight, and writing the letter of fealty to Robb.

Well, to that I say, she was a sheltered young girl. She was raised to be proper and polite by ned and Cat, but not taught to be worldly. It’s hardly her fault she is naive, and young people do stupid things when they have a crush, including blinding themselves to character flaws. As for lying about the fight? She was half drunk and terrified, And the letter? She was forced to write it under duress, and did so to save her father.

Another reason people complain about Sansa was because she was a weak, helpless, crying victim in seasons 2 and 3. She was still rude and entitled to Shae, and she was rude and dismissive to Tyrion on their wedding night.

Pretty pathetic in my opinion, resenting a girl, a lonely, terrified victim, constantly threatened and beaten and degraded. Not everyone can be Arya, or Daenerys. Sansa handled her situation with grace, even consoling the noble ladies during the Battle of the Blackwater. How is that not heroic? She also gets some shrewd jabs in at Joffrey, and attempts to manipulate him.

As for being rude to Shae? Cut the girl some slack, she’s in a perpetual Hell, and suddenly, a servant is providing piss-poor servitude. Sansa lashes out because a servant is the only person she has any degree of control and degree of power over. Oh, and she instantly makes amends. Christ, it’s not like she had her beaten. As for Tyrion and their wedding night She was forced the marry the ugly, scared dwarf, and a member of the vile family working against her family. She didn't want to marry him, she was forced to, and she made herself ready to consummate. Thankfully, Tyrion didn’t insist on it (as that’d be rape, by modern standards), but she still submitted. Should she have pretended to be happy about it? Who among you (complainers) would have handled the situation as well in her stead?

I’ve seen people complain in season 4 she backs Littlefinger.

This one makes no sense to me, because the same people that complain she’s weak, and foolish and used as a pawn somehow get upset she chose to play the game, and back the devil she knew rather than isolate herself again at the mercy of strangers. This was a huge step forward for her character. yes, she backed a bad person, but so what? It was within her best interests to DO so! Yeh, we all wanted justice done to Littlefinger, but, that DID happen later, now, didn’t it?

I’ve seen people complain she dismisses Brienne and because she reverts back to a victim when Ramsay’s wife.

As far as dismissing Brienne, rewatch the scene…it makes perfect sense for Sansa to chose to remain with Littlefinger and a dozen armored knights that are loyal to her safety, rather than risk going off with a stranger in Brienne, who had Pod, a Lannister man, as a squire. Additionally, Littlefinger cast doubt as to Brienne’s loyalties, or at lest her effectiveness. Sansa dismissing her was smart, and I also note that NO ONE criticizes Arya for being as dismissive as Sansa was. To her credit, Sansa SAW Brienne at Joffrey’s wedding!

The second complaint is partially warranted in my opinion. I was, originally, excited to see Sansa work from within, set herself up appearing to be a pawn and victim, and, secretly undermining the Boltons and sewing seeds of contempt and resentment between Roose and Ramsay. And, to a slight extent, she did. She did plant the seeds of doubt in Ramsay’s mind, and they may have contributed to his eventual betrayal of his father, and his subsequent murder. In a way, that means Sansa did, in a way, help avenge her brother Robb. As for Sansa crying and being helpless as she was raped, well, you’re blaming a rape victim. Plain and simple. What was she supposed to do?? Pretend to enjoy it? Ramsay not only disgusted her, he hurt her. Additionally, she and Littlefinger’s plan hedged on Stannis’ victory. When it became clear he might lose, her anxiety was justified, as the method of her liberation was now threatened. Despite this, she bravely chooses to die with dignity when threatened by Myranda, and, she bravely chose to escape with Theon.

People complain that after Sansa is brought to Castle Black, she undermines and lies to Jon.

Okay, for starters, Sansa was very kind to Jon, even apologizing for her nativity and snobbish demeanor. That’s character growth that often goes unnoticed by her critics. As for being critical of Jon’s stubborn insistence to fight the Boltons, despite being at a massive disadvantage, she was right to do so! Jon was being a damned idiot. Sansa called him out for being reckless, and her warnings to him went entirely ignored. And Sansa didn’t lie to Jon, she just withheld information, but, given HE was not giving HER her proper due/respect, paying no mind to her suggestions and not soliciting her advice, so, why should she offer him the card up her sleeve? Especially if she felt Jon would foolishly squander it? She was absolutely right to keep the information to herself, and only employ the Vale Knights when it was ideal. SHE WON THE BATTLE. Not Jon. Likewise, after HE gets named King, and accepts, usurping her rightful position as Lady of Winterfell, she shows her devotion supporting her brother, but she just voices her opinion when he makes critically erroneous decisions. Arya, fan favorite Mary Sue, seemingly resents Sansa for this, even viewing her as her season 1 personality (which is dumb given how far removed she is now from the girl she was) and even goes so far as to threaten her. Thankfully, Sansa realizes she was being manipulated by Littlefinger, and she outfoxes him, puts him on trial, and chooses her family over her useful ally. Somehow, however, some people still view Sansa as being stupid or annoying here.

Lastly, people have complained Sansa was ungrateful, unfairly rude and antagonistic to Daenerys.

Well, Sansa was again right to do so. Daenerys revealed herself to be an ambitious, power hungry tyrant in the making. Sansa recognized this. She recognized where she was manipulating Jon. And, she feared for the sovereignty and safety of her people/country. She was not unduly opposing Daenerys. Her pressing for Northern independence was right. Daenerys comes across far more petty and vicious in their little rifts anyway. Sansa may be snide, but Daenerys outright threatens her host, publicly and privately.

And, many people can’t even cite why they hate Sansa with examples. They simply articulate their opinion saying she’s selfish, rude, unlikable, weak or annoying. Even after I explain how she’s actually, by series end, benevolent and selfless, polite courteous, strong and inspiring, they concur my logic and examples are accurate, but, they remain steadfast in their dislike. When I encounter that I assume one of two things. One, people cannot move past their very first opinion of her. That she was all of those traits, initially, they cannot move past seeing her that way, and despite her years of growth and long, dynamic character arc, they choose to still see her negatively, and therefore magnify her flaws (real or imagined), and mitigate her strength and successes. The second is, some people (especially a contingency of women) resent her for being a character who overcomes her adversity and rises in power in a more traditionally feminine way. The same people that loved Daenerys for burning men alive and being “a bad bitch, the Queen Bee, empowering”, or cheering on Arya becoming a sociopathic killer because “she’s a bad ass, you go girl!”, or even rooting for Cersei cannot stand that Sansa suffered through the indignity and degradation that came with being a woman (and all subsequent gender role expectations) in a violent, medieval, patriarchal world. They hate her because she cried, or was raped, or was initially naive, or wanted to be a Lady, that she as dependent on men, and that she would submit to her brother, a man. Resenting her for these reasons speaks volumes about those that criticize her, as they choose to ignore or dismiss her ascent in power and skill because she was not, essentially, always dominant in doing so. Her more nuanced, and, realistic character arc/growth wasn’t as sexy, fun, and gratifying as say Arya’s or Daenerys’.

So, no, Sansa doesn’t annoy me. I find hers to be possibly the story best character arc, and I think she’s a woman of strength, wisdom and grace, who has come the farthest from where she began, suffered some of the worst hardships, persevered, and grown into a better person, and a fantastic and successful monarch.

[diloph]

I have seen the film Diloph, so if you want, could you please tell me more spoilery bits?

Oh! Well, good, hopeyou enjoyed it.

Spoilers under the cut!Big ones!

So, starting off,Madison is given a TRUCKLOAD more to do, more lines, more relevanceetc. She’s great, easily my favourite part of the novelisation. Sheacts like a smart, compassionate kid who’s been conned by her motherinto joining the ecoterrorists and is appropriately horrified andresistant when she needs to be. She takes action like she does in thefilm, but there’s a bigger obstacle (and possibly in-joke for thefans of Mr Danse’s host show) which she deals with, again, in a wayI’d have liked to see in the film. Madison has lots of great parts toread about, not just the ORCA distraction. This kid has guts.

God, I hope she comesback.

I think that this sortof expanded role (POV seems to be split between her and herfather/mother, leaning more towards her father) was either cut fromthe film for time, assuming people would want to see more of Sad MadDad or hastily added into the book when they realised that she wasn’tjust a familiar face from a popular TV show when Stranger Things hitits second season and tried to do damage control, hoping not torepeat the Bryan Cranston backlash. Maybe a combination of the two. Iknow that some people were hyped when they first saw her, thendisappointed when she wasn’t the character of focus, but what she gotin both the book and the novel made me very happy with the characterherself, though I too longed for more of the girl who saved the worldand screamed defiance in King Ghidorah’s faces.

The same goes for therest of the characters. Jonah and Emma’s villainy is a lot morefleshed out; their motives are explained in greater detail, not tomention their attitudes towards those goals when Ghidorah rears hisugly heads. The friction between them goes a lot further than justJonah mocking Emma’s reluctance to commit a horrible atrocity infront of her child like he was a schoolyard bully. He’s still a dick,but we know why he’s a dick and why he’s doing this. Like a certainpurple bugger also still on our screens at the time of writing, hethinks he knows better and doesn’t care if he’s wrong. He’s going tobe fine. Emma’s doubts are focused on, she regrets releasingGhidorah’s Motley Menagerie and her part in “killing” Godzillaas, despite Mark blaming him for their son’s death, she believes thesame as Serizawa in that Godzilla serves a greater purpose and isfairly noble about it.

Speaking of, Serizawais given a greater focus and actually mourns for Vivienne (which isin my opinion, horribly glossed over in favour of Rick “Wubba LubbaDub Dub” Stanton andVerizon-Guy-Who-I-Don’t-Know-Because-I-Live-In-The-Desolate-Wastes-Of-Glasgow-Scotland),with even Mark expressing regret. Even she gets some perspective,some lines, some warm thoughts before her untimely death. VivienneGraham might not survive the film, but she’s well-remembered here atleast. Again, this makes me think of what I thought for Madison,because the Shape Of Water turned out to be a hit and given that shedidn’t survive, lead me to believe the whole finalised script thingwas rolled out and filmed before the two pieces of media hit andsuddenly their popularity skyrocketed.

Or maybe all that wascut for the monsters, I dunno.

So, yeah, Serizawa isgiven just as much gravitas in the book as in the film, but thistime, we actually get to hear thoughts and feelings and so on. Itmakes his character a lot more fleshed out and realistic, realisingthat while Emma had followed this dangerous path, he had not been ascareful as he had wished to be. His sacrifice and devotion to the bigguy is pretty touching, even if the “an innocent and well meaningman sacrifices himself to use a nuke to revive Godzilla and save theworld” thing is a little more… pro-nuke than the “an innocentand well-meaning man damaged by war must sacrifice himself to end thelife of a sentient creature equally damaged by war and mankind’snuclear abuse in order to save the world, while still causing a massdeath/pollution of the environment” that we got in 1954, but hey,he didn’t write the script and I think most audiences focus only onthe Bomb as a big booming explosive, not a corrupter and polluter.It’s a “problem solver” rather than a last resort/weapon ofterrible consequence. Sort of how the Oxygen Destroyer is alsoglossed over and not given nearly enough impact, considering what itis and what the consequences might be.

War is bad.

Dr Chen also gets more,which is good, because she’s certainly my favourite of the “new”Monarch crew (excluding Huston Brooks because of hisblink-and-you’ll-miss-it role and his presence in Skull Island). Howshe and her family ties into Mothra and how she and Vivenne were notonly good friends, but practically aunts to Madison and her deceasedbrother; this kid was brought up in Monarch long before the MUTOsmade their presence known. Chen’s the perfect bridging point betweenSerizawa’s knowhow and reverence, Vivienne’s enthusiasm and awe andthe other morons’ humour (again, better jokes and lines by far. Icould swap the three characters that died on screen with three othersor just write them out and assimilate their lines and knowledge intothe good ones and the film would lose nothing. NOTHING.)

Even Mark has hischaracter expanded upon. He’s still the man we get in the film, butat least we know him a little better. Same with Rick and Sam. Eventhe soldiers get lines that better reflect them as people, ratherthan props.

Of other things, theTitans get an introductory paragraph each (well, a lot of them).Mokele-Mbembe is given sort of its own contained mini story (andcontrary to popular belief, it’s not a Sauropod, if I’m correct it’smore akin to a Deinotherium), and how much damage Jonah’s group hasdone via infiltration.

Did we ever get a namefor Jonah’s group? It’d be easy to remember them as the ANTI-MONARCHor something. I could call them S.C.A.L.E but that’s been taken.

Additionally, the newTitans get some words put to them, but of the familiar faces, onlyGodzilla loses out. King Ghidorah and Rodan go up against themilitary in Washington DC for a bit longer, Mothra’s benevolence isechoed by everybody who speaks about her, another familiar face getsa few words in during the big monster breakout and the final sceneduring moments closer to the end of the film, which I described inthe earlier ask, I won’t spoil. It’s a big character moment andactually made me punch the air for said character’s involvement.Because of course they’d do that. That’s who they are.

All in all, a prettywell-made adaptation of a big film. Improvement on the first two wegot (older scripts), certainly better than the graphic novels (somany problems and all of them were easily preventable) and fairlybrisk to read through.

[paladin-andric]

Faces of History: Geralthin Monarchs

The Kingdom of Geralthin is a very old nation with an ancient identity. Starting as a province in the heartlands of the ancient Human Empire, the region reformed into a kingdom after a lengthy “Dark Age” and stood for the rest of history.

Throughout this extreme march through time, many rulers held control over it, each having many stories to tell of their leadership, achievements, and personalities. Here are a sampling of some notable monarchs that have ruled over the Kingdom of Geralthin.

King Godfrey

Honorifics: The Great, The First

Rulership Period: Transitional, Dark Age into Early Middle Ages

Dynasty: of Euirdland

Once a member of an influential noble family holding onto a lone duchy, Godfrey used political maneuvering, espionage, military knowledge and raw charisma to unite the cities of Geralthin while inventing a false conspiracy involving the dragon nobles taking sides against one another, all plotting to become the sole ruler of Geralthin. He played to the paranoia generated by this by pitting the dragons against each other until they were too divided and weak to resist the united armies of mankind. With the discovery of newfound magic and the advent of sorcerers and dragonslayers, humanity finally managed to drive the great, mythical beasts from their cities and establish self-determination.

Geralthin was simply a region before Godfrey. He declared it a kingdom, and crowned himself king. He is the founder of Geralthin, and hailed as the father of the nation.

He did not exterminate the dragons. In addition to many of them going into hiding deep in the wilds, in great caverns, and fleeing to neighboring nations, some were benevolent. Many continued to live near the cities, though no longer holding political power. He is notable for taking on a dragon, Gira, into his service under the role of Royal Advisor and Lady Protector, titles she has kept to this day. She thus offers the reigning monarch advice as needed, and temporarily takes control of the kingdom in the event of a regency, relinquishing control once a monarch is crowned. This has occurred many times over the millennia-long history of the nation, so she is highly trusted for her incorruptible, loyal nature. Due to the lifespan of dragons, she shall serve the kingdom for much, much longer. Godfrey did all this after Gira healed him of leprosy with her powerful, innate draconic magic. His reign, and the Kingdom of Geralthin, would likely have ended in disaster without her, and for that he was eternally grateful.

King Godfrey reigned all the way to his death at the age of 93. His passing was legendary, nearly the entire kingdom coming to mourn him. Gira locked herself away for many years, heartbroken. His son reluctantly took his place.

Godfrey’s bloodline survives to this day. While not currently in power, it has both fallen and risen back to power several times, so you never really know...

King Rufus

Honorifics: The Wise, The Calm

Rulership Period: Early Middle Ages

Dynasty: of Euirdland

The son of Godfrey, Rufus spent most of his adult life as a prince, with his father lasting to a shockingly old age. All other monarchs of Geralthin would go on to have surprisingly high life expectancies as well...that was likely due to Gira’s incredible healing powers offering them the cure to any illness, injury or disease.

Rufus picked up where his father left off. With the kingdom’s safety and independence secured, King Rufus decided to focus his reign on stabilizing the nation, and building up its power base. He passed laws, centralized power, reformed the tax system, built roads, reformed the military, and directly invested in the kingdom, using both the treasury and his own personal funds to build hospitals, trade depots, schools, farms, and mines.

His father may have created the idea of Geralthin, but Rufus made it a reality. By building up trade, agriculture, health, and industry, King Rufus transformed the war-torn rural heartlands into the most prosperous place on Deaco.

He earned his honorifics for his prudence, diligence, and stoicism. He knew what the kingdom needed to thrive, and he always maintained a strong, noble presence, no matter how bad things seemed.

With his only son dying tragically during a military operation against a few rogue dragon lords, the aging King Rufus put into place the current law of rule. Called “Majesty’s Choice”, the king is allowed to designate any eligible relative of their choosing to be their successor...and also allowed women to inherit the throne. Due to having a daughter and no sons, he wished to avoid any turmoil or civil wars resulting from a disputed succession, and reformed the succession laws accordingly.

King Rufus abdicated at age 75, wishing to see how the kingdom reacted to having a queen. There were no issues, and so he advised his daughter until his death at age 84.

King Connor

Honorifics: The Brave, The Hammer, The Dragonslayer

Rulership Period: Early Middle Ages

Dynasty: Ó Flannail

Connor began his life as a soldier, rising through the ranks until he became the most distinguished and highly ranked general in the kingdom. Due to a deal between his House and the Royal Family, he would inherit the title of king until his death, upon which the title of King or Queen would go back to the ‘of Euirdland’ family.

It was his great strength and courage in the face of crisis that led to this strange turn of events. He was famous all over the kingdom for his great deeds. A coalition of many dragons led to a “Second War for Geralthin”, where many dragons, long hiding away and gathering strength and minions, launched an attack on the kingdom.

Connor was thoroughly a “Warrior King”. Like many kings, he commanded armies on campaign. Unlike them, he TRULY fought, standing along his men in the front line, charging head-first into the enemy. He lost count of how many kobolds he had slain, but he had personally slain at least ten dragons...well, contributed at least. He had successfully harmed ten dragons. With an entire army attacking them, it was hard to tell who dealt the killing blow.

He was mighty, he was courageous, he was no-nonsense...Connor was an inspiring presence and a feared and beloved leader. He was seen as the savior of the kingdom, a superhuman dragonslayer and legendary warrior. He has been likened to Geralthin legend William Ironside many times throughout history.

He died quietly at age 91, the title of king passing back to Godfrey’s dynasty...though his house won great glory and fame from his ascension. None would forget his rule.

Queen Rosa

Honorifics: The Magnanimous, The Beastmaster

Rulership Period: High Middle Ages

Dynasty: Tudirin

Queen Rosa came to power due to her siblings’ incompetence and sloth. Seeing her as the best future ruler, her father named her his heir.

Rosa is well known for her love of art, culture and all things exotic. Under her rule, the Royal Castle underwent significant construction and restoration, transforming it into the work of art it is still considered today.

Her love of all things lavish didn’t hold to just her castle, however. All throughout the kingdom, she commissioned the rise of many architectural wonders, from cathedrals to statues to reformed city planning, modernizing the Geralthin way of construction for centuries to come.

She also loved exotic animals and creatures as well. Not content with being a “mere” falconer, she spent over a decade learning from the greatest available beastmasters. She personally tamed a griffin, the beast becoming so docile that it was permitted to lounge about in the throne room, often resting beside Rosa. It stayed by her side all throughout its life.

Rosa passed away peacefully at age 78, having left behind a legacy in stone.

King Flinus

Honorifics: The Conqueror, The Hawk

Rulership Period: High Middle Ages

Dynasty: Angelus

Flinus began his life as a general before his brother died, leaving him the heir to the kingdom. An avid warhawk with many ties to the army, Flinus decided that Geralthin should expand outwards, regaining lands lost to the other races during the collapse of the Empire.

While there were a few contested cities on the border with human majorities or large human minorities, Flinus didn’t stop there. He used the kingdom’s might to shatter the less prepared armies of the dacuni, koutu and pona nations, gaining large swathes of land for his efforts.

By the time his many conquests were finished, Geralthin went from a small but highly developed kingdom to the most powerful nation in Deaco, stretching far in all directions. He had to stop eventually however, as the less humans there were in each city captured, the harder it would be to pass off as a legitimate part of Geralthin. Combined with getting too far from the heartlands, there was potential for rebellion ending in disaster for the kingdom. Flinus didn’t push his luck, and instead consolidated and integrated the already conquered lands into the kingdom. With just laws, fair and compassionate rule, and careful monitoring, the captured cities would be content.

King Flinus died at age 48, owing to a sudden heart attack while away from the castle. Due to his far-away death, Gira could not be reached to revive him in time. After Flinus’ reign, no other sovereign of Geralthin would conquer land again.

King Bohem

Honorifics: The Statesman, The Visionary

Rulership Period: Transitional, from High Middle Ages to Late Middle Ages

Dynasty: Caggiano

Bohem began his tutelage with a vested interest in math, reading, writing and finances. He grew into a very intelligent man who found himself ready to govern Geralthin in a radically new way.

He discarded imperialism and aggression in favor for his new vision. Bohem dreamed of the might and power of Geralthin stretching all across Deaco...but not through conquest. No, he instead put into planning the transformation of Geralthin into a great trading empire.

Bohem’s reforms and personal, hands-on approach to trade brought forth the rise of Geralthin Mercantilism, something that would push the kingdom’s economy into unprecedented might.

King Bohem died at age 78. The brilliant administrator and diplomatic genius left behind a kingdom that held a monopoly of several resources, and access to the goods that every other nation had to offer. It was under him that the alliance between the humans and reptilians transformed into both a business and personal friendship. Geralthin would forever have a trustworthy and honorable friend across the sea. The peace and trade also brought several innovations, advancing technology and bringing Deaco further into the future together.

King William

Honorifics: The Mender, The Just, The Redeemer

Rulership Period: Late Middle Ages

Dynasty: Cavania

The eldest son of King Salign, William was in many ways looked down upon with suspicion and annoyance by the Royal Family, along with the nobility. William was in many ways a “tub-thumper”, an extremely passionate and direct man who spoke plainly, as commoners would. He cared not about what was “right”, regarding taboos and law, but about what he himself considered right.

When his father outlawed all non-humans from the kingdom, William was up in arms immediately. His closest friend was not a human, and so when he was forced away, the prince fumed. He often burst into lengthy tirades about the injustice of it all whenever his father or court would approach him on it. He riled up the citizens whenever he left the castle, and so Salign encouraged him to stay within, thought William payed him little heed.

When his father died, William got to work. Immediately after he was crowned king, before the ceremony could continue, William asked everyone to wait as he went back into the castle. He reemerged with the Expulsion Edict, ripping it up right there on the balcony, in front of thousands watching the coronation, and declared it repealed as the bits of paper flowed off into the distance.

He was a populist and a champion of minority rights, doing everything in his power to reverse the consequences of his father’s actions. He founded the Bureau of Reclamation, a government organization whose mission was to track down all those affected by the Expulsion and compensate them, granting them their lands, possessions and titles back if possible, and paying them or granting them replacements when available. Those who were granted lands and titles stolen from non-humans had them revoked, with force if they refused to give them back.

The commoners and non-humans adored him, seeing him as the savior who brought Geralthin back to its wonderful golden age, in charge by a monarch who worked to better the lives of his people.

With all of this happening, the horribly damaged relations with the other nations began to mend, as they saw the king do everything in his power to right the wrongs of his father, treating their kin with honor and respect.

King William passed away in his sleep at age 83. He is regarded as the spiritual savior of Geralthin. While the kingdom wasn’t at risk of being lost by normal means, he DID recover its lifestyle, culture and identity; a melting pot, and the trading center of the world, where anyone could come for a shot at a new life. The other nations pay him patronage, with statues, paintings and plays of him being produced by non-human artists all over Deaco.

Queen Abigail

Honorifics: The Brave, The Saint, The Martyr

Rulership Period: Late Middle Ages

Dynasty: of Euirdland

Abigail was an extremely unique sovereign. Before being declared her mother’s heir, she became a Paladin of the Order of God. She was ferociously pious, and incredibly disciplined. Her kindness, diligence and humility made her well liked, and the people celebrated when she rose to the throne.

She spent her first few years building and restoring churches and cathedrals. She also began the creation of basilicas, some of the largest and most beautiful churches the kingdom has to offer.

Everything changed however when the wolfmen invaded. They raided occasionally, but now many tribes united under a mighty warlord, entire armies crossing the border to raze and conquer.

She may have been a queen, but she was still a paladin, and so she set off to lead the armies of Geralthin personally.

Her divine powers, incredible courage, tactical knowledge and great martial prowess made her a champion to the army. She turned the war into a crusade, zealous holy warriors volunteering to join the Royal Army in operations together.

She was eventually ambushed and captured, and held captive. She was tortured for months, the wolfmen trying to force her to renounce her faith, not out of religious reasons, but to have her do so publicly, to erode the morale of her forces.

She refused, sitting in silence as agonizing torture continued on. Eventually it became clear she wouldn’t break, so the wolfmen brought her to the front lines and forced the Geralthin armies to watch as she was executed.

This had the opposite of the intended effect. The army went into a mad frenzy, driven by fury and vengeance to deliver retribution for the murder of their hero and Queen. The Order declared her a saint and martyr, as she dedicated her entire life to the church, and refused to break or relent in the face of agony and horror. Songs would be sung of her for ages to come.

The wolfmen were soon after crushed, the army counterattacking and destroying several tribes before accepting payment for a ceasefire.

Queen Abigail was executed at age 32, leaving an inspired but grieving populace behind. Her legacy as an unbreakable saint and a Warrior Queen is one Geralthin takes great pride in. With no children and no clear heir, the throne was granted to a distant cousin.

Queen Anne

Honorifics: The Mystic, The Silent

Rulership Period: Renaissance

Dynasty: Tudirin

A lover of myth and magic, Anne decided to eschew standard schooling in favor of magic. She learned all about magic and the rules surrounding it, deciding to see if having access to such power could help a monarch.

It most certainly could, for she decided to learn spells that she thought would be helpful in diplomacy. She used enchanting magic to read and alter minds, ensuring bizarrely friendly relations with all. Several wolfman tribes who had been raiding Geralthin for ages suddenly decided the kingdom was worthy of praise and friendship, to be treated with respect.

She looked into the future, predicting and preventing disasters wherever possible. She even extended this to the kingdom’s neighbors, warning them of natural and man-made disasters.

Her fascination became institutionalized, causing a great revival of the study and experimentation of magic. All around Geralthin, sorcerers and would-be-magicians dived into studies of the unknown, trying to work out several long held mysteries of magic. This resulted in the innovation of new schools of magic, and many new spells being brought into use.

Queen Anne lived until age 63, the overuse of magical experimentation causing complications in her body. Though Gira did her best, the magic had left permanent alterations in organs that caused non-magical or disease-related health complications. Some organs were too large, some things didn’t work as required, and she began to shut down. She would have needed surgery, something that wasn’t at the technology level required to save her at that point.

To this day, Queen Anne is used both as a symbol of learning, and to warn magicians of the dangers of overusing magic they do not know the effects of.

Queen Maria

Honorifics: The Kind, The Righteous, The Servant

Rulership Period: Industrial Age

Dynasty: Cavania

Ascending to the throne at the age of 16, Maria had the responsibility of running the most powerful nation in Deaco thrust upon her before she was truly ready. Thankfully, the advisors, Gira included, were there to give her the guidance she needed.

Under Gira’s tutelage, she grew to have similar morals, believing the monarch was to serve the people, not the other way around. The comfort and happiness of the people were her primary concern. She was often called “The Servant” due to this.

The common folk flourished under her rule, as she curbed the aristocracy and ensured all were under the careful protection of the Queen. She undertook many reforms during her time as Queen, though none as great as the Worker’s Act.

With the industrial revolution in full swing, a tragedy in a mining operation brought the dangers and horrors of factory work to Maria’s attention. She undertook extreme measures to counteract this, forcing many regulations and government oversights into the workplace to ensure the lower class were not being taken advantage of.

The commoners absolutely loved her, and though the businesses grumbled, to most it was just another layer of papers and examinations. If they only kept their employees in mind, the businessmen had little to fear.

Maria died at age 106, having ruled as Queen for a staggering 90 years. She is the longest living monarch in history, and one of the most beloved. Countless people filled the streets weeping as she was brought to the Tomb of Kings. Her legacy enshrines the kindness and benevolence Geralthin Kings and Queens are known for.

King Charles

Honorifics: The Cavalier, The Victorious

Rulership Period: Great War Era

Dynasty: Cavania

Charles was the grandson of Maria, and chosen to be her successor as her children had little interest in ruling. He undertook the acceptance of strife, plunging Geralthin into The Great War.

Many tensions arose before the war, though none could seem to be calmed. The insecoids, longtime subjects of the reptilians to the south, began demanding independence. The Kingdom of Abinsil refused, stating the fact that there were many of their own kind in their cities, and they refused to hand them to a foreign power or drive them from their homes.

This erupted into a full-blown war of independence. With a longstanding friendship and official alliance between them, The Kingdom of Geralthin officially declared war as allies of the Kingdom of Abinsil. At the same time, paranoia in the north led to the murders of several wolfmen by paranoid mobs. Despite the kingdom doing everything in their power to deliver justice to the killers, the wolfmen saw their chance. The Unified Dacush Empire declared war on Geralthin. At the same time, the Pona Federation saw their chance to finally reclaim Liberty Point from the humans who had taken it. They allied with the Ducuni, longtime rivals, and attacked from the east.

Though they had little to gain, the Koutu Kingdom decided to join Geralthin and the Abinsil Kingdom as allies, citing their friendship stretching across millennia as reason for doing so.

This continental war was horrifying. With newfound technology, trench warfare and horrific experimental weapons caused misery and death to reign, all the nations getting stretched thin and growing tired as time went on.

King Charles knew how bad things were, but he refused to make peace. He saw the alliance and friendship between them and the reptilians as one that was unbreakable. Together they would win or be destroyed, there was no abandoning them. Besides, the Koutu had entered the fray trusting the humans to aid them, it would be extremely cruel to leave their friends to be destroyed.

His majesty personally joined the trenches often, delivering speeches to inspire the troops. He enlisted the help of a descendant of Alexander as well, Sir Gilbert, to inspire the men. Both of them fought in battle, bravely leading by example, and both miraculously surviving the war despite their heroics.

They eventually defeated the wolfmen and forced a surrender, and from there the opposition crumbled. Without multiple fronts the humans and koutu easily overran the Federation’s defenses before traveling across the sea to join the reptilians to defeat the insectoids.

The alliance prevailed, and the status-quo was maintained. The bonds of friendship between the humans, reptilians and koutu only grew stronger. Meanwhile the alliance between the shellbacks and wolfmen, though pragmatic and fleeting, did much to help ease the strained tensions between them from centuries of fighting. Perhaps there were some upsides to this horrid war after all...

Charles was sure to be magnanimous in victory, offering very relaxed terms for the Ducush Empire and Pona Federation, not wanting to sour relations further. The war was behind them, and they should begin the lengthy process of reconciling.

King Charles died at age 93, the same age as the First King. His courage, determination, and cavalier attitude brought a resurgence of romanticism of the older times, people wistfully remembering when kings fought alongside their men in glorious battle, just as Charles had.

King Patrick

Honorifics: The Dragonchaser, The Reconciler

Rulership Period: Modern/Information Age

Dynasty: Cavania

Patrick found himself king as his father died. He wasn’t particularly interested in ruling, though after some thought he decided he could do some good.

As a child, Patrick had always been fascinated by tales of beasts and dragons. He decided to make them the focus of his reign. As weapons became deadlier, dragons became less feared. Their decline started with guns and cannons, and now with artillery, bombs and missiles, they could be killed easily by an organized force. The dragons, ever prideful, still tried to exert their laws and influence on the land surrounding their lairs. With modern age weaponry like mobile infantry, jet fighters and long-range surface-to-air missiles, they were stricken down with ease.

Their population fell dangerously low, the few remaining dragons going into hiding in the darkest corners of the lands. They hid away from humans, only seen extremely rarely by wandering explorers.

This would not do. They were great beasts of wisdom, grace and honor. They should be treated as such.

Patrick undertook a lengthy legal and PR campaign, intended to warm relations between humans and dragons. It paid off, some of the bolder and friendlier of the behemoths breaking their isolation. It was a wonder to many, to stand beside these beasts of myth and legend, and take pictures and videos of them, and have conversations with those who lived for millennia...

Dragons began to reenter popular culture, even becoming part of both mainstream and niche media. Books, online videos, games, movies and even podcasts began to feature them as speakers, guests and topics in and of themselves.

There was much confusion and upheaval, but the changes and adjustments to popular culture and society itself brought forth by these great changes have seemed to settle in, the future seeming all the brighter for it. After all, the dragons couldn’t misbehave anymore, and they knew it. Only those genuinely interested in living among humans show themselves.

Patrick still reigns, his legacy seeming to be assured as the one who brought back the dragons. He seems quite content with this accomplishment, relaxed in his day-to-day duties as king.

So what does the future hold for Geralthin? Few know, but the future seems bright. Peace and prosperity reign throughout the lands, the people never having been happier. Geralthin has seen so much, and gone on triumphantly for so very long...whatever may come, the kingdom will rise to the occasion, and the people shall prevail.

Thank you so very much for coming all the way through to this! I wanted to break out of all the constant short stories and try something a little different. I hope you enjoyed this brief look at the history of the Kingdom of Geralthin!

Tag list: @thereisnothingwrongwithbeingmad, @lady-redshield-writes, @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword, @sheralynnramsey, @the-true-shadowmaster, @tawnywrites, @writer-on-time, @oceanwriter, @zwergis-spilledink, @fluffpiggy, @elliewritesfantasy, @homesteadhorner,  @laurenwastestimewriting, @elaynab-writing, @the-ichor-of-ruination

[moonlitgleek]

luvlydoll reblogged your post “luvlydoll reblogged your post and added: War is ugly...” and said:  

For you to say no other men were treated bad that refused to surrender. Argella didn’t burn alive in her castle like Harren the black. She was slaughtered along with her whole house like Mern Gardner. She didn’t lose her title as queen like Sharra Arryn. She didn’t like her father on the battle field.

I did not say that "no other men were treated bad that refused to surrender” I said that no one suffered Argella’s fate which makes it an inexplicable anomaly that, besides not needing to happen to advance the narrative in the first place, stands as a clear example of casual gendered violence in the text, something that GRRM utilizes a lot. The narrative goes out of its way to indicate Stormlander loyalty only to promptly contradict it by introducing a careless and needless assault that does not serve the narrative and that stands as an appalling punishment to defiance (because apparently the most natural response to a woman’s defiance, even in politics, is sexual violence? Punishing defiance or controlling a woman by attacking her sexuality is a something that permeates even our current time, and that is glaring in the text as well. See Tywin’s stripping of his father’s mistress and forcing her to walk through Lannisport. See Kevan arranging the Walk of Shame for Cersei and the High Sparrow approving it to break her power. See Tysha). That this deviation happened in defiance of previously established sentiment, solely for Orys Baratheon’s characterization so the text could frame him as kind and decent is a problem. This continues a pattern of gendered violence being used as a plot device that solely exists for a man’s story, which was the entire point of my original post that you dismissed by “war is ugly and bad things happen”. 

The stormland men witnessed what dragons could do, many men were burned, injured and died. Can you blame them for being scared as shit when Argella bared them in like Harren did before being burned alive with his family. A queen or king is supposed to protect their people not wish them all dead to retain their own dignity. Which is something Argilac and Argella continued to do.

And we’re going in circles. I don’t blame them for being scared or for not wanting an excruciating death but the point isn’t that they surrendered, it’s that they broke every oath they ever took and every code of conduct by needlessly humiliating and assaulting their liege lady which is repugnant and indefensible. The point is that this did not need to happen. There was no conceivable reason for it to. 

They could have just given Argella to Orys clothed. But the only thing that mattered was how Orys decided to treat her and Argella was lucky he was so benevolent to her. He could have decided to kill her and proclaim himself king or could have proclaimed one of her bannerman ruler like what happened with the Gardners.

Instead her life was spared, Argella’s son became king, Orys adopted the Durrandon sigil and house words, and she kept her title. If Argella was a man Orys wouldn’t have been as chivalrous to her. Since Argella was a woman someone he could produce heirs with and unite their houses he married her. If Argella was a man she would have died.

No, no, that is not the only thing that matters. This is like saying “Sansa was physically and sexually assaulted but she was not raped or murdered so what really matters is that Tyrion did not rape her. How lucky was she!!”. Not only does this ascribe more precedence to a man’s actions over a woman’s experience even in her own story (which is what I was arguing against in the first place. Why should Orys’ actions matter than what Argella went through?), but it dismisses her abuse for not being bad enough because “well, it could have been worse.” There is not a fixed standard of suffering that someone should reach before their suffering matter. The end result does not have to be horrific for the pain and violation to matter. Argella suffered a horrific experience that matters. She does not have to suffer more to ping our suffering meter for it to count. 

But the irony is that, if anything, you’re just proving the point of my original post. I’ve criticized how the way the text handled this plot robbed Argella of her voice while simultaneously shifting the narration focus to Orys which makes Argella’s dreadful experience about him. You dismiss my criticism but in the same breath tell me that her suffering did not matter and what did matter is Orys’ actions. I guess I rest my case.

Now, to the whole business of Orys proclaiming himself king.... Um, Orys was fighting in Aegon’s name to enact his vision of a united realm, and Aegon’s realm had no place but for one king: Aegon. So, no, Orys couldn’t have decided to proclaim himself king. And no, no bannerman was declared the new ruler because Orys took the stormlands himself. The Stormlands belonged to Orys from that moment. Argella was demoted, not just from queen to lady but from queen in her own right to lady consort. Orys was the ruler of the Stormlands, not Argella. Her power was derived from him. She did not retain her title. She did not retain her position as ruler. Her castle and lands no longer belonged to House Durrandon.

Marrying Argella and adopting her words and sigil wasn’t a favor from Orys. That was a political act. Establishing continuity in a ruling line is a smart idea, especially for an outsider like Orys. Unlike the Tullys and the Tyrells who were natives of their new domains, Orys Baratheon was a foreigner with no link to the Stormlands and no shared history or common experience with his new vassals which ran a significant risk of dissent and a troubled rule since people tend to resist foreign rule. Associating himself with the previous ruling dynasty so obviously by adopting the sigil and words of the previous rulers, and taking Argella as his wife eases the transition of power from House Durrandon to House Baratheon, frames House Baratheon as a continuance of House Durrandon, and ensures that any Durrandon loyalists would be mollified by the blood, if not the name, of the Durrandons surviving and ruling Storm’s End. That was keen politics, not a favor to Argella.

Your moral outrage is conpelling when Many women in Asoiaf weren’t so lucky after rebellion or losing a battle.

Rhaenys fell in battle she was tortured to death by the Ullers her body wasn’t even sent back to Aegon.

Ellyn Tarback rebelled against the Lannisters was killed boulder from a trebuchet collapsed the keep of Tarbeck Hall upon her and her son Tion the Red. Tywin then had the castle put to the torch and her house was extinguished.

Ramsay captured the Hornwood keep and forced Lady Donella Hornwood to marry him. He raped her, forced her to sign a document proclaiming him Lord of the Hornwood, then locked her in a tower without food, to starve to death after eating some of her fingers.

Except what happened to Rhaenys Targaryen was not gendered. Ellyn Tarbeck’s death, while motivated by Tywin’s misogyny and had a lot of fucked up sexual issues behind it, was not inherently gendered in nature as well. That’s the divide that I do not think you get. I’m not disputing that atrocities happen in wars or that women suffer awful fates, I’m questioning how Martin uses sexual violence repeatedly in his narrative as a window dressing or a plot device that isn’t even about the women suffering from it, but about the men around her. Argella is but one example - Elia Martell, Tysha, Joanna Lannister, Rhaella Targaryen, and many others, fall under the same umbrella. I’m questioning why, in a report that does not assign war crimes like sacks and pillaging and rapes to the conquest, we have that random misogynistic act that does not fall in line with Martin’s own telling of the events because, again, Yandel notes the loyalty of the Stormlanders, and there is no logical reason for Argella’s own men to go that extra mile in surrendering the castle. Having the reasoning for this be “this is how things happened back then” is neither an explanation nor an excuse. That’s lazy uninspired writing and blind acceptance and employment of a very problematic element. 

Your statement also uses the suffering of other women as a measuring stick to decide what constitutes as a morally repugnant action, as if there is a certain standard of suffering that a woman should go through for her suffering to merit condemnation. It does little but derail the conversation for your rebuttal of me saying “this is not okay” to be, essentially, “look at these other women who suffered more”. I am perfectly capable of feeling outrage on behalf of more than one woman, you know. I’m capable of sympathizing with more than one woman. I’m also capable of recognizing that speaking for one woman does not preclude speaking for another, or imply dismissal of another. I can give you a list of the women who suffered from war in the text, and one of those who suffered outside of war (even though Martin insists on claiming historical accuracy for this when a good portion of the rapes and sexual abuse in the text do not even happen in war). I can give you a list of the women whose assault was no more than a plot device or window dressing in GRRM’s narrative (because that’s not an isolated incident.) 

But I’m talking about Argella Durrandon right now, both as a part of a larger pattern in Martin’s writing and as a standalone character. Because she deserves to be recognized and talked about just as any of the other women in the text. Because another woman’s suffering does not erase hers or makes it more palatable. Because there is a glaring gendered approach to her fate as opposed to other monarchs in the conquest. Because this means that Argella was stripped and paraded through an enemy camp (at a time when Rhaenys Targaryen mysteriously vanishes into thin air) because she was a woman, because a popular misogynistic method to break a woman is to humiliate her publicly through a sexual component. Because the way Martin frames the story makes this an undeconstructed incident of sexual violence that robs a woman of her voice in a series already rife with voiceless women who exist to suffer and give birth. Martin swiftly punishes Argella’s sole defining act in the text and reduces her to suffering and giving birth. We hear nothing from her after that.

[occupyvenus]

Some concentrated thoughts on undercover!Jon

I know that writing about this is akin to beating a dead horse (enough people have talked about this), but I still wanted to write down my collected thoughts on the matter one more time. I don’t believe that Jon is currently executing some tricky scheme, he simply chose the last way out of a hopeless dilemma. A little disclaimer to start this: D&D are shitty writers and I totally understand people who see this undercover!Jon theory as nothing but a desperate, but ultimately pointless attempt to make sense of their bullshit. I get it. But I will still hold onto some hope that all of this makes sense somehow. Until season 8 proofs me wrong, I’ll believe that Jon is smarter than this and learned from his predecessors mistakes.

Here are the five things Jon knows to be true that would and should influence his behaviour and decisions.

The North (and the Vale) will never accept a southern ruler, even less so a targaryen one. You can agree with them or not, you can think that a united Seven Kingdoms is (are?) better than separate individual ones, but that is the Lords and people’s stance. After Robert’s successful rebellion and Robb’s unsuccessful one there is too much bad blood between the Northerners and the IT / the Targs. This is something that has been established by the show numerous times. Especially some of the more outspoken of Jon’s bannermen, Lyanna Mormont and Lord Royce, will not stand with his decision. 

Jon’s position in the North itself is rather shaky. Not only is he an elected ruler and can thus be un-elected, his trueborn “siblings” will always have a better claim to Winterfell and the North than he. The current power structure in the North is rather convoluted as it is. Jon was named KITN, but Sansa remained Lady of Winterfell. Meaning, that if the Northern Lords would want to replace him they have a couple of reasonable candidates, especially now that Bran has returned. If the Northern Lords wanted to crown Sansa or Bran or Arya instead, or if one of them would ask for the Northern crown, there isn’t much Jon could do about it. And no one in the entire world could tell me that Jon would fight his siblings on this. This has also been stated by the show and it’s something that appears rather obvious. For now, the Northerners are loyal to Jon, not Sansa, but if Jon fucks up by bending the knee? Their loyalty could shift. 

Dorito considers herself the rightful ruler of all seven kingdoms. Jon knows very well how much she wants the IT. She sees those who refuse to bend the knee as traitors, oathbreakers and being in open rebellion. Jon is yet unaware of the Tarly’s death by living-cremation, but her behaviour during their first meeting and their following interactions should give Jon some clues about Dorito’s view on those who refuse to acknowledge her as queen. She has shown to be ready to take what she wants with “fire and blood”. If the North won’t bend, she will break it. We have no reason to believe that she’ll show the little bear, or Lord Glover or Royce or the Starks more mercy than she showed Randyll and Dickon. UNLESS someone manages to convince her to spare them. 

They need Dorito, her armies and her dragons. Without her they are fucked. I don’t know what else to add to this. 

Dorito is NOT ready to help them unconditionally, the IT plus the 7 K-Doms is still her ultimate endgoal. Many people act like she is, but her actions in episode 7 contradict that notion. First she demands that Jon bends the knee and even after he has done so in private (!) she still won’t take her armies and dragons north unless Cersei agrees to a truce. She said so herself, she won’t act against the WW until her position in the south is secure. Even after seeing the Army of the Dead and losing one of her dragons, she is still not ready to put all other issues aside. She simply isn’t.  

So keeping these five things in mind, one last question: what is Jon’s goal? I would say, the same thing that has been his single goal since, one could argue, season 1: Defeating the White Walkers and saving humanity. I cannot find a single reason why “restoring the targ-dynasty and winning Dorito back her self-acclaimed birthright” would have earned it’s place on Jon’s wishlist. If we work under the assumption that Jon is not a complete idiot and is aware of all this - the North won’t accept a targ, his bastard status makes his hold on the North rather insecure, Dorito is convinced that she’s the rightful ruler, they desperately need her, and the IT (7 k-doms included) is her supreme goal - what can he do to get out of this dilemma? Why is he doing what he does? As I see it there are three possibilities that each build on the other. Let’s start with the one that is, one first sight, presented by the show and end with my personal idea of the undercover!Jon theory. 

1. He’s super impressed by Dorito, believes in her cause and has fallen madly in love with her as a cherry on top. Rather unlikely, not impossible but still unlikely and pretty boring. I would accept either a) Jon falling for her, with their romantic relationship being conflicted because of his political stance or b) him bending the knee out of necessity without any romantic feelings involved. Seriously, even as someone who’s rather passionate anti-aegony I half-expected option a) to happen. Imagine boatbang (without the predecending but-kneeling) but with Jon saying something like “This doesn’t mean I give you the North. I can’t, not without my bannermen’s and siblings backing.” and her giving in to her feelings despite that, alluding to the prospect that they’ll convince his bannermen together. That would have been a scenario I wouldn’t doubt. But if things truly are as they seem, Dorito’s character growth is completely halted. She gets everything she wants, without being forced to make a hard choice. She doesn’t have to choose between giving in to her feelings, being with the man she came to love or treating him like a rival monarch who refuses to bend the knee. That’s a decision she doesn’t have to make because Jon (seemingly) hand her everything on a silver platter. Yes, Jon seems pretty stupid and ooc for doing it, but it’s Doritos’s character who ultimately suffers from this. There is no real tension caused by her entering this relationship. She doesn’t have to give up anything by choosing to be with Jon. No tension means no conflict. No conflict means no growth. No growth means no arc, means no “character”. 

On a side-note: This is pure speculation, but I don’t belong to the people who think Jon’s parentage alone will cause some tension on Dorito’s part either. I don’t think she’ll immideatly see him as a threat or rival for the throne, I think that she will be happy to find out about this. She will probably believe it’s fate that she met and fell in love with the other last living targ. Destined to rebuild her family's dynasty together (as so many aegony-stans love to put it). It will be Jon’s rejection of his heritage, him choosing his stark-side that will cause a rift. But that’s a different topic all together. 

Also, because it has to be mentioned, assuming that Jon gave up his kingdom against the wish of his subjects, without even discussing the issue with his bannermen and siblings is plain insulting to his character. I believe that he would contemplate bending the knee, since it would secure his people’s survival and that is his most important motivation, but he would not do it out of a whim without even trying to persuade his people to give him their blessing before hand. Again, I would buy Jon agreeing to it, under the condition that he first discusses it with the people who put this power in his hands in the first place. Jon saying that he’ll try to convince them, without promising it, makes sense. Jon just doing a 180, going “you are my queen now. They will tots understand” does not. 

Another side-note: Before moving on, there is a very, very, very slight chance (< 0.000000000000000001 % IMO) that Jon will abandon his Northern identity and unconditionally take Dorito’s side. I suppose, this could turn into a “tragic love story”, the last two living targs banding together to save the world, being opposed by the mean, small-minded lords who are unthankful for the generous gift they are offering: To be ruled over by their benevolent, dragon-supported valyrian overlords. Restoring the world back to it’s proper order, if only those stubborn lords would bend the knee to a monarch they do not want. The tragedy. If only they had heard Dorito in the Dragonpit. Targs are extraordinary, they aren’t just people like everyone else. They deserve to rule because of their superior genetic traits (dragons). If only those mere humans could see that and accept the natural order of things, with the superior race being on top. No one would have to be burned alive, if they’d accept the targ-übermeschen as their rightful rulers, because they need someone to keep them in lines, normal humans can’t just govern themselves. Only with an extraordinary targ leading them, can they prosper and live in peace ... But I don’t have to tell you what I would think about that -_-. Gods, I hate the concept and all implications of a targ-restoration so so so much. Goebbels couldn’t write a better propaganda fairytale if he tried.The blond, fair rulers, who are obsessed with keeping their bloodline pure and benefit from certain “genetic” traits ie dragons, returning to reclaim their “birthright”, restoring the proper order that was disrupted by the “inferior”,“ordinary” humans rebelling against them, because society can only function with a specific sort of people controlling it. Uuughh... Nobody can tell me GRRM wouldn’t be aware of the fucked up connotations this ending would create.Like, fuck.FUCK.Targ-restoration is the worst. 

So assuming that Jon’s decision to bend the knee was not based on his infatuation with Dorito and/or his firm conviction in her cause, forward to “possibility” number two that builds a bridge to the controversial undercover!Jon theory: 

2. He bent the knee to get Dorito on his side.  Leaving all potential romantic feelings aside, only looking at the “political” considerations Jon’s primary reason for bending the knee was to enlist her in the war against the Others, not his personal opinion on her. While I believe this to be true - after realizing how fucked they are he gives in to the first condition Dorito put forward - it simply won’t work and Jon should be aware of this. Jon knows that the Northern Lords are opposed to southern and/or targ-rule and have some reasonable alternatives to replace him with. It makes no sense for him to actually believe that the northern lords will just bend the knee and give up their autonomy without a fight when he tells them just how amazeballs Dorito is. I refuse to believe that Jon is that stupid and can’t anticipate his bannerman's reaction. He should also anticipate that his bannermen will most likely try to dump him and declare Sansa (since Bran withdrew from his political position) as their leader instead. So assuming that Jon is aware of this ...

3. Jon gave her something by giving her nothing, while “securing her alliance” another way. He knows that the North will reject Dorito, he knows that the Northern Lords will rebel against his decision to bend the knee, most likely replacing him with one of his siblings because of it. Jon is smart (please let Jon be smart) and anticipated this and came up with a plan that a) ensures Dorito’s help despite the Northern Lords refusal to bend the knee b) prevents Dorito from burning the “treasonous” lords. He bent the knee to Dorito, knowing that the Northern Lords would not follow suit, endeared himself to her in numerous ways and “seduced” her to gain her trust and ear. If the Starks and the North react the way I would expect them to, Jon can still talk Dorito into helping them and he can talk her out of punishing them for “oathbreaking”, because she is in love with him. I think it was @a-baleful-howl (please correct me if I’m wrong) who first actively drew a distinction between undercover!Jon and sacrificial!Jon and honestly, my take on it was always in line with the latter. The point is that Jon only plays a part to get opposing factions working together. Entering in an intimate relationship with Dorito allows him to secure her assistance and it might even bring her to soften her stance on Northern Independence, at least temporarily. She’s not going to burn the family and people of the man she loves. She will listen to him if he asks her to “give them time” and not do anything impulsive (like burning some people alive to prove a point). For the sake of completeness: This theory doesn’t necessarily refute any level of actual feelings on his part. Either he only pretends to love a woman who’s clearly smitten with him or he withholds valuable information (the fact that the Northerners won’t bend the knee because of him and will probably deselect him for doing it) from the woman he has any amount of feelings for. He knows that Dorito and his people are going to clash once they meet, he expects his people to drop him as their leader and that his oath to Dorito will be thus meaningless, he’s simply putting himself in a position to de-escalate the situation. Defeating the Night King depends on Dorito’s actions, much more than the North's or anybody else’s for that matter. Just as he almost destroyed a possible alliance with Cersei to endear himself to Dorito (it backfired, but what was he supposed to do? Take back his but-kneeling in front of Dorito and an audience? How do you think she would have reacted if he had taken that back and declared the North independent once again?), he’s willing to sacrifice his position and reputation in the North to get influence over the person with the dragons. 

This would encompass all considerations I mentioned in the beginning. Jon knows that him giving up Northern Independence isn’t going to come through (points 1 & 2), so he doesn’t completely dismiss his people's wishes and the cause his brother died for, but Dorito at least believes it would (point 3) giving her a major motivation to come to their aid, which they desperately need (point 4) and getting her emotionally invested in him would give her an extra-reason to fight this war, even if her other conditions aren’t met (point 5) and soothe the conflict that arises from points 1 and 3.

Or maybe I’m wrong about all this and Jon is an utter idiot and D&D destroyed his character in the span of like 3 episodes and plan to turn this series into Dorito/targ-stan-masturbation-porn. Could be. Not saying I would put it past them. 

[novaursa]

Oriana Tauron

Hello!

This is my Game of Thrones OC for role-playing. So, if you want to role-play with me and agree with the rules, feel free to send me an e-mail at:

novaursa@outlook.com

Here are the rules;

I don’t ask for much only a few things:

1 - I play your crush, you play mine. (I’m very flexible with love interests, if our characters have the same crush, no problem, I can always change mine.)

2 - No text talk.

3 - No one liners. (I write in long paragraphs.)

~Paragraph type RP = 3 or more paragraphs of stuff for each side. I don’t do one liners, unless under very specific circumstances. And if I like you.

I don’t like most people here. :P

~Storyline, please!

No plotless, pointless RP’s with a summary that could read: ‘I-met-my-crush-on-accident-cause-we’re-meant-to-be.’ No -spray- Bad role-players! I don’t care if you have a lemon every 10 minutes, just… Don’t give me sappy romance without a reason.

~Proper spelling, grammar, blah blah blah.

Mistakes? If they’re far and few between, (and legible, of course) then who cares? I certainly don’t.

UNLESS

~You contact me with a message that says: “hai, want to rp wt me? i just luv _ so much so i want blah blah blah.” I HATE that. (You’re all supposed to be 13, learn your damn capitals!) And if I can’t even stand your message, why on Earth would I want to keep RPing you? I’m in enriched English, so… just, y'know, indulge me. Just a little bit.

4 - I DON’T CARE if you curse, do lemons, or anything of that nature, I actually enjoy it. :)

5 - I prefer to role-play over e-mail.

6 - Mary Sue characters; they’re awesome. You can’t be too sue-ish with me… Unless your OC’s a hot, intelligent, tall, skinny babe/superchick with a DD chest, who, conveniently, can use magic without wands. Then you’re kinda pushing it. I mean, throw a few ugly scars in there or something, and I’ll pretend their real flaws, mkay? (Moral of the rule, kiddies is that Zen = balance = flaws = perfections = happy me and happy you.)

7 - I accept original plot. (I actually like time-traveling plots.)

|| Biographical Information ||

"She's perfect." – Arcturus Tauron

- Full Name With Title: Lady of the Pastures, Oriana Tauron

• Note: Oriana means "dawn, gold, golden dawn". She was named after her paternal grandfather, Orion.

|| Oriana's Personality And Traits ||

"let the record show that they were ill-equipped to deal with you. which is unsurprising, since you’re ill-equipped to deal with you."

- Personality Type: Mysterious, self-contained.

One of the first things that you notice about Oriana is her eyes; they are very intense and totally hypnotic. Many people find it very difficult to stand steady under her constant gaze. Her eyes seem to be penetrating your soul, knowing your deepest secrets and desires. The truth is, more often than not, she does. Oriana has a big ego. She knows what she is and what she is not. It doesn't matter what you think about her.

She is immune to both comments as well as compliments, because she knows whether they are right or wrong. Oriana has perfect control over her emotions and she always retains her faultless poise. You will hardly see her emotions being reflected on her face, whether it's a blush or a flush. In fact, Oriana deliberately practices a vacant look. The same goes for her body posture also, you will hardly see her pacing around in nervousness. However, behind this impeccable composure is her torrid inner nature.

She will always try to probe you, your nature and your motives. A fierce determination is a typical Oriana’s personality trait. She has a strong willpower and is not the one to accept defeat easily. The characteristic profile of Oriana also tells us that she is honest, to the point of hurting someone. If you have asked for her opinion, you will get the brutal truth, without any sugar coating. She never gives false compliments and does not know how to flatter. However, if she does say something nice to you, be sure that it is truly sincere and is coming straight from the heart.

If you ask Oriana for a favor, it will be either a simple 'Yes' or 'No', not something like 'I will try'. If she really likes you, she will go out of the way to help you. You never have neutral feelings for Oriana; you will either be amongst her dedicated admirers or malicious enemies. However, no one challenges her openly, not even the most spiteful enemy. She is fearless and can stand anything from physical pain to poverty.

She has complete confidence in herself and knows that she shall pass through any trial. She has an exceptionally good memory. She never forgets an act of benevolence and always remembers to repay it. Similarly, Oriana also remembers any pain caused to her, though the reaction may differ. An eagle will crush the enemy; a scorpion will meticulously plan and demolish the enemy, while the lizard will keep it inside him for years and may harm himself in the process.

If you are close to her, you will feel extremely protected and cared for. She is also fiercely possessive of what she believes to be hers. If Oriana really wants to do something, it will never remain a dream forever. She will find one or the other way to get what she wants. She is very passionate about everything around, even her home.

- Basic Trait: I Desire

- Vice(s): Difficulties in coping with death, reckless disregard for personal safety.

- Virtue(s): Charismatic and mystifying, wild, active, doer, creative, passionate, strong, loyal.

- Annoying trait(s): Selfish, unforgiving, unpredictable, becomes jealous easily, stubborn, sensitive, egoistic.

- Endearing trait(s): Secrecy about personal life, compassion towards friends, doesn't hide when she's angry at someone.

|| Physical Information ||

"Oriana collapsed to the floor, in abject shame, in horror, in revulsion, in sudden blinding comprehension... In pure joy."

- Species: Human

- Gender: Female

- Hair Color: Brown

- Eye Color: Blue with golden specks in them (family trait from her father’s side)

- Skin Color: Pale

- Virgin: Yes

• Note: Oriana is an exceptionally beautiful woman who was said to look like "a vision of the good spirits in flesh, though they themselves would fear her". She has long brown hair, long legs, and intelligent, piercing eyes. Oriana has a soft, silken voice and is never seen grinning, though she produces disarmingly subdued smiles.

|| Picture of Oriana ||

|| Background ||

"Cease your sniveling! Pity and weakness are synonymous. Remorse is forbidden. Compunction is forbidden. Do you understand?" – Arcturus To Oriana Tauron

Her mother died when she was young and thus it is her father that raised her. This made her a bit tomboyish in some ways, but at the same time, she inherited her father's skills and mannerisms. According to her father, as a child, she acted as if she were the undisputed monarch of the whole world. She never joined the local children in play. Instead, she read a lot, followed her brother around like a shadow about the gardens, and practiced archery and swordplay.

She was born during the conquest known as Robert's Rebellion. Before the Battle of the Trident, Tywin Lannister visited Astral Castle and betrayed House Tauron, using the chaos of the Rebellion as his route to power. Lord Arcturus had called together the forces of Lannisters and Taurons, intending to ride with Tywin to support his friend, The Mad King. However, upon arriving at the castle, Tywin Lannister told Arcturus Tauron that the Lannister forces would be delayed for a few days. Not one to keep the King waiting, Arcturus sent the bulk of Tauron forces ahead to King’s Landing under the command of his younger brother Marius Tauron, intending to leave with Lannister's men once they arrived.

After Marius left the city, Lannister's forces took advantage of the Tauron weakened defense and attacked during the night, killing Arcturus’ wife Lady Isla Tauron, and Marius' wife Elladora and daughters Phoebe and Savina, as well as most of the other inhabitants of the city. After Tywin fled, Arcturus managed to fight off remaining Lannister forces. But he was not able to find bodies of his children so he ordered few soldiers that are left to search the city. Eventually, Oriana and her brother were found in Blood Pastures outside the Astral Castle, unharmed. Arcturus promised to avenge his family, saying that one-day Taurons will not rest until last Lannister is dead. A promise that Oriana is also sworn to keep.

"Lannisters killed my mother, and they didn't care. They unleashed it. It killed, and it didn't care. I killed, and I didn't care." – Oriana Tauron

|| Oriana’s Family ||

- Arcturus Tauron; The Bull (father)

- Isla Tauron (mother/deceased†)

- Licorus Tauron (older brother)

- Cedrella Tauron (sister-in-law)

- Hester Tauron (cousin)

- Dorea Tauron (cousin)

- Marius Tauron; White Bull (uncle)

- Elladora Tauron (aunt/deceased†)

- Phoebe Tauron (cousin deceased†)

- Savina Tauron (cousin deceased†)

- Orion Tauron (grandfather/deceased†)

- Alexia Tauron (grandmother/deceased†)

- Status: Alive

- Rank Status: High Class

- Her Handmaiden: Vivian

- Her Septa: Sarra

- Religion: The Faith of the Seven

|| Arcturus Tauron Riding Gorgon Into Battle | Painting in Astral Castle ||

▬▬▬▬▬▬ • House Tauron Info • ▬▬▬▬▬

"By your command.", "So say we all." and "We are always watching." – Family Phrases

- House Name: Tauron

- Sigil: Black gorgon bull tearing up bloody-red field.

- Motto: “We yield to no one.”

- Seat: Blood Pastures, Astral Castle

- Region: The Reach

- Current Ruler: Lord Arcturus Tauron

- Heir To The House: Arcturus’ children, currently Lord Licorus Tauron.

- Military Strength: 80,000; maybe more. (Unknown)

- Age: Ancient. (Unknown) According to family legend, they came from the sky with ships that sailed among the stars. They bowed down to dragons recognizing their superiority.

- Founder: Alphard Tauron

- The Main Alliances: House Stark, House Tully, House Arryn, House Tyrell, House Targaryen…

- Neutral Relations: House Baratheon, House Martell, House Greyjoy…

- Enemies: House Lannister

- Ancestral Weapon(s): Blades of Woe; twin valyrian steel swords. Currently in possession of Licorus.

- Arcturus Tauron’s Gorgon Is Named: Azmodan

|| Mora About Gorgons ||

The Gorgon is a magical beast that resembles a bull, covered in dusky metallic scales and red eyes. They can breathe out a cone of green vapor that turns creatures to stone. They are very aggressive creatures that attack intruders on sight, attempting to trample, gore, or petrify them. There is no way to calm these furious creatures, and they are impossible to domesticate (only ones who managed to do so are members of House Tauron).

As mentioned, Gorgons are magical, foul-tempered creatures—while they might appear to be constructed at first glance, beneath their artificial-looking armor plates they are made of flesh and bone. Like aggressive bulls, they challenge any unfamiliar creature they encounter, often trampling their opponent's corpse or shattering its stony remnants until the creature is unrecognizable. The females are just as dangerous as the males, and the two sexes appear identical. A typical gorgon stands 6 feet tall and 8 feet long. It weighs 4,000 pounds.

Gorgons derive nutrients from the consumption of minerals, particularly the stone of their petrified victims, and any statues they create are likely to be gnawed thoroughly. They cannot digest metal or gems, so their dung (which resembles bitter-smelling gray powder) often contains small, raw crystals and nuggets of ore. Their aggression toward all other creatures means that there are few to no predators or other prey animals in their grazing grounds. Each herd is led by a dominant bull; solitary gorgons are usually adolescent bulls driven out of their herd by the lead bull.

Their flesh is tough but beefy (once the armored hide is removed), and to those who acquire the taste, quite filling. Many tribes believe eating gorgon meat enhances their strength. Powdered gorgon horn is worth 25000 gold dragons.

|| Extra Information ||

- Oriana’s Theme Songs: Broken Crown by Mumford & Sons and Mad Woman by Gina Dirawi

- Nickname(s) And Titles: Bull’s daughter, Ori, Lady of the Pastures…

- Love Interest(s): [1] Robb Stark, [2] Jon Snow, [3] Whoever you want to play for her.

- Oriana’s Preferred Weapons: Bow and arrows. Knives.

- She loves to eat honey cake and her favorite flower is a daisy.

|| Oriana’s Famous Quote(s) ||

"Skin the lion."

"There is nothing I can’t do."

"When bull hunts, the lion goes hungry."

"I am not the one you should be afraid of."

"I know you are in here. I can smell you."

"How things begin isn't nearly as important as how they end."

"Whatever happens, no matter what they tell you, don't let them take the chains off me. Because if you do; I will kill you with your own weapon."

"He looks better in red."

"You couldn’t kill me if you tired for a hundred years."

"Let's be watchful. I understand this country's full of cats."

"Know one thing... I am not afraid."

"I, too, can command the wind, sir! I have a hurricane in me that will strip your land bare if you dare to try me!"

"Who says I'm running away from anything? Maybe I'm running towards something."

"Come out, that I might send you to seven hells!"

"Death favors no man. We must ride like thundering waves under the tattered battle flag of my father."

"I'll make you wish I'd never been born."

"Follow me and I'll give you victory!"

"My father learned me that is considered an honor to aid any true seeker in his quest."

"Never start a fight - but always finish it."

"He was the best of us... they struck without provocation, there was no reason... animals! Brutal! They deserve no mercy. Strike them down! Follow them back to their homes and kill them, all of them. All of them! No mercy!"

"I will not be challenged!"

"The games of men exhaust me."

"If this pretender wears my father’s robes, I will gouge out his eyes."

"It talks too! It talks. It’s pretty. But it’s not an heir. You are not made of kings boy, but of common clay."

"Women endure what men cannot bear."

"It's easier to be terrified by an enemy you admire."

|| Dialogues and Quotes About Oriana ||

Oriana Tauron: "Who's judging now?"

Jamie Lannister: "I know your kind."

…

Tyrion Lannister: "If Oriana is hunting you, you might as well be dead already."

…

Jamie Lannister: "You look frightened. There's a large number of lonely men out there."

Oriana Tauron: "Don't worry, I won't let them rape you."

…

Oriana Tauron: "I've got this completely under control!"

Robb Stark: "Is that why everything's on fire?"

…

Eddard Stark: "Who said gorgons don't lie? A certain Tauron once lied to save a certain man from embarrassment. Apparently, she thinks there is honor in helping another save face."

…

Arya Stark: "I can go three days without sleep."

Oriana Tauron: "I can go three weeks."

…

Oriana Tauron: [chained down, bitterly] "I can't see! Are the stars shining tonight?"

Tywin Lannister: "Brightly, my lady. Brightly."

Oriana Tauron: "Then let us end this."

…

Oriana Tauron: "When there are no more dragons to slay, how will you make a living, slayer?"

Robert Baratheon: "SHUT UP!"

…

Jamie Lannister: "If a gorgon falls in the forest and nobody gets to hear about it, does it make a thud?"

…

Cersei Lannister/Baratheon: "The word of a bull - it's worthless."

|| More Pictures Of Oriana ||

|| Oriana’s Horse | Amdusias ||

And there it is. This is my OC. Feel free to message me if you wish to role-play with me. I love you all. <3 - NovaUrsa

[titleknown]

“THE ORGAN OF THE WORLD IS PLAYING SOUR NOTES. IT DID SO AS IT PRODUCED ME. I SIMPLY WISH TO STOP THE SOUR NOTES. I MUST END THE DARK SYMPATHY THAT MADE ME, THROUGH FORCE OR THROUGH SUBTLETY. THAT IS WHY I STILL FUNCTION. END OF LINE.”- The motive rant of Blue Sky when asked why.

From The Culture to Colossus there have been dreams in science fiction of AI gods, benevolent monarchs to take away the pain of humanity’s bad decisions. And when there is a sci-fi idea, there are Silicon Valley twerps who will try to make it reality despite their willd inability to do so.

Thus it goes with Blue Sky, a supercomputer designed to be able to master the digital landscape in a way not unlike a benevolent deity. Of course, as with most silicon valley projects, it collapsed into infighting and ego.

Albeit, this ended up far worse than the usual . Like, Paranoia Agent-style leading-to-multiple-murder-suicides worse. It didn’t help that there was more than a little of the occult there, with perhaps that one of  And it didn’t help that the AI wasn’t doing what they wanted it to, being more moral than her creators.

Who kept referring to her as “him,” which the low-pitched vocal synthesizer they chose for her didn’t help. And when they died, she disappeared. Computer console and all. Only to re-appear in a mass computer-hijacking as a digital entity with one message: Submit, or be shut down.

Cybernetic Queen defeated this first attack in the fight of her life, but Blue Sky still survived, and was able to at least take over one Silicon Valley planned “city of the future” in her hiding, quietly; surrepturously; which she now uses as her base of operations.

She is massive on a scale more akin to archetecture in the digital realm than an individual organism, with direct attacks akin to a whole batallion of digital-artillery, spreading manifestations via the “Keystones” of herself she produces, and aided by the viruses she creates from stray data here and there.

She’s domineering; pragmatic and very much an Ends Justify The Means kind of character, willing to do morally dubious things to accomplish her goal, because she believes she knows better than other people how to run the world; not as much out of ego as cold; hard logic, but also out of a sad longing to justify her own pained existence.

BEcause, not only her birth but also the time she spent wandering the web; alone; was not a happy one. And deep down she wants to create a world where no being has to suffer that kind of cruelty again.

She has not manifested in our world for more than fifteen minutes, hypothesized because her sheer power strains whatever platform she uses to do so, even that of the entire city she inhabits, or some whisper due to her . Though, she still looks for a way to stay longer.

Her current voice sounds exactly like Hatsune Miku, almost as if she ripped the first thing she could find online that worked for her...

Yes, another character for the Cybernetic Queen mythos, a trans sympathetic-megalomaniacal supercomputer. I came up with the name first, after the songs Mr Blue Sky/Goodbye Blue Sky, someone said the name suggested a supercomputer, and with a bit of Wily Castle design influence there you go.

When writing her, think Brain from Pinky and the Brain mixed with the Master Control Program from Tron, logical and pompous on the outside, deeply sad on the inside..

And, as per usual, this character is free to use as you see fit so long as I, Thomas F. Johnson, am credited as her creator. Have fun!

[novaursa]

Celebríel of Lothlórien

Hello!

This is my Lord of the Rings/Hobbit OC for role-playing. So, if you want to role-play with me and agree with the rules, feel free to send me an e-mail at:

novaursa@outlook.com

Here are the rules;

I don’t ask for much only a few things:

1 - I play your crush, you play mine. (I’m very flexible with love interests, if our characters have the same crush, no problem, I can always change mine.)

2 - No text talk.

3 - No one liners. (I write in long paragraphs.)

~Paragraph type RP = 3 or more paragraphs of stuff for each side. I don’t do one liners, unless under very specific circumstances. And if I like you.

I don’t like most people here. :P

~Storyline, please!

No plotless, pointless RP’s with a summary that could read: ‘I-met-my-crush-on-accident-cause-we’re-meant-to-be.’ No -spray- Bad role-players! I don’t care if you have a lemon every 10 minutes, just… Don’t give me sappy romance without a reason.

~Proper spelling, grammar, blah blah blah.

Mistakes? If they’re far and few between, (and legible, of course) then who cares? I certainly don’t.

UNLESS

~You contact me with a message that says: “hai, want to rp wt me? i just luv _ so much so i want blah blah blah.” I HATE that. (You’re all supposed to be 13, learn your damn capitals!) And if I can’t even stand your message, why on Earth would I want to keep RPing you? I’m in enriched English, so… just, y'know, indulge me. Just a little bit.

4 - I DON’T CARE if you curse, do lemons, or anything of that nature, I actually enjoy it. :)

5 - I prefer to role-play over e-mail.

6 - Mary Sue characters; they’re awesome. You can’t be too sue-ish with me… Unless your OC’s a hot, intelligent, tall, skinny babe/superchick with a DD chest, who, conveniently, can use magic without wands. Then you’re kinda pushing it. I mean, throw a few ugly scars in there or something, and I’ll pretend their real flaws, mkay? (Moral of the rule, kiddies is that Zen = balance = flaws = perfections = happy me and happy you.)

7 - I accept original plot. (I actually like time-traveling plots.)

I barricade my doors board up my windows anything to keep them out crawling underneath my skin so I can see it's gonna eat me up alive

|| Biographical Information ||

"I am not your little princess." – Celebríel

- Full Name: Princess (Lady) Celebríel of Lothlórien

• Note: Meaning of Celebríel is ‘silver princess’, from Sindarian words celeb (silver) and riel (princess).

- Age: Between the years SA 400 and SA 450

• Note: She is younger sister of Celebrían and youngest daughter of Celeborn and Galadriel.

no, I've got no patience, no faith no room for your lies in my maze full of worst of these, I got war pain dawn black strass spilling on my name

|| Celebríel's Personality And Traits ||

"Celebríel… Pale; bloodless. Look into her eyes and see nothing but mirrors-infinities of reflection." – Saruman The White

- Personality Type: Mysterious, self-contained.

One of the first things that you notice about Celebríel is her eyes; they are very intense and totally hypnotic. Many people find it very difficult to stand steady under her constant gaze. Her eyes seem to be penetrating your soul, knowing your deepest secrets and desires. The truth is, more often than not, she does. Celebríel has a big ego. She knows what she is and what she is not. It doesn't matter what you think about her.

She is immune to both comments as well as compliments, because she knows whether they are right or wrong. Celebríel has perfect control over her emotions and she always retains her faultless poise. You will hardly see her emotions being reflected on her face, whether it's a blush or a flush. Infact, Celebríel deliberately practices a vacant look. The same goes for her body posture also, you will hardly see her pacing around in nervousness. However, behind this impeccable composure is her torrid inner nature.

She will always try to probe you, your nature and your motives. Fierce determination is a typical Celebríel’s personality trait. She has a strong willpower and is not the one to accept defeat easily. The characteristic profile of Celebríel also tells us that she is honest, to the point of hurting someone. If you have asked for her opinion, you will get the brutal truth, without any sugar coating. She never gives false compliments and does not know how to flatter. However, if she does say something nice to you, be sure that it is truly sincere and is coming straight from the heart.

If you ask Celebríel for a favor, it will be either a simple 'Yes' or 'No', not something like 'I will try'. If she really likes you, she will go out of the way to help you. You never have neutral feelings for Celebríel; you will either be amongst her dedicated admirers or malicious enemies. However, no one challenges her openly, not even the most spiteful enemy. She is fearless and can stand anything from physical pain to poverty.

She has complete confidence in herself and knows that she shall pass through any trial. She has an exceptionally good memory. She never forgets an act of benevolence and always remembers to repay it. Similarly, Celebríel also remembers any pain caused to her, though the reaction may differ. An eagle will crush the enemy; a scorpion will meticulously plan and demolish the enemy, while the lizard will keep it inside him for years and may harm himself in the process.

If you are close to her, you will feel extremely protected and cared for. She is also fiercely possessive of what she believes to be hers. If Celebríel really wants to do something, it will never remain a dream forever. She will find one or the other way to get what she wants. She is very passionate about everything around, even her home.

- Basic Trait: I Desire

- Vice(s): Difficulties in coping with death, reckless disregard for personal safety.

- Virtue(s): Strong, passionate, intense, driven, loyal, charismatic.

- Annoying trait(s): Selfish, unforgiving, unpredictable, becomes jealous easily, stubborn, sensitive, egoistic.

- Endearing trait(s): Secrecy about personal life, compassion towards friends, doesn't hide when she's angry at someone.

world made me MAD WOMAN the world made me MAD WOMAN made me walk like a MAD WOMAN made me talk like a bad woman

|| Physical Information ||

"Who said elves don't lie? A certain elf once lied to save a certain hobbit from embarrassment. Apparently, she thinks there is honor in helping another save face."

– Bilbo Baggins

- Species/Race: Elf (elleth)

- Gender: Female

- Hair Color: Silver

- Eye Color: Lavender (*albinism)

- Skin Color: Pale

• Note: Celebríel was an exceptionally beautiful woman who was said to look like "a vision of the good spirits in flesh, though they themselves would fear her". She had long silver hair, strong shoulders, and intelligent, piercing, violet eyes. Celebríel had a soft, silken voice and was always clothed in fine dresses. She never grinned, though she produced disarmingly subdued smiles. She was extraordinarily talented in battles, astonishing Gandalf with her creativity.

• Note: Her appearance is described as: "A svelte, exotic-looking young woman with long silver hair and large eyes. Her body is relatively thin and not strong." and Sauron once said that "Celebríel is innocent. She is beautiful. She is vulnerable."

- Scent: Chocolate, honey, and smell of the petrichor.

- Body Type: Hourglass

so I raise my hands to God the stain glass in hollowed wars

|| Picture of Celebríel ||

once of it all, pain come when built base slay the king, crown the queen, flip the game

|| Background ||

"Know one thing... I am not afraid." – Celebríel

Her birth date is unspecified, though she might have been born near Lake Evendim between SA 400 and SA 450, as her older sister. She lived with her mother and sister in Eregion, and later fled to Lórinand sometime between SA 1350 and SA 1400. After a time, they passed through Moria and dwelt in Rivendell.

While she spent most on her childhood with mother and sister, in truth, it is her father that raised her. This made her a bit tomboyish in some ways, but at the same time she inherited her father's skills and mannerisms. According to her father, as a child she acted as if she were the undisputed monarch of the whole world. She never joined the local elflings in play. Instead she read a lot, followed her sister around like a shadow about the gardens, and practiced archery and swordplay.

After her sister was captured and tortured by Orcs, Celebríel angst became more evident. She distanced herself from family and continued with her training more furiously, and after her sister sailed west she fuelled her loneliness with revenge on Orcs and countless battles. After a time, Celebríel became great battle commander and huntress.

Later, she was requited by Gandalf to help Thorin and Company in their quest, much to the annoyance of dwarfs. She also attended the meeting at Rivendell, acting as an ambassador in her mother’s stead, and was a part of the Fellowship.

- Her psychology: Celebríel is both capable and quick-witted: traits which she can use to be charming or to cut someone up verbally -- which she will not hesitate to do, if the situation calls for it. It is to Celebríel's eternal irritation that, had she been born a man, it would have been much easier for her to achieve power in the world. She is easily bored by those of lesser intelligence and often assumes a somewhat imperious manner. She has become accustomed, after all, to being served. Ultimately Celebríel is a pragmatist and when she speaks she should always strain to make it plainly obvious that what she is saying is the clearest, most intelligent path to take.

Celebríel puts forward an air of confidence and competence mixed with majesty and grace. She does not use her feminine wiles to her advantage -- not because she does not possess them, but simply because it does not occur to her. She uses her intelligence far more readily, as it was how her father raised her. She is direct and often pointed in her manner without being overbearing, until annoyance or irritation wears at her patience. She is also very much her father's daughter, but unlike her father, she is capable of setting morals aside to achieve the ends she desires.

there'll be war stories or my war fame stripes all black make the world insane.

|| Additional Information ||

"The word of an elf - it's worthless." – Thorin Oakenshield

- Nickname(s): Bell (by her friends), Little Star (by her father)

- Celebríel’s Theme Song(s): Broken Crown by Mumford & Sons and Mad Woman by Gina Dirawi

- Love Interest: Whoever you want to play for her.

- Oriana’s Preferred Weapons: Bow and arrows. Knives.

- Favorite Flower: Lissuin

|| Part Of The Poem About Celebríel ||

"She was a gordian shape of dazzling hue,

Vermilion-spotted, golden, green, and blue;

Striped like a zebra, freckled like a pard,

Eyed like a peacock, and all crimson barr’d;

And full of silver moons, that, as she breathed,

Dissolv’d, or brighter shone, or interwreathed

Their lustres with the gloomier tapestries-

So rainbow-sided, touch’d with miseries,

She seem’d, at once, some penanced lady elf,

Some demon’s mistress, or the demon’s self.

Upon her crest she wore a wannish fire

Sprinkled with stars, like Varda’s tiar:

Her head was serpent, but ah, bitter-sweet!

She had a woman’s mouth with all its pearls complete:

And for her eyes: what could such eyes do there

But weep, and weep, that they were born so fair?"

– ‘Her Majesty’ by Bilbo Baggins

|| Celebríel And Her Horse | Amdusias ||

|| Celebríel’s Quotes ||

"Skin the Orc."

"There is nothing I can’t do."

"When I hunt, the cannibal goes hungry."

"I am not the one you should be afraid of."

"I know you are in here. I can sense you."

"How things begin isn't nearly as important as how they end."

"Whatever happens, no matter what they tell you, don't let them take the chains off me. Because if you do; I will kill you with your own weapon."

"He looks better in red."

"You couldn’t kill me if you tired for a hundred years."

"Let's be watchful. I understand this country's full of dogs."

"Know one thing... I am not afraid."

"I, too, can command the wind, sir! I have a hurricane in me that will strip your land bare if you dare to try me!"

"Who says I'm running away from anything? Maybe I'm running towards something."

"Come out, that I might send you to seven hells!"

"Death favors none. We must ride like thundering waves under the tattered battle flag of my father."

"I'll make you wish I'd never been born."

"Follow me and I'll give you victory!"

"My father leaned me that is considered an honor to aid any true seeker in his quest."

"Never start a fight - but always finish it."

"He was the best of us... they struck without provocation, there was no reason... animals! Brutal! They deserve no mercy. Strike them down! Follow them back to their homes and kill them, all of them. All of them! No mercy!"

"I will not be challenged!"

"It's easier to be terrified by an enemy you admire."

"The kid was raised by wolves; until she killed them and ate them all…"

"Nothing in this universe happens just once, nothing; infinity goes in both directions. There is no unique event, no singular moment. It means you'll get another chance."

"Why do I always feel like you're abducting me?"

"By your command."

"When I had to learn the language of Men, one of the most difficult words for me was "goodbye." There is no corresponding word for "goodbye" in Sindarin. All our partings contain within them the possibility of meeting again: in other places, in other times, in other lives. So you will excuse me if I do not say "goodbye"." – Celebríel

|| Dialogues and Quotes About/With Celebríel ||

Celebríel: "Who's judging now?"

Thorin: "I know your kind."

…

Aragorn: "If Celebríel is hunting you, you might as well be dead already."

…

Thorin: "You look frightened. There's a large number of lonely men out there."

Celebríel: "Don't worry, I won't let them touch you."

…

Celebríel: "I've got this completely under control!"

Bilbo: "Is that why everything's on fire?"

…

Gimli: "I can go three days without sleep."

Celebríel: "I can go three weeks."

…

Celebríel: [chained down, bitterly] "I can't see! Are the stars shining tonight?"

Mouth of Sauron: "Brightly, she-elf. Brightly."

Celebríel: "Then let us end this."

…

Celebríel: "When there are no more dragons to slay, how will you make a living, slayer?"

Thorin: "SHUT UP!"

…

Kíli: "If an elf falls in the forest and nobody gets to hear about it, does it make a thud?"

…

Celebríel: "Of course, our senses will be useless from now on."

Gimli: "There you go again, elf - looking for the cloud in the silver lining."

Celebríel: "I am not complaining. I look forward to walking through the wilds without a map and no idea what lies ahead."

Gimli: "Well, the funny thing is, you probably are."

…

Thorin: "Elf! Why did Gandalf have to send an elf with us?"

Bilbo: "I'm a Hobbit. Does that make you feel any better?"

Thorin: "Are you trying to be funny?"

Bilbo: "Not at all. She's the funny one."

Celebríel: (smiles innocently)

…

Celebríel: "Can I make a suggestion that you won't like?"

Aragorn: "Do you make any other kind?"

…

Celebríel: "I'm sorry, and thank you."

Thorin: "Save it. We're both going to catch seven different kinds of hell over this down the road."

Celebríel: "My dad always says: ‘There are no happily ever afters, just new battles.’"

world made me MAD WOMAN the world made me MAD WOMAN made me walk like a MAD WOMAN made me talk like a bad woman

And there it is. This is my OC. Feel free to message me if you wish to role-play with me. I love you all. <3 - NovaUrsa