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lilyginnyblackv2 · 1 year

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Ryo’s Gun & Jane Austen

It’s hard to see, but in the OP Ryo’s gun (and it is Ryo’s gun, I made the mistake in a previous post of thinking it was Kazuki’s, whoops! But I have noted that correction in a reblog, so definitely check that out - I’ll link it below) has a quote on it from, what Google is telling me, is Jane Austen. The quote is:

I want nothing but death.

Those were her last words.

Seeing those last words on Ryo’s gun in the OP with the current situation and the Episode 11 preview and everything - it can certainly seem scary.

But, I’m going to focus a bit on Jane Austen as a writer, what her styles and themes are, and what that might mean for Buddy Daddies or how it might be reflected in Buddy Daddies. Since Kazuki’s VA did mention that we should think about what message the director is sending in this last act.

So, let’s take a look. I think the main two ways that Jane Austen’s style and themes can be seen in Buddy Daddies, is how her writing was considered realism and with a lot of emphasis being placed on “the everyday” that was accompanied by comedy:

Text: Jane Austen's (1775–1817) distinctive literary style relies on a combination of parody, burlesque, irony, free indirect speech and a degree of realism. She uses parody and burlesque for comic effect and to critique the portrayal of women in 18th-century sentimental and Gothic novels. Austen extends her critique by highlighting social hypocrisy through irony; she often creates an ironic tone through free indirect speech in which the thoughts and words of the characters mix with the voice of the narrator. The degree to which critics believe Austen's characters have psychological depth informs their views regarding her realism. While some scholars argue that Austen falls into a tradition of realism because of her finely executed portrayal of individual characters and her emphasis on "the everyday", others contend that her characters lack a depth of feeling compared with earlier works, and that this, combined with Austen's polemical tone, places her outside the realist tradition.

(From the Wikipedia Article on her style, which will be linked to below).

We see aspects of this with Buddy Daddies. In Episode 4 we have a critique being made about the ridiculous levels of paperwork and prep work that needs to go into sending a kid to daycare.

While we get depictions of everyday aspects like Kazuki cleaning or Rei and Miri playing games together.

Another aspect of Jane Austen’s writing style is about character’s growing to become “better” and more moral versions of themselves.

Text: Her plots are fundamentally about education; her heroines come to see themselves and their conduct more clearly, and become better, more moral people. While Austen steers clear of the formal moralizing common in early-19th-century literature, morality—characterized by manners, duty to society and religious seriousness—is a central theme of her works. Throughout her novels, serious reading is associated with intellectual and moral development.

We see that happening in Buddy Daddies as well, through scenes like Rei’s thoughts on how he just mindlessly killed in the past:

Or with the discussion and prevalence on change:

There are other elements and themes to her writing as well, like the focus on women, of course. But I don’t think we can really speak on that aspect too much until the series is said and done.

Of course, the quote is likely also there due to Ryo’s curiosity with death, final words, and the reason for why humans exist. But, I would like to think that this quote wasn’t picked solely for that reason either.

Also, I’m not super well versed in Jane Austen stuff (I know some of my moots are though! Though I don’t know how versed they might be with Buddy Daddies), but if anyone who is more versed with her as a person and her works wants to chime in or add to this (or correct me on anything I may have gotten wrong!) please feel free to do so in a reblog, comment or even in the tags. I always love to see what others write or contribute to the conversation! <3

#Buddy Daddies #BD #Jane Austen #KazuRei #Kazuki Kurusu #Rei Suwa #Ryo Ogino #BD spoilers #Buddy Daddies spoilers #long post #image heavy post #meta post #analysis #themes

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intersectionalpraxis · 29 days

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Can you explain how the West is involved or enabling this? It’s obviously terrible, but I’m just not clear on why we should take attention off of what our own governments are doing to Palestine to criticize Indonesia? IMO we need to focus on ending the horrors we are directly responsible for FIRST before we’re in a position to police countries in South East Asia.

https://www.tumblr.com/intersectionalpraxis/743322731942150144?source=share

Why do you see these issues as mutually exclusive and not interconnected?

People were rightfully pointing out the hypocrisy of the Indonesian government for taking Israel to the ICJ for genocide when they are responsible for decades of oppression of West Papua -which includes the mass genociding roughly half a million West Papuans in the past 60 years of their colonial 'rule' of the region. So I don't know what you mean by 'policing' SEA countries when a genocide is happening and is being vastly ignored by the world -especially the West.

I'd also like to add that even if western imperialism or capitalism whether in history or current isn't directly involved in/isn’t responsible what is happening in 'X' country or region we're talking about, it doesn't mean it's not something to protest and talk about. And it most certainly doesn't take our attention away from Palestine, nor should it for Sudan, Tigray, or Congo either. Or any world issue.

I talk about many past/current/ongoing issues in the world on my page that some folks may be familiar with or not. The purpose behind my educational posts is to promote discussion and to ensure many issues are highlighted. My hope is that my content is engaging, reflexive, and inclusive.

So I am not sure what your intention was with asking me this when I respectively tag posts that are about or deal specifically with US imperialism/western imperialism. If you don't want to have content on your page unrelated to issues outside of US/western imperialism, go for it. But there is plenty to be talking about and fighting for, regardless.

#feminist #social justice #free palestine #palestine #current events #free west papua #west papua #indonesia #genocide #systemic oppression #systemic injustice #history

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dragondream-ing · 2 months

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Isn’t it funny that so many people always seem to accept the least flattering/sympathetic rumors in F&B as pure truth?

Someone made the claim to me that Aenys was a bastard, and not in the “according to Westerosi norms Rhaenys was Aegon’s mistress” way. Not that I agree with that claim (hello, I’m a Targaryen fan) but at least that argument highlights the hypocrisy of the nobles and the Faith. Nope, this person believes Rhaenys (maliciously) passed off a minstrel’s son as Aegon’s.

Obviously I’ve heard many people discuss this rumor, and I never thought much of it because nothing in the book convinced me it was true. I’ve always thought Aenys was Aegon’s actual son (and also Maegor wasn’t a dark magic baby). Tbh though… I liked the idea of Rhaenys living her best life, Aegon being totally cool about his wife having lovers, and, as a fantasy enjoyer, magic babies sounds awesome. I just think there’s a more boring explanation.

So there are several reasons people question Aenys’ parentage. Rhaenys spending lots of time in the company of other men, the time it took for her to conceive (and Visenya, too, but I’ll get to her later). This, of course, also puts into question Aegon’s fertility (which is interesting, usually the women get blamed) but it could also put into question the legitimacy of their sons’ claim to the throne. At the time and with the dragons, that doesn’t really have an impact. Aenys was accepted as king, and even Maegor was accepted by far more of the lords than most fans credit (out of fear and self preservation, of course, but still).

Another thing that comes up is Aenys being weak af while Aegon wasn’t, so how could he be his son? I’m not going to spend time on that shitty argument when Viserys I was the son of Baelon and Alyssa lol

I don’t find the “better” reasons for this rumor that convincing either. As always, this is imo, so take it with a grain of salt.

As to Rhaenys keeping the “company of other males,” I like to keep in mind the F&B sources are pretty obviously condemning her for this based on their own morals. These aren’t exactly people inclined to think well of women that don’t behave “dutifully.”

Rhaenys could literally have enjoyed that company platonically. She liked frivolity, why wouldn’t she befriend entertaining people? She and Aegon and Visenya weren’t committed to all the same morals as their subjects (GRRM himself said the conquerors converted to the Faith of the Seven for political reasons), so they could just be… chill about things the rest of Westeros found strange or condemnable? That’s not to say Aegon would be cool with Rhaenys passing off someone else’s child as his own—I’m sorry, I don’t think even the Valyrians were that open-minded. But compared to the pious and judgmental dorks that wrote about him, Aegon could possibly… trust his sister-wives around other men? Shocking amirite.

I’m not sure why I should trust the sources on this rumor. Why would I assume they’d even be able to understand their rulers—in a realistic manner if not sympathetic one? And how could they understand the relationship the conquerors had? Ya know, plural marriage, women riding dragons and going to war, sitting the throne, ruling in Aegon’s stead. I have serious doubts they would be able to assess women of this caliber with much rationality tbh. It’s not that I think every single thing they say is false, but I do think they’d miss and misread things because of their biases and worldview. Like I’m pretty sure if Rhaenys smiled too long at a minstrel, they’d assume she banged him.

But it’s not actually that important if Rhaenys had lovers or not. If she did, it didn’t matter to the people she was in a relationship with, they never doubted Aenys’ parentage, so I’m on board whatever the truth may be.

However, I think the timeline for her conceiving Aenys is a shit reason to claim she “cuckolded” Aegon. I mean, sure, it took her a long time. And there could be no other reason for that but her infertility, or Aegon’s, and so she must’ve had another man’s child, right? Actually, there’s a pretty simple explanation imo.

I know this is going to sound crazy but… maybe they didn’t want heirs until the conquest was over lmao

This isn’t a “lord secures an heir before going to war” situation. This isn’t pregnant Catelyn safe in her father’s castle or Winterfell while Ned is at war. If the conquest failed, slim chance though that was, the Targaryen heirs would be slaughtered. They didn’t have a bunch of kin or hordes of blindly loyal bannermen. They wouldn’t have had dragons, either, unless they could claim their (in this scenario) dead parents’ dragons before they, too, were assassinated, and considering they’d be quite young, this seems incredibly unlikely.

People seem to forget Visenya, Aegon, and Rhaenys weren’t twiddling their thumbs before the conquest. They planned it for at least a few years, they knew exactly the danger they’d be in, let’s give them some credit here. Plus Aegon spent some time fighting in Essos at the end of the Century of Blood. Why wouldn’t they put heirs on pause for a bit?

It’s not like things were stable in year 1 AC lmao in 2 AC they were dealing with the Ironborn, 4 AC was Dorne etc. They were *busy* establishing a whole ass kingdom from a bunch of petty kingdoms that were used to warring with each other every year. I imagine it was a ton of work 😂

Then Aenys was born in 7 AC, likely conceived in 6 AC. Maybe Rhaenys struggled to get pregnant, maybe they waited, maybe a combination of both. It just doesn’t seem odd to me that heirs came post-conquest. In fact, it seems perfectly reasonable.

So why did Visenya wait to have Maegor until 12 AC? If I was a maester, I’d tell you the poor thing failed in her duty as a woman, that she desperately wanted children but couldn’t. To be fair, this could be the case (not the duty part, but maybe she did want a baby and struggled with infertility. We know she loved Maegor dearly after all).

But let me posit an alternative. This concept may be difficult for some, but… what if she didn’t actually want children? I know, another shocking interpretation lmao

Here’s a scenario I concocted that seems plausible. What if Visenya, Aegon, and Rhaenys agreed that Rhaenys would be the one to have children? What if—and I know this is a wild thought—they had some awareness of the potential dangers of having heirs from two wives, of essentially creating two lines that could come into conflict? Visenya did suggest a betrothal between Maegor and Rhaena after all. I’m sure she wanted her son to have the crown, and she definitely thought Aenys was a weakling, but she could’ve also wanted to unite hers and Rhaenys’ lines to avoid conflict. I think these are reasonable considerations.

I tend to view these characters as relatively rational actors. Their other actions add credence to this, like Rhaenys establishing the rule of six. Do I wish she outlawed wife beating? Yes. Do I think she chose a practical solution with a better chance of being accepted by the nobles that would offer women more protection than they had before? Also yes. What I’m saying is, instead of minstrel orgies and dark magic babies, I tend to lean toward practical explanations.

So back to why Visenya had Maegor so late… Rhaenys’ dies in 10 AC. Visenya and Aegon burn Dorne for 2 years in retaliation. Visenya gets pregnant with Maegor in 11 AC and has him in 12.

What if she was concerned that the dynasty had only a single sickly child to sustain it? Aenys could’ve died in his young age, his health only improved when he bonded with Quicksilver. The continuation of House Targaryen had to rely entirely upon *him.* It makes sense to me that *this* is when Visenya bit the bullet and had a child. It’s even possible Aegon was just as concerned. We can’t know for sure, but would it be surprising considering the circumstances?

At the very least, I find the timing of Maegor’s birth pretty convenient, and the best explanation for me is that after Rhaenys’ death, Visenya (and possibly Aegon) knew they needed a spare, and that spare would have to come from her.

Anyway, I’m completely aware that I’ve spent way too much time thinking about this 😂

#Targaryen thoughts #the conquerors were busy people!#they were also intelligent and capable #they had things to do and places to conquer #these things take time is all I’m saying #aenys was weak af but that’s aegon’s boy #and maegor would make a great dark magic baby but that’s also aegon’s boy #it’s not as fun but it makes sense 🤷🏻‍♀️

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respectthepetty · 1 year

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some ppl are saying that thua outing akkayan is so unnecessary. some say he's just bitter and jealous. what are your thoughts about it?

Short version -

Ahhh, so the fandom is talking about the closeted bully trope:

Adam from Sex Education or Nate from Euphoria, anyone?

Perhaps Akk from The Eclipse?

Yes, Akk is a bully. [definition - A bully is a person who harasses, abuses, intimidates, or coerces people, especially those with less power than they have or those considered weaker or vulnerable in some way. The word often implies that such behavior is repeated or habitual.] A key element in the closeted bully trope is being straight passing.

“But Thua and Namo caused harm to The World Remembers too!”

Namo lit fliers on fire. Thua lit a dummy on fire. Akk tried to run people over and pushed objects off a second story into a crowd. Namo and Thua destroyed objects. Akk tried to destroy people. I’m all for be gay, do crime, but two would be property damage, and the other would be attempted murder. They are not the same.

Therefore, Thua isn’t outing Ayan and Akk because they are *gay (are they gay if they don’t say it? More below!). Thua is outing them as an attempted murderer and the guy who kisses him on occasion for covering it up.

Long version –

Fiction

In 2001, fictional attorney extraordinaire Elle Woods waited in line to get a drink of water from a fountain during a break in a murder trial. As she waited, she stomped her little last season Prada shoes at Enrique, the pool boy, and the current witness testifying in the case that he and the defendant were having an affair. Because of his testimony, it appeared the defendant did kill her husband. However, when Elle heard his comment, she realized “gay men know designers” therefore, Enrique was gay and NOT having an affair with the defendant. He was quickly exposed in court, lost his boyfriend, and Elle was applauded for her great deductive skills.

Reality

*I’m not including a picture because he doesn’t deserve it. I'm petty 24/7, 365*

Aaron Schock was an American Congressman for six years from 2009-2015. During his term, he voted on several key issues, but the ones that need to be highlighted here are:

He voted against gay marriage (marriage equality)

He voted against allowing people to serve openly in the military

He voted against homophobic acts falling under hate crimes

He voted against sexual identity being protected under employee discrimination

Plus many others (he was the pile of poop that kept smelling)

He also actively worked on policies like Defense of Marriage to ensure the gays didn’t get the rights they were fighting for

In 2014, reporter Itay Hod, who is a gay man and has written on many queer issues, wrote a Facebook post asking if it was ever okay to out someone. Then, he gave a hypothetical scenario regarding “a certain GOP congressman, let's just say from Illinois” who voted against several gay-supporting policies yet showers with his male roommate. *the post is still up if you want to search it*

Although Hod never stated a name, everyone knew who this was about because the representative for Illinois was none other than Schock, and the people were divided. This has been an ongoing conversation in queer communities since before the HIV epidemic when known closeted gay politicians weren’t doing anything to help, some believed that outing them would be justified while others disagreed.

There were always whispers about Schock lurking on gossip sites, so Schock was asked when he was running for his state position in 2004 if he was gay. He was asked all of the time during his six years serving as a Congressman by everyone and their mother. Each time, he said no.

Hod, in that infamous FB post, asked “doesn't the media have an OBLIGATION to expose his hypocrisy?” like when it comes to a closeted gay man imposing inequalities on gay people.

Once again, the people were divided. Do we weaponize sexuality this way? Where is the line? Schock said he wasn't gay, so how could Hod write that Schock was gay?!

Schock never addressed the post but resigned in 2015 amid allegations that he had misused public funding to throw parties and redecorate his home and office. He plead guilty in 2019, served probation, and the charges were cleared.

In 2020, he came out as gay.

Why does any of this matter?

Is a person gay if he doesn’t say he’s gay?

What makes someone gay? Is it the sex? What if they are a virgin? Is it the attraction? Can someone be attracted to the same sex every now in then and not be gay? Does the attraction have to be consistent? What makes gay gay?!

Outing a person is harmful, but does it supersede the harm that person has caused others?

Is it ethical to out a closeted hypocrite for the sake of the collective?

Where is the limit?

How much proof do we need to out someone?

What makes this different than outing a preacher who hires sex workers or a family man who has a mistress?

Is it just the hypocrite we out or the sex worker, the mistress, and the male roommate as well?

Enrique was outed by Elle because his lying would cause a woman to go to prison for murder. Schock was outed because he gained privileges he was openly denying from others. Were Elle or Hod ethically right for outing Enrique and Schock? Fictional or reality, is it ever okay to out someone even if it is a side effect of a larger issue?

Thua isn’t jealous or bitter; he is angry at the hypocrisy. Ayan is demanding for the school to admit wrongdoing while he sleeps next to the boy who started the car and pushed it into the crowd. Akk is winning the Best Boy Award after he tried to break heads with a potted plant.

I truly want you to think about when outing someone who has caused harm is acceptable, if ever? I’m not asking about the Lance Bass and Ricky Martin type situations. I’m asking about the Aaron Schock and Carlos Divar (Spanish judge who voted against marriage equality in Spain but used public funds to go on luxurious trips with his secret long-term boyfriend) type of situations. Can we even distinguish between the two types? Are there even types or is an outing harmful no matter how we look at it? Is an outing ever justified?

I’m not the moral monitor, but if I’m honest, when it comes to people in positions of power using that position to cause harm to others while reaping the benefits of that position (and the people who enable them to continue to abuse their power), I’d be a Thua every time.

Adding - Ayan outed Thua to his mom and blackmailed Akk with the cheek kiss photo. Ayan also outed Akk to his mother at the house and the women on the beach. Sani outed Dika to the students. Keep the same energy.

#the eclipse #the eclipse series #we're going on an outing #or two #closeted bully trope #@dribs-and-drabbles Mentioned sani outing chadok connection and YES!

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djsherriff-responses · 5 months

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While the similarities between Rayman/Ramon and Dolph are incredibly strong (and I wish more people did stuff with that in art/fic) , I think there is some very small but significant similarities between Bullfrog and Alex. However it’s less to do with their actual personalities (they’re drastically different to each other) and more so their narrative role to other characters

Both Alex and Bullfrog have shown to have a sense of humour and a cocky vibe when in situations, Alex having banter and giving Dolph a kissy face before jumping off a building, while with Bullfrog he laughed at Jade calling Sarah out for her hypocrisy and before fighting the three goons he spoke about his bubbles and the ridiculous nature of them

Though with Alex he usually left the heard work for Dolph to deal with and attacked Dolph at his most vulnerable, while Bullfrog took a lot of heavy hits before finishing off his opponents and has shown to be willing to put himself on the line for others

The bigger similarity between them is that both of them lean towards being a care taker/saviour in their relationships , regardless if that’s something they do on purpose or if it’s a subconscious trait

We don’t know anything of Bullfrog’s backstory besides a few clues here and there, with him being one of last of the assassins creed one of the most accepted possibilities. The same with Alex, but unless the BL manga or next season decides to expand on it , it’s safe to bet he had a more normal life compared to the frog assassin. (According to wiki he also has a brother in the crew games? Interesting)

We don’t know the full scope of the relationship Dolph had with Alex and while it’s safe to assume the official Ubisoft Yaoi is going to go in depth on it (we are living in a surreal timeline), the show has given hints in the cramped 6 episodes

What we do know is that Dolph was in an incredibly vulnerable and desperate position when he first met Alex outside that gay club. And even though the cast don’t have canon ages listed anywhere (besides being vaguely legal adults), it’s visually obvious Alex is much older than Dolph, and even if the age gap wasn’t huge (highly doubt it) , Dolph was basically a puppet who escaped his strings

This is a similar situation Bullfrog finds himself in , with Rayman being in an incredibly vulnerable and desperate position in their first (and thus far only) conversation. While Bullfrog is the younger one in this situation, he clearly has more unfiltered life experience and wisdom compared to Rayman whose basically a puppet at that moment

We also know that Bullfrog is fiercely loyal to his comrades even when he has only known them for a few days. Alex however used everyone around him like pawns to be discarded, even the love of his life who was ready to settle down

I’m genuinely now curious if Pagan Min was the first time Dolph walked in on Alex being unfaithful or if that was a recurring issue for them?

Kinda interesting how these similarities between the two only highlights just how different these men are and their relationships

#captain laserhawk #captain laserhawk spoilers #rambles #Unlike Dolph and Ramon I don’t think this was done on purpose #But still fun to think on #Technically could be used for rayfrog or Laserfrog 🤷‍♀️

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see-arcane · 2 years

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Thinking about the scene with the wolves, the mother, and how some folks are writing Jonathan off as callous for the ‘she’s better off dead’ comment rather than reading into his literal conviction that death (or undeath) by vampire is the worse fate.

Thinking about how very soon we’re going to see exactly how convicted he is of that fear and his belief that an ending by any other means is preferable to a vampiric one. For at least there will be an ending.

(Mild spoilers under the cut)

I get doing it for a giggle, but it frustrates me when it looks like some folks are purposefully misreading Jonathan’s languishing bits as anywhere between genuinely hypocritical to selfish.

Would it be hypocritical if you, the newbie on your first time abroad to Anyplace But Your Own City/Country on your first Big Deal business trip with a fiancée waiting at home, heard the locals muttering about vampires, did not immediately take their warnings at face value, (followed by throwing your job in the toilet and heading back to your boss and your love to tell them, “Well, they said there were vampires at the castle, sorry, couldn’t close the deal, too bad!”) but instead went off to do your job, only to be shocked at the fact that Oh Shit, Vampires are Real and Now I’m Their Prisoner?

No. That’s called ‘Not knowing you are Jonathan Harker in the novel Dracula,’ meaning you have no context, no reason to have context or to believe in something like vampires being real--a revelation that would obviously stun us too, no matter the jokes to the contrary.

It’s dramatic irony! Absolutely!

But being suddenly slapped upside the head with proof of the supernatural and its very real desire to stick a straw in your arteries, leading to you singing the same tune as the villagers who were afraid for you before the reveal, is just plain logic, not haw haw, hypocrisy. You learn a thing? React to that thing accordingly.

As to the death by wolves scene and Jonathan seemingly having no time to pity her? Of course he felt bad for her. He just feels that to end up as her child did would have been worse. As he sincerely believes his end will be.

We get the context and eye-rolling of our post-post-modern perspectives to play with. Vampires are a Sexy Metaphor, or an Other Metaphor, or an [INSERT YOUR LENS OF CHOICE HERE] Metaphor, so it’s stilting to have to rewind and view it through the POV of a character who was at the dawn of the vampire genre boom when they were meant to be genuinely terrifying. Because Jonathan is terrified of what it will mean when the Count and/or his lady friends get their teeth in him.

This isn’t What We Do in the Shadows or Francis Ford Coppola’s cinematic fanfiction for him. This is “I will only get to die and stay dead if I am very, very lucky,” for him. Because he truly dreads the idea of not just loss of life, but loss of soul/self, and a forced conscription into the same monster club as Dracula against his will.

(Really there’s a whole other essay to be had when it comes to the Fear of Losing Free Will/Humanity and Fear of Violation for Dracula’s victims, but anyway.)

Jonathan Harker does not want himself or anyone else to die. But he sees undeath as far more appalling, as do all the characters to come. We’ll see soon that he is being extremely literal when he considers death by a vampire worse than any other fatality.

((Which will come back to bite him--ha ha--when the trouble with Mina comes up. His dedication to her, and to whatever she might become, outweighs his own terror of turning. His new willingness to be converted will highlight not only that he holds Mina above death, but above the living Hell that vampirism is framed as. If he is too much a smitten fool to raise a hand against Mina as a Monster, he will ensure he is damned in the same way. With her.))

tl;dr: Victorian Solicitor Man is not a selfish hypocrite, he’s just a dude being hit over the head with progressively worse horrors and who is now in a situation where he has to weigh Terrible Fate A against Terrible Fate B while still trying to figure out a way to escape either and is rapidly running out of time and hope regardless

#in which I rant about Victorian Solicitor Man #jonathan harker #dracula #dracula daily #spoilers #kind of

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dracodazaii · 21 days

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The Green Queen And A Greener Future

chapter 3

ao3 edition

Alicent carried Aegon on her side, avoiding the significant bump on her front, gazing into his lavender eyes with love. Her baby boy was back and was just a joyful, innocent child, unaware of the underlying tension in Kingslanding.

The Hightower Queen looked aside to her husband, Viserys, rambling on about plans for the upcoming celebrations for Aegon’s second nameday, causing Alicent to smile. Inwardly the conniving beauty was conjuring up ideas, believing that she could continue to build her political presence, gaining additional allies to the Green-side, all in order to save her children from the evil wrath they faced by Rhaenyra’s hubristic arrogance and her Rogue Prince’s disgusting brutality.

Already from the day Alicent Hightower had joined the Royal Family, she had begun consolidating her political power, employing potential allies into her household as Ladies-In-Waiting, and gaining friendship with Small Council members such as Tyland Lannister. With Rose Tyrell, one of her numerous ladies-in-waiting, and now a close friend of hers, once she removed the bitterness she felt regarding the might of House Hightower.

Viserys continued his mindless chatter, Alicent indulging him idly until she heard the man mutter, “Little Aegon’s nameday shall be extravagant, our boy may grow up be a great knight in the future, hunting just as I am to do in his celebration.”

Alicent portrays a joyous face, happy in indulging in conversing about her beautiful baby, while also in actuality intending to innocently bring up the succession crisis, “Viserys, Aegon will be a great knight, our Aegon The Conqueror Reborn!”

The Targaryen Monarch’s face then hardened with rapid anger, inwardly questioning whether Alicent was an innocent girl praising her son or if she was conniving, bent on undermining his choice to keep Rhaenyra as heir. “Alicent, what do you mean by this?”

“Rhaenyra is my heir. And she will be a great ruler, just like Aegon The Conqueror!” He speaks, wanting the discussion of succession to cease, angered extremely as the Small Council and nobility have made numerous mentions regarding Aegon as heir to be an inevitable action, feeling as though they’re intent on undermining his authority as king.

Alicent then raise her eyebrows in false shock, disappointed in Viserys’ continuous defence of his choice, “Of course! I love Rhaenyra,” She states, stammering onwards, “But I just imagined that as you have a firstborn son you would make him heir, after all wasn’t precious little Baelon named heir, ahead of her?”

“Well yes, but..”, He murmurs, before being interrupted.

“And,” She continues, ceasing Viserys’ justifications and presenting genuine articulate retorts to his hypocrisy, “After all, weren’t you picked as heir to the Old King Jaehaerys because Prince Aemon hadn’t had a male heir? Some nobles may then believe that keeping Rhaenyra as heir then illegitimises your reign and makes you a hypocrite to the Realm’s eyes, since it can be said you took Princess Rhaenys’ right.”

With coherent explanations going against his succession Viserys didn’t know what to say, blubbering and stumbling in how to retort back in respons. After all, Alicent had given comprehensive counters to his choice, but regardless of that, guilt lingered in his heart. He couldn’t dare strip Rhaenyra as heir after he mindlessly butchered her mother in pursuit of a son, a son he now has with Alicent. A son who was in the image of his prophetic vision, a powerful, Targaryen-looking King.

“Well enough of this succession business, I’m tired of discussing serious topics, let’s focus on Aegon’s nameday.” King Viserys spoke, clearly sick of dealing with his duties, tired of listening to chatter about succession and also due to the impulsive actions of Daemon and Lord Corlys who have been the unfortunate highlight of most Small Council meetings.

———————————

Tired of having to confront responsibilities, preferring to mindlessly celebrate and indulge himself with feasts.

The Hightower Queen was idly walking through the Royal Gardens, mindlessly in thought, until she noticed Rhaenyra sitting by the Godswood. The place that they both spent their girlhood together, where their bond grew strongest and where they had also destroyed that same bond. Alicent subsequently recalled the numerous arguments which arisen in the area as she had become Queen, with Rhaenyra confronting Alicent regarding Viserys’ shocking engagement with her, and in contrast, Alicent accosting Rhaenyra about her scandalous incident with that rogue of a man, Daemon Targaryen.

She then heard Rhaenyra order the singing bard beside her to repeat the tune he was performing again, showing that she preferred to sequester herself alone with music rather than celebrate her brother’s nameday.

Alicent Hightower stumbled forward, difficulty in her steps due to her swollen stomach, as she finally spoke, “Rhaenyra.”

“The King wishes for you to join us.”

Rhaenyra replied solemnly, “The King has much to celebrate.”

“He does not need me.” Her sad and resentful nature causing Alicent’s guilt to fester, after all Rhaenyra at this point in time was just a young girl, feeling as though her mother and herself had been replaced by Viserys in his pursuit for an son, and she was not the figure Alicent remembered. She wasn’t the maniacal cruel women who wanted to kill Alicent’s family. Yet the Hightower women knew she couldn’t ever allow Rhaenyra to gain the political foothold she had previously, in the case that she grow to be the person Alicent recalled.

“He wants for us all to be together.” Alicent responded, in attempt to get Rhaenyra to reconcile with her, yet knowing deep inside that this wouldn’t work as it didn’t in her previous life. But also aware that this situation could potentially be the turning point, where Rhaenyra would cease any positive interactions with her, and that Alicent could then manipulate these events for the sake of her children.

Stuttering onwards, Alicent continued further, “And perhaps the hunt could be ….. fun.”

“Is that the King’s command?” Rhaenyra snidely retorted, intent on ignoring her duties as Princess of The Realm and simultaneously her family members, her blood.

“Yes, but..” Alicent replied before being interrupted midway.

Princess Rhaenyra snapped harshly, slamming her book and rushing upwards, “Then at once, Your Grace.”

“But it needn’t be, none of it needs be this way. If not for both mine and your father’s sake, then for your brother, your blood.” Falsely pleading, attempting even further to reconcile with the Princess and venturing to drive a wedge of guilt inside Rhaenyra for neglecting Aegon, an innocent infant with no faults of his own at this time.

“Forsake us, I understand.”

“But Aegon is just a babe who has done nothing to offend you!” Speaking harshly, intent on placing a sense of self-repentance inside Rhaenyra, who was ignoring her and hastily running away, whilst also speaking the truth she couldn’t dare utter in the past. As a young girl forced into marrying her friend’s father, wondering why her old friend could not even try to form a familial bond with her own siblings, even if she hated the treacherous circumstances.

Yet it was too late.

Rhaenyra was gone, hastening towards the Royal Carriages, never to give an explanation for the blatant alienation she feels toward her half-siblings.

———————————

The carriage jerked, rumbling back and forth as it strolled forward over the rocky pathway onward to the Royal Hunting Tents for Aegon’s second nameday.

Silence lingered in the carriage, only occasionally interrupted by babbling from Aegon and Viserys’ incessant attempts at conjuring reconciliation between Rhaenyra and Alicent.

“Should you be travelling in this condition?”, Rhaenyra spoke finally, upon witnessing Alicent’s uncomfortable shift as the carriage shook.

Rubbing her stomach in a consoling gesture, The Queen replied, “The Maester said that travelling out in nature would do me and the babe well. Perhaps you’ll understand when you have a babe.”

“You should hold your brother, to gain some motherly experience. And you can strengthen your sibling bond.” Alicent suggested, a falsified pleading tone in her voice as Rhaenyra grew angry, face hardening at being told to finally interact with the brother she resented, as Alicent instructed the maid holding Aegon to pass him over to Rhaenyra.

“Exactly. Rhaenyra, you will be with your own child sooner than late, and make me a proud grandsire! You should hold little Aegon!”, Viserys spoke jubilantly, unaware of the growing pain his daughter has in facing her childbirthing duties.

“No!”

“Why I should I care for my half-brother?” Rhaenyra screams in a loud retort, resulting in the maids within to side-eye each other, looking at the Princess in a perturbed mood, as she pushed away Aegon’s hand while the maid carrying him rushed back down to her fellow co-worker.

“Rhaenyra! He’s your blood, cease these complaints! Why can’t you care for your brother?” Viserys roared, anger shocking everyone inside the carriage.

Rhaenyra replies with a softened tone, unable to articulate her anger outwardly due to shock in her father’s unexpected eruption, “I find it discomforting. To deal with children and hunting today is too excessive for me.”

“You are the Crown Princess, you have duties. You cannot be avoiding your responsibilities if you are truly to be Queen!” King Viserys bellowed.

“As I am ceaselessly reminded.” She retorts quietly under her breath.

“Im sorry?” Viserys spoke, unable to hear her snide retort.

“As I am ceaselessly reminded!” She responded harshly in tone.

“You wouldn’t need to be reminded if you ever attended to them.”

“No ones here for me.” She spoke quietly, partly ashamed that she’s speaking aloud her personal thoughts of abandonment and her feeling of resentment regarding Aegon.

The King countered her words, viewing them to be selfish, “Rhaenyra, you have everyday. Today is Aegon’s celebration.”

“If this was Baelon’s day, you wouldn’t complain, you just hate my child!” Alicent finally spoke, interrupting the father-daughter argument to speak her mind.

The carriage stopped, as silence echoed inside.

They had arrived to the Royal celebratory tents.

Shame erupted in both Rhaenyra and Viserys. The Princess ashamed at the blatant proclamation of her prejudice between her full-siblings compared to the living half-brother she has. Viserys saddened and guilt-filled just from the mention of his “Heir of a day.” that he butchered his beloved wife for.

As the Royal family and their servants exited outside onto the grass excluding Rhaenyra, bows in respect following their footsteps, loudly heard was the declarative words of Lord Hobert Hightower, “Hail, hail Aegon, the Conqueror-Babe, Second of His Name!”

“Here’s to His Grace on his second name day!”

Alicent silently smirking, as her uncle essentially proclaimed in front of the numerous important Lords and Ladies, that Aegon deserved to be heir.

Standing in the extravagant tents, Alicent tempered herself, preparing to gain allies to her side.

Her Aegon’s side.

All in the name of her children, the Hightower women knew that she had to consolidate power for herself and gain allies, that of which she did not previously have, and also to strengthen the bond the Greens had previously acquired.

Looking forward, she noticed her Ladies-In-Waiting have arrived, both her cousins Margarey and Delena Redwyne, and Rose Tyrell, her closest friend as of late. Yet she knew that obtaining more influential Ladies to join would be essential to forward Aegon’s succession to King.

She walked forward to them, carrying Aegon by her side, as they bowed in admiration and greeted her warmly. Happiness arose in Alicent’s figure, having true friends that were not only allies gave her much joy in life.

After listening to their idle chit-chat, Alicent spotted her older brother Ser Gwayne Hightower and glanced over to him, discreetly instructing the copper-haired Knight to come over and join his sister, along with her Ladies.

“Gwayne it’s been so long! Aegon’s grown so big while you’ve been away!” Alicent joyously spoke, while recalling how her brother arrived from Oldtown six moons or so ago, upon wanting to meet his young nephew and see how Alicent was faring in the beginning of her second pregnancy. During this time Alicent had also instructed her older brother to befriend Ser Criston Cole while partaking in his knightly duties, and sword-practice.

As she and Gwayne had greeted each other, Alicent had noticed a certain Lady-In-Waiting of hers blushing and staying particularly quiet, in shyness. intent on avoiding the Hightower knight’s gaze.

“Ah, Gwayne I haven’t introduced you to my Ladies.”

Continuing in her introduction, Alicent resumed, “Of course you know our cousins, Delena and Margarey, but there is also my dear friend, the Lady Rose Tyrell.”

“I know of her. We have met during my time in Highgarden when I was en-route to Oldtown.” The Hightower man replied, causing Alicent to grin inside, intent on matchmaking her beloved brother with her friend, who was also the daughter of their Liege Lord, Mathis Tyrell.

“My Queen, your brother is too humble. He saved both myself and my entourage from bandits!”, Rose Tyrell spoke hastily in response, admiration heavy in her tone.

Alicent upon sensing the potential of romance between two people she cared for heavily, was intent on giving them the chance to have a beautiful love, unlike the troublesome dynamic of a marriage that Alicent currently is stuck in with King Viserys.

However, the Green Queen also had plans for Gwayne during this hunt, and could not let this momentous occasion slip away from her hands.

Breaking the idle discussion between this gathering of Ladies and Lord, Alicent interrupted with a falsified shock, “Oh Gwayne! I had just recalled, our father needs to speak to you and I.”

The Queen then instructed her Ladies-In-Waiting calmly, yet in an authoritative tone that she had to leave them for a moment.

As the siblings then sequestered away from the multitude of gatherings within the Royal Tents, Alicent abruptly spoke to Gwayne, “I need you to follow Ser Criston and the Princess, brother.”

Replying in a confused manner, the Hightower knight spoke, “Why?”

“I have reason to believe that Rhaenyra will run away from her duties and yet be confronted by the infamous White Hart everybody is searching for.” Alicent softly said, knowing that her insider information would seem nonsensical to anybody unaware of her awareness of events occuring in her past-future. However she was also aware that as her beloved brother, she had trust in that he would follow her instructions, believing she had worthy cause to do so.

As he answered in response, “Alright Alicent, I understand.”

“However, we must make haste and converse with nobles now before the hunt begins, so we can gain allies, defending us against Viserys’ nonsensical choice in keeping Rhaenyra as heir.”

The sibling partnership then returned into the area congregated with nobles full of political discussion, and contrastingly, mindless discussion regarding feasts and celebrations.

The Hightower Queen, while idly conversing with Eleanor Baratheon and Lady Tully, she then noticed the infamous “Bronze Bitch” Lady Rhea Royce, lingering away with Jeyne Aryyn, Rhea of whom she was hellbent on allying with, and saving from the murderous clutches of Daemon Targaryen.

Walking onwards to Lady Rhea, she greeted her warmly, knowing that dealing with Daemon, whose heinous tastes were more suited to children with white hair, was a task that demanded great respect.

Conversing with her about the hunt, Alicent was hopeful in a companion to her political side, as they both suffered under the hands of selfish Targaryens.

As they continued, the Queen then cordially remarked that perhaps Rhea Royce should join her party during the midday hunting, as an attempt to get acquainted with her further.

Alicent dawdled for a while as she left the Ladies, stewing in contentment, believing she had perhaps gained more allies onto her side than ever before.

As she entered the grand royal tent, filled with the best political colleagues for her to gain, Alicent was filled with emotions encompassing her mind. This was the perfect time to acquire allies, more than what the Greens had gathered during Alicent’s past life.

Immediately she was bombarded by a young girl bowing at her and greeting her in bold admiration,” My Queen! It’s ever so wonderful to meet you.”

“And you as well, Lady..?” Alicent spoke kindly, yet intent in uncovering who this girl was exactly, as Alicent clearly didn’t remember her, thus she must not have been a politically-minded woman in the future.

“Lady Bethany Bracken, I am. And..oh! I was wondering whether I could be a lady-in-waiting of yours?”, The maiden retorted, daring and audacious in her forward action of confronting her Queen.

The Hightower Queen, reminded of her old friend Rhaenyra’s temperament, responded softly with a melancholic smile,“Well, I admire your courage. You seem like a great girl, thus I will grant you your wish, if you ask your lord father.”

As the willful girl ran off joyously in pursuit of his father, Alicent decided to seat herself in the presence of the gathering surrounding her sharp-tongued yet lovable grandmother, Lady Redwyne.

Upon greeting her grandmother, ladies-in-waiting, and the other ladies present, Alicent then subsequently noticed the young Lady Baratheon, anxious and forlorn as she stood nearby yet unwilling to take the initiative to interact.

“Lady Baratheon! How wonderful it is to see you once more!” The Queen bellowed, intent on bringing joy to this girl, essentially stuck in the same situation of hers. Birthing heirs for a neglectful, disgusting man.

Alicent continued speaking further, wanting to further a bond with the future Lady of House Baratheon, upon Lord Boremund Baratheon’s passing,“I heard you just birthed a girl. So lucky,

I’m hoping my next babe will be a girl, perhaps our children will grow to be friends!”

As Lady Eleanor Baratheon responded, the idle chitchat developed into discussions regarding the fate of poor Lady Johanna Swann.

Rhaenyra, swift on her feet, abandoned the mindless blabber of Jason Lannister, stumbling forward onwards to the large assembly of her Lady Stepmother’s group of nobility.

As she converged closer, words spoken by Lady Redwyne put her in a difficult position.

“Perhaps the Princess.. can give us some insight.”

Alicent smugly remembering inside her mind how Rhaenyra snarkily answered, acting unbefitting of an heiress, all in defence of her troublesome, lecherous uncle.

As Princess Rhaenyra rebutted incessantly back and forth with Alicent’s lady grandmother, she idky watched on. Needing to do nothing, as Rhaenyra was ruining her reputation, portraying herself as an impulsive undutiful heir, without Alicent’s input necessary.

Silence echoed in the room for a moment, as the Targaryen girl blatantly insulted Lady Redwyne with a spiteful remark regarding cake, then storming off as her impulsive emotions got the better of her.

The Hightower Queen then falsely tried to placate the group, “Forgive my step-daughter. She’s still mourning her mother, unable to do her duties but she’s grieving.

The false pleading fooled her cousins, as Margarey Redwyne retorted sharply, “Alicent, I know you love her because of your childhood bond, but I think you’re being too kind. After all you performed your duties and Lady Helene had sadly passed just a moon before Queen Aemma had.”

Continuing further with snide yet truthful insults toward the Crown Princess, Margarey sharply spoke, “Beside, it’s been years, and she hasn’t grown at all! While you have married and have a babe, with another on the way.”

As Lady Margarey spoke, the ladies present, including Lady Jeyne Arryn, were looking incredibly disappointed in the pathetic trajectory of Rhaenyra’s growth or rather, lack thereof, as she hadn’t accepted her duties as heir, or duties as a women of Westeros.

Yet Alicent knew this wouldn’t change.

Rhaenyra would only get worse, becoming a scandalous harlot, akin to Saera Targaryen.

Birthing bastards and sequestering them as true heirs.

Arrogant in her father’s wishes, yet never attempting to gain any allies, choosing to insult the Lords that she is to depend on.

#hotd #asoiaf #house of the dragon #alicent hightower #rhaenyra targaryen #game of thrones #got #team green #hotd fanfic #rhaenyra critical #anti rhaenyra targaryen #alicent hightower bashing #manipulative girlboss alicent #alicent slaytower #otto hightower #king viserys #viserys targaryen bashing #anti viserys i targaryen

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la-nom-nom · 10 months

Text

Modern Amy does have the flanderizations unlike Classic and Boom, but THIS Amy had most of the best moments too. Here’s what Modern has canonically under her belt:

SA1 she saw the bigger picture involving Gamma, she pointed out that love isn’t part of robot’s’ programming and they’re missing something good.

Also in SA1 she stepped up to Sonic from destroying Gamma; stepping up to your crush especially when you haven’t won their heart yet is harder than we think. When liking someone it’s normal to try being on the best terms with them. If they’re doing something that rubs you the wrong way that could taint those terms. (Ofc it’s the right thing to step up regardless)

Her moment with Shadow from SA2. It has been discussed many times why it’s so good but I’ll at least put down this: Amy KNOWS there’s shitty people and bad things but she also sympathizes for others and decides to see the good anyway. It’s waaaay easier to fall into negativity and despair when things get bad. This moment is somewhat similar to the story Pandora’s Box when all the bad stuff flew out but one thing within that seems so tiny but is powerful which was hope. Deciding to see the good is like that hope.

Heroes has been seen as this as one of Amy’s more infamous portrayals but really? Was her crush for Sonic executed the best? Depends on the person, but not the worst. Still, she stayed with her team until they reached their goal. Sure she knew doing that will lead her to Sonic but once again, it’s not bad. Why isn’t anyone complaining about the fact the Chaotix, Rouge, Sonic, Shadow were picking fights too? WTFH…

In Battle, another portrayal and one I actually think isn’t so good, or part of it. (Girl, starving yourself thinking Sonic will like you if you’re skinny? Really? If Sonic has issues then that’s his issue not yours!) However, she helped Emerl with his skills. She was pretty much like everyone else but yet none of them get pointed out for their portrayals.

Riders is sorta known for the bad portrayal between her and Sonic but really it wasn’t bad (the voice direction like tone of voice was different between the English and Japanese, the ladder being more accurate to the characters) until the very end of Heroes story which was when Sonic blew her away along with Eggman. Can’t we be in her shoes for a moment? If someone, one of your friends SonAmy or not they are friends didn’t consider your safety especially like THAT would you be happy? Don’t think so. It’s valid to be pissed. Ofc you should point it out.

06 might’ve been (technically) erased but it still shows Amy’s positive side. If it were to happen again and not be erased there’s little to no doubt that Amy would do the same thing. Like in SA1 she saw the bigger picture by putting aside her crush for Sonic and saving the world. One of things it highlighted was her loyalty. This did show in Heroes too, if she wasn’t loyal she would’ve ditched Cream and Big. People can say all they want about Amy choosing Sonic over the world; the other option is to BETRAY her friend who she’s known for a long time and be like, “Hey, Sonic, my friend who I just met Silver who says you’ll destroy the world so I’m siding with him.” THAT would be bad. (Though in Silver’s defense it was from a valid sense and didn’t know who Sonic was but that’s not the focus right now. Amy is brave for stepping up to Silver who clearly outclassed her in skills) Can we also point out that Rouge and Omega did the same thing yet nobody complained about that? Even if it was worded differently, there’s still a sense of hypocrisy.

Rush had Amy tell Blaze, who was very closed off, about the idea that having friends is truly uplifting. Heck Blaze was even intrigued and had a slight smile because of Amy’s upbeat vibe.

Unleashed highlighted Amy to be in no way shallow when it comes to her crush with Sonic: she states to Sonic that no matter what, he’s still her Sonic. How sweet and endearing is that? She even planned to throw a party for him. Clearly she was trying to uplift his spirit. Sonic wasn’t going through a good time, externally and internally. When all hope seemed lost she openly said that Sonic WILL succeed. Also highlighting her faith, another powerful thing. She had faith in previous games too, like having faith that Sonic will listen to her to not destroy Gamma, faith in the good of humanity in SA2, and as mentioned earlier her faith that in 06 Sonic would never destroy the world but save it.

All of the examples above are from the time era of her “obsessive” days that detractors like use to prove that she’s just a “stalker/yandere/etc”.

I will admit that things like Sonic X didn’t do her justice during that era. Though that is partly thanks to the shit English dub and SOA.

Post 2010 hasn’t really been too great but even in Lost World she told Sonic to save the world, believing there’s a chance even though she felt for sure she wasn’t going to be alive for it. She did say it was too late but it felt like she was referring to the latter, not her having a lack of faith. In Forces she was part of the Resistance. Like previous titles she did her part. Minus a few games, she was always an active participant, even in a game like the Black Knight while even it was not exactly the Amy Sonic knew, Nimue was still a counterpart. Like in the Secret Rings with Ali Babba!Tails and Sinbad!Knuckles there was a connection to Sonic’s POV. Frontiers has been pointed with its faults especially with storytelling (seriously previous games, even the most beloved ones, had this issue too) but even then the desire of Amy wanting to help, like she always has, was there.

Modern Amy has proven to be a brave, positive, uplifting, helpful, kind, and a non shallow girl who definitely cares about Sonic’s wellbeing. If having those qualities is STILL viewed as the worst portrayal of the character… 🤦🏻‍♀️

P.S.: This post sprouted from seeing comments upholding Classic Amy(from the latest news) and a few for Boom while downplaying Modern Amy. Heck someone literally commented “Classic Amy over Insamy any day.” Insamy means Insane Amy Seriously? It’s cool to see Amy getting love but some people forget that Classic Amy is a younger Modern Amy, soooooo they’re really shitting on the one they “really” like?

#my post #thoughts #it’s longer than expected #amy rose #amy appreciation post #not reblog #happy birthday to Sonic and Eggman BTW🎉#sonic the hedgehog #sonic

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dolphin1812 · 1 year

Text

Hugo’s descriptions of Mme Thénardier were sickeningly sexist and honestly just made me feel revolted by him, so I’m going to pass over that section for the most part. The only thing I do like about that section, though, is what it contributes to the end. There’s something particularly terrifying about being trapped between two diametrically opposed but still cruel people - Mme Thénardier and her immediate bursts of anger and M. Thénardier’s schemes and neglect - and I think highlighting this definitely increases the reader’s sympathy and pity for Cosette. Perhaps she would have clothes if she only had to deal with Mme Thénardier, or perhaps she would get a break from physical and verbal cruelty if she only had to tolerate M. Thénardier, but instead, she’s caught between them both.

With regard to M. Thénardier, I’ve written before about how Hugo slips into classism in his descriptions of him (in the last chapter on Waterloo), and this instance is no exception. His comments on his lack of education being visible through his speech, for instance, are quite uncomfortable to read. At the same time, there’s more humor in this description of him, and some of it works in spite of Hugo’s prejudices. His use of contrasts, for example, is pretty funny (I can’t tell if him bring a man with a “sickly air and who was wonderfully healthy” or being “polite” “ even to the beggar to whom he refused half a farthing” is the better of these instances of dark humor, but either way, they effectively convey his contradictory nature and juxtapose his duplicitousness with his obviously intimidating wife). Similarly, while Hugo’s notes on his “pretensions” to literature can again be interpreted through the lens of class, it can also be seen as just what he says: pretentiousness. Moreover, his hypocrisy is clear even just from whom he cites. His “singular” use of Saint Augustine, despite everything about his obsession with wealth and his own standing contradicting his writings, is funny not only because of the contrast between Augustine and the Enlightenment thinkers he otherwise references, but because of the idea of a man as corrupt as Thénardier constantly (claiming to be) quoting a saint. (And of course, Hugo includes puns like filousophe that are probably also funny, but as I don’t know that much French, they’re probably best explained elsewhere).

We also get a brief follow-up to the Waterloo digression. Having read about Thénardier’s “rescue,” we know just how much he’s exaggerating in this story. We can also suspect that Hugo’s suspicion that he would have flourished elsewhere may be a product of his travels (seeing, for instance, the difference in traffic between rural and urban inns; and perhaps also coming to bear a grudge against an innkeeper or innkeepers as a whole).

The relationship between the Thénardiers is also interesting in its use of political metaphors. Hugo’s description of Mme Thénardier’s obedience is revolting in its sexism and dehumanization of her, but why use “parliamentary language” and call M. Thénardier a “despot” with an “empire?” Not only do these terms underscore his control over the household, they link him to a corrupt form of political rule. It’s easy, then, to see parallels between the neglect going on in his household and the abuses perpetrated by a similarly tyrannical social order in France as a whole.

#les mis letters #lm 2.3.2 #monsieur thénardier #madame thénardier #cosette

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itsclydebitches · 1 year

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I think the best part of your V9E1 recap is how it highlights what an utterly joyless human being you are, in your desperation to whine about literally every detail of the episode. You aren't doing anything worthwhile with your life by being a sad crybaby over a cartoon. You're just being a useless, pathetic lowlife and demonstrating that you'll never make anything of your own life.

Anon, this message is hilarious in its hypocrisy. What are you doing? Sending hateful messages to strangers behind the comfort of anonymity, furious over a post you never had to read and, indeed, clearly did not intend you as an audience? Ah yes, that’s definitely a worthwhile and joyful pastime. Why don’t you do us both a favor and find something better to do on a Tuesday morning? I don’t know about you, but we’ve had one hell of an unseasonal winter where I’m at. Go outside. Enjoy the sunshine. Touch grass. Bring a dictionary with you and look up the actual meaning of “lowlife.”

#rwde #rwby #Clyde's first hate message of 2023!

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samsspambox · 2 years

Note

Parallel theory? I'm listening, go on ahead and ramble :D

hECK YEAH IM GONNA RAMBLE!!!!!

Okay so I noticed this pattern where we as a fandom tend to group the bois into groups of two in different combinations. It seemed really interesting to me and I started to pay attention to the combinations and why people did them. Then I started to pick up on a pattern that later became the Parallel Theory! So without further ado:

Parallel Theory: All Good Things Come in Pairs

(~800 words)

When you look closely, you find two main patterns in terms of characterizations and/or facts.

If one thing applies to one protagonist, it applies to all (ex: they’re all into doing a type of sport, they’re into charity work…)

If one thing applies to one protagonist, it applies to one other (in varying degrees) while being false for the remaining two boys

The Parallel Theory (bc they’re like parallel lines, two different lines that never meet opposite of each other) is the second bullet point that, in my opinion, keeps getting proved time and time again. It applies to both their characters and, interestingly enough, sometimes their clothing. I’ll give three examples that each increase in specificity.

EXAMPLE 1: Watches (Permutation 2)

In each of the standard outfits, both Artem and Vyn wear watches. Inversely, Luke and Marius don’t. This is something that can change because it’s aesthetic, and it has. Marius wears a watch in his Suit Outfit and Luke wears one in his RRG outfit. But in terms of when we were first introduced, there is one pair that regularly wears watches, and one that does not.

EXAMPLE 2: Harrowing Past (Permutation 3)

Now let’s get a little more specific. Thinking about the past of the NXX, we have two members that we… really don’t know much about. Luke and Vyn’s past are shrouded in mysteries. Luke spent 8 years away from Stellis and aside from the little tidbits he lets himself share, we know nothing. And even then sometimes you have to weasel it out of him because he’s just that much of a closed book about it. Similarly, we don’t know much about Vyn’s past in Svart until he tells us. I haven’t really looked at his 3rd birthday card, so I don’t know how much he reveals, but he’s also a closed book regarding his past. Artem and Marius aren’t so much. We know much more specific events about Marius’ life because he’s been in the public eye for longer and is happy to share. Artem (and his mom LMAO) are also happy to share their past and are a lot more open about it.

(There’s also a sub-point to this that’s pretty shitty but,,,I mean I’m right. Artem and Vyn both have their full set of biological parents while Luke and Marius don’t,,, I’m sorry)

EXAMPLE 3: Reluctant Heir to the Throne (Permutation 1)

Segwaying a bit on Vyn’s past, from what we do know is that he’s the son of a duke. It’s not a spoiler anymore since his 2nd birthday card’s whole plot is about this. Anyway, that stands to reason that he is next in line for that particular title should his father pass away (or abdicate… idk maybe he wants to find love again). But we know that Vyn doesn’t want that life, we know that Vyn hates the hypocrisy and stuff back in Svart. Marius’s throne isn’t much of an actual throne, but the position of CEO. We know that the only reason he even is CEO is because Giann is missing. He’s implied he doesn't want the position and is ready to bounce the second that Giann is back. Artem and Luke don’t have that, they had to work for what they had now and very much wanted their positions.

There’s obviously more things (such as Luke and Vyn wearing 3 layers in their sprites, Marius and Artem’s secret identities, Artem and Vyn being guest lectures at Stellis U) but I just wanted to highlight that this theory applies to all combinations of protagonists. It's also the type of thing that when you look at it, it’s hard to ignore.

It also makes theorizing/headcanon-ing super duper helpful. So, back to last night’s thought and following the parallel theory: if Marius has piercings, there’s a non-zero percent chance that one of the NXX members also has piercings. Artem, in 6.2, recounts that he’s worn earrings to costume parties before but made no remark about if they were clip-ons or not. There’s still a chance they are, but there’s a non-zero chance that they’re not. It could be that he’s let them close but it still counts because he, at one point, had the piercings.

Obviously, the theory doesn’t apply in certain instances but 8 times out of 10 there's a chance that it does if you look close enough.

And yeah! That's the Parallel Theory!

also nonnie that's so pure and cute, we love experimenting in this household. actually, it reminds me of this guy on tiktok who rolls dice and has a numbered list of ingredients that he then takes and makes into a sandwich. it's called roll for sandwich and its so interesting!!! i think you'd enjoy it nonnie!

Thank you for asking Galena and nonnie ily! (platonically ofc)

#tears of themis #tears of themis theory #sam theorizes #sam rambles #galena asks #nonnie asks #anon asks #sam answers #marius von hagen #artem wing #luke pearce #vyn richter #lu jinghe #zuo ran #xia yan #mo yi #can you tell i've thought about this for way too long LMAOO #long post #theory time

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